Chapter Three

A Day in Our Life

A/N - Here is a view into a typical day for each of the Borden family's members. I hope it gives you a little more insight into their lives, personalities, friends, and such. As I develop this story my plan is to continue to develop each character mostly focusing on Amy and Ty. Enjoy!

Amy's Day

Since the bus picks up at Heartland, Amy went to visit everyone as she does most mornings. After catching up with everyone she sat with Georgie and Katie to go over the current list of clients and decided on who was doing what. Even though most of the horses were at the Miracle Ranch there were the Heartland horses and others that needed attention. Since Katie was still in school, she did most of the Heartland work. Amy and Georgie handled the bulk of the others. After that Amy sat with Lou for a sister's visit. "OK out with-it sis', how are things going with Scott?", Amy queried. "Oh, Amy we are so happy, and I think he is going to propose soon," she blushed. Scott and Lou were a thing in high school as he was the first boy in the loft before Ty, but when she went away to college they split up. When their mother died, she returned, and they tried to restart but it didn't work. While she daydreamed, Amy shrieked, "I can wait for a Heartland wedding" – remembering her and Ty getting married in front of the fireplace.

When she was done, she went back home and worked on several client horses with Georgie. Since Ty was going to be home by lunch, she was excited about the fact that they were going out for a gentle ride with Harley and Spartan. They were old so the ride would be short and simple but being with Ty was all that mattered. Although they have been on thousands of rides together, each one was special and a time for them to talk without interruptions. A little after noon, she heard the old blue GMC coming down the drive. Every time she heard the truck memories came back to her of what it meant to the both of them. She became a woman in that truck, was given a promise ring, ate Chinese food in the bed and countless other happy times in their life. When he stopped, she ran into his arms!" Are you guys like teenagers," Georgie yelled from the round pen. "Jealous much," Amy responded as she passionately kissed her husband. They got the horses tacked up and headed to the old jumping course. It was an easy ride and although Spartan acted like he wanted to jump Amy held him back. They hopped off and let the horses free graze and snuggled up against a log. After some intermittent kisses and hugs they saddled up and went home.

The settled the horses and Amy caught up with Georgie and Ty did some vet checks. Amy's phone when off reminding her to get the kids but Ty offered and went to get them. Today was a good day because none of the kids had anything going on. When everyone returned, the kids ran to their mom for big hugs. Lyndy and the twins went to the house for a snack, but Maddie clung to her mother talking a mile a minute about her day. She was definitely a live wire.

Amy and Ty finished up and walked over to the house arm in arm, stealing a kiss or five. Georgie headed out as well and promised Amy that she would email her if there was anything she needed to know about the Heartland horses. They walked into the house and saw the table was already set for dinner and all homework was done. And they only had one comment from Addie about "making out" on the walk over. She told the girls, "One hour to dinner so go have some fun."

Ty and Amy got dinner ready and when requested the girls came in and washed up. Dinner was relatively calm and after everything was cleaned up the family went to the barn for night check, paperwork and updating files. Amy kept the tradition of journals like her mom, so she spent some time adding some notes. Amy gave the kid the 10 minutes to bedtime notice so after everyone was cleaned up it was bed check time. Amy and Ty always started with the youngest and worked up. The others didn't know it, but Lyndy had an extra half hour to read. Amy was in the on-suite getting ready for bed when two strong arms wrapped around her. She turned and looked into those emerald eyes and said, "Rain Check?" There night was far from over.

Ty's Day

Ty walked into the clinic and was greeted by Scott, Cassadra and the two vet techs, Dan, and Mindy. "Ty, thanks for coming in we have a lot to do this morning" Scott said. "Let's look over them and decide who will do what." After four surgeries Cass, Ty and Scott had a Zoom meeting with the team at the University of Calgary Vet Program to go over the surgeries. Because of their reputation many of their procedures were shared with vet students and occasionally they went to campus to guest lecture. On a few occasions Amy came along because the professors wanted to share some of her approaches to horse rehabilitation. Ty would stand to the side and beam with pride at his wife and how she interacted with the staff and students. She was a natural teacher and he had seen it for years, especially with Georgie, Katie, and the girls. His eyes would mist as he watched her and couldn't help but take a deep breadth when he realized she was his partner for life.

Ty finished up at work and headed home. As he got close his excitement grew because he knew that he was going on a ride with Amy on Spartan and Harley. When he came to Heartland, he would never have thought was that he would ride horses, in fact, although he was too cool to admit it, horses scared him. But he soon learned that if you wanted to be with a 'horsey girl' riding a horse was a necessity. He soon found that he actually loved horses and it eventually drove him to wanting to be a vet. He pulled up to the ranch and heard running feet and knew it was Amy. She jumped into his arms and wrapped her legs around his waist, "Ty you home, I missed you." He said, "I have only been gone for three hours but I missed you to." As they kissed, he heard Georgie screech something and Amy responded, "jealous much."

