Chapter 48
The rest of the week following Lisa's trip went well. She had gained a lot of confidence from it and had even gotten more business because of it. Jason had talked her up and people were calling. It meant that Lisa was busy, but she never minded that. It made her feel good to know that her business was likely going to survive after everything she had been through.
On Thursday morning, Edwin walked into the stables and Lisa grinned and walked over to greet him. "Welcome back, Edwin! It's good to see you!"
"Hi. It's good to be back. I'm glad that Rebecca could be there for the funeral and to spend time with her mom, but we needed to get back home and my ex needs to stay and deal with her dad's stuff before she comes back to Hudson."
"I remember dealing with that stuff for my dad. You never realize how much there is to do until you do it. It took me a while to get it fully straightened out." Lisa thought back to when she lost her father and knew the hard time Edwin's ex-wife was probably having.
"So, how are things here?" Edwin asked, looking eager to get back to work.
Lisa grinned. "Things are good here, but it has been busy. I told you about going back and buying the horse last time we talked. Well, Jason Martin has recommended me to some people and we're busier than ever."
"That's good. I'll go check in with everyone and then I can see what needs to be done."
"Thanks, Edwin. I'm going to go back to my office. I'll see you later."
As Lisa was getting work done in her office, she saw that Michael Winters was calling her. She had no desire to talk to him so she ignored it and let it go to voicemail. It was quickly forgotten as Scott Cardinal stopped by to look at a couple of horses. When Lisa came back to her office, she realized that she'd left her phone at her desk and saw that she had a voicemail and several text messages from Michael.
After listening to the voicemail and reading the text messages, Lisa felt sick to her stomach. She texted Edwin and asked him to come to her office immediately.
"Lisa? What's going on?" asked Edwin as he entered her office.
"Please shut the door. I need to talk to you about something." Lisa looked nervous and upset.
"What happened since we spoke an hour ago?" asked Edwin.
"I got a voicemail and a couple of text messages from Mr. Winters. Jason Martin has put the word out about Michael's inappropriate behavior. Jason kept my name out of it, but Michael blames me for it because it all started with me kicking him off of my property." Lisa looked off and shook her head in frustration. "He said that if I don't get Jason to back off, he's going to tell everyone that I have amnesia."
Edwin's eyes went wide. "Does he know you have amnesia?"
"No, he doesn't, but he does know that I have gaps in my memory. I don't know what I'm going to do. He could ruin me." Lisa couldn't believe what was happening.
"I'm sorry." Edwin's phone beeped and after he checked it, he said, "Let me know if I can do anything to help. One of the trainers has a question."
Lisa nodded and watched Edwin leave her office. She didn't know what she was going to do, but she wanted to go home and see Jack. She hoped that he would be around when she got home, but she figured that she would at least see him at lunch. Lisa sent a text to Edwin letting him know where she was going, and then grabbed her purse and left.
Arriving back at Heartland, Lisa saw that Jack's truck was at least there so he was likely still on the property, but she hoped that he wasn't too far away. No one else seemed to be home and for that, Lisa was thankful. She didn't feel like talking to anyone else until she talked to Jack first. She grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge and then went to their bedroom and closed the door. Everything was just too overwhelming, so Lisa decided to lie down and rest for a bit.
Jack had been out checking on the cattle. He came home for lunch and saw Lisa's car parked in front of the house. His curiosity was piqued about why she was home so early. He rushed through taking care of his horse and then went to see what was going on with his wife. When he went into the house, no one was around, but he noticed that their bedroom door was closed.
Jack tentatively opened the door and saw Lisa sleeping on top of the covers. He walked over to her side of the bed and watched her sleep while debating if he should wake her and ask why she was home so early. Luckily, he didn't have to make the decision as Lisa started to stir. Jack stepped closer and rubbed her shoulder. "Lis, are you okay? Why are you home so early?"
Lisa opened her eyes to see her husband standing next to her. She sat up and put her feet on the floor. "Oh, I didn't mean to fall asleep. I was just tired and overwhelmed and I must have dozed off."
"Why are you home so early?" Jack inquired. "Is everything okay?"
Lisa shook her head. "No, it's not. Michael Winters is threatening to tell Jason that I have amnesia unless I get Jason to back off. I'm really regretting telling him that I have gaps in my memory. He's trying to use it against me and ruin my business because he can't behave himself around women."
Jack sat down next to Lisa and put his arm around her. "I'm so sorry, Lis. What are you going to do?"
"What can I do? I can't let him blackmail me like this. I'm going to have to come clean with Jason and hope that he lets it go once he sees that I won't back down. What do you think I should do?" Lisa looked at her husband, hoping that he might have a solution for her.
"You're right," Jack agreed. "You can't let him blackmail you. I think that you should come clean with Jason, but you need to be prepared for the chance that it won't work. You may have to come clean with everyone."
Lisa leaned against Jack's shoulder. "I know. I was just hoping that there might be another solution. I hate this."
"I'm sorry. I wish that I could fix this for you." Jack ran his hand up and down Lisa's back to comfort her.
