Michaela wasn't sure how to dress herself and her kids in the morning. She'd never been to a baseball camp or a ranch. She imagined that Matthew would get dirty, so she had him wear a black polo with blue jeans and sneakers. She dressed Brian the same way, but put him in a blue polo. She put Colleen in a pink polo dress with a pleated skirt and white sneakers.
Now she had to dress herself. She didn't want to look like she was coming from the office or like she was coming from the gym. She put on a cream colored jumpsuit that was cinched at the waist with a burnt orange belt. She wore burnt orange canvas sneakers to match the belt and to make the outfit look more casual. She threw on a dark wash denim jacket on top.
When Michaela arrived with the kids at 6:55 am, Sully met her at the gate. He was standing near a horse.
"Welcome," he said as he approached her Mercedes. He gave her directions to where to park her car, and then followed her on horseback. She parked in front of a small bungalow style house.
He looked like he just came from the gym, wearing a baseball cap, tee-shirt and sweatpants. The other boys that were there, were wearing practice baseball gear. She concluded in her head that she would need to get Matthew baseball gear.
When they got out of the car, Sully said, "Matthew, go with Zachary to change your clothes, and Dr. Mike, kids, you can follow me."
"I didn't bring extra clothes for Matthew," Michaela whispered, praying she wasn't going to embarrass her son.
"That's okay," Sully whispered back, "Zac's got extra."
"Can I go mom?" Matthew asked.
"Yes," Michaela said.
"You look very nice," Sully said. Truth be told, she didn't just look nice to Sully, she smelled nice too. He wondered what fragrance she was wearing. It reminded him of eucalyptus.
"Thank you," Michaela said, smiling warmly.
As they walked toward the other children, Sully then said, " This young lady is Rosemary."
Michaela turned and reached for Colleen's hand and said, "This is Colleen."
"It's nice to meet you," Colleen said politely.
"Rosemary, why don't you show Colleen where the swing set is," Sully said.
Rosemary smiled and led the way.
"This is Mason, Ben, and Cody," Sully said to Michaela and pointed to each boy as he said their names, "Boys, go set up while I escort Matthew's mom to the playground."
"Yes, Coach," The three remaining boys said and ran to go set up.
"This way," Sully told Michaela.
Michaela lifted Brian into her arms and followed Sully. When they turned the corner, Michaela saw Colleen and Rosemary playing together on the swing set and she recognized Sully's daughter, Hanna, playing in a turtle shaped sandbox. When they got closer, Michaela put Brian in the sand box, next to Hanna, and then she glanced down a small hill. She saw Matthew, with Zachary, and dressed in baseball gear. He was following Zachary and helping him, and the three other boys, set up the field.
"This is gonna be about four hours. You probably want to stay close to the toddlers. Hanna's tee-ball set is over there. She can show Brian how to play with it. You can sit up here with the kids or you're welcome inside my house. Rosemary knows how to work the T.V." Sully explained to Michaela.
"I do want to stay close to Brian," Michaela said, "But would you mind if I watched Matthew too?"
"You can," Sully said, a little wary, "I never say no to parents who wanna watch, but I'm the coach. I have to teach him the game, get him into shape, and also teach him discipline and respect down there. You'll see what I mean if ya watch. You hafta leave him be and leave him to me. You can't run down there and mom him."
"Okay," Michaela said, not exactly sure how to take that.
"Trust me," Sully said with a wink, "I've been doin' this awhile."
Michaela smiled at him and said, "Okay."
For the first hour or so, Michaela didn't see anything that she believed was out of the ordinary. She was actually very impressed with Sully's coaching skills. Sully directed the boys while they were stretching, running, and doing different exercises. Then they took turns standing on the different bases, throwing and catching the ball. Then they practiced batting off of a tee.
What they were doing at the moment, was one boy was pitching a ball to another boy who was catching. And there was another boy who was batting. All of the boys hit the ball after being pitched too. Then it was Matthew's turn.
