RESCUED: CHAPTER 6
The locals called it "marine fog." Whatever the bleak gray stuff was, no one lingered on the street. It drove Kitty into the dress shop like a cat hunting for a sunbeam, Matt reluctantly in tow. He took a seat in the gentlemen's corner, committed to waiting patiently while his wife reveled in the rows of beautiful dresses just waiting for her selection. She and a clerk took two to the fitting room before a man seated near him decided to strike up a conversation.
"Does your wife shop here often?" The man opened.
"No." Matt smiled softly, only making partial eye contact. "We're from out of town. Just visiting."
"Lucky man, you are. The prices are outrageous!"
"She'll be careful."
"Hmmph! Susan never looks at the price, just the dress." He turned in his seat hoping to continue a more in-depth conversation with his seat mate, and his eyes fell on Matt's badge. "Oh! I see you're a lawman!"
"Yep." Matt retreated into his practiced, laconic corner when he wanted to be left alone. For some reason people found his job fascinating, and never wanted to leave him alone if there was a chance for conversation. Fortunately, this time Kitty rescued him when she popped out of the dressing room in a stunning blue dress.
"My favorite color on you!" He looked up at her and smiled.
"Just the color?"
"No, of course not. It's real pretty, Kitty. Just let me look."
And it was pretty at that. Even if Matt was sketchy as a fashion critic, he did love the color, even though his favorite blue was her frilly robe with the single sash that fell away so quickly when he untied it. Still, the fragile lace sleeves drew his eye up and down the tiers of satin on the skirt. She turned slowly, and when she pointed her left toe out through the floor to thigh slit down the side, it took his breath away. The bodice was modest, her breasts crisscrossed in a lighter blue chiffon that invited a man to take a second look at what he'd rather other men didn't ogle. Two tiny round straps held the dress on her shoulders.
"Come here, beautiful." He stood and turned her around slowly, noting the row of tiny buttons he'd have the private pleasure of fastening and unfastening. He stroked his hands up and down her figure, feeling nothing but Kitty underneath. How could she look so stunning without a corset? She was the slightest bit fuller now than before she'd had Sara, but her perfect proportions kept that a complete secret. And the slit down the side said sex. He couldn't figure any other word to describe it. It just said sex. Was the man who'd been sitting next to him licking his lips because they were dry, or . . .
"No corset," he whispered softly in her ear.
"Nope. Our little deal, remember?"
"I can see through that stuff at the top."
"I'll wear a blue chemise."
"And the slit down the side?"
"Matt! A girl's got to have some allure!"
"You'll stay on my arm at the banquet?"
"Promise. You want me to model the other one?"
"This one's perfect. You're perfect."
Kitty gave him a warm smile, half a reward for his patience sitting in a dress shop. She liked it too and saw no reason to prolong Matt's lack of enthusiasm at being in a women's paradise.
"Next stop is for Sara," she said as the clerk wrapped her purchase. "We won't be long. I don't want this to wrinkle."
"And you know where that store is?"
"Yep. Took a long look at your map, Matt!" She gave him a playful swat, handed the package to him, and they strolled back out into the fog.
He really couldn't believe it when they rounded the corner. It was a BABY store! The windows were dressed with all sorts of clothing for the tiniest customers: There were dresses, skirts and bonnets for girls, along with trousers, shirts, and even suspenders for boys. For the impulse purchasers, there was a display of stuffed animals and related cuddly toys just waiting for some loving person to haul them home. A parent didn't need a reason to come in, it was irresistible.
Kitty gently fondled a tiny pink dress, then the even lacier yellow one next to it while Matt stood patiently behind her with his thumbs hooked in his gun belt.
"Kit, she's so tiny. She wouldn't know if she was wearing a dress. All she needs is her big fluffy diaper and her bunting."
"She wears booties now when she's not in the bunting. This one would be adorable with white booties and this little white bonnet!"
Matt rolled his eyes. He hadn't intended to raise his voice, it just happened. "KIT, NO!" But the battle was lost before it started. Kitty was already halfway to the front with her selections. He looked around while he waited for her, his eyes falling on a tiny little stuffed kitten. He scanned the room self-consciously making sure no one was eyeing him, then picked it up, gave it a tender stroke, and carried it up to the clerk, adding it to Kitty's pile of goodies. She didn't say a word. They marched out of the store, the six-foot seven giant loaded like a pack horse with things for his girls.
