Chapter 7
Ty was exhausted and no closer to deciding what he would do when he finally saw her. He was hungry and tired and if he needed further convincing to stop, it had started to drizzle. He pulled off in Erie, PA just before the NY border, saw the sign for a casino resort and turned towards it, seeing a liquor store on the way down the road he decided to stop there. After being days on the Norton and staying at roadside motels he needed some luxury, a bath and real food but liquor at these places was outrageous unless you were gambling. Since he would have to leave anything he opened at the hotel before he rode again he bought 2 pints of Hennessy Cognac and an hour later he was in a nice room with a king size bed, climate control and more importantly a large whirlpool tub.
Completely ignoring the prices on the room service menu he let his stomach take over. He ordered a big rare porterhouse steak, fries, a salad and pie. After a brief question and answer session with the order taker he agreed on a 6 pack bucket of local IPA's and sat down trying to relax. He had requested the use of a robe when he checked in and when it was delivered he stripped down and put all of his clothes in a laundry valet bag and called down for pickup. He requested that they be back by 6:00 AM.
After finishing his steak which was remarkably good even if it wasn't from Alberta he started filling the tub, cracked open a bottle of Hennessy, grabbed a glass and the ice bucket full of beer and headed into the bathroom. After soaking for a few minutes and taking a long sip of cognac, he popped open a beer, took a swig and turned on his phone and his iPad. As they beeped and sounded incoming emails and texts he took another sip of the cognac, set it aside and laid the cold beer bottle against his head. He read his emails, deleted those that were crap and answered none of them. Then he called up the picture of Amy. He stared at it until tears flowed down his face two beers later.
He lay down naked as all his clothes were sent out to the valet, closed his eyes and though his mind raced a mile a minute fell asleep as the effects of hard riding, a hot bath and some alcohol took their toll.
When he opened his eyes hours later, he immediately knew two things, his mouth was parched and the sound of pouring rain on the windows meant he was stuck here. After drinking one of the complimentary waters, he put on his robe, opened the front door, grabbed his folded laundry and the complimentary newspaper. He had a mild headache, probably a combination of things, drank another bottle of water, took two aspirin and showered.
After checking the weather and learning the the rain would continue until late afternoon he headed downstairs, stopped at the front desk to extend his stay another night and found a restaurant where he ate breakfast.
He wandered around the lobby for a while and looked at the slots and empty early morning tables then settled near the horse racing pit with a cup of coffee delivered promptly by a hostess without him asking. He reached over to a rack and pulled down a racing report staring at the headline. Cloister secret solved. The article spoke of a confirmed confidential report that none other than the world famous Pegasus Stables were contacted and were successful in solving Cloister's yet unnamed difficulties prior to the Derby.
Ty put the paper down and sipped his coffee. Well that mystery's been confirmed, Amy fixed Cloister. The article didn't mention her at all, Pegasus this and that, but he knew, he could see her with him in a round pen clear as day. He wasn't sure what the connection was between Cloister, the Derby and Lisa but he figured they connected there, at the derby somehow, which led to him sitting in this casino holding an iPad sized photo of Amy and wondering what the hell he was doing.
"Pretty woman, can I get you something ? More coffee ? Hair of the dog ?"
"Coffee would be great thanks."
"Your girlfriend ?"
"Was, fiancé actually, maybe still is, I don't know anymore."
"One of those huh ? Want to talk, it's part of the job ?"
"I wouldn't know where to begin."
"I'm off in ten, hour break, how about we begin over there so I can get a muffin and off these feet."
"Why not, I'm on a bike and stuck here till the rain ends."
"Cheryl Parmenter, busybody." She said it with a smile that reminded him of Lisa when she got comfortable in her chair by the fire and sat back to listen to him.
"Ty Borden, Dr, actually, vet." He said and they both smiled and shook hands.
Back at Pegasus, Amy was doing rounds and being accompanied by Jack and Lisa. There was a light rain falling and Amy walked smiling from stall to stall checking horses and signing charts. They chatted about the time gap and answered questions for each other, more gossip about doings than anything. At one point her phone went off and rather than ignoring it this time she checked the message and sighed while putting it away.
"Problem Amy ? Her grandfather asked.
"Plucked, waxed, shined and primed and he's stuck in Erie, PA."
"Excuse me ?"
