Chapter Eight
Jake groaned as a hand moved to the bandage around his head. Loren sat nervously at his friend's bedside.
"Jake? The doc fixed ya right up." Michaela sat down at Jake's side and began to check his reflexes before he opened his eyes. He seemed to be recovering well!
"What doc?" he asked slowly. He groaned and slowly began to open his eyes.
"Welcome back, Mr. Slicker," Michaela said with a pleased smile. Jake heard the woman's voice, but he was so groggy and sore that he couldn't react quickly. He vaguely remembered a woman doctor coming to talk with him, and he also remembered shutting her out every time.
"What the Hell'd ya do to me?"
"She saved your life," Loren pointed out. Jake remembered falling down the stairs in a drunken stupor.
"Yeah?" he asked.
"That's right," Loren confirmed.
"Well," Jake gasped, "thanks for nothin'."
"You don't mean that, Jake," Loren said quickly as Michaela was taken aback.
"Ya shouldn'ta even bothered."
"I did my job, Mr. Slicker," Michaela pointed out. Jake glanced at Loren.
"Ya actually let a woman cut on me? How could ya, Loren?"
"It was Hank and Robert E. who found ya," Loren replied hastily. "They brought ya here."
"Loren, would you mind waiting in the hall, please?" Michaela requested. Loren nodded and patted his friend on his shoulder.
"It's good to have ya back, Jake." Loren left the room, closing the door as he went.
"Mr. Slicker, I need to examine your stitches." She went to touch the bandages on his head, but his hand grabbed her wrist, shocking her slightly. She didn't expect such a firm grip from a neurological patient who'd just woken from a coma. "Mr. Slicker, please!"
"Just leave me alone!"
"I'm afraid I can't do that. You are my patient, and I am your doctor. I have to check your stitches."
"You ain't my doctor," Jake spat. Michaela was becoming increasingly agitated with this man. She'd heard he was difficult, but she had had no idea until this very moment. He was a lot more stubborn that she had figured he would be. He tried to sit up, but the pain became too great. Michaela shook her head.
"Mr. Slicker, please try to relax."
"If ya want me to relax, you're gonna have to get me some whiskey."
"I don't have any whiskey, and I'm afraid that whiskey has done you more harm than good." Michaela moved to try to examine Jake's stitches again, but he pushed her hand away.
"I told ya not to touch me!" He winced in pain, and his head fell back against the pillow. Michaela didn't know what to say, and she knew that he obviously didn't appreciate the fact that a woman doctor had operated on him. She only hoped that someday he would come to realize that not only had she operated on him, but she had saved his life as well.
"You must be hungry. I'll pick up some soup for you at Grace's." Realizing that he wasn't going to be able to move around much for a while, Jake finally nodded and waited for the doctor to leave before he attempted to sit up in his bed. He didn't want to spend any more time in the clinic, and he only hoped that whatever the doctor had done to him hadn't messed up something.
Meanwhile, Michaela walked out of the clinic after telling Loren it would be best to let Jake get some sleep. She watched as Loren slowly walked across toward the mercantile, and she spotted Hank standing on the saloon porch, eyeing the window of the room Jake was staying in.
She walked toward Grace's, trying to figure out how she was going to take care of Jake without his permission. She supposed that it was his life, and he needed to make the decision of his treatment, but she felt like there had to be more she could do to help him. He was an alcoholic, that was for sure, and she knew that if he didn't sober up, the next fall he might take down the stairs would surely kill him.
She entered Grace's Café, and the older woman automatically noticed a look of uncertainty upon her face.
"What can I get for ya, Dr. Mike?"
"I'd like a bowl of soup for a patient, please," she said quietly, searching her money pouch for two bits.
"Comin' right up," Grace said quietly, ladling out some fresh soup into a bowl. "What's got ya so upset?"
"Is it that obvious?"
"Yeah," Grace said with a chuckle. "It's pretty obvious to me, anyway. What happened?"
"Jake Slicker woke up." Grace raised an eyebrow.
"Well, there's good news then."
"He says I shouldn't have bothered with him."
"That so?" Grace asked. She sighed, shaking her head a bit. "Jake ain't one to accept help so easy. I know that them four folks dyin' back 'fore you got here is what drove him to drink again. He might not show it, but he's scared. He's scared, 'cause folks always been comin' to 'im for things, and when those folks died, they stopped comin' 'round. He's ashamed of himself."
