Disclaimer: Hmm, well, if I owned it you wouldn't be reading it here! lol

Chapter 4 – Tough Confessions

A couple of days later Amy and Ty found the time to ride out together on the trails. It was a hot summer morning, and both horses and riders were enjoying being out on the trails. This time Amy was riding Sammy and Ty was riding Pride who was a 4 year old who was gelded late and was more highly strung like a stallion as a result. When his owner had bought him he hadn't been aware of that, but when he found out he decided that Pride would be better off being trained by more experienced people first.

The youngster was a quick learner and had settled down a lot with the help of several Bach flower remedy's and careful handling. He was going home tomorrow so Ty decided it would be nice for him to be able to relax on the trails rather than do a session in the arena with him.

"We still haven't had that talk." Ty said quietly, breaking the comfortable silence they'd been in as they made their way up the hill on the twisting path.

Amy sighed, she hadn't been expecting him to bring that up now, but she'd been thinking about it over the last few days since their first conversation about their relationship, so it wasn't a complete surprise. "Yeah" She looked across at him but didn't meet his gaze.

"I think that we really do need to talk about it" Ty said watching her.

"Yeah" Amy agreed, "I'm just not really sure what to say" She admitted.

They reached the top of the hill, from there they could over look the valley and see Heartland spread out below them. They both pulled their horses up and looked over the land spread beneath them in silence. But it wasn't the relaxed, comfortable silence they'd had before. Now unsaid words hung between them making them both uncomfortable.

"Amy," Ty started hesitantly, "I know I've said this already but I want to make sure you know, I really did mean it when I said I'd wait for you"

"Oh I know you did Ty!" Amy reassured him, "Honestly, I" She stopped and shook her head slightly before finding the courage to go on, "I think that it was my fault we ended." She almost whispered, not really wanting to admit it.

Ty turned to look at her then doing his best to hide his thoughts and emotions from her. "Why do you say that?" He asked cautiously.

"Well," Amy's voice shook and Ty's heart went out to her, he could see how much this was costing her, but something held him back from interrupting her. This conversation had been a long time coming and although this was going to hurt, he knew it had to be done. "Because I went" She stammered.

"And when I was there, I started looking everywhere but home." Amy said, her words coming easier now she'd started. "I didn't want to, it wasn't what I wanted to happen, it just kind of did!" She cried.

"I liked going other places to work with horses. It was new and exciting and," Amy paused for a second, "And it felt good" She said softly. "It was good to be away from the same things, to have a bit less responsibility, less pressure on me." She admitted.

"I never stopped loving you Ty, I really didn't. I just," She struggled to find the right words and chocked back a sob as she looked at him, her eyes full of pain as the tears spilled over, "I think I just needed a break." She finished in a voice so quite Ty almost missed it.

Ty sighed feeling relived at her confession. He'd always wondered if them breaking up had had something to do with her friend Will who had been too friendly with her for his liking. But that wasn't the case, and he was glad because it meant that it had happened because of something he'd worried about before she'd left, something he'd actually encouraged her to do because he knew she needed too.

"Amy," He called softly, "Its ok" Amy looked up at his words, spoken so softly but with such feeling Amy knew he wasn't lying to her. She sniffed trying to stop her tears and her smoky grey eyes met his deep, thoughtful emerald ones. "Do you remember what else I told you before you left? The night of Soraya's party?"

Amy frowned slightly thinking back to that night, the night he'd given her a Claddagh ring, an Irish symbol love and friendship. She'd worn the ring ever since and ran her finger over it now thinking about it.

"I told you that there is a big world out there, and a lot of horses needing help" He said and Amy nodded.

"I remember" She answered softly.

"Well, that's what I wanted you to see. To do. To go to some of these other places and help some of those horses away from Heartland" He explained. He looked back out over Heartland again trying to get his thoughts in order so they'd make sense. "You had to grow up really fast after Marion died." He continued softly staring in to the distance but not really seeing anyway.

"It took a massive amount of strength to carry on and do her work without her." He looked back to Amy and she saw tears in his eyes too. "With college and studying other vets and working with horses else where, for the most part no one expects you to know all the answers or take charge of everything. You just have one thing to focus on. Not like home."

