Chapter four

It felt like the whole world dropped out from under his feet. There she was, standing right in front of him. The girl who had occupied his thoughts and dreams in the last three years. The girl he had wished to meet again vacation after vacation after vacation in the hope to get to know her more. He could not believe she was here. Was she for real or was she a vision his brain had concocted in the sheer desperation to finally find her?

Michaela stared into his blue eyes. Yes, it was him. Those eyes could belong to no one else. It was all so surreal. She could not believe that she was facing him after three years of trying to locate him. The leach was forgotten in her hand. She racked her brain, desperate to say something to him. Anything! But she felt so numb, her head would not cooperate.

"You speak English!" she finally got out, cringing. That was the very first thing that had popped into her mind?

"Well... yeah," Sully finally forced himself to say. "I AM English...!" He berated himself for being an idiot. "American, I mean..."

Two silly grins slowly crept up both their faces. They were at a loss for words and they just gazed at each other.

"Excuse me...?"

The elegant girl in the white bathing suit named Grace had walked up to them and, sensing that she was interrupting, warily adressed the boy in front of Michaela. "I'm sorry. But we have a situation here.. ... HB's stepped on a jellyfish... .. I don't know how he managed... I'm sure there's only this one by far and wide on this beach but HB's sure found it."

The young black-haired surf student who had silently watched their exchange up to now, chimed in. "Tell HB to.. ..." he leaned down to Grace and whispered something in her ear. Grace made a face.

"Eeeeeeeew!"

The moment was broken for Sully and Michaela. They both turned away from each other and walked into the direction of the others.

Grace had already delivered CD's message to HB whose toes had become an angry swollen red.

"Eeeeew! I'm not gonna pee on myself!" he cried.

Heading for med school after College, David and Will took over. "I think, it's best to take him home and have a little vinegar put on," Will advised. "This should help immediately. If it gets worse, maybe you have some anti-histamine or cortisone on your hands. But it doesn't look that bad to me."

"Will do!" Sully exclaimed. "And I think there's anti-histamine in the first-aid kit at home. Let's pack up guys. I'm afraid we have to leave."

Meanwhile, Michaela had emptied a bottle of water and fetched some salt-water from the ocean. She walked up to the lean boy and offered "Here, let me put some salt water on it. It will lessen the stings. I read that if you put sweet water on it, any remaning tentacles can burst and cause more pain. Can I try to rub them off? I promise, I'll be careful."

Immediately trusting the beautiful girl, HB nodded his consent and Michaela crouched down in front of him.

Everyone was impressed by the soft-spoken sensibility and sensitivity of the girl but no one more than Sully.

Tearing herself away from the spectacle and, if she was honest, the enchanting eyes of the young man who called himself Robert E, Grace took command. "Chop-chop you guys. It's gettin' late anyway. I don't wanna for Abby ta have to do all the cookin' by herself. We shall leave in a minute... ... Yeah, that goes for you too, Wills!"

Within a few moments, their items were packed up and loaded upon the bed of Sully's Ford pickup truck and Jake and Hank had helped HB and Grace onto the platform. Their cabin was just one mile down the road but as they had wanted to go surfing, they had taken the equipment on the truck. Handshakes and adieus were exchanged between the new friends, directions to their respective vacation homes were given and invitations were extended to meet up again on the next day. Not really knowing what she could add to the conversation and frankly, being still shaken from their encounter, Michaela shyly stood back with Charlotte and waived at the fellow Americans. Her eyes searched for "the Mexican boy" and found him, when he climbed up into the driver's seat. He had searched her eyes as well and when they gazed into each other's, a smile crept into both of their faces. It was a silent promise that they would see each other again and talk very soon.

As Sully was starting the engine, Hank pulled the passenger's door in the last second.

"Wait up for me!"

He squeezed in, making the tight space between CD and Daniel even tighter. "What's that for?" Daniel exclaimed but Hank ignored their protests.

As Sully pulled out of the driveway, Hank cut to the core. "That was her! Wasn't she?! That's the beautiful girl you droned on about all these years, right?... Man! If I had known she was THAT gorgeous I would've come along a long time ago ta help ya look for her."

"You're kiddin', right?!" Daniel interjected. "That was her?! .. ... The girl who helped HB?... .. Man!... .. I thought, I'd have a shot at her!"

