Chapter 9

Jack and Lisa sat in the Porsche, looking at the Heartland symbol over the entrance to the ranch. He had the feeling that they both needed a moment before they drove the final bit towards the house. Jack turned to look at Lisa. "So this is Heartland. Are you ready?"

Lisa kept her eyes straight ahead. She didn't want Jack to see the tears in her eyes or the fear. "Not really, but we can't wait forever."

Jack put the car back in gear, and they drove down the drive to the ranch house. He was hoping that people would kind of make themselves scarce today so Lisa didn't get overwhelmed, but he also knew how his family could be.

Lindy and Katie were playing outside when they pulled in. Jack patted Lisa's knee. "Okay, I know this is probably a little scary for you, but our welcoming party here is the least scary welcoming party on the planet. Those girls love you and only want good things for you."

Lisa took a deep breath and said, "Okay, I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

Jack jumped out of the car and moved quickly over to Lisa's side to help her out. Lisa was still pretty sore from the accident and was moving slowly. Jack helped her walk toward the house. The couple stopped when they reached Katie and Lyndy. The girls looked so happy to have Lisa back home. Lyndy threw her arms around Lisa's middle. Thankfully, Jack was there to steady her. "Hold up there, Lyndy. Let's be gentle with Lisa. She's still pretty sore, and she just had surgery on her elbow."

Lyndy started to cry. "I'm sorry. I just missed her so much."

Lisa bent down to wipe the tears from Lyndy's face. "It's okay. I think it was the best welcome I could think of. You're a sweetheart to want to welcome me home with a big hug."

Lyndy nodded and sniffled. "Does your face hurt? I had a big bruise on my knee when I fell down at recess, and it hurt so bad."

Lisa was thoroughly charmed by little Lyndy. "It doesn't feel good, but it's not terrible. It looks worse than it feels." Lisa stood up straight and looked at Katie. "Thank you both for welcoming me home. You're both so sweet for doing that."

Katie looked a little emotional as well. "Well, we did miss you. We always do when you're not here, but it was different this time. You know? We just love you a lot and want you to be okay."

This time, it was Lisa's turn to be emotional. "Well, thank you, girls. Now, let's go inside. This is the longest I have stood up for a while. I would like to go lie down now."

Jack put his right arm out for Lisa to take. They slowly made their way up the steps to the house. Katie and Lyndy moved quickly to get in front of their great grandparents so they could open the door for them. Lyndy held the storm door open while Katie opened the door to the house. Lisa and Jack stepped inside and stood there in the entryway.

Lisa took everything in. She was surprised that she had moved out of Fairfield in order to live here. It gave her an idea of how serious she was about her marriage and how much she must have loved this family.

Jack turned to Katie, "Where are Lou and Amy? I expected Lou to be fussing over us as soon as we got home."

"There was an emergency at Maggie's. Something about the bathroom plumbing having some issues," Katie replied. After mom left, we decided to let you guys have an easy-going re-entry back home. Amy is out in the barn, dad is working in their bedroom, and Grandpa went with mom to help fix the plumbing. Oh, and Jessica is around somewhere. She's either in the barn loft or the darkroom."

"Thank you, Katie. You two can go do whatever. I'll get Lisa settled." Jack put his arm out again for Lisa to take, and he led her over to their bedroom. "This is our room. Or well, your room now. You probably want to be on the left side of the bed so you can use the nightstand more easily."

Lisa sat down on the bed and looked around. There were photos of the two of them placed around the room. They looked extremely happy in all of them. Before she could control it, the tears started to come. She put her head down and tried to take a deep breath, but it just seemed to make her cry more.

Jack sat down next to Lisa and put his arm around her. He was careful not to touch her arm. "Oh, Lis. Honey. I'm so sorry. This must be hard."

Lisa tucked herself into Jack and hid her face on his chest as she sobbed. She didn't want to seek comfort in Jack. She had told herself that she wouldn't. She could see how he treated her in the hospital that it would be easy, but she didn't want to lead him on. After a few minutes, Lisa had calmed down enough to be able to speak. "It is hard. I don't know how to handle all of this. The girls were so sweet when we got here, and you're being so kind and gentle, and I just feel guilty that I can't reciprocate the feelings you all have for me. How am I going to handle it when the whole family is around?"

