Kitty lay on the ground for what seemed like forever before she could force herself to her feet. Her shoulder stung where the bullet had hit her. She didn't think it was too serious but she knew it would be if she didn't get moving. Once up, she began to run blindly into the woods. She had no idea where she was and no idea if the man who'd shot at her was chasing her or not. She assumed he probably was though and that thought spurred her on.

Though the woods were deep, they weren't as dense as she'd at first thought and she knew it wouldn't be too hard for someone to spot her if she couldn't find a place to hide. Stumbling again, Kitty stopped and leaned against a tree. She now heard the sound of someone running behind her.

Looking frantically around her, she saw nothing save a couple of newly downed trees with full branches to her right. She hurried over to them and buried herself in the deepest part of the branches hoping her pursuer would pass by without seeing her.

Matt was almost to the old farmhouse when he heard the shots. First one, then another. Looking in the direction from where the sound came from, he saw a man racing across a field, rifle in hand. Matt looked to where the man was running and saw a flash of blue. His heart raced as he realized what he just saw and he headed in that direction as well. Kitty had been wearing a blue dress.

Kitty lay as still as she could, trying hard to still her breathing and remain motionless as the man approached the trees she was hiding in. For what seemed like forever, the man stood within a few feet of her, not moving. From where she was, Kitty couldn't see his face but she didn't need to in order to know he would kill her if he found her. When he finally moved away, Kitty waited a while longer before getting back to her feet and starting off again.

Unfortunately, the man hadn't gone as far away as she'd hoped and she hadn't been able to run more than a few yards before he saw her and again gave chase. Despite her exhaustion and the aching wound in her shoulder, Kitty was still putting distance between herself and her pursuer until her foot got caught in an exposed root and she went down, face first, into the forest floor. She had just barely gotten to her knees when the man closed in on her, managing to grab her arm and pull her back to him.

"Got ya!" He snarled as he yanked her to her feet.

Kitty gasped when she realized who had her and gasped again when she heard another voice.

"Let her GO!" Matt stood straight, his pistol aimed directly at Dale Granger's head. "Hurting her won't help you get your boy off, Dale. He's going to stand trial and he's going to hang. Nothing you do will change that. But if you hurt her, your boy won't be the only one who dies."

Instead of letting her go, however, Dale pulled her even closer to him, wrapping an arm around her neck. "You try anything, Matt, and I will kill her." Dale warned. "I don't care what you do to me so much, but I care about my boy. He didn't kill that girl. He told me he didn't and I believe him. And I don't intend for him to die for something he didn't do."

"How is hurting Kitty gonna help your boy?" Matt demanded. "How? All that will accomplish is getting you hung along with him."

"No, it won't." Dale shook his head. "All you have to do is tell the judge that you were wrong. You have nothing to point to my boy. You tell the judge he's innocent and I'll let her go."

"It won't work, Dale." Matt shook his head. He was trying to remain calm but the sight of the blood on Kitty's shoulder infuriated him. "Now let her go!"

"No." Dale shook his head again and pulled Kitty backwards, taking steps away from Matt.

"Yes!" A voice sounded from behind Matt and all eyes were drawn to the young man who stepped around Matt and in between his father and the Marshal. "Pa, you gotta let her go. You know hurting her won't help anything. Besides, you're right. Rey didn't kill that girl. I did."

"What?" Dale's face slightly pale but he kept up his tight grip of his hostage. "What are you saying? Rey said you weren't even there."

"I was there, Pa." Tag's voice was strong and defiant. "I was there. But Rey told me to not to tell you. He said if you found out I did it, you'd have me hung yourself. He's always been your favorite and he knew you'd move heaven and earth to save him but not me. He kept quiet to protect me. But he didn't do it, Pa. I did."

"What happened in the village, Tag?" Matt questioned. He could see that Dale was beginning to relax his grip on Kitty and he didn't want to upset him but he needed to know. More importantly, Dale needed to know.

Tag swallowed hard and turned slightly to look at Matt. "The girl, Anya, and I… We were… were friends. I wanted more than that though. I wanted her and asked her to marry me. But she told me no. She… she said…" He stopped and shook his head, not wanting to repeat that conversation. "I was upset. I thought she wanted me like I wanted her."

Tag let out a breath and looked down. "The day she died, I… I took one of dad's liquor bottles and hid in the barn to drink it. Simpson found me in there and tried to get me to stop but…" He dropped his head. "I… I don't know. I got angry I guess. I don't remember what I said but I remember thinking that if I could just talk to her… I could…"

He stopped and looked up at his Dad. "I didn't mean to hurt her, Pa. I swear I didn't mean to. I just wanted… I just went to talk to her. At first she agreed to talk but when I tried to kiss her she got upset. I… I didn't know what to do and I… I was drunk. I don't remember everything but I remember hitting her to shut her up and she… she just kinda went limp on me. When she fell on the ground, I… she was just so pretty and…" He stopped unable to describe what happened next.

"Why'd you kill her, Tag." Matt asked. "When she told you no, why didn't you just leave."

"I don't know, Marshal." Tag's voice was tearful. "I don't. I just… I wanted her so much and…" He was began to cry, his chest heaving. "Rey pulled me off of her. He knew about her turning me down and when he couldn't find me on the ranch, he figured I'd gone to town. He found Simpson at the Long Branch and Simpson told Rey that I was going to go see Anya. I must've told him I was going there, I guess. I don't know. I just remember looking down to see her on the ground. Her…" His voice hitched. "Her dress was torn and there was blood and…." Tag couldn't continue as he dropped to his knees, his body wracked in sobs.

Dale let Kitty go, dropped his rifle and walked over to where his son sat on the ground. Tag recoiled when his father approached, expecting harsh treatment for what he'd done, but he was surprised. Kneeling down by his son, Dale gently gripped his son's shoulders. "Come on, Son." He sighed. "We've got some things to answer for."

Matt spared Dale and his son, only a glance as he rushed over to Kitty and pulled her into his arms. "How bad are you hurt?" He asked as he gently examined her shoulder.

"Oh, I'll live." Kitty shook her head. "How'd you know how to find me?"

"Long story." Matt answered as he wrapped an arm around her and began leading her back to his horse. "But that's for later. Let's get you back to town and let Doc have a look at you."

TBC