Chapter 2

Caleb walks into the kitchen where Jack is reading the newspaper. "Hey Jack."

"Caleb...aren't you suppose to be on your honeymoon?"

"I decided to come back early."

"How's the bride?"

"She's still in Italy with her mom."

"Still in Italy with Val?" Jack replies in an inquisitive tone.

"Its a long story. I'll tell you about it some other time, but everything is fine. Listen, I was hoping to get my old job back."

"Well, I can certainly use some help around here with Ty gone and all."

"Yeah, I heard about that."

"Have you heard from him by any chance?"

"Not since he called me a few weeks ago to tell me he was leaving."

"So you spoke to him...mind telling me what he said?"

"I wish I could, but he asked me not to say anything about our conversation."

Jack leans back in his chair and glaring at Caleb over the top of his reading glasses he's says, "Might I remind you that you're asking me for your old job back?"

Caleb is well aware of that look and knowing that if he does want his job back then he very well tell Jack everything he knows, so he says, "Okay...I get it. I guess it would be alright since he asked specifically that I not say anything to Amy."

"Fine...we'll keep it between you and me. So what did he say? Did he happen to mention where he was going?"

"Actually, Jack, he didn't say much. I could hear in his voice though that he was pretty upset. You know how he gets when he's really bother by something. He doesn't want to talk about it and when he does, he doesn't really say anything."

"Yeah, I know...so spill it, what did he say?"

"He said he couldn't stay in Hudson any longer and that if he did he was afraid what he might do. I'm guessing he was referring to Chase. I spoke to Soraya earlier and she filled me in on everything that happened since I left. Anyway, I tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn't listen. I asked him where he was going and he said he didn't know. He would only say that he was getting as far away from here as he could. He told me not to worry about him doing something stupid. Then he said something about taking the highway somewhere until he found a place where he could start fresh."

"What about school? Did he say anything about that?"

"I asked and he said he didn't know if being a vet was a good idea, that maybe he wasn't cut out for it and should think about doing something else.

Listen Jack, I really need this job, but I have to say this...this is all because of Amy. She really screwed with his head...the way she treated him and all. If you're still willing to hire me on then I have to warn you right now that I'm not going to put up with any of Amy's crap. Ty was my best friend and if I hear her say one thing to slight him then I'm outta here, but not until I give her an earful."

"I don't think you have to worry about that. She's pretty upset about Ty leaving and I'm sure she regrets everything that happened. Besides, she's not entirely at fault here. I should have kept my nose out of what was going on between the two, but I couldn't just sit around and watch Ty throw everything he work so hard for away. I offered him the opportunity to return to the loft if he went back to work and school, but then I went too far and told him that if he didn't accept my offer then he should shove off and not come back."

"I guess you did what you thought was right, Jack. You had Ty's best interest at heart, but you can't say the same about Amy. Everything she did was to hurt him. It seemed it was almost like she was punishing him...you know...a woman's scorn and all that."

"Maybe so, but like I said...I think...well, actually I know she regrets everything now."

"I would normally believe you, but from everything I know and heard, she has a habit of saying one thing and doing another. Like with Chase. She told Ty that she avoids him at all cost, but then she turned around and did the complete opposite."

"This Chase thing is something of the past now. She finally opened her eyes and saw him for what he is and if I ever see him around here again I'm going to kick his ass so far down the road..."

"Yeah...I know. Me too."

"If you want your job back then you have to promise me one thing."

"Sure Jack, what is it?"

"If you should hear from Ty then you have to let me know...okay?"

"No problem. You have my word."

Reaching out and shaking Caleb's hand, Jack says, "Welcome back. You can start right now."

...

Tim walks in just as Jack is finishing his cup of coffee and about to read the last paragraph of a newspaper article that interest him.

"How's it going Jack?"

"Everything was going fine until you walked in...I got my ranch hand back and..."

"Yeah I know. I saw Caleb stacking bales of hay. Did he happen to say if he heard from Ty?"

"We talked about it, but he hasn't heard anything."

"I don't know what got into that guy. Maybe it's a good thing he's gone and Amy can now focus on getting on with her life. I can't help thinking that she was so attached to that guy that she was missing out on the better things in life."

"Like what?"

"You know...there's a lot of better guys out there who don't have a troubled past like Ty and who's future looks brighter than his ever did."

"Do you ever listen to yourself? Troubled past? Bright future? You're an idiot! If that's your litmus test for being a part of Amy's life then you wouldn't be here right now!"

"litmus? What's that?"

"Never mind. So, why are you really here? It's not dinner time yet."

