Kitty was at a back table when Matt came into the Longbranch. He stopped at the bar for a beer, then came over and sat down next to her.
She smiled. "How you doing, cowboy?"
Matt shrugged. "I'd be better if my deputy weren't missing."
"He didn't come in this morning?"
The marshal shook his head. "He didn't even go home last night. Doc told me he went straight to the stable for Ruth and rode out of town." He drank some beer, his expression dour. "Festus was so excited about Letty coming back and now..."
Kitty sighed. "Matt, she may look like a grown woman but inside she's still very young and she's been through a lot."
Matt frowned. "You sound like you're making excuses for her."
She smiled ruefully. "No, I just remember what it was like to be twenty years old and not really thinking before I spoke."
The marshal pushed his glass back and forth. "I was twenty once too. I don't ever remember being ashamed of someone who cared about me." He sat back, rubbing his forehead. "Where's Letty now?"
"She took a horse this morning...said she wanted to go down to the river."
"The river." Matt's voice was flat. "Festus used to take her to the river all the time. What could she want down there?" He finished his beer and got up to go and Kitty took his hand.
"Matt, I don't like the way Letty is acting any more than you do, but give it a little time. Let her and Festus work it out themselves."
Matt looked bleak. "That may be good advice, Kitty, but I'm going to find it a little hard to follow until I know that Festus is all right."