Chapter Sixty

New Steps – Let's Party

A/N – Well I hope I was able to set up the transition from Amy's health to the exciting things coming to the Borden family. And thank God Amy is well. As I move into the fall and winter, I will continue to focus on family and close friends with some new twist and possible characters. Birthday celebrations will abound, a new school year will start and the business will continue to grow. The Board will meet soon to share ideas and discuss the future. Hold on for the ride. But I commit to my readers there will always be one constant, that Amy and Ty are deeply and completely in love. You can count on that always to be the reason for this story. Enjoy

It was the morning of the first day of school and the word chaos is a calm description of the Borden household. JT was running around in his PJs yelling, "Pre-K, Pre-K, Pre-K" Even though they had their clothes picked out yesterday they were having second thoughts rifling through their closets. Amy and Ty stayed out of the rift and ask Wyatt to help JT get dressed. "Boys don't seem to stress much about clothes." Ty joked. Amy smiled in agreement, "I know I always had trouble picking my first day outfit." He leaned into her, "I am sure you looked hot." They kissed as Annie burst out the room holding four outfits, "Mom quit kissing, I need help." She giggled pulling away from Ty, "Ask you sister Annie, she is your twin." She huffed away and Amy went back to making lunches. Ty was on breakfast as they always insured they had a good one. Amy stuffed notes in each lunch bag that they had written the night before. It was a tradition to leave one for the girls each first day and now they added one for JT. They knew he couldn't read but were sure a teacher would help him. Wyatt and JT were already eating when the girls came down. Before they could sit, Amy did a clothes check making sure they were dressed appropriately. They looked good but as usual Addie was just below the limit. Wyatt held the chair for Lyndy as she smiled sitting next to him quietly saying good morning to him. She blushed as he said how nice she looked. Addie gagged a little saying, "Lord it's enough with mom and dad but now you two, yuck." Ty gave her a stern look and she apologized to her older sister. Everyone was excited and breakfast was active. When they finished Lyndy and Wyatt went to get their High School bus which was first. Then the others went to get the combined, Middle/Elementary bus as Maddie, who was responsible to get JT to his room grabbed his hand. It would be different this year as the kids were on two separate buses. The bus pulled away as Amy and Ty looked on. She smiled at him kissing his cheek, grabbing his hand and pulling him quickly into the house, "Let's fool around Dr. Borden I need some major loving." A little over and hour later a content Amy and Ty headed to the barn, hand in hand. Caleb saw them and laughed noticing their demeanor. "Well, Well, first day of school. But wait they left an hour and a half ago. I would ask what took so long but by the look of you two I know." Amy slapped his arm kissed her husband, heading over to the barn. They each had a busy day as business was booming as always. They will definitely miss their kids all day but the new twist is that they will miss their day-to-day involvement in the work. They had a meeting with Georgie, Caleb and some of the hands to set a plan in place to handle the gaps. Katie's college schedule was a little more flexible so they worked around it allowing time for study as well. The kids routine was also set. After they got home they would change, have a quick snack and go to the barn. Each day they would have an hour or so of work to do, Before dinner they would go back and work on homework or rest. After dinner they would do night check for the family horses and then get ready for bed. Amy and Ty were adamant that they get the right amount of sleep. They also committed to a fun family activity every weekend in the middle of other weekend work and activities. Again this was a must do. Things seemed in order.

