When she had a lot on her mind, Lisa loved to cook. It was something she enjoyed, something that came easily to her, and something that seemed to help. When things were spiraling out of control, she could control cooking, and that was what she'd started doing very early. She put down the spatula she was using when Jack walked up behind her and braced his hands on either side of her, leaning toward her ear, kissing her neck before he said anything.
"I know this is your coping mechanism, but you can talk to me, always, anytime," he said quietly, dropping another kiss on her neck before stepping to the side and leaning up against the countertop so he could look over at her.
Lisa gestured to the platter of food, "We didn't eat well yesterday. I couldn't sleep, and I know that Amelia will be coming home soon. She doesn't remember us at all, and I wanted to have something she'd enjoy."
"A dozen pancakes, at least," he gave a nod to the large stack. "She's three, not a teenage boy who could polish off that entire stack."
"I know," Lisa dropped her head as she worked on the sausage. I found everything I needed in the refrigerator to make breakfast. I cleaned up myself a little so I'm presentable," she gestured to herself where she had on a pair of comfortable pants with a solid shirt and a zip up jacket that matched her pants. Jack," she put down the spatula after messing with the sausage again, "I have to keep busy. I can't sit and think about all that has happened." At that, Jack pulled her to his chest, and she buried herself in it, taking a very, very long deep breath while Jack just held her. The fact that he didn't say anything showed just how well he knew her and knew what she needed.
Finally, when she felt able enough to step back, Lisa did and turned her attention back to the sausage. Jack watched but then glanced around at the small, yet tidy kitchen. Lisa pointed to the coffee pot, and Jack eyed her, spotting it already half empty.
"It's been a long morning already" she said, sipping her cup. "Third cup."
"What time did you get up?" Jack asked as he opened cabinets looking for a coffee cup.
"Not sure I slept all that much, but just after 5:00. I'm glad you slept longer than your normal. At least one of us got some rest."
"I wouldn't say I got a lot of rest," he offered, pouring his cup. "I tossed and turned the first half of the night."
She shook her head, "Somehow I slept through that."
"Good," he told her.
"Also, Tim is on the way," Lisa told Jack, handing him his cell phone which she had with hers. She eyed Jack, "I didn't want your phone going off and waking you, so I brought both out here. Tim caught a flight, a red-eye, and he landed not too long ago, maybe an hour. He's on his way here."
"Well, that will be helpful," Jack said, sipping his coffee.
Lisa frowned, giving Jack a look, "Did you know he was going to do that? I'm grateful he's coming, don't get me wrong, and I probably never thought I'd say that about Tim, but did you know?"
"He mentioned it, mentioned that he was going to see if Caleb and Logan could help at the ranch some right now. It was still up in the air when we spoke last night. He texted me while you were in the shower and said he was working on a flight. That's the last I heard. Plus, Jess is off on some," he waved his hand in the air and frowned as he tried to remember and continue, "artist retreat, way up north, taking landscape and animal photos. She's pretty much out of touch, so Tim said he could easily travel. He's come a long way with me, with us."
"That is very sweet, of you both," Lisa said with a warm smile as she walked over and embraced Jack. "I appreciate it, and there is plenty to do. All those pancakes now don't see like so many, huh?" Lisa looked up at him, and he brushed the hair out of her face, looking into her eyes.
"How are you doing, really? It's me, and no one else is here."
She paused before she answer, but then she nodded, "Stunned. I'm stunned, and I keep thinking this is all a bad dream, that I'm going to wake up from this nightmare. I know I don't talk to Beth or Ben a lot, but as soon as I got up and started thinking about just how awful this is, I wanted to call Beth." Lisa shook her head and glanced down. Jack put his finger on her chin and nudged it up, giving her a soft, sad smile.
"You don't have to hide from me. I am sure you are stunned. I am too. I'm trying to put some of this into some," he gestured with his hand and shook his head. "I don't even know. I can't put it into words. I'm so sorry, Lise, and whatever you are feeling is perfectly fine. You don't have to be the rock here."
"I do," she corrected herself, "we do for Amelia. I really believe that."
"We will, and she's young. She will be okay. I'm not saying it will be easy to start, but she will."
"She won't remember any of them," Lisa burst out crying and put her head into her hands. Jack pulled her back to his chest and let her cry. "I was thinking about that. She won't even remember them, her own parents and grandmother. Jack, that's just not right."
"I know," he sighed, rubbing her back. "She's got us, and I know it's not the same, but we are going to do everything we can to provide a good life for that little girl."
A knock at the door had both stepping back. Lisa wiped at her tears, and Jack, still in his flannel sleep pants and t-shirt, walked to the door. Lisa shook her head, "Mrs. O'Brien said she'd text."
