Amy barely slept lastnight and ended up in the barn at 5:30am. She fed all the horses and checked all of their messages. There was no answer from the McSlade Farm yet so Amy made a mental note to call them again. She tried to keep her mind busy and decided to muck out all the stalls. By the time she had finished it was 7am. She checked her phone and found a text from Ty.

t- where r u?

a- In the barn meet me in the main house.

t-k

Amy walked into the main house and kicked off her boots. Jack and Peter were drinking coffee at the table while Lou cooked. Jack started to stand when she walked in.

"Good Morning. Do you want to help me feed the horses?"

Amy sat down next to Peter. "It's already done and all of their stalls are mucked out."

Jack sat back down and Ty walked in carrying Maddie. She had her thumb in her mouth and she was still in her pajamas. Ty passed Maddie to Amy and sat down next to them.

"Sorry she didn't want to get dressed."

Amy shifted Maddie to where she was facing the table. "It's fine. Sorry I forgot to leave you a note."

Lou handed them both coffee. "Amy did you hear from the McSlade farm?"

"Not yet I was going to try again after breakfast."

Lou nodded and handed Maddie a sippy cup of juice. Georgie came downstairs and sat down next to Amy. Maddie reached for her and Georgie settled her on her lap. They all ate breakfast and chatted about what needed done today. When Amy was done eating she excused herself and stepped out on the porch to call the McSlade farm. Again she got the answering machine.

"Hello this is Amy calling from Heartland again. I called you last night about . If you could call me as soon as you can I would really appriciate it."

She then called Scott who agreed to come over and check Emirate. Amy walked back inside and picked up Maddie.

"Are you ready to get dressed?"

Maddie smiled and scrunched up her nose. "No!"

Amy faked a sigh. "Ok then I guess you don't get to go riding today."

Maddie's eyes widened. "No, no I get dressed."

Everyone laughed at her and Amy carried Maddie out to her truck. She drove home and quickly changed Maddie into a long sleeve navy tee that said "Daddy's Girl" in silver writing, jeans, her brown cowboy boots and slid a navy bow headband on her head. When they got back to the main house Scott was just pulling in.

"Hey Amy!"

"Hi Scott."

Ty came out of the house and lead Scott into the barn. They went to Emirate's stall and Scott walked inside with Ty and started assessing him. Amy held Maddie and waited outside his stall. When Scott straightened up and started packing up his equitment Amy decided it was safe to speak.

"So how does he look?"

Scott came out of the stall and smiled. "Lucky you guys found him when you did. He seems healthy just needs to put on a few pounds. I'll run his blood but I don't think i'll find anything."

Amy breathed a sigh of relif. "Thanks Scott. I've called the McSlade farm twice but no one has answered."

Scott nodded. "Yeah I have that problem all the time. Usually you have to go there and talk to Sean yourself."

Amy nodded, "Ok i'll head over when I get a chance. I promised this little one she could ride today."

Maddie smiled and nodded. Ty walked out and kissed Maddie's cheek. After Scott left Amy tacked up Buster and led him out to the round pen. She fastened a helmut onto Maddie's head and set her on top of him. She sat up straight and put her feet into the stirrups. Amy let her ride for almost an hour and then put her down for a nap. Then Amy walked back outside and found Ty standing by her truck. He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him.

"How about I drive you over to the McSlade Farm and then we run errands together?"

Amy smiled and kissed him. "Sounds good."

She handed him her keys and hopped in. When they arrived at the McSlade farm Amy was shocked that it was the same place. Sean had really turned the place around. The feilds were filled with beautiful, healthy horses. They walked into the door marked office and found Sean sitting at his desk.

"Oh hello there."

Amy extended her hand. "Hi I'm Amy Borden from Heartland."

Sean shook her hand. "Oh yes i've heard all about the miracle girl."

Amy grinned. "Well I've been trying to get ahold of you. We found your horse Sir. Emirate."

Sean's eyes widened. "Well I guess I can get rid of the missing flyers. Where did you find him?"

Amy looked at Ty who nodded. "We were riding past the Mallen farm and I saw him in the field. He didn't look good and Mallen never has horses legally so we rescued him. We had Dr. Cardinal check him out this morning and he says he's fine but Ty had recognized him from the clinic."

Sean breathed a sigh of relief. "well thank God you found him he is an extremly valuable horse."

Ty placed his hand on the small of Amy's back. "You can come pick him up today if you want."

Sean stood up. "I'll go get the trailer right now."

Soon they were back at Heartland and Emirate was loaded in the back of Sean's trailer. Sean was standing by the side of the truck and handed Amy a check for $800.00.

"For the boarding and test. I can not thank you enough for finding him."

Amy smiled, "I'm just glad we found him before anything happened to him."

Sean nodded then drove away

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The few days later Amy took maddie to the animal clinic to drop off one of Ty's school books that he needed for that night. But when she carried maddie into the exam room she didn't see Ty or Scott. Amy looked at Maddie.