Jack rubbed Lisa's back gently. "We'll deal with it one step at a time. What can I do for you now? Do you want anything to eat or drink? Do you just want to sleep? Do you want me to just leave you alone?"

Lisa thought for a second and said, "I think that I just want to relax. I don't necessarily want to sleep at the moment. Do you have some extra pillows that I could use for my arm and for my back?"

Jack extracted himself from Lisa and stood up. "We don't have any extra pillows in here, but I'm sure we have some somewhere. Let me go look."

Lisa toed off her shoes, feeling thankful that Lou had sent her comfy clothes so she could just get into bed. She pulled the covers back and tried to see what she could do with the pillows on the bed while she waited for Jack to return. Feeling exhausted, Lisa sat fully on the bed, stretched her legs out, leaned back against the headboard, and relaxed. She was more tired than she realized and fell asleep.

Jack went to Katie's room to see if she knew where extra pillows might be. She informed him that there were some in the linen closet. Jack went and got the pillows and grabbed a water bottle for Lisa. He entered their room to see Lisa asleep. She didn't look comfortable at all, and her arm didn't really have any support. Jack knew she'd wake up more sore than she already was, so he woke her up. "Lis, um, I hate to wake you, but you're not gonna be happy when you wake up if I let you sleep like that."

Lisa slowly opened her eyes. "Yeah, you're probably right. I'm just so tired all of a sudden."

"Okay, well, let's slide you down a bit so you aren't sitting up, and you can use these pillows I found for your arm."

Between the two of them, Lisa found a comfortable position, and Jack turned to leave and take a nap on the couch.

In a quiet voice, Lisa said, "Thank you, Jack. I'm sorry that I've kicked you out of your bed."

Jack turned and looked at Lisa. He thought she looked so beautiful and he had to stop himself from kissing her. "You have nothing to apologize for. Even if you hadn't lost your memory, I'd probably still be sleeping elsewhere so you don't have to be worrying about keeping me awake or me bumping your arm. You rest now. Remember. One step at a time."

Jack turned and left the room. Amy was coming into the living room just then. "Hey, Grandpa. How's Lisa settling in?"

Jack motioned for them to go into the kitchen. Jack poured himself a cup of coffee while Amy got some orange juice. When they sat down at the kitchen table, Jack sighed. "Lisa is okay considering everything she's been through and is going through. She's resting right now, but if I'm being honest, I'm worried. She's trying to put on a brave face, but I know my wife. Thanks for giving us a low-key welcome home. The girls were so sweet to Lisa, and I could tell she was charmed by them instantly. How could you not? They're adorable. An old cowboy like me is going to take a little longer. She still thinks of herself as almost 20 years younger than she really is. I must seem ancient to her."

Amy put her hand on Jack's. "Grandpa, we all saw Lisa fall in love with you. Maybe I can call Mallory and have her remind you. Lord knows that girl gave you a hard time about it back then. She saw things we didn't see and would then tell us all about it. It sounded like Lisa was the one who pursued you in the beginning. I have faith that she'll fall in love with you again."

Jack looked emotional. "I hope you're right, Amy. I don't want to lose her. I can't lose her. I don't think I'd survive this time."

Amy put her glass in the sink and hugged Jack. "It will be okay. I'm going to check on Lyndy and make sure she isn't driving Katie crazy or destroying her room."

Jack was about to go take a nap when Lou and Tim came into the house talking loudly. Jack stood up and hushed them. "Shhh! Lisa is sleeping or, at the very least, resting. She doesn't need all this noise. And quite honestly, neither do I. I'm gonna go lie down on the couch and take a little nap myself. Don't you have a home to go to, Tim?"

"Yes, I do. I just promised Jessica that I was going to get some food from the store." Tim opened the fridge and started pulling things out.

Jack walked over and took everything out of Tim's hands and put it back. "Then go to the store. This is my house. Not the supermarket. Go buy your own food. This is our food."

Tim started to speak, but Jack interrupted him. "I've had a really terrible week, and I don't need you making it harder. Go to town and go shopping for yourself. This house is not a food pantry."

