CHAPTER ONE

Two weeks went by. Everyone in town was talking about the annual Halloween party and dance – the usual – who's going with who and who's wearing what, making bets on who would win the prize for best costume.

Sully had been exceedingly distracted by his conversation with Cloud Dancing and he found himself suspiciously eying any woman who looked his way. If one politely greeted him he would think, "Is it her?" Since so many new people came into town now because of the train or the hospital, people he'd never seen before and probably never would again, his trepidation grew steadily.

Michaela had been distracted as well. She had been watching her husband as he kept to himself more than usual. It seemed to her that he was brooding over something. No, more like expecting something. Nothing her imagination could come up with made any sense, and their night of passionate love hadn't solved the problem. She had tried to broach the subject with him on several occasions, but all he would say was that there was something he had to work out. One thing was sure, she didn't know how much more of this suspense she could stand.

So distracted were the two that neither realized they had not come together as lovers since Cloud Dancing's warning and their record-setting night of passion. They both went to bed each night deep in thought. They would hold each other awhile, give a kiss goodnight, and then settle down to go to sleep and try to escape their tortured thoughts.

Late on a Monday afternoon, Sully went to the clinic to see his wife and let her know about a small important trip he needed to make to Pueblo, about 20 miles south of Colorado Springs. As he rounded the corner from the livery, he noticed several large "medicine show" type wagons parked out front of the clinic with the words, "Newberry's Traveling Acting Troupe" painted on the sides. A small crowd of men and women waited outside the clinic door.

"What's goin' on?" Sully asked one of the men.

"The doctor is attending to our leading lady, Miss Lottie Henderson."

"Ahh," Sully acknowledged, finding a seat on the bench to wait for Michaela to finish.

Some time later Dr. Mike came out, wiping her hands. She smiled at Sully and turned to the crowd to explain to them the situation and recovery time. When she finished, Tom Newberry, the Director of the troupe, took the doctor aside and explained with some discomfort, "Umm, Dr. Quinn, I'm embarrassed to have to say this, but ticket sales have not been good lately and I find myself in somewhat dire straights at the moment...well...that is...regarding your fee..."

Michaela smiled and assured him they could work something out later, right now, she needed to get her patient upstairs to rest.

When all was settled, Michaela came back down to find Sully sitting at her desk waiting for her. He rose when she came in the room and took her in his arms for a hug.

"When did they get here?" he asked, pulling back to gaze into her eyes.

"Oh, several hours ago," she replied, proceeding to fill him in on the details of the woman's accident as she knew them.

After another hug, she asked, "Did you want to speak with me about something?"

"Hmm? Oh yeah, I wanted to tell ya that I'll be goin' to Pueblo in a few days to pick up some horses for Robert E."

"How long will you be away?"

"Just a coupla days."

"Hmm, I'll miss you," she murmured, leaning into him.

"I'll miss ya too, but it won't be long this time," he assured, bending down to give her a soft kiss. "Are you done here for the day?"

"Yes, Lottie has plenty of people to help her, I don't need to stay."

With that, she collected her things and locked the clinic. Sully helped her climb up into their wagon and they headed home, stopping by the church to collect Katie from her piano lesson.

Several days later, the couple stood together on their porch saying goodbye before his trip. Michaela had packed him a food sack with all his favorites, as he planned to stop for the night outside of town so he wouldn't have to pay for a hotel room. A trapper friend had a cabin nearby.

"You'll be careful?"

He smiled, "I'm always careful."

"I hope you enjoy your dinner tonight – I made your favorite, apple pie. I tried to make it just like Grace's – it's her recipe," Michaela smiled up at him shyly.

"I'm sure it'll be great," he murmured, hugging her to him and breathing in the familiar scent of her hair he loved so much. "Thanks for helpin' me pack."

"When you get to Pueblo, send me a telegram and let me know you arrived safely."

"Yes, mother hen," he softly joked, blue eyes gazing down into brown and green in comfortable marital familiarity.

"Can't a wife worry about her husband?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way," he grinned, leaning down to give her a long goodbye kiss.

Riding easy and enjoying being alone outdoors, Sully nonetheless made good time. A little relieved that Cloud Dancing's warning had so far proved to be unfounded, he was looking forward to a few days alone to let his guard down and rest.

Some time before sundown, Sully topped a hill and saw the cabin down below. Kind of glad to get out of the cool autumn wind, he headed his horse in that direction.

