| Chapter 7: The Choice
Charlotte and the children were moving their belongings over into Mr. Bray’s store with the help of Michaela and Sully. Jedediah Bancroft was boarding up the windows and doors of the building, steering clear of the front door until all of the kitchen supplies were moved out. Michaela couldn’t help but wonder what the bank was going to do with the old boarding house. Could they really have anything planned for it? If it was to be auctioned off, who would buy it, and what would they use it for? No reason came to Michaela’s mind of another reason more useful than a clinic for sick patients. “Ma, do you think Mr. Bray will let me have free candy since we’re livin’ with him now?” Brian asked with a hopeful grin. Charlotte and Michaela looked at each other with knowing grins and chuckled. “Mr. Bray is set in his ways, Brian. I don’t think he’s gonna give you free candy,” Charlotte replied. “Now don’t you be askin’ him either. He’s bein’ nice enough to let us stay.” “Yes ma,” Brian replied. “Run along and tell Matthew that the only thing left to bring over is the kitchen table.” Brian nodded and hurried out. “What are ya gonna do with all this stuff?” Sully asked. “Loren’s bein’ kind enough to let us store it in his shed outside.” “That thing leaks,” Sully warned. “Well, we’ll think of somethin’ then,” Charlotte replied with a cheery smile. Sully left and Michaela turned to Charlotte. “Did Mr. Bancroft say what was going to happen to the boarding house?” Charlotte thought for a moment. “I s’pose he’s just gonna sell it.” Michaela shrugged and walked outside as Charlotte followed behind. Myra came walking up the street. “Hello Myra,” Michaela said with a nod. “Who’s this, Dr. Mike?” “This is Myra. Myra, this is Charlotte Cooper.” “Nice to meet you,” Myra said with a smile. “Likewise!” “Did you have any luck finding work?” Michaela asked. “No,” Myra said softly. “I’ve avoided the saloon at all costs. I saw Hank earlier, but he didn’t see me. He looked angry, because I think he was expectin’ me today.” “You know Hank?” Charlotte asked. “Well, I was s’posed to work for him, but I didn’t find out what that job was until I got here. I ain’t workin’ like that.” “I’m happy for ya. Welcome to Colorado Springs.” Myra smiled and the three women started across the street toward the mercantile. Jedediah was purchasing some more nails and a new hammer to finish boarding up the windows. “Mr. Bancroft?” Michaela asked. “What do you want now?” he asked. Michaela decided to ignore the rude tone in his voice. “What will happen to the boarding house?” “It’s being sold.” “To whom, may I ask?” “No you may not, but the interested party plans on creating a rival saloon.” Myra saw Hank starting to come over, and she swallowed hard. “What’s goin’ on here?” he asked, seeing Myra. Michaela got an idea. “Mr. Bancroft had just informed me that there will be a new saloon in town.” “That’s news to me,” Hank replied, eyeing the banker. “Yes, well, as soon as I return to Denver in the morning, I will be selling this boarding house.” Charlotte put her hands on her hips at the rude banker’s words. “Well, how much is it selling for?” Hank asked. “Fifteen hundred dollars,” Jedediah replied sternly. Michaela swallowed hard and Charlotte looked at her. She nodded. Michaela wasn’t sure that she felt right about buying the boarding house, but she knew she definitely didn’t want another saloon in town. “I’ll buy it from you, Mr. Bancroft,” Michaela replied. Jedediah chuckled and shook his head. “You don’t have that kind of money. You’re a woman!” Michaela pulled a wad of bills out of her bag. “I have enough to buy the boarding house.” “I’m going to Denver tomorrow to sell it.” “Oh come now, Mr. Bancroft. Wouldn’t you rather get this settled right away instead of purchasing more nails to finish boarding the building up? That’s a lot of work and a waste of money.” “The price just went up. Two thousand dollars.” “Now hold on a minute! That ain’t fair!” Myra exclaimed. “She’s got the money you’re askin’ for.” “Stay out of this, young lady.” “Yeah, young lady,” Hank said with a chuckle. “Why don’t you come over to the saloon, and we’ll get that contract settled.” “I ain’t goin’ with you,” Myra replied. “You didn’t tell