"Daddy's not here. I wonder where Daddy is."

Maddie looked around to but as soon as she saw Scott's cat she wanted to go pet it. So Amy set Maddie down and let her play with the cat. Amy heard voices coming from the back where the stables are. She cracked the door and listened making sure they were not with a client. Amy heard Scott's voice first.

"We have to do an autopsy but I bet you he was poisoned with pesiside poisoning. It's a cheap killer."

Amy heard Ty sigh. "It's a shame. If Amy and I had kept him at Heartland for a few more days maybe no one would have done this."

Amy opened the door a little further and saw dead in a stall. Amy quickly backed up and decided to make noise.

"Ty! Scott! Are you guys here?"

Maddie looked at her but didn't say anything. Ty quickly emerged from the back and shut the door. Amy could see the stress on his face but he hid it well and smiled.

"Hey girls."

Maddie ran over to him and he grabbed her and swung her into the air to kiss her head. He transfered her to his hip and kissed Amy. She handed him his book.

"Is this the right one?"

Ty set it on the exam table and nodded. "Yes Thanks. What have you girls been up to?"

"Not much we're just going to run some errands."

Ty nodded and rubbed Maddie's back. Amy decided to speak up.

"Are you ok? You look a little stressed."

Ty looked at her and forced another grin. "I'm fine. Just a little tired."

Amy tried to smile but she knew what she had seen. She was already forming a plan in her head and decided she needed one piece of information.

"So what time will you be home tonight?"

"Not until 11. I have class until 10:30."

Amy nodded and knew her plan would work. "Ok then Maddie and I can just eat at the main house and i'll leave you a plate."

"Sounds good."

Ty carried Maddie out to the truck for her and kissed them both goodbye. Amy stopped at Maggie's and bought a few things for tonight a flashlight, a pocket knife, and some bullets for Jack's shotgun. When Amy arrived back at the ranch she grabbed her grandpa's shotgon and made sure that it was loaded. She put it on the floorboard of her passenger seat and stuck the pocket knife and flashlight in the glove box. All through dinner she waited for the perfect time. At 10 o'clock Amy looked at Maddie and then Lou.

"Hey Lou would you mind if Maddie slept in Katie's room?"

Lou looked at her curious. "No, Why?"

Amy stood up and talked in Lou's ear. "Because Ty and I are thinking about baby number 2."

Lou looked at her. "Oh, umm yeah she can stay."

Amy felt kinda bad about lying to her but she shook the feeling off. So at 10:30 Amy took off in her truck. She prayed that she wouldn't pass Ty on her way. She parked her truck by the road and grabbed the flashlight and pocket knife and made her way onto Mallen's farm. She saw no signs of anyone living there. She went into the barn that she had seen the horse carcuss and looked. The carcuss was gone. Amy continued on and checked the shed were she had found Emirate. Again it was empty. She spotted the other horse barn in the back and decided to look inside. She opened the door and was shocked to see 2 horses. In the stall to her right was a bay mare. Next to her was a palamino stallion. Amy opened the mares stall door and took a look at her. She was pretty calm. But Amy soon realized that she was pregnant and on sight, about to foal. She looked at the stallion who was more spooked. Amy saw a few scars on him. She turned around and saw a very bloody stall and a horse skull.

"Oh my God."

She suddenly felt something hard hit the back of her head and then the room went black.

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Amy woke up still in Mallen's farm. She could hear men talking but neither sounded like Mallen.

"We have to kill her."

"Why maybe she won't remeber nothing and we can just dump her in a field."

Amy started to stand up quietly and she saw that the men were standing just outside the back door. Amy pulled her phone out of her pocket and snuck into the mares stall. She found texts from Ty, Lou and Malloru and missed calls from Ty, Peter, Jack and Tim. The last text was from Lou saying that they were going to call the cops. Amy quickly dialed Jack's number. It only rang once before her grandfather's voice rang through the phone.

"Hello?Amy?"

Amy whispered as quietly as possible. "Grandpa."

Amy heard him yell "It's her" before he spoke to her. "Where are you? We have been calling you for almost an hour. Ty is here worried sick."

Amy glanced at the door to make sure the men were still talking. "Grandpa I'm at Mallen's farm..."

"Mallen's place? Why are you there by yourself? And why are you whispering?"

"Because the guy who hit me over the head when he found me in the barn is right outside."

Jack's voice rose. "Someone hit you! What were you thinking going over there! Ty, Tim, Peter and I are coming now."

"Grandpa bring a horse trailer big enough for 2."

"Amy are you joking right now?"

"No Grandpa this mare is about to foal and there is blood everywhere. She's not staying here."

Jack sighed. "We'll be there with a trailer in 10 minutes. Can you get the horses out of the barn?"

