"Well, well, well, look who finally decided to stop by-" Maggie paused in her wiping down of the lunch counter and smiled at the sight of her friends walking in. Lisa and Marion had planned to come by days ago for lunch, but several things had gotten in the way. Today, though, they were finally taking a break from the household craziness to meet up and enjoy lunch with each other and with Maggie.
"Maggie, so good to see you!" Lisa squealed, walking to the end of the counter to greet her, her arms extended to hug her.
"Lisa Stillman," she gave her a nod as she tried to look irritated at her, but clearly wasn't. "Wait-" she paused as she pulled back from her hug and eyed Lisa. "I suppose that's changed too."
"No, keeping Stillman," she said, patting her friend's hand there on the counter.
"Wait, trouble in paradise?" Maggie eyed her, but Marion stepped in.
"She's not changing her name. Dad's not wearing a wedding ring-that's their version of a marriage compromise."
"Ahh," Maggie chuckled, shaking her head from side to side, "yeah, I can't see Jack wearing a wedding ring at all. He never did, did he?"
"No," Marion said with a small smile, "but he did tell her he would if she insisted."
"Which I didn't because I want to keep my name."
"I can't wait to catch up. You two are early, before the lunch crowd, so grab a table. Ahh," she smirked, "the family outing here," she waved her fingers at them. "Feel strange that you are related now?"
Marion and Lisa looked at each other, both with a slight chuckle and roll of their eyes, "A bit," Marion told her, leaning in winking at Maggie before adding, "really weird living in the same house with them just down the hall, all the changes, you know."
"Ahh, yes," Maggie raised her eyebrows at Lisa, "the honeymoon suite so to say."
"Stop!" Lisa laughed, dropping her head. When she raised it, the she eyed both women before looking at Maggie, "I've told her," she hooked her hand at Marion, "off the table. We are not talking about that, not when it's about Jack and me, just not going to happen."
"Okay, fine, we'll see how much dirt we can get out of you in other ways," Maggie told them. "Go on," she waved. "Coffee? I'll bring some over."
"Please," Marion begged her. "I'm so tired. I've had horse issues the last couple of days."
"Lisa?" Maggie asked as she and Marion walked to a table.
"Yes, I've been moving so much and am still dealing with some jet lag. Gosh, a week later, and I can't get on the right time zone."
The women all got settled, Maggie delivered coffee, and once their orders had been placed-a burger for Marion and a BLT for Lisa, Maggie returned and leaned up against the table behind them to talk.
"Well, congratulations, Lisa. You look so happy, almost sparkling."
"Sparkling?" Lisa laughed. "Thank you, but that's a new one."
"You know what I mean," Maggie swatted at her. "You really look happy. Your eyes are sparkling. Jack has a good thing with you. You're both right for each other."
"I am happy, very happy, and I'm really glad to be back home. I am sorry it took us a few days to get over here." She looked at Marion and gestured, "We really did have plans to come here the day after I got home, but-"
"-but the house has looked like a war zone the last week with Lisa getting all moved in. Finally," she let out a sigh and nodded at Lisa, "the wicked stepmother is moved in with all of her changes."
Maggie started laughing as she nodded at them. She gestured to Lisa, "She's never going to let you live that down, is she?"
"It's our running joke now," Lisa waved her hand. "We both realize it's a bit crazy, but we're adjusting okay, even Amy."
"I'm trying to picture you moving into Heartland," Maggie pursed her lips. She eyed Marion, "How bad is it over there? You guys didn't want to pick up and move to the mansion?"
Marion grimaced, "Heartland is home. Amy and I could have stayed on our own-"
Lisa patted the table, eyeing Marion, "You know Jack adores that ranch, and we've all heard the stories about the generations of family members at that ranch. No, it's okay. I'm good living there. We agreed to keep Fairfield as a retreat for any of us, but I will admit the closet space has been a challenge. It should be better later today."
"What's later today?" Maggie asked. "What?" She chuckled. "Is Jack adding on a closet for you?'
"We'd love another bathroom," Marion gave a nod at Lisa who hummed in agreement, "but you know Dad will never go for it. He likes things the way they are, well, except for marrying Lisa."
"You just let me work on that," Lisa tapped the table. "I will let things settle, but if that's still a concern, I have my ways of persuasion." She said that in a flirty tone, and Maggie's eyes widened.
"Ohhh, I thought we weren't talking about that, your 'behind closed doors' topics."
