Michaela had been living in her new home of Colorado Springs for three months and she loved it. She loved working in private practice as a family doctor. It was such a pleasant change from the hospital.
Since she moved to Colorado Springs, she purchased a four-bedroom home in a nice neighborhood. She enrolled Matthew and Colleen in a public school for the time being because she needed time to research the private schools in the area. She enrolled Brian in a preschool at a nearby church that she and the children had been attending, and hired a nanny to be at her home when the children came home from school.
Her nanny's name was Dorothy Jennings. Dorothy had lived in Colorado Springs all her life and told Michaela the particulars about the town. Dorothy wrote a popular blog called Dorothy's Gazette. It was like her own digital newspaper in which she wrote about the events from the town. According to Dorothy, it was widely read among the locals in town. She took a job as a nanny, for Michaela, to make extra money.
It was 7:30 in the morning and the office didn't open until eight. Michaela liked to come in early to get settled before she opened for the day. She'd brought her own lunch, but when she was putting it away in her office mini fridge, she realized that she needed something to drink. She decided to leave her office and walk to the Bray's Mercantile and Convenience Store that was down the street.
Once she was inside the Mercantile, she looked at all the different items in the small store. It looked like a combination of large truck stops, minus the gas pumps, and the shopping area of a Cracker Barrel Restaurant. She and the kids had stopped at several truck stops and Cracker Barrels as they traveled across the country from Boston to Colorado Springs.
"Mornin', Ma'am," an elderly gentleman said as she was looking through the glass refrigerators for a bottled drink.
"Good morning," Michaela said with a smile. She found a bottle of water and made a note that she had to remember to bring her fruit infused water and a protein shake from home, so she wouldn't have to buy a simple bottle of water for $2.49. It wasn't even her favorite bottled spring water or something vitamin infused. It was just a plain bottle.
As Michaela was walking to the front of the store to purchase her water, her eyes spotted a set of wooden dinosaur figurines that her two-year-old would love. It would go so perfectly with his new dinosaur jammies. Michaela wanted to do it, she wanted to buy the dinosaurs, but if she bought something for Brian, she would have to buy something for Matthew and Colleen as well.
She decided to let the dinosaurs go for now. If she went in search of something for her older children, she would be in the store for another hour and she needed to get back to the office.
"Hey!" The elderly gentleman that greeted her so warmly shouted. The loudness and anger in his voice, brought Michaela right out of her thoughts. She looked in the direction of the man. She saw him cross the store, approaching a middle-aged woman.
When the woman saw him, her eyes darkened immediately.
"You tell that hippy, good-for-nothin', son of yours that Zachary and Hanna are my grandchildren and I have the right to see them!" the man shouted.
"If you want to see the children, you can call him and ask to set up a time!" the woman shouted back, "My son has always been more than willing to let you see the children. Even when you call him a hippy, good-for-nothin'!"
"I haven't seen them since the funeral, Snowbird," The man said.
"It's not going to be at your beck-and-call, Loren," Snowbird insisted, "It's going to be at a scheduled time that is convenient for him and the kids. Sully has a full-time job, just like everyone else in the world. Zachary is eleven years old, he goes to school. Hanna is only two, but she goes to the church pre-school."
As Michaela was listening to this exchange between two grandparents, she concluded that the man, who was named Loren, must have been the father of the mother of the two children. The woman, who was named Snowbird, Michaela had never heard that name before, was obviously the mother of the father. Since the two grandchildren were the same ages as Matthew and Brian, she wondered if they went to the same schools.
While Michaela was watching, her eyes met Snowbird's. She didn't want to seem like she was eavesdropping, so she quickly broke eye contact and paid the clerk, at the front of the store, for her water and left.
Matthew was standing next to the principal. He was about to be introduced to his new teacher and his new class. He'd been attending school since the first day, but since the classes were a little over-crowded, Principal Horace Bing was able to hire a new sixth grade teacher. When he did that, the classes were shuffled and split between four teachers instead of three. Originally, Matthew was going to stay with the teacher he already had, Mrs. Morales. It turned out that he had to be switched to Miss Chambers' class.
"Good morning, Class," Horace said, "Good Morning, Miss Chambers."
"Good morning, Mr. Bing," said Louise Chambers.
"This is Matthew Cooper," Horace said loudly, introducing him to the class, "He will be in your class from now on."
"Good morning, Matthew," Louise greeted her new student, "Would you like to say a few words?"
Matthew's face got red, and he shook his head.
"Have a good day, Miss Chambers," Horace said and left the classroom to return to his office.
Once Horace was gone, the teacher approached Matthew and said, "Matthew, please introduce yourself to your new classmates."
Matthew looked down. He was embarrassed and scared.
