Lisa woke up, startled, and shot up in bed, groaning as she did that, almost as if she'd forgotten just how pregnant she was.

"Lise, what's wrong?" Jack rolled over, his hand reaching to her arm. "Baby really kicking?"

"I'm, ahh, not sure," she said, suddenly breathless. Jack, now more alert too, sat up as he reached to turn on the bedside light and then turned back to Lisa.

"You shot up there, right out of your sleep," he told her, Jack running his hand over his tired face. "I must have been in a really light sleep because I was very aware of it. You in pain?"

Lisa now had shifted to putting her feet over the side of the bed and braced her hand on her back. "No, I'm not. Maybe a dream? I'm really not sure why I suddenly woke up like that. Maybe I'll just walk around. Maybe I'm just a little anxious about traveling."

"Okay, well, let me get you a glass of water or something."

She nodded, "I am really hot, so thank you. Gosh, it's sweltering, she said, walking toward their door to the porch.

"Well, I won't disagree. That's not just pregnancy hormones raging. Maybe we should step outside onto the porch, try to cool off. Really warm already for the summer."

Lisa was already ahead of Jack on that idea, nodding as she opened the door. It was now the end of June, and Lisa was very, very pregnant, showing even more than she had with Nora at this stage. They'd joked before with Nora she looked like she had a basketball, but this time, now she was just really putting on the weight everywhere and hated that. She was shuffling a lot more, the weight really feeling heavy to her, and she was about to travel to Kentucky for a few days of work. Unfortunately, this involved a horse she and Dan jointly owned, so she knew he'd be there too, telling Jack that her short fuse-which the family had been seeing with this part of her pregnancy, wasn't about to have a lot of room to deal with Dan. While he'd been okay about her pregnancies, kind even, she'd told Jack he was still a thorn in her side when it came to dealing with business.

Lisa eased down into one of their porch chairs as Jack stepped out with two glasses of ice water, handing her one. She nodded her thanks, closed her eyes briefly, and nodded as she sipped on the cool water. Jack sat down next to her, pulling his chair around, and while she still had her eyes closed, she felt him take her foot in his hand to rub it. Her feet were really bothering her, had been, and Jack had told her they were slightly swollen too, not that she could really even see her feet. As he massaged her feet, Lisa leaned back in the chair and rested her hand on her very large stomach.

"I'm still happy to send Marion or Amy with you on this trip, Lise. I'm worried about you."

"I know, and I'll be fine. My doctor even said I was okay to travel. The swelling is normal with the summer heat, and I'll be okay. I'll be back in five days. It was nice to take Amy and Nora with me when I had to drive down to Montana a month ago," she smiled at Jack. "I know Amy enjoyed both seeing the horses and spending time with Nora-"

"Well," he chuckled, "and you paid her a fortune to babysit, not that you had to do that."

"I wouldn't think of not paying her, even since LisI took her along and covered everything and well," she grinned, "some shopping too. No, that trip was really great, a lot of fun, and she did enjoy herself and got a couple of riding lessons in from a professional trainer. That was a lot fun, good for all of us. Nora did great too, even if I was a bit nervous to take her on a business trip. That was different, though. We drove, and that was great. Not too far, but I could take everything we needed. This time, it's well, Dan, to start," she sighed and smirked at Jack. He grumbled and nodded in agreement. "On top of that, Nora is getting more mobile-I mean, she's now crawling, and she doesn't like being restrained as much. I think it would be more stressful to fly with her and Amy and then try to have Amy find something to do with her while I have to work. I have more work on this trip, and it's two days longer, so as we said, as long as it doesn't bother you Nora is here-"

"Lise," he paused his foot massage and looked at her, "it will never bother me having one of the kids at home, never. Yes, it's the busy time of year, but you have a great plan in place with not just Amy, but Sorayah too, helping with Nora. I don't even want to guess what you are paying those two for watching her."

Lisa chuckled, eyeing Jack with a grin, "A very reasonable amount."

"Reasonable," he rolled his eyes. "Nora is happy here at home, and yes, they will have their hands full with her now, the way she's crawling quickly, splashing everyone in sight in the bathtub, making a mess with her baby food-"

"Yes, she's a peach right now," Lisa laughed, adding, "at least she's really happy all the time. I would hate if she cried a lot."