"You know that feeling Grandpa when you're ready to head to the airport to meet Lisa in the morning, you shave and lay out your nicer clean clothes because you know, you missed her and you're looking forward to being together, you want to look your best ?"
"Of course."
"And the night before, all alone in bed for the last night you start to think of the next night when, you know, you'll become reacquainted."
Lisa laughed as did Jack "The point Amy ?"
"He's in Pennsylvania Grandpa and I'm all spit polished and primed for reacquaintance."
"Why are we having this conversation ?"
"He just booked another night, I guess it's raining in Erie too."
"Ah, well, you learn to live with that kind of disappointment Amy, life happens, flight delays, cancellations."
"Well, I know that Grandpa, but I'm pretty horny."
"Amy !" Jack exclaimed, Lisa just burst out laughing as did Sandra who happened to be waiting for Amy to notice her.
"Come on Grandpa I'm 31 and it's been awhile. Sandy, what's up ?"
"Well, this may not be the best time to bring this up but they're here for Cloister's straws."
Amy laughed at that "leave one for Lisa to take back for one of her mares Sandy."
"Got it, Fairfield Stables correct ma'am for the registry transfers ?"
"It's Lisa and yes Sandy, thank you."
"Amy, Erie is only 3 ½ hours away."
"I know Sandy but I refuse to chase him, he needs to come here, drive through that gate and right up to me."
"One of those huh, wait, this is for that guy on the desk ? You know for a year I thought that picture came with the frame and that maybe you just liked looking at it. So that's real huh ?"
"Yup."
"You know Amy, I could go get him for ya ?"
"Get out of here, don't you have sperm to deal with and a husband and kids at home ?" She shouted trying to drown out her friend's laughter as she skipped away.
"I'm sorry Amy, it's silly for me to think you don't uhm."
"Miss intimacy ?"
"Thank you yes, you have his picture on your desk ?"
"Yes Grandpa, I have his picture on my desk and in my bedroom and I wear his ring next to my heart. Do you really need more explanation ? Why is this so hard for you to understand ? You positively tortured Lisa for years with your insecurities."
"I didn't torture Lisa."
"Oh nonsense, too old, too rich, France, too many pillows, she cares too much, pampers too much or too little, take your pick because it's all bullshit anyway. Tell me Grandpa, please, explain to me, what all that is compared to holding the woman or man you love in your arms. Why is it always more complicated than that ? Money, power, fame, it's all crap. I just want him back and I know it's selfish to think he'll want me but he's on the way Grandpa, no tricks, he's coming on his own. He told me to keep this ring once and had the opportunity to get it a second time and opted to leave it with me. He's on the same break I am."
"JT and Maddie talked to me about Ty. Well to be fair I asked Maddie when she realized I was lost in thought about you two."
"Maddie is the empathic outspoken one."
"And Charlotte ?" Lisa asked.
"Observant, quiet and sharp tongued. Jack is special, he's a thinker and his questions are touchy, Crawl right up and sit next to your for awhile."
"That's a good way to describe what he said to me."
"Which was ?"
"So you think I'll like this Ty guy ?"
Amy laughed "And your answer ?"
"I told him I thought so and he should wait and see and decide for himself. It's the why that I found interesting."
They had moved into her office in the medical barn and Amy offered and then poured them coffee. Jack and Lisa sat in plush leather chairs while Amy moved charts across her desk signing. They both made a point of looking over. Ty's photo was on one side of the desk and the family photo on the other. On the windowsill, family photos she had taken with her and several from since she was gone which was unnerving, especially to Jack, a picture of him in his cross country tights.
"Go ahead Grandpa, I've learned to listen and sign, I'm sorry, I know it seems rude."
"Well he said because you told him the reason you never got married was that you were waiting for."
"My knight in shining armor."
"Yes and he said 'well I figure it's this Ty guy so you know.' I also saw his badges of courage Amy, this is really his last ?"
"That's what they promise Grandpa, they say puberty shouldn't be an issue with his growth but we'll wait and see, for now, yes his last surgery. And Madelyn ?"
"First made sure I was Ok with Brin."
"Oh did she ?" Amy said looking up and laying her pen down.
"Like I said, she came over after I spoke with JT. I was thinking about those kids of yours and Ty, mostly Ty and what he would make of all this. She asked me flat out if I was worrying about you and him."
