CHAPTER 1

It was late afternoon but you wouldn't know it unless you looked at a clock. The sky had been dark and gloomy all day. The gray cotton that settled over head was playing a game of hide and seek with the sun. While sitting at her desk Michaela was thinking about getting home to make dinner for her family. She wanted everything to be perfect. Sully had been gone on a survey trip for over a week and was due home that evening. Michaela's mouth turned up in a smile thinking about his homecoming and being able to wrap her arms around her husband again. She shook herself and once again started writing her last notes of the day. It was useless though. Her mind kept wondering. She was making a list in her head of all the things that needed to be done before Sully's arrival as well as the arrival of Colleen the following day. Colleen had a break in her schooling and had sent a telegram saying she was going to be coming home to visit for a few of weeks. Michaela was eager to see her daughter again and discuss all that she was learning in her medical training. It was going to be good to have her home for Christmas which was fast approaching. A smile crossed her face when she thought how glad Andrew would be to see Colleen again too. It had not gone unnoticed that the two had become good friends and it was obvious to Michaela that Andrew had missed Colleen.

"Hey Ma!" Brian came into the clinic interrupting her thoughts.

"Brian, how was school today?"

"It was alright. We worked on our ideas for the science fair. It's coming up next week. I can't decide what to build though. I was thinking about trying out another flying machine, or maybe a self propelled cart type of thing. I don't know. What do you think?"

"I think you'd do a great job with either. They're both good ideas. It's coming up fast, you better ask Sully to help you. I'm sure he would love to ."

"Yeah, I'm glad he's coming home. I bet he'll like the party we're throwing him."

"I hope so! Just let me finish up these last few notes and we can go home and start preparing. Can you go get Katie up? She's upstairs napping."

"Sure Ma."

In a swirl of dust Cloud Dancing stopped his horse in front of the clinic. Michaela heard her name being called followed by a loud thumbing on the clinic door. She arose quickly to open the door.

"Cloud Dancing! What's wrong? Are you hurt?" Micheala asked.

"No, not me." His face was calm but his voice had a sense of urgency. "It's Mrs. Garcia. I was riding by their home on the way here and her husband jumped into the road crying for help. I think his wife is having the baby and somethings gone wrong. He was frantic."

The Garcia family lived quite a distance from town. They had a small cottage in the woods. They didn't mingle much with the local folk and didn't speak much English. Dr. Mike however had visited them and knew that Eloisa Garica was due to have a baby in a couple of weeks. With fast reaction Micheala grabbed her bag and began to get her horse ready.

Dorothy heard the commotion and approached as Micheala turned to Brian who came outside holding Katie. "Brian, I have to go to the Garcia's. Tell Sully I'll be late tonight. He might beat me home. I should be home by dark."

Brian held a sleepy Katie in his arms,"Sure Ma, but..."

Michaela reached over and kissed Katie on the cheek and turned to Dorothy. "Dorothy will you...?"

Dorothy nodded and said, "Of course," before Michaela could finish. Michaela smiled and mounted her horse.

"But what about Sully's homecoming party?" Brian asked looking disappointed.

She placed a quick hand on Brian's shoulder and said, "I'm sorry Brian. You'll have to start without me. I should be home before dark though." She jumped on her horse and followed Cloud Dancing out of town.

"Promise?"

"I promise." She said with a smile as she turned her horse to go.

"Come on Brian, let's get you and Katie home." Dorothy said.

Sully came home to see Matthew outside tidying up the barn.

"Matthew! What brings you out here?"

"Well, I heard in town that Dr. Mike had to go to the Garcia's to help deliver the baby so I thought I would come and check on Brian and Katie till ya got home."

Sully took Matthew's hand and embraced him appreciatively.

"Welcome home," Matthew said, "How was the surveying?"

"Fine. Beautiful country out there. I just hope I was able to convince them to keep it that way. Did she go by herself?" Sully asked without trying to sound worried. A little string seemed to be twisting itself around Sully's heart and he wasn't sure why.

"What?" Matthew was thrown off by his abrupt change of subject. "Oh,Dr. Mike? No, Cloud Dancing went with her."

"Did she say when she'd be back?"

"I think Brian said by dark."

Sully tried to shake off his apprehension. He took a deep breath and forced the string to loosen it's grip around him. He wasn't sure if he was worried or just overly anxious to see his wife again. He entered the house and was greeted by Brian. "Hey, Sully!"

Sully ruffled Brian's hair. "Hey Brian. Keeping things runnin' around here?"

"Yep. I fixed the window ledge and tightened the shutter up stairs."

"Sounds like your becoming quite the man around here." Sully smiled proudly at Brian and set down his pack. Katie was crawling around on the rug and he scooped her up. "Hey, my little girl! You're getting so big!" Sully swung her up in the air and was rewarded with a sparkling smile and a contagious giggle. He loved being home again. It had been too long. Sully knew he had let his job interfere with time spent with his family. He pushed back feelings of guilt and concentrated on making Katie giggle some more. The magical chiming of her little voice flitted about the room enveloping it in joy. The sounds stamping a memory on Sully's heart as they fell on his ears.

"We had a big welcoming home dinner planned for ya but ma had to go to the Garcia's." Brian said. "I tried to start the biscuits but I can't do them like ma can."

"It's alright Brian. We can still have a nice dinner we'll just have to fix it for your ma instead. I am sure she's had a long day. So, let's surprise her when she gets home and have everything all ready."

"Yeah, Dr. Mike's been planning all week for this. I'm sure she's disappointed she ain't here." Matthew said.

"Well, those babies never come when you think they will. Right Kates?" Sully tickled her and she grinned widely. "You staying for dinner

Matthew?"

"Sure."