Chapter 13
"Are you saying that you had hoped all along that I would stay?" Michaela asked as they ambled through the field. Trying hard not to be overwhelmed by the site of their partially established homestead, she couldn't contain her curiosity any longer. Sully laughed inwardly at her question, relieved that she had finally asked him. He could tell by the look in her eyes that she had been dying to know ever since they started their walk through the new property.
"Not exactly," Sully said looking directly into her eyes. He drew in a lasting breath, holding her gaze as their pace slowed even more. He could hear Hanna not far off giggling as she tumbled in the long grass with Wolf.
"Then what?" she asked, stopping under a large oak as Sully moved in ever closer, pinning her back against the tall trunk. She swallowed hard when she saw the look in his eyes, and watched as his hands leaned against the tree either side of her, framing her body to his.
"Cloud Dancing had a vision...told me I should start building the homestead," he shrugged. "I didn't ask why. He never tells me even if I do," he laughed. "So I started clearing the land. That's when I heard about you...all alone."
He looked away for a moment, taking a glance to make sure Hanna was still in sight. When he was sure she was ok he turned back. Michaela had lifted her hands to settle on his chest, their faces oh so close to one another.
"It wasn't long after, I knew... I never wanted you to go...but I couldn't ask you to stay. I made a promise to you...and it wasn't like I had anything else to offer you. Back in Boston... you..."
Michaela quietened him with a kiss. She ran her hands up over his neck and let her fingers caress his hair as the kiss deepened. When they pulled back she smiled softly at his expression; she thought she recognised a trace of sorrow in his features and she couldn't let him go on.
"Sully, you're more than enough for me. I knew for sometime... but I couldn't let myself believe that I was allowed to be this happy... when I sat in the back of that wagon ready to leave, it's like I had a...vision...of you, me... Hanna – all of us together. I wanted to stay so badly, and then I looked down at my hand and saw this," she lifted the hand that securely held her wedding band; Sully lifted it to his lips in response. "And I just couldn't make myself go. You were...are, my husband; you had been all along...always so loving and kind. And I could feel your love...actually feel it...here," she said placing their joined hands over her heart. Her final words were whispered, "So I stayed."
Hearing Hanna's delighted giggles from the other side of the field, Sully was thankful for their moment alone. He moved into Michaela, pressing his body against hers as he captured her lips passionately. Her words had moved him deeply, and he couldn't help but feel even more connected with her at this moment. Returning his kiss with fierce emotion, Michaela held him close, unable to escape the feeling that their two spirits had become one.
"I love you so much, Michaela," Sully breathed.
"I love you too," she answered. Their bodies became entangled and Sully eased them slowly to the ground, longing to feel her next to him, from head to toe, still caressing her lips in tender kisses.
They rolled gently to the leafy floor, the long grass concealing them as they pushed their loves boundaries even further. Slowly the fire within them began to ease and they simply lay together, soaking in the essence of one another as the clouds above floated slowly by. From behind them the heard the sweet voice of their daughter.
"Come on Wolf, you can find 'em boy. That's it...find!"
Sully lifted his head to peer over the top of the grass, chuckling as he watched a confused pup sniff around the field, until suddenly it looked like he had found something and bounded right in their direction.
"Michaela look at this," Sully whispered as he motioned toward Hanna and Wolf across from them. Michaela carefully lifted herself, making sure her movements were quiet as she peeked at what was happening. "That's the way we walked," she said surprised. They both chuckled at the sight of Hanna trying to keep pace with the playful animal, and they lay back down in the grass, not wanting to give away their location.
Unable to quash the feelings he got so often when he was around her, Sully turned to Michaela and kissed her again, their noses touching as they pulled back only an inch. She allowed her hands to wander over his broad shoulders and back, her fingers having done this many times before, appreciating every curve and hollow. It sent tingles from the tips to her core and she sighed in pleasure.
They waited quietly, listening to the excited squeals of Hanna as she raced behind Wolf, the pup stopping every so often so she could catch him, until the pair finally reached their destination. Not expecting Wolf to have achieved his mission Hanna shrieked when Sully jumped up from the grass and pulled Hanna down with them, tickling her madly as she laughed and squirmed.
"Papa!" she gasped. "Stop...papa stop, that tickles!" she laughed. Sully and Michaela couldn't help but join in, and Wolf who was feeling a bit left out decided to join in by licking each of them in turn. Michaela deciding she needed to rescue her daughter from her father sent a trail of light tickles to his ribs, causing him to instantly stop still.