"Jack," Lisa heard and nodded to herself at the voice of Tim. She couldn't hear their muffled exchange, but it didn't take long for Jack and Tim to appear in the kitchen.
"Oh, Lisa," Tim came to her and flung his arms around her in a massive hug as he continued, "I am so sorry. I just can't believe it. Life just doesn't make sense sometimes. I'm here to help, and I know you have things that need to be done, so you task me with anything."
"First," Jack said, putting his arm on Tim's shoulder in a reassuring gesture, "we're going to eat. It's going to be a long day. Lise, why don't I call that case manager. We didn't think about having Amelia, and we don't want to be dragging her to the hospital. Maybe she would be willing to come here."
"You know," Lisa nodded, giving Tim's hand a squeeze in support, as she stepped back from him to plate the sausage, "that's probably a good idea."
"I can watch Amelia if that helps," Tim offered.
Lisa shook her head, "It's not you, Tim," she said reaching to squeeze his arm. "It really isn't. I just think that she's going to have a lot of changes here this morning, and I don't want to up and leave her."
"Let's sit down and eat. That way when Amelia gets here, we are fed," Jack said, pulling plates from the cupboard. "Tim, here." At that, the trio got things setup for breakfast, and soon, the three were all sipping coffee. The guys were eating, and Lisa hadn't even prepared her pancake. Before she knew it, Jack had taken her plate, and almost like he would have for a small child, he put some butter and syrup on not one, but two pancakes, cutting them up for her, and nudging them toward her.
"Lise you need to eat. You make great pancakes," he winked. "Please eat for me." She gave a silent nod and did start to eat. Tim, sipping his coffee between bites, glanced at the two of them.
"This is a nice condo. What can I do here to help today? I know this is overwhelming. I know I'm removed enough that I can do some of the hard things that might be sentimental otherwise. So, please, put me to work. I came to help. Neither of you want to be here longer than you have to, and this place isn't going to sell itself. I assume they owned it?"
"The did," Lisa nodded. "We can have it sold, and any money left can be put in a trust for Amelia. You're right, Tim," she said, clasping Jack's hand as she looked at Tim. "I don't want to be in Toronto long. I want to be back home. I'd like to bury them in Hudson with my parents," she said, mostly looking at Jack. He nodded in agreement. "We can have a visitation here at the funeral home and then maybe a service at the church back home. I'd like to get things cleaned out and boxed here as soon as we can. I'll have to do Beth's place too. I haven't even thought about that." Lisa shook her head and drifted off in her thoughts. The men left things in silence until Jack finally broke it.
"Lise, how about you work on Amelia's things today with her? Would it be okay if Tim and I tackle the master bedroom? We can donate their clothing to start. I know it's hard, but it has to be done, and we can't just sit around today. Maybe we can work on those things for awhile and then make some calls. That case manager will be very helpful too in getting your family back to Hudson."
She thought a moment but then gave Jack a nod, looking over at Tim too. She gestured to Tim, "I would appreciate that help, Tim, if you could work in the master bedroom. They will both need something to be buried in," she paused, biting her lip and shaking her head. "I trust your judgement. Beth has quite a wardrobe here, so I can find something in that too. If you want to call around about donations, that would be great. We'll need boxes."
Jack looked to Lisa and dropped his head to meet her gaze, "How about I call around and find either someone to ship things or a moving group that can move some of Amelia's things? There will be more than we can take on the plane, which is fine, but I think she'd like to have her own things."
Lisa nodded, "I'd like that."
"So, Amelia is coming to Heartland?" Tim asked. "I mean, I assume she is, but I'm just catching up here."
"We're her only family," Lisa said, again, squeezing Jack's hand. "Her mom was in foster care and didn't have anyone else. So, yes," she smiled weakly, "we're bringing home a three-year-old."
"Okay, then," Tim said with a shake of his head. "Well, we can do that. I'll put aside any suitcases I find. We can check bags and yeah, Jack, if you find a way to ship things. I'm sure she will have some toys and all she wants. Man, you two, she'll need a car seat."
"Their car is parked downstairs in the garage," Lisa offered. "We can use it while we are here, and then," she eyed Jack, "I suppose sell it before we leave. Her car seat will be in it."
"Yes, of course," Jack nodded, squeezing her hand again. "We can take care of that before we leave here. Tim, I appreciate you coming, but we'll probably be here at least a couple weeks. I know you can't stay that long."
"No, I mean, I will get back to run things at the ranch, which I know is a help too, but right now, I knew you two needed big time help, help you wouldn't ask for unless someone you trusted was standing right in front of you."
