Amy wasn't sure what she was doing with this screwdriver she had found from the garage. It didn't entirely fit with the screws that had been used to install the plaque on the barn wall, but at the same time she could no longer see her name with Ty's and not remember how he had made her feel the last time he had been at Heartland.
There was no longer any chance of realizing these dreams about them working together, no longer hope that things would go like she had always thought they would. It was over between them.
Amy felt stupid for harboring any belief for that for this long and wondered if Ty had ever even believed their dream would actually come true after his graduation. Maybe he had always hoped he too would have "a prince that would have come down from the sky", just like she had had with Ahmed and his offer, someone who would turn his life upside down and make him realize who he really was. Amy figured maybe in a way Vets Without Borders had done just that to him.
Years ago, Amy would have never believed what kind of impact this snotty prince she had promised to help would make with their life. Not just professionally, but on a personal level. What Ahmed had set in motion had been something bigger than his actions; it had changed the way she and Ty had thought about themselves.
First, it had been about the once in a lifetime opportunity but also a little bit about the money. While trying to save money for a place for themselves and their wedding, Ty and Amy had faced their biggest struggle yet. It had no longer been about petty triangle dramas, but about their future together and how they would achieve it. Facing the real world had been harder than they had ever imagined and looking back, they might have not gone right about it. Amy didn't deny they had both been selfish while believing that they would be working toward a mutual goal, but something else had been boiling underneath; the realization that they were not just in this bubble, that there was a big world out there, and it was up for them to decide if they wanted to interact with it or not.
For Amy, it had helped her to realize she was completely happy living this simple life she lived now, but for Ty, a similar opportunity with Mongolia had opened his eyes for something bigger.
And now... they were here; torn apart by their personal awakenings.
"What are you doing...?" she heard Mitch's voice when he came through the barn doors and saw her next to the office door, unscrewing the plaque she had given as a gift to Ty before his graduation from vet school.
"I'm trying to remove this..." Amy explained, her voice shaky. As her concentration slipped, so did the screwdriver, and she almost slashed her skin with it. "Ouch!"
"Hey - be careful", Mitch said, walking closer and looking at Amy's hand and the tool she was holding. "Yeah, you're not going to get that thing off using that. Let me get you a proper tool."
"Thanks..." Amy said, feeling a little embarrassed. It wasn't a hidden secret that things between her and Ty were over, but she still felt a little ashamed about having this sort of meltdown about this stupid plaque. But she could not move on until it was gone from the wall. There was no dream, there was no future for her and Ty. She was going to have to think of a new plan and it could not start with this plaque hovering over her head.
"Here, try this", Mitch said after coming back and handing her a right tool for the job. "Should be quicker - and safer."
Amy took the cordless drill and handed the screwdriver to Mitch in return. She then undid the screws on the wall and let the plaque fall. Seeing the bare wall gave her sense of relief. With Ty's things gone around the loft and now this - it was like she was back at her feet.
"You okay...?" Mitch asked after a pause, wondering if he even should. It was obvious Amy was upset and this meant something major to her, but he was still worried. Earlier, Amy had confessed that she was purposely shutting herself in, isolating herself, and Mitch was beginning to worry.
"Yeah... I'll be fine. Now that this is off the wall", Amy said, not making an eye contact. "Thanks for the tool. I'll take the screwdriver back to where it belongs."
Mitch kept nodding. "Yeah, no problem. - Uh, speaking of fixing something; I hate to ask", he already made a face, "but I know Ty stopped by, so did you by any chance have a moment to talk about Harley? Do I build a stall for him at the Dude Ranch?"
"No need." Amy shook her head. "Ty's selling him. There might be interested buyers coming after his tooth has been fixed."
"Oh... Okay", Mitch replied, thinking that it probably made sense, seeing Ty was barely here. And by the looks of it, he would probably no longer come back either. "But... I guess I should get back to work. I'll see you around."
"See you", Amy said, then leaving to the garage.
When Amy was done with the plaque, she went upstairs with the piece of metal and placed it in one of the cardboard boxes she had collected Ty's things into. There were things like their wedding pictures, clothes and the painting he had given her after the plane crash. This plaque was like one of the last pieces of him reminding her of his past presence.
Sure, she was still living in the loft, but it wasn't like he had really been here that much over the last couple of years, so Amy had claimed the place as her own. And from the way Ty had talked about her spending "the rest of her life over the barn", it didn't sound like he was feeling too sad about leaving it behind.
