Chapter 13

After looking over the schedule for the day's office appointments, Ty grabs his jacket and says to Cassandra, "Okay, I'm going to head over to Heartland now to pickup Georgie."

"So, I guess I'll be handling all the field calls today?"

"Yeah, you will. That's not going to be a problem is it?"

"No, not at all. It'll be nice to get out of the office for a change, but do you think maybe she might like to go on at least one call?"

Ty thinks for a moment. "That may not be a bad idea. She might find it boring around here after awhile. What do you have for today?"

"Maybe she would like to help vaccinate some geese. Its on the list of field calls, out at Saddlehorn Farm. Mrs. Peterson can't do it herself anymore. She's getting too old to chase them around and it's a real struggle for her to vaccinate them."

"Yeah, it can be a chore."

"Tell me about it. I was out there last time and those geese really have an attitude."

"I've never met one that didn't." Ty replies jokingly.

"Really? I thought you would use that talking thing you do to get them to behave."

"I've tried it, but never came across one that would listen. Let me have a look at that list you have."

After looking it over, Ty says, "Good, it's the last call of the day and around the time I should bring Georgie back home. Okay, we'll handle it for you."

"Thanks...Oh, and by the way, you'll probably want to bring along an extra pair of coveralls for Georgie. You know how those geese sometimes like to crap on whoever is unfortunate enough to be holding them."

"Yeah, I know. I don't think Georgie would like that part of it very much."

...

Ty pulls up and parks in front of the house just as Georgie comes running out the door. "Hey, Ty!" She calls out excitedly.

"Hey, Georgie...ready to go to work?"

"Work?...this is going to be fun!"

"Okay, if you says so. C'mom, get in." Ty says with a smile as he holds the truck door open for her.

As Georgie hops into the truck, Ty notices Amy walk out of the house with the same cardboard tube in hand that Jesse brought to the diner. He assumes it's the plans Jesse had spoken about that Amy wanted to look over.

"Hey, Ty. Do you have a moment?"

"Actually, Amy, I'm running a little late."

"You're going to be by later today though aren't you?...I mean, when you bring Georgie home."

"Yeah...I suppose I will."

"I thought if you have time, I'd like to show you how that horse is coming along. I've made some progress with him."

"Cassandra told me you came by yesterday to let me know."

"So, do you think you'll have time? I'd really like to show you."

"We'll see...listen, I really have to get going before Cass..."

Amy interrupts, "I know...I guess I should get going too. I need to drop these plans off and I'm running a little late myself."

Amy wasn't truthful about being late to drop off the plans. Jesse had no idea she was on her way to return the plans and finally tell him she wasn't going to accept his offer.

Starting up the truck, Amy can't help wondering what happened to the friendly banter they both enjoyed whenever they spoke and wishes she had worded her short conversation with him differently, letting Ty know that she she was turning Jesse down.

...

Pulling out of the ranch, on his way back to the clinic, Ty is wondering why he acted the way he did and thinks, "C'mon, snap out of it. I can't let something like that bother me. I don't get it though...I thought she had changed. Why would she even consider working for that jerk..." His thoughts are interrupted by Georgie who asks, "So what are we going to do today?"

"Well, first of all I need to show you around. You have to remember something, Georgie. This is a business, so it's important that you do as I tell you...okay?"

"Yeah...no problem. So, what are we going to do?"

"You mean, what are you going to be doing, right?"

"Okay, what am I going to do?"

"Well there's animals that need to be fed and a couple of dogs that need to be walked. How do you feel about cleaning a few cages?

"Okay, I guess. Anything else?"

"There's a few other things."

"Like what?"

"Do you like geese?"...

...

Shortly after returning to the ranch, Amy decides to spend some time working with the abandoned horse. As she's moving him from his stall to the round pen, Jack walks up and asks, "So, how did it go this morning?"

Amy sighs and says, "It didn't. Jesse wasn't there. One of his staff thought he might have gone into Calgary. Apparently he's away for the whole day, but I left his plans there for him."

"Why don't you just call him then?"

"I thought about that, but I think this is something I should do in person."

"I don't want to sound pushy...you've gotten enough of that lately, but I don't think you should waste any time doing it. The sooner you get this done then the sooner your dad will back off."

"I know...that's why I went over there this morning. I'll call him tomorrow morning and set something up."

...

While driving Georgie back home, Ty asks, "So, what do you think? Do you still like geese?"

"I do...I just don't ever want to have to vaccinate one again. I'm glad you made me wear those coveralls, otherwise I would have had poop all over my pants."

"Yeah, I told you there was a reason for wearing them."

"I had fun though...thanks for bring me to work with you today. I can't wait to tell everyone about it."

