Chapter 14 Melissa shuffled through the box some more, looking for more information on this family. It had to be there somewhere. Finally she found it, an old photo album. Inside was a complete family history from Katherine back to what seemed to be the early 1800s.

Taking the book under her arm, Melissa shut off the attic light and went downstairs. Settling in a chair at the kitchen table, she opened the book to the first page. A family tree. Melissa studied it closely. It was full of names she had never know, yet many of them shared her last name. Paul and Julia, their daughter Katherine. Paul's parents Brian and Maria. What did this connection mean?"

Melissa traced her fingers over the names and branches trying to think about what she had discovered. A knock on the front door startled her out of her reverie. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Melissa stood up to greet her visitor. After peeking out and seeing that it was Anne, Melissa cheerfully opened the door. "Anne!" she exclaimed. "It's so good to see you!"

"I wasn't sure I should come by without calling.but I felt out of place at Greg's house. He and Sarah are at work and it was just weird being there by myself."

"I'm glad you came." Melissa told her. "I've just been here cleaning the attic."

"Where's Michael?"

"Work."

"The day after his wedding?"

"Apparently, they've found something important and they needed him."

"Oh I see.so why have you been cleaning the attic?"

"Nothing better to do and it needs it. I think every previous owner has just left their stuff up there. But I've so much interesting stuff!"

"I thought no one had lived her since the late 1800s."

"Well no, after the initial owners died, no one lived here. But their children kept the house furnished and up to date. And they stored family heirlooms and such here."

"Oh yea? Like what."

"You will not believe this!" Melissa said, leading her sister to the table where she had left the album. "It's a book of genealogy." Melissa opened the book back to the family tree. "And look.their last name was Sullivan."

"Oh my goodness. That's weird." Anne said.

"I know it is."

"What do you think it means?"

"I don't know. Perhaps we're related somehow." Melissa suggested.

"You think?" Anne asked skeptically. "Perhaps it's just a convenience."

Melissa slumped her shoulders at her sister's lack of hope. "Perhaps."

Anne felt bad for dashing her sister's hope. "Or maybe you have some keen sense about you and managed to find our family's home."

"You think that could be?" Melissa beamed.

"I don't know. But it's worth looking into."

"But how are we ever going to find out? The family tree stops with Katherine."

"Then I guess we should start by finding her." Anne suggested. "What else did you find up there? Anything useful?"

"So far I have Katherine's birth certificate, and a bunch of photos.oh and three boxes full of newspaper clippings. But I looked through it all and didn't find anything too interesting."

"Well let's go look again."

"Alright." Melissa agreed.

Anne helped Melissa back to the attic and they again rummaged through boxes. What they found was more then they could have hoped for. First, the book of genealogy. It was an entire family history going all the way back to the initial owners of the house. "Byron Sully built this place in 1869 for his soon-to-be wife, Michaela Quinn."

"Hey I've heard of her." Anne said. "She was the first woman doctor in Colorado."

"Where did you learn that?"

"My husband is a doctor, and a history nut. He knows about every trivia fact there is about medical history."

"That's amazing. And I live in her house."

Anne kept looking through the book. "Melissa look at this! It has everything you could possibly want to know. The Sully children, and grandchildren, and great grandchildren. What they did, who they married. Important events in their lives. It's like the entire history of the Sully family."

"But somewhere they changed their names." Melissa noted.

Anne flipped through the book until she found it. "Here." She said. "Paul Sully changed his name to Sullivan in 1955 because he was wanted for.murder?"

Melissa and Anne exchanged frightened looks. "Murder?" Melissa asked. "Our ancestor was a murder?"

"Now we don't know he's our ancestor." Anne tried to keep a level head.

"Oh come on Anne, this is our family!"

"Even so, we don't know if he was guilty."

"Why would he change his name if he was innocent."

"I don't know.let's keep looking."

A few pages later, they found it. A newspaper clipping from January 18, 1956. "All charges against Paul Sully have been dropped. The accused man was proved innocent when another man confessed to the murder of Paul's wife Lily."

