Old Leather

ATC for "The Iron Men"

"You should've seen them, Kitty. Two overgrown kids, each trying to prove he was bigger, badder and better than the other."

Kitty laughed and shook her head. "I feel for you, Kathy. You must have had your hands full with the two of them as house guests."

"Oh, believe me, I did. Johnny here," she nodded at her seven year old son, "was the only mature male in the house that week. What one of them didn't think of, the other one did. But, you know, they were perfect gentlemen—always apologized ahead of time for anything they might do, then went ahead and did it."

While young Johnny Carter beamed under his mother's praise, Matt Dillon and Chauncey Demon, the two miscreants under discussion, looked sheepishly down at their dinner plates, suddenly intent on cutting their steaks into bite-sized pieces.

Kathy Carter Demon took a bite of her own dinner, glanced lovingly at the man seated on her left and added, "But, I married him anyway. Makes me think I'm as crazy as he is."

x

Long after the dinner party at Delmonico's ended, and with Johnny sound asleep in the spare bedroom, the four adults gathered in Kitty's ornate sitting room and continued their celebration over a pot of hot coffee and slices of Ma Smalley's lemon pound cake.

Kitty smiled across the table at her friend. "I'm so happy for you, Kathy. I don't know Chauncey, except by reputation, but if he's half the man Matt and Billy always said, you've got yourself a good one." Her sapphire eyes turned soft as they came to rest on the love of her own life.

"So do you, Kitty, so do you. Except for Bill and Chauncey, I'd say Matt's about the best there is."

"Hey, you two, we're sittin' right here, ya know." Matt's grin belied his tone. "And it's gettin' kinda uncomfortable."

"Not so fast there, Matt. Don't you know we're ho—ho mer ic. That's it, Homeric." Demon abandoned his oversized slice of cake long enough to repeat the word Kathy had used three months earlier when Matt had delivered him—drunk, dirty, disheveled, and down for the count—to Kathy Carter's pristine little house on the outskirts of Brimstone.

"We're what?"

"Homeric. 'In drink and battle, Homer's heroes always surpassed the deeds of mortal men,'" he parroted. "Surely you know that, Matt."

Matt rolled his eyes, and, in a not-very-subtle attempt to change the course of the conversation, wagged his fork in the direction of Demon's chest. "That badge looks mighty good on you, Marshal."

"Well, that's one more thing I'm indebted to you for, Matt. I'da never gotten this tin star if you hadn't put in a good word for me."

"Don't sell yourself short. The names Laredo and Santa Fe and Chauncey Demon still make a lot of folks sit up and take notice."

Demon swallowed the last of his coffee. "Well, the Smoky Hill country ain't exactly Laredo or Santa Fe, but it's a start. Phillipsburg's small, and it's pretty civilized, or so they tell me. There's a school right in town for Johnny, and Kathy will be able to teach or tutor if she wants to. And I'm wearin' a badge again. I can't believe it—any of it." He glanced proudly at his wife of two weeks. "But it feels good, mighty good. It feels right."

"It does feel right," Kathy agreed with a happy smile. "In fact, it feels wonderful." She glanced from Kitty to Matt and back to Kitty again, adding with a wink, "I highly recommend it, Kitty!"

While Matt quickly busied himself with aligning his fork and spoon with his dessert plate, Kitty commented wryly, "Tell that to him!"

"Uh, Chauncey, feel like rattlin' some doorknobs with me? Sorta get you back in practice?"

"Not tonight, my friend. The Demon family has a long ride tomorrow, so we best be gettin' back over to Mrs. Smalley's—get that young 'un in there bedded down proper and get ourselves some sleep." As Demon spoke he moved toward the bedroom door and emerged a few moments later with a sleeping Johnny draped over his shoulder.

Matt rose from the table. "I'll walk part of the way with you. I really do need to do rounds."

As the couples stood in front of the Long Branch saying their good-byes, the two women hugged each other. "Now promise me you'll come to visit us in Phillipsburg—both of you."

Kitty jumped at the invitation. "Just say the word, and I'll be there, Kathy. I can't guarantee I'll be able to pry Matt away, though."

"Well, now, Festus and I get up Smoky Hills way every once in a while, so you best keep the coffee hot, just in case."

