Gunsmokefan, thank you for your kind review on the heels of a mean one I got from a troll who is apparently too cowardly to leave their name.

Guest, I feel sorry for you, since you obviously have so little in your life that you have nothing better to do than post nasty reviews. You are cordially invited to stop reading my work if you have a problem with the pace of my story or my use of OC in the list of characters.

Chapter Eight

Matt and Kitty both sat silently for a moment, absorbing this news. Finally Kitty spoke. "Wait a minute, Mr. Bodkin, let me see if I understand this correctly. You're saying my father has given us money?"

"That's correct."

Kitty couldn't have felt more stunned if Wayne Russell had announced he was taking up residence in Dodge City permanently. "But, why?"

Bodkin chuckled again. "I was under the impression he intended it to be some sort of wedding gift."

"You sure you don't mean a dowry?" Kitty asked. She was relieved that her father apparently hadn't committed any crimes, and at some level she was thankful, but there was also something about this gift, combined with Mr. Bodkin's comments, that wasn't sitting right with her.

"Kitty." Matt could tell how she felt, but he didn't want her, or Maddy, getting upset again. "Mr. Bodkin, you wouldn't know about this because we didn't tell anyone at the time it happened, but right after Kitty bought into the Long Branch her father tried to swindle her out of all her money. Is there a chance this is some kind of trick?"

Mr. Bodkin sat thoughtfully for a moment. He hadn't realized this was potentially any more than an estranged father trying to atone for his absence. In light of those circumstances, Mrs. Dillon's reaction was understandable. "I don't have any way of knowing his intentions, Marshal," he said finally, "but I can assure you that the bank draft is legitimate, and that the bank in New Orleans has placed a hold on the account. The cash should arrive in several days. If this should turn out to be an attempt to cheat you and Mrs. Dillon in any way, it will fail. The worst, and I mean the very worst, that can happen, from a financial standpoint, at least," he added, looking guiltily in Kitty's direction, "is that the funds will not arrive and your mortgage and account will be intact and have the same status as before. In other words, you will still owe the same amount you owed this morning before your father came in."

Kitty rose, holding Maddy firmly against the wet spot that was forming on her shoulder in the vicinity of the baby's diaper. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Bodkin," she said stiffly. "Now I'm sure you'd like to get home, as we would. You'll let us know if that money comes in, won't you?" Without waiting for an answer she turned and bolted out the door.

The men, who had stood as soon as Kitty had, shook hands. "All this has kind of taken her by surprise," Matt said. Mr. Bodkin nodded in agreement, giving him a patronizing I understand, that's how women are look that Matt was glad Kitty wasn't there to see. He realized, a little too late, that he shouldn't have to make excuses for Kitty. He couldn't blame her for still being upset. He might still have trouble understanding women, but he understood his woman a little better than any other, and he had the feeling this didn't exactly settle things as far as she was concerned. He, too, turned to leave.

"Just a minute, Marshal," Bodkin said. When Matt turned around he saw him opening a desk drawer. I nearly forgot," he said, taking a flat wrapped rectangular package and a small envelope out of the drawer. Matt took it and saw the envelope was addressed to Kitty. "Mr. Russell asked that I pass these along to Mrs. Dillon for him. You'll see that she gets them?"

"She will." Settling his hat back on his head, Matt nodded to Bodkin and turned to join Kitty outside the bank.

"What is that?" Kitty noticed the package in his hand right away.

"Something to look at later," he answered vaguely. Whatever was in that package, he wanted Kitty to be able to deal with it in private. "Are you ready to go have some supper now? It looks like Delmonico's is still open."

"Not exactly," Kitty sighed, even though she was starting to feel hungry. "Maddy needs to eat first, and now she needs to be changed. Actually, I'm afraid we both do."

"Oh, uh, sorry honey," Matt stifled his impulse to laugh, knowing Kitty wouldn't see the humor in it at the moment. "Come on, I have an idea."

The front door was still unlocked at that time of the evening. Matt turned the knob and swung the door inward, letting Kitty walk through first and stepping in after her. "Ma!" he called.

Almost immediately, the tall white-haired landlady of the boarding house came bustling out of the kitchen. "Why, Marshal! Kitty! What a nice surprise!"

