OTA Chapter 29

Ahmed had followed Amy out only to watch her drive away. He was not sure what his emotions were right now but the calm feeling he had had when she told him she was moving back home had gone away. He felt himself getting angrier as he stood there and when Jim had closed the door for Amy he almost shouted stop please don't leave! Instead Ahmed turned and walked back into the party knowing that tomorrow would bring a new set of circumstances that he would have to deal with. Amy had better understand that she was not going to quit on him again. He had the Law on his side this time and he would use it to its fullest extent if she decided to walk away.

Ahmed sat at the house after all his guests had left and began to think about the situation he was now in. He had let his feelings for a woman put is position as the leader of the Team and even more so his possible ascension to the throne of his country in jeopardy. The business man Ahmed took over, he was happy now that Amy had turned him down as it gave him the strength to do what he knew must be done. He would see his lawyer in the morning and have him draw up the contract.

As Caleb's truck pulled to a stop in front of the house the two sitting in the truck looked at the Ty and Amy sitting on the bench in front of the house, a twinge of anger popped up in Sonya as she saw the Ty and a very beautiful Amy in an even more beautiful and no doubt expensive dress sitting side by side staring into each other eyes. She had seen what she had thought was Amy with her head on Ty's shoulder they had pulled into the drive but it was a long way away and so there was no way to be sure but they had been very engaged in what they were talking about as they had not even noticed them until they had almost come to a stop in front of the house. Then they had made sure that there was plenty of separation between them that had not been there before. Yes she had known that Amy was there and that she wanted to talk with Ty because Ty had called her and she had been fine with it until she saw how beautiful Amy was and how Ty seemed to hang on her every word looking into those beautiful blue eyes.

Amy was the first up from her seat beside Ty and came to great Sonya and Caleb. She looked at Sonya and could see by the look on her face that she was not too happy with them. Though she would never say it the fact that Ty and her had made up would always cause tension between them. She wish it was not so but she also knew that she really could not let it worry her because she needed them both so she would work to make sure she knew that she had no intentions of trying to take Ty away. Though deep down she was not so sure that is not what she wanted to do.

"Don't you look like Cinderella from the ball" said Caleb breaking up the awkward greeting.

"Well thank you Prince Charming" giggled Amy taking Caleb by the arm and heading to the house.

Ty walked over to Sonya and as he looked into her eyes he asked "are you ok?"

"I don't know Ty", was her reply. "I thought I was over all this jealousy stuff but when I saw you two sitting there on the porch I was jealous and then I was angry. I am not sure who I was most angry with though. Me for being such a fool as to think that I had anything to offer you that would ever compare to what you had developed with Amy over the years or you for getting my hopes up thinking that you really cared for me more than you did her."

Ty reached out and cupped Sonya's face in his hands and stared into her beautiful green eyes. "Sonya you are everything to me now, what I had and have with Amy pales in comparison to what I now have with you. Yes there is a connection between Amy and I that will never go away even if we were never to see her again. That connection grew over an eight year period and we lived a lot of our lives together. We were lovers and that can never be taken away and I would be lying to you to tell you the thought of her being with someone else does not bring on just a bit of jealousy in me as well. I know it does not make sense but I have found that you can love and not have feelings for someone at the same time. Can you tell me that from time to time when you see your ex the thought does not cross your mind as to what if? But we can never go back, maybe if you had not come into my life there might have been a chance for Amy and I but I doubt it. Because it is only because I met you and I am able to see things from a completely different place and I can even talk with her. I would not be in Hudson if you had not come along. I had already made up my mind to leave as soon as school was over I wanted nothing to do with any of this" said Ty waving his arm to show Sonya he meant Heartland and everyone in it. "Sonya, I have moved on with you and I have no regrets.

"I know Ty but I am scared what if we rushed this whole engagement thing what happens if we find out that we are not right for each other or that we cannot take the pressure of living among our friends as it brings up too many old memories."

"I don't see that happening but part of that was taken care of for us by pushing the wedding back to next fall not this spring. It gives us a bit more time but I don't see what you said coming into play, do you?"

"I don't know" said Sonya sadly "there is so much going on right now and I am confused , upset ,happy and sad all at the same time."

"Oh you are being a woman" Ty said jokingly. The look on Sonya face told him that this was not a joking matter so he wrapped her in his arms and asked her if she wanted to go home.

"No, Ty these are our friends and I will either learn to live with my fears or…! Let's go in." She said taking him by the arm, all the while thinking, even if I am not wearing a thousand dollar dress and looking like I just stepped off the front page of Vogue.

…..

"Have you and Ty decided to try and get back together" asked Caleb as he opened the door to the house.

Amy stopped in her tracks and glared at Caleb before she spoke. "Why did you ask that? I have not and we have not decided on anything of the sort. What makes you think we would be back together anyway!"

"Well from what we saw coming up the drive it sure looked that way. I mean if I didn't know better I would say you and Ty had already made up maybe even more if you know what I mean."