"She is a good baby," Jack said with a single nod before he sipped his water. "Thankfully, she's not at the stage yet where she screams if we are out of her sight."

Lisa grimaced looking over at Jack, "Oh, when is that?"

"Anytime," he winked, chuckling. "Closer to a year old if I remember. Marion had it bad. Amy had it bad. Lou wasn't too bad."

"Can't wait, just as we're juggling two babies," she sighed, running her hand over her stomach. "This one seems to be determined to give us a run for our money already. I can't believe the last couple appointments they still haven't gotten this one in a good view to determine the gender. I suppose this is what I deserve after not doing anything to get ready for Nora."

Jack eyed her, "I have no doubt you'll get prepared rather quickly. I mean," he waved his hand, "Tim and I are going to put the crib together while you are gone. You looked at some neutral bedding, you said?"

"Yeah," she sighed. "I have, but nothing I'm in love with. I mean, the clothes won't be bad, at least to start, if we have a girl. Obviously, I still have all of Nora's things, and Marion and I organized what she's outgrown in bins, marked by size. If it's a boy, I am sure I'll just do a big order from the hospital," she sighed, adding, "not to mention Marion-knowing her, she'll go out and splurge if she has a little brother," she grinned.

"Man, I wish I remember what had me bolt up in bed," she grumbled. "I'm tired, but I'm afraid I'm not sure I can sleep. It's not even like I'm worried about the travel. I do that all the time, even deal with Dan plenty. I'm just ready to get down to Kentucky, take care of business, and head home."

"You sure you are okay with Dan picking you up for the airport?" Jack eyed her with a frown. "I told you I'm happy to take you-"

"I know," she took his hand in hers as he offered it next to her chair. "I appreciate it, and yes, it's fine. He's going to be there the entire time, and you know I love driving, but this," she gestured to her very swollen stomach, is getting in the way. I thought I was big with Nora, and I have what, around 13 weeks to go, maybe less? I tell myself anywhere from 8-13 weeks with Nora being early, so at least two more months of this? I'm just hitting my third trimester," she groaned, closing her eyes and dropping her head back. "Oh, I'm so tired of being pregnant. I knew a girl in my class growing up-she had four siblings, and they were all right in a row. I can't imagine that poor mother, basically being pregnant for several years at a time."

Jack leaned forward and put his hands on her knees, which had Lisa opening her eyes and smiling softly at him.

"Well, perhaps no one told her how that happened," he winked. "Come on, let's try to get some sleep. It's a good thing Nora is sleeping longer, six or seven hours at a time, but I also know that as soon as we get her closer to 10-12 hours, her sibling will come along and have us back into that two- or three-hour routine."

"Again," Lisa shifted and put her hand on Jack's, "that poor mother. She wouldn't have slept for years."

"Maybe," Jack winked at her, "her husband just found her that irresistible." Lisa started to laugh as she shook her head, sitting up, her face right by Jack's, at least as much as it could be with her very swollen belly.

"That is hard to believe because there is nothing attractive about how I look, let alone irresistible."

"See I beg to differ," Jack said, leaning forward and kissing Lisa there on the porch. She smiled at him and patted his cheek. "Besides, my opinion is the only one that matters."

Lisa chuckled at that and rolled her eyes, "I don't get an opinion?"

"Not about how beautiful you always are. Let's try to get some sleep." Jack stood and helped Lisa stand, pulling her into his arms, as much as he could. "I'll miss you while you are away."

"Me too, but," she grinned up at him, patting his chest, "ahh, I'll have Dan." She caught his eye and grinned even more at him, causing Jack to start laughing. They laughed their way into a kiss, one that started to get heated. Jack ran his hands along Lisa's side, finally snaking them up under the maternity pajama set she'd found, resting them on their baby. Lisa knew she even felt warm; this heat and pregnancy combined was working for her. She was miserably hot all the time, with the ceiling fan going, another fan by the bed, and even commenting that she was looking forward to her trip for some air conditioning at the hotel.

"Now," he paused, kissing her quickly, "I know you don't feel desirable or much of anything, but I just wanted to let you know you are, always. Come on. I'm going to get you a glass of water while you try to get comfortable in bed."