"It's awful to say, but . . ." She couldn't bring herself to say it, so Grace finished her sentence for her.
"He should feel ashamed?" Grace turned from the stove a moment. "Jake ain't my favorite person. He ain't nobody's favorite person, and I think he should feel ashamed. But, bein' angry ain't gonna bring back the people who died 'cause he was careless." Michaela nodded.
"I suppose you're right. Thank you for talking with me, Grace."
"Anytime, Dr. Mike. That's what friends are for, ain't it?" Michaela smiled gratefully at Grace, took the bowl of soup, and started back across town.
"Dr. Mike!" came a familiar voice that made Michaela's heart skip a beat. She felt her skin becoming warm from slight embarrassment, and she turned to see Sully jogging over toward her with Wolf at his heels.
"Sully?"
"Ya busy?"
"Actually, I'm taking this soup over for Mr. Slicker."
"He's awake?"
"Yes," Michaela replied with a slight smile. "He's not too happy about it, but I'm trying my best to keep him healthy. He's going to have a long road ahead of him. But, I believe that if he can stop drinking, he'll be able to physically recover much more quickly." Sully looked skeptical.
"Ya actually think you're gonna be able to convince Jake to stop drinkin'?" Sully wondered. "He ain't gonna like that."
"Well, it would be for his own good," she explained as they walked slowly toward the clinic. "I believe I can help him give up the habit."
"How?"
"Well, for one, I can have his closest friends hide or empty all of his whiskey bottles, and I can have Hank stop serving him." Sully nearly laughed.
"Dr. Mike, Hank ain't gonna stop servin' a payin' customer. Ya can't change people, ya know?"
"I can try," she replied crossly.
"Look, I'm just sayin' that if he's gonna give up drinkin', it's gonna have to be his choice."
"I know that," Michaela responded. "But I'm going to try to talk with him."
"Good luck," Sully said quietly. When they arrived at the clinic, Sully cleared his throat. "Dr. Mike?"
"Hmm?"
"Before ya go in, I was just wonderin' if I could ask ya somethin'."
"Of course," Michaela replied, waiting for Sully's question.
"Well, I was wonderin' . . . well, the kids were wonderin'," he began awkwardly. Michaela was patient, however, and she couldn't help but let her mind wander back to the night before. "Would ya like to join us for a picnic later today? I mean, the summer is endin' real soon, and it ain't too hot out."
"I'd love to," Michaela spoke up as to save Sully from possibly rambling and getting himself into an embarrassing situation. He couldn't believe how worried he was being. He had never acted like this. But then again, he'd never felt like this about anyone before.
"Ya would? I mean, you're sure ya ain't too busy?"
"I'm sure," Michaela replied. "After all, we didn't exactly get to finish the picnic we had last night." She hoped that hadn't sounded suggestive! She hadn't meant it that way. But, the way he smiled at her told her that he hadn't taken it the wrong way. "I'll see you around three?"
"Three," Sully agreed with a nod. She gave him a shy smile before disappearing inside of the clinic. Sully turned and walked away, feeling something lifted off of his chest. They weren't courting, but it was nice to know that she was willing to join him, well, along with the children of course, on a picnic. So, with the lovely lady doctor on his mind, he started over toward Grace's to talk to her about packing yet another picnic basket.
Michaela made her way into Jake Slicker's room above the clinic. He was sitting up in bed, and Hank was sitting in a chair near the bed. Michaela figured he would come in, and though she didn't mind Jake having visitors, she still felt uncomfortable around the tall, rough-mannered bartender.
"I've brought you some soup from Grace's."
"I ain't hungry right now," Jake grumbled. Hank snickered from his seat.
"If you want to build your strength, you'll eat. If you refuse, it's going to take you much longer to get out of here." She placed the bowl of soup down on the side table.
"I don't know 'bout that, doc. He was tryin' to get out when I came to see 'im," Hank pointed out. Michaela's glance went back and forth between the barber and the bartender.
"Well, the more you struggle the longer you'll be staying here. You need rest and food. If you take it easy like I've instructed you to do, you should be out of here in the matter of a week or two."
"Then I'm gonna need a drink. Hank, go fetch me a bottle of whiskey. I'll pay ya back later."
"Sure thing," Hank said with a dry laugh. He moved toward the door, and Michaela followed him. When she made it out into the hall, she shut the door behind herself.