The appearance of the sun marked time in San Francisco, and today was no exception. Just before eleven it brightened all of downtown with an invigorating warm glow. As if on cue, the streets were filled with shoppers hurrying in all directions to snatch up what they needed from the upscale shops, and probably many things they really didn't need at all. Kitty took it all in, while her reluctant companion kept her in check, holding her with his one free arm. She slowed at every shop that interested her, then came to a complete halt at the millinery.
"Kit, you brought four hats with you." He suggested quietly.
"Did I, now?" She had a gleam in her eyes, which sparkled up at him in the bath of warm sunlight. "I just want to go in and look."
He knew very little about shopping, but one thing was certain: "I just want to look" meant trouble. All kinds of trouble, especially when it came to a hat store. He followed her through the door, then turned her loose inside, setting his packages down to rest his arms. This was liable to take a while. But watching her from across the room as she carefully inspected hat after hat, he remembered that he'd promised this little outing. Besides, no man could boast a more beautiful wife, or one so experienced at selecting the clothing that adorned her body. And not a single one of the other men who were waiting had ever seen anything like her naked. His mind was still wandering down that divine trail when she walked up to him, looked him in the eye, and said "Let's go."
"What? You can't find anything you like?" He was astounded.
Her eyes never left his. "Martha has much prettier hats in her millinery in Denver, Matt, most from the same designers. And hers are less expensive." She leaned in as close as she could get to his face. "This place is a rip off. I know hats. I could run a great millinery."
He picked up his packages, held the door for her, and they walked back into the sunshine. For a minute he was relieved that she hadn't spent money in this exclusive shop. Then it dawned on him. Martha had the market all sewed up in Denver, and Dodge could never support anything except saddle shops and general stores. She meant HERE. More to talk about later . . . much later! He eyeballed the food vendor's cart while they strolled back toward the hotel, then quickly remembered the previous day's fiasco and hurried her right on by. They'd promised to take Sara from Ava around lunchtime, and it wasn't that far off. Three blocks from the hotel, Kitty spied what she'd been looking for: "Atkins Men's Furnishings." She pulled him to a halt and with purposeful eyes nodded at him to open the door. Resistance was pointless. Besides, he could do with a shirt for the banquet, and at least this place wouldn't be packed with women.
It was a poor guess. There were just as many women in the shop as men, some goading their husbands into a purchase, others shopping on their own. Matt headed for the shirts and found a clerk with a tape measure draped around his neck.
"Color, sir?" the clerk smiled up at Matt while he ran the tape up one of his arms.
"No idea. Going to a banquet. This is my jacket."
"Very well then." The man pulled a chocolate colored shirt off the rack and held it up to Matt's jacket. It matched the darkest thread in the wool blend almost perfectly.
"It'll be fine," Matt said, ready to check out and get out. As usual, the redhead had something to say about that.
"Matt, look at something lighter, like the ivory or the tan thread in your jacket."
He sighed and handed the dark shirt back to the clerk. "You heard the lady."
And so they shopped, finally settling on a tan that made Matt look like the cowboy he truly was.
"Pants next, my love."
"Kit, I don't need new pants."
"Mmmm Hmmm." She said cheerfully. "Pants are next, my love."
"Then you choose." He realized the strategy would get him out of the shop a lot quicker. But when she returned from the rack with her choice, a dark chocolate brown, he was glad he'd sent her. Even a Kansas lawman could tell it was the perfect color transition from his dress boots up to his jacket. It never would have happened in Dodge, but here in San Francisco they even had his size, right off the rack. Then the clerk made an offer he'd never heard before.
"Since you're a lawman, my seamstress can embroider holes for your badge pin. It will only take ten minutes if you'd like to wait."
Matt nodded. "Yes, please!" He said, thinking of his morning ritual of finding the same pin holes in his shirt so it wouldn't look like Swiss cheese.
"Good choice!" Kitty gave him a soft smile and a pat on the arm as the clerk walked away with his shirt. "We can have Elsie do all your shirts when we get home. I never gave that a thought. Guess it's probably because I like to fondle your chest when you ask me to pin the damned thing on."
XOXOXO
Ava and Sara were waiting for them in the suite when they got back. Matt tossed the packages onto the bed and raised his little girl into his arms, dancing her around the room. Always glad to see her daddy, her baby laugh was somewhere in between shrieks and silly giggles.
"She was happy all morning, Kitty," Ava reported. "We walked all around the hotel and sat on the balcony some. She had applesauce and some ice cream downstairs while I ate my lunch. But I'm sure she's ready for her favorite."