"Hold on, young padawan!" CD joked. "Who's to say that Sully and the lady in question will get along?"

"Aaaw CD, have ya seen the way they drooled over each other?" Hank grinned.

"As a matter of fact, yes, I've seen how they gazed at each other. I was standing right next to them. It was like fourth of July fireworks," he smirked.

Sully turned slighty pink. He did not love being talked about like that. Besides, he had his own plethora of thoughts to deal with.

"I still don't even know her name," he wistfully added.

Hank helped him out. "Will called her Mike. Which I suppose, isn't her actual name. She sure didn't look like no Mike to me..."

He elbowed Daniel and they grinned like silly schoolboys.

When the truck had slowly driven out of earshot down the gravel road, Michaela roused from her stupor. "Shoot! I didn't even ask for his name! Again!"

Her suspicions proved, Charlotte laid her hand on Mike's arm. "That was him, wasn't it?!"

Michaela shrugged and looked down at her feet. With a happy smile, she glanced up and nodded gleefully.

With a shriek, Charlotte fell around Michaela's neck.

Will and Rob noticed and walked up. "What's that about?" Rob wanted to know.

"That was him!" Charlotte exclaimed.

"Who?" Will was confused.

"Him! Mike's Mexican boy... Turns out he wasn't Mexican after all."

"What?!" both boys exclaimed at once. "Which one?!"

"Surfer boy!... The instructor!"

"Phew, Mike. I can't believe it," Robert E said. "You finally found him after all these years. That's terrific!... ...Now you can see if he's as nice as you always imagined. And you don't even have to talk in another language!... ..I really hope he doesn't turn out a jerk." He good-naturedly slapped her on the shoulder.

Will smiled a little reservedly at her, but nonetheless took her hand, dragging her along. "Come on! Let's hit the waves.. ..."

Frolicking, their group of six ran up the beach and dived into the sparkling ocean.

After another wonderful meal prepared by Grace and Abby, Sully sat down at the wooden porch of the little cabin. Sipping his coffee and looking up at the full moon in a beautiful sky illuminated by the glow of the sunset above a dark-blue sea, he contemplated the last few hours. He still could not grasp that she was here! That he had met her again.

Secretly, he cursed HB for having stepped on that jellyfish. But yet he could not fault his friend. HB was prone to attracting freak accidents. Sully was glad that the one guy's advice had worked and HB's swelling had gone down. What he did not appreciate, however, was that his encounter with the lovely Mike had been cut much too short. When would he see her again? Sully was angry at himself that he had not thought of asking her if she would like to do so.

Behind him, the door of the cabin opened and closed. Not saying anything, his brother sat down on the steps beside him.

During their dinner Wills had noticed that Sully was even more tight-lipped than usual. On the other hand, he had a gleam in his eyes, Wills had never seen before in his older brother. He had wondered what was going on but quickly had the realization that it must have something to do with the pretty girl they had met at the beach. Never had he seen Sully take that much of an interest in a person of the opposite sex. Not in one of the girls who had thrown themselves at him in the last few years. Wills had already worried that his brother was some kind of a eunuch und was relieved that he now showed the sings of being really besotted. He had almost made a fool of himself staring at her like that. Wanting to get things going, Wills had a terrific idea.

"Hey, bro. Look, it's a full moon! Let's go full moon surfin', Sul. Just like last year."

Excited, Sully looked up. What a brilliant little genius his little brother was! Here he was, contemplating how he would go about seeing her again, when Wills had come up with the perfect excuse to at least be near her, maybe take a little peek at her house.

"Sure," he tried to be non-committal. "Just the two of us. I know just the right spot…. Ya know, the spot we discovered last summer? The small cove? It's got some beautiful curls this time of year."

"What are ya waitin' for? Let's go!"

Drinking up his coffee, Sully took his board and handed Wills his smaller one.

"Let's walk up there. It's only a mile."

"No David, you really needn't accompany me," Michaela laid a hand on his arm stopping him from coming with her.

"But Michaela! It's getting chilly and dark. I'd rather….."

She hated to see the disappointed look in his kind eyes.

"There's really no need. It's not dark yet and look…. there's a full moon. I know exactly where I'm going. I know all the places around here, remember?" She picked up her sweater hanging from the banister of the front porch steps. "Please, David, I need a walk after Charlotte's barbeque….. Alone."

