Dark Reflection
Chapter 43
"Protector"
by Lilyjack
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Matt stood stock still, his hands in the air. The gravelly voice behind him demanded, "Just what do you think you're doing, you rascal? I don't believe you have the best interests of that young lady over there in mind."
Matt slowly pivoted. A big, middle-aged man whose craggy face was deeply lined from years of working in the sun squinted suspiciously at him down the sights of his shotgun. His youthful jet-black hair and mustache belied the apparent maturity of his wizened expression.
"Hey, mister…you've got the wrong idea—she's with me." Matt was confounded by the turn of events and uncharacteristically flustered. "I… I just woke up from a nap and she'd disappeared and I…"
The big man advanced a step, gestured at him threateningly with his shotgun. "That's a likely story. If she's with you, why are you peeping at her through the bushes?"
Matt was starting to become irritated. He placed his hands obstinately on his hips. "I'm not peepin' at her, for Pete's sake. I was just…"
"Keep those hands up, young feller."
Matt's hands shot back up. "Listen, stranger, what's…your business here anyway?"
"Well, not that it's any of your business, but I've been to Dodge, took a look around and decided to leave a little quicker than I'd planned. Then I saw a young rapscallion skulkin' around here, and it appeared to me he was up to no good."
"No good?" Matt had just about had enough. "Wait, when she comes back over here, you can talk to her and she'll tell you—she's with me!"
"What's her name then, if she's with you?" the tall man demanded accusingly.
"Well... maybe I don't trust you enough to mention her name." He curled a surly lip at the older man who, for all Matt knew, could be working for Blackthorne. Although it didn't seem likely being as the stranger was apparently attempting to protect Kitty from harm.
The big man looked incredulous. "Don't trust me? You're the Peeping Tom."
"I am NOT a Peeping Tom! Listen to me…"
The distinct metallic clicking of a pistol hammer cocking got the quick attention of them both. A determined redhead was pointing a Colt peacemaker in their direction. "Hold it right there, gentlemen," she instructed. "What's goin' on?" Her damp, unbuttoned shirt had been donned hastily, and tendrils of hair clung to her wet skin. Matt could see her face was swollen from crying, but she was clear-eyed and ready for a fight.
The big, raven-haired man indignantly appealed, "Miss, what'd this here rascal do to make you cry so?"
Matt threw out his hands. "Honey, please, tell this man you're with me. He thinks…I was lurking in the bushes, that I was gonna attack you."
"Well, cowboy, were you?" she archly asked.
"No! I woke up and heard you crying and came lookin' for you. Then this character…comes up from behind and pulls a gun on me, thinkin' I have ulterior motives." Matt scratched his head. He wasn't used to feeling so frustratingly bamboozled. This ridiculous situation had gotten out-of-hand mighty quick.
Kitty turned her blue eyes on the stranger and gave him a crooked smile. "Don't mind my partner here. I reckon he's tellin' the truth." She cast a glance in Matt's direction, clearly amused by his discomfiture just a little. "And I appreciate you lookin' after me, mister. What's your name?"
The man lowered his shotgun and smiled back at her. "Sam," he replied. "Sam Noonan, miss."
Kitty retracted the hammer of her pistol and lowered the muzzle. "Nice to meet ya', Sam," she intoned warmly. "Like I said, don't mind him. I'm sure my partner here had good intentions." She could feel Matt's eyes rolling toward the heavens even though she wasn't looking at him. "And sorry about the rude introduction, but you can't be too safe around these parts nowadays."
Matt sighed in relief when the entire party disarmed. And he couldn't be angry with a fellow who was just trying to protect Kitty. Matt took a cleansing breath and shook off his agitation.
Sam agreed, "I know what you mean, miss. Things were pretty crazy back in Dodge. That's where I just come from. I decided to get out while the gettin' was good."
Matt asked him, "So, you don't approve of the law in town, I take it?
Sam Noonan exclaimed, "Law? Those people are outlaws. Cowboy syndicate, that's what they are. They need to be run clear out of town."
Matt tried to draw him out, find out if he was to be trusted. "You think so?"
"I know so," Sam stated matter-of-factly. "But what's one man like me going to do about the situation?"
"Well, one man can't do much," Kitty responded. "Or one woman, for that matter. But if a whole passel a' folks join together, they just might be able to change things."
Matt invited, "Come sit with us for a spell, Noonan. We've got some…home cooked food if you're of a notion."
Sam replied, "Well, I just ate not too awful long ago at a place called Delmonico's—antelope stew, and it wasn't the best I ever ate, I can tell you. But I kept my ears open while I was there and heard some pretty wild tales. You folks from Dodge, I take it?"
Matt hedged, glancing at Kitty, "Uh, yes and no. But that's where…we've both been residing lately. Come sit down, take a load off, Sam. Tell us what you heard in town."