"I said introduce yourself!" the teacher demanded sternly and loudly.
"My name is Matthew Cooper," Matthew said quietly and shyly.
"Louder!" Louise said harshly, "They can't hear you in the back."
"I'm from Boston," Matthew said a little louder, but he was still scared and embarrassed.
"Oh, never mind," Miss Chambers said, her voice laced with sarcasm, "You may take your seat next to Zachary Lawson in the back."
"Sully!" Zachary shouted, "My name is Zac Sully," he'd been in Miss Chambers class all year and was tired of her mean and rude behavior. He didn't like the way she treated Matthew just then or the way she treated the rest of his classmates.
"Mr. Sully," Miss Chambers amended, because the boy was correct, his name was Zachary Sully, he'd been adopted by his stepfather. Still, she was not about to accept insolence from a child, "You will not speak in my class unless you raise your hand."
Zachary raised his hand but did not wait to be called on. He talked back to his teacher with his hand in the air, "Are you ever gonna get my name right?"
"Say another word and I will call your father and give you a detention slip," Louise threatened.
Zachary put his hand down and kept his mouth shut.
"Zachary," Miss Chambers said, "Please help Matthew find the correct page in your Language Arts book. Matthew, get started on the assignment. I am preparing a syllabus and other documents for you to take home to your parents."
When Matthew sat down next to Zachary, Zachary showed him the correct page and told him what the assignment was, then he whispered, "Don't worry about bein' embarrassed. Miss Chambers is a real witch, and nobody likes her. The kids won't make fun of you."
"Thanks," Matthew said.
"My name is Zachary, but you can call me Zac," the boy said, "Do you go by Matt?"
"No, I've always gone by Matthew," he said.
"I'll introduce you to everyone at recess," Zachary said.
"Thanks," Matthew said back. He was very happy that he met Zachary that day. Truth be told, he liked Mrs. Morales better as a teacher, but he really hadn't made any friends in her class. He felt like Zac could become a new friend.
"Do you like baseball?" Zachary asked.
"I don't know," Matthew said.
"Your dad never taught you to play baseball?" Zachary questioned, a little surprised.
Matthew shook his head, no. Ethan wasn't exactly the kind of dad that went outside and played catch.
"We'll teach you how to play at recess," Zachary suggested. He thought it was strange that Matthew didn't know about baseball. Sully had taught him to play at summer camp. Once Sully and Abagail were married, Sully put him on a little league team for 4–7-year-old boys and he'd been playing ever since.
"Okay," Matthew said. He was excited to learn how to play.
It was now 6:00 pm and Michaela arrived at the church pre-school to pick up her son.
"Good evening, Ma'am. I don't think we've met, I'm the reverend of this church, Timothy Johnson," the Reverend introduced himself to Michaela with a warm smile. He held out his hand and Michaela shook it.
"Hello," Michaela said, "I'm Dr. Michaela Quinn. I'm here to pick up my son, Brian Cooper. I attend church with my children on Sundays, but I'm afraid I have not yet introduced myself to you. You're always surrounded by people on Sundays. It can be difficult for a two-year-old to wait around."
"Well, I sure am glad that you are attending church with your children, that's always a good thing. You're right, I'm usually surrounded by various members of my flock after my Sunday sermons. Don't let that scare you away from me. I'd be glad to make time for you. Allow me to escort you to the two-year-olds' room," he said, "That's our Teddy Bear class."
Michaela had been bringing Brian to the pre-school for the last few months and knew that the two-year-old class was called the Teddy Bear class. She knew what room he was in as well. She allowed the reverend to escort her anyway because she didn't want to be rude.
"Usually, your nanny picks up little Brian," the reverend commented.
"Yes, but Mrs. Jennings had some car trouble and is at my home waiting for her husband to give her car a jump. I told her I would pick up my son and meet her at my home," Michaela said as they walked.
"So, have you been out and about in Colorado Springs yet?" He asked, changing the subject, "If you would like to see the town and perhaps have an adult conversation some time, I would be happy to show you around."
"Thank you, Reverend, um-" Michaela said politely.
"Please call me Tim," Tim said, before she could continue.
"Maybe some time," Michaela said, not knowing what to say. He was very nice, but she wasn't interested in setting up a time to have an adult conversation at that moment, she just wanted to pick up her son and go home.
When they opened the door to the Teddy Bear room, Michaela collided with another parent who was picking up his child.
When she looked up to see who it was, her eyes became hypnotized by the crystal blue eyes of an unknown man. He had long light brown hair under his Colorado Rockies baseball cap. He had a light smattering of stubble on his face, as if he hadn't shaved in a few days. He had toned arms under a plain white T-shirt that was tucked into his dark wash jeans. He had a pink backpack over one arm and was holding a small child in his other arm. Altogether, Michaela thought he was very sexy.