David backed off. He did not want to smother her, having just met her a few weeks earlier.

"Just go back inside. Knowing Rob, I assume there's a poker game going on….. I'm alright… I won't be long."

Raising his hands up, David relented and let her go.

Michaela was glad to be on her own for a few minutes. In the whirlwind that was her afternoon she did not have one minute to sort out her thoughts about her encounter with 'her Mexican guy'.

Walking deliberately to the left, she knew where she was headed. There was a small cove she had always loved. It would be soothing to just sit there for a few minutes watching the waves in the light of the full moon.

Still it was not that late that she could not find her way down the rocks to the sandy beach in the twilight. Only when she set her foot down on the sand, she realized that her favorite spot had already been claimed by other people. Following the path from the towels and shirts lying in the sand with her eyes, her gaze fell upon two surfers in the ocean. What a beautiful sight.

She sat down and witnessed the smooth, lithe motions of the young men mastering the waves. She was in awe. This easily exceeded what she had learned in her years at the beach.

Michaela leaned back against a rock and let the calmness of the evening, the fading light and the waves soothe her.

When she opened her eyes again after a short while she realized that the surfers were finishing up and rode on their boards ever nearer to the shore. When one of them reached the beach and shook his wet hair, Michaela's jaw dropped. She should have known!

When Sully finally decided that he should call it a day after a wonderful, exciting ride he motioned for Wills to meet up with him at the beach. He took the last wave propelling him all the way to the shallow water. Bringing his board to the sand, he looked up and saw a figure sitting by the rocks. Only seeing a silhouette in the fading light, he walked up closer. He almost dropped his board.

"It's you!" they said simultaneously.

Michaela was the first to recover. Making a point of brushing the sand off her white skirt when she stood up, she reached out her hand to him.

"I'm Michaela….. Michaela Quinn," she breathed.

Was she really standing in front of him? Stunned, he reached out to shake her hand. When the first contact came about, tingles started to stream from her fingers to his, turning into a hot jolt of fire. When he looked into her eyes, he saw glimpses of his future in them. Startled, he let go.

As he was still recovering from the shock of having her here, in flesh, she began to talk in almost staccato pace. "I don't know if you remember me…. Well, I guess you do remember…. But I'm not sure… ... Well, a few years back you saved me from a falling tree branch….. Well, it was just a palm frond, but still….."

"I remember," he got out. Good, his vocal cords were still working!

"Anyway," Michaela rattled on. "I always wanted to say a proper thank you. I am sorry that I never got around to it. My Mom….. she's very strict….."

'God, stop it!" she thought. She knew that she was rambling as was her habit when she was very nervous. 'This guy doesn't want to know your whole family history.'

Fortunately, she was saved from the embarrassment of saying any more when the younger of the two came up to them and grinned an honest, cheeky smile at her.

"Look what you found at the beach, bro!" Wills whistled appreciatively. "Don't you wanna introduce us?"

Sully roused from his stupor. "I'm sorry… ...This is Michaela." He loved the sound of her name on his tongue.

Michaela loved to hear her name from his mouth. After a moment she realized that it was her turn to say something. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch yours…?"

Sully rolled his eyes over his own stupidity. Douche!

„Of course! My name's Sully. An this is my brother Wills."

Wills shook her hand, exclaiming cheekily. "William Sully, at your service."

She was confused. "So you're William Sully... and you are Sully Sully...? As for Sullivan Sully?"

Sully turned pink which he hoped she did not see in the gloomy light. "No, I just go by my last name. My first name's no good. I know, it's confusing for a little while with my folks being called Sully. But everybody knows that I'm the only one answering. 'Sides that's what my parents get for giving me that name."

Michaela watched them curiously.

"It's Byron!" Wills sold him out.

Sully glowered at his little brother. Michaela instantly liked him.

She suppressed a smile. "I kind of like it. It's cute." Now it was her turn to get red as she had given herself away.

Trying to cover it up, she smartly noted. "Your parents love the poets, huh?"

"Why are ya sayin' that?" Wills wanted to know, testing her.

"Well, I assumed it's because of Lord Byron and William Shakespeare, isn't it?"

Wills yelped. "She's a keeper, bro! Remember when Abby finally got the hint and thought we were named after some Lord of the Rings characters?"

