And The Flicker Becomes A Flame

Chapter 4

Matt helped Kitty to the platform and went to retrieve the bags. She felt someone tap her lightly on the shoulder as he called her name. "Kitty?" She turned to find Barlow Madson standing behind her.

"You are just a pretty as I remember." his grin was genuine as was the brief hug.

"Excuse me buddy but that's my wife."

"Matt!" the two men did a lot of back patting as men do in lieu of an honest hug "Well I guess you shouldn't leave her unguarded, huh. Let's not just stand here, Betsy is waiting dinner for us."

"Dinner sounds good, why don't you let us drop our bags off at the hotel and get settled first."

Barlow had snatched up some of the bags and was leading them out to the street. "About the hotel, I cancelled your reservation. You're staying with us."

Matts step faltered until he came to a complete stop. "Now, Barlow, the hotel is fine."

"I'm sure it is" Barlow replied as he hailed a carriage "but you're not going to be staying there. Like I said, Betsy is waiting for us."

They loaded the bags in the back of the carriage and after making sure Kitty was comfortably seated, Matt and Barlow climbed in. The two men monopolized the conversation on the way back. Kitty was surprised at how close the pair had obviously gotten over the years. Her attention was temporarily drawn away from the men to the surroundings and landmarks of the city. Because of all the distractions, the ride seemed relatively short.

Again, they were unloading bags, this time into a very upscale brownstone. Barlow led them into his home and called for his wife. Within minutes a very petite brunette appeared to greet them. Betsys hair was long, with a partial upsweep that allowed curls to hang down the center of her back. Her smile was warm and engaging. With no effort at all, she made them feel completely at home.

"Barlow, why don't you take our guests upstairs so they can freshen up." she turned to confide in her female guest "Men don't seem to take much notice but I know what it's like to be on a train for that long. You two just get comfortable, dinner will wait until your ready." Barlow was quick to comply with his wife's request.

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Despite the elegant surroundings of the Madson home, there was nothing pretentious about either of them. Dinner was a pleasant surprise. The food was delicious but Betsy had made dinner a slightly more casual affair to allow her guests more time to recoup from the travels.

Betsy took control of the conversation immediately, "I have heard all about your daughter Calleigh, Barlow was quite impressed with her but I understand you have two more children."

Kittys face lit up, as it always did when she was asked about her family. "We have a son four, Cooper Reign and a daughter Hadley Reign. She's two. Cooper looks just like his dad. Very big for his age" she flashed Matt a proud smile "with his blue eyes and curly brown hair. The girls both take after me. From the top of our fiery red head to the tip of our bad temper."

"Isn't Calleighs middle name Reign as well? I remember because it's such an unusual name."

Kittys smile softened, "Our girls will marry someday and their names will change. We - Matt and I - wanted something to tie our children together. To remind them always that they are siblings, all equally loved by us.

It was Betsys turn to share a private look with her husband. He had told her about the love Kitty had for their oldest daughter and the fact that they weren't blood had no bearing one way or the other. She suspected that this was Kittys way of insuring the girls place with the other siblings. It was an equalizer making her the same as the other two. "That is a beautiful tradition. Makes me almost with we had more children."

"I understand you have a daughter."

Now it was Betsys turn to shine with pride. "Just the one Bethany Marie. She just turned 21 and is chomping at the bit, to coin a phrase, to make her way in the world. She graduated from Boston Business College this year. I'm afraid she's having a hard time though. Women are allowed in the college but not really encouraged. She's had to work twice as hard as any male. And now that she's graduated, no one wants a woman running their business. I know how hard it is." Kitty appeared at a loss and Betsy realized she didn't know. "I own an accounting firm. I know that without Barlow being such a staunch advocate for me I would never have gotten my business off the ground." she cast a loving look to her benefactor "I think in the beginning he strong armed half of his clientele to give me their business."

Barlow reached across the table taking his wifes hand. "She is a genius with numbers, all I did was point this out to a few people."

He tells me that you are going to open a restaurant. I must confess, he did tell me that place, um" she looked to her husband for help. "Delmonico's" he whispered. Her smiled widened and she nodded a thank you "Yes, Delmonico's. He said the food there wasn't very good. But that was years ago. What took so long?"

"We are so used to things being hard where we live, it takes a lot to make us finally take action." Matts simple explanation was accompanied by a sheepish grin

Kitty, what is the name of the company you're going to visit?"

"Rathcards Hotel and Restaurant Supply. It's in Andover, Abbot Mills Warehouse I believe was the address. Do you know where that is?" .

"Hmm, well Andover is about a two hour ride in the buggy. Once you get there, it shouldn't be a problem finding the warehouse. Do you have an appointment?"

"Yes, with a Mr. Portman. I don't know that I heard his first name." Kitty straightened up in her seat to stretch the kinks from her back. Matt noticed the slight grimace when she moved.

Much to her chagrin Matt leaned over drawing attention to her. "You all right?" When she looked at her hosts she saw both concern and bewilderment. Matt didn't share Kittys embarrassment "She was in a stage coach accident a couple of days before we came here. I'm afraid she got banged up pretty good and she's still sore."