Amy taped the boxes shut, wrote "Ty's things" over them and moved them closer to the stairway so she could have them moved to the garage tomorrow. Today's work was done and she was feeling much better for it.
But even though she was slowly letting go, the official part of this all would not come to be until later this year as after living separately for twelve months, the divorce judgment would be made by the court. Thankfully, October was less than a year away, but it was going to be a long ride for that filled with lawyers and paperwork before their divorce would become official.
Amy had thought last year to be one of her toughest yet, but maybe this year would end up topping it after all.
Couple of weeks later, when Scott was doing a check-up on Harley, Amy waited for the results at the vet clinic's waiting room. It was a bittersweet day. On one hand, she was happy if Harley was officially out of the woods with his diastema, but at the same time it was hard to know that he would be sold soon, even though she always tried to keep the horse's best interest in mind.
Once upon a time, this horse could have been hers because after Spartan had been stolen, Ty had figured Amy had needed a new horse, and that is where Harley had come in.
At the time, Amy had known he had meant well, but she had also thought of Ty to be a little insensitive with his plan to pair Harley with her. Amy knew Ty had never had a pet, let alone a horse who he had had a bond with, so she might have been a little bit too quick to judge him since he had not had any idea what it was like to have the kind of relationship she had with Spartan and how that was not just something you could replace.
And it wasn't that you just chose a horse for yourself, the horse also had to choose you.
So while Ty had done his best to take care of Harley over the years, Amy couldn't help but think that the horse might have loved Ty more than the man had loved him. Even during Ty's plane accident, Harley had been the one finding the way back to Ty, so it was evident that the horse had nothing but loyalty to give.
In a way Amy felt the same when it came to Ty. She had tried her best to support him these past few years with his quest to improve himself, but in the end, she had been dumped - just like Harley.
When the door from the examination room opened, Amy got up. She saw Scott walking back with Harley and he was smiling. That seemed like a good sign, so Amy already felt relieved before Scott even said anything.
"I did the scan on his mouth and it seems like his tooth is all fixed. Nothing to worry about with his other teeth either. Good job with cleaning it", Scott said. "I also did a quick physical exam on him like you asked and as far as I'm concerned, he's as healthy as a horse."
"I bet you use that pun a lot", Amy said with a smile and took Harley's lead from the vet.
Scott grinned. "More than I care to admit. - I'll bring you the paperwork soon, but based on my exam, he should be ready for a new home."
"Okay. Thanks, Scott. I'll load him on the trailer and I'll see you outside."
Scott nodded and went back to his office while Amy lead the horse outside and got him inside the trailer. When they were done exchanging the paperwork, Amy drove back to Heartland with Harley.
When Harley was back to his stall, Amy sat down on the barn office and started typing a bio for Harley's For Sale ad on Heartland's website. It didn't take her long and after she was done, she attached few pictures she had taken from the horse earlier this morning.
As the ad was up on the website, Amy texted Ty to let him know that Harley had been given a clean bill of health and his ad was now up on the website. She didn't know how it felt for Ty to see that ad up, but for her it was a surreal experience.
Later that night, when she had put Lyndy to bed, Amy's phone rang. It was a familiar number, but she had not really heard about the caller for years and it made her think the day was just getting weirder and weirder by the hour.
"Bryce Quinn", Amy answered her phone. "Long time, no hear."
"Hey. I know, right?" Bryce's voice said from the other end. "How are you doing?"
"I'm... great, thanks", she said, not wanting to get into all the details. Sharing how you were planning a divorce wasn't usually the type of thing you told your old acquaintance after not talking to them for over six years. "How about yourself?"
"Nothing to complain. I know it's late, but I actually wanted to call you about that ad I saw on your website. About the horse. What's his name... Harley?"
"Yeah, Harley. Uh-huh. You interested to buy him?" Amy guessed, feeling a sense of relief if it would be Bryce who would be interested on buying him. While they had had some differentiating opinions in the past, the man had done incredible job with one of her previous rescues, Alcatraz Run, and was now doing great things with the formerly abused horse.
"I would be. I'm looking for new horses for my ranch, business is kind of booming, and... I don't know, something about him caught my eye. I know from experience you have great horses to re-home. Do you think I could come and check him out tomorrow?" Bryce suggested. "That is, if you're not busy."
"No. Tomorrow's fine. What time?"
"How about... 2 o'clock?" the man asked.
"2 o'clock is fine. I'll see you then."
"See you", Bryce said before hanging up.