"Who's Abby? Is she another friend of yours?" Michaela did not want to seem nosy but she asked out of interest to keep the conversation going.

"That's his wannabe-girlfriend. She's sooooo in loooove with him." Wills nudged his brother. This one elbowed him right back.

"Ya shouldn't be talking about her like that. She's a nice girl. We all like her..."

Michaela felt her heart beat in her chest.

"Just not like that," he whispered.

Michaela released the breath she did not know she had been holding. But she did not want him to notice. So she tried to change the subject. "It's a beautiful spot here. I always imagined that I was virtually the only one to know of its existence. I realize that must have been silly of me."

"Oh no!" Sully reassured her. "I'm sure that not many tourists come here. I, too, found it after years of vacationing here."

"For how long have you come here?"

"Let's see... Almost every summer since I was four... I'm seventeen now."

"Wow, that's odd... My family's spending their holidays for ages in this place. It's strange that we never met before."

"But we have," he reminded her. "As I recall, ya were lying under me the last time I saw you..."

Michaela looked mortified. Wills had a thousand questions for his brother.

Realizing that Sully had a great sense of humour, Michaela cracked up, returning. "Until my Mom came along."

Sully was awed. She was not only beautiful, sweet, helpful and kind. She was also funny.

"Lyin' under you?... Her Mom...?" Wills wanted some answers.

"Later," Sully promised.

But acknowleding the lateness of the hour and realizing that his little brother had begun to shiver from the crispness of the air, Sully ruefully tore himself apart from her. "It's gettin' late. I should get Wills home or our parents will have my hide if my thirteen-year-old brother gets pneumonia... Will I see you again, Michaela?"

Her heart leapt but she did not want to seem too eager, so she tried to tone it down. "Sure! Our friends already agreed to meet up again at the beach tomorrow."

Deciding that he would not try for more, Sully nodded. "Let's get ya home then."

Despite her protests that she did not need protection on her way back to the house, the Sullys brought her back to where the beach ended and the pathway began. Reassured that the lights were on and she was indeed safe, Sully took her hand in his in a final goodbye. Again, Michaela felt the shock of energy when their bodies touched. She waived Wills and Sully goodbye, broke into the silliest smile and went back to the house.

Michaela had not gotten a wink of sleep that night. Far too excited from their unexpected encounter to even think about resting, she had tossed and turned and thought about the mysterious stranger she now at least had a name and some details for. Although yesterday's night had been great, when she had retired to her bed her insecurities had come back. There were so many questions. How would their first real pre-arranged meeting go? Would she still be nervous, unable to talk to him? Would he still want to talk to her? Would he like what he saw when he got to know her better or would he find her lacking, too young, too immature? How do you start a conversation with someone, you thought you had a connection with but did not really know? Those thoughts and fears were spinning in her head until, frustrated, she put a pillow over her face and screamed into it.

When the first rays of sunlight filtered through the curtains of her open window into her cozy little bedroom and when the first birds began their morning concert, she finally gave up on a good night's rest. Sighing, she put her feet onto the comfortably cold wooden floor and combed her hair into a ponytail. Fishing for her short pants and a tank top, she put them on over her undies. After tying up the laces of her running shoes, she quietly left her room for an early jog on the beach.

As always, running had cleared her head. She loved the serenity at the beach this early in the day. She had deliberately turned to the right when she had reached the beach, walking for three miles or so before she headed back again. She did not want to risk the chance of meeting a potential morning runner from the other group of friends. She was not up to face anyone of them and maybe their preconceived notions of her as a damsel in distress. Not yet, when there was so much she did not know herself, about them, about Sully.

When she got back to the spot where the beach ended and a trampled pathway to their house began, she reached for the bottle of water and a towel she had deposited at the base of a palm tree. Taking a large gulp, she deeply exhaled. She leaned against the tree and began some stretching exercises in order to finish off her run. After pointing down at her toes, she spread out her arms and legs, stretching her upper body parts and limbs. That was when she spotted him through the bushes separating her spot and the beach.

He also seemed to be on a morning run, clad in dark running shorts and a t-shirt. Michaela's heart leapt with... .. she did not know.. ... joy... .. fear?... Definitely not with a good feeling when she realized that he was not alone but a girl was tagging along, occasionally bouncing her ponytail, trying to keep up with his pace.

