"Matthew...what..", Colleen was confused.
Sully reluctantly stepped back, eyes jetting between Matthew and Dr. Mike, "Colleen, let me know if you need anything.....", Sully said as he turned and walked to the door, he didn’t want to argue with Matthew who was obviously angry at him and as long as he knew Dr. Mike was all right he didn’t feel so bad leaving.
"Matthew, why did you want Sully to leave?", asked Colleen, but then Dr. Mike spoke softly, "What happened, why am I here?"
"We don’t know what happened to you, your horse came to the homestead with your medical bag but without you and Sully found you and brought you here to the clinic, you have a wound on your head, but I cleaned it up real good", said Colleen.
"Thank you Colleen. How long have I been laying here?", Michaela asked looking around the room.
"Just a few hours", said Matthew.
"Here’s a mirror Dr. Mike, you better look at your head wound", said Colleen.
Michaela looked at her head wound, "Looks okay Colleen, thank you, I’m very proud of you", Dr. Mike said, "I think I can get up now".
As she rose Matthew tried to help, "You sure you should get up now? Maybe I should take you home", he said.
She stumbled slightly, "Maybe that’s a good idea Matthew".
As they left the clinic, Michaela walked slowly and as she climbed into the wagon she realized her arm was quite sore. She looked at the bandage on her hand and hoped the wound beneath it wasn’t becoming infected. "See, you do need to take it easy Dr. Mike", said Colleen as she jumped in the back of the wagon. Michaela just smiled, the idea of sitting and doing nothing wasn’t a pleasant thought for her. They headed out of town and passed the mercantile, Michaela looked up to see Sully on the porch. Her first thought was to greet him, but then it all came back to her, she saw him with that woman! Sully watched her as they drove by, staring at Michaela, she didn’t look happy he noted. Michaela’s mind was rushing with thoughts of Sully and the woman, what were they doing, why were they together in what looked like such an intimate way. She looked down as the wagon passed Sully. Was he that angry with her that he’d sought comfort with someone else? What could she do now, now that she felt her heart breaking.
Olive came out of the mercantile, "Sully what are you moping around here for?", she asked with her hands on her waist. "I ain’t mopin’ Olive", he said. Olive could sense the pain in his voice, "Well something’s going on, it ain’t like you to spend time in town, are you all right?" "Yeah, I guess so...", he said quietly. "Sully, you gotta talk about things sometimes so you don’t keep up ‘em all locked up inside", she said. "Well...maybe...", he responded and walked away.
After two days at home, Michaela was nursing her sore arm and was catching up on her reading, although thoughts of Sully were constantly running through her mind. As she sat on the porch holding a book, Brian came out and asked, "Hey Ma, how’s your book?"
"Oh Brian, I’m afraid it isn’t that interesting....", she replied.
"How come Sully hasn’t been here to see ya?", the little boy asked innocently.
"Sully is probably hunting, you’ll see him soon......", she said wondering herself where he was and she felt that thump back in her throat, "....excuse me Brian". She laid the book on the chair and went to the barn. She walked in slowly not knowing what to do with herself, thinking about things she wanted to say to Sully, but she was afraid she wouldn’t have the opportunity to say them. She sat down on the clean hay, glad to be alone.
Matthew and Colleen came out the front door, "Where’s Dr. Mike", asked Colleen. "She went into the barn..", said Brian. Colleen started to head that way and Matthew stopped her, "Leave her be", he said tugging on Colleen’s sleeve. The children went into the house. **
Sully sat silently next to Cloud Dancing, staring at the ground. "I have not seen you this troubled in some time", Cloud Dancing said to Sully, "the spirits say keeping it inside is not the way to be rid of it."
"It’s Dr. Mike, she’s angry with me, I think she saw me and Victoria out by the creek.....", Sully said softly.
"Ah....Victoria, she is a woman who goes after what she wants, Dr. Mike would understand this, she is the same way", said Cloud Dancing.
"No, they are not the same. Victoria wanted closeness and intimacy, Michaela doesn’t".
