"Okay, okay, that's enough talk about me. I've been on the hot seat for what, the last hour or so?" Maggie started laughing while she was speaking as she, Marion, and Lisa sat around enjoying their ladies' night. "Let's put one of you on the hot seat. Marion," she spun toward her, and that quick movement had both Lisa and Marion laughing. "Let's talk about you, oh and Tim. What's going on there?"

Marion groaned, throwing her head back as she did. It had been a great night for the ladies so far, and the night was still very young. While Jack had acted like he wasn't looking forward to hosting the slumber party with the girls, he had settled in just fine at the house, nudging Marion out as he told her to 'enjoy a night off and away.' Now, she looked at the friends in front of her and frowned.

"Tim is," Marion paused and let out a long sigh, "a long story.

"Hasn't he always been?" Maggie grunted. She waved her hand, "Sorry, go on."

"Tim is your ex-husband, correct?" Lisa asked, trying to get caught up on the details of Marion's life. Marion nodded and made a face as she looked over the table at Lisa. They'd eaten half the pie Lisa brought and were all on their second glass of wine.

"Yes, he is. He's my rugged cowboy-"

"Nothing wrong with those," Maggie shook her head with a grin and then closed her mouth quickly. "Sorry, I won't say more."

Marion grinned and started to gesture with her hands as she spoke again, "Tim and I met through my dad, actually. They were both into rodeo, Tim young, just 18, my dad, on the other end of rodeo, about to have that part of his life behind him. Oh, I fell hard for Tim, and we were married oh, about 10 months later. Tim just has one of those personalities-you love him or hate him, but loving him means understanding that he has a lot of very stubborn qualities and can be a lot of things-a total romantic, a complete goofball, a schemer, just," she nodded as she paused and shrugged her shoulders. She felt herself blush as she looked down, "I just love him, faults and all."

"Well, that's unconditional love," Lisa offered with a small smile. "That's a good thing, knowing one's faults and loving them no matter what."

"It is," she nodded. "Ahh, Tim had a really bad rodeo accident when the girls were very young, or Amy was. Amy was two, and Lou was 12. Over the next three years, we spiraled, mostly because of his accident. Tim got hooked on painkillers, started drinking because of depression, drank himself into a drunken stupor most of the time. We were always fighting, and it was a really unhealthy atmosphere for our family. I don't know why I didn't throw him out myself, I suppose that unconditional love, but even at some point, if it's so bad it's ruining lives, things have to change. Dad finally threw him out, and I was really mad at him for a long time for doing so, but I see it now. It needed to be done. We were all living at the ranch. Tim and I lived in a trailer for a couple years after we got married, but before long it was just a lot with him gone, Lou as a toddler, and all, so we moved back home. My mom got sick, Lou was a good distraction, and Tim was gone all the time. By the time Tim was thrown out, he wasn't working anyway, so we would have been evicted had we been living anywhere else, plus my mom had passed away, and home was home. I've spent years and years now getting my life back together, building my business, putting away money, and most of all raising the girls. I couldn't have done it without Dad and have told him I'm sorry I blamed him for breaking up my marriage. He didn't do that; he just maybe was the encouragement I needed."

"That's a lot to carry, Marion," Lisa said with sympathetic smile. "So, you've mentioned he is back in town, and by the way you were smiling as you spoke of him, I sense that you still love him, yes?"

Marion took a deep breath. Maggie reached over and patted her hand, and Marion finally nodded, "I am, but that does not mean it's healthy or a good idea to pursue things with him. He's only been back a short time, and I have no idea how serious he is about his sobriety or anything else. He's done a lot of damage, especially with the girls, and it's not fair to them to just pretend the last, what, 11 years haven't happened. He and I have been talking on the phone in the evenings some, usually when he's about to crash out for the night. He's a ranch foreman at Big River, so he's working very long hours, but that's good for him right now, anything to keep him out of trouble. I don't know," she sighed, looking up.

"He had lunch in here today," Maggie added, and the women looked at her. She raised her hands in defense, "He did. Paid, no problems, had coffee, meatloaf special, kept to himself. I mean, I told him that he'd better behave himself around here because you and I were good friends, and he just flashed that bright smile of his at me and said something to the effect of he was being good as gold. He even read the paper during lunch, so no, he wasn't an issue at all. He was waiting on this order to be filled for Big River."

