Chapter 8

For Amy, the walk into the office seemed to take forever, but it gave her time to think about what she wanted to say. Once again, she recalls her conversation with Ashley and reminds herself to be careful. She thinks to herself, "I hope he decides to speak first. It would be so much easier...I can just follow his cue."

Once in the office, Ty suggests, "Why don't you have a seat at the desk and I'll grab this chair and move it over to you. Otherwise, I'll feel like I'm sitting the the principals office."

Following his suggestion and Keying on his levity, with a grin Amy asks, "Do much of that in college...sitting in the principals office?"

Moving the chair to the side of the desk and taking a seat, Ty answers, "I couldn't afford to, although I almost had to once. It was over a practical joke. I learned my lesson though and behaved myself after."

"What did you do?"

"I put some medical lubricant on the ear piece of the office phone belonging to one of my professors. I did it as a dare and almost got caught. He wasn't too happy when his phone rang. I was down the hallway and called his number as soon as I saw him walk in. He suddenly came flying out. I guess he figured whoever did it had to be watching. I ducked into a room as quickly as I could so he wouldn't see me. He tried for weeks to find out who did it and I assumed he thought it was me."

"That's funny, but I can see why he would be upset." Caught in the humor she adds, "I guess you still have some of that juvenile delinquent in you." Suddenly she realizes, "Why did I say that...I'm such an idiot!"

Ty smiles and says, "Yeah, I guess I do, but I have toned it down a bit. That professor was one of the toughest ones I had and I really didn't care for him. I guess that's why I agreed to the dare. If I had been caught, I would have been screwed."

Ty leans forward, "Amy, this right here...how we're talking to each other... I like that and I hope we can continue talking to each other like this."

"I would like that too, but don't you think there's some other things we should talk about..like what happened between us?"

"I thought you might bring that up and that's why I wanted to talk. The truth is, I don't see any reason to drudge it all up. The past is just that...the past. We've grown up and we're different people now."

"I know that, but there are a lot of things I want to apologize for."

"No need to...your sorry..I'm sorry...let's just leave it at that."

"Can I at least apologize for how I acted at dinner the other night?"

"I think you just did. That was my fault though. I should have let Scott give everyone fair warning that I was coming back. It was inconsiderate of me the way I handled it, so I understand why you were so quiet that night."

"Yeah, I was quiet, but I was entertained. I thought the way you handled dad was perfect."

"Jack told me that he got a kick out of it and I have to admit that I really enjoyed doing it. Like I told Jack afterwards, some of what I said was crap. I made it up on the spot."

"Well, you fooled me and dad too. I guess you got more out of that college education than just being a vet."

"I suppose you're right. So, are we good? I mean continuing on like this as friends for as long as I'm here?"

"We're good, but I would like a do over for the other night. Maybe you can come by for dinner again sometime soon?"

"Sure, I would like that. I think I talked about myself enough that night and I'd like to catch up some more with what's been going on with the family other than what Caleb had already told me."

Taking the opportunity to at least explain a little about what happened before Ty left years ago, Amy replies, "I'm sure he told you a lot, but I'll bet he didn't tell you that I fired Chase that night you saw us together, grandpa told me you saw us."

"I suppose he told you more than just that."

"He did, but I don't think he told me everything you two talked about. I'm so sorry I caused you to leave, but I understand now why you did...it was never my intention to hurt you like I did and forced you to go. Sometimes I did stupid things without thinking it through. I wish you would have stayed and we could have eventually worked everything out."

Wanting to put an end to the subject of this conversation, Ty replies, "It wouldn't have made any difference. Amy, what we had between us rarely survives. It would have ended eventually, so it worked out for the best and we both moved on."

Amy can't stop herself from asking, ""So, did you?"

"Did I what?"

"Move on?"

"Amy...You're just as stubborn as ever...you're not going to let any of this go are you?"

"I promise I will if you answer the question."

Ty pauses for a moment, trying to control his emotions, before answering. "Yes, I did eventually."

"Who is she?"

"Ty let's out a long sigh. "It doesn't matter now...she was..."

Once again, Ty pauses for a moment, reluctant to continue the conversation. During that pause, Amy realizes that Ty referred to this woman in the past tense, so she quickly interrupts, "I'm sorry. I'm prying too much. It's none if my business."