Amy and Ty had a full day. Since Amy was given the all clear, she went back to work with a newfound love for what she did. With Katie, Wyatt and Lyndy on limited hours Georgie and her had to step it up and Rusty who was improving every day was taking on more client horses. They were also working with Georgie's friend Jade, who know with two kids was getting out of the rodeo circuit and interested in learning the trade. Georgie took her on and the preliminary results were good. They could definitely use her. Ty and Steven were also busy. The university students from the clinical program were really working out and Steven and Ty were not hesitant in letting them handle things that they could. The kids in the youth program were a godsend to Caleb as he used them to handle the more mundane task so the full-time ranch hands could handle the more complicated work. Overall Caleb and Clay had done a great job with the ranch hands and kids from the program, while still overseeing the ordering of supplies for the business. The Hudson vet clinic was booming so it was a challenge to get help from Cass and Ellie. Scott came up with a plan because he really wanted to keep them in the equine loop. When Ty was there to talk about a horse he had Scott mentioned, "Ty the business here is out of control and I know you get busier and busier all the time. I know we have our planning meeting soon but I don't think we can't wait. How about it this. I commit both Cass and Ellie to be at the Equine Center 2 days a week each. In turn I think we can shift a couple of the students to work here. They can handle things a step up from the vet techs for sure." Ty agreed and they talked to Cass and Ellie both and they were excited. The students were also excited in fact two of them volunteered. This move would help in the present but they both agreed the company seriously needed to consider adding another vet, a good problem to have.

As Lyndy and Wyatt got off the bus they were immediately called over by their separate group of friends. They snuck a very quick kiss but did not miss out on the hoots and hollers. To respond they hugged tightly. Lyndy skipped over to Maya and some of her other friends. Although she saw them a lot over the summer seeing them on the first day of high school was awesome. Maya screamed, "LiLi you are hear and making out with your boyfriend, that lives in you house and is with you almost all the time." Lyndy blushed as the other girls joked with her. "I am so excited about high school, it is going to be awesome," another girl in the group screamed. They all agreed held hands and headed into the school. Wyatt's group was a little cooler about things but one of his buddies razzed him as well about Lyndy. "So you and Lyndy are still going strong." Wyatt smiled looking over at her as she walked into school. His friend laughed, "Nover mind I see my answer, you can't keep your eyes off of her. You got it bad man. You know how many girls are like jealous out of their mind." Wyatt smiled, "Oh well maybe you can hook up with them." The punched each other and headed into class. It would be a great first day, especially 3rd and 5th period when he had class with her and of course lunch. He smiled again as his best friend smiled and quietly said to him, "My friend you are a lucky man."

Annie and Addie's day started with a bang. As soon as they got off the bus they were overwhelmed by friends and people they didn't even know. Jeremy and Desi came up to them for a friendly hug. Annie laughed, "Jer I just saw you yesterday?' He smiled, "Yea but today you are a 6th grader." They all laughed as Abbey came to hug her best friend. Addie was really happy when Bella came up to her for a deep embrace. The rest of the kids gave them room as they chatted quietly, "Bella how are you. Last time we talked you said that you were going to live with a dear friend of your aunts." She smiled meekly, still a little leery talking about it. "Adds everything is really going well. My aunts friend are wonderful and they had two little boys. Hey maybe you can help me babysit them this weekend. They are a hoot. I feel loved by them and I talk to my Aunt a lot." Addie smiled happy that her friend was in a good place. Within the first ten minutes the twins were surprised. Question after question came to them about the Trudeau family and how their kids were. Even some of the teachers asked. It seemed that the Borden family had gained some notoriety and everyone wanted to know what they were like. Luckily it was time to start so the group headed in to start the first day of Middle School. As they walked in they felt each other's thoughts. They knew that they needed to talk to their mom and dad as well as their sisters to talk through how the family was going to handle this newfound fame. They smiled at each other wishing each other a good day and holding their boyfriend's hands.