When they returned back from their ride, Amy went back to Georgie, and they continued to work with the horses. Ty had several horses to check on, a horse recovering from colic, another for a strained suspensory ligament and a new arrival that needed his teeth floated. He made the rest of his rounds and as Georgie left, he met up with Amy to head back to the house and get ready for dinner. He joked, "Ok so what's the chance the table is set?" Amy optimistically responded, "I am feeling good about it" as she wrapped her arms around him. As they approached the house the snuck some kisses and noticed Addie in the window looking out in disgust and Maddie yelling at her. "Let the fun begin," Ty sighed as Amy snuck in one more kiss.

As dinner ended everyone pitched in and cleaned up and the kids went to their rooms to read and get ready for bed. He went with Amy to each of their rooms as they made the rounds to say goodnight. Amy walked out of the bathroom, and he saw the look in her eyes. As he locked the door, he heard the comment he was waiting for from her – "Rain Check!"

Lyndy's Day

The school year was coming to an end. Business was picking up as was the case when the weather was warmer. The family, especially the girls were getting more and more excited every day. Lyndy was excited to be going into middle school next year. For once she would be on a different bus that her sisters were on. Her maternal instincts sent out and alarm but moving to middle school excited her. After she dropped off Maddie, she headed to commons and met up with her friends – Ellie, Viv, Rachel, and her best friend Maya. "So, girls we are almost done" Maya screamed out. The all hugged and headed to class.

For the most part Lyndy enjoyed all of her classes except history because the teacher was a complete bore. His monotone voice was enough to put everyone to sleep. The only thing that kept her happy was the fact that sitting next to her was Wyatt, the most handsome, kind, generous, caring, and hottest boy in the class. Lyndy had it bad, her first crush. Since they sat next to each other they talked a little and she was sure that from time to time he looked over at her and smiled. She melted every time. Since she was so close to her mom, she had talked to her about it. Although her mom was very confident in her doing the right thing, she provided her some guidance. "Be kind to him and always be truthful. Try to find common things to talk about." Amy said. Lyndy replied, "Wait a minute, Dad hated horses, rode a motorcycle and was a juvenile delinquent – how did that work?" "Well, as you can see that worked out thanks to my amazing ability to change his ways." Lyndy just rolled her eyes but deep down felt all warm about her parents and the bond they had built over 20+ years.

As class ended, she got up and accidentally bumped into Wyatt dropping her books. He immediately went to pick them up and they bumped heads. "Sorry I am such a klutz Lyndy, are you OK?" " I'm good" as she blushed wildly. "Hey Lyndy, are you going to the end of year 5th Grade dance?" Wyatt inquired, blushing himself." Knowing she couldn't date yet she responded, "For sure, all of us girls are going together, You?" "Yep, all of my buddies and I are going. I was wondering, could you save a dance for me?" His blush now turned bright red. "Sure, I guess," she stumbled hoping it came out better that it sounded. "Great, it's a date!" regretting saying the word date. But Lyndy confidentially responded, "Yes, it is, see you later."

When the last bell rang Lyndy headed to the kindergarten class and picked up a smiling and talkative Maddie. "Hi Lyndy, I had a great day, how was yours, we did an art project, can we ride when we get home…" she blabbered. Lyndy looked in her eyes and said, "Great, good, sounds like fun and yes." Maddie smiled and just couldn't understand how someone could be any less talkative.

When they got off the bus, they saw their mom and dad on Spartan and Harley. "Easy ride today?" Lyndy said. Her mom replied, "Yep, the older guys need some exercise," pointing at dad too. "So, homework before you ride and when you get back set the table for dinner, please." She smiled when her dad tickled her mom's side after her "older guys" comment. Again, she felt warm inside hoping that one day she could find someone like her dad. As her parents finished up in the barn Lyndy took charge of the kids. She didn't want to disappoint her parents.

