Sorry for the delay people. It’s been end of term (I’m a teacher) and I have had no time. I hope to get back to my regular publishing schedule as soon as possible

Chapter Six

“Now open your mouth nice and wide and let me have a look inside” Michaela peered into the throat of the young girl, noting the bright red colour and swollen skin. She gently prodded her neck and was relieved to find that there was no unnatural swelling.

She patted the top of the tightly wound braids and helped the child off the examining table. Michaela washed and wiped her hands and turned around with a reassuring smile to the mother.

“Margaret is just fine. She has a slight throat infection but I can give you a powder for her to take twice a day. I also recommend that you brew these leaves into a tea. They will take away the pain and help her to sleep.”

“Thank ya Dr Mike. I was a worried cause she’d been a bit poorly for the last few days.”

“Well you were right to come in and get it checked. If she is no better by the end of the week, I am heading out your way so I could come by and see you.”

“Only if it ain’t too much trouble for ya.”

“It would be no trouble at all Mrs Hill.”

Mrs Hill nudged her daughter “What do ya say to the doc?

The little girl lifted her blue eyes up at Michaela and with a shy smile obeyed her mothers prompting. “Thank you Dr Mike for making me better.”

“Why you’re welcome Margaret. Now you make sure you have plenty of rest and stay inside out of the cold.”

Mrs Hill picked up her toddler who had been playing quietly on the floor and taking Margaret by the hand, led her family to the door. Michaela saw them out and smiled as the little boy waved goodbye to her from his Mother’s arms.

Michaela watched them leave feeling an unfamiliar pang inside. She often thought about what her children would have been like when they were this small but more concerning was that it made her wonder if she would ever have the chance to have a baby of her own.

She ran her hand over her flattened stomach and tried to picture herself with a baby. Somehow that dream seemed further away then ever today. Michaela walked over to the door of her clinic, watching the busy and bustling place that she had come to call home. She knew so many of the faces now she could almost tell who was about by the sound of their voices.

As she leaned against the door post one particular sound drew her attention. It was not a sound she had heard very frequently but it was one that in only a short time, seemed to freeze her blood. She wanted to hurry back inside the clinic but her feet were like lead and she remained rooted to the spot.

Sully was striding down the street with wolf trailing behind him as usual but that was not the sound that had sent a chill down her spine. For walking alongside of Sully was Marina. She was wearing a pink gown and matching hat, most certainly more likely to have been seen in Boston than Colorado Springs. His gait seemed to slow as he passed the clinic almost as if he were looking for her.

Michaela raised her hand automatically in greeting but the look of shame and embarrassment on his face left her stunned, her hand falling awkwardly back to her side. She could not begin to imagine what it was that he was feeling awkward about unless it was just that with Marina fitted so snugly to his side, it left no place at all for Michaela.

Marina turned her head to see what had slowed Sully’s pace and her eyes narrowed when she saw the picture of Michaela gazing out onto the street at the two of them. She glared right back at Michaela, not even attempting to hide the venom in her eyes. But as soon as Sully looked her way, she was all smiles waving her hand at Michaela.

“Good morning Dr Mike. And how are you this lovely morning?” Her voice was so sweet it could have rotted teeth on the spot.

Sully seemed quite happy to keep moving rather than dawdle in conversation but with Marina’s hand guiding his elbow, he had little choice but to walk over to the clinic.

Michaela clenched her fists unconsciously but made an effort to reply to Marina’s greeting.

“I am just fine thank you Miss Anderson.”

“Have you had a busy morning with your sick people?”

“We tend to refer to them as patients Miss Anderson.”

“Please Dr Mike, call me Marina. You did call me by my first name when we met at the homestead.”

“Why so I did. What a good memory you have Marina.”

“I suppose that is the advantage of youth. We do tend to recall every little detail but I have heard that it does fade as one ages”

Michaela was left speechless at this rather unsubtle jab at her age. She looked to Sully to see his response and found that he was still unable to meet her eye. What on earth was going on with him?

Sully in all honesty had not heard a word of the conversation between the ladies. He had hoped that a little time and distance would give him the chance to get over that fact that Michaela felt that his feelings towards her and most obviously his expression of those feelings were so distasteful. He could barely look her in the face, fearing that he would be unable to hide from her the truth.

Marina was delighted that Sully had not leapt to Michaela’s defense.

“Well if you will excuse me, I must get back to work.” Michaela wanted to get out of there as fast as possible.

“Just don’t work too hard Dr Mike. You are looking awfully pale. Sully and I are going for a picnic in the meadow and I am going to regale him with stories about my experiences in my finishing school in Chicago.”