The girl was slender and pretty from what Michaela could see. Her long dark-brown hair shone in the mild morning sunlight. When they came nearer, Michaela quickly hid behind the tree just in case they were to look up and catch her staring at them.

"Moron!" She silently berated herself for her cowardliness not to walk up to them and just say hello like any sane person would do.

Peeking from behind the tree she watched Sully throwing an impatient gaze into her general direction and she ducked in case he caught a glimpse through the thick shrubbery in front of her. When she dared to look again, they both had come to a stop on the middle of the beach. They were now facing each other involved in what seemed to be a very deep conversation. The girl laid a hand on Sully's arm and he nodded at her, smiling. Michaela's breath caught. How she wished, she was the recipient of that smile!

But she was not and that pricked her heart unexpectedly violently. Now, she remembered. This girl must be this Abby the brothers had spoken of. Obviously, there was much more going on than Sully had led her to believe. Or maybe than *she* had wanted to believe.

Sadly, she watched as Sully laughed at something the girl said, then he leaned down to her and briefly kissed the girl's cheek. The girl leapt with joy and flung her arms around his neck. Then she grinned up at him, playfully swatted his side and ran away from him, into the direction they had come from. Michaela saw him wistfully look into the direction of her hiding spot and then set off to run after the brown-haired girl.

When they were out of sight, Michaela touched her chest over her heart and sank to the ground. Why did it hurt that much?

He was just a boy, a guy she had only seen three times in her life. She had talked to him for about ten minutes. She did not know a thing about him other than he had been brave and kind enough to save her from injuries a long time ago. For all she knew, he could be a total jerk. A shallow, dumb, self-centered, womanizing boy.

But he had not seemed like it. Three times now, she had gazed deep into those blue eyes of his and all those times, she had seen so much more than bland superficiality.

Michaela sighed. It was no use. He seemed to have a girlfriend or at least a very close relationship to that girl. Michaela had a very strong set of principles for that. She was never, ever going to attempt to get between two people who were in a relationship. She had to respect that he had found someone else before she found him again. There was never to be more than a friendship between him and herself, Michaela vowed.

At least, she had been able to thank him for everything he had done for her back then.

Not being one of those people who liked having her friends see her sulk or unhappy, Michaela slowly stood up and brushed off her pants and legs before anyone came along. With less enthusiasm than she had had when she had left the house she went back in to rouse her friends and start breakfast.

After a great night's sleep and with a truly refreshed spirit, Sully jumped over the wooden porch's railing of the cabin into the white sand. It could still cool down during the nights and Sully felt the crisp morning air softly stream over his arms and legs. It felt invigorating! Yet, Sully did not need that kind of boost because he already found himself in the best mood he had been in in a long time.

'Michaela!' he silently mouthed the name again. Just like he had done a million times since last night.

Finally, after three years of looking out for her, coincidence had knocked on his door and he had finally found her again. Or was this the answer to his secret late night prayers more than it was a mere coincidence? Sully remembered an old saying he had read on one of his Mom's desk calendars: 'Coincidence is God's way of being anonymous'. He smiled at the thought. Not being an overly religious but more of a spiritual kind of guy, he made a mental note to discuss this with CD sometime.

Doing some stretching before his run, he could not wait to cut loose. 'To her!' his mind screamed. 'To Michaela!'

What he planned to do when he was at her house, he had no idea. Most probably, the house would still be sleeping when he got there. So he would maybe linger outside and take a look at the cozy building, reveling in the thought that he was close to her.

His first sure steps were to warm up. Then he fell into an easy, casual jog. Breathing in and out evenly, every step he took brought him closer to her.

"Sully!"

The first time he ignored it, telling himself that he misheard the sound of nature around him for a call.

"Sully! Wait up!"

Stunned, Sully stopped in his tracks. He knew the voice before he saw her. A tiny bit unnerved, he turned around.

"Abby."

'Please, this is not a good time,' he thought. 'You deserve better.'

But Abby had finally caught up with him. She was dressed in some walking pants, shirt and running shoes. Her hair was made up in a cute ponytail.

"Ya mind if I come along?" she hopefully asked.

"Sure!" Sully returned. What else was he to say?

