A/N: Thank you for all of the lovely reviews. It made me so happy to read all of your reviews; you guys are awesome. Here is the next chapter, I am so sorry that it was so late again. :) Enjoy.
~ Chapter Three ~
~~ The Key to Heartland ~~
The farmhouse was quiet and peaceful, as the afternoon drifted into the evening. A wonderful dinner of roast beef, creamy mashed potatoes, fresh cut green beans, and warm buttery biscuits sat in the oven to keep warm until it was serving time. Lou was up in Georgie's room putting away some clothes, waiting on Amy's and Ty's arrival. She pulled open one of the middle drawers of the bureau and picked up a pile of clothes. She slipped the clothes inside, then closed it and opened the top drawer. As she was laying some socks in a row, her fingers brushed against something papery.
Curiously, Lou set down the laundry basket and pulled out the crumpled piece of scrap paper. It seemed ordinary enough and Lou was about to disregard it, until she caught sight of words on the other side. She flipped the paper over and smoothed out the creases, to read the messy scrawl.
Wanna go to the movies with me?
Lou's mouth formed a small O as she realized what this was; her daughter's first date invite. The note wasn't signed, so whoever wrote it passed to Georgie in person. Lou smiled a secret smile. She took the note and picked up the laundry basket again, turning and leaving the bedroom.
"Peter!" Lou called as she came down the stairs.
Peter jumped up at her urgent tone, and walked around the couch to the stop at the landing of the stairs. "What is it? What's wrong?" he asked her, worried that something happened with the baby.
Lou stopped on the bottom step. "Oh, nothing is wrong," she reassured him. "Look at what I found in Georgie's room." She held up the little slip of paper.
Peter looked confused and a little curious. "You were snooping around in Georgie's room?" he accused her. "What is that?"
"I wasn't technically snooping, I was putting away laundry," Lou reasoned, holding up the laundry basket as proof. "This,...is our daughter's first date invitation." She smiled, giddily.
"What?" Peter said, his eyebrows furrowing. He took the paper from her and read it. His eyebrows rose after reading it. "We don't know that's what this is," he replied, holding the piece of paper out.
"Peter, our daughter was asked out on her very first date," Lou admonished, trying to convince him of how important and exciting this was.
"Ok, A, Georgie is thirteen, she's too young to date," Peter replied. Lou tilted her head and closed her eyes for a second in disagreement. "And, B, she probably doesn't even want to go."
"What?" Lou said, shocked.
"Why do you think she dumped it in her drawer?" Peter pointed out.
Lou thought about it. "Maybe she was just embarrassed," she thought out loud. Then, she gasped as idea sparked in her brain. She took the note back. "Maybe the person who wrote this wasn't the person she wanted to go with."
"Ok, what are you talking about?" Peter asked.
"Stephen," Lou said it like it was obvious. "I knew there was something about those two, I just knew it."
"Ok, you're acting a little crazy. I think the hormones are getting to you," Peter relented, sighing and running a hand through his hair. He started to turn away.
Lou wasn't going to let this go, however. She took a step after him, reaching for his arm. "Peter—-" she broke off when she felt a sharp jab in her stomach. A gasp escaped her lips as her hand automatically went to her belly.
Peter turned back to her in a rush, worriedly. "What's wrong," he questioned.
Lou glanced up at him with a reassuring smile. "The baby," she answered, "He's kicking."
Peter smiled and placed his hand on her belly to feel his son kick. It was a quiet moment as they waited for the baby to move again. A minute later, the baby finally did kick again, kicking once and then again right after. They grinned at each other in wonder and happiness, no words needed to be spoken. They leaned in for a kiss that was slow and lingering, and then went in for a longer, sultrier one. When the kiss was over, they were still smiling.
"I think he's telling you to chill out, too," Peter joked, sliding his arms around her waist.
Lou laughed and pecked him on the lips again. Then, she said, "Never call a pregnant woman crazy again."
Still smiling, they leaned in for another kiss, but their peaceful interlude was soon over. The front door opened, and Tim's greeting echoed throughout the house. Lou and Peter pulled apart, a promise for later hanging between them. They started walking to the kitchen, meeting Tim and Casey halfway.
"Hi, honey, how's my future rodeo cowboy doing?" Tim asked, as father and daughter greeted each other with a hug.
"Dad, I've told you a hundred times, he is not joining the rodeo," Lou reminded him, with her hands on her belly protectively. Tim just smirked in that usual way of his, like he wasn't even listening. Lou turned to Casey, as Tim and Peter greeted each other. The two women exchanged greetings, and Lou noticed the wrapped box in Casey's hands.
"Is that for Amy and Ty?" Lou questioned, politely.
"Yeah, just a little house-warming present," Casey explained.
Lou nodded. "Well, you can go put it in the family room," she instructed her.