"Why didn't you say something. Sitting here in these hard chairs must have been torture." Betsy pushed her chair back and stood from the table. "Kitty, I insist that you go on upstairs. I'll run you some lilac water and you can soak those sore spots away. The guest room has it's own bath so there will be no problems with privacy."

"No, I couldn't let you do that."

"Kitty, I'm sorry but once my wife gets an idea in her head, no amount of arguing is going to change it. Matt, take your wife upstairs and we'll continue our visit tomorrow."

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Matt wandered over to the bathroom and leaned against the door. For a while he was contented to watch.

She closed her eyes and leaned back letting the warm water relax her stiff muscles. "You're staring" she announced without even looking up "I can feel your eyes."

He grinned wickedly and stepped closer, "Do they feel good, cause I got a set of hands that go with them." She smiled but her eyes remained closed. He knelt down beside her. "What a cute little tub. Buddy bathing must not be a sport in Boston." he pulled a clean bath cloth from the shelf, dipped it into the water and then lathered it up "Wanta wake up long enough for me to wash your back"

She opened one eye, "Can you behave?"

"I'm not making any promises."

Despite his less than honorable grin, she pulled herself upright. He run the cloth over her shoulders and down her back in slow circular motions. When he was done, he rinsed off the soap and let her rest once more against the back of the tub. Again he lathered the cloth and rubbed it gently across her breasts. Under half closed lids she peered up at him and softly cleared her throat. He dropped the pretense of the cloth and let his fingers massage her breasts. Then his fingers trailed down across her stomach all the way down to the wet patch of copper curls. Her lids flew open and accusing blue eyes surfaced. Matt refused to submit to any guilt, "I didn't make any promises."

She sat up pulling him in for a kiss, "Why don't you let me dry off and we can go to bed and do this the right way."

He nuzzled along her neck, "You mean there's a wrong way?"

She stepped out of the tub into the towel he had waiting. Obviously, he was too impatient to wait for her to dry off as he scooped her up, towel and all and deposited her on the bed. Within seconds he had stripped down and was sliding in next to her. Kitty laughed softly, "I'm still wet."

"I can over look it." he mumbled as he braced himself above her, she opened herself to him eager to feel him inside of her. She gasped softly as he filled her body, while he released a low contented moan of pleasure. For a moment, their bodies were satisfied to just to be joined. Then they slowly began to move together in a familiar and gratifying rhythm. They made the climb together until their bodies exploded into a breathtaking climax. Both sated and out of breath, they lay in each others arms basking in the aftermath. "Hey" Matt pulled a sheet up over them "you're all wet."

Kitty snuggled closer, wrapping her arms around him "Idiot" she murmured in a laugh. The security of his arms made her suddenly yearn for her children. "Do you think the kids are all right."

Matt pulled her closer, kissing the mass of fiery curls. "Calleighs watching them, what could go wrong."

"But who's going to watch Calleigh" she wondered aloud as she drifted off to sleep.

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Festus pressed his body flat against the wall of the dining room and inched his way toward the giant open doorway. Peering cautiously into the adjoining drawing room he saw the French doors leading to the veranda stood open. At first glance the room appeared to be empty but then out of the corner of his eye he saw movement in the giant mirror hanging over the fireplace. Leaning back to get a better look he saw the reflection of the two wranglers crouched down behind the tufted leather sofa.

He watched Newly copying his actions on the other side of the doorway. Festus put a finger to his lips warning him to remain quiet and motioned for him to circle around and come at the adjoining room from the other side. With a quick flip of his hand he motioned to the couch and held up two fingers signaling two people. Newly nodded and with great stealth slipped out of the room, across the foyer still unseen and headed toward the back side of the house.

Behind the couch, the smaller of the two interlopers waited for instructions from the other. "Just keep your head down" the instructions were barely audible but he understood. "and follow me to the door." The older one started to crawl toward the open French doors but it was too late.

Newly had managed to come up from behind and was now standing in the door leading from the kitchen. "Give it up, we got you covered." At precisely the same time Festus came at them from the other side.

Two heads suddenly popped up from behind the couch. The bigger one took the lead as a form of sacrifice and pushed the other toward the open door. "Run Cooper, save yourself."

The little boy took off while Calleigh pointed her wooden gun at the two assailants. The sound of the threesome yelling "bang" .. "bang" .."bang" echoed around the room. Calleigh edged backwards toward the door unaware that Doc was venturing onto the veranda with a little redhead in tow. She narrowly missed him as she barged through the doors heading for her little partner.

Doc snatched Hadley up in his arms, "What in tarnation are you two-" he pulled back to avoid being knocked down by Calleigh. "Stop this!"

He continued to rant and order the tom foolery to stop but his demands went unheeded. Hadley bounced in his arms and squealed with delight. She cheered for Cooper as he ran full out across the yard only to be snatched up by Festus before he could get to the barn.

