Chapter 13
The Consequences of a Storm
Once again, I'd like to reiterate that these characters do not belong to me. These people belong to Paramount and those who created them, such as James Arness, Amanda Blake, Milburn Stone, Ken Curtis, Dennis Weaver and so on. They created the characters that I am writing about. They breathed more than life into these people, otherwise, we would not find a desire to continue their stories. So once again, I am borrowing them. I will return them when finished. And more than likely, they will be a hell of a lot happier.
KR
Matt watched the little girl as she slept. She slowly began to open her eyes and look around. The fire was crackling and warm, Festus had made sure that it would last the night. Sitting up, she gently reached up and touched her forehead where the bandage was. Smiling, she looked at Matt, then got up from under the covers and walked over to him. She stepped between his legs and climbed up onto his lap. Matt straightened up and leaned back as the little girl made herself at home in his arms. She pressed her face to his chest. "Are you gonna tell me your name?"
"Mama calls me Rosebud." She said smiling as she snuggled deeper into his embrace.
"Is it just you and your Mama?" He asked her
"No, I have a Papa, he's a big man. I have a little sister; Papa calls her Possum. And a baby brother, he's two, his name is Jaimie." She said as she continued to fiddle with the buttons on his shirt.
"Were you on a wagon train with your family?" He asked as she yawned. But she pretended to not hear the question. "Where are your Mama and Papa?" He asked her.
"I don't know." She said as her little hand played with the buttons on his shirt. "Your star is missing." She said as she yawned deeply again, then closed her eyes before Matt could ask her any more questions. Matt just sat there holding the child in his arms. At 44 years old, he had just finally realized all the things he had been missing. The little girl smelled mostly of soap and water, but her head smelled of Doc's medicines. She was probably half Indian, because he could see that much in the coloring of her skin, yet he also saw something else. Her eyes were not the usual dark, brown, but a deep golden brown. She was a beautiful child with dark brown hair and some deep red highlights. He continued to think of what it would be like to have children with Kitty. Would they have red hair like her or maybe more of a golden brown? More than likely they'd have blue eyes, because both he and Kitty had blue eyes. Catching himself in this moment made him smile and ache at the same time. He wanted to find Rosebud's parents and get her home, so that he could find Kitty and bring her home. Carefully, he stood up, trying his best not to jostle her and wake her. He laid her on the bed, which wasn't far from Doc, who continued to pretend to be asleep. He had been enjoying himself watching Matt with the little girl, he knew Matt and Kitty would make wonderful parents someday. Covering her up, he gently caressed her cheek.
"You can stop pretending you're asleep, Doc. I know you're awake." He said looking over at him. Bright gray-blue eyes met his and he wanted to laugh. "I know what you're thinking, Doc." He said scolding him.
"If you know what I'm thinking, then maybe you'll tell me so's I know what I'm suppose to be thinking." He said sitting up.
"Come on, Doc, I'll pour you a cup of coffee." Matt said standing up and heading back over to the fire. Matt knew that they would probably be sitting for another day. Doc wouldn't let him ride until the wound was closed up some and also, they'd have to find Rosebud's parents before heading after Kitty.
Festus rode back into camp on Ruth just as Matt poured Doc's coffee. Dismounting, he secured Ruth's reins to a tree branch then headed back into camp. Glancing at the sleeping child, he couldn't help but feel sorry for her. "How's the littlin' doin'?" He asked as Doc lifted a hot cup of coffee up to him. Taking it, he sipped the dark hot liquid and breathed deeply, the aroma of fresh coffee.
"She's doing well. Sleeping again." Matt said taking a sip of coffee. "Did you find the wagon train she wondered from, or any signs?" Matt asked as he glanced at the sleeping form.
"Not a trace of 'em, Mathew. Ifin' it had rained last night I could see the trouble in finding that trail, but I rode out for per near 10 miles and not a single track." Festus says confused.
"Maybe you're losing your touch, you ain't gettin' no younger, Festus." Doc said jokingly.
"Oh hush you ole coot." Festus shot back at him.
"Shh, don't wake her. She needs her rest." Matt said standing up. "I think I'm gonna ride on ahead and leave you two to tend with Rosebud." He said dumping out his coffee.
"Is that her name, Rosebud, sure is a purty name for a purty littlin'." Festus said.
"You'll do no such thing." Doc said standing up. "I want one more day of you not using that dang blasted arm. You ride that horse of yours too hard and open that wound again, you'll bleed to death out there alone. I already told you, we go together, I'm not willing to hear Kitty cuss me out and we all know she can do it too." Doc said looking up at the big man.
Matt really didn't feel up to arguing. And he was concerned for the little girl as well. "All right, Doc, I'll do as you say." He said feeling defeated. "I think I'll go down to the stream a clean up a bit." Matt said as he lifts his saddlebag from the ground and starts down towards the stream.
"Hold on there, Matt, I could use a little cleaning up too." He said as he grabbed his bag as well and headed after Matt.
"Well, if you two don't mind, I'm gonna take a nap. I'm plum tuckered out." Festus said as he made himself comfortable on the blankets he had laid out the night before.
"Yeah, what else is new?" Doc mumbled to himself and Matt.