The boy who was pitching, Michaela believed his name was Mason, threw the ball to Zachary, who was catching. Matthew swung the bat at the ball and missed. That didn't seem to matter to Matthew because another boy had missed the ball on the first pitch too. Then Mason pitched a second time, and Matthew missed again. When it happened a second time, Matthew appeared to be a little more embarrassed, but still kept going. When Mason struck him out for a third time, Matthew got so angry that he threw his bat, crossed his arms at his chest, and pouted.
"No!" Zachary shouted to Matthew, but it was too late.
"Throwin' your equipment is NOT allowed," Sully commanded sternly, but not in anger, " Your consequence is 25 push-ups and 50 deep knee bends."
"I'm not doing that!" Matthew shouted, his face turning red.
It was all Michaela could do to keep herself from running down there, but she promised Sully she wouldn't, so she sat and watched.
"Talkin' back to your coach," Sully said sternly, but still not angrily, "Your consequence just doubled."
"You're a weenie!" Mason yelled from a far.
"Don't call him a weenie!" Zac yelled and pushed Mason.
"Makin' fun of a teammate," Sully said to Mason, "Get down and do it with him."
"Pushin' a teammate," Sully said to his son, "Get down and do it too."
Zachary groaned and walked toward Matthew and said, "Come on, Matthew, we hafta do it."
When Zachary and Mason got down on the ground and obeyed Sully, Matthew sighed, gave up his defiant behavior, and did it too. However, Matthew wasn't as well trained as the other boys, and his push-ups were lacking.
"That ain't a push-up, Son," Sully said to Matthew, "All the way down and all the way up."
When Matthew started doing the push-ups correctly, he said, "Hey, this hurts my arms."
"That's okay, Son," Sully said, "That just means you're buildin' muscle along with your character," Then Sully looked at Ben and Cody, who had stopped practicing and were just staring at their teammates. Sully scolded them and asked, "You two wanna practice? Or do you wanna get down and do it with them?" Ben and Cody instantly got back to practicing.
Michaela was amazed. Sully didn't get mad or lose his temper. He had firm rules, and consequences for breaking those rules. She was very impressed by the way he handled the disobedience, teasing, and bad attitudes.
Once the boys were done with their consequence, Sully said to Zachary and Mason, "You two know the rules, give me two laps for wastin' time," When the two boys took off running, Sully said to Matthew, "You and me gotta talk."
"What?" Matthew shrugged.
"Yes, Coach is what you say," Sully warned.
"Yes, Coach," Matthew said quickly. He didn't want to do any more push-ups or deep knee bends.
"Why did you throw your bat?" Sully asked softly, though he already knew the answer.
"Because I struck out," Matthew admitted, "and I got mad."
"Everyone strikes out, Son," Sully said, "It doesn't matter how long you've played, it's part of the game. These boys strike out too. If you play in minors, the other boys there will strike out. Boys in juniors strike out, boys in seniors strike out, professional major league baseball players strike out, and if you ever watch a softball game, the girls strike out too."
"I was embarrassed," Matthew said, "I felt like I was the only one."
"No," Sully said, shaking his head, "As I said, strikin' out is part of the game. You'll never receive a consequence for strikin' out, but you will receive a consequence for a bad attitude. I know you're new in town, and you want to make new friends. Playin' baseball is a great way to do that, but if somethin' goes wrong, you need to suck it up and move forward or no one will want to play with you or be your friend. Nobody wants to play with a cry baby or a pouter. And you don't ever throw your stuff. You can hurt someone, you can hurt yourself, and you can break the equipment."
"Yes, Coach," Matthew said with acceptance.
"I'm gonna send home a copy of the rules," Sully said, "I want ya to understand that if you break the rules, you have consequences for that. Also understand, it takes time out of everyone's day to deal with bad behavior. There is a consequence for wastin' everyone's time on top of the consequence for breaking a rule. As you just learned, if you refuse your consequence, the consequence doubles."
"Why so many consequences?" Matthew asked.
