Chapter 113
Ty followed Jackson, April and Cars out of the bedroom and over through the entry hall into the kitchen and dining room area. There were two coffee pots sitting on the dining room table surrounded by early risers. Amy, Sally, Erma, August, Trish, Molly, Betty, Lisa and Jack were all laughing at something Erma had just said when the kids hit the table.
The three immediately went for mom hugs with April landing between both her folks, a second later Kimmie was heard through the monitor, she wasn't crying or fussing but awake and seemingly in a good mood.
"I'll go Erma." August said getting up and walking past the kitchen counter to leave his cup.
"Jeans August and a thermal shirt and offer her the potty please." Erma called out and caught August's wave as he scooted up the stairs.
"Are we ready for breakfast ?" Amy asked getting up "What did we decide on ? eggs ?"
"Eggs and cheese and tofu scramble."
"Thank you Jackson" she acknowledged leaning over to kiss his head.
A minute later Erma walked over somehow holding three glasses of milk which she placed on the table followed by 6 sheets of paper from under her arm.
"Go on, have your milk and get your worksheets done while we get breakfast ready.'
There was no 'official' homework from their teacher but she strongly suggested the review sheets, 2 per day, spelling on one and math on the other. They did have a chapter a day assigned and they did that before bed.
It was interesting for Ty to spend a week like this because it was really the first time that he could recall that he saw what he realized was the core make-up of Amy's and now his extended family. They were for the lack of a better word sisters in all but blood. Amy, Erma, Sally and Meg could literally spend every second of the day together and be perfectly content.
He thought back to the first morning Erma was here. He and Amy had decided to deal with the limited paperwork they needed to see first thing in the morning and not really deal with it after that except from the occasional text which was usually an update. Usually he was about 45 minutes behind her so he found her with something, a croissant or muffin and coffee, either reading something in a chair or sitting behind the desk. That morning Amy and Erma sat together in the loveseat each with a coffee and working on their own stuff. Sally was sitting in a chair with what looked like a block chart of her property and Trish sat at the desk in front of her laptop. Three sisters and an aunt.
The scene that set the relationship in his mind though was two days later when he was up early with Amy and they were first downstairs. Ty settled in the library and Amy walked in a few minutes later with a pitcher of coffee with Erma carrying a plate of Sally's sliced breakfast bread. Amy didn't bother with cream or sugar as no one in the group used it. Soon after Sally and then Trish settled quietly into a spot. Meg showed up a half hour later and soon joined them holding a fresh thermos. They made no fuss, didn't move around the room saying good morning, they just acknowledged each other's presence and continued on. Sitting next to Trish the only sound was Meg leaning over to her "morning Trish" and Trish's response that came with a a smile "good morning Margaret, Brin still asleep ?"
"And Bobby, he'll ride them over eventually. Sam and Tom are having coffee by the fire."
"John's sleeping, he'll be up soon."
They finished up when the grands made their way out, they each had a bag that held their work that they just left in the office for the next day. Since Wade and Lily didn't need to be early risers, they weren't, and Ty had noticed that Lisa and Jack could sleep in these days with him no longer waking at 4:30. He was also not past a hot morning bath in the comfort of his room according to Lisa. August would wake and play with Kimmie usually making his way across to the kids at one point, otherwise it was Ty. At home he was up and out usually before everyone so this was his thing away from home and he was great with the kids.
This morning the group moved to the dining room table where a fire was started in the corner fireplace and more coffee was served. This is where the kids and teens showed up as well as stragglers, it's where breakfast, lunch and dinner was discussed as well as plans for the day. Today was also the day they'd plan out their New Year's Eve dinner, pick up supplies and welcome Colonel Molly Harris to their group.
"When's the delivery coming Erma ?"
"12-4 is the best they could do but they'll text when we're next so we'll have some time."
"Trish how about your stuff ?"
"My stuff comes FedEx by 4:00 too, I'll get a text when they drop the box."
Erma's delivery was seafood, lobster tails and king crab legs from her catering jobber in Syracuse while Trish's were two vegan roasts and assorted vegan cheeses shipped in from a small artisan shop in Michigan.
They also had two whole filet mignons with them that would be served to complete the Surf and Turf they had planned. Baked potatoes, spinach salad, creamed spinach and Brussels sprouts would complete the entree's. Trish would handle making the sides vegan, Erma and Amy would handle the seafood, Sally the baguettes and filets and Meg would fill in where needed as would they all.
Lisa and Betty would handle the wines, Ty, beer and libations and the teens volunteered for the brownie and pie detail which would handle dessert. These would be done by noon, made after breakfast leaving the afternoon free for them and the kitchen free for dinner prep.
They came down chatting, the twins, Katie, Lou and John. Ty put his cup down just before a set of arms wrapped around him, squeezed and kissed his cheek. "Good morning Pappa."
"Good morning Charlotte, sleep well ?"
"Just perfect Pappa and you ?" She answered and asked while moving around the table saying her good mornings. Maddie had gone the other route and was at the table as Charlie headed to the kitchen.
