My head jerked to one side as her hand made contact with the left side of my face. "Ow!" I yelled.
"What the hell are you doing here?" she asked, angrily.
"If I answer are you going to slap me again?" I replied, rubbing my cheek where it stung. Okay, Amy I could understand being angry, but Soraya?
I guess the whole best friends stick together is true then huh asked that nasty little voice.
"Maybe, do you have any idea what you have done to Amy by leaving? And what you're gonna do to her once she realizes you're back?" she asked.
"Soraya, I know I hurt her, but . . . I didn't have a choice," I replied.
She gave me a skeptical look and crosses her arms.
I sigh. "Look . . . is there any possible way I can explain later?" I asked.
"You gonna tell me the truth?" she asked.
"Only if you don't tell Amy," I answered.
She sighs. "Fine. I get off in two hours," she said. "If you're gonna be going anywhere, come back at two o'clock."
"I'll be here," I said handing her the check.
She took the check and ran up the amount on the cash register. "$10.95," she said, accepting the eleven dollars I gave her; after putting the money in the drawer, she took a nickel out of the drawer, and handed it to me. "See you at two o'clock."
I accepted the nickel and put it in my pocket. "I'll be here," I said, and turned to walk out of the diner, when Soraya's voice called me back.
"Ty!" she called.
I stopped and turned toward her. "Yes?" I asked.
"Don't be late," she said, making me feel like a little kid getting warned by a teacher if I was ever late for class again.
"I won't," I said and left the diner.
Once outside, I headed for my truck, trying to gather up the courage to go back to Heartland, and see about getting my old job back.
After all, Jack did say I could come back anytime I needed it, or wanted the job I thought to myself, getting into my truck, and starting up the engine. As I pulled out of the parking lot, I started thinking that maybe I should call ahead. But Amy might answer the phone.
Well if she does than just either answer, or be a coward and hang up on her said the voice.
I sighed as I pulled into the hotel's parking lot and parked the truck outside my room. Okay . . . here's the plan . . . I go in there, I call up the ranch, and inquire about the job I said to myself, turning off the truck, and getting out of the cab to enter my room.
Once inside, I picked up the phone, and dialed the number, my heart racing and my thoughts sending up dozens of prayers, hoping Amy wouldn't be the one to answer the phone.
"Heartland Ranch, this is Jack Bartlett speaking," came Jack's voice from the other end of the line.
"Jack . . . it's me, Ty," I said, my voice cracking a bit.
There was a pause on the other end of the line, making me wonder if he had heard me.
"Jack?" I asked.
"Ty, is that really you?" he asked.
"Yeah . . . it's . . . it's me," I replied.
"Well . . . where are you? Are you okay?" he asked, sounding almost exactly like a concerned father.
Too bad neither of my fathers are like him I thought. "I'm fine, Jack and I'm in town, so . . . I was wondering . . ." I began, wondering how I was going to approach the subject of asking for my old job back.
"Ty, you can ask me for anything and I will try to help you as best I can," he said. "You know that, right?"
I took a deep breath. "I saw Lou's flier asking for a stable hand and I was wondering . . ."
"If you can have your old job back?" he said, finishing my sentence for me when I didn't continue.
"Yes," I replied.
When he didn't reply back immediately, I started to get nervous.
Five minutes had passed before I heard his voice again over the background noise; and I almost had a heart attack when Jack came back onto the phone. "Alright, I talked to Lou about giving you your job back and she wants to interview you," he said. "Can you meet her here at three o'clock tomorrow?"
"Uh yeah . . . yeah I can meet her tomorrow," I replied.
"Alright, she'll meet you outside the main house, good luck kiddo," he said and hung up.
I hung up the phone and sat down on the bed. Alright, I got through that step I thought. I just hope I've covered my tracks enough, or else . . . they'll find me . . .
I shuddered at the thought of what those people could do to Amy if they found me. Or to the others.
For the next hour-and-a-half, I sat around, watching TV; I didn't know if I was more nervous about my meeting with Soraya, or my meeting with Lou.
Either way at both times I can run into Amy, if Jack and Lou don't let it slip that I'm back I thought as I entered the diner. I looked around and found Soraya sitting at a table, her arms were crossed and she didn't say anything as I approached her.
"You're early," she said.
I looked at the clock on the wall and saw that it was three minutes before two. "You said to meet you here at two o'clock," I replied.
"Alright, we then order something, sit down, and start talking," she said.
I sighed and walked over to the counter to place an order. "This is gonna be a long afternoon," I muttered to myself.
The trail ride was enjoyable, Mallory had a little bit of trouble with Jasmine, but, other than that . . . we made sure Sarah's last day with Sonya was the best.
But, like all good things, it ended too soon.
