Chapter 44: Talking Business
Thursday morning was a new experience for this fledgling family and caught them a bit by surprise. They knew they'd fall into a routine, but it was a little jumbled this first morning as they muddled through figuring out roles. Amy had always had lots of help before, so with just two adults to carry out all the duties, things were a bit different.
Lyndy awoke a little late because Amy forgot to be sure she was up since she was focused on getting their breakfast. Managing to have all the elements of breakfast ready at the same time was an all-new experience and was going to take a little time to master. Mitch had headed to the barn early to oversee the chores there and make Zeke and Charlie's assignments for the day. And since Amy had forgotten about talking to the school the day before about having the bus stop at Whispering Meadows for Lyndy's pick up, they needed to be absolutely sure to be out at the stop in time to hail the bus driver down. Lyndy couldn't decide which shoes to wear now that she had them all neatly on racks. There were more choices than she was used to seeing. Miraculously, they somehow all three got through breakfast together, got Lyndy out the door, and still were in time to stop the bus. In a way, it was a blessing because Amy was then able to let the driver know about what the pick-up/drop-off schedule would need to be in the near future. So that was one thing off the day's checklist.
Once the bus pulled away, as Mitch and Amy walked back toward the house, Amy said, "I'm sorry, Mitch. I should have thought further ahead for today. I think the first thing we need to do right now is to figure out a schedule so tomorrow goes more smoothly. I really want to learn how to be a better cook, but there's a lot to having everything ready at the same time. I'm sure I'll get better, but it was frustrating this morning."
Mitch could sense she was a bit frazzled, so they sat down and made a plan. He suggested, "Sweetheart, since I've had more experience in the kitchen, how about if we switch the chores during the week when we are needing to get Lyndy to school and are under a time crunch? You do the morning barn chores, and I'll take care of breakfast. Then on Saturday and Sunday, when things are a little more relaxed, I can help teach you how to cook until you feel more comfortable. Once that happens, we can re-evaluate, and decide the best way to divide things up."
Amy sighed with a look of relief on her face and said, "You'd do that for me?"
"Of course I would. I'd do anything for you!" Mitch sincerely replied. And then he added teasingly with a wink, "Within reason, of course."
She promptly leaned over to hug his neck and kiss him on the cheek. His response was to make it a real kiss! He relished the fact that there was no longer any holding back.
Mitch related to Amy the preparations he'd made the night before for their business meeting to happen today over lunch, wanting to be sure they were on the same page about everything. He told her that while he'd been with Zeke and Charlie earlier, he'd asked them if they had any reliable contacts that they thought might be looking for a job since they were going to need to hire at least two more hands in the immediate future. They said they'd think on it, but both had of a couple of guys that came to mind right away. He'd also told them that he wanted them to have some say because compatibility of working together would be important. He asked them to have the guys, and anyone else they might think of, to get their resume to him. Amy added a few of her thoughts and wishes, and after some good planning, they both felt more confident about heading into the meeting.
Mitch thought to himself that he'd watch closely how the coming days went, but he was contemplating that he and Amy might need to consider getting some help, especially once they hired a few more hands. There would be no way they could manage the cooking for the crew they'd have and still be able to manage the ranch and Serenity Stables. It would be something to discuss with Amy, once they got a few more things squared away. He didn't want all the extra needs to take away from Amy being able to continue doing what she loved and was so amazing at. And if Logan accepted Amy's offer to have him work with her and live in the barn loft, that would add him to the mix as well.
After they finished the business planning, Mitch made the call to find out about how the adoption process was coming along. He was most pleased to learn that it would be complete in time to fall in line with their plans for an adoption and stone-naming ceremony. They would need to go into town the next day to sign more paperwork.
While Mitch was on the phone, Amy called Clint to run her idea by him about Logan. His response was positive, and he let her know that there were a couple of the kids that Logan had been doing a great job training that he thought might be able to step up to fill his position. At the same time, he suspected Logan would still want to maintain some connection to the Centre.
After they were both off the phone, they shared the results of their calls. The adoption and naming ceremony would take some thought but shouldn't take a lot of time to plan. It dawned on Mitch they hadn't talked about including his parents.
"Amy, I just realized we've not discussed whether to invite my parents down for the ceremony. I'd really like to!" Mitch expressed.
"Hon, of course we should. And another thought just came to me since you mentioned them…because this was originally their home, shouldn't we include a stone for each of them?" Amy asked.
