Monday day light
She nodded. "Ty. Thank you for reading my journal. It means a lot to me...um. Ah. Do you have any questions?"
He nodded. "I do..." He stood up, turned around, jutted out his butt just slightly, cocked his head towards her, then said seriously, "Do these jeans make my butt look old?"
"What? What did you say?" She was confused, wasn't sure that she heard him correctly. "Did you just ask me if your jeans make your butt look old?"
"Yes. Yes I did." In his best Caleb. "Tell me honestly." Again seriously.
"Seriously?" She was perplexed.
"Absolutely." He said confidently.
"Well. Okay." She cleared her throat just to keep from laughing. "In my expert opinion, your butt, in those jeans, appears to be about a quarter century old. Now, to be completely certain, before I render judgement, I'd have to study your butt without said jeans."
"Good point." He dropped his jeans, his butt was bare, toned, muscular. "And now?" Still completely serious.
She gasped, stifled a giggle. Gathering herself, she said, "Well. Yes, just as I suspected. A 25 year old butt. So in conclusion. No, those jeans do not make your butt look old, or at least not older." She concluded, smiling appreciatively. "Those jeans showcase your butt very well."
She softened then, "You, Ty Borden, have a very, very nice butt. You always have." She blushed, but did not look away.
"Good. I was worried. Thank you for your honesty." He pulled his jeans up, sat back down, obviously pleased with himself.
She shook her head, started laughing. "Ty. What in the world?"
He started laughing, then excitedly confessed. "Well. I stayed at Mrs. Bell's house last night. Long story. Anyhow. You will not believe this. These are Mr. Bell's old jeans from 1969! Can you believe that? Mrs. Bell gave them to me to wear...and keep."
"Well, good to know!" She grinned at his excitement.
"I bet in a vintage store these would fetch a pretty penny. Aren't they so cool?"
"Yes. Yes they are." Caleb was alive and well in the loft. "Curious though. And, I hope I am not being too nosy. But, have you given up on underwear?"
"Oh, that." He grinned. "No, no. I just couldn't bring myself to wear Mr. Bell's underwear too. I mean. His jeans and shirt were more than plenty."
"Oh." She sounded more disheartened than she intended.
"Disappointed?"
"Well. If we are to be honest." She paused, grinned, with a sparkle in her eye, added. "I think it's kinda sexy, you sans underwear."
"Well. If we are to be honest. He grinned, his lopsided smile. His eyes penetrating hers. "I think it's very sexy, you sans bra." He murmured.
They didn't move, their desire just hung naked in the air.
A tiny, chippy squeal broke the moment, erupting into puppy pleas for her. Amy started to stand.
"Ames. Mind if I get your puppy, hold her?" He asked, his eyes not moving from hers.
"Sure. She'd like that. And, maybe you'd give your professional opinion."
Ty walked to the makeshift bed, lifted the tiny setter, wrapped in Amy's tank, so he could get a closer look. "Hey sweet Ruthie! How are you doing? It's okay. I got you."
He turned toward Amy, eyes locked onto the pup. "Fine looking setter. She appears healthy, maybe a tad thin, a good set of lungs, for sure. Her markings, black ears and patches on her eyes are balanced nicely." He walked over to the table, sat down with Ruth gathered to his chest, in one hand, stroking the puppy's head with his thumb.
"I can't wait til she gets her freckles and feathers. I think English Setters are such a noble looking breed." Amy said proudly.
"Pretty special breed." He brought the puppy to his lips, kissed her head, then deeply inhaled. "Mmmm. I love puppy smell, reminds me of fresh ground coffee."
"I know, she makes me feel all warm and cuddly when I snuggle with her." Amy smiled as she looked at Ruth in Ty's arms. "You'll make a great dog dad some day."
"Some day I plan on being a dog dad too." He kissed Ruth's head again. "Do you plan on training her to bird hunt?"
"No. Not to hunt. Maybe field work with a horse, point, set, flush, retrieve. A setter's natural hunting instincts are truly nature at its finest, beauty in their motion. It's just fun to watch. Have you seen setters work?"
