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Tim was standing next to his truck when they got back to the house. Lisa wasn't sure she was ready to deal with him again so soon. As they were approaching, she muttered to Jack, "What does he want?"
"You can just go ahead and go inside. I'll deal with him." Jack stopped in front of Tim while Lisa continued to head toward the house.
Tim stopped her. "Lisa, wait. I want to talk to both of you.
Chapter 18
Lisa was tired and didn't want to deal with Tim, but he seemed determined to speak with them. "Can we sit down somewhere? I'm really tired."
Jack nodded. "Sure. Let's go sit on the porch." Jack and Lisa sat on the bench together, and Tim sat in one of the adirondack chairs. He looked at Tim, "Okay, what do you want to say?"
"I went for a drive this morning, and I ended up on the road that goes to the fishing cabin. Jack, your truck is still there, and everything was still in the back. I grabbed all of it and brought it back here with me. Lisa, I'm amazed that you survived the accident. That truck was seriously smashed in on the passenger side." Tim got up and walked down to the bed of his truck. He started pulling bags and fishing gear out and brought all of it up to the porch. He set it down in front of Jack and Lisa.
Jack looked down at everything in front of him and back up at TIm with a hopeful expression on his face. "So my truck is still there?"
Lisa patted Jack's arm. "Did you not hear what Tim just said? It's in bad shape."
Tim smirked and sat down in a chair. "Oh, Jack. Some things never change. Lisa is still trying to drag you into the current century, and she doesn't even remember the last 17 years of it."
"Stop it," Lisa said while laughing. "I've just come to learn that he gets very attached to things and has a hard time giving them up. You know that if that truck was still drivable, he'd have it back here in a heartbeat. Judging by the truck over there, he may still have it back here."
"Oh, man, she has you nailed. That is probably exactly what Jack will do." Tim looked amused at the situation.
"I thought you two weren't getting along, and now you're ganging up on me because I'm sentimental?" grumbled Jack.
Lisa smiled at Jack. "I'm sorry. I'll stop teasing you."
"Thanks. I really would like to go get the truck. There may be things in the glovebox that I want, and I just have a lot of really good memories in that truck. Is it drivable at all, or does it need to be towed?" Jack really loved that truck, and he had a lot of good memories with Lisa in it.
"Oh, you're gonna need to get it towed," answered Tim. "The passenger side is pretty smashed in. I still don't understand why you want to keep the truck, Jack. It's not like you can use the parts in a new truck. That thing is a relic and needs to be left in the past."
"It's my truck, and I can do what I want with it. If I want to bring it back here, I can do that," retorted Jack.
"Of course you can. Ignore Tim. You are allowed to keep your old truck. Call a towing company and have it brought here." Lisa felt like she needed to be supportive of Jack because Tim was being so negative. She may have joked a little with Tim at first, but she was going to ultimately be on Jack's side.
Jack got up from the bench. "I'm going to call them right now."
Lisa watched Jack go, and Tim watched Lisa watch Jack. "So how is it going with you two?"
Talking to Tim about her relationship with Jack was something she wasn't interested in doing. He hadn't proven himself trustworthy to her yet. "Um, it's okay."
Tim wasn't going to accept that as an answer. "Just okay? Do you have any feelings for him again?"
Lisa rolled her eyes. "I'm not having this conversation with you. I don't know you well enough." She got up from the bench and went inside, leaving Tim just standing there.
Jack was getting off the phone when she walked inside the house. He turned to look at her. "The towing company is going to go pick up my truck first thing in the morning. They are busy today."
"Good. I'm glad you're getting it back. I'm learning how important your trucks are to you."
Jack was thankful that Lisa supported him getting his truck back. "Thanks. I appreciate the support."
"You're welcome." Lisa walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table.
The door opened, and Tim came inside with all of their stuff that he had set on the porch. "Do you guys want this stuff or what?"
Jack went to grab it from Tim. "Yes, we do. Thank you for getting it for us." He carried it all into the bedroom, and Lisa followed him. He put her bag on the desk chair.
