Amy woke up to Lyndy rattling her own crib impatiently and making noises so her "mommy" would get up. When she heard this, Amy almost jumped up, realizing then and there she had forgot to not only set an alarm but also wake up to check on Mitch throughout the night.
She decided to check on Lyndy first.
"Hey, pumpkin", Amy said gently as she came to Lyndy and picked her up. The little girl seemed pleased, but something was still clearly bothering her - and it didn't take long for her mother to figure out what. As soon as she got a hold of Lyndy, the mother knew that the girl needed a change of diaper.
But that had to wait for a little while longer.
Walking pass the curtains, Amy could feel her heart beat faster. It wasn't just because of the things she had thought about last night, but also because she was scared something had happened to Mitch on her watch.
"Mitch...?" she said quietly as she made her way to him.
The man was sleeping on the couch and didn't react at first, which made Amy even more concerned. She tried to remain calm, even though the sight of the man made her feel strange for several reasons.
"Mitch?" she repeated, louder this time, hoping this wasn't a bad way to wake him up, knowing the man was suffering from PTSD episodes every now and then, and waking him up by startling him was probably a bad idea.
Mitch finally woke up and looked around, blinking rapidly as it took a while for him to realize what was going on and where he was. Mitch then froze as he saw Amy and her daughter in front of her.
Why were they staring at him?
"What is it? Is everything okay?" he worried and got up in case there was an emergency.
"Yeah, everything's fine, I just... I forgot to wake you up throughout the night", Amy admitted shamefully, "and now it's already a morning. I was just wondering how you were doing."
"I'm... I'm fine", Mitch said after a brief moment of checking himself. The head was still a little sore and he was feeling tired, but other than that, he wasn't too bad.
Amy was relieved but she knew she still had to check some things. "Do you remember your name?"
"Yeah. Mitch Cutty."
"And what year is it?" Amy quizzed.
"2018."
"2018?!" Amy worried, but then realized. "Oh, right, we're already in the new year... Sorry. Yeah. 2018 it is. And do you remember why you are here and what happened to you?" she asked one last question.
"I hit my head while I was at the Dude Ranch. I have a concussion", Mitch said, relaxing a little as he realized there was no danger and these were just routine questions Amy had to ask from him.
"Okay, I think you are good", Amy said, feeling relieved. "I will have to change Lyndy's diaper, feed her and get to work, but you should rest. I'll come check up on you after I'm done feeding the horses."
"Alright", Mitch said, laying down. He turned on his side and looked around. For the first time in a long time, he had not had any nightmares or he had not woken up because of nightmares.
Maybe there was a silver lining to this whole accident.
When Amy was done feeding Lyndy, she took her to the barn office and placed her onto her play pen, then hurrying to check on the horses. Just as she was about to get the first buckets, she realized the horses had already been fed and because the buckets were gone.
Not too long after, Jack walked in with wheel-barrels that had been loaded with new straw hay bales. "Good morning", he said.
"I didn't realize you were here, helping", Amy said, feeling like she had been rushing for vain. Thinking back, she should have probably figured the horses had been fed already since they had not been making noise by kicking the stall doors like they always did whenever they were waiting for food. Even though the loft was insulated, she could still hear the noises through her floor.
"Well, I figured since you took Mitch to the hospital yesterday that he's probably resting today", Jack explained, "and therefore you might need some help. Besides, I'm always up early, so I figured I'd come and help you."
"Oh, right..." Amy nodded, wondering if Jack had heard her and Mitch talk upstairs. "Yeah, he's not coming in today. He slipped on the icy yard and is suffering from a concussion", she confirmed.
"Ah, that's a shame... Glad it was nothing more serious, though", the old man continued and started to fill up the bale pile. "I should probably go and check the yard too, just to be safe. Lisa's having some guests at the Dude Ranch and they need to be safe."
"Yeah..." Amy agreed, nodding.
