"How comfortable are them boots?" Sully asked this wife as they hiked on the trail.
"They are very comfortable. Thank you for getting them for me," Michaela answered her husband.
"Good," Sully said, "You're welcome, Honey."
Once on a hike, a few years prior, Michaela's skirt got caught on a rock or fallen branch. Sully didn't know for sure which, nor did he care which. What he did care about was that it caused her to slip and sprain her ankle. That was not the first time she fell while being out in nature with him. After that, he brought her all new hiking gear.
Her hiking gear matched his own, but it was in a smaller size. It included lace up hiking boots, thick socks, a pair of tan work pants and suspenders, and a loose button up shirt. She wore her hair in a long braid and covered her head with a cowboy hat. He made her a suede jacket that looked similar to his as well.
Michaela carried a backpack with food, water, and a light weight blanket. Sully carried his bow and quiver filled with arrows as they hiked.
"Careful by these rocks," warned Sully, when he saw jagged rocks in their path. Once he was over the rocks, he turned to make sure she got over them safely.
Michaela exhaled in frustration as she climbed over the rocks. In her mind, he was being over protective. She had been out in the woods with him several times and nothing happened. She was more than capable of climbing over rocks. Wasn't it enough that she wore the hiking gear that he insisted on?
"Hey," Sully said to his wife, guiding her to look at him, "You know I love you."
Michaela sighed and nodded, allowing her frustration to dissipate, "Yes I do." She put arms around his neck and pulled him down for a sweet kiss.
"It's just a little longer until we get to the place I wanna show ya," Sully said and he held out his hand for her. Once she took it, he guided them to a meadow that Michaela had never seen before.
"Oh, Sully," She said as she looked around. The sight nearly took her breath away.
"Isn't it beautiful?" He asked and when she nodded he said, "I knew you'd love this."
Michaela could believe her eyes. Many of the flat land meadows near Colorado Springs and the surrounding areas were construction zones for new businesses and developments. This meadow was still untouched and was full of wildflowers as far as the eye could see.
Sully smiled widely at her as she took it all in. She couldn't get over the bright greens and all of the reds, pinks, blues, oranges, purples, and yellows. There were even small specks of white here and there.
"There are some milkweeds over there," Sully said as he pointed, "Some really beautiful violet thistles over there," he pointed in a different direction, "There are spring beauties, wild lilies, prairie clovers... There are all kinds of flowers out here. There's lots of pretty colors."
"It's gorgeous, Darling, just gorgeous," Michaela said happily and she slipped her arm around her husband's waist and looked out in complete awe of the beauty before her.
Sully put an arm around Michaela and whispered, "Ya wanna have a picnic out here and then pick some to take home to put on our table?"
"Yes," Michaela said with excitement and gave Sully another kiss.
"If ya see somethin' ya really like, we can get the root and you can try plantin' it at home," he said.
Michaela smiled widely.
"I will take three please," Colleen said to the girl at the booth who was selling flower crowns for little girls. The girl gently put the flower crowns in a burlap bag with handles and handed it over to Colleen, "Thank you." Colleen paid the girl and began walking to the next both.
Katie walked with her, "Why do you need three crowns? We only have Ada and Willa." Looking down at her hands, Katie willed herself not to cry. Rose would be just the right age to love those fair flower crowns.
"I got one for you," Colleen told her and removed the crown with yellow and pink daisies from the bag and placed it on Katie's head, "I'm so happy you came out with us today. I know you love these. I should know, I made and bought enough of them for you when you were little."
Katie smiled at her sister's kind gesture, "I'm not a little girl anymore. I look silly."
"Don't be ridiculous," Colleen said and pointed, "look at those women over there."
Katie looked at three young women who were wearing flower crowns. They weren't little girls, but they weren't adults either. Katie thought they looked roughly sixteen.
"I'm older than they are," she pointed out.
"Maybe so, but you're still young. You have a lot of life left in you," Colleen said to her younger sister, "You're not wearing a bonnet or hat, the flowers can serve as one. They bring out the pink and yellow in your dress."
