THE DEPUTY: CHAPTER 2

XOXOXO

A/N: This first section is steamy. It's easy to skip if that's not to your liking. Hope you read it! Just want to be polite to all my readers. I value each of you so much!

XOXOXO

It was a hot night in Dodge. Matt pegged his hat and vest at the back door, opened all the windows, then sat down on the bed to watch Kitty finish peeling out of everything she had on and slide into a flimsy chemise. Almost immediately the humidity made it cling seductively to her curves, leaving almost nothing to the big man's imagination. His mind wandered. In the winter she was always chilly in this clingy little thing, her nipples standing up hard against the flimsy fabric. Now, in the summer, it showed her body full and ripe and round. His eyes started to glass over at the perfection of the garment. But she broke the spell.

"You're staring, Cowboy."

"Just making a plan."

She sat down on the bed next to him and cuddled his cheek to her breast.

"Before you start working that plan, how about you get out of those clothes and brush my hair?"

Stripped down, he methodically removed the pins from her upswept hair, remembering how this was once a daunting chore that had now become delightful. Then he straddled her from behind and gently began the hundred strokes of brushing that he'd so come to love. Her long red hair was never prettier than right after it was taken down, still holding the memory of those beautiful curls. Each stroke released the curls a bit more. He couldn't help but flip the locks in his fingers and rearrange them as they relaxed. And here in bed, wrapped closely behind her, he couldn't help but get aroused. She purred softly and stroked his thighs at the feel of him growing against her. It was their quiet time, their most private time.

He put the brush down and took the blue satin ribbon from the nightstand. It was the same one he'd given her years ago, still in pristine condition because she'd cherished it and cared for it. He tied her hair loosely behind her, then matched the strokes of her hands on his thighs with the strokes of his hands softly up and down her arms.

He touched the chemise. "You just put this on. May I take it off?"

"Mmmm Hmmm, please do," was her dreamy reply.

He slid the chemise over her head and tossed it on the floor. Man and wife were completely naked except for those big gold bands, relishing the light breeze that moved across their skin in the dim light of one lantern. She wiggled in closer him, so ready to feel him join with her. Right at this moment his soft kisses on the back of her neck and his manly snorts in her ear were her favorite kind of arousal. But there were so many! This night he chose to push her down on her side, still behind her. Teasing him, she lifted her knee as high as she could, anticipating the feel of him taking her in this primal position, understanding that only a woman who wanted her lover would make such an offer. His first touch was gentle, almost asking, and it made her shudder. She wanted to take him right there. But there was no taking; he had all the control. He pulled back, speaking to her only with his lips on the back of her neck. She reached up and grabbed his hair, pulling and releasing, asking him for what she wanted. She felt the heat of him when he touched her again. This time she felt his entry, but there was no thrust. He lingered right where he was. Waiting. Anticipating. After all, he had his plan.

Retaliating, she pushed into him and began the dance with her hips that meant only one thing: She had no plan whatsoever, and it didn't matter. She'd shared him with other people all day, watching him tease her with his eyes but never touching her, always the professional. One way or another, it was now her turn, and two lovers could play this game. Still, he lingered. But it was a mistake when she moved to pull away, to torment him. His big arms pulled her back, right where he had her, right where he wanted her. Except this time he went deep. She pretended to pull away and he pulled her back time after time, burying himself in her heat. Finally, she lost the make-believe battle and let him control their dance. She followed as she had time after time, her hips rocking against him as they pushed and released magically together. The light breeze in the room was all but forgotten. Their bodies were already stuck together with the sweat and the heat of their effort, and still it intensified. Her pulsing body throbbed. He intensified his thrusts, struggling in vain to time himself with her tightening and releasing. Finally, with no plan or control of any kind left, he strained and spent himself into her. He strained again, then one more time, until he had nothing left to give.

XOXOXO

The sun streaming in the window woke Kitty. A quick look at the clock confirmed that half the morning was gone. She vaguely remembered Matt kissing her good-bye earlier and muttered a little curse that she should have gotten up with him. It'd be hard to adjust to working days. Worse yet, she'd forgotten to make any sort of plan with Lily for today. But when she walked into the kitchen, she found coffee still on the stove and a hand-written note from Matt on the table.

"Good morning, Love! Coffee's hot, so is your bath water in the caldron! Read the letter Seth forwarded. M."

While the immediate prospect of the hot bath sounded wonderful, her curiosity, as usual, got the better of her and she sat down with her cup of coffee to read the letter. She read the one from Seth first.

"Matt,

I didn't know you knew Frank Reardon. You should have told me. We could have got some laughs over that. I thought Frank might like to take the sheriff's job in Helena so I wrote him right after you left. His reply is enclosed. Same old Frank told me to go to hell! Thought you might like to know where he is and what he's up to. Johnny and I are doing good and I love the job. Of course I know you love Dodge. Hope Lily likes it too.

Take care my friend,

Seth"

The letter from Frank was wrapped inside Seth's. The return address simply said, "Reardon, General Delivery, Trinidad Colorado."

"Seth you old SOB,

Good to hear from you, been a long time. You go to hell! I'd love to live in Helena but I want nothing to do with being a lawman. I'm full time doing guard work for the Santa Fe RR. The pay's better and I rarely get shot at. Surprised you're still alive. If Matt's still there, bust his lip for me. We had some good times. Surprised he's still alive, too.

Take Care,

Frank"

There was lots to do this morning and the hot bath was waiting. But she read both letters one more time, trying to figure out Matt's mind at the same time. Men sure wrote odd letters. She remembered Matt talking about a guy named Frank Reardon. But it was from a long time ago, even before he came to Dodge, when they both worked somewhere, who knows where, in Texas. The part that was easy to remember was how fond Matt was of the guy. He talked about him like he was talking about a brother. He'd asked her to read these letters for a reason, and she'd done that. Now it was time for that bath. Matt could explain later.