"Like I said."
"Right so I told her I was and asked her opinion as a woman."
"I know where this is going." Amy said laughing.
"Well, I don't Jack."
"Hold up Lis, let me get it right, she said that in case I didn't get the comments at dinner
that asking her point of view about a guy is like asking a steer who lives with a sheep where their calves are."
"Oh that's delightful, I'll have to remember that."
"Then she asked me if I was Ok with it and I was, am I guess, so we'll be tight."
"Tight is good Grandpa, well done."
"I'm proud of you Jack, I was going to talk to you about Maddie."
"And say what ?"
"I guess that would have depended."
"Fair enough, anyway, she said you seemed excited because you talked about Ty like he was a horse."
Lisa couldn't help laughing about that.
"And ?" Amy asked blushing.
Jack smiled and his voice cracked "And that when you held his ring you had the same look on your face that you have when you hold JT after a surgery, for that moment, nothing in the world matters but the two of you."
Amy turned away and wiped a tear from her eye, "I'm sorry."
"You never have to apologize to us Amy."
"I have to apologize for too many things Grandpa."
"You did what you felt you had to do Amy." He answered.
"I hurt you all."
"You were hurting too sweetheart, you deserved healing just like these horses do."
"At what price Lisa ?"
"You tell me, look at this place and the good you've done in the world. A technique developed here was used successfully by Scott and Ty on one of my horses."
"I know, Scott sent us the files, Bert and the team consulted with him and came up with a surgical plan. I would have sent the surgeon if he didn't feel confident."
"So Scott ?"
"The first of my spy ring and obviously my number one source."
"Amy, I don't know what to say."
"I promised myself I would be completely honest with everybody about everything so, I would have bought Fairfield Flyer had he not been a clone when that deal went south. I was the offer you turned down for Toulon when you decided not to sell Lisa and push comes to shove I'd have bought Fairfield."
"Amy, I never."
"It all amounted to nothing so stop, I was proud that you stuck it out, very proud."
"So you knew about all of these trips, the Vet's without Borders thing." Jack asked
"Yup, Scott was beside himself with losing him all those times."
"I don't understand it or that agreement of theirs." Lisa said more to herself than the others.
"I really shouldn't talk about this."
"Too late for that Amy, you can trust us."
"I financed it Lisa."
"I don't understand." Jack said "Vets without Borders financed it."
"The trips Grandpa, I financed the sweat equity part and it's probably not a good idea right now to let him know that. I will tell him everything, me please."
"So Scott and who else ?"
"I'll give you one more, Haddie Mills."
"From White Horse Ranch, they opened 5 or 6 years ago ?"
"Yup."
"She is a gossip that's for sure."
"Yup."
"How do you know her ?"
"They train specialty horses; Para, companion horses and teaching horses for challenged and spectrum kids."
"Right I knew that, they've bought horses from us actually." Jack added. "came in handy a few times. They have a lot of alpacas too."
"Let it all percolate together while I talk to the crowd of people gathering outside and being nice and patient."
Amy walked out and moments later was talking to a several people outside the office when Lisa called out, "White Horse is Pegasus."
"No fuzz growing on you Gran." Amy called back a second before she came through the door smiling.
"I'm sorry, we're walking again you two." She said grabbing her hat and folder and walking out into a drizzle in bright sunshine.
"You own White horse Amy ?"
"Yes Grandpa, 2300 acres of prime Alberta land. Well, to be honest Pegasus owns it in trust for the Foundation, one of dear Charlie's tax dodges."
"You arranged to buy those horses."
"Yes Grandpa" She said it and smiling at him reached up to kiss his cheek "they were very nice horses by the way so thank you."
"What do you plan on doing with Fairfield Lisa ? They were walking towards the ranch house after a quick stop in the family barn to drop a file.
"I left it to all of you."
"You leave it to the foundation you can keep it until you're, well gone, pay no property taxes and we'll make it into the Stillman Family Rehabilitation and Retirement Center for Thoroughbreds. We'll keep it in the family just change the focus."
"What a wonderful thought, give something back and Fairfield will remain something to be proud of forever."
"And now that you're on the board, a true family affair and you can guide it's future as specifically as you want. Think about it, hopefully no rush."
"I will Amy, thank you."