Colleen and Katie joined Bernice and Samantha who were buying strudels for everyone.
"Colleen," Bernice said, "Katie. Samantha," Matthew's wife handed everyone a strudel. The four women sat at a picnic table and ate and gossiped before returning to look at the booths.
"I got flower crowns for the girls," Colleen announced to the group.
"Sounds lovely," said Samantha, "I got trains for the young boys. We need to get something for your boys, Colleen."
"Um, well," Colleen said knowing her boys were in a difficult adolescent age, "They do like baseball. Andrew and I have been thinking about gloves and balls. Perhaps we can get something like that, if anyone is selling.
"Matthew just finished defending the worst case," Bernice said to the group, "This man sued his doctor for cataracts."
"How can he sue his doctor for that?" asked Colleen in horror.
"He said he went to see the doctor, and he still went blind," Bernice said.
"What can the doctor do? Some physicians have performed surgery, but it's very risky," said Colleen.
"There was nothing the doctor could do and Matthew lost the case," Bernice stated, "It was a ridiculous case to begin with."
"Why would Matthew even take a case like that?" asked Katie.
"He says that even the lunatics of the world deserve a defense," Bernice said to the table which earned a laugh from everyone.
"You coming to the dance with us tonight, Katie?" asked Samantha.
"Mmm," Katie said, wanting to say no.
"Come on, Katie, it'll be fun," Bernice said, "We're all gonna be there. Colorado Springs gets bigger each time I visit. There are plenty of eligible, handsome young men to dance with."
"I'm not in the mood for dancing," Katie said.
"Or fun," Colleen mocked, "Come on Kates, you've been in the house for too long."
"I'm a married woman," Katie said, showing her ring to the table.
The other women at the table knew to tread carefully. They wanted to tell Katie it's okay to come to the dance without disrespecting her marriage or Finn. They all knew they couldn't even suggest that it was time for Katie to think about moving on, or she would shut down.
"Just because you're married, doesn't mean you can't meet new friends," Samantha was the first to speak, emphasizing the word friends.
"Yes," Colleen jumped in, "I'm married, but I will still have a couple of dances with Jared. We've been friends since Reverend Johnson taught school, and he's married too."
Samantha and Bernice were both in agreement with Colleen and nodded along, hoping to convince Katie.
"I'll think about it," Katie said to appease them.
Sully and Michaela finished lunch and decided to lay down their blanket and snuggle before hiking back to where they parked their wagon. They stared up at the clear blue sky, and took in the scent of greenery and flowers around them. Both of them were thankful that there were no bees around to disturb them during their picnic and afternoon rest.
"Sully?" Michaela said against her husband's chest.
"Hmm?" he answered with a start.
"Did you fall asleep?" she giggled.
"Just dozin'," he said groggily.
"Nevermind, I will ask you later," Michaela answered, not wanting to disturb her husband's rest.
"Ask me what?" he asked in a more clear voice. His curiosity woke him up.
"How did you find this place?" asked Michaela.
"Oh," Sully said with a yawn, "Winnie and I found it on one of our walks. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to show it to ya."
"Do you ever take tourists out here?" Michaela asked.
"No," answered Sully.
"Why not?" she questioned.
"It's too far for them to walk," he said. It was true, he and Michaela traveled part of the way in the wagon, and then hiked the rest of the way. When he found the place with Winnie, he rode his horse while she trotted behind.
Satisfied with his answer, Michaela snuggled closer to him and shut her eyes.
It was mid-morning now. Bernice and Colleen went together to look at the sewing section of the fair. Both of them liked seeing the crochet and knit work that the women of Manitou showed at the fair.
Sewing, quilting, knitting, crocheting and anything like that didn't interest Katie and Samantha one bit, so they went together to look at pottery.
Next to the pottery section, someone was showing custom made canoes and accessories. Samantha found a large hand carved canoe paddle and showed it to Katie, "Perhaps you can use this in your classroom."
