Capturing the Flame

Chapter 10

Time To Go…

Kitty tied up M'Lady outside the bank. She had to hurry and get the funds because she knew Matt would be coming to stop her. He had teased many times in the past about locking her up for her own good, but this time, he most likely would.

As angry as Kitty was at Matt Dillon, her heart ached for him. Kitty knew how she would feel if their situations were reversed. Of course, she also knew that under those reversed circumstances, Matt wouldn't think twice about delivering the money himself. It didn't matter now; Cooper's life was at stake and she had to do whatever it took to bring him home.

Mr. Botkin rose from his desk to greet his most influential customer. With his hand out, ready to grasp hers, he hurried to the lobby. "Mrs. Dillon, what a pleasant surprise." There was a smile on his face and in his voice.

His pleasantries were not returned. Instead, he found himself facing a rather, frightened-faced Kitty, who brushed past him—directing him back into his office, behind closed doors. "They have my son, Mr. Botkin. I need $10,000."

It took a moment for Botkin to grasp her request. He didn't ask for details, she was too distraught for that. Kitty paced around his little office, while he scurried about the tellers' cages and the safe, gathering up her requested funds.

Kitty kept poking her head out of his office door, silently urging him to hurry. Every moment drew her closer to her fear of being caught. She believed that Matt would not pay the ransom. He had always maintained that it was useless to pay; that once kidnappers had the money, there was less reason to keep the victim alive. She knew he could be right, probably was—but she didn't care. The money meant nothing; she just wanted her baby boy back.

At last, Botkin had collected the needed money and handed the banker's bag to Kitty. She grabbed the money, with only a quick nod for a thank you and rushed out the door.

Just as she stepped onto the boardwalk, she heard the clatter of hoofs and saw Matt coming around the corner of Front Street, hell bent for leather.

Kitty grabbed M'Lady's reins and before the Marshal could get to her, she was riding out toward Parson's Creek. She could hear Matt closing in on her, so she put her head down and kicked M'Lady to go faster.

With a quick glance over her right shoulder, Kitty could see Matt but failed to see Festus on Ruth, angling in from the opposite side. When Kitty turned back around, Festus had left her no option but to pull back on M'Lady's reins, bringing them both to a rapid stop.

Kitty fought to steer M'Lady around Ruth, but Matt's strong hands were on her waist before she could break free of the two men's trap. He didn't mean to pull her down with such force, but she was fighting him as if HE were the kidnapper. "Kitty, stop!"

She screamed, demanding to be released. All the while, her hands and feet were working in unison, trying to gain freedom from all she so loved and admired about Matt: His sinewy chest, muscular arms and powerful hands—things that had brought her so much pleasure over the years—but now held her captive. "Kitty, honey, stop it! You can't win this!"

Those last four words shocked her into reality. She fell, limp into his arms. Still leery about her intentions, Matt gently turned her around to face him. Kitty had let go her anger, grasping instead for any pity or love that he had for her. "Please, Matt. Don't do this."

"Kitty, you don't understand. It's just too dangerous for you to go out there alone!" His voice was pleading, his eyes, begging.

This time, when hands came up, it wasn't to assault, but to hold. Two soft palms cupped his face. "Please Matt, this is my son—our son. You can't protect me from everything. If something were to happen to Cooper because we didn't comply with this man's demands, I would never forgive you—or me. Please."

"Kitty…" It didn't seem possible to pack that much pain into a single word, but Matt Dillon had managed it. He knew it was a no-win situation. Either way, he was taking the risk of losing her.

Festus had been standing off to the side, waiting for them to make a decision. He knew that Kitty was right, but he didn't know if Matthew was strong enough to accept it. "All she's a needen to do is leave that there money and ride right outa there. Mebbe we caint foller 'em; but we can cover her."

Matt relaxed his grip on his wife's arms, but not his intense gaze. "Take the money in. As soon as he takes it from you…you get the hell out of there! Don't wait around or try to follow him. Understand!?" His nostrils flared ever so slightly, as he forced his breathing to remain steady and controlled.

