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Chapter 9: Romance in the Falls Michaela woke to the smell of food cooking. Sully had brought supplies to cook with for the next few days, and he intended to do all of the cooking and keep Michaela off of her feet as much as possible. They had a small walk to a special place that morning, but it wasn’t a long walk at all. “Mornin’,” Sully greeted his wife. She got out of bed and stretched her tired and aching muscles. “Good morning,” she said with a smile. Sully walked over to greet her with a tender kiss. “Breakfast smells wonderful.” Sully pulled out a chair for her and helped her sit down. “I hope it tastes alright. My cookin’ ain’t as good as Colleen’s.” “Well, I’m sure it’s better than mine,” Michaela replied with a laugh. “I’m afraid we’d be out of luck if you didn’t know how to cook.” Michaela winced. “You okay?” “Yeah. The baby’s kicking hard today.” “Probably hungry.” “Mmm,” she mumbled, running her fingers through her hair. Sully sat down across from his wife and they began to eat breakfast. Michaela could hardly concentrate on her food due to the constant movement inside of her belly. Her hand continuously rubbed her belly gently, happy that her baby was active and healthy. “Michaela, you gotta eat.” “I know, I’m sorry.” She took another bite. “It ain’t that bad, is it?” “Huh? Oh! No, it’s fine, Sully. I’m just thinking about a lot of things.” “Like what?” “I’m thinking about the baby, the children, and the clinic.” “Don’t be frettin’,” Sully whispered. “Everything’s fine. I brought ya out here to get away from it all. You deserve a break.” Michaela smiled gratefully at her husband before she finished off the rest of her breakfast and what Sully couldn’t finish of his own. As soon as the table had been cleared, Sully let Michaela put on a different dress as he went outside to make sure the path was clear for walking. As Michaela was dressing, she looked down at her bare belly and saw a little bulge form as the baby kicked her and kept its little foot in place. She gently rubbed that area and the baby moved again. She laughed, loving the feeling of having this little life moving around inside of her. Of course it wasn’t so precious at night when she was trying to sleep, but when she wasn’t trying to sleep, it seemed like the best thing in the world. “You must be doing somersaults in there, little one,” Michaela whispered as she proceeded to slip into her dress. She tried hopelessly to do up the buttons in the back, but she knew Sully would end up doing it for her, so there was no use in tiring herself out. She sat down on the edge of the bed and slipped into some comfortable shoes. No shoes were comfortable, but these were the ones that supported her and left her feet aching less at the end of the day. Sully walked in and smiled when he saw his wife sitting with her dress back open, waiting for him to come fasten it up. He walked over and sat down behind her to do up the buttons. When he was finish he stood and extended his hand. “Ready to go?” “Go where?” “You’ll see,” he uttered with a grin. Michaela sighed and smiled, her eyes glistening happily. She grabbed her medical bag just in case, took his hand, and they started out on the warm May morning. They walked down a path near the creek, and Michaela was surprised when she and Sully came to a beautiful grassy cliff. Sully stopped and squeezed Michaela’s hand. “This is it?” She was surprised because they had only walked for a few minutes. “Yep,” Sully answered with a nod. Sully pointed over beside the cliff. There was a large fur blanket spread out in the grass, but that wasn’t the most eye-catching part. There was a beautiful waterfall with a rock bed full of water. The water flowed into the rock bed and over into a lake below. “Oh Sully, it’s beautiful,” she whispered, tears sparkling in her eyes. “When I first built this cottage, I saw this waterfall, and I put up that little dam and dug a whole, linked it with rocks, and made it into a little bath. “A very cold bath,” Michaela replied with a laugh. “And wouldn’t you be afraid you’d go over the cliff?” “Nah,” Sully replied. “See, the waterfall is perfect there because the cliff ain’t steep over there. It slides down at a very angled slope, so it ain’t dangerous. Besides, you ain’t gonna fall out.” “Me?” “Let’s give it a try.” “Sully! I can’t! I don’t have anything to wear in there, and I don’t want to get my dress wet,” Michaela protested. “Nobody’s