Thank you so much for the kind reviews to start off chapter 1! Just wanted to touch on one user's question about the name choice behind Tamy's other 2 children, TJ and Lily (my original characters for this story). Don't worry, I'm not upset in the least! I just thought an explanation would be fun for readers to hear :)

TJ's full name is Timothy Jack. So he's technically named after both of Amy's "male" role models. The reason I make it TJ, putting Tim(othy) first, is because in real life, my uncle's nickname is JT. Making my fictional character's name the same as my uncle irl would confuse the heck out of me, especially cause TJ in this story is only 9 years old (and my uncle is almost 60). Also making the "T" in TJ stand for 'Tyler' after his father, wasn't right for me to only represent Ty in one of his kids' names, and then not represent Amy anywhere.

As for Lily, well I honestly just like the name Lily. And while she was a bit of a dead beat mom, she was important to Ty and the alliteration of saying Lyndy & Lily together sealed the deal :) Plus Lily's middle name is Soraya, after Amy's childhood best friend. So I felt like there was some "better" representation in there too! Oh and with both Lyndy and TJ being named after Amy's side of the family, Ty's side needed some too. And I sure as well was not going to include "Wade" in there at all.

Please feel free to write as many questions/comments as you'd like! I am happy to answer/explain if you genuinely want to know. If I feel like the ask is unkind, I will just ignore it. Thank you!

Second chapter edited and done! I changed this one more than the first; let's see if you can spot some of the differences :)

Lyndy had other plans. Rather than staying to untack, she wanted to catch her mom at a time where she could talk. "Mom!" she called across the lawn, jogging to catch up.

Amy turned to face her daughter, pausing from climbing the steps to the house. "Hey sweetie, how was your ride?"

"Good cause TJ and I got to race. Can I ask a question." Lyndy stopped next to her mom, who nodded. "Did you ever hide a friend from someone?"

Amy was used to her daughter's random questions, but not this one. "Not that I can remember, honey, except from myself. I mean, I tried to stop my feelings about someone once, yet that didn't work." Amy smiled. She thought back to the time that she had ignored her feelings for the one and only, Ty Borden. Yet he had won her over and Lyndy, TJ, Lily and the wedding ring on Amy's left hand were the outcome that Amy wouldn't change for the world.

Lyndy nodded thoughtfully, also thinking of her parent's love story. She wondered if that's what TJ was doing; trying to hide his true feelings for Esme by not mentioning her and telling Lyndy they were "just friends."

"Everything okay?" Amy continued to look at Lyndy.

"Yes, thanks Mom!" Lyndy smile a genuine Lyndy smile, and ran into the house, letting the screen door slam behind her. Amy shook her head; Lyndy was a sweet girl but half the time not even her mom knew what was going on inside her head.

As soon as Lyndy entered the house, two arms wrapped around her waist. "Hi sissy!" Lily said, hugging her sister from behind.

"Hey Lily." Lyndy turned around and picked up her sister to give her a hug.

"Girls, time to wash up, dinner's going to be ready in about twenty minutes." Lou appeared from the washroom, a dish towel in her hands.

"Okay." Lyndy grabbed the soap from the kitchen and rinsed her hands in the sink. Then she lifted her sister so Lily could reach the tap as well. Lily hadn't had her growth spurt yet, and was still small for her age. "Shall I tell TJ and Katie to come in for dinner?" Lyndy asked.

"No need." Katie and TJ entered the house with Amy behind them. "Thanks," Katie accepted the stack of plates that her mom handed her, and set them on the placemats set up around the table.

"When's Ty getting home?" Lou looked expectantly at her sister.

Amy finished washing her hands and looked at her watch. "Soon, probably within the next few minutes." Since Scott retired a couple years earlier, and had left Ty the vet clinic, Mr. Borden had been spending some extra hours there. It was lucky for Ty that Cassandra had been able to take over for the work Ty had done, and they had hired a new person. Brick McMurty actually. Brick was Wyatt's younger brother and about a year older than Katie. He wasn't an actual vet but he helped with giving medications and was hoping to start vet school that fall.

"Okay. Jenn and Brick said they'd be here around seven, and it's almost that time." Lyndy's aunt finished taking dishes out of the oven and set them on the counter. "Can you kids please put these on the table? Don't let Lily carry the chicken," Lou added, knowing that that was a recipe for disaster. Lily was always eager to help, but Lou didn't want her dinner ending up on the floor!

