Contrary to what Ty told her, the front door was not, in fact, locked when Lisa tried to open it. Giving it a push, she looked back at Ty in the yard who just lifted his hands in defeat. Every other time Amy ran off to hide in the house, she bolted the doors behind her.

"Amy?" Lisa called as she made her way through the house in search of the young woman. There weren't many places for her to go, so when Lisa didn't see her in the kitchen or living room she went to her bedroom. The door was closed which she took as a good indication that Amy was inside.

Amy sat on the edge of the bed with her head toward her knees, breathing slowly in the dark. Trying to bend completely over was uncomfortable, so she improvised. She ignored Lisa's voice to focus on calming down. She felt stupid, knowing Ty made her uncomfortable and still agreeing to a dance with him. He'd been popping up all day in all of the wrong places, already setting her nerves on edge. Forcing herself to allow him in her space didn't have the effect she intended. Somehow she hoped that she could override her anxiety toward Ty by replacing the negative with some positive. Clearly, her theory was flawed.

"Amy? Honey?"

The gentle knock on her door made Amy jump, lifting her head at Lisa's voice on the other side. She stared at the stained wood, willing the older woman to just leave her be and go back to the party. She didn't want to be the reason Lisa didn't get to enjoy her first night home.

Lisa waited patiently in the hall, listening for any noise on the other side. The utter stillness told her that Amy was listening right back, probably trying to wait her out.

If not for the guests in the yard, Lisa would have no problem standing there until Amy was ready to open up. But it would be rude of her to disappear for too long when she was the one they came to celebrate. Still, she wanted to make sure Amy was alright. Ty pulled her aside to explain what he deduced about Amy's past. Information that wasn't shared with them before they agreed to offer her a place to stay at Heartland. Jack didn't ask Tim Fleming for the details when he didn't freely offer them and Lisa didn't press Jack to find out. The bottom line was this pregnant young girl needed someplace safe to go away from Vancouver and they had the space and ability to provide it.

"You don't have to open the door, just let me know you're alright," Lisa urged gently.

Breathing slow and steady, Amy unfolded from the bed and reached for the knob. Hearing it twist, Lisa took a step back to give Amy some space when she did finally pull the door open.

"I'm alright," Amy answered. Her hand was tight around the inside knob to keep her grounded to something solid. "I'm sorry if I caused a scene. I didn't mean to pull you away from your party." She was already enough of a spectacle and didn't need to make it any worse for herself.

"Oh, you didn't." At least not that Lisa noticed. A few people saw Amy go inside but she doubted any of them realized she'd been upset. "What happened, Amy? I saw you and Ty dancing. Did he say something to upset you?" According to Ty, that answer was no, but he still suspected that it was him Amy ran from. Given the rocky start the two of them had, it was a logical conclusion, but if Ty's suspicions were accurate then there was a deeper reason.

Amy's gaze lowered from Lisa's, her hand anxiously twisting the door handle with her death grip. "No. He didn't do anything wrong." This time. Except ask her to dance. Stupid her for thinking she might be able to handle it. "I just, um-" She took a breath, trying to find a safe explanation and bring herself to share it.

Seeing Amy struggle to open up was painful. Not in a pitiful sort of way, but heartbreaking. It was clear she was dealing with a lot of inner turmoil that Lisa could only begin to imagine. Jack mentioned she was having a difficult time trusting anyone. Lisa could see that now while waiting for Amy to decide what snippet of truth she chose to share. Enough that hopefully satisfied an answer.

"I just think I pushed myself a little too hard." It wasn't a lie. She tested waters she knew might be too deep but thought maybe she'd be able to tread enough to keep her afloat.

Lisa nodded, her expression soft. "You've only been here a week. I'm sure a party like this is overwhelming when you barely know us as it is. Still, you did a wonderful job putting it together."

