DERAILED: CHAPTER 6

He wasn't gone at sunrise. The clock said seven, and he was still next to her, sleeping softly. Wonder of wonders! She snuck ever so carefully out from under the covers and headed for the kitchen to make coffee. When she got back, he was studying the ceiling, his hands crossed on the pillow behind his head. She put their cups down on the nightstand and sat down next to him, all ready for him to start in again about the railroad guy. But he reached up and pulled her down next to him, hungrily groping inside her robe. Surprised, she giggled and responded just as quickly, tracing his chest with her fingertips.

"Good morning, handsome!"

"Good morning, beautiful!"

And that was it. His body began to tingle as her fingers moved slowly and lightly around his chest, then down to his belly. She circled his fur there repeatedly, teasing, pretending she was searching for something she couldn't find. Just as adept at the game, he bent his knee and moved his leg aside, giving her a clue. But she paused and let her tongue trace his nipples: first one, then the other, until both stood firm and hard. It was getting difficult to breathe normally, but he held his ground. His tactic was working until she let her fingers continue on down his groin to his scrotum, dancing in his cleavage with the lightest touch while her tongue flicked from nipple to nipple. Double trouble! He let out a huge gasp and jerked his hands from behind his head, pulling her face up to his. He managed one tender kiss before rooting his tongue into her mouth. The fire building in his belly was overwhelming. She had set him off with just her fingers! How could she know his body so well? He probed and pushed with his tongue, begging for more. Then that gentle little hand with those velvet-soft fingers enclosed his hardness, tapping one finger on the very tip of it. He sucked back and buried his face in her neck, lost in the complete euphoria of what she was doing to him, how she was controlling him, how good it felt, how nothing he'd ever heard described as heaven could possibly rival this. When he moved the fire grew even hotter. But the hand had started to move too: gently at first, then more firmly, right along with him. This just wasn't right! She was having her way! He cried out and tried to stop her. Why? Wouldn't do any good. He knew. He felt it happening. It was already too late. His body convulsed and he swelled in her hand, releasing everything she'd coaxed from him onto her belly.

He was glassy-eyed, facing a redhead still in complete command. She covered his chest with kisses, watching it heave in his valiant attempt to breathe normally. Wasn't her fault that she giggled, it just happened.

"Gotcha!"

"Ahhhh, uhhhh . . ."

More little kisses.

"I love you," she looked softly into his eyes."

"Mmmmm." He was beginning to focus, but his gut was still pounding.

"Didn't get enough last night, huh?"

He wanted to talk, wanted to apologize to her for what had just happened. But his mouth wouldn't work. It was still connected to his non-functioning brain.

"Kitten," he finally mumbled. "Kitten, promise me surprises like this won't ever stop, not ever in my life! Promise!"

"They won't. It's just too much fun!"

"No fun for you, all for me," he managed.

"Ooooh, you are SO wrong! Watching you do that, knowing what I can do to you any time I want, it's a rush, my love! SO much fun!"

He was quiet for a minute as his breathing slowly approached normal. She kept up with the gentle ministrations: nuzzling, kissing, wiggling against him in a display of joy that enforced her words. It truly had been a rush for her.

"I was going to talk with you about . . ."

"Yeah, I was afraid of that. Thought I'd just take things into my own hands."

"Very funny! I was going to wait until after I showed you how much I love you."

"But you just did!"

"Kinda private stuff, huh?"

"Mmmm," she smiled. "The best kind!"

"We're going to Denver then? What does Doc say about that?"

"Matt! Stop! Doc has nothing to do with this. There is nothing wrong with me!"

"I asked what does Doc say about that?"

She drew a deep breath. "He lectured me. I told him you'd take care of me."

"You got a stateroom again?"

"Indeed. Just like last year. Won't be any trouble at all for you to keep an eye on me, Marshal."

Fully recovered, he tickled her unmercifully until she squealed. The thought of taking her back to Denver and to that lodge in Morrison had become a full color vision in his head.

"You gonna give up and let me have my way with you now?"

"You ask way too many questions."