Jack walked off, and Tim started to open the fridge again. Lou stepped in this time and pushed the fridge door closed. "Grandpa is right. You guys keep stealing our food, and then when I go to make something, it's gone. Go buy your own food. Oh, and we're not doing a big family dinner tonight, so you and Jessica should just eat in the loft. Peter and I are taking the girls out for dinner. I was just going to make something small for Grandpa and Lisa to have here. Amy is going to stick around in case they need anything."

"Fine. Maybe we'll go out to eat tonight, too," Tim snapped at Lou.

Lou was unmoved. "That's fine, but you still need to get some food to keep in your kitchen. We are no longer a pantry for the two of you."

Tim threw his hands up, "Whatever."

"I'm serious, Dad. I'll have a talk with Jessica about it, too." Lou started to pull out her phone like she was going to make a call.

"You don't need to do that," argued Tim.

Lou's eyebrows went up. "Does she think that you go grocery shopping in town and that we also think it's okay to take whole packages of food from the house? Oh, now I'm definitely having a conversation with Jessica tomorrow."

"Whatever. See if I help you with your plumbing problems at the diner again," Tim threatened.

"Dad, you didn't help. I had to make you leave while one of my waiters and I fixed the issue. You were going to break it more."

"Bye!" Tim called as he walked out the door.

"Ugh! He drives me crazy!" Lou said to herself.

Jack was lying on the couch in the living room listening to the whole discussion. He was thankful when Tim finally left. He was exhausted and needed a nap.

Lou stopped to check on Jack. "Hey, Grandpa. Katie and Amy have been keeping me up to date on everything. I suppose you heard that Peter and I are taking Katie and Lyndy out for dinner. I'm just going to make some chicken and potatoes before we leave for you, Lisa, and Amy."

"Okay. Thanks, Lou. Hey, I saw Val at the hospital yesterday. Thankfully, she didn't see me, but I was wondering if she's been into Maggie's lately or if you've seen her around town."

"I'm glad she didn't see you. Can you imagine if Val knew about Lisa's memory? It would be a nightmare. That woman would pounce on you so fast and try to get between you. I did see her at Maggie's yesterday when I was there. She said she had just been here for a few days and was actually on her way to the airport. Oh, she did say to tell you she was sorry she didn't have time to stop by and say hello. She had something snide to say about Lisa, but you don't need to hear it. It was the usual Val pettiness when it comes to Lisa."

"Well, I'm glad she left. I couldn't deal with her being around right now. Now that that is settled, I'm just going to take a nap here. It had been a long couple of days."

An hour later, Lisa woke up. She was confused about where she was until she saw a photo of her and Jack on the nightstand. They were sitting on horses holding hands with a herd of cattle behind them. Lisa noticed that both of them looked younger. The need for the bathroom made it necessary for her to get up. She timidly opened the bedroom door and stepped out into the living room. Jack was asleep on the couch, Lou was in the kitchen making dinner, and the girls could be heard playing upstairs. Lisa made her way to the kitchen.

Lou was moving quickly around the room, getting dinner made. "Hey, sorry I missed seeing you when you arrived. Although I heard you had the cutest welcoming party around. Amy saw you arrive from the barn."

Lisa stayed rooted in the doorway to the kitchen. "Yes, they were very sweet. So I was wondering where the bathroom is located?"

Lou put down the potato masher and led Lisa over to the bathroom. "Let me know if you need any help with anything. I know it's hard to do things one-handed."

Lisa waved her off. "My nurse gave me some tips today for how to do some things myself. The bathroom was one of them. The clothes you picked out help too."

"Okay, I'll be in the kitchen if you need anything." Lou returned to making dinner.

Lou and Lisa talking woke Jack up from his nap. His back was killing him, but he wasn't going to admit it to anyone. He wanted to be close to Lisa. Jack stretched his muscles and made his way into the kitchen. Lou was finishing up dinner. Peter and Amy came into the kitchen just after him.

Peter gave Jack a hearty pat on the back. "Hey, Jack. It's good to see you. Did you have a good nap on the couch?"

"It was okay. Quite honestly, I was so tired, I think that I could have slept standing up," Jack said.

Peter laughed. "Oh, I have been there. Well, hopefully, now that Lisa's home, you can get some sleep."

Lisa entered the kitchen just then. Lou noticed and ushered her over to the table. "Lisa, this is my partner, Peter. Go ahead and have a seat. I'm just finishing up dinner for you, Grandpa, and Amy. Peter and I are taking the girls out for pizza."

