He woke up with the feeling he needed to sneeze, a tickling feeling there at his nose, and immediately had a small smile on his face. Lisa's hair was the cause, and Jack was not complaining about that, not one bit.
"Morning," she said to him, surprising him she was awake.
"Morning," he replied, almost gruffly, his voice hitching slightly. "How did you know I was awake?"
"Just did," she said, turning her head to rest it on his chest and to meet his gaze. "You shifted slightly," Lisa said, smiling up at him. "I know you that well."
"That you do," he chuckled lightly, leaning toward her to kiss her. She returned it, smiling at him. He eyed her, "How long have you been awake?"
She scrunched up her face, "Maybe an hour already. I didn't want to move, partly because it would disturb you, but also because I liked lying here listening to your heartbeat, which is working," she winked at him.
He smiled at her and nodded, "I've missed this, and I'm sorry. It's going to be better going forward."
"It is," she said with a warm smile at him, leaning up to kiss him again. She patted at his chest, "Although, I do need to move. My arm is asleep, and I'm desperate for some coffee. I'm glad you slept in a little."
"What time is it?" Jack asked, groaning as Lisa moved off his chest, and he shifted slightly.
"Just after 7:00, so you really did sleep in," she said as she stood and stretched. "I'll start some coffee."
"That's right, you and your full-on kitchen over there," he chuckled. "First time since I've been here I didn't wake up in a full sweat."
"Hmm," she glanced from where she was working at the coffee maker and eyed him as she continued, "should I be worried your pack of cougars will come banging at the door?"
Jack now stood and was stretching as Lisa asked him that. He started laughing and turned toward her, nodding at her, "Cougars," he chuckled. "That kills me, but is somewhat accurate. You know, I wouldn't put it past them. They now know your car, and it's not like a Porsche blends in out here. Probably the first one ever at this motel. Tell me, after your nightmare, did you have any more?"
"No," she looked to him with relief on her face. "Thank you for being there, for holding me all night. I know that helped."
"You don't have to thank me. I'm sorry I am the cause of your nightmares, and I hope now that we have sorted things, maybe those nightmares will stop. I'm not leaving your side, so if you have more, I'll be right there."
"I appreciate that," she said with a nod at him. She broke the moment as she turned, waiting for the Keurig to finish, and Jack watched as she gestured she was going to use the bathroom while the coffee maker was finishing. While she was doing that, Jack turned to the mess of his clothing on the bed and started to refold and sort things. He did need to do some laundry sometime soon. He and Lisa also needed to discuss the next two weeks because as much as he didn't want to stay here, he was looking forward to spending some alone time with her somewhere on the road. They rarely got this kind of alone time, and he knew how much she liked to travel, so he was fine going anywhere she wanted to go.
His mind wandered slightly because he looked up and saw Lisa back at the coffee pot, now handing him the mug. She gestured at him.
"I only have one mug with me. I forgot I broke a second one. We can share," she gestured, handing it over, and Jack took it, trying to see what was on it.
He stood, his glasses nowhere he remembered, holding the cup at arm's length, "What in the world is on this mug? What does it say?"
Lisa looked up from her bag where she was going through her own clothing and covered her mouth, starting to laugh, "Oh, yes, the mug. I forgot."
Jack studied it, squinting his eyes, and he looked at her as he gestured at the mug, "Does that say 'World's Greatest Lover?' What is this?" He glanced at her and slightly huffed, "I know I didn't get you this; I'd never be caught buying this."
Lisa burst out laughing, almost doubling over there at her bag, and she shook her head at him, "No, don't you remember? I took it from Lou's donation box at the house a long time ago. You are the one who had the mug."
He made a face, knowing his expression probably conveyed his horrified look, "Oh, no, this is definitely not mine. I have never had a mug like this."
She walked toward him, gesturing for it to sip some coffee. He gave it to her, almost shoved it at her, and she just grinned at him, "It was a really long time ago. Lou was on one of her cleaning rants. To be honest, I think it was the first big clean out the house had after Marion died. She had all those boxes, don't you remember?"