Kitty shot him a withering look. "That's not what I had in mind."

Dillon grinned and slid his hand intimately down her back. "I'll see you later, Kitty."

x

She watched them round the corner onto Third Street, Kathy Demon walking between the two lawmen, her son still asleep on his stepfather's shoulder. When the little group was out of sight, Kitty went back into the saloon, closed the doors, doused the oil lamps, and locked up for the night, knowing Matt would use the back stairs when he returned after his rounds. Her foot had barely cleared the first step to the second floor when the sound of gun fire pierced the quiet night.

Her heart stopped. Where? Who? Even as her trembling fingers struggled to fit the long metal key back into the lock, she heard Matt's voice shouting hoarsely for Doc. Thank God! But as she threw open the big front door, her relief turned to horror when she saw him holding on to the hitch rail, his left sleeve ragged and bloody.

She was off the boardwalk in less than a second, her arm tight around his waist. "Hold on to me, Matt. Let's get you inside."

Stubbornly he shook his head and refused to move. "No…I'm all... Get Doc…Chauncey…." His face contorted as he forced the words out.

Fear flooded through her body once again, followed quickly by guilt. In her concern for the man she loved, she had forgotten her friends. "Oh, Matt…no. Chauncey…how bad? He was carrying Johnny. Is he…?"

As she spoke, the town came to life, half a dozen flaming torches lighting the dark street. She quickly dispatched the first person she saw to Doc's office and directed several of the other men around the corner to provide light and assistance on Third Street as well.

As Matt's big body swayed against her, she again urged him to sit down. "There's nothing you can do, Matt. If you won't go inside, at least sit down over there." She nodded to the line of wooden chairs outside the Long Branch and helped him stumble toward them and lower himself into the nearest one. By now the bandana he had been holding against his upper arm was drenched with his blood. "Don't move," she admonished and sped inside to grab several clean towels from behind the bar.

She returned a moment later to find a burly ranch hand directing the physician to the injured marshal. "Over here, Doc."

"No, don't…bother wi…me," Matt ground out through the pain. "Around corner…Demon…hit. Help him."

Ignoring his protests, Doc ripped away the remainder of the shirt sleeve and did a quick examination of Dillon's upper arm. "He'll keep for a while." He rummaged in his bag while he spoke to the ranch hand. "Gage, you help Kitty get him inside. And, Kitty, I want you to wash your hands, wash 'em real good, and then wash that wound just as clean as you possibly can. The bullet went straight through, but I want that wound cleaned out, and cleaned out good. Use lye soap, none of your fancy French stuff. You understand?"

At her nod, he added. "Once you have it clean, pour whiskey in and all around the wound—and don't spare it. Then use those towels to keep pressure on it 'til I get back. And keep him still. You help her, Gage. Sit on him if you have to." He handed Kitty the small package of powders he had been searching for and peered at her pale face in the lamplight. "You all right?"

She nodded again. "I'm fine, Doc. But what about him?"

"He's gonna be fine, too, honey. If he'll let you, give him about a spoonful of this in a glass of water. It'll help with the pain. Now let me go see what's happening around the corner."

xx

Over on Third Street, things were not fine at all. A badly bleeding Chauncey Demon lay motionless in the street, his head pillowed in the lap of his terrified bride, who, with the help of one of the townspeople, applied pressure to the wound in his chest. And a frightened Johnny Carter sobbed quietly in the sinewy arms of a man he had never seen before, but who offered his own brand of comfort. "Now doan you fret yerself none, li'l cowpoke. Yer pappy's gonna be good as new onct ol' Doc Adams gits done patchin' him up."

Holding Johnny in one arm, he used the opposite hand to doff his hat. "Name's Festus Haggen, ma'am. I'm Matthew's de-pu-tee. I know that thar feller's Chauncey Demon, so I'm guessin' you must be his new missus and this young'un here is yer little boy. Me and Ruth wuz out to Fort Dodge, and we jist come in and see'd all the torch lights and the faunchin' goin' on so 'stead a headin' fer the stable, we come on over here to in-vesty-gate." He looked around at the crowd. "Did enny o' you see whut happened? And where's Matthew at?"

