Home is Where the Heart Is
Chapter 21
Kitty was concerned about Tara-Lee and the other Chinese girls. Two of them looked so young that they reminded her of herself and the tragedies that had marked her own early life. She hoped they had good families who would take them back and protect them until they recovered from this horrible experience.
As for herself, as soon as she saw Matt Dillon's overpowering presence standing there in the doorway, she knew that Liu's game was over and that she, Doc and the other girls would all be safe. He didn't like open displays of emotion - he claimed it was too dangerous - but she couldn't keep herself from running to him, and he in turn took her in an all-to-brief protective embrace. Feeling his strong arms surround her dispelled all her fears instantly. Of course he quickly went back to being the lawman everyone knew so well, and set about organizing how to get everyone out of there, but for that brief instant there had been just the two of them in the room.
Less than two years had passed since Kitty had made the decision to stay in Dodge City for a while just because she had seen that same man eating breakfast in Delmonico's. At the time it was just his looks that had attracted her. The sincere blue eyes shining from his weathered face, the dark hair falling into somewhat unruly curls, his boyish smile, and most of all the size of the man - they had all fascinated her. In the many months that had passed since then, she had gotten to know the real Matt Dillon. She understood more about him, and what he and that badge stood for, than any other person in Dodge City with the possible exception of Doc Adams. She understood his torments and his fears and his overwhelming drive to protect people from the outlaws and killers who rode through his territory. He hated the killers and the spoilers, as he called them, and knew he was one of the few men who had the ability to do much about them. He saw himself as the only force of law and order in a big, untamed land, but he had another side. He could be quiet, even gentle and introspective at times. He hated when he had to draw his gun and kill someone, but accepted it as part of the job. She had discovered how that job got in the way of so many things in his life - how he couldn't commit to a relationship, how a wife and family were not on the cards for him, how his time was never his own. Matt Dillon was always the marshal no matter the hour, night or day. She loved how he came to the Long Branch to seek her company before making his late night rounds of the town. They would sit at that back table, and for a few minutes he would drop that stoic facade and they could laugh and chat like two regular people, but it never lasted long. He would maybe get to drink a beer, or at least half of one, and then suddenly that time was over, he was back being the guardian of the town and everyone it. The cloak of that heavy responsibility would come down on him once more, and he would walk back out into the night as Marshal Dillon.
Kitty had changed out of her ruined dress and now refreshed with her hair back in place she set out to make sure the Chinese girls were taken care of. The small hotel a few doors down from Dr. Williams office had a large vacant room, and she arranged for them to move in then ordered food to be taken up for them. For the first time in a while she realized that she was hungry too, and sat chatting with the girls while they ate.
They all had the same story - they were grabbed off of the streets of Chinatown and taken to Liu's warehouse. Fortunately the two younger girls didn't comprehend the life that was intended for them if Matt hadn't come to the rescue. The older more experienced girls knew good and well what had lay ahead - but they were already hardened to life on the streets, and would probably return there in a day or so after catching up on food and sleep.
She went back to Dr. William's office just in time to see Matt coming out of Doc's room.
"How's your arm?" she asked.
"A little stiff but it'll be fine in a day or so."
"You want some coffee? There's a small kitchen back there."
She indicated the direction and Matt followed. They needed a place to sit and talk. They were sitting at the same table where she and Tara-Lee had been sitting just before they were kidnapped yesterday. It seemed much longer ago than that because so much had happened.
"He didn't hurt you did he, Kitty?"
"Just scared me a little, but it's over now."
Matt was thoughtful. She was used to his silences and it didn't worry her or make her feel uncomfortable. When she had first got to know him she thought something was wrong and that he had nothing much to say to her, but she knew better now.
"What are we going to do about Doc?" he finally asked as he got up to refill his coffee cup. He offered to pour some more for her but she declined.
"Not too sure there is much we can do, Matt. He's a grown man and has to make up his own mind. You can't just order him to return to Dodge."
"I don't see why not. We all need him to be there."
"I would love to have him back, but it has to be his decision. Have you thought why it is that you need him so much?"
