Amy Fleming: a new future

Smile some more

Amy walks away from the barn and back to the ranch with a smile beaming from her face. She heads inside and pulls off her boots as Finns trucks disappears down the driveway.
'Whose put a smile on your face?' teases Lou in the midst of preparing dinner.
'Can't a girl smile for no reason' Amy snaps back.
Lyndy rushes in to greet her with a hug
'Hey sweetie I've missed you' says Amy in a much warmer tone than when she spoke to Lou.
'Finn not staying for dinner?' chirps Lou with a mischievous grin on her face.
The scolding look on Amy's face says more than any words ever could as she wanders off to the lounge with Lyndy. Lou turns to see an equally scolding look coming from Lisa's direction.
'What?' grinned Lou who continued to smile to herself even after Lisa had turned away shaking her head. Lisa is all too aware of what Lou is hinting at but she keeps quiet not wanting to ruffle any feathers.

Amy has been spending a lot of time with Finn this last year and it's not gone unnoticed by her family, especially Lou, who desperately wants her sister to be happy again. She may tease Amy over Finn but she loves how he's making her smile and enjoy life once more. Amy though seems oblivious to his admiration of her. Seeing Amy happy is something Lou never thought she would see again after that fateful day four years ago, when her life was ripped apart. But a year ago Finn introduced himself with a dimpled smile and a caring heart. Lou, Lisa and Jessica were very aware of his flirting and often talked about it when Amy wasn't around to hear. Ever Since Finn gave Spartan a new lease of life with a custom horseshoe he seems to have been around a lot, more than any friend ever would, but Amy always claims it's for work. The family clearly think otherwise.

Jack appears in the kitchen heading to his trusted coffee maker to refill his cup.
'What's up with Amy?'
'I only asked her if Finn was staying for dinner' replies Lou
'Oh Lou, will you leave the girl alone!, can you not just be happy that she's smiling again?, stop pushing it!' Jack pleaded, grabbing his refilled cup and making his way back to the lounge shaking his head on the way.
'You should listen to him Lou, you know Amy will pull back if you continue teasing'
Lou stared at Lisa but said nothing.

Amy is sat on the couch chatting with Lyndy, Jack places himself next to Amy as Lyndy looks up and smiles at her GG.
'Hey sweetie, do you want to go wash your hands ready for dinner?' She asks Lyndy.
As she disappears to the bathroom Amy looks at Jack.
'Just ignore your sister for once' Jack says seeing the look on her face.
'I wish I could Grandpa, but there is some truth in what she's getting at' Amy whispers quietly.
Jack raises an eyebrow and sees the confused look on Amys face. He says nothing and let's her continue.
'Lou is right, Finn does make me smile' she pauses for a moment 'and I really do like spending time with him'.
A tear appears at the corner of her eye and she puts her head down into her hands.
'If you like spending time with him, then spend time with him' says Jack reassuringly, 'if anyone knows how short life is, it's you!, you can't waste any of it, you need to let yourself be happy'
Amy raises her head and looks at Jack.
'But I feel so guilty grandpa, how I can do this to Ty?'
Another tear falls down her cheeks as Jack wipes it away.
'Amy, Ty more than anyone would want you to be happy, he loved seeing you smile, Lyndy loves seeing you smile and so do I'
Jack places his coffee cup down on the table and looks straight into her eyes,
'You can't feel guilty for wanting to be happy, isn't that what Finn told you back when you first met?, he's right you know, you have to live Amy'
'I know Grandpa, but what about Lyndy, Ty was her dad, he can't be replaced!'
'Lyndy will always know who her dad is, but she's also able to enjoy the company of others, plus I've seen Finn with her, Lyndy is quite smitten by him too'
Amy let's out a chuckle as she remembers Finn chasing Lyndy round the barn on her hobby horse.
'Yeah he is good with her'
Jack stands up and picks up Lyndys favourite stuffed toy. He hands it to Amy without saying a word.
'What am I going to do Harley?' Amy mumbles to the stuffed animal.
Lyndys stuffed toy horse hadn't always been called Harley but she renamed it after Tys horse so she could snuggle up to Harley every night. As Amy's looking into the eyes of this stuffed toy horse Lyndy races back in,
'Hey mommy, what are you doing with Harley?'
'Oh nothing darling, I was just looking after him for you'
'Mommy, Harley can run fast now, look at his new shoes!' Lyndy announced.
Amy hadn't noticed the new additions and turns Harley over to have a look while Jack, now in his favourite chair, sits back watching with a smile on his face slowly sipping his coffee.
'Oh wow, where did these come from?' Amy asks Lyndy
'Finn made them for Harley' Lyndy beams 'I like Finn'
Another small tear runs down Amy's cheek as she manages a small smile and glances at Jack
'What's wrong mommy? Do you not like them?'
'They are fantastic darling, I love them, I'm so glad Harley will be able to run fast now' she smiled enthusiastically.
Lyndy returns the smile back to her mom and gives her a hug.

'Dinners ready' Lou announces as she enters carrying a delicious smelling lasagne, Lisa following with a well prepped salad. Lyndy rushes to the table before anyone can blink. Amy rises and is about to turn when Jack whispers in her ear
'He's a good man Amy, anyone can see that, don't run away from something just because you are scared'
Amy just manages a smile before joining Lyndy at the table, but her mind is clearly elsewhere.