Chapter 33: New Year's Eve

Mitch decided to invite the clan to his house for New Year's Eve. He had a bit of an ulterior motive as a side advantage. He'd spoken with Lisa ahead of time, and they were hoping she could steal away long enough to take a look at the Master Bedroom and at the room that would be Lyndy's, get a feel for them and possibly take whatever measurements she might need to. That way, it wouldn't take any extra time away from her busy schedule.

Amy had helped Mitch plan the party, and they additionally invited Caleb, Cass and Carson to join them. Lyndy always enjoyed playing with Carson and watching over him like a big sister. Jade and Parker were invited as well, so it would be a fairly large group.

New Year's Eve Day arrived. Amy woke that morning with an unsettled feeling as she was in thought getting ready for the day. Around noon, all chores having been done at both properties, Amy came over for her and Mitch to make last minute preparations together. They pre-seasoned hamburger patties, made sure they had hot dogs, especially as an option for the kids, buns and condiments were ready to go, and the rest of the family were supplying side dishes and desserts. This kind of food planning and preparation was a little outside Amy's comfort zone without Lou or Lisa, but with Mitch by her side, they made a good team. She was learning. Mitch made sure they had plenty of charcoal and determined when he would need to start the fire. Ahead of time, Mitch had prepped the outdoor fireplace and pulled out his outdoor patio heaters from his workshop and set them up. This would allow the party to extend to the patio and make grilling more comfortable as well as having the additional outdoor space available for celebrating.

As they were planning, Mitch brought up to Amy that he was thinking maybe they should change the name of Saddle Road. He wanted the name to better describe it being their ranch together. Amy was touched by Mitch's most thoughtful idea and gesture of love. They'd have to give some thought to what would be best. Of course, Mitch had already been thinking.

He also told her how moved he'd been by being part of Lyndy's naming ceremony and her family's tradition of naming the stones in their fireplace. He asked her what she thought of starting their own family tradition of naming the stones in theirs? Again, he stirred her heart with such a beautiful idea! She admired how Mitch's mind seemed to always be thinking ahead and the heart he had for others. Amy knew she could learn much from him about loving people more thoughtfully – the way she loved animals.

As they worked together, they began talking about plans for the ranch. As the conversation progressed, Mitch could tell that something was weighing on Amy, so he asked her what was troubling her. Amy let him know she was struggling with her feelings about what to do about her business. Should she continue it at Heartland or move it to Saddle Road? It only seemed to make sense to move it, but if she did, how did she tell the family, and how was the change in income going to affect them? Mitch suddenly realized he'd been making some assumptions. He stopped what he was doing to give Amy his full attention.

"Amy, I'm sorry. I just assumed you were planning to move your business here. It was insensitive of me not to realize what a big move this is for you and that you would be struggling with it."

"Mitch, I appreciate that, but I don't want you to feel bad. What's happening with us is all wonderful! But yes, there are a lot of emotional ties I'm having to loosen or cut. You have been amazing in helping me through some really important ones already, but there are a lot of details still to be worked out regarding my business."

Mitch thought for a moment before he asked, "Amy, what do you want to do?"

She was quiet and in serious thought for a moment, and then answered, "I believe for us to have the very best chance at creating our life together, we need to have our lives focused here. I'm just not sure how to make the business transition."

"It sounds like we need to have a discussion with your family. Maybe if we put all of our heads together, we can come up with the best solution. What do you think?"

"That makes sense. But let's don't bring anything up tonight. Let's just enjoy all being together tonight."

"Agreed." Then studying Amy, he tried to get a read on her frame of mind, "Are you up to brainstorming names for the ranch right now?" hoping the change of subject would lighten her spirit.

As Mitch had put her mind at ease for the time being, she smiled at him and said, "I can tell you've been thinking. Yes, let's hear what your ideas are and maybe it will bring some to mind for me as well," and they began to throw out possibilities.