"That's not what I mean!" Lisa dropped her head and groaned. "You two are awful."
"You put it out there," Marion said as she sipped at her coffee. She looked over at Maggie, "Dad has been whistling and humming constantly while he works. Never seen the guy with this kind of pep in his step," she raised her eyebrows.
Maggie laughed again, nodding, "Hmm, yes, I saw Jack briefly two days ago picking up feed. I was busy here, but he was in a very good mood."
"I'm serious!" Lisa's mouth dropped open as she looked at her friends. "No, we're not discussing this."
"Let me check on your food," Maggie hooked her hand.
"Thanks, Maggie," Lisa offered. "I do need to get home to meet the furniture delivery."
"Oooh, what did you buy?" Maggie asked before she walked away. "You got Jack to agree to new furniture?"
Lisa pursed her lips as she brought her coffee cup up to her face, almost ready to hide her face as she blushed and said quickly, "Bedroom furniture," and at that, both Maggie and Marion burst out laughing. Maggie, as she walked away, looked back at them.
"Of course, you got him to agree to new bedroom furniture. Honey, I can only imagine. You're over 20 years younger, but I guarantee, you're taking 20 years off that man, keeping him young there with your ahh, new furniture," she smirked.
"Coming here was an awful decision," Lisa laughed, dropping her head. When she looked up, Maggie was gone, but Marion was smirking across the table at her. "You're awful, both you and your friend-"
"Your friend too. Oh, are you going to speak to my father about that?" Marion sassed, like she was expecting a scolding as a child would.
Lisa laughed again, "That would be a very poor decision that wouldn't go well for either of us."
Maggie dropped off their food but couldn't stay with other customers arriving. When she finally did come back, she eyed Lisa.
"Okay, in all seriousness, what's next for you two? So new furniture-"
Lisa nodded, putting her hand up to her mouth as she chewed. She waved her hand as she explained, "New bedroom suite being delivered today, yes, we agreed to find something more modern but rustic. Love the set we found," she explained with a smile. "Amazingly, Jack likes it too. I can finally get my clothes put away today. The room is a mess. We've emptied everything Jack had in there and moved it out-"
"Tim came over for dinner last night and helped Dad move it out," Marion cut in, and Maggie's eyes widened.
"Tim and your dad worked together and didn't end up killing each other?"
"Progress," Marion told her.
"Okay, back to that in just a minute, Marion. Lisa?"
"Oh, ahh, well," she chewed and nodded. "Hopefully, we'll finish up at the house tonight with the new furniture. It feels good to be getting settled after a week at home. Marion and Jack have been great welcoming me, making me feel at home, and giving me some free reign to update or change things in the kitchen and then our bedroom. Ahh, I am hoping to be home and in a normal routine for the next month or so. I will have to go to Florida sometime in April or May and another trip to France-"
"You have to go back to France so soon?" Marion raised her head from her burger. "I didn't think you'd have to go again for a few months."
Lisa made a face, "Yeah, I have several new younger horses. I'm not comfortable leaving them for months on end without eyes on them. Of course, I have a great trainer and staff there, but I spent a fortune getting these horses. I'll need to go back, not nearly as long, maybe a week or so, but that's coming up. I also," she chuckled rolling her eyes, "told Jack I wanted to come on the spring cattle drive-"
"You?" Maggie asked. "That's like real cowboy stuff, no hotels and all."
"I know; I know," Lisa nodded as she explained. "I just," she paused and her face flushed as she smiled. "I want to do this. Jack's life is running a ranch, Marion you too," she waved her hand. "I think when people hear you work with horses, they assume you know all things. None of us do. I know race horses and breeding high quality stock. Marion fixes horses with problems and can train horses for almost anything. Jack loves running a cattle ranch, and I want to embrace that. I know it's going to be roughing it. He knows I hate camping, but," she paused and took a deep breath, giving Marion a smile, "he's made some tremendous efforts for me. We all know he's not a traveler, and look at what Jack has tried over the last few months. This is something I can definitely do. I mean," she waved at Marion, "two days on the open range with my stepdaughter, step granddaughter, and husband," she grinned. "Sounds pretty great."
Marion smirked at Maggie, "I'll make sure to take care of the princess on the open range."
The three women burst out laughing, and Maggie turned to see more customers. She patted Marion's shoulder and gestured, "I'll be back, but we both need the Tim update."