Maddie, Gwen and JT got off the bus after their sisters. They proudly took JT to his room hanging out with him as he was a little nervous. Her teachers knew that she was taking him there so allowed her the time to be with him. JT spoke proudly, "Maddie I am good you can go to class." He excitedly ran over to a couple of kids he knew and after Maddie checked with his teacher they headed off to third grade. When they walked into the courtyard they were abducted by many of their friends. They were all giddy and excited about third grade and as always Gwen was a accepted as a member of the group. Gwen had become more confident and socialized with other kids more freely. Maddie was so proud of her as she glance over at her interacting so easily with others. One of the teachers saw what was happening and pulled Maddie to the side. "Maddie what you have done for Gwen is the most unselfish thing I have ever seen in my years of teaching. You are an amazing young lady. You know what you should become a teacher, you would be awesome." Maddie smiled and quietly thanked her. She went back to her friend group and they headed into start their day. Like the twins she was inundated with questions about the Trudeaus. She liked the attention but also didn't feel comfortable talking about their new friends, they hoped that she could talk to the family about it at dinner.

Back at the ranch Amy and Ty were wrapped up in work. Ty was vetting a set of twin horses that the owner insisted stay together. Amy had worked Twins before but not this young. The owners were having trouble getting them to accept saddling so Ty and Stevn looked them over, specifically their backs and shoulders. Some time they found that Ty could diagnose a medical issue that was causing the problem, thus solving it. As they looked each of the horses over Ty and Steven mimicked each other's movements looking to see if there was a similar issue. As Steven moved his hand over the backbone of the horse he was with, he increased pressure and the horse's head pulled up. "Ty did you see that, look at the fourth vertebrate the base if the neck. There seems to be a slight abnormality related to the others." Sure enough Ty found the same thing. It seemed that the twins were born with the same issue, a hard tissue deposit on V4 that was causing discomfort when a saddle was put on. Ty smiled, "Great catch Stevo, I thing we have a medical solution. Amy will only need to get them saddled. Let's go talk to the owners with Amy and do the procedure after that. They should be ready for Amy the day after tomorrow." Right before lunch they met with the owners and they were ecstatic about the news. It seems the mother of the twins died while birthing and their kids really wanted these two horses to be Ok. Once the procedure was completed, they would let them rest a day or so and then Amy would get them saddled. The owner's spoke up, "Well it seems everything we heard was true about you two and the team hear. We can't wait to tell the kids."

Amy and Ty decided to have lunch in the office as they had two parties to finalize. Amy got with Lou and put the two larger cabins at the Dude Ranch for the 14 girls and a smaller one for the 6 boys, including Desi and Jeremy. Clay would stay with the boys. Katie and Lyndy each took a cabin with the girls. Dinner and breakfast were arranged and they planned to have drinks and everything needed for smores. Ty and Amy had told the girls that they would drop by at least once. Some kids would bring their own horses, the twins would use Theo and Boone and Clay and Katie would pony over the rest of them. All the horses would be stabled for the afternoon ride and, except for the kids that were bringing their own horses, several stable hands would pony the rest back to the Equine Center. Maddie's party would be a little less challenging. And the plan was to have her party the same day of Annie and Addie's. If timed out after the kids got back from the trail ride and picnic the older kids would start arriving. Including Maddie and Gwen there would be 10 girls. All but one could ride and were bringing their own horses. Maddie would tandem ride with the girl who couldn't and Amy, Ty and JT were going along. Amy was tearing up a little and Ty walked over to her, "Ames what is going on?" She sniffled, "Maddie wants to have the picnic at the old jumping course. I can't believe how much it means to all of the kids, and of course us." They kissed and continued. For Maddie they would have a Maggie's picnic lunch, with cake and ice cream. Several of the kids from the youth program volunteered to set everything up and clean up after. And Maddie asked if the kids jump a little, after Amy gives a little exhibition. All of her friends knew about Amy Borden and her jumping skills. The stage was set.