Katie laughed at the thought, "I don't use corporal punishment in my classroom. It might be nice to have it hanging up just to put the fear of God into some of my students."
Katie and Samantha both laughed as they walked on. Katie silently thought that it was ironic for Samantha to make that kind of joke considering how much her own children misbehave. She thought perhaps Samantha should buy the paddle and use it on Ada and Jack, especially when they want to play Jump on Grandpa. She thought it best to not say that to her sister-in-law though.
"Oh," Samantha said as they came across a woman selling dresses, "Look at this pink satin. It would be beautiful on you! You could wear it at the dance tonight. We can put up your hair, add in a few curls, take a pink daisy from that crown you're wearing and you'll look just beautiful."
"I don't know-" Katie began to say, wanting to get off the topic of her attending the dance.
"Are you lovely ladies goin' to dance tonight in Colorado Springs?" a handsome stranger asked.
Katie and Samantha turned around and looked and saw that it was a law man.
"Yes," Samantha answered, "I'm Samantha Cooper and this Katie Rutherford. What's your name?"
"I'm Deputy Kevin Grant," he said and took off his hat, "Most of the folks who are sellin' at the fair here in Manitou are goin' to the dance tonight in Colorado Springs."
"That is funny," Samantha said, eager to keep him talking. She didn't want him for herself, she thought it would be nice for Katie to make a new friend, "We are from Colorado Springs, we came here to shop, and we plan on dancing at home tonight."
"That is quite a coincidence," the man started to flirt. His eyes drifted over to Katie and they scanned her. Katie looked down.
"So you're the deputy here in Manitou?" Samantha asked and Kevin nodded yes, "Who's the Sheriff?"
"I'm one of ten deputies ma'am," Kevin said.
"Ten?" Samantha asked in surprise.
"Yes, ma'am," he answered, "Much like Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs is growin' quite a lot. To answer your question, our town Sheriff is my uncle, Steven Grant."
"You're uncle? Isn't that favoritism?" Samantha teased.
"No ma'am, it's nepotism," Kevin joked, earning a laugh from Samantha. Katie, who was trying to remain serious, cracked a smile, "I had to work for my position ma'am. I earned my position based on merit. Sheriff Grant being my uncle made it harder for me to become a deputy, not easier. He's tougher on me than on anyone else."
"I certainly hope so," said Samantha, "I do hope to see you tonight."
"Thank you," Kevin said, "I do hope you'll save me a dance. Both of you." Then he winked at Katie and walked away.
Katie became infuriated after he winked, "Who does he think he is? Didn't he see the ring on my finger?"
"Katie," Samantha said, "Yes, he saw the ring on your finger. He saw the ring of my finger. He is a tall, handsome man, who wants to make a new friend."
Sully helped Michaela into the wagon and then climbed in next to her. He smiled to himself as he watched her smell her freshly picked bouquet of wildflowers. Sully dug up a few roots of the bluebells, lupines, Indian paintbrushes for her to plant at home.
"Honey, come here," Sully said, "come closer."
Michaela leaned closer to him and he tucked a small white daisy that he had picked while she wasn't looking behind her ear. She was impressed by how romantic he still was, even after all these years of marriage. She lightly pecked his lips and then broke out in laughter.
"What's so funny?" he asked, rather confused.
"Your beard tickles," answered Michaela, "I think it's time for a trim."
"Is that so?" Sully teased with a raised eyebrow, knowing exactly what she wanted him to do. With quick movements, had his arms around her and flipped her so her back was flat on his lap and he rubbed his beard against her cheeks and down her neck, giving her small kisses as he went.
"Oh no!" she shrieked as she continued to laugh hysterically. Her laughter and small screams just egged her husband on and he continued to tickle her with his beard and pepper her with small kisses afterward.
