Chapter 3

Amy woke suddenly to the sound of her alarm clock beeping beside her bed. Her heart beating in her throat, she leaned over and switched the sound off. Sweat dripped down her forehead as flashes from her dream ran through her mind. Her memory stopped at the image of Ty gazing down at her. He looked so peaceful and happy. She almost smiled before she caught herself.

Get a grip! She thought. You are supposed to be mad at him! Angry at herself for thinking of Ty, she threw back the covers and went to have a shower, hoping that the water will wash away last night's dream and the feelings that came with it.

Unfortunately, the water did nothing to calm her nerves as she couldn't stop thinking about the dream. Sitting down in front of her vanity mirror in the bedroom, she looked at her reflection.

"Get a grip," she said to the image, "He left you, without so much as a goodbye. You are angry at him. Remember that. You. Are. Angry." Nodding at herself, she was just about to head out when an object in the corner of the mirror caught her eye. Turning around she found herself starring at Ty's hat, the hat that she had given him. The speech she just gave herself flew out the window as she continued staring at the hat. Memories, unbidden, sprang to her mind, and even though she tried, she couldn't suppress them. The day when she gave him that cowboy hat, the hours they spent training for the Fall Finale, the night of the Fall Finale...

The only thing that snapped her out of her memories was Lou's voice piercing through and popping the bubble that she had surrounded herself with.

"Amy! Where are you! Breakfast is ready!"

"Coming!" Amy called, casting one last look at the hat before grabbing her own and walking out of the room.

"Finally!" exclaimed Lou as Amy walked into the kitchen, "I thought you might have fallen and hit your head or something with the amount of time it took you to get ready this morning." She finished as she spooned freshly scrambled eggs and bacon onto an empty plate.

"No such luck Lou," replied Amy as she grabbed the food that was thrust at her. She pulled a chair out from the kitchen table and sat down, breathing in the smell of the hot food.

"Be careful or you might inhale it by accident," joked Lou as she came and sat opposite Amy with her own bowl of porridge.

"Where's grandpa?" asked Amy, ignoring the comment as she started scooping the eggs onto her fork.

"Went out with Caleb to check the fences. That storm last night was brutal."

"What storm?" Amy asked confused, placing her fork on her plate, "I didn't hear any storm."

Lou shook her head in wonder at her sister, "I can't believe it didn't wake you up. The wind was so loud; Grandpa and I couldn't get back to sleep until it past." She finished as she scooped the last of her breakfast into her mouth. Getting up to place the bowl into the sink she continued, "I'm surprised you didn't hear it. You must have been in a really deep sleep."

The dream of Ty popped into Amy's head, "Yeah, must have," she murmured before taking a sip of juice.

"I'd better go out and check on the horses then," Amy said as she stood up to pass her now empty breakfast plate to Lou. She was about to head on out when Lou stopped her.

"Amy! Wait." She said, stepping away from the filling sink. Amy stopped and turned back, her eyebrows lifted in question.

"Don't forget that horse that's coming round this morning."

"What horse?" Amy asked, her mind a complete blank. It was taking all of her effort not to continue thinking of him.

"You know?" Lou said, an exasperated look crossing her face. "That mare Mr Bruce is bringing round for you to rehome."

A light bulb clicked in Amy's head at the mention of the name. She remembered the call from Mr Bruce about this horse he just bought only a month or two ago that, because of unforseen financial circumstances he has to sell.

"I remember," Amy said, thinking of the conversation they had over the phone, "he needs to rehome her but it's proving more difficult than he thought."

Lou nodding, indicating that she got it right.

"Yes," she confirmed, "Mr Bruce said something about her escaping or something."

"Yeah, he told me that she keeps jumping fences and running away, as well as that she won't let anybody ride her, let alone tack her up."

"Well," Lou replied, "it looks like you got your work cut out for you and maybe it'll take your mind off..." Her sister suddenly cut herself off and turned away from Amy.

"Take my mind off what Lou?" Amy asked, suspicion lacing her thoughts. Lou hurriedly turned back to the dirty dishes, grabbing the washing liquid from below the sink. She didn't reply as she went about cleaning the dishes.

"Lou, take my mind off what?" Amy asked again, more forcefully this time, stepping closer to her sister. Lou paused before slowly turning to face Amy, with a look of steel on her face.

"To take your mind off Ty." She said bluntly, staring straight at her. In return the younger Fleming sister mentally flinched. She didn't realise that her feelings were that obvious. She had been trying so hard to forget them and him and get back to a relatively normal life.

"I have no idea what you mean," replied Amy, feigning ignorance. She wanted to storm off then and here but thought it might confirm Lou's suspicions, which she definitely didn't want.

"Oh come on Amy!" Lou said waving her arms about, "Everyone can see it! Ty's been gone a month already and you're still hurting! I just wish you would talk about it with me. I mean, I'm your sister. You know you can tell me anything."

"What do you want me to tell you Lou?" Amy shouted back. Her anger and loss getting the better of her, "That I think about him all the time? That every day when I walk into the barn, I expect to hear him moving about in the loft? Is that what you want to hear?" Tears sprung into Amy's eyes as the anger raged through her. Lou, immediately seeing the distress consuming her sister, sprang forward immediately and surrounded her in a hug.

"Shhh, it's going to be okay," whispered Lou into her hair as Amy struggled silently to get her emotions and tears under control. Amy, feeling the weight of the world on her shoulders decided to let her walls down. Fearing what she might think, she quietly told Lou about the dream.

"I saw him last night." Amy said, hiding her face into Lou's shoulder. Lou in reply continued to stroke her hair.

"Was it a dream or a nightmare?" Lou asked quietly. It took a second for Amy to answer, her mind and feelings sorting out the truth of the question. Taking a deep breath Amy replied,

"Both"

The girls were interrupted with the sound of a truck pulling into the yard. They reluctantly pulled apart as they heard a door slam shut and the sound of voices.

"You better get going." Lou said, completely disentangling herself from her sister and walking back towards the sink. Amy, mulling over what Lou had said before about taking her mind off of Ty, agreed that she was right, that she was going to dedicate herself to helping this mare 100% and stop herself from wallowing in the past. She was just about to head outside when a thought occurred to her. Turning back, she said to Lou:

"Do you want to come help?"

Lou stopped immediately what she was doing and smiled at her sister.

"Of course" she said, before stripping the apron she was wearing off, and flinging it over a chair.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world."

Authors Note: I didn't expect this chapter to be so sad, it just kind of happened. I decided to just go with the flow and see where it takes me. Despite the tears I shed over this chapter I hope you liked it, and don't worry, happier times are ahead!