"Uh uh," he grinned, wagging a finger from side to side. Michaela lifted an eyebrow in response and grinned as she once again looked to Hanna for support before they both began their assault on an already breathless Sully. He jumped and grabbed Hanna spinning her high in the air, around and around as she yelled with glee. Michaela tried to escape her turn by running back toward the homestead, lifting her skirts to escape the long grass.
"Oh no, you don't," Sully called as he quickly placed Hanna on the ground and chased after her. She squealed when she felt Sully's arms scoop underneath her, holding her squarely against his chest, and spinning around with her. She let out a delighted shriek which cascaded into laughter, until they both stood breathlessly together; Hanna hanging onto her father's hand.
The three of them walked slowly back to the wagon, the sight of their new home in the foreground; a feeling of complete happiness surrounding them all.
The next day Michaela set about preparing food to take to the town picnic for the coming Saturday. She stood in the kitchen preparing the ingredients she needed as Sully and Hanna played outside. She grinned every now and then when she heard Hanna squeal in delight, it was such a wonderful sound to hear. Pulling a basket of apples to the bench she began peeling them, sighing when she realised this was going to take some time. She didn't hear the front door open, but she felt Sully's breath in her ear as he whispered to her, "Hey beautiful."
Michaela giggled as a rush of adrenalin coursed through her at the deep timbre of his voice, and the feeling of his body crushed against hers.
"Hi," she whispered back, her hands struggling to continue their movements. She swallowed as she felt his caresses around her shoulders, down her arms and to her hips; his hands holding her to him. Fighting off the feelings she was having she focused once again on the fruit in her hands.
"Ya know Hanna's gonna be busy for a while, playing fetch with Wolf..." he said saucily, his hands wandering further around her front. She giggled as his hands tickled her slightly.
Steeling herself against his advances she said, "I'm sorry I can't, I have to cut up these apples for the pies. You can't make apple pies without apples."
Moving back to kiss her neck lightly he murmured, "And you can't make babies without - "
"Babies! Ma, are you havin' a baby?" Hanna shrieked from the doorway, unbeknownst to her parents that she was even there. Sully shifted back a step and held the back of his neck with one hand as he looked at his little girl and then back at Michaela.
On hearing the sweet voice of her daughter, Michaela spun around and hastily adjusted herself, feeling somewhat 'caught out'. Sully couldn't help but notice the similar shine in the eyes of his two girls; at that moment he could have sworn Michaela was actually Hanna's mother.
"Ah, no sweetheart...I...we were...that is..." Michaela stumbled over her words, feeling the flush race across her features.
"We were just talkin', sweet girl. Come on, let's go see if the horses need some brushing," Sully said in an effort to distract her from the current conversation.
Hanna smiled in delight. "Can we go for a ride too, papa?" she asked. To Michaela, Hanna's eyes seemed to portray the charm Sully so often swayed her with, and of course it worked once again as Sully gave her a nod. Michaela laughed as she returned to the apples, wishing that she was in Sully's arms instead, and wondering why on earth she even denied them the opportunity before.
Watching as the children threw horseshoes and played with balls, Michaela couldn't help but laugh at the turn in the conversation as she sat with her friends on a blanket in the meadow.
"I think if men knew just how agreeable we found it...well, it'd just vex 'em," Dorothy laughed, the rest of the women joining in. Michaela tried to stifle her laugh by covering her mouth with her hand. In that instant her eyes met with Sully standing across the meadow with the other men. He grinned and winked at her, casting a knowing look in her direction and she bowed her head demurely, her eyes still focused on him and biting gently on her bottom lip.
Grace leaned over and poured another cup of cider for the group as Charlotte fanned her face, trying to compose herself.
"Well that's true," Charlotte said. "One time Ethan came home from work, I had the children out, the candles lit, I think he just about fell off his chair when he saw what I was doing."
"Oh my," said Myra, chuckling uncontrollably. "Horace aint never been able to get in the mood unless Samantha's fast asleep, the office is closed and it's dark out."
"I know what you mean. Trying to get Robert E. away from work for some 'alone time' is almost impossible. He always telling me woman, get a hold o' yourself," she said in perfect imitation of her husband all the while giggling madly.
The face of the women in their circle had all flushed pink from laughter, and Grace couldn't help but notice that Michael hadn't said anything yet. She leaned over and gently elbowed Michaela's side.
"Betcha you don't gotta worry about nothin' like that with Sully, right Dr Mike?" she said cheekily.
