|
Chapter 6: Going Forward By mid-February, Michaela was cutting back her hours at the clinic simply because the nearly five-month-old twins and the eight-month-old Cheyenne baby needed her attention. Cloud Dancing and Snow Bird visited the homestead often to see their little one, and she never once became confused about her parents. She knew who they were, but she also knew that Michaela and Sully loved her just as much as they loved their own children. Considering the fact that it was Michaela’s twenty-seventh birthday and Valentine’s Day, Sully wanted his wife to take the day off of work so he could have the entire day with her. Colleen, Matthew, and Brian were going to stay at Hank and Myra’s with the children so they could have the entire day to themselves. However, Hank and Myra wouldn’t even be there to watch them, because they were spending the day in a secret spot that only they knew about. The night, however, would not be spent privately for Michaela and Sully. Myra and Hank would be home, and they would definitely not want to spend Valentine’s night with six children in the house. They would go home to Michaela and Sully, so whatever romantic gestures Sully had were going to have to be made during the daytime while the children were at Hank and Myra’s empty house. Both Michaela and Sully loved the children they had, and finding out that Michaela wasn’t pregnant hadn’t disappointed them too much. Sure, they both wanted more children together, but they had sat down and decided that it was probably best if they waited a little while longer before having more children. Though it couldn’t be prevented, Michaela had the feeling that they wouldn’t be blessed again until the twins were older. Their lives were so incredibly busy that it was hard to balance work, family life, and romance all at the same time. Michaela walked down into the kitchen after the children had left for Hank and Myra’s. Sully was cleaning up after breakfast, and the faint aroma of breakfast still floated through the air. Michaela smiled when she saw her husband working so hard to make sure her day was special. The older children had all left notes on the bedroom door, wishing their mother a happy birthday. She figured that Sully’s birthday present for her would come later on. Sully smiled when he saw his wife standing at the bottom of the stairs. Her hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail while she wore her favorite everyday dress. It was amazing how Michaela could look beautiful in anything. She hadn’t tried it yet, but Sully was sure that she could make even the ugliest flour sack look like the latest fashion from Paris. “Happy birthday,” he greeted her, walking over to place a kiss on her cheek. “Happy Valentine’s Day,” she replied. Sully wrapped his arms around her and kissed her lovingly. “You remember what happened last year, don’t ya?” Sully asked. “Hmm,” Michaela replied against his lips. “We found out we were going to have a baby.” She looked over at Connor and Daniel’s empty cradles. “It’s hard to believe, Sully.” “What?” “It’s hard to believe that my dreams are coming true.” “I think the same thing everyday. I never thought I could have all this. But when I’m with you, I feel like I have it all.” “Even though we aren’t having another baby?” “Michaela, we talked about this. I love you and the children we have now. When the next one comes along, I’ll be thrilled. We don’t gotta rush this time.” Michaela smiled happily. “I’m glad you think so,” she replied. They embraced one another again. Michaela sighed heavily and shook her head. “I can’t believe I’m another year older.” “Michaela, you’re only twenty-seven.” “I know. But it seems as if the time has gone by so fast.” “Well, no matter how many years go by, you’ll still be just as beautiful as the night I met ya.” Michaela pulled away from Sully and walked over to warm her hands by the fire. She sighed heavily, and Sully stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. She leaned against him and he kissed her neck, letting his hands roam down to massage the sides of her hips. “That feels nice.” “Mmm,” he replied. Michaela grinned and felt Sully’s hands traveling around to rub against other parts. She closed her eyes, taking in all of the careful attention he was giving her. “What do you think the odds are that we’ll have a completely uninterrupted afternoon?” “Well, we’ll just have to see,” Sully replied with a wink. Michaela turned in his arms and her hands rested on Sully’s hips. She looked down, but Sully tilted her chin up so he could look into her eyes. “Since today is your birthday, what would you like to do, Mrs. Sully?” “Hmm,” Michaela pondered. “There are many things I would love to do, but I’m not sure we could fit them all in during one afternoon.” “We could try,” Sully replied, raising an eyebrow. “Just name it.” “Well, first I would like to go horseback riding. I haven’t gotten much time to ride Flash since Snow Bird presented her to me.” “Alright, what else?” “Hmm . . . I’d also like to go for a walk in the woods. I want to visit the lean-to.” “What else?” “I want to come back here and spend the rest of the afternoon in the arms of my husband.” “Like this?” Sully asked, pulling Michaela close and kissing her lovingly. “Mmm, yes,” she replied, “but instead of standing in front of the fire, we’ll be lying in one another’s arms in bed.” She blushed at her own