Matt stood up again. He was getting restless. This wasn't something he liked to think about. Just why did he need Doc there? Like he had managed to tell the physician a few minutes ago he liked having someone there to patch him up if the need arose, and he had faith in Adams' abilities. But it was more than that. There were very few people in Dodge that he could think of as a friend. Sure there was Chester, and of course Kitty. He could think of a couple of the ranchers who were good people, but they weren't really friends. There was Moss Grimmick, yes, he could always rely on him. But Doc was special. He was a rock - someone who he could talk to, someone he could get advice from, someone he could go to any hour, night or day, and know he wouldn't be turned away. He was pacing the floor now. Having to think about his feelings made him agitated.
"I've thought about it, Kitty."
"Maybe you need to tell him."
She picked up the now empty coffee cups and took them to the bowl by the sink.
ooo000ooo
Adams remained in his room once Matt had left. He took comfort in the routine of cleaning his instruments and putting them back where they belonged. As he dried them on a clean towel he compared them with his own, back in Dodge. These were all shiny and new. All the catches worked smoothly, and the forceps were easy to manipulate. Even the suture needles were of high quality. This office was a dream, everything he could want. San Francisco had so much to offer as well - opera, plays, and of course the medical society at Tolands. Dodge City had none of these, but it did have Kitty Russell and Matt Dillon.
He looked at his medical bag - the same one Dillon had noticed a while before. Like himself it was getting old and frayed around the edges. Ben Williams had even bought him a new one - but he didn't like it. It was too stiff, and the inside pockets were in the wrong place. He guessed he was like that - just in the wrong place. This practice was a great opportunity for someone, but he didn't fit. How could he tell his friend that? Ben had been so excited that Adams should join his practice - how could he back out now?
Earlier he had killed a man, a bad man admittedly, but a man. He had only intended to stun him, but he had either missed the jugular vein and injected the morphine directly into the carotid artery or else the drug was a lot more potent than he thought. He hated to consider what would have happened if he had injected it into Kitty.
He was dragged from his self-recrimination by a knock at his door. He wanted to tell whoever it was to go away, but it was too late. The door was already opening. Tara-Lee and Petrov stood there, hand in hand.
"We wanted to come and thank you, Doctor."
"Come in, come in." he waved them in and pulled out chairs for them.
He was surprised to see how well Petrov was doing - after all, less than four days ago he would not have given much for his chances of survival. As for Tara -Lee she had bathed and changed clothes, and looked quite beautiful. He thought he recognized one of Kitty's outfits.
"Where are you staying?" he asked as he sat down in a chair across from them. He could see the sparkle in Tara-Lee's eyes now that her husband had been returned to her.
"Doctor Williams had got me a room at the hotel, it is small but big enough for us for a day or two."
"Where will you be going?"
"We haven't decided yet," Petrov answered for them, "But it will be somewhere far from here."
"We wanted to thank the marshal for saving us all," Tara-Lee added as she reached over and took Petrov's hand. "He is a brave man."
"He's that and more," agreed Adams, "And a good friend of mine."
'Kitty said they would be returning to Dodge City soon, maybe we could go there. She said there would be a lot of work for someone as strong as Petrov."
Doc had to stand up and walk to the window. He didn't want to think about Dodge City right now.
"Yes, they will go back there in a few days," he managed to reply. "It is a busy town, and Petrov would find many opportunities. You might even be able to get your own piece of land to farm." He turned back from the window to face them as he spoke.
"You will not be going with them?" Petrov asked "I was told that you used to live in Dodge, and that they are your friends."
"This is my home now." The way he said it put an end to the discussion.
Tara-Lee looked at her husband before glancing back to Doc. She sensed a need to change the subject.
"We need to go thank the marshal before we leave," she said in a quieter voice.
"He's around somewhere." Doc watched Petrov stand up from where he had been sitting then offer his hand to his wife as she rose to stand beside him.
"We'll go look for him. I hope we see you again sometime, Doctor." He reached over to shake hands left handed because his right was still heavily bandaged.
"You'd better come back later, and let me put a plaster cast on that for you." In all the confusion of the last few days, Doc had forgotten that Petrov's arm was still in that make-shift splint.
"I'll see that he does, Doctor. Right now we need to thank the marshal."
They left, and Adams closed the door behind them. Everyone else seemed to have put the last few days behind them, and were ready to move on with their lives. Some were planning to go home, and others excited to find somewhere new. Somehow his life was fixed right here now.
He had finished cleaning his instruments and had nothing left to occupy his mind. He certainly didn't want to talk with Matt or Kitty right now. He gathered his old hat and that tattered medical bag and headed for the Misses Betts Boarding House. Maybe things would look better in the morning.
TBC