A moment later Maddie did exactly the same thing, hugged and kissed him, "good morning Pappa"
"Good morning Madelyn, sleep well ?"
"I did Pappa, thank you, and you Pappa, did you sleep well ?"
"I did Maddie."
"And having slept so well how many cups of mom's insanely caffeinated coffee have you had that you didn't actually need this morning ?"
'Maddie …."
"Pappa, you are not at work, there are no emergencies waking you in the middle of the night, Jackson is confined …"
"You know your mom drinks way more coffee than ….."
"Do I have to show you the studies of men vs women and their consumption of caffeine and the long term effects ?"
"Didn't you already forward those to me ?"
"I did and it's obvious you didn't read them, maybe I should forward them to mom."
Amy walked over carrying a plate of sliced fresh bagels and lay them in the center of the table, she was laughing listening to Maddie give Ty the gears.
"Girls, set the table please, the rest of the guest house is on the way. Maddie leave him be."
"Erectile dysfunction mom, laugh at that." Maddie said quietly leaning over as she passed towards the counter where plates and silverware were laid out.
Amy looked at her as she walked away and then quietly leaned over to grab Ty's half empty cup of coffee from in front of him.
"Hey ! What are you doing ?"
"Go knock on your parents door and ask if they'll be joining us my love, maybe consider decaf."
"What about your caffeine intake ?"
"Stops when I'm pregnant and then nursing."
"Great, just great" Ty muttered heading to the stairs.
The table was smirking as he left and Jack looked over "let him be Amy.'
"Seriously Grandpa you want to get in the middle of the ED conversation ?"
"No, no" he said raising his hand "I guess not. Where's Georgie and Wyatt ?"
"On their way down in a few, Georgie just texted."
The plan for a large contingent was a few hours of snowmobiling and exploring with their favorite conservation officer Lt. Mike Tarlick who graciously offered to lead a tour of some of the state land that hopefully would be part of the conservation portion of their home. He promised to keep them safe and would take them down the larger logging roads rather than over the horse trails.
They'd use all 8 snow machines, Mike would use one rather than transport his official one, the other seven would have as pairs; Lou and Katie, Maddie and Brin, Charlie and Bobby, Carson and Tom, April and August, Georgie and Wyatt and Trish. John would have loved to go but they had nothing to handle his size. He did own one but it was in the shop to use around Ithaca. He was considering getting an older Arctic Cat and customizing it to leave here but he wasn't in a rush.
Jackson was an issue, he wasn't happy but he was a trooper and when Jack offered to tie flies with him and Sam and that Ty would join them he was thrilled. Sam and Ty were both novices at the fly tying hobby so with Jackson being able to be 'teacher' nothing else was needed.
As to the rest of the stay at homes they would find a place and relax. They were expecting weather after lunch, April was due a piano lesson from Brin and a movie sounded enticing since they had a movie theater but that was still up in the air. They'd decide over lunch and Mike was coming a bit early to take care of some business he assured them wouldn't take long. After declining coffee which would become a hinderance on the trails Mike, Amy and Ty sat in the library and were joined a minute later by Tom Cunningham.
"Mike, good to see you again, what's up ?" Tom asked sitting down.
"A state survey team and some environmental guys spent two days down by the lake at the road's end a couple weeks ago. We didn't even know until they were gone and contacted us after, the commandant had a nice talk with the powers that be about that never happening again. Anyway," he said as he unrolled a map he'd been holding "they have concerns about your facility that close to the lake they propose an alternate for the main facility and a smaller structure closer to the water."
All three leaned over to see the circles as drawn on the map but it was Ty and Tom who stared thinking.
"What's this third building ?" Ty asked.
"NYS Conservation training barracks, 8 stalls, a barrack room, an officer's quarters and an office. It's perfect for us, put officer's in the woods."
"And if we agree to this, it's pre-approved ?"
"As far as I know Tom, as long as everything else goes through, this plan is pre-approved."
"Who pays for the barracks ?"
Mike shrugged "Above my pay grade Ty but I assume we do."
"I can take this ?"
"All yours Tom, what do you think ?"
"From my perspective, one less hurdle to jump, besides rescue isn't my business so to speak, Ty ?"
"It's not that far from the water, I'll run it by some people I know who've placed these things and ask, truth is with the small building still at waterside I don't see a problem, I guess we'll have the architects look at it and do their thing. Nothing we can do without the vet school and the conservation and environmental sciences school."
"Let's try to make this work." Tom said earnestly "this is a big step on their part I think."
"Then we're done, Mike you'll join us for lunch after ?"
Mike laughed "there's actually no way to answer that well other than of course, thank you. You know Amy" he said after a moment "You're a lot like Mrs Spelts."
"Thank you Mike, that's quite the compliment."
Once Mike and Tom had their snowsuits on Amy and Ty walked the group out to the utility building where the teens had moved all the snowmobiles out and ready. Amy wasn't worried there were enough adults along and Trish who counted for at least 3 as far as Amy was concerned.