There was just something not right about staying in the room while Kitty nursed Sara with Ava there, so Matt excused himself and went to the Grill to bring back their lunch.
"Thanks, Ava. Are you headed over to the track this afternoon?"
"Don't think so, Kitty. I spent a lot of time with Tip yesterday. He has so many people coming by to talk to him and see the horses. Doesn't need me in his way."
"I'm sure you're not in his way. You're reading it wrong."
"I'm just saying it wrong. I miss having Tip in Dodge where life is so much easier. He's all grown up, Kitty. Doesn't need his mother hovering over him. He's got a lot of business to conduct. It's a joy to see him succeed, but we both have different lives now."
"Ava, if you don't mind my asking, what are your plans after this trip? Matt and I want you to be happy, and to tell the truth we've been guessing you'd probably want to live here to be near Tip."
"You'll get your chance to go through this when Sara grows up, Kitty. It's not easy, but they all grow up and move on. I want Tip to have his own life. We can visit each other whenever we want, but no, I'm not moving to San Francisco. I'm going right back to Dodge with you next week, just like we planned. I have steady work there, good friends, and a nice place to live in a town that's just my size. I'm happy in Dodge and I feel safe there. San Francisco is a wonderful place to visit, but I could never live in such a big city."
"It's real selfish of me to say, but I'm going to be honest, Ava. I'm mighty glad to hear that. We'd miss you so much if you left us."
Kitty finished up with Sara and put her in her crib, then hung their purchases from the morning.
Ava smiled. "That dress is stunning, Kitty! All satin and lace! You'll be the most beautiful woman at the banquet! Oh, and look, you bought dresses and a little kitten for Sara! Now those are some things a girl would never find in Dodge. You be sure to knock on my door when you're ready to leave tonight. Sara and I have big plans to read a book Tip gave me about Thoroughbred horses."
"Ever the au pair!"
"You're right, Kitty. And so happy to be part of your family!"
Matt was back no more than ten minutes later with a feast.
"Roast beef sandwiches on sourdough bread and peach cobbler darlin'," he announced. The scrumptious meal earned him a warm hug, almost before he could get everything set on the table. Kitty was after the food like a bee to a flower.
"Shopping always makes me hungry. You know that."
He smiled and shook his head in resignation. Two things always made her hungry, and shopping wasn't his favorite of the two.
"I've got a buggy hired so I can check out the marshals' office. I owe Steve Roberts a thanks. Will you come along?"
"I'd love to." Quickly, she was right back to her food. "You know, I'd forgotten how good sourdough bread is! We haven't had any starter in Dodge for a few years. I'll have to take some back!"
"If you lived here you could have it every day." He was somewhere between a joke and half serious with his ambiguity. It had always been a good way to ferret out information.
But this time she soundly beat him at the game. "Silly boy." She smiled, then went back to her sandwich.
XOXOXO
It seemed like San Francisco never rested. What would have taken ten minutes to travel on the busiest day in Dodge took over an hour. Congestion ruled. The driver was able to coax the horse into a trot twice, and only for a few steps.
"We should have walked, Kit."
"It's no problem! I love looking at all this. Look at that seafood restaurant! We should try it! Did you see the boot shop over on your side? We could walk there in a few minutes. Maybe let's just walk home afterwards and we'll stop in there. Oh, there's a bakery right up ahead! I can pick up some of that sourdough starter I want. Look at the red hat on that lady . . . oh, I just LOVE red hats! Can you smell the ocean, Matt? I think I can!"
"That means we're real close. The office is three blocks off the surf."
"It's just up ahead, sir." The driver interrupted and pointed. "Will you be wanting me to wait?"
"No. Might be here for a while. I think we'll walk back."
Kitty took a long look at the building when they pulled in front and Matt helped her down.
"My gosh, Matt, this is amazing!"
"Nothing like my office, that's for sure," he smiled.
It was a two story brick building, putting her to mind of the nicest office buildings she'd seen in Kansas City and St. Louis. Nothing about it looked like a jail or looked like it had ever housed a prisoner. There certainly weren't any lounge chairs out front or any wanted posters tacked there. The only giveaway was a large sign with ornate brass letters that proudly proclaimed "U.S. Marshal Office, San Francisco, California." When Matt opened the door for Kitty and she walked inside, her breath caught in her throat.
"Good afternoon." An attractive brunette secretary at a large mahogany desk greeted them with a pleasant smile. "How may I help you?"
