Susan Barnes

Susan Barnes (played by Dana Delany) is a Southeastern Ontario welder and expert farrier. She became Thomas Alden's friend and love interest a few years after his separation from his wife Aliane and helped the artist with his work. When Aliane died in a car accident in 1995 and Alden's daughter Amy came to live with her father, Susan was looking forward to meeting her and brought her a welcome gift of feather earrings. Amy reacted very coldly and was obviously annoyed at her involvement with her family. Thomas opened up to Susan about the tense relationship with his daughter, but Susan didn't want to be put in the middle of it, declaring Thomas had to figure it out for himself. One day, Thomas invited an Animal Regulation officer to have a look at the abandoned goslings Amy had adopted. The officer attempted to clip their wings, but an angry Amy gathered them and locked herself up into the bathroom. Thomas forced the door the following morning when Amy had a problem with his fish mouth soap dispenser in the shower. Susan took over, setting things straight with Amy: "I know I can never replace your mother, nobody can. But if you let me, I can be your friend. And the first rule of friends is to have to be able to trust each other, right?" Amy began to cry and allowed Susan to embrace her. Their relationship greatly improved from then on, and Susan became protective of Amy because of her father's wild ideas concerning the geese's migration. When she was satisfied with the project and Amy's flying lessons, she got involved and accompanied the Aldens all the way to North Carolina over Lake Ontario and on the road with David Alden and Barry Strickland. At this point, Amy often wore the feather earrings Susan had offered her, indicating her appreciation of this new member of the family.