around. Nobody’s gonna see,” Sully replied. “Ain’t no need for clothes. Sully stripped out of his clothes and jumped in. Michaela laughed at her husband’s enthusiasm. She shook her head and nervously looked around. “Come on,” he urged, holding his hand out. The water’s great.” “You mean it’s freezing. Your child isn’t going to appreciate this.” “Our baby’s nice and warm inside of ya. Besides, I’ll keep ya warm.” Michaela blushed and finally let herself get talked into stripping down and stepping into the water. “Oh!” she cried out. The water was cold, but Sully pulled her in, catching her in his arms. She laughed as she made a giant splash. She was surprised to find that the water came up to her chest. Sully had really been thinking when he built this. It was wonderful! She adjusted to the coolness of the water once Sully pulled her into his arms and began to kiss the nape of her neck. Michaela soon melted in the arms of her husband, and they spent the rest of the morning making love. *~* Michaela had dressed herself, and she was lying on the large blanket Sully had laid out next to the waterfall. She felt wonderful, and she was amazed at how good Sully could make her feet. She loved him even more with each day, and she knew that she would never love him any less. Sully was over at the stream, catching fish for lunch. He was letting Michaela rest, because he knew that she had had a very intense morning so far. But, he knew she felt wonderful, and he did too. Michaela sat up and felt her baby kicking again. It seemed to be moving around even more than it was earlier, and she hoped that the baby would sleep more after it was born than it did while it was inside of her. It sure didn’t seem to know the word ‘sleep’ very well. She grabbed her medical bag, as she seemed to do most every morning, and pulled out her stethoscope to assure herself that all was well. She could tell by the baby’s movements that it was fine, but she still liked to listen to her baby’s heartbeat. It seemed to relax her. She listened for the heartbeat, and just as she was about to put it away, she recognized something else. There was a faint sound of another beating heart! Her breath caught in her throat and she wondered if that was the sound of her own heartbeat with her child’s, or if it was the faint sound of another baby’s heartbeat. “Sully!” she cried out. “Sully!” Sully, hearing his wife’s calls, started over from the stream, thinking something had gone wrong. He began to worry that their making love had hurt the baby in some way. He rushed to her side and knelt down on the blanket. He saw Michaela with the stethoscope and he immediately began to wonder if perhaps the baby’s heart had stopped beating. “Michaela? What is it?” Sully asked quickly. Michaela swallowed hard and looked at him with wide eyes. “What’s wrong?” “Sully, you have to listen to this. Tell me what you think.” Sully sat down beside Michaela, and Michaela put the earpieces in his ears. She put the stethoscope on her belly and he listened intently. “What do you hear?” “I hear the baby’s heart beatin’ fine.” He put his hand on her knee and rubbed it reassuringly. Michaela moved the instrument a little to the other side and stared at him. “I hear the baby’s heartbeat,” he replied. A look of confusion fell over his face. “What’s that? Is that your heartbeat?” “I don’t know,” she replied. “It’s possible that it’s the sound of my own heartbeat, but . . . Sully, I think there’s another baby in there.” “What? You think it’s twins?” “I don’t know. I suppose it could be! It would explain the fact that there is constant movement all throughout my belly. Maybe that’s because there isn’t just one in there. It would also explain the early protrusion of my belly. I was showing very early in my pregnancy. It could be a coincidence, Sully, but I think there’s a very real possibility that we’re having two babies.” Sully felt faint, suddenly, and he wasn’t’ sure if he was dreaming or not. “Sully?” “Huh?” He looked up at her with a gaping mouth and the earpieces still clinging to his ears. Michaela took the stethoscope from him and put her hands on either side of his face. “Do you understand what I’m telling you?” “Yeah, I think so,” he replied. “Two babies, huh?” “Possibly,” Michaela said with a sparkle in her eyes. “I know it sounds scary, but if it’s true, Sully, we need to start preparing!” “We’ll you’re the doctor! You gotta know for sure! You check again,” Sully said urgently. Michaela nodded and took