The Rescue 26
A/N: Judy, SusyQ, Kittylover as well as everyone else, thank you for the kind reviews.
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Doc ambled down the board sidewalk, head down and collar up to ward against the cold. Christmas was just a few days away but he didn't feel much like celebrating. The Ronnigers had just delivered a healthy baby boy but he took little pleasure in seeing the chubby cherub in its mother's arms.
In truth, Doc was taking very little pleasure in too much of anything these days. Two people that he loved as his own children were gone along with Festus, a man he considered to be one of his best friends, though he would've been loath to admit it. He wished like heck he knew where they were and if they were alright, but he knew there was no way they'd be able to contact him and let him know.
There had been vague rumors of them being seen in such places as Texas, Louisiana and even St. Louis. But Doc had his doubts about those reports. If he knew Matt, and he did, Matt would be heading as far from civilization as he could and putting as much distance between them and what passed for the law. He wouldn't be easy to find.
"Good morning, Doctor Adams." A low pitched voice sounded behind him. Doc turned and saw the new Marshal of Dodge City coming up beside him. At about 6 foot 3, with light brown hair and hazel eyes, he looked nothing like Matt Dillon and he acted nothing like him. But the powers that be in Washington declared him a proper replacement for the man who'd done more to settle this part of the country than anyone else.
"What's good about it?" Doc scowled at the man. "It's colder than blue blazes and looks like it might snow."
Clay Turner replied to Doc's onslaught with a dimpled grin. He had heard that Doc Adams and Kitty Russell had been close friends along with the former Dodge City Marshal Matt Dillon and the scruffy hill man Festus Hagen. With all of them gone, he supposed Doc had a right to be a little cranky. "Well, Dr. Adams, you are right in that's cold and you could be right about the snow, but I still think it's a fine morning."
Doc took a swipe of his mustache and shook his head. "Well you just go ahead and think it, if you want to. I've got better things to do."
As Doc turned away, Turner chuckled, watching him leave. He wasn't offended by the doctor's reaction to him, any more than he was by the other people in town. Few people showed him much welcome. Matt Dillon, it seemed, left some mighty big shoes to fill.
But he wasn't worried. If the rumors he'd heard were correct, then Dillon was on the run with the former owner of the Long Branch and his friend Hagen. When they were finally caught, and he had no doubts that eventually they would be run to ground, Dillon's shoes would be a whole lot smaller.
As Turner headed to the jail and Doc hurried along to Delmonico's for breakfast, Sam set about opening up the Long Branch and making it ready for the day ahead. Though few knew it, the Long Branch was still owned by Kitty Russell. Sam took great care of it for her and any profit it made went into a specific account set up just for her, under Sam's name. But as far as most people knew, Kitty had given the business to him. It was best that way.
While taking the chairs down from the tables and getting the bar set up, Sam thought about the beautiful woman he called friend and still called boss and prayed she was alright. Of course, he knew she was with Matt Dillon and Festus and that knowledge made him rest a little easier.
Still, it was a dangerous world for someone on the run, whether they were guilty or not. He just hoped they'd found a safe place to at least last the winter.
Many miles away, while Doc ate his solitary breakfast and Sam worked silently and alone in the saloon, two men made their way carefully through the snow heading to Turtle Crick. They were on a mission and they had a short time to accomplish it.
"Do you think we'll be able to get there and back in time?" The one asked the other as he shivered on his horse and looked around at the desolate features of the snow laden landscape around him.
"Cain't say." The other replied tersely. "Mebbe."
"Well, I hope so." The first one replied. "I made a promise to send a wire about Matt Dillon and Kitty Russell and I intend to do so. But I'd sure like to get back quickly after that."
Festus nodded leading the way further down the trail. "Me too." He told Percival Atkins.
TBC