"Lisa! Hi!" Marion beamed into the camera on the computer screen.

"Marion?" Lisa asked, and then put her hand to her face and started to cry.

"Oh gosh! Lisa, what's wrong? Do I need to get Dad?"

"No, no," Lisa waved and wiped her eyes. "Oh, I just miss her so much. Hello, Pumpkin. Nora, Mommy misses you."

"Ahh, she's doing great," Marion said, smiling down at Nora in her lap where she was feeding her. "I mean, sure, she's calling me mama but whatever. She forgot you already, but I'm sure you can fix that when you return."

Lisa narrowed her gaze and shook her head before she started laughing, "You are horrible. I already feel awful about leaving her."

"Umm, she's with her dad and sister. I think she's okay, and no need for that mom guilt. You have a multi-million dollar business to run. I've told her that and told her that she needs to be okay with Mom being away because it's going to fund all the things she could ever want as she grows up," Marion smirked. When Lisa rolled her eyes, Marion looked at her through the camera and nodded, "I hate seeing you upset. Don't worry. She's fine. I promise."

"I know," Lisa nodded and wiped her eye, sitting back at her kitchen table. "Umm, is Jack okay? I am happy talking to you, but I-"

"Expected the old man?" Marion eyed her. She nodded, "He's fine. Little sis is wearing him out," she grinned. "I sent him to bed and told him that as long as you are gone, I'm taking the midnight feeding. He took the one last night when you left and then tried to do everything today. There's no need for that, and he was falling asleep at dinner tonight. So, this is the new plan. Nora and I are doing great," she smiled and looked down at the baby. Lisa put her hand to her chest and nodded.

"I can't believe how much I miss her. It hurts. It physically hurts. It is good to see you. I don't want you to think otherwise, and I really appreciate you helping with her. I know she's not your responsibility."

"Family is family and pitches in where needed. I promise you all is well here. Dad is getting some sleep. He really misses you already. It's sweet, like a lost puppy almost. He got so used to you being around these last several months, I mean, except for our trip to Denver, but I wasn't here to see him moping around. He's okay, don't get me wrong, but you can tell he is missing you. Nora is good for him too. He's absolutely in love with her. It's so sweet, and what is crazy, is that as unplanned as all this was," she smiled softly at Lisa, "I think it's exactly what you both needed-each other and Nora here too."

"Thank you for saying that," Lisa nodded at her. "I really miss him too-"

"Maybe mention that when you are telling him how much you miss Nora too," she grinned, shifting and putting down the bottle to burp Nora. "So, let's chat. We can chat each evening for me, morning for you. How was your flight?"

"Ahh, good actually. I got in an hour early after you know, almost 24 hours of travel, had plenty of time to make my connection in Paris. House is good. Ahh, I got some food already, somewhat of a decent sleep even with the jet lag, and I guess I'm up and ready to tackle the day and all of my business. How about there?"

"All is fine. Dad and I seem to have worked out a decent schedule with Nora. He's staying in to take care of her all day through lunch, and I really think it was good for him. He got in a short nap today, and I know that wasn't enough as I mentioned, he almost fell asleep at dinner. I came in for lunch, we had lunch, and then, I did some chores around the house. I put in the laundry, cleaned the bathroom, all of that, and I was able to keep an eye on Nora while she napped. Dad went out and fixed one of the stall gates in the barn and started working on the saddles. The tack and saddles need polishing, and that's going to be a good task for him to slowly work through these next few days. It's bitterly cold here, so you're not missing anything there."

"Hmm, yes, well, it's lovely here, mild and sunny."

"I almost forgot!" Marion exclaimed, readjusting Nora to finish feeding her the bottle. "Ahh, a package came for you today."

Lisa frowned, "I don't think I've ordered anything. I mean, I told Jack I was going to look at baby clothes here for her. She's really growing, and I will need to get her next size soon."

"No, it's a huge box. Lisa," she eyed her, "it's from Dan."

"Dan?" Lisa jerked her head back in surprise, waving her hand, "my Dan?"

Marion nodded and waved behind her, "Yeah, it's from him. Dad said you two saw him having dinner with Val on your anniversary?"

"Right, I forgot to tell you about that with everything. You were telling me all about your trip with Tim, and it just slipped my mind with my trip coming up. Yeah, he was actually okay, umm, happy for me. Val was Val, but she did say she was glad Nora was healthy."

"Wow," Marion snorted, "that's quite a shock for Val." She put down Nora's empty bottle and held her in her arms for Lisa to see.

"Okay, little sis, say hi to Mom," she told her, smiling at Lisa as she held her up toward the camera. Lisa put her hand to her mouth again and smiled with a half sob, half laugh escaping.

"Oh, gosh, I really miss her. How is it possible to love someone that much?"

