Chapter 1
Michaela was sitting at her desk listening to the clock tick away the minutes while attempting to update her patients' records. Normally she looked forward to this task having always liked the feeling of accomplishment she gets when she finishes a record and places it in the correct position in the file drawer. Today, however, was another story. Her ability to concentrate had disappeared into thin air. Instead, her thoughts kept drifting back to her husband.
It never failed to amaze her that someone as kind and sincere as Sully would love her and want her the way he did. It warmed her cheeks to think of the way they were together when they found themselves alone. Just a simple touch or a look could set off flames inside her entire body. It embarrassed her that even thinking about him in the solitary confines of her clinic could bring a rosy blush to her cheeks.
As much as she wished she could leave the clinic in search of her husband, she knew it was impossible. She sighed as she realized that Sully had left to talk with Cloud Dancing, as he had been doing so frequently lately. Michaela knew that Sully was getting frustrated with the events surrounding the Cheyenne. It frustrated her as well but she understood that it reached a different level for Sully. She wished in every core of her being that there was something she could do for him, yet knowing that she had virtually reached the end of her rope. As much as she was frustrated for the Indians, she was also getting angry at them.
"Why am I thinking this way?" Michaela muttered to herself. "The Indians, aside from the Dog soldiers, have been nothing but kind to me and my family. Why am I upset with them?"
Yet, she knew deep down that she was simply resenting the time and energy the Indians were taking from her husband. Despite the fact that she had come to understand and accept the events that took her husband away from her for so many months the past year, she couldn't help but harbor a jealousy towards them.
"If only he didn't have to be away for so long," Michaela sighed to herself.
Standing up from her desk in order to stretch out the aches and pains that were making themselves known in her back, Michaela looked at the window. In the meadow, she could see her fair-haired daughter running around in circles with the other school children. Michaela was pleased that the older kids were kind and patient enough to allow her young daughter to participate in their fun. And it certainly made her life a bit easier not having to find something for Katie to do every minute!
Just before Michaela could return to her desk, she saw frantic movement coming from behind the schoolhouse. As she reached for her shawl to go outside to investigate she saw Horace running madly to her porch.
"Horace? What's wrong? Are you okay?" She asked quickly.
"Oh, me? No I'm fine. It's just that…well, it's Matthew?" Horace hesitantly said.
"Matthew? What? What's wrong? Horace, what happened?" Michaela desperately asked. The thought of her eldest son being injured taking her breath away.
Before Horace could answer, several men came walking up to the clinic as quickly as possible. Horace and Michaela quickly moved aside so that the men could take their precious load inside and laid Matthew down on the examining table.
Taking a deep breath, Michaela quickly brushed aside any fears and worries that the mother in her had. Instead, the doctor inside reigned. "Can anyone tell me what happened" She asked while gently checking Mathew for any broken bones and internal injuries?
"We was fixing the roof...it's been leaking lately. I dunno what happened but I sees him tumble right off the roof," a worried Robert E. explained.
"Alright, well, could someone ride out to the Chateau and tell Colleen that I could use her help this afternoon? Explain the situation ot Andrew and let him know that when he can clear his schedule to please come by." Robert E. nodded his head and quickly left to do as Michaela asked.
Michaela returned to her patient. Fortunately, it seemed as if Matthew got lucky and no broken bones were apparent. Rather, he did have some nasty bruises forming down the left side of his body. The only concern at the moment was the fact that he remained unconscious. This worried Michaela, who feared that he may have hit his head in the fall.
Michaela turned to the two men who remained in the clinic, Horace and Jake and quietly asked if they minded taking Matthew up to one of the recovering rooms. Before she even had time to gather up some water and compresses to take upstairs with her, Jake came barreling down the stairs.
"He's waking up! Dr. Mike, he's waking up!" Jake yelled, relieved that nothing appeared serious.
Michaela closed her eyes and silently said a prayer of thanks. Quickly, she rushed upstairs to confirm that her son was going to be ok.
