Chapter 8

It had been a hard week and Michaela knew she wouldn't have been able to manage it without Mrs. Bray's help. The older woman had insisted on looking after the girls when school was out but Michaela still had to work. The children warmed to Hannah's grandmother more and more and Michaela couldn't help but feel a bit of both, jealousy and guilt. Anyway, she couldn't change the facts; all she could do was use her free time with the children as effectively as possible. Chores were only done when Hannah and Katie either were at school or slept which of course cut into her own sleeping time. Adding to the normal daily stress was that she couldn't talk to Sully let alone get his help with anything. Only now did she notice how close she had grown to this man; she missed his smile, his never wavering trust in her.

The only one who didn't feel his absence as much was Katie. For her, things had still improved. She was used to her mother being at the hospital a lot, but now she had even gained a sister. Although she loved the idea of having a daddy, their real life together hadn't started yet.

However, the situation was really hard for Hannah. Although she bravely tried to not show it, Michaela knew. Fortunately, Sully had sent a letter to his daughter, suggesting that the dream catcher and the story about it could help her sleep better. Of course Michaela hadn't hesitated to get the item from Sully's apartment as soon as possible. From that evening on, it had always been only one bedtime story the little girl wanted to hear. On the third night, Katie had begun to complain but a look from her mother silenced her immediately. Afterwards, Michaela had taken her daughter aside, trying to make her understand. "Sweetheart, can you imagine how you would feel if I had to leave you for a while? All you knew would be that I'm somewhere in the woods, climbing mountains. Even if you wanted, you couldn't talk to me…"

While she spoke, Katie's eyes had grown wide. Seeing fear creeping into them, Michaela caught herself. "What I wanted to say is, this story helps Hannah to feel her father close and that's why…"

Her daughter's arms flew around her neck, squeezing her tightly and muffled her next words. From this evening on, Katie listened patiently, although she already knew the little story by heart.

This weekend, however, would give neither of them much time to dwell on Sully's absence because both days were full of events. Saturday would be mostly spent at the God's Park and tomorrow they all were invited to Mr. and Mrs. Bray.

As Michaela turned into the parking lot at the entrance of the park shortly before noon, she spotted the two men waiting for her and her daughters. The taller one was leaning against the railings, arms crossed before his chest, watching his partner pacing before him. Again, she wondered about the true motive which had led to the suggestion to spend the day together here. It hadn't taken her long as to grow suspicious after the men left on Tuesday morning. Her mind had started to work; there must be something more serious than curiosity and the wish to get to know her.

Hank raised an eyebrow acknowledging when he saw the doctor get out of the BMW; she sure knew how to make life comfortable. Hopefully he could make her trust him enough so she would help him and Jake out of their dilemma. As she closed the distance between them, one girl on each hand, he straightened and put a smile on his face which wasn't hard to do though, seeing the three of them.

"Mornin'," he greeted, a twinkle in his eyes, "Ya ready for some fun?" The last words were directed at the little girls that responded with eager nodding yet still clutched their mother's hand.

They both had brought the backpacks from their first visit with five dollars for each of them again. This place held only good memories for Katie and Hannah and thus they liked the prospect of spending time here. Some added fun they saw as an extra gift and couldn't wait to finally enter the park.

They didn't have to pay at the ticket window. Mr. Lawson and Mr. Slicker were allowed to go in free because of their last job they did here and could even bring guests for the rest of the month. When Michaela felt uncomfortable about this, it became even worse at lunch. They had a nice time until then, seeing the Red Rocks again. Hank showed the little girls even more funny formations than they'd already seen and so he was the children's hero. Mr. Slicker was quiet most of the time, only casting furtive glances in Michaela's direction now and then. His eyes held a dull expression though and she was wondering whether he was fighting the remnants of a hangover.

However, when they all were seated at the table on the terrace of the restaurant for lunch, Jake tried his best to make a good impression. All went well till Hank insisted on paying for everyone. Michaela instantly protested, "Hank, I don't feel right about this. I'd rather…"

"Ya worry too much," he cut her off, "It's not me payin' but our company. It goes to the expense account, helps us to reduce our taxes."

Although Michaela was puzzled about the look both men exchanged, she consented in the end, still feeling uncomfortable though.

When she came back with her daughters from the bathroom a bit later, Jake announced that he would stay behind and not accompany them to the horses. Already suspicious, Michaela would have left immediately, but she couldn't do that to Hannah and Katie. Noticing that Hank carried a briefcase now, she knew that she didn't have to wait long until she knew what was really going on here.

On their way to the stables, however, the little girls distracted her. Katie hopped rather than walked and Hannah, contrary to the last time they were here, followed her suit. Since they constantly changed their pace, Michaela had her hands full with observing them, always fearing that one of them could fall. As soon as they reached the area with the horses, the children ran to the fence as to watch the animals.

Alone with the doctor for a moment, Hank took the opportunity to ask her, "Can I talk ta ya when the kids are ridin'? Robert E. said he'd have an eye on them."

They simultaneously halted in their tracks and turned as to face each other. Michaela had to bend her neck in order to look up at the man's face. For the first time, she saw a complete serious expression there and thus she nodded slowly. "Of course. But there was no need for an invitation to the park; you could have talked to me when you first visited me at my apartment."