"Because you need to become disciplined if you're gonna be successful at anything," Sully said, "Followin' rules, especially in baseball, is part of the success."
"Yes, Coach," Matthew said.
When Zachary and Mason finished the two laps, Sully said to the team, "Let's get back to battin' practice please."
As Michaela was watching, Sully turned around and winked at her, and she smiled back at him.
Michaela concluded that this was going to be a good experience for Matthew. This was what he needed. He needed rules, discipline, and a male figure to teach him things without getting upset and flying off the handle. Sully was calm, patient, firm with discipline, and also fair.
All of the boys and Rosemary were picked up from Sully's ranch between 11:00 and 11:15. After they were picked up, Sully offered Michaela and the kids lunch, which they gladly accepted. After lunch, Michaela was going to thank Sully for inviting them and tell him she would meet him at Ice Cream Social later that night.
Then Matthew asked, "Mom, can we go horseback riding?"
"Well, Matthew…" Michaela said hesitantly.
"Please, Mommy," Colleen interjected.
"Colleen, you don't have pants on, and I didn't bring any with me," Michaela told her daughter.
"I have an old pair of baseball pants that would probably fit her," Zachary offered.
"Have your kids ever been horseback ridin'?" Sully asked.
"Oh gosh, yes," Michaela answered for her children, "My niece competes and she taught them. They've been riding horses for a long time."
"Even Brian has been on a horse before," Colleen said, "Everyone has."
"Except Mom," Matthew joked and Colleen started laughing.
"It's not Mommy's fault, she never wants to get her clothes dirty," Colleen added.
"Matthew and Colleen," Michaela scolded, getting embarrassed.
"I don't mind if you don't," Sully said, "Zac knows all the trails. The kids are only allowed to ride the docile horses. I do have a pony that I think would be good for Colleen."
"Do you have helmets?" Michaela asked.
"Yes," Sully answered.
"It's alright with me," Michaela said.
Sully and Michaela watched the older kids take the horses around a corral on the ranch. While they were watching, he held Hanna and she held Brian. Brian put his head down on Michaela's shoulder, it was time to take a nap. She looked at Sully and saw that Hanna was falling asleep on his shoulder, just like Brian was falling asleep on hers.
"The kids are falling asleep," Michaela said in a quiet voice, "Maybe we should go."
Sully shook his head, "Follow me," he whispered and led Michaela to his house and straight to Hanna's room.
Sully softly placed Hanna in her crib. Then he went into her closet and retrieved a pink, folded, pack-n-play crib and set it up in Hanna's room for Brian.
Michaela gently placed Brian in it after Sully set it up.
"Everything is pink in here," Michaela commented, noting all of the pink furniture, along with the pink curtains and bedding.
Sully chuckled, "After four sons and one grandson, my mother went overboard with the pink stuff when she found out she was havin' a granddaughter."
"Yes," Michaela said with understanding, "My father did something similar when his first grandson was born."
Sully smiled, "You're kids' horseback ridin' skills are impressive. If it's okay with you, I'll tell Zac that it's okay to go out on the trails."
"Thank you," Michaela said in a low voice, "and yes, it's okay with me."
Sully nodded and left to tell Zachary that they could go out on the trails.
While alone in Hanna's room, Michaela looked around and her eyes became attracted to a beautiful dollhouse. It was exactly what Michaela was looking for, for Colleen. It was made of sturdy wood, like she wanted, but it wasn't plain. This doll house was beautifully painted.
"Whatcha lookin' at?" Sully asked warmly when he returned.
"My daughter asked me for a dollhouse for her birthday," Michaela told him, "I haven't liked anything that I've seen on Amazon. I was looking for something just like this. Where did you get it from?"
"My mom found that on Facebook Marketplace," Sully said, "It's from Aveda? I think?"
"I think you mean Ikea," Michaela corrected him with a small giggle, "Aveda is a line of hair care products."
"Ikea. That's what it's called. I knew it wasn't from Lowes," Sully said, earning another smile from Michaela, "It was plain and my son and I painted it together for Hanna."
