lb_heartland | Fic: Inheritance of the Heart 8-9/18

Inheritance of the Heart
Chapter Eight
Word Count: 3,674
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: Lou/Scott, but mostly, eventually... Ty/Amy.
Warnings: Character death (in chapter one only)
Disclaimer: I'm never going to grow up. That means... I'm not legally responsible for anything, right?
Summary: She went away thinking it would always be there, always be the same. She was wrong.
Author's Note: So the newspaper article wasn't supposed to do all this, but then it did... And it was just impossible to resist the idea...

Front Page News

Amy passed by everyone without much thought, going straight to her room and closing the door behind her. She knew it was silly. Still, she needed to be alone for a moment. She knew she'd taken a big step in asking to stay on at Heartland as Ty's partner, but she hadn't thought it would lead to this. Ty almost kissed me, she thought with amazement. She couldn't believe it. Her mind was full of memories and feeling, so mixed up and full that she felt like something was going to explode.

Ty was going to kiss me, and I wanted him to kiss me, she thought, closing her eyes with a wince. It wasn't really a bad thing—except it was. She and Ty had a past. They had been together for three years, and things between them had been good. Beautiful, wonderful... But it had ended. They grew apart. It didn't last, nothing did. Seven years had passed since then, and they had only grown further apart. Just because she was back didn't mean they were back.

She caught herself thinking about the way she used to feel when Ty touched her, and if they still had that same spark, she knew she'd never be able to say no. She didn't hardly want to. She knew it was a bad idea to get involved, but she didn't know how to stay apart.

Someone knocked on her door, and Amy jumped. "What? Who's there?"

Please, don't be Ty, please don't be Ty. I couldn't take it if it's Ty... Her sister's voice was a relief. "Amy, it's Lou. I was planning on heading out in a few minutes, so..."

"Right. I'm sorry. I meant to say goodbye to you," Amy said, moving to open the door again. She stopped, tried to compose herself, and then turned the handle. Lou frowned at her as she opened it.

"Amy, are you okay?"

"Not really. I just asked Ty to... let me buy in to Heartland. Half and half. Partners," Amy started to babble a little. "It's crazy, right? He's probably right. We should just put it in a trust, and I should go somewhere else, and I'm just being nostalgic. Heartland has to change. That's what happens."

"It sounds almost like you're having a panic attack," Lou said, coming into the room. She led Amy over to the bed and helped her to sit. "You need to calm down and tell me what's really bothering you. Did Ty say no to the partnership?"

"No, he didn't. I don't think—well, he nodded, but then that reporter was there, so I didn't get a chance to ask him if it was a yes or if he wanted to think about it," Amy said. She was not going to tell her sister about the rest of it. No. She could not tell Lou about Ty almost kissing her. Lou already had an opinion on that—her mind was made up. It sounded like she thought that Amy and Ty just had to get back together, which wasn't true. They didn't have to, and they shouldn't. All this time together, all these outside opinions, they were confusing both of them. She and Ty could sort it out on their own. They didn't need everyone else telling them what to do.

"So, you're worried that he won't accept it? I don't know why you need to. I think that he'd be a fool to refuse your offer, and he's not. He think he really wants a reason to keep Heartland. He just needs you—your help, your partnership, and your training as a vet, all the things that you just offered him. He is going to take it. Why wouldn't he?"

"I think I made a mistake in offering it to him. I should tell him I was wrong."

"Stop panicking. Amy, what has gotten into you? One minute you're convinced you want to stay, now you're saying you don't?" Lou looked at her, and then she sat back with a smug smile on her face. "This isn't about the partnership. It's about Ty. You're scared because you are still in love with him, aren't you?"

Amy buried her face in her hands. "I'm not still in love with him. I... It's confusing. You just think I am. Everyone thinks we are. It's too much, Lou. I don't want anyone telling me what I feel, about anything, but definitely not about Ty."

"I'm not trying to tell you how you feel," Lou said, touching Amy's arm gently. "This is a very confusing time. Just don't run away from the possibility, okay? Promise me that, Amy. Don't just turn your back on this because you're worried about what might happen. If something does happen between you and Ty again, then let it happen. Enjoy it. It doesn't have to last forever, but it could. That's worth having and worth fighting for."

"Fighting... I think it was simpler when we were fighting," Amy muttered. She shook her head. "I don't think I can do it again. I can't get close to him and have it all fall apart again. And Ty... if something like that happened to him again..."

