Lisa hated being late for a meeting, and she was definitely running late. How, she wasn't sure because she'd had the morning to get things situated at the house and had told Jack she'd drop off John at lunchtime. It wasn't like she'd slept in either, her exhaustion still hanging there too. Jack had left about 6:00, feeding John before he did. She knew he had tried to put John back down, but with the time change and all, John was still off any schedule they might have tried to have him on, difficult anyways with an infant. He'd finally brought John into the bedroom and gave her an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, Lise, he's wide awake," and he handed John off before kissing her goodbye. So, she'd gotten up, weary, but had tried to reset on things now that she was back. Coffee had been a huge help, multiple cups of coffee, and the morning had just gotten away from her. John seemed content to be back in his swing, which left her with a lot of time to pay bills and get some work done. She'd already had one meeting with Harry today, and that had reminded her to take off the rings. She finally had taken them off AFTER the meeting. Her mind wandered back to her talk with Harry earlier in her kitchen.

"Morning. Good to see you, Boss. Looks like you found some good horses on your trip. I read through the information you emailed."

"Good morning to you," she said, gesturing for him to sit down at the kitchen table. She didn't do a lot of business out of the house, but she sometimes did with Harry, especially now with John there on the kitchen counter in his bouncy seat. Harry played with John's foot before he sat down, and they got to work. At one point, Lisa handed him some paperwork across the table, and those rings gave her away again, not that Harry was much of a concern; he wouldn't say anything. He was a loyal employee and had been for many years. He had, though, given her a tilted glance, smile, and nod.

"Can't help but notice," he gestured to her hand. "Looks like a very good trip, indeed."

"Oh, shoot," Lisa let slip and then bit her lip. She felt her face turn red, but she then just rolled her eyes and smiled. The jig was up with him. She gestured, "We haven't told the family yet."

"Oh, wow," he said, his eyes widening. "I won't say a word. Congratulations. I passed Jack on the way out this morning when I was just getting here."

"Oh, yes" she said, nodding slightly, a small smile. "Late night getting in last night with our flight mess."

"So, are you going to live here then?" Harry gestured to the house.

"No," she said pursing her lips. "Don't worry-this place isn't going anywhere, but my primary residence will change. Not much here should change, just that I won't be on sight 24 hours a day."

"That's all I need to know," he nodded, and they got back to work.

Now, though, Lisa was running late. John was struggling to sleep, and she need to pass him to Jack to get back for her investor meeting. She rolled into Heartland, faster than normal and grimaced listening to the gravel hit her lovely car. She knew Jack was in the barn; she'd called him, and he'd told her that. Lisa rolled up to the barn, and Jack stepped outside, hearing the gravel.

"Hi," she sighed, getting out of the car. Jack was already opening the back seat to grab John's car seat. Lisa had his diaper bag there, refilled and ready to go. "I'm running late."

"I know," he nodded. "Come on, let's put him down in the office here. Just grab the bag. I've got him, and I'll send you on your way. I'm just finishing here, and then, I'll take him inside. He and I both have naps on the schedule for the afternoon."

"Oh," she groaned, stomping her foot. "That sounds heavenly." She followed him inside, and they got John situated. Jack was just finishing with Paint. He'd been out checking the fencing all morning and had wanted to help by picking up John, but he had been tied up fixing fence too far out.

"Now, before, anyone pops up in here," he said, turning at the desk to Lisa, he leaned down and gave her a soft, sweet kiss. "Hope your day gets better."

She just about melted with his soft smile and voice, letting out a long sigh. She returned his kiss and nodded to him.

"Thank you, I didn't realize I was on edge."

"You'll make your meeting. Get going, and oh," he frowned. "Ty and Amy are going to some reception at the vet school tonight. So-"

"No dinner," she nodded, thinking about that. She sighed. "Alright, well-"

"I did a little survey of the crew earlier when I went in for my mid-morning coffee break, and there are people in and out almost every night."

"What about your birthday next week?" Lisa asked. "Generally, everyone is around for that."

"Suppose that will have to be it. I don't want to have to sound the alarms and get all kinds of questions why I'm asking everyone to be there other nights. Go figure-we want everyone around for dinner, and people all have plans. When we want a quiet night, all of Hudson shows up at our dinner table."

Lisa chuckled and looked over as John started to cry again. She pointed at him, "I swear, he's been just miserable. I don't know what else to try." Jack thought a moment, his facial expression serious.

"Have you tried more formula? He hasn't changed the amount in about a month. He might be in a growth spurt, and when babies are, they are always hungry."

She frowned, "No, I haven't tried that yet. I should have thought of that."

"Oh," he winked at her and squeezed her arm, "I don't know what else has been on your mind, so don't you start blaming yourself. I'll try a bottle when I take him inside. Maybe he will sleep better."

"I definitely need more sleep than I have been getting," she sighed.

"Tell you what," he nodded to her, "just leave him here, and after your meeting, get something to eat and go to bed. You look tired, and I know I am. He's fine here tonight, and Amy especially will be glad to see him."

She thought a moment, hating the idea of leaving him, but she was being silly. It was even better than before they were married because she didn't have this fear Jack was going to try and keep her from him; they were married. Jack was her husband and John's dad. It was silly to not leave him here at his home.

"I might just do that," she sighed.

He nodded, "You are doing that. John's fine. Take a break. You even had him in France before I got there. You need a break. You are running this multi-million-dollar business with a brand new baby, traveling the world-Lise, take the night to relax. Get a hot bath, sleep. John will have plenty of attention, and I will make sure everyone is on board with a birthday dinner for me next week.