Later that evening, late at night, Sully quietly opened the door to the homestead. As he stepped inside, he inhaled a deep breath, appreciating the warmth that emanated from the hearth and the aromas of a supper that had come and gone. He quickly shed his jacket and removed his muddy boots and silently padded over to the hob. He was grateful to Michaela for leaving some leftover stew for him, yet surprised that she was not downstairs waiting for him. He knew it was late, but not so late that his wife wouldn't be up. He shrugged his shoulders, figuring that Michaela was probably upstairs reading in their room.
Once he was finished consuming his late night meal, Sully slowly climbed up the stairs. As he opened the door to their room, he was surprised to see that Michaela was sound asleep in their bed. As he stood there looking down on her angelic face, he was reminded of their last conversation earlier in the morning.
"Sully, I just don't understand…why do you have to leave again?" Michaela asked.
"Michaela, how can you even ask me that? They need my help! How am I supposed to leave them alone? I'm the only one that can do what they need. I can't simply let it go!" Sully explains, exasperated that they were having this conversation yet again.
"I guess…I just don't see why it always has to be you. You have a family that misses you. I miss you. I just don't feel like we see each other that much…it seems like you see the Indians more than me." Michaela tearfully whispered.
Sully, standing in a defiant stance, was shocked. While he knew what she said was true, he couldn't believe Michaela was actually telling him to let the fight go.
With a quick kiss on the cheek and a muttered goodbye, Sully grabbed his coat and walked out the door.
Michaela rolled over in her sleep, causing Sully to snap back to the present. He kneeled down by the bed, softly running his hand over her soft auburn locks. His heart swelled when he thought of his love for this woman. He knew they had their arguments (and some tended to be big ones!) but their connection was something that could never be broken. She allowed him to grow and become a better man. He would forever be grateful to her for allowing him to live life again, fully and happily.
Unable to control himself, Sully leaned down to kiss Michaela's soft full lips. With a moan, Michaela responded passionately in her sleep. Thinking this was a dream, Michaela imagined Sully running his hand down the length of her body causing her to stretch luxuriously. Sully smiled, realizing what his actions were doing to Michaela. He furthered his advances by running small quick kisses down her neck and with a few flicks of the wrist he opened up her night gown to kiss each of her breasts. Michaela, sighing again with complete pleasure, opened her eyes and with a gasp shot up into a sitting position.
"Oh my God!" Michaela explained, putting a hand to her heart trying to calm the frantic beating within.
"I'm sorry…that wasn't quite the way I wanted to wake you." Sully said sheepishly. He sat on the bed next to hear lightly running his hands down her back attempting to relax the tense muscles that had formed around her neck.
"Oh, no, don't worry about it…I just, I thought you weren't here…I was dreaming…" unable to go further due to the unbearable embarrassment that was rising within her.
Sully smiled, knowing his wife had trouble discussing such intimate matters. He leaned over and brought his lips to hers. Michaela, still warm and flushed from her dream, was quickly caught in his move. She immediately allowed his tongue access inside her mouth, their mouths captured in a timeless dance. Slowly, Sully crawled over his wife, causing her to lie back down over the soft bed. Drawing away from her briefly so that he could stare at her beautiful face, he smiled. In a soft whisper he said "I love you" and again bent down to capture her mouth.
Michaela reached up to tighten her hold on Sully's waist, frustrated by the barrier of clothes. Pulling his shirt from the waistband of his buckskins, she sighed with happiness when her hands were able to feel the warmth of his skin. She continued to tug at the shirt until Sully allowed her to pull it over his head. Sully continued his own exploration of Michaela's body by slowly unbuttoning her nightgown. As each button released its hold, he would run a line of kisses down the exposed skin. Once unencumbered, Sully focused his attention on each of Michaela's breast, drawing in her nipple into his mouth. Michaela sighed with pleasure as Sully ran his hand down the inside of her thigh then followed the trail with his mouth. She arched her back as he placed soft wet kisses at her center, teasing her with his tongue. Michaela urgently reached out, wanting to find Sully with her own hands and return the pleasure he was so seductively giving her. Yet, Sully moved out of the way and in one swift moment captured her arms over her head. Michaela thrashed on the bed, desperate to find release.