Marion offered a small smile as she nodded, "Well, that's good to hear. Maybe he can actually change his ways. What I do know is that nothing is going to happen quickly, and I will take this step by step. Lisa," she said, rolling her head toward her, "you're up now."

"My turn?" Lisa grimaced, reaching for her glass of wine and then taking an almost gulp of it.

"Oh boy, that bad?" Marion chuckled with a wink at her. Lisa returned the chuckle and smirked.

"Well, I don't think it's awful, but it's nothing exciting or really of any romantic notion whatsoever. My ex-husband is Dan, Dan Hartfield, another breeder here in the area. Like you, Marion, we met and were married in less than a year. Maybe that should be a warning to anyone-take your time," she laughed. "I was just out of university, and I was working alongside my dad. My mom passed away when I was a teenager, so I guess losing moms is another thing the three of us have in common," she said with a nod, looking to the women. "Ahh, we were married five years before we separated, and it was another year before we were divorced. I've been divorced now 10 years. I came home to take care of my dad when he got sick, and while Dan might say that's what broke up things," Lisa shook her head and continued, "they were already broken. I suppose in that year, I realized I was happier without him. Dan always claims to love me, but I'm not sure he truly loves anyone with the type of love needed in a marriage. He loves money and power. He loves running businesses, and we actually work okay in business together. I am finding that we have some very different business ideas, so the horses we own jointly will stay that way, but I don't want to continue buying horses jointly. I will be glad to eventually be free of our business partnership, but right now, neither can buy out the other, not at the price of these incredibly specialized horses. That's my story," she shrugged.

"So, no romantic interest in Dan or anything still there?" Marion inquired.

"None at all, less than zero," she grimaced. "He followed me back here from the States, which was frustrating. The man wouldn't visit me when Dad was sick, but he moved here after we got divorced, trying to claim it was easier to manage our joint interests if he was closer."

"That's the worst," Maggie said as she shook her head. "He seems pretty sure of himself, the few times he's stopped in here for coffee. I don't see him in town a lot, though."

"He's very arrogant," Lisa grimaced again. "I see that now. My dad saw that, but he just wanted me to be happy. Dan travels a lot, as do I. Sometimes we are both in France at the same time, and he sees that as a chance for us to spend time together, which I dislike. We divorced for a reason. We were good for a few years, but sadly, we should have never married. Live and learn, right?"

Both Marion and Maggie nodded, the group growing silent. Maggie stood and gestured toward the coffee, "I'm switching to coffee. Ladies?" Lisa and Marion agreed with her, and the group took a quick break before regrouping, now with coffee and re-heated spinach dip to snack on while they continued to talk.

"Okay, Lisa, I have to ask-romantic interests? You're quite the catch, so I am sure you have someone you've been hiding from us?" Maggie leaned in, wanting the scoop and nodding at her, "Inquiring minds want to know."

"Please," Marion said, drawing out the word, "I'm desperate for some good romance news, to live through someone. Who has caught your eye?"

Lisa shook her head, "No one. Sorry to break it to you ladies," she shrugged and smiled. "Single."

"What? I figured you had someone in France you enjoy seeing," Maggie gestured. "I know you keep to yourself a lot, but no one?"

Lisa shook her head, "No, I'm not a casual dater. I'm just not. I tried dating a little after Dan. That took time, a long time to get over him and the idea I was divorced. I didn't find anyone interesting, and honestly," she put her hand up in defense, "nothing went beyond a dinner here or there. I did go out with a friends of friends, you know where they set you up with someone, and nothing. Friends in France tried too-just no one who excited me. I think the most I've seen someone is two dates, and really, that is it. I figure it's me," she frowned with a shrug.

"It's not you!" Marion exclaimed. "I can promise you that. I found you very easy to talk to, and you're absolutely drop dead gorgeous. Any man would be so lucky to have your interest. I promise you just haven't found the right guy. So, you're not interested in just dating for fun?"