It seemed barely an hour had passed and already we had to head home.
Sarah spent an extra hour grooming her mare. I felt bad for her; she had worked so hard to turn Soraya into the Junior Champion she is today; but, poor Sarah not only has to move to a new state, she also has to sell the beautiful mare.
"Don't worry, when Amy can't exercise Sonya, I'll also ride her," said Mallory.
Sarah smiled. "Thanks, Mallory," she said and kissed Sonya's muzzle. "Good bye girl," she adds before walking away one last time.
We heard her truck pull away and went back to finishing up our stable chores.
Two hours later, I left Mallory, who had graciously offered to clean and polish both of our tack, in the Tack Room, so I could go finish my essay.
Just as I entered the kitchen, the phone rang, and I picked it up to answer whoever was calling.
"Heartland Ranch, this is Amy Fleming speaking," I said, taking the phone up to my room.
"Hi Amy . . . it's me, Ashley," said Ashley's voice over the phone.
"Hey Ashley, what's up?" I asked, climbing up the stairs, and entering my room.
"Well . . . are you free tomorrow?" she asked.
"Um after one o'clock I am," I said, sitting down at my desk and turning on my laptop. "Why?"
"I need you to come over here, apparently, Fiona's parents hired a trainer to train both Fiona and Starlight," she said.
"Okay . . . so why do I have to be there?" I asked.
"They've hired Frank De LaBlanc," she said.
My eyes widened and I felt as though my stomach dropped to the floor. "Are you serious? But he's so harsh on the horses," I said.
"Exactly, but because Fiona hasn't been winning any of her shows, they're willing to go the extra mile to make sure they get a return on all the money they've spent on her," said Ashley.
"Well, what can I do?" I asked. "I mean, yeah I train horses but I can't just offer my services if they want to hire Frank."
"Her lesson isn't until three, I though maybe you could see him before then," she said.
"And what does Fiona say about all this?" I asked.
"Uh . . . well see she doesn't know you're coming and . . ." she began.
"Ashley, I can get into some serious trouble," I said.
"I'll take full responsibility," she said.
I sighed. "Alright, fine I'll be there," I said.
"Yes! Thank you, Amy! I own you one!" she said.
"Actually you ow me . . ." I began, but she hung up on me before I could finish. "More than this one time," I finished, pressing the End Call button. I shook my head as I put the phone down.
As I began typing my essay, I thought about the situation with Fiona and Starlight.
Frank De LaBlanc was a famous French trainer who has trained some of the top show jumpers in the country; however, his training methods were harsh, bordering on abusive. Harsh bits, heavy on the whip, crops, and spurs . . . the guy was all about making the horse or pony submissive. Rumor has it that there was one horse who wouldn't be broken by Frank, and that Frank had sent the horse to slaughter because of it.
From what I saw in the ring, Starlight needed a more confident rider, while Fiona needed a calm, confident horse. The fact that Fiona's parents kept pressuring her to win all of the time as a return investment didn't help either.
Well, we'll find out more tomorrow since we'll be able to see it up close and personal I thought, returning my attention to my essay.
"And that's why I left," I said, finished explaining my reasons for leaving. I waited nervously for Soraya's reaction, wondering if she would even believe me.
Throughout the whole conversation, Soraya had listened to me without interrupting me once. And now, I waited as she stirred her straw around in her glass of soda, more than likely thinking about what I had just told her.
"Ty . . . why didn't you just tell her the truth?" she asked.
I sighed and shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know," I replied. "At the time, I thought it would better if she didn't know," I add. "These people . . . they have gone to the extremes to get what they want; things that anyone has ever read in crime novels . . . I . . . just wanted to protect her."
"Well these past five years have been hard for her, so you should tell her the truth," she said.
"I know, and I will, but . . . I want to regain her trust first," I explained.
"Well getting your old job back at Heartland will work," she said.
"How's that?" I asked. "From what I saw the chances of me and her working together are slim to none."
"Simple, you will be replacing Caleb O'Dell, and he works in the same barn as Amy," she said.
I stared at her, wondering if I had heard her correctly. "Caleb O'Dell?" I asked.
"Yeah, he rides the Rodeo circuit during the spring and summer months, and he works as a stable hand during the rest of the year," she explained. "He had a meeting this morning with a sponsor who's going to sponsor him to ride all year long."
I nodded. "I thought I heard his name before, I just couldn't remember where," I said, lying through my teeth. The truth was, unless I could actually meet Caleb in person, I couldn't be too sure I knew him from somewhere else. And, if he is the same guy, I hope Amy is smart enough to stay away from him I thought and looked across the table at Soraya, who was talking about Caleb as though she has a crush on him. And, hopefully, Soraya won't be fooled by his looks either.