Chapter 6

Patience, that's what Matt had to exercise right now. He couldn't just go after Cope. He had to give Cope time to get far enough ahead, so he wouldn't see Matt. Matt lost one opportunity to find Kitty. He was not going to risk losing this one.

"Mr. Dillon, let me go with you," Chester pleaded.

"Chester, I feel it would be better if I went alone," said Matt. He still harbored the feeling that this was his fault.

Chester wasn't going to give up. "Now hear me out. Judge Booker has already been here. Forever more, if ya went alone and something were to happen to ya while you were trying to rescue Miss Kitty, there would be no else to help her. Is that what you want?"

Matt never even thought about that. Of course that is not what he wanted. He wanted to make sure Kitty was safe. "You're right, Chester. I don't know where my head was. Grab your gear and get your horse ready. We'll give Cope an hour's head start. It's been close to that right now. We'll take off in five minutes."

Five minutes came and went, and Matt and Chester took off to the south. They were able to pick up the trail of Cope's horse with ease. While tracking Cope's horse, Matt would look up at the sky. He wanted to make sure there was no sign of rain or a storm. Right now there was not a cloud in the sky.

Matt and Chester had to pace themselves. They did not want to go too quickly and catch up to Cope. They had no idea how fast or slow Cope was riding. The last thing they wanted was for Cope to spot them. Cope knew both the Marshall and Chester. If he saw those two, he would be very suspicious. He would know something was up, and then who knows how Cope would react.

Cope returned to the cabin with the items he purchased at Jonas' store. "I bought you a dress, some soap and a hair brush," Cope told Kitty as he untied her wrists. "Why don't you take the soap and wash up, change into the dress, and brush your hair." Cope gave Kitty the soap, the dress, and the hairbrush.

Kitty reluctantly took the items. As much as she hated to admit it, being able to get cleaned up, brush her hair, and into a clean dress sounded wonderful. Stay on his good side, Kitty told herself. "Thank you, Cope. I'll change in the bedroom."

Kitty took the dress, hairbrush, and soap and went into the bedroom to change. Dress changed, Kitty then took her hairpins out of her and brushed it. After brushing her hair, Kitty pulled it back up. The only person she wore her hair down for was Matt. She wanted to stay on Cope's good side, but there were things that she would not do. The last thing Kitty did before leaving the room was wash her face and hands. She then walked back out to the main room.

Cope looked at her and liked what he saw. "Kitty, you look gorgeous. Seeing you like this makes me so proud that you're my girl. We're going to have such a wonderful life together."

Kitty was glad that Cope couldn't read her mind. She had to bite her tongue not to say what she wanted to say. Kitty could feel the bile rising in her throat.

"It's lunchtime and you must be hungry. I know I am. I'm afraid all we have is some bread and leftover stew. After lunch I'm gonna go out and do some hunting. I'm hoping to get a turkey and maybe some rabbits. I'll be gone for a couple of hours."

Cope and Kitty ate the leftover stew and bread. Kitty cleaned up when they were finished. While Kitty was cleaning up, Cope was getting ready for his hunting trip. He loaded his shotgun, along with some extra bullets and packed a canteen. He then turned to Kitty.

"Have a seat my dear," said Cope, pointing to the rocking chair.

Kitty did as she was told and Cope tied her wrists to the rocking chair's arms. "If you really loved me, you would trust me and not have to tie me up."

"I do love you, but I know you don't feel the same way about me right now. Until you do, you'll have to be tied up each time I leave." Cope finished tying her up and walked out the door.

Matt and Chester had been following Cope's trail and saw a small cabin in the distance. It looked as though the trail headed straight towards the cabin. They followed the trail a little longer until they came to some shrubs. Matt thought this was a good place to stop. They could see the cabin while they hid in the shrubs.

"What's the plan, Mr. Dillon?" asked Chester.

"I'm hoping this is Cope's cabin. It has to be. We can't go rushing it, not with Kitty in there. We'll have to stay here and stake it out. He obviously left once without Kitty. I'm hoping he does that again," Matt answered.

Not thinking, Chester spoke again. "Sir, do you remember after you told Cope to get out of town, you said you almost wished he would do something? I guess he did. Too bad it had to involve Miss Kitty."

"Yeah, Chester, I remember." Matt solemnly said.