Reaching the cabin, he secured his horse in the lean-to with some oats he had brought along and headed inside to see about his lodgings for the night. Although the cabin had been empty for a while, he found a stack of firewood next to the hearth and sufficient furniture to make his overnight stay comfortable, including a narrow bed, a table with two chairs, and a small kitchen area in one corner. Sully put his bag and belongings down on the table and set about making a fire to take off the cabin's chill.

Sometime later, he was sitting in a chair at the table having finished eating his supper, including a piece of the pie Michaela had mentioned. He smiled thinking about how she had told him she hoped it was as good as Grace's. Although she was much better at cooking than when she first came to Colorado, there was just something lacking or different about hers, compared to Grace. This pie had even left an aftertaste in his mouth. He thought maybe one of the apples she used had been bad. Staring into the fire, he felt his eyes getting heavy and drowsily realized he should think about going to bed. Before he could follow up on that thought though, he put his head down on the table and allowed sleep to overtake him.

Sometime later...

Everything seemed hazy. Man, I feel dizzy. Where am I? Sully's thoughts were jumbled as he struggled to climb up out of the thick cloud in which his mind was trapped. Fighting to open his eyes, he found that when he tried to brush his hand over his face, he couldn't move! Forcing his eyes open and raising his head he realized that his hands and arms were tied tightly behind him to the back of the chair. Immediately following was a similar revelation regarding his feet and legs.

Fear seized him as he realized he was not alone in the cabin anymore.

Standing several feet away was a woman. The cabin was dark, and with the only light coming from the fireplace behind her, Sully couldn't make out her features. He could see she was wearing a full skirt and her hair appeared to be blond. His heart pounding, he tried with all his strength to pry his hands free of the ropes. They wouldn't budge.

"Hello," the woman said in a sultry voice.

Sully felt panic rising in his chest. How in the world did this happen? Where did she...why...who...?

"Who are you and why the heck am I tied up?" he managed to choke out.

"Mmm, all in good time, handsome," the woman softly replied, her voice low and throaty.

"Listen, if this is some kinda joke, it ain't funny. Now untie me!"

"Tsk tsk, that's not very friendly, Mr. Sully."

Sully's nerves jolted painfully. No! Oh God no, it's comin' true, just like Cloud Dancin' said! He HAD to think of something, some way out of this mess, this trap! But HOW? Think, man! Think!

He shook his head trying to rid himself of the last vestiges of sleep, desperately trying to think what to do. He decided to try diplomacy.

"Uh, Ya seem ta have me at a disadvantage here. Ya know my name, but I'm afraid I don't know yers. Have we met before? I can't really see ya with yer back to the fire and all."

The woman snickered at this and Sully felt trepidation twist in his gut.

"Yes, I know your name, Mr. Sully, but you've never met me. As a matter of fact, your prissy little wife doesn't know who I am either."

At this, Sully's head jerked up and he strained his eyes in the dim light to try and make out her facial features.

"My wife? What'dya know about her?"

"Ha! What do I know about her? The great Michaela Quinn? Miss do-everything-perfect Michaela? The one who had everything while I had nothing? The one who still gets everything she wants? Yes, I know about her, because we share one very important thing in common, though she never knew. A man. His name was Josef Quinn. He was my father, too."

Sully's mouth dropped open at this revelation. "What? You gotta be kiddin'!"

"No, Mr. Sully, I am not kidding. Josef Quinn was my father. My mother worked as a maid in a hotel in San Francisco 40 years ago. He went there to attend a physician's conference. He told her he hadn't been getting along with his wife, he was lonely, etc., etc., and my mother fell for it. She comforted him, if you know what I mean. I was the result of that comfort."

"I don't believe this! Michaela's told me all about her pa. He wadn't the kinda man that'd do that."

"Oh, he was a good man, I guess you could say. He took care of my mother and me. He sent her money every month until I turned 19. She tried to see him a couple of times when he came back to San Francisco to spend time working in the hospital there, but he had brought his 'family' along and wouldn't see us. That's when I first saw Michaela." Sully flinched at the way she spat his wife's name.

"So, what do ya want with me, and why did ya tie me up?"

"What do I want with you, Mr. Sully? Oh, now that's simple," she replied, her voice a throaty purr. "I've spent years finding out everything there is to know about Michaela Quinn, my nemesis, looking for a way to take something from her so she'll know what it's like to be without. When I found out about you and how crazy she is about her 'mountain man' husband, I knew I'd found the key. I intend to do everything in my power to take you away from my unsuspecting 'sister', or at the very least, cause something she can't forgive and break her heart into tiny little pieces."

Before Sully could say anything she added, "I'm here to prove I'm better than her in every way and I intend to make you forget Michaela Quinn ever existed!"

On to chapter Two!