Chapter 8

Outside

Matt and Festus could hear the yelling and the screaming. Matt's inner battle between Matt Dillon the Marshal and Matt Dillon the husband and father were at war. Right now Matt Dillon, the father, wanted to take action. He wanted to rush into the house and shoot each of the Willard brothers. Matt didn't care if each of them were armed or just one was. He wanted to get in there and get rid of anyone who was a threat to his family.

The multiple gunshots and the immediate silence practically stopped Matt's beating heart. There were two gunshots. Matt had no idea who was on the receiving end of those bullets. He could have just lost his wife and little girl. The Ronigers could have lost their little girls. He could have lost his wife and the Ronigers could have lost one of their little girls. He and Kitty could have lost Ruby and the Ronigers could have lost a child. There were so many possibilities.

Matt did not want to find out. At that moment, ignorance was bliss. If Matt stayed outside, he still had hope that his girls and the Roniger girls were alright. But once he went into that house, his life could change forever.

Festus walked over to Matt and saw the turmoil on Matt's face. "Matthew," he whispered.

Festus' voice broke Matt out of his trance. Matt knew right then and there that he needed to be Marshal Dillon. "Let's go." Matt drew his gun. Festus did the same thing.

Judson House

Kitty looked at the lifeless bodies of Marty and Johnny Willard and then over at Randy. She watched Randy slowly put his gun on the table. He was breathing heavily. After a few moments, Randy looked over at Kitty. They made eye contact with one another.

"I had to do it. I had to stop him," said Randy. "Our folks were decent God-fearing people. I was raised on the notion that there was one God and only one God. Calling yourself God is a terrible sin."

"And Johnny?" asked Kitty, pointing to his body.

"He would've killed me for killing Marty," said Randy. "And then he would've taken over for Marty. He worshiped the ground Marty walked on. He heard Marty say that he was gonna fetch you up, slow and painful. Johnny would've made sure it was done. I couldn't let that happen, Mrs. Dillon."

"How do you know it's Mrs. Dillon?" Kitty asked.

"The ring on your finger," Randy answered, pointing to Kitty's left hand.

Kitty glanced down at her left hand. Hearing sniffles, Kitty suddenly remembered Ruby and the Roniger girls. Angry with herself for briefly forgetting about them, Kitty hurriedly went to them. She pulled them to her, consoling them with her soothing words."

"Momma, you have an owie lip," said Ruby. "Does it hurt?" She noticed the blood on her momma's upper lip.

Kitty gingerly touched her upper lip. "Not too much. I'll be okay."

"Daddy can kiss it all better," said Ruby.

"I know he can," Kitty agreed.

Shortly after Kitty uttered those words, the front door burst open. And there stood Matt Dillon, larger than life, with his gun drawn. Kitty and the girls turned towards the door. Their hero had arrived.

"Hold it!" Matt angrily commanded. "Put your hands up and don't move." Randy did as he was told. "Cuff him, Festus."

"You bet, Matthew," said Festus. He took the handcuffs he had hooked to his belt and walked over to Randy.

"Wait," said Kitty. "Matt, I think you should know that Randy Willard saved our lives."

Now that things had calmed down, Matt was able to observe the scene around him. He saw the bodies of the other two Willard brothers lying on the floor. It dawned on Matt that it was those two who had received the two bullets. Matt looked at Randy, who still had his hands in the air.

"You can put your hands down," Matt told Randy.

"Should I cuff him, Matthew?" Festus asked.

"Not now," Matt replied. He turned his attention to Randy. "You're gonna help Festus bury your brothers. You can bury them behind the house."

"Marshal, I know what me and my brothers did was wrong," Randy admitted. "I ain't gonna deny that. But I want ya ta know that I ain't the one that killed the bank teller. I wanna make sure I ain't the one to see the end of the rope for somethin' I didn't do."

All Matt could do was nod his head. By this time, Kitty had taken the girls into the bedroom. They had seen enough. Festus and Randy dragged Marty and Johnny's bodies out of the house. After finding a shovel, they buried the bodies a hundred feet behind the house.

Matt noticed Kitty and the girls had gone into the bedroom. He went to join them. "Are you girls alright?"

"Yes, daddy," Ruby said softly. Rosie and Ruby shook their heads yes. "Daddy, you have ta kiss momma's owie lip better."

Kitty's injured lip did not go unnoticed by Matt. When he first saw it, his blood boiled. Injury to the love of his life filled him with anger. Her lip was injured. However, she was still alive. Ruby, Rosie, and Mary were still alive. Matt had to focus on that.

Matt walked over to Kitty and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. "Better?" he asked.

"Much better," Kitty replied with a smile. She would tell Matt how her lip ended up being split at a later time.

Afterword

Randy Willard

Festus took Randy to jail that evening. After securing Randy in one of the jail cells, Festus walked over to Doc's office to let him know that Kitty and the girls were okay. It was late, but Festus was sure that Doc would not mind being woken up. If anything, Doc would be upset if Festus didn't wake him up to tell him the good news.

A week later Matt took Randy to Hays City for his trial. Judge Brooker listened to Randy's case. During the trial, Judge Brooker learned that Randy ended up being a part of his older brothers' evil ways after their parents died. Randy told Judge Brooker he never would have followed his older brothers, if his parents were still alive. Judge Brooker believed Randy would not have gotten involved with his brothers if their parents hadn't died. He also took into consideration what Randy did to save Kitty and the little girls. With that knowledge, Judge Brooker gave Randy a lighter sentence. Knowing he wouldn't see a rope or a long prison sentence, Randy gladly accepted the sentence that was handed to him.