"I know. I need to call Jason now, but I don't know how I'm going to tell him about my amnesia." Lisa closed her eyes, blew out a breath, and shook her head. She couldn't believe that her life had turned out like this.
"Okay, I'll go make us some lunch while you call Jason." Jack kissed her forehead and then left Lisa to make the call.
After she ended the call with Jason, Lisa just sat there on the side of their bed staring at her phone. She was thankful that he had seemed understanding and sighed from the relief that he would not join Mr. Winters on his crusade to ruin her career. Overall though, she still felt overwhelmed. She hoped that by telling Jason, that would be the end of it, but she wasn't confident that it would be. Lisa pulled up the text from Michael Winters and replied that she had told Jason about her memory issues herself and warned him that she wouldn't be blackmailed.
Jack knocked on the door when he didn't hear Lisa speak for a while. After Lisa said to come in, he opened the door and found her sitting on the side of their bed looking a little shell-shocked. "How did it go?"
"Jason was understanding. I had a feeling that he would be. After having lunch with him and his wife, I was just so impressed by them. Hopefully, this is the end of it, but I'm not confident that it will be. He did say that he was going to spread the word about Michael's behavior toward female staff at multiple stables. Neither of us wants to let him off the hook for that." Lisa pushed her hair out of her face and looked up at Jack. "I texted Michael back to tell him that I told Jason about my memory issues and that I wouldn't be blackmailed."
"Good. I'm proud of you." Jack smiled at his wife, sat down next to her, and put his arm around her. He was proud of how she was handling everything. "Lunch is ready. Let's go eat."
"I'm not sure that I'll be able to eat, but I'll try to eat something." Lisa got up and followed Jack to the kitchen.
The two of them sat together in the kitchen eating lunch like they had so many times before, but Lisa couldn't help but think that something bad was coming. She wasn't ready to deal with the unknown so she put all of her focus on her husband sitting across from her. She was so thankful that she'd fallen in love with him again because dealing with her current stress without him seemed impossible. Lisa didn't think that she could handle that.
Once they had finished lunch, Jack decided that the rest of the work he had planned for the day could be put off. He thought Lisa seemed overwhelmed and he wanted to spend time with her. "Hey, what do you say to going on a ride? It might help you to clear your head."
"You're right. It would help." Lisa hugged Jack. "Thanks for taking care of me."
Jack chuckled. "That's all I can do in this situation. I don't really know much about horse breeding and racing business beyond what I've learned from you over the years, but I do know you and what you like, so I'm just focusing on that." Jack hated that Lisa was having to deal with this, but he was determined to be there for her and to support her no matter what. He wondered if she should have come clean sooner, but he wasn't going to express that thought to Lisa. It would have just made her feel responsible for her current situation and it was not her fault. Jack laid that blame solely at Michael Winters' feet.
"Well, thank you, just the same. Let's go for that ride." Lisa pulled away from the hug and took Jack's hand in hers so that she could pull him toward the door.
Once they made it beyond the point where they could see the ranch house, Lisa looked around and took a deep breath. She felt all of her stress melting away as she focused on riding her horse and looking at the beautiful scenery. "Thank you for suggesting this. I needed it more than I realized."
"You're welcome. Let's ride out to the overlook and then we can head back to the house." Jack and his horse trotted on and Lisa followed.
When they arrived back at the barn, Lisa felt relaxed and clearer-headed than she had been before. They took their time untacking and brushing out their horses before putting them into their stalls. On the walk back to the house, they strolled hand in hand, just enjoying spending time together.
"I'm going to make some coffee. Do you want any?" asked Jack.
"Yes, that sounds good. I'm going to change my clothes while you make the coffee. While she was changing Lisa was changing her clothes her phone beeped. She looked and it was another text from Michael Winters. Her hands shook as she opened the message. She gasped at the message. "You won this round, Lisa, but I'm not going to stop with Jason. He's probably going to tell everyone about me. He's clean enough that I can't touch him, but you messed up by admitting that you do have memory issues. I can make it sound worse than it is and you have to prove that it's not. I'm not giving in on this. Good luck getting out of this. You messed with the wrong guy."
Jack came into the bedroom and saw her standing there half dressed looking at her phone. Her face was white as a ghost. "What is it, Lisa? What does it say?" Jack looked at Lisa with a concerned expression on his face.
Lisa didn't look up. She just kept looking at her phone. "Michael isn't giving in. He knows that he can't touch Jason, but he's determined to tell everyone about my memory. I need to get ahead of this or he really will ruin me. I might be able to get ahead of this by being honest, but I really have no idea if it will work.'
"I'm sorry, Lisa. I'm here for you no matter what." Jack didn't know how she was going to get through it, but he was determined that she wouldn't have to go through it alone. He loved her too much to do that.
"Thanks, Jack." Lisa looked at the time on her phone. "It's 4:15. If I hurry and get ready, I can get to Fairfield and talk to my employees before they leave for the day. I'm going to text Edwin and have him keep everyone there."
"Are you sure that you want to do that now? Wouldn't it be better to wait until tomorrow morning when you have had time to think about everything?" asked Jack.
