Chapter 19
It was late morning when Michaela and Sully pulled their horses into a halt in front of the clinic. Since Sully was riding bareback, he easily slid down from his horse and was at Michaela's side in time to help her down as well. As soon as she stood on the ground next to him, he took her hand and lifted it to place a tender kiss on her knuckles. Peering into her eyes he said with sincerity to make her feel the truth in his words, "I love ya."
Michaela shyly smiled back at him, but before she could respond, they heard Hank's deep, slurred voice from across the street. "I could spare ya the trek up the mountain, Sully. Your new flame is so enthusiastic about ya, I'm sure one of my rooms would do it as well." The barkeeper was pleased that he instantly had the couple's attention. He smirked when he noticed that Michaela tried to take her hand out of Sully's but he grasped it only tighter as he incredulously asked, "Ya two had a talk?"
Hank nodded slowly and after a long draw from his cigar he replied, "Yeah, the lady was kind of bored the other day and she couldn't help but notice an interesting character like me." His smirk broadened. "Seems to me that the teacher has no idea how to entertain her, but ya obviously took care of that."
Michaela had known that it would be only a question of time until the gossip would spread, but since she knew that Sully didn't care about what other people said, she hadn't broached that subject.
Sensing Michaela's embarrassment, Sully thought it would be the best to take her out of Hank's earshot; he would have a word with the barkeeper later. Hank, however, wasn't done yet. "Must be a pretty fine reason to take her up there when ya even risk missing your girl's birthday."
Astonished, Michaela looked up to watch Hank's face. She knew how much he enjoyed provoking her, but his last statement showed a part of him that was extremely rarely seen. For a split second, their gazes met and she recognized his concern for her daughter. As much as she appreciated that, she knew at the same instant that Hank had shattered her tiny hope that Sully would have second thoughts about the trip, and the barkeeper knew that as well. The mountain man's pride would never allow him to rethink his plan, not after the whole town had made it clear he should do so.
Sully was furious, with barely hidden anger in his voice he told the saloon owner, "That's none of your business."
The other man knew though that he had hit his target, so he just lifted his hand, bowed his head slightly and let himself fall against the back of his chair.
Once the couple was inside the clinic, Michaela made sure she was behind her desk before Sully had even closed the door. She was already sitting in her chair and looking down at her clasped hands on top of the desk as he moved to stand at her side, tentatively laying his hand on her shoulder. "Michaela…"
She wasn't able to look at him and Sully hastily contemplated what to do. It would be his priority during the climbing to return in time for his daughter's party and for that he decided to slightly change the timetable. "Michaela, I'll be back on Monday, in fact it might be even Sunday."
With that he made her look up at him. "How can you…"
He cut her off. "We'll leave tomorrow morning, a day earlier than planned. I'll go and inform Amanda now, then I have to ride out to the reservation and tell Cloud Dancing and after that I'll take care of the animals and the barn so I can see you for supper, alright?"
With a nod, Michaela looked down on her hands again and asked, "I thought she had to be on top…"
Sully didn't let her finish. "She don't have a choice, we'll do it my way or not at all. I have to think of Hannah."
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At the schoolhouse, Amanda was still sulking. Not only that Sully had turned her down this morning but Chris hadn't supported her when she had complained about Sully's lack of enthusiasm to practice with her. To make matters worse, he had barely a word spoken since then and Amanda jumped when she suddenly heard his voice.
Chris had finished sorting the books that had arrived yesterday and was now watching his fiancée as she sat on one of the pupils' desks and stared out of the window. "I had hoped you would be as happy as I was that we could finally be together. I was looking forward to spend every minute I could with you but at the moment it seems to me that all you are interested in is climbing the mountain and Sully, and I sure know what it means when your interest is focused."
Startled, Amanda quickly turned her head towards him and as she recognized that this wasn't just a soft remark reminding her that her behavior might not be appropriate, she hastily slipped down from the table and stepped towards him. Taking his hands into hers, she craned her neck to look into his eyes when she assured him, "It's not what you think, Chris, really."
This time though, he didn't just give in and embraced her as he usually did. Seeing the hurt in his eyes, Amanda knew she had to explain herself. "Chris, you know that I've been looking forward to climbing this mountain as soon as I came down from the last one, and being here, knowing the climb will start so soon, just makes me stop thinking about anything else. I'm sorry I made you feel left out, I apologize."
Purposefully she hadn't mentioned Sully's name yet, hoping he would let go of that issue, but of course he didn't. "That part I do understand, since I experienced it together with you last year; I know how you feel up on a peak."