After everything was set and on the table, Lyndy decided to wait outside for her dad. TJ joined her, hoping to find out what she had asked their mom about earlier. "Hey sis," he said, standing on the porch watching Lyndy perch on the fence.

"How'd untacking go?" Lyndy asked, turning around to face her brother.

"Fine, what were you asking Mom about?"

"Oh nothing, just wanted to ask about her and Dad when they were younger."

TJ gave his sister a side glance. He couldn't tell if she was lying or not because Lyndy was good at keeping secrets.

"I'm being honest TJ," Lyndy reassured him, then concentrated on watching for their dad.

TJ joined her on the fence. "Lyndy, I wanna say, cause I think you should know, that if I ever feel anything different towards Esme, you'll be the first person I talk to."

Lyndy looked over at TJ. "Thanks TJ, that means a lot." Lyndy was glad she and her brother got along so well. Other siblings weren't so lucky. She knew a kid at school who would get in fights with their brother all the time, some so bad they would both end up injured somehow.

"Hey, there's my favourite kids!" Ty jumped out of his truck and jogged across the front lawn to his two eldest. Lyndy and TJ jumped into their dad's arms.

"What about Lily?" Lyndy asked, as Ty put her and TJ back on the ground.

"Lily's right there," Ty opened his arms again to welcome his youngest daughter. Amy followed behind and gave her husband a kiss. "You kids go into the house, I need to have a word with your mom," Ty said, winking at Amy.

Lyndy got the message and grabbed TJ and Lily's hands. "C'mon guys!" She laughed and ran into the house. It was funny how a simple thing, such as their dad coming home, could make everyone smile.

Since Lily was only six, she didn't quite understand what their dad was "talking" to their mom about. "Is Mommy in trouble?" she asked, pausing after the screen door was shut.

Lyndy shook her head. "That's his code word for kissing. If you're quiet, you can look out the kitchen window and witness it for yourself." TJ was already at the window, as he enjoyed when his parents expressed their love for each other. It showed how strong their family was and how it was built on love.

Jenn and Brick came in a few minutes later with Amy and Ty. "Someone asked for dessert?"

"Jenn!" Lily rushed over to her and gave her a hug. Brick gave TJ a fist bump and Lyndy smiled shyly at him.

"Hey there Lilybug!" Jenn patted Lily's head, and handed Lou the bag she had brought. "Thanks for inviting us over," she said.

"Our pleasure!" Lou nudged Katie, who was sitting on the kitchen counter. Katie looked up from her phone and nodded, avoiding Brick's glance.

"Yeah, I'm glad you guys came." She smiled and jumped off the counter "How about we have dinner?"

"Sounds good!" Amy and Ty take a seat at the ends of the table with Brick, Jenn and Lou on one side and the Flemming-Borden kids and Katie on the other.

Lou had gone all out, even though it was a small gathering compared to the elaborate dinners she had cooked for years before. There was ham, potatoes, green beans, steamed carrots, broccoli and cold cucumbers. In a small pitcher there was gravy, which made Lyndy's mouth water. There was even apple pie for dessert, homemade by Jenn. Everything was piping hot and smelled so good.

"Before we eat, I wanted to make a toast," said Lou, when everyone had a full plate of food. "To being home with my family, even if it's only for a few days and my husband isn't here." She paused to laugh. Lou had left Mitch back in New York to have a boys' weekend with some of his best mates.

"Here, here!" Everyone said.

Lyndy couldn't help chiming in too. "And to the best family in the world!"

"Now that I support one-hundred percent!" Amy clinked her glass to her daughter's. "Just wish everyone else was here too."

"Yeah." TJ went quiet and looked down at his plate. Everyone started talking and digging in, saying how good everything was. But what his mom had said made him think. He hardly knew what his cousin Georgie and her husband were doing and what about his Great Grandpa Jack? And of course, Tim and Casey. It seemed as if the family wasn't as together as everyone thought.

But little did the Fleming-Borden family know, that was all going to change, and very, very quickly.

Chapter 3 will be up later this week, I promise for reals. Have a great day!

find my on tumblr at thedefinitionofendgame. thanks for reading!