There's Always Tomorrow Part 13

INCOGNITO

Author's Note: "There's Always Tomorrow" is a continuing series starring Matt and Kitty. It began right after the 7HTD episode and has continually moved through time. Each story stands on its own with new adventures and drama. But new characters come and go, and the calendar rolls on. Dodge City has changed a lot since Matt did rounds, and so has the United States Marshals service, never more so than in this tale.

If this is the first one from my series you've read, I hope you'll catch up on some of the others. In "Incognito," set somewhere around 1888 with Matt in his late forties, Marshal Seth Bullock reprises his role from my story "Double Duty", as do Matt's boss Griffith Price and Marshal Tripp Townsend from my story "The Anniversary." Those two, along with "Full House," set the stage for what I hope you'll enjoy here.

"There was never a horse that couldn't be rode and never a man who couldn't be throwed." . . . Matt Dillon in "There Was Never A Horse"

INCOGNITO: CHAPTER 1

Matt's eyes were glued to the ground as he jogged Buck down the road to town. This manhunt was about as easy as one could get, yet so important his concentration never wavered. The boy had learned his basic lessons well about tracking and being tracked, as was clearly evidenced when he headed his horse off the old buggy road and into the creek. The part the youngster had forgotten was to stop every now and then to let the water clear when the creek ran low this time of year, and Matt knew by the sediment the big gelding was churning up that he was closing the gap. But the large drops of rain that were starting to fall could murk up the whole creek. He rode on for another few minutes before reluctantly reining in to put on his slicker. Buck stood quietly, then pawed the water impatiently. Even without his horse telling him, Matt knew the water was November cold.

There were a few more things a marshal who'd spent years riding this road and decades more tracking knew too, like how the bank was going to run steep on the east side in less than a mile. So he let Buck seek the dry ground of the buggy road again, knowing his quarry would have to pop back out onto it soon. He pulled his collar tight to his neck while Buck flipped his ears back to avoid the intensifying rain, and they plodded slowly forward. There wasn't any hurry.

"My God, look at that." he thought to himself when Red scrambled up the bank from the creek with the precious cargo on his back.

"HOLD IT, SON!"

The jig was up. Jake pulled Red to a stop and turned to watch his father close the fifty feet between them. He knew the chase was over. What he didn't know was how he'd ever explain why he was here.

Stirrup to stirrup, Matt stood next to the boy, his electric blue eyes boring a hole in him. "Where you headed?"

"Jetmore." Jake met his father's stare, but his lips were trembling from the cold.

"Jetmore, eh?" Matt was aware of the huge drops of rain splattering on his slicker. He gave a quick thought to snatching Jake off the horse and tucking him under his slicker, but a boy had to learn lessons, and a father needed answers. "That's pretty near thirty miles, Jake. You got any food with you?"

"No Sir. I left in kind of a hurry."

"I see," Matt pretended to understand, while completely confused by what was transpiring. "You got a gun so you can bag a rabbit if this weather ever clears?"

"No Sir." Jake answered through increasingly trembling lips, determined not to let the big man see him shiver.

"Well, how about money, then? You got any money on you? Sometimes you can run across some drifter camped along the way who has some beans or jerky he'll sell."

"Course not. I'd have had to steal money from the desk drawer."

His jaw muscles rippling, Matt took as long a look at the boy as he could bear. The little fella was tugging at his heart strings. "You stole my horse. Money wouldn't have mattered."

"Red belongs to Luke and me," Jake countered defiantly. "Not you anymore."

"He belongs to me, Jake. He's got a United States government brand there on his hip. I told you and Luke you could ride him. Didn't say anything about taking him to Jetmore. You'll need a bill of sale to cross the county line or the sheriff'll pick you up."

Matt studied the pitiful expression on his son's face, wishing more than anything he could know what had spurred this odd turn of events. But Jake was visibly shaking now, and there was no more time for a lecture.

