Promises Made, Promises Forgotten
The characters of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman are owned by The Sullivan Company, A&E, and CBS. Hopefully, they won't mind if I borrow them for a short time. I promise they will be returned in good condition and will always be treated with love and respect while in my care!
CHAPTER 1
The sun had already set behind the western ridge as the crickets and frogs trilled their nightly chorus down by the creek. Dr. Mike, who huddled on the front stoop of the homestead, did not seem to hear nature's sweet serenade. Unfortunately, the sounds did not comfort her nor did the light woolen shawl wrapped tightly around her small, slumped shoulders. Her confusing feelings for Sully seemed to weigh her down, and as she sat in the dark she could feel the chill of the night air as it permeated her wrap and lightweight cotton dress. Tonight her thoughts were on what had happened at church that morning and on what was happening inside the small cabin rather than on the peaceful Colorado night.
When she left the cabin earlier to go check on the water buckets for Bear and Flash in the barn, Sully had not even glanced up from his seat on the floor next to Catherine, and any hopes of sharing a private moment with him away from the others were soon dashed. Since the beautiful blonde captive had taken up residence with Dr. Mike and the children two days prior, Sully had rapidly become distant from the family. Now, whispered conversations between him and Catherine often went late into the night. Brian had been the first to notice the change in Sully and Dr. Mike's behavior. Even Colleen seemed on edge during supper. Matthew, who was always so focused on his engagement with Ingrid, seemed oblivious to the strained undertones.
Suddenly a light came from the doorway as it opened, and Dr. Mike heard laughter from inside the cabin.
"Whatcha doin', Ma?" Brian asked while standing behind her.
"I just checked on the horses and was enjoying the evening, Brian."
"Well, I beat Matthew at checkers again, and he won't play no more. Will you play with me?"
"Not tonight, sweetheart. Perhaps you can get Sully to play."
"Sully don't wanna be bothered with me right now. He's too busy talkin' to Catherine again. They're goin' to the reservation tomorrow, and she's all excited about meetin' Cloud Dancing and Snowbird. Besides that, I can always beat you!"
Matthew came through the door and heard the tail end of Brian's boasting and started laughing. "Little brother, you ain't gonna get anybody to play against you if you keep braggin' like that. As he strolled toward the barn, he turned to Dr. Mike and wished her a good night.
"I'm gonna hit the hay. I promised Miss Olive's foreman I'd be at the ranch by sunup tomorrow."
Dr. Mike lifted her down-bent head and smiled at the boys. "Brian. You and Colleen need to get to bed as well. You've got school tomorrow."
Brian rolled his eyes and shuffled back toward the open doorway. As he went back into the cabin, Sully and Catherine could still be heard whispering as they sat cross-legged by the warmth of the fire. Neither seemed to pay attention to the bantering between siblings.
Just as he started to head to the side-door entrance to the barn, Dr. Mike called out, "Oh, Matthew? Can you take Brian and Colleen to school on Tuesday for me? I need to ride out to the Galloway's and change Mrs. Galloway's dressing."
Sully looked up from his seat by the fireplace and for the first time that evening seemed to be paying attention to what was being said by the others outside the doorway of the small cabin. "Maybe you oughta wait until Catherine and I get back from the reservation and let me go with you. I can take ya on Wednesday."
Startled he had noticed or even heard her conversation with Matthew, Dr. Mike turned and said, "Not that I don't enjoy your company but, why do you need to go with me? I've been to the Galloway's many times. Besides, I hate to wait too long lest Mrs. Galloway should develop an infection in her incision."
"The creek road to their homestead washed out about a week ago, and you'll hafta take the path through the creek in the gorge. That way catches the edge of old man Hawkins' claim, and I hear he's been shootin' at anything that gets near his lean-to. We'll be back late Tuesday, an' you and me can go early Wednesday morning. Surely, one day won't make a difference, Dr. Mike."
This was the most he had said to her all evening.
Surprised that he was even offering to spend the morning with her and without Catherine's presence, she responded, "Well, okay, if you're sure, but I have a patient coming in at three o'clock on Wednesday. Do you think we can be back by then?"
"Sure. If we get away from here by daybreak and you don't dawdle any." He looked at Catherine and grinned. Her blue eyes sparkled, and she smiled as if she and Sully were sharing some secret joke.
"I do not dawdle, Mr. Sully!" Dr. Mike retorted. "I suppose Wednesday will be fine after all."
Matthew, who had been listening to the conversation, turned from the doorway, and as he headed to the barn said, "Then it's settled. I'll take Brian and Colleen on Wednesday then."
"Thank you, Matthew," she agreed in a soft voice. "Goodnight."
As Matthew closed the barn door, Dr. Mike stood and walked slowly into the cabin. Sully and Catherine continued to speak in whispers by the fire. Occasionally, a Cheyenne word or phrase would be exchanged by the twosome, and she felt even more left out, as her knowledge of Cheyenne was limited to the few phrases Sully and Snowbird had taught her. Off in the side alcove, Colleen and Brian could be heard giggling as they prepared for bed.
She blew out the candles on the table and then turned toward the couple quietly talking by the fire. "Sully?" She murmured and then repeated his name in a louder tone when she got no response. "Sully?"
Finally startled by her sharp tone, he looked up and away from Catherine. "Uh, I'm sorry. What, Dr. Mike?"
"Are you staying again tonight?"