"I hadn't thought about that, but I love it, and I'm sure they'd feel really honored. I think it's a wonderful idea, but I also think it would be fun to surprise them with it."
"Oh, yes! That would be great!" Amy responded. "Shall we go ahead and call them now?"
"Sure! I think we have time before we need to leave," Mitch answered.
They got Doc and Ginny on the phone and told them about the adoption ceremony and stone-naming idea and invited them to join them whenever was convenient for them that weekend, letting them know they were welcome to stay over as long as they wanted. They were excited about the plans and being asked to be included in the ceremony. They said they'd probably come Saturday afternoon and maybe head back Monday morning. Mitch and Amy also decided that they'd mention the plan to the rest of the family after their business meeting.
They washed up and made their bed together. Amy checked on Lyndy's room and made her bed and straightened things for her since she'd been in a rush. They'd have to work on that, but she was sure they'd hit a good routine soon. They just needed time to adjust.
With immediate needs accomplished, they left in time to stop by the Equestrian Centre for Amy to talk with Logan. Several kids were there now, and from what Clint relayed, all seemed to be doing quite well. A new overseer had been hired and was doing a great job with the kids. When Mitch and Amy pulled up, they could see Logan through the open barn door. Mitch waited outside while Amy went in to ask Logan if they could go for a walk, that she had something she wanted to talk to him about. He needed just a minute to wind up what he was doing, but he said, "Sure."
Amy joined Mitch outside to wait for Logan to come out. When he did, they began to walk.
"So what did you want to talk to me about?" he asked.
"Logan, we have a proposition for you. You know that Mitch and I are just starting to build up my business at Serenity Stables. I want to ask you if you would consider coming to help me as my official Assistant? And to make it easier, if it's something you would like and feel comfortable with, we have a nice room in the loft above the barn, similar to what we have at Heartland, just not quite as nice, but it is brand new. You would be welcome to live there with free room and board and an adequate salary until we could afford to pay you more. If you still wanted to stay involved a few hours with the Centre, that could be worked out, too. We'd also be sure you still have time to continue your college classes. It would give you a chance to be more on your own, but still very much a part of our new family. Will you think about it?"
Logan was not sure he was hearing correctly, but a big smile spread across his face. This was beyond anything he'd let himself imagine – to have the opportunity to continue training under Amy more directly and consistently – he knew he would love and welcome that!
"Mitch and Amy, I'm not sure what to say! Thank you for believing that much in me. And I don't have to think about it. I would love to expand the time working with you! However, as you suggested, I would want to keep a foot in the door with the Centre if we can work that out. I do owe a lot to it."
Amy acknowledged, "Logan, I'm glad you want to keep a connection with the Centre. It is near and dear to my heart, of course, too. It's all still a work in progress, and there would be details to hash out with your work here at the Centre to make the transition, but we'd love to have you! We are actually heading to Heartland right now to talk through some of the business details for the ranch and Serenity. We have plans to merge Whispering Meadows and Heartland Beef, and Mitch will be the COO. So we are going to be facing a lot of changes. It will give me great peace of mind to know that you will have my back where Serenity is concerned."
"Amy, it will be an honor. Just let me know when you're ready for us to talk with the Centre to work out the details. I'll be there!" Logan happily replied. "I'd better get back to work, but again, thank you both so much for your confidence in me! See you later!" Logan said, giving Amy a hug and shaking Mitch's hand; then he turned to head back to the barn with a new bounce in his step.
As Mitch and Amy walked back to the truck, she smiled as she joyfully commented, "Well that went even better than I expected!"
Mitch side-hugged her drawing her close as he kissed her cheek and said, "I would have expected no other answer. He knows when he's got a good thing. And you're the best!" to which Amy responded by hugging him back.
Their arrival at Heartland found the new business venturers already feeling positive and excited about all that was to come. Peter had gotten off smoothly to Vancouver, and Lisa and Lou had a simple, tasty lunch awaiting them as they gathered around the table to discuss details. Tim expressed that he would like to be able to devote more time to his rodeo school, and all agreed he needed to do that. Though Jack would stay involved as much as he wanted to, he knew that a time was coming in the future that he'd need to step back some, so they did see the need to hire more help. It was agreed to start with two new hands and see how things went as to whether more would be needed, and Mitch let them know they had space in the bunkhouse to house them.
When Jack heard that, he asked, "What are you going to do about feeding them?"
