Disclaimer: I don't own Gunsmoke.
Note: More Hussell fic I knoooooow.
. . .
Festus stared bleakly into his beer. It foamed discouragingly at him. He huffed through his moustache and took a deep swig.
"Something wrong?"
He glanced up. "Howdy, Miss Kitty."
"Hello, Festus, now tell me what's wrong."
"It's nothin' t' worry yourself over."
She leaned forward and placed her hand on his. "Anything that worries my friends worries me. Come on, I've never known you to be shy about speaking you mind."
"Well, you heard about yesterday. The Elias brothers were holed up just outside a' town 'n Matt took Newly 'n me out t' help him out."
"Yeah, I heard."
"What y' didn't hear was how it ended. Matt told me t' sneak 'round the back so's he 'n Newly could keep them cover while I broke in 'n finished the whole thing. But it all went terribly wrong."
"How so? I heard that Matt shot one of them and the other two are in the cells."
"Yes'm, that's true. But I messed the whole thing up somthin' awful. See when I was a' sneakin' up 'round the back I forgot t' take m' spurs off 'n they heard me 'n started shootin'. Luckily it distracted them just enough so's Matt could come in through the front but, Miss Kitty, it was plum embarrassin'."
Kitty shook her head and squeezed his hand. "Would another beer help?"
He tried not to smile. "It might at that."
"If a beer might help than a whiskey would definitely help," she poured him a glass and slide it across the bar. "Besides, I like the sound you make. You're the only man in town who can't sneak up on me."
"Be careful, Miss Kitty, I might just try someday."
She leaned in, smiling, as though they were alone in the bar. "I might like it if you tried."