Chapter 2: Dreams of the Future “Pa! Pa!” Sully ran into the young boy’s room and pulled him from his bed. The toddler clung to him, his whole body trembling. “It’s alright, boy,” Sully whispered, rocking his son back and forth. “Bad dweam,” he whispered. “Alright,” Sully replied. “Come on. Let’s go see mama.” Sully carried the boy down the hall to his and Michaela’s room. He smiled when he saw Michaela sitting up in bed, a mother’s glow all around her as she nursed their newborn child. “He had another bad dream,” Sully whispered. “Bring him over here,” Michaela replied with a smile. The boy saw his mother and held his arms out to her. Sully came to sit down on the bed beside his wife, careful not to move too much. “Baby eat,” the boy said with a quizzical look in his eyes. “Yes, my love,” Michaela whispered, kissing her youngest son’s cheek. “Your baby sister is hungry.” She gently caressed her infant daughter’s cheek with her finger, and the baby cooed. Sully smiled proudly as his son bent to kiss the baby’s head. “Be careful with the baby,” Sully reminded him. “I careful,” the baby said with a nod. Sully looked up into his wife’s eyes and though she was exhausted, she grinned at him and her eyes sparkled with happiness. Sully sat up in bed when he couldn’t feel Michaela in his arms any longer. He saw that it was about dawn from the bluish haze that filled the room. He looked up to see Michaela standing at the window with her robe tied around her snugly. The fire was still crackling, but Sully knew he should add some more wood. He quietly climbed out of bed and added a few logs onto the fire. Michaela heard him and turned quickly, feeling alarm at first, but was relieved knowing that her husband was in the room. For awhile, she had slipped between sleep and consciousness, not knowing if the wedding and honeymoon night had been a dream or reality. But once she woke and found herself in Sully’s arms, she knew she wasn’t dreaming. “Mornin’,” Sully whispered. “Good morning,” Michaela replied as Sully walked over to stand behind her at the window, his arms wrapped securely around her waist. She leaned back into his chest as they stared out the window together. “It snowed a lot over the night.” “Sure did,” Sully replied. “Why didn’t ya wake me?” “You looked like you were having a nice dream,” Michaela replied, turning in her husband’s arms to wrap her arms around his neck. “I was.” “Do you mind me asking what you were dreaming about?” “Of course not,” Sully replied with a smile. He cleared his throat and tucked a loose strand of Michaela’s hair behind her ear, kissing her cheek softly. “I had a dream that someone was callin’ me pa. I rushed into a room, the spare room, and our son was sittin’ up in his bed.” “Was it Brian?” “No. He was a baby, probably ‘round two or so. He looked just like me except he didn’t have much hair.” Michaela giggled and Sully kissed her softly. “He told me he had a bad dream, so I brought him to our room where you were nursin’ our newborn daughter.” “I thought we were going to have a girl first,” Michaela replied, her eyes twinkling with delight. “I don’t care what we have first now that I’ve had that dream,” Sully replied. “I just know that I wanna have a family with you.” “And I with you,” Michaela replied with a nod. “Never know, maybe we’ll make a baby real soon.” “Sully, don’t you think it’s a bit early?” “Never stopped us from doin’ anything before,” Sully reminded her. Michaela laughed and shook her head. “I doubt it’ll happen so soon. The chances are highly unlikely.” For a moment, she thought she saw a flicker of disappointment in Sully’s eyes. “But we could have fun tryin’,” he pointed out. Michaela giggled again and hugged her new husband. She started toward the bed, holding Sully’s hand in hers. Sully scooped her up in his arms and kissed her with a renewed passion. They fell back onto the bed, never breaking apart from one another, once again proving their love and enthusiasm to one another. *~* A cloaked figure rode into town on a black stallion. The cold wind was bitter and chilling right to the bone. The sun shone on the snow, practically blinding the older man, and it came up nearly a foot on the tired horse’s legs, but the rider