"Well, up to this point, Zeke and Charlie have been taking care of their own meals, but with adding more hands, that is something I've been thinking about," Mitch replied. "On our way over, Amy and I spoke with Logan about becoming her official Assistant at Serenity Stables and living in the barn loft. He accepted, so we will also be providing room and board to him. My thought is that we may need to hire a cook. We could pretty easily turn a portion of one of the side porches into a room with a bath for their living quarters. I was hoping maybe we could find someone who needed the job that we could mutually help by providing them room and board as partial exchange for their service. We'd still need to provide some salary, but it would be more feasible with providing them a place to live." Then Mitch turned to Amy, "Hon, I'm sorry, we haven't even talked about this; it's just something I've been thinking about. How would you feel about that?"
Amy actually looked a bit relieved and responded, "I think that could be a great help! Since I'm not that experienced at cooking and still learning, and cooking for a large number consistently feels extremely overwhelming, I would welcome the assistance. I guess we've got some advertising to do, unless one of you already know of someone that might be a possibility?"
Lou said, "Well, let's all keep our ears open in addition to maybe taking out an ad for a time to see who turns up. I can also keep my ear to the ground anytime I'm at Maggie's. I can help you with getting the ad running."
"Thanks, Lou. We'd appreciate that," Mitch answered.
"Mitch, if you need some help with adding that additional room, let me know. I'd be willing to help," Jack volunteered. Tim also chimed in that he'd help as much as he could.
Mitch had heard stories about the remodeling of the Heartland loft, so he wasn't sure just how that might turn out, but he didn't say anything other than, "Thanks for the offer. I'll let you know." But he was thinking it might be better to ask his parents to come down for a while again. After all, he could also use the help for when he started on the indoor arena. 'I'll talk with Amy about this later,' he thought to himself.
Tim needed to take off for the rodeo school, so he said his goodbyes. Jessica helped Lisa get the dishes done. Amy helped Jack with some of the barn chores while Lou and Mitch met about the books. Mitch felt pretty confident after looking them over, and he also saw some improvements he mentioned that he could make to streamline a few things and improve their profit margin. Lou was impressed with Mitch's business knowledge. She wondered why she'd never really noticed it before. In fact, when she thought about it, there was a lot she'd never learned about Mitch. She wondered, 'Have I done the same thing with Peter?' In that moment, she decided to be more aware and ask more questions about him, thinking even though they'd known each other for years now, maybe she needed to take more interest in finding out his likes and dislikes and things he was interested in. She thought, 'Perhaps I need to listen more.'
When Mitch and Lou finished going over the Heartland Beef finances, Amy joined them to go over the books for her business and to talk about the website. Mitch again saw some improvements he could make, but he held back saying anything, not wanting to make Lou feel he was criticizing how she'd been doing the finances, and there was really no reason to. Then they moved on to the website. Amy had emailed Lou the logo ahead of time, so they all sat down together and spent some time transitioning it from Heartland to Serenity Stables. Lou was good at making it attractive, professional, and appealing. Amy paid close attention to learning more about the technical side of maintaining it, and she was growing in her confidence, especially since she'd have Mitch's help when needed. They were able to send emails out from the website to all the past clients to let them know about the new name and location and that Amy was open for business. They updated it on several social media sites, and it didn't take long before the site was already getting hits.
Everything was new and exciting, but Lou couldn't help feeling a tinge of sadness at how quickly things were changing, even though she knew it was all for the best. At the same time, it did her heart good to see how happy Mitch and Amy were! She'd always felt bad about how things had ended with her and Mitch, and she was glad to see he had found true happiness, and especially that it could be with Amy. They both deserved it.
When all the business was completed, Mitch and Amy let the family know about the adoption status for Lyndy and invited everyone for Sunday week to have an adoption ceremony at their house. They told them they'd like to carry on the stone-naming tradition with their family and their own fireplace and would like to do that at the same time. They also added that Doc and Ginny would be joining them. The family was delighted with the idea, were looking forward to seeing the Cuttys again, and all agreed to pitch in for a family potluck!
Jack pulled Lisa aside and mentioned that the idea had also reminded him that they needed to add some stone names to their hearth – those of Tim, Jessica, and Mitch. So they decided they'd invite everyone for Sunday dinner the following weekend after Mitch and Amy's get together and surprise them all with the ceremony.
About the time all planning was accomplished, the door slammed, and Lyndy and Katie came in chatting about school. Lyndy was excited to see her parents again and ran to give them hugs and kisses. Then she sought out Lisa, hugged her and exuberantly expressed, "Gram Lisa, thank you so much for my pony and dog stuffies! I love them! They ate with us last night and slept with me in my new bed. Mama loved my new room! Thank you again for helping me make it so special!"