"I never wanted anything else" Ty went on, "I was more than happy to leave school at 16 and work for your mom. I've never wanted anything else but to be at Heartland since then because I hadn't grown up there. I had at least seen a little of life without it. You didn't and you needed too." He said with feeling.

"You needed to know what else was out there so you could really know where you wanted to be and how you wanted to work and live your life." Ty explained, "I wanted you to have that so that if you stayed at Heartland, if you stayed with me, it would be because its what you wanted and not just what you knew." He met her eyes once more and saw the surprise there.

"You, you wanted me to be away? I mean in breaks and things?" She asked him no longer crying.

"Want? No, I didn't want you gone. But I knew that I had to let you go." Ty smiled slightly, "It's true you know, about having to let the captured bird fly away." Amy managed a small smile at that too.

"You are an amazing guy you know that?" Amy told him seriously. Ty actually blushed a little and ducked his head. "No I'm serious." She pushed not giving him the chance to brush it off, "You gave me so much support when I left, you gave me the space I needed when I was away and yet you were there for me in a heartbeat. There are very, very few guys out there who would do that." She said honestly trying to catch his eye.

"You do what you have to for the one you love" He said quietly not meeting her gaze.

"Yeah," Amy agreed softly, "I guess you do."

"Letting you figure out that stuff by yourself and you being happy, was more important to me than having you at Heartland with me." Ty said seriously finally meeting her eyes. Amy parted her lips to reply, but was stopped by the simple open honesty in his eyes.

The moment was ruined by Pride snorting and stamping his hoof impatiently. Apparently he'd had enough standing around and wanted to get moving again.

Ty and Amy smiled at each other and nodded in agreement that they should head back.

They rode in thoughtful silence for a few moments before Amy spoke again, "I really missed you."

"What do you mean?" Ty asked.

"After we split. We didn't talk much. Heck we didn't really start talking properly until last Christmas." She explained, "I missed my best friend. I'm really glad I've got him back now" She said looking back over her shoulder at him.

Ty smiled, "Yeah, I missed you too." They had gotten on pretty ok in school holidays when Amy had been home, and they had talked a couple times a month while she was away, but only about Heartland and work things. They hadn't properly eased back in to the close friendship they'd had before they'd dated, until they'd spent the last winter break together.

They both knew as they rode towards home that there were still things that were left unsaid, but they both thought that doing in all in one go could prove a bad idea, neither wanted to upset the closeness they shared at that point. So as they carried on the rest of the way, they chatted and joked around about other things knowing the rest could wait a little longer.

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Once they had rubbed both horses down and turned them out, the headed for the house to get lunch. The phone was ringing as they entered the kitchen and Amy hurried to pick it up.

"Hello, Heartland, Amy Fleming speaking" She stated.

"Hey Amy!" Lou's warm voice came through the line.

"Hey Lou!" Amy said with a smile, "Its really good to hear from you, I miss you" She added.

"I miss you too Amy," Lou said sounding distracted. Amy heard her calling to Holly, her oldest girl, telling her not to do something. Amy smiled, her niece had a habit of pushing boundaries, Lou always said she got that from Scott, but Scott swore it was from Lou.

"How are my nieces doing?" Amy asked. Lou and Scott had had a second little girl called Katie who was now almost a year old.

"They're fine, causing trouble as usual" Lou said wryly and Amy laughed.

"How about you and Scott? How are you guys doing?" She asked. Lou told her they were both fine and asked how Amy was, and how things were at Heartland. Amy chatted with her for a while about the things her nieces had been up too feeling a little sad. She had been really upset when Lou had told her they were leaving.

About two and a half years ago Scott had been offered a position at a very highly respected equine veterinary hospital on the West coast that he really wanted to take. Lou had agreed that it was an opportunity he couldn't pass up and had agreed to move with him. Lou had been really sad to leave to, but she wanted to be with Scott and allow him to pursue his career more. She saw it as a really good opportunity for them both.

