25
Matt rode hard across the prairie, pushing the big buckskin to his limits. But although he was concerned for the horse, he was more concerned that he get to his destination as quickly as he could. His life and someone else's depended on it, he was certain.
He loped into town late that night, just as a fierce wind had picked up. Looking about him, he saw only a stray dog and one light above the general store. The rest of the town, it seemed, had retired for the night. Even all of the saloons were closed.
As Matt rode in, his horse was barely moving and he felt a twinge of guilt for forcing him to such great lengths, but he was here now and as soon as he found a stable, he'd make sure Buck got all the care he deserved.
He just hoped he wasn't too late. He'd had an increasingly bad feeling with each mile he covered, that he had to get here.
As he'd ridden from Dodge a few days prior, Matt had been positive that he was doing the right thing. He did have a duty to uphold and a badge to satisfy. But with each mile he traveled, the badge's pull became less and less and Kitty's image became stronger and stronger. He'd had a feeling since he'd come home to find her gone, that she needed him. He was no longer willing to ignore that.
Finally finding the stable, Matt pounded on the door until an older, paunchy man with more hair on his chin than his head, appeared bleary eyed at the door. Though not happy with the disruption to his sleep, the man was quite pleased indeed with the money Matt handed him to take extra good care of his horse.
"I'll take care of em as though he were my own." The man pledged, looking again at the money in his palm.
"Thank you." Matt hollered over the wind and gave him a curt nod. "Oh, and maybe you can help me. I'm looking for someone."
The man guffawed. "We're all a looking for someone, Mister. You got a particular one in mind?"
Matt nodded. "Her names Charlotte Stark and she runs a saloon around here but I have no idea which one."
The man said something which the wind picked up and carried away. But Matt caught the look on his face when he mentioned the name and he knew his instincts were right. "What'd you say?" He yelled over the roar of air past his ears.
"I said go see the Sherriff." The man pointed down the street to a small clapboard building with a large sign over it proclaiming it to be the jail.
"Why?" Matt demanded, his heart now racing faster than the current rushing past him.
"Just go see the Sherriff." The man demanded firmly as he quickly took Matt's horse inside the large stable and closed the door behind him.
As tired as he was, Matt's adrenaline was pumping. He was positive it was a woman named Charlotte Stark that Kitty had come here to see. If he was being told to see the Sherriff, at the mention of her name, than there must be trouble. And if there was trouble, than Kitty was probably mixed up in it.
In a speed which defied his exhaustion, Matt rushed down to the jail and as at the stable, pounded furiously on the door. In moments, a light came on and a tall, dark headed, dark eyed man appeared at the door in his undershirt and pants, a gun in his hand.
"Who are you?" The man demanded. "What do you want?"
"My name's Matt Dillon." Matt fought for his breath. "I'm the Marshal out of Dodge. I…"
'Come in." The man grabbed his arm and pulled him in, pushing the door closed against the heavy breeze following him. "I'm Sherriff Troy Bowman. You're here for Kitty, aren't you?" He asked once he got the door closed and replaced his gun in its holster.
"She alright?" Matt asked past the lump of fear in his throat.
Troy shrugged. "She hasn't had too easy a time of things here, but physically she's alright."
"What does that mean?" Matt demanded. "Where is she?"
Looking into the steely blue eyes of the big man in front of him, Troy all at once realized just how much the beautiful red head meant to this man. "I'm sorry." He shook his head. "Didn't mean to worry you. She's over at the saloon. Like I said, physically she's fine. But there've been some things happen that weren't too good."
"Like what?" Matt's voice was low and on edge and Troy realized right then he needed to see Kitty more than he needed answers or anything else.
"Look, why don't I get dressed and take you on over there to see her. I doubt she'd mind being woken up for you and she can probably answer all of your questions better than I can."
Matt took a deep breath and nodded. "Alright." He didn't know anything about this Sherriff or the town, but he knew Kitty was there and Bowman was going to take him to her. Right then that was the only important thing to him.
Once Troy put on a shirt and boots, he stepped over to the door leading out to the cells and looked in for a moment, before closing the door and reaching for his coat. "Got a prisoner back there. Just wanted to check on him."
Matt said nothing as the Sherriff donned his coat and hat and led the way out of the jail and down the street to the Lucky Spot Saloon. Banging loudly on the door, he called Kitty's name when he saw a light come on. "Miss Russell? It's Sherriff Bowman. Can you come open the door please?"
Standing at the top of the landing, Kitty hesitated for a second until she sensed him. Matt was there. Taking a glimpse into the bassinette to make sure the baby was fine, Kitty grabbed her robe and raced down the stairs, hastily unlocking the door and throwing it open.
Barely pausing for breath, and paying no heed to the man standing beside him, Matt opened his arms and caught Kitty up in a bear hug as she flung herself into his arms. "Oh, thank God, Matt." She cried. "How'd you know?"
"I'll always know, Kitty." Matt answered softly as he hugged her to him.
Troy backed up a few steps, silently watching the two and realizing his presence not only wasn't needed, but wasn't felt. The two were so wrapped up in each other; everyone else had ceased to exist. With a small sigh, Troy Bowman turned and left.
Neither Matt nor Kitty noticed.
TBC