"You painted it?" Michaela said, "That's why it's so beautiful."
Sully was going to tell her more, when they were greeted by his four legged companion.
"Down boy," Sully whispered and then said to Michaela, "Lets get outta here before we wake the kids."
Michaela walked out first. Sully grabbed the baby monitor, before leaving and closing the door.
"So this is your dog?" Michaela said, noting his size and his slight limp.
"Yeah, he's been inside gettin' his beauty rest all day," Sully joked and led Michaela to the living room.
Once Michaela and Sully were seated on the couch, Wolf found a nice spot on the floor and decided it was time for another nap.
"He still wants more beauty rest," Sully joked, shaking his head. The vet had given Sully some pain medicine for Wolf to help with the pain in his paw as it healed. The medicine made Sully's furry companion drowsy.
"You know, your coaching skills are very impressive," Michaela said.
"Thank you," answered Sully.
"Please tell me everything I need to buy and do," Michaela told him, "I want this to be a good experience for Matthew.
"I'll give you a list of everything that you need before you leave today," Sully promised, "It will include gear, rules of the game, rules of the camp, important dates, merit and demerit system. Things like that."
"Thank you," said Michaela.
As they sat on the couch, Sully decided to ask, "So, is it true that you've never been horseback ridin'?"
"It's true," Michaela told him, "My kids have been several times, but I haven't been once."
"Why not?" Sully asked, "It has to be more than not wantin' to get dirty."
"I suppose I've always been a little frightened to get on a horse," Michaela admitted, "My children aren't afraid. They aren't afraid of anything."
"Why don't you let me take you out on a horse?" Sully suggested.
"Maybe sometime," Michaela said timidly. Not only did she want to avoid it, she wanted to avoid talking about it.
"How about right now?" Sully insisted.
"Who's going to look after Hanna and Brian?" Michaela asked.
"Miss Olive is here," Sully said, "She's my second in command. I'll ask her to come sit with them. She's trustworthy."
"I don't have anything appropriate to wear," Michaela pointed out.
"Miss Olive has an extra pair of jeans in my office that I think will fit ya," Sully said, "I have an extra shirt that you can wear. I'm not suggestin' that we're gone for hours on end. Just a little ride while the kids are sleepin'. I'd like to take ya out. Please."
Michaela sighed and reluctantly agreed.
Sully took Michaela to his office to change clothes because he knew that his office closet was where Olive's jeans were. It also gave him the opportunity to ask Olive to sit with the kids.
When she came out of his office, Sully couldn't help but smile. Olive's jeans were a little long and Michaela had to cuff them, so they laid nicely over her orange sneakers, but they fit well everywhere else. He gave her a blue plaid shirt that she'd buttoned to just below her belly button and then tied the front into a knot. The shirt was still long enough that it hid her midriff, but the way she tied it, made it look more fitted.
Sully got to see more of her shape than he'd seen since they met. He could already tell from the way that her arms looked when he'd seen her in short sleeves, that she worked out. Now he could see her thighs, hips, and when she turned around to retrieve a hair tie from her purse, he could see the outline of her trim backside.
If this was how good she looked in a pair of old jeans, he could only imagine how well she would look in her bra and panties or perhaps in a short négligée or … no. No! No! No! He could not imagine her like that right now. She was his guest, and he couldn't exactly excuse himself for some alone time in his shower.
"You look good," Sully complimented, he just didn't tell her how good she looked to him.
"Thanks," Michaela said, finding that hard to believe. She felt awkward in someone else's clothes.
"Follow me," Sully said, and led the way to the horse stables.
"Okay," Michaela said nervously and followed him out. Was she really about to ride a horse?
As they walked out of his office and through one of the large showrooms, several of his Saturday crew started whistling at Michaela, as they walked by.
"Knock it off!" Sully scolded, knowing they had the capability of getting really inappropriate.
"Who was that?" one of the men asked Olive, who had just watched the entire exchange.