"Hank, I need to speak with you."
"'Bout what? Need to take away another one of my girls?"
"Hank, this has nothing to do with Cassandra. This is about you."
"Me? What do ya got against me?" he asked sarcastically.
"You need to stop serving Jake," she pointed out. Hank nearly doubled over in laugher from that comment.
"Ya can't be serious."
"I'm very serious, Hank," Michaela replied, crossing her arms over her chest. Surely this man couldn't be so selfish as to keep his own friend's life in danger just to make a few extra dollars! "Jake nearly died in there. He has a serious problem, and I know that if you cut him off, he's going to try to find another way to get alcohol. If you could pay a little extra attention to your friend and make sure he stays sober, you could really play a part in saving his life!"
"Ya don't get it, do ya? He's my best payin' customer, and I ain't willin' to lose money just 'cause some crazy woman think she knows what she's talkin' about."
"The license I have to practice medicine says otherwise, Hank. What is it going to take to prove to you that I would do anything to make sure Jake survives?" Hank thought for a moment.
"Why don't ya pay his tab? I figure twenty bucks will cover it." Michaela didn't bat an eyelash.
"If that's what it takes to get you to watch out for Jake and make sure he stays sober, I'll do it. But if he so much as takes one little drink, the deal is off." A look of realization came over Hank's face.
"Ya really think this can help him, don't ya?"
"I do." Hank finally nodded. "You'll do it?"
"Yeah," he said quietly. She went to search through her money pouch again. "No. Don't. I just wanted to make sure you were really willin' to help 'im. Jake ain't been known to help many folks, so knowin' somebody's lookin' out for him . . . well, thanks, doc." Michaela slightly nodded.
"Don't thank me. Just help your friend." The went back into the room together to find Jake attempting to eat his soup.
"Ya finally talk some sense into that woman?" Jake asked.
"Jake, ya gotta take it easy."
"What?"
"The doc's right. Ya gotta rest, otherwise you'll have to stay cooped up in here even longer."
"Then get me a drink."
"Can't do that neither."
"What the Hell are ya talkin' about?" Jake asked angrily.
"Ya don't need to be drinkin'. Ya nearly died, Jake. Ya need to get better."
"Why the Hell are ya doin' this!" Hank swallowed hard.
"'Cause I'm your friend."
"Friend? I don't see no friend," Jake replied angrily, throwing his bowl to the ground, letting it shatter to pieces as the soup spilled everywhere. Jake glanced at Michaela, and she simply nodded, letting him know that he was doing the right thing.
Later that afternoon, Abagail's plan was already in motion. As Martin helped her over to the mercantile after they had pie at Grace's, she spotted her father standing on the porch with a broom. He looked pleased to see her with a young man who was of her age. Generally, fathers would be wary of young men who came to court their daughters, especially those who attended the little school in Colorado Springs. But, for one thing, Martin Johnson was a kind young man who never gave Loren a reason to dislike him. And another reason was that Abagail needed to spend time with people her own age, even though Loren didn't approve of most of the young ladies and men who were Abagail's age. They had always been trying to get her into some sort of trouble that all young folks would get into. Loren preferred for his daughter to stay as sweet as she was so he wouldn't have to punish her. He hated punishing his only child, but when he noticed that she was dressing up in clothes that were meant to be sold, he knew he had to have a talk with her.
"Abagail, ya know I don't like ya dressin' up in the clothes I'm s'posed to be sellin'."
"I'm sorry, Papa," she said softly. "I just wanted to look nice today." Her eyes moved to look at Martin, and Loren felt his heart leap a bit.
"Oh!" On the other hand, he didn't mind if she was using it to impress someone other than Sully. Loren was quite pleased that his daughter was with Martin. "Well, thanks for bringin' her home, Martin."
"It wasn't a problem, Mr. Bray," Martin replied. "Um, sir?" Loren raised and eyebrow. "I was wonderin', well, if it'd be alright with you . . . and Abagail too, if I could start callin' on her." Loren was quite impressed! Though he wasn't fond of any of the young men at Abagail's school, he was thankful that she was turning her attention to the most respectable one. Martin was definitely much more responsible than the others, and he wasn't out of reach like Sully was. Martin Johnson had an obvious liking for Abagail, and Loren had recognized it from the time Abagail and Martin were youngsters.
