Amy couldn't remember if she had ever spent this much time at Fairfield, the stables owned by Lisa Stillman, but she definitely wasn't complaining for having to come here so many times this past few weeks. It was not only a beautiful location, but also like a completely different world to her.

As much as she loved the intimacy of the Heartland ranch, there was something about this place that Amy liked too; it was like a well-oiled machine that ran smoothly with all the staff knowing where to be and when and how to take care of everything that needed taking care of. Amy figured much of it had to do with the way Lisa ran the place. It was evident from the way everyone had welcomed and helped her that Lisa was a boss everyone would have loved to have and the staff wanted to return her generosity by treating her family members well too. At first it had almost been strange to Amy how helpful everyone had been with her while she had looked into the behavior of Lisa's horse, Ajax, but slowly Amy had realized the treatment was genuine and a testament to how kindness went a long way.

With her plans to expand her own business, Amy was definitely taking it all in like a sponge. If things would go as she was hoping them to go, she would have a staff of her own one day - which was somewhat new to her, even though she had always worked with or alongside ranch hands. Still, those people had always been hired by Grandpa at the end of the day and while Amy had been the one to call the shots, she had never thought of herself as anyone's boss.

But maybe she would have to slowly get used to thinking herself that way.

As Amy looked at Ajax running in the paddock, she heard two people approaching. Just as expected, they were Lisa and Dan who both had a share on the stallion and wanted to hear why she had asked them to come and meet her.

"Fixed him yet?" Dan asked right away as Amy turned to face them, standing by the fence.

"Not quite", Amy replied, knowing the answer probably wouldn't please nor Lisa or her ex-husband.

"So why did you ask me here then? I thought you had some actual news", Dan said impatiently. Amy had never really known Dan that well, but this was pretty much the reaction she had expected from him and it was why it didn't really phase her as she had been prepared for it.

Lisa glared at him, not appreciating his tone. "Dan..."

"It's okay", Amy said to Lisa. So far, Amy had only gone through her plan to soothe Ajax with Lisa since the woman was the one who was in charge of the day to day here at the stable and who was more invested in the process to begin with. Dan was more interested hearing the end result than how she had gotten there. "I figured you would probably want to know why I asked you both here. But I assure you, it's important and it has to do with Ajax's behavior."

Dan looked at Amy and even though he still didn't look that friendly, at least his words gave Amy some hope that he was trying to give her an opportunity to explain. "Okay, we're listening."

"Well, I have been trying couple of things with him that usually work, everything from join-ups to massage and herbs and oils - and they help, for a while - but I'm starting to think none of those things are going to be a permanent solution with his temper", Amy explained to them both.

Dan sighed as his patience was wearing thin.

"I'm sorry, Lisa, but was there another reason why you hired her other than the fact that she's Jack's granddaughter?" he asked from the woman beside her, acting as if Amy wasn't even there. Even though it felt a little bad to Amy, at the same she wasn't surprised. Dan definitely wasn't the first entitled client she had ever come across. "I thought you said we were going to get results. This horse was supposed to be our biggest hope."

"And I'm sure he will be. Just hear her out, Amy hasn't even finished", Lisa insisted, getting annoyed with her ex. "Oh, and I didn't hire her because she's Jack's granddaughter - I hired her because she's the best I know. Now shut up and listen."

Lisa didn't appreciate Dan's assumptions of nepotism, because she had never been guilty of that. Even with her nephew, Ben, she had always made sure he learned his way up from the bottom.

While Amy didn't expect Lisa to defend her, it did still feel good to have someone who was willing to hear her out as she often took her time to explain the situation so that everyone involved would get a grasp of the situation and feel like they were included in the decision-making.

"Okay... now..." Lisa said, turning back at Amy, "what do you suggest? That we hire someone to keep up with that routine?" she was guessing.

"Well, you could do that", Amy was giving them that option, even though that was not what she had had in mind, "but I was thinking about something else that might actually fix a lot of his problems permanently. At least that's my theory."

"Well, what is it? We'll do it", Dan said, not shying away from it even if it meant that they would have to spend more money on this horse. As the most desired stud in the area, he would be worth it.

"I think the best thing you could do for him would be a castration", Amy said, knowing already the suggestion would not be very well received.

Dan started laughing a joyless laugh. "Funny. - She's funny", he noted to Lisa, not knowing whether Amy thought she was really being funny or not.

"I'm serious", Amy continued, looking at them, not seeing happy faces, just as expected. "I mean, it's clear it's his hormones that are making him act like this. And you could soothe him by different methods, but personally I don't feel comfortable suggesting that as a permanent solution because really it's only temporary at the end of the day."

"You do realize what we do here, right?" Dan asked, wondering if maybe Amy was stupid. "We breed horses. High-end horses, not just your typical cow ponies. That horse is going to make us a fortune. He comes from a great line of stallions before him", he said, pointing to Ajax. "If you don't have any actual suggestions, we're done here."

"I get what you're trying to do here - and that's why I've been trying to help you", Amy explained, not backing down. "You asked me here because Ajax's been next to impossible to handle-"

"He's a stallion, he's a little wild, that's no news", Dan argued and then scoffed. "We should just use the drugs I suggested to calm him down. This has been waste of our time", he noted to Lisa who was caught between two people now.

"You know I'm not comfortable with that", Lisa reminded. "I was hoping we could find another, not so selfish solution, that's why I asked Amy's help."

