"Friday?" Jack yelped, looking at Ty with an almost panicked expression.
"This Friday?" Ty looked to Amy for confirmation. Frowning at the two men, Amy nodded. "Yes. This Friday. Her plane should land around noon." She spoke slowly and deliberately since they seemed to both be having a hard time understanding the message Lisa asked her to relay.
"That's too soon. Can we push it up that soon?" Ty asked Jack, thoroughly confusing Amy as to what in the hell they were so frantic about.
"I don't know. I can make a few calls. You get in touch with Maggie. See if she'll be able to accommodate the short notice." Jack was already digging through the desk in search of something while Ty scrolled through his phone.
Amy stood inside the open fridge door, her eyes darting between the two of them. She was definitely missing something. "Someone want to fill me in? You two are acting like mom's on her way home and you didn't do your chores."
Ty was already on the phone but Jack popped up with what looked like an old leather contact book and began thumbing through it. "Lisa. Ty and I were planning on having a little shindig when she got home seeing as her birthday is in a few weeks. We wanted to have it as a surprise when she arrived from France."
"Oh. So her moving up her flight kind of put a kink in the plan." Grabbing the pitcher of lemonade, Amy brought it to the table to fill her glass.
"Little bit," Jack said as he snatched up the house line and began dialing.
Sliding into a chair, Amy continued monitoring the situation while she sipped her lemonade and the first rushed calls were made. Part of her considered offering to help. It would be a distraction at the very least. Something to keep her out of her own head for a while and from lingering around the house with little purpose. On the other hand, she wasn't familiar with the town or the people. What help could she really be when the guys seemed to already have a plan in mind. Knew who to call for what purpose. She had no clue. But maybe this would be her chance to find out.
"I can help," she said before losing the nerve. The nearly identical look they gave her made Amy shrink back into the chair. "What?"
"You want to help?" Ty asked not even bothering to hide his surprise.
Amy fixed her face to prevent the scowl from taking complete control. She was going to have permanent frown lines before she was 30 at this rate. "If you don't want me to-"
"No, no, we do." Jack waved the phone at her, tossing his grandson a sharp look. "Don't we?"
Ty wasn't meaning to stir anything up. He was just genuinely surprised she would have any interest in putting together, let alone attending, a party with people she hardly knew. "Sure. If you're serious."
"I offered, didn't I?" Sliding from the chair, Amy went to the desk to grab the notepad she used earlier to take Lisa's message. "Since you seem to already have some kind of ideas in mind, just tell me what you need me to do."
"Well, there's quite a bit. The food. Band. Decorations. Set up. Not to mention getting in touch with all the guests…" Jack ran a hand through his mustache.
"Okay. Well, how about you all worry about contacting the guests and I'll handle the rest." She handed Jack the notepad for him to write her a list. Maybe she could sweet talk Soraya from the diner into giving her a hand. They seemed to get along and Amy could for sure use a friend if she was going to be hanging around for a while. Not to mention she'd be the best person to educate her on the who's who of vendors in town.
"This Friday?" Soraya asked, eyes widening as she eyed the list Jack scribbled out for Amy.
"Yes," Amy replied in a huff. Why was everyone acting so surprised by Lisa coming home early?
Soraya pressed her lips into a sheepish smile at Amy's tone. "Sorry. It's just that Jack wants this party to be perfect for Lisa. I don't think I've ever heard of her shortening her trips overseas. If anything, Jack is usually sulking because she extends them."
Oh. Well, that just put more pressure on her to make good on her promise to take care of the preparations. With the inmates to wrangle in addition to the regular farm work, there was no way he'd be able to get it done in four days, even with Ty's help. Now Amy was feeling the burden of expectation, but for once she welcomed it because it gave her something else to focus on other than her own problems.
"So, does that mean you'll help me? You're the only person I feel even remotely comfortable asking." Nevermind being the only person in town she knew.
"Of course." Soraya grinned, glancing up at the clock. "My mom should be here shortly and I'll be free to help get some of this taken care of today." She perused the list again. "He wants a band? Like, an actual band?"
Amy shrugged. "I didn't make promises on that one, so we're open to suggestions. Though he did mention someone named Stumpy."
The startled look on Soraya's face told Amy that this Stumpy would not be providing the entertainment. Fine with her, so long as they were able to find a suitable alternative.
Soraya hummed in thought. "I might have an idea." Her gaze drifted down the counter and a conspiratorial smile tugged at her mouth. "Hey, Caleb." A blonde curly-haired cowboy lifted his head. Soraya glanced at Amy then slid down the counter.
