Kitty was just closing the front doors of the Longbranch when she heard the squeaky wheels of Doc's buggy. She glanced up the street and saw Moss come out of the livery, taking charge of the doctor's rig, and then observed as Adams slowly made his way up Front Street, bag in hand. As he neared her, she called to him.
"Hey, Doc!" She motioned for him to come over to her.
"Evenin' Kitty," he greeted as he stepped up onto the boardwalk in front of the saloon.
She looked at the tired face of her dear friend and put a hand on his shoulder. "You look like you could use a nightcap."
He smiled at her, his affection apparent, although his eyes looked swollen and tired. "That's awful kind of you, Kitty, but not tonight. I'm bone weary."
She softly caressed the side of his face with her hand. "Yeah, you do look a bit worn out." She smiled at him then, but her normally bright eyes were clouded with disappointment. "I'll see you tomorrow, handsome."
He knew her too well.
Adams grasped her hand in his as she started away. "What's the matter, honey?"
She shook her head, smiling again in an attempt to cover the bruised heart he had glimpsed in her eyes. "Nothin' Doc. Go to bed."
She tried to turn and go inside, but he pulled her closer to him. "Here now, I know you just a little better than that..." Tears misted her eyes and he smiled sweetly at her. "That offer for a nightcap still stand?"
"Oh Doc, it's silly, and you're tired--"
"--I'm never too tired fer you, if you need me."
He grasped her hand tightly in his and pulled her into the Longbranch. Kitty turned and shut the doors behind them.
The two men watched from the shadows across the street as the door to the Longbranch closed.
"He had a doctor's bag, Larry, and she called him 'Doc'. That's gotta be him."
"Yeah, a sawbones with a thing for a saloon gal. Looks like the ol' boy ain't gonna git no comfort tonight. Come on, Stan..."
Kitty poured two whiskeys and sat down at the only table that still had chairs on the floor. Adams took a sip from his glass and joined her, waiting, but she said nothing.
"Matt come by tonight?" He asked, forcing his voice to stay neutral. Her eyes darted to his and then looked quickly away, and he knew he'd hit it on the head. "You wanna tell me about it?"
She let out a breath of air and took a sip of her drink. "He received a telegram from Meade about a bank robbery this morning..."
"Matt knows the sheriff there, doesn't he?"
"Yeah," she said, "he did."
"Did?"
"Both the sheriff, his deputy and a teller were shot and killed, but before the deputy died, he said it was the Russo gang that did it. And the bank manager said that Russo's brother got hit."
Understanding dawned on him, and Adams said, "Sheriff Crocker was married with kids, wasn't he?"
"Yeah."
"And Matt's takin' it kinda hard, and you sense a little distance..."
"Distance? It's more like a canyon, Doc."
He put his hand on top of hers. "It won't stay that way, honey. It probably just scared him a little is all. You know, when a man lives with death everyday, it can sort of wear thin on him sometimes..."
She looked at him sharply, and saw the dullness in his pale blue eyes. "Aw, Doc, you lost ol' Jeb Marzden, didn't you..."
"'Fraid so."
The doors to the saloon opened then, and two strangers walked in.
"I'm sorry, fellas," Kitty apologized, "but we're closed for the night."
"That's all right," Larry said, "we ain't lookin' fer a drink..."
"Well what'd you come in here for then?"
Larry pointed at Adams. "Fer him." He turned his eyes on the doctor. "You're the town sawbones, ain'tcha?"
"I'm Dr. Adams, yes."
"Good," Larry said as he pulled his gun.
"Now wait a minute, mister," Doc said, "you don't need that to get me to doctor somebody."
"Let's just call it insurance, Doc."
"Gunshot wound, huh?" Doc surmised.
"That's right," Larry responded, "now get movin'..."
Adams stood, but Kitty grabbed his hand. "Doc, please don't..."
"Stay out of it, missy," Larry warned. He grinned lecherously at her then, leaning over to touch her hair. "You know Red, you're not bad lookin'..."