"I heard that you ole coot!" Festus said placing his hat over his eyes.
"He's got ears like a dog." Doc said following Matt who shook his head at the two men.
Kitty watched from the window as Nekuma continued to kneel beside the freshly covered grave of his wife. She watched as he rocked back and forth on his haunches. She could see the sorrow in the man's movements, the rocking motion, his saddened voice as he called out to the great spirit to take her home. She then watched in horrified fascination as he lifted the hunting knife in both hands, raising it to the sky and speaking words that Kitty could not understand. Taking the knife in his left hand, he cut a long deep wound into his own arm. Kitty grabbed the white towels on the sink and ran out to him. Kneeling beside him, she grabbed his arm to wrap the wound. "Da che ane!" He yelled at her as he shoved her away from him. She hit the ground hard on her bottom. Nekuma then yelled as he pounded on the dirt. "Da che ane! Da che ane!" Kitty knew that he was mourning his loss, but if he didn't take care of his arm, his daughters would lose him as well. Angrily she grabbed his arm to wrap it, Nekuma looked at her with such anger, if she were a weaker woman, she would have run from him, but she would not be dissuaded. For the first time, he saw the fire, the real fire in her eyes.
"You want your babies to grow up without a mother and Father?" She yelled at him as she pulled his arm back into her lap and began to wrap the towels around it. He then watched as she pulled her skirt up and tore off some of her petticoat to tie around the arm to keep the bandages in place. "I'm going to clean that when you come back inside the house." She told him. "I don't care if you don't understand me, but you will." She carefully stood up and looked down at him. "I'll leave you to your mourning. I'm truly sorry for your loss." She said as she gently wiped her hands on her dark skirt and headed into the house. Nekuma watched her until she disappeared behind the cabin door. He didn't understand most of what she had said, but he caught enough to know what she wanted. He also knew that she had grown very attached to his daughters and they to her. It would make things very difficult for when they leave.
An hour later, Matt and Doc returned to camp. They saw Festus sleeping and then noticed the other bed was empty.
"Festus, wake up!" Matt yelled as he went over to the bedding. He moved the covers back, not expecting to find the little girl, but just out of some inane curiosity. What he found surprised him. There lying in the middle of the bed was his badge. "She must have had it the whole time, but how?" Matt said looking up at Doc and Festus.
"I'll see ifin' I can find her tracks, Mathew." Festus said trying to scratch the sleep out of his eyes.
"Don't bother, Festus, for some reason, I don't think you'll find her." He said as he placed his badge back on.
"What are you talking about, Matt, there's a little girl out there that is lost." Doc said angrily.
"Doc, I don't know, but I get the feeling that she is back where she belongs. However, if it will make you feel better, Festus go ahead and try to track her down." He said to Festus who was already getting ready to mount Ruth.
Festus headed out of camp once again. He knew he was bone tired, and he wanted nothing more than to sleep, but he knew that Mathew and Kitty both needed him.
"Matt, sometimes I just don't get you. Why wouldn't you think he'd find a trail?" Doc said scratching his head in confusion.
"I don't know, maybe because we couldn't find any trace of her parents out here. I can't explain it, Doc, it's just a gut feeling is all." He said going back over to the stump and sitting down.
"If that ain't the most dang-blasted thing I ever heard." Doc said sitting beside him. "I guess I shouldn't get all flustered, after all, your gut has saved you many times." Doc poured them both more coffee. "I have a feeling, it's going to be a long wait." He said handing Matt his cup.
Kitty took Nekuma by the arm and guided him over to the front porch where she made him sit down. He watched as she took the basin and pitcher and poured the water, sitting it down on the porch beside him. Wringing out the rag, she began to clean the cut. He watched as she cleaned it thoroughly but gently. When she felt secure that the cut was clean, she took the small bottle of antiseptic and poured it over the wound. He said nothing, as the pain seeped into his arm. But she felt his muscles flinch under her hands. Kitty then began to wrap the arm with the bandages she had gathered from the house. Wrapping the wound securely, she split the end of the wrapping and tied it around his arm. Neatly making a knot as Doc showed her, she was confident that it would stay in place. Reaching around him, she helped him put his shirt back on and began to button it for him. Nekuma gently clasped his hands around hers and looked into her dark blue eyes. "Thank….you." He said with a bit of difficulty. Kitty smiled up at him, knowing that he probably spoke a few more words of English, but not many. As he stood to head into the house, he stumbled. Kitty quickly wrapped her arm about his waist and helped him into the cabin.
Though she was helping her capture into the cabin, to the two escaped prisoners, it looked like a man and woman working together, living together. Ebb looked over at Twig. "A white squaw!" He stated hatefully.
"Makes a man fill up with disgust." Twig said angrily as he sat down beside Ebb.
"Why do you think, a beautiful woman like that would be laying with that filthy dog?"
Ebb said removing his hat long enough to scratch his dirty head. "I ain't had me a woman for 2 years." His eyes had a dangerous gleam in them. "Come on, Twig, I'm hungry and I bet they got some vittles down there, not to mention one white squaw." He said hitting his side with his hand as they slowly begin to get up and head out.
TBC