Chapter 14
Amy, Ty, Ashley and Soraya were in living room at Heartland, talking about Amy and Ty's trip to the Grand Canyon with Lou and Scott.
"I still can't believe you're allowed to go on a trip without your parents!" Soraya exclaimed. "My Mom would never let me go on a week and a half trip with my boyfriend... Like, I know Lou and Scott are going, but still."
"Yeah, my mom wouldn't let me go either," Ashley agreed. "And I can't believe you're ditching us!"
Before she said anything, Amy lay down on the couch and put her head on Ty's lap. "Well, I guess they trust us," she said. "We're not ditching you!" Amy laughed. "We still have a week to hang out before we go back to school."
Ty laughed at the girls banter, and played with the ends of Amy's hair. Soraya glared at Amy playfully, so Amy stuck her tongue out at her. In response, Soraya threw a piece of popcorn at her, which Ty caught in his hand and ate it.
"Eh! No throwing food in the living room!" Lou laughed.
"Yeah, yeah," Soraya mocked her teasingly.
"Where are you guys staying again?" Ashley asked.
"The El Tovar Hotel," Lou said, plopping down on the couch. She was waiting for Scott to come over to the ranch.
"Are you serious?" Soraya exclaimed. "That's a four star hotel! You're so lucky! How much is it a night?"
Amy and Ty looked at Lou because neither one of them had an idea.
"It's $200 a night for one standard room with a double bed," she said. Just then, Scott came into the living room.
"Hey guys," he greeted them, kissing Lou's cheek.
They all said "hi" and Amy sat up so he could sit down.
"What time are we leaving tomorrow?" Amy mumbled, resting her head on Ty's shoulder.
"Around noon," Scott told her.
"Are your parents and Lee coming over tomorrow morning, Ty?" Soraya asked, as they all walked to the front porch.
"Yeah, I think they're coming over around ten," Ty replied.
Soraya nodded. She and Ashley pulled Amy into a hug, and both whispered something into Amy's ear - something that made her blush and laugh.
They all they said their goodbyes, and Ashley and Soraya left in Ashley's car.
"C'mon, let's go to bed," Ty murmured, wrapping his arm around Amy's waist.
(x)
The next morning, Marion and Jack let Amy, Ty, Lou and Scott sleep in and did the morning chores and made breakfast for them. Just as Marion was setting the food on the table, Amy and Ty - still in their pajamas - made their way down the stairs with Remi right behind them.
"Good morning," Marion greeted them, smiling from ear to ear.
"Morning," Ty said, smiling at her.
Amy, on the other hand, mumbles something incoherent and plopped down on one of the chairs, resting her head in her hands. Marion looked at Ty with a raised eyebrow, and he just shook his head, indicating to not ask about it right now. Ty got two mugs of coffee, and placed one on front of Amy.
"Thanks," she mumbled, wrapping her hands around the cup.
"You're welcome," Ty murmured, kissing her on the forehead.
Both Amy and Ty ate their breakfast, which consisted of eggs sunny side up, sausages and toast. A couple of minutes after they finished, Amy stood up.
"I'm gonna go shower," she announced, putting her mug in the sink. Marion and Ty nodded.
"What's up with her this morning?" Marion asked softly; she was worried about Amy.
"She didn't sleep well last night," Ty replied, "she just kept tossing and turning until about five this morning." He sighed.
Around ten o'clock, Lily, Brad and Lee arrived at Heartland to see Ty before he went on his trip.
"J!" Lee exclaimed, running up to Ty.
"Hey bro," Ty said, kneeling down to give Lee a hug.
The eight year old wrapped his arms around Ty's neck and buried his head in his shoulder. "I'm gonna miss you," Lee murmured quietly.
"I'll miss you, too, bud," Ty said, hugging him tightly. "But I'll be home before you know it." He pulled back from their hug. "Now, I have a really important job for you, okay?" Lee nodded. "I want you to take care of Harley while I'm away, can you do that?" Ty asked him.
Lee's eyes instantly lit up, and he began nodding his head eagerly. "Yeah! I can do that!" He exclaimed, grinning widely. Ty grinned back at him, pulling him into another hug.
Everyone smiled at the exchange between Ty and Lee, but were confused about Lee's obvious excitement.
"Mom! Dad!" Lee exclaimed, turning toward Lily and Brad.
"What you so excited about, huh?" Lily asked, laughing.
"I'm gonna take care of Harley while J's gone!" Lee explained, waving his arms around wildly.
"That's awesome, bud!" Brad told Lee, patting his shoulder gently.