She nodded, squeezing his arm, "Thank you. It's nice to be desired, even if I don't feel like anything of the sort. I'm finally getting tired again. Maybe I can get some sleep. I'm glad my flight is after lunch. I don't have to rush."

"Yeah," he opened the door back into their room with a roll of his eyes, "can't wait to see Dan tomorrow and send my wife off on a trip for a few days with her ex-husband."

Lisa, now in their room, turned and tilted her head, "You're not jealous-"

"No," he made a face his eyes firmly planted on her, "but, you have to admit, it's nuts."

"What in our life is not nuts? Everything is nuts."

"I'm sure you and Dan going off will be the talk of the town."

"Oh, great," Lisa sighed as she walked around to her side of the bed and met Jack's gaze while she pulled back the bedding, "Val will be all over that." She pointed at Jack, "You just wait."

"I have no doubt you are correct. Now, let me get you some water, and let's see if you and that baby who already wants to play games with us are ready for bed."

Lisa didn't sleep well; she tossed and turned the rest of the night, and by the time she was saying good-bye to the family, she felt like she was dead on her feet.

"Get some rest, maybe a nap on the plane," Marion said, hugging her on the porch while Dan had retreated to the car. "The alternative is talking to Dan on the plane."

Lisa laughed into Marion's shoulder, pulling back and nodding at her, "That is some very good advice. Wouldn't you know that he did book his seat next to mine in first class. I mean, I can't be surprised. We both travel first class, and in some ways, familiar is better than the random stranger, but yes, I think I'll try to take a nap, at least to Detroit. Our connection is short."

"Good, see you when you get back, or wait," she smacked at Lisa's shoulder. "Who am I kidding? You'll be checking on the little sister later today. Okay, you get going." Lisa threw her a wave, gave a quick hug to Amy, and she met Jack there by the steps, holding Nora. Dan had been kind, greeting Jack and Nora and loading her bag since Jack had Nora in his arms.

"Now, you try to relax and rest," Jack told her, putting his arm around her shoulder as they walked down the steps together.

"Wow, I must look rough. Marion just told me the same."

"Not at all," he said, pulling her into his side and kissing her head. "Do I need to remind you and show you right here in front of everyone how much I do love and desire you?"

"No," Lisa swatted at Jack and turned to him there at the bottom of the stairs. She smiled at him and ran her hand down Nora's back. Jack handed her Nora, "Oh, goodbye Pumpkin. I love you so much, and I'll be back soon." She peppered Nora with kisses and ran her hand over her head again. Her bulging stomach made a good 'shelf' for resting Nora on while she held her now. Nora's hair was a beautiful blonde, and she had enough hair that Lisa and Marion had both been pulling up small strands and putting it in an elastic hair tie. She looked so cute all the time now, and as Lisa peppered her with kisses, Nora seemed unfazed or unaware her mom was leaving, putting her gum chew in her mouth. She'd cut two teeth and had more coming in. Lisa smiled warmly at Jack as she handed Nora back to him.

"She'll be fine," he winked at her but then leaned in, "but I'm not sure I will be. Miss you already. You take care of yourself and as much as I hate to say this," he lowered his voice and leaned in slightly, "let Dan help and carry some of your workload."

Lisa started to laugh at Jack's expression and nodded, leaning up to kiss him. He kissed her quickly, the two had really said their goodbyes about 20 minutes ago when Lisa was changing Nora, and Jack had followed her upstairs to talk through a few last things about Nora before she left. Nora had been their only witness to that kiss; they definitely didn't want the audience they had now to say goodbye. Lisa winked at Jack, patted Nora's back, and smiled as she stepped away, "Love you, Cowboy. See you soon."

The drive to the airport was cordial; Lisa and Dan discussed pleasantries about Dan's family-Lisa asking about them to get the topic off of her family right now. She didn't realize she was sighing until Dan pointed it out just as they were arriving at the airport.

"You okay over there?" Dan glanced at her. "I mean, I'll state the obvious, but you seem uncomfortable."

"Oh, a bit," she grimaced eyeing him. "I have to say the prospect of a few hours cramped on a plane isn't appealing."

"Well, and I'm sure adding on traveling with your ex-husband isn't at the top of your list."

"Stop," she frowned, looking to Dan. "We've been divorced a long time, worked together even longer. I think we'll manage. I've moved on and am very happy. I hope you can say the same."

