Space in My Heart For You

Nugget #10: Dinner with Friends

Nathan pulls into the driveway, shuts off the engine, and turns to Amy beside him. As she looks over at his friend's house, he notices her natural beauty for the third time tonight. Dressed in simple jeans and a flowy top, the waves in Amy's hair tonight tumble gracefully down her back.

"You ready?" Nathan asks and offers her a small smile. "It shouldn't be too bad. They're nice people."

"Huh," she looks knowingly at him. "Are you trying to reassure me or yourself?"

Nathan laughs. It quickly fades at the realization of how well she now knows him. He grows somber, looking down, back at her, and then down again.

Amy reaches for his hand on the seat and squeezes it. "It'll be fine. I'm looking forward to meeting your friends."

She releases his hand to exit the truck and he does the same, quickly rounding the front of the truck to walk beside her.

A white picket fence outlines a large front yard to a yellow two-story farmhouse. The outside picnic table is covered with a blue tablecloth and set for four. Amy notices a tall tree in the corner of the yard with a tire swing. Behind it, the sun is halfway in the sky, preparing to go down within the next two hours, and she smiles, feeling comfortable in Nathan's familiar corner of the world.

"Welcome, Welcome," Amy turns to find Nathan's friends walking out to meet them.

"Hey Nathan," Josh reaches out and takes his hand. "Good to see you."

"Hey Josh," He turns to Josh's wife and smiles at her, "Hannah." He reaches out to Amy and she steps forward. "This is Amy."

Amy smiles. "It's nice to meet you both." She briefly shakes both of their hands. "You have a beautiful home."

"Thank you," Hannah says sweetly.

The four of them stand still for a moment. "Uh," Josh clicks into hostess gear. "Come in, come in. I'm just going to get the grill going."

They follow Josh into the front yard and Amy spots the grill on their small patio.

Hannah stops at the porch stairs. "What can I get everyone to drink? We have beer, wine, seltzer."

Josh perks up from the grill. "A beer for me, honey."

"Me too," Nathan adds.

"Amy?" Hannah asks with a friendly expression.

"Oh, just water for me. Thanks."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

As Hannah skips up the front steps, Nathan moves closer to Amy, placing a hand on the small of her back. He meets her gaze and tries to gather any information or feeling she has from that small interaction, but he is only met with an uncomplicated smile.

Josh pulls out the Pryce beef package and shows it to Nathan. "Only the best beef for tonight."

Nathan nods in approval. "I would expect as much."

Josh chuckles. He sets down the package to open it. Without looking up, he asks. "Amy, are you enjoying Nathan's beef?"

Nathan shakes his head and Amy lets out a chuckle. "I actually eat Heartland beef myself."

"Oh, that's right." Josh lifts his head and smirks as he motions between them. "We got ourselves a little Romeo and Juliet situation on our hands."

"Okay," Nathan raises his palm, warning, "Let's not get overly dramatic here."

Amy defends him. "Nathan likes to insist he is only friendly competition."

"Oh, I see," Josh teases. "And you buy that?"

"Hey," Nathan interjects, standing up for himself.

"I like to stay out of the beef business," she tells Josh.

"How diplomatic of you." Josh puts the last steak on the grill. "And what does your family think of this whole—" He motions between them for a second time. "Situation?"

"Uh—" Amy starts, but is thankful to be interrupted by Hannah rejoining the group.

"So, Amy," Hannah passes out the beers to Josh and Nathan before taking a swig of her own. "You don't drink?"

"Hannah." Nathan's eyes widen in warning.

"It's fine," Amy smooths the moment over with a smile. "Yeah, I don't drink."

"Recovering alcoholic?"

"Not me," Amy says simply. "It just tore my family apart when I was a kid."

Hannah's eyelids fall over her in regret. "I'm such a jerk. I'm so sorry."

"No biggie," she brushes it off and takes a sip of water. After a few moments, true silence enters the group and Amy realizes she is the best person to break it. "Josh, you grew up with Nathan?"

Relief floods over the group as Josh replies, "Yeah. We participated in the rodeo school together as kids."

Amy nods. "Oh, fun."

Josh continues, "We did rodeo all through high school together too—well, until he left—joined the high school team and everything."

"Was the rodeo school different than the high school team?"

"Well," Nathan starts. "It was led by a captain, a peer, rather than a coach."

"Oh, right," Amy looks between them. "And did you prefer having a captain or coach?"

"A peer captain was nice," Nathan shrugs. "More of an equal."

"I liked our captain," Josh adds.

Amy asks, "Who was your captain?"

"Uh…" Josh tries to think. "Scott Cardinal, I think. At least in Grades 9 and 10."

Nathan notices a wide smile break on Amy's face. He's both enchanted and mystified by it. "What? What's so funny?"

Amy shakes her head. "Scott's a close family friend. He dated my sister for a while."

"Really?" Josh says in disbelief.

"Oh, no way," Hannah joins in. "That's wild."

Josh tries to think back. "Oh, my, gosh, your sister is Lou Fleming?"

Amy nods and raises her eyebrows. "The one and only."

"Wow, I remember now," Josh shares. "She would come to watch practice sometimes. They were really an item."

Nathan scrunches up his face. "I don't remember any of that."

"Man, it was after you left." Josh nudges him. "That's why. I think they were seniors at that point."

"That sounds right," Amy confirms.