"Time," Lou said, giving her a hug. "Give it time. And a chance."

Ty took a deep breath and tried to keep his eyes focused on Venture. Amy was working on Shadow with Holly in the other ring, and he was aware of every movement she made and everything she said. The two of them hadn't spoken since she made her offer. Since he almost... kissed her. He knew it was a mistake, but he had gotten caught up in the moment. He thought that they were moving towards that, but obviously from Amy's reaction, they hadn't been.

He knew it wouldn't be easy to be Amy's partner without being more as well, but he knew he didn't want her to leave. He would find a way to be less, to cope with that. Heartland needed Amy. He needed her, too. He kept saying that he just wanted to be friends, so he would be her friend..

Venture nudged Ty in the shoulder. The gelding gave him a look. Ty nodded. The horse knew him too well. "You're right. I'm just fooling myself. Again."

Venture nuzzled him. The bond between them was strong enough to where Ty knew Venture knew what he was thinking. He had always read Ty's moods easily enough, but it was only more recently that Ty started thinking he read minds, too.

"You could just talk to her, you know," Lee commented. "You don't have to mope around with your horse."

"I am not moping," Ty said stubbornly, and Venture bumped him again. "Don't agree with my brother, Venture. You're my horse. You're supposed to take my side."

"I'm going to call her over here. This is pathetic."

"Do not call her over here, Lee. Venture might just be willing to bite you again, even if he's been slightly disloyal today," Ty warned him, getting bumped by the horse again. Venture agreed with him this time. Then again, Venture had never been very fond of Lee. Either that or he showed his affection for Lee with his teeth.

"No fair threatening me with that horse. You know he's been threatening to eat me ever since got here. He's just pretending to like hay and oats, but really he's an evil horse bent on taking over the world. After he's done eating me, that is."

Ty laughed, patting Venture's nose. He did love this horse. "Is there something you need, Lee?"

"Tanya's article made it to print today. She's got a copy of it for everyone, but... I think you might want to see it before it makes the rounds. Well, maybe just before Amy sees it."

"I'd ask you what you meant by that, but I'm pretty sure I don't want to know," Ty said. He did have a fairly good idea of what he was going to see, considering when he'd noticed that the picture was being taken. He should find and burn all of those newspapers. His cellphone rang, and he reached to unclip it from his belt buckle. "Oh, great."

"What?"

"Your favorite person has no doubt seen this article," Ty muttered, shaking his head. "Do you have a copy with you?"

"Tanya wouldn't let me take it, so they're all up in the house. Really, though, Ty, what can the parasite do about it? You're not going to let her come between you and Amy again, are you?"

"Lee, there isn't anything between me and Amy, but trust me, if there was, Amy and me would be coming between ourselves," Ty answered as he passed Venture's reins to his brother, who tried to protest as Ty ran over to the house. He had to see how bad it looked.

"Ty!" Tanya called excitedly. "There you are! Look at how well this turned out! I could barely get my hands on a copy for each of us. This paper really sold off the stands."

Ty picked it up and winced. "Since when is Heartland front page news? I don't think we ever managed that, not with Gallant Prince or the storm..."

"Don't you understand? That's what makes this great."

"Yeah, and you can say that because you're not on the front page," Ty snapped, losing his patience. He couldn't believe this. Now everyone was going to think that he and Amy had something going on. It definitely looked like they did in the picture. They were standing in front of Pearl, and his head was next to Amy's, their lips almost touching.

The door swung open, and Ty looked over at Holly with relief. He might still have time to catch Amy before she saw this. Holly ran over to the table. "Lee says we made the paper. Can I see it? Please?"

"Here you go, sweetie. I got you your own copy," Tanya told her, and Ty glared at her over Holly's head. She just shrugged as Ty left the house. He walked straight into someone—Amy—who was on her way in.

"I'm sorry," they both said at the same time. Amy started to fidget. "So... I hear we made the front page."

"Yeah, we did," Ty agreed. "Emphasis on the we part."

Amy frowned, and he passed her the paper. She took it and stared at it for a moment. "'At Heartland, conventional medicine and traditional medicine make for great cures and great chemistry. Heartland veterinarian Doctor Amy Fleming and owner Ty Baldwin bond over their latest diagnosis.' What is this?"