"Thanks, Tim," Lisa nodded. "Suppose I should finish this food."
Another knock at the door had Lisa picking up her phone, and her eyes widened, "How did I not see a text? That's Amelia." She flew up out of her seat, and Jack joined her, standing much slower. He gestured to Tim.
"Tim, can you dig through the cabinets, find maybe her plastic plates I'm guessing she has, get her some milk in one of her cups, all that?"
"On it," Tim pointed to Jack and stood himself. Lisa flew to the door, and Jack followed, standing behind her.
"Mrs. O'Brien," Lisa greeted her with a sad smile, and her eyes immediately were drawn down to Amelia, holding hands with Mrs. O'Brien. Lisa dropped to her level and gave her a big smile.
"Hi, Amelia, I'm Aunt Lisa, and this is Uncle Jack. We're very glad to see you again. It's been a long time since we last saw you, and you've grown so much." Lisa held back her tears, glancing up toward Jack and then to Mrs. O'Brien. "She looks just like my sister did from all her baby pictures. I'm younger so I didn't know her at this age, but she looks so much like Beth, just with dark hair." The group looked to Amelia as she ran off, her very dark brown hair in little pigtails. She was a tiny thing, and some of that, Lisa had to admit she was trying to remember just how big a three-year-old was. It had been awhile since either Lyndy or Katie were that young.
"Ben said the same thing, about her looking like his mother," Mrs. O'Brien told them, and Jack reached over Lisa to shake her hand.
"Jack Bartlett, and of course, this is Lisa," he said, nodding down to her. "Why don't you come in?" The group moved inside, and Lisa shut the door, Amelia now spotting her house, broke free and took off running for her room. Lisa watched her, but she stood and looked to Mrs. O'Brien, an elderly lady, probably around Jack's age, but she wasn't nearly as in shape as he was.
"We can't thank you enough," Lisa gestured.
"I can't tell you how sorry I am about this," she replied to Lisa, offering a hug. Lisa and Mrs. O'Brien embraced, and when they both stepped back, Mrs. O'Brien continued. "She's just a doll of a little girl. We did just fine. She had a bath last night, so she's all set. Her bag of things is here," she indicated to the floor where she'd put it. "I'm going to really miss her. I mean, I assume she's moving with the two of you?"
"Yes," Lisa nodded with a sad smile. "She will. Speaking to an attorney is on the list of things to do to properly obtain custody, but it's in their will, and we will be so glad to have her." Lisa reached for Jack's hand and clasped it. Mrs. O'Brien nodded to them as she listened, and Lisa continued, "We live in Alberta, a cattle ranch, and Jack runs that. I breed race horses on the family property nearby. We have quite an operation, but Amelia will take centerstage. We want what is best for her."
"My, my," she shook her head. "I applaud you, especially at your ages," she nodded to them. "I won't ask, but I gather there's an age difference there, and Jack," she chuckled. "Amelia is a lot to keep up with. I have enjoyed her for the last two days, but full-time, that's a lot."
"Yeah, well, we're used to a big family coming and going all the time. I raised my granddaughter after my own daughter died. Lise and I have been taking on the load of our great-granddaughters too. There's plenty of family around to help."
"Jack, Lisa, all setup," they heard as Tim walked into the entryway. Jack gestured to him.
"This is my son-in-law, Tim," Jack offered, and at that introduction, Tim beamed, but then he quickly schooled his features with the situation.
"Nice to meet you," Tim shook her hand and looked at Lisa. "If Amelia is hungry, you have pancakes left."
"She hasn't eaten yet," Mrs. O'Brien offered to them. "I knew you wanted to see her. I'm just so sorry. I can't stop thinking that as I look at her. I did make a lasagna for you that I can bring over. I didn't want to carry it with her things."
"I'll help," Tim offered.
"That's really kind of you," Lisa said, taking her hands and squeezing them. "You've been such a help. I'm glad Ben and Lauren had such a good neighbor."
"I'll get out of your hair, but yes, Tim, if you want to come get that, maybe you can all eat it later. I know food is the last thing on your mind, but it was something I could do."
Once they'd finished talking, Tim followed her out. Lisa and Jack looked at each other, and Lisa hooked her hand over her shoulder with Jack nodded. They walked, hand in hand to Amelia's room where she was on the floor playing with her doll, putting it into a doll cradle. Lisa immediately crouched down on the floor. Jack sat on Amelia's rocking chair.
"Amelia," Lisa said quietly, and Amelia looked over at her.
"Are Mommy and Daddy coming home today?"
At that, Lisa turned to Jack, took a deep breath, and she looked back with a sad smile at Amelia. "No, Sweetheart, let's talk about that."