The gleam in her eyes was telltale. Still wet from their tryst, she sat tactfully up on top of him, her eyes sparkling with anticipation. His return gaze was askew, wondering if he still had the ability to recover that she'd always come to expect. Almost 40 years old now, and he would be before the end of this year. What would happen when she realized he wouldn't last forever? Would he still be able to please her two, three times in a row? He'd always been able to look at her smooth, milky skin, her perfect curves, to touch her . . . to rub her softly . . . to be aroused instantly, and so he did. Slowly at first, just stroking up and down her arms. He teased her with gentle touches to her breasts, remembering that they'd been more sensitive since . . .well, since her pregnancy: the pregnancy he'd been so willing to provide. The thought made his eyes fall to her belly, then his hands followed. He stroked her softly there, wishing he had all her skills with his fingertips.

"Matt?" She broke the spell.

"Just want to touch you, baby girl. Just want to imagine!"

"Oh, imagine how fat I'm going to be?" But she was still smiling.

Usually so quick to be on the defensive, he didn't fall for her word trap this time. His mind was somewhere else.

"Imagining how our lives are gonna be next year, or even the year after that. Wondering if you'll still want me. If we'll still play in the tub. If we'll still roll up in a blanket at Spring Creek or ride out onto the prairie together. Is this . . . is this here little one under my hands gonna change our lives? Will you still have time for me, Kitten? Will you still be this way with me? Will you still straddle me and ask for more?"

She'd been ready to tease him into the slow kind of love they'd always made the second time. But she hadn't been ready for any of this. Tears were welling up in his eyes. She bent forward and kissed him softly, once under each moist eye.

"Forever, Matt. Remember that part? Forever! Our little one there under your hands will grow and thrive and become a person. That person will grow to an adult and leave us behind with each other, just as it should be! We'll get old and gray, but we'll have our love forever! I want you now and I'll want you then."

It took another kiss under each eye to make sure no tears fell.

"I need you, Kitty." He whispered softly.

She brushed his lips with hers then ran her fingers through his curls.

"And I need you, my love. But you've always known that."

XOXOXO

"Pretty nice deal here, not workin' till ten."

"You said you wanted extra time. I wasn't in any rush."

"You think I was? Let's ride upriver today instead."

Matt knew exactly why Frank wanted to pick a new spot. There was nothing worse than a horse that was reliable in only one familiar place. First thing they found on the way out was a big downed tree, so they repeated the carrying double session quickly. The big black passed with flying colors, even when Frank stepped up from the wrong side this time. He rode till it wasn't fun anymore, then slid off the horse's rump, smooth as glass. Any woman or kid could have ridden back there. Mounted on his own horse again, Frank trotted circles around Matt's gelding, firing his pistol into the air a couple of times. He was ignored by man and horse.

"How 'bout we get this show on the road, lawman? Race ya' to Smitty's bend. Loser buys the beer tonight!"

Matt nodded and gave Frank one quick grin. He was quickly five strides behind his deputy, and it was intentional. When he overtook Frank's horse, it was effortless. He eased the black a couple lengths ahead, then let him relax in a ground-covering gallop. With at least two more miles to Smitty's bend, it was a good endurance test. Matt drew his .45 and fired three rounds. The horse flinched and picked up his head but stayed on a light rein and never changed stride. A hundred yards from the mark, Matt put spur to him. It was a thrill to feel the horse accelerate, and even more fun to pass Frank, then hold ground to the bend. Matt had to rein in at the finish, Frank did not.

"Fair and square, big marshal man!" Frank wore his trademark grin. "That's the right horse for you, buddy. You better name him!"

Matt laughed. "Maybe. We'll see. Emmett loaned me a real good one, though. Let's head down to the river. Want to see how he is with me shooting around him from the ground."

They tied up in a willow grove near the bank. Matt reloaded, leathered his pistol, and picked up a flat rock.

"Any time, buddy."

Frank remembered the game from so many years ago. Matt tossed the rock as high as he could in the air. Frank drew and hit it five times before it fell into the sand. Not a word was spoken. Frank picked one up, tossed it into the air just as high, and watched Matt draw and blast it five times. Hadn't lost a step.