"It just is," Marion grinned and gave Lisa a nod. "Remember, just give a shout out of love to the old guy too. I think he's counting the hours until you are home."

"He's not the only one. It's never felt lonely here until now, and I can't believe that. I mean, I love my house here-"

"Anytime you want to push it off on someone," Marion grinned, "remember, I'm your favorite stepdaughter."

Lisa started laughing, but then, she tilted her head at Marion.

"You and Tim are welcome to come here for a honeymoon getaway if you want. Honestly, I should have said this sooner, but you, the girls, Tim-welcome anytime. Gosh, I'm sorry I haven't said it. Don't know where my mind has been."

"Umm, I do," Marion pointed to Nora in her arms. "Little sis has taken all of your affection and brain cells. It's okay, Poppy," she grinned at Nora and then at Lisa, smirking to her with the name she'd called Nora before Nora had a name. "Your mom is a little crazy, crazy about you for sure, but we still love her."

Lisa groaned, wavering her hand, "She's going to actually think that's her name."

"Oh, I'm naming her first horse Poppy. Watch me," she smirked again, and Lisa dropped her head, laughing. She looked back up at Marion and pointed at her, "I have no doubt you will. Your dad will have a fit."

"It will be great, huh Poppy?" Lisa groaned again, and Marion continued, "Lisa, please, she won't think it's her name. You're probably on some guilt trip thinking Nora will forget who you are while you are away."

"I am worried about that!" Lisa exclaimed, her eyes widening. "Did Jack tell you that?"

"No," Marion laughed, "but I guess you told him that, and I knew I had to bring it up when you called."

"I did tell Jack that, and he told me she would be fine, which I know, but that doesn't mean she might forget me. I just hate being gone."

"Relax and try to enjoy your time away. You've had an incredibly busy few months, the last six weeks for sure. Umm, you had a baby six weeks early, which think about it-it's February 1st. You are on your trip because she came early, but you'd be having her own or super miserable she hadn't been born yet. Can you believe that? Instead, Poppy here is a growing, thriving baby girl, getting bigger each day, but," she paused and met Lisa's gaze, "not forgetting her mom or outgrowing her clothing. She's just hanging here with her dad, sister, and niece-pretty ordinary week for her."

Lisa gave her a sad smile and nodded, "Thank you for talking me down off the ledge. Ahh, oh, back to Dan's box there. What is it?"

Marion shrugged, "Want me to open it? It's huge. I'm sure Dad would have told yo too, but like I said, I'm doing the midnight feeding, and I know that you want to see Nora at this time each day. Dad said to tell you if you are around for the 5AM feeding or you know, about then, he'll be feeding her, and he said it would be after lunch for you."

"Yes, I'll chat with him then. That sounds good. Ahh, please open that box. What in the world did he send?"

Lisa watched as Marion put Nora in her bouncy seat on the table and strapped her in. She waved at her through the screen, not that Nora could see her or wave back, but she missed her baby. Marion opened the box, and then spoke to Lisa across the room.

"Oh wow, Lisa, this is beautiful. He sent a baby gift for Nora."

"He did?" Lisa made a face and gestured. "Dan?"

"Yup, note here," she held it up, but then she pulled out the gift. "Oh, this is adorable. It's a beautiful wooden rocking horse."

"My, that is beautiful," Lisa said, her eyes widening at the sight of it there on the kitchen floor. It was gorgeous, in a very shiny, polished wood, looking very expensive. Lisa didn't have to wonder if it was; she knew it would be, and while some might say it was a surprise to receive a gift like this from her ex-husband, Lisa smiled and nodded.

"That was very thoughtful of him. He seemed genuinely happy to see Nora, and well," she frowned, "those miscarriages weren't just hard on me."

"I can imagine," Marion nodded, walking back to the camera view. She stood there next to Nora and played with her foot on the bouncy seat. "There's a card-"

"What does it say?"

"Lisa and Jack-Congratulations on Nora's birth. Lisa, I've always wanted the best for you, and I know that being a mother seemed unattainable. I am sure this will be the first of many, many horses for your daughter. She's one lucky little girl.-Dan."

"That was incredibly sweet and kind of Dan," Lisa sighed, dropping her head slightly. She finally shook it and looked back at Marion, "Why he couldn't be there for me when I needed, I don't know, but I do know things happen for a reason. I was meant to meet your dad, or I should say, have you set us up," she laughed, "and obviously, all of this has led to Nora being born."

"That's a good perspective," Marion offered a small smile as she nodded. "I remind myself of something similar with Tim. All of the heartache and mess we have had, it's brought us to where we are."

"Something in your voice," Lisa gestured with her finger at Marion. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong," Marion told her, holding her hand up in defense as she walked back to the chair to finish her conversation. "Really. Tim and I just did a lot of talking on our trip."