"Very funny. I was just in the area and I thought I'd drop by and see how my girls were doing."

"They're fine. Now what's the real reason you're here?"

"Okay, you got me. It's just that I heard that Amy passed on helping Stewart Forrest's daughter with her jumping competition. That's big money she's passing up. What was she thinking?"

"She was being responsible. That daughter of his has a horse that's too much for her and the time limit Stewart put on Amy was no where near enough time to get his daughter ready. It would be irresponsible of her to take on the job. It's was a disaster waiting to happen."

"That's no excuse. Amy could do it. I've seen her do the impossible."

"Yeah, but she has to do it at her pace, besides I think he kinda threatened her by suggesting that it would hurt her career if she turned him down. She didn't care for that at all."

"It would hurt her career! She should reconsider her decision. It's important to her reputation, not to mention the money involved."

"Is that all you ever think about...the money?"

"It's always about the money, Jack!"

"Well, she has her mind made up, so just leave it alone..."

...

Weeks turned to months and there was still no word from Ty. Amy held out hope, but her texts and calls were never answered. Eventually Ty's number was no longer in service.

He had left before but always returned. Even those times when Amy pushed him away, they always found a way to get back together. This time was different though. She had been too stubborn and forced him to leave, apparently for good. She wasn't only responsible for ending their relationship but in the process she had almost lost her best friend in Soraya. It took months, but she was finally able to repair that relationship and it was only then that Amy felt comfortable asking Soraya about the conversation she had with Ty that morning just before he left.

...

Dropping in at Maggie's one morning shortly after Soraya was willing to speak to her again, Amy broached the subject carefully. She didn't want to drudge up any remaining hard feelings, but she needed answers and hoped that Soraya would be willing to talk, especially since she was still unsuccessful in trying to get Caleb to divulge everything about his conversation with Ty. Fortunately, Soraya was willing to talk about that morning...

"...and then he handed me that envelope to give to Jack. He never said what was in it, only that it was important that Jack have it. That's why I gave it to Lou when I saw her later that day. I told him that I really couldn't blame him for wanting to leave, but I did suggest he take more time to think about it. I didn't want him to make any foolish spur of the moment decisions. It was pretty obvious though that he had already made up his mind and nothing was going to change it. I suppose that's why he didn't give that envelope to Jack himself. He didn't want to listen to him trying to talk him out of leaving."

"I'm not blaming you for anything Soraya. Ty leaving was all my fault. It's obvious he already had his mind made up before you two even spoke. I just would like to know what you told him, if anything, about Chase and me. It's important that I know."

"Well, I was still pretty mad about the whole thing, but I only told him what I knew to be true and didn't embellish. I told him that you had come in and told me what happened that night about going to the movie with Chase...pretty much everything you told me. Odd thing is though that he seemed to already know about it."

"What makes you say that?"

"First of all, he didn't act surprised or ask any questions and secondly it didn't seem to upset him. I don't know how to explain it...it was just a feeling I had that I was telling him something he already knew, like he wasn't interested in hearing it at all, which I thought was strange."

A thought suddenly occurs to Amy. "Ty was so anxious to speak to me and he knew where I was...I wonder if...could he have seen me and Chase together that night? It would explain why Soraya had the feeling he already knew about it."

"He didn't say anything to you at all...like where he might go?"

"Nope...he just thanked me for delivering the envelope for him and that was it. I did expect to see him again back at school at some point, but never did. I even asked around and no one else had seen him either."

"Yeah...I know. I checked myself and found that he had dropped out. He only had a few more months to go at school, so I was hoping he might have stuck around in Calgary and at least finished the semester. It would kill me to find out that he gave up completely on vet school."

"Caleb hasn't heard from him?"

"No one has...not Caleb, Scott or anyone else that I know of. I thought maybe he headed for Vancouver, so I called his mother, but she hasn't heard from him either. Of course I didn't say anything about what happened...I didn't want her to worry."

"I wouldn't worry too much Amy. From what I know about Ty, it seems he always finds a way to land on his feet."

"Maybe, unless he's with his dad. I so hope not. The last time he went to see him, it was a disaster. I hate to think what might happen to him if he were to go see his dad again. That first time Ty went to see him, his dad got into some trouble owing money to the wrong people and skipped out on him. Then these thugs who were owed the money took it out on Ty."

"You really want to find him don't you."