"Simply put, a disaster," Ty said. He shook his head. "I mean... People are going to think we're... doing something we shouldn't be when we're looking at their horses."

"Which we're not! How could they publish this?"

"I don't know. Tanya's thrilled with the article, but I guess I never got that far."

"I can see why you didn't," Amy said, running a hand through her hair nervously. She looked at him, but she couldn't seem to say what was on her mind. His phone rang again, and he rolled his eyes as he reached for it, thinking that it had to be his ex again. No, that was Pearl's owner. "I'd better take this. It's Pearl's owner, and I didn't even think about getting permission from them about those stupid photos."

"Of course," Amy agreed, and Ty flipped open the phone, taking what was only the first of several calls.

"I haven't seen Ty since he left with the paper," Tanya began as she started to clean up the plates. Amy had barely eaten at all. She felt like everyone was watching her. Her cheeks had been red all night. She couldn't choke down more than a couple of bites, and she barely heard most of the conversation around her. Tanya couldn't stop gushing over the article. It sounded like that part of it was fine. It was the picture that was the problem. Amy noticed that Holly seemed off as well, but she didn't know enough about her niece to know why. "He's really upset by this, isn't he?"

Lee shrugged. "Give him time. He'll get over it."

"Lee," Liz protested. "I don't think you really understand what has happened here."

"He was taking a call from Pearl's owner when I spoke to him last," Amy said flatly. "He said no one asked for permission for her picture to be used, so there could be trouble over that."

"Do you think they'll want a retraction put in? The article is great," Tanya said, fretting a little. "I'd hate to see them pull it."

"I think they should," Amy snapped. "Don't you get it? The article might do wonders for PR, if that was what we really cared about, but that picture's going to undo all of it! It makes it look like all Ty and I do is make out in front of the horses! We're not even together, but the whole world is going to think that we are! Any credibility either of us has is now gone! Not to mention that the legal issues with Ty's ex-wife are probably going to get worse just when he might have been convinced to keep Heartland for himself like he should! This is not a good thing! Why is it that none of you see that?"

She didn't wait for an answer. She couldn't. She rushed upstairs and into her room, closing the door behind her. She wished Lou hadn't left. She knew that Lou had a life back home, and she trusted them completely with Holly, so she felt comfortable leaving Holly at Heartland for the summer, as much as she missed her daughter. Amy just needed her sister.

It was almost funny how the friends that had seemed to matter so much to Amy before her Grandpa died weren't here. She hadn't spoken to them since. No calls, no emails. Nothing. Some friends. Amy didn't have anyone to talk to here.

She took out her phone and called her sister. Lou picked up on the first ring. "Amy. I bet you just saw the papers."

"Papers? Is this in more than one? Oh, god, Lou," Amy said. "I don't know what to do. They've really ruined things. I'm not just talking about the fact that we might lose everything we worked for because people will think it's one big make-out barn around here, but now... How can Ty and I ever work out what's between us? Everyone's going to think there's something now, and Ty called this a disaster..."

"I think he just meant the picture."

"What if he meant us? I mean, it is a disaster, isn't it? Now people think we're just—He'll never go for the partnership now! It won't look like a business arrangement at all. And what is his ex-wife going to do now? What happens if this can help her case?"

"Calm down, Amy. You're worrying over things that haven't happened yet, and we can work on damage control if and when something happens. Give me a couple days to come up with a strategy, but I've already got a few ideas. The most important thing is that you stay calm and try to work through this together."

"Together? I can't even look at him now," Amy moaned. "I'm so embarrassed, and we didn't even do anything!"

"You didn't?"

"What's that supposed to mean, Lou? That stupid reporter snapped a picture of us when we were talking... I guess maybe Ty might have been in the process of—that doesn't matter. It only matters that people are going to think that's what he was doing, and what if he wasn't?"

Lou was quiet for a moment. "Did you want him to kiss you?"

"Yes. No. Lou!"

Her sister laughed. "It's okay to feel that way, Amy. It's not wrong at all. Ty is an attractive man. He matured really well."

"Can Scott hear you now?"

"He's jealous, but I promise to make it up to him later."

Amy shook her head. "I don't want to know. Really. I don't want to think about this anymore. I think I need to take a shower and try to get some sleep. You're really coming down to help with this?"

"Of course. Get some rest. You'll feel better tomorrow."