Lisa walked over and opened up the bag. She didn't recognize anything she saw, but she pulled everything out and put the clothes in her hamper.
Tim walked over to the bedroom door to see them unpacking and putting stuff away. He turned around and left the house.
Jack held up Lisa's fishing gear. "This is your fishing gear. You bought some of it a long time ago, but some of it has had to be replaced. We've been fishing together for a long time."
She couldn't believe that she fished. Even seeing the equipment, it still seemed unbelievable to her. "Where do I keep it?"
"Oh, you keep it over here in this corner with my fishing gear." Jack placed all the gear in the corner and then looked over at Lisa. She looked amused and slightly confused, and he thought she looked adorable.
Lisa noticed how Jack was looking at her. "What?"
"You're cute." He was so thankful to have her at Heartland. He could get to know her this way, and they were getting closer. He knew they had a long way to go, but he could see the progress that they had made since last Sunday.
"I am not. I'm too old to be cute." Lisa knew she was baiting him a little bit, but she really hadn't felt cute since the accident.
Jack laughed. "Nope. You are definitely not too old to be cute. You'll always be cute no matter how old you are."
"Okay, now you're just flirting with me," Lisa challenged Jack.
"Maybe. Can you blame me? I have a beautiful woman standing in my bedroom. I'd be a fool not to." He paused and put a hand up. "Not that I'm trying to sleep with you. We have already established that it is not my goal here. If it happened, I wouldn't complain, but I only want it if you want it."
Lisa blushed. She didn't remember the last time she had slept with someone. It had been quite a while for her. The idea of sleeping with Jack wasn't exactly bad to her, but she was nowhere near ready for anything like that. "Well, thank you for not pushing it. I appreciate that you are being patient. I can deal with the flirting in small doses. If it was all the time, it would make me feel pressured to be and do more than I was ready for. You keep it under control, and it generally just helps me to know that you care about me."
"Of course I care about you. You're my wife. I'd do anything for you." He meant it, and he hoped she knew that he meant it.
Jack went out to the kitchen and heated up some of the leftovers from breakfast for them to have for lunch. Lisa joined him, and they sat at the table in the kitchen to eat. They chatted about the family and just whatever was on their minds. Jack was really glad that despite the memory loss, Lisa was still comfortable with him, and they were able to converse easily. Just spending time with her made him happy. He loved Lisa no matter what.
After they cleaned up their dishes, Jack made them tea, and they sat down next to each other on the couch to drink it. After they were done, Jack took the cups and put them in the sink. He returned to sit back down on the couch. Their conversation slowed down as they got sleepy. Lisa fell asleep first. Her head fell to the side and rested on Jack's shoulder. He wanted to put his arm around her and pull her close like he always did, but he didn't want to do it without her consent so he just stayed still to make sure she didn't wake up. Eventually, he fell asleep as well.
When Lou, Georgie, and Katie came home, they found Jack and Lisa asleep on the couch. They were whispering, but Lisa started to wake up as Katie said, "They are so cute. I really hope Lisa gets her memory back. I'll be so sad if she leaves GG. He loves her so much and she really loved him too. I hope she does again some day." Lisa stayed still and pretended to be asleep as the girls went upstairs to talk. She realized how she had been sleeping and felt a little embarrassed. This was the second time she had slept while leaning on Jack. She opened her eyes and looked around. They were alone in the living room. She could hear the girls talking upstairs and Lou working in the kitchen. Looking over at Jack, Lisa saw that he was sound asleep. Slowly, she began to sit up and get up from the couch. She didn't want to wake Jack up.
Lou was putting some food in the oven when Lisa walked in. "Hi, Lisa. Did you have a nice nap?" When she saw Lisa blush, she backtracked. "Oh, I didn't mean anything by it. I just mean, did you sleep well?"