"Uh oh, I don't like that look." Caleb said, his eyes shifting from Soraya to Amy where they lingered so long that it made her slightly uncomfortable to be scrutinized so hard.
"You still have that DJ controller at your place?" She leaned on the counter, dropping her chin in her hand.
Caleb tore his gaze from Amy to be sucked into Soraya's batting eyelashes. "Yeah… "
"What are you doing Friday night?"
"Why?" His eyes narrowed.
"Amy here needs a favor."
Caleb looked at her again, realization dawning on his face. This was the girl living at Ty's place. His eyes immediately dropped to her middle. He thought she'd be bigger. "What kind of favor?"
"First, I need you to look up here." His gaze snapped up to Amy's face at her demand. She didn't know who this guy was, but clearly he was aware of who she was. Amy wasn't sure she liked that but somehow didn't feel completely like a freak show despite his gawking. It seemed Soraya's whole attitude was rubbing off and giving Amy the confidence she needed to focus on the matter at hand.
Soraya lifted her brow at the odd exchange. "We need you to be the DJ for Lisa's party."
"What? I thought that was, like, weeks away."
Amy shook her head. "She'll be home Friday."
"This Friday?"
Amy threw her arms in defeat. Soraya put up her hand in an 'I'll handle it' way. "Are you free or not? Either way we'll need to borrow the controller."
"Hey now," Caleb protested, "you know that controller doesn't go anywhere I don't. I paid a pretty penny for it."
"You won it." Soraya rolled her eyes. "And when was the last time you even used it?"
Caleb's mouth closed and he pursed his lips for a stubborn second before conceding. "Friday."
Soraya beamed. "You're a good friend Caleb O'Dell. Send me the playlist Thursday so we can go over it."
"I have to make the playlist too?"
"You're the DJ, aren't you? Amy and I have enough other things to worry about." She pulled a pen from the apron wrapped around her waist and struck a line through "band/music" on the list. "First rule of party planning: delegate."
Amy laughed, grateful Soraya was so willing to jump in and help her with very little notice.
"So, wait," Caleb shifted a stool closer. "You're Amy?"
Amy's smile faltered slightly as her guard rose. "Yeah?" She took a step back when Caleb's hand shot out, staring at it warily.
"Caleb O'Dell. Ty told me you were staying at the ranch."
Of course he did. She now wondered what else he said to Caleb. That she was pregnant, given the way he stared at her stomach before.
"I am," she replied, ignoring his outstretched hand and taking up the notepad from the counter to give her hands something to do. "Thanks for helping us with the party." She didn't want to be entirely rude after asking for a favor. Caleb didn't seem bothered when he let his empty hand fall to his lap and continued looking at her with a shit-eating grin. Why, she couldn't say.
"No problem. You need anything else Soraya has my number."
Nodding, Amy slowly turned away before things became awkward. Was he flirting? That was the last thing she needed to happen right now.
"Hey, Mom." Soraya chirped when the door opened and Maggie stepped through laden with bags.
"That Jack Bartlett is going to owe me big," the older woman huffed as she dumped everything on the counter. Soraya quickly shoved an unsuspecting coffee mug out of the way.
"You know he's good for it," Soraya replied, peering into the bags. "Mom, this is Amy. She's helping get everything set up."
Amy shifted as Maggie turned to acknowledge her. "Oh, you're Amy! It's nice to finally get to put a face to the name. And a pretty one at that." She smiled in a warm, motherly manner that made Amy's face flush. She could tell she liked Maggie already just from the way she didn't immediately drop her eyes to her abdomen looking for the telltale signs of pregnancy. It seemed everyone who was anyone in town already knew of her. The pregnant city girl living on the Heartland Ranch with the wayward horses and felons.
"It's nice to meet you," Amy answered politely. "I heard you were making your famous chili for the party."
"That I am," Maggie turned to start unloading the bags on the counter. "It wouldn't be a proper welcome home without it."
"It was certainly a pleasant welcome for me," Amy said, recalling her first venture into town with Jack when he brought her to the diner. Maggie's chili was the first proper thing she'd eaten since leaving Vancouver and Amy wouldn't soon forget it.
"I'm going to help Amy with some other stuff for Friday, if that's okay? Midge said she'd stay to cover the rest of my shift so you can get to work on prepping that chili." Soraya was already untying her apron to shove under the counter but Maggie didn't object.
When the girls headed out to their next location, Caleb snatched his phone from the counter and dialed Ty. He swiveled in the stool as he watched them walk by the front window. "What up, man? I just met Amy. You didn't tell me she's a straight up eleven." He jumped when something pelted him in the back of the head, whipping around to see Maggie frowning at him with lips pursed in disapproval.