The Judsons

The Judsons returned home the following day. Cora hated the reason she and Raff stayed at the Dodge House, but she would always remember her first and probably only stay at a hotel. When Matt went to the Dodge House to let Raff and Cora know they could return, Cora showed concern for Kitty and the little girls by asking how they were. Matt reassured Cora that they were all fine, and he promised to bring Kitty and Ruby out there someday, so Cora could meet Ruby. Cora looked forward to that. Matt also told the Judsons about Marty and Johnny Willard being buried a hundred feet behind the Judsons' house. Malt felt as though they had a right to know there were bodies buried back there.

Rosie and Mary Roniger

Matt and Kitty decided, that night, it would be best to take Rosie and Mary home. They promised Ruby and the girls that Rosie and Mary could sleep over another night. Matt and Kitty knew that if the tables had been turned, they would not want to be told the next day. They would appreciate being told as soon as possible.

When they took the girls home, Kitty, Ruby, Mary, and Rosie were in the buggy, with Matt riding Buck next to them. After dropping the girls off and leaving the Roniger home, Matt tied Buck to the back of the wagon and drove the buggy with his girls.

Kitty felt absolutely guilty over what had happened. She repeatedly apologized to Will and Bess, but they would hear nothing of it. They told her it wasn't her fault and they put no blame on her. In fact, they praised her for keeping the girls safe.

Rosie and Mary seemed to be handling things well. The girls did share a room, but they had their own beds. However, for several nights after the ordeal, they slept with each other in the same bed. One night they would sleep in Rosie's bed and the following night they would sleep in Mary's bed.

Ruby

Like Rosie and Mary, Ruby seemed to be handling things well. Matt and Kitty remembered what Doc had told them after Ruby was rescued from her kidnappers. Don't force her to talk about things, but if she wants to talk, let her. They decided to follow that advice.

By the time they returned home, it was very late. Ruby had fallen asleep on the way home. Kitty asked Matt to carry Ruby to her bedroom. He would take care of Buttercup and the buggy later. Ruby was in such a deep sleep that she didn't even stir when her parents changed her out of her dress and into her nightgown. While Kitty was tucking Ruby into her bed, Matt asked if Ruby should sleep with them. Kitty told Matt she felt Ruby would be okay in her own bed. Before leaving the room, Kitty made sure that Annie and LuLu were on both sides of Ruby. Ruby slept through the night and stayed in her own bed.

The next morning, when Ruby woke up, she realized she was in her own bed. The biggest clue, that she was home, was seeing her dolls. She didn't remember how she got there, but she guessed she fell asleep in the buggy. It was sunny in her room, so that meant it was morning. She climbed out of bed to find her daddy and momma.

Since Ruby slept in her own bed that first night, Matt and Kitty figured she would the next night. However, that wasn't the case. Ruby wanted to sleep with her parents. Kitty considered encouraging Ruby to sleep in her own room, but then changed her mind. She and Ruby had been through anguish. Kitty wasn't sleeping alone. She had Matt with her. So, if Kitty wasn't sleeping alone, then why should Ruby?

Not wanting to make it a habit of Ruby sleeping with them, Matt and Kitty let Ruby sleep with them for a few nights. The morning after the first night Ruby slept with her parents Matt woke up with Ruby's little feet in his face. Kitty of course found it very funny. Matt did too. No one was quite sure how Ruby ended up with her feet in Matt's face. The next few nights they stayed in Ruby's room until she fell asleep. A week later, not only was Ruby in her own bed, but Matt and Kitty no longer stayed with her until she fell asleep.

A couple of weeks later there was a thunderstorm. Thunderstorms usually didn't bother Ruby. This time it was different. This time Ruby was afraid that bad guys would come to the house to get out of the storm. Matt and Kitty reassured their little girl that daddy would not let any bad guys stay at their house.

Kitty

The nightmare with the Willard brothers did not cause future nightmares for Kitty. She was a resilient woman. This wasn't the first time Kitty had been through some sort of distress. Sleeping with Matt next to her also helped keep the nightmares away.

Kitty did have trouble dealing with her guilt over what had happened. She irrationally blamed herself. Given the chance to do things again, Kitty would have stayed at the Ronigers until the storm had passed.

Kitty was also afraid that Matt and the Ronigers blamed her. Matt did his best to convince his wife that none of what happened was her fault. He knew Kitty would never initially put their daughter in danger. Matt was having trouble getting through to Kitty, so he enlisted Doc's help.

Doc was able to work his magic. He was able to get through to Kitty that it was not her fault and nobody blamed her for what happened. Matt wasn't sure how Doc did it, but figured it was Doc's fatherly way with Kitty that did the trick.

Matt

Matt did not have any nightmares following the Willard ordeal. The ordeal itself was Matt's nightmare. As a lawman, his biggest fear was his family would be put in danger because of his job. That nightmare never ended. Matt was always afraid that an outlaw or some outlaws would use Kitty and Ruby to get revenge against him or would use them to get Matt to do what they wanted.

What Matt didn't know was how the Willard brothers connected Kitty and Ruby to him. Matt knew that Kitty would not offer that information. When Matt asked Kitty about it, she revealed to him that Ruby proudly told the Willard brothers that he was her daddy. Kitty explained to Matt what led up to Ruby telling them he was her daddy. They both agreed they would talk to Ruby about who she told that Matt was her daddy.

Like Kitty, Matt irrationally blamed himself for what happened. He told Kitty he should have taken more action when he got the telegram from Sheriff Parrman. He should have searched the prairie for them. Kitty told him that was ridiculous. What did he expect to do, comb the prairie until he found them? Doing that would take him away from his family. If he did encounter them, who knows what the outcome would have been. Kitty and Ruby could've permanently lost Matt. Matt finally realized that blaming himself was the same as Kitty blaming herself. He told her she wasn't to blame and finally accepted it himself.

The End