The Prodigal Daughter

Chapter 4

Chaos at the Prairie Rose

Evening always brought a pleasant buzz of conversation to the Prairie Rose: Families gathering for dinner, Tia had her girls scurrying around, all dressed in pink-and-white checked-gingham day dresses, each sporting a full, crisp white apron. The willowy blonde virtually floated throughout the room, seemingly everywhere at once. The swinging doors to the kitchen seldom had a chance to come to a full stop, as waitresses were constantly disappearing into the kitchen only to emerge minutes later with trays of food.

It had been a long week and to give Kitty a break, the family had all decided to meet at the Prairie Rose for supper. Calleigh and Festus had arrived first. Tia seated them at their usual table by the front window. Matt always preferred a place where he could keep an eye on the town. Kitty appreciated the view of Front Street, to help entertain her children during the meal.

Doc was the next to arrive. He carried a small redhead, while escorting another. Tagging alongside was a miniature version of the Marshal. Someone called Doc's name before he reached the table. The old physician caught sight of the raised hand trying to attract his attention. "Kitty, I'll be right back. I need to talk to Dobie." He started to hand the baby to her mother, but Hadley had other ideas.

"No! I go wif Poppy. Pwease…" As usual, she knew that, no matter what his initial answer was to be, a kiss would cement her request in his heart. "Pwease?"

"She'll be fine. We'll be right back." He turned to the manipulating redhead, and in a voice reserved only for her. "Are you Poppy's girl?"

"Poppy's girl!" She giggled.

Dobie's wife had to make a fuss over the bubbly little girl. It was attention that Hadley had come to expect—and exploit. "Aren't you just the prettiest little thing!"

"Tank you." Hadley's eye caught sight of a delectable wedge of chocolate cake resting on the Dobie's table. Soon a pudgy little finger was pointing to the desired item. "Cake, Poppy?"

"Doc, is it okay if I give her a wee bite?"

"Tell Mrs. Dobie thank you, but you haven't had dinner yet." They all stared at the little girl, as she pondered the reason for a 'thank you' if she wasn't getting any cake. Finally, a smile emerged, without a thank you, but she did offer a polite, okay.

"Did you hear who's back in town, Doc?" Jim looked around the restaurant, giving Henry Bodkin a nod hello.

"I'm guessing you mean the Ainsley girl." Doc was as curious as the hotel owner, but had no answers. "Did you pay her a visit?"

"Well, she demanded to see me, if that's what you mean. She wanted to know what the Marshal said that night he came looking for her."

Doc swiped at his mustache. "Why on earth would she want to know that?"

Dobie shrugged and shook his head. "Marshal Dillon was quite upset with me for letting her run off with that Crider man, but I figured everything was all right when he brought her back. I have no idea why she brought that up, after all these years."

"Hmmm. Well those Ainsleys always were a strange bunch." Doc felt a hand on his shoulder, as the baby started to squirm in his arms.

"Poppy, why don't you let me take Hadley and get her settled at the table?" Calleigh offered the Dobies a smile, in lieu of a verbal greeting. She reached for the girl, but Doc pulled back before she could get a hold on her.

"It's all right. I'm on my way over." He turned back to the Dobies. "Jim; Harriet, have a pleasant evening." Then to Hadley, "Can you tell them bye-bye?"

"Bye-bye." The baby bid them farewell, complete with an adorable grin and a chubby-handed wave.

Doc returned to the table and with Calleigh's help managed to maneuver the toddler into the highchair Tia had provided. "Looks like this Ainsley's arrival has all the tongues a-wagging."

"I must admit," Kitty confessed. "I'm curious myself. What is there in Dodge for her to come back to? Not a thing that I can think of."

By the time Matt and Newly arrived, the mood at the table had mellowed into a pleasant, settled atmosphere. "How is the law business today?" Calleigh reached up for a kiss, as Newly took the seat next to her.

Newly sighed and looked at his boss. "Let's see… Thom Williby was threatening to shoot Bo Makin, for stealing his prized pig."

"Which wasn't stolen." Matt clarified. "It had just slipped under Thom's broken fence and was eating its way through his wife's vegetable patch. Now, Maude is threatening to shoot Thom."

"A raccoon got trapped in the back room of Sarah Carr's dress shop. It got into her boxes of buttons and thread. Made quite a mess before we could coax it out enough to catch it."

"This is why we pay all that big money for your salaries?" Doc feigned his typical, crusty attitude. "So that you two can fight off pigs and raccoons? Civil servants! Humpf!"

Their laughter began to subside just as their attention was drawn to the front of the restaurant. Tia was trying to prevent a disturbance with a troublesome customer, but her efforts were proving to be unsuccessful. The lady, as it turned out, was none other than Phyllis Ainsley in the flesh. The pills may have cured her headache, but they certainly hadn't improved her mood.

With the boy in tow, she pushed her way past the willowy blonde and headed straight for the Dillon table. "Matt." Phyllis's body, though somewhat frail, appeared to be bolstered by her anger. "I thought maybe you would at least come to the Dodge House to see us!"

Matt was completely at a loss. He didn't understand the young woman's anger, or her accusation. He glanced at his wife, but her face mirrored his own confusion. An uneasy stillness settled over the table. The Marshal tossed his napkin onto the table and rose to his feet.

