A new year, finally. Lisa rolled over and propped herself up on her elbows, just looking at Jack. She grinned when he opened one eye, staring her down.
"What are you grinning about this morning and why so early? Or is this you checking to make sure I'm still alive and breathing?"
Lisa swatted at him and chuckled quietly. She shrugged, "Happy New Year. I'm just excited because I've planned a surprise for today."
He opened both eyes, his curiosity getting the better of him, "What kind of surprise?"
"A surprise, for you, today," she said with a firm nod. He groaned, and then he turned his head to look at the clock, "Lise, it's 5:45. I hope this surprise can wait until after I get out to the barn."
"Oh, it starts after lunch. We're heading out."
He had his eyes closed again and opened the one to look at her, "Where are we going?"
"The surprise," she shook her head, and he groaned again. She started to laugh and shifted to put her head on his chest. "If I tell you, it's not a surprise."
He put his arm around her and grew quiet for a moment, pondering things, "Does this surprise come with an afternoon nap while John naps because I'm not even up yet and am already tired."
Lisa laughed now, and shook her head, "I'm not telling you more, except that John isn't coming."
Jack opened one eye again and gestured to her with his free hand, "Lise, I mean, I know we moved him to his own room yesterday, but don't you think you're jumping the gun assuming he's old enough to stay on his own?"
Lisa continued to laugh, enjoying this early morning banter and swatted at his stomach, "No, I called in Tim's IOU. He's babysitting."
Jack groaned again and shook his head, "So, Tim knows this surprise?"
"No, he just knows he's babysitting, and he told me he'd come over even earlier if we wanted to leave earlier. I think he's thrilled with the idea of hanging out with John."
"Probably should make sure we have emergency numbers like Poison Control written down. It is Tim."
They both laughed, and Jack sighed, pulling Lisa tighter.
"Happy New Year," he finally replied to her original comment. "I made it to another year."
"We both did," she huffed. "Do you realize between the three of us, we were in the hospital over a month last year? Jack," she sighed. "This year will be much better."
"Much better," he mumbled, drifting off to sleep again. Lisa pushed her head up and had to laugh. He was asleep again, always so tired. She knew he was trying so hard to keep up with John, and it was tough, especially with how little he was.
While she was thinking about John and Jack trying to do everything with him, he started to cry. She reached over to her nightstand and grabbed the simple monitor she'd ended up getting, just an audio one after she'd hated that ridiculous video camera one. She was about to turn it off to go get John, but she heard Lou walking into his room.
"Hey, Buddy, you and I are the early risers. Let's let Grandpa and Lisa get some sleep. You've kept them going."
Lisa smiled, grateful for the help. Having Lou and the kids in the house for the now foreseeable future wasn't at all in the cards, but she was trying to make the best of it. Things like this, help, did make her at least grateful to have Lou around. She put the monitor back and snuggled back into Jack's side to get some more rest, that is, if she could, because she was really looking forward to the day.
Later on, as people were filtering in and out for lunch, Jack was standing at the door with his coat on, taking his directions from Lisa.
"So, you're telling me you want me to just go wait in your car, and you're going to drive us to this surprise?" The girls were at the table and laughing at their interaction. Tim was standing by the coffee pot.
Lisa pushed him toward the door, "That's exactly what I'm telling you. I know it kills you to let me drive anywhere except France, but yes, go sit in the car and wait. I'll be right there."
"Come on, Grandpa. You're acting miserable. How bad could it be? It's not like Lisa is going to do something you'd hate like, I don't know, drag you to a Broadway show or something."
Jack's eyes widened, the horrifying idea crossing his mind. He looked to Lisa, and she rolled her eyes.
"Sure, Jack, that is the grand plan. Go."
"Come on, Jack," Tim laughed and ate a cookie while he spoke. "What man drags his feet when his wife has gone to all this trouble to plan a surprise for him. I bet if you just go along with it," he winked, "you might have fun."