They both smiled when both Bobby and Brin insisted on driving and the twins acquiesced. Gloves and helmets with face shields were a solid rule when snowmobiling, the tracks were known to kick up anything. Everybody was also in snowsuits and boots which also provided protection up to a point.
Everyone waited for Mike, the leader to start up his machine when he sat and Amy and Ty stood alongside him. "I'll try to get Tom down to the site so he can see it up close but there's no telling what's in the road this time of year so we may have to bypass. We'll be back by noon."
"Have fun Mike." Ty said patting him on the back when he started his machine. They weren't particularly loud on their own but 8 snowmobiles sounded like quite the racket together so all they could do was wave as the machines pulled away the last wave and smile came from Trish as she rode by.
Ty reached for his phone as they entered the house, glanced down and answered.
"Hey Bert how's it going ?"
"Sure, let me call you back in 5 minutes, I just got in."
"What's up ?" Amy asked as they reached what they called the family room; fly tying, pool table, music, couches and snacks.
"Sounds like it's turning into a busy few weeks, let me check in with Jackson and I'll find out."
Amy looked around the room and smiled. The light shined through the sheer window treatments and with the natural lights on over the pool table and the fish shop the room was bright and welcoming.
Amy walked over to Wade who had just straightened up from a shot while Ty headed over to the fly tying rigs.
"Hey dad, just getting started."
"Jackson, I'm sorry but I have to go call Uncle Bert back about some horses."
"Ok, well you can start when you finish your call."
"What are we tying ?"
Sam looked up having just cut a linen thread off of his hook "It's called a Griffith's Gnat apparently, it's pretty popular up here according to the local fly shop."
Ty leaned over and kissed Jackson's head "I'll try not to be gone that long."
Jackson looked up and smiled, "love you dad."
"Love you too son" he answered Amy came by a second later where she slipped into Ty's arm "walk you to the library?"
"What are you doing mom ?"
"I'm going to find myself a crowd of women and leave you to your fly tying."
Arm in arm they stopped back for a second to see Wade whom Ty had not spoken too yet.
"Game later ?" Wade asked sinking a ball in the side pocket.
"Let's plan on it." Ty answered "You two have everything you need ?"
"We're fine Ty, I'm ready to retire here, just waiting for your mom to give us the Ok."
Amy laughed "you're welcome anytime Wade."
Wade smiled "3 ball corner" he grunted firing the ball across the table.
Amy walked Ty to the library and stopped in with him for a second.
"What's up ?"
"We have like 7 horses coming in with problems, a few held off a couple weeks and some new ones. I'm sure there'll be files showing up any time."
"Serious ?"
"Two surgeries for sure, not sure about the rest. Guess it's back to work for us. You wanna stay ?"
"No, no, I can wait, besides you guys have to rule out the easy stuff before I get involved."
"I forgot we do the easy stuff." Ty muttered.
"Love you sweetheart."
"I love you too Amy, I'll stop out when we're done."
"You do that and remind Bert that Jackson's waiting or you'll be on for hours."
"I will and he knows" Ty said before leaning over for a kiss before heading to the desk and grabbing his phone and an iPad.
Amy heard the group as soon as she hit the entry corridor and rounded the corner to the living room. They had a nice fire going and looking around Amy walked over and plopped herself next to Erma who immediately leaned over to kiss her cheek.
"How's it goin' sis ?"
"What are we talking about ?"
"Lisa's first actual livestock herd."
Amy looked from Erma to Lisa "Alpaca problems Lisa ?"
"No honey, none at all and I can watch them all day, they're adorable but they're not horses. You don't really interact with them do you ?"
"Not really and it's not easy interacting with a few hundred of anything. Haddie's been keeping an eye on them ?"
"They're fine Amy."
Kimmie who was sitting on the floor playing with plastic farm animals a few feet in front of Erma turned with a bright smile and held up a horse to Amy. Amy smiled and reached down to take it from her.
"Thank you sweetheart is this for me ?"
"Hos."
"That's right sweet girl that's a horse." Erma crowed leaning over.
"And what's this ?" She asked picking up a cow figurine.
"Cow, moo."
"So smart." Erma crowed again "come sit with momma ?"
"Amy."
"Fine, go to Amy, see if I care." Erma muttered.
Amy laughed and leaned over to lift Kimmie into her lap. She was holding the cow Erma had held out to her and started playing with it and the horse Amy was holding.
"She's still dry ?" Erma asked softly.
Amy felt down and around nodding yes.
"It's been awhile." Erma said checking her watch.
"Kimmie how about we go sit on the potty a little ?" Amy asked.
"Cow ?"
"We can take the cow with us."
"Hos ?"
"And the horse." She said standing with Kimmie in her arms and a horse in her hand. Kimmie held on to the cow.
"Should mommy come ?" Erma asked.
"Amy."
Erma sighed and smiled at Amy.
"It's fine Erma, all set up down here ?"
"Bathroom next to the library."
Amy nodded and walked off chatting with Kimmie.
"How old is she ?"
"18 ½ months, it's early but April took to it well and was pretty much trained by 24 months."
"How was Jackson Betty ?"