He smiled, glanced back over at the young woman, and then replied, "I'll stay ag'in if Catherine needs me to." Her eyes seemed to light up, and she responded in Cheyenne. He looked into Catherine's eyes and then without looking up at Dr. Mike said, "I guess I'm stayin'."
While changing into her long fleece gown and robe behind the curtain, she could see Sully once again take the colorful woolen blanket from the rocking chair and spread it on the floor before motioning Catherine to make herself comfortable by the fire. He then removed his tomahawk and knife from his belt and stretched down beside her…all without ever looking at Dr. Mike.
As she approached the bed and turned back the basket-pattern quilt, she whispered, "Goodnight," but was not rewarded with even so much as a glance by the man who had so recently traveled to Boston to profess his love to her. It was as if Catherine's arrival had bewitched him.
All of the occupants of the cabin quieted for the night, and Dr. Mike lay in her bed and watched Sully gently cover the sleeping woman next to him with his red poncho. He seemed to be enchanted with her… as if she had somehow captured his heart and soul. Silent tears trickled down her cheeks, and sleep was all but forgotten…
The rooster crowed his early morning wake-up call, and Dr. Mike rolled over to see the carefully folded blanket once again on the back of the rocker. Sully, Catherine, and even Wolf were gone.
Brian and Colleen still slept soundly, and she noticed Sully had left two empty coffee cups on the table, but there was no note, and the fire in the fireplace had long since burned out. With a chill from the cold mountain air, as well as a chill from the fear of losing the man she loved, she scurried from bed to fetch some wood from under the porch, stoke the fire, and start breakfast for herself and the family.
Once the bacon was frying in the cast-iron skillet, she called out to the children in what she hoped was a cheerful voice. "Brian, Colleen. Time to get up and get ready for school."
Suddenly the side door to the snug little cabin blasted open, and Matthew came barreling in and calling out "Mornin' everybody. Brrrr… It sure has turned cold."
Looking around, he asked in a puzzled voice. "Where's Sully and Catherine?"
Brian, overhearing his big brother's question, angrily replied before Dr. Mike could even formulate her response. "They left before dawn to go to the reservation. Won't be back until tomorrow, I guess. I wish she'd stay there. Sully don't even have time for us anymore."
"Brian!" Dr. Mike cried out. "Sully is your friend, and Catherine needs us all to help her right now. She just lost all her family."
"I don't care, Ma. I don't like her. I wish she'd leave."
Sighing with frustration, she said, "Colleen, will you go gather the eggs and Matthew, will you milk the cow while I talk to Brian?"
Colleen and Matthew, knowing Brian was about to get a Dr. Mike lecture, both quickly agreed. "Yes, ma'am. Yes, Dr. Mike." Colleen grabbed the basket and took off out the side door toward the chicken coop with Matthew on her heals.
"Brian, come here and sit down. We need to talk about your behavior, young man." Dr. Mike patted the chair next to hers.
He sidled over to the chair and sat on the edge of the seat.
"Brian, why are you so mad at Catherine and Sully? Have they done something to hurt your feelings?"
He looked down at the floor, then over at the fireplace…looking anywhere in the room but into his ma's eyes. He knew if he told her what he had seen at the clinic Sunday it would hurt her. He had gone to take some water to Catherine after she had gotten sick at the church-Dr. Mike called it a seizure-and he had seen her and Sully kissing. He was so mad at Sully—how could he do that after going all the way to Boston to bring Dr. Mike back to Colorado? Didn't he love his ma and them anymore?
Brian, knowing he couldn't tell her the truth, locked his hands behind his back and crossed his fingers. "No, Ma. I ain't real mad at them. I just wish things could go back to the way they were before Catherine came here."
Puzzled by his behavior, she hugged him and whispered, "Well, Sully cares about you, and Catherine wants to be your friend so please try to remember that. Okay?"
"Okay, Ma. I know, but, but what about…" He stumbled over whether he should tell his ma about Sully and Catherine kissing.
Finally that afternoon at the clinic, the secret seemed to be getting harder and harder to keep, and the words just spewed forth as he broke down in tears and told her about what he had seen in the upstairs recovery room. He even told her how Sully had tried to explain that kissing Catherine was like going fishing when you didn't want to. The look of quiet sadness on his ma's face and her words supporting Sully as a good man did not appease him, and his anger and hurt toward Sully just continued to fester.
Dr. Mike, who kept herself busy with patients all afternoon, reminded Brian of his real ma when she would get mad about somethin'. The madder his real ma was, the more she baked, and the harder she scrubbed clothes on the washboard.
Maybe that was how grownups got over being mad or hurt…
There had been no word from Sully since he and Catherine had rode out on Monday morning. Supper, Monday and Tuesday nights, were subdued affairs as Brian was still angry, Dr. Mike was quiet, and Colleen and Matthew were confused by their unusual demeanors.
After supper on Tuesday, Dr. Mike gathered up the necessary bandages and medicines so as to be ready to leave by sunup on Wednesday. Even though she was hurt and angry with Sully over what Brian had seen at the clinic, the trip out to the Galloway homestead would give them a chance to talk without Catherine's presence and also without the children's constant interruptions. Perhaps Brian had misinterpreted what he had seen, or there would be an explanation as to what had happened. If not, she worried that Sully was no longer interested in courting her and that he now had feelings for another woman. No matter, they needed to clear the air. The uncertainties of their relationship coupled with her own feelings of inadequacy were starting to wear on her, and the children were bound to notice there was a growing chasm between their ma and their best friend.