"I told her she didn't have to get anything, but she insisted," Tim replied, leaning his elbow up on the door frame between the kitchen and living room.
"Well, I just wanted to give them something they needed for the house," Casey explained, with a small laugh.
"It was a very nice gesture," Lou replied, as Casey moved further into the living room to put down the gift. "I'm sure Amy and Ty will appreciate it."
Tim straightened up, rubbing his hands together. "So, where is everybody?" he asked, glancing around the nearly empty house.
"Well, Georgie and Katie are out at the barn, Grandpa left to go do something-I don't know what-, and Amy and Ty should be back soon," Lou explained.
"I hope Amy and Ty get back here soon," Tim replied, taking a deep breath. "Because dinner smells delicious."
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"Good job, Moonstone," Georgie said to the horse as the mare slowed down to a standstill. Moonstone turned her head toward Georgie for further instructions. "Go around one more time, Moon, and I'll let you rest." Georgie flicked the rope toward the mare to get her going again. Moonstone blanched slightly from the sound of the rope cutting through the air.
"One more time, Moon!" Katie repeated, from the other side of fence. The little girl leaned her body against the lowest wooden rung of the fence, her arms stretched out in front of her, nearly doing a balancing act. Georgie told her numerous times not to hang on the fence, but Katie refused to listen. She wasn't deliberately not listening; she was just more involved in having fun and didn't see the harm in what she was doing.
Another couple seconds passed, and then Moonstone started walking around the pen again. Georgie urged her into a trot and the mare obliged. She walked two circuits around the pen, before Georgie coaxed her into a trot. The horse bounded into a trot, tossing her head excitedly. As the thirteen year old worked with Moonstone in the pen, a truck was pulling into the driveway. Katie looked over at the rumbling sound, getting off the fence and standing up straight. Georgie glanced over for a second, but kept her full attention on the horse in front of her. The truck parked, and Jack and Lisa climbed out. Katie let out an excited squeal and ran over to them.
"Hi, Katie," Lisa greeted the little girl, bending down and picking her up in her arms. "What are you doing?" Both she and Jack started walking over to the round pen.
Katie pointed over at her big sister. Then, she spread her arms out wide. "We have party!" she exclaimed.
Lisa laughed and tickled her. "Yes, we are, for Amy and Ty," she told her.
Jack leaned on the fence rail, watching Georgie reverently. "How's she doing?" he called over to her.
Georgie halted Moonstone and turned around to start walking over to the fence. "Moon is doing so good," Georgie sang, happily.
"She's looking good out there," Jack commented. "And so are you."
Georgie grinned modestly, looking down at the ground. Suddenly, she heard hoof beats behind her. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Moonstone walking over to her, ears pricked forward. Georgie gasped, her grin getting even bigger, if that was possible. "She's never done this before!" she exclaimed, holding herself back from jumping up and down. "She does it with Amy all the time, but this is the first time she's done it with me!"
"Well, it looks like we have another Miracle Girl in the making," Lisa replied, looking over at Jack and then back to Georgie. Georgie's excitement was contagious, rubbing off on everybody. Katie reached through the fence to pet Moonstone's head.
"Yes, we do," Jack said, proudly. Georgie turned, and rubbed her hand over Moon's nose and cheek, murmuring praises to the mare. When Georgie had her back turned, Jack and Lisa shared a secret smile.
Then, they took a step back from the fence. "Ok, so, we saw Amy and Ty driving up the road when we were coming. They'll be here in a minute," Jack told her. "Finish up with her and come inside."
"Okay," Georgie agreed, without looking.
Jack and Lisa took Katie back up to the house, leaving Georgie alone with Moonstone. Georgie picked up the lead rope again, and unlatched the gate. She led Moonstone out of the round pen and to the barn, cooing to her the entire way. She gave the mare a nice brushing, which Moon enjoyed. She put Moon into her stall, and left to get her feed. Georgie didn't hear the truck pull into the yard, but when she was coming back with Moonstone's bucket, Amy and Ty were walking toward her hand in hand.
"You're back!" Georgie called to them. "I'm almost done, I'm just feeding Moonstone." Ty opened the stall door for Georgie, since she had her hands full.
"Any problems with her today?" Amy asked, holding out her hand toward Moonstone. Moon put her nose in Amy's palm, but then followed the smell of her feed.
"No," Georgie answered, going into the stall and putting Moonstone's bucket down. Moon sniffed it interestingly, like she was making sure it was her food, and then started eating it. Georgie came back out of the stall and could barely hold herself back. "You'll never believe this!" she exclaimed. "I was lunging her, and I turned around to tell Jack how she was doing. She followed behind me, Amy! Just like with you."
"Wow, Georgie. She really trusts you now," Amy said, grinning along with Georgie. "When we bring her over to the new ranch, you can come over whenever you want to help out with her, with Lou's permission of course."
