Chapter 24

Dinner at Heartland was a simple affair. Everyone was tired after the cattle drive, and no one really wanted to cook, so Lou picked up pizzas when she went into town to pick Katie up from work and pick Lyndy up from Rebecca's house.

Jack noticed that his speech to Amy about including Lisa more had been spread to Lou as well. Both made an effort to include her in things. He was thankful that they were doing that. He wanted his wife to feel like part of the family.

After dinner, Amy and Lou invited Lisa to join them on a shopping trip in Calgary sometime the following weekend. Lisa was thrilled to be included in something that wasn't Jack or great-grandchildren related.

After the great grandkids went to bed, Lisa asked Jack if he'd join her on the porch for a cup of tea, and he agreed. The two sat down on the bench on the porch like they always did. They were getting closer, and neither one of them knew what to do about it. Both were scared of the consequences if things didn't work out. They kept their conversation light and avoided flirting.

The next morning, when Jack woke up, one of his first thoughts was thinking of where he had been exactly two weeks before. He thought about how he had been in bed with his wife at the fishing cabin.

They had gone to bed at a normal time the night before but had stayed up late enjoying and taking pleasure in each other. He still woke up at his usual time, but without any barn chores and learning his lesson from previous mistakes, he stayed in bed with his wife. She was facing away from him, and he put his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. She stirred a little but then went right back to sleep. He reveled in the feeling his body pressed into Lisa's back. He loved her so much, and he had enjoyed being with her without the worry that someone might hear them or interrupt them.

Jack shook himself out of the memories and got up to make a pot of coffee. He had a cup and then went out to take care of the horses. He was still pretty tired after moving the cattle, so he planned to stay close to the house. When he came back after taking care of the horses, everyone was still sleeping. He got to work making breakfast. He wanted to do something nice for the girls because they had been extremely helpful moving the cattle, and he was grateful for their help.

As he cooked breakfast, people in the house began to stir. Amy was up first, followed by Lyndy, Lou, Lisa, and then Katie. Everyone was standing around the kitchen chatting. Lou jumped in to help Jack despite him saying that he didn't need help. It was just a nice relaxing morning with the family. Jack noticed that Lisa still mostly just observed things, but she was starting to join in on family discussions more and more.

After breakfast was over and the dishes were washed, people kind of spread out around the house. Jack and Lisa ended up in the living room with Lyndy. After talking to her for a little while, Lyndy remembered something that Jack and Lisa had agreed to. "GG, can we go on a picnic today? You said that we could. Right, Lisa? You said so, too."

Jack was amused by Lyndy and how persistent she could be. "You know, I forgot all about that. You have a really good memory. I'd love to have a picnic with you today, but we need to ask Lisa if she wants to go too."

Lyndy turned to look at Lisa with a hopeful look in her eyes. "Lisa, will you go on a picnic with me and GG?"

Lisa narrowed her eyes at Jack, but he could tell she was amused. She turned to address Lyndy. "Sure, honey. I'd love to have a picnic with you too. Why don't you check with your mom and make sure it's okay if you go on a picnic today. I don't want to interfere if she has plans."

Lyndy ran off to ask her mom. Jack and Lisa looked at each other and started laughing. "She is persistent," Lisa pointed out.

"That she is," Jack agreed. "Is it really okay to go on a picnic today? I know it isn't always easy to say no to her."

"It's fine. I don't have any other plans today, and spending some time with our youngest great granddaughter sounds like fun. She's adorable, and I haven't spent as much time with her as I have with Katie. So where would we go for this picnic?" asked Lisa.

Jack shrugged his shoulders and said, "I'm not sure. I was thinking about asking Lou if there are any guests at the dude ranch. I thought it might be nice to have the picnic there by the dock. Is that okay with you?"

"Yeah, that should be fine. Lyndy is so excited. I'm not sure it would matter where we go. She just wants to spend time with us," Lisa pointed out.

"True," Jack agreed.

Lyndy came running back to the living room with Amy following close behind. "GG, mommy says we can go on the picnic."

Amy got to the living room a little after Lyndy. "Is it okay with you two? If you'd rather not, we can do something else."

Lisa waved her off. "No, honey, it's fine. I'm looking forward to spending some time with my youngest great granddaughter. She's a sweetheart, and she's so excited too. I wouldn't dream of dashing her hopes now."