Lisa made a face and shook her head, "That's just not me, and I have no judgement if it's someone else's preference. I suppose I just want to find someone who enjoys talking a lot, which," she paused and started to chuckle, "sounds so dull. I like talking like this," she waved, "sharing wine, coffee, talking about anything and everything. I'd love to find someone who wants to travel because that's how I envision my later years, traveling maybe with someone by my side. I don't know. It seems further and further from reality as I grow older."

"You are not old," Maggie pointed at her. "Don't even start to think that."

"Okay, so you at least know what you want in a guy, I mean, what things you are looking for," Marion nodded. "That's good. What about a younger guy? Interested?"

"Are you setting her up?" Maggie made a face and looked at Marion. "Who?"

"No, no," Marion shook her head. "No one in mind, just trying to find out what she wants. I mean, someone younger, a zest for life, travel, all that-"

Lisa grimaced again and shook her head, "I don't think so. I mean, I wouldn't completely refuse to go on a date with someone say, if they were a year or two younger, but that doesn't appeal to me in the sense that I'm 40, and most younger guys are just not interested in things I am at their age. I was setup with a guy five years younger in France last year, and maybe that has tainted my view, but no. Didn't work out. I could barely finish with drinks before I had to get out of there. Nice to look at though," she grinned, and the ladies all laughed. She shrugged, "What? He was, but wow, talk about self-absorbed. No thanks."

"I guess you never had kids? You haven't mentioned any," Marion asked.

Lisa shook her head again, "No, just never worked out. I once thought I wanted a few kids, but priorities change, and that's okay. I thought it would happen with Dan, but," she paused and bit her lip before she just sighed. "It didn't. I pour myself into my work, and I realize that has taken priority in my life. It makes it hard to date or want to change my lifestyle. I'm okay with that, but just know, if I ever make it through a full date, it's better than most I've ever had," she started laughing, and they all laughed with her.

"Oh, geez, I should get going," Marion looked at her watch. "It's already after 11:00," she frowned at the group. "This has been great, just what I needed."

"Same," Lisa nodded. "I didn't realize how much I needed some women in my life. Thank you both for including me."

"Ahh, thank you for the wine and the pie. How could we not include you with those goodies? They were amazing, and we will have to do this again very soon."

"At Heartland next time," Marion nodded and grinned. "I love making Dad squirm with a group of ladies in the house."

"Leave your dad alone, Marion," Maggie swatted at her. "Jack is a good guy. He's just set in his ways, and no need to ruffle his feathers by changing his evening routine."

Lisa raised an eyebrow, "He has a routine? What is it? Evening news? Game shows?"

"No," Marion chuckled quietly, "he often makes dinner, so I can't complain. Amy and I clean up. Dad goes right to work on his flies, for fly fishing," she said putting her hand on the table to emphasize her point. "A lot of them smell," she gagged. "He works on them, and if you get anywhere near him, he wants to explain what he's doing, as if we really want to know. He likes to listen to the farm report on the news, and at 8:30, he gets up, does night check, and he heads to bed by 9:00. That's Dad. Suggesting another show on tv," she shook her head and laughed quietly, "well, that doesn't go well."

"Jack is a man of routine, for sure," Maggie grinned. "We love him though, good old Jack."

"Ahh, so the girls' slumber party will definitely interrupt his evening," Lisa nodded, understanding more.

"Just a little, but he'll survive," Marion grinned as she stood up. "I like to rock the boat with my dad, always have."

"Oh, that is an understatement," Maggie said as she and Lisa both stood too. "I'm not sure what I'd do if I heard Jack ever changing up that routine of his. He's about as stuck on that as anyone I've ever met, and I've known Jack a long time."

"You two go way back?" Lisa pointed between the two women, and they nodded.

"High school, so yes, just like our girls, forever friends."

"Now that I have an idea of your interests Lisa, I'm going to be thinking," Maggie told her as they all collected the plates. Lisa raised her eyebrow and looked to Marion.

"Do I want to know what she means by that?" Lisa chuckled, eyeing Marion and hooking her hand toward Maggie.

Marion grinned as they all walked toward the kitchen, "It means she's going to find you just the right guy, whether you like it or not. I'm in too, Maggie," she grinned at her. "I like this idea, to find someone for Lisa."

"Oh, no, no," Lisa shook her head. "I'm really not looking-"

"Perfect," Marion grinned. "That's often when the right one comes along."