Lisa sighed and said, "Yes, I did sleep well. I'm napping less and less as I decrease the pain meds, but I still get sleepy after lunch. I guess Jack needed a nap, too, because he's still asleep."
"I don't know how good of sleep he's getting on the couch. He'll never move, though. I've offered a dude ranch cabin to him, but he wants to be close to you in case you need something. He has arthritis and I'm pretty sure the couch isn't going to help with that."
"Do you think it would help if I tried talking to him?" asked Lisa. "You know, I actually haven't been to the dude ranch yet. He offered to go earlier today, but we ended up just walking around the pond. I wanted to get some exercise because I feel like it helps with not being so stiff."
"Talking to him might help," Lou answered as she moved around the kitchen. "You can try to talk to him. He's stubborn, though, so I don't know how successful you'll be. I do know, though, that if anyone can talk him into anything, it's you."
"Okay, I'll talk to him and see if we can figure something out. If I could drive, I'd offer to take the cabin, but being away from the house without a way to get back here doesn't seem like a great idea."
Lou sat down and looked like she was trying to figure out how to say something. Eventually, she said, "You don't have to answer this, but do you think you'll be able to figure out anything else with Grandpa? You two were really good together and you made him so happy. He was pretty miserable when you broke up."
Lisa looked down and then back up at Lou. "I'm not sure that I can answer this in any way that will satisfy your curiosity because I don't know. I think we're friends. I know that he would like more, but he has been very clear that he doesn't want to push me toward anything if I don't want it or I'm not ready. All that to say that he's been a gentleman. We had to have a talk about some things before we probably would have otherwise because your dad insinuated that your grandpa had less than honorable intentions towards me. I won't say more because I already traumatized your sister.'
"Oh, god. I really don't need to know about my grandparent's sex life. Like at all. My dad has done enough traumatizing on that front for a lifetime."
Lisa laughed. "I'm sorry, but you asked."
"You're right. I did. That'll teach me to open my big mouth."
Lisa laughed again. She got up and went to the bathroom. Jack was still sleeping as she walked past. After she came out of the bathroom, Lisa walked over to Jack, sat down next to him, and gently nudged his shoulder. He jerked a little and opened his eyes to see his wife looking at him. He looked down at her and smiled. "Hi, did you have a good nap?" asked Lisa.
He nodded. "I did. I was more tired than I realized."
"That's something I want to talk to you about. Lou mentioned that she offered you a dude ranch cabin. I think you should take her up on it. You need to sleep in a bed. The couch can't be good for your arthritis." Jack's eyebrows went up, and Lisa chuckled. "Yeah, she might have let it slip that she was worried about your arthritis. Now I'm worried about it too. I don't want to be responsible for you throwing your back out or being unable to do your job."
"I'll think about it. I'm okay being on the couch for now, though." Jack didn't know how to explain how it made him feel that Lisa cared about his well-being. He had been trying so hard to take care of Lisa and make sure that she was okay, and then she was trying to take care of him and make sure he was okay.
Amy and Lyndy came into the house, and Lyndy ran to hug Jack and Lisa. "I went on a picnic with Mommy. It was so fun! Lisa, when can you go riding again? I want to go on a picnic with you and GG."
Lisa squeezed one of Lindy's braids. "That sounds like a lot of fun, honey. I still have a long time before I can get on a horse. How about next weekend we have a picnic somewhere we can get to by walking or driving? Would that be okay?"
"Really?" Lyndy asked excitedly.
"You just need to go ask your mom if it's okay," said Jack.
Lyndy ran to find Amy. "Mommy, can I go on a picnic with GG and Lisa next weekend?
Jack and Lisa chuckled at Lyndy's excitement. She looked over at her husband and smirked. "Now, she is cute."
"You can both be cute. You're just cute in different ways." Jack winked at Lisa.
Lisa whispered, "Okay, that's enough flirting. There are too many people around right now. People are going to think something is going on."
Jack ducked his head and chuckled. "Okay, I'll keep myself in line."
Lisa laughed, too. "Good. I appreciate it."