When Lou had talked about it with Amy, she'd said that Heartland had done for her what it did for the horses that came through there. It had healed old wounds that had been there since their dads accident, she had learnt to trust horses again and to let go of the past. And that this was her time to move forward with her life.

Amy had understood that and knew that Lou was right, but it didn't change the fact that she missed having her sister around and being able to watch her nieces grow up, goodness knew that she wasn't around much as it was, so now she got to see even less of them. But it was the right choice for them, so Amy had done her best to be supportive.

After a little while Lou said she had to go and feed the girls but that they'd talk again soon. Amy smiled gratefully at Ty as she slid in to a chair, he had made her a sandwich while she'd be talking with Lou. "Thanks Ty. Lou says hi" She added before starting on her lunch.

"No problem, I thought it was best to let you guys talk." He looked at her searchingly, "You really miss her." It wasn't a question.

"Yeah I do. But she's really happy there." She met Ty's eye with a smile, "And that's what's important."

"Yes it is" Ty murmured softly. Amy found herself caught once more by the softness and care in his eyes as he looked at her.

"How did Pride and Sammy do earlier?" Jason asked as he walked in to the kitchen breaking the moment.

"Uh, good, they both did good." Amy stammered avoiding eve contact with either man.

Jason looked between the two with an odd look on his face, Ty met his gaze calmly. Jason managed to black his expression out and smile slightly, but Ty wasn't happy about his reaction. Jason had realised he'd interrupted a private moment and wasn't at all happy that they were showing that much closeness. Ty and Amy had known each other for a very long time and Jason shouldn't be jealous about them being really close, but that's what it looked like to Ty and he wasn't happy about it.

The tension between the two men was over in a few seconds though as Jason moved to the counter to make himself something to eat and went unnoticed by Amy.

"What are your plans for Cam this afternoon?" Ty asked Amy. Amy looked thoughtful for a few moments. She'd joined up with Cam again twice in the last few days and had spent a lot of time with him grooming and working t-touch on him getting him used to her. She'd been overjoyed this morning when the gelding had called to her as she'd come towards him with his breakfast.

"I think I'd like to work him with you." She told him, "He's been doing really well with me and I think he's ready for it." She smiled.

"Ok, great" Ty smiled, he'd come and spoken to Amy for a while on a couple of occasions when she'd been working with Cam in the stable or when he was tied up on the yard. Between that and the work he'd done with Cam before Amy had gotten home, the gelding was used to his presence and didn't seem to mind him being there as long as he didn't try and get too close.

"Do you want to work with him once we're done here?" He asked keeping an eye on Jason as he took the seat beside Amy.

"Yeah that's a good idea, then we don't have to worry about both finishing with other horses about the same time!" She smiled.

"How exactly are you both going to work with him at the same?" Jason asked. He sounded curious and it was an innocent question but Ty caught a slight edge to his voice that made him uneasy. He was finished with lunch and was glad that Amy almost was too, he wanted to get off the subject and away from Jason.

"Well, it depends on how Cam takes to Ty being closer to him again. Normally with a horse as nervous as Cam we would have left him in the field for the first week or so just going in there with him and slowly letting him get used to us and wait for him to allow us to come closer. Because of his wounds that couldn't happen so Ty's presence was forced on him slightly. Which wasn't ideal after what he'd been through, so it's possible that Cam is taking a long time to trust him because of that. So that's why it depends on how he reacts to Ty. His reaction will direct what we do with him" Amy explained.

"Oh," Jason hadn't taken his eyes off her once while she was speaking and he didn't look at Ty as he stood and moved around the table clearing up his and Amy's dishes.

"Come on," Ty said as Amy downed the last of her apple juice, "Time's wasting" He joked, but he was anxious to get Amy away from Jason. He was getting more and more unhappy with the way Jason was acting towards Amy, despite her clearly having no interest in him.

"Yeah, see you later Jason" She said with a brief smile as she shoved her boots back on and heading out the door.

She caught the small look of relief on Ty's face as he turned towards the back barn and wondered why. "Something wrong?" She asked.

Ty glanced at her briefly then shook his head once. "No, its nothing, Don't worry about it" He smiled reassuringly.