"Excuse me, Ma'am," he said politely, "Are you hurt?"
"No," Michaela answered, praying that her face wasn't turning red. She shouldn't be embarrassed, there was no way he could read her thoughts at that moment, "I'm just here to pick up my child. Same as you."
"The little blondie in there?" he asked.
"Yes," Michaela confirmed.
"He's real sweet," the man said. He had a very kind and sincere smile.
"Hello, Sully!" Tim greeted, before Michaela could thank him for calling her son sweet, "When will we see you at church again? Your mother attends with the children, but I never see you anymore."
"Maybe someday, Tim," Sully said. Sully had known Timothy Johnson since High School. Sully had not attended church since the day Abagail died. He didn't see the need, though he still sent his children. He wanted to be as diplomatic as possible with Tim.
"Have you met Dr. Quinn yet?" Tim asked, his smile turning from warm and polite to giddy.
"Yeah, just did," Sully said, trying not to chuckle. It was clear as day that the reverend had the hots for this woman. Not that Sully blamed him, he could see that she was beautiful, "I gotta get home. I'm sorry I ran into ya, Ma'am."
"No problem," Michaela said and watched him walk away. She now wondered why his mother was the one who took his children to church. Obviously, if the children were attending church, Christian values were important to him and likely to his wife. She assumed he had a wife. She didn't see a wedding band on his finger, but that didn't necessarily mean that he wasn't married. Michaela did wonder why neither he nor the children's mother attended church with the children. That seemed a little strange to her.
Once he was out of eyeshot, Michaela entered the Teddy Bear room.
"Mama!" Her two-year-old greeted her warmly.
"Hello, Sweetheart," Michaela sang. Her whole face lit up as she smiled at her little one. Michaela reached down and picked up her son and placed him on her hip as she collected his green and blue Puppy Dog Pals backpack with a matching lunch box. After spending a few minutes discussing his day with his teacher, Miss Lindsay, she said goodbye to the reverend and she and Brian went home.
Once she arrived home, Dorothy was ready to leave. Her husband had gotten her car started. Thankfully, Dorothy had prepared a stew for Michaela and the family. Michaela was now sitting at the table with her three children having dinner.
"I want an analog watch for my next birthday, Mommy," Colleen said.
"Certainly," Michaela answered her daughter, thinking that was a strange gift for her six-year-old to request. Typically, Colleen wanted things like baby dolls, Barbie dolls, and ponies. Not only that, but she'd also been asking for a doll house since they moved to Colorado Springs. This was the first time that Michaela had ever heard of her daughter being interested in a watch.
"Why do you want that?" asked Matthew, "You can tell the time on your tablet. We all have tablets." It was true, they all did have tablets. Colleen and Matthew each had an iPad Mini, Brian had a Leappad, and Michaela had a standard size iPad.
"Because! We're learning how to tell time," Colleen explained, "Mrs. Thatcher said that I was the best time teller in the whole class!"
"That's great, Colleen!" Michaela said, nearly cheering. She was so happy that Colleen was doing well in school and that she liked her teacher.
"At least you have a good teacher," Matthew said darkly.
"I thought you liked Mrs. Morales," Michaela said to her son. Now she was a little worried.
"I do," Matthew answered, "She's not my teacher anymore. They stuck me in Miss Chambers class."
"Oh no," Colleen wined and put her hand on her brother's wrist, "Becky and Alice told me that she's mean."
Michaela found it odd that the school would just move her son to a different class without telling her first. That would have never happened at his previous school. She was already worried that Matthew wasn't making friends as quickly as he did back in Boston. Now Matthew was in a class with a teacher he didn't like. This sixth-grade teacher's reputation was in fact so bad that her daughter, who was in the first grade, had heard of her.
"She is mean," Matthew confirmed, "She yelled at me in front of everyone."
"For what?" Michaela questioned. She understood that the teacher must have rules, consequences, and a system of discipline in her classroom. Nevertheless, the teacher's consequences shouldn't involve yelling at her son in front of his peers.
"Because I didn't want to talk about myself in front of the class," Matthew explained to his mother.
Michaela knew Matthew. She knew he wasn't a terribly shy child, but he also didn't want to be put on the spot. Why was this teacher yelling at him because of that? Especially in front of the class, "I will call the school tomorrow and make sure you are moved back into Mrs. Morales' class."
"Don't do that," Matthew pleaded, "I made a friend in her class."
"Okay, I won't have you moved," Michaela promised. She would still call the school. She wanted to know why they moved him without saying a word to her beforehand. She wanted a conference with this teacher about proper classroom etiquette. She would also call the Evangelical Christian Academy to find out more information about that school. She was pleased that Colleen loved her class and new friends, and that Matthew had made a new friend at school, but she still felt that she would be more comfortable with her kids in a private school, "Tell me about your new friend."
