Doc picked up his beer glass and moved down to the other end of the bar. Burke was content to drink his beer alone, after all he didn't pay for it.
Doc stopped near the end where Kitty now stood opposite him. "What was that about?" She almost laughed at the doctor.
Doc sipped on his beer and set it down. "Oh, I was just saving Burke from widow Miller."
"Oh?" Kitty wanted to know the details in case they involved her establishment.
"I didn't ask, and I'm not going to! Anyway, I have enough on my mind at the moment." Doc took another sip from his beer.
Kitty looked deeply in Doc's crystal blue eyes. "The murders, huh?" She had a way of getting him to open up to her.
Doc just nodded as he sipped at his drink before placing the empty glass on the bar. "I just don't know what to think about them...the murders that is." He shook his head in dismay.
Kitty picked up the empty glass and motioned to Doc whether he wanted another one or not. Doc indicated yes only to stop and turn to the familiar humming and signing lilting along the boardwalk toward the Long Branch. Doc waited for the doors to swing open and finally they did as Festus tipped his hat to the widow Miller as she quickly stepped passed him and the saloon doorway along the boardwalk.
Festus smiled and shook his head with a slight chuckle. He had been working for widow Miller now for the last few weeks while recovering from his injuries he sustained during the near bank hold-up. He mused at her stubbornness. "Worse then ol' Ruth, that widow Miller." He muttered to himself as he approached the bar next to Doc. Doc just starred at the deputy until Festus realized the doctor was looking at him. "What!"
"Well aren't you going to say hello? How are you Doc? How are you Miss Kitty!" Doc was in fine form.
Festus huffed. "Well, fiddle! I haven't left town fer good! You knewed that I'd be back!"
Doc raked his hand over his silver moustache. "Yeah. My luck's not that good..."
Festus looked at Doc and scrunched up his left eye. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Kitty quickly intervened, "Here Festus, the beer is on the house!" She smiled warmly at the deputy.
"Oh, much obliged, Miss Kitty!" Festus said with a wide smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye.
"Despite Doc's comments, I think he really missed you around town." Kitty said softly to Festus.
Festus looked over to Doc who was sipping from his refilled glass. "He sure has a funny way of showing it..." Doc smirked and then he winked to Kitty. She just shook her head at him.
Doc finished his beer and was about to leave when something odd struck him about Festus. "Just a minute. Other than your humming and singing I wouldn't have known it was you. Where are your spurs?"
Festus looked down at his boots and then back up to Doc. "Widow Miller doesn't like me wearin' them around. She says they could wake the dead."
Doc swiped his right hand across his mustache and chuckled. "She's tougher than I first thought!" And then he left the saloon leaving Kitty and Festus looking at him. All Festus could muster was "That ol scutter..."
