Chapter 6
Michaela sat on the floor, huddled in the corner. Her stomach grumbled loudly, the feeling of hunger gnawed at her. The last time she had eaten had been at the picnic, over thirty hours before. It felt as if she had been gone for months even though she knew that it had just been the night before that she spent in Warren's homestead. Michaela's stomach moaned and she knew that it must be nearing dinnertime. Although there was no clock, she figured it had to be near 6:30, when her family would normally sit down and eat together. She wondered what Colleen had made for dinner or if they had gone to Grace's. She wondered if Brian had been sneaking candy all afternoon, even though she constantly told him that it would spoil his dinner. She wondered if they were all sitting around the table, enjoying their time together. As she thought of her family, she could not help but cry.
Michaela didn't know how she had gotten to the room that she was sitting in or where she was. The room had only one door and, although she pulled and kicked at it, it would not open. It didn't even look like a door and it was only by accident that she had found it. There was no doorknob but there was a key hole that Michaela had found because it was the only space that let in light. The rest of the room appeared to be sealed.
The room had no windows and little hope for escape. Michaela tried to remember anything she could about how she got there but all she could remember was falling asleep the night before in Warren's homestead and then waking up in the room. She wasn't sure if she had traveled or if she was perhaps still in the same house as she had fallen asleep in. Most of her fingernails were broken, making her believe that she had perhaps put up some kind of fight but she could not remember it, nor could she remember who she would have been fighting. The back of her head was bleeding slightly, and, although it left her with somewhat of a headache, she knew that it was nothing too serious.
When she first woke, she had spent near an hour just shouting and yelling. She called out Sully's name so many times that she had lost count. When he didn't answer, the fear crept over her that he had been hurt or killed. She could only pray that he was alive and well.
The door creaked open and Michaela jumped to her feet.
"Glad to see you're awake," Warren commented as he slipped inside the door. He closed it behind him. The first thing Michaela noticed was the large rifle in his hands.
"Please, what's going on?" She begged.
"Don't remember nothin'?"
Michaela shook her head. "Where am I? Where's Sully?"
"Ya won't need to worry 'bout your precious fiancé anymore."
Suddenly her knees became weak and panic filtered through her body. "Please…" she whispered.
"I didn't kill 'em, if that's what you're thinkin'." Michaela breathed a sigh of relief. "But I wouldn't 'xpect him to be comin' any time soon."
"Coming? Coming where? Where are we?"
"You really don't remember nothin'? Don't usually happen like that."
Michaela knew that she should be afraid of the man but she had to know what was happening to her and where she was. She had to find out what he meant when he said that she didn't have to worry about Sully.
"What doesn't usually happen like that?"
"I took ya home to Kansas City where ya belong," Warren explained. Michaela couldn't help but gasp.
"Belong? I don't belong here!"
"Ya do now." He paused. "Now that we're married."
"Married? We're not married!"
"Most women at least remember their weddin'. Musta given ya too much or maybe ya too frail. No matter, you'll toughen up real fast."
"Please…please, Warren, tell me what's going on," Michaela cried. Her mind was racing. She couldn't comprehend what was going on.
"It's Samuel, Michaela," she hated the sound of her name coming from his lips. "Samuel Warren. And you're my wife now. Got married by the mayor an' everythin'. Now ya can help me with the cattle and the farm and learnin' some manners like ya don't speak until spoken to and ya do what I tell ya."
"But I didn't marry you!"
He slapped her across the face. "That'll teach ya to speak back ta me!" He yelled. Michaela held her stinging cheek but did not back down from him. "Don't matter if ya agreed to marry me or not, we're married and that's all that matters. So you can forget about your fiancé and your children. Ya got a new life now. Ya got me to love."
"I could never love you!"
He raised his hand to hit her once more but he didn't.
"You better start learnin' fast or you're gonna be real sorry."
He stormed out of the room, locking the door behind him.
"Please!" She cried, pounding her fists against the hard wood. "Sully! Where's Sully? Please!"
She pounded until her hands were raw and blistering and then she collapsed.
"Colleen," Brian whispered, opening the door to his sister's room very slowly. He walked slowly into the room, his eyes adjusting to the darkness. He had a small candle in his hand that he was using to light his way.
Colleen rolled over on the bed, putting her back towards him, thinking that if she ignored him, he might go away.
