Chapter Two

"Sully," Cloud Dancing called out as he was entering the stable.

"I'm over here," he answered, sticking his head out from the stall he was in for a moment, so his best friend could spot him.

Cloud Dancing walked over to where Sully was tending to a brown American Quarter horse with a white face named Rocket. He watched his friend as he worked. Cloud Dancing knew Sully had been up since dawn and started working after he took a shower, dressed and ate a light breakfast. He shook his head with sadness and wished Sully did more than work on the ranch. The only times he left the ranch was to go to work, to buy groceries, buy hay and oats from Robert E. Freeman, or check on his older brother, Austen. Now since Austen was engaged to Catherine Silvia Deere and was living with her, Sully didn't need to help him anymore.

Cloud Dancing was happy that Austen found Cathy especially after he was in a car accident and then had to battle a mild case of depression after the doctors told him he wouldn't walk again. Sully took him to a psychologist named Dr. William Burke and he put him on antidepressants and saw him once every two weeks. Dr. Burke told Sully he should try to get Austen to do some of the things he enjoyed before his accident. One of the things he liked to do was horseback riding, so Cloud Dancing and Sully built a platform with a ramp so Austen could mount a horse easier. Pretty soon Cloud Dancing and his wife, Ellen or Snow Bird as everyone calls her decided to let any handicapped person ride their horses. They needed volunteers to be side walkers, back riders, and to help take care of the horses. Cathy was one of the volunteers and Austen and her became friends and their feelings grew as they spent time together. Cathy came into his life at the right time because she brought the light back into his life and made him feel like a man again. Of course Austen had hard time adjusting to dating as a disabled man, but she was loving and patient with him particularly when they wanted to begin having intimate relations with one another. With time, persistence, and practice, they made it through that time together and now they are a happy and healthy couple.

"If Abigail Bray had been like Cathy," Cloud Dancing thought as his anger began to rise. "That selfish girl broke my best friend's heart and now he closed his heart to love."

After graduating from Texas A&M University Sully was hired to be the Sale Manager for Bray's Whole Foods Products, which was based in Denver. He loved his job because he lived closer to his family and friends, he was good at promoting products to stores, and it paid well. Loren Bray was very impressed with Sully's talent to sell his products in bulk to big name stores in America that he paid him to travel to Canada and many countries in Europe to try to get stores there to carry his food products.

Mr. Bray wasn't the only one who noticed Sully. His only daughter, Abigail had set her sights on Sully the moment she spotted him. She was spoiled all of her life, but her father forbid her to date any of his employees and she was fine with that until Sully came along. Abigail wanted him and went behind her father's back and went after Sully. Of course he was attracted to her and thought she was sweet and was easy to want to date her, but knew it would be wrong getting involve with the boss's daughter. Sully tried to stay away from Abigail and fight his feelings for her, but she kept pursuing him. One she told him her father gave his permission for them to date and he believed her. Sully and Abigail dated for over six months until Loren Bray found out. He was incensed when he learned his top employee and his daughter were dating. Mr. Bray ordered told Sully to stop seeing Abigail or he would be fired, but Sully was so caught up in her charms and beauty that he believed he was in love, so he quit. Sully thought Abigail was in love with him too and they would stay together despite her father's disapproval. Unfortunately, he was wrong about the depth of her feelings and was heart broken when he learned Mr. Bray paid her handsomely to end her relationship with Sully and date Martin Anderson the Vice President of his company. Abigail agreed and told Sully she had fun with him, but didn't see a future with him.

"Poor Sully," Cloud Dancing thought. "Thanks goodness for family and friends."

A dispirited Sully moved back to Colorado Springs and lived with his parents, Katherine and Robert Sully until he figured out what to do next. His mother loved having her youngest son back home, so she could pamper him. As much Sully loved his parents he wanted to find another job and buy another house. He never liked feeling like leach. His father told he could apply for a job at Lodge Construction Company where he worked as an architect for thirty years. Not having any other options, Sully applied for a job there. The Vice President Mr. Preston A. Lodge III, who never cared for Sully knew if he didn't give him a position at the company his father, a good friend of Sully's father would be upset at him, so he hired him as a marketing manger like his father wanted. Sully excelled at his new job and worked hard, although he didn't like Preston was one of his bosses, he liked Mr. Lodge and he had both his father and him on his side.

When Sully thought his life was back on track, it got derailed again. Not once but twice. For their thirtieth anniversary, his parents decided to take a second honeymoon to Hawaii. On the flight there they had mechanical failure and crashed into the Pacific Ocean and by the time help arrived it was too late. There were no survivors. When Austen and Sully were desvastated when the police called and told them their parents' plan crashed and no one made it. It was hard on them because they were closed to both of their parents. Both young men grieved and leaned on their friends through the difficult time.

Unfortunately God tested the brothers one more time. Six months after the deaths of their parents, Austen was hit by a drunk driver leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. Luckily his and the other driver's insurance helped cover the medical bills, but had to pay for medicine and Dr. Burke himself. Since Austen was living in Arizona, he decided it would be best to move back to Colorado Springs so Sully could help him. Because it was still painful to live in the house they grew up in, Sully let Austen buy the house he was going to buy and he moved into a cabin Cloud Dancing and Snow Bird had by their house.

"Sully needs something good happen to him again," Cloud Dancing told himself.

Sully's voice interrupted his thoughts and asked, "I'm sorry. What did you say?"

"I asked if you were okay. You looked like your mind was miles away."

Cloud Dancing replied, "I'm fine. Just thinking."

The lines of Sully's forehead creased up. "Is somethin' wrong with the ranch? Oh, God somethin' happened with the mortgage. The bank called it in. I told you I would help you."

"Sully, we just paid the mortgage off," he assured him. "Do really want to know what I was thinking about?"

"Only if you want to," he answered.

"I was thinking all of the things you went though these past three years and that you were due for happiness."

Sully scoffed at this and said, "I doubt God wants me as miserable as possible."

Cloud Dancing shook his head and told him, "No, my friend you're wrong. God wants you happy. Terrible things happen, but we-"

His friend cut him off by saying, "I don't want to talk about this now. It's Saturday and we're gonna to have a lot of costumers, so we need to get ready."

with that Sully left the stall and left the stable.

Cloud Dancing looked Heavenward and asked, "Father, please let Sully find some happiness."

Michaela woke up at seven o'clock, took a shower, got dressed and cooked breakfast. By the time she ate and put the pans and plate in the dishwasher it was nine. As Michaela promised she called Myra and said she was ready to go to the CD Ranch. When she hung up, she wondered if she should use her walker to get around or her wheelchair. Thinking there would probably be gravel, she opted for her wheelchair. After Michaela walked over to the wheelchair using her walker and got in, Myra entered the house with her key Michaela gave her.

As usual Myra was her chipper mood. "Well, are you ready to go?"

"Yes," Michaela replied. "Sooner we go the sooner we can get back so I can write."

Her friend told her, "Hey no talking or thinking about writing You're going to have fun today."

"My deadline is-"

"One day without writing won't hurt," Myra said as she cut her off. "Please promise me you'll have fun. At least try."

"Fine, I'll try, " Michaela promised.

"Great. Let's go."

They left the house and got in the mini van and headed towards CD Ranch. Unbeknown to Michaela it was the day she would meet the man who would change her future.