"Be careful in this spot. It's a little muddy," Sully warned Michaela as they rode down the trails on horseback.
They made it through the muddy spot and now were riding side by side with him on Goliath and her on Flash.
"You're really gettin' the hang of this," Sully remarked, acknowledging how well she'd been riding.
"I have a good teacher," Michaela replied, smiling brightly at him as she held onto Flash's reins. Since the riding incident that happened almost a month ago now, Michaela had been going on regular rides with Sully. She was so happy that she'd taken his advice and gotten back on her horse after that big scare because she now found that she loved Flash, and she loved being on the trails with Sully. Lately, they'd taken their rides together on Saturday after the morning little league baseball game. However, Michaela and the kids were going to be on a plane in a couple of days, so she wanted to go on a ride earlier in the week.
Once they were riding side by side, Sully removed his phone from his pocket and looked at it, "It's time to start headin' back," he announced, and placed the phone back into his pocket.
"But I feel like we just got started," she countered, and wondered how this very activity had become so therapeutic for her. She still didn't know or understand how it happened, but she treasured these rides with him now. The rides gave her a chance to bond with the man she loved, and they took her away from the regular stressors of life.
"We've been out for a few hours," Sully told her, "Besides, this is the time ya said ya needed to leave so you could go home and pack. Actually, we need to pack."
"You don't have to help me with that, Sweetheart," Michaela insisted. He said he wanted to, but she didn't want him to waste his time, "It'll be quite boring for you."
"No, it won't," he argued, "If that's what you're gonna be doin', then that's what I wanna be doin' too. I wanna soak up every possible minute with you before you leave."
"I'll be back in eight days," Michaela said, attempting to shrug it off. If she thought about it too much, she'd never be able to board the plane.
"I know," he jokingly whined, "You'll be gone for way too long."
Michaela smiled at him, and then declared what was in her heart, "I love you, Sully, and I'm going to miss you while I'm gone."
"I love you, my darlin'," Sully declared right back, "and I'm gonna miss you too." He was going to miss her very much. That's exactly why his plan was to make her his, officially, as soon as she got back, well, not exactly when she got back, but very quickly thereafter. That wasn't the only reason why he wanted to marry her, but it was very high on the list. Unfortunately, he still couldn't find the right ring. He'd decided within himself that he was proposing on April 1st, whether he had the ring or not. He'd become firm on that, feeling that he could always buy the ring later. Asking for her hand was the most important thing to him.
"Oh Sully... please come and help me," she replied, deciding she didn't want him too far from her after all, "And I want the kids to spend as much time together as possible. I fear they will miss each other too."
Since Michaela and the children were leaving in two days to go to Boston for her nephew's wedding, she took the day off on Friday, so she could get everyone packed. The kids were in school, so she'd have plenty of time to get everything together without interruptions. All she wanted to do on Saturday, the day before they left, was go to the baseball game that involved three very important men in her life, spend the rest of the day with Sully and the children, and then go to bed.
Sully talked her into going horseback riding with him on that Friday morning. She'd said she wanted to go earlier than Saturday, and that morning was the perfect time. He promised to help her get packed for her trip afterward to ensure that she was done before the children got home, and now he was glad that she was allowing him to keep his promise.
As they were riding back to the stables, Sully let out a yawn.
"Sweetheart?" Michaela questioned, and started jumping to conclusions, "Did you sleep okay last night? That's the third time you've yawned this morning. Are you preoccupied with something? Is it keeping you up?"
"I'm preoccupied by your beauty," he flirted, attempting to distract her.
"Sully," she scolded but couldn't keep the smile off of her face.
"It's the truth," he insisted with a mischievous smirk forming on his lips, "I think about it constantly. I don't wanna sleep, I just wanna think about your beautiful face."
"If my face is keeping you up at night, I'll start wearing a mask," she replied stubbornly, but was still unable to hide her smile. She wanted the truth out of him, and she knew that wasn't it.
"No," Sully feigned pouting with a chuckle, "Don't do that. I am about to close that deal with Mr. Barry." He was about to close a deal to finalize the sale of his cattle, but that wasn't really what was on his mind at the moment either. Although he was resolved to propose even without a ring, he still wanted to find a ring for her. Additionally, he was also resolved about her trip, but he still didn't want her and the children going away. He was happy, however, that the time away had a definite end.