"Oh Jackson was in a constant cast or restraint at that age and still had some circulation issues so it was a little harder, I'd say by 2 1/2 he was all trained."
"Bobby was faster than Carson but not by much, it was fun having all three on the potty at once though." Sally added laughing.
"And the girls Betty ?"
"Oh before 24 months but not by much, and both almost exactly the same."
"Brin was a star, maybe 20 months." Meg added.
"Ty took forever, by 3 for sure but he was in no hurry, speaking too, just took his time with everything, Amy says he never got over that speaking thing." Lily finished laughing. "They seem very happy."
"They are very happy." Sally said.
Meg was nodding "I agree, 8 years apart, I can't even imagine."
Erma grabbed her phone from her pocket and stood "she pee'd I gotta go dance."
Sally laughed as Erma hurried off "I remember the happy potty dance."
Erma walked into the bathroom smiling while Amy was telling her about cleaning herself off with toilet paper and then guiding her hand so that she could feel what she was doing.
"Pee no poop." Amy said helping Kimmie to her feet. Kimmie immediately raised her arms to Erma who lifted her for their dance.
Amy ceremonially poured the pee into the toilet and then rinsed the bowl while Erma danced and when done leaned over so Kimmie could flush the toilet.
Amy washed her and Kimmie's hands and then Erma dressed her back up. They walked back slowly with Kimmie holding each of their hands and toddling along. When they returned, Sally and Meg then they grands picked up the congratulations making Kimmie smile.
"So Amy you ready for this again ?"
"A baby ? More ready for this part than the pregnant part but I can't wait for either."
"And Ty ?"
"What about Ty Lily ?"
"Baby ?"
"He'll be great, maybe a little overprotective at first but we can cure that, they really are pretty hard to break. No one knows how to parent Lily, you adapt to the child and the circumstances. Look at me, I don't know how to deal with a healthy child, I carried Jackson everywhere, I don't know how to be comfortable and leave them sleeping in a crib with someone else watching over them. I know how to raise headstrong outgoing and outspoken twin girls but not a single 10 year old. I'll adapt, Ty will adapt."
"Well, I had Bobby young, Tom and I had no idea but I was a farm girl and just took it in stride. He turned out Ok, Later with Carson, I thought that was a breeze especially with you two."
"We thought there was something wrong with Brin." Meg said taking a drink of water.
Lisa and Lily laughed "Like what she's perfect ?" Lisa asked.
Meg nodded her acknowledgment of Lisa's compliment, "She's great but we thought she was on the spectrum at a very early age, who knew it was the music in her head."
"Music ?"
"I realized eventually that she'd freak out when she heard something out of tune, it just didn't sit right with her. Sometimes she'd hum or vocalize what somebody said back to them in sound or bang or clap hands in a cadence that matched speech. They say it fits with her synesthesia."
"Synesthesia ?"
"It's a neurological condition Lisa, sensory triggering, as an example, hearing music which is auditory causes triggering smells or tastes or seeing colors or numbers. Brin unconsciously translates sound into action, her brain triggers a musical response to mimic the sound so when she was very young she mimicked what she heard with the sounds available to her which of course we didn't understand until she found the piano sitting with me while I practiced. Once she learned the keyboard and started playing we realized what was going on pretty quickly."
"So is that autism ?"
"There are some doctors who say it should be on the spectrum since some autistic children have it. Personally I don't think so."
"Is that common, I've never heard of it."
"It's not common or uncommon I think Lily and many syntesthetes don't now they even have it, they don't realize that everyone doesn't taste or see music as an example, and usually never express it because it's normal to them. You hear about it in the arts because an abstract artist might respond to the question of inspiration by saying something like it's just what I hear or a composer saying as long as the colors work I know it's right. It's just their normal until someone points out that it's not."
"So Brin ?" Lily asked "what's her thing ?"
"Brin processes most any melodic sound into an action to recreate it, so she hears something and it triggers singing or tapping or her fingers playing it on the piano. She's learned to control it so if she meets someone with a particularly melodic voice she doesn't mimic it in her responses but you may see her at a table playing an invisible piano if she has a melody in her head."
"Ty tells me she's quite the performer."
"As near as I can tell she hears the music in her head and plays it a microsecond later. I think it's why she's an amazing jazz accompanist especially with vocalists."
"I hope to hear her play one day." Lisa said "soup and salad for lunch, pizza for dinner ? They should be back soon."
"The soup is in the slow cookers Betty." Erma said reaching over for Kimmie.
"The rolls can go right into a 375 oven." Sally added.
"I'm going to break up the fly tying party and have them pack away."
"Hey mom." Jackson called out from his spot at the tying table which the Kennedy family customized for them.
Amy walked around and put her arms around him. "Looks like you all got a lot of work done, let's start cleaning up and get you upstairs where you can help set the table, ask Gran. They should be back soon" she said looking at about 2 dozed flies sticking out of the foam stand in the center of the table.
"That does look like a good morning's work, apparently surgeons do quite well tying flies." Jack said fitting his supplies into the storage case marked 'GG'.