"But your heart is with Dr. Mike and the closeness you desire will come in time, it is important that Dr. Mike knows that you will wait, she must trust you."
"Maybe she won’t trust me now...", Sully said but Cloud Dancing interrupted, "No, go to her , earn her trust, you can fix this.." Sully took a deep breath, he knew Cloud Dancing was right and he decided to go to the homestead before nightfall.
"Hey Sully !", yelled Brian as he opened the door and saw Sully standing there. "Hey Brian, is Dr. Mike here?", Sully asked looking quickly at Colleen and Matthew, who avoided eye contact with Sully. "She’s in the barn, are ya staying for supper?", Brian said, smiling at Sully. "I don’t know, Brian, we’ll see", Sully said as he backed up and turned towards the barn.
He slowly opened the door and stepped inside the silent barn, maybe she wasn’t in here. "Dr. Mike?...", he said.
"Sully?" Michaela said nervously.
"How are you feeling?" Sully asked as he slowly walked to her.
"Better, .....thank you for bringing me back to the clinic, Colleen did a wonderful job tending my wounds", Michaela said.
"Yes, she did, she has a good teacher", Sully said, happy that they were talking.
"So, what brings you here Sully...", Michaela said looking straight into his eyes.
"I wanted to make sure you were okay, but mainly I want to apologize for what I said to you the other night, about being afraid and all....", Sully said, relieved that he finally said it.
"Apologize, oh.....no need really seeing how you apparently found someone who isn’t afraid.", she said sternly as she looked at him.
Sully felt his stomach tighten and he walked closer to her, "Michaela, I was working with the woman from Washington, that’s all. We did our work and nothing more."
"You were doing interesting work when I saw you", Michaela snapped back.
"She fell into the creek and hurt her ankle, I was just helping her, you should know that it’s...." Sully said as he reached out for her.
She quickly interrupted him, her hand up, "You should still come by for the children....."
Now he interrupted her, "The children!....It’s always for the children! Don’t ya ever want me to come here to see you?"
"Well, yes I have, but from now on you should make plans with Brian..."
"Make plans?....What are you saying?", Sully asked with a puzzled look at Michaela.
"I’m saying that if you want to have supper with someone else, fine, but please don’t forget about Brian he still idolizes you!", Michaela turned away from Sully.
Sully let out an exasperating sigh, "I wanna have supper with you, but I wanted you to ask me because you wanted me here, not because you felt the children wanted me here, don’t you see what I’m sayin?"
Michaela didn’t turn to face him, "I don’t know Sully, I don’t think this will work, maybe you need a woman with....with .. more experience....."
"Michaela, you gotta listen to me..", Sully said as he reached and pulled on her arm to turn her around.
"Oh!! My arm....", yelled Michaela clutching her arm.
Matthew burst through the door, "Don’t touch her!!", he yelled as he lunged at Sully and shoved him to the floor. As Sully rose Matthew hit him in the jaw trying to knock him down again. Sully tried to grab at Matthew’s collar, "Matthew, stop, I ain’t hurting Dr. Mike.....". But Matthew kept at him, throwing punches with both hands.
"Matthew, please!", yelled Dr. Mike.
Matthew kept at it, throwing punches at Sully, the two of them hitting and falling.
Matthew grabbed Sully around the collar, "I think you better leave", he told him.
Sully looked at Michaela, who was stunned and speechless, he turned back to Matthew, "I’ll leave Matthew, but don’t go getting involved in something you know nothing about.."
"I know enough, now leave us alone", Matthew said.
Sully reluctantly walked to the door, took one last look at Michaela, and walked out.
"Matthew, I don’t think you needed to get so angry at Sully...", said Dr. Mike.
"I don’t want him hurting you that’s all", and he stormed out.
Michaela thought about what Sully said and that she needed to speak to him more on this issue, to straighten things out.
The next morning Michaela sat at her desk in the clinic thinking about Sully in the barn last evening. It was like a nightmare, she thought, Matthew and Sully fighting, and the things she said to Sully! There was a knock on the door, "Come in", she said softly.