Amy glance to where the guys were and then to the back door. "Maybe it will be close."

"Alright. I'm leaving now."

Amy put her phonbe back into her pocket and grabbed a nearby rope. She fastened it to the mares halter and started quietly leading her out. Amy was so shocked that the mare stayed so quiet. It was almost like she knew Amy was trying to help her. When Amy was outside she tied the mare to a nearby tree then went back inside. The men were still talking so Amy thanked God. But the stallion was spooked and started throwing his head back.

"Shh. It's ok."

She pulled a mint from her pocket and he settled Amy was just about out the door when one of the men spotted her.

"Hey!"

Amy quickly tied the horse with the mare then pulled the pocket knife out of her pocket. She held it up and the man took a step back. Amy looked him in the eye.

"These horses don't belong to you. Just like the McSlade horse wasn't yours."

"Oh that was you? Well maybe you need to get a man that will keep you in line and out of my business."

The other man came up next to his partner. Amy started to panic a little. She decided her best bet was to get to the horses. She darted out the back door and jumped onto the stallion. She grabbed the mares's rope and started off down the field towards her truck. the men were running after her and Amy knew the pregnant mare couldn't run much longer. Amy reached her truck, hopped off the stallion and pulled out jack's shotgun and pointed it at the men. One started towards her and Amy aimed the gun at his leg and pulled the trigger. he gasped and fell to the ground. His friend took off the other direction and ran as fast as he could from Amy. She saw headlights behind her and saw Tim, ty and Peter run from the truck. Ty ran faster looking panicked.

"Amy!"

Amy dropped the shotgun and threw herself at him and started sobbing. He rubbed her back while Tim grabbed the gun. Ty kissed her cheek then whispered in her ear.

"What were you thinking?"

She sniffled as she spoke. "I saw Emirate at the clinic. I knew they did it. I just wanted proof. I didn't think they would have other horses."

Ty sighed and hugged her tighter. As soon as Amy was calm Jack called the cops. They ruled it self defense and let Amy go. They loaded the stallion and mare into the trailer and went home. As soon as Amy walked through the door to the main house. She went into Katie's room and picked a sleeping Maddie up out of her playpen. Amy carried her into the living room, sat on the couch and started to cry again. She breathed in the scent of her daughter's hair. She felt Ty sit down next to her and pull them both into his arms. Amy rested her head on his shoulder and kissed his neck. She fell asleep that way.

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Amy woke up on the couch with Maddie tucked into her side and a blanket over them both. Amy's head was throbbing and her throat was dry. Maddie was starting to stir. The little girl sat up and looked around.

"Momma how we get here?"

Amy didn't answer. She kissed her forhead and picked her up. Amy carried maddie into the bedroom and changed her diaper making a mental note to start potty training her. When she was done she carried maddie into the kitchen to find Jack, Ty and Tim all awake drinking coffee. Maddie grinned when she saw Ty.

"Dada!"

Ty smirked and grabbed her. Amy pulled 2 tylenol out and quickly swallowed them and chased them with water. They all watched her. Amy sat down and braced herself.

"Go ahead."

Jack looked at her with his dissapointed eyes. "Amy i'm not going to tell you that what you did was stupid. You already know that."

Amy sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. She felt the bump on her head. "Mom would have done the same thing."

Tim suddenly snapped. "And that is what got your mother killed! Do you realize how close you came to joining her last night?"

Amy glared at him. "You don't have to remind me how Mom died. I was there remeber?"

Tim didn't let up. "Then you would think that you would not want to follow her."

Jack looked at him. "Tim let.."

Tim stood. "No Jack I won't let it go and I think Ty is with me on this one. Amy is a mother but last night she sure didn't act like one."

With that he walked out the front door. Amy turned to Ty. He was glaring at the table. Amy stared at him.

"Well do you agree?"

Ty looked at her. She knew he was angry. "Not completly. I think it was stupid, irresponsible, and dangerous."

"You know why I went and you would have done the same thing."

Ty sighed. "To be honest I was going to do the same thing. You just beat me to the punch."

Jack looked at both of them. "I probably would have too." He took Maddie from Ty then looked at Amy. "So did you find anything other then the 2 horses?"

"In one of the stalls there was a horse skull and a lot of blood. And when i was on the ground I saw a bucket of weed killer."

Ty set his mug down and looked at her. "That's what killed Emirate. Scott finished the autopsy last night."

Amy nodded. Lou walked into the kitchen and silently hugged her sister.

"Lou I..."

Lou waved her hands. "You don't owe me an explination. You're safe and that is all that matters." She grabbed a skillet and started grabbing things out of the fridge before turning to look at Amy again. "But I do want another niece or nephew."

Amy and Lou laughed while Ty looked confused. "Whta about us having another baby?"

Amy smiled. "Well I had to tell her something as to why I needed Maddie to stay her."

Jack and Ty laughed with them.

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