Chapter Eight

A Summer to Remember – Part Three

A/N - This chapter will close out the summer. As always it will be a fun ride with lots of successes and challenges. But as always family love prevails. Enjoy. Mild Mature content come on its Amy and Ty.

With Amy feeling much better and the family assistance program, FAP as Ty jokingly called it, in place, the summer has been progressing well. All the construction is completed and with everyone on board scheduling has been active and hectic. The Equine Center's reputation continues to grow and more and more out of town clients are coming. It is the norm for all of the stalls and the Dude Ranch to be at capacity. In fact, Amy, Georgie, and Lou have begun scheduling for the fall with the understanding that Katie and the girls would be back in school. They contacted the middle and high school and offered a program, where kids could volunteer and earn extra credit. Georgie recalled when they use to volunteer at the Wildlife Center years ago.

Everyone understood their roles. Amy and Ty offered a Vet Assistant job to Steven, and he excitably accepted. Even though Georgie was starting her "Olympic Trainer" role she was able to convince them to allow the training to happen at Heartland, allowing her to also be active in the Equine Center operation as well. Amy, Lou, and Ty decided to put aside a portion of their profits to provide the girls and Katie some spending money but more importantly to add to their college fund. Additionally, Amy, Ty, Georgie, and Lou were on the payroll (of course) and they decided to pay Jack and Lisa for the use of Heartland, even though they said there was no need to. And also coming into play was Amy's progressing pregnancy. She was in her second Trimester with a January due date. With the kids not there all the time, they were deciding how to keep the FAP up and running. In the past Amy would have protested but after the episode with Maddie she was committed to not let her down. The good thing was, although not planned, the pregnancy timeline worked well for the business cycle. They would be shutting down over the holiday for two weeks and business would be slow the first few months of the year giving her quality prep time before and baby time after the birth.

I was the dog days of summer and unusually hot. Lyndy had been spending a lot of time working with the horses and learning the skills needed from her mom and Georgie. She was excited today because her mom decided that she was going to give a horse just for her to work on. Katie had been doing that for a few years, so she was working hard to be on her own. Blitz had been having issues accepting a saddle but was a pretty calm horse. While Georgie and Katie watched she began lunging the beautiful blue roan stallion. He as 15 hands high and very muscular. The owner was hopping to make him a jumper as he was still growing. Lyndy began pushing the horse around the ring. He was extremely anxious but after over an hour he started to respond to her. Amy and Ty walked up as she was getting his attention.

Amy provided verbal support, "That's it Lyndy, you are doing great and getting his attention. Be big, you are the leader, and he has to know that." Ty looked at his daughter seeing that she was a little winded and her face was flush. He hugged Amy and whispered to her, "My god she is you, look at her. She will stay there all day if she needs to, like someone else I know." Amy squeezed him tightly as the proudly watched their daughter. "Ok babe, I think he is ready. Pull up and slowly walk away." Lyndy looked at her mom with concern. She had watched her mom and Georgie do this hundreds of times since she was younger than Maddie. She stopped trying to control herself and not look back. Then it happened. She heard hoofbeats and then felt a warm nose but up against her shoulder. Tears streamed down her face as she looked at her mom and dad tearing up as well. As Georgie and Katie smiled, Lyndy said, "Good boy Blitz, do you like me now?" Looking directly at her mom she whispered, "I did it" A larger crowd had wandered over that everyone clapped, including Wyatt who was helping today. She blushed as she placed a lead on Blitz and led him out of the ring. Katie took the stallion for her and Lyndy went over to her parents for a big hug. And then Wyatt came over and hugged her to as she blushed. With tears in her eyes Amy and said, "We are so proud of you honey, now the real work begins."

It was Saturday morning when the kids always had to fend for themselves with breakfast. The twins sat excitedly after they finished their cereal waiting for their parents to come down. When they went to bed, they asked if they could talk to them. "Where are they, I bet they are cuddling, ughhh," Addie whined. "Chill, they will be down and give them a break, they deserve a sleep in on the weekend Addie," Annie retorted. As soon as she stopped, they heard their parents heading to the kitchen giggling and hugging each other. Addie almost made the throw up face but decided to hold back due to fact they were going to ask for something.

So, the stage was set. Lyndy and Maddie were in the barn starting chores, so the twins were alone with them. "Good Morning Mom and Dad how are you?" they asked in unison. Amy was the first to reply with her eyebrow turned up, "We are really good girls, how are you?" "We are great and need to talk to you guys about something." They nervously continued. As always Ty attempted to calm them down seeing this nervous posture. "Girls you know you can talk to us about anything so don't be nervous." Annie spoke up first, "Well we were wondering if we could enter the end of summer horse jumping competition right before school starts? We have been practicing a lot with Georgie, Katie and Lyndy and we are ready." Addie continued breathlessly," we know it is step up from the local contest we have been in. A lot of our friends are entering and like Annie said we are ready. Would you let us enter?"

She was ready to continue when Amy grabbed both of their hands with a comforting motherly smile. "Girls we know you have been working hard and are really proud of your effort. Moving up to the next level can be a challenge, do you really think you are ready?" She grabbed Ty's hand and smirked at him. Little did the girls know that Amy and Ty had already entered them. They just wanted to have a little fun. "But Mom and Dad, we know we are ready, we really want to enter. We know we may not win but we know we can be competitive," continuing their pleas. Ty, joined in the group hand holding and with a big smile said, "We already entered you both!" After a second to regroup the girls squealed and hugged their parents tightly, "Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. This is awesome!" The ran out to help their sisters finished the chores and tell them their news. Ty hugged and kissed Amy and said, "Good lord more horsey girls, I am surrounded." She smiled and said, "But I am your number one horsey girl," grabbing his hand and pulling up to their room. It was time for a little more "sleeping in."