"Maybe you could head to Jetmore tomorrow, Jake, after the weather clears. For now you could crawl up here with me and get under this warm slicker. There'll probably be a hot bath waiting at home and plenty of food in the kitchen."

With only a forlorn nod in agreement from Jake, Matt reached over and plucked his little boy off the big sorrel gelding, putting him in front of him on Buck's saddle so he could shelter the two of them underneath the slicker. There was no argument from the miserable, quivering child. Then he dallied Red's reins around Buck's saddle horn and set out for home. Jogging along that old buggy road with Jake cradled against him, his thoughts drifted back to the first time he'd warmed this precious life inside his coat . . . some eight years ago in that godforsaken shack down on Bluff Creek. Abandoned and nearly dead, the only chance the newborn had to live was in his rescuer's arms. A man couldn't very well let a helpless baby die out on the prairie. It made him wonder what could possibly have changed for Jake now, after the eight wonderful years they'd shared since he adopted him.

XOXOXO

Even a man who'd been used to spending half his life out in the cold had to admit that the barn felt mighty good. Silently, Matt watched his son out of the corner of his eye while he unsaddled both horses and tossed hay in front of them. As an afterthought, he grabbed a dry saddle blanket from the wall and handed it to Jake. "You can wrap yourself up in that while I finish here," he offered. Jake draped the blanket around his shoulders, then headed to the oat bin and scooped out feed for the horses. "That's more like it," Matt thought silently. "Maybe he'll start talking."

"You know where Tupe is?" Matt asked while he watched the boy feed and then fill the water pails.

"Went up the hill to bring in the mares."

"Then how'd you get your saddle on Red?"

"I tossed it up on that stack of hay bales, then stood up there to get it on him. . . I'm not a sissy." he added remorselessly as an afterthought.

Matt had left a redhead up at the house who was worried sick when she'd told him Jake was missing. But at least one mystery had been solved. Jake had snuck off after Tupe left to gather the mares. "Never said you were, Jake. Finish your chores there, and let's talk a minute before we go up to the house."

Jake craned his neck so he could meet the big man's eyes. "You like that I can do chores?"

"Always have, you know that. And I like that you're clever enough to saddle a horse that's much too big for a man your size." He took a seat on one of the hay bales and waited for the boy to close up the oat bin.

"Why didn't you tell your momma where you were headed?" Matt questioned the eight-year-old who finally sat down on the hay bale next to him.

"She's not my momma," Jake let slip.

The boy had given him another clue. Matt tilted his head and stared Jake down, searching for an explanation to his outburst. "Excuse me?"

Jake hung his head. "Nothin'. I didn't mean nothin.' I meant cause she's so nice to me and I didn't want her to know I was leavin'."

"She's more than nice, Son. She loves you with all her heart. I do, too. Maybe for all that love you'd sit down here for a minute and tell me why you figured you had to run off."

Jake ignored Matt's request to sit, facing his father square on. "Cause of Bo Henry, I reckon."

Matt knew exactly who Bo was. Jake and Luke had invited Bo to the ranch twice to fish and hunt a month ago. But he'd quickly worn out his welcome when Kitty caught him stealing money from her reticule, and then a pair of Tip's spurs had turned up missing as well. The youngster had been passed from foster home to foster home because of such rebellious habits during his thirteen short years on earth, but time and new opportunities had finally run out. Bo had stolen a horse and made it all the way to Hays before the sheriff caught him and handed him off to Kansas Child Welfare once and for all.

"He say something to you in town?"

Jake studied the ground for a few moments. When he looked back into his father's eyes, tears were starting to roll down his rosy cheeks. "Yeah. He said I'm not a real Dillon cause of how I'm adopted like him."

