A/N: I apologize for taking so long posting this next chapter, but something came up which required my immediate and undivided attention. Nothing too serious, but "Life got in the way." Unfortunately, the issue may require my attention again in the not too distant future. Please excuse any errors. I wrote this chapter rather quickly so not to leave my readers waiting any longer than necessary.

Chapter 6

Feeling relieved that the evening had unfolded better than expected, Ty walks to his truck accompanied by Jack.

"Thanks for inviting me, Jack...again, happy birthday."

"The pleasure was mine, Ty, and thanks. Have a safe drive back to town and don't be a stranger now."

" I wont. As a matter of fact, I would like to come by in a day or two and have a look at Paint. Scott told me about his arthritis."

"He seems to be doing fine. Is there something I should be worried about?"

"No, nothing like that. It's just that I would like to see for myself how he's coming along with the medication Scott prescribed."

"Thank you...I would appreciate that."

Jack stands there watching, giving Ty a brief wave as he drives away. He suspects that Ty's mention of coming by again so soon has more to do with Amy than it does with Paint, thinking..."Ty had plenty of time to prepare himself before seeing Amy, so maybe he's giving her some time for everything to sink in before talking to her. He did mention that he had things he wanted to say to her."

Walking back into the house, he's met by Lisa. "So, what did he say?...you know, about what I asked you to find out."

"Can't this wait until later?"

"I'm anxious to hear."

"Where's everyone else?"

"Georgie's in her room and Lou's putting Katie to bed."

"And Amy?"

"She's in her room too, I think she's waiting for Lou, so they can talk."

"Alright, have a seat and I'll tell you..."

Taking a seat with Lisa on the couch, Jack first tells her about his initial conversation with Ty and how he enjoyed the way he handled Tim before getting to the answer Lisa is waiting to hear.

"...it sounds better than I expected." Lisa replies with a smile.

"That's it and if there's anything else you want to know then ask him yourself. I'm staying out of it...as a matter of fact, you should too. I know how you like to meddle sometimes, but those two need to work things out or whatever on their own."

"I have no intention of meddling. I was just curious."

"Well, curiosity killed the cat, so please...stay out of it."

"I will..I promise. So, overall I think things went pretty well tonight, except for Tim."

"Yeah...I could have strangled him a couple of times. I swear, that guy has no..."

Lisa interrupts, "I know, you don't have to tell me. You should have heard what he had to say while you and Ty were out on the porch, but Amy shut him down pretty quick."

"What happened? What did he say?"

"Well, as soon as you two walked out, Georgie took Katie to her room to play for a few minutes while waiting for dessert. Tim then decided to make some stupid remarks to Lou and me about Ty while we were clearing the table. Amy was in the kitchen and I guess she overheard. She came out and really laid into him.

"What did he say that got Amy so upset?"

"He complained about how we all were treating Ty, bowing to his favor like he was royalty or something when it should be the opposite. Then he went on about how well Ty had been treated here before he left and the thanks we received was him suddenly taking off without even a word. It was when he said that Ty shouldn't even be here that Amy walked in and let him have it."

"What did she say?"

"Without repeating some of the words she used, she basically reminded him how he did the same thing and then stormed out, back into the kitchen.

"Good for her! I guess that's why Tim was so quiet during dessert and then left right away."

...

Immediately following a light tapping on Amy's bedroom door, the door opens. "Lou...Katie's asleep already?

"Yeah, she went out like a light. I guess all the excitement of grandpa's birthday really tuckered her out. Speaking of excitement...That was pretty gritty of you, the way you confronted dad."

"He deserved it...every word!"

"I don't blame you and if you hadn't walked in when you did, I would've said the same thing...maybe not using the exact same words though."

"Yeah, I guess I did lose it a little. Anyway, he had no business saying what he did."

"So, are you ready to talk about Ty?"...

...

Ty walks into Scott's house prepared to answer the questions he's sure to be asked.

"Hey, Ty...I didn't expect you back until later."

"Well, I didn't want to wear out my welcome, besides I have an early morning tomorrow."

"Yeah, we do. How did it go at dinner?"

