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Chapter 8: Life or Death Sully and Cloud Dancing had recovered Snow Bird safely and securely, and she had gotten through the ordeal without being harmed. But, she was afraid, so Cloud Dancing held her all through the night to let her know he was there for her. Sully couldn’t help but think of Michaela all thought the night and in his dreams. Now that the daylight had peaked through the forest, Cloud Dancing, Snow Bird, and Sully were making their way back home. Sully hoped Michaela wouldn’t be upset with him for running off like that, but he had to be there for his friends. They too were his family. Sully was quiet as they rode down the path in the woods. Cloud Dancing and Snow Bird were sharing a horse. The Indian had suggested that they ride slow for Snow Bird’s sake. Cloud Dancing glanced over at Sully. “You will be home to her by sundown,” Cloud Dancing promised. Sully looked over at him. “I hope she understands,” Sully said with a heavy sigh. “She loves you. She will understand.” They rode on in silence. Sully thought of Michaela and how he had fallen in love with her from the moment he saw her. He hadn’t wanted to admit it to himself, but she had been the most gorgeous creature, and his heart pounded for her the second he laid eyes on her. Lately he found himself having more and more dreams about his family. His most vivid dream last night was of himself and Michaela walking hand-in-hand through the meadow in the springtime. He would reach over and put his hand on her rounded belly. All of his dreams seemed to be centered around Michaela being pregnant or having a baby. The more he had those dreams, to less he could wait to be able to create a life with Michaela. Snow Bird whispered something to Cloud Dancing, and he helped her off of the horse. She hurried of into the bushes and Cloud Dancing waited. Sully stopped his horse and looked back to his friend. “She is with child,” Cloud Dancing said with a proud gleam in his eyes. He and Sully shook hands, and Sully couldn’t wait to feel that pride when he got to announce that he and Michaela were going to have a baby. “The spirits say the child will be here in the June month.” “That’s not far away,” Sully replied. “You have time to get ready though.” “We are preparing for our daughter.” “Daughter?” “The spirits say the child is a girl.” “Congratulations,” Sully said with a chuckle. Cloud Dancing nodded his thanks. Snow Bird reappeared and Cloud Dancing helped her back up onto the horse. Now he knew why Cloud Dancing had insisted upon traveling slow. There was no way an expectant father would want his wife to be riding a horse at all, but since she was tired and her feet ached, they would have to ride slow. They continued down the path, and Sully wished to ride ahead to get to Michaela sooner, but he knew that he couldn’t leave his friends, especially since the kidnappers who had taken Snow Bird would probably wake soon. The last Sully saw of them, they were passed out drunk on the ground. One had stirred when Cloud Dancing freed Snow Bird from the shackles she was confined in, and the other had tried to get up to fight off the intruders. He had been too drunk to do anything, but Sully was sure that both men would be sobering up and on their trail soon. Cloud Dancing had asked his wife why the men took her and she told him that there was a man looking for Indians to hand over to the army for payment. Luckily, Snow Bird wasn’t going to have to go with them. She was grateful that her husband had found her. As they traveled, Sully thought about what he would do if anyone ever took Michaela away from him. The thought of it just made Sully want to rush home and make sure his wife was okay. He knew that he would kill to protect his family, but he didn’t know quite how he would react if it ever happened. He never wanted Michaela to be afraid or in danger, but he knew that there would be times when everyone would fear for their lives. The army was becoming increasingly angry toward the Indians for not giving into their wishes, and Sully knew it was only a matter of time before the killing began. A sound from behind caused the horses to startle. The men turned their horses around to see one of the men who had taken Snow Bird. Sully saw the gun pointing at them, and he knew that something was about to happen, and Snow Bird was with child so she needed to be safe. “Cloud Dancin’, get Snow Bird to safety,” Sully said calmly. Cloud Dancing glanced at his friend for a moment, not wanting to leave his side. But he had his wife and unborn child to think of, so she quickly turned his horse around and sped off. The man with the gun shot in his direction, but Sully jumped in front of him, catching the bullet in his chest. He screamed