Sully regretted the way that he had to leave Michaela after taking Cloud Dancing's call. All that he could think about was the concern he heard in his voice. He had mentioned that he saw what looked like some people lurking around his ranch. Sully pressed harder on the gas pedal, willing the SUV to move faster and faster. Why would there be people trespassing on his land? Who would try to harm Cloud Dancing and Snow Bird? The questions swirled in his mind as he drove down the narrow, country road that ended at his ranch.
As he drove onto the property, Sully noted that nothing appeared to be out of place. There were some wedding decorations, tables and chairs already in place out in the pasture a few hundred yards from the house. Cloud Dancing greeted him at his SUV.
"Sully, thank you for driving out here on such short notice," Cloud Dancing stated.
Sully noticed that it was out of character for him to be anxious or stressed. "What happened out here?"
"I have been seeing what I think are a couple of people lurking around the ranch. I am not able to determine who it is. They stay several steps ahead of me." He answered.
"Do you have an idea of who it may be?"
"No, I am not sure how they found the ranch since we are pretty secluded."
"Have you noticed anything missing or moved around?"
"I noticed the barn doors were open earlier today but nothing looked to be out of place."
"I want to go take another look inside there."
As they walked toward the pole barn, Sully scanned the ground for anything that would yield any clues. Cloud Dancing used the barn to store hay and horse tack. He noticed foot prints that appeared to stop at the first bale of hay off to the right. He looked behind the bale and found a set of car keys.
"Have you seen these keys before?" Sully asked, handing them to Cloud Dancing.
"No, I haven't, these don't belong to any of my equipment. They look like keys to a car."
"That is what I am thinking too," Sully responded.
"I think there may be a car somewhere close to here. But I didn't see a car on my way in," Sully offered.
"I believe we should wait to see if they come back here looking for the keys," Cloud Dancing stated.
"I think you may be right," Sully agreed.
"Let's go back to the house and get a cool drink."
They positioned the deck chairs so they could see the barn from a safe distance without being seen. The sun would be setting in a few minutes. They had no sooner settled into their chairs that Sully noticed movement in the tree line to the left side of the barn.
"Cloud Dancing, look over there!"
"I see it too. I wonder who it could be?"
They sat very still, hoping that who or whatever was over there would not see them. The sun was starting to move behind Pikes Peak, casting dark shadows around the ranch. Sully had to strain to see the two figures moving quickly from the tree line toward the direction to the barn.
"I see them," Sully whispered. "Let's go around the other side of the house to the opposite side of the barn. Hurry!"
Cloud Dancing and Sully jumped down from the deck and ran around the opposite side of the house toward the barn. The intruders did not see them. There was a small access door on the right side of the barn. It was painted so that it blended in perfectly with the rest of the wall. They slid in the door quickly and stood in the dark shadows.
They took their places just in time for the barn door to open. Sully could feel his heart pounding through his chest. Cloud Dancing touched his arm in silent communication to get ready to act. Sully flipped the light on in hopes of distracting the intruders.
As their eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness of the overhead lights, Sully could determine there were two males in the barn. He looked at Cloud Dancing and they both nodded their heads in agreement. They both leaped from the hay bale onto the two men.
Sully jumped on the back of one of the men and wrestled him to the ground. The man quickly rolled away from him and stood, with his hands balled into fists. Sully ducked to the right as the man's fist just barely missed his head. Sully had no choice but to throw a punch. It landed on the man's jaw but he shook it off and threw another punch, this time it connected with Sully's jaw.
Sully hit the ground hard. It knocked the air out of him. Cloud Dancing came running over to him to help him up. At that time, the intruder that Cloud Dancing had, took the opportunity to run out of the barn. The man that Sully was fighting with followed after him. Sully's jaw hurt terribly but he still managed to chase after them.
They ran across the yard in the intruder's direction and caught up with them just before they reached the tree line. Cloud Dancing was able to catch both men by their shirt and Sully followed up by knocking them to the ground.
Once the dust had settled, they were able to get a good look at who they were.
"Daniel? William?" Sully asked, shocked.
Both men sat up, wiping dust from their clothes. They were both dressed in their business attire.
"What is going on?" Cloud Dancing asked.
Both men looked at each other. They hadn't planned on getting caught so hadn't thought of an excuse.
"We heard you and Michaela were getting married in a couple of days so we wanted to come out here to see if we could help with anything," Daniel lied.
Sully was instantly suspicious of Daniel and William. He thought back to the time he met Daniel and the way he was treated by him. Both of them had given Michaela a hard time on different occasions. He didn't trust either of them.
"I don't believe either of you. Why would your car keys be in the barn and why didn't I see your car when I pulled up to the ranch?" Sully demanded.
"I don't like your tone of voice, Sully," Daniel replied.
"You are going to get more than my tone of voice if you don't come clean and tell us why you are trespassing." Sully stated.
"Okay, okay, don't get riled," William began. "We heard that your wedding was in a couple of days. We were going to prevent it from occurring."
"Why?" Sully asked.
"David was my best friend. I always had a crush on Michaela. And when David passed away, I thought I had a chance with her. I was in the middle of gaining her confidence when she moved out to Colorado Springs." Daniel replied.
"It sounds to me that you were on the losing end of that, Daniel, if she moved out here," Sully mentioned.
"What about you?" Cloud Dancing asked William as he crossed his arms and stared at hm.
"Daniel and I met at my hospital in Denver when he was on a job," William began. We discovered that we both knew her. I was still holding a grudge against Michaela from her leaving me to date David. I never got over that pain."