Dinner was uneventful and mom told everyone to get ready for bed (we eat dinner late). I heard mom and dad saying good night to my sisters and then after a knock my door opened. I put down my book when they walked in, they sat at the end of the bed. It was awkwardly quiet when mom spoke up. "So, this boy, want to talk anymore about him," As I nervously glanced over to dad and mom said, "Don't worry dad knows what is going on. So, I heard about the 5th grade dance, Maya's mom mentioned it to me." "Well, Wyatt kind of asked if I was going and if he could have a dance with me," her face turning several shades of red. "And I said sure I would like that." Dad smirked and said, "I remember our first dance Amy." "Tell me about it?" Amy gushed, "Dad had to be taught how to dance by Lou and on the way to my class dance his truck broke down. I was mad but then he turned on the radio and lifted me up to the bed of old blue. We started to dance, and I was shocked and then," she hesitated. Lyndy screamed, "What did he do Mom!" "Well, he gave me this," as she pulled out a necklace with a ring, her promise ring. As she leaned into dad she said, "But we were much older. Well good night and as you know you can read for a while, just don't tell the others." I smiled, kissed them both, and laid down. I was asleep in 5 minutes thinking about the dance and my mom's story.

The Twin's Day

When the bus dropped them off , Annie and Addie bolted to their friends. Although identical twins their personalities were different and although the shared friends, they also have unshared ones. Annie loved school and when she got to her first class, she was ready with her notebook and homework. "Hey Annie, did you get the homework?" her friend Abby asked. "Yea it was pretty easy, I actually got it finished before I went home in study class." she confessed. "Well can I ask a favor, can I come over one night after school and can you help me." She pleaded. Abby was her best friend, so she answered, "Of course, maybe Thursday." Annie loved to help other people out and really wanted to help her friend.

The rest of her day went well, like they always did. Between 4th and 5th hour she ran into Alyson, a snooty girl who had a lot of money. She blurted out, "I hear Abby asked for your help in math, what is up with her. She is not that bright; I wonder if she has like a learning disability?" Annie clenched her fist and remembered something she learned from her dad. After counting to three she said, "Alyson, that is a very mean thing to say. Abby is my best friend, and I would do anything for her and vice versa. I can't believe you are so rude." Alyson stepped back and rushed away in a huff. Several kids and teachers heard the conversation and patted Annie on her back. Ms. Witherspoon, one of Annie's favorite teachers said to her, "I am very proud of you Annie and I imagine your parents are as well." She thanked her and felt good about what she had done.

Addie day started as it always did in English, a class she hated. Actually, school in general was a challenge, not since she struggled with the work she just got distracted and bored. She had talked to her dad about it because she knew when he was young, he struggled with his education as well. When they chatted, he consoled her and said," Addie you are a bright girl, but some people need to find their niche, like I did with the help of mom. She and Heartland saved my life and helped me find my path. You need to commit to school, and I promise that you will figure it out." She decided at that time she would take his advice. She had some setbacks and knew that he would be there to help her out.

Just thinking about that conversation helped her through the rest of the day. After her last class a couple of girls ran up to her and said, "Did you hear about your sister and Alyson?" Nervously she asked, "What happened, is Annie in trouble." Although they had different personalities her twin sister was her best friend and confidant. As like most twins they had a "connection ." Wait did it happen between 4th and 5th period?" she asked. Her best friend Bella said, "How did you know… Oh wait it's the whole I feel what my sister is feeling thing." Addie smiled and said goodbye and rushed to see her sister at the bus. She found her sister immediately and sat next to her. Nothing needed to be said.

As they all got off the bus the twins saw their parents. "Oh, look they are holding hands again, don't they know our friends are watching," they sighed. They listened to their mother's instructions and ran into the house. After throwing their backpacks on their beds in their shared bedroom, the went to the kitchen. The girls had decided to set up for dinner first then get to their homework. The faster they got done the quicker they could relax and do something fun. Annie looked at Addie and said, "Addie do you want to go on a ride with Maddie, Lyndy and me?" She answered, "No you guys have fun, I am going to polish up dad's Norton, he went on a ride with mom the other day and it is a mess." Maddie said "Whatever" and rolled her eyes.

Once she finished, she headed to dinner with the family. It went well with a lot of animated conversation about everyone's day. Addie couldn't help herself and said, "Guess what Maddie did today. Alyson was making fun of Abby, calling her learning disabled and Annie called her out in from of a lot of kids and teachers. Everyone was talking about it." Everyone smiled and congratulated her. Then Amy said, "I kind of know about it already, Ms. Witherspoon actually called me to tell her about it. Annie we are very proud of you." Ty then spoke up and smiled at Addie, "And thank you for cleaning the Norton. It looks great." While glancing at Amy he then said, "maybe one day we will have to get you your own motorcycle." Amy looked at her husband sternly and said, "When she is 30!" Everyone laughed.

After cleaning up the girls went to their room to write in their journals. The heard their mom and dad close Maddie's door and put them down. The knocked and came in to say goodnight. Amy gushed with a slight tear in their eye and said, "We are really proud of both of you and love you very much." There were hugs all around and after a few more journal entries they went to bed.