"It went well, although Tim was his usual self. He hasn't changed at all. I didn't let him get to me though."

"Yeah...he can be a pain sometimes. What about Amy...How did she react?""

"She seemed okay...quiet though. I guess she's still processing everything."

"I imagine so, but if you had let me give Jack some warning then he could have broke it to her much sooner, so she was prepared."

"You're right...it was inconsiderate of me and, to be honest, I was being selfish too. I was leaving myself an out just in case I changed my mind at the last minute."

"So, do you think you'll be able to hang on the whole time I'm away?"

"Yeah...I made you a promised and I'm going to stick to it, no matter what."

"Well, you haven't worked that closely with Cassandra yet."

"Don't worry about it. She seems okay so far and I'm sure we'll get along fine, besides from what you've told me about how stubborn and difficult she can be sometimes...well, I've been exposed to worse."

Ty thinks for a moment and then retracts, "Forget I said that...that didn't turn out very well."

"No, it didn't. Did it come up at all?"

"No, it's too soon...but we are going to have to talk about it at some point, if she's willing. Otherwise, things might be a little weird if we happen to run into each other in town or the ranch whenever I might have to go there."

"Yeah...about that..."

"Don't worry about it, Scott. If it's weird then that's just the way it'll have to be, even if after we talk. I can handle it...no problem."

"I'm glad to hear you say that, but it's not what I was getting at...You're okay with handling most of the field calls right? I talked to Cassandra about it already and she's agreeable about the arrangement."

"Sure...no problem."

"Listen...there's something else I would like to talk to you about. Something I've thinking about and I would like to hear what you have to say."

"What is it?"...

...

Lou hoped to have a heart to heart talk with Amy, with her spewing advice to her younger sister. Instead, it quickly evolved into a session during which she mostly asked questions in an attempt to help Amy sort out her feelings. She realized after the first few minutes that there was no benefit in sharing her own personal thoughts, at least not yet.

Hoping she was successful leaving Amy with all the questions she had to honestly answer to herself, Lou quietly closes the door and walks into the living room. Seeing Lisa sitting alone reading a magazine, she asks, "Lisa, where's grandpa?"

"He just went out to do night check before we head off to bed. So, I guess you and Amy talked?"

"We did."

"And how's she doing? Everything okay?"

"Yeah, fine. She's going to bed right now and I thought I'd share some of what we talked about with both of you before I go to bed myself."

"Tell you what, I don't want to hold you up, so why don't you go out and talk to Jack and I'll get it from him later."

"Thanks lisa. I will."

Lou walks out to the barn where she finds Jack inspecting the stalls.

"Hey, grandpa."

"Lou, what are you doing out here?"

"I just wanted to talk with you for a minute."

"A minute?...Since you went to the trouble of coming out here to find me, I doubt what you have to say is only going to take a minute. So, what is it?"

"Well, I just finished talking with Amy."

"How is she?"

"She's fine, I think."

"You think?"

"No, I don't mean it like that. She's okay, just tired and a bit confused is all. She has a lot on her mind and it'll probably take a little while to sort it all out."

"I'm sure it will."

"She wants to talk to Ty, but she needs to think about what she's going to say along with when and how to say it."

"I can understand that. They both have things that need to be sorted out and eventually said to each other. Anything else?"

Lou takes a moment while debating whether to answer and leaving Jack wondering what else she has to say.

"C'mon Lou, I can tell there's something else. What is it?"

"Yeah, there is. I think she still loves him."

Not surprised by Lou's assumption and with a look of concern he asks, "What makes you think that? Did she say something to you?"

"Nothing specifically...its just a feeling I have from the way she behaved and what she didn't say."

"I want you to keep that to yourself and promise to stay out of it. I'm going to and I made Lisa promise to stay out of it as well. Let things take their natural course, wherever that may lead."

"But..."

"No buts! If she comes to you wanting to talk or for advice that's fine, just be careful what you say. I know you like Ty, but I don't want you influencing her. Remember, Ty's only here for a month and then he's probably going to take that job in Vancouver, so I don't want to see Amy have her heart broken because you or someone else pushed her to him."

"I understand and I feel the same way."

