Resolutions Part 1

Chapter 12

The House

"Ty didn't answer his phone Lou."

"I'm sorry Amy."

"It's probably just as well; I don't think I'm really ready to speak to him anyway after what he did."

Lou was about to respond but was interrupted by a knock at the door. Feeling as though she made some progress with her younger sister, Lou decided to pursue their conversation later and made her way to the ranch house entrance.

"Hello, can I help you?"

"Hi, my name is Davis Maxwell. I'm here to see Amy Fleming. I spoke to her Grandfather a moment ago outside and he said she was here in the house."

"I'm Lou Fleming, Jack's other Granddaughter. Please, come in."

"Amy, there's someone here to see you."

Amy arose from the couch and made her way towards Maxwell.

"I'm Amy Fleming, what can I do for you?"

Wow, what I was told doesn't do her justice. She's beautiful.

"Hi Miss Fleming, my name is Davis Maxwell. I've heard you were the person to see if one had a troubled horse that needed fixing."

Amy paused for a moment to regard Maxwell. He seemed sincere and nice enough but with how she'd been feeling in recent days amplified by the death of Spartan, she didn't feel up to taking on a new horse right now.

"Sorry, I'm not really taking on new clients right now," Amy replied.

"News to me," Lou thought.

"Please, could you just take a look at him for a few minutes? He was my wife's horse and since she's been gone, I can't seem to do anything with him."

"She left her horse behind?" inquired Amy in a dissatisfied tone.

"Oh no, nothing like that," replied Maxwell with a hint of sadness creeping into his voice.

Amy detected an immediate mood shift in her guest.

"My wife just recently passed. Melinda and Riley, her horse, had a special bond. I want to keep him in honor of her memory but so far, he won't let anyone ride him."

A shadow of sorrow and despair suddenly blanketed Amy's face upon hearing of Maxwell's wife's relationship with her horse. Memories of Spartan and the connection they shared invaded Amy's thoughts as the pain began to etch across her face.

Maxwell noticed the change in his host and knew he had hit a nerve.

"Melinda bought Riley about 5 years ago from this terrible owner, he continued. He clearly had abused the horse and it took a long time for Melinda to reach him. Riley wouldn't even allow Melinda to approach him for nearly a week. But she wouldn't give up. She slowly gained Riley's trust and confidence and before long, Riley accepted her and their bond only grew until…." Maxwell could not continue further. Clearly the wound caused by the death of his wife had not healed.

The parallel of Maxwell's recounting of his wife and her horse struck too close to home for Amy to listen to any further. The pain of Spartan's death returned in a rush cloaking her like a storm cloud.

Noting his host's discomfort, Maxwell inquired, "Are you alright? Did I say something wrong?"

"I…I don't think I can help you," Amy stammered. "I'm not ready for…," she whispered. But that was all she could mutter. Feeling the tears beginning to form, Amy quickly turned and ran to her room leaving a confused and startled Maxwell in her wake.

"Amy?" Lou cried as Amy dashed by.

Maxwell turned to Lou with a mixture of guilt and confusion on his face.

"What…what," sputtered Maxwell? I'm sorry for upsetting her. I didn't intend to."

"It's alright, replied Lou. It's not your fault. There's no way you couldn't have known."

"Known what?"

"Amy's horse Spartan just died. And the story of your wife's horse is remarkably similar to that of Amy and Spartan. They too had a special bond. Our mother and Amy rescued Spartan from an abusive owner about 10 years ago. I'm sure your story reopened old wounds. Spartan's death also has put a strain on Amy's marriage. Her husband Ty is a vet and when Spartan was in distress, Ty did everything he could to save him but failed. Amy blames Ty. She also asked him to leave. "

"Temporarily of course," Lou quickly added fearing she may have shared too much with a stranger.

Maxwell's attention was peeked at Lou's mention of Amy's marital difficulties and the fact she blamed Ty for the death of her horse.

He certainly wasn't overly friendly to me outside when we met - Interesting. It appears as though she may be in a vulnerable position. H'mm; this could present an opportunity for a change in plans that may prove to be more rewarding. Two birds with one stone. We'll need to re-think this.

"Let me speak to Amy," Lou continued. "Working with another horse may be just what she needs right now."

"Thanks Lou; that would be great. Here's my number if you're able to change Amy's mind. Please have her call me. I really hope she reconsiders as Riley is special to me. Thanks again, goodbye.

With that, Maxwell went outside and walked towards his truck.

…

The Barn

"Jack, what are your impressions of this Davis Maxwell?" Lisa inquired.

Jack knew his wife well enough to know there was more to her question than just an innocent inquiry but he decided to play along and answer. This would give Lisa the chance to tell him what she thought which was her true intent of her question all along.

"OK I guess. He seems nice enough. What about you?"

"I don't know. There's something about him that doesn't sit quite right. He seemed a little too smooth."

"Lis; come on.

"I'm serious Jack. Maybe a little sneaky too. I don't trust him."

Jack hesitated a moment before sighing heavily. "You're not going to let this go, are you?"

"No, I don't think so. I'm going to look into Mr. Maxwell."

Jack simply smiled. Though he didn't like meddling into other people's business, if there was anything to be concerned about regarding Davis Maxwell, Lisa would find it.

"And, Amy is in a fragile state right now," Jack thought.

…

Leaving Heartland, Maxwell removed his cell phone from his jacket pocket and dialed a number.

"How did it go?" an anxious voice on the other end impatiently inquired.

"Too soon to tell," responded Maxwell. "The bad news is she seems to be in some sort of emotional state right now due to her horse dying yesterday. She told me she wasn't taking on new clients now. Her sister however told me she would talk to her and encourage her to take me on. We'll see. On the positive side, apparently she blames Borden for the death of her horse and kicked him off the ranch.

"Her horse died? Oh, that's good; very good. She deserves it. And Borden's off the ranch? That makes my day! You've got to get her to work with your horse though. If she does, this could turn out even better than I hoped."

"Are you sure you want to continue with this? inquired Maxwell. She actually seems to be nice; and her family too."

"Don't let them fool you. She and that husband of hers are manipulative bastards. You'll see that side of them soon enough. Here's what we should do next…

….

A/N: Some of you may be frustrated with how I'm portraying Amy so far; the erratic, on-again, off-again nature of her behavior. It may not make sense to you now, but please be patient; it's intentional on my part and it's leading to something that I believe will clear up your confusion and frustration once revealed. I know however not all will like this story and that's fine. This has been much more difficult to write than my previous ones and I believe you may like it by the time it's complete.

As always, your reviews and comments, good or bad are welcome.