Among the suggestions they came up with were Nature's Bridge, Natural Bridge, Healing Bridge, Healing Pathways, Healing Meadows, Peaceful Meadows, Whispering Meadows, Apollo Acres, Miracle Meadows, and Serenity Stables. Amy was reluctant to use "Miracle" as she'd always shied away from that title, but she really loved Whispering Meadows and Serenity Stables. Mitch also brought up that he wanted her to have all the facility she needed to continue her work, so he knew he needed to add to the barn. Once again, Amy felt so loved by how Mitch was constantly revealing how much he was thinking ahead to their life together. He said, "How about we name the ranch 'Whispering Meadows' and we call your business within the ranch 'Serenity Stables' and that can go up on the barn?"

"Mitch, that is perfect! I love that!"

"Then that settles it! I guess next, we need to think about what we want the logos to be. Who designed Heartland's logo?"

"Grandpa's sister, June, did. After she died, Grandpa found a drawing of it in her journal, and decided to use it in honor of her."*

"I'd not heard that story. That makes it mean even more," Mitch expressed reflectively.

"Yes, Grandpa had not shared the story behind it with us until a few years ago. We can think on the logo more, but I'm excited about the names we've come up with!" Amy said. They decided not to say anything about it to others until they'd been able to talk the business plans over with the family, and then had it all planned out and the signs hung. It would be a nice surprise to share when the time came.

"Sweetheart, maybe this next month, we can sit down together and draw up plans for remodeling and adding on to the barn. And if there's anything you want to change about the house, or rooms, anything at all, please let me know."

"Mitch, I love your house. I think it's perfect the way it is. I'm guessing Lyndy may want to make some changes to whichever room you want to be her's, but we can work on that after we are here, so no rush."

Mitch was glad she felt that way. It would make his and Lyndy's surprise all the sweeter since she wouldn't be expecting it. He wanted to take her into the Master bedroom so they could get an idea of where she'd like her things to go. On the way there, Amy stopped and saw that Mitch had already hung the memorial to Ty, and next to it, she saw the painting from Ty in a beautiful gray wooden frame that had intricate western style carving.

"Oh Mitch! This frame is absolutely flawless! Did you do this?"

Mitch responded with a big smile under Amy's praise and humbly nodded his head. "Mitch, you are so talented! Ty would be so pleased!" Amy said as she held back tears starting to form.

"I was hoping you would notice that I had finished the projects. I talked to Lyndy on our skating trip about her thoughts on which place we should hang it, and she said the hallway so that anyone who visits us that 'knew Da-da can see the beautiful gift' that I made for you. It was so sweet! You're raising a most thoughtful daughter, Amy!" Amy leaned in and wrapped her arms around his neck stretching upward to plant a gentle, appreciative kiss on his cheek. That was all Mitch needed to know she felt his love.

"And I know that you will help me continue to do that!" she said confidently. Mitch felt bolstered at her faith in him.

As they came into the Master bedroom, Amy noticed the extremely well-made bed – squared corners and not a wrinkle to be seen, again reflecting Mitch's background. She felt excited as they planned together, yet she really didn't have much that would need to be brought over other than clothes, toiletries, and her few mementos. The bigger move would be her things from the barn. Thinking to herself as she considered what would be needed, any of Lyndy's baby things were in the Quonset hut and could be brought over if – hopefully when – the need ever arose for them, and the only other real piece of furniture she owned was Ty's chair.** It didn't seem appropriate to bring it with her. She made the decision right then as she thought about it to leave it with the loft. That was where it belonged. Perhaps at some far point in the future, Lyndy might want it. She would ask Jack and her dad to be sure it was well-taken care of.

Amy loved the rich wood of the bedroom suite Mitch had and the masculine feel of the room, yet she knew there might be a few feminine touches she could add here and there to make it more their own. Maybe she'd ask Lisa for help with that.

"Mitch, I really love your bedroom suite! I've always favored rich, darker wood in furniture. It's beautiful!"

'Note to self: don't change the bedroom suite,' Mitch thought. He was especially glad since the bed was extra-long to fit his tall frame. "I'm so glad you like it," he answered.

They lingered a little longer, both distracted with their own thoughts of a first night together in the room that would soon be theirs, but a timer going off in the kitchen suddenly brought them back to reality. They'd better complete the last-minute tasks to get ready for the evening.

