She sat at her kitchen pub style table working, a hot pot of tea steaming in the center of the table. She paused with the pen in her hand when she thought she heard the door. Lisa looked to her laptop where she had been working. It definitely sounded like he had arrived. Jack had sent her a text message, a recent thing for him over the last few months, to tell her he'd been delayed at his appointment. It was the first text she'd received from him since she'd made him send his first when she'd purchased the phone. That had been two months ago after his heart attack. She hadn't wanted to take any chances, so she'd upgraded his phone in case he ever needed help. She looked to her computer again to check the time and raised her eyebrows. He must have been really delayed, that or, something more was wrong with him. It was now 2:45.
Lisa waited and gave a slight nod to herself when she heard the familiar footsteps coming down the hallway. Jack had been to Fairfield a number of times, but it was no comparison to the times she'd been to Heartland, not that she was trying to count them. Her house had a very different layout, and while it was her parents' homestead, she had done a lot of remodeling over the years, starting after she'd gotten divorced from Dan. Her latest remodel had been her kitchen a few years ago, making sure to add a pub table sitting area. She had liked Jack's so much, she wanted that in her kitchen, even with its very modern and sleek look. She knew Jack thought the kitchen looked stark, but it fit her-honestly a lot of styles fit her, but she loved this table. It was near the windows at the back of the house and overlooked the fields where she could watch her horses. It had become one of her very favorite parts to her house, and she spent a great deal of time sitting here working when she was at home. She glanced up as she heard the footsteps approaching, slow and steady, just as Jack always walked.
"Hi," she said with a simple nod toward him as she folded her hands on the table over her laptop. This wasn't a "jump up and greet him" style of visit. Both knew it. She studied him before he spoke. He looked better than he had, but she would have been extremely concerned if he looked worse. He had a little sun on his face, probably from Arizona. His shirt looked new, which was surprising for Jack, and Lisa was sure it was, even though it was his traditional plaid style. After dating the man for six years, she knew his wardrobe, and she'd never seen this shirt, a steel gray color. It made the gray in his hair and his mustache stick out, and it made him look just a little bit sophisticated. He held his hat in his hands, something she always loved about him, his very traditional manners, especially when it was concerning her.
"Hi," he replied to her with a nod and a tiny upturn of his mouth. She wouldn't call it a smile, but he wasn't scowling at her. He glanced around, almost wondering if she'd changed things since he'd last been here, which that, actually had been, several months ago now. She started to think back to his last time at Fairfield, and her mind started to wander. She quickly shook her head and pulled herself back to the present.
"Ahh, would you like to sit?" Lisa gestured to the seat across from her at the table. Jack glanced that way, and she studied him, almost wondering if he was thinking about his last visit here too. She continued, "There's a hot pot of tea I just brewed about 15 minutes ago. You can see I put out a cup for you, and I made blueberry muffins."
He looked down as he walked across the kitchen, putting his hat on her sleek, quartz countertop. He gave a small nod of his head, and Lisa studied him as he took his seat across from her as the two had done so many times.
"You didn't have to go to all this trouble for me," he nodded to the muffins. "I'm sure you had better things to do than to bake muffins."
"Well," she said, now, closing her laptop to focus on him, "they sounded good, and I had all the ingredients. I know you like them too."
"Not complaining you made them," he said with a slight nod as he pulled one from the basket. She'd even put a nice cloth napkin in to line her basket. She studied him as he poured some tea. She moved her hands over her cup to gesture that she didn't need a refill.
"So, ahh, you are looking better, I mean well," she started to say, glancing at him, but then looking at her cup as he glanced to her. He reached for the butter-Lisa knew he liked butter for his muffins, and he started to butter the muffin before answering.
"Considering you saw me at my absolute worst, I guess I had no way to look but better, but yes, I'm doing okay," he told her.
"Your doctor?" Lisa said quickly, prying for information. "Your appointment, running over, I hope that nothing is wrong. I mean," she stopped and bit her lip. "I shouldn't pry. It's not my business."
He glanced at her and met her gaze with a frown. She looked away, not wanting to be scolded for asking. They were not a couple anymore. She knew that, but she still loved him. That part was hard, and she was working on it, getting over him.