People started coming into the living room, so Jack kept his flirting under control. He wasn't really interested in being questioned by the family either. It was hard enough for Lisa and him to discuss things and figure out where they stood. He didn't really want their input. He stayed sitting next to Lisa as the family gathered in the living room. They mostly sat and observed the girls. Everyone was talking excitedly. Katie and Lou were so happy to have Georgie home, and she seemed happy to be home. Lyndy picked up on everyone else's mood and was pretty excited herself.
At dinner, everyone continued the good mood, even with Tim there. Neither Jack nor Lisa wanted to keep him away from Georgie. Tim was in a good mood and seemingly on his best behavior. They all told stories from the past and inside jokes. Lisa didn't get most of them and didn't know or understand most of what they talked about, but she enjoyed watching the family interact. Occasionally, she would look over at Jack and give him a shy smile. He was mostly interacting with the family, but she kept catching him watching her when no one was paying attention to them.
After dinner, Georgie got her things together and took the bag of food Lou had put together for her so she didn't have to worry about grocery shopping right away. Lisa gave her the letter that she wanted sent out to clients. Everyone went outside to see Georgie off with Jack.
After they left, everyone went back inside. Lou and Katie did the dishes and then joined everyone in the living room. Amy put Lyndy to bed, and Lou eventually sent Katie to get ready for bed as well. Lisa sat on the couch and just continued to observe. She felt like she was learning who the family was and how they worked as a family. Tim and Jessica were sitting next to Lisa on the couch. Tim looked over at Lisa and said, "You and Jack seem to be getting along well."
Lisa nodded. "We are. We're friends."
"Just friends?" Tim asked, and Jessica swatted his leg.
"Yes, just friends." Lisa rolled her eyes at Tim. "I'm going to get ready for bed. It has been a long day. I have no idea what tomorrow will bring, but I want to be available to Georgie and Edwin if they need my help with anything. I haven't made it through a day without a nap yet." Really, she just didn't want to deal with questions from Tim anymore.
Meanwhile, Jack and Georgie were making their way to Fairfield. Jack was getting caught up with Georgie about what was going on in her life.
Georgie turned to look at Jack. "So, how is it going with Lisa? Sometimes, it doesn't seem like anything has changed, but other times, it is very obvious that everything is different."
"I get what you mean. That's a pretty good description of how things are going. It's hard, but I'm learning to deal with it. I'll take Lisa like this over no Lisa at all."
"Aw, you love her a lot, don't you?" asked Georgie.
"I do, Georgie. I really do," answered Jack.
"Well, I hope she gets her memory back or falls in love with you again. I like the two of you together. You're much happier that way."
"I hope so too." Jack wanted it more than he'd ever wanted anything in his life.
Jack brought Georgie into Fairfield and brought her to the guest room. It was weird for him to be there without Lisa. Once he showed Georgie around, he drove back to Heartland. When Jack arrived back at Heartland, the house was quiet. Tim and Jessica had gone back to the loft, and everyone else was either in bed or getting ready for bed. Jack tried to sneak into the bedroom to get pajamas and clothes without waking Lisa. He was surprised to see Lisa sitting up in bed looking at her laptop.
Lisa looked up at Jack. "Hi, did Georgie get settled okay?"
"Yes. It was strange being at your house without you, though," Jack admitted.
"Have you thought any more about staying at the dude ranch? Lisa looked back down at her computer and pretended to be looking at something.
"I have. I thought about it on the way home from Fairfield. It's not the right decision now. I prefer to be in the house," said Jack.
Lisa looked back up at Jack. "Okay. If you're sure."
Jack nodded. "I am.
To Be ContinuedAuthor's note: I know that I have slowed way down on posting updates, and I don't see that changing any time soon. Just know that I'm still working on it. Writers block has been some of the issue. I've also just had extra things going on that has taken my attention away from this story. Thank you to everyone who has liked, followed, favorited, and commented. It helps me to keep going.