Author: mlcsped

Summary: I want to explore what would have happened if Caleb had never answered the call (from Ashley) in 509, "Cover Me" while meeting up with Kelly James. He is clearly smitten by this wonderful beauty. Could there be a relationship in the making, will he train her to bull ride or saddle bronc. We shall see.

Rated: K+

A/N: I gladly give to you Luke and Linda, while making you squirm, expectantly for Kelly. ENJOY!

Ch. 12

Linda, curious about the running of Heartland, asked Jack what they did there since she hadn't seen any cattle. Jack swallowed and answered, "Well, my daughter Marion, Lou and Amy's mother, was a horse whisperer. Injured and abused horses were brought here for Marion to work with, but after a tragic accident she—" clearing his throat, and with deep sorrow he continued, "after the accident, she passed on and Amy here—" pointing to Amy,"—has taken on that responsibility. She's got her mother's gift of training and gentling damaged horses." Linda was sorry she pried into their lives and apologized for the insensitivity of her inquiry. Jack reassured her there was nothing insensitive about wanting to know the goings-on at the ranch. Jack added, "Lou manages the finances and runs the Dude Ranch, where Luke will be staying."

Looking with amazement at Amy, Linda asked, "You are a horse whisperer? You must have been very young when you took over for your mother. How did that go?" Amy was happy to explain in her own words what she did, saying: "Well, I was close to my mother and I watched very carefully what she did. Now I just do the same thing. I don't whisper to horses; I just watch their behaviors and then I do a little research to help me understand where they came from. My mother taught me how to read a horse's behavior and how to include herbal remedies into their treatment when other techniques have failed. Sometimes I include the owners in a horse's rehabilitation and other times, the horse will need to be re-homed." Linda was quite impressed with this family and how they stuck together to keep the ranch going. It reminded her of their ranch back home except they did not work with injured or abused horses. They trained horses and their owners for certain skills in the rodeo, along with other things. Family was very important to Linda which was why she hated the life of rodeo cowboys so much. The rodeo pulled families away from each other and many times left an empty spot in the lives of the surviving families. But it was the rodeo that brought Linda and Luke's father together. She missed him terribly and feared losing Luke the same way.

Luke looked with admiration at Amy. "Would you mind if I watched you sometime?" he asked. "Maybe I can do the same thing, or at least try when I get home." Amy was honored by and his interest and welcomed him the chance to learn more about what she did. "Sure, I wouldn't mind at all," she replied. "But don't you need to rest a bit?"

With a smile Luke replied, "Thank you, but I can get around just fine, and I don't intend on anyone pulling my weight around here." Looking at Caleb he added, "and I don't need anyone waiting on me hand and foot." Looking now at Jack, Luke stated, "I will be more than glad to help you around here, so whatever you need done just let me know. I'm not just going to lay around and take up space. I'll do the chores as anyone else."

Giving Luke a hard look Linda rebuked him. "Like hell you will, Luke! You are here to recover and rest safely. You will not be doing anything that will land you in the hospital again. Do you hear me?" Then looking to Jack for some back-up said, "You will make sure he's not working, please, Jack?" Jack knowingly smiled and nodded at Linda. He knew exactly what she meant. While Jack was grateful for Luke's offer, he would watch over Luke with guarded interest like a hawk, knowing that he would have his limitations. He would not allow Luke to exert himself recklessly. Linda's concerns were justified and Jack was quite aware of that.

After a delicious dinner Lou, Amy, and Kelly took care of the dishes while Caleb, Ty and Luke continued talking at the dining room table. Caleb spoke up and said to Luke, "Hey man, I know you want to help out, but c'mon. You gotta be smart. Believe me, you don't want Jack coming down hard on you. Besides, I ain't gonna let you do too much activity, either. You have Jack," then pointing at Ty continued, "Ty here, and me to wrestle through, so just take it easy, okay?" Grudgingly, Luke gave Caleb a cold stare, but he knew Caleb was right. He hated not being able to do anything; it was how he got himself into this mess to begin with. In his mind, Bull Riding brought in the most cash and that was something his mother needed badly, or risk losing their ranch for good. Having their property auctioned off to the highest bidder was not going to happen, even if that meant losing his life. Linda, however, did not see it that way.