"Might have to wait," Marion told her. "Lisa has to get home. I have to get over to the Hite's ranch to see about this horse they are having trouble with right now."
"Let's plan a ladies' night and soon," Maggie called over her shoulder, waving at them as she walked away.
After Maggie walked away, Marion finished chewing and met Lisa's gaze, "Thanks for this morning, for not saying anything to Dad about Tim. I was going to tell Maggie Tim stayed over, but we'll have to get to that at our next ladies' night."
"Oh, well, it's not my place to say anything," Lisa told her, giving her a look over her cup of coffee. "Besides, it wasn't all that long ago that you ran into me in the kitchen in the morning, so I'm not about to say anything running into Tim. I will caution you," she met Marion looking right at her, "watch out for Amy. She's a lot more observant than she seems. Trust me. I promised her I wouldn't divulge anything, but your dad would be mortified if he knew what Amy told me."
Marion grimaced but nodded, "Got it. Okay, yeah, she's a teenager now, not five."
Look," she paused and thought about it, but then shook her head. "No, you're a grown woman and don't need any advice-"
"Actually, I'd love some."
Lisa frowned but looked at Marion, "Just be careful, which I know you've been trying to go slowly with things. I am not going to ever bring this up with Jack. That's not my place. Just be glad I was the one needing a cup of water at 4 AM and not your dad. He's going to run into Tim at some point if you keep this up."
"Going forward, he will use the side door by my room, just as you did down by your room with Dad. My clutz of an ex-husband just had to not think and start for the front door. Glad it was you and not Dad out there for sure."
"Look, I can't give you advice on what to do. It's your life and your relationship with Tim. I see how you look at him, and I know you still love him. You have to decide if loving him is enough," she shrugged. "It may not be with the issues you two have had and the addictions he's struggled with. You can be all in, but if it's not right or whatever," she waved her hand, "you can't force it."
"Appreciate it," she told Lisa with a small smile. "It really felt normal almost having Tim there. I envy that you and Dad have built a solid relationship and are starting out so happy in your marriage, I really am, all joking aside."
"You'll figure it out. It's not a race to some finish. Give it time, more time," Lisa reached over and squeezed her hand. As she did, she glanced at her watch. "Oh, I do need to go. That delivery is supposed to come after 1:00, but you and I both know those delivery times are never accurate. I promised Jack I would take care of it."
Marion gave her a warm smile, "Something tells me he'll make sure to work around the house today so he's there to help too. I never thought I'd see him excited about changing anything, but he was showing me the furniture you picked out from the pamphlet the store gave you. He's excited."
"I'm so looking forward to a firmer mattress," Lisa laughed. "That one now is so soft. I can't stand it!"
"Thank you!" Marion waved her hand as Lisa dug out money for lunch. "Whenever we have to replace a mattress at the house, Dad goes for ones that are like a couch, too soft. We always argue. His is terrible."
"Maybe I'll sleep better tonight too, but good grief, he snores-"
"SO MUCH!" Marion exclaimed, and both women covered their mouths laughing. "Oh, Lisa, I'm so glad the old guy is your problem. He's a good one but stuck in his ways. He probably has sleep apnea but won't do anything about it, so he's yours now," she grinned.
Lisa put money on the table, almost double the bill for Maggie and smirked at Marion, "Yes, well, I'm going home to see my catch," she rolled her eyes, "and get that room finished because the mess is driving me crazy. See you later this evening."
Lisa made the drive back to Heartland and as she started down the winding driveway, she smacked her steering wheel. The delivery truck was already there with the furniture, which was a great thing, but she was home an hour before their scheduled window of delivery, and they were still already there. If she'd stayed home all day, the furniture probably wouldn't have come until dinner. She quickly bounced down the driveway, the truck parked parallel to the house so it took up most of their normal parking. It looked like it was parked behind Jack's truck, and she sighed, knowing she'd have to move her car later. She ended up parking by the barn to not get in the way of the large delivery truck.
She stepped into the house and right into the chaos, stepping over some broken down boxes from the furniture company and a lot of furniture pads there on the floor. It was a mess, and she could barely get into the kitchen, let alone the rest of the house. When she reached the kitchen sink, she spotted Jack, shoulder against the wall by their bedroom door supervising things.