"I have, actually at Setters Point with Scott." He changed the subject. "Is this your tank that Ruth is using as a blanket?"
"Yeah. It helped her go back to sleep at 4:00am. Guess she likes my scent."
He brought the shirt to his nose, closed his eyes, inhaled. "She's not the only one."
They both paused, looked at each other, unsure what to say next. Five seconds of silence seemed to go on forever.
Amy broke the quiet. "Ty?"
"Amy?"
"Um. I know I hit you with lot yesterday including my journal. Is there anything you want to talk about?" Then she quickly added, "If you aren't ready, I understand."
He got serious, breathed in deeply. "Amy, I won't lie to you. After you left Mrs. Bell's yesterday, I had a really hard time."
She nodded. "I can imagine. I'm sorry."
"I mean yesterday working together was like old times, like my Amy, um, I mean the old Amy. We had fun like nothing had changed."
She just nodded, didn't respond, didn't rush, interrupt. She let him continue at his own pace.
"So I guess I just wasn't prepared. Um. Or something. I don't know." He shook his head knowing he was mangling his words. She touched his arm, nodded to reassure him. "Grrr." He was clearly frustrated.
He sighed, tried again, "After such a good day. I didn't expect you to say those things. About us being on separate paths even before you left."
He closed his eyes briefly. "It's just that. Everything I thought about us, everything I knew about us, our plans for the future, our plans to get married, crashed and burned. It was overwhelming. I just shutdown." His face showed his distress, his anguish.
Amy listened, her eyes searching his.
He shook his head. "Amy. I couldn't even bear thinking about reading your journal. I didn't want to know what really happened in Europe. What happened to you. I never really did. It was easier to believe that you went away, found something else, something more. That you were the one that changed, that you broke us."
She listened, but again said nothing.
"But, Mrs. Bell. I don't know how to explain it. She took care of me, put me in bed. She wrote me that letter. She basically told me to read your journal. She pulled me out of my head, my thoughts...my ass at times. She listened, she questioned, she told me when I was on the wrong track."
"She loves you."
He nodded in agreement. "And she loves you." He said quietly. "I think she sees us as a some modern day Mr. and Mrs. Bell."
"You may be right." She considered that possibility. "But, we're not them. We've made too many mistakes."
"Yeah. I know." He ran his free hand through his hair, rubbed his scruffy chin. "It's just that. I don't know. Amy. Somehow. I had it in my mind that because I encouraged you to go, that somehow it resolved our disagreement. Clearly you don't feel that way."
"Your support and encouragement meant everything to me. I would not have had the courage to go without it." She paused. "But, no, I don't think we resolved anything before I left."
Then she added. "Things happened so fast. Charger. The tour. Guess I just wanted to hold you, be held, love you, be loved as much as possible before I left. So I didn't say anything. Looking back, I should have. And I am sorry that I didn't." She explained calmly.
"You had no trouble writing it down." He shot back.
"I know." She sighed, "Truthfully I have a hard time sharing my feelings with you when I am upset. Seems I always say the wrong thing and make things worse. Writing helps me sort things out." She added. "I am working on voicing my thoughts and feelings."
"Amy. I am all ears."
"Okay. Well. I hope you know that I love you. And more than anything I wanted to make a life with you, marry you, have a family, be in business together. To be your partner in everything. The ranch was a part of that partnership."
"Yeah, it was supposed to be."
"But when you refused to even consider the money I earned for the down payment, I worried that you didn't see me as your partner. That you didn't respect me as your equal. That somehow your work, your money, your goals were more worthy than mine. It started to gnaw at me."
"But. I did see you as my partner, Amy. I just didn't want to take advantage of you. I didn't want be like my dad. I wanted to pull my own weight. I wanted to be the one to make the down payment."
