Chapter 16

Jack was spending time with Lyndy, but his mind was on his wife. They were going to go look at trucks before they picked Georgie up from the airport. He was almost feeling nervous about it. He hadn't felt nervous about spending time with Lisa in quite some time, but it almost felt like a date to him even though they were really just running errands. Lisa had warmed up to him quite a bit from when she first woke up in the hospital, and he hoped that it would continue.

Lisa woke up early from her nap. She got up and joined Jack and Lyndy in the living room. "Hey, what's going on here?"

Jack looked over at Lisa and smiled. "Lyndy and I were just playing with her horses."

Lyndy looked up at Lisa. "Do you want to play with us?"

Lisa wasn't sure how, but Lyndy had been so sweet with her, so she decided to join them. "Sure, honey. I don't really know how, though. Can I watch first and then join in?"

Lyndy gave Lisa a big smile. "Sure." She went back to playing with her GG.

Lisa eventually joined in. She felt silly, but Lyndy was thrilled. Lisa really enjoyed spending time with Jack's great granddaughters. Well, Katie and Lyndy anyway. She hoped that it would be the same for Georgie as well.

Amy walked into the house and entered the living room. "What is going on here? Did Lyndy convince you two to play with her?"

Jack looked up at Amy sheepishly. "Yeah, she doesn't really take no for an answer when it comes to horses."

"No, she doesn't," said Amy while laughing.

A little before three, after chatting for a bit with Jack and Amy, Lisa got up and went to change her clothes. She wanted to try wearing something that didn't have an elastic waist. It was a little bit of a struggle to get her pants buttoned, but she really didn't want to wear any more sweat pants or pajama pants. Once she was dressed, she went into the bathroom and put on some makeup, and brushed her hair. Lisa didn't think it was her best look, but she didn't want to look bad if she was going to be in public.

Jack looked up when Lisa came out of the bathroom, and his jaw dropped.

Lisa tried to ignore the look on Jack's face. It made her feel shy, and she wasn't really a shy person. "Are you ready to go?"

Jack got up from the couch. "Almost. I'll be right back." He went into the bedroom and shut the door.

Amy looked up from where she was sitting and said, "You look really pretty, Lisa."

"Thanks, Amy. I don't feel very pretty."

Lyndy looked up. "You're always pretty, Lisa."

Lisa laughed. "Thank you, honey."

Jack came out of the bedroom. He had put on black jeans and a nice shirt. Amy's eyebrows went up when she saw him. She tried to hide her smile behind her hand.

"Okay, I'm ready now. Let's get going." Jack guided Lisa to the door. They put their coats and shoes on and headed out the door.

After they left Heartland, Jack drove them to a local dealership, but before they pulled into the lot, Lisa stopped him. "Can we go somewhere else? I don't want to run into someone I know that I may not remember here."

Jack drove past the dealership. "Sure, that is where I got my last truck so I thought I'd try them again, but I guess we could go somewhere else for now and see what else is available to compare with what's here in Hudson."

"Thank you, Jack. I'm not ready to go anywhere in Hudson. Maybe we could find some dealerships closer to the airport in Calgary." Lisa wouldn't admit it, but she almost had a panic attack at the thought of running into someone she once knew but didn't remember."

"Okay, that works for me." Jack normally would have argued with Lisa, but he was so desperate for her to be comfortable with him and to stay with him, that he was giving in more.

Lisa pulled up her phone and started looking for car dealerships near the airport, and they began to make their way there. She was thankful that Jack hadn't insisted that they go to the dealership in Hudson. There was still a chance she could have the same issue in Calgary, but it was less likely. She also started looking for places to eat or get a coffee if they had a lot of time between looking at trucks and picking up Georgie.

Before long, they were pulling into a Chevy dealership. Jack wasn't crazy about dealing with salespeople, while Lisa was still afraid she'd run into someone she knew, but didn't remember. They walked around the lot and looked at a few trucks before they were spotted by a salesperson. Jack grumbled about them, but Lisa put on her businesswoman persona and convinced them to give Jack and her some space while they looked around.