Jack shook his head at Tim, "Just keep my kid alive, please?"
"JT and I are going to have a great time. Don't you worry," he nodded. "Glad someone is enjoying my Christmas gift."
"Oh, somehow a babysitting IOU for me, Dad, isn't really a gift. I mean, you are the girls' grandfather, and it's not like Grandpa and Lisa and calling in some IOUs for babysitting when they do. I mean," Lou looked to Tim and shrugged.
"I'm getting out of here," Jack waved and stepped outside. Lisa turned to the room and gave them a nod.
"Okay, we are out of here. Thank you all for taking care of John."
"Have fun, Lisa," Amy laughed. "Hopefully, Grandpa gets with the program."
"Tell you what it is-" Tim gestured to them and pointed to the living room where John was in his swing. "The old guy won't admit it, but he hates leaving that kid. Mark my words."
Lisa pursed her lips and nodded, "I would agree with you, and that's why this is a great thing to do, just the two of us getting away."
"It's not the fishing cabin, right?" Lou asked. Lisa had been tight-lipped about the day and told them she'd have her cell. "The road there is closed for the winter."
"Not the cabin, but I will go before Jack stomps back in here and decides he isn't going. Bye," she said, and with that, she walked out to join Jack who was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs.
"What's wrong?" Lisa asked.
He pulled her to his side as they walked to the car, "I do appreciate the surprise, or at least I think I do. It's weird leaving John now. We've been glued to him for some time."
"I know," she patted his hand and looked up at him. "That's why I thought we needed a little time away. We've been John's mom and dad for some time, and while that is wonderful, we need to find time to be Jack and Lisa too. Come on," she tugged at his hand. "Trust me-this is a Jack-planned day."
A half hour later they were pulling into a small farm, and Jack glanced to Lisa, "Where are we, and I know," he rolled his eyes, "your snarky comment will be we're still in Hudson."
Lisa chuckled at that, and as she pulled the car to stop in the driveway, she nodded to the house where Harry was walking toward them. "Harry's farm. So," she nodded, with a wink at him, "he has a huge pond, three or four times the one at home, and we are going ice fishing this afternoon."
Jack's eyes widened, and he even broke a smile. "Ice fishing?"
Lisa shrugged, "Sure, we could have stayed at home, but let's be honest-constant interruptions. I thought this would be fun. Harry fishes all the time and tells me about what he's been catching. So, you, my dear husband can spend as much time with him or with me or both. He said he'd love to fish, but he also knows we don't get a lot of time to ourselves."
Jack smiled like he was proud and nodded, "Okay, this does sound like something I might enjoy."
"See," she winked, opening her door, "told you that you'd like it."
Three hours and many fish later, the two were really enjoying their afternoon. Harry had fished with them the first hour or so, mainly just helping them get setup. He'd really come through for Lisa, a true friend, and had the poles, bait, and all ready to go. Lisa had packed blankets and hot chocolate, and now, with just the two of them starting to get tired, they were sitting out there on the ice taking a break, sipping hot chocolate, and enjoying the quiet afternoon.
"This was really great, Lise," he said, looking at her and leaning in to kiss her. She smiled brightly at him.
"I'm so glad this worked out. The wind has been so bad for the last several days, and today is just a beautiful day. Plus, when Will stayed for a couple of days, I was worried we wouldn't get the timing right on this, but I'm glad you were able to spend some time with him."
Jack pulled her tightly toward him, both to be sweet and also because it was cold with the sun going down already. Days were short in the winter. He nodded as he listened.
"Well, Will loved you. I was worried he'd try to woo you back to his place."
Lisa laughed, turning to look at Jack, "Woo me, huh? You should know by now that could and would never happen."
He ducked his head bashfully, "I know, especially with Will, but you know, sometimes it's hard to believe we are here, that you're not going anywhere. I told you it was hard going through that with Lyndy and Al Cotter, and I have no right comparing things, but it's sometimes creeping into the back of my mind."