"Ok, if you're sure." Amy let it slide recognizing that he wasn't going to change his mind and tell her.

"I am." He said with another smile. He grabbed a head collar off a hook on the wall, "Lets just see how he takes to me approaching with you with the halter to start." He suggested.

"Sounds good" Amy agreed knowing Ty was suggesting that so that Cam had plenty of space to run if he wasn't happy, and so that he didn't feel threatened and trapped like he might do if they were to work with him in the stable.

They entered the pasture he was in together. Cam was in there alone for the time being so that the other horses weren't a distraction for him. They walked side by side towards the gelding who had stopped grazing and lifted his head to watch them approach.

When they were a few feet away they stopped and Amy called softly to him, offering her hand to him. Cam remained where he was but he was calm. Amy took an extra step towards him and Cam stretched his head out to nose her hand looking for treats. Ty pulled a horse cookie from his pocket and offered it out to Cam.

Cam stretched his muzzle towards Ty, smelling the treat, but he remained where he was while Amy gently started working t-touch on his neck. Ty took another step closer and Cam snatched the cookie away. Ty remained where he was for a few moments before stepping behind Amy.

He avoided eye contact with the gelding but watched him closely out of the corner of his eye. The gelding was relaxing under Amy's experienced fingers and didn't seem to mind Ty's close proximity.

With a smile Ty moved closer to Amy's back and slowly lifted his hands and gently rested them on Amy's moving with her movements. He sighed enjoying the feel of her soft, warm skin under his again.

Amy kept murmuring softly to Cam keeping him calm. Ty moved slightly closer so that Amy's back was almost against his chest. He felt Amy lean back slightly so that it was and he smiled softly. They worked together on Cam, their fingers naturally knowing where to go as the world shrunk down to them and Cam.

After a few more moments, Amy moved her fingers out from under Ty's so that he alone was working on the gelding. Cam felt the change and moved his head a little, but to Ty's joy, he remained calm and relaxed.

After a little while Ty dropped one of his hands down and moved around Amy so that he was working on Cam's head. The gelding didn't flinch and Amy's heart leapt with excitement. That was a big step for the nervous 6 year old and Amy was thrilled at how well he was coming on.

Ty still had the halter slung over his shoulder and he slowly allowed it to slide down to his hand all the while keeping the other working on Cam. Gently he slipped the nose band over Cam's nose and was please when the gelding stayed relaxed. Ty moved to buckle the head collar up while Amy stood nearby murmuring to Cam, continuing to keep him calm.

Ty wanted to leave it on a good note without pushing the youngster too far, so he only left the head collar on for a few moments while he continued using t-touch on him before gently undoing it and sliding off again. He moved quietly away and headed back towards the gate with Amy leaving Cam looking happy and relaxed behind them.

"I think it's safe to say that was a success!" Ty said warmly smiling at Amy as they closed the gate. Amy smiled brightly up at him and nodded in agreement. "You've done a really great job with him in such a short space of time" He added as they watched Cam drop his head to graze again.

Amy blushed and ducked her head at the praise. She felt quite strange from the moment they'd had working on Cam, but it was a good kind of strange.

"I'm serious Amy" He said not allowing her to brush it off.

"Thanks" She replied quietly, she couldn't wipe the smile off her face though showing Ty how much his words meant to her.

Ty found himself staring at her and thinking about how good it had felt to have her in his arms again, to work with her like that. Amy turned her head to look up at him and was caught off guard by the softness in his features as he watched her. She found herself getting lost in his eyes, her skin was still tingling from his touch.

Ty shook himself slightly and broke the eye contact. I shouldn't be thinking this way he told himself. "If you agree I'd like to join up with him tomorrow." He said catching the disappointment in her eyes as he spoke about Cam again.

"Yeah, yeah I think that's a good idea." She managed doing her best to hide the disappointment and confusion she felt. They both avoided looking at the other as they headed back up the yard. They spent the rest of the afternoon avoiding each other, neither quite sure how they felt or what they should do.

Ty was sorting out the tack room later on when Jason came in to get tack for one of the liveries he needed to work. "Hey," Ty said, "Can I have a sec?" He asked.