"Still remember how to draw on a weed?"

Matt grinned. "Yeah."

"Big ol' Kansas sunflower over there," Frank pointed.

"Ready?"

"Yep." Matt's eyes were glued to the sunflower.

"Go!"

Frank's bullet hit the sunflower dead center. Matt's got there a fraction of a second later, with nothing left to hit.

"My turn to call it," was Matt's return challenge.

"Any time."

"Go!"

Both men were lightning fast, but the result was the same. The second sunflower was gone before Matt's bullet got there a fraction of a second later, slicing up the top of the stem but nothing else. One thing a good friend never did was gloat at being faster. Frank holstered his .45 and turned back to check the horses. Both were standing quietly, each resting a back foot. One other thing a good friend always did was compliment a win. Matt's gaze followed Frank's, pleased with his horse's reaction.

"You're still faster than me."

"Not by very damn much."

"You always have been," Matt added. It was just part of the code between friends.

"I couldn't have hit a little stem like that if I had to, buddy."

And so it went between the two, laughing, admiring each other, pounding each other on the back, and just being glad they were together enjoying life. Finally, Matt broke the spell.

"Let's try him in the water again and call it good."

"Sure!"

They cinched up, mounted up, and Frank followed Matt along the bank until they spotted a real shallow place to cross. He eased the big gelding in, but instead of just crossing so Frank could pelt him with sand again, rode upstream in the cool water until it got mid-thigh deep. The horse never lunged or plunged, he just plodded on. Just for fun, Matt popped out on the opposite bank. Frank was holding his firearm above his head, he and his smaller horse wet to the saddle swells.

"Okay, smart ass, you win that one!"

"S'matter, can't you swim Frankie?"

"Yeah, but you're not gonna get to see it. I'm headin' back downstream to the shallows before I cross again."

"Tailey!" Matt grinned again. He knew Frank was planning to douse him one more time, and he was determined it wouldn't happen. So he let Frank have a real good lead along the bank. A few yards past where they'd crossed on the outbound, Frank stopped, motioning Matt up to him. Still skeptical of a trick, Matt hesitated, then thought better of it. He'd still have a chance to hold up on this side. But it wasn't a trick. Not at all.

"Look up there in the willows," Frank kept his voice down and was nodding his head into the brush about a hundred feet up. "What the hell's that?"

Both men stood stock still and quiet, scanning the area. There was no sound, no movement, but there was some sort of big object almost completely hidden in the willows. Matt nodded to Frank in a silent signal. As they rode up on it, Matt's horse rolled back over his hocks and snorted. Frank rode on, then finally reined in and dismounted.

"It's a buggy, Matt," he called back to his boss. Matt was real busy circling the big black, getting him to move closer and closer, but by no means in control yet. Then the humor of the situation took control of Frank.

"Heck, maybe he ain't buggy broke, Matt!" He just couldn't resist. "You need any help there, Cowboy?"

"Very funny!" Matt finally had the gelding's attention and had put enough spur in him to get him to move up next to Frank's horse. He stayed mounted while Frank walked into the brush.

"Just an ordinary two-place buggy, Matt," Frank reported back. "Single set of harness all wadded up on the floor with a canvas over it. You go look."

Matt handed Frank his reins and did as he was told. Someone had gone to a lot of trouble to hide the rig and make sure it was so well covered. And it was nondescript. Like Frank had said, it was just a buggy. Could be any one of a hundred around Dodge. Nobody had reported one stolen, so it was a mystery. He walked back to Frank.

"Well it's strange all right. Somebody meant to store it here. Only two ways to find out who. First is to stake it out and wait till he comes back."

"Yeah? I like sleepin' in my own bed too well. What's the second way?"

"Why don't we confiscate it? Put a notice at Hank's and at Quint's and at our office that the owner has to see one of us to claim it."

"That's a hell of an idea, unless it's some married guy that goes out spoonin' with his girlfriend."

Matt grinned. It was just fun being with Frank. It always had been.

"You hang onto that sense of humor, Frankie, and this job'll never get old. But we both know it's the guy who took that shot at Kitty and me the other day. Those broken willow branches aren't even dry yet."