"I don't mind you asking, other people, maybe, but not you. The kids are a different story, maybe because that's all they do is ask. Doc wants to increase my pill dosage. I'm still running my blood pressure a bit high. I'm doing okay, but she thinks this will make it better. I tend to tune out when doctors get into all of their specifics."
Lisa had the cup up to her mouth and gave a small smirk as she nodded, trying to hide the smirk behind her cup, "Ahh, yes, I do know that. I hope things improve, Jack. I really do."
"Anyway," he nodded as he chewed, "enough about me and that mess." He gestured to her, "You are looking well."
"Really?" Lisa asked, putting her cup down on the table. She tilted her head, "I am exhausted, have bags under my eyes, and I can feel my face breaking out from the face cream I switched to recently, but thank you for the compliment."
His eyes met hers, and he gestured toward her, "Of course, I can see you look tired. You look flat out exhausted, but that's not exactly what someone wants to hear. All that travel and business looks like it is taking a toll. I've always been honest with you, and well," he gestured with his hand, "you look tired, but it's good to see you."
"Always been honest, eh?" Lisa said, tilting her head again, looking at him. He rolled his eyes.
"Lisa, I didn't come over here to argue about France again!" Jack said with an exasperated tone.
"You're right," she said with a firm nod. "My apology. We have discussed that at length." He nodded too, and she sipped at her tea, giving the two a moment of silence before she continued. "You're right, too, though. I am tired. I'm back in town to take care of a number of things."
"Oh?" Jack looked to her as he stirred at his tea. She nodded, and the two slipped into silence again.
"Jack," she said and then stopped, as if she was trying to put the words together in her head before she said them to him. "I'm here to get my business in order."
He eyed her, and before he could speak, she slightly raised her hand, "I told you on the phone I've decided to sell Fairfield."
She watched as his eyes almost glassed over, as if he didn't want to have to deal with the information. She could see the wheels turning as he processed things, and he looked down before he looked to her and responded, "To Dan?"
"What?" Lisa spouted out at him. She let out a nervous laugh, "Why would you assume I'm selling to Dan, and why is that the first thing out of your mouth?"
"Sorry," he waved at her and frowned. "He's your business partner and all."
"Business as in a few horses. I'm not selling this to Dan. Hardly," she huffed as she threw her napkin on the table from her lap. The two settled into silence. She finally licked at her lip after she sipped her tea and then responded again, "I am letting you know that I'm selling, leaving."
She heard a low sigh from him as he propped his elbows on the table and folded his hands in front of him. He glanced her way, "We can both exist in this town, small as it is. You don't have to sell your empire. You've built this place up. It's your dream."
"It was my dream, was," she said, making eye contact with him. "Plans change. I've had a great thing here. I've come to peace with it. It's what I want."
"Lise," he sighed and looked toward the window. She watched the profile of his face as he looked out the window and studied the landscape. She looked outside; it really was beautiful. She had a fabulous property.
As the two pulled their gaze from the rolling landscape outside, their eyes met, and he gave a slight nod to her, "Lisa, this is your home. You have a world-renowned business here. What, are you going to head back to France?"
She pursed her lips before replying and then, she shifted and leaned forward, folding her hands on the table, "I've made a ton of money here. That's no secret. Business is always up and down. Right now, it is up. I have given this a lot of thought, and I am just going to close out operations here and shift more to Florida. I will still keep my place in France. You know I love it there, but I also spend a great deal of time in Florida and do a lot of business there. It hit me recently that I could simplify a lot. My business has been here because this is where my place is, but it seems more realistic to relocate to where I do a bulk of my business. I won't have as much travel, not nearly as much."
Jack had his hands cupped around his cup, and he was staring into the tea cup as she spoke. He listened to her; he'd always been a good listener. That was one thing they appreciated about each other.
"I hear you and all," he said quietly, looking up with almost sad eyes at her. He gestured with his hand to the window, "I just don't see why you want to leave this. You love to travel. I suppose I just don't see where things all went wrong."
She frowned too, and when she met his gaze, she let out a long breath, "I need to make some changes, Jack. This is just one aspect of those changes."