Dark Reflection
Chapter 49
"Conspirators"
by Lilyjack
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"Do you hear that?" Kitty purred against Matt's skin, trailing small, fiery kisses down the length of his throat. He tasted salty, smelled musky, felt scorching to her touch in the afternoon heat.
"What?" Matt murmured distractedly. He wound his hands through her tousled copper hair, reveling in its silky feel as it slipped over the tingly flesh between each of his fingers.
"That sound…" she wondered aloud, gasping when Matt lightly suckled with achingly tender lips the sensitive spot just below her ear. "What is it?"
"I don't hear anything… Just birds…" he sighed as he wound his long arms around her, both hands sliding down the length of her torso to settle in the small of her back. Then his mouth fervently captured hers in a toe-curling kiss.
Kitty hummed against his soft lips, her tongue grazing his, her heart beating faster…
But there was that noise again. It was drawing closer. She could tell Matt had finally heard it that time. They groaned in frustration, looking at one another in puzzlement.
"What on earth?" Kitty speculated aloud, feeling irritated yet intrigued by the unusual sound.
Together, they slowly poked their heads up to peep over the fallen log toward the distance. Their eyes fruitlessly scanned the entire area, seeing nothing but a colorful patch of Black-eyed Susans buzzing with insects and, beyond that, miles and miles of deserted prairie land.
They held their breath, focusing their ears and eyes. Suddenly a horse, plodding slowly, rounded the edge of the thicket of trees where Matt and Kitty crouched hidden. An enormous, ebony-haired man sat atop him, playing a sweet, lilting melody on a battered fiddle. The beautiful sound now clearly carried over the grass-covered landscape.
"Sam," Kitty breathed. "Sam Noonan."
"Your protector," Matt sighed, observing that the man had an uncanny ability for showing up at inopportune moments.
"He plays the fiddle!" Kitty happily noted.
"Apparently he does," Matt replied with long-suffering stoicism. He was astounded at Sam's ability to play a tune while riding a horse, all the while wishing the big fellow had chosen a better time to do so.
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Seated on the fallen tree that, minutes before, Matt and Kitty had been hiding behind, Sam amiably explained, "Playing helps to pass the time. And ol' Rio seems to enjoy listening to music, too."
At the sound of his name, the huge chestnut tied to a nearby tree shook his heavy, cream-colored mane and nickered quietly.
"Your playing is lovely, Sam," Kitty enthused. "You'd be a real fine asset for a saloon owner, you know. She'd be gettin' a bartender and a musician to boot."
Sam smiled warmly. "Thank you, Miss. I do appreciate that. Oh, I nearly forgot - I have some rabbits tied to the other side of my saddle over there. I've been huntin', and I'd be mighty proud if you two'd join me for supper."
It was Matt's turn to smile. "That's a tempting offer, Sam. I don't know if Miss Kitty and I will have time or not – we're still workin' on some target practice…" Matt shifted his gaze sideways to glance at Kitty who mutely raised a brow at him. He suddenly cleared his throat and continued, "…and then we have a distance to cover before we get back to town."
Sam revealed, "Yes, I saw your target out there. Miss Kitty, looks like you're gettin' pretty good at hitting what you're aiming for."
"I gotta get good, Sam. I aim to do just that." She clarified with conviction, "Hit what I'm aimin' at, that is."
"I imagine you do, Miss. For good reason." Sam's mouth hardened. "I'll admit that I was pretty upset after I met you a few days ago. You put a face on the stories, I guess you might say."
Matt simply nodded, his face clouding with anger at the not-too-distant memories.
Sam divulged, "I kinda took to heart what you said about maybe us working together to get something done. So, I headed back into Dodge."
"Ya' don't say…" Matt replied with interest.
"Yessir, I did. I figgered I was in a mighty good position to get some information, a little better than the two of you, anyway. I was in town a couple of days and talked to a lot of folks, strictly on the sly, of course." Sam crossed long arms over a broad chest. "And I was hoping I might run into the two of you here."
Matt's attention was galvanized. He shot a glance at Kitty before asking, "What'd you find out, Noonan?"
"Well, Horace and me, we located quite a few folks sympathetic to your cause, so to speak."