Amy helped Mitch with some light chores around the ranch before time for the party. They both enjoyed the anticipation of that becoming a part of their daily routine. Every once in a while, they'd catch each other taking quick moments to gaze at the other dreaming of those future moments of married life and would grin at each other coyly at getting caught.

As soon as Mitch and Amy got washed up from chores, guests started to arrive one-by-one. Lisa brought popcorn balls for the kids, though she'd made plenty as she knew the adults would indulge as well. Lou, with Katie's help, had prepared a wonderful green salad with all kinds of delicious, healthy ingredients. Caleb and Cass brought queso and a veggie tray; Jade brought salsa, chips and dip; Parker brought Chex Mix; various drinks were in a couple of coolers; and Jessica brought Crème Brûlée for everyone for dessert, much to Mitch and Amy's excited delight! It was a wonderful hodge-podge, potluck meal to be enjoyed by all!

Amy wanted to show off some of Mitch's projects he was working on, so Mitch saw the opportunity to give Lisa the nod to check out the rooms. He'd told her ahead of time which one upstairs Lyndy had secretly picked out when Mitch was able to steal her away for a few moments when they'd been there for the 'taffy-pull.' She'd chosen the one closest to the stairs. So Lisa sneaked away to get an idea of how she'd need to plan and take a few measurements for drapes, etc. and decide on how much paint she might need for Lyndy's room. Since her room would be on a different level of the house from Mitch and Amy's, she wanted to be sure to create an atmosphere where Lyndy would feel especially at home and secure and a place she would enjoy spending time. And when she looked over the Master, she thought smiling to herself, 'Oh, and besides the dressing table, I need to order some extra-long satin sheets.'

Everyone was quite impressed with Mitch's work and really loved his workshop. Several expressed that they might be giving him some orders for projects they'd like him to do for them. In all the bustle of so many people within the workshop, Lisa managed to return before Amy even noticed she'd been gone. As everyone finished looking over the projects, they began to move toward the door. The guys began the grilling, and much visiting and enjoyment of each other carried through the rest of the night. Mistletoe had been hung here and there, and each couple found themselves taking a turn under it. Lots of candid shots were captured throughout the evening. As people excused themselves at various times to take 'nature breaks,' they were able to catch sight of the beautiful gifts Mitch had hung in the hallway. For a few, it was the first time they'd seen them. Caleb was particularly touched and shed a couple of tears as he took them in. He also became more and more impressed and at peace with Mitch's love for Amy.

Carson grew tired around 8:30 and was sleeping soundly on a love seat. Mitch noticed Lyndy getting sleepy by around 10pm, so he went over to her and asked if she'd like to go inside for him to read her a story. Amy noticed them heading inside. She followed to peek in and saw Mitch and Lyndy sitting cuddled up on the couch as he was reading to her from Black Beauty. It wasn't long before Lyndy's eyelids became too heavy to stay open, and she leaned her head against Mitch, relaxed, and fell peacefully asleep. He gently lifted her to carefully lay her on the couch and covered her with a nearby throw as he kissed his fingers and softly touched them to her smooth, angelic cheek and stood staring at her innocence for several moments. Amy's heart warmed at the endearing sight. Mitch happened to look up at that point and caught Amy's eye as they sent a loving message to each other in their gaze.

As the clock neared midnight, party noise makers and blow-out whistles were passed around along with sparklers and the count-down began. Someone had started music playing, and everyone began to pair off to dance. Mitch made sure to 'dance' him and Amy underneath some mistletoe, and as the grandfather clock nearby struck midnight, he took Amy into his loving embrace, lifted her off the ground and sweepingly kissed her into the New Year. As he sat her down and gazed down into her adoring face, he said, "Happy New Year, my angel – the year we become Mr. and Mrs. Mitch Cutty!" and Amy tightly returned his embrace as they swayed back and forth welcoming their year!

A/N: *June's journal and the Heartland logo are referred to in Heartland Season 13, Episode 4.

** Ty's chair – Heartland, Season 9, Episode 11.