With his gun trained on Kitty's head, Jiggs watched her turn her back on that fool Chesterton, and step away. A clean shot – he squeezed the trigger.
MEOW – A tomcat dashed between Kitty's legs. She stumbled forward. A shot rang out. She fell to the ground. Matt turned in a flash and was by her side in two heartbeats, leaving Harry standing alone, frozen in stunned silenced. Matt touched Kitty's arm. She lifted her head, gasping for air, the wind had been knocked out of her. "What just happened, Matt? I tripped over that darn cat and heard a shot. I swear, I felt a bullet whiz by, right above my head." Flooded with relieve Matt could barely whisper, "Are you sure you're all right?" Kitty held out a hand. "I'm fine, just help me up." Matt took her hand and put an arm around her waist to help her to her feet. From the corner of his eye he saw Jiggs hurrying down the street. "Be right back." He took off at full tilt. Jiggs saw him and ran harder, but Matt's long strides quickly closed the gap. Panting hard, Jiggs saw a horse tied up a few feet away. If he could slow Dillon down, and get to that horse, he had a chance. Still running, Jiggs pulled out his gun and twisted around to fire. Matt shot first. Jiggs crumbled with a bullet in his belly. Dillon slowed to a walk and holstered his gun. When he reached the ex-con, and saw the blood flowing from the wound, he knew the man was dying. Jiggs looked at him with a smile on his face. "I die a happy man, Dillon. Chesterton hired me to kill you, but I knew killing the saloon owner would hurt you more." Matt nodded. "You were right about that, but you missed. Kitty's fine." Jiggs' eyes clouded over, "No, I saw her go down." Matt shook his head. "She tripped over a cat and fell. Your bullet flew over her." The smile on Jiggs' face turned into a grimace and he took his final breath.
Matt got to his feet and saw Kitty running towards him. He took her by the shoulders. "Are you sure you're all right?" She nodded firmly. "Nothing more than a muddied dress, but judging from the look on Harry's face, I'd bet money he had something to do with this."
"Yep, we'll talk later. I'd better get Mr. Harry Chesterton locked up."
On the other end of Front Street, 4 women were walking arm-in-arm. They quickly realized that they had very little money left between them, but figured if they pooled their meager resources they had enough for room and board, until Harry's trial was over. After that – they had no plans, but would help each other start new lives. They laughed as they walked, and decided that although Harry Chesterton was despicable scoundrel, he had excellent taste in women. When they reached Ma Smalley's boarding house, they found the grey-haired proprietress waiting outside to greet them. "Ladies I want you to know that, during your stay in Dodge, your rooms here are free and so are meals at Delmonico's restaurant. In this town, we cherish bravery and honor people who have the grit to fight for what's right. Believe me, when that man stands trial, you'll have a lot of folks there rooting for you."
Five Days Later – Late at Night
Outside the Long Branch, Kitty stood alone in the cool night air peering down the street. A tall, broad shouldered man emerged from the darkness. The sight of his familiar strides warmed her to her core. "Town put to bed, Matt?" "Yep." He put a hand on the small of her back. "Let's go inside, I'll help you lock up." The pushed through the bat wing doors into the empty saloon. "Matt, while you check the doors. I'll get down something special, to help celebrate the end of Harry's trial."
"Sounds good." Matt secured the front doors and headed off to check the back. Kitty slid behind the bar and reached up to a high shelf to retrieve her most expensive brandy. As she set the amber bottle on the bar, she remembered that the last time it was opened was the night that she returned from Ballard. She'd expected all the pieces of her life, to easily fall right back into place. Boy, she was wrong about that one. She hadn't realized, or even thought about, the impact that her actions had on Matt. Maybe no one could have. You make choices, sometimes with emotions running high, using what you know, and what you think and feel. Maybe it's the best choice, maybe it's a mistake, a big one. Those big ones sure are painful, but they teach you something, and when someone's heart is in your hands, you'll be more careful next time. She lifted up the bottle and filled two brandy snifters to the brim. A faint smile touched her lips. One thing she knew for sure, no matter what happened and what mistakes they made, she and Matt would always find the road back to each other, because that's where they belonged.
"You're awfully deep in thought." Matt lifted a glass of brandy from the bar.
She smiled and picked up the other one, "I know, I'm a pretty deep red-head. Let's go sit down. Funny, even in an empty saloon we always go to our table in the back."
They settled into two chairs at the smallest table in the rear of the saloon, their shoulders almost touching. "Matt, that trial sure went quick, even with each woman testifying, and the verdict came down even quicker - guilty of bigamy and conspiracy to commit murder. Harry won't have to worry about what business to take up, for quite some time."
"Ha, you're right about that, Kitty."
She bit her lower lip. "Matt, do you think there are other women – I mean who are married to Harry?"
"Judge Brooker thinks there might be. He put notices in national newspapers asking if anyone was married to a Mr. Harry Chesterton, and could prove it. Women have two weeks to step forward. Then Harry's possessions and money will be distributed to his wives, including the $2000 he paid Jiggs." Matt smiled at Kitty. "You know, Harry wanted to marry you next. He thought you'd be more obedient than the others. He sure didn't know you very well."
Kitty rolled her eyes, "You're right about that Cowboy, but I didn't really know him either. I know I was distracted and had my mind on other things when I met him, but I should have seen through him more than I did."
Matt shook his head, "Kitty, he had a lot of practice pretending to be someone he wasn't. The thing is, no one can do that forever. A person's real nature can't be denied. I sure learned that."
She put a hand on his. He wrapped his large fingers around her smaller ones, and they sat in comfortable silence, lost in thought. He took a sip of brandy and let it swirl around in his mouth before swallowing. "Kitty, this really is the good stuff. Next time you get it off the shelf, we'll ride out onto the prairie, find ourselves a pretty spot, and drink it under the stars."
She smiled. "Now that is a fine sounding next time.
He looked into her eyes, and the bond of love they shared was overpowering. He lifted up his glass. Let's make a toast. Kitty, we've shared so many wonderful times and - and – so many moments of - of quiet happiness. I don't have words for all I'm trying to say, so let's just give a toast to all the good things we've shared, and all our next times."
She slowly nodded; the feeling of that moment would forever remain in her heart. They clinked glasses and sipped their drinks. She rose smoothly from her chair. "We should go upstairs and get comfortable. I'll grab these glasses, you get the bottle from the bar."
Matt pushed himself up from the table and looked at Kitty as she stood in the pale yellow light, smiling up at him. Her eyes were shining, her lips so soft and full. He smiled. "Lead on."
The End
AN: Thank you readers for staying with the story, and for your wonderful comments and thoughts. Guests I wish I could thank each of you personally, I do appreciate you.