As hard as it was to hear, Jake's answer made sense to Matt. The whole quandary had started innocently enough a couple of years ago when Sara learned where foals came from, applied her arithmetic skills, and determined that a mare could only have one foal each year. Shortly thereafter when Kitty was explaining human reproduction, Sara figured out that Jake and Luke couldn't possibly be brothers. Before the situation got out of hand, he and Kitty had called a family meeting and carefully explained to all three children that Jake was adopted, and why that was the most special honor any boy could earn. It was a bittersweet memory, capped off by an impromptu, heart-wrenching speech from Luke about how great it was to have a brother to love. But Matt had been an orphan himself, and in the back of his mind he knew there was always a chance that Jake's Achilles heel could fester. It wasn't hard to recall all the self-doubts he'd had about his own foster parents and the need to prove his worth while he was growing up.

"He didn't tell it to you straight, Jake. He never was adopted like you. Bo's mother and father didn't want him and gave him up to the State of Kansas. The man and woman who birthed you died out on the prairie. Your momma and I adopted you so you could be a real Dillon for the rest of your life. There's a big difference."

Jake was beginning to think his time spent here in the barn was a lot better spent than out in a cold rainstorm. He tossed the blanket next to him on a hay bale and took a seat so he could learn more. Watching the boy look up at him, Matt decided his young mind could handle more details, so he went on.

"Jake, it's like this. When a man and woman decide to adopt a son, it's because they want that boy so much that they can't imagine life without him. They sign papers with the state promising to love and care for him as one of their own forever. And once those papers are signed, that boy has their name and everything that goes along with it, even after he's all grown up."

"Really?" Jake's eyes widened. "Even the lake?"

"Yeah." Matt drew his hand across his mouth to swipe away the start of a grin. He was dealing with an eight-year-old, after all. "Even the lake."

The tears had stopped, revealing clear brown eyes eager to hear more. "So it's pretty special to be adopted." Jake announced, head cocked, looking for reassurance.

"It's very special. Tell you what. If you'll put off that trip to Jetmore, I'll take you to Dodge tomorrow and you can learn all about adoption from Judge Brooker."

"But Grampa said he's not a real judge anymore."

"He's retired. That means he doesn't work his job anymore. But Jake, being a judge is just like your grandpa being a doctor. He has that title forever."

"Shoot." Jake traced a meaningless little circle in the dirt with his finger. "I reckon I don't need to go to Jetmore anyway. Probably no jobs up there for a man my age. Besides, I'd miss Momma a lot."

"And that's a fact. Every time I ride up to Jetmore I miss her, too." He cuffed his son gently on the shoulder. "You ready to head up to the house and let her have a hug?"

"Yep." He stood up, and to Matt's surprise, reached out to take his hand. "And maybe get some of that food from the kitchen you were talkin' about."

XOXOXO

"Oh, Matt. Thank heaven!" Kitty had been pacing the floor when Matt walked into the parlor, hand in hand with Jake. She knelt at her son's feet so she could draw him in for a big-boy hug. "Go upstairs and put on some dry clothes, Sweetie. Supper's waiting for you."

She waited until Jake disappeared at the top of the stairs and she heard him giggling with Luke. "Come clean, Matt. Where'd you find him?"

"Riding up the creek in the rain. Said he was headed for Jetmore to find a job. Remember that Bo Henry kid?"

"Ugh," she winced. "I remember him. I was sorry we ever let Jake and Luke have anything to do with him."

"You know how mean that boy was. It seems that Bo gave Jake a lecture about not being a real Dillon because he was adopted. It hurt Jake a lot, so he decided before the state came to take him away, he'd better run off like Bo did. He thought he was going to lose his home."

"My God, Matt." she said apprehensively. "We all adore him . . . every single one of us. Where did we go wrong?"

Gently, Matt drew his distraught wife into his arms, letting his hands run soothingly over her back. "We didn't do anything wrong, Kit. He's growing up. We can't shelter him forever. He'll run across all sorts of bad seeds like Bo, and he's going to have to figure out how to drive them out of his life."

tbc