Amy moved around and wrapped her arms around Ty's midsection. He smiled and moved his head to the side so they could kiss. "Have fun ?"
"This was great." Ty answered snapping his case shut. Amy smiled having forgotten that the girls had ordered them and Ty's was marked 'Pappa.'
"Can you get him washed up and upstairs please, I have messages from Bridget and Sandra and I think with the sky looking like it does I'm staying in and changing into a dress."
"Sure thing." Ty answered, sliding his case away and then reaching for Jackson's.
"I'll be in the bedroom."
"Sam, Meg's in the living room I think."
"I need to call the office and check in first, I'll stop in the library."
Amy got off the phone and walked into the bathroom. She had already pulled off her jeans and now her blouse and which she dumped into the laundry bin. Ty walked in while she was washing her face and handed her a towel when she was done. After patting her face dry she watched him strip off his shirt and start to wash, leaving the towel next to him she headed to the closet.
The closet was still mostly empty though Amy was planning to just leave her two suitcases worth of stuff just hanging or in drawers as she had done the last time she was up for their honeymoon. They had already stocked the bathrooms as they were at Pegasus so that was no longer an issue. The plan was to be able to move back and forth with as little fuss as possible.
She had two dresses aside when Ty walked in, his attention immediately drawn to the fact that she was only wearing a pair of bikini panties. She sighed when he stepped behind her and laid his lips on her bare neck, it was pulled back into a pony tail when she leaned over to wash and left that way until she was dressed and she was ready to brush it out. Her hands immediately dropped over his as they made their way around her body to her midsection when she leaned her head up and their lips met.
"Ty" she whispered, "Ty."
"Hmmmm ?" He hummed immediately going back to her neck as he pulled her back against him.
"Ty, the kids." She whispered again while simultaneously cocking her head in anticipation of his movement.
"The kids are fine, there's a crowd down there" he murmured softly reaching her ear.
She giggled "this is all your fault" and turned into his arms which immediately moved down to lift her and turn to the closet door.
Amy sat at the dressing table in a short satin robe brushing out her hair while Ty buttoned his shirt and tucked it into his jeans. When he had his shoes on he stepped over and leaned in to nuzzle her neck.
"You stop that and go downstairs and be a host."
"They won't let me host."
"Then go sit with Grandpa, Wade and the rest of the men and be the Pappa, we need a movie, ask the girls to choose with the kids."
"And you ?"
"And I will be down soon" she said standing and heading to the closet. "Now shoo."
Ty's first stop was by the kitchen counter to check on lunch, he was promptly sent on his way by his mom who was slicing cucumbers. He noticed that the table was set and heard the crowd in the living room. He took a minute to add some small logs to the fire in the dining room and headed across towards the crowd.
He stopped to get his bearings when he reached his destination and scanned around. The teens and kids had taken over a seating area where they hovered over a map while April was describing a scene. Further along Jack and Wade sat looking at a second map where Mike was pointing out something to Tom. The rest sat laughing over something and was a nice sight that he hadn't seen often, couples sitting together and relaxing. John sat his arm around Trish's shoulder, Erma and August sitting and holding hands as were Meg and Sam. Sally sat with a spot open next to her he assumed was where Tom was returning to. Ty moved over and sat down next to Molly on the end of the couch across from Trish and John.
"Molly, you have everything you need ?"
"Oh yes Ty, thank you, I'm very happy and I have to say your home is absolutely beautiful."
"Thank you, we're very happy. Good ride Trish ?"
"I loved it, it's a beautiful property Ty, I can't wait until spring."
"Neither can we, how far did you get ?"
"Down to the end of the line as far as I can tell, I didn't pay attention to the map but Mike was pointing something out to Tom so I guess as far as they needed to go."
Ty smiled when Amy walked up behind Trish and put her arms around her.
"Here's our girl." Trish said as Amy moved her way around and sat down next to Ty.
"Did Mike show Tom the changes they wanted ?"
"Sounds like it but we haven't talked yet. Hey where's Lou ?"
Amy turned a bit "Georgie, where's your mom ?"
"On the phone with Ashley I think."
"Hmm, wonder if she has actual dates. I told Bridgett and Sandra to plan on the last two weeks of January and the first in February."
"Three weeks." Ty said "You'll freak out before that."
"I won't freak out and it might not take three weeks."
"You'll miss home."
"I'll definitely miss home and you and the kids and Gran but I've done this before Ty."
"He doesn't know does he ?"
Ty turned "Doesn't know what Trish ?" Then he turned again towards Amy. "Doesn't know what ?"
"Erma and Sally are coming."
"Erma, you're taking a vacation from here to Alberta in the dead of winter ?"
Erma turned with a big smile and nodded "oh yeah, it'll be a blast, besides, last stop is Phoenix for a couple days."
"That's true." Ty agreed when Lou walked in and over to stand behind Amy and Ty. First she leaned over and hugged and kissed each. "That's from Ashley, Tuesday the 22nd Amy."
"Excellent, I'll let Bridgett know and I guess Ashe will get us a number. We can fly in on Monday for the week, drive down to Montana and then fly to Phoenix and then home."