"I thought the sale was finalized," Michaela stated, now getting worried.
"It is, for the most part," he replied, "but it's never truly finalized until everyone has signed on the dotted line. We won't do that until next Wednesday."
"Then you'll have something to keep you busy while I'm gone!" she concluded enthusiastically, trying very hard to find the silver lining for him.
She had no idea, he thought to himself. Other than his job, his kids, and coaching, his plan was to scour every jewelry store in town while she was gone, so he'd definitely be busy. He knew what he was looking for, it was the ring he'd seen over and over again in his dreams. The problem was, he saw several rings like that one already, but nothing felt right to him. The ring he was looking for was very simple. It was a yellow-gold ring with a round diamond solitaire. It should be easy to find, but it wasn't. He just knew within himself if it was the right ring, he'd know. He'd feel it.
Sully placed the last of Michaela's luggage near the fireplace on the first floor of her home. It was only Friday, but her things were ready to go for the shuttle crew when they came for her and the children on Sunday morning.
Michaela walked to where Sully was standing. She placed both hands on his bearded face and said, "Thank you for helping me pack," then she gave her handsome boyfriend a quick peck on the lips.
Sully's face lit up. He loved it when she kissed him without him initiating it first. He truly didn't mind initiating it, but he really did enjoy it when she started it. It made him feel wanted. He put his arms around her waist and drew her in for a longer and deeper kiss.
"I'm gonna miss these lips," Sully mumbled against her mouth, and then pressed his lips to hers again.
"Eight days," Michaela whispered between kisses, "Only eight days."
While she was getting lost in their warm kisses, she suddenly found herself being scooped up into Sully's arms.
"Sully," She squealed and started to giggle, "What are you doing?"
He laid her down on the sofa and gently got on top of her. He gave her a small kiss again and then said, "Were done packin' and it's only 1:00. The kids are in school until three. That means we're all alone with nothin' more to do except–"
Ding Dong! The doorbell rang.
Sully let out a low growl and glared in the direction of the door.
"Oh no," Michaela said, laughing when she saw the displeased look on her boyfriend's face.
"Whoever that is, they have lousy timin'," He sighed. Then he kissed Michaela's neck and got off of her. He pulled her up to a sitting position, and soon found himself laughing with her about the whole situation.
"Tonight, my love," Michaela promised.
The doorbell rang a second time, so Michaela got up to answer the door with Sully following behind her.
When she opened the door, she and Sully were both immediately in awe of the person who was standing on the other side.
"Hello, Michaela, Sully," Dorothy greeted them both with a wide smile on her face.
When Michaela and Sully saw Dorothy, they couldn't believe that they were looking at a nearly 60-year-old woman. Her hair, which was usually up in a messy bun, was down and straight. It looked like it was freshly dyed red, and it appeared to be glossed which made it shiny. Her cheeks were a light peach, and her lips were a dark peach. Her eyes, which normally looked plain, had a little bit of shadow and a few swipes of mascara, which made the bright blue of her irises stand out.
"Dorothy!" Michaela exclaimed, "You look fantastic!"
"You do, ya look very nice," Sully complimented as well.
"Thank you, thank you," Dorothy answered, "I feel great too."
"Please, come inside the house," Michaela offered and stepped to one side.
Michaela and Dorothy chatted on the couch while Sully was in the kitchen making coffee and tea.
"Marcus had to spend 60 days in jail," Dorothy reported to Michaela, "Durin' that time, my daughter Megan came down. She is rentin' an apartment and I'm stayin' there with her. She was the one who packed up all of my clothes and personal items while I was in the hospital and her father was in jail. She's the one that did my hair and make-up today, and she also dyed my hair a few days ago. She is bound and determined to make me feel good. She says lookin' good will help me feel good, and I think she's right."
"You do look great," Michaela complimented and then got to business, "It's been more than 60 days since you were first brought to the hospital. Is he out of jail now?"