Ty closed the phone and leaned his head against the post for Venture's stall. The gelding moved closer to him, and Ty reached over to start some T-touch circles, knowing that it would calm both of them down. He had managed to salvage most of it, but there was still one owner that was insisting on taking their horse away from an unprofessional stable. It shouldn't really surprise him. Wonder's owners had never been easy to work with, but this was unbelievable. He'd managed to talk Pearl's owners down by pretending that his concern was about the unauthorized picture, and they'd been so quick to assure him they didn't mind that they seemed to have forgotten about what he and Amy were doing in the picture. He'd been able to talk three other owners down, explaining that the picture was not what the caption made it seem.

He didn't know how long this would last. Only six of the owners had called, but they had twenty horses here at Heartland, and there would probably be more calls tomorrow. He didn't want to think about that. He still hadn't answered the worst of those calls, the one that kept calling back.

"Well, Venture, I don't think we're going to survive this."

The horse snorted, shaking his head. Ty smiled a little. It was like Venture was saying they'd been through worse, and he was right. "Okay, maybe. But I don't know how I'm going to talk to Amy now. She offered me that partnership, but I don't know if we can really do it. I'd say we could, but... It seems pretty clear to me now. I still love her. Or I fell in love with her again. It doesn't really matter. I'm not sure I can do this if we don't become more than friends again, but I don't know how to do that. I don't think she wants it."

Venture snorted again. Ty looked at him. "Have you been listening to Lee? Because he's right about one thing: I don't know why you haven't eaten him and taken over the world yet."

Venture turned away, showing Ty exactly what he thought of that suggestion. Ty laughed, and Venture came back over, nuzzling Ty's hand. Ty gave him a carrot. "Think she's asleep yet? Or should I go find somewhere else for the night?"

The gelding bumped Ty's back, moving him a bit towards the house. "You're playing matchmaker now?"

A snort. Ty smiled at him and gave him the last carrot he had before he took a deep breath and headed up the stairs. He couldn't help being a bit concerned. It was a good thing that the article didn't mention their current living arrangements. No one would believe that they weren't involved after that picture.

He opened the door quietly. Most of the lights were off. Ty went to the fridge and took out a soda, opening it and taking a sip before he heard a noise in the other room. He sighed and crossed into the living room. "Amy?"

A guilty head looked up from the couch, but it wasn't Amy. "No, it's me, Uncle Ty."

"Holly, what are you doing up?" he asked, checking his cellphone for the time. "It's late. Didn't anyone tell you to go to bed?"

"They told me, but no one made me. Aunt Amy left in the middle of dinner. She was upset, and she didn't come back down to get me like she usually does. And you've been outside. So no one made me."

"That doesn't mean that you should be up," Ty told her, not liking that Amy was upset enough to forget her niece. She'd been really trying to mend her relationship there. "Come on. Up to bed."

"Are you going to sleep?"

"I'm going to try. I've got a long day tomorrow."

Holly laughed. "You always have long days, Uncle Ty."

He shrugged. He didn't mind the long hours. He enjoyed the work he did, and he liked being here, at Heartland. Jack used to say he spent more time in the yard after he started living there, and he was probably right. "Well, you have long days here, too, so you need to sleep."

"Are you going to read me a story?"

"You don't think you're too old for that?"

"I'm only seven. And Amy has cool horse books. I could read them myself, but I like hearing them read. But you can read me that article on Heartland."

"I don't want to read that article again, Holly. What book is Amy reading you?"

"So the picture isn't true?" Holly asked, sounding disappointed. She climbed onto her bed and sat there, watching him as Ty tried to figure out what to tell her.

"You want that picture to be true?"

"Yeah. Because if you married Amy, then you'd really be my uncle. Not just an... honorary one. A real uncle. I'd like that."

Inheritance of the Heart
Chapter Nine
Word Count: 4,047
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: Lou/Scott, but mostly, eventually... Ty/Amy.
Warnings: Character death (in chapter one only)
Disclaimer: I'm never going to grow up. That means... I'm not legally responsible for anything, right?
Summary: She went away thinking it would always be there, always be the same. She was wrong.
Author's Note: I happened to be driving and this song came up on my playlist, and though it's far more bittersweet than I want this fic to be, I couldn't help being reminded of Ty and Amy when I heard it. So, I borrowed the title of the song for the title of this chapter. It's by Don Henley, and it's an old favorite of mine. :)

That Heart of the Matter

Amy sat on the steps to the house, trying to think. She'd been unable to sleep, and so she finally gave up and got up. It was too early to do much of anything, so she made herself a cup of tea and sat down on the porch. She didn't know what to do. She wanted to run, to leave Heartland and find herself somewhere else to stay, but she knew she couldn't do that. Running wouldn't solve anything. It wasn't going to fix her problems with Ty, and it wasn't going to undo the damage that photo had done. She had to stay and face it.