me what I’d be doin’.” Hank scratched his chin and gave a sly smile. “I just assumed you knew.” “You never told me ya ran a saloon!” Myra replied. Hank just shrugged and walked off. “You’ll come around.” Michaela glanced at Myra, and Myra shook her head. Michaela smiled back. She turned her attention back to Jedediah. “I have two thousand dollars, Mr. Bancroft, but it is all the money I have. I will pay you the fifteen hundred dollars, and not a penny more. I refuse to have to pay more just because I’m a woman.” “Being a woman has nothing to do with it,” Jedediah replied. “But I have raised the price.” “You didn’t raise the price until she told you she wanted to buy it,” Charlotte pointed out. “She’s got witnesses, so if you don’t want some trouble on your hands, you’ll sell it to the lady.” Jedediah looked at the women who stood before him. He saw a rugged-looking man with a wolf standing near by. Michaela noticed where his gaze was, and she saw Sully walking their way. “Is there a problem?” Sully asked, his fingers running along the length of his tomahawk handle. The banker noticed Sully’s weapon of choice, and decided that this was no time to get nasty with the ladies that this fellow was obviously very protective of. “No problem at all,” Jedediah said with a dry, nervous chuckle. “I was just about to make a business deal with the lady. Miss, would you come with me to fill out the paperwork?” “That’s Dr. Quinn to you, Mr. Bancroft,” Michaela replied. She looked at Sully and winked at him before she followed Jedediah across the street to fill out the necessary paperwork. Charlotte watched on with a grin spread across her face. “She’s actually gonna buy it?” Sully asked. “Well, Mr. Bancroft said he was turnin’ it into a saloon, so Dr. Mike decided to buy it instead,” Myra replied. Sully looked at the young woman. He had seen her earlier, walking around town, but hadn’t had a formal introduction. “Have we met?” “Oh, no, I just got here. I’m Myra,” she said. She held her hand out to Sully and he shook it. “Sully,” he replied. Sully nodded to Charlotte and Myra before he headed off to wait for Michaela. Wolf followed behind obediently. *~* Michaela walked out of the boarding house with a proud smile on her face. She couldn’t help but be happy that she had convinced the prudish banker to sell the boarding house to her. The first thing she was going to do was invite Charlotte to move herself and the children back in. Sully was sitting on the porch, and when he saw Michaela, he stood and smiled at her. “I’m proud of you,” he said softly. “You are?” she asked as he pulled her into his arms. “Yep,” he replied, kissing her forehead. “You bought that place and stopped somethin’ from happenin’ that you didn’t want. You saved the town a lot of problems.” “I suppose,” she replied. “But I’m tempted just to let Charlotte have it back.” “I won’t have that,” Charlotte replied, walking up behind them. “That place is yours now. A doctor’s gotta have a clinic.” “Charlotte, I don’t feel right about this.” “Well, just look at it this way. You’ll be able to treat more patients if you’re in town.” “Won’t you at least move back in?” “The children and I are perfectly fine over at Loren’s store. You just worry about settin’ up your own medical clinic.” “Are you sure, Charlotte?” Michaela wasn’t sure if she’d ever feel right about this. “Of course I’m sure!” Charlotte replied with a smile. “You get yourself set up, and I’m gonna do your publicity work.” “Publicity?” “Yeah. I’m gonna talk you up to people, get them to come see ya if they’re sick. I’ll make Loren help me. You fixed his leg right up, so I’ll talk him into helpin’ ya.” “Thank you Charlotte. You’ve been so wonderful. I don’t know how to repay you.” “You’re a good person and a good doctor. You deserve it,” Charlotte replied. She walked off toward the mercantile. Sully took Michaela’s hand and led her toward the meadow. “Sully? Where are we going?” “I’ve been missin’ ya. We ain’t had much time alone today, and I just wanna spend some time with ya.” Michaela laughed as Sully swept her off of her feet. She pulled her arms around his neck and let him carry her through the meadow and into the woods. For being September, the afternoon was surprisingly warm, but