"Okay," she said with a nod and soft smile at him. "Thank you. By the way, how did we end up having an entire conversation without being interrupted in the barn? It's usually busy in here."

"Everyone is having lunch inside. I told everyone I needed to finish a few things first. I'll eat and then take a nap when John does. Got a few phone calls to make too. Now," he winked and pecked her lips, "get going to your meeting. Don't fall asleep at it, but then get some sleep after it. I'll talk to you later."

Lisa gave him a flirtatious wink, and she turned and waved back at him. She kissed John on her way out. When she was almost to the door of the barn, she turned again, "Oh, the bags," she frowned, "not on the flight this morning. Honestly, I'm expecting at least tomorrow."

He waved, "Fine."

"I'll call you later, bye," she said, and with that, she almost ran to the car and felt badly for sounding like she was roaring down the driveway.

When Lisa called Jack later on that afternoon, after her meeting, she felt badly about waking him up.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," she sighed. "I had no idea you would be sleeping at 5:00."

"Yeah, it's fine," he sighed. He sat up and looked over to check on John, but he wasn't there in the cradle. "Hold on a sec, Lise," and Jack, not wanting to tell her he'd lost the baby in the house, got up and opened his bedroom door. He let out a sigh of relief, seeing Lou with John on the couch.

"Hey, Grandpa," she gave a small wave. "He started crying, and when I checked in and saw you sleeping, I didn't want him to wake you."

"Thanks," Jack nodded and gestured to the phone. "I'll be out shortly." Jack closed the door again.

"Jack, you sound exhausted too," Lisa jumped right in. "You didn't hear John?"

"It's okay," he sighed. "Lou has him."

"No, I'm not worried about that. I'm glad she could help, but it doesn't sound like you are in any state to keep him if you are that's tired. Honey, I'm worried about you."

"Honestly, feeling much better," he told her. "John's fine. I'm better rested. You are the next in line for sleep. Besides," he added. "I didn't honestly sleep that long, just a deep sleep. I took care of some business this afternoon."

"Oh, yeah?" Lisa said into the phone. "Hopefully, it was productive. My investor meeting left me with a headache, but it's fine. Things went well."

"Glad it's over for you. Yeah, I made some calls. I started with the fishing cabin. I can meet a guy up there day after tomorrow to get an estimate for taking it down, bulldozing the entire thing. He knows an architect to come up with what we want."

"Wow, okay," she said happily. "Not wasting any time."

"The sooner things get rolling along, the better," he explained. "I can't fix the overcrowded house here at the moment, but it will fix itself soon. I want to start on that office for you, but I can't until Lou's family takes possession of that house."

"I know," she told him. "Making the plan is always easier than executing it."

"Right," he grunted, "just like telling everyone. So, I wanted to ask if you were interested in riding up to the fishing cabin day after tomorrow. I can push the meeting if you are too busy, but I'd really like you to go. I checked the weather, and it's suppose to be a little warmer than normal for this time of year, so maybe we could take John on a walk down by the river, even if we can't go fly fishing."

"That sounds lovely," she told him. "I just need to exercise one of my stud horses first thing, but otherwise, that would be really nice. I can pack a picnic."

"Great," he smiled into the phone. "A day away from prying eyes and at a place we both enjoy."

"Oh, Jack, hold on," Lisa told him. "I am getting a text from Ben. It's so good to have him back in Canada. Let me see what he's saying." Jack stretched back out on the bed again, groaning about his back as he did. Lisa returned to their call, "You won't believe this, but he has to fly to Calgary in the morning for work. He said he is just in town for the day and his firm has him staying overnight at the hotel by the airport. He asked about meeting him for dinner."

"You should go," Jack encouraged her. "No reason to drag John out again-we know he's struggling to get acclimated at home again, and it would be nice for the two of you to spend more time together."

"You can join us," she told him.

"You go tomorrow. I do really like Ben, and I'm glad we just got to see him. You go, enjoy a nice dinner, and relax. You need to do more of that. You're working so hard, Lise, and I want you to enjoy yourself. I'll stay home with John. Plenty to do around here, and I've been wanting to make my stew. I'll just keep him until we pick you up for the fishing cabin."

"Well, ahh," she paused, considering an entire day without John. She knew Jack had dealt with that, and she knew Jack really was trying to take care of her. "Alright then, I will meet up with Ben for dinner. Sorry to miss out on your stew," she told him, but secretly, there was no telling how his stew would turn out. It was different each time he made it because of his old jar. Jack loved his stew, but no one else had the heart to tell him they didn't enjoy it. She snapped back to the conversation, "Oh, this is kind of exciting, seeing him so soon again. You know what-I will get the luggage. I'll call again in the morning and hound them until it's on the next flight."

Jack chuckled, "I'm sure you will."

"Gosh, okay, well, it doesn't sound like I'll see you tomorrow. Not sure I like that, even though we've obviously done that before."

"All the more reason the trip up to the fishing cabin the day after tomorrow is needed," he added. "Listen, I'm going to get up and take care of John. It sounds like he's starting to give Lou a hard time."

"Did extra formula do anything or did our sweet baby just change personalities?"

Jack chuckled slightly, "Not sure yet, but it did seem to help him sleep a little longer, and he took the extra formula, so we need to just bump up the amount for good."

"You're a good dad, Jack," Lisa smiled into the phone.

"Only because I'm now married to the best lady who is the best mom," he complimented her back.

"Hmm, I will miss both of my guys tomorrow," Lisa told him.

"You go get some rest. Enjoy your dinner tomorrow with Ben, and your son and I will see you for a picnic date to the fishing cabin to discuss the future of it."

"Love you, Cowboy. Kiss my baby."