kept him trotting through the snow. It had been quite a few years since he’d been in this small town, but from the looks of it, everything had remained the same. “Whoa,” he called to his horse, which paused in the freezing snow. He dismounted, his fancy, shiny black boots sparkling in the sunlight. He knew that he was there to find his family, but he also had to find a doctor. He looked around, spotting a building that looked like a clinic. He wasn’t sure what the sign read, because he couldn’t read, but he did know that if his hand didn’t get sewn up soon, he might lose it. *~* Brian walked out of one of the rooms of the clinic, rubbing his tired eyes. Colleen was out in the hall with a basket of food. It was just after sun up, and it looked as if Colleen had been up for awhile. “You fixed breakfast?” “Nope. Grace brought it over. She figured we’d be hungry.” “I am!” Brian said, reaching for the basket. Colleen tugged it away. “We’re waitin’ on Matthew to get up. Ma’s awake, so we’ll go talk with her.” “Okay,” Brian replied. Colleen and Brian walked into Charlotte’s room. Charlotte was sitting up in bed, and Elizabeth was putting an extra blanket over her. “Good morning, children,” Elizabeth greeted her future grandchildren. “Mornin’,” the children replied in unison. Elizabeth smiled at Brian. “Brian, did you see the snow outside? It snowed at least six inches last night,” Elizabeth pointed out. Brian ran over to the window and looked outside. “Wow!” he said in amazement. “Ma? Can I go play outside later?” “Only if you promise to have Colleen and Brian go with you and that you bundle up.” “I will,” Brian said with a nod. Charlotte smiled at her son and Elizabeth left the room. Brian climbed up onto the bed to sit beside his mother while Colleen sat down in the rocking chair at Charlotte’s bedside. “Is Dr. Mike comin’ in today?” Brian asked. Charlotte smiled and smoothed her son’s hair back out of his eyes, making a mental note to send him to Jake’s later for a haircut. “No, she’s takin’ the week off to spend time with Sully.” “Why?” Brian asked. Charlotte and Colleen glanced at each other and smiled. “Well, they’re married and they just want to be alone.” “But why?” “Dr. Mike and Sully will explain it to you when you’re older.” “But . . .” Before Brian could get his next question out, a loud banging startled the family. “Who could be out in this weather?” Charlotte wondered. Colleen walked out into the hall and Brian followed. Matthew had woken up, and was halfway down the stairs. Josef, Elizabeth, and the Quinn sisters came from their rooms, startled from the noise as well. “Children, stay up here,” Elizabeth urged. Colleen and Brian walked over to stand with them while Matthew checked out who the visitor was downstairs. Matthew rubbed his hands together and started a fire in the woodstove before he answered the door. The banging continued. “Will ya wait a minute?!” Matthew asked in frustration. The banging continued and Matthew threw the door open to come face to face with the father who had abandoned him years ago. “Matthew?” Ethan asked. “Pa?” “It’s good to see you, boy!” Ethan reached out to embrace him but Matthew stepped away. Ethan understood and peered inside. “This looks like a clinic. I need to see the doctor.” “Well, she’s out on her honeymoon. She ain’t here,” Matthew replied coldly. “Is there someone here who can sew up this nasty cut?” Ethan asked, showing his eldest son the wound. Matthew swallowed hard and nodded, reluctantly letting him in, knowing that Dr. Mike would never refuse a patient. “Colleen! Come down here for a minute!” They heard footsteps coming down the stairs and a moment later, Colleen saw her father for the first time in years.” “Pa!” she exclaimed. She didn’t look happy, but she was surprised. “Hello Colleen.” “What are you doin’ here?” “I came back for you kids and your ma.” Matthew shook his head. “Why now? It’s been years, pa,” Matthew said angrily. “I went lookin’ for work and I found it in San Francisco.” “He has a nasty cut on his hand. You’ve been watchin’ Dr. Mike stitch folks up. You think you can do it?” Matthew asked. Colleen nodded and went to get the proper materials for the small procedure. “Where is your ma?” Ethan