Jack thought back briefly, nodding, "Yeah, I mean, I remember her cleaning out the kitchen cabinets, boxes of glassware and all."
Lisa handed Jack the mug again, and he looked at it like it was tainted, but he sipped at the coffee anyway as she wrapped her arms around his waist and looked up at him, grinning, "I came over to the house, and you were sitting at the kitchen table, you know, your normal mid-morning, after doing all the chores. You had the paper out and a cup of coffee, in this mug," she gestured at him.
He dropped his head, making eye contact with her as he did, chuckling slightly, "It's been awhile, but you made some comment. I didn't even know what mug I had, and I'd forgotten all about that."
Lisa grinned as she stood there, embracing him, Jack with his free hand on her arm, and she smirked at him, "Yes, I made some comment about how it was our little secret."
"Now that I think about it, you about made me spit out my coffee saying that. How did I forget that? I remember just being glad no one else was around to hear us or see this stupid thing. That was this dumb mug?" Jack looked at it again, and Lisa laughed, shrugging as she stepped from his embrace. "I really forgot all about this?"
"I don't know. It was pretty memorable. Anyway, I saw the mug later that day on the top of the donation box, and I just had to snag it. I think of you whenever I travel, that silly mug." Lisa winked at Jack, and he just stood there.
Jack shook his head at her, chuckling slightly, "I can't believe you carry around this mug. What would someone say or think?"
She shrugged, "It's not like I have any men in my room when I travel." She eyed him with a nod, "You're the fist one I've let use it, but it was your mug."
"Oh no, not mine. Where did this even come from that it showed up at the house?"
"Well," she stepped toward him, and she took the mug, sipping at it and then handing it back to Jack as she stepped into his embrace grinning again, "If it's not yours, and," she shrugged, with a wink, "I suppose I trust it's not. I mean, I didn't give it to you. So, if it's not yours, it's not mine, that leaves ahh Marion, Lou, or Amy, but she was pretty young then, so Marion or Lou." Jack made a face, shaking his head at her.
"Can we not talk about who might have owned this mug? I don't want to think about Tim getting this for Marion, but sadly, I can see it. Now, Lou," he made a face at Lisa, and she started to laugh, patting his arm.
"It could be Lou's mug," she shrugged.
Jack grimaced, handing her the mug back, "Now, don't say that! I seriously need to get you something new."
"Ahh," she smacked at his chest and leaned up to kiss him, "I like this mug. Like I said," she winked, "I think of you."
"With all the mugs in the world, and really," he gestured at her with a roll of his eyes, "money not being an object for you, I can't believe you carry around that old mug from the house that has no definite owner, other than it's definitely not mine." He shook his head and chuckled, patting her side as he stepped away and toward the bed where he had his pile of clothing.
"It's special, and I know you understand that. Should we talk about your old truck and how you like to sit in it there in the yard when you want to think?" Lisa raised her eyes at him, and she nodded with a small smile. He just shook his head and chuckled again.
"Let's jump to another topic, but I'm going to be on the search for a new set of mugs for us," he said with a nod. "I need to do some laundry. We need to get something to eat for breakfast since we both need to eat better. I need to stop back by and close out things where I was staying, and we need to decide what the next two weeks looks like for us."
"Okay," she said with a circular head nod. "I did see there were laundry facilities here, so I suppose we can chance it. If you have space, I'll throw in a few of my things. Maybe we can go ahead and get that going now so it's done by the time we are ready to head out."
"Sounds like a plan," Jack nodded, and the two set out to collect their laundry. As they did so, Jack gestured to her, "I'll go put it in. I know you aren't dressed yet, not that I'm suggesting you change. I love that color on you."
"Thank you," she looked down at her navy floral pajama set. "I just have this," she handed him her laundry bag, not even halfway full. "I'm going to pull up my computer while you are putting in that laundry and do some searching. I have a couple of ideas."
"Why don't I get us some breakfast too? I'll shower, put in this laundry, find us something edible, and I'll be back."
"Sounds like we are off to a great start," she said, Jack pulling her toward him to kiss her before he started for the shower. She held up the mug with a grin, "I'm going to have another cup of coffee and think of you."