In the meantime, Amy sat down at the edge of the porch, with her legs hanging down over the side. Remi trotted over to her, and lay down next to her, putting her head in Amy's lap. Lee sat down next to them, petting Remi, as the adults chatted, and while Ty and Scott put the luggage for the trip into Scott's truck. Walking back to the house with Scott, Ty noticed Lee talking to Amy. He was grinning like mad. Deciding to join them, he quickly walked up the porch steps and over to where Amy, Lee and Remi were. Ty sat down next to Amy; she naturally took her hand in his and leaned her head on his shoulder.
"You okay?" He asked softly.
"Yeah," Amy replied, sighing happily.
The three of them sat there, listening to the adults talk. Amy had one hand buried in Remi's thick fur, and held Ty's hand with the other. Lee was petting Remi still.
"What time do you expect to get there?" Lily asked Scott.
"Probably around 3pm," he replied.
"... Then we're probably going to take a couple hour break here," Lou said, pointing to a place on the map. "And then we're just going to drive down to the hotel and check in."
"Are you going to go see the Horse-Shoe Bend?" Lee asked Amy and Ty quietly.
Both Amy and Ty looked at him. "We are, do you want us to get you pictures?" Amy replied.
"Please!" Lee exclaimed quietly.
"Guys if we don't leave in ten, we're going to be off schedule!" Lou quickly informed Scott, Ty and Amy. All three of them groaned in response. Amy and Ty got up and walked into the house.
"Okay, I'm going to get all the snacks and drinks into the cooler," Ty announced. "Will you get our backpacks please?" He asked Amy.
"Yeah of course," Amy replied, heading up the stairs to her room. She went up to her room and got her rucksack, as well as grabbing Ty's backpack. She made sure they both had everything they needed; Lou had their passports. She grabbed her camera bag along with the two backpacks and headed down the stairs. When Amy walked into the kitchen, she saw Ty putting the last of the food and drinks into the cooler. "Ready?" She asked him, grinning.
"Mmhmm," he replied, smiling, as he put the lid on the cooler. He picked it up, and he and Amy headed out the door.
They put the backpacks and cooler into Scott's truck, and then returned to the porch.
"Okay, okay!" Lou exclaimed, looking at Scott, Amy and Ty. "We need to leave in five minutes! It's your last chance to go to the restroom! We're not stopping until we get down to the border!"
The trio sighed. "Okay, Lou! We get it!" Amy laughed.
Exactly five minutes later - according to Lou's timing - they were saying goodbye, and heading off to Nevada for the week.
(x)
Scott pulled the truck to a stop at a gas station in South Montana. Lou turned around, only to see Amy leaning her body against Ty's, both of them fast asleep.
"Hey sleepy heads," she said, shaking Amy gently. Both teens stirred and looked at her sleepily.
"What?" Amy groaned.
"We just pulled over at a twenty-four hour gas station in South Montana," Lou informed them.
Amy and Ty nodded. "What time is it?" Ty asked.
"Nearly 8pm," Lou replied.
The pair nodded again and undid their seat-belts. Slowly but surely, they got out of the truck. They walked into the gas station shop area and browsed around, each picking up some snacks and drinks. Before getting into the truck again, they all used the restroom.
A couple of hours later, Amy and Ty took over driving so Lou and Scott could get some sleep. Hours passed by as they drove south to The Grand Canyon Village in Nevada. When they were about two hours from their destination, Amy pulled into a rest stop so they could have something to eat. After snacking for a while, Lou and Scott began driving again, instead of Amy and Ty.
"Ah, I'm so excited!" Lou exclaimed.
"Really? I though you'd be to busy worrying," Amy teased her.
"Oh shut up you!" Lou laughed.
"... Here are your key-cards to your hotel room, I hope you enjoy your stay," the El Tovar Hotel said as he handed Scott the key-cards to the two rooms. He handed the ones to room 75 to Lou, and the ones to room 76 to Amy and Ty.
"Thanks Scott," Amy said as Ty picked up their bags.
"Right, we're all exhausted so let's get some sleep and meet in the hall in three hours for dinner?" Lou suggested as they walked to their rooms.
"Yeah, sounds good," Ty replied while Amy nodded.
They got into their rooms, into bed, and finally got to sleep after a very long twenty-six hours.
A/N: I'm highly aware that this chapter is long overdue, and I honestly had planned to finish writing it much earlier. But, my summer was busier than I anticipated, and when I did have the time, writing was hard; it was forced. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and please leave a review telling me what you thought! - E