"Probably a new business partner," Olive reprimanded, "You all made huge jackasses of yourselves whistling at her! Sully asked me to go to the house to babysit. Please gain some sense before I get back!"
"Don't mind them," Sully said as he and Michaela finally made it to the stables. Sully entered one of the stables and started to saddle up an older horse, "They were just boorishly tryin' to tell ya that they think you're attractive."
Michaela blushed a bit when he told her that, "I wasn't paying much attention," It was true, she wasn't, her mind was too focused on riding a horse.
"This is Bear," Sully said, leading Bear out by the reins, "He's an older fella, but he's real gentle, and real strong. Let's go outside," He pointed to the way out, and Michaela walked with Sully following behind her with Bear. Once they were outside, Sully said, "Before you get on, why don't ya get to know him a little first. He likes that."
"You want me to get to know your horse?" Michaela questioned, feeling a bit unsure of what he just said.
"Yes," Sully answered.
"How does one do that?" she asked, blankly.
"That's simple," Sully said, turning to Bear and petting his muzzle, "You just pet him and tell him he's a good boy and a handsome boy, and that you can't wait to ride him…" When Sully saw the look on Michaela's face, a look that told him that she thought he was insane, he couldn't help but laugh, "Did I just say somethin' that was completely weird to you?"
"I've never heard my niece talk to the animals," Michaela commented. She felt that talking to a horse made her look foolish.
"She probably does it when you're not around," Sully commented, "Alright fine. Pet his muzzle and say hi."
"I can do that," Michaela agreed. She approached the animal and said, "Hello," and then touched his muzzle, "Wow, you're very soft. I was expecting you to have coarse fur."
"See, ya can talk to him," Sully pointed out, "I'm gonna hold him, and you climb on."
"I can do that," Michaela said, feigning confidence. She looked over the horse and tried to figure out how to get up.
"Come over here," Sully directed, "Put your left foot in the stirrup, push up and swing your right leg over to the other side."
Michaela did as she was told, but couldn't quite get up.
"Put more weight in the stirrup," Sully said, "Jump and push yourself up. You can do it," When he saw Michaela struggling, he let go of Bear's reins, walked behind her and pushed her up so she could get on his back. When the realization hit that he just put his hands on her firm bottom and he liked the way it felt, he tried to compensate by saying, "You will be able to do it by yourself eventually, it takes practice."
"Thank you for your help," Michaela said, feeling awkward. She could still feel his hands on her bottom, even though they were no longer there. She wondered what it would feel like if she was sitting astride his lap, and he was intentionally groping her there.
While she was thinking thoughts that she didn't think she should be thinking, she must have forgotten to breathe because the next thing Sully said was, "Take it easy and breathe. We're not gonna do anything too fast."
"What?" Michaela asked, feeling disoriented.
"Bear is a gentle giant, "Sully explained, "He's a soft and lovin' creature. You can take it easy while you ride him."
"Okay, Thanks," Michaela said, making sure that she started to breathe normally again.
Sully thought it was best to start her off like he normally started with Hanna. He allowed Michaela to hold on to his reins, so she felt more secure having something to hold on to, and he attached an extra leather strap, like a leash, and led them around the corral. After a few times around, she started to relax and Sully smiled because she seemed to really like it, "How about we go for a ride?" he suggested.
"Isn't that what we're doing?" Michaela asked.
"No," Sully chuckled and he unhooked the extra leather strap that he had attached and hung it back up. Then, what looked like next to no effort from Michaela's point of view, he hopped on the back of Bear and sat very snuggly behind Michaela. So snuggly that his chest touched her back, and his inner thighs touched her outer thighs. He put his arms around her and said, "You hold the reins down here, and I'm gonna hold them up here."
"Okay," Michaela said, trying to keep focus. Her body throbbed, in a good way, wherever it touched him, and unbeknownst to her, his body was doing the same. She kept her mind on him getting on the horse so quickly, after she had struggled to get on. He couldn't even put his foot in the stirrup, to help himself up, because both of her feet were planted firmly inside them, "How did you get up here so easily?"