XOXOXO

Jenny was never in the Long Branch this early. But today she was, looking like she was dressed for a Sunday social.

"Lily!" She smiled at her floor manager. "Kitty here yet?"

"In her office, Jenny." Lily gestured toward the door.

"Then will you come in too so I can talk to both of you together in there?"

Instinctively, Lily Merrill knew what was coming. She took a deep breath. It had been a good run for the Long Branch.

"Rob, will you watch the front? Jenny and I will be in the office."

Kitty answered the knock on the door right away, just as surprised to see Jenny standing there as Lily had been.

"I, uh, I wanted to talk to both of you about this," Jenny blurted out. "First of all, you two have been the best friends I've ever had, letting me set up my business here and work the whole season and trusting me to be a professional."

Lily rolled her eyes at Kitty.

"I'm leaving for St. Louis on the two o'clock train. I want to thank you for everything you've done for me. The Long Branch is a great place. I've finally made enough money, thanks to you, that I can go home."

"Home?" Kitty jumped right in. It wasn't the first time she'd had a girl quit, and it sure wouldn't be the last. But "home" was a new one for a dealer.

"Yeah. St. Louis is average and steady year-round and nothing like Dodge. Season's about over here. I came to Dodge to cash in on the drives, and I sure did. Made good money for the Long Branch, too! I never said I was here to stay. I'm sure you understand."

"No, Jenny, I DON'T understand. A lot of people have come to Dodge to stay, me included." Without asking a direct question, Kitty was fishing for more while Lily watched. Her tactic worked.

"You weren't married, Kitty."

Kitty and Lily exchanged glances.

"Married had nothing to do with it. I built this business as a single woman."

"Well I AM married, Kitty. My husband is a saloon owner and dealer in St. Louis. He sent me out here for the drive season just so we could line our pockets."

Kitty smiled at Jenny. "Good for you, Jenny. All of us at the Long Branch wish you the best." She left Jenny and Lily standing there and went right back to her desk to open a new ledger. Jenny looked at Lily and extended her hand for a shake. Lily kept her hands at her sides.

"Good-bye, Jenny. You were an honest dealer. I appreciate that."

And as if to accentuate Kitty's nonchalant reaction, Lily walked out of the office to the bar. Jenny followed her out, and without another word, continued right on out the batwings. Lily waited a few minutes to be certain that Jenny wasn't going to double back. Then she went right back into Kitty's office with a big smile on her face. Kitty looked up and returned it.

"Sorry, Kitty. I don't mean to make light of this. You've got such an amazing poker face you just blew me away!"

"Lily, I've got a few years on you in this business. How 'bout I buy you a drink?"

Two o'clock and the bar was more than quiet. Kitty poured a generous whiskey out of her office stock for Lily, and they sat down together.

"I'll find another dealer right away, Kitty," Lily volunteered. "This is my responsibility. I thought she'd stay."

Kitty laid a hand on Lily's wrist. "No need until spring. Season's nearly over. I never thought she'd stay. To tell you the truth, I'm glad she's gone."

"But I trusted her, Kitty."

"Hey! Don't beat yourself up! She wouldn't have made it through a Dodge winter anyway. Matt and I had her pegged right from the start. There was something just too good to be true about her coming back here from St. Louis. I never trusted her for a minute. But she was an honest dealer. At least she proved Matt wrong about that part."

"Sure nice St. Louis is such a busy place. I'd be guessing their saloon isn't exactly the Long Branch!" Lily had a raised eyebrow.

Kitty grinned at her. "Don't forget the part about how you and I are the best friends she's ever had."

Three gulps and the whiskey was starting to work on Lily. Kitty hung onto her grin.

"Did she really say that?"

"Oh yeah."

"You think she said good-bye to Frank?"

It was a sobering thought. Frank never talked about it, but he didn't hide his attraction to the fancy blonde. Kitty took a deep breath, and her expression went stone cold serious. She hoped against hope that it wouldn't change the man Matt loved like a brother.

"Nope. I sure don't."

tbc