A/N: I know I'm a little late with this chapter, I apologize for that. I guess time got away from me. Thank you all for the reviews! I really appreciate all of them. I am sure that all of you will be pleased with this chapter. :)

Chapter Twelve

A Broken Family

"Hey, no pushing!" Ty called to the two toddlers, who were in a 'disagreement of whose turn it was to go down the little, plastic, green slide. It was a sunny, October day and Ty was taking advantage of it by letting the twins play outside for awhile. There was still a small chill in the air, a promise that winter was coming. Both twins had stopped what they were doing when they heard their daddy's voice, but now Lily darted in front, climbing up the slide and sliding down before Jackson could blink. She giggled when she reached the bottom as Jackson stumbled over the steps to catch her.

"So, have you heard from Amy yet today?" Caleb asked, from where he sat next to Ty as they watched the twins play.

"Nope," Ty answered, his eyes on his children. Jackson had moved to play with his trucks in the grass, while Lily was still very much into going down the slide with her little toy horse.

As soon as the twins had woken up this morning, they had asked where Amy was. Ty had only thought about it for a minute, before finally just saying that she was away fixing a horse and she would be back soon. Of course, they were still a little confused, thinking they're mommy was just outside in the barn, like she always is, but they seemed to be taking it in stride.

"I don't even know what Amy is thinking," Ty sighed. "It's like I don't even know her anymore. She wouldn't even talk to me, she just ran off instead." He shook his head, not understanding any of it. Ty was trying to ignore the part of him that was telling him that Amy didn't want to be a part of their family anymore, but with every minute that passed, it got harder to ignore. He found it all hard to believe that Amy could just stopping loving the twins, or even him. He shook his head, it was impossible.

"Do you want me to leave, so you can continue this private conversation you're apparently having by yourself right now?" Caleb asked jokingly, snapping Ty out of his thoughts.

"Sorry, I'm just trying to figure everything out," Ty explained. "I just want to know why Amy is choosing to leave us? It doesn't make any sense."

"Whoa, you don't know anything for sure yet," Caleb told him. "For all you know, Amy is probably regretting leaving you right now, and wants to come back and work it out. I know Amy, she's not just going to walk away from her family."

"Thanks, man," Ty said, sincerely, looking over at his friend. "I hope you're right."

They lapsed into silence as they turned back to the kids. Jackson was having a blast moving his trucks around in the grass. He'd even joined in his animal toys, including a large, rubber snake. Ty chuckled as he watched his son make the snake leap onto a truck and begin chomping it. It was then that Ty noticed there was only one two-year-old in the grass. Lily wasn't on the slide anymore, and her My Little Pony toys lay abandoned on the ground. Sitting up straighter, Ty looked around the yard and let out a huge breath of relief when he saw the other twin wandering off toward the barn. After asking Caleb to keep an eye on Jackson, Ty ran to catch up with Lily before she got any further. He scooped her up and swung her up in the air. Lily let out a loud laugh.

"Where are you go?" Ty asked her, tickling her belly, once she was settled on his hip.

"See, mommy," Lily answered, pointing to the barn.

Just like that, the smile slipped from Ty's face. "Sweetie, I told you, mommy's not here," he told her. "She's somewhere else working with a horse." Lily just stared up at him, and he wondered if she was understanding any of this.

"Mommy, come back?" Lily asked.

Ty smiled at his daughter, and he said the one thing that he hoped was still true. "Yes, mommy's going to come back. She loves you, and Jack, so much, nothing will keep her away for too long."

By the time, Ty returned to the play area, Lily was more than anxious to get back to playing with her toys. Jackson hadn't even noticed he'd gone, he was now lying on his belly in the grass, a toy cow and a pig in his hands. Ty put Lily down and she immediately ran over to her toys. He watched the two of them play for a little bit, then turned and headed back toward Caleb, collapsing into a chair.

"It'll be okay," Caleb tried to reassure him, clapping his friend on the shoulder.

Ty only nodded, not really knowing what to say. He wanted Amy to come home and say she still wanted to be a family. He didn't want his children to go through the hurt of losing a parent like he did. But the harsh reality was, Ty wasn't sure if any of that was possible.

~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~

The gray gelding pricked his ears and lengthened his stride as he cantered closer to the single, striped fence in the middle of the ring. In three strides, he pushed himself off the ground, his forelegs folding neatly under him. As soon as the gelding was in the air over the fence, his fourteen-year-old rider let go of the reins and spread her arms out to the side. The smile on her face was evident, and Amy knew exactly how she was feeling. It was like flying high in the sky, and nothing could ever bring you down.

The pair landed on the other side of the fence, and even though she rode with no saddle, Georgie's seat stayed glued to Phoenix's back. Amy clapped loudly from where she leaned up against the fence of the jumping arena. Georgie trotted Phoenix over to the fence, her face flushed from the ride, but a huge smile was on her face.

