Chapter 5
Doc and Chester also noticed the beautiful redheaded woman. Doc had been a citizen of Dodge for a while now and knew the woman had to be new to the town . He looked over at Matt, who also seemed to take notice of the woman coming their way. He had never seen that look on Matt's face before.
Kitty was standing at the bar, when Bill pointed to one of the tables. Bill saw the Marshal, Doc, and Chester enter the saloon, and he wanted Kitty to go and take their orders. Kitty nodded her head and turned towards the table where Matt, Doc, and Chester sat. When Kitty saw the patrons at the table, she was caught off guard. She didn't recognize the other two men, but she immediately recognized the man from the cafe. She tried to collect her senses as she approached the table.
"Hello, gentlemen. What can I get for you to drink?" asked Kitty.
"I believe all three of us came here with the intention of having a beer," said Doc.
"Yes, a beer sounds satisfying," said Matt. He wasn't sure how he managed to speak. His mouth suddenly had gone dry.
"I agree," said Chester.
"Alright, three beers. I'll be right back," said Kitty. She walked back up to the bar to get the drinks.
In less than a minute Kitty returned to the table with the three beers on her tray. She put the tray on the table and set a mug of beer in front of each of the men. Kitty's nerves were on the fritz and she didn't know why. No, that wasn't true. She knew exactly why. It was that big man with the dark curly hair and amazing blue eyes that was making her feel the way she did.
"You must be new here. I don't remember seeing you here before," said Doc as he took a sip of his beer.
"Yes, I am. I'm Kitty Russell," said Kitty.
"Welcome to Dodge, Miss Russell. Where are ya from?" asked Chester.
"I'm originally from New Orleans, but my most current residence was Abilene," answered Kitty.
"Do you plan on staying in Dodge?" asked Doc.
Matt waited for Kitty's answer. He really wasn't sure what he wanted it to be. "Only temporarily. I'm trying to earn money so I can eventually make it to California," Kitty responded.
Now that Matt had heard Kitty's answer, he had a mixture of emotions. On the one hand he was relieved she wouldn't be staying. He knew if she did stay, she would more than likely capture his heart, and he had rules about giving his heart away. On an even bigger hand, he was disappointed she wasn't permanently staying. If he were to give his heart away, he was certain this was the woman he would give it to.
"Well, Miss Russell, I'm Doc Adams and this is Marshal Dillon and Chester Goode."
It wasn't until Doc said that the big man was a Marshal, that Kitty noticed the badge. So this man was a lawman, a Marshal. It didn't matter what he did for a living. Her plan was to only be in Dodge temporarily.
"It's nice to meet you, Doctor Adams, Marshal Dillon, and Mr. Goode," said Kitty, addressing each one of them.
"You can call me Doc. Everyone else does."
"You can call me Chester."
It was now Matt's turn to speak. "You can call me Matt." His eyes met Kitty's eyes.
"Well then, you can all call me KItty." Her eyes met Matt's eyes.
Doc saw the exchange between Matt and Kitty. He knew that Lucinda Glidden thought of Matt Dillon as hers, but there was something about this Russell woman. Doc had this feeling that she was just what Matt Dillon needed.
Kitty had been in Dodge for three weeks and had already become really good friends with Matt, Doc, and Chester. She most often saw them when they came into the Long Branch to have a drink. Once in a while she would see them in the general store. Sometimes the four of them would eat a meal at Delmonico's.
At first Matt would come into the Long Branch with either Doc or Chester, or both. But he was starting to come in by himself more often. This did not go unnoticed. Patrons in the Long Branch noticed the Marshal's frequent visits and the fact that he was often seen sitting with Miss Kitty. Being that Dodge City was a small town with big gossip, this news soon reached Lucinda. She was furious. Matt Dillon was hers and she was not about to let some saloon girl hussy take him.
"What are you going to do about this Kitty girl?" Susanna asked Lucinda. She, Adeline, and Jo Ellen were sitting on Lucinda's front porch drinking lemonade.
"I think you should let her know that the Marshal belongs to you," Jo Ellen said.
"I agree. Make her know that he's yours and you aren't about to let her get her claws in him," said Adeline.
"No, I have a better idea," said Lucinda. "We're all going to become friends with her."
"Friends? Why on Earth would you want us to become friends with her?" asked Jo Ellen with astonishment.
"Because I have a plan and for my plan to work, we need to gain Miss Russell's trust," answered Lucinda. Lucinda then began to tell the girls of her plan.