"So" Jack said leaning across from his seat "you're coming to Heartland ?"
"Technically Fairfield Grandpa, there are three of us."
"What about Fairfield ?" Lisa asked walking in with Betty. "Lunch is ready by the way."
Amy got up and turned "Lunch kids" she said facing their group before turning back to Lisa.
"Ash just called, we close on the Calgary diner property on Tuesday the 22nd so I assume we'll come on the 21st."
"You're staying alone at Fairfield ?"
"No, I'm coming with Erma and Sally so it'll be the three of us for the week and then we'll drive down to Montana in a rental and then fly to Phoenix and back home. We'll probably stay in Hudson for the week and head down the following weekend."
"Sounds exciting" Lisa said as they walked back to the dining room together. "Any plans besides the closing ?"
"Not really but Erma wanted to look into the possibility of a wedding planning meeting with Peter, Jen and Lou, maybe have Peter and Annie fly in for a day or two and Georgie can skype. We'll see, aside from that possibility I've got nothing."
Amy doubled up with Ty at the head of the table and invited Lt. Tarlick to her left so they could visit and hear some news. The rest of the table as always sat themselves starting with Jackson on Ty's right.
"I hear you got down to lakeside ?" Amy asked as she passed a platter to Mike.
"We did, I showed Tom the proposed change, the site they want to use is nice and really not far from the original spot, easier for a stable as well."
Ty nodded "I agree, I don't think the Cornell people will balk, we'll set up a meeting for next week with Tom, the architects and the Cornell committee and gauge reactions."
As forecast the weather was turning bad as the afternoon wore on. Mike had left to get back to the office, April had her piano lesson with Brin as soon as lunch ended and was done soon after lunch was cleared away when most of the family and guests headed to the small theatre for a movie. The teens and kids chose the newest "Fantastic Beasts" film which was on demand on one of the streaming services they had hooked into the system. Both Jack and Wade chose a nap instead but the rest of the older crowd chose to watch just to pass the time and sat in the back where they figured they could still chat low. The kids grabbed a small couch up front and were given a bucket of popcorn they'd popped in the machine and bottles of water to have. Katie grabbed a couch with Lou while the other couples from teens to adults spread themselves out so the the room seemed full though there were obviously spots left. Comfortably, the theater sat about 36.
"This is actually nice." Amy whispered. She was sitting or partially laying against Ty snuggly tucked under his arm. His legs were stretched out onto an ottoman and hers were along side her, her moccasins on the floor in front of her ottoman.
When he didn't answer she glanced up and saw him looking to the right. "Ty, what are you looking at ?"
"What, oh nothing, sorry. It is, uhm nice."
It took her a second to realize that he had been staring at the twins who were coupled up of course, in two loveseats set next to each other.
"Ty my love, Charlie and Bobby have been holding hands at the movies since they were 12."
"I know, you keep telling me, and Brin since the day the Caldwell's moved in."
"Pretty much."
"Where is Maddie ?"
Amy glanced over "laying down with her head in Brin's lap, it's their thing. You gotta get over it Ty."
"Yeah, I will, but I remember the movies."
"You were impossible, that's what I remember."
"Hey, can Brin hear us ?"
Amy looked over and giggled when Brin's thumb went up.
"I am never going to get used to that."
They stopped the movie half way for a bathroom break and a bottle refill.
Amy got up and stretched as did many in the room. She watched Jackson make his way to the bathroom and then lean against a couch to wait, his crutches alongside. Ty walked past Trish and John and stopped to chat.
"Ok kiddo ?" She asked walking over near the bathroom.
"Yup, good movie."
"I like thestrals."
"You ever uhm, uh, see a dead body, like a person ?"
"A few years ago, I was with someone when they died."
"Wow, who, sorry I mean if you can."
"Your Aunt Trudy, do you remember her ?"
"Not really, I don't know, I see her picture and stuff, so she looks like I do, you know ?"
"I do, her face is familiar so it's hard to know one way or the other."
"Yeah, that's it. You gotta go first ?" He asked when the bathroom freed up.
"No I can wait, you go ahead."
"April first, go on April, I can wait."
"Thank you Jackson" she answered smiling and then going in.
"Very chivalrous of you Jackson."
"Like a knight."
"Just like a knight."
"Pizza for dinner, can't wait."
"Me either." Ty said walking over and ruffling Jackson's hair.
"Hey dad, like the movie ?"
"Interesting Jackson, he's sort of like a vet isn't he."
"I guess so and like mom 'cause he saves them and finds them a place to live."
Once again the arms reached around his waist before he realized they were coming. "Hi Pappa, enjoying the movie ?"
"Maddie, yes I am. You ?"
"Love Eddie Redmayne, he's perfectly goofy enough to be a wizard."
"Hi Ty, Amy." Brin said stopping next to Maddie where their hands automatically came together, their fingers intertwining as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
"Hi Brin, like the movie ?" Amy asked.
"Movie ? Oh the movie, yeah it's great."