Josh turns his attention back to the steaks. He tests them out with a fork one by one and then declares. "Steaks are done." He plops each one on a serving plate. "Honey, is the salad on the table?"

"Brought it out with the drinks."

"Perfect," Josh says. He makes his way to the picnic table and the rest of them follow with drinks still in hand. They take their seats and start passing around the food.

"The steak is really good, Nathan," Hannah says, already eyeing her second bite.

"Hey," Josh speaks over Nathan's thanks. "I cooked it."

"Yeah, but," Hannah points her fork at Nathan. "He produced it."

"I think you pay compliments to the cook," Josh teases.

Hannah teases back, "I think you pay compliments to the guests."

Josh smiles and then changes the subject. "Amy, Nathan tells me you work with horses. How long have you been doing that?"

"Uh…a long time," Rather than do the math, Amy answers, "Since I was fifteen."

"Wow," Josh exclaims, finding new respect for her. "When Nathan and I were fifteen we spent our free time racing tractors and trying and failing to do wheelies with our dads' trucks."

Amy turns to Nathan, amused, "Did you really?"

Nathan shakes his head, "Trying and failing. You heard him say failing, right?" Amy chuckles.

Josh picks up the conversation. "You've really trained horses since you were a teenager? What—you didn't go around chasing around farm chickens with the rest of us?"

"Hey," Amy raised her hands and then gestures to herself. "I have chased my fair share of farm chickens."

"Huh-uh." Josh teases her. "What else do you do for fun?"

"For fun?" Amy challenges him. "On a busy working ranch with multiple family businesses in full swing?"

"Come on." Hannah insists. "You must do something just for fun, just for you."

"Um," Amy thinks. "Fun for me. Um, I have a really cool daughter who is fun to hang out with. I ride my horse out in the foothills all the time…and other than that—I don't know, I enjoy singing whenever I get the chance."

"You sing?" Hannah exclaims excitedly. "That's so cool."

Nathan rapidly blinks in the new information and then stares at Amy in awe. "I didn't know that. I wish—" he tries to search for a word to describe his new amazement and new longing to hear her sing.

Hannah continues. "Is your singing more of a private thing? Or do you ever sing in front of people?"

"Well, I'm not going to sing in front of you now," Amy's eyes widen and tilts her head playfully. "But, yeah, I sing in front of people, sometimes at weddings and a couple of local spots, mostly with my grandpa."

"Really?" Nathan manages to ask.

Amy turns to him. For the first time, she sees the amazement in his eyes. "Not very often. It's not a big deal."

"That's so cool, though," Hannah says.

"Thanks."

"So, you're a part of your big family ranch, you have a cool daughter, you sing, and you've been training horses since you were a teenager," Josh summarizes. "Would you say we've got a pretty good idea now of who Nathan is dating?"

Amy shrugs. "Sure. Pretty good…But I wouldn't really call what I do horse training. I—uh—I work with horses who have behavior problems and try to get the root of their issues."

Hannah sits up straighter and looks at Amy with new eyes. "Oh, my, god. You're Amy Fleming. You're the Miracle Girl."

For Amy, who has experienced similar responses to Hannah's over the years, navigating the moment comes naturally. She neither confirms or denies the title, but rather offers a reserved smile instead. After a moment, she tucks her chin, letting the smile fade quietly.

"Nathan!" Hannah playfully hits his shoulder. "You didn't tell us you were dating the famous Miracle Girl!"

For Nathan, Amy's Miracle Girl status still feels new to him. To see her reference as that in a third-party promotional material was one thing; to hear people refer to her as that in person—especially his friends—was another. The mixed feelings of pride, awe, and reverence at her talent and skill juxtapose everything about her that he fell in love with: her kindness and empathy, her humbleness and respect for all creatures, and her strength and integrity. "It's just not how I would describe her," he shares honestly.

Amy's heart swells at Nathan's response. Under the table, she reaches out to give his hand a simple squeeze.

Josh watches Hannah's excitement and notices the contrast to both Amy's and Nathan's hesitant reserve. In an attempt to bridge the gap, he chimes in, "I think we saw one of your clinics once. I was visiting some family up in the foothills and my nieces were dying to see you."

Amy can't do much with the vague memory. Having no desire to dwell on the subject, she replies simply, "That's sweet."

"Nathan," Josh redirects the table's attention. "Have you been to one of Amy's clinics?"

"Oh, um," Nathan and Amy turn towards each other, feeling the other out. He's unsure of how to respond until he notices the levity in her expression and the playfulness in her eyes. He matches her lightheartedness in his tone, raising his eyebrows and teasing, "I haven't been invited to one yet."

Amy laughs and Nathan smiles at her. Josh and Hannah watch them together, enchanted by their interplay. "I had no idea you wanted to go," she teases.

"Oh," Hannah jumps in before Nathan can respond. "You have to go."

"He's seen me work, Hannah," Amy assures her. "He knows the deal."

"I'm sure it's not the same," Hannah proclaims. "You're great in front of a crowd."

"Sometimes…Definitely not all the time." Amy concedes. Reaching the end of tolerance for the subject, her mind searches for a way to redirect the conversation. "So, Josh," she takes a sip of water. "What do you do?"

A/N: Thanks so much to Ilena, Rachel, Scoutbooradley, Martha, and guest for sharing their thoughts with me. I'm so glad you guys are enjoying the story. ❤