"Dr. Mike, may I speak with you?", Sully said tentatively with his hand still on the doorknob.
Michaela was surprised to see him, "Yes...Sully...come in..", she said as she stood and walked towards him.
"This situation has gotten way out of hand, you’re hurt and angry, Matthew’s upset...... that’s why I came to say good bye....", said Sully as he looked at the floor.
"Good bye? Well it is probably good for you not to come around......for a while anyway, so when you return..", Michaela said trembling and groping for the words, but Sully cut her off, "I ain’t coming back. There’s nothing for me here", he turned and quickly left, slamming the door behind him.
Michaela gasped, "Sully......", she followed him out the door as far as the porch. He didn’t turn around. He jumped onto his horse and headed toward the mercantile, he never looked back
Olive was on the porch of the mercantile as Sully rode by, she noticed he looked his serious self and then she looked down toward the clinic and saw Dr. Mike standing just off the porch. She headed off to the clinic, something didn’t seem right and she wanted to make sure Dr. Mike was all right.
"Dr. Mike, is everything okay?", Olive asked as she walked up to Dr. Mike.
"No, everything is far from okay, Olive, in fact I don’t know if it could get much worse", said Michaela as she turned and walked back into the clinic.
Olive followed, "Where’s Sully headed off to?"
"He says he’s leaving and he isn’t coming back", said Dr. Mike rather of matter of factly.
"Leaving? Why? What happened?", Olive was waiting for Dr. Mike to respond.
Michaela now started to feel angry at Sully, he always walked away when there was a problem, she always wanted to talk and work things out, but he always seemed to just walk away and let it be. "Well, maybe he just needs time to think things through, you know, the woman he was working with, that woman....."
"Dr. Mike..... Sully and that woman were working. I saw the two of them, they were real focused on the job they had to do and you know Sully, he ain’t much for words. I’m sure he’ll be okay. Why don’t you follow him, talk to him. I bet you could get him to come back.....", Olive gently placed her hand on Dr. Mike’s.
"Maybe I should follow him and talk this out. I wish I could explain to him how I feel. I have strong feelings for him, Olive, feelings that I don’t always understand. Do you think he has the same feelings?"
Olive looked up at the ceiling and down again at Dr. Mike, "Ahh....I’ve known Sully a lot of years, he’s finally acting alive again and that’s all because of you! You’re the one who stirred up those feelings in him, the feelings he’s been trying to hide."
Dr. Mike smiled at Olive and her eyes filled up and she swallowed hard. "You gotta go after him Dr. Mike, don’t let this tear you apart...", said Olive softly, recognizing all the emotion Dr. Mike was feeling. Dr. Mike nodded, afraid to speak and knowing Olive was right and realizing for the first time that Olive was a strong willed woman just like herself. Dr. Mike was glad Olive had said the things she said.
"I’ll get you a horse from Robert E’s and get you some supplies from the store and pack it up, you come to the store when you’re ready, and don’t worry about the children, I’ll take care of them for as long as it takes...", said Olive.
"As long as it takes?’, asked Michaela looking at her quizzically, "Do you think he won’t want to listen to me, and come back?"
"He’ll listen and he’ll come back, but the two of you need time alone, without the children, to talk to each other and mend this up right, do you understand?"
"Yes, .....thank you Olive", smiled Dr. Mike.
Dr. Mike walked slowly down the stairs from the second floor of the clinic. She had gathered some personal items she kept there for emergencies. This was an emergency, she thought, and how she hoped it would go better than their meeting in the barn. She took one last look at her desk and it looked in order. She grabbed her coat and the satchel with her things and walked out the door. She hurried towards the mercantile, seeing a horse all packed up. She went into the store and there was Olive smiling and handing her a canteen. "Here, I just filled it with nice cool water, now go and do what you need to do", Olive gave her a quick wink.
"Thank you Olive, will you speak with Jake about taking care of any medical emergencies for me.....", asked Michaela.