"Uh, yeah, I guess" Jason said, but he looked a little annoyed. Ty got on fine with Jason when it was just the two of them working together, and Jason had never seemed to have any problem with him before either. It was just since Amy had come home that the problems had started.

"I want to talk to you about Amy," Ty started seriously and wasn't pleased at the 'stay away' look Jason shot him before getting control on his emotions. "I want you to stop being so forward with her." He said firmly.

"She has told you before that she isn't interested and that isn't going to change. Harmless flirting for the couple weeks she was home for Spring Break when you first told her you were interested is one thing. But its months later now and you haven't stopped since she got home.

"You've appeared jealous at my friendship with her, which is out of line as we have been very good friends for a very long time." Ty continued giving Jason a hard look that told him not to mess around.

"Did Amy tell you to do this?" Jason asked.

"No. She knows nothing about this and that's the way it's going to stay." Ty told him firmly. "If you don't stop giving Amy a hard time and respect our positions here, you will quickly find yourself out of a job." He added.

Jason frowned at him then. "You can't do that. You can't threaten to fire me cause I like the girl I work with."

"Wrong," Ty answered getting angry at the responses he was getting. "You can quite easily lose your job over this." He told him coldly. "Watch your step here Jason" Jason shot Ty a look that clearly said screw you, and headed out the door.

Ty stared at the same point for several minutes trying to control his anger. This summer was the first time all three of them had worked together since Jason had started working for them. Amy hadn't managed to make his interview like she had been supposed to, but she trusted Ty's judgement and was happy for him to hire Jason despite not meeting him. She'd first met him when she'd been home at Spring Break and Ty had been away. Ty assumed when he heard about how Jason had been with her, that there wouldn't be an issue by the time she was home for summer, that he'd be over her, but he was being proved very wrong.

Ty didn't like the way Jason was fighting his orders now that Amy was around, like he wanted to be top dog and impress her. He didn't like that it was getting worse as the days went past. Amy had barely been home a week and yet things were getting bad enough that Ty was comfortable with threatening Jason with his job.

Ty managed to shake off his anger knowing there wasn't any good to be done by dwelling on it. He would just need to keep an eye on Jason and hope that Amy told him about anything that happened without him around. He headed out of the tack room with his head down towards the barn. He didn't see Amy stood at the far corner of the tack room watching him walk away.

She had heard the conversation between the two and wanted to talk to Ty about it but she wasn't sure what she wanted to say to him. She wasn't happy that Ty was trying to deal with it behind her back. But she was also grateful to him for it, she didn't like the way Jason was acting any more than he did. She'd deliberated with herself and was going to go in when he'd walked out. She watched him go with a small sigh. Things were getting complicated and the only thing she knew for sure is that she had to talk to Ty, to finish the conversation they'd had that morning and discus what had happened this afternoon. The question, was how.

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Thanks for the reviews guys!

ilovetk – Thanks! Lol, ok, I have no problems with that idea!! I guess this chapter made that all the more clear huh? Lol

musicormisery4105 – Thanks! I'm glad Sasha's storyline makes sense! I wasn't entirely sure it did.

Alyssa – Sasha and Sammy's storyline wasn't meant to be such a big thing! It just kinda happened as I was writing it. Lol. And it also wasn't meant to go the way it did. It was meant to be a slightly different problem too, but as I was struggling to write it and suddenly something clicked in my head and I changed it all and suddenly it was easy and a much bigger thing than it was going to be!

rainpaint – hehe!! I can still feel lots of sympathy for Sasha. But that's cause she's based on me, the accident I had and how it affected me. It's not quite the same, but most of it is.

Potternutter – Glad you enjoyed it. Thought I'd caught them all, never mind.

Soccerfan611, SpiritM, horsecrazy, pony lover – Thank you!! You guys are way too nice!! But seriously, stop telling me to be an author, lol!

Alf08 – Thanks! Sorry, nope, not giving it away! Lol, you'll have to wait and see!

My Forgotten Dream – yeah to bad indeed! Sigh. Hehe. Glad you're enjoying it!!