"Well, you're right. I s'pose that'd be up to my Abby," Loren pointed out, "but I wouldn't see no reason to object." Martin turned to Abagail, and she smiled at the young man. Going courting with Martin Johnson wouldn't be so bad, so why not? Perhaps Sully would grow jealous if he saw her spending all of her time with this young man!
"What do ya say, Abagail?" She smiled and put her hand on his arm softly.
"I'd like that, Martin."
"Ya would?" His eyes shined happily.
"Yeah. I would."
After cleaning up the mess Jake had made and sending Hank on his way to get rid of all of Jake's whiskey bottles and other alcoholic products, Michaela went to the café to pay Grace for the broken dish. After doing so, she spotted Sully coming over with the children trailing behind. Brian, of course, was sleeping in his arms.
"Hey Dr. Mike!" Matthew called. Michaela smiled.
"Hello children! Sully," she said with a smile.
"Oh, Sully!" Grace called out. "Here's your basket."
"How much'll that be?" Sully asked. Grace briefly looked back and forth between Sully and Michaela, sensing something deeper than friendly feelings. She thought it was sweet, and figured it would be nice if they both had someone special in their lives.
"Don't worry 'bout it."
"But I gotta pay ya somethin'."
"Then we'll worry 'bout it later," she replied with a smile. "I believe I've got other customers." She hurried off, and Michaela glanced at Sully. The man shrugged.
"That was kind of Grace."
"She's a good lady," he said with a nod. "Hey, would ya mind holdin' Brian? This basket's heavy, and ya got such a good way with 'im." Of course he could have managed his son and a basket at the same time, but he honestly just loved to see Michaela with the baby in her arms. She looked so natural and happy with him.
"Sure," Michaela replied with delight in her voice. She took the sleeping infant into her arms and held him close. Matthew and Colleen nudged each other knowingly as they looked at their father and the lady doctor.
Once they were at the meadow, Sully placed the blanket down, and the children helped to flatten out the corners. Everybody settled down upon the blanket, and Colleen helped her father serve all of the plates. Fried chicken was obviously Grace's special of the day.
Brian woke to the smell of food, and he began to fuss. Sully was impressed when Michaela immediately took action and gave him a bite of her potatoes. He smiled as Brian enjoyed the taste. The boy decided that he wanted more, and he stuck his entire hand in the pile of potatoes on Michaela's plate.
"Brian!" Sully exclaimed. But, he stopped from moving to pick up the boy when Michaela began to laugh her beautiful and melodious laugh.
"Don't worry. We'll share," Michaela assured Sully. She glanced down at little Brian. "Won't we?" Brian grinned and ended up smearing potatoes all over himself as he tried to put them in his mouth. Colleen and Matthew giggled with amusement as they ate their own food and watched their baby brother enjoy his.
"Sorry 'bout that," Sully offered sheepishly. Michaela shook her head.
"It's fine. I don't mind a bit. Now when he's older and knows better, I'll probably mind." She chuckled, and Sully couldn't help but think about Michaela still being in his life when the children were older. Michaela looked into Sully's eyes, seeing that he was thinking about her words. She hadn't thought they'd been very meaningful, but obviously he had thought so! So, as Sully, Michaela, and the children continued to eat, everyone enjoyed themselves. If passers-by wouldn't have known better, they probably would have thought the group was nothing but another family enjoying the beautiful weather.
Something caught Wolf's attention as Sully and Michaela were passing slices of pie around to the children and one another. A moment later, the normally subdued Wolf pounced and frolicked after a big yellow butterfly. This event did not go unnoticed to the children, and they looked as if they were itching to jump up and follow after Wolf on his little adventure.
Meanwhile, Martin and Abagail were slowly walking toward the school house where Abagail had forgotten her bonnet. She was walking skillfully on the crutches when she looked over to see Sully and the children eating with the new doctor.
"And then my Pa said . . ." Martin continued from his conversation about a trip his family had taken to Wyoming once. Abagail was paying absolutely no attention, and he sensed it when he saw her eyes darting to a spot in the meadow. "Abagail? Ain't ya listenin' to me?"
"Hmm?" she asked, turning her attention back to the young man.
"Ya best pay attention to where you're goin' too. There are lots of snake holes 'round here that your crutches might get stuck in."