"He is," Dorothy confirmed, "and he's back in the house. The judge granted me a temporary protective order against him. Marcus can live in the house while this is goin' on, since I have another place to live, but he has to stay away from me throughout the divorce proceedings. Once it's done, I can apply for another protective order, and he was served with divorce papers last night."
"Good for you," Michaela congratulated her with all of her heart, "I'm very happy to hear about that because you deserve so much more. No one has the right to do what he did to another person, Dorothy. He was your husband; you were supposed to be able to trust him with your life. I just hope you believe that you deserve better than that."
"I believe that now," Dorothy vowed, "I don't know why I didn't believe it before, but I do believe it now."
"I'm so glad," Michaela said, "If you need anything, please don't hesitate. I'm going out of town for my nephew's wedding, but I'll be back next week."
"Thank you, Michaela," she replied, "All I want, and need, is my nanny job back."
"It's yours," Michaela promised, "Divorce proceedings do add up. You've been married so long; I don't even know how it will work, but you can count on having a job."
"I appreciate that. Thank you so much. As for my divorce, all I could ask the court for is equitable division of our assets," Dorothy informed her, "The judge has to decide what that means. The children are grown, and the house is paid for. Marcus retired last year; we were livin' off his pension and my side hustles. The house and his pension are the only assets we have that are worth any money. I suspect the judge will order us to sell the house."
"Is that what you want?" Michaela inquired.
"The pension and the house are worth about the same amount," Dorothy explained, "It would be alright with me if I was granted the house and Marcus was granted the pension. As I said, the judge decides, and I don't know how it all works."
Sully entered the room with a flat baking sheet. He wanted a cookie tray but couldn't find one; alas, his girlfriend had a lot of stuff in her kitchen. On the sheet, were two cups of coffee for himself and Michaela, and a cup of tea for Dorothy. He also found Michaela's sugar bowl, some half and half, and some saltless veggie straws.
"Couldn't find any cookies," Sully commented and placed the baking sheet down on the coffee table. Then he took a seat next to Michaela, but not in the middle of Michaela and Dorothy. He didn't want to interrupt their conversation, he wanted to join it gradually.
"This is perfect, Sully," Dorothy said, sampling a few veggie straws and taking her cup of tea from the tray. She added a little sugar and cream and held it in her hands on her lap. Michaela did the same with her coffee but didn't take any veggie straws.
"You said you were staying with your daughter," Michaela said, wanting to catch Sully up, "How are your children taking this news?"
"Megan is the most financially sound of my children," Dorothy said, "Her husband is an engineer, and she works seasonally for his company in the customer service department. She's off right now, that's how she is able to be with me. Jennifer isn't as financially sound; she's a waitress and her husband works at a hardware store. She wants to find a way to get down here, especially if this goes to court. Long story short, my girls have been very supportive."
"And Tommy?" Sully asked, remembering his late wife's only male cousin to be a little odd.
"Tommy," Dorothy said with a sigh, "He's stationed at the Moody Air Force Base in Valdosta, and it's hard for him to leave to come to Colorado Springs. Other than that, he says he wants to remain neutral."
"Neutral?" Sully asked with a scoff. This wasn't something to remain neutral about. Dorothy was the one who was being abused, and it was a shame that her son didn't appear to have sympathy for her. Moreover, if Tommy wanted to help his father, he should get him into counseling. The old man needed that kind of help.
"His sisters are irritated with him too," Dorothy replied, "Tommy was the sweetest of my children growin' up. Somethin' has changed in him; I don't understand it."
"Well, for what it's worth, and I think I can speak for both of us, we're on your side, Miss Dorothy," Sully said, and gestured to his girlfriend as he spoke.
"Yes, indeed," Michaela commented.
"Thank you both," Dorothy replied, and suddenly something very humorous to her crossed her mind, "Ya know, Sully, your Ma gave me her support when I saw her just last week," Dorothy told him and couldn't hide the growing smile on her face, "Tell me, how do you like your mother's new boyfriend?"
"I'm used to it now," Sully commented, earning a laugh from both Dorothy and Michaela, "If Ma's happy, I'm happy."
"That's very good," Dorothy responded, "but I think you should know that Loren is prepared to kick your rear end should you step out of line about it."
"He's been threatenin' to do that since I met him," Sully replied with a shrug, making the women in the room laugh some more.
