Chapter 36
Lisa was sitting in the kitchen drinking her coffee when Jack came in from doing his morning chores. "Hey, how are you doing this morning?"
"I'm good. How are you?" Jack walked over to Lisa, looked around to see if anyone was in the living room, and then quickly kissed Lisa on the cheek.
"I'm okay. You know, you didn't have to sleep on the edge of the bed. Was it because of what happened yesterday?"
Jack sat down at the table with Lisa. "Maybe. I just didn't want you to think I was taking advantage of you."
Lisa laughed. "I would never think that. You have always been a gentleman. What happened was all an accident, and it wouldn't happen here because we are dressed differently here."
"That's true. So… what do you have planned for today?" asked Jack.
"Not much. I need to make a couple of calls today to make sure things are ready for Georgie's going away party on Friday," replied Lisa.
"Are you ready to completely take over your job?" Jack hoped that she was ready because it was happening whether she was ready or not.
"Yes and no. I don't really have a choice, though. My employees are good and I think I'll be able to do okay. I just wish that I could be honest about stuff now. I hate lying, but this industry is just so tough." Lisa was getting tired of hiding her amnesia, but she had been keeping up the lie for so long. She didn't know if she could go back on it.
"Do you have any other employees you could take into your confidence who could help with that? You know that I think honesty is the best policy, but I understand why you did what you did. Wouldn't it be better to come clean about everything now rather than waiting for it to get out?" Jack hated that Lisa felt she had to be dishonest. He wanted to encourage her to be honest, but he understood why she was afraid of that.
"I don't know. I was hoping that my memory would be back by now. I'm so tired of this." The fact that Lisa's amnesia was still present was really hard for her. She just wanted to have her memory back so that she didn't have to worry about any of it.
Jack had an idea, but he wasn't sure that Lisa would go for it. "Maybe you could use that. You could just be honest about stuff with your employees first and then everyone else. You could explain that you were hoping that your memory would come back sooner and you were concerned about your reputation in the racing industry, but it hasn't come back and you need to continue to do business. I think they would understand why you had kept it a secret. You've shown that you're still the same person who works hard and cares about running her business in an ethical way. It's not like you started treating your employees and horses badly. You're still doing what you've always done. You could start with your employees and then start being honest with your racing colleagues as well."
"I don't know. I'm not sure if I'm ready for that. I guess I still keep hoping that my memory will come back. There are just so many people who would try to capitalize on this. As sad as I am that Dan passed away, he would have been first in line to try and take advantage of this. Val will surely try to come and steal you from me." Lisa rolled her eyes at the thought of Val's reaction.
"You know that I'm not interested in Val even a little bit. I'm only interested in you and have been since we met, and you flirted with me at the barbecue. Thankfully, you were assertive and made your interest in me known so that I could reciprocate." Jack squeezed Lisa's hand.
Lisa gave Jack a small smile. She wished that she could remember that. "Well, it won't stop Val from trying. I can't imagine disrespecting someone's relationship like that, but that's just me. I just wish that I could remember meeting you."
"I do too. It was a pretty great time." Jack winked at Lisa.
Georgie came downstairs from Katie's room, where she had been staying for the weekend, since Peter was in town and walked into the kitchen. "Hey you two, so I was wondering if you might be interested in going on a family trail ride today. I don't know how much time we'll have for it next weekend since I'll be getting ready to leave. Lisa, I wanted to make sure you could do it before I suggested it to anyone else in the family because I don't want to leave you out."
Lisa was touched by how considerate Georgie was being. "You know, I'm not really sure if I have the strength to pull myself up into the saddle."
"We could get the steps out for you so that you don't have to work as hard to get onto the horse," suggested Georgie.
"Yeah, that might work. Can we test it out first so that I'm not doing it for the first time when everyone else is out there?" asked Lisa.
Georgie nodded. "Of course. I will go tack up your horse now, and you can come out and try it."
"Let me go put on some better clothes for riding, and then I'll join you out there." Lisa got up and went to change.
Jack turned to Georgie. "Thanks for thinking of Lisa. I know she appreciates it. A family ride sounds fun. We haven't done that in a while." He was so proud of his great granddaughter and all that she had accomplished and what a lovely young woman she had turned out to be. "Do you need any help with getting Lisa on the horse?"
"I'm probably fine on my own, but it might be good to have an extra person there to hold the horse so that if she needs a boost at all we can do both at the same time. I'm going to head out to the barn now. I'll see you out there with Lisa when she's ready." Georgie left and went out to the barn.
When Lisa came back to the kitchen, she saw that Jack had washed their coffee cups and was putting his boots back on. "Are you coming out to the barn too?"
Jack nodded. "Yeah, Georgie wanted a little extra help in case we needed to hold your horse still, and you need a boost as well."
"That's a good idea. Thanks." Lisa sat down next to him to put her boots on.
"It's no problem." Jack shrugged. He was happy to help. "I was thinking about asking you if you wanted to go for a ride today. I was thinking more of just the two of us, but a family ride would be fun, and it's something Georgie wants to do before she leaves for Florida."