Michaela pursed her lips together trying to still the smile that finally won and spread across her face. "Well I... no I don't have to worry about that," she chuckled, sending a look of pure amusement to her friends. They all laughed along with her, a lot of "mhmm and uhuh's" heard from among them as they recognised the look in her eyes.
They continued on teasing and joking with one another until the children came running across to them, begging them to watch them do the apple bobbing contest. They all stood and walked across the field, the women giggling as they passed by Sully and smiling to one another.
Once the picnic had ended and everyone had made their way back home, Michaela and Sully sat out on the porch of the homestead. The cool breeze in the air was a welcome relief to the warm day they had just had. Michaela sat with her head leaning against Sully's shoulder as they gazed up into the heavens. The stars had just begun to shine as the sky became blanketed in its darkest colour.
"So you had fun today?" Sully asked with a smirk.
"I did," Michaela answered completely unaware of his expression.
"So ah, what did you ladies talk about this afternoon?" he questioned playfully. He felt Michaela stiffen slightly as she remembered their conversation from earlier.
"Oh you know, just the normal things."
"U-huh...like...husbands?"
"Among other things," she replied. Turning to look up at him she saw the glint in his eyes. "What?"
"I know," he stated simply. She knew he knew and along with the dipping of her head came the blush on her cheeks. He chuckled at how she could become so embarrassed so easily. He lifted her chin so he could look on her face, the fading light danced in her eyes as she chewed on her bottom lip.
"How do you know?" she asked.
"Because you gave me that same look today in the meadow," he said as he brushed the hair off her face. "The one where you bite your lip like this," he said as he traced a finger across her slightly parted lips. "That's the look you give me when you're feeling..."
He ceased his talking as she took his finger slowly with her mouth, gently closing her lips over it as her tongue caressed it gently. Sully swallowed hard and moved in placing his lips to hers, an all consuming passion overtaking them. Michaela didn't really mind that he had recognised her longing; it was a part of her as was everything else. She had just been caught off guard, thinking that her chat earlier hadn't been known to anyone but the small group of women.
Now though she had completely forgotten anyone else but Sully. His fingers worked the buttons on her blouse as his lips found the soft spot on her neck she so loved.
"Of course I'm sure," Michaela beamed. "We're having a baby Sully!" His words were lost to him as he wrapped his arms around his wife, the grin wide on his face. Their time on the porch had escalated quickly and they found themselves stumbling into the homestead and to their bedroom. Freeing themselves from their clothes, their bodies claimed one another in rapturous attention.
"Oh Michaela," he whispered, swallowing the lump from pure joy in his throat. "A baby...our baby? I can't believe it." He kissed her again and again, holding her close.
Michaela held tight to him, her quivering body still coming down from their recent encounter. She had struggled with how she would tell him; she wanted it to be special. And now lying in his arms after their making love, she knew she had found the right moment.
"Sully," she breathed. He pulled back looking into her eyes, letting his fingers trace the outline of her face.
"What?" he grinned.
"I'm just so happy," she smiled. "You've made me so happy."
He grinned back at her watching as a small tear escaped down her cheek.
"Same here," he said, wiping at the moisture. His hand faded away from her view, the blue in his eyes shining on her like she had never seen before. She felt the warmth from his hand as it slowly circled her belly and she closed her eyes and sighed.
"How long?" he asked, still so overwhelmed by the news.
"We'll be holding our little one in about seven months," Michaela smiled, leaning in to kiss him.
"That soon?"
"Mhmm, I'm already just over two months. From what I've gathered, this little one was conceived the day we were married." Seeing the shocked look on his face she chuckled.
"But we...I mean we didn't..."
"The second time we were married," Michaela added playfully, loving the chance to tease him a little.
"Ahh," he said, it finally dawning on him what she was saying. "Guess this little one knew just how much we wanted him here huh?"
"I think so... Him?"
"Yep," Sully grinned. He stroked Michaela's hair as she snuggled into him further, and placed a kiss on her brow. "Hanna's gonna be so excited."
"I hope so," Michaela murmured, slowly drifting off to sleep.
"Maybe now we won't have to hear her asking everyday when she's gonna get a brother or sister," Sully said chuckling. He lay staring into the darkness, silently praying his thanks for the gift they had been given, as Michaela slept soundly in his arms.
"Our baby," he whispered, finding his hand still situated over her stomach. Michaela's hand came to rest over his and their fingers entwined, both falling asleep together.