Sundays were typically just family day and activities were focused on chores, trail rides, picnics, and a lot of time together. Amy and Ty realized they should take advantage of this time because as the girls got older it would become more of a challenge. It was the day after the twins got the good news and Amy was giving them an informal training session. Ty was standing with Maddie watching the session. He glanced down at her because she was unusually quiet. Generally, she would be adding her own comments even when her mom was working with them. As he knew, the one thing Maddie Borden was never afraid of was to voice her opinion. So, he hesitantly bent over and looked into her eyes which were furrowed and a little glassy.

"Maddie honey, what is wrong, you seem to be upset. You know you can talk to me or mom about anything." Amy glanced over and saw the interaction. She saw that Ty had it handled so went back to focus on the twins. "So, spill it girlie, what going on," Ty asked again. Maddie took a deep breath, "I want to be able to show jump too like my sisters. I don't understand why I have to wait. I am a good rider and Mystic and I love each other. I know I can do it, it's just not fair." Ty put on his fatherly face and said," Well honey you and Mystic are amazing, but you are still a little young. Katie and your sisters all began riding around 6 years old. I don't think your mom start competing until she was only a little younger than the twins and Georgie was around Lyndy's age when she even started learn to ride." He took a breath to see where Maddie was. She said reluctantly, "I understand but I know I can do it. Georgie already had me doing flat poles and Mystic is a natural. I just want to do it." She huffed.

Ty was always amazed at her determination. Her level of understanding things at almost 6 was well above her years. Amy and Ty had always accounted it to having older sisters and as her teachers said, even in school she stood out amongst her classmates when it came to maturity and reasoning. As he gathered his thoughts Amy joined him and they walked with Maddie into the barn office. Amy sat her on her lap and Ty sat right next to them. "We know you are upset and want to be able to compete like your sisters, but you are just a little too young. You can't even compete until you are 7-8 and even then, you have to show the judges that you can do it." With her shoulders down she said, "I know but it's still not fair."

Her sisters, overhearing the conversation, tentatively walked onto the barn office and hugged their little sister. Annie spoke up, "I have an idea. Maybe we can have a family competition, to help you get ready for the real thing. Maybe we call it the "Borden Girls Annual Jumping Extravaganza' and there can be prizes How does that sound Mads." She looked at her Mom and Dad with a huge smile and asked, "Can we do that, that would be cool." Ty and Amy tried to keep their composure and said, "Of course you can, you guys can decide how it works. We can even invite people to watch. But you have to make sure that all of you jump at a level appropriate to your age. And we will make sure there are great prizes!" With that said the girls went back to what they were doing. Amy looked at Ty with tears in her eyes, "I love them, and you are so much. That was amazing." Ty whispered nibbling on her earlobe, "The are just like their mom."

The end of summer was nearing, and the girls were getting ready for school. School shopping was always a treat. Ty and Amy were always amazed at the amount of stuff they needed and although some clothes needed to be passed down a lot of new stuff was needed as well. The always took them on their own to shop, expect the twins of course. Ty was not allowed to clothes shop with Amy and Lyndy because he would pass out when he saw some of the things out there. Luckily Lyndy was modest, like her mom, and her choices met his parameters. One night as Amy and Ty went to bed, Ty said, "Can you imagine the amount of money we will spend on these four just on school stuff during their lives. Thank goodness business is booming and their college funds are in place." All of a sudden Amy's eyes grew wide and she said, "Oh my God, we have four wedding to save for as well. And that doesn't even count the little Nugget," as she rubbed her growing belly. Ty took a dep breath and hugged her, "It will all work out Amy because I plan to win the lottery!" She tickled him. It was going to be a good night for this couple so in love.

Lyndy was really excited about starting middle school and the opportunity to spend more time with her friends and Wyatt, especially Wyatt. She had talked to her mom about what she was feeling, and Amy was patient offering her some guidance. Their bond continued to grow. The twins were really pumped about their upcoming 9th birthday and getting back to school. Even though their friends helped out during the summer at the ranch, being with them at school all day was going to be a bonus. They were also excited about their new responsibility, making sure Maddie got to her class in the morning and finding her in the afternoon. Maddie was not too keen on the idea but gave in after her parents insisted. Maddie was pumped about going to first grade and her upcoming birthday as well, a week after the twins. But the idea that she would be in a "real" class setting not like kindergarten excited her. She couldn't wait to see the subjects the would be covering and pummeled her sisters with questions on what to expect.

Amy and Ty were excited and proud of their kids being so excited about school. They both understood the importance of learning and did everything they could support each of their expectations. Although Amy didn't actively pursue higher learning, she believed that life was a lesson as well and made sure her girls understood the value of life lessons. Ty, who worked hard to achieve his doctorate and veterinary license saw that value as well. Together they worked with each of their girls individually to instill the importance of both learning paths.

But to be honest they were excited for school to start for a more selfish reason. Although they had alone time, most of their summer days were consumed with the ranch work and activities with their girls. School allowed them to spend more time together. As Amy was nearing the halfway point of her pregnancy, they understood that need and were looking forward to their alone time after the kids left for school on the bus. Working on horses, trail rides, intimate discussions and of course a little (a lot) of fooling around. Every day when the girls came home, they met parents who were happy and in love and it made them all feel warm inside. Many of their friend parents were divorced or never showed that kind of relationship so to be a part of a family where that wasn't an issue made them love their parents even more. Let the school year begin.