On the following day, Michaela sat with the younger children in the front row of the bleachers that surrounded the baseball field and cheered for Matthew and Zachary as they claimed victory with their team. Matthew always looked like he'd never had so much fun in his life when he played, which of course made his mother very happy. At the end of the game, Michaela made sure to cheer extra loudly for her favorite baseball coach when he and the other coaches shook hands.
They'd all arrived at the game in Michaela's vehicle because it had enough room to seat everybody. Once the game was over, and Sully was driving them back to his home for lunch, he started to think again about the future. He'd often thought that they would perhaps need to trade her GLS in for a Sprinter to make sure they had enough room for their entire family. If his visions were true visions and not just random dreams, they had two babies that had yet to be born, and they would be needing the extra room. Now, he was letting his mind wander. What vehicle would she drive to and from work every day? He knew he would need to keep his truck; that was out of necessity. She could drive it if she wanted to, but he couldn't see her behind the wheel of his truck on a regular basis. He knew he wanted her in a strong, sturdy vehicle like the GLS though, he just didn't think she'd need something as big for the regular back and forth to work. Something like a small to mid-size SUV would do the job. The most important thing was that he didn't want her driving with all the crazy drivers out there in a little car that would get crushed like a tin can if there was a bad enough accident. He would have to think about it and consult her first. They had time to discuss this, they weren't even engaged yet.
After they'd arrived home and had lunch, the children scattered, and Michaela and Sully relaxed in each other's arms on his sectional. They were both content to hold each other until dinner. Then after dinner, unfortunately, they would have to let each other go. She and her children had to be on a plane the following morning and they needed to go home and sleep.
"I wonder if we're making too big of a deal out of this," Michaela spoke, adjusting herself in Sully's strong arms, "If you think about it, when we're both at work during the week, most of our communication takes place via text. So, it's really not even eight days in which we will be out of our usual routine."
"That's true," Sully agreed with a sigh as he inhaled the scent of her hair, "I guess it's just the idea of not bein' able to see each other and kiss each other every day if we want to, but you're right. We'll just tell ourselves that we're in our work routine while you're gone, and we'll be okay."
"Perhaps we need to make a point of physically seeing each other during the week after this," Michaela suggested, "Now that we've both said our routine out loud, it does make me a little sad, and I do love snuggling with you. I think we need to make time during the week to snuggle more."
"I can't argue against more snugglin', but I do think that's just how life is sometimes," Sully replied, bringing her hand up to his lips, "As far as spendin' more time together goes, would you like to go away with me for a weekend? Just the two of us. I will arrange some sitters for us while we're gone."
"When do you want to do this?" Michaela inquired.
"I was thinkin', Saturday, April 1st," Sully said, attempting to sound nonchalant, "You'll already be back in town for a whole work week by then. We can make time for snugglin' durin' the week before then, but I wanna go away with you on that weekend."
"Certainly," Michaela agreed, but then thought about their already well-established Saturday routine, "I would love to spend the weekend with you, but what about coaching?"
"I'll get a sub for that day," Sully explained, "I don't miss very often, but I've done it before. I'm pretty set on this weekend thing. I wanna be with you, alone."
Michaela was about to agree, especially since he was clearly decided on it, but she and Sully were suddenly interrupted.
"Mom," Matthew said, coming into the room with Mia, Colleen, and Zachary following behind, "Look at these pictures."
Michaela looked at Sully and the two of them reluctantly let go of one another and sat up. Michaela took the photos into her hands and the first thing she saw was a picture of Mia, at maybe three-years-old. She'd seen that picture before, when she was going through Mia's things when the little girl first came to live with Sully. She hadn't paid much attention to them at the time; there was far too much going on, so she'd just set them aside.
"You were so cute," Michaela commented, smiling at Mia causing the little girl to smile back, "I think you're cute now as well." Michaela continued to smile, as she went through the photographs. The first four were just pictures of Mia as a toddler. Then she got to a certain picture and the smile quickly left her face, "Where did you get this?" Michaela couldn't believe what she was seeing.
