Chapter 3

It wasn't daylight yet when Matt Dillon heard the sound of horses' hooves. He reached for his rifle, scooted into a necrotic copse of trees and waited.

Two riders. He held his breath and heard them dismount.

"Marshal Dillon? It's Newly."

Matt relaxed the tight grip on his rifle and stepped more into the open.

"Newly! What are you doin' out here?"

It was then the old man noticed someone standing beside his friend.

"Who you got with you, there? Step over here next to the fire before you freeze to death." He wanted to get a good look at what was going on. Had Newly been forced to bring this man here?

Even in the firelight, Matt could tell that the one standing beside Newly was a tall young woman, though dressed like a man.

"Matt," Newly began, but was cut off when Lena stepped forward.

She removed her hat and stepped up close to the old marshal. The firelight brought out the deep red tones of her hair, as it fell free.

"So you're Matt Dillon?" Her tone was not friendly, but almost disappointed.

"Miss, do I know you?"

"No, obviously you don't, but you know my mother, Kitty Russell."

"Kitty….Kitty Russ-"

Lena planted a swift uppercut firmly into Matt's gut, and with him being unprepared, knocked the wind out of him. She had hit powerful hard and the spot she chose seemed connected to his still sore wound.

"Yes, you do know her, I assume. I'm her daughter."

He sank down onto an old log by the fire, collected his breath, and tried to make sense of the words still echoing in his ears.

Kitty's daughter?

"Miss—" Matt tried to say.

"Lena. My name is Lena. I don't suppose you would know that. I assume that you do know that my mother is upstairs at the Long Branch recovering from whatever went on here, which I'm sure had something to do with you.

"I've heard about you, Dillon. Everywhere you go mayhem ensues and bullets fly.

"Mister, I've got one thing to say to you: stay the hell away from my mother," Lena hissed. "You'll be lucky if I don't shoot you myself, if I see you near her again."

Turning back to Newly, she said, calm as pond water, "I can find my own way back to Dodge, Mr. O'Brien. Thank you for your help."

She climbed into the saddle on the sorrel in one swift move, turned the gelding's head back toward town, and didn't look back. Her business concluded.

Newly sat down across from his old friend and mentor.

"I'm sorry about that Matt. I had no idea what she was up to. She told me she wanted to ask you questions about her father."

"Her father?" Matt sputtered. "Me?"

Matt leaned back and appeared to collect himself.

"Uh, no." Newly looked uncomfortable. "She said her name was Lena Adams. Uh, as in Doctor Galen Adams."

For the first time, Newly witnessed absolute amazement and confusion cross his old friend's features.

"Doc's daughter?" Matt managed to croak out. "No. Oh, hell, no."

He got up and grabbed his saddle and blanket and headed toward his horse.

"Where you going?"

He never looked around as he answered Newly. "I guess I'm gonna test that girl's promise of shooting me on sight, cause I'm getting some answers."

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The Long Branch Saloon was empty, but the door was unlocked when Lena got back.

She'd taken her loaner horse back down to the livery where they had gotten him.

She stood in the empty saloon, taking it all in.

It was dusty. The floor worn, but clean, well, as clean as a floor here was going to get.

Lena walked over to the bar. It was elaborate for a place like Dodge. Not like a New Orleans bar, but this one had a lot of character. Bottles and small mirrors lined the wall.

She took in the silence and bet herself that it probably wasn't this quiet very often, especially in the old days. She let her eyes roam, taking in every aspect, from the old stove to the door, at the end of the bar, which she assumed led to storage.

So this was it. This was the home that she knew her mother still missed.

"It's not the place, young lady, but the memories in it," Kitty's voice reverberated in the large room, making Lena jump. "People make the place; don't ever forget that."

Her mother was standing halfway down the stairs. Lena didn't know how long she'd been standing there, but her mother had always been able to read her easily.

"I remember when this place was packed with cowboys raising Cain. When the long trail drives still came into town in big numbers, and those men would go crazy after being without alcohol or in the presence of women for so long."

Kitty had walked over and was standing behind the bar, opposite Lena, the girl a good three inches taller.

Kitty emitted a low laugh and shook her head in disbelief. "They'd work for weeks on end only to come in here and spend it all in two days, sometimes less. And poor Louie Pheeters always hanging about waiting for any dram of whiskey. He was an awful drunk, but he had such….dignity."

Lena raised her eyebrow in doubt.

"He actually did. And Sam." Kitty glanced as if she expected him to be standing beside her. "Sam was my bartender for years. Bartender, big brother, friend. Festus. Doc." Her voice choked up and her reminiscing trailed off abruptly.

"So what happened? Why did you leave?" Lena had lifted herself up to sit on the bar, long legs dangled off, while she watched her mother's face.

Kitty reached out for her daughter's hand. "You happened. I decided my priorities had changed."

"Mama, tell me the whole story. What happened here in the last few days? Why did you really come here? Don't you think I'm only enough to know the truth?" Lena beseeched.

"Don't you know that I love you enough to overcome anything you have to tell me, even if I changed your life for the worse?"

"Oh, my precious baby girl, don't ever think that." Kitty took a deep breath and said, "Your father isn't dead. He's here. Well, nearby. I had to take you away to protect you. I couldn't even give you his name; I was too afraid someone would come to find us and hurt you. I couldn't live if that happened."

Lena swallowed hard.

"Those articles you had in your hat boxes….the old photographs. Is that man my father?"

Kitty narrowed her eyes at her daughter. "Obviously we need to have a conversation about respecting other's privacy."

Lena rolled her eyes and jumped down from the bar, her long legs making it easy.

"Then you shouldn't have allowed me to play dress up in your closet. And you're avoiding answering my question. Is Matt Dillon my father?"

Kitty slightly shook her head, unaware of what the consequences would be if that question was answered truthfully or not—and a bit afraid to find out.

As she opened her mouth, ready to tell the truth at long last, the Long Branch doors swung open for the second time that morning.

A tall shadow fell across the old floor, and Matt Dillon stepped inside and hooked his thumbs in his belt, surveying the room like he used to do on Saturday nights.

Both women were staring at him in surprise, but before they could speak, the big man uttered words that the red head never thought she'd hear from him, "Kitty, we need to talk."