She heard a beep and realized that her cellphone was still in her jacket pocket. She took it out and looked at it. She'd just gotten an email, though she doubted it was anything she wanted to read. Still, with nothing better to do, she logged into her email and checked it.

She frowned. This was from Soraya. She hadn't heard from her in ages. She opened it quickly. Hey, heard you were back in town. Who hasn't? I'm in town for a while. Wanted to say I'm sorry about your grandpa. I wish I'd been here for the memorial service, but I didn't hear until I got back. My parents just told me when they saw the article in the paper, can you believe that? Anyway, we should get together while we're both in town and catch up.

Amy smiled and quickly sent a reply. That would be great. I could use someone to talk to. Just let me know when.

Almost instantly, there was a response. Amy, what are you doing up? Is something wrong with one of the horses?

Amy smiled at Soraya's concern. She shook her head, even though the other girl wasn't there to see it. No, just a life problem. What are you doing awake?

I'm still adjusting to the time here. I was filming overseas. What's up?

You saw the papers. You tell me, Amy wrote, rolling her eyes. No one really had to ask, did they? Everyone had to have seen that picture by now.

Right. So... You're probably sick of people asking you this, but are you and Ty back together?

That's complicated. Very complicated.

Want to talk about it?

Sure. Can we meet? I need to get out of here. Amy was already digging in her pocket for her keys as she sent the reply. She did really need to get away, if only for a few hours. She couldn't face Ty right now. She was so confused. She heard Lou's words in her head, and a part of her really did want to try, but she didn't think that she could. Things were so confusing, so complicated...

Of course. Coffee?

Sounds great. I'm on my way. Amy got in her car and started it up. She might have seen a light turn on in the house as she drove away, but she didn't give it much thought as she drove away. She just wanted to get out, to take a break, to find a way to breathe again. She had been under so much pressure and so mixed up ever since her grandfather died. She didn't know how she felt or what she wanted, and she just needed some time to sort it all out.

She sighed as she got into town, pulling in front of the coffee shop. They wouldn't open for another half-an-hour, but at least she wasn't sitting around Heartland. She wouldn't run into Ty. Or any of the others. Mostly Ty, though. She just didn't know what to do around him.

"Amy!" Soraya called, getting out of her parents' car. Amy got out and went over to her. Soraya quickly hugged her. "It's good to see you. I've missed you. How does it feel being a fully licensed veterinarian?"

"Kind of weird, actually. What about you? How does it feel being a big time film actress?"

Soraya laughed. "I'm not that big. Honestly, if this picture doesn't do well, that's probably it for my career. I'll have to settle down and get a real job, as my parents have been telling me for years now."

"But you're so talented," Amy protested. "Why would they want you to give that up?"

"There are a lot of people who want to act, Amy, and few of us actually get there. I've got an edge for this role because there's a lot of riding in it, and no one was as natural on a horse as I was. Actually, the character kind of reminds me of you."

"Please tell me it's not a horse whisperer movie."

Soraya laughed. "No, it isn't. But enough about me. What was that picture of you and Ty? Are you back together? How complicated is complicated? And what was that in the article about Ty owning Heartland?"

"I hope you have a lot of free time," Amy began. "That's a long story."

"Uncle Ty! Uncle Ty! Get up, you have to get up!" Holly cried, jumping on Ty's bed. He groaned, trying to pull the pillow over his head. He knew his alarm hadn't gone off yet, and it was too early to think about getting up, not after the night he'd had. He'd barely slept at all, and he was not ready to go out to the barn. If Holly was playing some kind of prank, then she could stop now. Whatever this was, it had better be an emergency.

"Is the barn on fire? Is a horse sick?"

"No."

"Then let me sleep for a little while longer," he told her. "I mean it, Holly. You're up too early. Go back to bed."

"I can't. She's gone! You have to go after her."

"Holly, if one of the horses is loose, you should have said so," Ty muttered, trying not to lose his patience with the girl. She was only seven, and she didn't need to have him yell at her. He used to keep so much to himself, bottle it all up, but he found he couldn't do it any more. He didn't like how close he was to losing control again, but this wasn't like when his wife had left him.