"See." Anne said. "He wasn't guilty."

"Ok so he wasn't. But we still haven't confirmed who we're related to."

"Paul had one daughter, Katherine."

"Well what about her? What does it say?"

"Not a lot. Just her birth date."

"That's it?"

"That's it." Anne acknowledged.

"Well that doesn't help us any."

"Maybe we should take another path." Anne suggested, turning back to the family tree. "That was.Katherine Sully's line.she did have three brothers and sisters.and here it says three more adopted. So maybe one of the other Sully children leads to us."

"Well let's start reading!" Melissa exclaimed.

The two sisters searched the book numerous times, but never found any mention of them or any children who were given up for adoption. They had reached a dead end. "Well now what?" Anne asked.

"We can't give up here. There's a ton of things in this place. We have to keep looking."

Anne sat quietly. Melissa sure was determined. "But where shuld we start?"

"Pictures!" Melissa exclaimed. "We have pictures!"

"And that means what exactly?"

"Well if this is our family, there has to be someone who looks like us somewhere. Go get that box over there."

Anne did as directed and together, the sisters looked through the pictures. "It's the woman in my dream!" Melissa exclaimed a bit later.

"What dream?"

"One I had in the hospital. This woman brought me here.to this house."

"Well who is it?" Anne asked.

Melissa flipped over the picture. On the back, someone had written. "Dr. Michaela Quinn."

"Well that answers that." She said.

"So Michaela Quinn came to you in a dream and told you to come live in her house?"

"That's right." Melissa said. "Don't you see? It's a sign. She led me here so that I could discover who my family is."

"A sign?" Anne asked skeptically. "Melissa you're talking crazy."

"No I'm not. Anne you have to believe me. I know I'm right.and I think that Katherine Sullivan is our mother."

"Melissa stop it."

"Stop what?"

" You have no proof!"

"I don't need proof. I feel it in my heart."

"You've got to think about this. So what if this is our family? They don't want us. They never did."

"I'm going to find them." Melissa vowed.

"You're just going to get hurt."

"I found you." Melissa said. "I will find the rest of my family as well."

Anne's heart softened. Even if they had only lived with knowledge of the other for a few short years, she couldn't imagine life without her sister. "You know I'd help you if I could."

"Of course you can!" Melissa exclaimed. "You already have. And tomorrow we can go out and see what else we can find."

"I can't do it."

"Why not?"

"I have to go home."

"Home?"

"Yes, you know, my home. In Arizona."

"But you said you were staying."

"I talked with Connor last night. Sammy is sick. I have to go home to him."

"But you just got here."

"I'm sorry Melissa. I would stay if I could. But my little boy needs me."

"I need you too."

Before the conversation could continue, they heard the front door squeak open. "Michael's home." Melissa informed.

"I'll help you downstairs." Anne offered.

Melissa sneered away from the helping hand. "I can do it myself." Steadying herself precariously, Melissa took her cane and made her way downstairs.

Michael had kicked open the front door. Melissa reached the bottom step just in time to see him heave in a large trunk. Speaking no words, he went through the living room and in his study. Melissa and Anne followed him curiously.

"Michael? Where did that chest come from?" Melissa said when he carefully placed it down.

"Hmm?" Michael was obviously not paying attention to them. "Oh. That's why I had to leave so suddenly this morning. They found it when they were digging for the new parking garage at the hospital. Everyone at the college said I should take a look at it."

"What do you think it is?" Anne asked.

"I don't know.haven't opened it yet." Michael said. Brought it right back here. It was too loud at the construction site."

"Look.on the lock it says 1872." Melissa pointed out.

Michael noted the date, hand carved into the metal lock. "That's only a few years after our house was built."

"You're right.May we look at it with you?" Melissa begged.

"You've never been interested in my work before."

"It's not every day you get the chance to discover something about the past." Melissa said.

"Anne?" Michael questioned.

"I'd love to look. If you don't mind." Anne replied, fully intrigued by the thought of something so old.

"Alright if you're so interested.let's crack it open."