The men all began answering at once, but Kathy Demon's soft voice cut through the chatter. "No one saw anything, Mr. Haggen. The four of us were alone on the street. We were walking back to Ma Smalley's Boarding House. Johnny fell asleep after dinner, and Chauncey was carrying him. Matt was walking along with us on his way to do rounds." She grabbed a dry bandana offered by one of the men and pressed it against her husband's chest.

"Two men came out of that saloon over there." She nodded toward The Texas Trail on the other side of the street. "They got on their horses and started up the street. Then they sort of wheeled around, yelling and shooting over their shoulders. And then they were gone. They—Chauncey and Matt—never had a chance." Her voiced caught on the last words, but her eyes remained dry. "It all happened so fast."

Just then Doc's familiar figure emerged from the shadows, and conversation ceased as he knelt down beside the injured man, checking his pulse, listening to his heart. He lifted the bloody bandana and assessed the damage to the man's chest, shaking his head. Then he looked into Kathy Demon's pleading dark eyes and said kindly, "I'll do everything I can for him, ma'am." He turned to the ever-growing crowd. "Coupla you men get him up to my office. Nice and easy. And see that you don't jiggle him! I'm going to take another look at Matt, and I'll be right there."

"You see'd Matthew, didja, Doc?"

"He's at the Long Branch with Kitty and Gage Heckard."

"He's all right, is he?"

"Of course, he's not all right. He just took a bullet, you…you…." He sputtered to a stop, and his tone gentled. "It went straight through. Kitty's cleaning out the wound right now. Barring infection, he should be okay in a week or so."

As the men cautiously lifted the unfamiliar lawman and began their slow, careful trek toward the general store, Kathy turned uncertainly from her husband to her son, who was now nestled quietly against Festus' shoulder. Then she made a decision. "Can I impose on you to keep an eye on him for a little while, Mr. Haggen?"

"Wael, now, I doan know nuthin' 'bout no posin', but iffen you want me to watch the li'l feller fer a while, I kin do that. We'll be goin' over ta the Long Branch so I kin say a howdy t'ol' Matthew."

As they started to go their separate ways, Festus turned back. "And Miz Demon, doan you worry none. That ol' scudder's right ornery-like, but he's been a-patchin' up Matthew fer twenty years now. Yer mister's in good hands."

She nodded her thanks and followed quickly behind the men carrying her husband's still form.

xxx

"By golly, Matthew, iffen you ain't a sight fer these ol' eyeballs. Whut happened out there? Miz Demon said two men come outta the Texas Trail and thet you and ol' Chauncey never had a chance. They shoot at you, did they?"

"Yes, Festus, they shot at us," he answered dryly. "They hit us, too." He winced as Kitty poured the last of a bottle of whiskey into the wound, and Gage Heckard applied solid pressure.

"Why'd they do thet? Who wuz they?"

He shook his head. "Didn't recognize them—too dark and too fast—they were shooting from horseback, but one of 'em yelled back over his shoulder, something about settling an old score. Most likely it's someone who's been carryin' a grudge against one of us—maybe both of us—for a long time."

"You want I should git a coupla men and go after 'em?"

"I'm pretty sure I hit one of them—big guy on a palomino. Don't know if it was enough to leave a blood trail or not." He grimaced again as Heckard flexed his hand and re-positioned it over the wound, adding more pressure. "They were heading south. Other horse was a dark color." He nodded. "Yeah, take Burke and ride out a ways and see if you can find anything. If I did hit him, that might slow 'em down some."

Then he looked at Kitty, who had just finished gathering the bloody towels and cleaning the table. "Kitty, there's nothing else for you to do here. Why don't you go up to Doc's and keep Kathy company? She's not used to this, you know."

"Unlike some of us," she replied wryly. Then she looked at young Johnny sitting quietly two tables away and bit her lip. "Johnny, how would you like to stay here with me tonight? You can sleep in the room you were in earlier, and I'll be right next door."

"All right, but what about my mamma and my new pa? Is he gonna be all right?"

"I'm going to go see them soon as I put you to bed," she answered, carefully skirting the child's second question. Convinced that Dillon was in no immediate danger, she looked at Heckard. "Can you stay here until I get back?"

