Chapter Five

Kitty put Maddy back to bed, then sat down in her now-deserted kitchen to eat a sandwich before washing the dishes. The picture was still lying on the table. Had her father really carried it with him all this time? The frayed edges and the crease that ran diagonally across one corner indicated that someone had. It was almost ready to separate in two where it was creased. The paper that had been folded around it must have been an attempt to protect it from further wear. She picked it up to look at it one more time. Although the resemblance was striking, on this second look she could see the subtle differences between herself and Maddy. The face of the baby in the photograph was a little rounder, and unless it was her imagination, Maddy's hands and fingers, while not big, were longer. That, along with Maddy's brown hair that had just a bit of red in it, already had Kitty wondering if their daughter would take after Matt, after all. Kitty remembered, or thought she did, anyway, that her mother had light brown hair and green eyes. Her own coloring had come from Wayne's family. There was no telling for sure what Maddy would grow up to look like, but no matter who she resembled, she would look like herself.

She traced the outline of the baby lightly with one finger, imagining a young woman, crouched down in front of an uncooperative baby trying to get her to hold still for the photograph. Kitty had been under the impression the picture was made after her father left; her mother must have done it to send to her father to try to bring him back, or at least to try to keep him from forgetting her. She closed her eyes, trying to remember her mother's face. She couldn't. She hadn't been able to remember it since around the time she'd left New Orleans. She wished that, like that baby, she could reach out her hands and have her mother come to her. "Stop being silly!" she snapped at herself for that fanciful idea. Opening her eyes, she shook her head and folded the photograph back into the piece of paper and got up to take care of the dishes.

Wayne was sitting in Matt's chair on the porch when she went outside to see how work on the buggy was going. "Well, I thought you'd be out there supervising Matt and Chester," she said, not looking at him as she took the chair next to his.

"I was assured my help wasn't needed," he replied, glancing over at Kitty. "Most likely for the best since I don't have much experience repairing things. I think your husband's probably had enough of my presence for a while anyway."

Kitty chuckled softly at that, still not looking in his direction as she held out the folded piece of paper.

"Oh...you keep it. For the child."

Kitty nodded. "Sure. Madeleine might like to see it when she gets older. Thank you."

Wayne closed his eyes, stricken with guilt at Kitty's use of his late wife's name. He had only himself to blame for that. "Kitty…." He hesitated for a while before continuing. "I want to apologize. It was wrong of me to show you that photograph the way I did. I'm sorry for upsetting you like that."

Kitty shook her head. "Forget it. You didn't mean to." She hoped that was true. The two of them had no more to say to each other. They sat in silence for a time until the quiet was disturbed by Joe running up the drive shouting "Mister Russell! Mister Russell!" Kitty shook her head, trying to suppress a grin. Like father, like son. She winced and her father stood up from the chair when Joe tripped and sprawled flat on his face in the dust. Before they had time to leave the porch, he was already back on his feet and running toward them again. "Mister Russell!"

They met him in the yard. "You all right, Joe?" Kitty asked him, a trace of amusement in her voice since he appeared to be unharmed. "We've talked before about you making noise while Maddy's asleep."

"Sorry, Miss Kitty. Mister Russell, your buggy is ready. We got it fixed enough fer you to make it to town, and Mister Dillon is gonna ride back with you to make sure you get back all right. Miss Kitty, he says he's got some things to do in town and not to wait supper on him. Daddy and I are gonna eat with you and look out for things until he comes home." Joe announced all this nearly in one breath, his voice nearly bursting with pride when he got to the part about helping Chester look out for her and the baby.

"Well, that's just fine, Joe. Will you go tell him my father will be there directly, and I'll see him when he gets back?"

"Sure thing, Miss Kitty," Joe shouted, already running toward the barn to get Matt's horse.

Kitty turned to say goodbye to her father. "Will I see you again?" she asked pointedly.

Wayne smiled ruefully. "That might depend on your husband, Kitty. I'm afraid I haven't improved on his opinion of me since my last visit. Or yours either, hmm?" He bowed slightly, taking her hand and kissing it lightly. "Perhaps the two of you would join me for dinner tomorrow night at Delmonico's?"