With Luke's accident, the bills came rolling in and didn't stop. Bull Riders didn't qualify for insurance, so Luke had to be put on Linda's, but it didn't cover everything, which ended up being quite a lot. Now Linda was in deep debt and her only solution was to sell the ranch. Luke wanted to enter more circuits. He figured he would win them and that would bring in enough money to stop his mother from selling the only home he'd ever known. But that was a big gamble; not to mention his heart wasn't in Bull Riding anymore. That was why they butted heads on this issue: they simply didn't agree.

Linda and Jack continued their conversation in the family room while enjoying a hot cup of coffee. Jack expressed more interest in what Linda and Luke did at their ranch. "Like Lou, I handle the finances which, I gotta tell ya Jack, has been very difficult after Luke's father died," Linda explained, "and now the bills are piling high due to Luke's accident. We can barely keep our heads above water."

Jack understood as he told her about the fire that had been vengefully set by Wes. "I get that," he said. "It wasn't even a year after Marion's passing that we had a fire in the barn which nearly wiped us out. I almost lost this ranch, which has been in my family for six generations. My granddad left it to me. I made him a promise a long time ago that I would keep this ranch and someday pass it on to my granddaughters, but it has been hard."

Linda nodded with a knowing smile, saying, "There was one thing Luke's father enjoyed more than anything after returning home from the rodeo circuits…" She paused for a moment in remembrance, adding a laugh of delight as she continued: "He would set up bales of hay and turn them into a maze for the disadvantaged kids in our community. Every Halloween he wanted a safe alternative for them and Luke would have so much fun researching different layouts, then helped his dad turn it into reality. We'd have hay rides and cotton candy, along with a full barbecue. The community looks forward to it every year. But this year we couldn't do it." She heaved a heavy sigh of regret.

Cleaning the dishes caused Amy's mind to drift back to the other day when she saw Kelly so uncharacteristically quiet. She hoped Kelly didn't mind as she asked, "How are things with you and Caleb?" Kelly was confused, "Why?" "I don't know," Amy answered. "It was the other day when you were here. Are you and Caleb really okay?"

Quickly, Lou looked over in their direction, wanting to hear their conversation more clearly. Kelly laughed saying, "Amy, things between us couldn't be better! I just want some time with him. Maybe he can throw some steaks on the grill again. We'll see?"

Lou quietly stood back, keeping herself busy with menial tasks. She enjoyed watching their friendship blossom.

"What was it then? You weren't yourself," Amy said.

Staring out the window, Kelly sighed, momentarily recalling the events of her past few days. Then looking down she grabbed the plate from Amy's hand and guardedly muttered, "Stupid, evil people!"

Confused, Amy listened without a word as Kelly laid out her recent experiences

"You know, I love my job a lot, being able to help hurt and abused animals." Looking over at Amy now she added, "Like you take care of hurt and abused horses."

Amy gave a nod of comprehension. "Did something happen?" she asked.

Kelly felt the rawness of her anger and the sorrow all at once. "Three days ago my boss, Andy, received a call. The caller had reported seeing dogs lying dead in a ditch. He asked me to check it out."

Lou and Amy in unison said, "Oh my god!"

The dishes were done and now the three ladies were sitting at the round table. Lou and Amy were quietly concerned, but Amy asked, "Where did the call come from?"

Kelly said, "From a guy living in Elk Head. I had to take his report and then investigate the immediate area. He told me about a despicable family, the Tanners, and gave me directions to their place." Now glancing down, Kelly could see hands were shaking and she could feel a suffocating lump forming in her throat. "When I checked out their property..." There was a long sigh before she trusted herself to continue. "I had never in all of my years with the Alberta SPCA seen what I saw: Fifty small makeshift shacks with disgusting, empty feed and water troughs. In each shack was a dog attached to bull chains, which were connected to metal pipes going at least six-feet down." Kelly paused to let that information sink in before further describing the horror of the scene. "Fifty dogs were starving, with bite marks and flesh wounds; each looking at me as if I were their saving grace, hoping I had food, water, a kind pat on the head or rub behind their ears. Or, to maybe set them free! I had to take pictures, because the caller was suspicious of dog fighting."