"Missy May, you are so very welcome. I had so much fun doing it with you! And I thought you might need an additional friend or two at your new home," Lisa responded, very pleased at Lyndy's exuberance.
Mitch and Amy started to talk about heading home, but Lisa suggested, "I know you are both still recovering a bit from your traveling and all the hustle and bustle of getting back into a routine. I was planning to make a simple spaghetti dinner for tonight. Why don't you stay? We can eat early, and if Lyndy has any homework, you can help her with that while I get the meal ready. Then you'll be able to turn in for an early night when you get home if you want."
That actually sounded good to Mitch and Amy, so they agreed to stay for dinner. And Lou said, "Lisa, let me help you, and we can get it ready in no time."
Jessica added, "I'll help, too!"
"Thanks, I'd appreciate that," Lisa responded.
Mitch helped Lyndy with her homework while Jack and Amy got some time to sit on the porch together.
"Amy, how's it going?" Jack asked.
"Oh, Grandpa, I couldn't be happier! There are some adjustments to go through. We had a bit of a rough time with getting Lyndy to school this morning because of lack of planning, but Mitch and I now have a good plan. He is so thoughtful, Grandpa. And he is so good with Lyndy!"
"Well, that doesn't surprise me. I always knew there was something very special about Mitch. I'm so very happy for you, Honey…for all three of you!"
Amy scooted over into the crook of her grandpa's arm. He drew her close, and they just enjoyed sitting quietly together till they were called in for dinner.
Tim arrived just as they were beginning to be seated, and the family had an enjoyable time conversing on various topics at the dinner table. Everyone did their part in clearing the table, and Mitch, Amy and Lyndy said their goodnights to head home.
When Lyndy got to Jack, he picked her up. She hugged and kissed him as she whispered in his ear, "GG, I love you!"
"Well, I love you, too, Punkin!" It was obvious she was kind of missing her GG, and he was missing her, too!
On the drive back to Whispering Meadows, Mitch brought up the idea of asking Doc and Ginny to come back for a while to help with adding on the extra room, and if they were able to stay that long, to help with the enclosing of the arena. He suggested they plan on starting it all around the third week in May. Amy welcomed the idea, and she suspected they would be happy to spend time with Lyndy again.
Once they arrived home, Mitch went to check on the animals, and Amy suggested to Lyndy, "Let's you and Mama pick out what you'll wear in the morning so you can have everything ready to go, and things won't feel so rushed for you tomorrow."
"Ok, Mama, I'd like that! It was kind of hard this morning," she admitted.
When they walked into her room, Lyndy smiled and said, "Thank you for straightening my room and making my bed, Mama."
"You're welcome, Sweetheart, and if we get things ready tonight, that should give you time to be able to do those things in the morning for yourself. Doing this each night will always make the morning easier."
Lyndy smiled proudly as she liked the feeling of being responsible for her new room. It somehow made her feel more 'grown-up.'
They made preparations for the next day…laying out her outfit, making sure she had everything she needed in her backpack, including her homework, and choosing which shoes she'd wear. Then they started getting ready for bed. Amy was helping Lyndy brush her hair when they heard Mitch come back in. Lyndy called down, "Daddy, will you come up to help Mama tuck me in?"
Mitch was washing up and hollered back, "On my way!" Then he bounded up the stairs.
Lyndy got her stuffies situated and propped herself up in bed. Mitch and Amy looked at each other and non-verbally communicated that since it was still a little early, they had time to address the concern Lyndy had hinted at in her prayer the night before.
Amy began, "Lyndy, Mama and Daddy want to ask you something. When you prayed at dinner last night, you seemed worried about us having been gone for so long and getting back home safely. Is that something that was worrying you while we were away?"
Lyndy put her head down and fingered the sheet as she hesitated to answer. She finally looked up and said, "It was ok the first few days when Uncle Shane, Georgie, Jeff and Quinn were here, but the longer you were gone, I was afraid something might happen to you like it did Da-da."
Amy had suspected something like this, though it made her sad to hear Lyndy voice it, and she confessed, "Sweetheart, it wasn't until recently that it dawned on Mama that you saw Da-da when he collapsed. I'm so sorry that it's taken me so very long to realize that is something you might have needed to talk about. What have been some of your feelings from seeing that happen?"