Matt retrieved his credentials from his jacket and handed them to her.
"Matt Dillon, based in Dodge City, Kansas, and this is my wife Kathleen," he announced, gesturing proudly toward Kitty. "Like to see Steve Roberts."
"Welcome, Marshal, welcome Mrs. Dillon!" The smile never left her face as she handed Matt's credentials back to him. "He's in his office. I'm sure he'd love to see you. Won't you please sign my guest book while I get him." She rotated a leather-bound book toward them, complete with pen and ink. Without another word, she stood and walked purposefully through the ornate door that separated the lobby from whatever might be behind it in this building. Matt and Kitty exchanged glances; words didn't seem appropriate, and besides, Kitty was afraid she'd start giggling if she spoke.
"Really? A guest book?" She whispered to Matt.
"Yeah, really. Not exactly Dodge."
"Matt Dillon! What a surprise!" Roberts all but bounded through the door to greet his colleague with a hearty handshake. His face was warm and welcoming like a man delighted to be facing a breath of spring in a world devoid. Then he turned to Kitty. "Kathleen! Finally, I get to put a face to the name on that horse's papers! I should have guessed you'd bring this guy to town, what with your horse in the big event on Sunday. He's the favorite, you know."
"We came by to thank you for straightening out that mess and arresting Jack Galt. He was the missing link in a group of three determined to kill people to get the horse." Matt said.
"Bet it got dicey in Dodge, eh?" Roberts was grinning from ear to ear, no doubt the result of his own experience working the law.
"Yep." Matt confirmed. "All the way to Pueblo, actually. Kathleen was their mark that set the whole thing off."
"I didn't even want the horse, Marshal," Kitty added. "Matt will tell you that. One of Galt's henchmen tried to kill me. Matt couldn't rest until he got that guy. Thankfully, you saved him the trouble. We're both so very grateful!"
"Well, no trouble at all. Matt knows it was just a reciprocal. He'd have done the same thing for me. It's all part of the service, Kathleen. Say, you two want a quick tour?"
"Lead on," Matt answered enthusiastically, anxious to see what was behind the door. He made sure Kitty walked ahead of him, unlike so many important men he'd seen who expected their wives to trail behind. "Two of you work here, right?"
"Yeah. My partner is John Allen. He's up in Sacramento right now trying to sort out some Chinese shipment mess with the governor. We get a lot of foreign trade through all our port cities, Matt. Up and down the coast, the foreign trade is the new gold strike in California. We do unannounced cargo inspections at the Coast Guard's request. San Francisco is the largest port, so one of us is in town most of the time, but there's plenty of travel involved. John's office is right here," he pointed to a door near the end of the hall, "and this is mine." He ushered them into a spacious office with two large windows which by afternoon were welcoming huge rays of sunlight. The first thing that caught Matt's eye was a beautiful pearl-handled Colt .45 holstered next to Roberts' hat on the hat tree. Then both his eyes fell on the hefty stacks of papers in two separate piles on the man's desk. Roberts had followed Matt's gaze. It was a lawman's habit. Immediately, he apologized.
"I, uh, I'm sorry, if I'd known you were coming I'd have put this away. I'm a little behind in the paperwork." He pushed one of the piles to the side so he could see his guests, then invited them to sit down. Like a mind reader, the secretary took that moment to enter the office and take coffee orders. "Washington's promised to send another guy in January, Matt. We've got too much here with all we cover. Hey! You like San Francisco? You should put in for a transfer! We'd love to have you! John and I figure all we'll get is a non-stop parade of new graduates to fill our job, probably nobody with any field experience. Guess you heard they're also opening a new training center here in a couple years."
"How do you get to all that?" Matt motioned at the giant stacks of paper.
"We'll walk upstairs in a minute. Got four more offices up there. Two of them are assistants' offices. Without those guys I'd never get done. I sort and process, they sort and process, we're constantly shuffling papers back and forth between us."
"Where's your horse?" Matt was struggling to understand the San Francisco duty.
"Oh, they furnish two, just like they do for you. They're at the livery uptown. Don't ride very often anymore, Matt. John and I mostly go where we need to on the train. There's great rail service all up and down the coast since the Transcontinental came through and the Union Pacific built all the feeder lines."
"But the local law . . ."