"His name is Zac, and we sit together in class," Matthew said, "He taught me how to play baseball during recess."
"Baseball?" Michaela asked. Matthew had never shown any interest in sports.
"Yeah," Matthew said, "It was a lot of fun. Zac draws really good too."
"He draws well," Michaela corrected her son's grammar.
"He draws well," Matthew amended, "he said his dad taught him to play baseball and coaches him in little league. His dad didn't teach him to draw, but he likes his drawings so much that he let him draw and paint a whole mural at his ranch."
"That's lovely," Michaela said, feeling her heart fill with guilt. This boy had a wonderful father that loved and valued him. Matthew's father was so uninterested. Michaela would have to fill the void. If baseball was something that Matthew was interested in, then she would encourage him as much as possible.
Sully sat at the breakfast table with his family. Zachary sat across from him at the table and Hanna sat in her highchair.
When Abagail died, Sully sold their house, and moved into his old bachelor pad with his kids. The bachelor pad was a small bungalow style house on the ranch. It had a master bedroom that he slept in, a small bedroom next to his, where Hanna slept, and it had one room upstairs that Sully turned into a bedroom for Zachary.
"How's school?" Sully asked his son, hoping things were starting to improve. Zachary asked Sully to put him in a different class because he didn't like his teacher. Sully knew his teacher, Louise Chambers, from High School and understood Zachary's complaints.
Louise didn't like Sully because she once asked him to a Sadie Hawkins dance, and he turned her down. He didn't turn her down to be mean, he already had a date. His good friend, Grace, had asked him a month in advance and he said yes. Grace was now married to a mutual friend of theirs named Robert E, and they were all good friends. As for Louise, Sully could never understand why she held on to her grudge against him.
Although Sully understood his son's feelings, he didn't want Zachary running away from his problems, he wanted him to learn how to face them. He did start to look at private schools, though, just in case.
"Yesterday was good, Dad," Zachary said.
That was a change. Usually, the boy complained about Miss Chambers the wicked witch, "What happened yesterday?"
"I made a new friend," said Zachary, "His name is Matthew."
"Good," Sully said. He was pleased to hear about that.
"It was his first day of class and the witch yelled at him in front of everyone," Zachary told his father.
Here it comes, Sully thought to himself.
"Then she sat him next to me," said Zachary, "I had to make friends with him. It wasn't fair what she did."
"What did he do?" Sully asked. He didn't think it was right for Louise to yell at a kid in front of the class. He knew that his son was no angel, however, and would sometimes do things to get himself in trouble. Perhaps this new friend of his was the same.
"Nothing, Dad," the boy complained, "He was shy about introducing himself to the class and she yelled at him."
"Finish your breakfast," Sully said, not knowing what to say to that, "Then I've gotta getcha both to school," Sully really didn't think that it was right for Louise to yell at a kid for that. He figured that there was probably more that went on that Zachary didn't know about.
Once Sully dropped off Zachary at school, he drove Hanna to her school. On the way to the church preschool, Sully got caught behind a young woman whose car broke down in the middle of the road.
"Daddy'll be right back, Hanna. This lady looks like she needs a little help. Then I'll take ya to school," Sully said. He picked up his iPhone, and put it on a game that Hanna liked, and placed the device in her hands.
Then he got out of his truck to help the woman in front of him.
"Are you here to save my life?" the woman asked when she saw Sully approach her.
"What's the problem, Ma'am?" he asked.
"I was driving to work, and my car died," the woman sighed, "Again! It died again! I just took this old piece of crap to the mechanic last week."
"Have you called a tow truck?" Sully asked, "I know a few."
"I have AAA," the woman said, admiring Sully's handsome face and kind personality, "They're sending someone."
"Let me help ya get the car out of the road," Sully offered, "Traffic is slow right now, but in another twenty minutes or so, it's gonna get real packed. Folks ain't the nicest when they're caught in traffic."
"Thank you," the woman said, "My name is Catherine Shiverdeer. Most people call me Carol. What's your name?"
"Sully," he replied succinctly. Then Sully gave Carol instructions to sit in her car and put it in neutral. Sully was able to push the vehicle out of the way.
"Thank you so much," Carol said, pointing to the Starbucks that was in walking distance and smiling, "It's still early in the morning. Please let me buy you some coffee to thank you."
"Not necessary," Sully said, and started heading back to his truck.
"You don't like coffee?" Carol flirted, trying to get him to stop and come back, "I think they sell more than just coffee."
"Thank you," he said, pointing at his truck, "I really need to get my kid to school."