the stethoscope and used it on herself. She listened to the two beats, and she realized that the two beats were much faster than her own heartbeat. She hadn’t taken time to think about it before, but now that she was concentrating, she knew for sure. She looked up at Sully and took his hands in hers. “Sully, we’re having twins!” *~* “Mornin’ Miss Tucker,” Grace said as Holly walked into the café. The children were out of school for the rest of the day due to the fact that several of the students were out to help their parents at home, so she decided to stop by and get some of Grace’s wonderful cooking. Holly smiled when she saw Horace sitting alone. She hadn’t spoken with him since the day she arrived in town, because she had been so very busy, but she decided that it was time she got to know him. “Mind if I sit here?” Holly asked. At the simple sound of her voice, Horace felt his breath catch in his chest. He nodded. “Sure,” he replied. She sat down across from him and smiled. “Mr. Bing, isn’t it?” “Horace,” he replied with a nod. “You can call me Holly.” Horace smiled at her, and she smiled back. There was something in Horace’s eyes that seemed so very loving and soft. She couldn’t help but smile. “How are things at the school?” Horace asked. “Great! The students are wonderful for the most part. I absolutely adore the Cooper children. Brian, Colleen, and Matthew are all very bright!” “Here they come now,” Horace pointed out. “Mornin’ Miss Tucker,” Colleen said with a smile. “Good morning! Are you enjoying your morning off of school?” “Yeah. We’re getting ready to go fishin’ down at Willow Creek.” “You wanna come?” Brian asked. Holly grinned. “I would, but I’m having a conversation with Horace. Maybe some other time.” “Alright,” Brian replied. “Come on Matthew. Let’s go fishin’.” “Don’t forget! I’m comin’ too,” Colleen said, crossing her arms across her chest. Brian laughed and the children hurried off. Two men sitting behind Holly and Horace watched the children rush off. “That’s them?” the older man with a scruffy beard asked. “Yeah. It’s gotta be. It ain’t no coincidence,” the younger, clean-shaven man replied. “We’ll let ‘em get to the creek, and then they’re ours,” the other replied. The two men threw money down on the table and started off to follow the Cooper children. *~* “You’re sure?” Sully asked. “I’m positive,” Michaela replied. She took Sully’s hands. “It makes sense now. They’re both moving. Feel . . .” She put his hands on either side of her belly. He could feel his two unborn children, and he wondered why he hadn’t realized it before. “I feel so foolish. I should have known, Sully.” “Hey, you’ve had a lot on your mind. You’ve been worryin’ about the baby so much that you ain’t had time to think about anything else.” “I can’t believe it, Sully. Twins? I was worried about one!” Sully smiled and pulled Michaela into his arms. “You’re going to be a good ma, Michaela.” Michaela swallowed hard and put her hands over Sully’s. “The children will be excited,” she whispered. “But everyone else is going to make a fuss when they find out.” “Well, we can make it a surprise,” Sully suggested. “Do you think the children can keep a surprise that long?” “I think they can,” Sully replied. “Mother wouldn’t appreciate being deceived.” “Well, what she doesn’t know won’t hurt her,” Sully said with a laugh. “Yes, but the problem is that everyone is going to be giving gifts for one baby, and if we let them know there are two, they’ll have plenty of time to plan.” Sully laughed. “Well, I s’pose you’re right.” “It would be fun to have it be a secret though,” Michaela replied with a grin. “What if we don’t tell anyone?” “Not even the children?” “It’ll be a surprise that way,” Michaela pointed out. “The children are so excited about one baby, and when they find out there are two . . .” “I see your point,” Sully said, his face lighting up. He kissed Michaela’s hand. He knew that if Michaela could have fun with this pregnancy, it would take her mind off of the worrying. He wanted to see her happy, so as long as Michaela was happy and enjoying herself, he would go along with the plan, and they would share the excitement together in the privacy of each other’s company. He only hoped that they keep their exciting secret until the babies were born. This was all new to them, but they were still happy. Neither one of them could wait to be come parents together for the first time, but they were willing to wait for their two little miracles. |