For some reason she felt guilty for taking Mitch in - and wasn't sure why. She had only tried to be helpful, but it was like she was doing something she shouldn't be doing and was afraid that someone would find out, even though nothing wrong had even happened.
"I think I can take it from here", Amy offered, not only because she was feeling guilty for making Jack do all the work - since she had been late - but also because she was feeling nervous for having him so close-by when Mitch was upstairs. "Thanks for the help."
"I'll just pile these up", Jack said, not wanting to leave before he was done.
Amy nodded and then got into thinking.
"Hey, do you know if dad's up for work?" Amy asked. "I was just thinking since Mitch's not able to help me today with Harley, that I might need someone else and he kind of... seemed like he could lend a hand", she continued.
Even though she felt insecure around her dad when it came to his department of knowledge, Amy had figured that she probably would have to swallow her pride and do what was best for Harley. Her dad was one of the best cowboys around here and it would be stupid to not use his expertise when she had the chance. She really didn't want to fall back on her schedule.
"I think so. To drive the ATV, right?" Jack checked. He had seen Amy do that yesterday with Mitch.
"Yeah", Amy confirmed. "Or... you know, whatever he thinks is best. He can ride Harley if he wants too. I just don't know what stage he is in his recovery."
"I think driving the ATV will be okay seeing he's driving a truck too", Jack said. Tim had had to take it easy after his surgery, but he was now slowly getting back to how things had been before. "But, I'm not his spokesperson; you should call him and ask."
"I will. Thanks, Grandpa", she said and pulled out her cellphone, walking slowly toward the barn office while she was looking for her dad's number from the contacts. She could keep an eye on Lyndy while she made the phone call.
As she was about to reach the other room, Amy heard steps coming downstairs from the loft and looked up.
It was Mitch. He was up and about to enter the barn, but stopped at the stairs when he saw Amy.
"Hey, I was just thinking... Do you have anything to eat? I should probably eat something", he asked right away.
The color from Amy's face escaped and she looked on her side, seeming a little worried. What was Grandpa going to think?
"Oh, I didn't know you were up there, Mitch", Jack said after he heard the ranch hand's voice, then stepping closer to have a look. This answered Amy's earlier question about whether the man had known about Mitch or not. "How are you feeling? You look a little rough."
"I feel a little rough", Mitch confirmed.
Amy cleared her throat. "You can just check the cabinets and the fridge, take anything you like", she tried to keep this short as she was feeling her cheeks turn red and if nothing else was suspicious, then that would absolutely make everyone wonder what was going on. She had not thought about Mitch needing to eat earlier because she had been so busy taking care of Lyndy and the horses, but her hospitality of course extended to him having breakfast at the loft.
"Thanks", Mitch said. He nodded to Jack and then went back upstairs.
"Why didn't you tell me he was staying at the loft?" Jack asked, pointing toward the ceiling.
"Because I didn't want you to get a wrong idea", Amy explained. She felt the need to explain even more out of nervousness. "I couldn't leave him alone in the trailer; he needed a place to stay. He slept on the couch", she made sure to mention.
"Okay, well... that's good", Jack said, almost as if he was checking whether it was good or not since Amy was acting a little strange. To him it sounded like a good deed, but for some reason his granddaughter was getting all defensive about it. "Right?"
"Yeah, it is... I just..." Amy sighed. She shook her head. "Never-mind. I should call dad", she continued, realizing maybe she was the only one making a big deal about it because she was afraid she would somehow make things worse and people think something that they didn't need to think about.
She then went to the barn office and tried to calm down again. Mitch's interruption had set her on the side trails, but more than that, Amy knew her feelings toward him were to blame. It was still difficult to make sense of them.
Eventually, she took out her phone while checking on Lyndy and called her dad.
"Hey, dad. Do you think you'd have time to help me out?" Amy asked right away when Tim had answered his phone. "It's about Harley. I'd like you to give me some tips."
