Kitty's Love Story
Chapter 9
There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and by late afternoon the intense summer sun had made the office feel like a greenhouse. Festus decided to sit outside and get some fresh air on this slow August day, having exhausted all the chores he could do inside. It wasn't long before he saw Doc Adams heading his way, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.
"Diligently earning your pay as usual, I see," Doc teased his friend. "Is Matt around or is he out doing all the work?"
Festus blew a loud, dismissive breath through his lips and gave Doc a disapproving look. "I'll have you know that Matthew had some important marshalin' to do, and he left me in charge o' this here town until he gits back. You oughtta be happy that I'm able to keep thangs quiet around here insteada makin' yer little jokes, you ol' scudder."
"Oh yes, I'm sure things are quiet around here because you're in charge," Doc replied with a straight face. "Why, I bet if Matt left town more often, this place would be practically crime-free!"
"Well aren't you just as funny as a mad dog with a mangy tail," Festus replied sarcastically. "Maybe you wanna try deputyin' fer a day, and I'll sit up in that there office and charge people fer not makin' 'em any better. Whatdya thank about that?"
Doc laughed. He had been goading Festus into these verbal sparring matches for years, and it never got old. "I think it's hot out, and I need a beer. I came to see if Matt wanted to get a drink with me, but I suppose you'll have to do."
Festus was thirsty enough that he decided to ignore the insult. He wasn't sure what he had in his pocket, so perhaps he could ignore paying too. Doc had been planning to take Matt to The Lady Gay for obvious reasons, but since Matt wasn't around they decided to head to The Long Branch.
Festus knew better than to bring up the subject that was foremost on his mind. Doc was sick of hearing about it, Newly wouldn't say a word, and Matthew had up and left him in mid-sentence that morning, a little detail he had failed to mention to Doc. Personally, he thought somebody should do something about that ridiculous usurper from Kinsley, but his lips were sealed.
They found The Long Branch more than half full, with Floyd alone behind the bar and Burke chatting with three of his buddies at the end of it. Doc scanned the room, trying his best to look casual and unconcerned. He didn't fool Festus, who knew that he was hoping to check on the proprietress. Despite his moratorium on mentioning the topic, Doc was every bit as worried about Matt and Kitty as Festus was. He had seen tiffs between the two lovers before, serious ones, but somehow he always knew they would work it out. This time he wasn't so sure. His main concern was for his friends, but a selfish thought nagged at him. If Matt lost Kitty to Bill, for all practical purposes, he would lose her too. The thought left a hole in his heart.
"I need a beer, Floyd," Doc called out as he bellied up to the bar.
"Make that two beers, Floyd" Festus added, taking the spot next to him.
Floyd filled two mugs and set them in front of his customers. Doc pulled a quarter out of his vest pocket and plunked it on the bar. "That'll cover mine," he nodded satisfactorily as he turned to his friend. Festus frowned and stuck a couple of fingers in his pocket, digging around as though he was certain something was in there. "Huh. I coulda swore I had me a quarter in there earlier," he remarked, almost to himself. "Must be in that other shirt."
"If you ever find that other shirt, you're going to be a rich man!" Doc declared facetiously at the familiar excuse. Several nearby patrons snickered at the good-natured ribbing.
"Oh now Doc, Miss Kitty knows that I—"
Festus stopped himself as the batwing doors opened and they walked in together. Kitty kept her hand loosely on his back as he hobbled inside, and the dull roar of conversation quickly became silence. Bill Dunlap found a room full of Dodge City faces staring at him, and they didn't look like they wanted to buy him a drink.
"Don't let me ruin your fun, Boys," Kitty said tersely to the unfriendly crowd. "Just go right back to whatever you were doing." She led Bill over to an empty table in the back and motioned for Floyd to bring them a couple of drinks. The sound of voices began to slowly pick up.
One of those voices belonged to Burke. "It's like spitting in the marshal's face, that's what it is," he said disapprovingly, low enough that only those standing near him at the bar could hear. His buddies nodded in agreement as Doc tried to ignore them and Festus stifled his temptation to render an opinion.
"She's got a hell of a lot of nerve if you ask me," said Paul Crenshaw, the lanky ranch hand standing next to Doc with a shot of whiskey. Paul had only been in town for a couple of months, but that was plenty long enough to know that Kitty Russell belonged to the marshal.
"I don't see anybody asking you," Doc pointed out crabbily, looking around for effect. Paul had a reputation as a troublemaker, especially when he was drinking, and Doc didn't care much for him.
