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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. Since he usually just slept in his underwear, he needed to get some pajamas for the couch. 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.

Chapter 10

"I'm sorry, Lis. I didn't mean to wake you up," Jack apologized.

As Jack started to move, Lisa stopped him. "Wait! Don't move. There's broken glass in front of you. Let me get the slippers on the other side of the bed. They may not fit well, but it's better than getting glass in your foot. I'd really like for us to stay out of the hospital for a while."

Lisa moved slowly to the other side of the bed. It was a little bit more of a chore than she thought it would be. She was worn out by the time she got the slippers and just stood there looking at her husband. "I am tired after that. It's hard to do with one arm and the whole right side of my body, basically being one giant bruise."

Her husband looked sympathetically at her. He felt responsible for her injuries. "How about you put the slippers on and get my slippers out of the closet. You don't need to be climbing around the bed like that."

"That sounds like a great idea. I don't think I could do it a second time." Lisa put her slippers on, found Jack's slippers, and brought them to him.

Once they both had slippers on, Jack went to get a broom and dustpan. Lisa just stood there feeling useless. She didn't know where anything was in the house, and she couldn't physically do much anyway. She decided to follow Jack so she could learn where things were located around the house.

Jack heard footsteps behind him and was surprised to see Lisa following him. "Lis, I got this. I'm the one who made the mess. I'll clean it up."

"I want to know where things are in the house." Lisa insisted. "The amnesia makes me feel useless most of the time. This is something small that helps me feel a little less pathetic. I'm disappointing you as a wife and the rest of the family as a grandmother and great-grandmother." Tears were forming in her eyes.

Jack gently put the broom and dustpan down and moved toward his wife. He brought her over to the couch and sat down on her left side, and grabbed her uninjured hand to hold it. "Oh, Lis. You aren't useless, and you aren't disappointing me or anyone else. You have a brain injury, and the whole right side of your body is bruised and swollen. Things are hard right now, but I have faith that they will get better." He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it gently. Then he stood up and turned to look at Lisa. "Let me get the glass cleaned up, and then you can have the room back."

Lisa nodded and sat back on the couch. After sitting for a moment, she took the opportunity to do her bedtime routine that she had skipped earlier. She found what looked like her face soap and washed her face. It took a little longer than usual with one hand. When it came time to brush her teeth, she realized she didn't know which toothbrush was hers, and she wanted to cry yet again. She just stood there feeling lost and pathetic. While she was standing in the bathroom feeling sorry for herself, she heard a quiet knock and Jack's voice asking if she was okay. She wanted to go to him and cry on his shoulder, but her pride wouldn't allow that. She was a strong, independent woman who didn't need a man. Especially a man she had no memory of and didn't care for in the way he wanted. She realized she must have been standing there for a while because Jack eventually poked his head in the door.

"Lis, are you okay? I was starting to get worried." Jack examined his wife's face and saw her trying to hide her feelings. He knew what that looked like. He fully came into the bathroom once he saw she was okay. "I was getting worried about you, and I wanted to brush my teeth before I go to sleep."

She just stood there for a moment, trying to get her emotions under control. "I'm fine. It just took me a little longer to wash my face with one hand. I hope it was my face wash. I'll have one of the girls tell me which stuff is mine in the morning."

Jack pulled out Lisa's toothbrush, put toothpaste on it, and handed it to her. He then took care of his own toothbrush. "You probably didn't know which one was yours, did you? It's becoming clear that the small things can be just as frustrating as the big things when you lose your memory. I know you don't like to ask for help, but please don't be afraid to do it. I'm feeling a little lost here myself. I don't know how to care for you in a way that helps you, but it doesn't overwhelm you or make you feel pressure to act like my wife."

Lisa took her toothbrush from Jack and began to brush her teeth. She wanted to be mad that Jack knew her so well and was being so understanding. It wasn't fair that he knew more about her than she knew herself. When she was done, she left the bathroom and went back to her room and got into bed. She heard him come into the room, so she pretended to be asleep. Everything was hard right now, and she needed time on her own to deal with it.