Very quickly, Lisa learned that she was going to have to be patient while shopping for a new truck. The man she had come to know as someone who was sweet and patient was becoming more and more agitated as he looked at the prices on the trucks. Eventually, she stepped in. "Why don't we take a break and then look somewhere else. There are a few dealerships on this street. Let's go get a cup of coffee and regroup."

Jack realized that he was being grumpy and tried to snap himself out of it. "Okay, a cup of coffee sounds good. Trucks are way more expensive than the last time I was shopping for one, and I thought the prices were outrageous then."

After they got back in the Porsche, Lisa asked, "When was the last time you bought a truck?"

"Well, I'm not sure exactly. We had been seeing each other for a bit at that point. I think it was probably in 2009." Jack thought back to when everyone was pushing him to get a new truck. He knew they were right, but he hadn't beenready to give up his old truck.

"What kind of truck did you end up with?" asked Lisa. "Tim made it seem like it was an old truck."

Jack chuckled and said, "Yeah, it was. It was newer than the truck I was replacing, though. In case you haven't figured it out yet, I'm not exactly good with change or with new things."

Lisa wasn't sure that she agreed. "I don't know. You've done pretty well dealing with my amnesia. You've been patient and kind. Don't sell yourself short here. You're handling change better than you think."

"I guess." Jack knew that he was keeping a lot of his thoughts to himself in an attempt to keep the peace with Lisa. He really didn't want to scare her off. Inside, he was kind of a mess, though. He pulled into a Tim Horton's parking lot and parked. "Do you want to go in, or do you just want to go through the drive-thru?

"Let's just go through the drive thru. The seats in my car are more comfortable." Lisa didn't feel like getting out of the car.

Once they had their coffees, Jack found an empty parking spot at the edge of a Canadian Tire parking lot nearby and parked there. They sat and drank their coffees in silence.

Lisa finally turned to look at Jack. "So what are you looking for in a truck? That might help you narrow things down."

Jack set his coffee cup down in the cup holder and turned to face Lisa. "You're right. Just going into this without any real guidelines isn't going to be helpful. One thing Amy suggested was having a truck that Lyndy could ride in so I don't have to borrow her truck whenever I take Lyndy to and from school or activities."

"Okay, that's something to consider. You can also fit more people into your truck that way as well. What else?" asked Lisa.

"I don't want a loud, flashy color, and I don't like those headrests that knock my hat off," Jack grumbled.

Lisa laughed. "Okay, I'm guessing you have experience with that. You know the headrest is for your safety. If you get in an accident, it prevents bad neck injuries. You should probably take your hat off when you drive anyway. It's safer that way. We can't have you getting a head injury, too."

Jack smiled at Lisa. "It's nice that you care about my well-being."

Lisa blushed. "I do care. I know things are complicated right now, but one thing is true. I do care about you and your well-being. I can't really explain it, but it is something that's important to me."

Jack felt his heart race a little hearing Lisa say that she cared about him. For the umpteenth time since the accident, he wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her. It drove him crazy that he couldn't, but he knew that he had to do whatever it took to get her back.

Lisa noticed that Jack was deep in thought. "What are you thinking about?"

Jack shook himself out of his thoughts. "I was just feeling thankful that we're here and that you survived the accident. It really was one of the worst moments of my life. I will take you in this state over you not being here at all. We were probably closer to that happening than I want to ever consider."

Lisa squeezed Jack's hand. "I'm glad that I'm here. Thank you for not pressuring me to be more than I'm capable of being. You've allowed me to just be me and work through things. The past week, I've had to take on more information about my own life than one person should ever have to."

"What else would I do? You can't change how you feel about things, and you can't make yourself love me. I wouldn't want you to force it. I'm just going to continue to be there for you."

"Well, thank you. I appreciate it." She really did appreciate it. Being able to do this at her own pace was very helpful.