"Certainly." Kitty smiled tentatively, knowing it was probably the last thing Matt would want to do, but he'd go. There was no way he would let her meet him in town alone.

"Very well, I'll see you tomorrow evening at...seven o'clock?" Kitty nodded in agreement and watched as her father walked down the drive, wondering what would transpire between him and Matt on the way to town.

Matt tied his horse to the buggy and took the reins, in order to keep up the illusion that his presence was in case of further mishap on the drive back to Dodge. For the first mile, Matt was silent, which the older man surmised, correctly, was designed to intimidate him. He'd have to be simple-minded not to believe that some sort of conversation, one he'd rather not have, would take place, and decided it would be best to get it over with.

"I appreciate you accompanying me into town, Marshal-" he stopped, remembering Kitty's husband wasn't the marshal any longer. "What should I call you?"

"Matt will do." Matt practically growled at him. He wasn't about to encourage this man to call him "son" when he barely deserved to call Kitty his daughter.

"Very well...Matt. You want to know why I came back to see Kitty."

"I do."

"Just passing through, you might say. I'm an old man, Matt, and this is probably going to be my last trip out west. I would be remiss if I didn't stop to see my daughter again, maybe make amends if I could."

"Hmm," Matt grunted to convey what he thought of that explanation. "That's up to her," he added. He had no doubt Kitty would be willing to see him again, even though she had been disappointed and hurt badly after his only other visit. She seemed to feel a bad father was better than no father at all. He wasn't sure he agreed, but unless Russell was breaking the law, he wasn't going to prevent her from doing what she wanted. "Any other reason you're in Dodge?"

"I have a bit of business to attend to while I'm here."

"Business. You mean gambling?"

"Gambling," he confirmed.

"Just make sure you play it straight while you're in Dodge. People don't take kindly to crooked gamblers around here, and I don't much like the idea of having to tell my wife her father was shot in her town because he cheated someone."

"I can assure you, I've never had to cheat at gambling," Russell protested, realizing as he did so that he'd given his son in law no reason to trust him.

"Yeah. Well, make sure you keep it that way. And let me tell you something else. If it's money you're after, there isn't any. We put everything we had into that farm, and we're carrying a mortgage besides." This wasn't entirely true. All the money Kitty had before they got married was safely deposited in banks in cities far away from Dodge. Matt had refused to live off her money, finally convincing her that she and the baby would need it to start over somewhere else if anything happened to him. Meanwhile, Hannah's payments for the Long Branch would cover their mortgage and living expenses until the farm started to turn a profit. "And if you want that, Kitty isn't the only one you'd have to fool."

Russell shook his head. "I have no interest in taking your farm. However, I can't blame you for being suspicious after last time, especially after being a lawman for so long."

Russell's attitude was doing little to appease his anger toward him. Though he appeared somewhat contrite, he wasn't showing much remorse for what he'd done to Kitty in the past. "All right, Russell, I'm going to level with you. I don't trust you. You warned me to stay out of it last time. This time Kitty isn't just your daughter, she's my wife, and I'll do anything to protect her and my daughter. You hurt either one of them and it won't matter who you are. I'll hunt you down for the rest of your life if I have to. Do we understand each other?" Matt stared down his father in law with a stony glare that pierced through the other man.

"Perfectly." Wayne Russell glanced down at the holstered gun worn by the big man sitting next to him holding the reins of his horse. His meaning couldn't have been more clear.

The light in the front bedroom window was a welcome sight as Matt rode in after dark. He took care of Buck, then stood in front of the barn doors for a moment, looking at the home he'd been proud to build for the woman who had always meant home and family to him, even when he hadn't realized it. He locked the barn door and his long strides quickly closed the distance to the family who waited for him.

Upstairs, Kitty rocked their soundly sleeping daughter. She looked up with a welcoming smile when he walked through the door. "How'd it go, Cowboy?" she asked in a sultry whisper.