"I know you told me that." She acknowledged. "And, I tried to understand. But Ty. In your desire to be The One, you made a decision, you gambled our future on Charger. You decided to partner with Caleb, not me. You purposely decided to not tell me, to exclude me. When you got in trouble, it was Caleb, not you, that told me. I was hurt." She tried to remain calm, but her insides felt jittery, her stomach nauseous. "And you expected me to fix him, to drop everything, do it for free. That's not a partnership."
"Amy. I was wrong. I am sorry. But, it turned out okay. We won. Right?" He tried to make his case, but knowing he didn't.
"Ty. I was thrilled that Charger won. But, no it didn't turn out okay."
He sighed knowing she was right. "Winning that race was so great. You know. When Charger's problems surfaced, I started freaking out. I was afraid that my tuition money and school would go down the drain. You were so angry and disappointed in me. You could barely look at me. Or even talk to me."
Then he laughed. "But your dad was having a field day. He couldn't stop talking. His snide remarks just kept coming. He really knows how to push my buttons. He made me feel like shit. Reminded me that I am worthless."
"You are not worthless. My dad is the worthless one. He is such an ass."
"Yeah. He is. But he's your dad. He's just looking out for you." He shrugged his shoulders.
"Yeah right. He's not looking out for any one but himself." She muttered with more anger than she expected. "Sorry. Keep going..."
"Yeah. Well. Through all that, my chest felt so tight, like I couldn't breath. I just kept thinking that I was just like my dad in some stupid get rich scheme doomed to fail. Worse. I thought I had lost you." He let out a strange laugh. "But, against all odds, Charger won. You made another miracle happen. I was so overwhelmed, I almost broke down right there in the stands. I was so relieved, I felt vindicated. I had made the right decision after all. I felt like a winner for once." He beamed.
She nodded. "It's good to win."
"You know. Underneath, I knew you had to save me. I really wasn't a winner."
"Ty."
"Anyhow. I planned to put the winnings into the ranch that night. I had already talked to the real estate agent. Had the paperwork." He said proudly. "I just wanted to talk to you about it."
"You should have told me that night."
He shrugged. "It would not have made a difference. I mean you walked in with your news about the tour. And, BAM. I was a loser again." He was quiet again.
"Ty Borden. You are an amazing man. You are not a loser." She could tell he didn't believe her but she truly meant it. "Everything you say does make a difference to me. Your words matter to me."
"Well. Whatever. That was my plan. My fucked up plan. But you had already decided to go to Europe, so there was no sense in any of it."
"Ty. You know darn well that I didn't decide about Europe until we talked and decided together."
"But you knew about it before the race. You just didn't say anything. Just like the time before."
"Hey. Wait a second." She objected, surprised that he said that, felt that.
"Well. Admit it. You took the job at Hillhurst with Ahmed without telling me." He retorted.
"Come on Ty. You knew about the Hillhurst job offer before I accepted. And I told you right after I accepted. At least you didn't have to hear from someone else." She snapped back. She frowned, shook her head.
He said nothing.
"I shouldn't have said that." She sighed. "Look Ty. I don't want to get into a fight about who did what, when." But then she conceded. "You are right. I decided to take the Hillhurst job on my own. And partly out of spite. I am sorry."
He nodded. "Amy. I honestly was trying to make a future for us. Contribute."
She nodded, "I know."
"But I was wrong. I should have told you about Charger. I should have included you. I should not have expected you to fix him for free. But. Without you, we, I would have been in a world of hurt. Amy. I was an idiot. I got so excited about wining, making a lot of money, buying the ranch, I stopped thinking. I am sorry."
"I made mistakes too." She whispered. "Lots of them. I am sorry too."
"I should have asked you about the ranch. Decided together what we were going to do. Instead, I said nothing. I regret that. I just.." he looked at the ceiling. "I didn't want to hold you back. I wanted you to decide."
"Decide what Ty?"