"Phyllis, I'm sorry. I didn't know you wanted to see me. Is there something I can do for you?"

Although it wasn't a scream, her voice had taken on a shrill edge. "After twelve years! Yes, I think there is something you could do for me!"

Silence had captured the entire dining room by now. All eyes were focused on the Marshal's table. Once again, Matt looked at his wife for support. Support she could and would give him; but answers…existed only in Phyllis Ainsley's mind. Matt made another attempt. "Phyllis, I don't understand-"

"First you contact me, tell me to come here and then you ignore me. I am not playing this game with you anymore!" Phyllis' face had become distorted with rage. She turned her eyes away from Matt, in search of the redhead beside him. "Did he tell you what he did to me that night? His promises!? A scared seventeen-year-old kid—and he raped me!"

The screeching sound of chairs sliding on hardwood, drowned out her voice. As the wooden seats flew from the table, bodies bounced to their feet. Calleigh was the first to stand, with Festus right on her heels. Newly grabbed for his wife, able to hold on physically; but there was no way he could silence either her, or the scruffy man at her side. Words were being bantered back and forth between the three of them. Words defending the man they loved, while fighting off ugly, threatening lies of this woman, bent on destroying him.

For a frozen moment during the chaos, Matt felt the ground under his feet shift, as if the earth were falling away from him. Instantly, he could feel Kitty at his side. That long moment passed and the pandemonium erupting all around him snapped him out of his shock.

"Enough!" That familiar, husky voice shouted into the screaming face of Phyllis Ainsley.

The silence that came with his outburst was anything but serene. It was tense, explosive and it held every person in the room spellbound.

"I don't know what this is all about." His deep voice shook the silence."But we're definitely not going to do this here!"

"You want to know what it's all about!" With more strength than one would have thought her to possess, she grabbed the boy by the shoulder and shoved him toward the big man. "His name is Matthew. You wouldn't give him your last name, but I gave him your first name. He's your son!"

Matt wanted to respond, to say no, to say hell no, but he couldn't speak. For the second time in a matter of minutes, this woman had dropped the world out from under him. He stared into the terrified face of the boy and he couldn't conceal a certain amount of compassion in his response. "Phyllis, this is not my son. I don't know what you're trying to do here, but…" Again, his heart went out to the innocent young boy. "You are not my son."

He looked around the room, taking in all the wide eyes and shocked faces. In the middle of the silence, Kitty's soft voice was heard. She pulled her daughter from the highchair and held her hand out to her son. "Come on children, we're going home with Daddy."

Like a parade in slow motion, Matt Dillon and his entourage filed out of the restaurant, all with heads held high.

O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O

Hadley had been frightened by the scene in the restaurant, but unaware of its cause. Kitty had rocked the child to sleep, then tiptoed down to her son's room. She started into the room, but then decided it was actually a father-son discussion that was needed. She leaned against the wall, directly outside the boy's room.

"Daddy, why was that woman so mad at you?"

Matt sat on the edge of the bed, brushing his hand through the boy's curls. "She's very sick, Cooper. I don't know why she was saying those things."

"Daddy?" Cooper was afraid to ask, but too confused not to. "Is that boy…is he…"

Matt quickly quashed his son's fears."No, Cooper. You are my only son. You know that your mother and I love you and your sisters very much."

"I know, Daddy. I love you too. But, I feel sad for that boy. Can you help him?"

Matt stroked his son's cheek. It would be Cooper's way to be concerned about someone else's feelings. "We'll sure try. Do you think you can get to sleep now?" The boy smiled and reached up to pull his Daddy down for a hug and kiss.

Kitty waited for her husband outside the door. No words were spoken, as he slipped his arm around her waist and they walked down the stairs together. When they reached the foyer, Matt pulled her into his arms. His embrace was a little tighter than usual, but he needed to draw from her strength, now, more than ever. "I love you."

"I know that." She always had a way of making everything sound…so simple. So right. He knew she would never ask, that she would never need to. Kitty took him by the hand and led him to the kitchen, where the rest of the family was waiting.

"They asleep?" Kitty responded to her daughter's question with a silent nod. "I made coffee, but Poppy thought that we all needed something stronger." Calleigh held up the bottle of whiskey she had procured from the study. "I concur with his diagnosis. Matt?"

"I think I need both." He pulled one of the oak chairs from the table, while giving his body permission to drop into the hard wooden seat.

The bottle of whiskey was disappearing faster than the coffee. Where most of the family was in a state of shock, Calleigh was still filled to the brim with rage, causing words to careen from her mouth faster than anyone could respond. "I don't care that she's sick. That doesn't give her the right to slander my father and mother like that! Why is she doing this? Do you think she's after money?"

Newly laid a hand to his wife's shoulder, in an attempt to both calm and reassure her. "We'll figure this out." He reached for her cup and walked over to the stove for a refill.

Matt looked at the stunned faces surrounding him. He finally allowed his gaze to rest on Kitty, before attempting to begin. "I want to tell you all-"

"Matt!" It was Doc that stopped him, but the others felt the same. "If you think you have to explain to any of us…" The old man swiped at his mustache in an irritable gesture. "Well, …you just don't! That's all I got to say!"

TBC