Amy blushed at the praise. "Putting it together was a good distraction. It was fun and did help me get better acquainted with the town." Her sweaty grip relaxed on the handle. "I think I had enough socializing for tonight, though," she admitted, wanting the excuse to hole up in her room without interruption.

"Understandable. Ty was just worried when you took off." Amy's surprised expression said a lot, but Lisa didn't comment. She didn't see a reason to bring up what Ty told her if it could potentially upset Amy again.

"I'm fine," Amy reiterated, wincing internally at the passive phrase Ty called her out for using in place of expressing actual thoughts and feelings.

Lisa hesitated. "If you're sure…"

"I'm sure."

"Okay. I still want to catch up. Have a little girl time? What do you say to lunch tomorrow?"

Girl time. Amy couldn't remember the last time ever having that. The last few days with Soraya were probably the closest thing. She enjoyed being busy and for once not having to think about the heavy decision she made and will have to still. But she had a feeling girl time with Lisa wouldn't be quite the same. Still, it was time away from the confines of the ranch. Her new deal with Jack at least made her feel less trapped. It was just going to take a bit for her to work up the nerve to venture out entirely on her own. Little trips like the one Lisa offered would help.

"Yeah, alright."

"Great. Well, I'll leave you to rest." Lisa didn't anticipate the party lasting much longer anyway. Aside from the young people in Ty and Soraya's friend group who would move along elsewhere to continue hanging out if they wanted, any of the other guests would likely start heading out shortly. Weekends didn't mean much when it came to ranching or equestrian sports.

Amy offered a light smile, lingering in the doorway until Lisa left her alone to return to the party. Her whole body sagged with weariness and she climbed back onto the bed after shutting the door behind her. Out the window she could see the lights Jack and Ty strung across the yard. Caleb changed the music back to something more upbeat and the murmur of voices through the closed window didn't exactly offer a calming effect. Though exhausted, Amy wasn't quite tired enough to sleep.

Slipping out of bed, she padded to the window to look out at the gathering of people she spent all evening observing with keen interest. There were so many smiles and friendly gestures. Laughter frequently broke through conversations to carry across the yard. Amy's heart ached with longing when she realized this was something she was missing in her life. Family. She had her dad and her sister, Lou, of course. But both made it clear she and her condition were just a burden. Things to be passed off as someone else's problem. And they hadn't been truly happy, or together, in quite some time.

Folding her hands over her belly, Amy stared out into the yard. These people actually cared about her. Cared enough to worry that she might be in trouble other than having a child out of wedlock. Cared enough to want the whole truth so they could be prepared for whatever that trouble might be.

Amy bit her lip. As far as she knew she wasn't in that kind of trouble. Her father's debt had been paid. Though she kept telling herself it was because of the pregnancy that he sent her away, she didn't fully believe it. He wasn't perfect by any means. He struggled with addiction after addiction. Drugs, booze, gambling. Tim Fleming was a mess and not what many would call a fit parent. In fact, Amy acted more like his parent since her mom died, making sure he ate and showered and the bills were paid before the money could disappear. Despite all of that, Amy knew her dad loved her. That sending her to Heartland was his way of saying she deserved better. She didn't want to believe it was because he fucked up and once again put her in the line of fire.

Lisa rejoined the fray, her smile wider than the kind simper she shared with Amy. Ty wandered over and they had a short conversation that ended with him looking toward her window. Amy stilled when he fixated on the dark panes, wondering if he could see her standing there watching. It was eerie, the way he seemed to see right through her. The way they all could sense there was more going on. Ty just seemed to lack the empathy of Jack and Lisa. Maybe that had to do with his time in prison. It hardened him. Made him see people and the world differently. Amy's trauma certainly had the same effect on her. Perhaps Jack was right: she and Ty had a lot more in common than they were willing to admit.

Ty could indeed see Amy in the window. The string of lights across the yard provided enough of a warm glow to frame her silhouette.

"It wasn't anything you did, Ty." Lisa told him. "She just overdid it today, is all."

