| Chapter 5: A Promise to Keep
A few days had passed, and it was Thursday morning. The stagecoach would be pulling into town within twenty four hours, and Charlotte had no place to go with the children. She hadn’t spoken about moving, and Michaela was sure that she had no intention of budging, though she would probably be forced eventually. A banker would be coming and there was nothing Charlotte could do to persuade him to let her keep the boarding house. Michaela was bound and determined that she would pay for the boarding house. She knew Charlotte would have nothing to do with it, but she didn’t care. As long as she and the children had a place to stay, that was all that mattered. Michaela was preparing to move into Sully’s old homestead. She was apprehensive about leaving Charlotte and the children, especially when Charlotte was starting to grow weaker. She wouldn’t let on, but Michaela could see it in the way she acted. It was obvious that Charlotte was in severe discomfort, but when Michaela would offer to help her, she would smile and politely decline. It was obvious that Charlotte was worried about the banker coming to town to kick her out of her own home, but she was more concerned for the children. Charlotte knew that if worse came to worse, the new doctor would board the children for a few days while she figured something out. Colleen was spending an increasing amount of time with the new doctor in town. She admired Michaela’s beautiful dresses and petticoats, her long light-brown hair, and her beautiful fair skin. Colleen had started to become self-conscious before Michaela arrived in town, noticing her blonde hair and her own pale features. She had wondered if boys liked that, because most of the girls around town had darker complexions and hair. But once she saw heads turn in Michaela’s direction, she knew that she wasn’t ugly either. She knew that someday, she was going to be like Michaela. She envied her in so many ways, and she had decided that she was going to be a doctor like her. She knew that she had dreamt of being an actress, but actresses couldn’t help people in the way doctors could. Colleen hadn’t indulged her new wishes to her mother yet, and she felt bad for admiring this new lady. It wasn’t that she didn’t admire her mother, of course she did, but Michaela was new, young, and someone she could talk to about things she didn’t think she could talk to her mother about. Brian and Matthew were out fishing while Michaela was packing up her things upstairs. Charlotte had gone to the mercantile to buy some sugar, so she had asked Colleen to go upstairs and help the doctor. “Dr. Mike?” Colleen asked, knocking on the door of the doctor’s room. Michaela smiled. “Come in, Colleen,” she said quickly. Colleen opened the door and stepped inside as Michaela was putting one of her Boston dresses in her suitcase. “My, that dress is pretty,” Colleen said, feeling self-conscious about her own clothes now. Michaela smiled knowingly. “This was a dress I had when I was your age,” Michaela replied. “I don’t know how it was still in my closet, but I grabbed it when I was packing to come out here. Would you like to have it?” Colleen’s eyes lit up happily. “You mean it?! I don’t have to pay for it?” “No. It’s a gift! Would you like to have it?” Colleen nodded with excitement. Michaela handed her the dress. “Then it’s yours.” “Oh thank you, Dr. Mike!” Colleen exclaimed. “Thank you!” She hugged Michaela, and they both giggled together. Michaela loved spending time with Charlotte’s children. She had learned that they were all very bright. There was no school in town, but Charlotte had taught her children well. Brian was learning how to read, and Colleen was very intelligent for her age. She knew her numbers and words very well. Matthew was very smart too, and he was working at Miss Olive’s ranch while she was away. He liked being able to help his mother pay for things. He felt important, and he was the man of the house since his pa left. Unfortunately, even with his help, the Cooper family didn’t have enough money to pay on the boardinghouse. “Colleen, would you like to help me bring some of my things out to the old homestead?” Michaela asked. “Sure!” Colleen replied. “Just me and you?” “If your mother doesn’t mind. The boys are out fishing.” “I’ll go ask her,” Colleen replied. Michaela nodded and smiled as Colleen left with her new dress in hand. She put the last of her dresses in her suitcase and closed it up. Michaela sat on the edge of her bed and closed her eyes. She listened to all of the sounds around her. She could hear the horses trotting outside, snorting every so often. She could hear the town’s children running and playing in the nearby meadow. The church bell rang ,and the laughter of some of Hank’s saloon girls was heard over the clanging sound of Robert E.’s hammer and anvil. Michaela’s eyes flew open when she heard barking. She knew those barks. It was Wolf! She hurried over to the window and peered out. Sully was walking over toward the boarding house. Michaela quickly checked herself in the mirror, making sure her hair looked decent. She smoothed out the wrinkles in her skirt and hurried downstairs. Colleen hadn’t returned from the mercantile with Charlotte yet, so when a knock came to the door, Michaela answered it. Sully was standing there with a handful of dandelions. “Mornin’,” he said with a nod. Michaela smiled and took the