Carol looked at his truck with wide eyes and saw Hanna in her car seat. He was no doubt taken by someone. Carol wouldn't let that bother her. She liked him, and wanted to see if she could get him anyway.
"How can I get in touch with you?" she said quickly.
"Ma'am?" Sully questioned. He didn't really want her to get in touch with him. He simply wanted to help her get her car out of the middle of the street and then take Hanna to school.
"I really do want to thank you," she insisted.
Sully really didn't care if he was thanked. Since she was so insistent, he said, "Sully Ranch. Google it," Then he got in his truck and waved at her as he left.
When he finally got to the church, he quickly got Hanna out of her car seat, and carried her towards the preschool in one arm, while her pink backpack was over his other arm. When he was halfway across the parking lot, he heard someone call out his name.
"Sully!" Dorothy yelled.
Sully turned around to see his wife's aunt waving at him. Sully took a deep breath and then stopped and waited for her to make her way to him. She'd seen him, so he had to be polite and talk to her. He could feel that an awkward meeting with his father-in-law was coming in his future.
"Good mornin', Miss Dorothy," Sully greeted politely.
Dorothy kissed his cheek warmly, as if she was his mother, and then ran her hands down his hair and Hanna's hair at the same time.
"Hello, Sweetheart," she said to the little girl.
"What're ya doin' here?" Sully asked.
"My blog isn't making enough money to pay the bills yet, so I took a job as a nanny," Dorothy explained, "I work for a doctor who is new to the area. I just finished dropping off her kids at school. Typically, I only work in the afternoons, but she needed help this morning."
Sully liked Dorothy a lot and was happy that she took on a job other than her blog. He didn't have a problem with blogging, but he viewed her blog as a town gossip site. He couldn't see anyone being interested in it, unless they were a local and of a certain age.
"He misses the kids," Dorothy said. Hoping to get Sully to agree to allow her brother-in-law time with the grandchildren.
"He knows how to find me," Sully said with a slight chuckle. This was an old argument that Sully was tired of rehashing.
"Yes he does, but he's a stubborn old goat and you know it," Dorothy said, "You are a good man, Sully, with a far more manageable temper. You could take the first step."
"Ma'am, I have taken the first, second and third step," Sully countered, "If Loren wants to see the kids, he knows how to find me."
"You sound like your mother," Dorothy said.
"Why do you say that?" Sully sighed, knowing full well that her comment was meant to be thought provoking.
"I take it that you haven't heard what happened between your mother and Loren yesterday," Dorothy said.
"What happened?" Sully asked, his eyes darkening and his frustration growing.
When Michaela arrived at her office in the morning, she took some time to look over the patient records for her appointments of that day. The office offered a walk-in service that was in place before she took over as the doctor, so she couldn't be fully prepared for whoever came in that day, but she liked to be as prepared as possible.
As she looked over charts on her computer, her office phone rang. Michaela pushed the speaker, "Yes?"
"Dr. Mike, your 8:00 am canceled this morning," said the receptionist.
"Thank you, Jessica," she answered.
With her 8:00 am appointment canceled, she didn't have any patients scheduled for another hour, so she decided to look online for an analog watch for her daughter's birthday. She was also planning to buy Colleen a doll house and a play medical kit.
Michaela wondered if it was selfish to include a play medical kit into her daughter's gifts. Colleen had never requested anything like that, but Michaela wanted to get her one to hopefully spark her interest in medicine.
She went in search of the watch first and found the sweetest little girl's watch with a pink leather band and a large rose gold clock face. It looked like it was a good quality watch and the clock face had clear numbers to make it easy for Colleen to tell the time. Michaela ordered it immediately.
Michaela was pleased that she found a watch online with relative ease but was disappointed in the selection of dollhouses. She wanted a sturdy wooden house, and she wanted it to be cute. Unfortunately, all of the wooden houses were plain and ugly, and all of the cute houses were made of cheap plastic.
Putting that search on hold, she was about to look up play medical kits, when her cell phone rang.
Michaela looked down at her phone and almost groaned.
"Hello, Mother," she said when she answered.
"Michaela," her mother said as if she was about to give her daughter a lecture, "Just how much longer are you planning to allow yourself and my grandchildren to live in squalor?"
"I live in a four-bedroom house, Mother," Michaela said, growing aggravated, "I live in a lovely neighborhood with a playground down the street and the kids love it here."
"Have you heard from Ethan?" Elizabeth asked, not wanting to hear about the living arrangements that were substandard in her mind.
"Of course not," Michaela answered. Why was her mother asking about her ex-husband now? For her entire marriage, her mother couldn't stand him. Why had she suddenly grown a soft spot for him now?
"He's their father," Elizabeth said.