"Yes, yes, don’t worry about a thing!" said Olive and she turned Michaela by the shoulders and pushed her gently toward the door.
Michaela mounted the horse, smiled at Olive, who nodded back, and then headed out of town. She stopped suddenly, turned toward Olive, "...but I don’t know where Sully is....", she said to Olive. "Follow your heart....", replied Olive as she waved Michaela on.
As Michaela rode, she thought of the first time she mounted a horse. It had been Sully who assisted her onto the saddle, rather abruptly, she thought with a chuckle. She wondered how many other women were first touched by a man on the... well, on the behind.. as she was!! She remembered being shocked, yet when she looked down into his face, she saw such a gentle man, his head a little tilted, her paper in his mouth, the gentle manner in which he handed her the note and the way he softly said, "No, I’m answering it". Thinking back now, she wondered where she would have lived if he hadn’t offered her the homestead. She also wondered where she would be if he hadn’t kissed her on her birthday, just the thought of that kiss made her smile and grab the reins a little tighter. He had given her so much . She hoped she would be able to find him, apologize for the hurtful things she said, and that he would come back to Colorado Springs.
Sully sat by the fire wondering how everything fell apart. Michaela was so angry and Matthew was worse, who knows what he thought, Sully just knew that it was bad. He wasn’t sure where he was going, but he knew he couldn’t bear to stay in Colorado Springs and see Michaela. He didn’t want to see her and not be able to be with her, hold her hand, or kiss her tenderly. Even worse, he never wanted to see her with another man! She was so beautiful and special that he was sure another man would jump at the chance to be with her. He sighed deeply and laid back looking at the sky, wondering if things would ever be right.
Michaela knew it would be dark soon and she would have to stop and let the horse rest. She headed off the trail, hoping to come across a creek or some water for the horse. Suddenly she smelled the deep, rich smell of a fire burning. She looked around to see if she saw smoke rising from a chimney. She headed off to the right, allowing the scent of smoldering pine and fresh cut lumber draw her. As the smell got stronger, she realized it might not be a cabin so she dismounted the horse and walked him to a small pool of water and tethered him loosely to a tree branch. She hesitantly headed toward the fire. She peered through the shrubs and saw Sully laying near the fire, Wolf nearby. She suddenly felt nervous and turned to go back to her horse.
"Who’s there?", said Sully as he sat up.
Michaela realized she had to answer, "It’s me, Michaela......hello...", she said as she pushed way through the shrubs, a guilty smile on her face. She stood nervously looking at Sully, her clasped in front of her not sure what to do next.
Sully smiled softly, glad to see her, "What brings you out here?", he asked as he stood and he too did not know if he should move towards her or not.
"Well.....I was hoping to find you" Michaela sighed, "....this is ......a nice campsite", she smiled tentatively at Sully.
Sully smiled, "Yeah, .....you came all the way out here to see my campsite?" He laughed a little and looked at her.
"No, of course not", Michaela said as she let her shoulders slump and walked closer to Sully, "I wanted to find you to talk with you......"
"Here, sit down, I would like to talk with you too. Michaela, I never meant for any of this to happen, to hurt you. I would never want to do that."
"I know Sully, I felt hurt when I saw you....I didn’t want to see you go to someone else. The last thing I remember was riding away so fast.....from that....., that vision of you with someone else", Michaela held her hands up in front of her face.
"You should have ridden to where I was, and then you would have known that nothing was happening, at least not what you think was happening", Sully said sternly.
"You’re right Sully, I should have gone right down the hill and asked what was going on", said Michaela as she put her head down.
"Yes, you should have", Sully said, he was angry, "I’d never hurt you."
"I know that Sully", Michaela said as she looked up at him, her eyes filled with gratitude.
Sully slowly reached out for her and gently ran his fingertips over her hand, he closed his eyes tightly and pulled his hand away. Michaela slid her feet under her and rose onto her knees and leaned over to kiss Sully, but she lost her balance and tumbled onto him. "What are you doing!", Sully laughed.