At the ranch hand's nod, she surreptitiously trailed soft fingers along the nape of Matt's neck and led young Johnny up the stairs.

xxx

In the doctor's office above the general store, Kitty found a shaken and white-faced Kathy Demon sitting by her husband's side, gently stroking his hand and talking to him. Kitty laid a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder. "How is he? And how are you?"

"Doctor Adams got the bullet out. But the blood—there's so much blood. I don't know how he can…"

Kitty turned worried blue eyes on the physician. "Doc?"

"I don't know, Kitty. I just don't know." He shook his head. "With the amount of blood he's lost, he shouldn't be here right now, but he is. Pulse is weak—very weak, but his heart's still beating." With that he again placed his fingers on Demon's left wrist, counting the beats. "If he makes it through the night, he might have a fightin' chance."

Kitty felt Kathy's slight frame shudder beneath her hand. "If he makes it, Doc? Surely, you can…well, surely you can do something."

The old man tugged at his ear. "No, I can't, honey. I've done everything I can. It's up to him now, him and the good Lord." He looked at the two women, one the saloon owner he knew and loved like his own child, the other the school teacher he had just met, but in whom he recognized the same grace, steely strength and resolve that had sustained Kitty Russell through twenty years of loving a lawman. He put his hand on top of the one she had clasped around her husband's. "He knows he has a lot to live for, Kathy. That always helps."

Understanding the implication of his words, Kitty swallowed back tears and spoke to her friend. "I put Johnny to bed in my spare room. He's frightened, of course, but he's all right. If you want to run over to see him, I'll be glad to sit with Chauncey."

"I know I should, Kitty, but I…I can't leave. Maybe a little later."

Kitty gave her a sad smile. How well I know the feeling. "I'll come back in a little while, Kathy. Try not to worry."

xxx

It was after midnight when Matt Dillon finally went upstairs to lie across the bed in Kitty's room while, in the room next door, the ranch hand Gage Heckard, who seldom so much as crossed the threshold of the Long Branch, dozed on a chair next to Johnny's bed. And, throughout the interminable night, Kitty Russell moved back and forth across the dark alley.

Sitting side by side at the edge of Doc's operating table, Kathy whispered to her friend. "How do you do it, Kitty? All these years. You must have spent half your life with your heart in your throat."

Kitty smiled to herself in the dim lamplight and whispered back. "Pretty much, but, if you love someone enough…." Her voice trailed off, remembering all the haunted, lonely nights she had been the one sitting in this very spot, holding a lifeless hand, feeling for a feeble pulse, wiping a fevered brow, listening for the slightest sound, watching for the faintest flicker of life, praying to God for one more day with the man she loved. "I'll tell you something, though. It's been worth every minute. I wouldn't change one day of my life with Matt, not for anything in this world."

It was three days before Chauncey Demon opened his eyes. As Doc's back bedroom came into focus, so, too, did the profile of the woman standing by the window relishing the feel of sunshine on her face. "Kath…"

"Chauncey…I…oh, thank God." She crossed the small room in a flash and knelt by the side of the bed where Newly and Burke had carried him the day before.

He took his wife's hand in his and spoke in a raspy voice. "I'm sorry, Kathy…didn't mean to…to start our marriage off with such a…" He grinned. "With such a bang."

She shook her head and kissed him. "You're impossible."

"Yeah. That's why you…love me, right?"

"Among other reasons." She pressed her cheek against his.

"Johnny…is he…all right?"

"He's fine. He's been spending the nights in Kitty's spare room, and during the day he follows Festus all over town."

"Matt…was he hit?"

She nodded. "He was, but Doctor Adams barely looked at him. He left Kitty and some cowboy to tend to him while he came up here and worked on you." She again touched his face. "You gave us quite a scare, Mr. Demon."

"You sure you still…wanna…be a lawman's wife?"

She nodded. "Kitty tells me if you love someone enough, it's all worth it." She smiled. "And she should know."

"Matt get 'em?"

"No, he sent Festus and another man out after them, but it was too dark to see anything. It rained during the night, and by morning any trail there might have been was gone. Matt asked at the saloon—the Texas Trail—but no one there knew who they were. He thinks he hit one of them, and he's sent what little description he has to lawmen in surrounding areas." She shrugged. "But so far nothing."

xxx

By the end of the week, Doc pronounced Demon sufficiently recovered to return with his family to Ma Smalley's Boarding House, and Matt resumed his nightly visits to Kitty's suite of rooms above the Long Branch. Late one night, rounds completed, he climbed the back stairs and settled into a corner of the settee, boots and gun belt off, long legs stretched out in front of him.