asked. “I know she has a boardin’ house around these parts, but I ain’t got the best of memories.” “Obviously not. You didn’t write,” Matthew replied. “I can’t read, son,” Ethan replied. Matthew didn’t care. He could have paid someone to write his words down. The door flew open and Brian came running out. “Who was, it?” he asked. As soon as he saw Ethan, he stopped in his tracks. He vaguely remembered what his father looked like, and he knew this man was Ethan Cooper. “Pa?” “Brian? Boy you’ve grown!” Ethan said with a chuckle. Brian looked up at his older brother who looked none to happy to see the man. “What are you doin’ here? Are you here because ma’s sick?” “Brian!” Matthew exclaimed under his breath. “Your ma’s sick?” Ethan asked, swallowing hard. Matthew sighed and nodded. “Cancer,” he replied. “You wanna see her? She’s upstairs,” Brian pointed out. Ethan looked up and Matthew sighed heavily, knowing that he’d have to talk to his little brother later. “I might just do that,” Ethan replied. Colleen came back over to work on her father’s hand. She tried to be gentle, but she didn’t worry too much when her work made her father wince in pain. Once she was finished she held her hand out to him. “What?” he asked. “Two dollars, please,” she replied. Ethan looked at Matthew who had a smirk on his face. “Come on, pa,” Matthew said quietly. “You should have some money if you said you found it. Plus, you did run off with ma’s money sock.” “I’m not proud of that, Matthew.” “Well, you didn’t seem too worried about it when you left in the middle of the night without sayin’ goodbye, did ya?” “What on earth is going on down here?” Elizabeth asked as she and Josef walked into the room. “Mornin’ ma’am,” Ethan said, tipping his hat. “The name’s Ethan Cooper.” Elizabeth looked at the children. Matthew swallowed hard. “He’s our pa.” *~* “Sully?” Michaela sat up in an empty bed to find Sully’s side of the bed crumpled and unmade. The door opened and Sully walked in holding a beautiful baby in his arms. “Did she wake ya with her cryin’?” Sully asked. “No,” Michaela replied softly. “Is she hungry?” “Nah, she just wanted some holdin’,” Sully replied. Michaela reached out to take her daughter into her arms. The baby grinned as her mother rocked her back and forth. A baby began to cry, and Michaela looked down to see her little girl dozing off to sleep. “He’s awake.” Sully left the room and came in with another infant. “Twins, Sully. I still can’t believe it,” she whispered. “Neither can I,” Sully replied. He got into bed next to Michaela and the two shared a wonderful moment with their newborn children. Michaela opened her eyes to find the sunlight filtering into the room. She squinted and let her eyes slowly adjust to the light. She looked up to see that Sully was sleeping. She didn’t think either of them would manage to get a moment of sleep, but somehow they managed to. Michaela grinned and slowly crept out of bed. She was bound and determined to attempt to cook breakfast for her new husband, and bring him breakfast in bed. She pulled her bathrobe on and started towards the door. She felt a tug on her robe and was surprised when it fell completely off. Michaela turned, her face completely red as she stood without a trace of clothes. Sully looked mighty pleased with himself. “Sully!” She pulled a sheet over herself as Sully tossed her bathrobe to the other side of the room. “Where were ya goin’?” “I was going to surprise you with breakfast in bed,” she replied. “You’re kiddin’?” Sully asked. “I’m not that bad at cooking am I?” Michaela asked. “I don’t wanna lie, Michaela. You’re horrible,” Sully replied. Michaela tossed a pillow at him and they both began to laugh. “I suppose you’re right. I’ll have to have Grace give me some cooking lessons.” “Well, just so ya know, I ain’t gonna be expectin’ a big breakfast on the table in the mornin’ or a big dinner on the table at night. What I’m expectin’ is to wake up with my bride in my arms and come home to hold her in my arms at night.” “I think I can handle that,” Michaela replied. “But we do need to eat to keep our strength up.” She found herself blushing at her own words, and Sully kissed her. “I’ll cook us up somethin’ for breakfast.” “You