Seeing that she was asleep, Jack grabbed his pajamas and clothes to put on in the morning. Then he quietly closed the door and sat down on the couch. He could see that Lisa was struggling with everything, and it drove him crazy that there was so little he could do to fix it. Lying down on the couch, he continued to ruminate on how he could help his wife deal with everything. It was overwhelming for him, so he could only imagine how hard it was for her. There was so much she didn't know about her own life. Even little things like knowing which toothbrush was hers or where the broom and dustpan was located were just more things she didn't know and couldn't do without a little help. He made the decision to talk to Lisa in the morning and offer to give her a comprehensive tour of the house. It might be easier to just do everything himself, but he knew she would hate that. She needed to know where things were and how things worked. With a small plan for tomorrow, he was able to relax enough to fall asleep on the couch.

In the morning, Lisa woke up confused once again by where she was. It all came flooding back to her when she saw the photo of Jack and her on the nightstand, and she closed her eyes as the tears came. She hated feeling so helpless. She was a smart, capable woman who ran a multi-million dollar business. Being helpless wasn't allowed in her world, yet here she was with no memory of the last 17 years of her life and no idea how to live her life now. One thing for certain was that she needed to figure out a way to get back to work. She was afraid of looking weak in front of her employees, though. Having Edwin on her side would help, but she didn't know him and didn't know how he would react to this.

Jack had been up for hours. He was always up by five to do chores around the ranch. He fed and watered the horses and rode out to see the cattle and check the fenceline. He'd only had a cup of coffee before he left because he wanted to get everything done quickly before Lisa was up. He came back into the house and took off his boots. Lou was in the kitchen making some toast for herself, and Amy was pouring herself a glass of orange juice. Both of them looked up and greeted him when he came in. He wanted to get a feel for how things were going. "Is Lisa up yet?"

Lou shook her head. "She hasn't been out here from what I can tell, but she might be awake. The pain medication she is on makes her pretty sleepy, though. You might want to check on her."

Jack moved through the house toward his bedroom. He knocked on the door and entered after he heard a quiet, "Come in." Lisa was still lying down in bed. Her hair was a little messy, and her face was still bruised and swollen on the right side. Jack just stopped and stared at her.

Lisa began to look around and tried to straighten her hair. "I'm sure I must look terrible."

Jack shook his head. "No, you still look beautiful. You always have, and you always will." Seeing Lisa blush and look away, he realized he had probably been too forward. "I'm sorry. I'm coming on too strong, aren't I?"

Looking back at Jack, Lisa responded, "Maybe, but it still did my ego a little good to be told that you think I'm beautiful. I know it's not true, but it was nice to hear anyway. Just don't make a habit of it, okay?"

"Deal." Jack chuckled and stepped closer to the bed. "Do you want some breakfast? There's coffee and juice. I was about to make myself some eggs and toast. Would you have any interest in that?"

Lisa cocked her head and looked at Jack. "You know what? That sounds amazing. I just need to go to the bathroom and then I'll meet you in the kitchen. I need to use the facilities and clean up a bit." She started to maneuver her body so that she could get out of bed with the least amount of pain, but the medication had worn off too much and she cried out in pain as she tried to get out of bed.

Jack rushed to her side. "Let me help you up. When was the last time you took some pain medication?"

Feeling sorry for herself again, Lisa pushed Jack away. "Let me do it myself. I need to figure this stuff out without help. What if I need to get up in the middle of the night to use the toilet? I'll figure it out."

He stepped away and watched as Lisa figured out which movements hurt more than others. Feeling useless was not a feeling Jack liked. He wanted to be helpful, and she wasn't letting him. He hated seeing Lisa in pain and stepped in to stop her from hurting herself more. "Let me help you now. We'll make sure you don't get behind on your pain meds again, and then you can do it yourself. How does that sound?"

"I hate it, but I also need to get to the bathroom right now." Lisa stopped trying to get out of bed. She was in an awkward position and felt like she might fall off the bed. "I think I might fall, so could you help me quickly. I don't think falling would help with my recovery.

Grabbing her left arm and holding onto her waist on the right side, Jack pulled Lisa into a sitting position. "That is better already. Hold tight onto my hand, and I'll pull you up so you're standing." The two of them worked together and got Lisa so that she was standing. She already felt exhausted and almost wanted to go back to sleep, but her need for a toilet made that impossible. "Do you need any help getting to the bathroom?"