"So, you're going to promise to stay out of it...right?"

Reluctantly she answers, "Yes, I promise."...as she thinks to herself, "Unless something changes."

...

Still wearing her night clothes, Amy shuffles from her room to the kitchen after a restless night's sleep. Jack is just finishing his cup of coffee when he notices her in the doorway. "Rolled outta bed kinda late, I see."

"I didn't sleep very well last night."

"That's understandable. I hope you have an easy day today...you still look tired."

"I am, so I'm just going to do my chores and then I have a phone call I want to make."

"To Ashley, I assume? I know you two talk occasionally."

"Yeah, we keep in touch."

"Listen, now that I have you alone for a moment, there's something I want you to know, just so you're prepared. I don't want it to come as a another surprise."

"What's that?"

"Just before Ty left last night he mentioned that he might come by in a day or two to check up on Paint. I don't want you to be caught off guard."

"A little late for that now!...I'm sorry grandpa, I didn't mean that, I'm just tired."

"Don't worry about it, I understand. One other thing...Lisa told me about what happened between you and your dad last night and you were right saying what you did."

"After thinking about it, I wished I had used different words."

"He'll get over it...he always does. He should consider himself lucky that I didn't hear it, otherwise we would have been flying out the door."

"I don't doubt that for a moment, grandpa."

Moving from the table to the sink where he places his empty coffee cup, Jack says. "I should get a move on. The cattle need tending to. By the way, I might head into town later to run some errands. If there's anything you need, let me know."

"Okay, I will grandpa"

...

After completing her morning chores, Amy sits behind the desk in the barn office and takes out her cell phone. "Hi Amy. Wow! You must be a mind reader. I was just thinking about you and was going to call. I heard Ty is back...that must have been some surprise."

"It was...how did you know he was back?"

"I have my sources. You're not the only one there in Hudson I still talk to. So, I guess you're calling because you want to talk about it."

"Yeah Ashley, I do. Do you have time to talk?"

"All the time you need, dear."

"I'm not sure what I should do and was hoping you could give me a little advice."

"Not a problem...How do you feel about him? I mean...you still love him don't you?"

"I did...I mean, I do. To be honest, at first I wasn't sure how I might feel. Everything is so confusing now that he's back and I'm not sure what to do. There are so many things I want to say, but..."

"Let me stop you right there. We've already talked about this...the mistakes we made and how we wish we could change that. Don't you remember the conversations we had about what we would do if given another chance?"

"I do, but he's changed though and I don't know if he feels the same as I do. I don't know if we can ever get back what we once had."

"You want to know though don't you?"

"I do, but I don't know how to go about it. Shouldn't we talk about what happened?"

"Amy, you don't want to go there too soon."

"What do you mean?"

"Like you said, he's changed, but you have too. If you want to know if there's still something there, then you have to tread carefully. You can't think that you can just pick up where you left off. You need to start over...something new and fresh. Don't dwell on the past...it can be toxic and spoil any chance of you two ever getting together again if that's what you want."

"Its something we need to settle though isn't it? I mean it wasn't like two friends who just lost touch over time. So much happened between us...and we didn't part on the best terms."

"Your right...it does need to be talked about, but it's not how you want to start. I'm not telling you to ignore it, but how can you possibly start by bringing up hurt feelings and broken hearts? Bringing up memories like those too soon will just make things more difficult. Opening old wounds right away can backfire. You need to feel him out and set a foundation for that conversation. Then when you do talk about it, make sure whatever you say isn't only meant to make you feel better. You have to take his feelings into account. There may be things he doesn't want to hear, at least not yet."

"I guess you're right...it does make sense. Thanks Ashley."

"So, what about Jesse...what are you going to do about him? I hope you're not getting involved with him."

"What brought that up?"

"Its just that heard a few rumors. Some about him trying to get you to work for him over at Briar Ridge."

"He's asked me and we've talked about it. I'm not sure it's something I want to do though. Everytime he's brought it up, I've thanked him for the offer and told him I would think about it, but I prefer working here at the ranch. He since has offered a few times to rehome a couple of horses for me, but I think he only offered just to show me how well we could work together so I would agree."