Amy and Maddie laughed. Ty smiled and shook his head "I'm sorry Brin."
Brin let go of Maddie's hand and took a step. She wrapped her arms around Ty and lay her head against him for a second and whispered "You know I love Mad and would never do anything to hurt her."
"I do Brin."
"Then we'll just chalk this up the whole new Pappa thing."
"Thank you Brin, so we're good ?"
"Perfect Pappa."
Maddie was smiling when Brin stepped back and her arm swept around Maddie's waist and Maddie reciprocated.
"Anything else Pappa, I think we're going to start."
"No Maddie, you two go on."
Maddie nodded smiling and turned with Brin. Amy jokingly elbowed Ty "you'll get the hang of it."
"You sure about that ?"
"Nope, come on and sit. Start it up Jackson." Amy called out settling in their loveseat, once again leaning on Ty as the lights automatically dimmed and the movie started.
After the movie the groups split. Men and kids to the fly tying room where pool was on the bill for the adults at least. The teens took over the upstairs seating area where Bobby lit the fire and social media prevailed. The women headed back to the living room where the topic turned to the western trip and Georgie's wedding intermingled with farm talk.
The family room's original saloon bar was swapped out for a more family friendly ice cream area with a small section laid in with more adult drinks, namely beer. Ty scooped each kid 2 scoops with toppings and set them at the fly tying table. The men gathered for pool with either soft drinks or beers. The kids as always grabbed water while the ladies group in the living room chose wine, three bottles to taste and decide on the perfect wine for a pizza dinner.
"Lisa, this Barolo is exceptional." Sally noted putting her glass down.
Lisa nodded "perfect for the pizza I think."
"No argument here" Erma agreed "Amy should we get the oven fire going ?"
"Probably a good idea" she answered standing along with Erma.
"Need help ?"
"Nah, we can handle it Sal."
"Can I come anyway ?"
"Me too ?" Meg added.
Amy smiled and put out her hands "come on."
Erma and Amy walked straight behind the counter while Sally and Meg grabbed two stools and sat down. Erma pulled over a tray of six round doughs and set them on the counter to rest and then grabbed a block of mozzarella and a chefs knife and lay both on a cutting board. Next she pulled several bottles of pizza sauce out of the fridge and lay them further down the counter to come to room temperature. She looked up for a second when she grabbed the knife "open a bottle of Amy's wine Sal."
"Technically it's Betty's and Ty's." Amy said her head next to the fire door to the oven.
"I'll leave the Barolo for dinner, how about a Syrah ?"
Erma shrugged "Sounds good to me Sal, I doubt there's a crap bottle in that cellar."
As Sally worked the cork Meg grabbed three glasses and lay them out. "What was that business with Brin and Ty Amy ?"
Amy had loaded the oven's fire box with kindling and Fatwood sticks, She covered them with a few 1 inch branches and sticks and then added 4 scoops of charcoal briquettes. She checked to make sure the flue was opened and struck a match to light several of the Fatwood starters before locking the fire door.
She turned back and walked to the sink to wash.
"Nothing, he was watching the twins with Bobby and Brin and he made a couple comments."
"And Brin heard."
"And Brin heard" Amy confirmed."To make a long story short Brin confirmed that Ty knew that she loved Maddie, and yada yada kiss and make up."
Amy looked over when Georgie and Lou walked up. Meg immediately poured and handed Lou a glass of wine which received a smile acknowledgment while Erma reached into a fridge under the counter and handed Georgie a beer.
"Thank you Erma." Georgie said sitting down "What are we talking about ?"
"Twins and significant others." Sally said sitting down. "This'll bother Bobby, he's sure to hear."
"Did something happen ?"
Amy answered at the refrigerator where she was pulling out vegetables to slice for the pizza. "Nothing happened Georgie, they snuggled and Ty was a little weirded, he's still using training wheels."
"And ?" Lou asked.
"And Ty mentioned it to me and Sabrina heard and spoke to him about it after, it was cute, Ty trusts them, he's just unsure."
"And Bobby will hear because it's inevitable and he doesn't have the same relationship with Ty that Brin does," Georgie surmised "so what do you think he'll do ?"
"He'll talk to Tom." Sally answered "which I guess can go either way, he'll either say don't worry about it or have an awkward talk with Ty, I think the first though."
"They're close ?"
Sally sipped and nodded "Bobby and Tom are close confidants, he's talked to Bobby about Charlie and life I guess you'd call it. Bobby's got a good head on his shoulders. Teenagers are going to teenage I guess."
"No stopping that." Lou agreed with a sigh "Can't wait personally."
"I hate to say this Lou" Amy started "but your being at Heartland during those years will make a huge difference between you and Katie. Just the comfort of knowing you'll be home at the end of every day will mean the world to her."
"I know, that'll be nice."
"And if you time your New York visits you can drop Katie here."
"That'll be nice too, she loves it here."
"She loves Heartland too Lou. You guys want to set the table or should I summon the crew ?"
"We'll do it." Meg said heading to the buffet to get dishes.