Ty didn't believe that to be the whole truth. Because this entire week all he did was plant fear and apprehension in Amy's mind. He didn't seek to do it on purpose. He just wanted to understand why she was there at all. Why her father reached out to his grandad in search of a place to send his pregnant daughter. That wasn't a decision made on a whim for no discernible reason. But this last week made things somewhat clearer. Even if he didn't know the specifics, Ty figured out enough to change his perspective on the whole thing. Too little, too late, though, it seemed.

A short time later, the first guest initiated a parade of departures until Caleb saw no reason to keep up the music and shut everything down. The few people who remained were scattered about tables in intimate conversation. Soraya went to cover any leftovers and help with some preliminary clean up. Ty joined her.

"Where'd Amy get off to?" she asked, holding open a trash bag for Ty to drop in a handful of plates.

"The house. She went to bed early." He didn't elaborate.

Soraya was quiet for a moment, debating on whether or not to ask about Kit's brief appearance. They were both good friends but ever since things fell apart when Ty was away it felt like she was being pulled in different directions. Thankfully, neither made her choose a side but being Switzerland wasn't all it was cracked up to be. It was why she found herself spending so much time with Caleb lately, another mutual party just wanting to keep the peace.

"I saw Kit decided to come after all," she commented absently, tossing a cup in her bag. She glanced up at Ty to catch his reaction, of which there was almost none. He kept cleaning as if he hadn't heard her.

"She didn't storm off in a cloud of dust," Soraya tried again, inching her cleaning route closer. It appeared she was just going to have to ask point blank. "Did you guys finally manage to come to a consensus?"

"About what?" Ty grumbled, gathering serving spoons into a tray to bring into the house.

Dropping the bag at his feet Soraya folded her arms in front of her. "Come on, Ty. You know about what."

With a sigh, Ty tilted his head back toward the night sky as if asking the ethereal world for patience. "She wants to meet for coffee to 'talk'." Though he didn't use air quotes, his tone implied them.

"Okay. And?"

Ty lowered his head to look at her with a frown. "And, what?"

"You're going, right?" Ty's silence was answer enough. One that Soraya wouldn't accept. "Ty. As your friend, I'm going to tell you that Kit is still holding onto hope of you two reconciling."

Reconciling. "I don't see that happening." Not after so long and certainly not after their most recent arguments. It just felt like their time was up. That there was nothing left of them to salvage.

"Then you need to tell her that. You guys need to have some closure. Maybe your romantic relationship is over, but you can still be friends. We were all inseparable once upon a time." Soraya missed that. But they were adults now and life stripped them apart despite still living in the same town. Ty went to prison; Caleb and Kit went off to be rodeo stars until an accident ended Caleb's career and he had to switch gears. Soraya was the only one still in the same place she was in highschool running her mom's diner. She saw everything from behind the counter, heard everyone's story one on one. Feelings and thoughts that needed to be expressed directly to the person they were about to avoid awkward and tense situations such as the one between Ty and Kit.

It shouldn't have irritated him that Soraya was right, but it did. Probably because it would make him even more of a complete asshole if he blew Kit off when that's exactly what he wanted to do. He'd been doing it for the last few years. First when she tried to visit him in prison then when he got out. The excuses were easy then. Now, he'd run out of them. His life was still a mess, but not as bad as it had been last year. Until Amy arrived, things almost felt normal again.

"I'm not so sure we can go back to being just friends." Meaning, Ty wasn't sure Kit would accept that without immediately jumping to the Amy conclusion.

"So you're just going to avoid her forever? It's too small a town for that, Ty."

"She'll be back on the circuit soon enough," he reasoned lamely.

Soraya rolled her eyes. "You're such a damn chicken, Borden. Just talk to her and clear the air."

"Alright, fine." He didn't even know why he bothered to argue. All he did was feel guilty over ghosting his girlfriend and never officially breaking up. It was fair for Kit to seek clarity, he just didn't think she was going to take it well.