"I don't know. Maybe if you still wanted me. If you still wanted us. Or if you wanted Ahmed, his money and his fancy life." He struggled. "Amy. I wanted to say. Um. That I...Fuck." He was frustrated so he stopped, sighed. "I didn't want you to go. There, I said it...I really did not want you to go...I wanted to say Don't Go, Stay with me." He said, his voice shaky, unsure. "But Amy. I didn't want to be that guy. I didn't want to hold you back. Then or ever. I was in a no-win situation."
"I wish you had told me." She said quietly.
"Would it have made a difference?"
"Yes."
"How?"
"Ty. It was so hard for me to go. Knowing that we were..um..at odds. That you didn't ask me to stay. I missed you so much it hurt. Every day that we didn't connect made me miss you more, but it also made the distance grow."
He nodded, "Seeing you get in that helicopter with Ahmed ripped my heart out. Everything was the same here, but you were gone. Talking to you made it worse. So I made myself busy, the clinic, the horse business, school, Heartland, Caleb. I just wanted to block it out, occupy every second so I didn't miss you."
"Would you have stayed if I had asked?"
"Probably. I was excited, yes, but so scared too. I had never been away from Heartland by myself. If you had asked, our conversation would have been different. Maybe we would have resolved things. But. That's not the point."
"What is the point?"
"Here's thing. Every time we have fallen apart, it because we weren't truthful, we left out pieces, we weren't upfront, we stopped talking. So we heard things from other people or we filled in the blanks ourselves. We let things fester, we said things out of anger or hurt, we involved other people, we listened to their opinions, we stopped trusting ourselves, each other, then we broke apart. Think about it...every time."
"Yeah."
She grinned slightly.
"What?" He knew she had some else on her mind.
"It's just that Mrs. Bell suddenly popped into my mind. She told me. "Tell the truth or someone else will tell it for you.""
Then she added. "It's like Caleb telling me about Charger."
"Or Georgie telling me about that damn video."
"Yeah." She hesitated, but decided to tell him anyhow. "And. Not that this excuses my actions but...just so you know. When Lou showed me that video, she advised me not to tell you."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I wish I hadn't listened. But. Video or not, I should have told you about the tour, the good and the bad. I should have told you about that stupid kiss and everything else. Not that it would have changed anything. But..."
"It might have." He said quietly. "I should have asked then listened."
"Ty. I know that we aren't together. I know that. And that makes me so sad." Her voice quivered. "But if we want to be friends. I mean, we are friends, right?" She said sounding hopeful.
He nodded. "Yes, I hope so."
"Me too. If we are going to be friends, we have to be honest, be truthful. It's the only way. Or we have nothing."
"We've said that before. It's just a bad rerun, the ending doesn't change." He groused, sounding negative, essentially giving up. "How many times do we go down this damn road? Maybe it's not in the cards for us."
"You may be right." Echoing his tone. "But. Look. I am going to be straight with you, tell the truth. You may not want to hear it. But I am going to say it. And, I want you to be straight with me. We can't change what's happened but we can be honest about it. And going forward, we just need to talk. No matter what. Okay?"
"Fine. For whatever that's worth."
"Promise?" Ignoring his doubts, negativity.
"Okay. Sure. I promise." He said half heartedly.
"Pinky swear?" She said seriously, but with a slight smile, trying to make him laugh.
"Really?" He smirked. She nodded, held out her pinky finger to him. He shook his head at her childishness. He hooked his around hers anyhow.
"Repeat after me. Okay?" She instructed.
He nodded.
"Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye. I promise to be honest." She said.
"Really? Amy. Stick a needle in my eye. That makes me cringe just to think about it!" He grimaced.
She nodded. "Come on tough guy!"
"Okay. Um. Cross my heart and hope to die. Stick a needle in my eye." He sighed. "Okay?"
"And?"
"And, I promise to be honest."
"Good." She sighed heavily, knowing that they did not have a good track record. She was hopeful none the less that this time would be different. "See. We have never pinky swore before. So. It's not a rerun."
"Yea. We'll see."