"I would appreciate it if we could just drop everything. No apologies, no explanations, nothing and go on as friends."

Reminding herself once again of the advice Ashley had given her and now regretting asking the question in the first place, Amy replies. "Okay, I'm sorry and I won't bring it up again."

Leaning back in his chair, Ty thinks, "I know she's not going to drop it. She's stubborn, that hasn't changed, and I'm sure she'll figure out a way to bring some of this up again. I suppose at some point we're going to have to continue this conversation. Probably a little bit at a time. Maybe I should just get it over with."

Breaking the brief moment of silence, Amy asks, "Anything you want to know?"

Thankful that Amy decided to change the subject, he replies, "Actually there is. I didn't want to ask Jack because I figured it would be a touchy subject with him. How's he doing since his heart attack? He seems fine now."

"He is and you're right...it is a touchy subject with him. He's taking better care of himself now, mostly because of Lou hounding him and Lisa too. Grandpa blames dad for brining it on, but they finally worked it out."

"I'm not surprised that he blamed Tim..."

Ty and Amy continue talking about Jack's heart attack and then about Lou and Peter's divorce. Something that wouldn't be appropriate to bring up at a later dinner.

"...Darn it! I lost track of time. I'm going to be late for my next appointment and I was hoping to talk to Georgie about coming by the clinic to help out one day."

"She's not here anyway, so why don't you come by later this afternoon? She'll be home by then."

"I would, but I have a pretty busy schedule for the rest of the day and then I'm suppose to meet up with Caleb after work. How about I drop by tomorrow afternoon between field calls...Will she be here then?"

"Yeah, she will. I'll let her know..she'll be excited..."

...

Caleb answers the knock on his trailer door. "Hey Ty, right on time. Come on in, I have to show you something." Caleb points to a small scented green cardboard Christmas tree dangling from the ceiling over the table. "I got that just for you."

Ty laughs, "You know you could have just opened a window."

"Yeah, but now with this new horse I picked up who's with Shorty in the pen across the way, I figured it wouldn't make much of a difference to open a window.

"You're nuts, you know that don't you?"

"Maybe, but who else would go to this expense just for you?" Caleb replies, pointing at the scented air freshener again.

Still laughing, Ty asks, "So, what's the plan for tonight and don't forget I have to get up early tomorrow."

"Well, I have a couple of steaks marinating, so I thought we'd have a few beers and enjoy a barbecue."

"Sounds good. What can I do?"

"You can start the fire and I'll bring out the steaks and a couple of beers."

After dinner, Ty and Caleb are sitting around the fire pit continuing a light conversation. It shifts from mostly talking about what the two had been doing over the years to most recently the dinner Ty had at Heartland. "...yeah that Tim, he's a real piece of work sometimes. I had to punch him out once and boy it felt good."

"Caleb, you punched him out! What happened?"

"He was in the middle of a custody battle over Shane and I guess it wasn't going well, so he started drinking again. I called him on it and then he started giving me some crap, so I let him have it. He cleaned up his act afterwards though and everything worked out with Shane. That guy runs hot and cold. The problem is, sometimes you don't know which is worse. Even when he thinks he's being helpful or nice, it doesn't always come across that way."

"Yeah, I get that. Nothing has changed."

"You're right and one of these days he's going to say the wrong thing to the wrong person and he's going to end up with a horse shoes planted up his ass."

"I'm surprised it hasn't happened already."

They both laugh, imagining the look on Tim's face if someone actually tried it and then Caleb changes the subject, "So, how about Amy?"

"What about her?"

"Have you two talked yet?"

"Yeah, just today."

,"And...?"

"And everything is fine. We agreed to be friends."

With a slight grin on his face, Caleb asks, "Friendly friends or just friends?"

"Just friends, Caleb."

"So, none of those old feelings came back after you saw her again?"

Ty let's out a long sigh, "You're just as stubborn as she is, so let me just say this and then drop it okay? Amy was my first real love, so I guess there will always be feelings, but that's all. I care about her and that's it. Nothing else."

"Okay, I'll drop it, but you said first, so I'm guessing there was another?"

"You are just as bad as Amy."

Ty sits silently staring down at the beer bottle in his hand while he begins to peel the label off. His emotion begins to radiate from his face and it doesn't go unnoticed by Caleb.

"Hey buddy, look if you don't want to talk about it that's okay."