Georgie locked the stall door, and turned to Amy, confused and disappointed. "Wait, you're taking her with you?" she questioned. "Won't she get scared or confused?"
"Well, it will be a change for her," Amy explained, "but we've worked with her to be able to trust her other senses more. Georgie, she's one of my clients. I have to take her."
"Oh," Georgie replied, not cheering up. "I just realized that you're going to be working at your ranch now. You're not going to be at Heartland anymore, it's not going to be the same."
Amy didn't really know what to say, since some things will change. However, she put her arm around the younger girl's shoulder and tried her best. "It won't be that different," Amy told her. "And you'll have more time to ride Phoenix, and to practice trick riding."
"Yeah, I guess," Georgie said, sullenly.
"It won't happen right away," Ty added, putting his hand on her shoulder. "We have some work to do on the ranch before we can move in."
Georgie didn't say anything. Amy and Ty shared a look over the thirteen year old's head, shrugging with sympathetic expressions. "C'mon, let's go eat," Amy finally said.
The three of them walked across the yard to the farmhouse. They entered the kitchen, and Amy and Ty were assaulted with congratulations. Everybody sat down at the table to eat the delicious meal. They had quite a bit to talk about, as Amy and Ty recounted the moment they became ranch owners. Amy shared Ty's unexpected but wonderful gift, except she didn't have it with her to show off. They had found a place for it, hanging on the corner of the porch of their house. It was their first visual sign that the ranch was becoming their home.
After dinner, everybody moved into the living room for coffee and dessert; a chocolate crumb cake with iced frosting. Georgie sat down on the floor next to Katie at the coffee table, to help her with her cake. The little girl was having trouble with not scooping too big scoops from her slice of cake. Lou and Peter sat behind their daughters on the couch, curled together with Lou rubbing her belly slowly and absentmindedly. Tim and Casey sat on the other end of the couch. Jack sat in his chair, with Lisa perched on the arm of it. Ty took up the other chair, gently pulling Amy onto his lap. Their hands interlaced instinctively. Amy and Ty opened up their house-warming gift from Casey, which happened to be a coffeemaker. They may not have furniture or anything yet, but at least they'll be wide awake.
Jack looked over at Lisa, and she gave him an encouraging nod of her head. He cleared his throat to get the whole room's attention. "Let's toast to Amy and Ty, and their new ranch," Jack said, raising his mug. "We are so happy for you, and we'll all chip in and help get the ranch fixed up."
Everybody raised their mugs and toasted to Amy and Ty. They smiled thankfully and appreciatively at everyone else. Ty set the plate they'd been using to feed each other from one slice of cake down on the fireplace. "Well, we'll certainly need everyone's help to fix it up," Ty laughed, and everyone laughed with him.
"Now, I don't want to take the focus off the two of you and your celebration," Jack continued. "but this whole thing has made me think of something." He now had everyone's attention, as the room fell to a hush. "When it came to the future of Heartland, I always thought it would go to Amy. Plans change and I'm a man slowly getting used to change."
"Grandpa, what are you talking about?" Lou asked, leaning forward as did Amy.
"Georgie, I left something in my coat pocket. Can you go get it?" Jack asked the young girl instead.
Georgie nodded, looking curious though. She got to her feet and sprinted from the room. Everybody looked back at Jack for answers, but he didn't say anything. He just waited for Georgie to return. She returned, holding folded, official looking papers. "Can you read them please?" Jack asked her.
Georgie looked around the room at everybody as they turned to look at her, and then she unfolded the documents. She read silently for a couple seconds, then she gasped loudly and looked up disbelievingly. "You're giving us Heartland?!" she exclaimed, appalled.
That caused a slight uproar, everybody starting to speak at once. Lisa was the only one, besides Katie, who wasn't talking. She laid her hand on Jack's shoulder. Jack held up in his hand to silence everybody. He faced Lou and Peter. "I know the two of you have been searching for your dream home, when, in actuality, it was here the whole time. You all knew it. With Amy leaving to start her own ranch," Jack paused to smile proudly at Amy. Amy smiled back at him. "I believe the legacy of Heartland has fallen onto another's shoulders."
Jack smiled over at Georgie. Georgie walked over to him slowly. When she passed by the couch, Lou stroked her arm softly. She stopped in front of Jack. He continued speaking to her. "Georgie, you have come a long way from the runaway child who came into our lives two years ago. You excel at everything you do and you blossom more beautifully every day." Georgie smiled self-consciously.
Jack leaned back slightly to include Lou and Peter in his gaze. "Now, nothing will change, just a simple change of names on a deed," he added. "Can I trust you with the care of Heartland?"
It was quiet, and then Lou and Peter grinned at each other. But it was Georgie who answered, her face lighting up in the biggest and brightest smile ever. "Yes!"
A/N: How was it? I hope you all liked it, and I am so sorry for the long wait again. Please review and tell me what you think. :)