"And this is her solution?!" Dan asked, not believing what he was hearing. "He's a stallion, he just needs to do what he's supposed to do and he'll be alright. We'll breed him more if he needs to get that energy out in order to calm down-"

"No, he won't be alright", Amy said, interrupting. "I get it, he's a stallion, and he's just following his instincts, but that's not the only thing he should be alive for. Horses are herd animals, they deserve to be around other horses. Right now he's isolated from everyone else and whenever he has a chance to be around other horses - mares - it's fast and calculated and people are acting weird around him because he freaks out. It only makes him act out even more. No wonder he's all over the place. I get that he comes from a great line of horses, but not all stallions are suitable for being studs. He should be more than his genes. - I know why you bought him - I get that - but you have to think about what's more important here; your money or the horse."

"Amy's right..." Lisa sided with her after a while, even though the results were disappointing.

"You can't be serious!" Dan hissed. "You really want to castrate him?"

"I don't, but I have to think what's best for him", Lisa replied. "He deserves better than what he has gotten this far. I don't want to be like the people before us who have just sold him when they are done with him or his behavior. It has to stop here."

"What's best for him is to be a stallion", Dan stressed. "His value drops as soon as he's not able to breed."

"Sure you're not just projecting...?" Lisa asked when she sensed something personal coming from his way. Her comment did end up silencing the man for a while.

After a beat, he continued: "If you want to throw away your money, that's fine, but you have to buy me out. I'm not going down with this ship just because you want the horse to "have friends"."

Dan turned around and left the two women behind.

"Sorry about that..." Lisa apologized on Dan's behalf.

"It's okay. I didn't expect this to go down smoothly anyway, but I want you to know I didn't come to the conclusion lightly. Trust me, I tried to find every solution but sometimes you just have to believe that the most obvious one is the right one... I wish I could have given you a better end result", Amy said, leaning against the fence as she watched Ajax rolled his upper lip to smell the mares from the air.

Lisa walked next to her and looked at the horse too. "I know. But who knows who he'll be once this problem has been fixed. His genes aren't the only reason why people want him - he's well-built, there could be another career for him out there. Besides, we may breed horses here, but I don't want it to be for the wrong reasons."

Amy was relieved Lisa had common sense and didn't just follow the money trail, even if it would have been easy thing to do with this situation since so many others had already chosen that route.

"I should probably call Dan and apologize..." Lisa realized, sighing. "My comment was uncalled for, even if he was acting like a fool."

Amy glanced at her, wondering what this was about. Lisa noticed her turned head from the corner of her eye and figured maybe she could trust this to her.

"Once upon a time, Dan and I were actually thinking about having kids", Lisa revealed. "We had just married and it seemed like the natural next step. So... we started trying. But... nothing ever happened and after a while we figured maybe something was wrong. We went to a doctor and turns out... he wasn't able to have children. It sort of... created this rift between us. After that we weren't the same and we never really talked about that; I guess he was just so ashamed."

"I'm sorry to hear that", Amy said.

Lisa nodded a little, but didn't seem that sad about it. Maybe enough time had passed.

"I have to admit, there are times when I've wondered if maybe there was a reason things turned out the way they did. He was never able to talk about it when I wanted to, if only to discuss about the other possibilities, but... he shut me out. How was I supposed to have a family with someone who wasn't ready to talk about things? - And I guess that pretty much explains why we got divorced too", Lisa shared. "And it's not like having children was going to be my whole life anyway, I mean, I had my business - which I loved - and every spring I get to experience the foaling season - what's better than that?" she continued with a smile.

"Yeah, foals are pretty cute", Amy admitted with a gentle smile. Every spring, Lisa had brought Katie to look at the new arrivals and the little girl had absolutely loved it. Last spring had been Lyndy's first time visiting Fairfield to see the foals, and Amy fully expected to do the same thing this year as well.

"I'm not bitter or sad", Lisa concluded, "besides, maybe in some ways I'm relieved Dan and I never had children, because who knows where I would be now. Most likely not with your grandfather and probably not here talking to you. I'm happy with my life now."

Amy nodded, wondering about that.

"To be honest, I feel like I continued to endure things that I probably wouldn't have been okay with otherwise because of Lyndy. I don't remember when was the last time I truly felt like a wife to Ty. I always identified with being a mother first and foremost, which is not a bad thing, but... when you are married and don't view yourself as a wife, I think there's a problem. And Ty was like Dan too - he never wanted to talk about things, so we never really did. But that's when things start to fester. I know the divorce's not yet a done deal, but... I kind of want to believe I will be okay too, just like you."

"You will be", Lisa believed, "I just know it."

She wrapped her arm around Amy to give her her support. It felt good to Amy.

"How's the custody battle going...?" the older woman asked.

"It's... going", Amy shrugged a little, not knowing how else to articulate it. "We'll be going it over tomorrow with our lawyers. I know it's pretty much given that I will get the sole custody, but I'm still nervous. Maybe it's the fact that I'll be seeing him for the first time in a while. I mean, it'll be different now. In some part of my mind, I still keep picturing him in Mongolia or Vancouver, and every time my phone rings, my heart beats faster because I think it's someone calling me to tell me he's hurt or dead, or something. But then I remember he's in jail and in a way, it's almost as if he's in the best place he could be right now. He has someone to make sure he's not doing anything stupid. He's following rules. - Is that crazy for me to think that...?"

Lisa shook her head. "It's not. I get it."

Amy felt a little more relieved.

"Come on, let's go to my office, and I'll write you your cheque", Lisa said as she patted Amy's shoulder. "For the job well done."

"I feel like I don't deserve it", Amy admitted. "I didn't give you what you wanted", she said as she started walking with Lisa.

"I didn't hire you to give me what I wanted, I hired you to help me figure out what I should do with Ajax", Lisa reminded. "Besides, I'm not going to not pay you just because I didn't like the end result. You deserve that money for all the work you put into this. And besides... you have a lawyer to pay."