"Right. Go on. What were ya sayin'?" As Martin began to repeat the statement he was making before he noticed Abagail's interest in something else, Abagail couldn't help but watch the picnic that the "happy family" was having. This couldn't go on forever, could it? She had to find some way to stop this blossoming . . . whatever it was!
Back at the picnic site, Sully noticed his children weren't touching their dessert.
"Somethin' wrong, kids? I ain't never seen the two of ya not eat dessert."
"Sorry Pa," Matthew said, keeping his eye on the frolicking Wolf. Sully and Michaela grinned at one another knowingly.
"Go on and play. We ain't promisin' your pie will still be here when ya get back though," Sully warned with a chuckle. Matthew and Colleen got up and ran further into the meadow after their loyal Wolf. Sully and Michaela began to laugh as Brian's little hand dug into the helping of pecan pie in front of Michaela.
"Brian," Sully said with a sigh. "C'mere, son." He brought the boy into his lap and began to clean off his hands with a cloth handkerchief. Michaela smiled as she watched the father and son together. Brian held up a sticky finger with some of the pie still on it. "Oh, ya wanna share?" Sully bent down and pretended to bite Brian's finger, but he cleaned his son's little finger off instead. Brian let out a giggle of delight, and Michaela felt her heart warm at the sweet little sight. Michaela took a couple of bites of her favorite pie and swallowed them down with cider. By the time her pie and cider were gone, Brian was cleaned up and crawling about in the grass.
"Good pie? I ain't got the chance to try it yet," Sully admitted.
"Yes. Pecan's my favorite," Michaela said with a smile.
"No kiddin'?" Sully asked. "I figured it was."
"How did you figure that?"
"I dunno. I just figured it was." Michaela smiled as a goofy grin appeared on his face.
"What?"
"Nothin'." He was certainly in a happy mood this afternoon! They heard Colleen's shriek's of laughter off in the distance.
"Do you suppose the children are alright?"
"They're fine," Sully replied, glancing over his shoulder to check on his kids. When he looked back at Michaela, he noticed such a beautiful sparkle in her eyes.
"Sully, I've been meaning to talk to you about something."
"What about?"
"Last night when you . . . I mean, when we almost . . ." she began, but she couldn't find the words. Somehow they didn't really matter anymore, and she found herself lost in his deep blue eyes. His lips were so soft looking, and she wondered what it would feel like to have them pressed against hers.
"Dr. Mike?" he asked as she grew silent.
"I'm sorry," she said, catching her breath. She realized she hadn't been breathing while she was in thought. She felt her face grow a slight shade of red.
"Ya don't gotta apologize," he said softly. "Look, I know what almost happened, and it didn't happen. So, there's nothin' to talk about." Michaela was trying to think of a way to leave the conversation they were having, and as she made a quick movement to reach for Brian, she spilled cider on the blanket.
"Oh!" she exclaimed as both she and Sully reached for the glass at the same time. "I'm sorry!"
"Nah, it's alright," he replied with a chuckle, moving away from the puddle that was inching toward him. "I'm used to worse things spillin' on me. With three kids around, it ain't easy to keep clean." They both began to laugh again, and just as they both leaned in to sop up the mess with the cloth napkins, they looked up, catching each other's gaze.
Michaela felt herself drawn to the handsome mountain man, and as Sully let out a soft exhale, they both leaned forward for a kiss, but just as their lips were about to meet, Colleen and Matthew's laughter startled them, followed by Wolf jumping onto the picnic blanket. Michaela and Sully quickly separated as the dog gobbled up the rest of the pie, stared at them, let his tongue loll out for a moment, and ran off. Just as the children arrived they turned back around, grinning from ear to ear from their happy little game. They started off after Wolf again.
"C'mon Pa, Dr. Mike!" Matthew called. Sully scooped Brian up into his arms, held a hand out to Michaela to help her stand, and the three started after Matthew, Colleen, and Wolf, laughing along the way.
Abagail, who was standing in the door of the empty school house, had witnessed the entire scene, and Martin noticed the tears in her eyes.
"Abagail? What's wrong?" he wondered. She swallowed hard.
"Nothin'," she whispered as her dreams of acting like a proper Boston lady went flying away. No. That farce wouldn't be good enough. She was going to have to spend every moment of her spare time with Martin. She had to make Sully jealous, and she had to think of a way to break up this possible relationship before it had the chance to properly begin.