As they sat in silence, exhausted from the roller coaster of examination and contrition, they sipped coffee, nibbled on Mrs. Bell's scones, not tasting either, not really knowing what to say next. She watched him as he stroked then tenderly kissed Ruth's head as the puppy sighed, stretched, wiggled and curled up to his chest again. She watched her little pup, nestled in the hands of the man she loved. The corners of her mouth curled up, her expression softened, her eyes turned misty. She felt suddenly lonely, alone, a lump formed in her throat.
She quickly finished her coffee, asked "Can I warm up your cup?", just to say something.
"No. Thanks. I really got to get going. Those stalls downstairs aren't going to muck themselves." He said without much conviction, not moving from his seat.
She nodded, bit her lip, sniffled, then let out a bit of self-effacing laugh. In a quiet voice, she asked, "Can I have my puppy back?"
"Of course." Then he said to Ruth. "Time to go back to your mama." He stood before her, handed Ruth to her. She held her puppy close to her chest, lips pursed, eyes stinging as she looked down at the tiny life in her hands.
He watched her cling to Ruth, drawing into herself. He had seen that look before. He grasped Amy's shoulders gently, pulling her to him. He wrapped his arms around her, feeling her warmth. She nestled her head into his chest, feeling his warmth. Their bodies fit together so perfectly, it had always been the case.
After a moment or two, he kissed the top of her head as if she were a child, then pulled away. He gave her a brief, empathetic smile as his greens looked at her blues.
He sighed, "Well."
She nodded. "Yeah. I've got to get moving myself. I have a lot on my agenda."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. I got to do morning chores."
"Hey. That's on me."
"Okay. Thanks. Um. Then I have to work with Parsnip and Midnight before Nick gets here at noon. I have a meeting in Calgary. Then..."
"Calgary?"
"Yeah. I am meeting with Summer Flower, you know, my mom's friend from high school." Pointing to the hummingbird print, making the connection for Ty. "I am meeting her and some of her colleagues to discuss my work with Ahmed."
"Oh?"
"Likely it's nothing but I need some advice. You know she works in women's studies department. Some focus on women's roles and issues such as equity and employment in Canada and internationally."
"Want me to go with you?"
She shook her head, No. "Thanks. But I am good."
"To quote Mrs. Bell. I know you are good Amy. Tell me something I don't know."
Amy laughed. "I will be fine. Really."
"What time?"
"2. But, honestly Ty. I will be fine."
"Okay."
She smiled, then added. "Anyhow. After that, I am meeting Cassidy for her first lesson at the Polo Club. And. If it's not too late, I will go see Mrs. Bell...And just so I am truthful, if I do that, likely I will run into Matt Baldwin."
"Is everything okay?"
"Yes. It's just that the RCMP's security will end on Wednesday unless I provide more information."
"Your journal?"
"Maybe. But he doesn't know about that."
"I promise I will finish reading it by today."
"Thank you." She smiled, "What's on your agenda?"
"All sorts of exciting stuff." He joked. "Barn chores. And whatever Jack needs me to do. Class at 2:00. Plus. I have a bunch of reading to do." He grimaced a little.
"Thank you. I know it's not easy." She added. "You are welcomed to read up here if that's more comfortable."
"Thanks. I'll just read it in the office or something. Maybe at school."
She nodded.
"Okay, then. Thanks for the coffee." He left the loft, leaving Amy hugging Ruth, feeling physically exhausted, mentally drained, but somewhat relieved at the same time. They had both said their peace about Charger, though nothing was resolved, only aired. She looked her watch, it was nearly 8. She wanted to crawl back into bed, pull the covers over her head. Maybe never come out again.
But she forced herself back to the table, opened her notebook to yesterday's entry.
Sunday To Do List:
Morning chores, Parsnip, Midnight, Soraya, grocery, Mrs. Bell, night check, Matt Baldwin at 8.
Her head hurt thinking about the last 24 hours, so she simply put a check next to each item completed and turned the page.
"Okay Amy. One day at a time. No sense in looking back."