"Calleigh help!" His cries for help fell on deaf ears as his rescuer had already been taken down by Newly. Festus once again, tickled the youngster to tears until he cried uncle. Breathless and exhausted, Festus pulled himself to his feet and swung the boy up onto his shoulder.

Cooper saw his cohort suffered the same fate. Maybe worse. She was face down on the ground with Newly sitting squarely on her backside. Arms and legs were kicking and flailing but she didn't stand a chance. By this time, Doc realized he was the only adult in the group so he gave up trying to establish any sort of civility. Hadley was squirming wildly in his arms yelling for Sissy. With a grudging sigh of defeat, he set her loose to scamper after her sister. "Stop Newie!" with arms waving wildly the little heroine ran to Calleighs rescue. Mustering all the strength a two year old is allotted she frowned at Newly and tried to push him off of her big sister. "Off Newie get off" Newly wisely decided for his own safety to set Calleigh free. Hadley grinned and clapped her hands with her victory. Calleigh swooped her champion in the air and handed her off to Newly to perch atop his shoulders.

Calleigh turned to her playmates. "Anybody else hungry?" The overall response was definitely yes and she turned leading the pack back to the house. What she forgot was the still angry adult left standing on the veranda.

He stood, hands on his hips, legs apart as though braced for a fight. "Of all the childish, immature things I have seen you all do. That is ...that is..." he swiped his mustache in a show of frustration. "what do you think Kitty would say with you guys running through the house like it was giant playground!"

Calleigh stepped up on the veranda and in her usual flair, threw her arms around him and kissed him soundly on the cheek. "But no one is going to tell her."

Doc cast a contentious glance in her direction, "Hmpf. And just how are you going to explain that hole in her bedroom ceiling?"

She leaned in again "I'm working on that." another kiss was deposited on his cheek "I love you Poppy."

After all these years, he knew better than to try and stay angry with her. "Come on, let's get this bunch of hooligans fed." He watched the motley crew disappear into the kitchen. It was his duty to play the moral conscience of the group but the truth was, he was amazed at the way Calleigh could relate to the kids considering she had, had no childhood of her own. Both Kitty and Matt had concerns that Calleigh would feel a little displaced with the addition of Cooper and Hadley but she adored them and they idolized her. Doc pulled up a chair at the table and sat back to watch the chaos unveil as they began to pull out food that Kitty had prepared before she left. Cooper slid the stool out from under the counter and climbed up to reach the bread.

"Momma baked this for us before she left." there was always a hint of pride when he spoke of his mother.

"That's because she was afraid Calleigh would bake some if she didn't." Newlys barb about her cooking got him a swift jab in the ribs. "Oh, I didn't see you there." he leaned down to give her an apology in the form of a kiss. "If you hand me that roast, I'll slice it up for sandwiches." Calleigh obliged and checked the icebox for the potato salad that was left over.

Festus wrestled Hadley into the highchair with a promise of a cookie. "What cha got fur this littlin to grub up on?"

"Cookie?" Hadley made it sound more like an accusation than a question.

Festus pinched the chubby cheek. "Besiden a cookie." Calleigh reached over the toddlers head and handed a plate of finely chopped up carrots and bits of roast to the hill man. "See if she'll eat this."

The mayhem gradually subsided as the food was spread out on the table and bodies began to fill the chairs. Calleigh poured milk for Cooper and filled a bottle for Hadley. "I think I know a couple of people here can use a nap after lunch." While Cooper flashed a sad but conceding look at his older sister, Hadley was too preoccupied with chasing a piece of carrot across her tray to concern herself with a future nap.

"Can we play cowboy again after our naps?"

"Well, lets see. Your folks have been gone for what, three days and we've played cowboy everyday. Aren't you getting tired of it?"

Cooper was sporting a milk mustache when he looked over at Calleigh. "No, are you tired of us?"

She reached over and tussled his curls, "Never. I do have a few people I need to see this afternoon. I'll bet if you lay down for your nap, when you get up I'll be all done and we can play again."

"Promise"

Calleigh made the ultimate commitment and swiped her hand across her heart. She started to get up and Poppy volunteered to put them down. He lifted Hadley into his arms and took Coopers hand and they disappeared up the stairs.

"What do suppose the entrepreneurs are up to?" Newly saw the curious look on Festus's face.

"Entrap what?"

"It's someone with business ideas, like Kitty." Festus seemed satisfied with his explanation.

Calleigh returned to Newlys question. "I think her meeting is tomorrow, let's keep our fingers crossed that all goes well. If it does, they'll be home by Friday."

"That's only three days." Newly seemed slightly puzzled.

"Yeah, it's not a vacation. They went on business," she offered a casual shrug "And you know Kitty is not going to want to stay away from the kids." she caught the visual exchange between the two men. "What?"

Festus stepped closer as though to keep what he was about to say a secret. "Whal, we's just wunderin, how er ya gonna explain that there hole in the ceilin."

Calleigh uttered a frustrated sigh, "I"m working on it!" she jumped up from the table and headed for the back door. "I'm going on my rounds, I'll be back soon."

Newly shared a questionable look with Festus but neither man said a word.