"Okay," Lisa nodded, raising an eyebrow. "That's a good thing, right? You two are still planning to get married-"

"We are," Marion told her, sighing. "It's hard to hear some of what he had to say."

"Marion," Lisa frowned, "what happened? What did Tim share?"

Marion focused her attention on Nora while she answered Lisa, sighing first and then waving her hand, "I mean, I'm glad we are talking. We need to talk, to air everything before we get married again, and I am glad he has been sharing everything with me. I'm talking too, admitting how I feel about things, how he made me feel-" she dropped off, and Lisa finally spoke when there had been several moments of silence.

"Hey, you can talk to me. I wish you would have felt like you could talk before I left. I hate being this far away when you're obviously hurting."

"No, I'm okay, really. I've just had to process things, and you're right. You said it-things were crazy before you left. No, Tim told me that he'd been involved with some women, I mean, after we were divorced-"

Lisa nodded, "Okay, so what did he say?"

"Umm, I mean, I knew that or knew he'd dated people. Let's face it. Tim is a very people person, so I even accepted that he'd probably slept with other women. We were divorced, but it surprised me when he said he'd lived with a woman for over a year. I am not mad, just," she frowned. "I don't know. I guess I'm a little hurt, but I don't have reason to be. I was so in love with him, even when he'd put me through it all, that the idea of being with someone else," she frowned. "I guess I was never in a position to think about moving on, and it did surprise me a little he was and lived with a woman for over a year."

"Wow, okay," Lisa frowned. "Does that change how you feel now?"

"No," she answered quickly. "Tim and I have worked through so much, but it is hard to think about the fact he was with another woman, lived with her, made a life with her all the while I was here, trying to move on, unsuccessfully I might add, raising his girls, and he was just having this fling with this, this," she waved her hand, "Miranda."

Lisa nodded. The two women were quiet for a few moments, both looking at Nora there, kicking in her bouncy seat, wide awake. Lisa finally broke the silence, "What did Tim have to say about all of that?"

"Ahh, that he was still drinking during that time, that she meant nothing to him, means nothing to him, which he said he regrets living with her, sleeping with her knowing that now, that she meant nothing. He knows he was not the version of himself he is now, and I guess if anything, she got him to start going to AA. For that, I am grateful. He said that when he did start going and realized he needed to fix his life, he started with her. He knew he didn't love her and was using her for just a," she paused and shrugged, "warm body I guess is the best way to describe it. So, he broke things off, got sober and well, all these years later, he's back here, fixing things with me."

"That is a lot to take in," Lisa sighed, giving Marion a sympathetic smile. "No contact with her, I presume?"

"No, none, hasn't seen her since he left. That was like seven years ago or so, I guess."

"Well," Lisa said with a shake of her head, "no one is perfect. We all make mistakes that take us to where we are. You fell back in love with the Tim who has put in the hard work. You are justified to feel confused or whatever you are feeling. Only you can decide if this is something you can't get beyond, but I see that you love him. I know he loves you, and that is then on you two to figure out. Sometimes, love isn't enough-"

"I want it to be enough," she cut in. "I think it's enough, and I love him. I'm still just trying to digest this. Thanks for listening."

"Of course," Lisa said with a sympathetic nod to her. "Anytime, and you know it, even if it's the middle of the night or an ocean away. I'm always here for you, and I know you'll always be here for Nora as her big sister and to listen to me," she paused and waved her hand as she made a face, "well, except for talking about your father."

"Yes," Marion finally smiled as she nodded, "and even then, I've heard sometimes more than I wanted to hear."

"Very true," Lisa chuckled. "I know it's late there-"

"As we just said, never too late to talk, oh, and by the way-yeah, definitely should have mentioned running into Val. That woman is horrible."

"Didn't keep it from you purposely, and yes, she is. I'm trying to just forget about her and count my blessings."

"Well, no comparison in the stepmother department," Marion winked. "Val would be horrible at that, and," she started to laugh, "she'd hate everything about this place, so that you for just being exactly what we all needed around here."

Lisa smiled softly, "You don't need to keep thanking me. I've told Jack he gave me life, and I mean that from the bottom of my heart, not that I was desperate for it, but he did, literally and figuratively," she waved at Nora. "He gave me that beautiful baby, and she is absolutely my life, oh," Lisa grinned, "and your dad is my life too."

Marion chuckled, "I think he knows he's taken a back seat to Poppy, at least for now." The two women laughed, and finally, Lisa gestured.

"It's late for you, and I need to get moving to get over to work. Kiss my baby. Oh, Nora, I love you and miss you so much," she said and frowned. "I won't ask you to kiss my husband."

"Good," Marion laughed. "I'll just let Val handle that." The two women were still laughing after they disconnected their call.