Sully let out a little snicker, "Years of practice. I've been riding as long as I can remember," He decided to spare her the revelation that he was afraid of horses when he was a small child because he watched his brother get seriously hurt in a riding accident. He'd just got her on the horse, and he didn't want her to want to get off. His fear didn't last for too long. Once his parents brought Brecken home from the hospital with only a broken leg, they were able to convince him to ride again, "My Cheyenne father, that's my foster father, taught me how to ride bareback too. I have no trouble gettin' on and off a horse."
"Bareback?" Michaela inquired.
"Yeah," Sully said, "That's when you ride without a saddle. Now that we're on, how about I take you on a tour of my land."
"But not too fast," Michaela said.
"No, not too fast, just a steady gallop," Sully promised.
"Will the kids be okay?" Michaela asked as Sully started to ride them towards the gate of the corral. He leaned over her and opened the gate, allowing enough room for the horse to walk through.
"You're kids are pros," Sully said, starting them on the trail, "I almost feel bad now that I stuck Colleen on the pony, because she can handle a horse. Zachary knows the rules of the ranch and he knows what to do if someone gets hurt."
"What about the toddlers?" Michaela asked. She knew they were napping when she left with Sully. She knew Sully had a babysitter, but she was still worried.
"I have my cell phone in my pocket," Sully said, "Olive has my number and can call me if somethin' happens. Trust me, it'll be fine."
Michaela decided to trust him as he took her on this ride, and she stiffly held on to the horse's reins and looked around. Most everything she saw was dry dirt, but looking ahead, she saw grass that was starting to change color and go dormant, a pond, and tons of flowers in bloom. Michaela wondered how he got so many flowers to bloom in October, "What is this place?"
Sully smiled and told her, "This is my mamas' place. Both of them. My late mother, Kathleen, liked seeing flowers in bloom, so she planted for all the seasons. The place looks different every season. There are flowers that bloom in Spring, some that bloom in Summer, some that bloom in Fall, and even some that bloom durin' the Winter. My mother, Snowbird, that you've met, liked the idea and keeps it up. This is her place now."
"It's lovely," Michaela said. It was lovely and very picturesque, like a scenery shot in a magazine or in a calendar. It was full of flowers that were in bloom, it had a gorgeous pond and a white gazebo nearby with a bench swing and some other outdoor furniture, "Are there fish in that pond?"
"Yeah, but we ain't allowed to fish in there," Sully said with a chuckle, "Ma forbid me and the kids from doin' that. She's afraid we'll mess up her flowers and get her white furniture dirty. There are other ponds on the property where we can fish."
Michaela continued to sit rigidly in his arms, as Sully took them up a small hill and back down again.
"You can relax," he told her, thinking she was just scared to be on a horse for the first time, "You're perfectly safe. Bear ain't gonna buck ya off and I'm not gonna let ya fall off. You don't hafta sit so straight, you can lean back against me."
Michaela was a little scared to be on a horse, but that wasn't why she was so stiff. She was mostly nervous to be in such close proximity to a man that she found to be so sexy. She'd had other men in her life in the past, but she'd never felt such lustful feelings for a man before. What made her even more nervous was the more she got to know him, the more these feelings were moving beyond lust and also beyond friendship. She didn't want Sully to think she didn't like or trust him, so she decided to lean back against him as they rode.
"There ya go. That will help make this a much more comfortable ride," he said. What he should have said was that the position she was in now will help make this a much more comfortable ride for her. He was a little hot and bothered by her proximity before, but he didn't have to struggle to control himself. Now that she was leaning against him, he could tell that the fragrance he smelled on her earlier wasn't perfume, it was her shampoo. It smelled like green tea, eucalyptus and something else. He liked the smell so much that it was almost intoxicating. He probably should've just let her ride straight up and rigid because it was going to take a lot of self control to keep his body in check. The last thing he wanted to happen on this ride was for her to feel something hard in the middle of her lower back. Talk to her, Talk to her, he thought to himself, get your mind in the right place.