"I do...I know I haven't shown it through all this, but I did and do love him. I never really stopped. I was just too stubborn to admit to myself that I was wrong. I did so many things that I regret and treated him so horribly through all this, but even so, just as always he was there for me. I guess the thing I regret most was not trusting him. I accused him of things I was guilty of myself and when he called me on it, I distrusted him even more. I was a hypocrite. There's so many things I need to tell him. Things I need to apologize for, but if nothing else...I at least need to know that he's okay. Grandpa needs to know too. He hasn't been the same ever since Ty left and I blame myself for that. I know it sounds selfish, but I just want things to go back to the way they were before all this happened."

"You never were one who liked change, so I guess I can understand. What are you going to do now?"

"I'm not going to give up hope that Ty will come back and in the meantime I'm still going to try to find him if I can."

"How are you going to do that?"

"I looked it up and there are 4 other Vet Colleges in Canada besides U.O.C.. One is in Quebec, but unless Ty speaks French which he doesn't, I don't think he'll go there. I'm going to check them once the new semester starts to see if he's enrolled. That's a start. In the meantime, I still need to make things right with Mallory too. She really knows how to hold a grudge for a long time."

"Yeah, she was in my ear talking about you and Ty until it got to the point that I couldn't stand it any longer. I had to finally tell her to get over it or find another job. I heard too that she laid into you pretty good."

"That's putting it lightly. She really liked Ty ever since he showed up at Heartland. She even had a crush on him for a while. When she heard what happened, she wouldn't talk to me for the longest time and for her that's unheard of. She was always one to say exactly what was on her mind, so she finally let me have it. Grandpa would have washed her mouth out with soap if he heard half the things she said to me. I deserved it though. If anyone was going to tell me what I needed to hear it was going to come from her. She didn't hold back and almost everything she said was true.

Caleb is still upset with me too. He didn't lay into me anywhere near as much as Mallory did, but I think he still holds a grudge too. We don't talk like we use to. I feel bad about that...I can tell he misses Ty almost as much as I do. Everytime I bring up the subject of Ty with him he just grimaces, says he doesn't want to talk about it, and walks away.

Soraya, thank you again for forgiving me. Your my best friend and I can't tell you how much it means to me to be able to talk like this with you. I can't talk like this with Lou, especially about Ty. All she ever says is that it's part of growing up and it sucks. I'm really sorry I hurt you and I promise I'll never do anything to hurt you again."

"We girls have to stick together. Besides, you saved me from making a big mistake. Chase was a hottie but way too naughty. I'm glad I'm so over him. I'm sorry too that I let a jerk like him come between us as friends. You should have seen the look on his face when he tried to apologize by giving some cheap necklace and I answered by tossing his whole line of wares out on the street. It was priceless! He scrambled to gather it all up and I haven't seen his since."

Amy couldn't hide the smirk on her face while thinking, "As much as I would have enjoyed seeing that, I'm glad I never saw him again after that night." Then continuing, "I should have told you about him long before any of this happened. It was something that ate at Ty. He had the same suspicions as you and told me he felt sorry for you over all this, but I wouldn't hear any of it and accused him of trying to turn it around on me. So, I guess he was more of a friend to you than I was at the time."

"That's all water under the bridge now. I'm just glad to have my best friend back. If there's anything I can do to help you find Ty then just let me know. I'd be happy to help."

"Thank you, Soraya. I'll let you know."

...

During the ride back to ranch, Amy felt a little better having her best friend back and being able to tell Soraya everything she did, only she wished she could have had a similar conversation with Ty. She burned so many bridges and even avoided bring up the subject of Ty with her grandfather. She knew the relationship between them was almost like father and son and she couldn't help feeling that he held her solely responsible for him leaving. She was intent though to repair everything she damaged...most importantly, her relationship with Ty.

She was glad that Soraya told her about the conversation she had with Ty, but it didn't shed any light on Ty's whereabouts or much light on what he was thinking. She was worried though by what Soraya had said about Ty seeming to know already about her going to the movie alone with Chase. If he had seen them together then there was no telling where his imagination had taken him and it would have appeared to confirmed everything he suspected.

Her mind replayed that scene where Chase stood in front of her with his hand on her shoulder. During that seemingly endless moment when they were looking into each other's eyes, she thought he was going to kiss her. Just for a fraction of a moment, she wanted him to and she knew that if it weren't for the fact that Chase was dating Soraya, she would probably have kissed him back. It was a memory that haunted her ever since that night and she thought, "How could I not see Chase for what he was and let him blur my better judgement? I loved Ty, but I let this baffling attraction I had to Chase ruin everything! Ty was right about so many things and most of all...I didn't take the high road..."

To be continued...