Sully lifted one of her hands and proceeded to rub his beard into the palm and then left a light kiss on her inner wrist. Then he caught a glimpse of her beautiful green and brown eyes that had tears in them from laughing so hard. He gently let go of her hand and put his arms around her, and lifted her up from his lap to give her a kiss. It was a real kiss, not just a small peck.
Michaela lifted her hand and brought it up to twirl in his beard and then his hair as they kissed.
"You keep me young, ya know that?" Sully asked as he released his wife and she sat up in the wagon.
"You do the same for me," she answered with a smile.
Sully made a kissing sound to their horse and tapped him with the reins so he would start walking back home.
Michaela hugged her husband's arm and leaned her head on his shoulder as they rode in the wagon.
"How are things at the hospital?" he asked his wife.
"Good," Michaela answered, "You know how much I love working side by side with Colleen."
"Yes, I do," he replied, "Anything new?"
"I hired a new nurse," Michaela explained.
Sully knew she had been looking for a new nurse for awhile. With all of the new people living in Colorado Springs, they needed skilled hands. There were so many new faces, they had yet to meet everyone in town, "Who?"
"Well," Michaela hesitated, Sully wasn't going to like her answer, "I hired Thea Nelson."
"'Chaela!" he exclaimed, his voice laced with irritation.
"She is a skilled nurse," Michaela defended, "While her husband was working at the docks, she served as a midwife in a local doctor's clinic."
Sully grunted loudly in disapproval.
"AND!" Michaela shouted to drown out her husband's disapproval, "They had an accident involving a cable car and she bandaged and stitched up various wounds while working for the same doctor. I wired this doctor, and he highly recommended her."
"Alright, alright," Sully wasn't going to let this go forever, but he would let it go in that moment. He didn't agree with his wife about, as she put it, befriending the Nelsons. She was spying and prying as far as he was concerned. Worse than that, in his opinion, she was getting her hopes up. He didn't want to see her disappointed.
"She's new here," Michaela said, "Her husband isn't going to find a job working at the docks here. It will likely take him time to find work. They need to make ends meet, so I offered her the job."
"Fine," Sully said.
"It's the least I can do, she's looking after my granddaughter," Michaela whispered under her breath, but Sully heard her loud and clear.
"Michaela!" He warned, "You're askin' for trouble! I don't want ya to do this."
"Colleen agrees with me," she fought back.
"You're both wrong," Sully said, "I told ya I'd let it go for now. We did agree that Katie is not to have any knowledge of this. Is that still our agreement?"
"Yes, of course," Michaela promised, "Why are you so against this? Don't you want her back? Rose is just as much your granddaughter as she is mine."
"You know I do," he answered, "But we've been down this road with too many false leads before. It always turns to nothin'. I don't want you to be disappointed. I don't wanna be disappointed either. It's too painful."
"Katie was kidnapped as a little girl," Michaela reminded him, "We traveled all the way to Mexico to find her. Are you saying you aren't willing to do the same for Rose?"
"You know I would turn myself inside out to find her," Sully stated, "That isn't up for debate, but we can't compare this to what happened with Katie."
"Why not?" she asked.
"Because we knew who took Katie and why. We just had to figure out where," he answered, "She was a little girl who could walk and talk. She was only gone for a coupla months and we knew exactly what she looked like. Rose has been gone for three years. She was an infant when she disappeared. The Nelson little girl does look like Katie when she was a toddler. I can see Rose lookin' like that now..."
"But?" Michaela added in.
"Remember that Katie's hair changed quite a bit as a little girl. Her face stayed the same, but her hair changed. It darkened up. It has lightened up again as an adult. Like most people, now it gets lighter and darker as the seasons change," said Sully.
Michaela deflated. She knew her husband was right. There was no way of knowing for sure what Rose looks like now. Michaela just couldn't get away from the nagging feeling she had about that little girl.
Sensing her feelings, Sully lightened up, "They are new in town. It was nice of ya to give her a job," He leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
Colleen, Katie, Samantha, and Bernice stood at the back of the wagon and surveyed all of the loot they bought.
