"So, I take it things went well." Jack noted as they headed back out to the truck, Amy holding onto her appointment card with Dr. Virani's contact information printed on the front.
She could see his attempt at hiding a smug little grin and shook her head. "I feel like there's an 'I told you so' hidden between those words."
Jack chuckled. "Well, I did, didn't I?"
"Sure, Jack," Amy caved, "You were right. I'm sorry I argued about… well, everything," she added sincerely after climbing in the Chevy.
"Ah, don't worry about it." He waved off her apology, knowing all too well how defensive people became when thrown into trying circumstances. They did what they could to hide their weaknesses and survive. It was instinct on an intellectual level.

"You hungry?" He changed the subject to something more conversational. Amy was glad for it. She was definitely in need of some stress relief.
"These days, always. If I'm not sick to my stomach anyway." Her morning sickness had long since subsided and the mention of food formed that all too familiar hollow feeling in her stomach that needed urgent filling.
"We'll stop at Maggie's before heading back. She's got the best gig in town and a daughter about your age." Jack put the truck in reverse and backed out into the street.
"Are you trying to schedule play-dates for me now, Jack?" Amy wasn't annoyed, her words were in jest, but it did seem rather odd Jack would take the time to mention that.
"Not at all. I just figure having a friend outside the ranch might help." He was trying to offer her a small ounce of hope with the possibility of making friends who weren't convicted males.

For once that was something Amy wasn't opposed to. She could really use a good female friend, or just someone she could have those girl talks with. Making friends wasn't hard for her to do when she made the effort. But she felt backed into a corner being thrown into Heartland's lap and her first instinct was to defend herself, thus making that friendship thing a little difficult. Maybe having a reason to get away from that confinement on occasion would help.

Driving just a block down the main street, Jack swung into a spot right out front of the diner Amy and Ty passed the day before when she'd leaned out the window to check the hours of operation.
"I thought you had other things to do today." The way he talked, she assumed they would leave the clinic then stop at some fast food joint on their way back to the ranch where the guys were busy rounding up cattle.
"I do. Eating is one of them. Can't work on an empty stomach. But I have to check on an order too, so we'll be killing two birds with one stone." Amy was right that there was still a lot of work to get through at the ranch and they were burning daylight every minute they lingered in town. Jack just hoped that Ty and the guys made some progress, but this was also his way of testing his grandson's commitment to his position and a way for Ty to prove he was capable of running the place without Jack breathing down his neck to keep things in working order.

Amy didn't get what Jack meant by checking an order until she stepped into the diner. It wasn't just a diner, but also a tack and feed shop. The tack part of the building was at the back, with it's own entrance that ran right into the diner. It was actually a neat little building, one Amy didn't give enough credit the day before after merely glimpsing at it from the outside. It was also bustling with clientele which, as Jack pointed out, was probably because it was the best place in town. Or more like the only place in town.

"Have a seat and order whatever you want. I'll just have the chili. I'm going to go talk with Maggie." Jack left Amy to slide into a vacant stool at the counter while he headed into the tack store where the woman was ringing up a customer.

"Hi! You must be new around here." Amy looked up at the dark-haired girl that appeared in front of her. It took her only a moment to guess she was the daughter her age that Jack mentioned. She appeared friendly enough, but that was the job of anyone working in public service.
"How did you guess?" Amy smiled, folding her arms on the counter.
"Because I know everyone that is anyone in this town and I've never seen you before. Just passing through?" She placed a glass in front of Amy and poured ice water into it - obviously habit.
Amy watched the glass fill, not wanting to be impolite by informing the girl she wasn't staying long. "Not exactly. I'm, um, staying with the Bartletts for a while."
The girl set the pitcher down and looked over at Jack who was laughing at something Maggie said. "Oh, right. Jack mentioned something about getting a visitor. I'm Soraya, by the way." She offered her hand, which Amy accepted, momentarily tensing to hear what else Jack happened to mention, but either that was as much as Soraya knew of her appearance or was simply being polite by not being nosy. Either way, Amy was relieved.
"Amy."
"So how long are you staying?" Soraya turned around to put the pitcher back and grabbed a menu to place in front of Amy.
As appreciative as Amy was to be able to have a conversation with someone in her demographic, she still wasn't so keen on being bombarded with questions. She realized that it was probably a habit for Soraya to make small talk with patrons, but it made Amy uneasy. Eventually those surface questions would run out and the deeper ones would arise.
"I'm not sure," Amy opened the menu and busied herself reading it, trying to draw a response without arising suspicion. "Long enough to probably try everything on this menu."

Soraya smiled before plucking the menu from Amy's hand. "Well, in that case, let me give you a tip and suggest the chili. It's a local favorite."
Amy laughed softly. "Okay, two chilies to go then, please."
"Alright, coming right up." Soraya disappeared into the kitchen.