"Well, you might not think so, Ma, when we tell you this isn't a social call," Kitty said a little sheepishly. "Do you have a room we could use for a few hours to feed Maddy and clean up a little?"

Ma Smalley, assessing the situation, instantly took charge. "Kitty, you know you're welcome here anytime! I just don't get to see this little one enough now that you're living out in the middle of nowhere. A few hours, my foot! My best room just opened up and I insist you stay the night, on the house, of course!" Barely stopping to take a breath, the older woman put an arm around Kitty and led her toward the large room at the back of the house. "Now you just go on ahead and get those wet things off, I'll get you a clean nightgown and-you have things for the baby?"

Matt held up the satchel they had retrieved from the buggy that held diapers and a change of clothes for Maddy and followed. Kitty looked back at him with a wink and a grin as Ma swept her along to the bedroom. Once there, Matt set the bag down on the bed, feeling somewhat useless as Ma Smalley fussed over his wife and baby. "Kitty, I'm going over to talk to Newly, see if he's heard anything yet."

At this mention of the current marshal, Ma looked alarmed, but, familiar with the Dillons' private nature, didn't ask questions.

"Fine," Kitty said. "That will give Ma and I a chance to catch up."

"Catch up?" Matt muttered as he made his way back to the front door of the boarding house. "They just saw each other two weeks ago."

Kitty changed Maddy, then quickly stripped off her own clothes and put on the nightgown Ma had brought her. Only the shirtwaist had actually gotten wet, so she hung her skirt in the closet and folded the undergarments, putting them out of sight in the bureau drawer. She was sitting in the rocking chair feeding a by now very hungry Maddy when there was a knock at the door. Kitty pulled a baby blanket over her shoulder to cover herself and Maddy. "Come on in, Ma," she called softly.

Ma came in carrying an empty clothes basket. She scooped the baby things into it, then, noticing the shirtwaist lying on the bed, picked it up also. "If I spot-clean this for you, it will be dry by morning," she said. "I'll do the baby's things the next time I do a wash and you can pick them up the next time you come to town."

"This is awfully good of you, Ma," Kitty said. "I don't want to impose."

"You aren't imposing," the woman said, shrugging. "There's plenty of stew left over from supper, and I just baked a fresh batch of bread this afternoon, so whenever you're ready let me know and I'll heat it up for you."

"Thanks, Ma. I'll eat when Matt comes back. If it gets too late, go on to bed. I know my way around your kitchen well enough."

Ma sat down in the chair opposite Kitty, worry written across her face. "I don't mean to pry, dear," she began hesitantly, "but is something wrong? I know your husband and Marshal O'Brien are friends, but it sounded like business to me."

Kitty's first impulse was to say "it's nothing Matt and I can't handle," but something made her want to give the woman at least a brief explanation for taking advantage of her hospitality. "My father was here. He just showed up yesterday without any warning, and then tonight he left town without saying goodbye. I guess I'm a little on edge because of that."

"Well, no wonder," Ma murmured. She vaguely remembered Kitty's father visiting once and had heard around town that there was bad blood between them, but no one seemed to know the whole story. She truly had no wish to pry, but was willing to lend an ear if the younger woman needed to talk.

"There was some...trouble...when he visited before. Matt was just taking precautions in case there was anything we should know. Now that he's gone I'm sure we don't have a thing to worry about." Seeing the look of consternation on Ma's face she added, "Oh, he's not violent or anything. He's just a bad father who wasn't above trying to steal from his daughter as soon as she started making a little money."

"Goodness, I'm so sorry to hear that Kitty. I can't blame the marshal for still being concerned. It's always better to be safe than sorry. And like you said, likely nothing will come of it since he's left town."

Newly was sitting at the desk filling out reports when Matt walked into the jail office. He quickly apprised him of the latest developments, which left both the former lawman and the new marshal shaking their heads.

"Something came in, just a little while ago," Newly said, picking up a telegram that was next to his stack of reports. "I was just getting ready to see if you were still in town."

Matt reached across the desk to take it from him. He studied the telegram, reading it several times before looking up from it. "Well, I wasn't expecting to hear this."

TBC