"Hey Cowboy," she smiled brightly as she was trying to take off her coat. They'd ordered new everything-mattress, entire bed to include a beautiful wooden headboard and footboard, matching nightstands, a leather chair for the corner, a tall dresser that would go by the door, and a long dresser. She'd also brought over a small desk that had been her mom's, and that was already in the room. It was a large bedroom, and she was really excited to see it come together. It was a beautiful dark wood, but it had a modern flair to it. She loved it, and surprisingly, Jack had found it first, pointing it out to her. He liked it too, especially the leather chair for the corner to read or relax, which made their shopping trip incredibly successful.
"Lise," he turned his head, apparently not hearing her come in, smiled at her, and gestured toward the room, "ahhh."
She finished with her coat and started toward Jack, "Sorry," she waved her hand, "I just knew this would happen. You know they are over an hour early for delivery. Marion and I met in town for lunch after I worked at Fairfield all morning as you know," she smiled brightly when she reached his side, Jack perched there by the bedroom door, watching all the movement in the room. Lisa leaned up and kissed him, a peck on the lips, Jack all the while trying to gesture at her. "If I had stayed home all day waiting for the delivery, they would have come close to evening," she chuckled, squeezing his arm, her eyes still locked on Jack. "Missed you. Excited our new furniture arrived."
"Ahh, Lise," he nodded, toward the living room, and Lisa turned and immediately, her eyes narrowed.
"Lisa Stillman," Val sat over in the corner in Jack's chair by the fireplace with a curt nod at her. That was Jack's chair, Jack's. Sometimes Lisa sat on the arm rest there next to him, but that was for them, not at all for an outsider, especially Val Stanton. Lisa glanced up at Jack, and he held his expression but tried to smooth things over.
"Ahh, Val had stopped by just before the furniture arrived."
"Yes, and what could I do?" Val flashed a big, fake smile. "The truck blocked me in," she said with a smug face and shrug of her shoulders. "Imagine my surprise to see new furniture here at this place when I no things never really change here. Course, I suppose the rumors are true, you two," she nodded at them, "got married," she said almost with a pain in her voice, "and you Lisa, would change everything."
"Val, as I told you," Jack gestured while he shifted and put his arm around Lisa's back there, "Lisa and I are really happy to have gotten married, and yes, we are changing things up here. That's what happens when you get married, you merge things and make changes. Lisa is my wife, and you're not going to be rude to her or to anyone in my family. Do not come into our home and start your nonsense."
"And as I told you, Jack," she said narrowing her gaze, "I never ever expected such a hasty decision from my oldest friend and that I wouldn't be personally told you'd gone off and done that. To think you know someone."
"Val," Lisa narrowed her gaze and eyed her, ready to pounce, "you know you alluded to us getting married with Jack before I got home! I know you did! He told me. If you have something to say, just spit it out. What we," she gestured between Jack and herself, "decide to do with our private life is just that, private! We're married, and no, we didn't have to tell anyone. We got married just as we wanted, with Marion and Amy there. Lou couldn't leave a new job. We are very happy to be married, and no, our friends were not told ahead of time. It's no secret you've been horrified at the idea of the two of us dating and being together. It's none of your business! We're adults, older adults even," she rolled her eyes. "You spoke to Dan," she huffed, "and I know he told you because I told him AFTER Jack and I got married. I felt I owed it to him as both a business partner and his ex-wife, plus we have nothing to hide! I didn't have to do that, and we certainly didn't have to afford you some personal, private chat. Now, I'm not going to speak for Jack, but let this go! Yes, we're neighbors and share a lot of business interests, but our family is our family, just that."
"Val, coming into our home and telling me that I made a huge mistake marrying Lisa is wrong," and at that Lisa's eyes widened, not hearing what was said before she arrived. The delivery crew, who had heard an earful, called to them, and Jack nudged her. "Lise, why don't you check on things in there, make sure our furniture is where you want it."
At that, Lisa gladly stepped into their bedroom, not before flashing a glare and then a smirk at Val as she stepped into the bedroom. She couldn't help but call out to him, "Jack, if you want to start unpacking those boxes there by you, the bedding is in those. Can't wait to try it out."
Lisa made sure to stay in the bedroom while the crew was finishing up. The furniture was beautiful, not cheap, but she didn't care; they had no plans to replace it ever again, especially knowing how Jack hated change too. She really did not want to chat with Val. She detested the woman, and once she was in the bedroom talking to the crew, she noted that Jack did start to clean up the mess and open boxes as she'd suggested. She could hear Val trying to talk to him, and honestly, she didn't care what was discussed. Lisa briefly heard a conversation about show jumping, no doubt Val bragging about Ashley, but she also heard a comment about the jumps outside, wishing only for that moment she could boast about those, not that she was that sort of person anyway, but Val brought it out in her.
