"You know how to dance!", said Katie, looking at her brother.
"Now, yeah.....but then.....well I didn't, and I was way too shy to ask or even say anything to Ingrid, but later we talked and, like Ma and Pa, we fell in love."
"Oh, now you need someone else?", Katie asked.
"Maybe Katie", he looked at Michaela and Sully, "I hope so, but.......well....I still miss Ingrid."
"Okay Katie", said Michaela, "lets get cleaned up and ready for bed", she motioned with her head for Sully to talk with Matthew.
"Ah.........Matthew, I was wondering if you could help me tomorrow with some work. I have to go into town first thing, get some things at the store, can you help?"
"Sure Sully", Matthew stood, stretched his arms over his head, "I'm tired. Good night".
Sully went upstairs and found Michaela standing in the hallway, "What are ya doing out here in the hall?"
"Just thinking about how lucky I am, and how I hope things work out for Matthew. You and I, Sully, we had hardache", she ran her hands up his arms, "but now things are so wonderful. Matthew's had heartache too and I hope he finds love, someone to care for him and that he can care for."
Sully took her hand and led the way to their bedroom. He sat on the edge of the bed, "He's gonna be okay, you know you just have moments when all the memories come rushing back and......well......it makes you sad."
Michaela sat next to him, "You're right", she turned to face him, "I'm so lucky that you wanted me, I know I wasn't the quiet little lady."
"Nope, but you captured my heart right off. I admit I had moments when I wanted to run off and forget ya, but if I sat and thought about you", he touched her face, "your beautiful face, your sparklin' eyes........well that made me come back."
"I'm glad", she leaned and kissed him. They fell back and laughed softly. "I'm real glad I married you Michaela. I know you had your doubts", Sully said. "I didn't have doubts............"
"Sully?"
"Uhm?", said Sully as his wife put her hand on his shoulder.
"I hope Matthew can find happiness......"
"Michaela, don't go playing matchmaker, Matthew'll be fine", Sully sat up and prepared for bed.
"Matchmaker? Why I don't even know anyone that Matthew might be interested in", she paced in front of the fireplace, "Perhaps in Denver he'll find someone, at least a nice friend, wouldn't that be nice?"
Sully laughed softly, "A friend would be nice. We were friends.", he kissed her lightly on the lips.
"Well not right away. I didn't know what to think of you. You brought me out to that homestead, Sully do you realize the place was falling apart? I should have ran then!"
"Ran? Oh, I see. You're having second thoughts? Now?", he teased, "What about you? All dressed up in your hat and gloves. Ah! Remember when we went to get water to prove it had mercury?"
"Yes, of course I remember, and I didn't wear a hat and gloves!"
"No, not then, but you had a tent!", he put his hands up, "A tent! You were something", he smiled and softened as the memories came flooding back. He crawled under the sheet and watched her finish changing into her nightgown. When she got under the sheet, he pulled her close, "Remember when I made the lean to?"
"Yes, because it rained and you made me leave the tent behind!", she pointed to the ceiling.
"Yeah, but I crawled in the lean to", his voice got very low and soft, "and I laid down behind ya, do you remember? You reached for my hand", he sighed, "I'll never forget that feeling, laying there holding hands. I fell in love with you then and I knew I could never go back, could never deny my feelings."
"You still tried to deny your feelings Sully. There were times, I know it", she said.
He laughed softly, "You did that, not me. You almost married the reverend!"
"Don't bring that up!", she put her hands on his face, "We both could have ended up with other people, there were enough of them interferring, but we're together. I'm so glad. You make me happy Sully".
He smiled and kissed her and they became lost in their passion.
Matthew was outside when Sully came out in the morning.
"Sleep well?", asked Matthew.
"Ah.....", Sully felt himself blush, "Yup, fine, how about you?"
"Fine", Matthew replied, "thought I'd go into town, you need anything?"
"No, I got chores to do here", Sully nodded and continued on into the barn.
Matthew rode into town and noticed a small gathering near the merchantile. He brought his horse to Robert E's, "What's goin' on at Loren's?"
"Seems Loren ain't open yet and people are getting anxious. I tell ya Matthew, anything will get people riled up these days", Robert E shook his head and continued working.
Matthew walked over to the store. "Can you help?", a woman asked.
"Help? Help what?", Matthew responded.
"Mr. Bray is not going to open until the train arrives with his order".
"Makes sense, if he needs stock to sell, he can't open, now can he?"
"Figures you're on his side! You men are all alike!"
Matthew smurked, pulled the brim of his hat and walked onto the porch at Bray's. He looked in the window and saw Loren talking with someone. He tapped on the door, "Loren!".