After many days away and many calls, Lisa was dying to get home. She missed everyone terribly, her chats each day very helpful but not enough. She knew she would get better about travel again, but it was hard with a what, now seven week old. Wow. Time sure was flying, and with it now almost mid-February, she couldn't believe her little girl was growing so quickly. Jack had said Nora was sleeping just a little longer, almost four hours at a stretch, and Lisa was glad to hear it. She was almost done packing and heard her computer chime.

"Why, this is a lovely surprise," Lisa said into the camera when Jack and Nora came into view. "Look who initiated a video chat."

"I know," Jack nodded. "The news keeps saying kids are getting younger and younger using technology. Someone wanted to call her mom," Jack winked. Lisa tilted her head and smiled back at him.

"Well, I was just getting packed to head out tomorrow."

"That's the thing, Lise-storm's coming. They are predicting a lot of snow. I don't know if you can get a move on any faster, but you know how these go this time of year. You could have cancelled and delayed flights for days."

"Oh gosh, really?" Lisa sighed, pulling up the weather on her computer.

"It's my fault," Jack told her, shifting Nora there with her bottle. He yawned but then continued, "You know I normally have the news on, the farm report, the news, but it's just been busy here this week with her-"

"This is absolutely not your fault," Lisa eyed him. "Honey, it's okay. I should have looked myself. It is the middle of winter in Alberta, and snow is not uncommon. Ahh, oh gosh," she frowned, putting on her glasses as she read the online update. "Yeah, I see here it says quite a bit of snow and wind."

"I know you are anxious to get home to Nora," Jack gestured and held her up slightly. Lisa crossed her hands on her desk and looked directly at him.

"I'm anxious to get home to you too. The two are not mutually exclusive. I really miss you," she frowned. "This place is not nearly as fun anymore. I look forward to her being a little older and the three of us coming here."

"I'm good taking care of her here as long as needed, this trip and any others. I will go with you again, but you know it's not my thing, travel and all. Of course, where you two are," he gestured to Nora, "I want to be too."

"Good," she said with a soft smile. "I can see us being very happy relaxing here some as she gets older, and no," she frowned at him, "I won't drag you all over. We did get married here," she gave him a nod. "It's pretty special to me, Cowboy, as I hope it is to you, and we definitely need to make more memories here."

"I hear you," he chuckled lightly. "Let's focus on getting her bigger and stronger, okay?"

"I agree, but yes, looking at this storm," she nodded, "I do need to see if there is any chance of getting out of her soon. I'll finish packing, lock up, and I'll just head to the airport. I was going to get an early start, but if I can get out of Toulone and even up to Paris, tonight, that would put me ahead."

"Anything to get you home safely," he nodded. "Listen, when you get back, Tim and I need to take hay to the cattle at their winter spot, back field. It should take most of a day, no longer, but I guess that will also be after the storm."

"Of course," she nodded. "You know, I am looking forward to the weather breaking, not that it will be anytime soon, and getting back to the fishing cabin."

Jack looked at Nora and then back at Lisa, indicating they had a problem. Lisa laughed, "She can go with us. I really think it will be good. I ordered one of those travel bed things for a baby, and we'll take a few things she uses regularly. You can fish, and she and I can take a few walks."

"That stroller is not going to work there at the cabin," Jack eyed her and chuckled. "You know that."

"I know. I got one of those baby carrier things. I think it will be the perfect place for it. Sure, we can walk around, come down and see you by the river. We aren't bothering anyone up there-"

"We said that last time," he winked, eyeing Nora again, "and look what that got us."

Lisa laughed, nodding, "I'm not complaining, but my point is, we can just be us, a family. She can sleep, cry, whatever. You can fish, and I can just enjoy every minute of it with both of you."

"I never imagined I'd be taking an infant to the cabin again," Jack started to shake his head. "You realize I took Marion up there when she was maybe two," he shrugged. "We did take her as a baby, but Lyndy didn't really enjoy it as much. Plus, I've told you she was anxious to get back to her music. So, it was Marion and me a lot-"

"You mean like now," Lisa frowned.

"No, nothing of the sort. This isn't a comparison, and I've loved every minute with my girls," he nodded at her. "I just meant I guess it's my own fault for thinking you wouldn't want to go to the cabin with a baby because that has been my experience, but it's nice to hear you do want to go."

"I really do," she nodded at him. "I enjoyed it very much, the solitude, hmm."

"Okay then, as soon as the road is open, we'll head up there. I can always be persuaded to do some fishing."

"Great," Lisa grinned. "Okay, I hate to cut this short, but I want to get home. I love you both," she told him with a warm smile.

"We love you more," he winked. "Be careful in your travels. Keep me updated, and when you have a landing time, let us know. Marion or I will get you."

"Bye Cowboy," she winked. "You get ready for that storm."