With Doc beside him, Matt drove at a clip, knowing how eager his old friend was to see Kitty and little Gail. A stream of buggies and riders went by in the other direction, carrying boxes marked with the name, Sweetwater Too. Doc's bushy eyebrows flew up. "They all coming from your place?" Matt nodded proudly "Kitty started out by taking orders for the Sweetwater Cafe, the place she part-owned in St. Louis. Her business grew so much, she turned our storehouse into an actual shop that's open Wednesday through Saturday, 9 to 4. At first she just sold Sweetwater fruitcake and fudge, but she's added bags of their new kind of sweet called candy corn. Tastes like wax to me. You should try it yourself.
They turned up the path to the A-frame house, and saw Kitty waiting outside. Doc's smile grew huge beneath his mustache. Dressed a pink ruffled blouse and gray skirt, Kitty looked wonderful. The few pounds left from pregnancy, only added to her beauty. Doc scampered out of the wagon, like a man half his age and planted a kiss on her cheek. "By golly, Kitty it's good to see you. Where's the baby? Matt tells me she crawling around like crazy." Kitty took Doc's arm. "I'll take you in as soon as this husband of mine gives me a kiss, and tells me what happened with Jeb Sawyer's case." Matt grinned, "Jeb was found not guilty. As for the kiss, I was just waiting my turn." He lifted her chin. Their lips touched, and lingered. Seconds passed. Doc loudly cleared his throat. "All right you two, time for me to see little Gail."
In Town
In a corner of his office, Raymond Cunningham settled his corpulent figure into a large leather chair, and tiredly propped his feet up. He'd spent too much time standing and walking, and his gout was flaring up. He glanced around his new, expensively furnished office. Topeka was his latest hub of operation, and his first this far west. A man had to keep expanding to get richer. He heard the door squeak open and looked up expecting Billy. A scowl darkened his face. "What are YOU doing here?"
A lithe young man, closed the door behind him, and brushed a lock of black hair from his eyes. "Not a very warm welcome, father. Of course, your annual visits to my boarding schools weren't very warm either."
Using his cane, Raymond stood and crossed the room to sit behind his imposing, mahogany desk. He looked over the young man's face with distain. The 18 year old resembled his late mother, in a most unnerving way. "Answer. Why are you here, Calvin?"
"Funny thing about boarding school, father. Eventually one graduates. I did so last Sunday, and now I need a job. I was hoping to join your business. I did quite well in school, and …."
"Hire you?" Raymond laughed harshly. "You're useless." He opened the top drawer of his desk and gazed at the tightly bound piles of cash lined up like green paper bricks. He pulled a 5 dollar bill from a pile, and tossed it across the desk. "Here, don't say I let you starve. That would be bad for my reputation. Take that and go. I don't want to see or hear from you again."
Calvin swallowed hard. He knew his father never loved him, but had allowed himself a tiny hope he could earn the man's respect and forge a relationship of sorts. A childish fantasy. Calvin stared down at the money. He wished he could turn it down and storm off, but he was penniless and $5 was better than nothing. He reached out his hand to pick up the money. Raymond's eyes widened. His hand crashed down on Calvin's. "The ring on your pinky. It was your mother's wedding ring. Where did you get it?"
"Amy, the midwife who delivered me. After mother died in childbirth, Amy kept it for me, and sent it last month for my 18th birthday. She said it was my mother's last wish, so I'd have something of hers." Raymond's face reddened with fury. "The damn midwife stole it. I should have guessed when I couldn't find it. Give it to me. It's mine. I spent good money on that ring." Calvin quickly stepped back from the desk, still gripping the $5 bill. "The ring is all I have of my mother. It's mine." He raced out the door.
The Dillons
Matt smiled as he watched Doc and Kitty go into the house arm in arm, but he couldn't deny the cold feeling he had, deep in the pit of his stomach. Raymond Cunningham was the kind of man who faked evidence and made witnesses disappear. Beating him in court felt good, too good perhaps. He never give a thought to what Cunningham might do. "Mr. Dillon." A lilting voice broke into his thoughts. He turned and saw the curly-haired McDuff sisters walking towards him. Mary, the more outgoing of the two, patted her skirt pocket. "Mr. Dillon we got our pay, so before leaving for the day, we wanted to thank you for the raise. We already thanked Mrs. Dillon."
"You work hard and willingly – in the house, at the store, helping with Gail. Kitty thinks of the three of you as a team. You deserve a raise."
"A lot of bosses don't think that way, so we want you to know we appreciate it."
Jane, a bit older but much quieter than her sister, smiled shyly, "And we love working here."
"Glad to hear it." Matt tipped his hat. "You ladies have a nice evening. I'm heading inside, I can smell your McDuff stew from here."
Holding hands, the sisters ambled down the path and Matt hurried into the dining room. Doc was at the table, with 6 month old Gail on his lap. Kitty set down a steaming pot of stew, glowing with happy contentment. "Matt come sit. Doc, I'll put Gail in her high chair." "You'll do no such thing. I plan on sharing some mashed up morsels with her. Now, let's eat and I'll fill you in on the latest from Dodge."