"It's not a horse, Uncle Ty. It's Aunt Amy. She's gone. She drove off in the middle of the night! What if she's not coming back? You have to go after her!"

Ty rubbed his forehead, sitting up. Amy was gone? No, he didn't believe that she was gone for good. She wouldn't leave in the middle of the night. Holly had to be overreacting. "Have you looked in her room?"

"I saw her drive off!"

"I meant, is her stuff still here? She's not going to leave without all of it, Holly. She probably just went into town for a while," he said. He picked up a shirt from the pile next to the bed—he'd just dumped his laundry in the chair the last time and hadn't taken the time to put them away since. It just wasn't a high priority. He ran a hand through his hair. "Holly? Did you even look in her room?"

"Will you promise to go after her? Please?"

"Holly—"

"She didn't leave a note. Mom always leaves a note if she's going to be somewhere else. And she makes sure I know that I'm being watched. Amy's supposed to do that. I know she's not my mom, but she promised we were working with Shadow every day. I know she's upset. What if she left?"

"Come with me. We're going to look in Amy's room. If her stuff is still here, then she's probably just in town for a little while," Ty said, herding Holly into the other room. She looked around Amy's room, shaking her head. He sighed. Holly was panicking over nothing. All of Amy's stuff was still here. "See? She'll be back."

"This is all the same stuff she always has here. Where's her suitcase? It's not here, Ty! She's gone! She took her suitcase and left."

Ty frowned. He didn't see Amy's suitcase, that was true, but he still didn't think that Amy would just run off like that, no matter how bad things were. "I still think she's just in town for a while. She'll be back later."

"You're not going to go?"

"Not now," he said firmly. Holly's panic was starting to get to him, but he was not going to make things worse by chasing after Amy when she hadn't left. "I plan to wait a few hours, if not the rest of the day, and she'll come back on her own. If she isn't back by the end of the day, then I'll call her. I'm sure she's fine, and she'll be back later."

"And if she doesn't answer? If she won't come back? What then?" Holly pressed. "Come on, Uncle Ty. You love her, don't you?"

He nodded. "I do, but that doesn't mean I can force her to stay. Sometimes when you love something, you have to let it go. Like the horses we rehome. There have been many I've worked with and bonded with, and it was hard to see them go, but it was better for them."

"But it's not better for her! She'll go away, and none of us will ever see her again, just like before! She'll go to other countries and find stupid guys and ignore us. Why would you let her do that?"

"It's Amy's choice where she goes. The most I could ever do is offer her a reason to stay. Sometimes that's not enough," Ty explained gently. He touched Holly's shoulder. "I didn't say I wouldn't talk to her. I will."

"Are you going to tell her you love her? Give her a reason to stay?"

"I'll talk to her," he repeated, not willing to give that promise. He still didn't know how Amy would react, and he didn't want to push her further away. "You should eat. Let's get some breakfast."

"I'm not hungry."

"Fine. The horses are."

"And, so, that's life on the set," Soraya finished, laughing. She had just told Amy everything about the last six months while she was on location in New Zealand, from the funny to the embarrassing to the behind-the-scenes romance she had with her horse's trainer. Amy had listened to all of it with a smile, thinking about how lucky Soraya was. She reached for her coffee and took a sip, studying Amy across the table. "You think you can talk about it now?"

Amy sighed. "I don't know why this is so hard. It should be simple, right? Only none of it is."

"Okay, we'll take it one step at a time. You graduated, got your degree, and now you're a practicing veterinarian," Soraya began. "And you were spending the summer abroad, right? Until your Grandpa got sick, right?"

"I didn't know he was sick. I guess no one did. He just... died. He was gone in minutes. I wasn't there. I didn't know for a week afterward. I don't know why I thought being there with that horse was so important. I missed out on the last two years of my grandpa's life, not to mention I wasn't there for Ty when he went through a really bad divorce. I'm a stranger to my niece, and the new baby doesn't even know me. He's not even a baby. I messed up, Soraya. I let all of that slip by me. I was so focused on school and these other horses and places and people that I didn't even care that I was losing my family. It was all my fault, too."

"I'm sure it's not that bad. And you're here now. That's got to count for something, right?"