He smiled at her and shook his head, "I can't believe that's the mug you carry around with you."
"Like I said a very long time ago," she winked and grinned, "Our little secret." Jack felt his face redden, certain it was not related to heart issues this time.
Two hours later, Jack returned to the room carrying freshly washed and dried laundry, along with the last of the things he had in the rental truck. He and Lisa were going to stop back by his accommodations together, both agreeing that there was safety in numbers when it came to dealing with what Lisa had called, 'Jack's Cougars.' Oh, the ladies were somewhat harmless, but they had annoyed him to no end, and at least with Lisa by his side, he could get out of there faster. Jack used the keycard to open the door to the room, expecting Lisa to have the next couple of weeks mapped out, and he was more than fine with that, with trusting her to take care of things. When he'd left her, she was about to get a shower and get ready for the day, and now, he'd returned with some muffins to get them started on their day.
"Hi," Lisa smiled up at him from the small table where she'd taken up residence to do her travel bookings. Jack put the things from the truck down on the bed, and he stood behind Lisa, squeezing her shoulders as he leaned over and kissed her cheek.
"Well, how's my travel agent coming along?" Jack asked, lingering near her ear as he looked at her computer screen.
"All set, at least the next week," she grinned up at him. "I think you will enjoy the rest of this trip."
"Already know I will," he said with a head nod. "You're by my side on it, you don't like it here, which is a plus, so I'll go about anywhere. What's the plan?"
Lisa pointed at her screen, "Well, today, we are going to drive back to Phoenix, drop off your rental truck, and from there, it's just under three hours up to the Grand Canyon. We're headed there for a couple of days. I haven't seen it, and I know you mentioned long ago you haven't either, so it's an adventure we can enjoy together." Lisa looked up at him, waiting for his reaction, and he smiled at her.
"That sounds great, Lise. Now, knowing you and the weather, I expect we aren't roughing it too much, no summer cabin in the winter or camping."
"No," she chuckled quietly, reaching up to her shoulder to squeeze Jack's hand. "I was able to snag us a very nice room at the hotel there, so it will be much, much better than this," Lisa gestured around to their room.
"Alright," he agreed. "I'm in."
"I've also made a reservation for dinner tonight. The restaurant has a gorgeous view of the Grand Canyon, and yes," she eyed him from where she was sitting, her head titled up, "they have plenty of beef on the menu."
"Even better," he nodded at her. Jack leaned over and kissed her. "It sounds much better than anything I've done the last few weeks."
"I agree," she pursed her lips. "Two nights there, and then, we are moving over to Flagstaff, which isn't far from there. I booked us a place to stay for five days, just a simple cottage, just outside of town, but it's much cooler there, cold even. It's not this type of Arizona," she gestured around. "I know you can't stand this heat. I can't either. Where I had booked us before would have been a better climate, but it's already booked for the dates I wanted. So, I'm taking us back to some snow."
"Snow in Flagstaff?" Jack asked, shaking his head. "You said it wasn't that far, and it's definitely not snow weather here."
"It's not," she explained, "but it's the elevation. It's much higher. They even have skiing up there. I'm talking a good deal of snow sometimes. It's late February, though, so it's not as extreme right now. We could still see snow at the Grand Canyon even."
"Really?" Jack raised an eye at her. "I didn't know that about Arizona, at least this part."
"Yes," Lisa gestured to what she was reading. "Apparently so, but I hope you are okay with what I've booked."
"More than okay," he nodded at her in agreement. "That covers about what, a week?"
"Yes," she looked to him. "I thought we might also stop on the drive home, break it up a little, maybe up in Montana or Wyoming? There are many places we can stop depending on the route we take. We could detour slightly and go over toward Yellowstone. It's not completely open for the season with the snow, but there is plenty there to see."
Jack frowned, and as he did, he saw Lisa's face drop. He quickly squeezed her shoulders again, encouraging her and making sure he wasn't upset, "I really was an idiot to cancel what you'd booked, and I'm sorry, but you've come up with a really nice trip home for us."