Colleen began to list everyone's names. The three other women said what they purchased for them.
"Ada and Willa," Colleen said.
"Flower Crowns," Katie answered.
"Jack, Oliver, and Alexander," Colleen said.
"Toy trains," Samantha answered.
"Wyatt and William," Colleen said.
"Baseballs, baseball bats and baseball caps," Katie answered. They couldn't find baseball gloves like Colleen wanted, but they found all those other items for the boys.
"Brian," Colleen said.
"Gum drops," Samantha said. Everyone looked at her strangely, "Don't look at me. I have washed my hands of it. I know he's a grown man, but he still loves his gum drops."
"Matthew," Colleen said, moving on.
"Fudge," Bernice answered.
"I got fudge for Andrew too," Colleen said.
"Why is it strange for Brian to like gum drops, but it's okay Andrew and Matthew to like fudge?" Samantha whispered to Katie.
"Brian can like whatever he wants," Katie whispered to her sister-in-law, "It's just funny because gum drops are usually associated with children."
"Ma and Pa?" Colleen said.
"A carving knife for Pa and a crocheted blanket for Ma," Bernice said.
"Now us!" Colleen smiled, "I got this glass dinner bell for my kitchen."
"Very nice," Bernice said, "I got myself some new gloves."
"I got a new bonnet," Samantha announced.
Then all of the women turned to look at Katie, "You got me the flower crown," she said with a shrug.
"You didn't get anything for yourself?" Colleen asked.
"I don't need anything," Katie said.
Colleen was about to rebut when she was interrupted.
"Nothing for yourself, Mrs. Rutherford? I'm shocked," A young man mocked flirtatiously.
Colleen and Samantha rolled their eyes in unison and Katie turned to see the bane of her existence coming her way.
"Mrs. Cooper, Dr. Cooper-Cook, It's lovely to see you again. I don't think we've met," he said to Bernice.
"I'm Mrs. Cooper," Bernice answered.
"Another Mrs. Cooper? Brian sure gets around," the man joked.
"No, Sir," Bernice said venomously, "She is Mrs. Brian Cooper. I am Mrs. Matthew Cooper."
"My apologies," he said, his voice laced with mockery.
"And you are?" Bernice asked, trying to act unimpressed. By the looks of him, Bernice could tell he was a wealthy, conceited man who thought too highly of himself.
"Je m'appelle Jean-Luc Baudin," he said with a perfect French accent. Returning to his American-English accent, he said, "You may call me John-Luke."
"I think I'll stick with Mr. Baudin," Bernice said, not interested in being on a first name basis with this self-absorbed, stuffed shirt.
He let out a laugh then turned to face Katie.
"What do you want, John-Luke?" Katie questioned, growing irritated.
"You mean besides you?" He returned.
Colleen, Bernice and Samantha's eyes all widened.
"Forgive me, you're still married," John-Luke teased.
Katie instantly lifted her hand to slap his face, but he caught her wrist.
"Temper, temper," John-Luke teased in a mocking tone, not caring the slighted bit that he crossed a line.
"Tell me," Colleen answered angrily, ready to slap the pompous smirk off his face, "Were you born sensitive, or is it just something that you practice?"
"I'm sensitive when it's appropriate, Doctor," he said, his hand still gripped on Katie's wrist, "I am not sensitive to a beautiful, young woman who is wasting her life away on what is never going to be."
Katie tried to jerk her hand away, but John-Luke held on tight, "And you two? I guess you three. Do you think you're doing her any favors by allowing her to live like a recluse. Who is really causing her more damage?"
"Let go of me!" Katie yelled.
"Who do you think you are?" Samantha shouted.
"Katie, when you're done wasting your time, skip on over to the saloon and have a drink with me," He mocked, but a certain level of flirtation was still present in his tone. Then he let go of Katie's wrist, "Since you didn't get yourself anything, I think you should have this," He placed a fancy gift bag into the back of the wagon.
"I don't want anything from you," Katie hissed.