Ty works up the courage to tell Caleb what he had told Jack.

"No, that's okay. I'll tell you, otherwise you'll probably bring it up again. Jack is the only one around here who knows, so keep it to yourself."

"Alright, so what happened?"

Ty finds it no easier to hide the pain in his voice than previously when he told Jack. "She died..."

...

The next morning, Jack is working alone in the Quonset hut, trying to fix an old alternator, when Caleb walks in. "Hey Jack."

"Caleb, what brings you by?"

"I need to talk to you about Ty and you're the only one I can talk to about this."

Jack puts down the screw driver he's holding and asks, "What about him?"

"He came by yesterday evening for dinner and afterwards he told me about Sarah. You're the only other person who knows about her, so we need to talk."

Jack leans back against the table he's working at and says, "I figured he'd tell you eventually, but I didn't think it would be this soon. How much did he tell you?"

"Everything, I guess. I don't know why he would hold anything back after dropping that bombshell. We had a few beers under our belt, so I guess it loosened him up a bit. Anyway, after he told me what happened, he came up with this crazy idea that anymore relationships weren't in the cards for him."

"Yeah, I know. He pretty much said the same thing to me."

"When I asked him why, he went on about his parents divorcing, then he said after being the best man at my wedding it ended in divorce and then he mentioned his breakup with Amy and after stepping in to be Peters best man, that marriage ended in divorced too. Sarah dying really screwed him up."

"That may very well be part of it, but I think coming back and finding out about your and Lou's divorces just added fuel to the fire. I think he's looking for a reason to justify protecting himself from being hurt again."

"You're probably right, but that way of thinking is really messed up."

"Look, Caleb, I'm sure he told you not to say anything about it, so keep it under your hat. This is something Ty has to work out on his own."

"But don't you think Amy..."

With a glare, Jack interrupts, replying sternly, "listen Caleb, I care about Ty as much as you do, but don't go there. I don't want Amy involved. The last thing I want is to see her get hurt because someone stuck there nose where it didn't belong!"

"I can understand that, but if anyone can talk to him, I think she could get through. I tried to talk some sense into him, but got nowhere with it."

"I don't know if I did either. I gave him something to think about, but now it sounds like he didn't get it or maybe he just needs more time."

"Maybe there's another way to look at this. After I had my heart broken by Ashley for the second or third time, I tried to protect myself too. I knew there would eventually be someone out there for me, someone I could love enough that she could break my heart again, but I wasn't ready to take that chance. Maybe that's what Ty is thinking. He knows there's someone out there and that's why he's trying to protect himself."

"And you think it might be Amy?"

"He did say she was his first real love."

"I think that boat has sailed and besides, like I said, I don't want to see her hurt. I'm going to tell you the same thing I've already told Lou and Lisa...stay out of it! I don't want anyone pushing him on her and that includes you...got it!"

"Yeah, Jack, I got it."

"If by some odd chance those two happen to figure out they belong together then it's something they have to discover on their own, without any outside interference..."

...

Eating his sandwich while reviewing the afternoon's appointments, Ty notices Cassandra as soon as she walks into the examination area. "Hey, just to let you know, I'm going to head over to the Mcguire's farm as soon as I finish my lunch and then I'm going over to Heartland, so if anything comes up while I'm out then just call me on my cell."

"You seem to be spending a lot of time over at Heartland since you got back."

"I lived there for four years before vet school, so they're like family to me."

"You mean before you just took off? Scott told me all about it."

"Yeah, well, anyway that place probably saved my life and Jack was more of a father to me than my own dad or step dad, so I feel I owe them."

"I can understand that, so why the visit today?"

"I told Amy that I would come by and talk to Georgie about helping out here one day next week. That's still okay with you..right?"

"Yeah, fine...as long as I don't have to babysit her."

Ty sighs, thinking to himself, "I see what Scott was talking about." You won't. She'll be with me for as long as she's here."

"Fine...no problem then."

"Have you told them about Scott's offer yet."

"No...well, Jack knows. I haven't told anyone else, so I would appreciate it if you didn't mention it to anyone since I haven't made up my mind yet. Besides, I don't have to give Scott an answer until he gets back and I'm still leaning towards taking that job in Vancouver.

"Well, if it makes any difference, I hope you say yes because these hours Scott has me working really suck and we need someone else around here."

