Chapter 15

Jack and Lisa were about to go inside. They had been talking on the porch after they picked Katie up from work, got ice cream, and came home. Tim approached them and said, "Hey, can I talk to you?

The couple turned around to look at Tim to see him standing at the bottom of the steps looking apologetic.

"What do you want?" asked Jack.

"I wanted to make sure you guys were okay," said Tim.

"We're fine, but I'm not sure either of us want to talk to you right now." Jack started to turn around to leave.

Lisa put her hand on Jack's arm to stop him. "Let's hear him out. Maybe he has something good to say."

Jack turned back and leaned over and said, "I doubt it."

Tim was watching how the two of them interacted with great interest. "Jess demanded to know what happened after I told her I didn't think we'd be welcome at dinner tonight. After I told her, she yelled at me. I guess I just wanted to make sure neither one of you is doing things for the wrong reason. It came out wrong."

Lisa didn't understand Tim, but she was trying. "Why would we be doing anything for the wrong reason? Jack isn't trying to sleep with me as you so crudely insinuated earlier."

Tim looked frustrated. "I just don't want Jack to get hurt like he did when you went to take care of your sick aunt and abandoned Jack for months."

Now Jack was angry again. "She did not abandon me. She really did need to go take care of her aunt. I missed her like crazy, but it wasn't the end of the world. I don't see the connection to now either. Are you just holding a grudge or something? "

"But you were so miserable while she was gone. She stayed away longer than you thought she would, and then Will Vernon died, and you were so upset she couldn't be here for you."

"You do know that I'm a grown man, and I can take care of myself, right?" asked Jack. "Yes, I missed Lisa while she was gone, but I understood why she had to go. Did you talk to her about this when she came back? It would certainly explain some of the things she said after we got back from the fishing cabin."

"I did," Tim confirmed. "I was angry that she would make you feel abandoned and miserable, so I told her."

Jack felt exasperated. "She didn't make me feel any kind of way as you're suggesting. I missed her, and it was hard having her away for so long, but you didn't have the right to say anything to her about it. That was for her and I to discuss. Same as now. You don't have any say in our relationship."

"I just know that you love Lisa so much, and she doesn't really feel the same way now that she has amnesia, and I don't want you to get hurt," Tim insisted.

Lisa jumped in because she felt like she needed to defend herself, "I have no intention of hurting Jack, but I can't just go back to being his wife when I have no memory of it or even of knowing him. I don't appreciate you making it seem like I'm just this person who does things without thinking about anyone else."

"But what if you decide to leave Jack?" asked Tim. "I'm not sure he could handle it this time. He was so heartbroken over you when you broke up that he had a heart attack."

Jack was so annoyed by the whole conversation. "First of all, Lisa did not cause me to have a heart attack. A blockage in my heart did that, and I'm fine now. I have regular checkups. Dr. Virani said I'm very healthy at my last check up. Secondly, I am a grown man, and I don't need my ex son-in-law trying to take care of me. Thirdly, if anyone caused me to have a heart attack, it was you. You messed up. Again. And I was already stressed out working for Rich. If anything, I'd had hope that Lisa and I might get back together. She'd sent me a letter saying that she missed me and wondered if there was any way we could work things out."

Lisa decided that she'd had enough. "I'm going to go to bed. It's been a hard day, and I need to rest."

Once Lisa was inside, Jack approached Tim and said, "If you ever upset my wife again, I will kick the crap out of you. Please, just leave her alone."

"She's not really your wife in any real way except the legal one. What if her memory never comes back and she decides not to be your wife anymore?" asked Tim.

"Listen, I have faith that Lisa will eventually come around. I have to. The alternative is too depressing. She's getting things figured out and working through stuff. It hasn't been that long since the accident. You being rude and needling her constantly isn't going to help. You're going to drive her away. Is that what you want?" Jack needed to get through to Tim that his methods drove people away. He was tired of dealing with Tim being so pushy and aggressive when it almost most never helped.