He hoped that his friend was in for the run and not for the kind of talk they had had over and over again. Sully felt for Abby and he truly did not want to hurt her. She was one of his closest friends and he did not want to see her hurting and know that he was the reason for it. What was more, he did not want to have that talk again when he was actually yearning to get to another girl. Abby deserved his time and focus when she felt down.

Some time ago, Abby had confessed to him that she had developed deeper feelings towards him in the recent years. He had been totally caught off guard because he had not realized it heretofore. She had told him that she had never anticipated or wanted those feelings as they had practically grown up like some kind of relatives. But she had lamented that she could not seem to fight them and that she thought it better to tell him about them than to let him in the dark and wonder why she occasionally acted strangely around him. She also reassured him that she did not count on him returning her attraction. She sensed that he was involved with someone else.

Relieved, that she said nothing and was actually just running alongside him, he jogged on.

He was not sure what he should do or say. He felt that Abby should not be in the dark regarding his intentions toward the girl he had lost his heart to three years ago. Despite himself, Sully grinned. How silly that sounded. How could you loose your heart to someone you did not even know? But that was the way he had felt ever since their first short encounter at this beach. Meeting her yesterday evening and talking to her had just strenghtened that feeling.

After a mile of a companionable run, Sully heard Abby huffing and puffing alongside him. He tried to slow down his pace to accommodate her.

"Ya alright?" he asked her.

"Yeah.. ... sure... ...It's been awhile that I ran like this... I'll cope."

"Listen, we can take an easy walk. That's okay."

"Actually... ... do you mind if we took a small break?"

Sully slowed down considerably and Abby ran up to him, virtually bouncing.

"In fact, I wanted to talk to you."

"Yeah?" He wanted to concentrate on her but he could not help a small gaze to the group of palm trees behind which the pathway to Michaela's house began.

"Yes!" Abby went on. She seemed quite exhilarated. "I wanted to tell ya something important... ... Well, important for me at least..."

"I'm all ears."

"I wanted to tell you, Byron Sully, that you and I can finally breathe again. Around each other... .." She giggled. "I wanted to tell you that... ... those feelings I had for ya... .. they're finally gone! I'm truly over it! We can be true friends again!"

"Abby, what are ya sayin'?"

"I'm sayin' that I came to realize that my feelings would never lead to anthin'. I realized that you are one of my closest friends and that I still love ya... ... as a friend. But we are not compatible. We want different things in life at this point. I want to be a good social worker but I also want to make a nice home, have children when I'm still young. You want to travel the world, save the rain forest, pass a few adventures before ya settle down. Ya need a girl who's invested in that, too. I see that now... .. You and me, we are far better off as friends..."

"It's true!" she insisted on his incredulous look. "It's not that I realized this overnight. It was a long process, actually. And the more I thought about it, the more I saw my feelings towards you change... ... into the love you have for a best friend... .. a confidant. Sul, I wanna thank you for how you responded to me this whole time. Ya were so good to me... Never berating me or lettin' me down."

"Abby, you know I would never do that to you."

She laid a reassuring hand on his arm.

"Yes, I know. But I wanted to tell you that I think you're great. And that the girl who gets ya, will be a very lucky lady."

"Awww, Abby. Thanks." He smiled and leaned down to give her a little peck on the cheek. "I can say the same about the guy who gets you."

Giddily, she flung her arms around him. When she let go, he saw her face turn pink.

"What?... ... Are ya sayin' there already is...?!"

"No!" Abby exclaimed. "At least not yet.. ..."

Sully grinned at her.

"Oh well, if you must know... .." she smiled. "There's someone I like.. .. And I really think that we could build on a solid foundation.. .. if he knew... ... but he still has no clue..."

"Who?" Sully wanted to know. "Do I know him?"

For a second, Abby asked herself if she could tell him. But quickly she judged that there was no one more trustworthy than him. She leaned in close and whispered into his ear. "It's Hank."

Sully was more than surprised. "I'll be damned!"

Blushing, Abby moved a step back. Swatting his arm, she broke into a run back at their cabin. "Ya can't tell anyone!"

Sully shrugged his shoulders. That was some news! Ruefully, he looked back at the tree line. Vowing to come back later, he ran after his friend.

AN: You won't believe it but it's true. After years of waiting for adoption a little guy has joined my little family last week. I plan to tend to this baby as well, but honestly don't know if I can post every week.