"Well," she patted his leg and leaned in to kiss him again, "that's why we needed a day like this. However," she frowned, "it's already getting really cold, and the sun will be down soon."
"Yeah, let's pack up and head home."
She flashed a grin at him and shook her head, "Oh, no, not heading home. The surprise isn't over."
Almost an hour later, they pulled into Fairfield, and Lisa parked by the stables. Jack tilted his head at her, "Let me guess, you gave your staff the day off, and we're on duty?"
She giggled, "Something like that, but I want to show you another surprise." They both got out of the car and walked toward the stables. She took him to a stall where she had a colt with his mother.
"This is our newest colt," she nodded to the stall. Jack rested his arms over the stall and took a look at the colt. He nodded.
"Good looking colt, looks strong, feisty."
"Yes," Lisa nodded in agreement, moving to stand next to him. "Remember how I've told you before that I don't like to name the foals until I get an idea of their personality?"
"Yeah," he nodded. "We talked about that, what, back when we first started dating. Amy likes to name them as they are born," he chuckled.
"Yes, exactly," she told Jack. "Well," she grinned at Jack and nodded to the colt. "I finally came up with a name for him. He's definitely developing a personality."
"What did you decide?" Jack asked. The colt started kicking his back leg up, and Jack noticed, gesturing at it.
"Little bit of fire in him," Jack commented.
"Yes, and I decided the perfect name for him is Kickback Jack. I named him after you," she flashed a smile. Jack gave her a look and dropped his head as he chuckled.
"You named that colt Kickback Jack?"
She shrugged, "Ehh, it just fit, and besides, horses in my line of work need those unique names. It's how they get noticed, and," she grinned at him as she turned to wrap her arms around his waist, "it was a great way to think of my most amazing husband while I'm at work. He does like to kick, and it fit."
He chuckled, pulling her tightly, "Well, then, I'm honored to meet Kickback Jack."
"So," she patted his chest, "we do need to do the chores and all for the night. You weren't wrong-I did give my staff the rest of New Year's Day off." He pulled back and locked eyes with her, leaning down to kiss her.
"That's the caring wife I know."
An hour later when everything was shut down for the night, Lisa looped her arm through Jack's and nodded to the house. "The rest of the surprise is that I have some steaks up there, ready to cook, and," she stopped to look up at him, "we have the house to ourselves, a quiet evening, no crying baby, no grandkids, no Tim," she flashed a huge smile and before Jack could say anything, she patted his arm. "Tim knows and is going to stay to put John down, and Lou said she'd take care of him overnight."
He eyed her, "So, we have a night away?"
Lisa gestured to Fairfield, "I figure it's better than the Dude Ranch, warmer at least. You aren't the hotel type, and besides, it seems silly to own this big, beautiful house if we can't use it every now and then, ehh? So," she gave him a hopeful shrug, "one of my New Year's resolutions is to plan more times like this, times we can get away, just the two of us. We haven't even left Hudson, but it feels like we've had time to enjoy each other and reset. I hope you think this is a good idea too because with the house now full and going to stay full," she said giving him a small smile, "I'd really like to have time we can set aside for us. Built in babysitters, so we need to use them. When the fishing cabin is done, we can go there in the summers to reset, but Fairfield is perfect for the winter."
He swung her around and pulled her tight, nodding as he leaned down to kiss her, "That sounds great, really great. I have been feeling really bad you have had to give on so much at home, and yes, you can definitely count me in for this as our private sanctuary."
She grinned brightly, "Well, again, Happy New Year. Here's to new beginnings."
"New beginnings, whatever they may be, as long as they are with you. I love you," he told her.
"Love you more."
I've been wanting to get to their new year for them to end this story-a new year and a new start. I've really enjoyed writing this and have an epilogue ready for it as well, so there will be one additional chapter posted. I am glad so many have enjoyed this journey reading about my favorite characters. Stay tuned for the epilogue, which I've had written for at least a month.