Jack looked at the time and realized they may have left too early. They had too much time to kill before Georgie's flight got in, but he didn't want Lou to suspect anything. "Okay, as much as I hate it, let's go look at some more trucks. Let's go to the next dealership. Maybe they'll have something that I don't completely despise."

"Wow, way to be positive about it. You just want your old truck back, don't you?" Lisa was slightly amused by Jack's grumpiness.

"Yes. I don't like new trucks. They're all shiny and new and don't have any character." Jack knew he was being grouchy, but he couldn't help it.

Lisa rolled her eyes. "It's a vehicle. They don't have any more meaning than what you give to them. Look at it as a more utilitarian thing. It's a tool you use to get yourself around and to haul things you need for your work on a ranch. Start there and see if you can find something that will fit the bill. You're probably attached to old tools, too, aren't you?"

Jack put his head down and chuckled. "You know, for someone who doesn't know me very well, you sure do know me."

"Like I said, I've learned a lot in the past week. Okay, let's go look at more trucks and see if you can find something that doesn't make you want to run for the hills." Lisa didn't have much hope that the next dealership would be any different, but they still had a while before they had to pick Georgie from the airport, so they might as well look.

Jack pulled out of the Canadian Tire parking lot and headed to the next dealership. He hated shopping for trucks, but he was trying to be more open to new things. He knew Lisa was right. He needed to not give things so much meaning. The memories didn't leave with the object.

After looking at more trucks at the other dealerships in the area, Jack and Lisa decided to look for somewhere to eat. They found a local diner and were sitting in a booth looking at their menus. Lisa put her menu down and looked at Jack. "So, were there any trucks that you didn't completely hate today?"

Jack put his menu down. "I guess there were a couple that weren't totally awful."

"You're going to be difficult while looking for a truck, aren't you?" Lisa countered.

Jack groaned. "I'm not trying to be. This is just hard, and I'm not very good at pretending."

"I don't know, you do a pretty good job of acting like it's not killing you that I don't remember our life together," said Lisa.

"If you know, then I'm not doing that good of a job at it," Jack replied. He leaned forward and looked at Lisa. "So, how are you doing with everything? I know yesterday was a lot. You haven't mentioned anything about it today."

Lisa looked down. Tears were forming in her eyes, and she tried to blink them away. Taking a deep breath, she replied, "I don't know. I've been trying to focus on other things. Today has been good for that. I think I'm just not ready to deal with Dan being gone and the uncertainty of my business. Hopefully, having Georgie here will help with getting back to work. I'm not good with being at home all day and sleeping so much. With Dan, I just have so many mixed feelings about him. Of course, I'm sad that he passed away, but it's confusing.

Jack reached out and took Lisa's hand in his. "Well, whatever you need help with, I'm here for you. Whenever you need to process things, I can be someone to talk to. I know things are hard right now. I can't even fully imagine what you're going through, but I'm here no matter what. You are my wife, and I will always support you. I promised to be here for you in sickness and in health, and I meant it."

"I really do appreciate your support. It means the world to me. Not all husbands would be willing to be supportive of their wife in a situation like this. You know, I was friends with a cancer nurse, and she told me horror stories they all witnessed of husbands who left their wives when they got sick. She said that wives never left and would care for their ailing husbands through some really awful stuff, but the husbands would leave because they couldn't handle it." Lisa honestly couldn't imagine Jack being like that.

Jack looked at her in disbelief. "Those men are weak. I supported my first wife, Lyndy, through her illness. I was there for her to the end. It would never have occurred to me to leave her, and it's the same with you. I'm in it for the long haul."

Their waitress came to the table just then and took their orders. Neither felt comfortable going back to the same conversation again. They chatted about the weather, their food, and the latest Hudson news while they ate. Once they were done, it was time to go to the airport to pick up Georgie.

Once they arrived at the airport, Jack parked the Porsche in the short term parking, and they went in to wait for Georgie. After checking the board to make sure that her flight was still on time, they walked over to where the passengers came out.