“Goodness me, but how fascinating that will be for him.” Michaela did not even bother to hide the heavy sarcasm in her own tone and when Marina realized that her opponent could give as well as she could get, it made her smile with anticipation.

“I imagine it will be as interesting for him as say medicine. But probably nowhere near as useful but as you can tell, Sully is quite used to me pattering on about nothing and although he hasn’t said it, I don’t believe that he minds.

Marina squeezed Sully’s arm. “Do you Sully?”

Again Sully was at a disadvantage as he had been preparing a conversation in his mind that he really wanted to have with Michaela but noting that all other talking had stopped and that both women were looking at him expectantly, he decided the wisest course of action was to smile and say nothing. Neither woman was particularly pleased at this response.

“This chat has been just divine but we need to get over and see Loren to get some supplies for our picnic. Do excuse us Dr Mike.”

She tugged impatiently at Sully’s arm but to her dismay found that he had no intention of going anywhere. “Marina, why don’t you go over to the store and get the things. I’ll be there in a minute.”

Marina glanced warily at Sully “No that is quite alright. I would much rather wait for you.”

“Really Marina, it would be much quicker this way. You go and get organized. I need to have a quick word with Dr Mike.”

Michaela had a dreadful feeling that it was going to be a word that she didn’t want to hear.

Very reluctantly, and turning back towards them at every occasion, Marina made her way slowly to the store.

They both opened their mouths to speak and then stopped. “I’m sorry Sully, it was you who had something to say. You go first.”

“Dr Mike, I just wanted to say I was sorry. I seem to be saying that a lot to you lately but it doesn’t make it less true.”

“What are you sorry for?”

“For everything that has happened in the last few days. I had no idea it would upset you so.”

“Sully I have no right to be upset. It has nothing to do with me.”

“It has everything to do with you.” He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.

Michaela suddenly realized what it was that she thought Sully was trying to tell her.

Although Marina’s name had not been mentioned, she could almost feel it hanging in the air. He clearly wanted to tell her that he had feelings for Marina and worse still, perhaps was planning a future with her. Sully was trying to let her know that whatever it was that they had had, it was no more.

Michaela was not ready to hear this conversation and in fact doubted that she would ever be ready.

“I can’t talk about this with you now.”

“We have to talk. I have to explain things to you.”

“I don’t want to hear it.”

“I know you find it hard to talk about feeling stuff but you have to know…”

“No, I don’t have to know anything.”

“You’re not making this any easier.”

“Good.”

Sully reached out and grasped her arm, a familiar gesture but all the more poignant for Michaela who was beginning to think that this was the last time he might touch her.

“What I am trying to say is that my feelings for you are….”

“Lunch is ready.” Marina suddenly thrust herself between the two to them, swinging a picnic basket with such force that it struck Michaela on the leg.

“Oh I am sorry, how clumsy of me. Lucky that you are a doctor and can fix yourself right up.” She smiled innocently at the two serious faces of Sully and Michaela. “But wait, did I interrupt something important here. Just pretend I am not here, go on with your conversation.”

“Actually Marina, Sully and I have finished talking and we have nothing more to say to each other.” The look of delight on Marina’s face in response to Michaela’s cool tone almost made Michaela want to hear Sully out, just so Marina would not realize just how hurt she was at the thought of Sully having feelings for another woman.

Sully stared at Michaela in amazement. She clearly wanted nothing to do with him especially if she wouldn’t even listen when he tried to tell her that he loved her.

There was nothing more to be said. Sully turned to walk away when he realized that he was still holding onto her arm, he let go slowly, allowing his fingers to trail all the way down her hand, trying to tell her with actions that he didn’t want to let her go. Michaela watched his fingers, spreading warmth down the length of her arm.

The thought that Sully would never hold her again or touch her or kiss her made tears well up in her eyes. Rather than letting Marina see the extent of her pain she hurried into the clinic.

“Byron, I know that she is a friend of yours but she really is very crotchety sometimes. I have heard that can happen to women as they get older.”

“Marina!” Sully snapped “My name is Sully. Everyone calls me Sully. The only person who called me Byron was my wife and she is dead.”

Marina promptly burst into tears “You don’t need to remind me that she is dead Sully. I think about that every day the same as you do. I am the only person in the world who understands how much we lost and now you don’t even want me to use the lovely name that she used to call you, as if our years of friendship mean nothing.”

Sully was mortified. It wasn’t Marina’s fault that things had gone wrong with Michaela and now he had taken his own frustrations out on her.

He put his arm around her and pulled her close. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you. You can call me Byron if you want to.”