"That was wonderful, Georgie!" Amy complimented the younger girl. "You and Phoenix have come such a long way, even I'm amazed."

"Thanks," Georgie said, and Amy thought she saw a hint of blush tinge her cheeks. "I really want to start riding without a bridle, I feel like we're both ready."

"Ok, just make sure that you're not rushing this because you're anxious to do it," Amy told her. She reached across the fence rail and gave the gray gelding a pat. "Make sure that Phoenix knows everything that you're asking him, and, most importantly, you have to have complete trust in your horse. There can't be any traces of doubt in your mind."

"Don't worry, I trust Phoenix with my life," Georgie said, rubbing both hands over the gelding's neck. "We can do this."

"Okay," Amy replied with a laugh, knowing there was no way to change the fourteen-year-old's mind once she'd set it on something. Phoenix stretched his neck out to rub the top of his head on the fence. Both Amy and Georgie started laughing as it looked like he was putting in his vote of whether or not to go bridleless.

"Amy!"

Amy turned when she heard her sister call her. Lou was jogging toward the riding ring, and Amy was afraid something had happened. She stopped in front of Amy to catch her breath and then turned toward Georgie.

"Georgie, grandpa's in the house with Katie, can you go in and give him a hand?" Lou asked of her adoptive daughter. "I want to talk to Amy."

This can't be good, Amy thought to herself.

In the meantime, Georgie had nodded and was dismounting Phoenix. "I'm just going to put Phoenix out in the pasture," Georgie said. Amy held the gate open for the girl to lead her horse out of the arena.

OOO

Both sisters were walking through the back pasture, neither one of them saying anything. Amy didn't know what was taking so long, she knew what Lou wanted to talk to her about. She'd expected it since she arrived at Heartland last night. Amy kept waiting for Lou to speak up, wanting to get it over with already. Finally, she couldn't take the silence anymore.

"I know what you're going to say, alright, so you can forget about the lecture," Amy said. "I'm not in the mood."

"Ok, then I just have one question," Lou replied, stopping to face her sister. "Amy, what are you doing?"

"Lou," Amy stopped, and crossed her arms.

"No, Amy, I'm serious," Lou replied. "What are you doing? Why are here and not with your family? This isn't you, what are you thinking?"

"It's complicated," Amy sighed, walking over to a fallen log and sitting down. She stared out at the sparkling water of the small pond. Lou came over and sat down next to her.

"No, it's not," Lou said gently.

Amy choked back a sob and ran a hand over her eyes before any tears could fall. "I love Ty and the twins, Lou, that didn't change," she said. "I love being with them, the twins are growing up so fast and I don't want to miss a single part of their lives."

"So, what's the problem?" Lou asked her.

"The problem is that business is picking up at the ranch, and I realized how much I've missed working with the horses," Amy admitted. "But it seems like I can't get through one session without the twins interrupting. It's like, when I'm in the barn I want to be one hundred percent with the horses, but I can't do that, when the twins are always there."

"But you guys hired the nanny, I thought things were going good?" Lou questioned.

"Ty thinks it is," Amy shook her head. "But it's not."

"Have you talked to Ty about this?" Lou asked again.

Amy nodded, "He said that we could try to figure something else out, but..." Lou took her sister's hand and squeezed it, urging her to continue. Amy looked at her, a tear sliding down her cheek. "What if the only solution is for me to give up horses completely?"

"Aw, Amy," Lou pulled her into a hug. When she pulled back, she continued, "I'm going to tell you something. When I first had Katie, I was thrilled, but I was also not ready to give up my working life. And watching Peter go off to work everyday, I'll admit it, I was jealous. But I stuck it out, I made it work, and now, I couldn't be more happy."

Amy wiped the tears from her face and nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

"Amy, you need to talk to Ty," Lou told her. "The sooner, the better."

Amy didn't say anything as Lou gave her hand another squeeze and stood up. She turned to leave and Amy watched her go. She stifled back another sob and wiped the rest of the tears from her face. Amy knew Lou was right. She couldn't hide away from her family just because she was afraid of something that might not happen. Pulling out her cell phone, Amy stared at it for a long moment before she switching it on.

Scrolling through her contact list, Amy stopped on her most called number. Her thumb hovered over it for awhile and then pressed down. She hit call and put the phone to her ear when it started ringing. She took a deep breath as she listened to it ring...and ring. Her heart started thudding hard in her chest as she realized that it might be too late, he might not answer. Then, the ringing stopped, there was a brief moment of silence and then, his voice.

"Hey," Amy smiled at the sound of his voice. A longing she hadn't felt before pulled at her from within, a longing to be close to him. All of a sudden, the distance between them seemed too great. "Can we talk?"

A/N: I know it's not that long, I just couldn't stretch it out any longer. I'll try to make the next chapter longer. :) Please review!