"We both had hurt feelings over our relationships with Michaela. We felt like we had to do something to prevent her happiness like she had done to us," Daniel admitted.
Sully couldn't believe what he was hearing. How could two people dislike his Michaela to the point of wanting to sabotage what should be the happiest day of her life. Off in the distance, he heard police sirens. While Sully was talking to them, Cloud Dancing had called the police in.
The police took William and Daniel to the police station for questioning. Sully felt secure in knowing that their wedding day would be perfect now. His hand started to throb and swell now that his adrenaline levels were dropping. He had made his mind up that he wasn't going to tell Michaela about this day.
"Thanks, Sully, for coming out to help me out. Who would have thought we'd see those two out here."
"I know, at least it's out in the open now and they won't be bothering us again. I will see you soon."
Sully turned his SUV around and drove back down the country road. The day's events were circling in his mind. He was thankful that Daniel and William had been discovered today and not on their wedding day.
Sully was pulling in Michaela's driveway and saw Rebecca and another woman getting out of a car. It was completely dark outside at this point. He decided that he would introduce himself, get Hannah then head home.
"Hello, Sully," Rebecca greeted.
"Hi, how are you both doing?" Sully answered.
"We are fine, I'd like you to meet our mother, Elizabeth Quinn."
"Hello, nice to meet you," he stated, extending out his hand.
"Hello, Sully, "Elizabeth replied, eyeing him. "It appears that you have had a tough day."
"I'm sorry?" he asked, not sure what she meant. Then it dawned on him, he was dusty and dirty from his tumble with Daniel and William. "Oh, my apologies, I had some things to take care of earlier today."
"I see," Elizabeth replied.
Rebecca could feel her mother's indignation building toward Sully. "Why don't we go inside so you can meet Katie?"
Sully could see that there were a lot of boxes in the car. "I will bring in the boxes," he offered.
"Thank you, Sully," Rebecca stated.
He could hear the excitement inside as he walked toward the house with the boxes. He put the boxes on the floor inside the front door. He looked up to see Hannah toddling toward him.
"Hi, sweet girl!" he cried, crouching down so she could walk toward him. Hannah babbled and her eyes lit up. He scooped her up in his arms as Michaela, Rebecca and Elizabeth watched him.
Michaela's heart swelled with love as she watched him with Hannah. She noted that her mother appeared to be impressed with the sight as well. This took some of the stress off her shoulders. She was mentally preparing for a tough couple of days with her.
Michaela noticed the boxes that Sully had brought in. "Mother, what is in all of these boxes?"
"Oh, I brought some things for the wedding," she answered.
"I told you that Sully and I have all of the decorations taken care of."
"Yes, you did mention that but I found these in the attic at home and thought that these would be a perfect addition," Elizabeth replied, opening the boxes.
The decorations looked very familiar to Michaela. "Mother, I think I've seen these before."
"Why of course you have. These are from your wedding with David."
Michaela looked at Sully nervously, hoping that he wouldn't get the wrong impression. "Mother! Why would you bring those things here? We are not going to use them in our wedding."
"Michaela, they really are pretty. If you want to use them, it's okay with me,' Sully mentioned.
"Thank you, Sully, but these are from another place and time. I don't think it's appropriate." Michaela stated.
"Okay, it's getting late, I should take Hannah home. I will see you tomorrow," he said, kissing her on the cheek.
The ladies continued talking about wedding preparations late into the night. Michaela was proud of herself for sticking to her and Sully's original wedding plans. She wanted this day to be very special for all four of them.
Michaela awoke to hear laughter coming from downstairs. She pulled her robe on and pulled her hair into a pony tail. As she descended the stairs, she found her mother and Katie snuggled on the couch, reading a book. She loved watching her mother bond with Katie. Elizabeth was always aloof and harsh with her growing up.
"Good morning, Mother," she stated.
"Good morning," Elizabeth replied.
"I see that you are Katie are getting along well."
"Oh yes, I am absolutely enthralled by her. I am glad that my health improved so that I was able to come out here just in time for your wedding."
"About the wedding, Mother," Michaela began, sitting down on the sofa next to Elizabeth. "I appreciate the great care you took in bringing some things from home from my wedding to David but Sully and I have already taken care of the things we want in our wedding."
"Michaela, the women in the Quinn family have always had a certain flare in their weddings. Yours should not be any different."
"Mother, Sully and I want to keep the ceremony simple and for it represent both of us not just my side. I wish you would honor our wishes."
"Honestly, Michaela, begging does not become you."
Michaela could feel her anger rising inside. Her heart was starting to race and she could feel her neck and back muscles start to tighten. She decided that she wasn't going to allow her mother's remarks to upset her.
"Mother, I don't appreciate the way you are talking to me."
Rebecca was coming down the stairs and heard Michaela talking. "Good morning, what's going on?"
"Rebecca, your sister will not listen to reason."
"Mother, it is her wedding, you should not expect her to want the same things as you," Rebecca replied.
Michaela instantly relaxed. Rebecca was always the voice of reason with their mother. She could see a change come over her mother's face.
"Thank you, Rebecca," Michaela offered.
"Michaela, if it is your wish to have a heathen wedding, then so be it," Elizabeth mentioned.
Michaela knew this was going to be the best apology she was going to get from her mother. So she accepted it and knew this subject was now closed.
"Michaela, if it's okay with you, I would like to take Mother and Katie out for a little shopping today," Rebecca asked, wanting to change the subject.
"Sure, and as a matter of fact, Sully and I have some last minute things to see to at Cloud Dancing's ranch."