Silently Lou Fleming walked down the hallway. Finally everyone seemed to be asleep after two really exhausting days in the life of the Bartlett-Fleming family.

As she passed the door of the room her dad was resting in she could not resist checking on him for one last time. When she thought about the fact that she nearly had lost him yesterday after some cattle rustlers had stolen his herd and shot him, she shivered.

Carefully she opened the door finding her father asleep. His soft snoring filled the silence of the room. In the moonlight she could see the white bandage covering his right shoulder. His arm was immobilized by a sling that he had to wear for several weeks now. The doctors had given his family instructions after he had spent one night in the hospital to recover from surgery.

Lou knew that her grandfather was not very pleased with his ex-son-in-law staying at the Heartland ranch but the doctors had given strict orders. Tim would not be able to cope on his own at the beginning. So the only way to take care of him had been to bring him here.

The young woman smiled softly. Honestly she was happy to have her dad around for a couple of days until he would be able to return to his home, the Big River Ranch.

Yes, she had missed him a lot during the ten years after he had left the family and she still was very thankful for his return nearly eighteen months ago. She and her sister already had lost one parent in an accident.

When Jack had called her yesterday to tell her that Tim had been shot she thought her heart would stop beating. At that time no one had really known how severe the injury was. Tim had been unconscious from the shock and the blood loss.

Only half an hour later she had arrived at the hospital finding Jack, Amy, Ty and Caleb in the waiting room each one trying to cope with the dramatic events. Her sister’s face had been pasty white, tears streaming down her face. Lou had never seen her like this before. Later on Ty had told her that Tim had gotten in the line of fire protecting Amy from being shot by the bad guys.

In the evening each one of them had been allowed to see Tim for a short period of time. Amy had refused to visit her father. Ty and Caleb had already returned to the ranch to take care of the horses and Jack wanted to stay with his youngest granddaughter.

When Lou had seen her father in this big white bed with the beeping monitors around him it had nearly taken her breath away. He had looked so vulnerable and small.

This picture also had reminded her of the day she had visited him with her mother in the hospital in Calgary after his rodeo accident. This day had been the beginning of a very difficult time. It was a time her parents got divorced, a time she had not been able to see her own father and a time she always had been afraid of loosing him forever; always asking herself why that all has happened. Why had her father not been able to stay with his family? Why had he gotten addicted to drugs and alcohol? Why had her mother cried night after night? Why was no one allowed to mention his name anymore? Why had he never called or written a letter?

Lou sighed. Yes, she really was relieved to see him resting peacefully in the room that had been their parents’ bedroom before the family had fallen apart. She hoped that any day soon her father would tell her more about the ten years he had been away. She already knew that he had tried to send letters but she and her sister had never been able to read any of them because their grandfather had burned every single one.

She knew that Tim had never stopped loving Marion; that he always would keep a very special place in his heart only for her; for her and his two daughters.

Lou had been the first one to meet him shortly after Marion’s funeral. When she saw him standing in front of his truck waiting for her she knew how much she had missed him. Her heart had started beating faster and from that day on she had known that there was a long road ahead but that they were able to become a family again.

Only moments later he had embraced her. Immediately she had felt secure in his strong arms; the arms that had picked her up for so many times during her childhood; the arms that she had missed so badly.

A low sound brought her back to reality. She saw Tim slightly shifting on his bed. Then he opened his eyes and looked at her sleepily.

“Hey”, he whispered.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” Lou smiled at him.

“Like I was shot by some cattle rustlers.” he chuckled softly.

“Need anything?”

“No, I am fine.” He sighed. “But what are you doing here in the middle of the night?”

“I am just checking if everyone is alright.”

“Just like your mother.”

Lou nodded with a smile. If anyone would have told her two years ago that she would return to Alberta to take care of her family she would have called it a crazy idea.

Not to mention that she really loved what she was doing right now. Of course it had taken a while but with every day out here in the Rocky Mountains she began to realize where she belonged and she knew that family was much more important than a career in New York; at least in her eyes.

“I love you, Lou for doing all this… We all do.” Her dad’s words brought tears to her eyes.

“Love you too.” She mumbled before she approached his bed to give him a hug. “I really was afraid to loose you… I am so happy you are alright.”

“Me too, Sweetie. Me too.” Tim replied with a sigh.

Moments later she released him. “Good night, Dad.”

“Good night. Sweet dreams.” He smiled at her and Lou noticed that his eyes were glistening in the moonlight that illuminated the room.

“If you need anything just knock on the wall.”

“Thanks.”

Then she left the room once again knowing why and for whom she was doing all this.

The End

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