Sally joined Amy and Erma behind the counter and began on two large salads while Erma and Amy started the process of putting together the pizzas. The wood fired pizza oven was an unexpected treasure. Imported from Italy it was super insulated and engineered to fire up to 650F using very little fuel. In fact the stove burned so hot the only residue was fine dust. At that temperature pizzas going I would take at a maximum 5 minutes. In that time the pizza stone oven floor would cook and crisp the dough while the inherent heat of the oven would roast any vegetables and puddle the cheese which was sliced, not grated. The oven would fit four 16 inch pizzas at once. They'd make 5 regular pies and one vegan and serve them with a salad.
Ty sat down and Jackson and the kids came over immediately to sit.
"Hey Dad."
"Hello Jackson, how's that puzzle coming ?"
"Oh pretty good I guess, we'll go back after supper. You gonna play more pool ?"
"I don't think so, your sisters have reserved the pool table for the evening."
"You can sit with us and help with the puzzle."
"Thank you April, I'll definitely consider that."
"What's mom doing ?"
"I have no idea, Ames do you have a plan for after dinner ?"
"We're doing a puzzle, some of us with wine."
"A puzzle."
"Just something to do while we talk, they're fun."
"I actually don't think I've ever done a puzzle, at least not the bigger ones, I'm sure I did them as a young kid."
"Jackson loves them so they fit in well with us especially when he's restricted after surgeries, it's something to do that doesn't tax anything, almost like background music."
"I get that." Ty said grabbing another slice for each of the kids before taking one for himself.
In the end, after dinner was cleared and put away there were three distinct groups around the house. The kids and teens occupied the family room where the teens played their version of pool while the kids worked on their puzzle. Two more puzzles were being worked on at the dining room table. The younger group of women and the Gran's each started a puzzle at opposite ends of the table where conversations and laughing went on for a few hours, often crossing groups. The men gathered in the living room for their bull session sans puzzles.
Amy, Erma and Sally took a break at 8:00 and found all three kids droopy eyed and yawning and hustled them off to Jackson's room to get them to bed. Tired as they were it wasn't long before they were fast asleep. Katie was next at a little past 9PM when she passed the dining room table for kisses before heading off to the room she shared with Lou.
Being that the following day was New Year's Eve when the grandparents started heading off Amy returned to the family room to check on the teens who were also ready to call it a night and were hanging their pool cues into their rack, grabbing empties to the bin and snacks to their places in the cupboards.
As predicted it had snowed most of the afternoon and was still going. After goodnights, Bobby and Brin suited up and headed out to grab a snowmobile back to the cabin. The remaining women after Lou had joined the twins heading upstairs wandered down to the living room where the remaining husbands, Ty, Wyatt, Sam, Tom and John were looking at one of the iPads which was showing a short 15 minute film about Tim's achievement in winning 4 Canadian Nation Rodeo Championships in a row a feat they said would never be repeated.
"I didn't realize, that's quite the accomplishment and legacy." August said.
Amy smiled as Ty lay the iPad down "That legacy cost him his wife, home and children for 10 years August. He fights an addiction to alcohol and pain killers to this day."
Erma leaned over and wrapped her arms around August's waist and leaned over to whisper in his ear "Kimmie should be fast asleep."
Georgie walked past her at that moment and leaned over Wyatt wrapping her arms around him as well "C'mon Wy, Kimmie should be fast asleep."
Amy leaned over Ty and nuzzled his neck for a second before whispering "Do I need to say it ?"
"Ok, get it out of your systems because this is not going to be a thing." Erma said laughing now standing next to August holding his hand. "Besides, you'll both learn soon enough."
"I've raised a baby Erma."
"I know you have Amy but romance and children never mix well, you take what you get and run with it. Come on Augie."
Amy turned onto her side with Ty immediately snuggling up to spoon her. His kisses on her neck and shoulder sent charges down her body. She sighed after a few minutes and having caught her breath reached up to take his hand which was resting on her hip and bring it in hers around her pulling him closer.
"So this Alberta trip is actually happening." He said softly.
"Looks that way."
"I'm glad you're not going alone. I hadn't imagined you going back without me."
"At first I hadn't either but now I don't see a way around it."
"So we can't go away without them now that we're married ?"
"No but this isn't that, this is business. Once we decided it was just the sisters in the Maggie's partnership, it's not right to justify leaving them and it's not a weekend it's 2 weeks. It's an awful burden for Betty, besides Erma and Sally never really get away."
"You'll be Ok ?"
"I think I'm good, Barry agrees."
"You gonna see him again."
"Probably twice before I go, I feel good about this Ty."
"Well, I hope the weather calms enough for you to be able to do anything when you're up there."
Amy glanced over at the opaque wall "Think the snow's stopped ?"
Ty didn't want to move and get the remote "They said it would so if it hasn't it will soon."
"Tired ?"
Ty smiled "whatcha got in mind ?"
Amy turned and smiled back "nothing specific, how about we just improvise ?"
Ty leaned over and kissed her as she turned her body the rest of the way towards him "I can improvise." He said his words silenced once again by her lips.
