Dance Partners 12

Festus easily picked up the trail of a single horse outside of the barn and he and Matt followed it steadily as it led them back towards town. "They's a headin' back to town, Matthew." Festus said as he knelt down close to the ground studying the tracks in the moonlight. "What'cha figger he's a headin' back there fer. I'd'a thought he'd out to the country somewhere's."

Matt shrugged. "I don't know, Festus but as long as he is, it'll make it easier for us to find them. Come on, let's ride."

Giving him a nod, Festus grabbed a hold of Ruth and mounted up, following Matt back to town.

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Kitty struggled desperately against the man who held her so tightly against him, but she couldn't break his hold. She knew who he was now and she knew what he wanted of her and she had no intentions of going with him, but right then, she had no way of escaping. His grip was too firm.

"You…" She tried to claw his arms but the heavy coat he wore prevented that. "You… can't… do this." She gasped finding it hard to breathe as he pulled her even tighter against him. "I'm… not going… back."

"Yes, you are." He said calmly. "You have no choice."

"That's what… you… think." She managed as she saw the man's weak spot. Though his coat was heavy and thick, his pant legs weren't. Remembering the broach she wore, a gift from Matt, she pulled it from her blouse and held the sharp needle like pin between her fingers. The man didn't seem to notice which was just fine with Kitty.

Taking a deep breath, she managed to get just the right angle and brought the pin down, hard into his leg. Shrieking at the sudden pain, his grip on her lessened and Kitty instantly brought her arm up and then back, ramming him in the ribs. His grip lessened a little more but still he held on with one arm around her neck while the other cupped his now bleeding thigh. Putting her head down as far as she could and slightly to the left, Kitty opened her mouth and bit the hand holding her shoulder. He let her go completely.

Without giving it any thought, for fear she might balk if she did, Kitty threw leg over the horse and jumped, falling hard onto a rocky patch of ground. The man rode several feet more before he finally got the horse reined in and turned around. But by then, Kitty had managed to roll over and quickly hide behind a small clump of bushes.

"Kitty!" The man screamed in frustration. "You shouldn't have done that. You know better than to defy me. Now come here, instantly."

Kitty held her breath and lay as still as she could, ignoring the pain radiating throughout her body from the fall she'd taken. From the feel of it she'd either broken her right shoulder or dislocated it badly. And she was positive she had at least one cracked rib but she stifled the urge to cry out as he walked up close to where she lay hidden.

"I'm not going to tell you again." Kitty could hear the anger in his voice and fervently prayed he didn't find her, knowing her current pain would be nothing by the time he got through.

Just then, the sound of riders could be heard fast approaching and Matt's deep, beautiful voice called out. "Hold it!"

Kitty lay still. Her captor was standing too close to her hiding spot and she wanted to give him no opportunities to use her as a shield against Matt. "Why, what's the problem, Sir." She heard the odious man in front of her ask.

"Who are you?" Matt demanded.

"Why, I'm just a cowpoke." He answered, taking a small step backward, closer to Kitty. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"Matthew." Kitty heard Festus' voice now. "These here tracks is the ones we've been a followin', right enough."

Kitty hazarded a glance up to see Matt just alighting from his horse. Festus was already kneeling close to the ground looking at something. Looking at the man standing just in front of where she was lying, Kitty could tell his attention was solely on Matt. She decided now was the right time to move.

Bracing herself for the pain she was about to feel, she rapidly rolled over several times, to get as far from her kidnapper as she could, then quickly pulled herself up. "Matt." She gasped. "Watch out." She yelled when she saw the bandit reaching for his gun.

But as had always been the case, Matt was the faster and more accurate shot. Even when the only light was the glow of the moon. Matt's shot was straight and accurate. The man went down without a sigh.

"Kitty!" Matt cried when he saw her stumble and fall backward. Hastily holstering his gun, he ran over to where Kitty had fallen and knelt down, gently pulling her into his arms. "Kitty?"

Kitty swallowed down the pain and managed a smile for her rescuer. "Evening, Cowboy." She grimaced slightly. "Nice night, isn't it?"

Matt started to reply but saw it'd do no good, she'd passed out. Swiftly picking her up, he got to his feet and headed for his horse. "Festus, help me here. Will ya?"

Instantly, Fetus was on his feet, arms stretched out to take Kitty from Matt while he mounted his horse. As soon as Matt was in the saddle, Festus gently handed her up to him. "How bad ya figger she is?"

Matt shook his head. "I don't know." He nodded towards the dead man. "Do me a favor and get him on his horse and take him on to town. I've got to get her to Doc."

"Will do, er, Matthew." Festus nodded as Matt swiftly turned Buck and headed back to the barn where Doc was.

TBC