Michaela pretended to be cold so Sully would pull her closer. She loved the way he doted on her. He was amazing, and she found herself falling in love with him more and more each day. They reached the creek and Michaela was surprised to find a blanket spread out with a picnic basket lying on it. A small vase was filled with daisies served as the centerpiece. Michaela turned to Sully. Her heart filled with joy and curiosity, and Sully smiled all the while. “Sully?” “What? Can’t a man surprise the woman he loves?” “Of course!” she exclaimed. “It’s lovely!” She kissed his cheek and he helped her sit down. She picked a daisy out of the vase and held it to her nose. The soft petals caressed her silky smooth skin, and Sully couldn’t help but feel envious. He reached out and brushed his fingertips across her cheek. Her eyes fluttered open and stared into his. Sully felt as if he could drown in the beauty of her eyes. They ate in silence, taking in the beauty of each other. Eating seemed to take forever, because they couldn’t seem to get enough of each other. Every few minutes they would lean in for a kiss or a sweet whisper of love. If anyone had observed this scene, they would have seen what looked like two people who had known each other forever, when the truth was they hadn’t known each other very long at all. The love was there, though, and it was stronger than anything either one of them knew they could ever experience. As soon as they were finished eating, Michaela turned to observe the creek. The water flowed so easily over the stones in the creek bed. The sun reflected off of the water, and Sully couldn’t help but notice how it made Michaela’s hair shine like she was an angel from heaven. “You look so beautiful,” he whispered, picking up one of her hands and kissing her knuckles. She blushed and looked away. “Do you really mean that?” “Of course I do. I wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t true.” “Sully?” “Hmm?” “What do you think they’ll look like?” “Who?” Sully asked. Michaela hesitated for a moment, not sure of how Sully would react to what she was about to say. But, she did know that he too dreamed of the future, so maybe this wouldn’t come as too big of a surprise. “Our children.” She blushed and saw a twinkle in Sully’s eyes. “I think our daughters will have your smile, eyes, and hair.” “And our sons will look just like you,” Michaela replied thoughtfully. “How many children are we havin’?” Sully asked with an amused laugh. “I’ve always wanted two of each.” Sully raised an eyebrow. “Well, I s’pose after the weddin’, we’ll have to get started right away.” “And when will that be?” Michaela asked curiously, half joking, and half wanting to know what to expect in her immediate or distant future. “Well, I ain’t proposed to yet. I figured you’d want it to be special.” Michaela smiled. “You know me so well,” she whispered. “But the only thing that matters is that I spend the rest of my life with you.” Sully pulled Michaela up to him to kiss her lovingly. “We’re gonna spend forever together, Michaela. We can take it nice and slow, remember?” Michaela nodded, loving the sound of her voice when he spoke it. “I remember,” she replied. They began to kiss again, this time it became more passionate. They stumbled back onto the blanket, Michaela landing on her back. She laughed as Sully began to kiss her neck. “Sully, we shouldn’t be doing this.” “I know,” Sully replied, breaking his lips away from her sweet skin and planting a gentle kiss on her lips. “I just can’t seem to get enough of ya.” “Sully, after we’re married, we can finally have all of each other.” “I can hardly wait,” Sully confessed. Michaela blushed and looked up quickly when she saw Brian Cooper out of the corner of her eye. “Brian!” “Hey Dr. Mike. What are you and Sully doin’?” “Uh,” Sully said, clearing his throat. “We were just havin’ lunch.” “Oh. Well, ma told me to tell ya that Mr. Bray’s leg is hurtin’ him.” “Oh dear. Well, I suppose our afternoon is over,” Michaela whispered to Sully. “That’s alright. The time we got to have sure was good.” Michaela grinned bashfully, and Sully kissed her hand. She stood and hurried after Brian while Sully picked up the remainder of his picnic by the creek with Michaela. |