Up the road a short way, Ty and Georgie see a truck with a horse trailer pulled off to the side of the road and a man who looks like he's trying to change a tire. He says to Georgie, "Maybe we should see if we can give him a hand."

As Ty pulls up behind him, he recognizes the man and says out loud "Wes!"

"You know him?" Georgie asks.

Hesitating for a moment, Ty answers, "Yeah, I do. I just never thought I'd see him again. Stay in the truck, Georgie...I'll be back in a moment."

Ty walks up behind Wes as he's tightening the lug nuts. "What are you doing around here, Wes?"

Wes looks up at Ty, who's standing off to the side and slightly behind him. "Borden? Listen I don't want any trouble."

"That all depends on what you're doing here."

Wes stands up, leaving the lug wrench lying on the ground, "I'm legit and just trying to earn a living."

"That sounds funny coming from you. So, I assume that means you don't steal horses or burn down barns anymore."

"That's right...I have a family now, so I don't want any trouble."

"I asked you what you're doing around here." Waiting for Wes to answer, Ty kicks the lug wrench under the truck.

"I picked up some horses for my boss..."

Unknown to Ty, Georgie had left the truck. Her curiousity had gotten the better of her and she wanted to have a look in the horse trailer.

Wes is interrupted by Georgie who calls out, "Ty, come here...look. These are the horses Amy was going to rehome."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

"Okay...go back to the truck, lock the doors, and stay there. I'll handle this."

"But..."

"Just do it, Georgie!"

Turning back to Wes, Ty asks, "Okay, Wes, where did you get those horses?"

"I told you I'm legit. I got them over at Briar Ridge. I bought them and I'm taking them to this guy I work for."

"Who's that?"

"He's a horse dealer"

"You mean kill buyer, right?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"If you're legit like you say, then show me the receipt for the horses."

"Sure...like I said...I don't want any trouble."

Wes reaches into his shirt pocket and pulls out the receipts, handing them to Ty. Looking them over, Ty notices the seller is listed as Calgary Investment and Devepment company.

"This is a business name. Who is the person who sold them to you?"

"Jesse Stanton."

"Did he say why he was selling them?"

"No...he wasn't there. I only spoke to one of the stable hands."

"How do you know it was him then?"

"He called a few days ago like he does when he has some horses he wants to get rid of."

"How many times has he called you?"

"Several...the time before this was for a horse at some abandoned ranch a few miles from here."

"Let me guess...when you got there the horse was already gone."

"Yeah...it was."

"So, how many times have you been to Briar Ridge?"

"Only twice over the last six months before this. Why?"

"Just curious. How many horses has he sold you?"

"Two...one each time."

"Did those receipts show the same seller as these do?"

"Yeah...they did."

After looking at the receipt again and hopefully playing on Wes' greed, Ty makes him an offer, "I'll make you a deal. I'll give you a hundred bucks each over the price you paid for these horses. All you have to do is tell your boss that Jesse changed his mind."

"Actually my boss doesn't know. I deal with Jesse directly. The first time he called my boss, but every time after that he only wanted to deal with me. Listen, this is all legal. I didn't do anything wrong."

"Yeah, it's legal all right, but wrong?...that's a matter of opinion. What I need you to do is take them over to the rodeo grounds for me. I'll follow you there. Do we have a deal?"

"Yeah, sure. It's double what I would get for picking them up and bring them to the dealer I work for."

"Okay, I'll pay you at the rodeo grounds. In the meantime, I need you to note on the receipts that the horses are signed over to me."

"Yeah...I know how it's done."

Before walking back to the truck, Ty tells Wes not to forget his lug wrench. Sitting in the truck waiting for Wes to finish tightening the wheel lugs and pull back onto the road, he tells Georgie not to worry about the horses.

"So, you bought them back?"

"Yes, I did. We're going to have to take a little detour before I get you home. He's taking them over to the rodeo grounds for me."

"Why there? Why don't you just have him bring them back to Heartland?"

"Because, Georgie...I don't want them to end up on a meat truck again."

Bewildered, Georgie asks, "That's what he was doing with them? He was taking them to be killed?"

"Yes, unfortunately."

"Amy would never ever do something like that! She wasn't the one who got rid of them. It was Tim!"

"How do you know that?"

"He came by earlier this week while Amy was in town and took them. She didn't know anything about it."

"Good to know."

"She was even angry about it. I was doing my chores when I overheard her yelling at Tim for taking them and interfering in her business. It was hard not to hear since she was almost screaming at him."

"That's even better to know. I have a question, do you know if Jesse ever rehomed any other horses for Amy before this?"

"No, he didn't. She always did it herself. She wanted to make sure they were going to good homes."

"Okay Georgie...wait here. I'm going to tell him to take the horses to Heartland."

Ty walks up to Wes just before he gets into his truck. "Wes, slight change of plans. I need you to take these horses to Heartland. You remember where it is, right?"