He twisted his head from side to side, "You know when they say grass is always greener-I'm fine, yes, and I'm very glad you are happy and have the life you wanted. It doesn't mean, though, that I realized much too late what I let slip away and didn't put effort into fixing."

Lisa listened and nodded, glancing at him, "I appreciate that we can be cordial and still work together."

He nodded, gesturing as he drove through the parking garage, "Still not sure what you see in that old cowboy. That one surprises me, knowing you, knowing your upbringing, your standards, your sophistication, your love for travel. I think your dad would be blown away to know you have Fairfield there, empty, but are living on a very simple and small ranch."

"Umm, Heartland isn't small, Dan," she sighed. "It's 600 acres and a working cattle ranch. Plenty of those around. My dad wouldn't question any of my decisions, especially after one conversation with Jack. The two would get along well and are similar."

"So," he raised an eyebrow, "is that it, I mean, he reminds you of your dad."

"No!" Lisa exclaimed, now horrified. "I love Jack for Jack. He's a good man, and age has nothing to do with it. It's a non-issue with us," she gestured to her very pregnant self, "obviously."

"I just worry about your well-being and your money," he eyed her as he parked. He turned slightly, "What, I mean, how much debt does that ranch have? Most do, and I suppose I wouldn't blame you if this was mostly some transactional-"

Lisa gestured wildly, "Are you serious? Do you really think that we had some business deal? Do you really think that what, I promised the funding to dig out a ranch in debt, which," she pointed at him, "is not the case, for what, this?" Lisa gestured to herself and sighed loudly as she shook her head. "Dan, you're well aware I never thought I'd be able to have kids, and miraculously, that has changed. I love Jack, and marrying him has nothing to do with money or whatever else you might think. I love him. You should understand when I love someone, they are my everything-"

"Until they aren't," he cut in, his eyes locking on hers.

"Yeah, well," she said with a shake of her head, "love of that kind can only be one-sided for so long. Let's face it, Dan. You loved the idea of me, of this empire you wanted to build with horse racing, but the bottom line was the money. Yes, two miscarriages changed us, and I'm sorry about that, but who we each are now," she waved her hand between them, "this is not the life I wanted. I'm living the life I want, and yes, by some miracle, I had Nora and am having this one. Neither was planned, but oh, so loved and such a blessing. Jack coming into my life wasn't some plan I had or he had, but have no doubt that I love him with all I am, and these babies are the absolute proof of that. Now, if you're done questioning my life choices since our divorce, have we cleared the air to travel to Kentucky and get our work done?"

"Crystal clear," he gave her a nod, "and Lisa," he said, pausing until she frowned at him, waiting for me, "I am happy for your that you got what you want with children. I do wonder if your old cowboy will be around long enough to help raise them."

Lisa offered him a small smile, "Let me worry about that, ehh? You and I both know my mom was young and still wasn't able to be around, so as Jack and I always say, there are no guarantees. You and I even know that in horse racing. There are no guarantees-the sure winner often loses out. So, let's get going so that we can take care of our business."

It was another 40 minutes later when they were finally through security and waiting for their flight to Detroit. Lisa had told Dan she was exhausted and wanted to sit, while he, antsy as he usually was when flying even as much as he flew, had decided to do some walking. Lisa opened her eyes when she heard Dan arrive back next to where she was sitting and start moving things around to sit.

"Brought you a coffee," he offered Lisa and then frowned. "Wait, you can drink coffee, can't you?"

"Yes, thank you," she told him with a tight smile. "I appreciate the coffee," and as she was finishing saying the word, he produced a bag too.

"Huckleberry muffin, and I know you like those," he told her. Lisa gave him a soft smile and a nod as he sat down too.

"Thanks, Dan. Did you walk out some of your nerves?"

He sipped at his coffee and eyed her, "You still remember that?"

"Why would I forget that you are always a little nervous to fly? I do know you," she said and added, "well."

"Yeah, but we've been divorced a long time."

Lisa eyed him, "Some things never change, like you getting antsy to fly, but also like me being genuine enough to marry someone because I love him. I can't believe you thought it could be anything else."

He frowned, "I suppose it isn't that I thought it was, just wondered. I just don' get Jack, old cowboy, rancher-"

Lisa sighed loudly, "Just because you don't get him or he doesn't fit into your horse breeding and racing world does not mean that he isn't a genuine man with a good heart. He's a great family man, loves his daughters and granddaughters, loves me very much too."

