Space in My Heart For You
Nugget #9: Miracle Girl
As Nathan rides across his own fields, he watches the sun begin to slowly sink in the sky as he races Powder across his own fields, thankful for Canada's long summer nights. When he approaches the patch of birch trees between his property line and Amy's, he slows Powder and weaves him through the trees, following the brook, until he reaches its natural end.
He finds Amy there, moving some fallen branches around, waiting for him. His heart skips at the sight.
Amy turns at the sound of horses' hooves. She brushes the hair from her face and smiles. "Hey."
"Hey." He dismounts Powder and leads him to join Shadow, grazing in a patch of grass. Once free of the reins, he reaches for Amy. She walks into his embrace. He strokes her cheeks softly before kissing her hello. She deepens the kiss for a moment before pulling back to look at him. Nathan runs his fingers through her hair and she closes her eyes to enjoy his touch. "Sorry I'm late," he whispers. "Work would not stop today."
"I get it. No worries." She releases him and returns to their usual spot where she's already laid down a blanket and he follows her. "Lyndy took longer than usual to go down anyway."
"Well, we've never met here after dinner," he states, sitting on the blanket. He watches Amy find her spot, sitting between his legs and leaning against his chest, and his arms fold around her. "You think Lyndy could sense that you'd be gone for a bit?"
"No," she pushes back against his shoulder playfully. "I think she's a kid and some nights are harder than others."
"You're a good mom," Nathan says for the first time aloud, though he's thought it every time he sees Amy with Lyndy. "You don't seem like an obsessive worrier."
He feels her shrug against his chest. "I just don't see the point. It seems like it is a waste of energy."
"My mom is an obsessive worrier," he shares.
"Ah…" Amy turns to meet his gaze. "And how was that growing up?"
"Oh, really fun," he replies with sarcasm. "Especially when I was bronc riding."
"Is that why you stopped?"
"No." He grows quiet. "I stopped when my mom took me to Montana after she divorced my dad during grade 10. I just didn't have the same friend group anymore."
Amy takes a moment to digest the information. "That must have been hard."
"Yeah…" Though he's always appreciated Amy's kind and thoughtful responses, tonight is the first time he notes how soft, kind and understanding they are. Her empathy prompts him to continue. "Especially moving in the middle of high school. I was already a shy and sort of withdrawn kid—plotting me down in the middle of strangers expecting me to make friends didn't help."
She nods in agreement. "I'm sure it didn't."
He leans down to kiss her shoulder as thanks for her understanding. Rather than the silence filling the space between them, the sounds of dusk come to life around them: crickets chirp from their hidden spots among the grasses and the birch trees, the brook babbles as the water runs through it, and an owl hoots far off in the distance.
"So, Amy, tell me—" he starts and she turns to face him. Instead of continuing, however, he sees the brightness in her face and can't help but lean down to kiss her. She smiles as she meets his lips, once, twice, before they lose themselves in each other. She turns further into him as he tightens his hold around her. When he does, she falls back on him and he slowly lies down, guiding her on top of him. He deepens the kiss and they move together in unison.
Still gripping each other, they turn on their sides, only to be stopped by Amy's: "Ahh!"
"What?" Nathan quickly releases her. "What happened?"
"I'm fine," Amy pulls a small rock from beneath the blanket. "Stupid rock."
Only when he sees her smile and the rock in her hand does Nathan start laughing. Amy groans and tosses the rock aside. She turns back to him, sees his wide smile, and matches it. They share laughter with each other, caught in the moment. When it passes, Amy leans in to give him a quick kiss.
"You know," she sits up and adjusts her shirt, moving back to the edge of the blanket. "I was collecting firewood before you showed up and it's starting to get dark—so…"
"That's—uh—" Nathan sits up and gets his bearings. "That's a good idea. I'll help you."
"Thanks."
The two work together to start a fire. It does not take them long since both have spent nights in the wilderness constantly throughout their lives. They put the safeguards in place and kindle the fire together, watching the flames grow to a stable point where they can feel the heat on their faces.
Amy returns to the blanket and Nathan takes a place beside her. They watch the fire together, letting the flames dance in front of them.
Amy turns to him, "Did you want to ask me something?" she whispers, careful not to ruin the moment. "Before?"
"Oh…" Nathan nods and reaches out to entwine their fingers. "You seem to have a real gift at this empathy thing—not only with me—but especially around horses. And I was just wondering if that's how you got named the 'miracle girl.'"
She laughs out loud at his question. He watches her face light up again as she sits up straighter and squeezes his hand.
"What?" he asks, bemused. "Why are you laughing at me?"
"We've known each other for—like—a year," she shakes her head with a smile. "And you ask me this now? If people ask me, they mention it like—within the first five minutes of meeting me."
"Well, I'm not most people," he leans in for a quick kiss. "Now am I?"
"No, you most certainly are not." She kisses him again.
When they break apart, he gives her arm a squeeze. "Seriously, what's the story with the name?"
She sighs. "People started calling me that in high school."
"In high school?" He clarifies, shock evident on his face.
"Yeah…" She debates for a moment on whether to tell him the whole story. "Uh…My school bus was involved in a multi-vehicle crash on the highway." She notices the concern on his face and then adds, "No one on the bus got hurt…Anyway, one of the vehicles was a horse trailer and it was tipped over and was wrecked pretty badly. Once I saw the trailer, I started franticly looking for the horses out the bus window. I see a horse—Caesar—trapped in some barbed wire on the side of the road, freaking out. So, against everyone's protests, I get off the bus to calm Caesar down and try and get him free from the wire…I must have been so focused on Caesar that I didn't notice everyone staring at me…and then I found out someone was filming me as I was trying to just get this horse to calm down…on top of that, I also found out Caesar is this big famous Olympic hopeful and soon afterward his famous owner is asking me to work with him. Someone gave me the Miracle Girl name from watching the video of me calming down Caesar and then it just turned into this huge thing that I did not want or ask for...but I wanted to help Caesar and the name kind of just stayed around…So…"
"Wow…that's quite a story."
Amy scoffs. "I don't know about that. I just wanted to you to know—with obviously too many details."
"No," He puts his arm around her and squeezes her shoulder. "I like the details. Thank you for the details."
She rolls her eyes. "Uh-huh."
Nathan goes over the story in his head. "You were working with Olympic hopefuls in high school? That's a lot of pressure for someone so young."
"Yeah," she nods. He watches her eyes grow to saucers and realizes how big a deal his observation is. "It was a lot of pressure—and not just with Caesar. I worked with a couple of really big-name horses in high school…looking back on it—" She takes a deep breath, realizing, "It was actually crazy."
He turns to her and his voice softens, "Was this all after your mom died?"
"Oh, yeah," she confirms. "Yeah, all after mom died…I don't know, it was a good distraction—keeping me busy, doing what I loved, and it made me feel connected to her. So…" she shrugs, "It was nice."
A/N: Thanks for reading and for all your lovely comments. I'm excited because the story really opens up in the next couple of chapters, you will meet a couple of new characters, and an old favorite returns (not Caleb).
I hear people wanting to get into the Tim and Jack reaction to their relationship...I don't know if anyone is with me, but that drama has played out every single time, especially with Tim, and to me-it just is not interesting. I have my own theories of how Nathan could win over Jack and Tim on the show that might make their reactions a little different this time...I honestly just want to write things that I can sink my teeth into and give me joy. Joy is what writing and sharing this story is about for me. I might change my mind, but I have a plan and arc for now. :)
Special thanks to SCR, abc123abc123, Scoutbooradley, and the 2 guests for their thoughtful reviews.