Kitty slapped his hand away, and he slugged her hard across the face. Adams grabbed the man's arm, preparing to punch him, but Larry shoved his gun into Doc's throat, as Stan wrenched his arm behind his back, the cold steel of Stan's six-shooter pressing into him. Doc winced in pain as his shoulder was stretched to its limit.
"Try anything like that again, pill pusher, and it'll be the last thing you ever do," Larry growled.
"You touch her again, mister, and you won't be far behind me," Adams promised through gritted teeth.
Larry cocked the trigger of his gun, and Kitty grabbed Doc's free hand with both of hers. "Doc, please...I'm all right. Don't antagonize him." She glared into Larry's dark eyes. "Look, there's not another doctor for a hundred miles; you kill him, and your friend is dead for sure."
Stan loosened his grip and holstered his gun. "She's right, Larry." Stan added as he pulled Chester's hat from under his jacket. "Besides, we've still got the upper hand."
"That's Chester's hat!" Kitty exclaimed.
Larry holstered his weapon and moved back a step from Adams. "Very good, missy," he said. "You see, yer friend Chester ain't gonna stay alive if the doc here don't come with us real quiet like."
Realizing he had no options, Doc gently pried Kitty's hands from his; but her eyes filled with panic as she pleaded, "Doc..."
He put his hands on either side of her face, examining the bruise that was forming on her cheek, noting that it would be sore, but that it wasn't serious. "I'll be fine, honey. They aren't gonna do anything to me as long as they need me. And you know as well as I do that I can't let anything happen to Chester..." He looked deeply into her eyes. "You be sure and put a cold cloth on that cheek after we leave." Adams turned to Larry then. "You and your gang were in Meade this morning..."
"You're a sharp ol' cuss, I'll say that for ya."
"Heard it was Russo's pup brother who got shot," Doc prodded.
"Yeah, and yer gonna fix him, or else your friend Chester's gonna be a corpse." Larry turned to Stan. "Go get the horses." Stan nodded and quickly left through the front doors. "You, missy, I got a job fer you...yer gonna deliver a message fer me to that marshal of yours..."
Kitty sat at the table in Matt's office, nursing a cup of coffee as he paced the length of the room, his hands shoved deeply into his pockets.
"They didn't tell you anything more than that?"
"No. Just that they had Chester, and they'd kill him if Doc didn't go with them; and that if you valued both their lives, you'd keep your distance and they'd let Chester and Doc go at the border of Mexico." She studied the frown on his face and her stomach turned. "You think they'll kill them no matter what..."
Matt nodded his head. "They killed a sheriff, his deputy and a bank teller; they're not going to let Chester and Doc live..." He stopped pacing and reached for his gun belt, putting it on as he spoke. "They're just hoping that I'm dumb enough to buy it..."
"But Matt--"
"--Kitty, I'm telling you as surely as I'm standing here - they're killers. The only chance Doc and Chester have is for me to tail them and try and find an opening to do something."
"Well what can you do that won't get one or both of them killed? Or for that matter, you?"
"I don't know yet, Kitty. I only know that I have to try."
He walked to the door and put his hat on his head, turning to look at her as she stood.
"Matt, please don't go alone."
He stared into her pleading eyes and swallowed hard. "I can't risk anyone else, Kitty. Besides, I might stand a better chance of saving Chester and Doc if I go in by myself."
She walked slowly to him, and put her arms around his waist, looking up into his shimmering blue eyes. "Bring them back, Matt. I want all three of you back."
He nodded and started to leave, but she pulled him toward her, kissing him deeply on the mouth. He gently broke away, and they stared long and hard into each other's eyes. Slowly, the big marshal of Dodge turned and walked out the door, gently closing it behind him. And Kitty sank into the nearest chair, weeping in fear not only for the man she loved, but also for a sweet friend, and a man who had become so dear to her that she would bear his loss no easier than Dillon's.
They had to come back.