Thankfully, Jack ushered out the delivery crew when they finished along with Val. Lisa was busy at work, determined not to let anyone ruin this day. She really had been looking forward to it, and the furniture looked even better than she had envisioned. When all were gone, Jack returned and paused in the doorway.
"She showed up here for some reason today deciding to tell me why marrying you was some terrible idea. Obviously, I didn't want to hear it."
"I appreciate that," she told him, opening up the quilt set they had ordered. Jack stepped in and put out his hand as an offering to help.
"Lise, never doubt I love you, no matter what nasty things people, or really Val, might say," he said, putting his hand on hers to still it. She looked up at him with a small nod and smile.
"I know, and I love you and appreciate you saying that to her."
"You know," he started to chuckle as he looked around at their new room, "it's kind of sweet justice that she showed up here right when all of our new bedroom furniture was being delivered." Lisa paused, considered that, and she burst out laughing too, a much wider smile now at Jack. She put down the bedding she was unpacking and walked around to him, nodding as she rolled her eyes. Jack winked at her as he pulled her into his embrace, "If you hadn't gotten home, I could have asked her to help put our bedding on the bed." At that, Lisa laughed again and rested her head on his chest. Jack hugged her tightly and then commented on the room. "I really like this furniture, more than I thought I would."
Lisa pulled back and looked at it too, nodding, "I love it, but," she frowned looking up at him and pointed at his chest, "you said you liked it when we bought it."
"I did," he said cautiously, adding, "more than anything else we saw. Now, I love that leather chair, but I was not sure what to expect here with it in the room. Looks great, really updates the room but keeps the rustic feel."
"It does," she smiled, "perhaps a good compromise of the two of us, even?"
"That it is," he nodded, his eyes moving toward the dressers. He waved at them, "You do whatever you want with those. I know how it was set up in the old furniture, but I don't care. Just as long as you save me at least a drawer."
"A drawer," Lisa laughed, covering her mouth. "Jack, I certainly won't take all of the drawers. I will gladly share. I'm really hoping to get this room finished this afternoon. It will be good to be settled. I had a couple of issues come up at work today, and while it's been really good to focus on getting my things moved and settled, well," she frowned and scrunched her face, "I will have to turn my attention back to work."
"I know," he rubbed his thumb over her arms. "Glad I was just working in the barn to hear them arrive today, but yes, as it starts warming up, my work load will ramp up too. Never would have planned a winter wedding," he winked, "but it certainly worked out for us."
"It certainly did," she flashed a huge smile. "Now, if you need to get back to the barn and to work, I completely understand, but," she paused and gave him a nod, "I'm home for the rest of the day and planned to get things sorted here."
Jack nodded, considering what he had going on for the afternoon. He gave a nod of his head back toward the outside, "When's Marion coming home?"
"She had a client horse to see and was going to get Amy after school, but Amy had some club meeting for her riding club at school, so maybe before dinner?" Lisa shrugged as if she wasn't sure. Jack looked down at her and nodded.
"I think it would be wise if I stayed in here and helped you, I mean, least I can do," he winked, stepping back and kicking at the door again. "Besides," he smiled softly at her, "we should probably make sure we're completely satisfied with our new purchases."
"Oh, is that it?" She shook her head and sighed. "You realize we really do have to get this room sorted?"
"That's fine," he patted her hips and started to step back. "If I'm too much of a distraction," he hooked his hand, "I'll just go back to the barn."
"Don't you dare," she laughed, tugging at his hand, both sets of their eyes sparkling.
"So you do want my help?" Jack teased with his voice lowered as he leaned down to kiss Lisa's cheek.
"Help, really? You're terrible, but I think I could be persuaded to indulge in alternate plans for the afternoon, but I'm serious, that we have to have this room put together before Marion gets home. That's my goal." She tilted her head at him, waiting for his response, but his goofy grin at her made her laugh.
"Like I said," he told her kissing her cheek again, "just give me one drawer. I'll be really fast, I mean, putting things away," he said, and Lisa laughed at that. "Promise, room will be done, but eventually."
"Eventually," she said, looking up at him, leaning up to him, and kissing him sweetly. "I'll hold you to that, you know, eventually," she said, this time with a much deeper kiss.