While she sat sipping her water, Amy realized her brief conversation with Soraya was probably the first thing in months that made her actually smile and feel like a normal teenager again. For that short time she almost forgot where she was and why she was there and that she wasn't a normal teenager sitting on that stool. Even when she worried about how to answer Soraya's questions it wasn't with complete fear that she was going to get backed into another corner and forced to speak truths she was continuing to deny herself. She relaxed on that stool, enjoyed being out of her self-confinement, and found herself breathing easier for the first time since that chilly February night.

Jack was still back with Maggie when Soraya reappeared with a paper bag containing their order, setting it down in front of Amy.
"Ah, Jack didn't give me money…" she said awkwardly, not wanting Soraya to think she was going to try to skip out without paying. She had money of her own that her dad put aside in a bank account for her while she was at Heartland, plus what she had left from her part-time job back home, but it was all still tucked away in the bank.
But Soraya waved it off. "Don't worry about it, I'll add it to his tab when his grain order comes in."
"Oh. Well in that case, can you maybe add a chocolate shake onto this order?" Amy grinned, only half joking as the door chimed behind her. If that's how things worked around there then she was sure as hell going to take advantage of that part of Jack's hospitality. He did tell her to order what she wanted after all.
Soraya laughed, pushing off the counter. "Sure thing. That just happens to be my specialty."

"Oh, one for me too, please, Soraya?"

Amy turned to see a petite girl with a mass of brunette curls lean on the counter beside her. She turned to smile at Amy. "Soraya's milkshakes are the bomb and somehow always cure relationship blues."
"Ugh, don't tell me he blew you off again," Soraya groaned, throwing a look of sympathy over her shoulder toward her friend.
The new girl sighed and slid into a stool one away from Amy. "Yep, except this time he had some other girl do it for him." She shook her head.
"What girl?" Soraya asked, turning to stick the tumbler under the mixer.
"Someone named-" the girl began to answer but was cut off when Jack returned.
"Kit, how are you?" Amy's stomach jolted. This was the girl that phoned the ranch earlier.
"Hey, Mr. Bartlett. Is Ty with you?" She seemed hopeful.
"No, I'm sorry to say he's back at the ranch rounding up some cattle." He pulled some cash from his pocket and placed it on the counter as Soraya set Amy's milkshake in front of her. It seemed to be the time of year for that as Kit nodded and said she was just helping her father do the same the day before.
"Oh. Did he, uh, do you know if he got my call?"
Jack glanced toward Amy who tried to hold her poker face. "He got your message. He's just been busy this morning. I'll let him know you were asking about him." Jack nodded in assurance, Kit mimicking the motion.
"Okay. Thanks. Just tell him to call when he can."
"Will do. You ready, Amy?"

Kit's gaze darted to Amy, recognition in her eyes as she put two and two together, but Amy didn't bother to confirm that, yes, she was the same Amy who Ty supposedly had blow her off.
"Yeah." She slid from the stool and slipped out the door with her shake, leaving Jack to grab the take-out bag. She really didn't want to get caught in the middle of that relationship drama again. Ty was already ticked at her for seemingly no reason, she didn't want to exacerbate it and have him spit more false accusations at her.

Amy was climbing into the truck when Jack came out of the diner, a moment later followed by Kit. "Mr. Bartlett?" Amy watched them through the windshield, her door still ajar.
"I was thinking. You know, we finished our branding this morning and I've got some free time this afternoon. If you needed it, I'd be happy to come by and help." Her dark eyes flicked to Amy, who turned hers down the street.
"Uh, well, sure, if you're offering. We could always use an extra set of experienced hands. You know those new guys still don't know the front of a cow from the back."
Kit laughed. "For sure. I'll catch you later, then."

Amy watched Jack climb in the driver's seat of his truck and hand her the bag of food. "Are you sure that was a good idea? Ty seemed pretty upset over her this morning." Surely he hadn't forgotten, as that was the whole reason for that morning's spat that would leave bitterness in Amy's attitude toward him.
"From what I gathered he was upset it wasn't him that answered the phone. Even if he had, I'm not so certain it would have ended any better. They have some things they need to work out, but that's their business. If Ty isn't happy I agreed to let Kit help then he can suck it up because even he knows we can use all that we can get. Now close the door so we can get to it."
Amy reached out to close the door as Jack requested. "Alright, but I'm not taking the brunt of this one if he decides to throw a tantrum again."
"You two are going to be the next remedial counseling project if you can't learn to be adults."
"I tried! This morning was going fine until he-"
"Enough. I don't want to hear anymore complaining. Ty was wrong to have attacked you like that. Kit was a sensitive subject for him even before you came along and I'm sorry you had to fall into that territory but whining about it won't get you anywhere fast." Jack scowled through the windshield. It had only been two days and he could already feel the energy being drained from him trying to keep the peace between Amy and his grandson. If something didn't give soon, it was going be him - giving them timeout locked in his outhouse together until they came to an amicable resolution.
Huffing, Amy fell back against the seat and drowned her woes in Soraya's magical milkshake. Even if it didn't have quite the power Kit claimed, it tasted pretty amazing and kept her from continuing to argue with Jack, which she now knew was not a road she wanted to go down while trapped in a vehicle with him.