"You know I've always had a soft spot for Lisa. She makes you happy. I just don't want you to get hurt," said Tim.

"I know you do, so stop trying to push her away. If she chooses to leave, let it be her own choice, and not because you went after her so much she felt like she had to leave. I can take care of myself." Jack wasn't entirely sure he believed it himself, but he needed to do something to make Tim calm down. He was making things worse, and Jack didn't need that. Jack wanted Lisa to stay and be comfortable at Heartland. She was fine with everyone else. It was just Tim who was sabotaging it in some misguided effort to be protective of Jack. "I'm going inside. I'm done having this conversation with you."

When Jack went back inside, Lisa was coming out of the bathroom. She was in pajamas and was heading to her room. He approached Lisa and said, "Hey, sorry about Tim. He's trying to be protective of me because he's afraid you're going to break my heart beyond repair. I told him to knock it off."

Lisa understood that Tim was being protective, but it was getting on her nerves. "Thanks. I don't really need that kind of pressure from Tim. It doesn't help anything."

Jack grimaced. "I know it doesn't. You might not believe this, but Tim has always had a soft spot for you."

Lisa was surprised by that revelation. "Well, he has a weird way of showing it."

"Yes, he does." Jack's phone went off then, and he saw it was a text from Georgie. He signaled for Lisa to follow him into their room. Once he closed the door, he said, "It's from Georgie. She's getting in tomorrow night. Jack texted Georgie back and then looked back up at Lisa. "So how do you feel about going on a drive to Calgary tomorrow? I need to come up with an excuse to get out of the house so I can go pick her up. Maybe I can say that we're going to look and see what kind of trucks are available, and then we can just say it took longer than we thought, and we're having dinner out. I would like your help with the whole truck thing."

Lisa agreed to come. "Sure. I can do that. Georgie is helping me out a lot by coming to work for me. I really appreciate it. I'll come with you to pick her up. Of course, I'll need Lou or Amy to help me get cleaned up again if I'm going into the city. Stupid broken arm. You know, it wouldn't be so bad if my cast didn't keep my arm at a right angle."

Jack felt for Lisa. He knew he would hate it if he had to depend on someone else to bathe. "I need to get cleaned up and get some sleep. I'll get out of your hair."

Lisa got into bed, but she couldn't sleep. She was stressed about work, sad about Dan, and frustrated with Tim. That was on top of everything else she was dealing with due to her injuries and the amnesia. Finding a comfortable position was hard with the cast as well. She couldn't wait for it to come off, but she still had at least 5 weeks left. So Lisa just laid there thinking about things and feeling incredibly uncomfortable. Exhaustion eventually won out, but it was nearly two in the morning by then.

At about five, Jack got up, had a cup of coffee, and went out to do his chores. He was looking forward to spending time alone with Lisa. It wasn't a date, but he couldn't help but feel like it was in a way. When he got back to the house, Lou, Katie, Amy, and Lyndy were in the kitchen. "Hi girls, have you seen Lisa yet?"

"No, GG. I've been up the longest, and I haven't seen her," Katie informed him.

Lou put her coffee cup in the sink and turned back to face Jack. "So Grandpa, what is the plan today? I'm taking Peter to the airport, and then Katie and I will be at Maggie's for most of the day, and Amy wants to work with her client horse."

"Can you and Lisa watch Lyndy today?" asked Amy.

"We can, but not the whole day. We were going to go look at trucks this afternoon after lunch. I really want to get going on that and see what is out there. I'd like her opinion. I need a safer truck. Lisa might not have gotten hurt so bad if my truck wasn't so old." Other than wanting a safer truck, Jack knew he was lying through his teeth. He really didn't want to go truck shopping. He just needed to come up with an excuse for Lisa and him being away from the house for so long.

Lou looked at Amy and then said, "We remember the last time you had to replace your truck. You fought it like crazy. It's nice to see you being willing to look for something a little newer."

