It was early morning. The sun was rising above the stunning silhouette of the mountains. The chirping of some birds filled the air with a lovely sound and the warm colours of the leaves almost seemed surreal.

The middle-aged man was wearing a dark coat, blue jeans and a pair of brown cowboy boots. His horse was tied to a tree, nibbling on some blades of grass. Every time the man took a breath, little clouds were forming in front of his mouth and nose while he was approaching the graveyard situated on a small hill. It was one of the last beautiful and quiet autumn days. Only a few weeks later the mountains and fields would be covered by a thick layer of snow and the air would be freezing cold.

Moments later he opened the small gate of the low fence that surrounded this last place of peace. The squeaking filled the silence of the morning and with a sigh the man took the last steps towards his destination.

While he was taking his dark hat off, he read the inscription on the tombstone that was standing right before him: “Her spirit lives on, Marion Fleming, 1961-2007”. A white galloping horse was carved into the dark stone.

Lost in thought his gaze wandered towards the blue sky feeling the warm rays of sunlight on his tanned skin. He took a deep breath, knelt down and gently touched the cold, hard surface with his fingertips. He shivered. “I miss you, Marion… I never stopped loving you… I am so sorry.” It was barely a whisper but the words came from the bottom of his heart. He knew it was too late now. His ex-wife was dead. He had left her and their two little girls over ten years ago after a rodeo accident and becoming addicted to drugs and alcohol thereby not being able to be the loving husband and father anymore. Perhaps he never had been… Slowly some tears started forming in his hazel eyes.

He had returned nearly ten months ago after hearing of Marion's accident. He wanted to be around to help his daughters to deal with the loss of their beloved mother. Getting to know each other again had been anything but easy for the three of them, but deep in his heart he knew that they could be a family.

Like her mother Amy had a very special connection to horses. When he watched her working with sick or abused animals he knew that Marion’s spirit lived on in her younger daughter. It was just magical to see how the horses relied on Amy. Sometimes he could not believe that the little girl he remembered had become such an amazing young woman. He smiled softly.

And there was Lou, Amy’s older sister, who had given up her job in New York to help at Heartland. He had contacted her some years back and she also had been the one to tell him about Marion’s passing.

When he heard the sad news he immediately had returned to the rough and beautiful landscape of the Rocky Mountains which had been his home for a very long time. He started working on Big River Ranch, met Lou and slowly began to get in touch with Amy. Honestly he had been afraid that Amy would not recognize him after all this years but she had never forgotten about him. Never.

Once again he looked to the sky. A single teardrop silently rolled down his cheek.

Moments later he felt a hand on his shoulder. “Dad?”

Dad? He had not been called that for so many years and it still sounded unfamiliar. He turned around and looked into the smiling face of Amy.

“Amy… Hi.” Covertly he wiped away the tear although he knew that Amy had already seen it.

“I just wanted to bring Mom some flowers.” Only now he noticed the bunch of flowers his daughter was holding in her hand.

“These were her favourite.” She laid them down on the cold ground.

“I know. She even wanted these for the wedding although your grandma thought roses were much more appropriate.” He paused. “She always was a strong-willed woman.”

“That sounds like Mom.” Amy sighed.

For a few some minutes the two of them stood in silence, each one remembering the woman that had been a big part of their lives and each one knowing they had to move on.

“I brought Spartan. Mind, going for a ride?”

“Sure. Just give me a few some more minutes.”

Amy slowly started walking towards the two horses. After a few steps she looked back and she knew that her father needed this, he needed to say goodbye to the woman he loved so dearly for years. It was hard for Amy to imagine how it must feel for him. During the last ten months she had realized that he never stopped loving Marion and she hoped that some day she would be able to figure out why he had not returned earlier.

She knew about the difficulties with her grandfather Jack. That he had been the one who forbade Marion to respond to the letters Tim had sent to Heartland. He wanted to protect them from being hurt again. In his eyes his ex-son-in-law had broken his little girl’s heart and he did not want this to happen to his granddaughters as well.

Amy wondered why men always had to be so proud and unwilling to talk to each other. In her eyes the Bartlett and Fleming men were especially stubborn in their beliefs. She hoped that one day Tim and Jack would find a way to forget about the past and look into the future; the future of a family who needed each other but was not ready to admit it yet.

“Goodbye, Marion. I will forever keep you in my heart.” Tim touched the stone for one last time, looked up and smiled at Amy. He took a deep breath and followed her to the horses.

And it felt like home for the first time in the past ten months.

The End

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