People walking along the street watched with undisguised interest as Sully the mountain man held and stroked the hair of a beautiful blonde woman while Dr Mike too watched the scene from the clinic window and what she saw confirmed all her worst fears.

Michaela continued writing notes at her desk. She wrote furiously for an hour, marking important facts in the columns and updating patient files. When her aching hand finally forced her to stop she re-read all the work that she had done and was horrified to see that not one word of it made sense. Her rumbling stomach reminded her that it had been some time since she had partaken of food but her reluctance to encounter the two love birds on the street had kept her a prisoner inside.

She peeked out the window again and with a sigh of relief saw that the road was clear. Michaela walked quickly over to Grace’s café, not stopping long enough to engage in conversation with anyone who might want to ask her things that she did not want to answer. Grace however was not so easily avoided.

“Dr Mike, you hungry? I got me some lovely chicken pie.”

“Sounds wonderful Grace, and some coffee too please.”

Michaela sat slumped forward with her chin resting on her arms. She felt so tired all of a sudden as if though she could fall asleep right here and then maybe she would wake up and it would all be a dream but she knew that when she closed her eyes the only image she would see would be that of Sully holding Marina, right out in front of the whole town.

Her face burned at the thought of it. Everyone would now know that whatever dreams she might have silently nursed were at an end. She knew that at times she and Sully had been subject to gossip. The amount of time that he spent with her family, the way he always sat with them at picnics and town events. She had heard the sniggers of people when he Sully had put his arm around her in the town portrait.

As far as she and probably the town were concerned, she and Sully were an item. Alright, nothing formal had been said between the two of them but Michaela felt like she had been transported right back to the day when Sully had tried to explain why he had kissed her on her birthday. His kiss had been her best gift and yet he had said he wasn’t ready.

She had agreed that she wasn’t ready too but she had only said that because that is what he had said. And if he wasn’t ready what was the whole deal with what had happened in her barn the other day. He had kissed her and she had welcomed it. She had felt overwhelmed but there was nothing about that day that she would change, apart from the appearance of Marina.

Michaela was so absorbed in her thoughts that she did not notice the re-appearance of Grace with her lunch.

Grace observed the doctors dejected posture and after briefly weighing up her choices, decided that the direct approach would be best.

She placed the food carefully on the table and slid on the bench opposite to Michaela.

The delicious smell of the pie revived Michaela somewhat and seeing Grace watching her so intently she hurriedly placed a forkful in her mouth, trying to fool Grace into believing that everything was alright.

Grace watched her for a moment “Dr Mike, I think it’s probably safe to swallow now. I promise you there aint no bones in that pie.”

Michaela grimaced “I’m sorry Grace, there’s nothing wrong with the pie, its’ just that I seem to have lost my appetite.”

“You bet there aint nothing wrong with my pie and I should kick you right out of my café for even suggesting it.”

She took a sip of her coffee instead, letting the hot liquid trail down her throat.

“So are you gonna tell me or do you want me to tell you?”

“Pardon.”

“No pardon necessary. If Robert E was running round town, chasing some young filly then I wouldn’t be able to keep anything down either.”

“So you know about Sully.”

“Know about Sully? The little flibberty gibbet came over here wanting some sort of a romantic lunch for two and when I told her the menu, had the gall to tell me that it wasn’t the sort of food she had in mind.” Grace snorted, clearly affronted by the slur on her cooking.

“What do I do Grace?”

“What do you want to do Dr Mike.”

“I don’t know. I don’t even know if I have the right to be feeling so upset.”

“Well the fact that you are probably means that you have the right to be.”

“Grace I am just so confused.”

Grace reached over and squeezed her hand and opened her mouth to reassure her when across the meadow came the sound of someone calling for Dr Mike.

Michaela leapt up, recognizing the voice of Sully and also recognizing the urgent tone of his call.

She raced across to the meadow only to encounter Sully hurrying towards her, holding Brian in his arms.

Her pace increased at the sight of her son. Behind Sully she could see Colleen, Olive and also Marina trying to keep up with Sully’s large strides.

“Sully, what has happened to Brian?”

“I don’t know. He was fine one minute and then fell onto the ground.”

“Colleen” she called to her daughter urgently “Did you see what happened.”

“Not really, we were out near the meadow looking for leaves for our nature study and Brian saw Sully and called out to him and then all of a sudden he just collapsed.”

Michaela looked at Sully, the worry written all over both of their faces.

“Do you think that he could have been bitten by something?”

“I don’t know Dr Mike but I think you better get him to the clinic and have a look at him.”