"That's what Ty keeps telling me. I think I've apologized to him so much lately that he's sick of it. He threatened to kick me out if I apologized again."

Soraya laughed. "That's sweet. It sounds like things are pretty good with you two now."

"They're a lot better, yeah," Amy agreed. She looked down at her coffee. "It's so weird. We were fighting when I first got here. He inherited Heartland, and I was mad at him for it. It wasn't even his choice, but I didn't care. I also didn't know about his divorce, so I said some insensitive things... Then Ty explained that he was thinking of putting Heartland in a trust and creating a non-profit organization."

"Non-profit? Really? Why?"

"Because his ex-wife is a greedy parasite, or at least that's what his brother calls her. Ty's going to have go to court because his ex thinks she should get part of Heartland. He thought changing over would protect it."

"That's good, I guess, but if Heartland's not yours, it should be his."

"That's what everyone keeps telling him." Amy sipped from her coffee. "I... offered to go in half with him, partners. I think... He would have gone for it, maybe. I don't know. That reporter snapped the picture of us and ruined everything."

"He definitely interrupted something."

"Soraya!"

"What? You and Ty were like the perfect couple. None of us could really believe it when you two broke up. I always figured you two would end up married and taking care of Heartland together. You were... soulmates. It wasn't a high school romance. It was a lot deeper than that. Deeper than what I had with Matt... Or what I felt for Ben."

"And I thought you and Matt would last forever," Amy said, shrugging. "Things change."

"Matt and I are still friends. We even go out when I'm in town. We'd like to make it work, but I'm always going places, and he has to have roots, being a doctor. But you and Ty... You two have it easy. You're both still in love with curing horses. And each other, if that picture's anything to go by."

"Everyone seems to think I'm still in love with him—and that he still loves me. I just wish I really knew what I feel. I'm so confused. Everything's been crazy since Grandpa died. It all seems so fast. What if it isn't love? What if we just think we feel that because we felt it before? Because everyone thinks that we should feel it now?"

"Okay," Soraya began. "Tell me about the last time you were with Ty. How did you feel?"

"The last time I was with him, he was showing me the picture in the paper and calling it a disaster."

"No, back to basics. You two walked into the same room?"

"No, he was coming out of the house as I was going in. He almost ran me over."

"What did you think then? Were you thinking about how he almost ran you over, or were you thinking about him? Did you smell his cologne?"

"Ty doesn't wear cologne. He smelled like horses and oils, like he always does. He smelled good. He looked good. My stomach did that stupid little flip-flop, but then again, the time before it was when the reporter was there, and he almost kissed me then. I think. Well, you saw the picture."

"He was definitely going to kiss you there. I'm not really sure how you can doubt how he feels about you, Amy. It's right there. He was looking at you like he looked at you when you were together—with love. This isn't about what he feels. That's not a secret. Take a look at this, will you? Look," Soraya insisted, shoving the paper with the picture in Amy's face.

"I've seen it."

"But you're missing the point."

"You just told me how Ty loving me is all over his face there. Okay, it is. He... He looks pretty intense. He looks... So what?" Amy asked defensively. "People can look involved when they're not, or you wouldn't have a job. It was just a moment, and it's gone. We can't get it back."

"Were you acting, Amy? Look at your face. You're just as bad. Quit trying to deny it for whatever reason it is you think you have to and accept that you really feel it. You love him. You want to be with him. You definitely wanted him to kiss you there," Soraya insisted. "I know acting. You were always a terrible liar. What has you so scared of being with him again?"

Amy shook her head. "I don't know."

"I think you do."

"Uncle Ty!"

Lee laughed at him as Ty groaned. Holly had continued to bug him throughout the day, asking him if he'd called Amy yet, and now that the sun was setting, he was sure that she was going to start insisting that he go into town and find Amy. He did not want to deal with this. He'd been fielding calls from concerned owners all day in addition to his usual workload and picking up the slack from Amy's absence. He was exhausted, and he was not going to chase down a woman that didn't want him there in the first place. She would come home when she was ready.

If she came home at all.

"Lee, take Holly to a movie or something. I've got the end of the month stuff to deal with, and the divorce lawyer wanted to meet to discuss strategies for court. I can't keep putting him off," Ty said, reaching for his phone.

His brother snatched it out of his hand. "You want to do all that, take five minutes and call Amy. Just get Holly off both our backs, okay?"