In the middle of all the partying Max and Lilly were preparing to return to Colorado with promises of staying for the big family birthday party and also to be back at Christmas with Max's girls and their families. The family understood but were still sad. Max and Lilly had become an integral part of the family and the kids had grown close to them both. Of course Max and JT were best buds, especially when Jack and Tim were included. All of the girls had become very close with Lilly and enjoyed the additional grandma and grandpa time. Maddie was particularly close with her as they talked a lot when Amy went through her cancer treatments. Amy has also became close to Max and Lilly. She admitted that she was skeptical of her because of the past. Ty had had the most life altering effect. After years and years of neglect, he was finally confident that his mom was in for the long haul. And Max and him had become very close because he knew he was the reason he got his mom back. After everything he went through in his life it was awesome to have his mom back and a dad figure. Jack was still his dad in his mind but Max was there as well. He never had it in his tormented early life and to be honest never thought he would. Jack and Lisa planned a small farewell dinner the day after the mega party for them and just the family. They would be missed but promised many video calls moving forward. As promised they also allowed Lou and Jenn to use the cottage if needed for client families. Jenn already had the placed booked several time after they left.

The week before the party was hectic for the kids at school. All of them were getting into their studies and had early on success and challenges. But having siblings and some pretty smart parents really helped. It became a regular practice that after dinner if anyone of them were having a problem the entire family, including Wyatt would talk about it together. Amazingly it wasn't Amy and Ty who started it, the kids did. Annie was having some issues with English and Lyndy helped her. Then Wyatt helped JT with some Pre-K stuff. One night they decided to start sitting down as a group addressing individual needs. Amy and Ty sat back with pride watching them work together. One night she leaned into him and whispered, "Ty our kids are unbelievable. So many times you hear of families that don't get along but our kids are the exception. They would do anything for each other and Wyatt fits in perfectly." They snuggled and kissed professing their love wrapped up in each other. After a few minutes, they heard a group huff. Maddie talked for the group, "Mom, Dad, take it outside." The family also had decided on the approach to the Trudeau inquiries. They all agreed to answer questions generally. They wanted to protect the family and their reputation. Some people weren't happy with the political climate and it seemed some of the questions leaned that way. Amy and Ty met with the administration and a subtle lockdown was initiated by the entire staff. Amy and Ty spoke with both the principles and the school district superintendent. Everyone was on the same page.

Well it was time for the Borden family party weekend. Maddie's group arrived around 10 and the kids along with Amy, Ty and JT followed behind. Maddie's friends were amazed that her under 3 brother could ride by himself, with Amy and Ty on each side of him. When they got to the jumping course they were all awestruck. Amy and Ty sat back as Maddie with help from Gwen told the story. The kids begged Amy to jump for them and she lined Blaze up and flew through the course with ease several times. Maddie leaned over to her friends, "Look at my dad, he looks at her like that every time he watches her jump. He loves her so much and we love him and mom too." After Amy finished Ty lowered some of the jumps and some of the girls gave it a go. Like a reflex, Amy coached them, which made the kids day. Being coached by the Miracle Girl was a privilege so they all listened diligently. As they were jumping the youth program kids came and set up the food. When they finished one for them went back for the cake and ice cream. The group enjoyed the awesome lunch talking and giggling. JT sat on Ty's lap as they ate watching the kids. He smiled, "Girls are silly daddy." Amy laughed, "But I am a girl, am I silly?" He giggled going to sit on her lap, "No you are my Mommy, not a girl." They had a good laugh, they loved their little boy. After a delicious cake and ice cream, Maddie, with JT's help opened her presents. Amy kept notes on who gave what so Maddie could send thank you cards. After a little more jumping they headed back to the ranch. On the way Maddie came up beside her parents. "My party was awesome mom and dad. My friends really liked the jumping course and watching daddy stare at you." Ty laughed, "Well I can't help but stare, she is amazing and beautiful," as he clutched her hand. Maddie rolled her eyes as she rode away, "Geez, give it up you two." JT laughed, "Told you daddy girls are weird."

