Chapter 41: Meanwhile at Heartland

During the week that Mitch and Amy had been in Nashville, Heartland had been abuzz. All the Cutty family left to head back home after the reception. Shane had a wonderful weekend continuing to get reacquainted with his family, and he and Lyndy especially bonded. She was thrilled to have another uncle besides Peter, and she took full advantage of every moment she could with him. As she'd mentioned to Mitch and Amy on their call, they'd ridden horses together on Sunday, and they practiced roping that afternoon. Shane was pleased that the roping Tim had taught him seemed to come back to him naturally.

Jeff enjoyed his time with Georgie. It had been quite a while since they'd seen each other, yet they had more in common now that they were older. Jeff had been glad to have the chance to get to know Quinn since he and Georgie seemed to be quite serious about each other. He was happy she had found a good man. He was still searching for that special someone, but he knew she had to be out there.

Lyndy got up early Monday morning to be sure she got to tell everyone goodbye before she had to leave for school. Shane walked with her to catch the bus. Lyndy slipped her little hand in his as they made their way, plus he received an extra special hug from her as he bent down to her level. She pulled back with her arms still around his neck and said, "Uncle Shane, just be sure you bring Chloe with you next time so we can meet her."

He smiled at that and replied, "I will do my best, as long as we can both get off work. You have a good week at school now."

"I'll do my best," she said mimicking Shane. "And you have a safe plane ride…and a pretty wedding!"

Then she kissed him on the cheek before heading to the bus. She stopped on the bottom step of the doorway to turn and wave to him. In just over a week, he'd fallen in love with that little girl.

After breakfast, Shane said his goodbyes. Tim shook his hand and held his shoulder as he told him, "Please don't make yourself scarce. It's been so great to have you back for a while," then he pulled him into a father-son embrace.

Lou had a tear in her eye as she hugged him. She and Tim both felt a tinge of sadness that they hadn't tried harder to keep up with Shane through the years, but it was great for him to be reconnected again with the whole family.

When Jeff told Georgie goodbye, he let her know how proud he was of her. They pledged to stay in closer touch and expressed how glad they were to have had the time together. Then he and Shane shared a cab to catch a late morning flight.

Georgie and Quinn spent the morning with the family. Before leaving, as she hugged Peter and Lou, she expressed to them how good it was to have them back together, and she was so happy they were making plans to finally have one home base. They left right after lunch to catch their flight. It was hard to let them go, but everyone was so happy for the joyous occasion that had brought them all back together.

After dinner Monday evening, Lou and Peter had a further conversation with Katie, as they both wanted to talk with her before Peter had to return to Vancouver the next day. He planned to be back on the following Tuesday for a few days. The idea of beginning to live in the same place was not an easy fix, but Peter and Lou knew they needed to quit trying to live their lives long distance. Even though they'd managed to put their marriage back together, the traveling back and forth was getting old. Since the school year was nearing an end, Peter began by assuring Katie that nothing would change for her in the immediate future when he said, "You know, Sweetheart, we don't even know yet just how long it will take your mom to get things up and running in Vancouver. So I'm pretty sure nothing would even have a chance of changing for you until the Fall."

Lou added, "Perhaps you can plan to spend a week or two during the summer in Vancouver, and we could check out the schools and some of the places kids your age would hang out to see if you might feel better about moving there until you finish High School. Even though you've been there periodically, we've never really looked at the schools, and you'll likely have a lot of opportunities there that you don't have in Hudson. And we can always talk to Grandpa and Lisa about the possibility of you spending the summers, and maybe even breaks, here, if you'd like that?"

"I'd like for you to do that," she replied thinking of how much closer she'd grown to GG and Lisa over the last year or so.

Lou knew that Katie starting to think about it at the time of year they were in would give her a little while to adjust to the idea. They thought they detected a little bit of a crack in the door to some possible acceptance on her part.

The next day after Peter left, Lou began taking the first steps to explore the possibility of opening a Maggie's in Vancouver. She knew she'd have a lot of prep work to do in Vancouver, but to start with, she approached Jessica to see what she would think about taking on management of the dude ranch and Maggie's in Hudson. Jessica was pleasantly surprised and totally open to it. She felt honored that, with all they'd been through in the past, Lou would entrust her with the responsibility. It also made Jessica feel like she might finally have a role in the family.

Mid-week, Jessica and Lou spent some time at the Dude Ranch deciding where to build the additional cabin and possibilities for it.

"You know, if we built it as a duplex, it would give us even more guest rooms. What do you think?" Jessica suggested.

"I think that's a great idea! We could even add a shared bathroom, and charge more than the other cabins for the additional indoor accommodation," Lou added.

"I'll get right on checking into getting bids from contractors," Jessica responded.

