Mitch was chopping wood at the Dude Ranch when he heard someone driving in. At first he thought maybe it was the guests that were going to be staying over the weekend coming early, or maybe even Lisa who would come and check how the arrangements for them were going, but when he recognized that it was Melanie's SUV, Mitch couldn't help but wonder what she was doing here.

When the woman stepped out of her vehicle, Mitch put the axe away and started piling up the wood that needed to be taken inside the cabin.

"Miss me already?" he asked with an amused tone.

It had been few weeks now since he had left from the city and returned to his trailer and gone back to work. The bruises on his face were now completely healed up and it was almost like life had gone back to normal. Mitch was appreciative for everything Mel and Danny had done for him, but he was also glad to be at the Dude Ranch again.

"Actually, I do - a little bit", she admitted, "but I'm also here to congratulate you on your birthday."

She stayed by the car, almost as if waiting for something. If not for anything else, then at least Mitch's reaction to her saying that. Maybe he had thought she had forgotten.

"You know you could have just done that over a phone, right? Or send a text?" Mitch said with a smile.

It was pretty nice that Mel had driven here from Calgary, apparently just to say Happy Birthday, but it really had not been necessary. He wasn't the kind of guy who made a big deal out of his birthday anyway, especially since he had already passed the big number last year.

"I know, but then..." Melanie said and went to get something from the passenger seat, "I couldn't have brought you this. Something tells me a cake emoji just wouldn't have been the same."

She pulled out a little box that was obviously from the bakery.

"You brought cake...?" Mitch asked, surprised.

Melanie smiled. "Yeah. So... how about you take a break, and we'll have some coffee with it?"

Mitch checked the time from his watch and finally nodded. "Yeah, okay, you have me convinced. I'll just take these fire wood inside the cabin. Think you can help yourself to the trailer so you don't freeze while waiting?" He motioned toward the general direction of his place.

"Sure", Melanie said.

Mitch piled up the wood on his other arm and grabbed the axe with him before he was done with this chore.


When he climbed to the trailer some minutes later, Mitch noticed Melanie had already started making the coffee and she was presumably looking for plates from the cabinets. Mitch usually wasn't keen on anyone going through his stuff, but he was so close to Melanie that it was like having a sister over.

"Here", he said, opening one of the top shelves for her, then putting his hat, gloves and jacket away so he could get washed up. "How you've been?" the man asked, leaving the bathroom door ajar so he could have a conversation with her while washing away the dirt and sweat.

"I'm good. Nothing eventful has happened. More importantly, how you've been?" Melanie was curious to know as she took the two slices out of the bakery box. "Anything new with you?"

"Well, actually I just learned yesterday the case is not going to trial", Mitch shared.

"Really?" Melanie asked.

"Yeah. They are taking the plea deal. My lawyer said his team figured it was best to cut their losses rather than risk the high stakes of a trial and greater settlement. I mean, with his past, it was probably the smartest way to go about it", he continued, referring to Ty.

"How do you feel about it then?" Melanie asked while placing the plates on the table. She knew that most cases like this ended up being settled some way, so in that sense it was not surprise, but maybe Mitch had feelings about this, depending how personally he was taking it all.

"Honestly, I'm relieved. No more prolonging this. Just... from my perspective, it was clear that what he did was wrong, but of course they had to investigate and deliberate what to do before it was going to be settled. And now they've done it, and I'm able to move on. And in a way it's best for all of us", Mitch said, coming out of the bathroom. The trailer wasn't big, so he was immediately brought to the kitchen part where Melanie was.

"Us?" Melanie echoed.

"Well, the Fleming-Bartletts", Mitch cleared. "They can all just move on now, too."

Melanie nodded. She knew Mitch was almost like part of the family and this had probably been a strange time for all of them. "Has it been weird to be here then, with that hanging over your head?"

"A little, but... I feel like the most critical time of this whole thing I spent at your place, so the dust had time to settle, we all had time to think about everything. But we've talked about it with Amy and then with Jack too, of course, and I feel like we are all on the same page right now", Mitch shrugged. "Life has gone back to pretty much how it was before it all happened, even though at the same time things are somewhat different."

"Speaking of your life, have a seat", Melanie said, gesturing toward the old arm chair that Mitch had placed by the table. He hummed and sat down on his seat. "You really weren't going to celebrate your birthday in any way?" she asked, almost weirded out by it.

"Nope", Mitch said. "Why would I? It's not a big deal. It's a day among others."