The two of them walked out the barn together. When they got there, Georgie had Lisa's horse tacked up and ready to go. Lisa led him outside the barn. When she stopped, her horse nuzzled her a little bit, and she gave the horse a neck scratch as a reward. LIsa was touched that her horse was so affectionate after not riding him for so long. She knew she had a horse that she used at Heartland, but she had been so focused on dealing with everything else that she hadn't spent any time with him. "Hey, did you miss me?" Lisa asked her horse.
"Aw, it looks like he did miss you. That's so sweet," said Georgie.
Jack brought the steps out of the barn to put next to Lisa's horse. "Okay, are you ready to get on him?"
"I guess. I'm a little nervous. I haven't ridden a horse in so long." Lisa went up the steps, took a deep breath, put her foot in the stirrup, and swung her other leg over. "Oh, that worked. I can tell that it would be difficult for me to do it from the ground, but the stairs helped a bunch. Thanks for the idea, Georgie. The only issue is getting back up if we stop anywhere. I can't exactly bring the steps with me."
Jack stepped forward. "I can help you with that. We all can. That's what family is for."
"I'm not as skinny as I once was," said Lisa.
"Neither am I," said Jack in a matter of fact way. "I'm not sure any of us are. It's part of getting older. We'll get you back up on the horse just fine. Don't worry about it. We'll have Amy with us as well, and I'm sure she'll think of something that would never occur to the rest of us."
Lisa appreciated that Jack didn't make her feel bad for gaining weight, but also didn't try to lie and say that she hadn't. She didn't need that. "I guess you're right."
"Have you figured out how you're going to get down?" asked Georgie.
Lisa looked around. "I hadn't really thought about that. I think that I can get down normally. Let's try it out. Jack, can you hold my horse?"
Jack took the reins and held him in place. "Okay, you can get down now."
Lisa got down on her own. It was a little hard, but muscle memory from riding horses her entire life kicked in. "Okay, that was both easier and harder than I thought it would be. It feels good to be doing something physical, but I'm out of shape. I'm thankful for all the years of riding horses. That muscle memory is coming in handy now."
"You did great, Lisa." Georgie beamed at her.
"You're not just saying that because you want the ride to happen, are you?" questioned Lisa.
"No, not at all. You really did do great. I know you're out of shape after the accident, but getting back into riding might help with that. It gives you something to work towards in your recovery as well."
Lisa was thankful for Georgie's positive attitude. "Thanks, Georgie. I appreciate it. I'm going to miss having you around."
Georgie gave Lisa a hug. "You're so welcome. I'm gonna miss being here. It's been nice to work at Fairfield and learn more about the work you do. You're amazing. I knew that before, but it's even clearer to me now. You make it seem easy, but your job is far from that."
Jack looked proud of both of them. "Both of you are amazing. I'm proud of both of you. Lisa, why don't we try boosting you up without the steps so that if we stop on the ride, you know that you can get back on your horse again."
"That's a good idea," said Georgie. "I'll hold him in place while Jack boosts you up into the saddle."
Lisa felt self conscious about it, so she was thankful that they were practicing without the whole family watching. It was a little more of a struggle getting up that way, but Lisa was thankful for her western saddle so she could use the horn to pull herself up. She eventually got herself up in the saddle. "So that was a little harder, but we got it done."
"Yeah, but we'll have more people to help then, and like Jack said, I bet Amy will have some ideas as well," said Georgie.
Jack patted his great granddaughter on the back. "Thanks for your help, Georgie. When were you thinking about doing this ride?"
"I figured after lunch would be a good time to do it. I had asked everyone to hang out then, so I know everyone is free. I just wanted to make sure that Lisa could ride before I asked about that. I would have been fine just having lunch together and hanging out this afternoon, but I really want to go on a ride. I'm gonna go back to the house. I need to call Jade and see if she can hang out this week." Georgie headed back to the house.
Once Lisa got off her horse again, Jack untacked Lisa's horse and put him out in the paddock. "Let's go for a walk down to the pond. Are you up for that?
Lisa grinned at Jack. "Sure, that sounds good. It's a nice day."
The two of them walked down to the pond. Lisa had a lot on her mind as she prepared to step back into her role at Fairfield fully. She was nervous about it, and she was beginning to wonder if Jack was right about coming clean about her amnesia. It was definitely something she was going to have to think about. She wanted to talk to Georgie and Edwin about it and see what they thought. If they were supportive, then she would consider it.
Jack noticed that Lisa seemed lost in thought. "Hey, you're awfully quiet. What's on your mind?"
Lisa cringed. "I guess I was being quiet. I was just thinking about what you said earlier about how you thought that I should come clean, at least with everyone about my amnesia."
"Yeah?" Jack was kind of surprised that Lisa was considering it. He'd just thrown out the idea, not really thinking that she would take it seriously. "Have you made any decisions about it?"
