Dark Reflection
Chapter 36
"Escalation"
by Lilyjack
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"I don't believe I coulda' done any better myself, young lady!" Doc declared, glancing up from his examination of Matt Dillon's gunshot wound.
"Thank you, Doc." Kitty inquired worriedly, "So, he doesn't need stitches after all?"
"Nope. Just a graze, and it's already beginning to heal nicely. Thanks to you." He gave her a big smile. "I could put in a few stitches just to make it heal faster…"
Matt quickly spoke up, "Oh, that won't be necessary, Doc."
"That's just what I thought…" Doc replied. "So I'll just disinfect it with some more alcohol and rebandage. It should be fine as long as you keep it clean."
Kitty sighed in relief, "That's good to hear, Doc."
Matt grinned, his eyes twinkling. "Doc, she'll be puttin' you out of a job before ya' know it!"
Doc chuckled, enjoying the mischievous humor of the overgrown whippersnapper before him. "I reckon I better watch my back then." He tied off the gauze neatly, pronouncing, "All done."
"Thanks, Doc," Matt smiled.
The old physician rummaged in his black leather bag. "I'll leave you some extra bandages. Change them every day and lemme know if it becomes inflamed or starts draining. I'll check it again in a couple days."
"We will, Doc," Kitty answered.
"And here's a sling you can wear to keep it immobilized. It'll heal faster if you wear it."
"Aw, Doc…" Matt complained.
"I'll see that he wears it, Doc," Kitty promised.
"Good girl," he smiled at her. Doc removed his spectacles, placing them carefully in their case, slipping it into his pocket. His expression sobered. "I checked in on Mary Mahaffey earlier."
Kitty breathed, "Is she okay, Doc?"
"She's fine, just some bumps and bruises. But she was mighty shook up. She's still staying at Ma Smalley's."
Matt ventured, "I don't imagine she feels safe in her own place anymore."
"Yep, and somebody else was roughed up today is what I heard," Doc gravely informed them.
"Who was it, Doc?" Matt asked, his brow furrowing.
"Jim Dobie, the owner of the Dodge House."
"Mr. Dobie?" Kitty repeated in shock. "Why, he's one of the richest men in town, a gentleman like Mr. Botkin!"
Doc replied, "Exactly. Seems Blackthorne doesn't believe Dobie's payin' his fair share of the taxes around here. Sound familiar?"
Kitty's expression darkened. "Unfortunately." Her stomach turned sour at the memory of her confrontation with Silas Blackthorne in the Long Branch. The confrontation that had started it all.
Doc continued, "Seems some of Blackthorne's henchmen gave Dobie a pretty bad beating. Blacked Howie's eye real good, too. I'm gonna stop by and check on 'em when I leave here."
Matt ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "When's this gonna stop?"
Doc pinned him with a stare. "Those brutes say they're comin' back tonight to get the payment in full. Or else."
"Tonight, huh?" Matt pondered. "Where was it? The Dodge House?"
"Oh, no…" Kitty retorted. "Matt, you were just shot last night! This has got nothin' to do with you!"
Matt countered, "But Kitty, if we don't stand up against them, who will?"
Kitty gazed at him, bit her lip anxiously.
Matt speculated, "What if me and Doc and Deke and the others had all just stood by when you were bein' held against your will by Blackthorne? What if we had said we were gonna stay out of it…that it was none of our business?"
Kitty avoided his gaze, looking down at her hands, the small scratches from last night scabbed over.
Doc took two steps toward her, took her hand in his. "Let me see this, young lady. I hear you had quite a scare last night."
Kitty mumbled, "Oh, I'm alright. I just mistook Matt for…for someone else. I went a little overboard, I guess." She frowned and met his gentle gaze, her eyes troubled.
He patted her hand and explained quietly, "Kitty, I think you're just remembering the bad things that happened to you…before you came here. It's almost like a waking nightmare, isn't it?"
She mutely nodded.
"Well, it happens to people who've lived through something terrible, like you. So I wouldn't worry about it too much. It's natural and it'll just take some time for you to heal, not just your body, but here…" He pointed his index finger at his temple. "And here…" He tapped his chest, over his heart. Then he glanced at Matt. "You'll eventually feel better with some help from the people who care about you."
Kitty nodded wordlessly again, and tears filled her eyes. Her chest felt tight and her throat constricted, overwhelmed as she was at the kindness she'd experienced since coming to this place.
Matt added quietly, "You're gonna be fine, Kitty."
"Thank you, Matt…Doc…" She swiped at an errant tear at the corner of her eye. "I don't know what to say."
Doc scrubbed at his gray mustache as his eyes twinkled softly. "You don't hafta say anything, honey. We understand."
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"Look what I brung ya', Miss Kitty," Chester said excitedly. "Come set here on the steps with me an' open it." He handed her a soft package wrapped in brown paper as she sat beside him on the cellar stairway. Doc and Matt were still talking quietly inside their room. "Ma Smalley sent it to ya'. I promised I'd fetch it right over, so here I am."
Kitty untied the twine and opened the crackling paper to find soft yellow calico fabric decorated with tiny sprigs of white flowers, freshly laundered and pressed. A length of yellow ribbon lay curled atop the dress. She ran her finger around the seam of the sweetheart neckline. "Oh…" she breathed.
Chester's grin covered his whole face. "Yer surprised, ain't ya? See, I found this dress you always liked so much, down in the bottom of the chifforobe, all wadded up. Before the fire, that is. I guess it weren't quite fancy enough fer that hateful ol' Phoebe to wanna steal it from ya. Then the other day I remembered I had it hid away, and Ma offered t' clean and press it. So there ya' go!" he crowed triumphantly.
"Oh, Chester!" Kitty squeezed the dress to her chest. "I don't know how to thank you!"
"Well, just knowin' it makes ya' happy is thanks enough fer me." He smiled softly, looking into her eyes. "You always was so purdy in that there dress…fresh as a spring mornin'. I think it's my favorite."
Kitty lay the precious dress on her lap, recalling Ma's concerns about Chester and his feelings toward Kitty. Taking Chester's hands in her own, her expression suddenly serious, she avowed, "Chester, you're so good to me. I can always rely on you."
He ducked his head. "Well, Miss Kitty, you was there for me when I first come to Dodge and I didn't know nobody. You give me a job, somethin' to eat… I don't know what I woulda' done if I hadn't met you."
She squeezed his hands tightly. "Chester, look at me."
He shyly looked into her eyes.
"Chester, I wouldn't have made it through my ordeal if it hadn't been for you. You know that, don't you?"
"Aw, now, Miss Kitty, you woulda' been just…"
She firmly interrupted, "No, Chester, I wouldn't have. You stayed with me and took care a' me, when others might've just run away, left town. I'm deeply obliged to you, Chester." She pinned him with her earnest gaze. "You're the best friend I ever had."
Astonishment blossomed over his features. After he'd taken a moment to recover, he spoke deliberately, sincerely. "Well now, you helped me out when I needed it. I just did the same fer you. Friends always help each other out, don't they? I'm…right honored that you consider me yer friend, Miss Kitty." This time he squeezed her hands. His next words tumbled hurriedly out of his mouth. "And I gotta admit, I'm a mite jealous. One a' these days yer gonna make another man mighty happy. Then you might not wanna be my friend no more. But that'll be okay, long as yer hap-…." Chester broke off, teary-eyed.
Kitty smiled at him, tears glistening in her own eyes. Her heart was full. She declared, "No matter what the future brings, Chester, you will always be my dearest friend." And placing her hands on his cheeks, she gave his lips a gentle, soft, sweet kiss.
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