He waited to see if she would talk about Sully of her own accord and decided to give her some time. He remembered vividly that she had acted almost the same way after he had helped her out of the trouble in that store. Before he really knew it, she had pried all sorts of information out of him, starting with his name and ending with his address. She had insisted on thanking him for what he had done for her and she had invited him to her home instantly. There he had been astonished by the family he met. The Miller's had a farm out of town and since all six sons and the father worked there, it was impressive in size and state. Although the three older brothers were already married and lived with their wives at the ranch, it had looked as if Amanda ran the household all by herself; she even took care of the bookkeeping. After his first visit, Amanda had made sure that they stayed in contact, sometimes she just came to his home to say hello or she brought a cake she had baked herself, she even occasionally accompanied him on school outings, and without noticing how it had happened, he had come to appreciate her steady presence and then even felt that he had fallen in love. Now, he couldn't imagine his life without her. Watching her around Sully had made him waver in his trust though. If he had known how Amanda would act, he would have never agreed to take Sully's offer; not just because he was worried about his engagement but everyone with eyes could see that Sully and Dr. Mike loved each other. He could also tell that they were still in the beginning of their relationship and that they obviously had problems. He didn't want to cause them added ones.
Amanda was still silent; Chris, however, knew they had to talk and so he asked her bluntly, "What do you want from Sully?"
Amanda decided she had to be honest since she didn't want to lose her fiancé, not for anything in the world. She had fallen in love with his handsome features and caring nature almost instantly and she had done everything to convince him that she was the woman he wanted. Actually, she looked forward to being a teacher's wife, helping him out wherever she could; and since she knew that money wasn't an issue when it came to the school, she even had some ideas she wanted to tell him. But knowing that she would climb a mountain within the next few days and learning about her guide, had made her losing sight of her fiancé's needs. And this mountain man sure had something…
Taking a deep breath, she admitted at last, "He is such an interesting character and I want him to be my friend."
Hearing that, Chris sighed and eventually took her in his arms. "You can't people force to be your friend, honey, even less so if you don't care about their feelings."
Feeling safe again, Amanda murmured against his chest, "Oh come on Chris, you can't be serious if you think that this woman is any good for him."
Chris had only time to shake his head, but before he could reply a knock at the door startled the couple out of the embrace. Stepping into the room, Sully said, "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt, but the plan has changed, we'll leave tomorrow morning."
It was as if the previous talk with Chris had instantly left her mind. Amanda rushed towards Sully and throwing her arms around his neck she exclaimed, "That's so great, an extra day…"
Sully instantly removed her hands from around him, "I'd thank you to keep your distance from me and we ain't going earlier to have more time. I only wanna make sure we'll be back early, maybe even on Sunday morning, so I won't miss my daughter's birthday."
Amanda pouted, "Oh, come on, Sully! She is only two, she doesn't even know which day of the week we have…"
Growing angry, Sully cut her off, "But I do."
Chris still stood at the same spot where his fiancée had left him; he watched the scene in front of him and frowned. If he had known how things would turn out... He wished, Amanda would stop being selfish and sensing the mountain man's uneasiness he said, "Mandy, you should be thankful that Sully is taking you up the mountain at all…"
It looked as if Amanda wanted to stomp her feet as she turned back to him and stubbornly insisted, "I've already told Sully that it's important to me to be on the peak on Sunday night! Why can't you both just accept that?"
Sully had enough. "And I've already told ya, but you never seem to listen when it don't suit to ya: I'm taking ya up that mountain because your fiancé saved my daughter's life, so I'm doing him a favor, not you. And I'm sure that Chris don't want me to miss Hannah's birthday, am I right?"
Questioningly, he directed his gaze at the teacher who immediately responded, "Absolutely, Sully." And turning to his fiancée Chris added, "Actually, I think we should cancel the whole expedition." Knowing what Mandy wanted to say, he cut her off, "But that's up to Sully, of course."
Sully didn't like this turn of events, he didn't want it to be his decision to do the expedition with that woman. If Michaela knew he had had a choice she would sure come to the wrong conclusion and he didn't want to add more fuel into the already burning fire that might separate them for good. Since he was sure, Amanda would tell her that it had depended on him if they went or not, he attempted to make it clear, "I'm sorry but it's not in my hands anymore; I've never gone back on my word and I won't start doing it now."
Chris regarded the other man thoughtfully; he could tell that there was something else but he decided to let it go.
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At noon, Sully arrived at the reservation. After Michaela had told him that it was difficult for Hannah to see why he had to leave for hunting, an idea had occurred to him and he wanted to ask his brother for his help.
Cloud Dancing was astonished when he saw his friend. "Haho, Sully. I did not expect you to be here before tomorrow."
Sully nodded. "That was the plan but I'm here to tell you that I changed it. I wanna make sure that I'm back in time for Hannah's birthday."
The medicine man regarded his brother carefully and then concluded, "You have trouble with Dr. Mike."
Sully looked down and shuffled his feet uncomfortably. "Yeah, and with my daughter, too." Looking up at the Indian again he added, "Michaela says that Hannah can't understand why I'm away so often, she thinks I don't love her." The memory that his daughter had asked a stranger to be her pa still weighed heavily on his heart. His voice cracked slightly when he continued, "I need your help, Cloud Dancing. I thought Hannah could be here when we leave the next time and maybe stay until we return. So she can see how important the hunt is for you."
The medicine man approved, "That is a good idea, my friend. Will you bring Dr. Mike, too?"
