Chp 14

As Matt rode alongside Bud and the kids back towards the ranch, he looked over at the young man with grudging admiration. Bud had, for the most part, handled the purchases of lumber and supplies by himself with only minimal help from Matt in the price and credit negotiations. Though only 17, Bud had comported himself as a much older man would've.

They now had the lumber they would need to get the barn back up, plus enough staples to see them through for a while. Kitty would be pleased, he believed, when she saw the food stuffs they had brought back with them. Thinking of her, he still had that niggling little feeling, in the back of his mind, that something wasn't quite right, but he couldn't pinpoint it.

With a sigh and weary shrug of his shoulders, he resolved to figure it out later when they got back to the ranch. Raising his head and looking forward, he was pleased to see that would be fairly soon as the place came into view, just as they rounded the corner.

"Georgie must be awful sick." Bud spoke up, his eyes looking at the now visible ranch house. "Either that or Miss Kitty had more to do than she thought. Ain't no smoke coming from the chimney."

Matt looked up sharply, the unease growing proportionately. "I'm going on ahead." He told Bud as he kicked up Buck and raced towards the house.

When he got there, he found the front entry open and no one in the house. There was a brief, but chilling, note tacked on the door. "We have the woman and the boy. We will trade them for the land. Come to the mine, tonight at dusk, with the deed."

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Two hours after being left alone in the shack, Kitty heard the sound of horses riding up. After being left there alone, she and Georgie had spent all of their energy trying to find a way out of their improvised prison. But the walls were solid, the one solitary window had boards nailed firmly across it in such a manner that even Georgie's small form couldn't fit through. The door was heavy and solid and bolted tightly from outside.

Finally, exhausted and with having found no way of escape, she had sat down in the one chair, having eschewed the idea of the filthy iron bed in the corner, and pulled the little boy into her lap where she held him until he'd drifted off to sleep.

Georgie stirred at the sound of approaching riders and raised worried eyes to hers. "It's alright." She told him. "Don't worry. It'll be alright." Her words were calm and soothing, exactly the opposite of how she felt inside. Setting the child on his feet, she stood and faced the door, once again pushing Georgie behind her.

When the door was unlocked and opened, Fletcher Parsons walked in, an insolent leering look on his face. His partner from before, Gant Brewer, walked in with him, closing the door firmly behind them.

"How ya doing, Red?" Parsons ran his eyes up and down her figure as he spoke, not bothering to hide his interest.

"Where's your boss?" Kitty demanded, hiding her fear with anger.

"You'll see him later." Parsons answered as he slowly moved towards her. "But not here. We're to bring you to the old mine in a few hours."

Kitty swallowed hard as she took a step backwards, keeping Georgie behind her and trying to keep an eye on both men. Parsons was standing directly in front of her and Brewer had moved to her side, matching Parson's pace to make sure she had no way of escape. "Then what are you doing here now?" She asked already having an idea why.

Parsons and Brewer took another couple of steps towards her, which she countered by moving backwards again. "Well," Parsons grinned hungrily. "I got to thinking of you being here all alone with no one to keep you company until it's time to go and I figured maybe I'd fix that for ya." He moved even closer.

Kitty reached behind her and gently moved Georgie slightly back and away from her as she continued her retreat from the advancing man in front of her. "I… uh…" She took a ragged breath. "I don't need company. I'll be just fine alone here." She looked to her right but Brewer was right there, she doubted she'd be able to get past him.

Parsons chuckled. "Maybe, but then again maybe I don't care what you need. It's what I need that's important to me." He took more steps, backing her further until she was now literally backed against the wall with Georgie firmly attached to her side, wide eyes looking with fear at the two men who had backed him and Miss Kitty into a corner.

"NO!" Kitty snarled at him. "You touch me and…"

"And what?" Parsons asked when she hesitated. "You gonna tell your Marshal? Or maybe you'll tell my boss. Huh?" He laughed as he moved closer still and reached out a hand, running it along her face. "Tell ya a secret." He moved his hand along her jaw line and then further down. "I ain't worried about either of them cause I ain't gonna force ya to do nothing ya don't want to."

Kitty's brow arched in confusion. "You're not?"

He stilled his hand on her collar bone and grinned. "Nope." He looked over his shoulder at Brewer who'd also closed the distance between them and was standing uncomfortably close to her side. Within the span of a heartbeat, Brewer reached out and grabbed Georgie by the arm and pulled him into his grasp, holding him tightly.

Parsons watched the expression of fear and utter loathing light on Kitty's face as she realized what he planned. "I ain't gonna force ya." He told her. "But if ya don't agree to spending a little time with me and my friend here, I will kill that kid. Graham may have a problem with getting shed of the brat, but I ain't."

Kitty swallowed even harder as she returned Parsons' stare before looking down at the frightened child, who was struggling to get away from the monster that had him so tightly in his grip. "You're boss wouldn't be too happy to find out that you hurt either me or him." She warned.

Both men laughed this time. "He ain't gonna know." Parsons told her, his hand was moving lower again.

"Oh yes I would." Graham spoke from the door, eliciting groans from both of the men and a palpable relief from Kitty. "Step away from the lady, Parsons." Graham moved into the building with a gun in his hand. "I do not want either her or the boy harmed but I will not hesitate to kill either one of you."

Instantly Parsons removed his hand and Brewer let go of Georgie, who promptly kicked him then ran back to Kitty's side. "Boss, uh… we was just…"

"I know what you were 'just'." Graham snapped at him. "And for two cents, I'd drop you right here. But I still have use for you two. Now get out of here and get back to your posts."

Instantly both men quit their places in the shack and left without a backward glance. Graham watched them go then turned back to Kitty. "I have to ride back to my ranch to attend to something but I will be back. I plan on trading you and this boy for the deed to the Henderson's ranch." He told her. "And as tempting as you are, and you are tempting, neither I or my men will touch you until that deal is done."

"You won't touch me after it's done either." Kitty said coldly.

Graham, who'd already turned for the door, smiled. "As I said before, we'll see."

TBC