"Open your eyes, Michaela," Sully whispered into her ears.
Eyes wide with desire, Michaela stared into the depths of Sully's piercing blue eyes. She lifted her head, attempting to capture his mouth with hers, yet he avoided her again.
"Sully, please…I need you," she whimpered.
"And I need you," he replied. Holding onto her wrists with one hand, Sully swiftly discarded his buckskins over the side of the bed. Nearing the brink of desperation, Michaela continued to buck against the bed, frantic for her husband.
Now that he was free, he lowered himself onto Michaela so that they could feel each other all down their lengths. Seeing the pleasure and frustration in his wife's eyes, he lowered his hand down to her center. With one finger and then two, he brought her over the edge. As she cried out with pleasure, he slowly entered her.
With a gasp, Michaela opened her eyes again. While staring into her husbands the two begin to move together at first slowly and then as the pleasure mounted between them frantically. Sully grabbed Michaela by the waist and pumped himself enter until they finally both reached the pinnacle of their desire. Together, the came and as Sully spilt himself inside her, Michaela whispered "I love you"
Spent and exhausted, Sully and Michaela remained in the same positions until Sully gathered enough strength to roll over on to the bed, drawing Michaela to his side. Running his hands through her hair, they waited until their breathing returned to normal.
Michaela, with her head resting in the nook of Sully's shoulder, slowly drew circles on Sully's chest. Neither of them wanting to break the silence, yet both had so much to say.
"How was your day?" Sully asked
"How was Cloud Dancing?" Michaela asked.
Both laughed waiting for the other to respond.
Michaela was the first to reply. "Oh it was fine, although we had a bit of a scare this afternoon."
"Why? What happened?" Sully asked.
"Oh, Matthew fell off the school house roof while he was helping the Reverend and the other men and town do repairs." Michaela replied.
"Is he ok? Where is he?" Sully sat up in bed, worried about Matthew.
"It's ok, he's fine. Just a bit banged up and I think his ego is a little bruised. He's quite fortunate. It could have been much worse than it was. I let him go back to his place after dinner once I was sure that he was indeed fine."
Softly stroking her hair, Sully responded, "I'm glad he's going to be ok. I'm sorry I wasn't there."
Michaela simply shrugged her shoulders unable to reply. Tears threatened to form in her eyes. A lump grew in her throat and, unable to stop herself, she choked out a sob.
"Michaela? What's wrong?" Sully asked.
"Oh nothing. Don't worry about. Just a little emotional…the events of the day and all," Michaela casually responded.
Sully, unable to think of anything to say, continued to run his hand through Michaela's auburn tresses. He knew what his wife was thinking. They were both drawn back to their early morning conversation. He should have been there. He should have been on the roof not Matthew. He should have been by Michaela's side when she was checking on Matthew's injuries. What if it had been something serious? He was no where near where someone could have found him. Just as his guilt was starting to get the best of him, his frustration began to grow. What was he to do? He couldn't leave his brother in his time of need. Cloud Dancing saved his life. He owed it to him to do everything in his power to save his Cheyenne family. Michaela just didn't understand that anymore. Angry, Sully stopped his hand and rolled over onto his side.
Michaela, still fighting back the tears that loomed in her hazel eyes, stilled when she felt Sully roll over. The unspoken tension between them grew every day. How could a perfect evening end like this? She just didn't know what to do. She always thought that conversation would solve their problems but no amount of discussion seemed to find a solution to theirs. Instead, they just seemed to grow more at odds with each other, ultimately deciding that it was best if they avoided the topic altogether. With a sigh, Michaela pulled herself out of bed and found her nightgown. Pulling it over her head, she reached for her robe and made her way downstairs.