Chapter 17: Redemption

The next morning, Jack found Tim in the barn. "What was up with you last night?"

"What do you mean?"

"It seemed like you were trying to get under Mitch's skin."

"Well, Jack, why do you think he's here? Can't you see he's just using Amy to get what he wants…a piece of Heartland?"

"Oh, for Pete's sake, Tim! That's the stupidest thing I ever heard! You should know Mitch better than that by now. In fact, if things go well for him and Amy, I was thinking of asking him to join us again."

"See, that's exactly what he wants!"

"Tim, you are absolutely wrong about this. And if you pursue this with Mitch, you will put a wall between you and Amy. You'd better think twice about it."

They didn't know, but Lou had come out to find Grandpa and overheard the conversation. She was really disappointed in her dad. She needed some time to think about what to say, but she knew she would talk to him about this before he ended up hurting Amy. Jack headed out of the barn, and Lou pretended to have just gotten there. They turned back toward the house together. Lou hung back a little as Jack went into the house, and she saw Mitch drive up. He stopped at the barn first to see if Amy was already there, and Lou saw her dad corner Mitch when he got out. Fortunately, Amy was still inside the house. If he was talking to Mitch, she knew she needed to say something to him before it got any worse.

Tim immediately started grilling Mitch and accusing him of using Amy to get what he wanted. Mitch felt blindsided. As Lou walked up, she heard Mitch say, "You really don't believe that do you? I already have a ranch. Why would I want a piece of Heartland?"

About that time, Mitch saw Lou walking up as she told him that Amy was in the house. Mitch looked at her with gratefulness for rescuing him as he turned to go find Amy. Lou grabbed her dad by the arm and pulled him into the office. "Dad, what are you doing?!"

"What do you mean? What are you talking about?" Hearing voices raised, Jessica had started down the stairs and overhead Tim and Lou talking. She stopped in her tracks as she listened.

"Look, I heard you talking to Grandpa about Mitch. How could you even think that about him?!"

"Honey, don't you see? He couldn't get what he wanted with you, so now he's just using Amy for his own selfish gain."

"Dad!" she yelled angrily, then caught herself, "Look, I appreciate that you are concerned about Amy."

"Lou, how are you ok with this? He hurt you, too."

"Dad, for your information, I was the one that called off our engagement, not Mitch. And after talking about it some afterward, we both realized we were on different paths with what we wanted. Amy and I have talked through all this, and we are both ok with it. And so are Mitch and Peter. Amy is the happiest I've seen her since Ty's death. Do you want to destroy that? And after you've worked so hard to win us both back, do you want to risk alienating Amy from you? Mitch is a really good guy, one of the best! He and Amy are suited for each other way more than he and I ever were. And frankly, I'm happy that there's still a chance for him to be a part of our family. And didn't you see him with Lyndy last night? Or were you suspicious of his motives there as well?"

Tim was speechless at Lou's reaction and fell into the chair behind him placing his head in his hands. What Lou was saying was beginning to get through to him. 'Why am I so suspicious? I've already proven Mitch once,' as he recalled the talk they'd had when they were stacking the hay back when he and Lou started dating. He started to realize he'd let suspicion creep in again. He loved Lou and Amy so much! He just wanted the best for them. But had he let that cloud his judgement where Mitch was concerned? He finally looked up at Lou, ashamed.

"Lou, I'm so sorry. I don't know why I let suspicion get the best of me. And in looking back, I now realize that I've run hot and cold with Mitch from the beginning, and that's not been fair. Obviously, you and Amy hold him in high regard. And now that I think about it, I guess everyone in the family does as well. I think I owe him an apology."

"I think you're right."

Upon hearing his admission, Jessica was hurting for Tim, but at the same time, she was really proud of him for finally realizing what he'd been doing. And she was proud of Lou for standing up to him. She wanted to be there to support him through this and felt it was good she'd overheard their exchange.

Tim got up and hugged Lou as she said, "I love you, Dad. And I'm proud of you."

"I love you, too, Honey. And thank you for telling me the truth." They hugged each other again before Lou started back for the house.

Jessica slowly came down the stairs and went into the office to find Tim sitting at the desk in deep concentration. She came up behind him and wrapped her arms around him and inquired, "You ok?"

He turned his head to look up at her and admitted, "Not exactly."

She came around to sit on the desk beside him.

"I just did a really stupid thing," Tim said dejectedly.

"I accidentally heard. I heard you and Lou talking."

"Jessica, I thought I'd gotten better about not making stupid mistakes. I nearly blew it with Amy and Mitch. And I really don't know why I had it in for him."

"Well, it's definitely not your everyday family situation of someone dating your daughter."

"Yes, but even so, Mitch has been around our family for several years, and I know his character. It was wrong for me to jump to the conclusion that I did."

"I'm sure it's not too late. If you apologize, I'm sure he'll forgive you."

"Yes, I need to do that as soon as I can find the best time. Maybe you can help me figure that out?"

"Tell you what, why don't I fix a nice dinner, and we'll invite Mitch and Amy over, and you could do it then." Tim liked that idea… 'If Mitch will come.'