"He's an abusive jerk," Michaela reminded her.
"Well…" Elizabeth said and then paused. Truth be told, she had no love for Ethan. She was glad Michaela left him, but that didn't change the fact that she wanted her daughter and grandchildren to come home, "When do I get to see my grandchildren again?"
"Mother," Michaela sighed, "You've been a housewife since the day you got married. You are living off of Father's retirement now. You can't even begin to spend the inheritance that you received from your parents-"
"So, what's your point?" Elizabeth asked, cutting her off.
Michaela scoffed into her phone and then said, "My point is, you have a lot of money and nothing to do. If you want to see the kids, why don't you hop on a plane and come for a visit?"
"Is that a formal invitation?" Elizabeth questioned suspiciously.
"Yes, Mother," Michaela answered, "It's a formal invitation. You may come whenever you'd like, and you can stay with us for as long as you want."
"Just because I'm unemployed, doesn't mean I have nothing to do," Elizabeth said.
"Yes, I forgot," Michaela answered, "How would the Boston Floral Society get along without you?"
Elizabeth chuckled through the phone, "I do more than judge the annual flower show for the Beacon Hill Ladies Society and you know it."
"Come when you can, Mother," Michaela said, "You're invited."
"Thank you," Elizabeth answered.
"I'm Olive Davis," Olive introduced herself to a few new employees, "Welcome to the Sully Ranch. I've worked at this Ranch for over twenty years. I worked for the late Mr. Bradford Sully, and now I'm workin' for his son. His son, Mr. Byron Sully is also my nephew-in-law. I was friends with his late mother, Mrs. Kathleen Sully. Just makin' that known now. I run most of the operations for Mr. Sully, but he's the owner. I will be trainin' you, and you answer to me when it comes to procedures on the ranch. Any questions?"
"I didn't notice any brands here," a young man said, "How do you distinguish Sully cattle from everyone else's?"
"Name?" Olive requested.
"Jesse Van Dien," the young man answered.
"Well, Jesse," Olive said, "Mr. Sully doesn't believe in branding the animals. He thinks it's inhumane. Instead, he gives them a little earring. Each cow has been tagged. Typically, we don't hold cattle from other ranches, but if we ever do, that's how we distinguish our cattle from the rest."
Another man raised his hand and Olive pointed to him, "My name is Victor Paco. Are there any other animals here besides cattle?"
"Obviously, when we deal with cattle, we ride horses so we can safely move them," Olive said to Paco, "Mr. Sully raises, trades, and sells cattle as a business. If you see Mr. Sully, he often has his companion animal with him, his dog, Wolf. There are no other animals that he trades and sells. Any other questions?"
When nobody else had any questions, Olive started to take the new men on a tour. As they were mounting horses, Snowbird pulled into the ranch.
"Good afternoon, Olive," Snowbird greeted.
"Good afternoon, Snowbird," Olive said with a smile, "Your boy is in his office."
"Thank you," Snowbird said and went in search of Sully. When she found him, he was staring blankly into a computer screen. Snowbird tried to sneak up on him to surprise him…
"I heard you got on Loren's case at the store yesterday," Sully said abruptly when Snowbird entered his office.
"Hello, how are you, Son?" Snowbird said, not liking his tone or the fact that Sully didn't even bother to greet her when she arrived, "and what of it?"
"Hello, Ma," Sully said and then got back to the point, "Do ya hafta get into loud arguments with him? I don't need everyone in town knowin' my business."
"I will say whatever I want to the old goat that calls my son hippy, good-for-nothin'!" Snowbird yelled, "I will thank you for remembering your place. I am your elder, not to mention your mother. You don't tell me what to do!"
"Forgive me, Ma," Sully said, not wishing to disrespect the only parent he had left.
"I forgive you," Snowbird said.
"Loren has lost a lot…" Sully began to say.
"Don't excuse his behavior!" Snowbird interrupted. Based on his words of sympathy for Loren, she now knew that it was Dorothy that told Sully about her and Loren's argument from the previous day, "What has he lost? His wife? His daughter? I lost my husband and two sons. You lost your birth parents, your father, brothers, and your wife. Everyone has lost. It's devastating, but it's not an excuse for him to act like a bitter old goat that talks anyway he wants!"
"Alright, fine," Sully said, wanting to let the conversation drop and hoping that his mother would allow the conversation to drop.
"Why is he so rude to you?" Snowbird inquired.
Sully silently rolled his eyes, knowing she wasn't going to let it go for a while.
"I understand his attitude about the first son-in-law," Snowbird said, "His first son-in-law was a lowlife, good-for-nothin', and I don't know what Abagail saw in him. But not you. You're not a drunken fool. You took care of Abagail. You take care of the children. What more does he want?"