"It's not too much?" Lisa eyed him. "The point of this trip is for you to rest, and I tried to balance that with your need to do something while also getting out of this crazy heat. I thought it was something we could both enjoy, some nature, some time together, and no major cities or anything, just us."
Before Jack could comment, his phone rang, and he grunted as he pulled it out to glance at the number. He met Lisa's gaze and sighed, "It's Tim."
"Please at least answer it or he'll call me next. I understand you don't want to go into details or even let him know I'm here, which is fine, but the man wants to know if you are alive."
"For you," he rolled his eyes as he answered the phone. "Tim," he stated.
"You are alive," Tim said into the phone. "Why haven't you answered any of my calls?"
"I didn't want to," Jack grumbled. "Why do you keep calling?"
"Oh, I don't know, Jack. You haven't checked in with anyone. We're all worried, and you just had a heart attack. Even a quick call saying something like made it, don't want to talk."
"Made it, don't want to talk," Jack repeated to Tim. "I'm fine, and no, I don't want to talk."
"How's Arizona?" Tim asked.
"Hot," Jack told him. "Need anything more? I'll be home in a couple of weeks, but you already know that."
"Hey, I'm just here, the guy who saved your life, trying to make sure you are still alive. You know what you should do? You should call Lisa. She's worried sick too. Haven't spoken to her in a few days, but I called her to see if she'd heard from you. You need to fix that, Jack, before she has some French guy over there chasing after her. I can't believe you let her just go back to France, but knowing the bad mood you've been in, can't blame her."
"I'm not going to comment," he said, glancing at Lisa. She was working away at the computer, and he reached for her shoulder again, squeezing it, and she, while still looking at her computer, reached up to clasp his hand in hers. "I'm a grown man and can take care of things myself."
"Doing some job of it," huffed Tim. "Well, the ranch is still standing even with you away. I know that shocks you."
"Just keep things the way they are at home, Tim. You can handle that," he sighed. "I'm going to go. I have things to do."
"Oh? Anything exciting?" Tim asked.
"Yeah, skydiving today," Jack said, and with that, Lisa paused and looked up at him, wondering what in the world he was talking about. "Goodbye, Tim. See you in a couple weeks."
Jack hung up and found Lisa starting at him, her lips turned up almost in a smile, "Skydiving?"
Jack shrugged, "Tim asked me what I was doing today. That sounded like something that would have him wondering. I'm not sure he would have believed the truth anyways," he smiled at her. "What, telling him that I was going to spend the day with you, the woman I love, and we were going to the Grand Canyon together where we were going to enjoy a romantic evening," he shrugged and gestured toward his phone. "I can get him back on the phone and explain."
Lisa's smile continued to widen as she stood up, and Jack noted she once again looked lovely in tan cropped pants and a black short sleeve blouse. She leaned up and wrapped her arms around his neck, which had Jack smiling too.
"I didn't say anything about a romantic evening," she pointed out, and she couldn't even finish talking before she started to laugh at it and looked at Jack. He grinned at her.
"Well, it's our trip. Maybe I added in that part."
"Oh, you did?" Lisa asked, teasing him as she looked into his eyes. Jack almost melted with her staring at him. This woman was just so utterly wonderful, and she was his. He had been very serious the night before when the topic of marriage had come up, but he wasn't going to finish that conversation in this desolate desert. Now, with their travel plans set, he would have to ponder that topic and come up with just the right scenario.
Jack ran his hands up and down her back as the two stood like that, in each other's arms, just grinning like they were teenagers. He shrugged, "Gotta keep my reputation in check," he said, leaning in slightly as if he was going to share a secret, and Lisa gave him a quizzical look, shaking her head. Just before he leaned in to kiss her he whispered, "You brought along what you are calling my mug, so yes, a romantic evening." Jack wasn't sure that particular moment was that romantic as Lisa burst out laughing, almost doubling over in laughter there in the very simple motel room. Oh, he loved her so much. He'd missed laughing with her, joking with her, and just spending any time with her. Yes, he appreciated Lisa making the travel plans for the next two weeks, but over the course of the next two weeks, he needed to make some of his own plans about their forever future.