"When's your daughter's birthday?" He asked. It was the first thing he thought of.
"July 10th," Michaela answered.
"She wanted the doll house for her birthday?" Sully questioned, "Christmas is way closer than that."
"That's true," Michaela said, "But she usually asks for things for her Birthday. I usually buy things also thinking they are for her birthday, but I will give them to her on her actual birthday or Christmas or Easter, whichever comes first."
"My mother spends lots of time on YouTube and Pinterest," Sully said, as they came to a small fork in the path. He directed the horse right, and kept on riding, "Hanna has a play kitchen in her bedroom too, I don't know if you saw that. We made that from an old T.V. stand, entertainment center, thing."
"I did see it," Michaela said, now very impressed, "You made that from a T.V. stand? I'd planned to ask you where you bought it, so I could get something similar for Brian. He loves to watch me try to cook."
"Try to cook?" Sully asked, with a grin.
"We had a housekeeper in Boston," Michaela admitted, "I'm not exactly the greatest cook. I have a nanny that helps with dinner during the week. I am better now about not burning things. But you were saying? About the T.V. Stand?" Michaela was eager to get his attention away from her cooking skills.
"What I was gettin' to is that Colleen is a little bit older than Hanna, and she might like a bigger dollhouse," Sully said, "If you don't like what you saw online, we can build her one from scratch, we can hack a wooden one, or we can hack an old piece of furniture, like we did to make Hanna's kitchen, and turn it into a dollhouse."
Michaela would love to see him hack an old piece of furniture, but truth be told she liked the size of Hanna's dollhouse for Colleen. She thought it was the perfect size for Colleen's smaller dolls. She also liked that it could sit on the shelf and not take up too much room, "I liked the size of Hanna's dollhouse. Do I order it from Ikea or something?"
"Nah," Sully said, "I'll get my mother on it. She can find just about anything on Facebook Marketplace or eBay. She'll find the same one, or somethin' real similar, and we'll help ya paint it and put it together. It will most definitely be ready for her by Christmas."
"Thank you so much," Michaela said.
"You're welcome," Sully said, and then he gently pulled on the horse's reins to bring them to a full stop. Michaela looked around, they were in a large clearing with a view of a few foothills and mostly just open space, "This is my favorite place on my land. You get the best views of the sunrises and sunsets out here. Businesses can't build past the foothills, so there is very little outside noise. At night, there ain't any extra lights, so the stars look brighter."
"It's a lot of open space," Michaela commented, "It feels very peaceful."
"When my parents were alive, they lived in a house that is now used as a banquet hall. When I built my bungalow, I built it as close as possible to my office, so I didn't have to travel so far to work. If I ever build another house on the ranch, I want to build it right here," Sully told her, then laughed, "I just have to figure out how to get electricity out here."
Michaela looked at the land and had what felt like a vision of the future. It was like a premonition, but it didn't come with a sense of foreboding, but rather a sense of happiness and security. She saw a large craftsman's style home with brown wood, white trim, a brick fireplace and a large driveway. She saw Matthew, Colleen, and Zachary, a little older, riding their horses around the property. She saw Brian and Hanna, also a little older, drawing with sidewalk chalk in the driveway. Lastly, she saw herself with Sully, sitting on the front porch. He sat on the top step and she sat on the step below him. He had one leg on either side of her and he rubbed her shoulders while she held an infant.
"You okay?" Sully asked, taking her out of her vision. It was so vivid that it almost seemed real.
"Yes," Michaela said, "I was just enjoying the view."
"This trail goes for another mile that way, then it will take us back to where we started. That's the long way," Sully informed her, "Or I can turn us around and we can go back the way we came. That's the short way. What would you rather do?" This was his way of asking her if she was having a good time and wanted to continue the ride with him.
"If it's not too much trouble, I would like to continue on the trail," Michaela said.
Sully smiled, "Long way it is."
To be continued.
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