words, and Sully smiled knowingly. He kissed her softly, tracing his tongue along her lips. Michaela inhaled his wonderful scent and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. The wind picked up outside and began to howl. It swirled through the rafters at the top of the house, causing Michaela to shiver. Sully pulled her closer, and they held one another, staring into each other’s eyes until silence filled the room. Sully’s heart was beating so fast with his heartsong next to him. He felt more alive than ever when he was holding Michaela in his arms. “Sully,” she whispered, her hand moving to brush against his cheek. “Tell me a story.” “A story?” he asked. “Mmm,” she mumbled. “Let’s see here,” he thought, kneeling down before the fire, holding Michaela’s hand and gently pulling her down with him. He added two logs to the fire and leaned his back against the edge of a chair. Michaela sat on the floor beside him, resting her head on his chest. “What kinda story?” “About you,” she replied. “I ain’t got many stories to tell.” “Sure you do,” Michaela replied. “I want to hear a story of when you were younger . . . before Abagail.” Sully kissed the top of Michaela’s head and he began to think back to when he was young and on his own. As soon as he thought of something to tell Michaela, he began his tale. “I was still a very young man . . .” *~* Byron Sully made his way down the muddy trail, running as fast as his legs would carry him. Gunshots rang out as he clutched a basket of food in his hands. He’d been without food for a week, and hadn’t wanted to steal it, but the family using the picnic basket didn’t seem interested in their leftovers. He needed food to survive. Normally he would hunt for his food, but there was nothing around to hunt. He was headed toward California, and was still a thousand miles away from his destination. He had to find some way to get by from day to day. He mainly stayed on one road and hid from horse thieves and bank robbers. He knew the kind. He could tell from the look of them when they’d ride down the road followed by gunfire. Sully found it better for his safety to stay inside the woods and keep an eye on the road on most days and nights. His companion was a female wolf whom he’d found a few weeks ago. He hadn’t named her, but she seemed to be loyal to him. She would protect him during the night and help him find food when there was actually game around. At the moment, Sully and his companion were running as fast as they could with the basket full of leftovers. Who knew someone would get so fired up about food people were finished eating? There were only a couple of biscuits and two very cold pieces of fried chicken, which he intended to share with his trusty wolf. “Come on girl!” Sully called as he and his wolf made a mad dash for the woods. As soon as they’d found themselves hidden by the trees, the sounds of the angry men on horseback faded away. Sully sighed heavily and opened up the old picnic basket. He held a very small drumstick out for his wolf. She took it in her teeth, held it there for a moment, and waited for Sully to take a bite of the other piece of chicken. Once he did so, she happily began to chew at the small amount of meat that was on the bone. Once their meal was finished, Sully threw the basket aside and stood up. “We best get goin’ girl,” he whispered. “It’s gonna get dark soon.” The dog barked in response, and the two traveling companions continued on West, still hungry after their meager meal of leftovers. *~* Michaela let out a heavy sigh, interrupting her husband. Sully looked at her questioningly. “Hmm?” “You had to steal to eat? That’s terrible, Sully.” “It was before I found my way,” he explained. “The wolf . . . was she Wolf’s mother?” “Yep,” he replied. “She was with me for ‘bout ten more years. After Wolf was born, she got shot when a deer hunter shot into the bushes.” Michaela sympathetically put a hand on Sully’s shoulder. “I’m sorry for interrupting. Go on.” *~* The wind was picking up, and Sully could feel it chilling him to the bone. He had constructed a tent, but it had been blown down by the extremely strong gusts. The rain was hammering down on him, and as he sat on the cold hard ground, his trusty wolf laid across his lap, trying to keep her master somewhat warm. The sound of horses approaching worried Sully, and he pulled a knife he’d found out of his back pocket. He heard voices next, and before too long, everything was silent. He fell asleep that night, leaning against an oak tree, praying that the lightning would strike and end his miserable life. When he woke in the early hours of the morning, he found himself naked and wrapped in a fur blanket. It was still dark, and he found that a young Indian man was sitting at his side. What was an Indian doing so far from Indian territory? Sully hadn’t encountered many Indians, but he’d sure heard many stories from his ma before she died. “Who are you?” Sully asked, not sure if the Indian could speak English. He swallowed hard, finding that his throat was scratchy. He winced from the uncomfortable feeling. The Indian held a cup out to him. Sully wasn’t sure what to think. “What is that?” “It will help your throat,” he replied. Sully took it and drank it slowly, finding that his throat felt better already. “Thank you.” The Indian nodded. “Who are you?” “Who are you? You looked lost when I found you.” “Name’s