Dan just nodded, and changed the subject, "Tell me about this baby. Boy or girl? I hadn't heard."

"Ahh," Lisa smiled at him with a slight roll of her eyes, "that is the question of the day, the month," she chuckled. "I don't know, not because we don't want to know, but because at each appointment he or she refuses to turn the right way. They've checked three times now and each time," she sighed.

"Oh, that's not something I've heard happen a lot-"

"No, but it's horribly uncommon, just frustrating. We shall see. They'll check again when I go back in-two weeks. I mean, women had babies before they were able to know ahead of time, so if anything, I'll be surprised at the birth. It would be nice to know, though, to get things ready. I mean, if it's a girl, we have clothing for her, but if it's a boy, I need an entire wardrobe," she started to laugh.

"That does not seem to be a huge sacrifice or problem for you. I know you love to shop. Let me guess-you want another girl to have a pair of them to spoil?"

She made a slight face, "Honestly, I'd really like to have a boy, one of each. Jack wants another girl. He's used to raising girls, so one of us will get what we want, not that either will complain if they end up being on the short end of that stick. Yes, cliché, but I just want a healthy baby especially after everything in the past."

Dan reached over and squeezed her hand quickly before he pulled his own back, "I want that for you too, Lisa. I do."

"Thank you," she said with a tight smile. "Ahh, I know I sent you a thank you note, but I did want to thank you for that beautiful rocking horse you sent Nora. It really is beautiful, a perfect gift, a rocking horse, from you."

"Glad to do it," he winked at her. "I have no doubt she'll be riding before you know it. I'm sure she will have the best of everything-horses, education, what boarding school?" He eyed her, and Lisa's expression changed.

"No," she said with a soft shake of her head. "I mean, yes, both of my kids will have whatever they need. I'm grateful my parents set up Fairfield so well that I'll never have to worry about that, but no, not boarding school. Life is too short. I see how much I want my kids near me, not that I'm going to be crazy letting them go," she laughed, rolling her eyes again. "I mean, here I am, leaving her at home to travel for work. Jack wasn't sure I'd be able to do that, but I'm managing okay. Yes, it will be tricky once this one is born, just trying to juggle everything, but we'll figure out something that works. I haven't been to France since January, and I miss that, but it will come again, not that I can easily or safely travel there at this point, but I look forward to taking my kids there. So, we'll travel yes, but they'll go to school in Hudson. It was good enough for me, and it will be just fine for them and whatever university they select. Now, what about you?" Lisa looked to Dan and patted his arm there on the arm rest between their chairs.

He waved his hand, "Just never saw anyone I wanted to remarry. You know me-I am married to my career and love money."

"I know that," she nodded. "I also know you enjoy having a good time-travel, sports, fine foods and wines, and with all that, you don't have someone you enjoy sharing that with?"

He shrugged this time, "Here and there, yes, women I enjoy spending time with, but nothing serious, or at least serious enough I'd want to share what I've built. We were young, Lisa."

"We were," she smiled at him. "Well, Dan, I think I had a similar view, that I wasn't really looking for anyone to share my life, but you never know, at least that's what I firmly believe now. Yes, after we got divorced and I'd had those miscarriages, I was really lonely and thought finding someone would be the answer to my problems. It wasn't, and I realized I was okay alone, until I met Jack, and well, since then," she patted his hand again, "let's just say if you ever come across the right person, you'll know. I do believe that."

"I'm pretty sure I ruined the one good thing I had going in that department," he nodded to her. "Ahh, they're about to board. Do you want me to watch your things so you can freshen up?"

Lisa snapped out of their trip down memory lane and nodded at him as she groaned when she stood, "Yes, I'm going to do that. Hopefully, we'll both return from this business trip even more well off financially and down one more horse we share."

"That's the thing," he gestured to her, "I'm pursuing a new business venture and am looking forward to this flight so we can talk about that, you know partnering up again."

Lisa gave him a tight smile before she started off for the bathroom, digging out her phone to send Marion a quick text, "Yes, I'm definitely going to try and sleep on this plane. As expected, Dan has some new 'venture' for me, but I'm now only interested in getting back home. See you in a few days."