Monday To Do List
Coffee with Ty, yoga, morning chores, work Midnight on trust and biting, work with Parsnip on jumps, Feed Ruth at 10, meet Nick Harwell on Midnight and Parsnip at noon, feed Ruth at 1, meet Summer Flower at UM at 2 on Ahmed contract and employment issues, feed Ruth at 4, Cassidy training at Polo club 4-6, feed Ruth at 7, Mrs. Bell, Matt Baldwin, night check, feed Ruth at 10.
"Ruth. You are already a handful!." She kissed the pup's nose. "But, you are oh so worth it."
She put Ruth in her bed, washed their cups, then stood in front of the colorful hummingbird print. She tried to envision the peace and healing that it supposedly represented. Slowly, she breathed in through her nose on the count of four, then exhaled through her mouth with the same count until she had calmed. Then lifted her arms overhead to stretch, twist, then slowly positioned into Warrior II, hands on hips, bending deep, towards her knee, then extending her arms. She reversed sides, repeated the pose. Amy went through her routine from Europe, cat, cow, dog, and such ending with child's pose, her favorite. Then she sat crossed legged, hands at heart, gazed on the hummingbird. Strong with its wings out stretched. A new day, another chance for a new beginning.
She put on her boots, then headed toward the steps. She stopped, reconsidered, then changed her top, this time with a bra, tank and plaid long sleeved shirt.
Downstairs, she greeted her horse, his stall already cleaned. "Hey Spartan. How are you this morning? Good? Well you look good! And your stall looks good!" Spartan snorted, shook his head. "You don't say. A new ranch hand? He looks kind of familiar to me too. Yes, he does know his way around a shovel." She surprised herself with the cheerfulness in her voice.
"You are crazy. Did you know that?" Ty remarked, smiled seeing a lightness in her.
A chuckle escaped her throat as she led Spartan out to the field to get some exercise, enjoy the morning sun.
Back in the barn, she checked on Midnight. "Hey handsome boy. How are you? Looks like you already ate all your food." Surprised.
"I didn't give him any more this morning. Figured you had him in a special diet." Ty said.
"Good call. I have been giving him camomile to calm him. Seems to be working." Without warning, Midnight reached his nose out, lips pulled back, teeth bared, moving in to bite her hand. She moved just in time. "Well maybe not all that well." She frowned. "Okay. Midnight. You need to mind your manners a bit." She headed to the herb room to mix up his breakfast. Ty followed her.
"What are you giving him? I'll make sure he gets it tonight and in the morning."
"Thanks. But really. Don't worry. I will do it."
"Amy. Come on. Show me."
"Okay. Okay. So he's still a little tense, so I add..." she explained which herbs she used and why and how much. He stood next to her listening, watching carefully.
"Got it. Tonight and in morning?" Ty asked.
"Yeah. That would be great. Thanks!" She then added. "Ty. I plan to be here at night check."
"I figured. But, I also know that you are going to Mrs. Bell's house.."
"Good point. More than once now, I've stayed there over night.." she smiled. "It's kinda like a little oasis. A judgement free zone." She said as she led Parsnip out of her stall to be tacked up.
"Yeah. And that guest bed is incredible."
"I know, right?" She smiled, thinking that they have slept in the same bed. "The front porch swing isn't bad either." From the tack room she retrieved an English saddle.
He helped her hoist it onto Parsnip's back. "Did you really sleep on the front porch?"
"Yep." She admitted without giving details.
"Some day you tell me."
"Not much to tell. I went to visit, Mrs. Bell wasn't home. So I waited for her on the front porch swing. I fell asleep. Slept there all night."
"Oh". He remembered Mrs. Bell's request. "Hey. I almost forgot. She wants me to build a three stall barn." He said as they secured the saddled straps around the warmblood's belly.
"Three stalls? What in the world for? Sugarfoot will never use it." Amy shook her head.
"Beats me. She didn't say. First she said a two stall barn, then she decided on triple."
"Hmm. Well okay. Have you ever built a barn before?" She asked.
