Burned By The Flame

Chapter 1

The Long Branch

Matt stood outside the batwing doors, his eyes searching out old territory. It had been a long spell since the Long Branch was his stomping ground. Married now almost ten years, the whole place felt different. His eyes came to rest on the gorgeous new hire behind the bar, wiping down glasses.

That took him back. He remembered when a certain young redhead had just become part owner. A quick glance around didn't produce any customers, so on a reckless whim he decided to be friendly. Giving his hat a shove, he sauntered up to the bar. "Excuse me Miss, can a guy get a beer in here?"

She turned to see the owner of that deep, rugged voice. Her sparkling eyes complimented her radiant smile. "Well, I don't know. Do you have the price of a beer?"

Standing like this suddenly propelled him back to the days when he was young and free. "Is...beer all you're offering?" He even surprised himself with that question.

Now, her back stiffened and she crossed her arms across her chest. With one brow arched high, she responded scornfully, "Look. This is my first night here. I really don't need this."

"Sorry, I uh, didn't mean anything. I was just... Well you are very attractive and I was just trying to be...friendly. There was the prettiest little redhead that worked here years ago and she was...real friendly."

Matt had reached the point where his mind was telling his mouth to stop, but his tongue had taken control. He leaned in closer and dropped his words to a whisper, "I have to ask; I don't suppose you would be willing to..." he let his eyes roam hungrily up and down her body, "be friendly to an old man—for old time's sake?"

The woman threw the towel down and marched around to his side of the bar. Her actions were so quick and deliberate that Matt drew back in surprise. "You want friendly? I'll give you friendly!" Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled him down to her level and planted those luscious lips over his. Matt's large hands slid around her slender body, pulling it closer to his. Only the need to breathe broke them apart.

"Is that friendly enough for you?"

"I don't know about him," the guy at the table in the corner shouted, "But it's damn sure friendly enough for me! Come on over here, honey, you're the sweetest thing I've seen in here tonight." He left his beer where it sat and started toward the woman in question, at end of the bar.

"Hold on there!" Matt spun around, putting his hand out to stop the young man in his tracks. "She's only friendly to me."

The younger man stopped and Matt recognized the same expression he often saw on his five year old son when things weren't going his way. "You're kinda selfish there, aren't you Marshal? What kind of town is this?"

Kitty was now hidden behind the Marshal, so that the new admirer wouldn't see her struggle to keep from laughing. Red faced, Matt turned to the man and blurted out the truth. "Look kid, she's my wife, okay."

"Ohhh," Suddenly the man looked much younger and judging from the crimson color seeping across his face, equally embarrassed. Backing slowly to his own table, he tipped his hat, "Sorry, ma'am." Even though he couldn't see her, for the big man blocking her from view, he continued to apologize. "I didn't know...I..." he gulped down the rest of his beer and quickly headed for the door. "I gotta be going now. Sorry, Marshal. Ma'am."

Matt turned around in time to catch Kitty. By now, she was laughing so hard, she fell against his muscular chest.

"It's not - that - funny!"

"The look... on...your face was...priceless." The words fell between gasps, as she struggled to regain her breath.

Matt readjusted his hat again and offered a lopsided grin. "I didn't see him down there, or I would never have said anything."

"Don't tell me we're going back to those days again?" Matt looked momentarily confused by her comment. "You know; when we pretended that there was nothing between us...?"

"No, but I wouldn't have..." He stopped and scratched his forehead, rethinking his actions. A slow grin spread across his face and he reached out, pulling her hard against him. "You're right. I forgot, I can grab and kiss you anytime I want. And I want!" he growled. To prove his point, he kissed her again; this time it was long and hot, almost as if he were daring anyone to object.

Kitty was still gasping for a breath, but this time it was not due to laughing. "I need to get this place closed up so we can get home, Cowboy!" She quickly started back to work, when he pulled her again into his arms.

"Is your old room upstairs still empty?"

Pete McGuire's new hire wore a wicked grin as she pulled from his embrace. "Why, Marshal, are you trying to seduce me?" She began to back away toward the stairs.

Matt slowly moved toward her, "Oh, I passed, 'seducing you' a long time ago. Now, I'm just flat ready to ravish that body in a session of mad passionate love."

Kitty knew that look only too well. She let out a squeal as she turned and attempted to outrun the big man, but he was too fast. Kitty felt those strong arms envelop her, pulling her off her feet, then the sensation of being lifted into the air. His long legs took the stairs three at a time, carrying her as if she were weightless. Kitty wasn't ready to give up just yet. She wrapped her arms around Matt's neck and began covering his face with playful, yet urgent kisses.

He was doing his best to see, but her sweet lips were all over his face. "Kitty... I...will you...stop...for a minute!"

They both began to laugh as he started to stagger down the hall toward Kitty's old room.

"You're...gonna...make us...both fall." The more he laughed, the more she kissed, and the weaker he got.

Somehow, he managed to get to the room and having no patience left, kicked the door open. With what strength he had left, he stumbled forward and they both went tumbling across the old bed.

"Well...that... was…romantic!" Kitty's words dropped between gasping breaths. She was still laughing too hard to sit up, while Matt lay beside her trying to get his own labored breathing under control.

"Whew," he took in a deep breath and let it out slowly; "You couldn't just let me carry you up here?"

Kitty rolled over on her side, and leaned up on one elbow. She began to run her fingers down his chest and then to undo the buttons on his shirt. "And have you think I'm easy?"

Matt reached up, brushing his hand along her cheek. "I can think of a hundred words to describe you, sweetheart, but easy isn't one of them."

She could feel his fingers nimbly working to undo the hooks on her dress. Although, he complained about the dainty buttons and hooks on her clothing, they never seemed to be that much of a hindrance for him. The room fell silent as they were caught up in each other's eyes.