With half a grin, Ty replies, "Thanks, but we'll see."

As Cassandra walks out, Ty thinks, "She really needs to work on her people skills."

...

Ty circles around in front of the ranch house, pulling a horse trailer behind the clinic's truck. Amy walks from the house to greet him, "Hey, Ty."

"Sorry I'm late. I hope Lou gave you the message that I got held up a bit."

"Yeah, she did."

"So, is Georgie around?"

"Hey Ty." Georgie yells as she runs toward them from the barn.

"I guess that answers your question."

"Hey Georgie. So how about helping me out at the clinic? It can be any day next week."

"That would be great!" She replies excitedly.

"Okay then, why don't you go in and ask your mom which day would be best and then let me know."

Flashing a big smile, she replies, "I'll be right back!"

"With a grin on his face, Ty watches Georgie run into the house as Amy comments, "She really likes you, you know. You're all she's talked about since that dinner. I can't believe how quickly she warmed up to you."

"I think it just has to do with me being a vet."

"Maybe, but she doesn't act that way around Scott."

"Then maybe I'm better looking than him." Ty says jokingly.

"Yeah...maybe, but don't let it go to your head."

Noticing a horse in the trailer, Amy asks, "So, what have you here?"

"Oh, it's the reason I'm late. Cassandra called me while I was out and told me she got a call about him."

"So, what's his story?"

"He's abandoned and probably was mistreated because he's a little skittish too. It was a bit of a chore just getting him into the trailer."

"So, what are you going to do with him?"

"I was going to bring him back to the clinic to check him out..blood work and all that to make sure he's healthy. I can't keep him there for more than a couple of days though, so I was going to see if Caleb could board him. If he can, then I was going to see if I can work with him a little so he can be rehomed."

"And if Caleb can't board him?"

"I'm sure he can or I'll threaten to tell all his secrets."

"That's silly. Why don't you just leave him here. I'd like to see what I can do with him, besides you're busy. When are you going to have the time?"

"I thought you didn't do that kind of thing anymore?"

"I don't, but that doesn't mean I can't give it a try and I think I can do a better job than you anyway."

"Are you sure about that, because I think I could do a pretty good job if I had enough time."

"Alright, I'll make you a deal. If I can't get anywhere with him, then you can rehome him to me."

"Wait...that doesn't make sense."

"Sure it does."

"Okay, if you say so, but if you have any problems let me know."

"I will. So...how about Friday night?"

"Friday night?"

"The do over dinner."

"Oh, that...yeah, I guess it'll be fine. Cassandra has the late shift that day, so I'll be free."

"Okay then, I'll let everyone know."

"I wonder what's taking Georgie so long?"

"Lou has everything scheduled on a calendar, so she's probably juggling a few things around. Those girls have almost every minute of the day mapped out for them."

"You're kidding...right?"

"I wish I was...C'mon, let's put...I guess he doesn't have a name?"

"Not that I know of, but if you can fix him then you can name him too."

"Sounds fair, let's put him in the round pen for now."

"Okay and I want to draw some blood before I go, so maybe we should put him in one of the outside stalls instead. I don't want to have to chase him around to get a sample and he'll be fine out there."

After unloading the horse into one of the stalls, Amy watches as Ty tries to draw a blood sample. It takes a few minutes longer, but he manages to calm the horse just as he did with Paint. Once again, she's impressed with how he seems to be able to get the horse to cooperate.

When Ty is done, Amy inquires, "I have to ask...how did you do that?...Calm him like you did with Paint."

"There's really no secret to it...every animal is different, so there's no set formula other than I like talking to them. Basically it's this...I try not to rush it. I just take my time and forget for a moment what I'm trying to accomplish. Instead, I try to imagine what the animal is thinking or feeling and I respond to that. If I'm right, then chances are that I'll succeed without as much of a fight than if I just went for it or tried to force it."

"That makes sense and I've tried it, but it doesn't seem to work for me."

"I don't know what else to tell you and it doesn't always work for me. Then again, I don't have all the time in the world to dedicate to one animal. I need to get the job done within a reasonable amount of time."

Amy wonders, "There has to be something else he's doing..." Her train of thought is interrupted when Ty notices Georgie running towards them and says, "Here comes Georgie."

Glancing back over her shoulder, Amy adds, "I guess Lou finally figured out which day would be best..."

...

To be continued...