Her words brought the mock smile back in his eyes. "But this way it's more fun," he said winking at her. Seeing how instantly her temper rose, he quickly added, "Well, we wanted ya ta see the things we built here."

These words calmed her somewhat and she refrained from replying because now her daughters joined them, begging to hurry so Katie could finally ride.

As they rounded the corner, the front of the new building lay before them and Michaela acknowledged without hesitation, "That's beautiful, Hank!" which brought a pleased grin to his face.

The house was made out of natural stone, combined with dark wood beams. The material that filled the interstices between the stones was painted white and made everything look like a picture rather than something real. The little girls didn't have eyes for the beauty of the building though; all they were interested in was the African American who emerged in the entrance, looking in their direction.

The adults did the children the favor and stopped talking for now but hurried to close the distance between them and the groom.

"I remember ya two and your mommy," Robert E. said, offering his hand to Katie and Hannah, pleased to see the excited sparkle in their eyes. "I heard ya wanna ride a bit…"

While her sister eagerly nodded, Hannah corrected with her eyes still shining, "Katie will ride, I wanna watch her."

"Uh," Robert E. responded, smiling. "Right, I remember that, too. But I have a surprise for you. Wanna see it?"

Glancing at Katie in order to see if she would mind, the little girl hesitated. Yet Michaela's daughter had learned the lesson about staying back sometimes and only wondered, looking up at the nice man, "Can… may I come, too?"

"'Course," Robert E. nodded, "If your mommy don't mind."

"It's alright," Michaela assured, "Mr. Lawson and I have something to talk about anyway. We'll wait here for you."

After being rewarded with a hug from each daughter, she watched them walking towards the stables. The smile vanished from her face when she turned as to look at Hank, her expression making clear that she expected an explanation.

And she got it. Sitting on a bench next to each other, the briefcase between them, Hank shifted on his seat as to face the doctor. "Our company is in trouble. Last month we got a letter from the internal revenue service, presenting our tax assessment. We have to pay more than expected and a revenue officer showed up on Monday as ta tell us we gotta do it now. But we're hard up for money at the moment." He paused for a second, trying to gauge her reaction. Her expression was unreadable yet she listened attentively. Thus he continued, "The problem is, that we need to buy more supplies for your building site but we got an agreement with Sully that he only pays after he got the money for his book. Wouldn't have been a problem without the tax, but now it is and Sully's not even here so we…"

"I understand." To his surprise, Michaela interrupted him sparing him to ask the question, "How much do you need?"

As if new life awoke in him, Hank opened the briefcase taking some sheets out. "It would help if ya pay the bills for the things we already bought. Here we have the…"

"Hank," Michaela laid her hand on his forearm as to still his nervous movements, "As I said, I understand. You trusted Sully that he would pay later because he is your friend. But friendship always goes both ways; now you need the money and so you will get it. After all, this will be my house, too." This thought brought a wide smile on her face and she added, "So it's only fair that I contribute to it as well. How much?"

She was barely done signing the check when the children appeared again, shouting from the distance already, "Mommy, Mommy! Guess what?"

Hank, relieved from his problem, was back to his old self, smirking at the doctor, "They always have such great timing? Makes some things easier."

Michaela instantly blushed but fortunately the little girls had already reached them, tugging at her hands as to get her up from the bench. Interrupting each other, they reported, "A baby pony…"

"… his fur looks golden…"

"… really soft…"

"… when it's grown…"

"… we can ride it!"

Michaela halted in her tracks abruptly, "We can?" she wondered, looking at Hannah.

"Uhuh," the little girl affirmed nodding exuberantly, making her dark locks jump, "Mr. Robert says, I can see how it grows up and we will get to know each other and no one has to be afraid."

Michaela crouched down as to be on eye level with her daughter, "I think that's an excellent plan. And I have a suggestion for today: how about we both ride a horse together? Would you like that?"

Putting her forefinger against her lower lip, Hannah contemplated what to do. Her Mommy would be with her, which meant there was nothing to fear. And she could tell her Daddy that she had really been riding! The last thought did it and with her eyes lighting up she agreed, replying in her father's dialect, "Yeah, I would."

……………………………………………………….

More than thousand miles away in the mountains of the Osage Reservation, away from any civilization, Sully sat cross-legged by a fire. His hands were wrapped around a coffee mug, trying to catch some warmth from the hot drink. Cloud Dancing sat across from him, not disturbing the silence that had fallen between them. The Cheyenne knew that his white friend had a lot to think about and thus he closed his eyes, withdrawing into himself.

The lectures he had learned over the last days made Sully rethink his rhythm of traveling. Initially, he had wanted to stay in Oklahoma for around two weeks and then go home for a week or so and then do the same – two weeks here, one week at home until his research was done. Yet now he doubted that this was a good idea; this way he would have to travel a lot which would get expensive. His financial situation wasn't the best without working at the café to earn some regular money at the moment. Maybe he should stay here a month, maybe this way he could work more effectively. Yet on the other hand he didn't only feel bad about leaving Michaela and the kids alone for so long, the truth was that he wasn't sure if he was able to endure the separation for another three weeks...