About an hour or so after they got back Annie and Addie's friends began to arrive. To give Amy and Ty some time to relax and refresh, Katie, Clay and Lyndy organized the group trip over to the Dude Ranch. Since all the kids came to the ranch there was no need to pony horses. And they added a next morning ride as well allowing the group to bring all the horses back home. So no ranch hands were needed which made them happy. All the kids were good enough riders so the two trail rides were planned. Once the group got to the Dude ranch, they unloaded their gear and took a group ride over to the river for some swimming. The kids played in the water and then laid on the beach to dry off. Clay, Lyndy and Katie sat back watching the group interact. Clay laughed, "I hope I wasn't that awkward when I was 12 years old, look at those boys." Except for Desi and Jeremy who had no problem paying attention to the twins, the rest kind of just watched the girls laughing and telling stories about Addie and Annie. Although their faces were red with embarrassment they took it well. After they dried off they headed back to the Dude ranch where they met Amy and Ty and a full BBQ spread. After the group ate they enjoyed cake and ice cream. They had told their friends that they didn't want gifts so there was no need to open presents. The twins couldn't miss the fact that some of the boys stared at Amy and the girls at Ty. Their friends had no problem telling them that their parents were hot. Amy and Ty sat on the side with Clay, Katie and Lyndy watching the group. JT went to spend the night with GG and Lisa. And Maddie was going to stay at Gwen's. Katie smiled at them, "So no kids tonight hmmm." Amy and Ty smiled at each other as Lyndy held up her hand, "TMI." They all laughed as Amy and Ty got ready to leave making the rounds with the kids. As she pulled away, Amy had a gleam in her eye. It was definitely going to be a good kid free night.

After a nice breakfast the group put their stuff in Amy and Ty's SUV so he could take it back to the ranch while they went up to the ridge as a group. Katie looked at them, "So how was your night alone, while I slept away from my fiancé in a room full of giggling girls." Amy yawned, "It was good." The three of them laughed as Lyndy rolled her eyes back into her head. The parties were both a huge success so Amy and Ty made sure they thanked everyone who helped out. Any activity, party or event for their family was a group effort and this was no exception. The family had a relaxing rest of the weekend and everyone was there for dinner. They were surprised when they received a video call from the Trudeaus wishing Annie, Addie and Maddie happy birthday. The family call dispersed and then Amy went to their room to have a private conversation with Maryanne. As promised, she checked in regularly with her as their conversation was always calming for both. After a half hour she came back downstairs to see the family playing a game. Maddie yelled, "Thank goodness mommy is back. You are on our team, Wyatt, Lyndy and the twins are cheating." Everyone laughed enjoying the family time. Amy and Ty held hands smiling oozing joy and happiness. They loved their kids more and more every day. Life couldn't be better than it is right now.

The following weekend the mega party at Fairfield was held. Even though it was for all 5 birthday kids, there was a special focus on Steven and Georgies rambunctious and unbelievably cute twins. The traditional cake eating was a big hit as everyone laughed and took pictures. Hannah and Noah were loving the attention. They giggled and laughed always next to each other. Steven and Georgie had noticed how they looked at each other all the time, like they knew what the other was thinking. They were sitting with Amy and Ty watching them interact with all the guest. Steven asked, "When did you guys notice that Annie and Addie were becoming what they are now – that whole crazy connection thing." Amy thought about it, "You know we had no idea about this whole twin connection thing, but Ty read up on it when we noticed that when they played together they were kind of quiet." Ty continued, "So we kept watching them and noticed they seemed to be communicating and sharing without talking. If I remember they were almost 2." Georgie smiled, "Well we may be looking at it from the perspective of how Annie and Addie are. I think we will just let them roll with it. They sure look happy right now. Steven and I love them to death, they are everything to us." Amy smiled, "Welcome to the club guys, now you just need to add to the herd." Steven's eyes grew big, "Maybe one day but not quite yet." They all laughed as they watched the party before them. Maddie, Annie and Addie opened presents and made sure they thanked each of the givers. Annie and Addie hung with their Weber twins buddies a lot playing with their new toys. Even though it was a large crowd each of them felt special. It was a good day to be in this amazing family.