"Nope. And I told her that I had no idea how. You'll never guess what she said." He laughed.
"I give. What?" She shrugged her shoulders.
"She told me look it up on my smartphone!" He grinned.
"She cracks me up." Amy giggled.
"Wanna help me design it?" He asked earnestly.
"Really?"
"Yes. Of course." Then he added. "We could have fun with it."
"Yeah. I'd love that. I will even help you build it." She offered.
"I dunno. I mean. That's a lot of bossiness for one project." He grinned.
"Shut up." She lightly pushed his shoulder, then laughed.
As Amy led Parsnip out of the barn, Jack crossed her path. "Well, good morning Amy."
"Morning Grandpa." She replied smiling but did not stop to chat.
Jack watched Amy walk away, then proceeded into the barn. "Well Ty. Looks like remember your way around the barn."
"Yeah. It's like riding a bicycle but more fun."
Jack chuckled. "Is that right?"
Ty grinned. "So. What do you know, Jack?"
"Not much. Just checking on things."
"Oh?"
"Um. How's Amy?"
"Seems fine to me."
"Oh. Good to hear." He paused. "Look. I'm headed into town, doing a supply run, then to Fairfield to help Lisa with some fencing."
"Okay. What do you need me to do?"
"Yeah. Will you look at my truck. It seems to be shaking and hesitating more than usual."
"Will do." He added. "Look Jack, I have a bunch of reading to do today..." Ty said.
"Not a problem. School comes first." Jack made the leapt, Ty didn't correct him.
"Okay then. See you at dinner?"
"Yeah. Sounds good."
"Just let Lou know."
"Of course. Hey. Say hello to Lisa for me." Ty said as he walked Jack to the barn door.
Ty got busy with his chores, feed, water, turning horses out, mucking. Pushing the wheelbarrow full of equine waste to the outside pile, he stopped to watch Amy and Parsnip. Her words of encouragement floated across the yard, the excitement in her voice, her laughter. She was doing what she did best, the warmblood responded to her, making each jump, seemingly just to please her.
Then he saw her, Lou crossing the yard, walking with usual purpose toward the course, stopping at the fence. He dumped his load, headed back to the barn.
Amy dismounted Parsnip after successfully making the last jump. "Did you see that Lou? A perfect run!" She yelled to her sister as she walked, leading the horse, to the fence where Lou stood.
"That's great. Amy, we need to talk."
"Everything okay Lou?"
"Yeah. I am late for work. And I need to go to the bank. Thought I'd deposit your check from Sally Ride while I am at it." She said as she looked at watch again.
"Thanks. But I already deposited it. Since the tour, I have been doing online banking, it's so much easier. I strongly suggest it!"
Lou looked confused. "The Heartland account doesn't show your deposit. Maybe it hadn't posted yet."
"I deposited it in my account, not the Heartland account."
"Fine. You know it's Monday and Grandpa is doing his supply run. So.."
"Oh right. Sorry. Of course I will pay. How much for my horses?"
Lou laughed. "Your horses? You know that's not how we do it. It's just one account. Let's see. I guess let's make it 15k and call it even."
"No. We only charge our clients 1500 per month. Of my horses, only Spartan was here for the entire month. The other three, Sally Ride, Parsnip and Midnight, have only been here for a few days. But I will give you 2000 for the stabling of those four."
"First, Amy, you are not a client. You are family and you run the Heartland Equine business. As you well know, we stable more than your horses. There are fourteen others. They need to be fed, vaccinated, stabled and everything else too."
"Most of which are Dude Ranch horses and your daughters. Ten to be exact."
Ignoring Amy's comment, Lou continued. "Did you forget how this ranch works Amy? Everyone pays their share."
"What's your share Lou?" She said sarcastically.
"Amy. I am not getting into the ranch's finances, I really don't have time." Then she took a different tack. "Look. If you give Georgie jumping lessons, we can work out a deal."
"Lou. I told you. I am trying to rebuild my business. I really don't have time to train Georgie. I told you both that."