The savory stew fast disappeared from their plates, as Doc told Kitty and Matt about Newley's new lady friend, Delmonico's expansion, and how the young doctor who worked with him, had an awful lot to learn. He was describing an invention that Festus dreamed up, when Matt heard low creak and stood, feeling oddly nervous. "That's the door. I'll see who it is." As he turned to go, Jane and Mary rushed in, looking confused and uncertain. Matt frowned. "You're back. Is something wrong?"
Mary shook her head. "No – I – I don't know. We were walking down the road when a man stopped us – a cowboy. He asked if we knew you – said he wanted us to give you a message. I told him you were right close and he could bring it himself, but he shoved an envelope into Jane's pocket and rode off. He didn't say or do anything mean but, like our daddy used to say, sometime you see an ill wind swirling 'round a man." Jane slowly nodded and pulled the envelope from her skirt pocket. "Here."
Matt tore it open. The note inside had words scrawled at the top. Topeka office 9am or this. Beneath was a drawing of a baby's crib. An arrow pointed inside. The crib was empty. The drawing was crude, but the message was clear. Matt quickly folded the note and shoved it into his pocket. "Don't worry ladies. It's not important. Sorry you were delayed. See you tomorrow."
Looking relieved, the sisters left and Matt returned to the table. Kitty's concern was clear in her voice. "Matt?" "It nothing, just about a case. Doc what were you saying about Festus, and some new invention of his?"
Topeka
Cigar between his teeth, Billy was about to knock on Raymond Cunningham's door when a thin young flew out of the office, and ran right into him. "Sorry." The dark haired youth hurried off.
"BILLY is that you? Get in here."
The cowboy strode in and closed the door behind him. "Who's the kid who ran off?"
"My useless son. I'll get to that at some point soon, but first things first. Did you get the job done?"
"Of course." Billy smiled with his cigar between his teeth. "Dillon knows either he shows up here like you want, or his kid goes missing. Best part is, I proved it could be done."
The Dillons
In the upstairs nursery, Matt and Kitty stood next to Gail's crib, watching her quiet breaths move in and out. A smile touched her tiny mouth as she slept. Kitty took Matt's hand and whispered, "Doc playing with her, wore her out. She went to sleep right away, and now she's having happy dreams." Kitty looked up at her cowboy. "Come, let's go to bed."
"You go ahead." Matt's eyes were still on Gail. "I'll be right along." Kitty carefully scanned Matt's face before squeezing his hand, and leaving. Matt reached into the crib and touched Gail's soft, red curls. She was so much like her mother, it squeezed his heart. Even at 6 months, he could see Kitty's fire, sweetness, zest for life all mixed into their daughter. Gail smiled again, and turned her head. Matt saw something under her pillow, and quietly pulled it out. His jaw clenched. It was Raymond Cunningham's business card. On the back were the words: tomorrow 9AM. Matt shoved the card in his pocked and leaned over his daughter. "I'll always protect you, always. I promise." He put on his best poker face and crossed the hallway to join his wife.
Kitty was waiting for him, arms crossed and eyes flashing. She stood silent until he closed the door behind him. "Matt, something's going on. What was in the note the McDuff sisters were given. Doc may fall for your – it's nothing – act., but this is me. Tell me now or it's going to be a very long night."
Matt sighed and sunk down on side of the bed. "Please sit." Alarms bells going off in her head, Kitty sat next to her husband. "Kitty, the case I won today was against the Cunningham Corporation." She nodded. "Owned by Raymond Cunningham. You've won other cases against him, right? He sounds like a horrible person."
"Yep. He's mean, ruthless, and very rich– the kind of rich that lets him hire others to do his dirty work, while keeping his own hands clean. Today, after I won my case, he stopped me in the courtroom and announced I'd be working for him – ordered me to be in his office at 9:00 tomorrow morning. I told him no, and left." Matt pulled the note from his pocket, and handed it over. Kitty took one look and all color drained from her face. "An empty crib. He's threatening Gail." Matt nodded. "And I just found this under her pillow." He held up the business card. "Whoever wrote that note, got into the nursery sometime today, and planted this. From now on, all doors have to be locked at all times, even during the day."
"What are we going to do?" Kitty's face was as white as a sheet. Matt put an arm around her. "Kitty I can't work for him, you know that." She nodded but – but, maybe you pretend to, and lose cases on purpose so he'll fire you. Or maybe you can compromise. Go tomorrow, and say you won't work for him, but you won't take any cases against him – or..."
He pulled her closer. "Honey, do you really think there's a snowball's chance in hell that a man like Cunningham will stop threatening us, if he doesn't get exactly what he wants?"
She bit her lower lip. "You're right."
"Kitty, you have to take Gail and leave until I straighten this out. Go back to Dodge with Doc, stay with the Ronnigers. You'll be safe there."
"Matt, you aren't thinking any straighter than I am. Do you really think I won't be found? Besides, if we run away, he'll know you're really scared. A man like that smells blood."
"You're right, so what do I do tomorrow morning? Go talk to him - ignore the threat – hire body guards for you and Gail.?"
"I don't know Matt, I just don't know."
Arms wrapped around each other, they talked long into the night.
TBC