"Ah Matthew", Loren opened the door, "Come in.......be open soon folks!"
Matthew saw a young woman sitting on a a chair in the back of the store, "What's goin' on?" he asked Loren.
"This young.......well, lady.....I found her sleeping in the back. Said she can't go home and needs help", Loren looked at Matthew, "I don't know what to do with her, figured I'd wait for Dr Mike, maybe she could help."
"I'll take her over to the clinic. You need to open the store", Matthew said, pointing to the gathering outside. Matthew walked to the young woman, "Excuse me, Miss? I can escort you over to the clinic, Dr Quinn, she can help you", he smiled.
The woman looked up at Matthew, "I know you!", she said.
"You use to live in Topeka." the girl exclaims.
"Yes, when I was smaller." Matthew comments.
"Ethan's son, no?" the young girl asks Matthew nods faintly. "Don't you remember me?" she asks.
Sully hitches up the wagon and held Michela and Katie up. Brian climbs in as Sully goes around the wagon to hop in himself. They head for town. They drop Brian off at school ."Have fun." Michaela tells her youngest son, a he walks toward the school.
The train pulls into the station and a man steps out first. From far away this man looks like a certain Ethan Cooper but he is younger looking. This man has been n an assylum for 9 years and is here to see his nephews and neices. He is not crazy but his brother Ethan put him there.
Colleen and Andrew rushed around frantically. His uncle would be there soon and they were scrambling to get everything done on time. The house was still in the process of being moved into so they cleared the hall, hoping to give it at least the appearance of a real house.
Colleen yanked her apron off when a knock sounded on the door. She touched her hands quickly to her hair, aware that she looked a little disheveled but knowing she could do nothing about it now. Andrew lightly grasped her forearms, kissing her mouth briefly for reassurance. It worked. Colleen followed Andrew to the door and they answered together.
His uncle, Dr. Robert Greer, was his mother's only brother. He was a cheerful, friendly man and always had been. Not surprisingly, he had also brought along his similairly cheery wife to meet Andrew's bride. Andrew was like their son, especially after his parents died. They were close, this family and Andrew, and he was delighted to see them again.
The newest Cook, Colleen, was fairly lost in the confusion but smiled prettily and let them in. Robert Greer enveloped her in a hug that surprised and pleased the young woman. Colleen smiled and returned it.
"It's a pleasure, Dr. Cook," Colleen said sweetly.
"Oh, please, it's Uncle Robert," the older man said warmly.
Colleen smiled. "Uncle Robert," she corrected herself. Andrew's arm was lightly and protectively around her waist and it warmed her body. She felt so loved around him and was so glad to meet his family. "I'm really glad I get to meet you both. He's talked so much about you."
"The same goes for you, Mrs. Cook," Julia Greer said with a playful wink at her new niece. "He spoke so much of you, we knew something was going on. Of course, we are so sorry we missed the wedding."
"It's all right," Andrew replied, holding the door to the cozy parlor for them. "It was pretty hasty." He was trying to steer them away from where they had stuffed all their belongings so the house would look all right. Andrew did not care all that much. He knew it was to be allowed to newlyweds in their first house. But he also knew it was important to Colleen. So he was careful about what he showed his aunt and uncle.
"Still, you are like a son to us," Uncle Robert said. "We would have liked to have been there."
Julia's eyes sparkled with cheer. The wrinkles around her eyes creased into familiar smile lines at the minute curve of her lips. "Why don't we have another wedding for you in Boston?" his aunt suggested. "Colleen, I am sure your grandmother would love to be there for this one."
"Actually, she is throwing a wedding reception for both Andrew and I in a couple of days," Colleen replied. "But thank you. It isn't necessary."
But it was obvious the Mrs. Doctor was enchanted with the idea of a wedding, as most women would be. However, Colleen had been thoroughly satisfied with her own wedding and had no desire for another. Especially since she knew her pa and ma could not be there. It would just be a wedding for her grandmother and Aunt Julia, really.
The junior doctor Cook knew his wife's thoughts. He convinced his aunt they would be too busy between work and school to have much time off, anyway. "It would be too much work," Andrew told her as Colleen darted a grateful glance at her new husband. "We don't have the time. But thank you."
The rest of the visit passed pleasantly with easy talk and banter. They had to catch a train out that evening so they were not staying but the Cooks saw them to the train station. Colleen hugged Andrew's waist as they stood in the train station, which was rapidly being abandoned. He gazed down at her affectionately, holding her with an equal amount of affection.
"I like them," Colleen said with a smile. "I really do."
"They love you, too, you know," Andrew said. "But how couldn't they?"