Brian groaned in Sully’s arms but opened his eyes to look at Michaela.

“Brian what’s wrong? What happened?”

“I don’t feel well Ma. Can Sully take me home?”

“I think you better come to clinic so I can examine you.”

“Actually I am starting to feel better.” Brian sat up in Sully arms

“You heard him Sully he’s starting to feel better. So give him to his Mother and then maybe we can continue on our lunch which has been so rudely interrupted.” Marina was fuming behind the rest of the crowd, very unhappy at the turn of events.

Brian suddenly doubled over in pain and with just a glance between them and no more words needing to be said, Michaela and Sully raced across to the clinic with the entourage trailing behind them.

Sully laid him gently on the examining table while Michaela felt his forehead and then his abdomen, trying furiously to work out what the problem might be.

‘He’s not running a fever and his stomach is soft and not distended. I can’t find any sign of a bite and his colour is good. I have no idea what is wrong with him.”

When she felt Sully’s comforting hand on her shoulder she could have wept with relief. She turned slowly to him and the look of faith and reassurance in his eyes was all the support she needed.

“Take it easy Dr Mike. He’s looking better already.”

Brian was lying at the table watching them with a contented look on his face.

“Brian, are you sure you didn’t feel a bite or a sting?”

“No Ma, I didn’t feel nothing.”

Michaela could see for herself that he was looking just fine and even though she was feeling calm, she did not extricate herself from the warm broad hand that was lightly touching her neck.

The clinic door opened and Colleen and Olive stuck their heads around the door.

“How is he Dr Mike?”

“Well he seems better but I still am not sure what caused the collapse in the first place.”

Brian sat up and made to jump down from the table.

“Wait Brian, what are you doing?” Colleen tried to push her brother back

“I’m fine now.”

“But Brian, you seemed to be in such pain before.”

“Yeah but it’s all gone now.”

Marina pushed her way to the front. “He certainly looks alright to me.”

“I didn’t realize that you too had been to medical school Marina” Michaela remarked coolly

“But Ma, you were saying that he was looking better” Colleen countered.

“The onset of the collapse and the sudden pain suggest to me appendicitis but I won’t know for sure unless I see some more symptoms.”

“You know, the Cheyenne have a poultice that they rub on the stomach. I can go and see Cloud Dancing if you want me to Dr Mike.”

“Thank you Sully but it would probably be better if I went. I would want to talk to him about the symptoms and see what he thinks. Cloud Dancing might have a better idea of what is wrong than I do at the moment, but if you would stay with Brian I would really appreciate it.”

“NO!” Brian cried out.

“Brian, what is it? Are you in pain again?”

“Yes, I mean no. I don’t want Ma going out to the reservation alone. I would be worried about her and then I would get sick again.”

“Brian, I can’t leave you here without someone to care for you. Perhaps I should just stay here.”

“I think Cloud Dancing could help Ma but I just want Sully to go with you. Colleen and Miss Olive are here to look after me.”

“I’ll come to the reservation too then. I’ve always wanted to go and meet your little Indian friends.” Marina sidled up next to Sully.

“I’m sorry Marina but we aint going calling. We are riding out and back quickly with hopefully some medical help. Besides, I am not sure the reservation is the place for you.”

“Anywhere that you go Byron is the place for me.”

“Not this time.” Sully firmly stepped aside. “Dr Mike, I’ll get the horses ready.”

“Brian, are you absolutely sure you want me to go the reservation?” Michaela did not feel right about leaving him.

“Ma, you said so yourself that you didn’t know what’s wrong with me. Maybe Cloud Dancing will. You always say that you trust him as much as any other doctor.”

“Yes that’s true. Colleen stay with him and if he starts to get a fever, give him some of the quinine, about a teaspoon should do. Olive can you let Matthew know where we are.”

She kissed Brian on the forehead, feeling once again for any sign of fever, but finding none, she grabbed her bag and headed outside to where Sully had the horses.

Sully helped her onto her horse and secured the stirrups while Michaela fastened on her bag.

Marina stood at the steps of the clinic, inwardly seething but as soon as Sully looked her way, her countenance appeared sweet and concerned.

“Take care Byron and hurry back. I hope your little boy will be alright Dr Mike. Is there anything I can do?”

“Thank you for your concern but I think we have everything under control.”

Sully swung up onto his horse and the two of them headed off together, their mutual concern for Brian driving them forward.

Their concern for Brian might have been instantly relived if they had turned around. For the moment that their hoof prints could be heard galloping off into the distance, Brian leapt off the bed and pressing his face against the window, watched them leave with a very happy smile across his face.