"You are training Cassidy."
"Yes. And being paid for that."
"You train Georgie. I will cut the amount owed to 13k." Then she added. "So, we'll be paying you 500 per week." Then she added. "Remember she did your job while you were gone, four long months."
"I am not going to discuss this any further. I will give you 2000 for this month. That's it." With that she climbed over the fence, walked quickly to the barn with Lou trailing behind her.
Lou was in the office when Amy handed her a check. "I would like a receipt please for stabling. Please."
"No Amy. You live here. You eat food, use electricity, drink water, use the ranch for your horse business." Then she added. "You are a part of the family."
"Really? You could have fooled me." She retorted, eyes narrowed, teeth clenched. "I thought I was an indentured servant."
"Amy. Come on. You know how this works." Lou chided her little sister.
Amy didn't respond, as she simply turned and left the barn.
"Amy! Don't walk away!" From the open barn door, Lou yelled to her sister, hands in hips. She stomped her foot for emphasis. Amy just kept walking to the jump pen, mounted Parsnip, galloped off, a thick fog of dust behind them. "Grow up Amy." She muttered.
"What's up, Lou?" Ty asked, having heard only a bit of their discussion.
Lou sighed heavily, shook her head "Oh it's Amy. Ever since she got back from that damn tour, she's just so stubborn, touchy and secretive. Have you noticed?"
He shrugged his shoulders.
"Yeah. I guess you wouldn't know given your current status." Lou put her fingertips to her temple. "Sometimes she just gives me a headache. One second she's an emotional mess, the next stubborn as a goat."
"Anything I can do?"
"You? Doubt it." She huffed. "She's just not willing to do anything for anyone but herself. That's what happens when you get used to being waited on hand and foot by a prince."
"What do you mean? She's always working with horses, mucking out the barn, doing morning chores and night check."
"Yeah. She's doing work, but she's not turning in her hours so I can bill clients. She collecting the fees herself and not turning over collections."
Ty looked confused.
Lou noticed his expression. "For the love of god, Ty. You should know better than anyone, it costs money to house all these horses. Feed, straw, vaccinations, vet bills, supplies, tack, entry fees, a ranch hand. It's not cheap. Heartland has to bring in money to offset those expenses."
"How much a month?"
"It depends on how many horses we take in. But it's about a 1000 per month per horse as a base."
He counted up the horses, Spartan, Harley, Phoenix, Checkers, Trouble, Pal, Paint, Pogey, Buddy, 6 Dude Ranch horses, did some quick math. "Dang. That's a 15k month base, Lou."
"Exactly. It's her business, she needs to pay the expenses. Plus, she's had these other three. So 18k. I gave her a break at 15k, or 13k if she trained Georgie. She refused."
"Wow. 18k. That's a pile of money."
"Pffsh. I said only 15." Lou made a face. "Okay. I get that she's rebuilding her business. But, it's not like she can't afford it. She just got paid 35k for Sally Ride."
"She only got 15k."
"Ty. You weren't there. I was. She made 35k."
"She told me 15k. She had split the 35k with Nick and he had to cover his expenses."
"Well. I was there." She huffed. "Ty. I love my sister and all. But she has trouble with the truth these days. Haven't you learned that?"
He didn't respond.
She gave him that look of pity. "Sorry Ty." She audibly inhaled then exhaled. "Well, got to go. Someone has to work. I'd give you a hug, but I don't want muck on me."
He nodded.
She started toward the door, stepping gingerly around a pile of manure. "See you at dinner tonight." She called over her shoulder.
"Sorry Lou. I can't. I have some reading to do. I will probably stay on campus."
"Understand. We will miss you. I will save you a plate." She said, then she was gone.
Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year! May 2021 be filled with only good things for you and yours.
Enjoy your holidays, be safe and stay healthy.
SBR
Ps. Thank you for your kind reviews, your great ideas, and your nice PMs. And, yes, I even appreciate when you ask for updates! You make me want to write more.