Colleen brushed her lips against his cheek, her demure nature finding even that to be bold. They were married but Colleen still had to adjust to that and the freedoms that came along with marriage. "Mmm, I love you," Colleen murmured, truly happy from the depth of her heart.
Andrew buried his face in her hair. "Why don't we go home?" he suggested. "Go to bed..... Or not."
Colleen laughed and poked him as he led her down the street. There was a quake in her stomach that came from knowing she would start school in a few days. She was terrified. But she forgot her worries later that night.
"Can I help ya?" asked Horace of the man standing on the platform looking all around.
"Yeah, you can. Where can I find Charlotte Cooper?" the man asked.
"Why.....Mrs. Cooper....well, she died," Horace stumbled over his reply.
"I didn't know. What happened to her boarding house? She ran a boarding house, didn't she?"
"Yeah, now it's the clinic, run by Dr. Mike," Horace pointed toward the clinic. The man tipped his hat and headed in the direction Horace pointed out. As he rounds the corner, he stops. Michaela is coming from the clinic headed to Bray's, basket on her arm and a list of things to purchase running through her mind. A man comes around the corner and they almost collide. "Oh, I beg your pardon, ma'am."
"That's quite all right, I have shopping on my mind," she says, smiles, nods and continues on her way. The man watches and follows her to the store. Inside, Michaela shops and the man looks over merchandise close behind her. Michaela pays Loren, who is in a grumpier mood than normal, and she heads back to the clinic.
"Excuse me, who is that woman?" the man asks Loren.
"Oh, that's Dr. Mike," Loren answers.
"That's your town doctor? My, she's beautiful," the man responds as he tugs his lapels and then tips his hat to Loren. He heads off towards the clinic.
Michaela is putting her purchases away when there is a knock on the door. She opens the door. "Well, hello again."
"Ma'am, I wasn't aware that you were the doctor or I would have addressed you properly when we.....ah.....when we met before." He pointed to the street.
"Perfectly all right. Are you in need of a doctor?"
"Yes, yes I am," he walked in.
"I'm Dr. Quinn and you're....."
"Dr Quinn? The store keeper called you Dr. Mike."
"Most of the town calls me that. My name is Michaela Quinn."
"Lovely to meet you, Michaela Quinn, my name is Adam........Webster," he exclaimed as he looked at her desk and saw the dictionary.
"What is troubling you?"
"My heart.........it'll break if a pretty woman like you declines my dinner invitation." He put his hand on his chest.
"Oh.....I'm flattered, but I am married."
"That doesn't bother me."
"Well." She walked away, opening the door further. "I am not interested in having dinner with you. If you have a medical problem that I can help you with--"
"Fine, I'm disappointed but I'll accept your doctoring." He rolled up his sleeve to reveal a large bruise on his arm. "Would you confirm for me that this arm is indeed not broken?"
She walked to him and touched his arm. "This bruise appears to be several days old, and your arm would be swollen and discolored if the bone were broken." She turned his hand over to check it.
He lifted his other hand to her face and stroked her face and hair. "My, you are truly lovely. Won't you reconsider my invitation?"
Just then Sully came through the doorway. "Are you really in need of a doctor? Cuz if you ain't, I could make sure you are," He glared at the man on the exam table.
Michaela stepped away. "I beg your pardon sir, isn't a medical exam between a doctor and a patient?"
"The doctor's husband is gonna be part of this exam," Sully replied as he folded his arms across his chest.
"Very well, I'll pay you and leave. You've assured me of what I came here for." He put several coins on her desk, rolled down his shirt sleeve and left.
"Who was that?" Sully asked, clenching his jaw.
"Webster he said his name was, although I tend to think he saw the name on the binding of this book." She picked up the dictionary. "He wanted to know if his arm was broken."
"If it ain't, I could break it for him."
"Sully," she said and walked to him.
He put his hands on her arms. "I don't want anyone touching you, hurting you......" He pulled her into his embrace.
She kissed him. "I love you and I love the way you protect me."
He smiled. "Let's go, we gotta pick up Katie and Brian."
"Sully, why did you come here? You didn't know I had a womanizer here." She smiled slightly.
"Oh, well I gotta tell you something......" he replied.
Adam walks into the street. Hmm, I wonder if there is a possiblity I can find my nephews and neice. But I don't want anyone to know I'm related to Ethan or that I've been in a mental institution for a while, he thinks to himself.
Horace wonders about the strange man who had asked about Charlotte Cooper. He acts as if he hasn't been in the real world for a while. Horace's thoughts are broken as Robert E. comes up.
"Horace, I'd like to send a telegram," Robert E. tells him.
"Okay. To who?" Horace asks.
"Emily Brighton, New Orleans, Louisiana," Robert E. answers.