Jack groaned. "I remember. Replacing that truck was hard. I couldn't really express why at the time, but your grandma bought me that truck with her royalties from her music. It was hard to let go of it."

Amy gave Jack a hug and said, "Aw, Grandpa! Why didn't you tell us that Grandma bought you that truck? We would have understood. I am glad that you are looking for a new truck. It would be nice if you had something that Lyndy could ride in so you didn't have to borrow my truck to drive her anywhere."

As much as Jack hated it, he knew Amg was probably right about that. "Okay, I'll take your suggestion under advisement. So, Lisa is probably going to need help to get cleaned up today. Can one of you girls help her with that? I think she probably would have just figured something out if we were just hanging out around Heartland, but since we're going out, she's going to want to be cleaned up a little more. She mentioned last night that she wants to hire someone to come and help her a few times a week so you girls don't have to do it as much."

Lou looked skeptical. "Oh, you'll hate that. Having someone who isn't family coming into the house to help with something that family can do."

Jack nodded, "I probably will, but I want Lisa to feel comfortable here. If this helps her do that, then I'll deal with it."

"Lou isn't really going to be around today, but I can help before you leave, and Jess may be able to help as well," said Amy.

Peter came through with his luggage and set it in the entryway. He patted Jack on the back. "It was good to see you, but I wish it had been under better circumstances. I'm just glad that Lisa is still here with us, and I hope she makes a full recovery."

Jack shook Peter's hand. "Thanks, Peter. I appreciate that. I also appreciate you coming out and helping while I was at the hospital with Lisa."

"It was no problem. I was glad to help." Peter put on his shoes and stood up. "Okay, Lou, Katie, we should get going. I don't want to miss my flight." Katie grabbed a bag with her Maggie's uniform and shoes in it and left with her parents.

"I need to get a shower so I can hang out with Lyndy until lunchtime. I'll be quick." Jack went into his bedroom and quietly grabbed clean clothes for the day. Lisa was sleeping soundly, so he let her be and went to take a shower. He was considering shaving, but he didn't want Lisa to think he was trying too hard. It occurred to him that she wouldn't know his shaving habits and might think he shaved once a week, so he went ahead and did it quickly before he got into the shower. He was trying to impress Lisa. He wanted her back as his wife, and he was willing to do what it took to accomplish that.

When Jack got out of the shower, Amy left to go work with her client horse, and Lyndy had clearly been waiting for him to be done so she could ask him to play with her. They sat down at the table to play Go Fish.

Lisa woke up and looked at her phone. She was surprised to see how late she had slept. She needed to get going if she wanted to look half decent when she went truck shopping and to the airport with Jack later. When she came out of their room, she saw Jack and Lyndy playing a card game at the table. It was a sweet picture. Lisa could tell he had a soft spot for all of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and it made her smile.

Lyndy noticed Lisa first. She ran over to give Lisa a hug and say "good morning" to her. "We're playing Go Fish. I beat GG twice!"

"Oh, you are? That sounds like fun." She looked over at Jack and saw he looked amused. She suspected he was letting Lyndy win, and she smiled back at him. "I need to get cleaned up. Are Lou or Amy around this morning?"

Jack put his cards down on the table. "No, Lou and Katie are taking Peter to the airport and are then going to Maggies. Amy is out working with a client horse. She said she'll be back later, but I don't know when exactly. I think Jess is around. Maybe call her and see if she can help if you want to get cleaned up now."

Lisa went back into the bedroom and picked up her phone. She found Jessica's number and texted her about helping her out. Jessica texted back almost immediately and said she'd be right over.

True to her word, Jessica was at the house in a few minutes, and they went into the bathroom to get started.

"Thank you, Jessica, for coming over so quickly. I wasn't going to worry about it too much today, but Jack asked if I'd come with him to look at trucks this afternoon, and I don't want to look or smell bad. He probably won't get a truck today, but he wants to start the process." She noticed Jess smirking at her. "What? What's that look for?"