There was no doubt—in either his wife's or the scruffy man's mind—as to what this was costing the Marshal to agree to the kidnapper's demands.

Kitty swallowed hard and nodded her head, but the movement was almost imperceptible. "Thank you." Kitty wasn't sure whether she had actually spoken the words, or Matt had somehow read them on her lips. She also eased his worry a bit more by agreeing to come back to town with him. It was actually too early yet to deliver the money and Matt wanted to make some sort of plan.

When they arrived at the jail, Calleigh and Newly were there waiting. Waiting—and from the tension in the room—arguing. Matt recognized the all too familiar stance that his daughter had claimed: Feet planted firmly apart, hands on hips and eyes blazing. When she turned that blaze toward him, he shook his head and held up one hand to stop the wrath.

"I know what you're going to say, and the answer is no." Matt pulled his chair from the desk with more strength than was needed and it slammed back against the wall. "Do you think I want it this way!?"

Calleigh stormed across the small office, slamming the palms of her hands onto the desk. "You can't let her go! I can go in her place; they'll never even notice!"

"CALLEIGH!" It was unusual for Kitty to raise her voice to that decibel, but she could still wield it when necessary. "Stop it right now! I am NOT some helpless little female! That is my son and you are my daughter and I will do whatever it takes to keep you both safe!"

The young redhead whirled around, mostly from the shock of hearing Kitty's tone. That timbre was neither negotiable nor tolerant. It was a voice that she had not heard since that infamous street scene, years ago with Mavis Penshaw. Normally, it was enough to bring the young redhead under control, but not today. Today, Calleigh's fear overrode her sense of respect. "You're not armed! I can wear a gun under a cape or… something!"

"And do what!?" Kitty took the stance that Calleigh thought was hers alone. Now, two stubborn redheads faced each other, both ready to die for the other, but neither willing to back down. "You can't shoot anyone until we find Cooper. Which means you're just as helpless as I am. Those guns won't help you this time!"

A tiny crack appeared in the younger girl's armor and her body swayed, ever so slightly. "But what if he decides to…I mean… you're just putting yourself out there, like a target."

Kitty abandoned her stance in order to step closer to her daughter. She took the girl's hands in her own. "I love you for what you want to do, but not this time, Sweet Pea. I have to pull rank on you and remind you that I really am the mother." All three men watched in silence, none of them daring to step between these two. It was Calleigh that finally surrendered and stepped into her mother's arms.

"Please, be careful." She looked over at her dad and could see the same fear in his eyes. For a second, she thought him to be her ally. A closer look told her that as much as he did not want his wife to make that ride, he was forbidding his daughter to do it. "Do you have any kind of plan?"

Matt nodded toward Festus. "I was thinking… you and Calleigh go back to the Roster place. See if you can pick up their trail." He glanced over toward his deputies. "Newly, you and Wylie go with me to back up Kitty. Maybe we can't go with her, but we'll follow as close as we can. I want them to see that we're there. Make them think twice about trying something stupid."

CooperTommyCooperTommyCooperTommy

The two boys had pressed their ears to the wall, listening for the voices in the outer room. Even though the older man's voice was unfamiliar to Cooper, Tommy recognized it to be his Grandpa. For just a moment, his shame and sadness overrode his fear. A sense of relief washed over the boy when he heard the old man leave.

The two boys listened to the man that had jerked Tommy from the horse; tell the other one that he would kill both of the brats when he got back. When the room fell silent, the boys looked at each other and knew it was time. Tommy squeezed through the narrow opening. He started to run, then made a quick turn back to Cooper. "I'll find your dad. I promise."

"I know Tommy. Run really fast!" The Marshal's son watched as the older boy took off toward town. "Please run fast, Tommy." Cooper whispered, as he leaned back against the broken board.

TBC