"Okay, well, I just wanted to make sure. She is very excited to spend time with her GGs. Okay, well, I'm going to go get some work done. Lyndy, why don't you go play in your room for a little bit." Amy left the house to head to the barn to work

"Okay! I can't wait for the picnic!" Lyndy ran to her room to go play.

Jack, Lisa, chuckled at Lyndy and how cute she was. Lisa stood up from the couch. "I'm going to go get cleaned up. Georgie and Katie spoiled me yesterday. They not only helped me wash my hair, but they also styled it. Katie said it was to repay all the spoiling I've done over the years. We have some very sweet great granddaughters, Jack."

Jack looked extremely proud. "I've always thought so, but I'm glad that you do, too."

Lisa went to get cleaned up, and Jack worked on his flies for a bit. They both were looking forward to spending time with Lyndy and also with each other, although both were downplaying that desire for themselves.

A little before lunchtime, Lisa got sandwich requests from Jack and Lyndy. Jack helped by chopping some fruit and veggies. Together, they made a good picnic lunch. Lyndy came in when called and was very excited. They got into the Porsche and drove it over to the dude ranch. The guests who had been there for the weekend had already left, so they had the dude ranch to themselves.

Lyndy ran around the dude ranch grounds for a bit until Lisa and Jack had the food set out. They all sat down at the picnic table and ate their lunch. Lyndy regaled them with stories from school, barrel racing, and her sleepover. After they finished their lunch, Lyndy begged them to go sit in the adirondack chairs by the dock.

Lisa struggled getting into the chair with her arm, and she had no idea how she was going to get out of the chair after, but she wanted to do something for Lyndy. The three sat and talked. Lisa loved getting to spend time with her great granddaughters. She enjoyed spending time with Jack as well.

After a while, Jack noticed that Lyndy had fallen asleep in her chair. "I guess us old people bored her to sleep."

"Who are you calling old?" Lisa countered.

Jack chuckled. "Touche."

Lisa looked over at Lyndy. "She's even more adorable asleep like that. If that's even possible. She's such a sweet kid. I can't believe that I get to be her great grandma."

"I'm glad that you are. The girls are lucky to have you." Jack was thankful that even though Lisa hadn't developed feelings for him that she still cared for their family.

"Did you hear Lou and Amy invite me to go shopping in Calgary next weekend?" Lisa was curious if it was the norm.

"I did, and I bet you're looking forward to that. Just don't spend too much money and spoil the girls too much." He was glad that Amy had taken his advice.

"Do you know who you're talking to?" Lisa looked at Jack like he was crazy.

Jack laughed. "Good point. Well, I hope you girls have a great time shopping next weekend."

"I'm sure we will. I'm kind of excited to spend time with Lou and Amy in a way that doesn't have anything to do with my memory or my arm." Lisa was thankful for any activity that had nothing to do with her memory or her arm.

Jack scooted to the edge of his chair. "Do you want to walk around a little bit? We can keep an eye on Lyndy while we walk in case she wakes up.

"That sounds good." Lisa looked around at where she was sitting and wondered how she was going to stand up. "Good luck getting me out of this chair. It's hard to get leverage with only one arm."

Jack stood up and puffed out his chest. "Well, it's a good thing I'm still strong and agile."

Lisa shook her head. "Are you flirting with me?"

"I might be." Jack shrugged his shoulders and stood up.

"Okay, well, can you show me this strength and agility?" Lisa held out her hand to get help out of the chair.

It took a little longer than it probably should have due to her being unable to get any leverage with her bad arm. When Jack pulled Lisa up, she ran into Jack's chest. "Oof. Sorry, Jack. I didn't mean to run into you."

Jack grasped Lisa's shoulders. "It's fine. I will never complain about being close to you."

Lisa rolled her eyes in amusement. "Do you ever stop flirting?"

"With you? Probably not," Jack deadpanned.

Lisa chuckled and stepped back. "Okay, let's go on that walk. Lyndy is out cold. I have a feeling that sleepover wore her out."

"It probably did. I seem to remember one of them. They didn't sleep at all. Lyndy said they didn't have time to sleep." Jack shook his head at the memory. "She is a character."

They walked back and forth by the dock while Lyndy slept. Jack couldn't help but remember when they got married there. He loved Lisa so much, and it was such a happy day for them.

"You seem lost in thought. What's on your mind?" Lisa had a feeling she knew based on their last trip to the dude ranch.

"I was just remembering when we got married here. It was a very different day weather-wise, but it was still very beautiful. I know you aren't ready to deal with any of that, but it was on my mind being out here." Jack hoped Lisa wouldn't get as freaked out as she did the last time they visited the dude ranch.