"Colleen…" he whispered again.
"I'm sleepin', Brian," she mumbled.
Brian closed the door but kept walking towards the bed. "But I can't sleep. I'm worried."
Colleen sighed and rolled back over to face him. She sat up.
"What're ya worried about?"
"'Bout ma and Matthew and Sully."
"Brian, there ain't nothin' to worry about. Ma's just helpin' some folk."
"But why did Matthew an' Sully hafta stay?"
"Ya heard what Robert E said. Sully's helpin' ma and Matthew's helpin' with their cattle."
"But what if they got somethin' like the influenza an' ma and Sully an' Matthew catch it but no one knows what they got 'cause no one's out there helpin' 'em?"
"If it were the influenza, Dr. Mike would send from some medicine," Colleen assured him. He didn't look satisfied. "Everythin's gonna be fine, Brian. Ya know that Dr. Mike likes to help folk whenever she can. I'm sure they'll be back 'fore ya know it."
"Why do we hafta stay in the clinic?"
"'Cause ya know that Dr. Mike don't like us stayin' in the homestead alone. Besides, here in town, there's people lookin' out for us. Now go back to bed."
"I ain't gonna be able to sleep."
"You can at least try."
"I'd probably be able to sleep if I could stay in here with you." Somehow Colleen knew that, by the end of the night, she would be sharing her bed with her brother. She moved over and Brian climbed onto the bed and under the covers with her. "Thanks."
"Now will you sleep?"
"I'll try."
Colleen laid back down, placing her arm protectively over her brother. She knew that he tried to act grown up sometimes but that he was still a child and needed someone to assure him that everything was going to be alright. Colleen wished that someone was doing that for her at that moment. She was as worried about Dr. Mike, Sully, and Matthew as Brian was. She had spent the afternoon milling around the telegram office, hoping that Dr. Mike would at least send them a telegram to let them know what was going on. When nothing came, Colleen had started making sure that all of the medicines that Dr. Mike could possibly need were ready to go in case she needed them.
"Colleen…" Brian whispered.
"Yes Brian?"
"I can't wait for ma and Sully ta get married."
"Me either, Brian."
"Think we'll have a little brother or sister?"
"Maybe," Colleen answered. She had thought about the possibility so many times since Sully and Dr. Mike had announced their engagement. She couldn't help but wonder if she would finally have another sister to care for or maybe another little brother to put her arm around when he felt scared.
"Colleen…"
"Yes Brian?"
"What if Sully's first wife Abigail was still alive?"
"What do ya mean?"
"I mean, Sully'd still be married to her, right?"
"Sure, I guess so."
"And they'd have their own family with their baby Hannah and maybe some other babies. And Mr. Bray would probably like Sully a whole lot more. Dr. Mike and Sully probably wouldn't even know each other too well cause Sully'd be livin' in the homestead with Abigail and ma wouldn't have nowhere to live."
"I'm sure she could have found somewhere else to live, Brian."
"But ma probably wouldn't be able to help the Cheyenne 'cause Sully wouldn't be 'round to help her. He wasn't friendly with the Cheyenne 'til after Abigail died. And, without Sully's help maybe ma woulda been run outta town and…"
"Brian!" Colleen yelled, knowing that if she didn't stop him, he could have gone on forever. "Ya can never know how thing would be different if things hadn't happened that did happen."
"Ya think Sully loves ma more than Abigail?"
Colleen sighed, unsure of how to answer her brother. "I think Sully loved Abigail and that he loves Dr. Mike but he loved 'em in…in different ways. If Abigail were still alive, he wouldn't have gotten the chance to love Dr. Mike but that don't mean that he wished Abigail died."
"I don't get it."
"Think about it, Brian. If our real ma hadn't died, we wouldn't be livin' with Dr. Mike. Dr. Mike wouldn't even have this clinic. I loved our real ma but I also love Dr. Mike but it don't mean that I wished our real ma had died."
Brian thought about what his sister had told him. "I don't wish our real ma had died, neither," Brian finally said, "but I do love livin' with Dr. Mike."
"Ya see, ya can't live in the past. Ya just gotta live with what's right in front of ya or else you'll run yourself in circles tryin' to figure out which life you'd like more. You understand?"
"I think so."
"Good. Now go to sleep!" She leaned over and began tickling Brian, knowing that it was going to be a long, sleepless night.