"I don't know - for some people it might be a big deal, to have another year under their belt", Melanie said and there was a tone in her voice that had a hint of sadness. Mitch figured it probably had something to with Zach. "But now that I heard about this plea thing, maybe we have another thing to celebrate then if you don't want to celebrate your birthday."

"I guess", Mitch figured. "And I don't mind celebrating the birthday", he wanted to add. "I just don't personally make it a big deal, but I might make this exception for you."

Melanie smiled absentmindedly, wanting to say something.

"I guess I just..." she got serious then. "I don't know; it scared me to see you like that in the hospital after the assault. I was just glad it wasn't worse, it really could have been. Not saying that it wasn't bad, but... at least you're alive and doing okay now, it seems."

"I'm okay now. Really", Mitch assured her. "You don't have to worry about it. - How's that coffee? This cake looks delicious."

"Should be ready", Melanie said after checking.

She then served them the coffee and sat down. Mitch felt like since Melanie had opened up to him, maybe he could open up to her too. After all, they were able to talk about pretty much anything, even their insecurities.

"The truth is... at this point... I guess I just don't like to be reminded by my age, and it's not because I wouldn't be happy to be here - I am - but... I guess I just... when I came back home and knew I had to start building my life outside the army, I always thought I would have it all figured out by the time I'm thirty. You know, wife, maybe a kid or two, a house, a steady job... But... here I am, living in a trailer, alone. And that sounds weird because I am happy, in a way, you know I don't mind living in this trailer, if I did, I would just move elsewhere. And I love my job, but..." Mitch sighed.

"But...?" Melanie asked.

"Something's still missing. Maybe the thing I want the most. I mean, you can make home anywhere as long as you have a person to love. And watching you with Danny all those weeks... just made me realize I really want that. I want a relationship, I want a family. But I honestly I don't know where to start. I mean, I've tried, but... I feel like I'm lost, or something."

"Mitch, let me tell you something... If you were a woman, I might understand this whole thing better", Melanie said, "because I've been there. When I lost Zach, I was heartbroken, not only because I lost him, but because I lost everything I thought we'd have. And then I met Danny and I felt guilty for having those dreams again, but the thing was I realized my life wasn't over yet and I was supposed to still have those dreams and that Zach's decision wasn't going to rob me of those. I knew I loved Danny and I knew life was short, so I didn't hesitate when he asked me to marry him, and then when we talked about kids, it just felt right to do it as soon as possible, not only because of this new clarity, but also because I knew the time was ticking with my body. But for you... thirty is still young. You could be twice your age and still have your own kids! I'm not saying this to belittle your situation, I'm just saying the life isn't over for you yet, you still have time. Don't throw in the towel just yet."

Mitch hummed. "I'm not worried about the kids thing, to be honest. I mean, I could see myself adopting or fostering too", he admitted.

If there had been one good thing about dating Lou, it had been that Mitch had had to think about the situation differently than he would have had with a single woman with no kids. With Lou, she had not only had her own biological daughter, but also a foster kid who had then been adopted by her and her ex-husband.

It had made Mitch realize that he had just always assumed having his own, biological kids, but the more he had spent time with Katie and Georgie, the more he had realized biology had nothing to do with wanting to be a father. They had never made it to the stage where the girls would have thought about him as their step-father, but if the relationship with Lou had continued, Mitch could have seen himself being okay with that kind of role. A dad was someone who was there to support a kid, not just someone to give them their genes.

"I guess my problem is... I'm restless", Mitch summarized it. "I always have been. I'm not good with waiting, but I'm trying to learn. I mean I've had to learn."

"Well, at least you seem to know yourself a little bit and you seem to know what you might want", Melanie said, having a thoughtful expression on her face as she fed herself some cake. "You know what that makes me think...?"

"What?" Mitch asked unsuspectingly.

"Dating apps", Melanie said with a gleeful voice.

"Oh, come on", Mitch sighed, shaking his head. "I tried a dating site already and look how that turned out..."

"Yeah, okay, maybe that didn't work out, but who's to say it couldn't be different this time? Years have gone by, the selection has changed", Melanie said eagerly. "Besides, you've already done the hardest part which is signing up in the first place. Second time should be easier because you know what you're getting into."

Mitch kept shaking his head, not feeling too excited about it. "I don't know..."

"You can always just delete your profile if you get cold feet", Melanie reminded. "Come on. You're not going to get that dream of yours if you're not willing to put yourself out there. No one's coming to knock on your door and sweep you off your feet."

Mitch sighed and looked at Melanie. He knew her to be stubborn, but she also had a point. It wasn't like he was still hung up on Lou, he was ready to date and see what was out there.

"Yeah, okay, what the hell. Let's do it."