The next day Lucinda, Adeline, Jo Ellen, and Susanna met each other in town. In order for them to become friends with Kitty Russell, they had to meet her first. They knew she worked in the Long Branch and that was more than likely where she was at that time. Looking across the street, at the saloon, the girls made the decision to go to the Long Branch. They knew it wasn't propper for society girls like themselves to be seen in a saloon, but they wanted to meet Kitty Russell, and this was the only way they knew how to do it.
The girls walked through the batwing doors and like they suspected, Kitty was in there. Luckily for them it was in the middle of the afternoon and the saloon was fairly empty. They didn't have to deal with drunken and rowdy bar patrons. The girls walked up to Kitty.
"Excuse us," said Lucinda, tapping Kitty on the shoulder. "Are you Kitty Russell?"
Kitty turned after her shoulder was tapped. "I am. Is there something I can do for you?"
"Oh no. We know you're new in town and we wanted to introduce ourselves. We should've introduced ourselves before this. It's just that we don't always get into town. I'm Lucinda Glidden, and this is Adeline Pumford, Jo Ellen Meers, and Susanna Humphrey" answered Lucinda.
Once Kitty got a good look at the girls, she recognized Lucinda. She had seen Lucinda around town, but most importantly she had seen her visit the jail multiple times. Kitty wasn't sure, but she had an idea Lucinda had feelings for Matt. Kitty knew it shouldn't matter how Lucinda felt about Matt, but for some reason it did matter.
"It's nice to meet all of you," said Kitty with a friendly smile.
"Do you have any family around here?" asked Adeline.
"No, I came to Dodge by myself," Kitty answered.
'Perfect,' thought Lucinda. "Listen, I know we just met, but are you free to have dinner at Delmonico's with us tonight? It can be awfully lonely being in a new town without any family."
Kitty was reluctant to say yes. She really wasn't lonely. She had the friendship of Matt, Doc, Chester, and even Bill Pence. But as she thought about that, she realized they were all men. It would be nice to have a circle of friends that were of the female persuasion.
"That sounds wonderful. I get off work at seven this evening. I can meet you after I change. Is that too late?" asked Kitty.
"We'll meet you at Delmonico's at a quarter past seven," said Lucinda. She and the others then left the Long Branch.
Kitty enjoyed dinner that evening at Delmonico's. With her inconsistent working hours, Kitty didn't hang out with Lucinda and the girls too often. When she did, it was usually to have lunch or supper at Delmonico's. Not hanging out with the girls too often didn't bother Kitty. She knew she wasn't on the same society level as they were, but it was still nice to have female friends.
Lucinda felt that her friendship with Kitty was on the right path. She felt that she was earning Kitty's trust. Lucinda needed that trust if she wanted her plan to succeed. One thing that she noticed that hadn't changed was how often Matt frequented the Long Branch. The more she was aware of that, the more she wanted to go ahead with her plan. However, she had to have patience. The more she had Kitty's trust, the better.
One afternoon Lucinda was sitting in the parlor, when her father walked in. In his hand was a telegram. He walked over to Lucinda. "Lucinda, I'm afraid I have bad news. Your great aunt Tillie has died."
Lucinda was taken back by the news. Great Aunt Tillie was her mother's favorite aunt, and Lucinda too loved her very much. "Oh no," Lucinda sadly said.
"Her funeral is this Friday. I can't go, but you most certainly should. You can take tomorrow's stage to Topeka. You should arrive in plenty of time to attend the funeral," said Mr. Glidden.
"Of course. I'll go pack right now," said Lucinda. She got up and walked upstairs to her bedroom.
The next day arrived. The stage wasn't scheduled to leave until midday. Lucinda, Susanna, Adeline, and Jo Ellen decided to meet at the cafe for a cup of coffee before Lucinda had to board the stage. They all offered Lucinda their condolences.
"Lucinda, we are so sorry," said Jo Ellen. "Please let us know if there's anything we can do."
"Actually there is something you can do. I wanted to hatch my plan this week, but the funeral hindered that," replied Lucinda.
"Do you want us to go ahead with the plan?" asked Susanna.
"No! I want to be the one who does it. What I want you to do is keep an eye on Kitty and Matt. Stay in town as much as you can," whispered Lucinda.
"You mean you want us to spy," stated Adeline.
"Exactly," said Lucinda.
TBC
