Chapter Three: A Little Bit of Loving
Amy and Ty were done with their dinner. The contents of the picnic basket lay around them-empty plates and forks and extra food.
The sun was almost completely set, but Amy pulled two big candles out of the picnic basket. She fished around in her pocket for a box of matches. A few seconds later, they were shrouded in a little haze of candlelight.
"This has been great, Amy." Ty said into ear, making her smile. She nestled closer to him, feeling his warmth beside her. She could have sat like this all night. She felt so loved and so...home. She felt at home.
Ty looked down at her, smiling. "Whatcha thinking about?" He asked. "Everything," She said. A few seconds passed in silence. Amy continued, "Ty, do you remember when you told me that...you fell in love with me when I was working with Spartan?"
Ty nodded. "Was that true?" "Of course." He said. She looked up at him. "Do you want to know when I first fell in love with you?" She played with the V at the top of his shirt, her light touch making his skin tingle. "I didn't know there was an exact moment for you." He said.
Amy smiled. "Yes...there was. Remember that night when you punched my old boyfriend, Jesse?" Ty's jaw clenched at that thought. He remembered. "I was walking home because I got mad and you gave me a ride. I pretended to be mad...but really, I wasn't. I realized that...you weren't such a bad guy after all. I was falling in love with you..."
Ty smiled, his eyes sparkling with tears. "You're amazing." He said, kissing the tip of her nose and then her lips; a deep kiss.
When they had parted for air, Ty said, "I heard you got a new client at Heartland." Amy nodded. "Yep. You wanna help me with him?" Ty nodded. "You bet. I've really enjoyed helping you with the horses while... you know."
Amy nodded in agreement. "I've enjoyed it, too." She said. They hugged lovingly. "This date has been great." She said.
••••••••••••••••••
Caleb sat on the loft steps, drinking a beer after work. He couldn't believe what had happened yesterday with Ashley.
She had just marched right up in here and kissed him. Not that he had disliked it. It had felt...wonderful. Being back in her arms again was so comforting and warm, but he knew it wasn't right. Their marriage was done. She had made that clear enough.
Caleb got up to go get another beer from the house. As he was walking, he saw Ashley's red convertible drive up. "Oh no." He mumbled underneath his breath, even though his heartbeat was speeding up.
"Hey cowboy!" Ashley said, walking toward him. "Got a minute?" Caleb looked down at the empty beer bottle in his hand. It was obvious that he was off work and had just been relaxing. He had no excuse.
"Uh...I guess." He said awkwardly. Smiling broadly, Ashley came over and started walking close beside him as he went to the house. "Ash...about yesterday...what *was* that?" He asked.
Ashley looked at him as if she were confused. "What was what?" She asked. Caleb stopped and gave her a knowing look. "You know what I mean." He said firmly. She shrugged. "I told you I missed you...that's all."
"Ash." Caleb looked directly into her eyes. Oh, he shouldn't have done that. They were sparkling blue and so beautiful. He blinked a few times and said, "Ash this is not a game. I'm not someone you come back to to play around with. I was your *husband.*"
He started walking again and Ashley ran to catch up. "I'm not trying to play games with you!" She said. "But Caleb, it got so lonely at university. Did I tell you I'm in law school?"
"No." Caleb opened the door and went inside, making a beeline to the fridge. "Oh, well, I did. Anyway-it got lonely. I started thinking about you. We both did a lot of stupid things during our marriage-"
"Oh no, let's not go there." Caleb slammed the fridge door shut. "I was all for staying married; working things through. You were the one who went gallivanting off to college and acted like I didn't fit into your life anymore."
Caleb's fist was tight around the beer can. Talking about those days always made him a mix of angry and sad. Ashley folded her arms across her chest. "Okay, sure, maybe I should have made you feel more included in my life." She said. "But that's all over now. I'm back!"
Caleb stared at her. Yes, she was, and that was the problem.
Thanks for the reviews guys! Keep reading and if you have any ideas of what should happen, don't hesitate to let me know and I'll try to put it in for the next chapter or some part of the story!