Sam, removing his hat, lowered himself to the log in the shade where they'd both fallen asleep a short while before. The men politely averted their eyes as Kitty hastily buttoned her shirt, stuffing it in her trousers and pulling her red galluses over her shoulders. She cleared her throat as a sort of signal that she was finished and sat demurely on the grass opposite Sam with a wry smile. Matt remained standing, planting a booted foot on the end of Sam's wooden seat.
Matt prompted, "So you heard a lotta' wild tales in Dodge, didja'?"
"Yessir, I certainly did. There's a pretty rough customer who's taken over the whole town by the name of Blackthorne."
Matt glanced at Kitty, and both their faces hardened.
Sam picked up on the silent exchange between them. "So you've heard of him?"
Kitty's lips thinned into a hard line. "We've heard of 'im alright."
Matt explained, "We've both run up against him…and his cronies, Sam."
"Pardon me for saying so, Miss, but I noticed you've been knocked around pretty badly. You've got some bruises there on your neck…and they were on your arms, too." Sam looked angry when he said it, nodding toward Matt. "And I don't think this young fella here did it neither."
Kitty was quick to defend Matt. "No, Sam, you're right. He'd never do such a thing. It was those outlaws you were just talkin' about."
Sam bristled. "Personally, miss, I consider roughin' up a woman a near killin' offense. I'd like to get my hands on the one that did that to you."
"So would I," she stated bluntly. "That's why we're out here today. I'm learnin' to use a gun, learnin' how to defend myself proper."
Sam remorsefully shook his head. "What a state of affairs when a lady has to go to such measures."
One corner of Kitty's mouth turned up in a crooked smile at his referring to her as a lady. "I used to work in a saloon, Sam, until..." She hesitated.
"Until Blackthorne took it over," Matt finished for her. "He's pocketing a lion's share…of the profits of every business in Dodge. And he's hurting anyone…who tries to buck him."
Sam squinted and gestured to Matt's eye. "That where you got the eyepatch, young man? Your face looks like it's seen some fisticuffs."
"Yep," Matt admitted. "I tried to tangle with…too many of 'em at once."
"Seems a person's pretty outnumbered if he's on the side of justice," Sam grimly observed. "And the people I talked to in Dodge, well, they seemed to be pretty sick of it themselves. There's all kinds of quiet rumbling on the streets, but nobody'll do anything." Sam placed a hand on his chin thoughtfully. "Well, except those mysterious fellows who bushwhacked some of Blackthorne's men round town a few days ago. There was plenty a' talk about that, too. Nobody knows who it was—some say Mexican bandits, others say they were ghosts." Sam shook his dark head. "You know how gossip is."
"Oh, I know how gossip is alright." Kitty gave a mirthless laugh, glancing sideways at Matt. "If you don't mind me askin', what was your business in Dodge?"
Sam answered, "Oh, I got me a cousin who lives near Dodge by the name of Horace. He told me a saloon called the Long Branch was needing an extra bartender. But when I got there…" Sam shook his head again gravely. "…I didn't want any part of that mess. Talked to several people while I was there. Did you know part of the building burnt down? They haven't fixed it yet, either. Anyway, I didn't like the tales I heard about what went on. Miss, I decided my business was done and hightailed it outta Dodge."
Kitty looked at Matt and took a deep breath. "You can call me Kitty, Sam."
"I'm delighted to make your acquaintance, Miss Kitty," Sam graciously replied, but then his face quickly blanched. "Why, you're the one…" He stopped talking, unable to say more.
"Yeah, I'm the one," she confirmed soberly. "I'm half-owner of the Long Branch. Least I was, until Blackthorne horned in on me."
Matt remarked, "You say folks are gettin' a' bellyful of Blackthorne's tactics, Sam? That there's a lotta opposition rumblin' round town?"
"Yessir, nobody talked about it out loud, of course. But I was with my cousin Horace who's a local, so I heard plenty of whispering when we made the rounds of Dodge."
"That's a good sign," Matt observed, leaning an elbow on his knee. "If folks get good n' tired of Blackthorne, maybe they'll be willin' to do somethin' about it."
"I know I am," Kitty deadpanned.
"I am, too, and I just got here," Sam agreed.
"Sam, how's about I give you a job?" Kitty offered resolutely. "Once I get my saloon back, that is."
Sam nodded solemnly. "It'd be a pleasure to work for you, Miss Kitty."
Matt's brow furrowed as he gazed earnestly at Sam. "We could sure use someone like you who can handle a gun. Would you be willin' to help?"
Sam bobbed his head firmly. "Maybe. Just maybe I would at that, young man," Sam replied, wrapping a big hand around the barrel of his shotgun in affirmation.
Matt reached an outstretched hand toward Sam, offering to shake, "Miss Kitty and I are glad to have you on our side. You can call me 'Matt.'"
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