"I don't know," Mia replied, pushing through the other children to stand next to Michaela. She looked over to see which picture Michaela was looking at and then explained, "My mommy gave them to me. My mommy said that picture was before I was born, and those people were her friends. Colleen and Matthew say that man in the picture is their daddy."
Sully pursed his lips; he was not so sure about that at all. "Guys, the man in the picture probably just looks like your daddy," he commented. Then he looked at Michaela and could tell by her reaction that she didn't agree with his conclusion. But, if it was their father, why would Mia or her mom have a photo of him?
Michaela focused on the picture in front of her. "Sweetheart, what's your last name?" she asked Mia, "I thought it was Welsey."
"No," Sully replied quickly, "We were so busy when Mia came to live here, that I think it slipped my mind in all of the craziness. In the envelope of documents that Hank gave me, there were two copies of the papers that gave Miss Ilsa custody. The first papers that I told ya to read had her last name misspelled in a couple of areas. The court clerk wrote WeLsey in some areas, and WeSley in other areas, but that was a draft copy. When I did more diggin', I found the official copy. Her last name is WeSley."
Michaela remembered reading those papers. For the most part, she remembered primarily focusing on Mia's first name which was Colleen. She just skimmed through the rest of the document. It would be easy to miss a typographical error like that, and Mia's mother's name wasn't even mentioned in the papers that granted Miss Ilsa guardianship.
"My name is Colleen Marissa Wesley," Mia answered, once Sully stopped talking, " My mommy always called me Mia."
"You're a Colleen, like me!" Colleen cheered obliviously.
"Wesley's my middle name," Matthew interjected, also oblivious to what was going on, "Matthew Wesley Cooper."
"Did your mother introduce you to anyone that she called your family, Mia?" Michaela asked.
"Only Nana," Mia replied.
"Did she ever talk about any members of your family?" Michaela questioned the child, "Did she tell you about an Aunt Charlotte?"
"No," answered the little girl.
"Charlotte is my birth mom's name," Matthew said aloud, simply amazed by this coincidence.
"This woman, here, is your mother?" Michaela asked, pointing to the picture of a young redheaded woman, "Clarise Wesley?"
"Yes," Mia replied, "That's my mommy."
Michaela pointed to Charlotte, the next person in the photograph, and asked, "And your mother never told you who this woman is?"
"That's her friend," Mia answered, now coming to the realization that something was wrong. She couldn't help but wonder why Dr. Mike was getting mad at her all of a sudden.
Michaela leaned back on the sofa and closed her eyes. She couldn't believe this was happening. If what she was thinking was true, it was an incredibly small world.
"Kids," Sully commanded, "Run along. Mom and I need to have an adults only conversation."
After all of the children left the room, Sully knelt down in front of Michaela, and placed his hands on her lap, "What's goin' on?"
"I'm the one who took this photograph, Sully," Michaela explained, and showed him the picture, "It was taken at the party that we had for Charlotte when she was promoted to head nurse in our department at the hospital."
"What?" Sully questioned in disbelief.
Michaela sat up so she could explain to Sully who the people were in the picture. She pointed to Clarise first, "This is Mia's mother. Clarise Wesley."
"Yeah…" Sully replied, waiting for her to continue.
She pointed to Charlotte next and said, "This is Charlotte Cooper. Her maiden name was Wesley. That's why Matthew's middle name is Wesley. She and Clarise are sisters," Then she pointed to Ethan and said, "This man is Ethan Cooper, my ex-husband. As you know, he's also Charlotte's widower. That baby that Clarise is holding, is Matthew, my son, and Charlotte's son."
Sully couldn't fathom what was going on here, "What are you sayin?"
"I'm saying that Matthew and Mia are first cousins," Michaela informed him, "I want to perform a DNA test when we return from Boston, just in case, but I don't think I'm wrong."
To be continued. Please review. =)
I've been waiting to drop that final Mia bomb for a while now.
To my guest reviewers: Thank you very much for your support and commentary. It's very helpful. I wanted to say that I'm trying to show that Michaela is adapting to her surroundings, but I also don't want the story to feel rushed, so that's why it's happening slowly. Please keep the commentary coming! Thank you!
To all readers and reviewers: As always, thank you everyone for your support. I appreciate the reviews, help, and excitement about the story.