"Here, I'll put her to bed and then I'll tell you all about it." Kitty brushed her lips against the top of the baby's head before Matt eased her out of her arms. He held her close to his heart as he carried her over to the cradle, looking down at her precious, innocent face. He wondered how Wayne Russell could have possibly left Kitty when she was that age. Had he simply been a young man unprepared for the responsibilities of a wife and child, or had he left for reasons that had nothing to do with Kitty? Perhaps his invitation to supper the following night would lead to reconciliation, or at least an explanation, between father and daughter. If Matt's suspicions were correct, Russell had no intention of actually making amends for the past; he could only hope the man was merely passing through as he'd stated and not up to something more sinister. He held Maddy just a little closer for a moment, then gently settled her into the cradle before turning his attention back to Kitty.

Kitty watched from the rocking chair while Matt sat on the edge of the bed to pull his boots and socks off. "Did you find what you were looking for?" she asked again.

"Not really. Just passing through and wanted to see you. Maybe do some gambling while he's here."

"Of course."

"I gave him a pretty strong warning about trying anything." Seeing the look on Kitty's face he added, "I didn't hurt him, honey. I just let him know what would happen if you got hurt. I think he got the idea."

"I'm sure he did." Kitty watched appreciatively as her husband quickly stripped down to his long underwear and draped his clothes neatly over the back of the chair. He looked back at her, and when he noticed what she was wearing, he raised his eyebrows and reached for the top button of the underwear. "Let me get the light and then I can help you with that," she purred. He watched the full skirt of her nightgown trail behind her as she went to the window for the lamp. It was one of his favorite nightgowns, cut in such a way that even though it exposed nothing, it showed all her curves to their greatest advantage. She had seldom worn it for an entire night. After Maddy was born, she at first thought she looked fat in it, until Matt's enthusiastic reaction convinced her that, like always, she looked just right. She was counting on that same enthusiastic reaction tonight. After the day that had just ended, she needed her husband badly, and he did not disappoint her.

An hour later, the exhausted but very content couple lay drifting toward sleep. Kitty curled up against Matt's chest, his arms wrapped around her. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was slow and even. Matt's mind returned to his earlier thought of a younger Wayne Russell escaping his duties as a husband and father. Being young and most likely scared was no excuse for that kind of irresponsibility, in his opinion. He pondered on whether he might be judging the man too harshly. As a young man, he had known his share, maybe more than his share, of women. There had been no shortage of young ladies eager to welcome the tall, handsome young lawman to their beds. Sooner or later, most of them wanted more, and it was at that point that he, or they, had regrettably parted company. That had changed when he met Kitty. He had resisted her considerable charms far longer than he had any other woman before her, before finally giving in to the understanding that, while he couldn't offer her a future, there was no other woman he wanted in his life, and that she felt the same way about him. To the best of his knowledge he had left behind no abandoned children; at least none of the women who had briefly come back into his life seemed to have a child in tow. He was more relieved than ever that hadn't happened. From the beginning with Kitty, he knew that regardless of his having no right to a wife and family, he would take responsibility for any child he created. That meant any child, and he was thankful none of his past indiscretions had brought that particular complication into their already complicated relationship. No, he was not judging Russell too harshly.

"Matt?" Kitty's sleepy whisper broke into his thoughts.

"Hey, I thought you were asleep."

"You won't...you won't ever leave Maddy, will you?" She already knew the answer to the question, but with her father's sudden appearance her basic mistrust in men had started to resurface. She needed to hear him say it.

"Have you been lying there reading my mind, lady?" he joked a little. He realized that was the wrong response when Kitty gasped and stiffened in his arms. He brushed her hair out of her face, tilting her head back so he could meet her eyes. "I'm sorry, Kitty," he said softly. "I said that wrong. I will never willingly leave you or Maddy."

"You better not," she said shakily. She gave him a little smile. "I've gotten used to having you around." She slid her hands around to his back and snuggled closer to him, placing several gentle kisses against his shoulder before resting her head against it. "Thank you," she whispered.

"For what, honey?"

"For not being like my father."

TBC