"I don't know. What if I wait too long and Michael tells all sorts of lies about me?" Lisa was panicking a little as she worried about the possibilities.
"Why don't you call Edwin and see what he thinks," suggested Jack. "He knows this business pretty well too."
"Okay, I'll do that. Thank you for calming me down." Lisa gave Jack a kiss.
"You know that I'd do anything for you." Jack kissed Lisa again and then smirked at her. "It's a shame I didn't even get to enjoy your state of dress. Or undress."
Lisa rolled her eyes at her husband. "You're ridiculous. How can you even think about that at a time like this?"
Jack just shrugged his shoulders. "Don't underestimate my ability to multitask when it comes to enjoying your beauty."
Lisa swatted at him. "Oh, stop. Can you give me a minute to call Edwin and see what he thinks?"
"Sure thing." Jack kissed the side of her head and left their bedroom.
Sitting down on the side of the bed, Lisa looked at her phone. She reread the texts from Michael and shuddered at how much he could ruin her reputation. She closed her texting app and pulled up Edwin's number and called him.
"Hi, Edwin…So I called Jason and told him the truth about my memory. He seems to be supportive. I hope that he stays that way. The issue now is that Michael is angry and is threatening to tell everyone. Should I come to Fairfield and tell everyone now?"
"You could, but there are a few people out today with various issues. A couple of people had appointments, someone's kid was sick, and another person had to go pick up their wife because she had a flat tire. It might make more sense to wait until tomorrow when everyone is here," said Edwin.
"I guess you're right. It would give me a chance to work out what I want to say as well. I'm going to need to tell everyone else as well. I need to figure out how I'm going to tell them as well." Lisa was unsure if waiting was the right choice, but she didn't feel like she had another one at that point.
Someone in the background called for Edwin. "I need to go. One of the trainers is calling for me. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Okay, I'll see you then." Lisa ended the call. After she finished changing her clothes, she walked out to the living room to talk to Jack about her plans.
Jack was sitting in his chair reading. "So are you going to Fairfield today?"
"No, Edwin let me know that there are several people out right now and he thought it would be better to wait until tomorrow when everyone is there," Lisa informed Jack.
Jack nodded. "That makes sense."
"Yeah, and then I can work on what I want to say to my employees and to everyone else. I'm going to have to tell everyone." Lisa shook her head in frustration at what she was being forced to do.
"I'm sorry, Lis. Can I do anything to help?" asked Jack.
"Other than being here for me? Not really." Lisa felt the tears threatening to spill and she tried to fight it. She did okay until Jack walked over to her and pulled her into a hug. Being comforted by Jack, she finally allowed herself to let go. She felt Jack walking her into their bedroom and sitting her down on the bed. The more Lisa tried to stop crying, the harder she cried.
Jack hated seeing Lisa so upset. It broke his heart to see her sobbing from the stress and fear she was experiencing. He wanted to beat the crap out of Michael Winters for hurting his wife. Jack hated feeling so helpless when his wife was struggling so much. He was determined to be there for Lisa no matter what. He didn't want her to go through this alone.
Lisa sobbed on Jack's shoulder for several minutes. She hated crying like that, but she couldn't hold it in any longer. Even in the middle of crying, she was beginning to formulate a plan for how to deal with everything. Focusing on that helped her to calm down and stop crying. Lisa pulled back from Jack and looked up at him. Her eyes and nose were red, and she was sniffling, but she put a small smile on her face. "Thank you for being there for me. I don't know how this is all going to go, but I appreciate you so much."
Jack reached over to the nightstand, grabbed a tissue box, and handed it to Lisa. "I just hate how much you're struggling right now and I feel helpless. I wish that I could do more."
Lisa took some tissues and wiped her eyes and nose. "You're doing more than enough. This is my business and I have to suck it up and deal with it. I have no idea how any of this is going to turn out, but I'm not going to give in just because a sleazy man is angry with me and wants to ruin me."
"Good. I'm so proud of you and I have been forever." Jack kissed her forehead and rubbed her back.
"Thanks. I need to work on how I'm going to tell everyone. I need to tell the family what's going on as well." Lisa got up and got to work to prepare for telling everyone the truth the next day.
To Be Continued
Author's Note: Thank you for your patience with this story. I have been dealing with worrying about my dad and that worry isn't over. He was just in the hospital for several days and is being discharged today. We're going home for Thanksgiving tomorrow. I haven't seen him since everything has happened and I'm sort of nervous about it. I don't do well with medical things so hopefully I can be around him without getting nauseous. He once tried telling me about a surgery he had a few years ago and I had to make him stop. Even my own surgery last year was tough for me to think about and it was minor compared to what my dad had to go through. The delay in a new chapter was also because I had some serious writer's block. I'd go to write more and I'd just sit there staring at my computer. I knew where I wanted to go, but I couldn't figure out how to get there. I think I've finally gotten it straightened out and that should be helpful. Hopefully. Once again thank you for being so understanding and patient as I deal with all of this and thank you for your reviews. They are so appreciated.