Sully was about to say that Loren wants his wife and daughter back, but he didn't get a chance to say it. He stepped on a horseshoe that was left out and it startled him so much that he lost his balance and fell, landing hard on his left hand.
"Ow!" Sully yelled.
"What happened?" Snowbird asked, approaching Sully, who was now on the office floor.
"I slipped," Sully said. He messed up his wrist when he fell, it was in a lot of pain. He cradled it to his body.
"It already looks swollen," Snowbird said, referring to Sully's wrist, "Let's get you to a doctor."
Sully hated doctors. He thought they got paid way too much, especially since he'd never met a doctor that he felt was a medical expert. He had lost too many family members to bogus doctors in his opinion. Not only that, but Sully also didn't want to be stuck in an E.R. all day, he wanted to get home to his kids, "No, Ma. I'll put some ice on it and take some Tylenol."
"No," Snowbird put her foot down, "You need to see a doctor!"
"For what?" Sully questioned. He really wanted to know. For what? "To waste my time and money?"
"Not every doctor is bad, Sully," Snowbird said, "Yes, we've had some bad luck. We seem to always get the doctors that got straight C's in medical school, but there are really good doctors out there too. In fact, I heard there is a new doctor at the Family Medical Practice down the way from the old goat's store. That doctor might have gotten straight A's in school, you never know. I want you to see that one."
It was six o'clock and Michaela was getting ready to close up. She let her nurses and receptionist go home already. She just needed to turn everything off and lock the doors. Then she could get home to her children.
She turned off all of the lights in the office, except the one that was right by the front door. She put her purse over her shoulder and walked around the front counter. She reached for the front door to her office and opened it wide, so she could walk out.
When Michaela opened the door, she was startled to find two people walking toward her.
"Are you the doctor?" the woman asked.
Michaela recognized her and the young man with her immediately. The woman was Snowbird. She was arguing with an elderly man named Loren, at the store on the previous day. The man was Sully, the handsome father that she collided with at Brian's school, also on the previous day. She wondered if this was his wife. She was considerably older than he was, but she supposed that he wasn't the first man that was attracted to an older woman.
"I think she's closed, Ma," Sully said.
Nope. Not his wife. She didn't look old enough to be his mother though. He had to be in his late twenties or early thirties. The woman was likely in her mid to late forties. Nevertheless, she did recall the argument from the previous day. Snowbird had been arguing with Loren over him visiting with their grandchildren. Sully must be the son that Snowbird was defending.
"Are you closed?" Snowbird asked, "Can you see my son? I think he has a broken wrist."
"Of course," Michaela said. She couldn't turn away someone who was in pain. He was cradling his arm, so she could tell which wrist it was. It did look a little swollen from where she was standing, "Right this way," Michaela said and walked back into her office, and turned on the lights.
"She might have gotten an A," Snowbird whispered to Sully.
"Please sit down while I turn the x-ray machine on," Michaela said, "I will get you when I have everything prepared."
"X-ray?" Sully questioned.
"Yes," Michaela said, "If you think the wrist is broken, the first thing we should do is take an x-ray."
"Thank you," Snowbird said with a smile. Lightly nudging Sully with her elbow, wanting him to admit that she was right to have come that night.
"I don't wanna put you out," Sully said, feeling a little strange to be seen after hours, "I know I have kids to get home to. You may have kids to get home to too."
"I do have kids to get home to," Michaela said, feeling slightly disappointed that he didn't appear to remember her from the previous day, "But you're not inconveniencing me. It doesn't take that long to take an x-ray. If you'll excuse me for a minute," Michaela went to the back room to set everything up.
"See, Sully," Snowbird said, when Michaela left the room, "It doesn't take that long to take an x-ray. If we would have left when you first fell, like I said, instead of waiting four hours, we wouldn't be putting her out."
Michaela set up the room with the x-ray machine. She also prepared a brace, elastic bandage, and sling for her patient. Then she returned to the waiting room.
"I'm ready for you," Michaela said.
Sully got up. When Snowbird got up too, Sully said, "I'll go myself."
"Fine," Snowbird said with a smile. She knew that Sully was a grown man, and he didn't want his mommy to go see the doctor with him.
"Thanks for doin' this," Sully said when he entered the room, "I wouldn't expect anyone to stay after hours."
"I don't see any reason to send you to the emergency room to wait for six hours for something that I can complete in less than thirty minutes," Michaela said. She meant completing the x-ray and wrapping his wrist, "But don't make a habit of it."
"Wasn't plannin' to," Sully said with a small chuckle.
"Please don't tell your friends that I see patients after hours," Michaela requested, "I am doing this for you now, but this is not a service that I can provide regularly. I really do have kids at home, and I have to close sometime," In reality, Michaela didn't have the heart to turn people away if they needed help, that is why she didn't want him to send people her way after hours.
