The Affect of a Cheyenne Flute
As Sully and his Cheyenne brother visited in the woods Cloud Dancing had his famous flute with him. He was a medicine man and this flute had helped him with several miracles. Most of these had been healing ceremonies, but he had also used it to woo his wife, Snowbird.
His "brother" had been without love for many years, and Cloud Dancing knew this was not good for him. The spirits had told Cloud Dancing that the new doctor in town, Michaela Quinn, would be the love of Sully's life. Even though Sully was afraid to love again since losing his wife and daughter so tragically, Cloud Dancing knew he could help him open his heart again. It was Dr. Mike that presented the more difficult challenge for the medicine man. She had never truly loved any man even though she was old compared to other first time lovers. She was afraid. There were so many walls around her heart, put there by her mother and the rules she had learned in Boston. Cloud Dancing knew though she could love greatly. He saw it as she took hold of her friend's children and loved them fiercely. He also saw her helping the Cheyenne immediately and becoming friends with his wife so quickly. A woman with a hard heart incapable of love could not have done these things.
Now he just had to help her open that heart to a man and let him in so she could participate in the physical side of love. Cloud Dancing knew this would be a challenge for the spirits and his flute, but he also knew when she allowed his brother closer they would both experience the kind of love few even knew existed. They would truly be soul mates as he and Snowbird were.
After playing one of his magical tunes in the woods with Sully Cloud Dancing had asked his white brother about Dr. Mike. Sully had only smiled. Of course he had noticed her beauty and the kind way she treated everyone alike, including the Cheyenne and Negros. Once he started realizing that Dr. Mike would bring him the happiness he had been missing for so long, he decided to take it easy though. That's what he told Cloud Dancing.
The Cheyenne knew that his flute would really have to use all of its power to help Michaela, but once she got over her fears of intimacy with a man she and Sully would make a very strong couple. How such an intelligent woman could fear this natural expression of love was surprising to Cloud Dancing. Her Boston uptight mother had instilled these fears, and they were going to be difficult to break through. The medicine man had seen adults that had not learned to swim as a child develop such a fear of water that they couldn't even get near the river to wash their clothes.
Cloud Dancing felt that it was that what's partially wrong with Dr. Mike. She had not experienced physical love at the normal age so now she was afraid to try. She had been raised to believe that a man and a woman could not be together until they were married, and since she chose to become a doctor she never had time to find a husband. Out here in the West waiting for marriage was not really the norm. Every town sported a saloon where whores were available for the right price. The "proper" women out West married much younger than back East. Waiting to experience physical love didn't last long. A woman waiting as long as Dr. Mike was unheard of.
As Dr. Mike and Sully got to know each other as friends Michaela began to trust him even though he was a man. Their trip to Harding's mill illustrated that trust. Now Cloud Dancing knew it was the time for his flute to do its job. His friends had grown as close as they could on their own. If he didn't succeed, they would just remain friends and Dr. Mike would never know the joy of the physical side of love.
Cloud Dancing and Snowbird invited Dr. Mike and Sully to have dinner with them. Since they would probably be out late Michaela arranged for her children to spend the night with Olive on her ranch. As Snowbird made their dinner Cloud Dancing got out his flute and played for the couple. As Sully and Michaela left the reservation Snowbird asked her husband if his flute worked on their young friends. He smiled at her and said, "The spirits say they will be happy."
On their way home a very big storm blew into the Colorado Springs area. Michaela and Sully needed to take shelter. They found an abandoned cabin that Sully knew about. He put their horses in the barn and then joined Michaela inside. He built a fire and as it warmed up the cabin they looked around. It was a one-room cabin like the one Sully had built, and it had one big bed in the middle of that room. Their clothes were wet and they knew they needed to get out of them so they wouldn't get sick. Michaela found herself a high-necked flannel nightgown in the dresser and a nightshirt for Sully to put on as their clothes dried by the fire. Had this happened before their trip to Harding's mill, Michaela would have probably panicked in this situation. She however was still nervous.
Michaela realized the only place to sleep in this small cabin in this cold night was the bed. There was no comfortable chair, and even with the fire in the hearth the floor was too cold. She swallowed the lump of fear she had in her throat and suggested to Sully that they share the bed. She reminded him and herself that they slept closer in the lean to he'd built, and she trusted him. Of course back then they were fully clothed, not naked under a nightgown. Sully realized how generous Michaela was being because in spite of what she said he saw fear written all over her face. She climbed into the bed first and lay on her back as close to the side of the bed as possible and pulled the comforter all the way up to her chin. She was stiff as a board as Sully climbed in under the same comforter. He also tried to stay on the other side of the bed as far away from her as possible.
As Michaela lay on her back stiffly her teeth started chattering. The fire couldn't heat the room enough and the comforter was not that heavy. Sully could feel the mattress moving as Michael laid there shaking from the cold. He offered to hold Dr. Mike so they could share their body heat. Michaela could almost hear her mother scolding her that she, an unmarried woman, was sharing a bed with a man much less lying in each other's arms.
Michaela knew that sharing body heat would help warm them up, but she was petrified. But despite herself she took a deep breath, swallowed the lump in her throat, and agreed. Sully scooted into the middle of the bed and then reached out, waiting for Michaela doing the same. He pulled her against his chest and wrapped his arms around her. Having Michaela in his arms was for him a dream come true.
They both did warm up together and eventually Michaela relaxed in Sully's arms, under a quilt, on a bed, and drifted off to sleep. Sully on the underhand was fighting with his body, but enjoying holding Michaela. Eventually even he fell asleep.
As the evening moved on the fire gradually died down and the cabin's temperature lowered, Michaela, while asleep, snuggled into the warmth lying next to her, Sully's body. This caused Sully's arms to tighten around her body. Sully awoke first, but didn't move since he loved the position he was in. Gradually Michaela also awoke with a big smile on her face. As she realized where she was Sully expected her to panic and jump out of bed, but she didn't. Instead she turned over to face Sully and reached out to touch his cheek. Obviously Cloud Dancing's flute had done its work and started this couple on their way to a blissful marriage.