Come on Matt, leave the light on," Kitty said in a teasing voice. Matt

blew out the lamp and got into Kitty's bed with his long john's on. She asked,

"How are your saddle sores? You want me to put some salve on them?" She

smiled like a cat that just caught a mouse. "No," Matt responded. "Doc fixed

me up. Kitty, do you mind if we just sleep tonight?" Kitty smiled, "Well we

never did that ether." They talked and laughed all night. Morning broke.

Kitty fell asleep. Matt got up to check the town. He stopped for a moment

to watch Kitty sleep. He had fun last night. The truth of the matter, he and

Kitty never talked like that before. When they were in the bar too many

people were around. In Kitty's room they had other things on their minds.

Maybe he should get a tattoo every day, he thought. Then he remembered he

had not told Kitty about it. He rushed out the door not wanting to spoil

this night with a fight. Kitty eyes opened as the door closed. They talked

all night,and he never mentioned the tattoo. Did he think she would not

notice? Perhaps it does not say Buck. Maybe it is another woman's name. He

is going to pay, she thought.

Matt asked Doc, "Is there any way to remove this tattoo?" Doc replied, "I do

not advise it, and I do not think it will work, but some people try acetic

acid and methyl to burn of the upper skin.

The thought of skin being burned off his but did not seem like something he

wanted to do. Matt talked the whole tattoo problem over with Festus.

Festus had a cousin who had his removed by rubbing salt into it. Festus

refused to rub salt into the Marshall's backside. Matt could not ask Doc or

Kitty,

so he decided to hire a hooker. Kitty knew every hooker in Dodge. Matt had

to go to a traveling hooker camp. He thought he would be safe.

He was wrong. Kitty was told about the Marshall being at the camp before

sunrise. Kitty was not mad over the tattoo, but Matt not telling her was

starting to bother her.

The Marshal seeking the services of a young beautiful sporting girl

infuriated her. Matt going to a hooker camp set her up to be ridiculed by

all of her working girls and the good ladies of Dodge. The worst part of it

all was it did not work. In fact the painful treatment just aggravated the

problem.

Matt was now avoiding Kitty. This led to rumors of the marshal ditching

Kitty for a younger model. When Kitty entered the dress shop, she heard

Widow Fry say, "Well that uppity whore should have known when the marshal

did not ask her to marry him he was just waiting on something better to

come along."

All the ladies giggled, then stopped when they saw her. Kitty, never one to

back down from a fight said, "There is something to be said for being old.

When you're old you don't have to put up with old biddies. You gust tell

them to get a life and mind their own business."

Matt was now getting advice from everyone about the tattoo. After a great

deal of discussion, he decided to go with a technique that uses a wire

brush or a diamond wheel with rough edges (called a burr or fraise) to

remove the upper layers. He could not go to Kitty or Doc, so he decided to

go to another hooker camp. This time he asked for an old lady to service him.

Kitty was informed of this request within the hour. All the ladies in town

then started to wonder whether he was dumping Kitty because she was old or

was he just tired of her. This treatment also did not work.

Matt was starting to feel better as night began to fall. Duty called him

out of town. He got everything ready for the trip, then turned toward the

Long Branch. He spotted Kitty leaning over the rail of the second floor of

the Long Branch. "What are you doing out here?" Kitty smiled, put one foot on

the rail hitching up her dress, then leaned over the rail exposing

everything the marshal was going to miss if he left town. Kitty's eyes

sparkled as she said, "I am out here watching all the cowboys ride by. I

thought I might find one interested in coming up and spending some time

with me." Seeing Kitty's red hair blowing in the wind hitting up against her

soft breasts made him feel young again. Feeling his wild oats stir inside,

Matt felt the need to show off a little . He stood up on his saddle

reaching up for her arms like he had done many years ago. "Will this

cowboy do?" He asked. She reached down and said, "Well if the cowboy has the

time, climb on up here and ride me like the young Stallion you are." As Matt's

hands reached hers, she kicked a small stone off the rail. The stone hit

Matt's horse, who reared up sending Matt to the ground. Matt landed on his

backside. "Oh Matt, are you ok?" Kitty yelled as she ran to his side. Matt

thought Kitty dropped the stone on purpose, but was not sure. "I am Ok," he

said as he got up and headed toward the jail. He sent Thad out of town, saying

he was all right ,but unable to ride.

Doc watched from his stoop and went to check on Matt.

Doc then sought Kitty out. "You need to stop this. I was going along with it

when you were just teasing him. You have gone too far. He may have been hurt

bad. I am going to tell him, you know." Kitty wiggled, "You are right, I

will tell him I know tonight." Doc asked, "How are you going to do that

without him knowing you knew all along?" Kitty smiled, "Easy, I will take his

pants off." Doc almost asked how she planed to do that, but thought better of

it. He said, "This ends tomorrow."

Later that night, Matt came to Kitty's room. Kitty was sitting at her

dressing table. she was wearing a little red silk sleeping gown. Kitty was

applying oil to her soft legs. "Are you all right?" she asked. Matt smiled,

"Yeah, a little sore. I hear you were looking for a cowboy." Kitty was now

applying the oil to her long neck and and her upper chest. "I am looking for

a cowboy who can stay in the saddle," she teased. Matt sat on the edge of her

bed. "Why don't you come on over here and I will show you how well I ride."

Kitty came forward to him slowly, sat beside him, and took off his belt. He

stood up, unbuttoned his pants. Throwing her back on the bed, he spread her

legs. She put her legs around him. She squeezed hard with her legs

digging her feet into his backside and sending him to the floor in aquatint

pain. "Damn it Kitty, what are you doing to me!" Matt cried. Kitty sat there

innocently. "Matt, did I hurt you? I thought you liked that." Matt got up and

headed toward the door. "I got rounds," he said as he reached the door knob.

Kitty jumped out of bed pining Matt to the door. She pulled his pants down.

He pushed her back and opened the door, as she fell on to the settee.

She laughed as he ran out. Kitty was very tired. She thought she would get some

sleep. She would surprise Matt in the morning.

When dawn broke, Matt met Doc on his way back from delivering a baby. "Hi

Doc, come over the jail for some coffee?" Matt said. Doc: "You and Kitty

fighting?" Matt looked at him kind of strange. "Why would we be fighting?"

Doc: "Well what did she say about the tattoo?" Matt replied, "She does not

know yet." Doc: "I told her to tell you. She has known all along. She

overheard us in the office." Everything Kitty did the last few days now

made sense to Matt. "How long will it take my backside to heal?" Matt asked

Doc. "It would have been healed If you stopped agitating it, a few days."

Matt asked, "will you tell Kitty I had go out of town a few days?" Doc replied,

"I wish you two would start acting like adults, but ok."

A few days later, Kitty went up to bed as Sam yelled, "We are closing, Last

call." Just then Matt entered carrying the biggest saddle they ever saw. He

was wearing silver spurs that jingled as he walked. Matt winked at Doc,

went right over and headed up the stairs. Doc looked at Sam and said, "I am

getting out of town." There were loud noises coming from Kitty's room. Sam

replied, "I am coming with you. By the way, what does that tattoo say"?" Doc.

rubbed his mustache. "I am not quite sure but I think it said "Born To Ride".

The End