Amy beamed as Ty pulled Midnight Lightning to a standing stop. Her eyes glistened with tears, as she took in the bright, beaming smile on Ty's lips. He hadn't been that happy in a long time, and she couldn't be happier for him. Carefully, Amy helped Ty angle Midnight Lightning so that he could climb off the horse's back.

Once the horse was lying firmly on the ground, Amy steadied her boyfriend as his feet found purchase on the ground. She could see his legs quaking under the weight put on them, but noticed that Ty was able to hold his own. His legs were still far too weak for long walks, but she walked beside him the short five steps to his wheelchair, not holding onto him once.

"Wow, that kind of improvement isn't quite normal." Bryce mumbled, his thoughts derailed from thinking of finding a new home for his horse, to the great strides Ty had just made in walking.

Ty chuckled, "I've been able to stand under my own weight for a few days now, but something about that horseback riding loosened something up. I always feel a tinge of pain in my back, the doctor said it was normal while it tries to heal up, but up there … I didn't feel it. It was weird."

Bryce nodded, "I told you horseback riding was therapeutic. You should talk to your therapist about bringing you out here for some riding sessions. I swear to you, Ty, getting on that horse, it will get you back on your feet faster than any kind of training that the therapist would have you do."

Ty nodded, "Definitely. I will definitely talk to him about it. Do you have a card … or some way to contact you, in case my therapist has questions?"

"Absolutely, Ty." Bryce answered, as he reached into his jean pocket and pulled out a wrinkled business card. "Have him call me whenever and we'll set you up some appointments."

Ty took the card from Bryce, before Amy stepped up next to his chair. "So, Midnight-"

"He's staying, Amy. You did amazing work with that horse, and Ty just proved that Midnight's a good horse. I'll be sure to write a weight limit on his chart so that we don't have any incidents."

Amy nodded, "He's not a young horse, Bryce. So, I'll need to check him out at least once a year, to make sure that weight limit doesn't need to be changed."

Bryce nodded, "Alright, but if it gets too low-"

"I know, and at that time, I'll be more okay with it. I just couldn't stand the thought of you giving up a perfectly good horse."

"I appreciate that, Amy. All the work you did, I can't even begin to explain how much it means to me. If there is ever anything that you need."

A thought occurred to Amy, as she pondered asking for the favor, but decided that nothing would get solved without outside interference. "Actually … you're friends with Caleb O'Dell, right?"

Ty's lower lip puckered out slightly, as his gaze met the wall across from him. All Amy could think looking at her boyfriend was that he was pouting. He was literally pouting like a child, and the thought made her want to laugh. She had seen Ty Borden do many things, but pout had never been something that she could attribute to him … until now.

On the other side of the kitchen table sat Bryce, who wore an almost amused look, and Caleb, who looked ready to tear someone's head off.

"Bryce, this really isn't going to work." Caleb muttered a moment later, as he made a move to stand up.

"Sit back down, Caleb. This has to end. Look, Ty apologized for hurting your friend. Now it's time for you to man up and accept his apology."

Caleb sighed, before shaking his head. "No can do, Bryce. Look, just back off. This is none of your business." Caleb turned his attention to Amy, before speaking again. "You had no right to drag one of my best friends into this."

Bryce's upper lip quivered, as anger overtook him for a brief moment. "You're being a baby, Caleb. Start acting like a man, or you can kiss any thought of having a successful rodeo career away. What do you think those other bronc riders would do to you if you acted like this towards one of them?"

Caleb stared at Bryce, his mouth hanging agape. "Well it's kind of hard to man up, and finish this little … issue, with a man stuck in a damn wheelchair!"

Bryce's eyes darkened at Caleb's response, and Caleb realized quickly that he had crossed a line. Before Bryce had a chance to say one word though, Ty pushed himself, slowly, from his chair and stared at Caleb.

"I'm not in my wheelchair now, Caleb. So just finish whatever the hell it is you want, then get the hell out. No one wants to put up with your whiny, pathetic cowboy attitude anyways."

Caleb turned toward Ty and took a step back. "Wait. What the hell man?"

"That's right, Caleb. Ty has made great improvement on his rehab. Something that you'd know if you actually cared about anyone but yourself." A sudden realization hit Amy as she spoke. "Wait. You aren't mad at Ty for hurting Kit. I mean, at the time you probably were, but now? Not so much. You're too self involved to actually still be upset by that. You're pissed because Ty and I are together, aren't you? You're mad because you didn't win me."

"You and I started something before that idiot went and got himself paralyzed. I never heard anything from you about what was going on with us. It was only about Ty. How do you think that made me feel?"

