Chp 10

Kitty, for once, awoke before Matt did. Looking over at the giant beside her, she grinned recalling their previous night's activities. If she were back home in Dodge, she'd seriously consider waking him for another go around. But they weren't home. They were on a working ranch that definitely needed a lot of work.

Carefully disentangling herself from him, she quietly rose and pulled on her clothes, heading downstairs to get things started for the day.

After she left, Matt laid back on the pillow, for several moments, thinking. Yesterday had been a good day and a day sorely needed by everyone to sort of re-energize and move forward. Although he'd not planned on things turning out like this, he realized, he and Kitty were for all intents and purposes going to be there for the duration. Those kids needed them.

Of course he knew he should send Kitty back home without him. She had a business to run and she didn't owe Jeff's family anything, as he did, not to mention the danger she could possibly be in, if Graham didn't quit. But he knew her well enough to know she'd never go. And for that, he was grateful. Handling eight kids as a couple was proving to be tough enough for the two of them together, but alone, he didn't think he could do it.

Shaking his head, he finally pulled himself from bed and got dressed. He and the boys had a lot of work ahead of them today and he had no time to lie around in bed.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Cayden Graham sat in his opulent den, behind his large, elegantly carved mahogany desk, chomping on an unlit fine cigar with a severe scowl on his face. The cold cup of coffee at his elbow grew colder and ranker as he sat there longer and longer.

Though he'd not let it show, even to Fletcher, Matt Dillon's visit had disturbed him quite a bit. Until the other day, he'd never met the man, but he knew his reputation and jurisdiction or not, he knew he was in for trouble if Dillon was around.

Legally, he wasn't worried. There was absolutely nothing to tie him into the accidents that had been assailing the Henderson's these last couple of months, even had there been law to investigate.

Of course, Jeff and Ann Henderson's deaths had not been accidents in the strictest sense of the word. If Fletcher hadn't of shot that dart into the rear flank of Henderson's horse, it wouldn't have spooked and he and his wife wouldn't have been killed.

But still, it hadn't been his intent that they die. He had learned long ago that the fewer bodies to bury, the easier to get what he wanted. Intimidation and threats were a far cry from murder. But the longer he sat and ruminated on the situation, the more he was beginning to wonder if it might be his only option, now that Dillon was on the scene.

A soft tap interrupted his thoughts and he raised his head. "Come in."

Fletcher Parsons opened the door and stuck his head in. "Got a minute?"

"Come in, Fletch. What's up?" He sat back in his chair, unlit cigar still parked firmly between his teeth.

"Thought you might be interested in something I found out yesterday." Fletcher moved into the room, doffing his hat and bringing himself to stand before his boss' desk.

Graham eyed him with interest. "What?"

Parson's relaxed a little; certain he had some news that would please his employer. "I took a ride into town the other night and got to talking to Tank Kelly. You know, bartender at the Lazy Ace?" He swallowed when his boss gave him a look of impatience. "Well, anyway, we was talking about Dillon being here and he said something about Dillon's woman and it got me to thinking."

"What are you talking about?" Graham sat even straighter in his chair and removed the cigar.

"Well," he warmed to his story. "You remember I told you that when I ran into Dillon on the trail that he said he had a partner with him but didn't say who and we didn't see him"

Graham clamped the cigar back between his teeth and shrugged. "Yeah. So?"

"Well, I got to thinking that it could be," Fletcher got a curious glint in his eye that his boss did not fail to notice, "that it wasn't no man that was with Dillon, but rather a woman."

The cigar was removed again and Graham leaned in. "What do you mean?"

"I mean Dillon's got a woman with him out there at that ranch. I took me a ride over there last night. Saw him and her and them kids coming back from Nickel Creek. Kitty Russell is right now at that ranch with him."

Graham was obviously curious but just as obviously in the dark as to why the presence of this woman was so important. "Who is Kitty Russell?" He asked.

"She's the prettiest woman west of the Mississippi, for one." Parson's ugly sneer stretched into something resembling a smile as he spoke of her. "For two, she's owns the best saloon west of the Mississippi and for three, she's Matt Dillon's woman. Has been for several years, way I hear it. Only weak spot he's got is her, is what they say."

Graham stood up and paced to his window for a moment in thought, then turned back to his foreman. "You sure of this?"

Parson's nodded, happy to have what he considered to be good news for his increasingly irritable employer. "I passed through Dodge a couple, three years ago. Had me the coldest beer ever in my life at the Long Branch saloon and got the pleasure of meeting the lady. Her and the Marshal didn't spend much time together, whilst I was there, but when they was together; you could tell they had something going on. And the man over to the hotel as much as said so when I said something about making a play for her. He said the Marshal wouldn't like it, but he wouldn't say why. Others in town though said things along the same line."

Graham stood still for several long moments as he digested this piece of information and several thoughts came to mind as to what he could do with it. "You're sure it's this Kitty Russell that's out at that ranch with him?" He wanted to be positive.

"Yes, Sir." Parsons grinned. "Sure as anything. Saw her with my own two eyes. Just as pretty as ever and maybe more. Man'd be lucky to have her in his bed."

Graham smiled at last as he plucked the cigar up, put it back in his mouth and actually lit it. "It just may be that I find out the truth of that first hand." He grinned.

TBC