Roberts smiled, understanding where his Kansas counterpart was coming from. "The local law is all handled by the sheriffs here. We've got five of them. Each one has a nice jail, sleeping quarters, all the comforts of home. To be honest, I went on that Galt arrest just because of you. In any other situation I'd have handed it off to Sheriff Jordan; he covers the track. John and I head over to the range to target practice as often as we need to. I haven't had to fire my .45 in the line of duty in two years. And my rifle sits at home. Too much trouble to tote it around."
Kitty was taking it all in, watching her husband sink lower and lower in his chair as each fragment of what he knew to be a marshal's duties disappeared. Marshal Roberts seemed to sense it too.
"Hey!" He offered brightly. "Tell you what. If Kathleen doesn't mind being a rose nestled between two big thorns, let's hire a buggy and I'll take you out and show you where the new training center's going to go. Some real pretty country out there, Matt. Right on a hillside overlooking the ocean!"
Faster than Matt could have loaded his rifle, canteen and bedroll onto Buck, Marshal Roberts had a carriage hailed in front of the office, and they were off, the driver following Roberts' instructions by heading down side streets where there was almost no traffic.
"The city's hectic," he explained like a tour guide. "Carriage traffic is non-stop. You get to where you know's the best way to go for the time of day."
"These are beautiful homes!" Kitty was looking at the ornate three-story structures, most with beautiful curved windows facing the street, and all built so close together it was hard to tell one from the other.
"They are Kathleen, but you wouldn't want to buy one. Most of those are upwards of twenty-five thousand. 'Course, I forgot, you two own a famous racehorse, you're not just living on a marshal's salary like I am."
Kitty was back to running the numbers in her head again. The price they'd paid for their beautiful house in Dodge paled by comparison, and Matt had been plenty worried about that expense. If they paid that much for a house, they'd have to watch their other expenses like hawks. And in this congestion, there'd be no place for Matt's beloved bunkhouse or the horses and their corrals. Not even the caldron or the icehouse!
The scenery changed dramatically as they got out of town and headed up the hill. Now instead of looking at streets filled with expensive homes, they were surrounded by lush greenery, and the hill was steep enough that the carriage man let the horse walk, making long, sweeping switchbacks to take pressure off the harness. Kitty felt Matt squeeze her hand, then point over her left shoulder. The view of the ocean was astonishing! It seemed as though she could see the end of the earth as the ships and water trailed off into infinity. They climbed to a huge plateau, and Roberts instructed the driver to stop.
"This is the site, Matt." He swept his arm in a 360 degree gesture. "The government owns three thousand acres here, including all this level ground. They're putting in a good road next summer so supply wagons and such can get up here. Right about where we are now they'll have the main building and all the outdoor ranges. Up above us they're putting in recruit housing with a big dining hall. Over there to the north will be employee housing, complete with a restaurant, a tavern, a livery stable and a blacksmith's building. They've thought of everything, so it's like a self-contained little town with all the comforts. For those with families they're going to build a few stand-alone houses farther up the hill. School will be a problem right off, but they'll figure something out. Every recruit west of the Mississippi will come through this place. They'll be looking for experienced guys to bring in here to do the teaching. The way I hear it, Washington's gonna put out a bulletin on it sometime late next year."
Matt nodded to his host, sensing but avoiding Kitty's smile of approval at the opportunity. He could just feel what she was thinking. It sounded like the perfect chance to stay in the United States Marshals Service instead of retiring, and a job just might open up at exactly the right time for him. She beat him to the obvious question.
"Steve, is there any private ground on this gorgeous hillside?"
"Oh, sure. Everything we drove through on the way up here is private. It'd be real nice for horses, cattle, anything a person might want cause the grass is so good all year round."
Matt knew where his wife was heading, and it was a roadblock. She'd promised when they were married that he could keep his badge as long as he wanted, and she was drumming up the perfect compromise. He knew Steve guessed it accurately too; questions and answers were a big part of what both of the men did for a living. So Matt did what any rational lawman would do under the circumstances: He changed the subject.
"Steve, Kathleen and I need to get back to the hotel. We have to get ready for a banquet for the horse owners. I'm sure sorry to cut this short. I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for us. I owe you, my friend. If there's anything ever that I can do . . ."
"Stop, Matt, that's implied and you know it. Been a complete pleasure putting a face to the name I've heard so much about, and meeting you, too, Kathleen! We'll just keep the carriage and I'll drop you off at your hotel. Sound like a plan?"
"Perfect, Steve," Matt said, talking over Kitty's simultaneous expression of thanks. It was just the extra time they needed. And of course, he wouldn't have to stop in any of those shops she'd been so interested on the way to the office.
tbc