Amy sighed, "Caleb, I never meant to hurt you. That was never my intention. I never wanted anyone to get hurt, and I swear to you Caleb, me and Ty? That was never planned … it just happened."

Caleb waved his hand, and sighed. "It might not have been planned by the two of you, but anyone that hung around with you two knew that it was bound to happen. You two-" Caleb's head hung, before he finished his sentence. "It's like you were destined to be together or something. Every time something else happened. Ty running off, you and me, all of it was somehow erased by some other event. You finding out how horrible Ty's dad really is caused you to kiss him. Ty getting together with Kit … you getting together with me, then Ty's accident. I don't know how to explain it."

"Caleb, none of that stuff was predetermined. It just happened. As far as you and I go, I don't mean to hurt you further, but we were never together. We kissed, that was it. I think, deep down, I was using you to try to forget how I felt about Ty, and that was wrong and I'm sorry. None of that was Ty's fault."

Caleb nodded, "I know, and I'm sorry for hitting you." Caleb said, before sticking out his hand toward Ty.

Ty stared at Caleb's hand for a moment, before shaking it. "Apology accepted."

Two days later saw Ty sitting in his wheelchair, staring that the double bars in front of him. His physical therapist stood beside him, a big smile on his face. Ty looked up at him, before back at the bars. Ty could practically feel Amy's eyes on him, as he made a move to stand up.

"Ty, you sure that you're ready for this?"

Ty sighed and nodded, "If I don't start making progress then I'll lose my mind. I want to try with the walker."

His therapist nodded, before placing the instrument in front of Ty. Ty used the handles of the walker to pull himself into a half hunched, standing position. He took a deep breath before moving forward. His legs were still far too weak to hold his weight, and Ty could tell that it wouldn't be long before they gave out on him, but he smiled brightly at the progress that he was making. He didn't need the balance beam bars to help him stand up. He could use the walker. Tears filled his eyes as he kept moving his feet, ignoring the way that they dragged behind him slightly.

"Ty." Amy whispered, as her hand flew up to her mouth. The words she had wanted to say were lost in the moment. Pride shone on her face as she watched him take step after step with the walker. Then she remembered what Bryce had mentioned, and she made a move forward to stand next to Ty's physical therapist.

"Hey, could I run something by you?"

He looked away from Ty for a moment, to give her a firm nod in the affirmative.

"I have this friend, he's an Army veteran, that is paralyzed from the waist down. He now runs this farm retreat for people recovering from intensive injuries. He mentioned that it might do Ty a world of good to hang out at the retreat a few days a week. I did some research and saw that horseback riding therapy is a well sought out form of recovery for someone like Ty."

The therapist held up a hand, before he assisted Ty in sitting back down in his wheelchair. Ty panted slightly from exhaustion. "It actually is, I honestly didn't know that we had a recovery retreat so close to town. Do you happen to have a number for this friend of yours? I'd love to talk with him. That is, of course, if horseback riding therapy is something that Ty would be interested in?"

Ty nodded, "Absolutely."

The therapist nodded, "Great. I'll get a hold of this," he paused as he looked at the business card that Amy had handed him, "Bryce, and see what we can't set up. I would like to accompany you, Ty, to these appointments. Just to make sure that precautions are taken to ensure that you don't re-injure yourself."

Ty shrugged, "That's fine."

"Alright, great. Well, I will see you in two days, Ty. Hopefully by then we'll have something set up with Bryce, and we can alternate between horse therapy and walk therapy."

Ty nodded, "See ya then."

That night after dinner, Ty nodded his head toward the door. Amy smiled, before pushing Ty toward the front door. The cool fall breeze felt nice, as they exited the house and headed for the yard. Ty took a deep breath in through his nose, and smiled softly at the familiar scent around him. Reaching down, Ty sat the brake on his wheelchair and waited for Amy to walk around before speaking.

"Amy, I just want you to know how much your love and support mean to me. You're a big reason why I will be walking on my own soon enough. You inspire me, Amy Fleming. To give you back, the love and support that you gave me, I want you to have this."

As he spoke, Ty pulled a black velvet box from his jacket pocket, and opened it up. The ring was small, but he hoped that it was enough to show Amy just how much he loved her.

"I know it's not a lot, Amy. For obvious reasons, I couldn't afford anything else, but I need you to know how much I appreciate you and what we have. So, with this ring I promise to stand by your side, to be there for you whenever you need me to."

Amy smiled brightly as she slipped the ring on her finger. "Ty, it's more than enough."