Sully averted his eyes again. "I'll ask her…"
The Indian smiled. "She is angry with you?"
"Yeah, but after this trip, I'll make sure that I'm around her as often as I can. I have to show her that I'm serious about her…"
The expression on the medicine man's face turned into a grin. "Being close is a good idea, my friend." With a light tap on his brother's back he added, "Women, huh? But this one is worth the effort."
From a distance, Flying Sun had strained her ears to understand what the men were talking about. She had discerned the words "trouble", "Dr. Mike" and "need to be close" and concluded that there might be a chance for her and Sully again.
It wouldn't take much more than a week when she would take it.
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On Thursday morning, Sully said goodbye to his daughter in the yard of the homestead. He had brought Colleen out there early in the morning to watch Hannah because Michaela and Chris would accompany the two mountaineers to the base of the peak and then take their horses back into town after they had started the climbing.
Hannah stood next to Michaela, her little body pressed against her mother's leg. She clutched her bunny against her chest and looked wide-eyed up at her pa. Sully's heart ached seeing his little girl so apprehensive about his leaving. He crouched down next to her and stroked her blond locks. "I'm sorry, sweet girl, but I've made a promise and I gotta keep that. But I promise you I'll be back…"
A soft but firm, "Sully…" from Michaela stopped him from saying the wrong words and so he hastily searched for new ones until he at last finished, "As soon as I can, alright?"
Hannah didn't budge, she knew that her pa had to leave but she still didn't like it. The only thing that brightened her mood was that Uncle Chris would stay; he had already told her that he looked forward to reading her a new book. The little girl only moved when she suddenly felt her father's faithful companion at her side. Still with the bunny clasped firmly in one hand, she bent down to hug the wolf.
Sully wished it would be his embrace but it looked as if he had to wait until his return to mend his relationship with his daughter. However, seeing her with Wolf gave him an idea and when he finally had his daughter's attention he suggested, "How about you watch him for me while I'm away? Climbing might be a little too difficult for him."
He raised his eyebrows expectantly to gauge his daughter's reaction and his heart swelled with joy when he received the first smile in days from her. The little girl didn't dare to believe it yet and so she asked in a small voice, "Wof stay?" but when her pa nodded, she let go of her reserve and threw her little arms around Sully's neck. "Thank, pa!"
Sully's voice cracked with emotion when he replied, "You're welcome, sweet girl, but you know, you have to watch him closely." Feeling his daughter's eager nod against his neck, Sully closed his eyes and reveled in the moment.
Chris, Michaela and Colleen were moved as well while watching the scene; only Amanda didn't like that the wolf wouldn't be with them. She had hoped to show Sully how good she could handle the animal and this way to gain his attention. She had decided to be the perfect girl on the trip just as she had been the day when they had practiced together. This way, she was sure that after the trip, Sully just had to be interested in her.
Almost an hour later, they reached the place where the climbing would start. After they all had dismounted their horses, the two couples went away from each other a short distance to say their goodbyes in private.
Amanda and Chris stood in a tight embrace. The young woman's excitement knew no bounds; she murmured against her fiancé's chest, "Oh Chris, this is so great! Thank you for making it possible and after I'm back, we'll start our life together, alright?"
Chris couldn't help but wonder if she really was serious about that, but he nodded nevertheless, "We will, honey, we will."
Michaela had gone back to her horse and nervously fidgeted with the reins in her hand. Sully stood in front of her and wished he knew what to say. Finally he managed out, "I'll see you soon, Michaela." After receiving only a nod in reply, he added, "Take good care of everybody."
Surprised, Michaela looked at him; why did he say that? He knew that she would, so she just answered, "I will."
Sully took the opportunity to peer into her eyes. Instantly recognizing the hurt and sadness and fear, he closed the distance between them and pulled her into his arms. Feeling her tension, he held her even closer and whispered, "I love ya."
He couldn't see if these words had any effect because Amanda was calling for him, "Come on, Sully, let's get started!"
Sighing, he pressed a kiss on top of Michaela's head and let go of her. While the two climbers took their things from the horses, Chris and Michaela stepped towards each other and watched silently. Both couldn't deny the uneasy feelings that were rising inside of them and when Amanda and Sully were ready to leave them, neither reacted to the climbers' final wave as they started their way up the mountain.
Sully, however, turned back to see Michaela once again and caught the concerned glance that the teacher and Michaela shared. He instantly let go all the things he was carrying and didn't react to Amanda's unnerved, "Sully, what are you doing?" but rushed towards the woman who held his heart. Pulling her aside some feet, he first hugged her tightly and then bent back to look at her, "It's only you, Michaela, never forget that."
Seeing tears appear in her eyes, he didn't care that there were people watching them, he gave in to the urge to kiss her and covered her mouth with his.
Feeling his soft, warm lips on hers, Michaela almost lost her composure. Sensing this, Sully lifted his head again but only to shower her face with feather-light kisses until he tightened the embrace again and whispered into her ear, "Only you."