XOXOXO

Normally it didn't matter what time she showed up at the Long Branch. After all, she owned the place. But Kitty felt a little twinge of embarrassment when she walked in just before noon and Lily was already there. And she wasn't just there. She was working! Rob was setting up trays for her and she was cheerfully carrying them to tables, collecting money for the house, then returning to the bar to do it all over again. Kitty waited at the bar for a minute, watching Lily smile expressively and make small talk with each customer she served. "Proving she can work the floor," Kitty thought to herself. It was exactly the same tactic she'd used over a decade ago when she was trying to get Bill Pence to take a chance on her so she could stay in Dodge. To stay in Dodge because of . . ."

"Good morning, Kitty!" Lily broke her trance. She was already back to the bar for another round.

"Good morning, Lily." Then just as quickly she turned to Rob. "I'll work the bar, Rob. You take lunch." Quick as that, she decided to jump right in and continue Lily's working interview. What better way to watch her than to work alongside her!

Rob hadn't been gone ten minutes when Matt and Festus walked in. Sizing up the situation, Matt tipped his hat to the redheaded barkeep and headed for the back table. Festus, true to form, trotted up to the bar and started filling up a plate with the daily free lunch fare. Before he could say "Rat run over the roof of the house," Lily was at his side.

"You go sit down. I'll bring a beer to your table. Do you know what the Marshal wants?"

"Much obliged, ma'am!" He grinned at her. "He always has a beer. That'd be right good I reckon."

When Lily got to the table with the two beers, she also had a plate of lunch for Matt. It was twice the size as the one Festus had built. Lily was working it.

"Thanks, Lily," Matt smiled up at her. "How did you know?"

"Lucky guess." She smiled and winked at him, and just as quickly disappeared back to the bar for her next order. Kitty was serving five or six cowboys and cleaning off the bar return, but she hadn't missed a thing. So far, more than so good.

"Matthew? Was thet thar th' lady come here from Laramie?"

"Yeah, Festus. Her name's Lily. You'll get a chance to meet her real soon, it's just too busy right now."

Matt spent lunch making more small talk with Festus, but his eyes and his mind were on the Long Branch. More and more trailhands and locals filtered in. In the span of half an hour, the place was packed. Kitty had no choice but to pick up the pace and join Marge and Lily on the floor, all the while tending bar the best she could. Apparently, the word had already gotten out: the Long Branch was the place to see the prettiest women and drink the coldest beer.

Kitty was headed back to the bar when she sensed Matt next to her.

"When's Sam come in?"

"Three. But Rob should be back any minute. Stay?"

"Nope, can't." He nudged her arm. "See ya' later, Kitty."

And that was about it for the Dillons enjoying lunch together. But it wasn't exactly Matt Dillon's first day in Dodge. Even with the herds in town, he knew the Long Branch always slowed down mid-afternoon, just before it got crazy again for the night. He made it a point to be finished with his other business and head back over at three o'clock, and sure enough he got lucky. Rob and Sam were at the bar, Marge was waiting three tables, and Kitty and Lily were in the office. He knocked.

"Kitty, it's me." Not such a secret code, but it worked every time; the door opened immediately.

"Lily," Kitty turned to her. "Why don't you take a long lunch, get off your feet, maybe come back around six if you want to work tonight. I'll cover till then. Matt and I need to talk."

Lily looked relieved to have the break and excused herself out the door. Matt locked it behind her. It was an old habit when he wanted privacy with his wife. He took Kitty in his arms and stroked her back gently, then gave her a long, loving kiss before he let go.

"I'd like to hire Lily, Matt."

"I was hoping you would. Looked like she was doin' real good for you on the floor today."

"She was. Lunchtime tips were the biggest they've ever been. Did you see the crowd? No way Marge and I could have handled that alone."

"Oh yes you could have. That happened to you a lot over the years. Rob would've skipped lunch and you and some floor girl would've worked all day and all night too. Lily's your ticket to an office job, Kitten."

"I'd need to give her my old rooms, Matt. She needs a nice place to live."

"Agreed." He sealed the deal with another kiss. Then he looked into her eyes.

"You read the letters?" He asked.

"I did. I remember you talking about your friend Frank. What's up?"

"I'm leaving on the six o'clock train to Pueblo, Kit. I've got to find him. He's my new deputy."

She stared at her husband in disbelief. One of these days he was just going to stay home.

"The train to Pueblo." She said it flatly. It wasn't a question. "The letter said he's in Trinidad." That was expressionless, too.

"I'll rent a horse in Pueblo. It's only two days' ride to Trinidad. I'll find him. Somehow, I'll find him. I've got to try. If I rode all the way to Trinidad I'd be gone weeks. Don't want to leave Festus and Quint alone that long. Train's a day and a half."

"Festus and Quint?" This time she really asked a question, but there was still very little expression.

"And YOU, of course!" He was grinning now.

"Of course." She wore more of a smirk than a smile. "But that's not what I meant. Do they know about this? I mean, Quint has to . . ."

"Yeah. I just talked with both of them. Quint's none too happy but he agreed to play deputy one more time. Says he can get Nate from out at Emmett Bowers to come in and cover for him at the shop as long as Nate can stay with him in our bunkhouse. I thought that was a mighty fair trade."

"That bunkhouse has been a godsend." Finally, she was starting to soften.

"You, my dear, are the godsend!"

"Buttering me up?"

"No. I'm thanking you for agreeing to buy a house and build a barn. We're gettin' there, Kit. One step at a time, we're gettin' where we want to be for our next twelve years."

"Matt, Frank told Seth in that letter he wouldn't work the law."

"He sure did. But he didn't tell ME that."

tbc