Lisa felt her phone vibrate and pulled it out to look at it. "It's a text from Georgie." She opened the text and was surprised by what she saw. She handed the phone to Jack so he could read it as well. Once he gave Lisa her phone back, she put it in her pocket and took Jack's hand in hers.

Jack was happy to hold Lisa's hand, but he knew it had more to do with the text she got than her actual feelings for him. As he was deep in thought, he heard, "Jack Bartlett, I thought that was you!" He looked up and saw Val approaching.

Val hugged Jack, but Lisa hadn't let go of Jack's hand. Val glanced over at her. "Oh, hi Lisa." She then looked at Lisa more seriously. "Oh my, what happened to you?"

Lisa wasn't about to give Val the satisfaction of learning about her memory loss. She dropped Jack's hand and put her arm around him. "We were in an accident coming back from the fishing cabin last weekend. A deer ran out in front of us, and when Jack slammed on the brakes, he lost control of his truck, and the passenger side slammed into a tree." Lisa looked up at Jack, and he knew by the look on her face that she wanted him to play along. "Thankfully, Jack wasn't hurt too badly. He had some minor cuts on his hands, but those have healed up. I, unfortunately, will be in this cast for quite some time."

Val noticed Jack and Lisa's cozy stance and narrowed her eyes. "Well, I'm glad that you seem to be doing okay, and I'm glad that Jack didn't get hurt. I just got back from Seattle. Ashley met me there, and we had a quick little girls trip. It was really nice. Rainy, but nice. I should go get my luggage and get home. Walking around Seattle wore me out. Wow, that city is extremely hilly. Who knew?"

Val walked off, and Jack and Lisa sighed from relief that they'd gotten through that interaction. Georgie approached them just then. "Jack! Lisa!" She gave them both hugs and then stepped back. "Did you get my text?"

Lisa laughed. "Yes, we did. Thanks for the heads up that Val was coming our way. I really can't stand that woman, and I don't even remember the history of her trying to steal Jack from me."

Jack put his arm back around Lisa. "She never really had a chance with me even before I met you. After I met you, it was completely out of the question."

"Well, she considers you the one who got away. Remember when she told me that story about a Mr. X?" asked Georgie.

"Mr. X?" Lisa asked. "Oh, I've gotta hear this story sometime."

Jack groaned. "You really don't. I'd rather not remember. Georgie, let's go get your luggage and get you to Heartland." He really didn't want to talk about Val and her feelings for him anymore. It made him uncomfortable.

After they left the airport, they picked up dinner for Georgie at a restaurant that she frequented as a university student and had missed since moving away. The trio then made their way to Heartland. Georgie and Lisa got reacquainted on the trip.

When they arrived back at Heartland, Georgie said she'd hang back so that Lou wouldn't see her until she got inside. Jack and Lisa walked into the mudroom and took off their shoes and coats. Lou was in the kitchen having a snack and looking at her phone. She looked up when they came in and asked, "How did truck shopping go? Did you find anything you like?'

Jack grumbled. "Not yet. Everything is expensive and all shiny and new."

Lou looked at Lisa and laughed, and rolled her eyes. "I see you got to experience Grandpa being all grumpy. I'm sorry."

Jack protested. "I'm standing right here."

The door to the house opened, and Lou looked to see who was coming in. She squealed when she saw who it was. "Georgie! Oh, what are you doing here? How did you get here?" Lou threw her arms around her daughter and hugged her tight. Then she turned around to look at Jack and Lisa, "Is that why you went car shopping for so long?"

Jack and Lisa just shrugged and walked into the living room to give Lou and Georgie some mother-daughter time. Lisa looked back towards the kitchen. They could hear the two women talking and catching up. "Thanks for suggesting that Georgie come work for me. I'm already impressed by her. I think she'll be really good."

"I'm glad you think so. I wasn't sure if I was just being biased because she's my family, but I think she's a special person. I'm just very proud of everything she's accomplished." Jack squeezed Lisa's arm.

Lisa looked up at Jack and said, "You know, you are going to have to look for trucks more seriously soon. I won't be in this cast forever. I'll need my car back eventually."

To be continued