He's a businessman, Amy. He doesn't feel the same way about horses as you and I do, so be careful if he tries to convince you otherwise. There's something else too. I heard a disturbing rumor about you and Jesse being seen together and acting awfully friendly while having dinner together at Maggie's a week or so ago."

Caught off guard and surprised by the characterization of that meeting, Amy responds, "I remember that. First of all, people should mind their own business and not jump to conclusions. Secondly, we didn't have dinner together. I was eating a burger at the counter by myself and he happened to walk in. He joined me and decided to order one too. We talked for a little while about his plan to expand Briar Ridge and that was it. Why would anyone assume it was anything more?"

"Well, people gossip and I suppose the story changed a little from one person to the next. Remember too that he was once your boyfriend."

"Yeah, for about 5 minutes, but that was almost 10 years ago."

"A few people still remember though...Anyway, be careful looking too friendly with him with that rumor floating around. If Ty should hear it and you appear a little too friendly with Jesse, Ty might misinterpret it as being something more than it is. Besides, Jesse is a jerk."

"You know you're talking about your brother right? He doesn't come across like that and actually he's always been very nice."

"Yeah, he's my brother and I'm his frivolous sister, as he likes to call me. I know you and I haven't spoken in awhile...its been too long in fact, so I have to ask...are you sure... I mean...that there isn't more going on?"

"Yes...I mean no we're just friends, that's all!"

"Okay, I believe you, but don't ever forget what happened with Chase and how he manipulated you. Don't let that happen again."

"Believe me, I learned my lesson, so can we drop it?"

"Okay, but you've been warned. Now, I assume you've already seen Ty, so tell me about it. I can't wait to hear..."

Amy describes to Ashley how she came to find out that Ty had returned along with some of what Jack had told her about his conversation with him and the events of that evening when Ty arrived for dinner.

"...Granted, you didn't start off very well and I can see why you're confused. It does sound like he has changed, but not that much and it seems for the better. Then again, all you know about him is from what little you observed and what he told everyone. 5 years is a long time, so I suggest you find out more before committing yourself one way or the other. I'm only saying that because I'm your friend and I don't want to see you get hurt."

"I know and I appreciate your concern. Ty always had a good heart and I hope that hasn't changed. He was always there for me, whether I deserved it or not...at least up until the very end. Caleb was right about Ty never doing anything on purpose to hurt me. Unfortunately I can't say the same about myself and I hope I didn't give the wrong impression last night."

You stumbled at first, but don't worry about it...I'm sure he understands. You said that he might soon come by the ranch again, so try to make sure you're there when he does. Initiate a conversation with him...something light hearted and friendly. See how he responds and then take it from there. I have another idea too...it'll help if you know more about his time away. Things that he hasn't already mentioned. You can ask him, but you don't want to make it seem like you're prying too much. You only have a short time to find out more and remember he had a habit of not wanting to talk about some things...things that happened in his past that he had difficulty dealing with. He might still be like that."

After a brief moment of silent thought, Ashley continues, "You know, I might be able to help with that."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we know the college he graduated from and where he worked right after, so I'm thinking I might call and check on his background for you."

"Ashley!...that's not something I think you should do!"

"Don't worry...it's done all the time. Mom use to do it because our bonding company required it. He's a new vet and when a business like Briar Ridge is considering using his services it's not unusual for that business to check his background."

"But you don't run Briar Ridge and, as far as I know, Jesse never used Scott's vet clinic.

"They don't know that. I'll find out what I can and get back to you."

"What could there possibly be that you can find out?"

"I don't know...maybe nothing, but it won't hurt to find out what I can. You said he fast tracked and I know that's not an easy thing to do. College isn't cheap either, so how did he manage to pay the tuition on top of other expenses, like where he lived. The job you told me he had, along with refurbishing and selling motorcycles, doesn't sound like something that would bring in enough to cover it all. Now that I think about it, what was the name of that repair shop you said he worked at? Maybe I can check with them as well."

"Ashley, don't! That's going too far!"

"Okay, I'll just check with the college, but it sounds to me like you're afraid of finding out something you might not want to know."

...

To be continued...