"No, I get it. You're allowed to remember our life before the accident. It's important to you, and it's starting to become important to me. I'm just nowhere close to where you are with everything." Lisa wondered if she would ever get there.

"I can understand that. It's not like we fell in love in two weeks. I have years of history with you." Jack remembered what he had thought about when he woke up. "I woke up thinking about where we were two weeks ago. It's crazy to think that I woke up in bed with you at the fishing cabin and held you in my arms. Now, you barely know me and have no memory of our life together."

"I'm sorry. It's not fair to you that I lost my memory. You don't deserve this, but I can't make myself have feelings for you that I don't have."

Jack reached down and held Lisa's hand. "I don't blame you. You can't control this."

"You're a good man, Jack Bartlett. A lesser man would have made this whole situation impossible, but you have made it as easy on me as you can." Lisa squeezed Jack's hand and then dropped it and continued walking. The two of them walked around and kept checking on Lyndy.

When they were done walking around, Jack woke Lyndy up. The sleepy little girl didn't want to wake up, so he picked her up and carried her to the Porsche and put her in her car seat. On the drive back to the ranch house, Lisa looked back at Lyndy and chuckled. Jack looked in the rearview mirror and saw that Lyndy's head was kind of flopping around as they drove down the bumpy gravel road away from the dude ranch.

Amy was walking up to the house from the barn when they got back because Lisa had sent a text letting her know they were on their way. Opening the door and finding her daughter asleep, Amy couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, poor girl. I think she wore herself out at her sleepover the other night. She rarely falls asleep during the day anymore." Amy unbuckled Lyndy and carried her into the house.

Jack and Lisa got out of the car and followed Amy into the house. They took off their shoes and were getting glasses of water when Amy came into the kitchen. "Is she still asleep?" asked Lisa.

Amy nodded. "Yeah, she wouldn't wake up for me. Her sleep schedule is going to be off for a few days. I thought doing the sleepover wouldn't be that bad, but I should have known better. They didn't sleep at all at the last one. I just figured it would be an easy way to take care of Lyndy while I was on the cattle drive. Lesson learned. No sleepovers during the school year."

"I get it. I seem to remember you and your sisters having the same problem when you were kids. Maggie tried to make you and Soraya go to sleep, but you'd just be sneaky and stay up anyway."

"I remember that. Soraya and I had so much fun. Mom wasn't very happy when I got home and could barely stay awake, though." Amy and Jack laughed at the memory while Amy sat down at the kitchen table and joined the couple. "Did you guys still have fun with Lyndy today before she fell asleep?

"Yes, she told us all sorts of stories about school, barrel racing, and her sleepover. She's a sweetheart."

Lou walked into the kitchen and asked, "Hey, Grandpa. Would you be interested in grilling some steaks for dinner tonight?" She turned to address Amy and Lisa and asked, "Does that sound good to you two as well?"

Lisa shrugged. "I'm always up for a good steak."

Amy agreed. "Me too. That sounds good to me."

"You know I'm always up for a steak," said Jack.

"Good, I'm going to make some baked potatoes and salad. Maybe we can eat outside. It's a nice day. I just need to run into town to grab a couple of things. I'll be back." Lou went on her way.

Amy got up from the table, "I need to go wake up Lyndy. She's not going to be happy with me, but I need her to sleep at least a little bit tonight. She has school in the morning."

After Amy left the kitchen, Lisa said, "And then there were two."

Jack chuckled. "I need to get some stuff done in the barn. Are you okay here?"

"Of course, go do whatever you need to do. I think I might go lie down. I'm kind of tired."

The two of them went in opposite directions. Lisa went to her room, and Jack went outside.

That evening, they all gathered around the picnic table outside. Jess and Tim were there as well. It was a fun evening. Lyndy was a little grumpy, but everyone else was in good moods and was joking around and telling stories.

After dinner, they cleared the table and got all the dishes done. Jack asked Lisa if she would like to sit outside on the porch. She agreed. It was becoming a nice tradition for them to sit outside after dinner and talk. After they talked for a bit, they went back inside to join the family before everyone went to bed. Jack went into the bedroom to get some clean pajamas and said goodnight to Lisa. She was standing next to the bed, setting the alarm on her phone. Jack walked over to her and put his arm around her. "Good night."

Lisa leaned her head on his shoulder. "Good night."

Jack left and went to settle down on the couch for the evening, and Lisa got into bed.

To Be Continued