"No way! I'm not going near that place!"

"There's another fifty in it if you do. You don't even have to get out of the truck."

Wes thinks about it for a moment. "Okay, but I'm not staying there any longer than the time it takes to get those horses out of the trailer."

"Fine...I don't think anyone there would be too pleased seeing you anyway."

...

Amy watches from the barn as Wes pulls up with Ty following closely behind. She can barely see the man behind the steering wheel while Ty walks up and speaks to him. She continues watching as Ty then walks back to the horse trailer and helps Georgie unload the horses. Recognizing the horses, she runs over and glances briefly at the driver. Suddenly she stops in her tracks.

"Ty!...what's he doing here!...and why did he have those horses?"

With the horses unloaded, Ty calls out to Wes to go ahead and take off. Leaving Georgie to tend to the horses, Ty walks over to Amy and says, "We need to talk."...

...

Sitting in the barn office, Ty tells Amy how he and Georgie came to find the horses, but very little about the conversation he had with Wes, even less of what he had learned about Jesse, and nothing of his suspicions.

"You have to believe me Ty." Amy pleads. "I had no idea Jesse would do something like this! I wanted to rehome those horses myself, but..."

Ty interrupts, "I know...Georgie told me about Tim coming by and taking them."

"Yeah...it was that day I saw you in the diner...when I was there to meet with Jesse. He told me that dad was bringing the horses over to Briar Ridge, but he assured me that he had found good homes for them. That's why I decided to leave them there with him. I had no reason to think he was lying."

"I'm sorry, but I find it hard to believe that you would even consider working for that guy!"

"I never really wanted to. As a matter of fact I was going to tell him this morning, but he wasn't there. This is all my fault. I should have told him I wasn't interested when he first offered me the job, but I kept putting it off hoping he would take the hint and forget about it."

"Yeah, he's like someone else we both know...isn't he?"

Sure she knows who Ty is referring to, Amy doesn't answer directly. Instead she says, "I should have listened to Ashley. She told me not to trust him, but I thought she only said that because they don't get along."

As soon as Amy said that, she remembers Ty feeling the same way about Chase. He never liked him and tried to discourage her from doing that clinic where they ended up kissing.

Amy let's out a long sigh and then says, "I thought I had learned by now."

Ty tries to ease the guilt she feels, saying, "We all make mistakes and it didn't help having Tim pressuring you about those horses and taking that job."

Amy hopefully thinks to herself, "Maybe he wasn't referring to Chase at all. Maybe it's dad."

Ty continues, "I can understand putting it off, but sometimes it gives people the opportunity to influence you and, whether they're right or wrong, you begin to question yourself instead of doing what you know you should have done all along."

"Yeah, I knew what the right decision was right from the start. I just wasn't willing enough to follow through when I should."

"Well, it seems like you are now. Georgie told me about the arguement you had with your dad. She made it sound like you no longer had any problem making up your mind and letting him know."

"She heard that?"

"Yeah...she said it was hard not to. So...what are you going to do now?"

"First, I'm going to make a call."

"To your dad?"

Without hesitation she answers, "No...Jesse...Dad, I want to talk to in person."...

"I can understand that. Listen, I have to get back to the clinic, but you said this morning that you wanted to show me the progress you made with that horse, so how about I swing by again afterwards?"

Amy forces a smile. "Yeah...that'll be great."...

...

Once Ty has left, Amy makes the call to Jesse. Hanging up, she puts her cellphone away and makes her way to the house where she's met at the door by Lou. "Amy, Georgie told me what happened. Is everything okay between you and Ty?"

"Yeah, it seems so. He's coming by again later after he gets off work."

"What are you going to do now about Jesse?"

"I just called him."

"That must have been an interesting conversation. What did he have to say for himself?"

"Nothing...he didn't answer, so I left a message. It's just as well though...I got to tell him everything on my mind without him trying to interrupt with lame excuses."

"How about dad? Did you call him too?"

"No...like I told Ty, him I want to talk to in person."

"Well, you might have to stand in line. Grandpa heard what happened while Georgie was telling me and I think he's on his way to talk to him right now. He didn't appear to be too happy when he left. Actually that's an understatement...he was pretty angry."...

...

Having just arrived back at the clinic, Cassandra asks, "So, how did it go with the geese? Did Georgie enjoy it?"

"She did, but it's not something she wants to do again."

"I take that as meaning she was crapped on?"

"Yeah, a few times, but she took it like a champ. She said yuck and gross a lot, but I could tell she was having a good time anyway. Hey, I have a question. Have you been out to Briar Ridge recently...let's say in the last few months or so?

"We don't have a service contract with them, but I did have to go out there once. It was about a month or so ago on an emergency call. Why do you ask?...

...

To be continued...