"It just seems like you want to impress Jack or, at the very least, not turn him off. Do you like him?"Jessica was still smirking.

Lisa blushed. "I don't know. He has very quickly become a very good friend and I've come to depend on him for almost everything. I'm not willing to say more than that for now."

Jess didn't say anything else about Jack and began gathering the things they would need for Lisa to get cleaned up. She also pulled something out of the bag she had with her. "This is a swimming coverup. I thought it might come in handy for bathing. You can wear it and keep a little bit of your modesty intact while also getting clean."

Lisa took it from Jess and looked at it. "Thank you. I almost ordered a bathing suit to use for this, but I don't even know what size to get anymore. I'm a little softer around the middle than I was 17 years ago. I think this will help a lot. I like that it's dark and floral, so it won't be see-through even when it gets wet."

Jess helped Lisa get changed into the cover-up. "Okay, let's get you cleaned up. We can't have you stinking no matter how you feel about Jack. Although I'm not sure that man would notice unless it was really bad. He loves you so much."

"I know. It's a little overwhelming at times," Lisa admitted.

Once Lisa was done getting cleaned up, Jessica helped her get dressed, and then they went out to join Lyndy and Jack at the table.

"She's still beating me," Jack grumbled.

Lyndy beamed and said, "I am. He has lost almost every game!"

Jessica laughed. "Poor Jack. I hope you can get over this."

Lisa and Jack joined in and laughed, too. Jack let them know that there was coffee made in the kitchen. Both women went to get a cup of coffee and sat down in the kitchen to drink it.

Jessica took a sip of coffee and set her cup down on the table. "I'm sorry that Tim was rude to you yesterday. He really does like you, but he's just extremely protective of Jack. Those two drive each other crazy, but they basically couldn't live without each other."

Lisa was just starting to understand all the family dynamics at play at Heartland. "I get that, but I didn't appreciate that he just assumed that I'm going to break Jack's heart. I don't even know what's going to happen. It's only been a week since the accident. He needs to calm down and have a little patience and let me figure things out."

"That's what I told him. He's stubborn and impatient, though. I'll keep reminding him. He can't expect you to just go back to a life you have no memory of," said Jessica.

Lisa was thankful that Jessica seemed to be on her side. "Thanks for the support. I appreciate it."

"No problem." Jessica smiled warmly at Lisa. "You and Jack welcomed me into the family when Amy and Lou were still figuring out how they felt about me marrying their dad. We eloped like you and Jack, except we did it in Peru."

"Peru?" Lisa was surprised that Tim had been somewhere like that. "Wow, what was that like?"

Jack was catching parts of Lisa and Jessica's conversation while he played with Lyndy, but when she took off to her room to play, he knew he couldn't just sit in the dining room and eavesdrop. He got up and joined Lisa and Jess in the kitchen. "Lyndy is done playing cards. I guess she got tired of beating me. She's playing in her room now."

Lisa looked over at Jack. "What time were you thinking about leaving today?

Jack looked at the clock and calculated how long they needed. "I was thinking about leaving around three. That way, we can have lunch, and if you want to take a nap before we go, you can."

"Thanks. I need fewer pain pills and sleep less and less during the day, but I may take a nap after lunch so I don't fall asleep in the car later." Lisa was thankful that Jack remembered that she might need a nap. She looked forward to the day that she no longer needed pain medication or naps.

Jack, Lisa, and Jessica chatted in the kitchen until lunchtime. Jessica excused herself back to the loft. Lisa helped Jack get sandwiches together. Lyndy joined the two of them when they called her to lunch. She entertained them by being her adorable self.

Once lunch was over, Lisa stood up. "I'm going to go take a nap. Can you make sure I'm up around 2:20?"

Jack nodded. "Sure. Get some rest."

To be continued