Matt and Chester hadn't been sitting too long when they noticed the door to the cabin open and Cope walked out. They could see he had a shotgun with him. Both Matt and Chester stayed as still as they could. Cope looked around, before turning around and heading the opposite direction of Matt and Chester. They continued to watch him. They wanted to make sure he was a decent distance from the cabin before they moved in. Once they felt Cope was far enough away from the cabin, they made their move.

Kitty sat in the rocker. She hated being tied up, but also liked it when Cope wasn't around. Cope hadn't been gone too long when Kitty heard noises outside. She couldn't believe it would be Cope returning. He couldn't be done hunting. She didn't even hear any gunshots. Kitty saw the door knob turn and the door open. Her heart skipped several beats when she saw Matt, followed by Chester, enter the cabin.

"Oh my goodness! Matt! I can't believe you're here," Kitty cried.

Matt was at her side in two strides. He pulled out a knife and cut the ropes around her wrists. Ropes cut, he pulled her into his arms. Neither said anything. They just held each other. Finally Matt spoke. "Kitty, are you alright? Did he hurt you in any way?'

Kitty knew what Matt was trying to ask. He wanted to know if Cope violated her. "No, Matt. He didn't hurt me in any way."

"Where did Cope go?" asked Chester

"Hunting. He said he would be gone for a couple of hours," Kitty answered.

"Mr. Dillon, should we take Miss Kitty and get out of here?" asked Chester.

"No, we're going to wait for Cope to return. I want him in my custody. There's no way I'm going to leave, knowing he's out there free," Matt replied.

"Do you want me to take Miss Kitty back to town?" Chester asked.

Matt didn't want Kitty out of his sight. "No, we don't know exactly where Cope went to do his hunting. I think it would be better if we all stayed here."

As he had told Kitty, Cope returned a couple hours later. Matt and Chester had been looking out the window waiting for him. Matt was the first one to spot him. "Kitty, get in the bedroom. Chester, move over there. " Matt stayed where he was, so when Cope opened the door, he would see Matt and Matt's gun pointed at him.

Cope came to the door whistling. He had shot two rabbits and couldn't wait to show Kitty. He had no idea what was waiting for him on the other side of the door. He opened the door and was about to say something, but Matt spoke first.

"Hold it right there!" Matt growled at Cope.

Completely startled, Cope dropped the rabbits and raised his shotgun. Before he could get a shot off, Matt shot Cope in the knee. Cope immediately went down and Matt quickly went to him, kicking the shotgun away from him. Chester grabbed the shotgun. Kitty heard the shot and walked out of the bedroom to see what happened. She was relieved to see Cope on the ground.

"Why didn't you just kill me, Marshall?" asked Cope, his knee burning with pain.

"That would be the easy way out for you. You're going to spend the rest of your life in prison, knowing that Kitty is with me and not you," Matt declared.

"What about my leg? It's killing me!" Cope yelled.

"When we get to Dodge, Doc will take the bullet out and you'll spend the night in jail. After that I'm taking you to Hays. Once Judge Booker hears about your crime, I'm sure he'll give you a speedy trial," said Matt. "Chester, go and get Cope's horse. We'll secure him to his horse. We'll have to go and get our horses."

Chester did as he was told. With Cope tied to his horse, they set out to retrieve Matt and Chester's horses. There were three people without horses and two horses left. Matt turned to Kitty. "I hope you don't mind sharing a horse with me."

"It's my favorite way to ride." Kitty smiled at Matt. He then helped her to mount and he mounted behind her.

Doc had been walking down the boardwalk when he saw the group returning. He saw Kitty and happiness immediately filled him. "Kitty, honey, I'm so thankful you're back? Are you alright?"

"Yes, Doc. My two saviors saved the day," she said, looking at Matt and Chester.

"Doc, this one has a bullet in his knee. I need you to get it out, so I can take him to jail," Matt said as he dismounted and then helped Kitty. After helping Kitty, he helped Cope off his horse and up to Doc's office.

Doc removed the bullet with no problem and Cope was taken to jail. The next morning Matt took Cope to Hays and just as he predicted Judge Brooker had a quick trial. He sentenced Cope to life in prison. He felt Cope was a danger to Miss Kitty if he were ever to be free.

Matt had returned that evening from Hays. The Long Branch was closed and Matt and Kitty were up in her room. They had just finished making the most passionate love. They were now holding one another. They both said a silent prayer of thanksgiving that they were given another chance to experience each other's love. They had something special and they both knew it.

The End

Author's Note: This was an ATC to "Hot Spell" (Season 1), but I didn't want to say that in the story summary. I wanted Kitty's captor to be a mystery.