"No, but I think that I might talk to Georgie and Edwin first and get their perspective. They know my employees best and would have some insight into how they and everyone else would react and if it would be a good idea. I know Edwin would probably like to not keep that secret anymore. Especially since he'd be the only one who knows once Georgie leaves."
"That sounds like a good idea. Talk to them and see what they think and then make a decision from there. I hope you know that I'll support you no matter what, but I have found that honesty is the best policy." Jack was glad that Lisa was considering what he'd said earlier, but he didn't want to pressure her to take his advice. He knew that she needed to make that decision on her own.
After their walk down to the pond, Lisa felt better about things. She knew that she didn't have to make a decision right away, but she had a plan for how to make the decision, and that gave her some peace of mind. "Let's go back to the house. I want to rest if we're going to go on a ride later."
"Sure, let's go." Jack grabbed her hand and started walking.
Lisa stopped and looked up at Jack. "We probably shouldn't do this here. Not that I don't want to. I very much do, but I don't need the family in our business any more than they already are."
"You're right." Jack dropped her hand, and they made their way back to the house.
After lunch together as a family, they quickly cleaned up the dining table and kitchen and then headed out to go for a trail ride. Everyone was getting their horses tacked up. Amy had been focused on taking care of herself and Lyndy when she noticed Jack and Georgie helping Lisa with her horse. "Hey, that's a good idea to use the steps while Lisa is working on building up strength in her arm."
"It was Georgie's idea," said Lisa. "We made sure that I could get on and off a horse earlier before Georgie suggested the family ride."
"Good job, Georgie!" Amy smiled brightly at her niece. "I know it's not the same thing at all, but I helped a guy who was paralyzed learn how to get back on his horse so I'm a huge fan of figuring out an accommodation if the rider needs it. Lisa, there will be plenty of people to help boost you up if we get off the horses at any point during the ride."
"I know, that's one of the reasons that I agreed to do the ride." Lisa was ready to have the focus off of her. "I think Lyndy is chomping at the bit," said Lisa, motioning to her great granddaughter who had practically already started the ride.
Amy laughed. "That's my daughter. She was so excited when Georgie asked about going for a ride."
Georgie had gotten onto her own horse and moved to the front of the group. "Okay, everyone, just follow me." Everyone began following Georgie as they went out on their ride.
Lisa hoped that this had been a good idea. She was feeling just how out of shape she was almost immediately, but she wasn't going to rain on Georgie's plans. The young woman was so excited to do this with the whole family. Lisa figured she could suck it up and do this for her after she had worked so hard at Farfield for the last month.
Jack trotted up next to Lisa on his horse. "How are you doing?"
Lisa shrugged her shoulders and said, "I'm okay. I'm definitely feeling how out of shape I am, but at the same time, it does feel good to get out and ride."
"Well, you don't look out of shape. You look great on your horse." Jack smirked at Lisa.
Lisa rolled her eyes. "You're crazy, but thank you."
The ride ended up being really enjoyable for Lisa. She mostly rode with Jack, but by the time they rode to their destination and then back to Heartland, she ended up riding around everyone. It was fun to spend time with the family in this way. Getting off and back on her horse at their destination had been a challenge, but thankfully, people just pitched in and helped with that. No one made her feel bad that she was so out of shape.
When the family arrived back at Heartland, everyone was tired and ready to relax. No one was really in the mood to cook dinner, so Lou offered to go into town and get pizza.
The family was spread around the living room and kitchen. Everyone was chatting and talking about old memories. Jessica sat down next to Lisa and said, "I wasn't here for a lot of this stuff, and you don't remember it. We can be lost with these old stories together."
Lisa laughed. "It's true. I have no idea what they're talking about most of the time. Sometimes, I've been told about the memory, but I can't actually remember it myself." Lisa was thankful to have someone else who was just as lost as her at times. It helped her to feel less left out. In the end, it was a really fun day. Lisa felt like she'd gotten to know everyone in the family better.
As she and Jack were getting into bed that night, Lisa could tell that her muscles were going to be incredibly sore in the morning. "Oh, I am sore after that ride. I don't feel comfortable asking you to massage me where I'm really sore, but can you rub my shoulders a little. They are a bit sore as well."
Jack's face lit up. "Sure. I can do that. Roll onto your side, and I'll see what I can do."
As Jack found the knots in Lisa's shoulders, she moaned. "That feels good."
"Lis, honey, I'm gonna need you to stop moaning like that. You are making it difficult for me to focus right now." Jack didn't need any help with wanting his wife, but the noises Lisa made were definitely enhancing that desire.
"Oh, sorry." Lisa's face turned red as she realized what he was saying. "It just felt really good."
"It's okay. I understand. I just needed you to stop making those noises. It was making me remember other times with you that I miss very much and can't do anything about right now." Jack very much missed being intimate with his wife. He was okay with being patient and waiting for her to figure things out, but he didn't want to be reminded of what he was missing.
Once Jack finished massaging Lisa's shoulders, she felt very relaxed and fell asleep almost immediately. Jack rolled over and tried to think about things other than his wife so that he could sleep as well.
To Be Continued