"Amy's not running off. She'll be back. And she has every right to spend a day in town if she wants to. She's a grown woman. Now give me my phone, or I'm locking you in with Venture overnight."

"You're evil."

"I had lessons from the best, my blood sucking parasite of an ex-wife. Now give me my phone," Ty insisted. "I have too much to do to play games with you. I was going to tell Amy to take Holly out tonight anyway. She's not back, so I guess it's up to you."

Lee opened the phone and dialed a number. Ty glared at him, reaching for it. Lee let him have it back after a couple rings. The phone went to voice mail, and Ty shook his head as he ended the call. "Happy now?

"No! You didn't talk to her!" Holly said. "Why didn't you talk to her?"

"She didn't answer. You know that happens sometimes. Lee here is going to take you to a movie tonight. I've got end of the month paperwork to deal with, so I'll see you in the morning."

Holly flung herself at him and held onto his leg. "I'm not going with your brother. I know he doesn't like me. And I know something's going on with Amy. Please, just take me into town with you and find her? If you help me find her, you can leave me with her and go back to your stupid paperwork."

Ty sighed. "You know better than to throw fits like this, Holly."

"Please?"

"Fine. We can go into town, but we're not going to spend a long time there," he agreed reluctantly. He dug out his truck keys as Holly let go and started running across the yard. Lee looked at him, amused, and Ty shook his head. He just wanted to get this over with. He didn't want to hear any more from Holly about Amy, and the same went for Lee.

Ty made sure that Holly was buckled in before he started up the truck, heading into town. Holly's face was glued to the window the entire time, a worried expression twisting her lips. She had to be overreacting. Amy just spent the day in town, nothing wrong with that.

"There! Ty, that's her car. It's in front of the coffee shop! Pull over!"

The coffee shop. Of course. "See? She was just getting coffee in town."

"All day?"

"She's with Soraya. That's an old friend of hers. They probably spent the whole day catching up," Ty told Holly just before she got out of the truck and rushed over to Amy's table, hugging her aunt. Ty got out to follow her. Amy frowned and looked up at him. She seemed almost... scared to see him. Ty had known this was a bad idea.

"I thought you were gone, Aunt Amy. You were gone all day."

"I don't..." Amy stopped herself and cleared her throat, looking apologetically at Ty and then back at Holly. "I didn't realize how late it was. I'm sorry."

"But your suitcase was missing! I thought you were leaving for good."

"My suitcase?"

"I tried to calm her down by telling her if your stuff was still in your room you were coming back," Ty explained, "and then the suitcase wasn't there."

"I took it downstairs to start washing my clothes. I didn't even think about it," Amy admitted. She turned to Holly, confused. "Why did you think I was leaving? I never said I was going. I wouldn't go without saying goodbye."

"Well... You were so upset last night..."

"I still wouldn't have left without telling you... or your uncle," Amy added, looking at Ty again. Her eyes pleaded with him to understand, and he nodded. He had known all along that she wouldn't go without talking to someone.

"I thought... Well, you were so upset, and I thought that you weren't going to stay... I don't know. I just really wanted Uncle Ty to give you a reason to stay."

"Oh, really?" Soraya asked, and Ty shot her a dirty look. She smiled at him, and he forced a smile that was probably more of a grimace. "What is that, Ty?"

"I was just going to tell Amy that I wanted to accept her offer. Partners. In Heartland. If she still wants to do that," Ty answered, and he saw disappointment on Soraya and Holly's faces. "We didn't actually have a chance to talk about that, but if you still are interested in doing it, Amy, then, yes. Let's be partners."

"You don't care about the papers? Our credibility?"

"After we treat the horses we have, this will start to blow over. The results will speak for themselves. That's all we really need to worry about, and it's all we did before," he reminded her gently. In the past, with Marion and after her death, it was about the horses. They just did the best they could. That was all that had ever mattered. They needed to remember that and go back to it.

"Okay," Amy agreed. She stood, moving away from the table and closer to him. "There's just one thing, Ty. It's about the partnership. Well, about us. I'm not sure this friend thing is going to work."

"So you just want to be business partners?" he asked with a frown.

She shook her head. "No, that's not it. I've been afraid that I'll mess this up again. I still am. I don't want to, but I could. I'll try not to, really. I just... I want more. A lot more."

"More than partners? More than... friends?"

Amy nodded nervously, and then she grabbed a hold of his shirt and pulled him down for a kiss.