Lyndy thought for a moment, then she started to open up, "It scared me. I didn't understand what happened, and then Da-da just disappeared; he never came back. Then you told me he wasn't coming back. I didn't know what it meant to die. I kind of understood a little more when we went up on the mountain to spread Da-da's ashes, but I didn't understand why he had ashes. I really missed him, but Mama, you were so sad, I didn't want to bother you. I just tried to understand as much as I could," and Lyndy teared up a bit.
Amy took her in her arms and regretfully said, "Sweet girl, I am so sorry. Do you understand why Da-da died?"
Lyndy shook her head no.
"Well, do you remember when we were both hurt when that man shot the wolf and hit us instead?"
"Kind of."
"Well, we can talk about the details of why we got shot at another time, if you want to. But after it happened, we thought Da-da was ok and was healing up fine, only something very rare happened to him. He had a condition called Deep Vein Thrombosis. Those are big words for something called a blood clot. It's when a person's blood gets thick somewhere in their body because it's trying to heal a hurt place. It can happen after someone has had surgery like Da-da did. We don't know why, but sometimes a clot will break away from the hurt and get stuck, and sometimes it gets stuck in a person's lung. When it does, it keeps blood and oxygen from getting to the lungs. That's the part of our body that we breathe with. It would be kind of like when you are using a water hose and you step on it, and the water stops coming out. Well, there was a clot that formed in Da-da's body several days after his surgery, and it broke away. It kept blood from getting to his lungs like it was supposed to, and it caused him to stop breathing. That was what happened when he collapsed, and you saw him fall on the ground. If we can't breathe for too long, our body can't keep living. It happened so quickly that the doctors couldn't do anything to help him. But like I said, it is something that is very rare. And it wouldn't have happened to Da-da if it hadn't been for us getting shot. Does that help you understand better?"
"Yes, Mama," Lyndy answered. However, she still had a worried look on her face and added, "But could that happen to you, too, since you were shot?"
Amy's heart hurt, "Sweetheart, you don't need to worry about that. It would have already happened a long time ago if it were going to happen to me."
Lyndy looked very relieved, and then after a moment, she asked, "Mama, I know I have Mitch now for my Daddy, but is it ok that I still miss Da-da?"
Amy's countenance dropped, "Oh, Honey, of course it is. We will always miss him. It won't be all the time, like it was at first, but there will be many times that we will miss him. We don't know why what happened to Da-da happened, and it's something we may never know. But Daddy and I aren't planning to go anywhere anytime soon." Amy suddenly realized that she needed to talk to Mitch about the plan she and Ty had for Lyndy in case anything happened to them. She wanted to be sure he was ok with it, and they would need to update a will.
Mitch began to speak, "Lyndy, like your mama said, what happened to Da-da doesn't happen often at all. We never know exactly what life is going to bring us, and sometimes hard things happen. But lots of good things happen, too! We can't promise you that nothing bad will ever happen to any of us, but we will always be as careful as we can, yet at the same time, we'll still enjoy things that sometimes bring risks with them. And we will be there for each other as long as God blesses us with life on this earth. And no matter what comes our way, Mama and I will make sure you are taken care of. Also, just know that God is always watching over you. There's a scripture that I just thought of that might help you whenever you may feel afraid about anything. It's in Psalm 46. It says:
'God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we won't be afraid….'*
You can know that He is always there for you, whether we are together or apart. And you can take comfort in that."
"Thank you, Daddy. I'm so glad Mama and I have you in our family now. You make me feel safe," and she reached up to hug both their necks as they enveloped each other in a three-way hug of love and security.
They said prayers together, and Mitch and Amy kissed her goodnight as Amy tucked her in. This precious little girl turned onto her side, closed her eyes, and looked very much at peace, falling asleep in no time.
Mitch and Amy walked down the stairs holding hands. As they reached the bottom, Amy stayed on the bottom step and pulled Mitch back toward her, reaching out to hug him in a very strong embrace of emotion. When she found her voice, she said, "Darling, I'm so grateful for you! And like Lyndy, you make me feel safe. You have been a haven that drew me out of the desert I felt I was living in. Losing Ty was the hardest thing I've ever done…but once I gave myself permission, loving you has been the easiest," she proclaimed with tears in her eyes.
Mitch couldn't speak. Instead, he gently but passionately met her lips, expressing what he could not say in words. She responded in kind, and he picked her up and carried her to their bedroom.
A/N: * Psalm 46:1-2a from the World English Bible (WEB); name is trademarked and version is Public Domain.