can cook?” “Well, I ain’t the best, but I learned how to cook some stuff at minin’ camp. I had to eat somethin’ to survive.” Michaela laughed and she and Sully got out of bed. Michaela went to put her robe on and Sully looked at her strangely. “What?” “You think someone’s gonna come in or somethin’?” “No. It’s just that I don’t think it’s proper to walk about the house wearing nothing.” Sully chuckled and pulled his pants on. He gave Michaela a kiss on the cheek before he left the room. Michaela shook her head, her face still flushed. She quickly pulled on her robe and hurried to join her husband downstairs. *~* “You did a mighty fine job of stitchin’ me up, Colleen,” Ethan said, examining his daughter’s work. “But stitchin’ people up won’t come in handy very often when you’re writin’ books.” “If you had been here, you’d know that Colleen don’t wanna be a writer. She wanted to be an actress.” “Now I wanna be a doctor,” Colleen replied. “Where were ya, pa?” “I was in California lookin’ for a job.” “It sure took ya long enough to find one,” Matthew snapped. Josef and Elizabeth were watching the scene, and they decided to go upstairs to give the broken family a bit of privacy. They walked upstairs to where their daughters were waiting with Charlotte. Charlotte had gotten out of bed to come into the hall. “Charlotte, you should be resting,” Elizabeth scolded. “What’s going on down there?” Elizabeth and Josef looked at one another again. “Just get back in bed. The children will explain later.” Charlotte looked quite confused, but she was too weak and tired to argue. She went back to bed and the Quinn sisters looked at their parents. “What is going on down there?” Marjorie asked. “The children’s father is here.” “Their father is alive? But people call her Widow Cooper,” Claudette pointed out. “Shh,” Josef warned. “Let’s just stay quiet and let them work things out for themselves.” Downstairs, the children were standing with their father. They had grown quiet over the last few minutes. Both Colleen and Brian were angry with their father, but Brian wasn’t quite sure how to feel. He was too young to really understand how awful Ethan had been to their family. “I’d like to see your mother.” “Why? You ran out on us. Why are you even here?” “Because I want to take you kids and your mother back to San Francisco. I want to get her to a proper medical facility.” “Dr. Mike’s takin’ good care of her.” “First of all, she’s a lady doctor, and second of all, she’s not here.” “Dr. Mike’s a real good doctor!” Brian exclaimed. “You don’t even know her!” “It’s alright, Brian,” Colleen whispered, putting her hands on her little brother’s shoulders. “But I don’t wanna leave Colorado Springs!” Brian exclaimed. “Shh!” Matthew scolded. “At least let me go upstairs and talk to your ma.” “She won’t want to see you.” “Well at least let me try to talk with her.” Matthew looked at Colleen and Brian, knowing he should kick the man out into the cold snow, but he knew that Charlotte would be angry if she found out Ethan was there and was never informed. “She ain’t strong enough to deal with you right now, but I’ll tell her you’re here.” Matthew and the children went upstairs. Colleen and Brian were following mostly because they didn’t want to be left alone with the man who had abandoned them. Matthew walked into Charlotte’s room while everyone waited in the hall. Charlotte saw the pale face of her son and she knew something was wrong. “Matthew? Sweetheart, what is it? What’s going on?” “Pa’s here.” Charlotte’s eyes grew wide and she felt as though she had been punched in the stomach. “Ethan is here?” “He’s out in the hall. He wants to come see you. I figured I wouldn’t kick him out until I told you he was here.” “Let him in.” “What?” Matthew asked. “Ma!” “Matthew Cooper, you heard me. I said let him in.” Matthew took a deep breath and nodded. He walked out into the hallway and nodded in his father’s direction. Ethan started toward the room but Matthew put a hand on his chest. He whispered so the kids wouldn’t hear. “If you upset her, I’ll make you wish you never came back.” Ethan turned to look at him for a moment before he walked into Charlotte’s room, seeing her for the first time in several years. |