dandelions into her hand. “Good morning, Sully.” Michaela needed some fresh air, so she stepped out onto the porch. Wolf lay down on the porch lazily, and his tongue lolled out of his mouth as he yawned. “You already eat breakfast?” “Yes, I did.” “Well, how about takin’ a walk with me?” “I’ve already asked Colleen to come with me to the homestead. I should be moving in this afternoon.” “It’s all ready for ya,” he replied. “Well, maybe some other time.” Michaela could see the disappointment in his eyes. The truth was that she really wanted to spend all of the time that she could with him. She did enjoy the company of Charlotte’s children, but when she was with Sully, she didn’t feel like she had to be someone to look up to. She felt like she could be whatever she wanted to be; do whatever she wanted to do. Sully made her feel free. “How about dinner tonight?” “Here?” “Well, I was hoping that maybe we could eat dinner at the homestead. Just the two of us?” Michaela asked, her eyes full of hope. Sully couldn’t resist those beautiful brown eyes. He leaned down and kissed her softly, running a finger along her jaw line. “Charlotte and Colleen have been giving me cooking lessons. I want to cook for you.” “You don’t have to do that,” he replied. “I want to,” she replied with a smile, looking up at him shyly. Sully smiled and kissed her cheek. “Dinner sounds fine. I’ll be there around dusk.” Michaela nodded, and Sully walked off, whistling for Wolf to follow. Charlotte and Colleen came walking up the street, loose dirt soiling the bottoms of their skirts. “Ma said I could go!” Colleen exclaimed. “You’re sure it’s alright, Charlotte?” Michaela asked. Charlotte laughed. “As long as you ladies take the wagon. I’m sure you’ve had enough of horse ridin’ for a while.” They all laughed and Colleen hurried in to help bring Michaela’s things down. “Thank you for givin’ Colleen that dress. She really looks up to you, and now she can dress like you.” “You’re sure it’s alright? I didn’t want to step on any toes,” Michaela replied. “It’s good that there’s another lady in Colleen’s life,” Charlotte replied. There was something distant in Charlotte’s eyes, Michaela began to wonder what would happen if she did pass away. She shook her head a bit, not wanting to think about it. Charlotte turned to walk into the boarding house when she stumbled backward and gripped a post to keep standing. “Charlotte?” Michaela asked, putting her hand on her friend’s back. “I’m alright,” Charlotte said sternly. “Come on, let me get you inside.” Michaela helped her friend into the boarding house. Charlotte sat down in her chair, and Michaela knelt beside her. “I’m fine, Dr. Mike.” “Please let me examine you,” Michaela urged. “Dr. Mike, I don’t want you to.” “Why not?” Charlotte swallowed hard. “Because I don’t want to know. I don’t want to know exactly what’s wrong with me; what’s takin’ me away from my babies. I don’t want to know how much time I have with ‘em. Don’t you understand?” Michaela swallowed hard. One the one hand, she understood what Charlotte was saying. She didn’t think she’d want to know when she was going to die either, but on the other hand, she would want to know how much time she had left to make every day count. “No. I don’t understand. I want you to be well.” “I will be well as long as I know I’m makin’ the days I got left count for somethin’. I want to go in peace, knowin’ that my kids are happy and healthy. I don’t want ‘em bein’ afraid for me. I don’t want ‘em worryin’ about me every second of their day. They’re young, and they don’t gotta know their ma’s sick. Please respect my wishes, and be my friend, not my doctor.” Michaela took a deep breath and swallowed hard. “Alright,” she whispered. “But I’m not promising that if you get worse, I’ll stand by. I’m not going to let you go without a fight, Charlotte.” Charlotte smiled a bit and pulled Michaela into a hug. “I know you won’t. You’re a good woman, Michaela. You and Sully are going to be very happy. You’ll have children someday, and you’ll understand how I feel now when you do.” Michaela brushed tears out of her eyes as she pulled away. Colleen’s footsteps were heard coming down the stairs. “I’m ready to go,” she said, pulling a bonnet on as she came through the door. Michaela smiled and cleared her throat. “Let’s go then,” she replied. Colleen went outside first, and Michaela followed after giving Charlotte a worried glance. Charlotte only smiled in reassurance as Michaela walked out the door. *~* The evening arrived and Michaela was growing frustrated. She had escorted Colleen back into town and purchased some ingredients while she checked on Mr. Bray. But the ingredients she had purchased weren’t coming together so nicely. The lovely dinner she had planned for Sully was burning, and the biscuits were as hard as stone. Michaela opened the door to the homestead, letting the cool September air flow in while the black smoke from the burning food flowed out. It was nearly dusk, and she knew that Sully would be there soon. She only prayed that her horrible cooking wouldn’t burn the house down. He had worked so hard on restoring it for her, and plus, that wasn’t her house originally. The black smoke was starting to choke Michaela, so she stepped out onto the porch and took in a breath of the cool mountain air. She sighed heavily and realized that the smoke was starting to billow up into the air. She became horrified when