in pain and fell to the ground. He was still, too still, and the man looked at his partner in crime. “I think he’s dead, Joe.” “We best get out of here and get those Injuns before they go talkin’.” The two men mounted their horses and slapped the backside of Sully’s horse. As they rode off in pursuit of Cloud Dancing and Snow Bird, Sully’s horse ran off in the other opposite direction. *~* Michaela yawned and got out of bed feeling a tad better than the night before. She smelled breakfast cooking, so she dressed and descended the stairs. Colleen was putting eggs onto all of the plates while Matthew helped pour milk for everyone. Brian wasn’t being much of a help while he played on the floor with pup. “Good morning,” Michaela said with a yawn. “Mornin’ ma,” Brian said with a smile. “You’re lookin’ better today,” Matthew noticed. “Thank you. I feel better.” “Are you going into the clinic today?” Colleen asked. “Yes, I’m feeling well enough to go into town.” “I’ll hitch up the wagon before breakfast is done.” Michaela nodded and Matthew left the homestead as Colleen went to the stove to stir the oatmeal. There was a draft in the house now that Matthew had opened the door. Although he’d shut it, the cold air seemed to travel quickly. Michaela added a few logs to the fire and warmed her hands. “I hope pa comes home soon,” Brian said, standing up and walking over to take a seat at the table. “So do I, Brian,” Michaela replied with a nod. As soon as Matthew had returned, breakfast was ready, and everyone sat down to eat. Michaela ate as much as she could possibly get down, which wasn’t much at all. The children noticed how her eating habits were starting to weaken, and they wanted to be able to help her. They weren’t quite sure how to go about doing that, but they knew that she would feel better once Sully returned home. A knock came to the door as the family was eating breakfast, so Michaela walked over to see who it was. Ethan Cooper stood before Michaela as she opened the door. He was dressed in his fanciest suit and hat. The children turned in their seats to see him. “We’re in the middle of breakfast, Mr. Cooper.” “I wanted to say goodbye, Dr. Quinn.” He tipped his hat with a gentleman’s matters and gave her his best smile. Michaela could see through Ethan’s exterior. She knew he had something up his sleeve. “You’re leavin’?” Colleen asked, not sounding very upset about it. “Yes I am. But the three of you are coming with me.” “We ain’t goin’ nowhere with you.” Michaela cleared her throat. “They’re not going.” “I’d say they are, Dr. Quinn. These children are mine since Charlotte’s gone.” “We’ve already sent in the adoption papers.” “They ain’t been processed yet. A judge in Denver says these children are comin’ with me.” He handed Michaela a paper and she read it over. She had hoped he had misunderstood because he couldn’t read, but it was obvious that someone had given him the news. “I’m sure you conveniently left out the fact that there are adoption papers in progress, Mr. Cooper,” Michaela accused. The look in Ethan’s eyes told her that she was right. “This paper says the children belong to me. If you don’t want things to get ugly, you’ll hand them over to me right now.” Michaela turned to look at the children. They were afraid and angry by right. Michaela had promised them they wouldn’t have to go with Ethan if they didn’t want to. She was bound and determined not to let them down. “We ain’t goin’ nowhere with you,” Matthew warned, standing up. He walked over to the door and stared down the man who had abandoned his family. “You’re a coward.” “Now hold on, son.” “You waited until Sully wasn’t here so you could come harass Dr. Mike.” Ethan started to speak but Matthew cut him off. “You ain’t our pa anymore. Sully’s our pa, and Dr. Mike is our new ma. You ain’t gonna make us go with you.” “I have the law on my side, son,” Ethan explained. “I think you better turn around and leave.” Michaela watched the oldest boy’s face start to grow red with anger. She reached over and put a hand on his shoulder. He took the paper from her hands and ripped it up, throwing it at Ethan’s feet. “Matthew!” Michaela exclaimed. No, she didn’t want Ethan taking the children, but she hadn’t expected Matthew to do what he had just done. “Now you’re back at where ya started.” Ethan swallowed hard and decided to play his last card. “I thought you children might like to have a family.” “We’ve got a family,” Brian spoke up. “If you come with me, you’ll have a family in San Francisco.” “What are you talking about?” Ethan had spared Michaela’s curiosity. “I’m going to be married soon. Your future step-mother is back in San Francisco.” “What?!” Colleen asked, her eyes wide and her mouth agape. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before, but I wanted to surprise you. Her name is Lillian, and we want you to come live with us. Colleen, we want you to be her maid of honor. Matthew, you can be the best man, and Brian can be the ring bearer. Lillian has three children. Jonathan is eight like you, Brian. Mary is five, and little Rosie is two.” “You’re tellin’ us that you’ve got a whole other family in San Francisco?!” Colleen asked. “Mr. Cooper, I would like to have a word with you outside.” Michaela walked out onto the porch and Ethan followed. She shut the door as soon as they were on the porch. She stared at him, her arms across her chest and her toe tapping briskly on the wooden planks. “Yes, Dr. Quinn?” “Why are you lying to your children?” “I’m not lying. I am engaged to a woman who has three children. What else are you asking me?” “Charlotte told me that you only want the children because that’s the only way you will get your father’s money.” Ethan swallowed hard. “You were just going to lie to those children?” “I . . .” “You don’t need to lie anymore. Haven’t you done enough damage?” Ethan didn’t look so confident anymore. “Don’t make me remove them from your home by force.” “You won’t touch them!” Ethan started for the door, but Michaela stepped in his way. “Don’t make this any harder on yourself.” He started to push past her when two strong arms grabbed him from behind and pushed him off of the porch. Ethan tumbled down into the dirt. Jake Slicker and Hank were standing on the porch looking down at him. “Don’t ever get rough with a lady,” Jake warned. Michaela was surprised to see the two men there. Hank grabbed Ethan by the collar and pushed him up. “Please stop!” Michaela begged, not wanting the children to see their father get beaten to a pulp, although she had to admit that seeing him hurt for a moment might make her feel better. Hank held onto Ethan and escorted him to his horse. “You get into town and get your stuff out of my saloon. You ain’t welcome.” Ethan rode off quickly and Hank turned to Michaela. “You alright?” Jake asked. “Yes, I’m fine,” Michaela said with a nod. “What brings the two of you out here?” “We came lookin’ for Sully.” “He’s not here,” Michaela replied. “What do you need him for?” “Two fellas rode into town askin’ about him, and I figured he’d want to know about it. They had guns and looked like they were after him.” Michaela felt a lump in her throat and she swallowed hard. “He’s not here. He went to help a friend.” “Would that friend be Cloud Dancin’?” Hank asked. “What if it was?” Michaela asked cautiously. “Well, it seemed like those fellas were after Cloud Dancin’. They didn’t say they were lookin’ for Sully, but they were askin’ if he had a wife. We didn’t tell ‘em nothin’, so we though ya’ll would like to know.” “Thank you for telling me,” Michaela said with a nod. At that point, Cloud Dancing came galloping down the hill with Snow Bird on the back of his horse. He stopped as soon as he reached the front of the homestead. He helped his wife off and dismounted himself. “Cloud Dancing! Snow Bird!” Michaela exclaimed. “Where’s Sully?” “Sully was shot early this morning. He needs help.” “There are men out lookin’ for you,” Jake said. He and Hank weren’t the biggest fan of Indians, but they were starting to learn when to be allies. “One is short and lean. One tall and heavy.” “Yeah,” Hank said with a nod. They were askin’ ‘bout Sully. They must think he’s dead.” “They left him,” Michaela whispered. “Snow Bird needs rest,” Cloud Dancing replied. “She is with child and the ride here was not good for her.” “Certainly,” Michaela said with a nod. “Colleen!” Colleen came outside, and her brothers followed. “What is it?” “Could you help Snow Bird up to a bed, please? I have to go with Cloud Dancing.” “Sure,” Colleen replied. She helped the Indian woman and Michaela turned to Matthew. “Would you look after Brian and Colleen?” “Yeah,” Matthew replied. Brian ran inside and brought out Michaela’s medical bag. Michaela kissed the top of Brian’s head and Matthew brought a horse out of the barn. Michaela mounted up. “You need a hand?” Jake asked. “Ain’t we helped enough?” Hank asked. “I ain’t followin’ no Injuns.” “Sully’d help us if we needed it. We outta show him the same consideration.” Jake and Hank exchanged glances before they both mounted up and followed after Michaela and Cloud Dancing. As Michaela rode, the only thing she could think about was Sully. Was he hurt; was he even alive? She didn’t want to think the worst, and she knew that she couldn’t even prepare herself for it. She brushed away the tears in her eyes and focused on the ride, hoping to God that Sully was going to pull through. She didn’t know what she’d do if she lost him. They were apart of one another, and she didn’t think she could live without him. |