"No, I can make it." Lisa walked out of the bedroom to the bathroom and closed the door.

Jack went to start on breakfast. Lou, Peter, and Amy were heading out the door when he walked into the kitchen. Lou stopped when she saw her grandpa to let him know where they were going. "Peter and I are heading out to Maggies, and Amy is going to be working with a client horse. Katie and Lyndy took the bus to school earlier. How's it going this morning?"

"It's okay…Jack trailed off. "It's hard," he admitted. "It was different in the hospital. We weren't living together then. I was just a visitor. We're both having to relearn how to be around each other. She's been thrown into a relationship and a family she has no memory of, but I know her so well and care so much that it's hard for me to keep it in check."

Lou looked sympathetically at Jack. "You have been through so much together and fought so hard to get to where you are now. You'll figure it out. I'll get out of your hair. Oh, everyone will be out of the house for a while. Dad and Jessica decided to go to Banff last night and stayed in a hotel. Jessica wanted to get some photos around Lake Louise today. Enjoy having the house to yourself for a while. It may be busy later in the day.

Jack was thankful for a quiet morning at home with Lisa. He knew she was struggling more than she would say. Her reaction to getting help this morning was just one clue that she was overwhelmed. He began pulling eggs and milk out of the fridge when Lisa entered the kitchen. He set the food on the table and shyly said, "Hi. This won't take long to make. Go ahead and have a seat, unless you want to make the toast."

Lisa perked up at the idea of helping. "I can definitely make toast. Just let me take my pain meds, and then I can get started. I need something to distract me from just sitting on the couch or lying in bed feeling sorry for myself."

Jack certainly understood that feeling. "Oh, I understand. I got hurt pretty badly a while back, and I hated just sitting around. The only reason I got out of the hospital when I did was because you promised not to let me do anything to injure myself further. You had to threaten to hogtie me if I didn't sit down on the couch and let my body heal after we got home. Then again, I was trying to do things like ride a horse with 8 broken ribs. I deserved the threat of being hogtied. I still left and drove somewhere, though, but in my defense, I was worried Tim was going to kill someone."

"I haven't met Tim yet, but he sounds…interesting." Lisa was very curious about Tim.

"Interesting is definitely one word for Tim. Pain in my ass are some other words for him." Jack chuckled at a memory of Tim. "He lived in the house with us for a while, and he drove you so crazy. Your final straw that made you demand I kick him out was after he drank milk directly from the jug and wiped his mouth on a dish towel."

Lisa grimaced and said, "Gross. It sounds like I was justified in being upset. That's disgusting."

Jack nodded. "It was, and you were. Here's the deal with Tim. He drives everyone crazy. He's pushy and egotistical and doesn't take no for an answer very often, but he also loves his family and would do anything for them. He has saved my life more than once, which he loves to remind me about all the time. When I had my heart attack, Tim saw my horse, Paint, just standing in a snowy field all alone with all of his tack on. He knew something was wrong. I would have frozen to death if Tim hadn't found me."

"Wow. He sounds like a complicated guy." Lisa wasn't sure if she wanted to meet Tim or not.

"Very." Jack was the most nervous about Tim being around Lisa. He was a bit of a loose cannon, and he didn't want Lisa to be the target.

After the couple had breakfast, Lisa cleared her plate from the kitchen table and turned to look at Jack. "So what's the plan today?"

Jack stood to clear his plate and started to fill the sink to wash dishes. "I don't really have much of a plan for today. I got all my chores done early, and Amy is around if the horses need anything. How are you feeling? Has the medication kicked in yet?"

Lisa sat back down at the table. She was more tired than she wanted to admit. "I'm okay. I mean, I'm not, but I'm not worse than before. I feel better than that first morning I woke up in the hospital. I never want to experience that pain again."

"If you're feeling up to it, would you be interested in a tour of Heartland? We can start here in the house, and then later, I can show you around the ranch." Jack offered. "I thought that might be a good way for you to get to know where you live."

Lisa smiled, "That sounds good."

To be continued