The atmosphere was thick and almost unbearable. "There were two sheds where the fifty dogs were trained to fight. The first shed held the training equipment, a 'CatJenny' and treadmill each equipped to hold a smaller dog or other small animals, fighting and squealing to stay alive as these dogs chased after them, trying to kill them." The lump in Kelly's throat burst open to pour out her tears, as Amy and Lou had tears of their own. Kelly laboured slowly as she forced the words out of her mouth. "The second shed housed the dog-fighting ring. After taking the pictures, I had to leave those fifty petrified, starving dogs to turn in my evidence. The following day, Andy and I returned with the RCMP and the Tanners were arrested."

Kelly stopped and took a break from her story allowing Lou to respond, "Well that's a good thing, right?" With red, swollen eyes, Kelly responded. "No. When we got there, all fifty dogs were dead. I didn't and couldn't help a single one of them!" She dropped her head in quiet shame as the tears spilled out.

Amy was in shock over the story but knew that Kelly handled the tragedy very well. She also saw how Kelly was taking personal responsibility for the dogs' deaths. Amy wiped her wet eyes dry and said, "Kelly, you put that family in prison. They can't hurt another animal, ever!" She slowly got up and reached out to her friend for a consoling hug, adding: "You came here tonight with all this on your mind to be here for Caleb. Kelly, that is amazing." She admired Kelly's ability to put others first—a strength Amy wished she had.

Lou also reached out to encircle both Kelly and Amy in a group hug saying, "What you did is more than I ever could have done. You should get a raise for this at least!"

Kelly lightened up with a knowing grin and said, "Well, I did get a two-week vacation, so that is something."

The three ladies smiled at that and Lou said, "Here," reaching into the refrigerator for a beer. She handed it to Kelly. "You need this more than the guys. You've earned it."

"Lou, she doesn't need a beer!" Amy blurted out.

Laughing, Kelly stated, "Speak for yourself!" and proudly grabbed the beer, downing it like the awesome cowgirl she is. She let it cool her throat and wash her pain away with a satisfied "Ahhhhhhhhhhh!"

Caleb asked if Linda was ready to get settled in the cabin. With a smile Linda replied, "Yes. Thank you, Caleb, I am. Goodnight, Jack. I'll see you in the morning."

Jack nodded and stood up to offer Linda a goodnight hug. Looking over at Luke, Caleb said: "I need to get you and your mother settled, are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Luke answered while thanking the rest of the family for their generous hospitality.

Caleb asked Kelly if she wanted to join them, and she courageously accepted his invitation.

With that, final goodnights were expressed all around, along with friendly hugs. Linda would be leaving in a couple of days, just long enough for Luke to get settled. Luke and Linda said their goodbyes to Caleb and Kelly.

"So, we'll see you both tomorrow, right?" asked Linda. Caleb looked at Kelly, then at Linda and Luke, stated: "Yes you will!"

With a round of more hugs, Linda and Luke turned in for the night.

Caleb decided to take this opportunity to get closer to Kelly. "Hey, since we're here, would you like to take a walk with me?"

Quizzically, Kelly glanced up at Caleb. "Yes, but why?" she asked, as she grabbed for his arm and held it tight. Caleb winked at her and said, "C'mon then, follow me." Obediently, Kelly followed saying, "Okay, Cowboy."

Caleb made his stride for the edge of the dock with the woman he loved by his side. He was remembering the last time he was there alone with anyone. "That was with Ashley," he thought to himself. "Now, I'm here with Kelly!"

The moon and stars shimmered above as their bodies nestled close, leaning comfortably into each other as they stood there. Kelly's cheek tenderly rested on Caleb's chest as her curls tickled his chin. They were wrapped secure in each other's love like a cozy blanket. Together, they gazed quietly into the night sky. Slowly and tenderly, he cupped her face in his hands, looking into her big dark eyes he brushed the tip of her nose with his and in a moment of surrender he exclaimed, "I love you, Kelly James."

She couldn't hold her feelings back any longer as she looked into his gorgeous cowboy blues and proclaimed, "I love you too, Cowboy!" Like fireworks being released for the big finale, their parted lips joyously came together as they declared their love forever. The sweetness of this moment was a seal upon their hearts that would not be easily broken.

To be continued