Maddie's Day

Once Maddie woke up, she was on the run, both physically and verbally. Amy and Ty were always amazed at how she had the energy to make it to the day. She definitely was tired though when she went to bed. After Lyndy dropped her off at class she ran in the room to get to her seat. Maddie didn't really have a best friend, because in her mind, everyone was her friend.

At the last parent/teacher meetings they raved to Amy and Ty on how she was friendly with everyone, even Gus the retired janitor that worked at the school. Ms. Taylor mentioned at the meeting that several times she was always going out of her way to say good morning or hello to him. Ms. Thomas another teacher said, "The other day some of her classmates were teasing Gus. Maddie jumped between him and the kids and calmly said, stop, you should be nice to Gus because he is a good man. Did you know he was in the army and has 8 grandchildren. You should all be ashamed of yourselves. The kids put their heads down and said they were sorry to Gus. When he looked at Maddie, he smiled the warmest smile I have ever seen. I almost lost it. She is the sweetest child but likes to talk." Amy and Ty thanked her for her kind words. She continued and said, "When I asked her why she did it she said it was because of a story her daddy had told the kids about their mom. The was a man, Mr. Hanley that their mom had befriended, when most people ignored him. She said how proud she was of her mom and commented that she saw a little tear in her dad's eye." Well, the tears returned in everyone's eyes as the meeting ended.

In kindergarten all of the day's activities were in the same room. Today was Art Project Day and Maddie was excited. The students were put in groups of 5 and each given a topic and some direction. She immediately took the lead, as she always worked with a team. They decided what each person would do and started on their tasks. Maddie because it was her nature kept tabs on everyone. "Hey Brian make sure you don't use too much glue. Mel, try to stay in the lines while you are cutting. Jade and Clem you should probably start organizing the posterboard." Ms. Taylor glanced over to her and wiggled her finger for her to come over to her desk. "Maddie, I am pleased that you have taken the liberty to oversee things, but I have some advice. When being a leader it is better to treat everyone as an equal member of the team. You also need to respect what they are doing to help them do better. Telling them what to do is not always the best approach, rather you should be asking them what they are doing and how they think they can do it better." For once Maddie was without words and thought through what she had said. A light bulb went off and she responded, "I was kind of mean to them wasn't I. I should go an apologize to them and I promise I will never do that again." "Well, I don't think you need to apologize, just change your approach a bit. I expect they will respond well to your new approach," she with a smile. Needless to say, their project was the best one submitted by far but of course everyone was a winner.

When the end of day bell rang Maddie waited patiently outside for Lyndy. The minute she saw her sister she ran up and hugged her and immediately started talking about her team's project. She proudly told Lyndy, "My teacher told her she was a great leader. She gave me some really good advice and when I used if it really worked, I can't wait to tell Mom and Dad about it." Lyndy proudly said, "Maddie you should be proud of yourself. For a little kid, you are pretty cool."

When she got home, she smiled when she saw her parents returning from their ride hugging, and kissing each other. After her mom gave some directions, she gladly went it to help with dinner set up. She always did the napkins. She was even more excited when Lyndy, Annie and she were going to go on a short ride. She loved her horse Mystic, that her parents gave her on her 5th birthday (A family thing). Addie wasn't going to go which was kind of ok with her. She was still mad about her making fun of mom and dad hugging and kissing. She said to Lyndy and Annie, "How do you put up with her. She is always making fun of them. I think it is awesome. I hear other kids talking about their parents and how they argue a lot. I mean mom and dad disagree sometimes, but they always work it out. Isn't she happy they love each other and us so much?" Lyndy put her hand to Maddie's mouth, or she would have continued to talk for the entire ride and said, "Maddie, Addie loves mom and dad and deep down I am sure she likes to see them hug and kiss. She is just being Addie. Here is what you can do. The first time she hugs or kisses a boy, you can act like you are throwing up. That will show her." They all giggled, and Maddie was already plotting how she was going to do that.

They got back, settled the horses, said hi to Mom and Dad and went back to the house to get ready for dinner. Maddie looked out the window and saw her parents hugging walking to the house and then Addie started gagging. Maddie yelled at her saying, "I can't wait until you kiss your first boy. I am going to make fun of you as well." Addie stepped back and said, "Touche kid." Dinner went well, especially with the detailed story Maddie gave about her day and after cleaning up the kids went to their rooms. Maddie anxiously waited for her parents. She was tired but always forced herself to be awake when they came in. She loved them so much and couldn't wait to talk to them some more and give them each a big hug. "I love you mommy and daddy,' she cooed. Amy and Ty told her that they loved her to and were very proud of her. Before the door closed, she was fast asleep, dreaming about catching Addie kissing a boy one day.