Their clothes were soon mingled together in a pile beside the bed, while their naked bodies came together slowly, each touching, kissing, loving. Kitty moaned softly, letting go the gentle gasp of a woman experiencing the intense pleasure that only one man could bring to her—the man she loved.

Her name played on his lips as she invited him to slowly enter her body, warm, wet and willing. Like electric currents, the titillating sensations coursed through their bodies in erotic waves, fusing them into one being. Pushed to the edge, they cried out, both lost in a world of ecstasy.

He fell beside her, breathless, still basking in the afterglow. Pulling himself up on one elbow, he watched her breathing, rapidly at first and then gradually slowing down. She opened her eyes and smiled, that smile that she had that made her look almost angelic. Her face still bore the faint blush of a well-sated lover. The tip of her tongue swept across her upper lip. He marveled at how she was able to excite him, only minutes after pleasing him so thoroughly.

"You're going to be the death of me," he whispered, as he leaned down with a kiss, and began the ride again.

O'BrianO'BrianO'Brian

"Can I help you make the pancakes?" Cooper pulled a stool up to the counter and climbed up beside his big sister.

"Yeah, pancakes! Pancakes! Pancakes!" Hadley clapped and sang her new favorite song.

"Shut up Hadley!" Cooper dismissed the little girl impatiently and returned to his important duties.

"Coop, we don't talk to our sister like that." Calleigh scolded him, while mixing the batter.

He turned around with a reluctant apology "Soorrry." Calleigh stopped measuring and gave her little brother a scathing glance. Cooper lowered his lids, to cover the shame in his eyes. This time when he spoke, his tone was genuine. "I'm sorry Hadley." Calleigh leaned over and kissed his curly patch of hair. She had taught him a lesson, even though the baby girl was undaunted by his actions—either before or after his repentance—as she resumed her singing.

Newly interrupted Calleigh long enough for a kiss, as he passed by on his way to the table. Although he hated to stop the twirling dance that Hadley had choreographed to go along with her song, he knew he had to. "Yes, baby girl, we are having pancakes. Let's get you in the highchair." She seemed most agreeable this morning and actually cooperated with him, "How's it coming over there?"

Calleigh was supervising Cooper, as he poured the batter into the pan. "They'll be ready in just a few minutes."

She smiled as she watched the little boy. His tongue was sticking out the corner of his mouth as he worked the spatula. He was putting all of his concentration and effort into making them perfect. "Are they done?"

"I believe they are, Coop. Can you put them on the platter?"

"I think so." Again, that little tongue poked out between his lips as he worked to scoop up breakfast. Soon, a grin took the place of the tension and he looked up at his sister. "I did it!" He jumped down from the stool and ran over to the table. "I made breakfast, Newly! Wait 'til you see ..."

Newly looked at the platter and then at Calleigh. There, proudly displayed, were a handful of the smallest pancakes he had ever seen. His wife fought to maintain a straight face, as Newly feigned excitement.

"Wow, those look great! Look, Hadley, just your size." Newly sat one down on her tray and little fingers immediately plucked it up and began to gobble it down. While the kids were digging into the tiny breakfast tokens, Newly joined Calleigh at the stove. He poured himself a cup of coffee and offered the same to her. She nodded as she watched the kids finish their meal.

"Thanks," she took the cup he poured for her, "I guess this means you're going to the Prairie Rose for breakfast?" His grin said it all. "Eat enough for me," she added in a dry, almost sarcastic tone.

"How long will Kitty be working at the Long Branch?"

"Just a couple of weeks, maybe a little less. Pete wanted to spend some time with the family after the funeral."

Calleigh cast a hopeful look in her husband's direction before taking another sip, "I thought maybe I could fill in for her a couple of nights."

"First, let me say again, I don't like this idea." Although his eyes remained fixed on the children at the table, he was clearly not seeing them. A secret glance at the woman standing next to him reminded Newly how beautiful she was. No, he didn't relish the idea of some drunk pawing his wife. He felt the muscles in his jaw tighten and his body tense up at the thought.

Before he could say something he would regret, Calleigh leaned over and brushed a kiss to his cheek, "I know it sounds silly, but I feel like the Long Branch is a part of all of you that I never got to share. I just want a little piece of it for myself. It means so much to me, that you are willing to let me do this."

Newly looked into those brilliant blue eyes, he could feel his manhood—draining from his body and pooling around his feet. "Yeah, well; I just want you to be happy," he reluctantly mumbled. He held out his cup for her to refill, "This is just so different from anything you've ever done. I mean you have never worked in a saloon before."

She shrugged and walked back to the table with a wet cloth. "I know how to pour, how hard can it be?" She pulled Hadley from the chair and washed the stickiness from her hands and face, "Cooper, take your sister outside while I clean up." The two trotted off and she resumed her argument, "Be friendly; pour drinks."

Newly walked over and began to help her clear the table. "The pouring part, you might be able to handle just fine; but the 'friendly' part…?" He made a clicking sound with his tongue, "Drunks are harder to handle than you might think; and you don't get to shoot them, you know."

"I know! I can be friendly. All my patients say I have a great bedside manner." Calleigh wrinkled her nose with a, 'so there' attitude.

"Your patients are usually sober," he pointed out. "I've got to get to work. When are you taking the kids back?"

Calleigh followed him to the front door. "I thought I'd let Kitty get some sleep, so about noon. Why?"

Newly turned around and pulled her in for a kiss. "I have an order being picked up about two. I thought I might come home for a late...dinner." He wiggled his brows with a lascivious grin.

"Ahh, well I will have dinner ready and waiting."

"'Til dinner, then." He kissed her again and gave her a swat on that lovely behind.

TBC