Jack and Amy joined Lisa at the table. Jack turned to Lisa and quietly asked, "Did you have a good nap?"

Lisa nodded. "Yes, did you?"

"I did." Jack noticed everyone staring and cleared his throat. "So Amy, do you have any client horses right now? I feel like you told me, but I have been home so little. I don't really know what's happening around here lately."

Amy leaned forward. Talking about horses always got her excited. She began to tell them about the latest horse that had come to Heartland. Lisa looked relieved that the attention was off of her and mouthed "Thank you" to Jack.

Lou tapped Peter on the shoulder, "We should get going. Can you go get the girls from Katie's room? I'm going to grab my purse, and then we can go." Turning to the trio at the table, "I just made some baked chicken and mashed potatoes for dinner. Oh, and there's a salad in the fridge."

"Thank you, Lou. That sounds lovely," said Lisa.

After Lou, Peter, Katie, and Lyndy left, Amy turned to Jack. "I was going to suggest just eating in here since it's just the three of us, but Lou made more food than I was anticipating. It's Lou, though, so I should have known."

Jack laughed. "Yeah, probably." He turned to address his wife, "Lisa, are you hungry?"

Lisa thought for a moment. "I could eat. A home cooked meal sounds pretty good right now."

Amy began moving dishes to the dining room table. Lisa got up and looked around for something she could carry with her one available hand, but everything seemed kind of heavy. Amy noticed what Lisa was doing. "Lisa, can you set the table? I put a stack of plates and bowls down on the table, but I need to run to the bathroom before we eat."

"Sure, Amy. I can do that." Lisa realized that she didn't know where people sat at the table. "Jack, where does everyone usually sit at the table?"

Jack, who had been pulling food out of the oven, went into the dining room. "I always sit here at the end. Amy sits to my right, and you sit to my left. Oh, and I can show you where the silverware is when you're done with the plates."

Lisa felt out of her depth here. She was in an unknown house with people she barely knew. Those people knew her really well, though. Jack, in particular, knew intimate details about her, and it made her feel uneasy if she thought about it too long. She knew Jack was trying to give her space, but she could tell he was struggling with how to be there for her without coming on too strong. He would forget sometimes and be affectionate with her. In some ways, his affection seemed natural to her, and that scared her as well.

Dinner was delicious, and both Jack and Lisa were thankful for a home cooked meal. There were awkward moments, but for the most part, it was just a nice quiet dinner. The couple was thankful that Amy was there. They could focus their attention on her, and it took the pressure off of them.

Talking about the horses Amy was working with made Lisa want to go back to work. She had been avoiding dealing with it very much once she realized how hard it was going to be to go back. She felt embarrassed about not remembering her staff or the horses in her stables.

After dinner, Amy insisted on taking care of the dishes. Jack made Lisa and himself a cup of tea and lit a fire in the fireplace. They sat in front of the fire. Neither felt the need to talk. Amy noticed the quietness when she finished the dishes and excused herself to go do night check in the barn. Jack and Lisa finished their tea and fell asleep. Lisa had slumped over to her left side and was resting her head on Jack's shoulder.

When Amy came back in, she saw the couple asleep together on the couch and pulled out her phone and sent off a text before going to her room to wait for the rest of the family to get back from dinner.

Lou was shushing Lyndy and Katie as they came into the house. She sent the girls to their rooms. Lou and Peter went to their room as well. Jack and Lisa continued to sleep, sitting up on the couch.

Lisa woke up first and was embarrassed by how she had been sleeping. If she was honest with herself, though, she'd have to admit that it was some of the best sleep she'd gotten in a while. Not wanting to wake up Jack, Lisa made her way to her bedroom and got into bed. She wanted to wash her face and brush her teeth, but she wasn't ready for any conversations with anyone about how they had fallen asleep and just tried to fall asleep again.

When Jack woke up, the fire was out. He thought about just lying down and worrying about stuff later, but he really wanted to be more comfortable. Jack tiptoed into his bedroom so as not to wake up Lisa. He quickly grabbed some pajamas from his dresser. Turning around, he bumped a photo on the dresser, and it fell to the floor, the glass in the frame shattering. The lamp on the nightstand by Lisa came on, and Jack slowly turned around to see Lisa trying to sit up in bed.

To be continued