Sully,” he replied. “Cloud Dancing,” the young Indian replied. Sully extended a hand and Cloud Dancing shook it. “Where are you from?” “The Colorado territory.” “You’re far from home.” “I am on my way home. You look as if you do not know where home is.” “I don’t have a home, but I’m goin’ to California. Maybe work the mines.” “You are young.” “So?” “You have not found your way.” “My way?” Cloud Dancing smiled and shook his head. “You have a lot to learn, Sully. Travel with me, and I will teach you.” Sully didn’t know what else to do. He had nobody to talk to except for his loyal wolf, and he could use the traveling companion. He simply nodded, and the friendship that would last a lifetime was formed. *~* “So that’s how you met him?” “Seems like I’ve known him longer,” Sully admitted. He kissed Michaela’s cheek. He stood and pulled her up. “Ya ready to go?” “Go where?” “Horseback ridin’, remember?” “Oh! Right,” Michaela replied with a chuckle. Sully helped her with his coat and then put his on. They headed out to the barn and mounted up, starting off toward the woods. Michaela breathed in the mountain air. “As soon as the snow melts,” Sully began, “we’ll bring the boys out here. Maybe even Early Sun will come too.” “She has to go back to Snow Bird and Cloud Dancing next month.” “Yeah,” Sully replied with a nod. “It’ll be strange not havin’ her around. It’s been kinda nice havin’ another girl ‘round the house.” Michaela nodded in agreement. She yawned a little and looked up at the beautiful sky. The snow began to flutter down from the sky. Sully smiled as Michaela held her head back and opened her eyes, sticking her tongue out to catch the snowflakes. She caught him staring and stopped only to grin. “I haven’t done that since I was a child.” She looked down at the snow-covered ground, biting her lip. “What’s on your mind?” “I just thought of something else I’d like to do.” “What’s that?” Michaela dismounted Flash and laid down in the blanket of snow. Sully watched her with an amused smile on his face. She began to move her arms and legs back and forth and up and down. “Snow angels!” Sully laughed, loving the look on his wife’s face as she played and had fun. “Come on! Join me!” She reached her hand out and he dismounted his horse. He slowly walked over and reached out to take her hand. She pulled him down into the snow beside her and laughed when the snow coated Sully’s hair. Once they had finished up, they mounted their horses again and rode off at a quicker pace, racing one another on a clear dirt path. “I never made snow angels as a child.” “Never?” Sully asked with wide eyes. Michaela shook her head. “Mother was always afraid we’d catch a cold.” Sully laughed and shook his head. “I always swore to myself that if I ever had children, I’d never deprive them of anything fun.” She shook her head. “You’re a good ma, Michaela. You’ve been great with the kids.” “You think so?” “’Course I do. So do they.” Michaela grinned and held her hand out. The two rode side-by-side and hand-in-hand for the rest of the afternoon. They rode quietly until they could no longer bring their horses with them. When they dismounted, they tethered their horses to a strong fallen oak. Hand-in-hand they walked through the woods until they reached Sully’s old lean-to. It had been alone for quite some time, and the furs covering it had started to fade in the sun. Sully brushed the snow off of one of the furs and set it out underneath the lean to. He sat down and Michaela sat down beside him. “It’s so nice and peaceful here,” she whispered. Sully pulled his arm around her, and they leaned against one another, listening to the sounds of nature and enjoying the peace and quiet they had been missing out on over the past few months. *~* Several hours later, Michaela lay sleeping in the warmth and comfort of Sully’s arms in their bed. Her skin was warm against his, and her breath was slow and steady. She was so very happy, and he knew she’d enjoyed their afternoon together. He couldn’t help but smile when he thought of Michaela making snow angels. She’d been so innocent and child-like, and he found it endearing. He loved when Michaela let the child inside out for a while. She was serious most of the time, and he knew it was healthy for her to have fun. He wanted her to have fun more often, because if it was possible, it made their lovemaking even better. Michaela was always enthusiastic and up to the occasion, but after having such a fun, relaxing day, Michaela seemed to be a bit more energetic than usual. Now she was exhausted and sleeping happily in her husband’s arms. The way the sunlight played across the room told Sully that the children would be returning home within a few hours. He knew he should get some sleep, because once the six of them arrived at the house, he wouldn’t be able to relax until they’d all gone to bed. His hand brushed against her shoulder, admiring her beautiful skin. When he’d first met her, her skin had been a beautiful creamy white. Now it was just as beautiful but tanned by the sun. Western life suited her well, and she seemed to grow even more beautiful by the day. Sully closed his eyes, letting sleep settle over him. His arms held Michaela protectively, though she didn’t need protecting. His heart knew hers, and even in their sleep, they watched over one another, and both of them knew it would be that way for the rest of their lives. |