"Aw, c'mon Doc," he urged. "She's been paradin' old limpy all over town like nobody knows she's already got a man. I guess one ain't enough for her. Back where I come from, we call a woman like that a—"
"Finish that sentence and it'll be yer last one," vowed Festus, leaning in until the two men were practically nose to nose. He may not like what was going on, but nobody talked about Miss Kitty like that in front of him. Doc smirked approvingly at the gesture.
Paul set his glass on the bar and stood up as straight as possible after several shots of whiskey. "Is that a threat, Deputy? 'Cause last time I checked, a man still had a right to his own opinion."
"You'd better believe it's a threat," Festus promised. "She owns this here saloon, and if yer gonna talk like that you'd best go do it somewhere else."
"Is that so?" Paul taunted, giving Festus a light shove in the chest. Doc and the rest of the patrons at the bar looked on nervously.
"Don't make me arrest you, Mister," Festus warned. "I'm tellin' you to take it somewhere else."
Paul Crenshaw took orders all day from a ranch owner he didn't like, and he wasn't in the mood to be told what to do on his own time. Feeling the kind of courage that came out of a bottle, he made a fist and struck a blow right below the deputy's left eye. Festus went sailing backwards and landed on the floor just in front of the door. He started to get up, but Paul jumped on top of him before he was fully on his feet.
"Stop it!" Kitty screamed from the back table as a crowd formed around the men and chaos ensued. Burke tried to pull Paul off of Festus but was stopped with an elbow to the cheek. Several men jumped onto the pile, unsure what the fight was about or even who was involved, but it seemed like the thing to do.
Down the street, Matt Dillon dismounted Buck and loosely wrapped the reins around a post in front of his office. He'd had a long, quiet ride and figured he had cleared his head as much as possible under the circumstances. He had a job to do and it was time to get back and check on his town. He wasn't a minute too early.
He heard a ruckus and quickly turned toward the noise, just in time to see a mound of people come flying out of The Long Branch and into the street. He immediately ran to the disturbance and began plucking through the layers of fighters, casting them aside one by one until he made his way to the nucleus. He recognized Paul Crenshaw from several previous skirmishes and pulled him off of Festus.
"What's going on here?" he demanded. The entire saloon had emptied, and those who had not joined the fight were watching with interest. Bill stood helplessly on his crutches, and Kitty clutched his arm with both of her hands.
"This drunk yahoo got mad and punched me," Festus replied angrily, dusting himself off. He had a split lip and was working on a black eye.
Doc nodded. "That's just what happened, Matt. This fellow started it." Not that Matt had any doubts—he trusted Festus with his life.
"Why don't you tell him what it was about," Paul spat. Festus glared at him but said nothing.
"I was takin' up for you, Marshal," Paul explained proudly. "Your woman is playin' you for a fool, and I just called her what she is."
He had barely gotten the words out before Matt grabbed him by the collar and practically pulled him off of his feet. "One more word and jail is going to be the best thing that happens to you today," he growled. Paul looked as though he clearly got the message.
Matt released him and nodded at Festus. "You can take him in. I have to tend to my horse."
"My pleasure, Matthew," Festus said as he grabbed Paul by the arm and led him toward the jail.
The crowd began to disperse and Matt turned toward Kitty, still standing next to Bill near the batwing doors. They locked eyes, each with the same pained expression. Matt slowly turned and started walking back to his horse. There was nothing else to say.
Burke and his friends discussed the recent excitement on their way back to their offices, unaware that Matt was behind them. "That Crenshaw is an idiot, but you've got to admit he has a point," claimed Albert Young, a coworker at the freight office. "The marshal shouldn't have to put up with that."
Burke rubbed his slightly swollen cheek. "Well I know what I'd do if I was him. I'd take back what belonged to me and send that Dunlap fellow packing. He's got no claim on her, and everybody knows it."
"She's not property," Matt called out from behind. The startled foursome stopped and turned around.
"Oh, hi Marshal. I didn't mean—" Burke tried to explain.
"I know what you meant, and you're no better than Crenshaw with talk like that. We had a war several years ago, and it seems like we decided that nobody gets to own another person. A woman has the right to make choices just like anybody else."
The men sheepishly stared at each other for a few seconds. "Sorry Marshal, we didn't mean any harm," Albert offered sincerely.
"Yeah, sorry Marshal," Burke echoed.
Matt nodded a silent acceptance of their apology before heading over to untie Buck.
TBC