John-Luke chuckled and walked away. Before he got too far, he turned around and bowed, "I do hope to see you all at the dance this evening. Please save a place for me on each of your dance cards."
"Who was that jerk?" Bernice asked.
"John-Luke. He's one of a kind," Colleen said and rolled her eyes, "The story that we've all heard is that his family members were French peasants that migrated to the New World before the American Revolution. Most of them lived in New Orleans, but they have spread through what used to be the Louisiana Territory. The family got into trading and different businesses and became very wealthy. They call themselves, self-made aristocrats. He, himself, is the son of Philippe Baudin."
"Philippe Baudin owns a chain of factories in St. Louis," Samantha said, "Philippe is a serious man and got tired of John-Luke's escapades. When he heard that Hank Lawson was selling the Gold Nugget in Colorado Springs, Philippe jumped on it, bought it, and sent John-Luke to run it."
Bernice had to ask the question. By her sisters-in-laws' accounts, John-Luke was French. Too Bernice, he didn't look completely French or completely European, "John-Luke is very handsome. I can guess that that is part of the reason why he is so full of himself. I have to ask, is he a half-breed?"
"Yes," Colleen and Samantha said at the same time.
"Sort of," Colleen amended, "His mother was half Lakota Indian and half English. She was very beautiful, so I hear."
"She was a waitress in St. Louis and served at an event that Philippe hosted," Samantha said, "I guess they fell madly in love, but he saw her as being lower than him, and didn't marry her. She died giving birth to John-Luke. Philippe was beside himself. He cursed himself for never marrying her. John-Luke was her only child and until then, his only child. He took him in and raised him. He made-up some story about losing his wife and that John-Luke was not illegitimate. Enough people know the real story though. That's how it got out. Philippe denies it nevertheless."
As Colleen and Samantha told Bernice a story that she already knew, Katie looked inside the bag that that bastard John-Luke had put in the wagon. He was a jerk, but she was very curious. Inside was a small velvet box. Housed inside the box was a sterling silver ring with a rose made out of pink quartz in the center. It wasn't a completely serious piece of jewelry; however, it was serious enough to let a young woman know that a man wants to get to know her better.
Katie entered the homestead with a bag full of gifts in one hand and her flower crown in the other and instantly paused. She saw a laundry tub full with her parents' hiking clothes sitting on the kitchen table. Next to the tub was her father's bow, quiver full of arrows, and his tool belt. On the coat rack, their jackets hung side by side and she saw their hiking boots that were side by side on the floor under the hanging suede coats. The partition was up, blocking off the back of the house, where she and her mother usually took baths. Her father bathed in the same tub during the winter months. It was late spring, and at this time of the year, he usually made use of the stream when he needed to bathe.
"Ma?" Katie called.
"Yes, Sweetheart," Michaela answered, and Katie heard water splash.
"Are you getting ready for the dance tonight?" Katie asked loudly.
"Yes," said her mother.
"I think I am going to go with you," Katie announced.
"That's just wonderful," Michaela said with excitement in her voice, "Do you need to take a bath?"
"No, I took one this morning before going to Manitou with Colleen and everyone else," she informed her mother. "I am just going to change and freshen up in my room."
"Do you need help with your hair?" Michaela asked.
"No," answered the young woman, "I'm going to do a simple style with a few girls. Hey, where's Pa?"
"He's here," Michaela answered apprehensively.
"Where?" she asked.
"I'm in the bathtub with Ma," Sully finally answered.
Katie's face turned beet red, "Of course he is," she said to herself. That was another thing her parents liked to do together, bathe, "I guess I will give you some privacy," Katie said and ran upstairs to be as far away from them as possible.
"Ya think we embarrassed her?" Sully asked with a chuckle.
"She's a grown woman and she's been married," Michaela said, "She knows all about the birds and the bees. Did you hear what she said? She's going to the dance tonight. I wonder what made her change her mind."
"I have no idea," answered Sully.
To be continued.
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