"You got names for me?" Matt absently chewed on a thumbnail, his eyes gleaming with eagerness.
"Yessir, I sure do."
Matt slapped a hand on his thigh, looking more hopeful than Kitty had ever seen him. He proposed firmly, "Well, Sam, I'll tell you what I need you and your cousin Horace t' do now…"
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"I don't wanna wake them, Matt. It's awful late and they're probably both sound asleep," Kitty whispered in the cellar hallway.
"That just means one thing…" Matt helpfully suggested, setting their lantern on the floor beside his feet.
Kitty eyed him dubiously. "And what would that be?"
He grinned, his blue eyes sparkling in the yellow lanternlight. "You'll just hafta come down t' my room tonight."
"Oh, Matt," Kitty gently countered, placing a hand on his chest. "You need your rest."
"What makes you think…" he teased, raising his dark eyebrows a bit rakishly, "…that I won't get any rest if you come with me?"
He couldn't help but chuckle at his own joke, but Kitty was quick to shush him. "Matt, you'll wake…"
Promptly nipping her protest in the bud, he slipped an arm around her slim waist and nestled his large hand in the small of her back, a place he fully realized was a sensual sweet spot for Kitty Russell. Matt gently pulled her close, her belly and full breasts pressed warmly against him. He removed her dark hat and nuzzled her hair, carelessly woven into a long braid that fell over one shoulder. She smelled like sunshine and wind and prairie flowers, female sweat and horses and gun oil. It was an intoxicating combination, and he shivered when he brushed his delicate mouth over her fragrant red tresses. The heady sensation of Kitty's scent, her lithe body leaning against his, those soulful blue eyes gazing up at him, and the nearly inaudible gasp from her sun-kissed lips when he touched her - it was more than enough to make a man plumb weak in the knees. Especially since he'd waited so awful long for this, the day when Kitty Russell would take him back into her loving arms once again.
He whispered heatedly in her ear, "Kiss me again, Kitty."
She tried to refuse. "Matt, I really don't think we should because what if…" She trailed off as she gazed intently at his soft mouth. Her bottom lip caught in her teeth as her arms slowly slipped around his neck. She tiptoed, closing her eyes and pressing her mouth to his.
Suddenly, the cellar door swung open. Startled, Matt and Kitty hastily let go of one another. Matt quickly retrieved the lantern at his feet and Kitty clapped her hat back onto her head, pasting a smile on her face. Chester Goode stuck his head out the door and grinned, "Well, I'll be. I thought I heard somebody out here. Why don't ya'll come on in?"
Matt cleared his throat. "Sure, Chester. Why don't we go on in, Kitty?"
Entering the room, Kitty nonchalantly commented, "You two are sure up late." She shot Matt a sidelong glance, and he grinned sheepishly.
Ruby explained with a shy smile, "Chester, he teachin' me t' read."
Chester beamed. "She's a real good student, Mr. Dillon, Miss Kitty. Why, you wouldn't believe how fast she's a'goin'."
Kitty looked pleased. "That's wonderful – I'm glad to hear you had a good day. But are you sure you should be readin' after what Doc said? With you havin' a concussion?"
"Oh, Doc, he's such a worrywart," Chester groused. "Miss Ruby, why she's just fine. Ain't ya', Miss Ruby?"
"Yes, Chester, I'se jes' fine. Matter a' fact, I never felt better." Her face lit up when she looked at Chester.
Matt's brows raised as he glanced at Kitty. She quickly gave him an "I told you so" look, then inquired of Ruby, "You think you'll be up t' walkin' a little bit in a couple days?"
"Why, sure, I be walkin' in no time a'tall, ya'll been takin' such good care a' me. Where we walkin' to?"
Kitty looked pointedly at Matt. He explained, "Well, I hope to have a meeting day after tomorrow."
Chester probed, "A meetin'?"
Matt replied solemnly, "Yep, and hopefully this'll be the beginning of the end, Chester."
"The end a' what?" Chester wondered.
Kitty's mouth turned down at the corners, her hand unconsciously gripping the Colt stuck in the waistband of her trousers until her fingers were white. She flatly declared, "The end of that bastard Silas Blackthorne's reign in Dodge."
tbc
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