"Okay, great! Now, get your phone out", Melanie said, "we're gonna build you a profile."

Mitch felt a little bit amused as he handed her his phone, but at the same time, there was some type of excitement in the air. Where was life going to take him? It was not like he would have thought about ending up here either couple years ago. Things with Lou hadn't work out, but it had made him stay in Hudson for a little while longer and now he called this place a home again.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get that", Mitch said, getting up from his chair while Melanie was downloading the dating app on his phone.

As he went for the door, Mitch glanced through the window and noticed Lisa's car outside. It made him wonder if she was here to check in and if she thought he was slacking off since he was not outside. The woman wasn't a strict boss, but there had not been that many guests at the cabins lately and she wanted to make an impression with the ones that were coming, hoping to help them get the word out, so in that way she expected Mitch to work hard for making their stay as good as possible.

But when he opened the door, Mitch was surprised to see Amy.

"Hey", she said. "Hope I'm not interrupting." She had noticed the SUV at the yard and figured Mitch had someone over.

"Oh, no. Not at all. Hi", Mitch replied, looking around.

"I came to help Lisa; we brought new linens and refreshments for the guests", she explained. "I also wanted to check if you are free tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow...?" Mitch asked. He was going through his schedule in his mind.

"Yeah. I know I promised that I was going to take the guests for the trail ride in the morning, but I actually have an important meeting tomorrow, so I can't go after all. So I was wondering if maybe you were willing to take them for a ride?"

"Oh, uhm..." Mitch thought about it. "Yeah, sure. Why not. I think I can squeeze them in."

"Okay, great", Amy seemed relieved. She didn't like asking for favors, but meeting her lawyer was something she couldn't just reschedule, especially with the custody battle going on now that things had shifted with Ty's other case. "Thank you. I owe you. - Anyway. I gotta go. I'll see you around."

"Okay, yeah, see you", Mitch said and watched for a while as Amy walked away. He then closed the door and returned to Melanie.

"Who was that?" Melanie asked.

"Amy", Mitch said.

"Thought I'd recognize the voice. And here I thought love was already knocking on your door", she said with a grin. "Okay. What do you want your bio to say? - Guys always put their height in them. What's up with that?" Melanie asked with a confused look on her face.

"Maybe it matters to some women. - Besides, how would you know that; aren't you married?" Mitch asked with a smile.

"I'm also a journalist. I had to do a piece about online dating, so I did some research", she explained. "Okay, so no height. Something funny. Say what you are looking for..." Melanie looked at Mitch for inspiration as he continued to eat his cake. "I think I got it." She then started typing something and after a while showed him what she had come up with.

When he had approved of it and they had selected photos for him - same ones he used on Facebook - they adjusted his requirements.

"Looking for... love", Melanie mumbled as she ticked few boxes. "You don't mind kids."

"You're gonna have to put in a big radius or no women are gonna show up", Mitch hummed.

"Oh yeah, you live in the middle of nowhere", Melanie realized. "Okay, let's see. Come here", she said, making more room on the couch. Mitch grabbed his plate and sat next to Melanie. "I now have few that might interest you. What about her?"

"Yeah, sure... why not. She's pretty", Mitch said as she was looking at blonde woman with a beautiful smile.

""Is looking for having kids in the near future"", Melanie said. "Sounds pretty serious to me. Okay... We heart Summer", Melanie said. They then moved onto another woman. "Oh, she's pretty! Maya. Mitch and Maya. That might sound good", she was already picturing it. The man looked at the pictures and the bio.

"Yeah, why not, except for..." he pointed out the first word in her bio.

"Vegan? What? You're really going to discriminate based on that?" Melanie was almost appalled.

"I'm not, but I feel like if that's the first thing she puts in her bio, something tells me she might not be okay with dating someone who sells beef for stores", Mitch explained. "Just a hunch."

"Okay, you have a point. So, we'll skip Maya. Sorry, Maya", Melanie spoke and then continued on with their search. "Oh, what about her? Ava. She has kids."

Mitch looked at the pictures and the bio. Even though he was intrigued, he also knew that he had to meet these women in order to get a better idea of them. Few trivial things weren't going to give him much.

"Sure. Heart it", Mitch said.

They continued with their search while they ate the cake, and eventually Mitch matched with few of them. He decided to set the first date to a local cafe - not Maggie's because that would have been somehow weird - with the woman named Summer in order to see if there was anything there.

After Melanie had left, Mitch felt like something had changed. He was actually taking steps toward his future for the longest time and it felt good. Maybe next year on his birthday, life was going to be very different than it was now.