"I understand completely," Sully said, wondering why she bothered to stay open for him that night.
"What did you do to your wrist?" Michaela asked as she placed Sully's arm on the table to be x-rayed.
"I slipped and fell on it," Sully said.
Michaela x-rayed Sully's wrist and looked at the digital pictures that came up on her screen. She nodded at the pictures, "Will you follow me to the other table?"
Sully followed her and Michaela reached for his arm, and she gently sat it on the exam table, "Your wrist isn't broken, it's sprained. I can't tell the severity of the sprain, unless I see it in an MRI. I don't have an MRI machine here. I will have to make an appointment at the hospital tomorrow. For now, I'm going to wrap and splint your wrist. I'm going to write you a prescription for Motrin 800. That will help with the pain and the swelling."
"Can I take Tylenol too?" Sully asked as he watched her wrap.
"To stay ahead of the pain, yes," Michaela said, "You can take Tylenol every four hours and Motrin every six to eight hours. Tylenol is not an anti-inflammatory, so if nothing else, you must at least take the Motrin. Do not take any other type of Ibuprofen while you are taking the Motrin. You should keep your wrist immobilized for the next 36 to 48 hours. Just rest it. Apply ice, to help with the swelling as well. I'm going to give you a sling to help you immobilize it during the day."
"Do I really need an MRI?" Sully asked, not wanting to take a trip to the hospital.
"If you notice that the pain is subsiding in the next few days, then we can skip the MRI," Michaela said, "If you are in immense pain, then it's best that we do an MRI to see how bad the sprain is."
"Okay, thank you," said Sully.
When Michaela finished wrapping Sully's wrist, she retrieved the sling that she had previously set out and put it on him properly. Once she was done, she looked up at Sully and the two made direct eye contact for the first time that evening.
When making eye contact, Michaela and Sully both couldn't help but stare. They both enjoyed gazing into eyes that they thought were beautiful.
Michaela had seen blue eyes before, but these eyes were like clear blue crystals that kept her gaze. She liked looking into them last night, and she liked looking into them now.
Sully was certain he had not seen anything like Michaela's eyes before. They were lovely, captivating, and two different colors, which made them unique. Looking into her eyes, jogged his memory. The doctor was the same woman that he met the previous night when he was picking up Hanna from school. She was the mother he'd collided with.
"Let me get you that prescription," Michaela said, breaking the spell first, "What's your full name?"
"Sully. Byron Sully," he answered, "How do I pay you for this?"
"We can handle that when you come back in for a checkup," Michaela said, "I will need to see you back next week. Sooner if the pain gets worse."
"Thank you," Sully said. As she turned her back to him to write out a prescription, it was too late for her to type one, Sully admired her light brown hair. It was long, straight, shiny and went down the middle of her back. As he admired her hair, he couldn't help but notice the shape of her body. He concluded that the good doctor must have quite a nice physique under her fitted A-line skirt and white lab coat. He imagined her working out at the gym in only a sports bra and leggings. Then he imagined her in the showers after that. He had to get out of there. He needed to go home right away and walk straight into a cold shower.
Michaela handed him his prescription.
He took it from her and noticed that she was not wearing a wedding ring. He wondered if she was widowed like he was, "Thank you."
"You're welcome," she said and told him to follow her out. She led the way back to Snowbird in the waiting room.
"You were in the store yesterday when I was arguing with the goat," Snowbird said to Michaela, causing Sully to flinch and blush.
"I believe so," Michaela said, wondering if "the goat" was the elderly man named Loren.
"Wasn't he being ridiculous?" Snowbird asked Michaela.
"Let's go, Ma," Sully said, before Michaela could answer, "Dr.-" he stopped short when he realized he didn't know her name.
"Dr. Quinn," Michaela said, "I'm sorry, I didn't introduce myself when you first came in."
"Dr. Quinn has kids," Sully said, "I have kids. Everyone wants to get home to their kids," he opened the door with his good hand and held it open for Snowbird.
"Thank you for taking care of my kid," Snowbird said, starting to leave.
"Ya know," Sully said, "It's dark out here. Why don't ya lock up and turn everything off, Dr. Quinn, and we will walk ya to your car."
"Oh, thank you, but…" Michaela started to refuse. She'd walked herself to her car alone in the dark before.
"We insist," Snowbird said, pleased that Sully offered to do that. Abagail had been gone for nearly a year now and she wanted Sully to meet someone new. She didn't want him to get married again…yet… but she wanted him to have someone to talk to.
"Very well," Michaela said, "I'll get my things."
To be continued. Please review and leave your thoughts.