Sully came running up the trail in full pursuit, as Wolf followed quickly behind him. “Michaela!” he shouted. He stopped in his tracks when he saw her standing on the porch. A look of bewilderment spread over his face. “I saw smoke and I thought . . .” “You thought the house was burning down?” Michaela asked. “No, that’s just my cooking.” Sully surveyed the scene, and the smell of burnt food began to waft outside. “Your cookin’?” he asked. “Nobody’s that bad.” Michaela laughed. “Well, apparently I am,” she replied. She groaned and sighed in frustration. She stepped off of the porch and walked over to greet Sully with a hug. “I just wanted tonight to be perfect. I didn’t plan for this.” “The night ain’t over yet,” he replied. He kissed the top of her head and took her hand. “Let’s go for a walk and let the smoke clear out. Did you put out the fire in the stove?” Michaela nodded. “Alright. C’mon. Stay, Wolf.” Wolf ran toward the barn while Sully led Michaela into the woods. “Sully, it’s getting dark.” “Do you trust me?” “Of course I do,” Michaela replied, leaning closer to him. He pulled off his brown leather coat and put it over Michaela’s shoulders. “This is very warm.” “Cloud Dancin’s wife Snow Bird made it for me years ago. It helps keep out the cold.” “Sully?” Michaela asked softly, her fingers softly rubbing the palm of Sully’s hand. “Hmm?” “Show me where you live.” Sully looked into her eyes, the darkness of the night settling in around them, making it hard for him to see her. “You sure you want to see it?” he asked. “I’m sure,” she whispered. “Sully, I want to know more about you. I feel like I know everything about you, but I know that isn’t true.” “I really don’t have a home. I live in several places, but I don’t call any of ‘em home.” They walked hand-in-hand in silence for a while until they came upon a small lean-to. There were blankets and pots and pans. It was a humble little dwelling, which Michaela thought was charming. Sully leaned down and started a fire. He spread a blanket out for Michaela to sit on, and he sat down with her too. They joined hands and sat across from each other, staring into each other’s eyes. “This is it?” He glanced at her, and it seemed as if the stars were sparkling in her eyes. She seemed to look at his sleeping place as an enchanted place from a children’s story. “Mmm,” he mumbled, picking up a piece of straw and putting it in the corner of his mouth. Michaela reached up and touched Sully’s face, gently running her fingers over his stubble-covered chin. The feeling of his hot skin against her fingers made her tremble. She gently pulled her fingers away, took the piece of straw from Sully’s mouth, and leaned in to graze his lips with her own. She pulled back and smiled, her eyes twinkling in the firelight. Sully scooted himself over to sit behind Michaela, and he wrapped his arms around her. Michaela leaned against Sully’s chest as his hands ran up and down her arms to warm them. Being in Sully’s arms was the greatest feeling Michaela had ever felt. She wished she could stay there forever because she felt safer than she ever had before. “Sully?” she asked, her heart pounding faster by the second. Her breathing was becoming heavy. “Yeah?” he asked, feeling how fast her heart was beating as he held her so close. “Will you make me a promise?” Sully swallowed hard and brought one of her hands up to his lips. He placed a gentle kiss there and she sighed with contentment. “What kind of promise?” “This might sound silly because this is a long way off.” “Nothing can sound silly if you’re so serious about it,” Sully noted. Michaela smiled a little and ran her hands against his arms as he had just done for her. “Promise me that we’ll bring our first child out here someday for a picnic under the stars.” She looked up, seeing how clear and beautiful everything looked from Sully’s camp. She heard him suck in a deep breath. She turned to look into his eyes. “I know we have to get married first, but I can’t help but think about it, Sully. I know I want to spend the rest of my life with you. You still want to marry me don’t you?” Sully chuckled at how forward this beautiful woman was being. “Michaela,” he began. “I don’t make a lot of promises if I don’t think I can keep ‘em. But I know that I’m going to marry you someday. We’re going to have a family of our very own. So what you’re askin’ me to promise . . . I can do it. I promise that we’ll bring our first child out here for a picnic under the stars.” Michaela smiled happily and wrapped her arms around Sully, kissing him passionately, something she never would have done under normal circumstances. She never would have been so forward before she met him, but when she was with him, something new erupted inside of her, bringing out something she had never seen in herself. Sometimes it was frightening, but she knew Sully loved how much she loved him. “Thank you Sully.” “There’s nothin’ to say thanks for. We’re meant to be together, Michaela. It’ll happen one way or another.” Michaela kissed him again, but he pulled away reluctantly. He knew that if she didn’t stop herself, he wouldn’t be able to stop them from doing something they might regret. He wanted to wait until they were married. He wanted everything to be special for her, because she was everything to him. Michaela leaned into Sully’s arms, and they held each other, falling asleep together under the blanket of stars. |