"Caleb O'Dell how dare you! Amy exclaimed. "You of all people should know how much I care for Sonya and would never do anything to hurt her." Then as she stopped and thought about it she asked "Did it really look like that to you guys?"

"Yes it did Amy and as you said if I didn't know better I would have known that you two were back together."

Amy glanced over her shoulder at her best friends looking into the sad face of Sonya and realized that what Caleb had said must have a least a small bit of truth to it. "I need to go talk to Sonya" she said as she started to turn around.

Caleb reached out and pulled her back to him "No you don't, you have caused enough trouble let them work it out and they will if it is supposed to happen. The best thing you can do right now is give them some space."

"So when did you become the "SAGE" of love relationships" teased Amy even though she was not really feeling like it was the thing to do.

"I guess you could say that life has handed me some pretty good lessons on love from which to learn! I will say though it is always easier standing on this side of a relationship to make good sound judgments. I know Ty, Amy and he will work this out if he is given a chance. The words had barely cleared his lips when Caleb realized he had just put it foot in it again, the look on Amy's face said it all. I am sorry I guess maybe I am not such a sage after all."

Amy looked up at Caleb tears starting to well up in her eyes and just shook her head as she reached out and pulled her dear friend near as she need the comfort of someone who cared at this moment as she felt the weight of his words. She had never given Ty the chance and now she was again lost as what she was to do next.

…..

Though she had tried Amy could not bring herself to enjoy the party Lou had put on for her. And when they had said good bye to all their guests, Lou took Amy by the arm and said "we need to talk! "What the hell went on tonight? You were on cloud nine one minute and the next you Sonya and Ty seemed to be fighting back tears and avoiding each other."

"I don't know Lou, Ty and I were just talking and it seems that I have hurt Sonya because she thinks she saw more to it than just a talk. I was going to try and talk with her but Caleb talked me out of it. Lou there is one more thing, the thing I was going to talk with Ty about that he already knew. The reason I moved home was because Ahmed told me he had feelings for me and had asked me to move in with him at the mansion." Amy was sure she could see the steam coming out of Lou's ears. "Easy now I told him no and I am here with you."

"Good you quit as well I hope!" was Lou's reply. She went on to tell Amy what she thought of the prince and his having the nerve to tell her he cared for her after he had hurt with telling her just the opposite.

Amy did not have the nerve to tell Lou that she had seriously considered moving in and being a part of his life maybe this time for good. She knew that would only cause a scene that she did not need to deal with right now. She had some thinking to do and some of what Ty had said rang true though she had not been able to see it till now.

"No, Lou I am still working for him, I will take into consideration what you have said but I gave my word that I would be back at work tomorrow."

"You are crazy Amy," said Lou "but I will be here to support you no matter what and I know that the rest of the family feels the same way."

"Thanks Lou you don't know how much I needed to hear that right now. It seems that the world is coming undone around me again and I am not so sure I will be able to make it this time without you."

….

Sleep had not come easy that night before. After her talk with Lou Amy had felt better and had gone to be with hopes of getting a good night sleep only to find herself in a fitful sleep never seeming to really be able let go of her awareness of the world and it's problems weighting her down. She had gotten out of bed early and gone and done chores in the barn saying good morning to Sabastian before leaving for Hillhurst.

She pulled up outside the Hillhurst stables and while sitting in her truck took a good look around. Everything was as it was supposed to be. Each bush had been meticulously trimmed and the grass never seemed to grow as it was kept at the perfect height but mowing twice a week. Never was there a blade of grass out of place nor a weed that dared to poke it's head out of the ground for fear of being sprayed or plucked into none existence. The dust was kept to a minimum as the grounds keepers were up early each morning watering the ground if it had not rained the night before. There were the three outdoor areas one covered and the other two open to the Canadian sky then there were the smaller pens used to exercise the horses. They all had been worked each morning to ensure the footing of the horses before they were put through their daily work outs. It was a place that was the envy of many who had seen the set up. There was not a better equipped or setup stable in the area to include Lisa's. But as she looked around she began to realize that as pretty as it was and as wonderful an experience as she had working with the horses maybe it was not where her heart was after all.

As she sat there looking around she saw Ahmed walking out from the stable clip board in hand. It was unusual to see him this early in the morning unless he had something to do or somewhere to go. She stepped out of the truck and greeted him with a friendly hello not sure how he was going to take it after last night.

He greeted her with a very business-like hello and then handed her the clip board. "Please make sure you take care of this before noon, I will be back at one and we will talk about what you have accomplished and plan for the rest of the day. Then I will have some paperwork for you to sign." He said as he walked away.

Was it really that easy for him to switch on and off his feelings? Amy wanted so badly to sit down and talk with him about her feelings and all that had transpired in the past 24 hours but he had left her standing there holding a clipboard without even showing that he even cared, like last night had never happened.