Kitty finished pouring two tumblers of whiskey, handed one to Matt and sat down beside him. "Hmmm, I have really missed you," she murmured, cuddling comfortably against his broad chest. "You know, now that things have quieted down, it occurs to me that you never did tell me about your night of debauchery in Brimstone."

"That right?"

"Yes, that's right, and you know it. You wanna tell me now?"

"Nope."

"Not even about the chariot races?"

"Nope."

She feigned a pout. "I always miss the good stuff."

"It wasn't 'the good stuff,' Kitty. It was a danged fool thing to do. I'm just glad it was in Brimstone and not here in Dodge—or any place near enough for word to spread here." Then his body began to shake with silent laughter, laughter that bubbled into a hearty chuckle, and he added with just a tinge of braggadocio, "I did win, though!"

"Ah, my conquering hero."

"Well…" He took a swallow of whiskey and added in a more serious tone, "By golly, it's worth the hangover I had, though, to see that old dual wielder wearing a badge again."

"He's certainly put the sparkle back into Kathy's eyes. And he's good with Johnny, too. I just hope he'll be all right."

"I hope so, too. That was a close call. Kathy's a strong woman, but losing a second husband would be…." He turned the delicate crystal in his hands. "Lawmen don't make the best marriage material, you know."

She sat up and arched an eyebrow at him. "So you've told me a few hundred times. That's not what I meant by 'all right,' but now that you've brought it up, Billy Carter didn't die because he was a lawman. He hadn't worn a badge in years. He was a farmer, for Pete's sake, and he fell off the roof of the barn." She held up a hand to stop the protest she knew was coming. "And, before you say anything, Mary Demon and young Chauncey didn't die because he was a lawman, either. You know as well as I do Indian attacks are kind of routine out here, and the Kiowa and the Sioux aren't exactly choosey about who's on those stages. Ministers, schoolmarms, gunslingers, bankers, bank robbers, drummers, children—it's all the same to them."

"I know all that Kitty, but still…."

"Matt, bad things can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. That's just the way it is. And men and women can't stop living, can't stop loving each other, just because something bad might happen to one of them." She took his chin in her hand and looked directly into his eyes. "In fact, that might be reason enough to love someone all the more, to hold on tight, because time is so fleeting and so precious."

"Kitty…" He stopped and pulled her back into his arms.

"But that wasn't what I started to say, Matt. When I said I hope he'll be all right, I meant he seems fine now, but do you think he can stick with it—stay sober?"

He nodded, his cheek rubbing against her curls. "Yeah, I think he can. He's found what was missing in his life. Kathy and Johnny—well, they can't replace Mary and the boy, but he has someone to love again—and someone to love him." He paused. "He needed that." Another pause, and then his next words were very soft, very low. "Every man does."

Kitty tilted her face up to his. "And every woman, too. We all need that, Matt." Her soft fingers caressed his jaw. "You do know you have someone who loves you, don't you, Cowboy?"

He bent his head, capturing her lips in a tender kiss. "I know, Kitty, I know." With his face pressed against hers, he whispered, "And I love you, Kitty, more than I can ever tell you." He swallowed hard, working to get the next words out. "Who knows what I might have become…how I might have ended up if I didn't have you in my life all these years?"

"I know you, Matt. You'd have been just fine." Her lips stretched into a smile beneath his.

He lifted his head. "What?"

"Oh, I'm just remembering something Kathy said. She told me Chauncey's a lot like Bill—and you—strong when you have to be, but soft as old leather inside." Her eyes held his. "She's right, you know. You are like old leather—made from the very finest of hides, weathered and scarred by the years, but precious and soft and virtually indestructible." She sighed contentedly and nestled closer against his body, adding, "And, oh, so very comfortable."

He looked down at her in his arms, at the miracle that was Kitty Russell. For twenty years she had always been there—in good times and bad—believing in him, trusting him, loving him, giving him her heart to hold and her body to worship. Chauncey Demon was right. It did feel good—mighty good. And it felt right.

The End