They also discussed Maggie's and decided for now that things would go on as they were, at least until the cabin could be finished. Then they might think about whether any changes or improvements were in order for the cafe. Lou would start the ball rolling with putting in the paperwork for the permits they'd need for the cabin, and Jessica would start working on drawing up draft plans to show to the contractors she sought bids from.

Jack and Tim had assessed their herd, and then took a day to ride the property at Whispering Meadows with Zeke and Charlie to assess Mitch's herd so they'd have a better idea of just what their partnership assets would look like. Tim had to admit he was feeling differently about the partnership this time around and was looking forward to the addition. And of course, Jack was thrilled to have the opportunity with Mitch again! They were impressed with Zeke and Charlie, as they seemed to really know their stuff, and from what they could tell, both had a great work ethic. Of course, they realized, just as Mitch had, that they were going to need to have more help with combining the two herds.

Throughout the week, Katie began to explore online the high schools in Vancouver, especially checking out the ones closest to Peter's condo. One day, she and Logan were talking, and she opened up to him about some of the things she was feeling.

"Logan, thank you for being such a good friend. It means a lot. It seems like, other than you and Parker, I've not had any really close friends. All my life, I've spent time here and there…New York with mom, Vancouver with dad, Heartland in between, so much back and forth. It's been hard to feel settled and like anywhere is really home, you know?"

"I get it, Katie. I can relate in many ways. So how are you feeling about the possibility of moving to Vancouver?" Logan asked.

"Don't get me wrong. I'm really happy that Mom and Dad are back together. It's just hard to once again be facing change. I guess I should be used to it by now. But it felt like I was just starting to feel settled here, and now, it will be changing again. I have been starting to check out the schools. You know how I've been interested in writing? I think I may have found one that would allow me to get more involved in that. So maybe it won't be so bad. And if all goes as planned, I should actually be able to be in one place long enough to make some friends," she speculated.

"Well, I for one will really miss you being around. But at least you'll be back for visits," Logan said hopefully.

"You can count on it! And, I should at least have the summer before anything happens."

Later in the week, Lou reviewed the books for Heartland Beef to be sure all was in order for her to be able to sit down with Mitch and go over them together once they were back. Lisa agreed to help Jack with any of the general Heartland finances whenever the time came for Lou to leave. Lou also talked with Jack and Lisa about the possibility of Katie spending summers and breaks at Heartland, and they assured Lou that if that was what Katie wanted, they would work out the details whenever needed.

One night, as Jack and Lisa were reading in bed, Lisa could tell Jack seemed more pensive than paying attention to what he was reading, so she asked, "Honey, what's wrong?"

'Hmmm?"

"You just seem like something is troubling you," she deduced.

Somberly, Jack opened up, "Well, I guess I'm just feeling a little sad and reflective this evening. I know that Mitch, Amy, and Lyndy being a happy family now, and Lou and Peter making plans for their family to be together are all good things. But at the same time, so much is changing so quickly."

"Oh, Honey, I know change is hard for you, but like you said, so much good is happening right now."

"Looks like we are going to be 'empty nesters' before long. And while I know that can be good as well, it's just…I'm really going to miss them all and the activity that being together brings with it," Jack confessed. "We've been a family here for so long!"

"We both are going to miss them," and Lisa reached for his hand and snuggled up to him. "We'll just have to make the best of it. I think we can manage that, don't you?'

"I love you. Thank you for always knowing how to make me feel better," and Jack wrapped her in his arms as he lovingly kissed her. They set their books aside and slid underneath the covers to fall asleep anchored in each other's arms.

Jack picked Lyndy up from school several times to help Lisa out, and though she was keeping a stiff upper lip, they could tell that their darling girl was missing her mama and daddy and was getting more and more anxious to see them as the time for their return grew nearer. Almost every day, she'd asked Lisa how many more days it would be until she could show her mama their surprise. Lisa finally helped show her on the calendar so she could mark the days off. Jack, Lisa, Lou, and Katie had taken turns helping Lyndy with homework, though she didn't have a lot. Most of her work had been finished at school.

On the Sunday before Mitch and Amy were to return, Jack discovered that Spartan was not eating normally. He obviously was missing Amy. He was glad for Spartan's sake that it wouldn't be long until she was back.

Zeke and Charlie had managed to keep things going at Whispering Meadows in Mitch's absence. Lisa still had the key to the house, so on the Monday before the newlyweds were to get back on Tuesday, she prepared a casserole and went over to put it in the refrigerator so all Mitch and Amy would need to do was heat it up for dinner upon their return. With her special touch, she left a bouquet of fresh flowers on the island, and once again, chocolates on their pillows. She'd also purchased a stuffed dog and a horse that looked a lot like Harley for Lyndy, hoping they might aid in helping with her transitioning to a smaller household. She left them sitting in Lyndy's wing-backed chair as a surprise.

All in all, it had been a productive week, and Lyndy had done amazingly well, but everyone was looking forward to seeing the newlyweds return.