It was barely dawn. Matt's head jerked up as a groan escaped his lips. His left side was on fire. He frowned and tried to concentrate. Why did he feel pain? He fell asleep, he should be dead.

"You're awake." Carl Grant was on the ground across from Matt, legs crossed in front of him. He had the lawman's gun beside him, his own weapon in his lap. Matt straightened up as best he could and leaned back against the tree. "I fell asleep. You took my gun, but didn't shoot me." He tone was matter-of-face.

"I thought about it. Had my gun pointed right at you, but it don't seem right to kill a sleeping man. Maybe my pa woulda done it. I hardly knew him, but from what you said, he shot a woman and her little girls just to rob them. I reckon I'm different from him. Fathers and sons ain't always alike." Carl looked thoughtfully at Matt. "What about you? Your kids act like you?"

"I don't have children."

"Why not? You're old enough to have a parcel of kids."

"Never married."

"Why the heck not? A big, strong, respectable man like you, musta had plenty of women who were willing."

"This job of mine is risky. I didn't want to take a chance on leaving a widow and orphans behind. The thought of that just..." Matt shook his head. "My pa was a Texas Ranger. He was away a lot for work, but when he was home my mother'd get all lit up, like a tree with Christmas candles. He died, got killed on the job. My mother loved me, but without my father, it was like the sun was blocked from shining down on her. On top of that she was left with bills to pay, and a farm to run in a time of a real bad drought. She didn't last a year."

Carl leaned forward and listened hard, nodding slowly. "My ma never got over being sad when my pa was sent away. Raising us alone on that luckless dirt farm was hard on her. By the time she passed on, she'd been dead inside for a long time, a real long time. So it makes sense to me – I mean you not wanting a wife and kids, knowing there was a good chance you'd be taken from them." Carl looked thoughtfully at Matt. "I'm curious about something, after what happened to your pa, you became a lawman. Why's that?"

"Always had a read big need inside me, pushing me to protect folks, help 'em, see justice done. Turned out I was good at it, so I kept doing it. A lot of years went by. So many that the time's come for me to set it aside and give the badge to someone younger. I was leaving the job next month, then I was gonna marry the woman who's – well she's stuck with me through all these years."

"All those years without marriage. She must be some kinda woman."

"She is." An image of Kitty entered his mind. There'd be no chance to say goodbye, tell her how much he loved her. He pushed the painful thought away. "What about you, Carl? Before you made that promise to your pa, what were you gonna do?"

"California, probably San Francisco. I hear there's all kinds of work for a man willing to work hard. I'm good with my hands, and good with numbers too. I stayed here on the farm when ma was alive, then when my pa got back, but in my mind I always figured on making a good kind of life for myself. One different from the way I grew up. I don't mean something fancy or wanting to be rich – just working hard at a job I like doing, getting married, having a solid-built house that's nice to come home to. Maybe that's the kind of thing you want now too, Dillon, with the woman who's been by your side." Carl feel silent, both men were deep in their own thoughts. The loud cawing of birds drew their attention, and they looked towards the sky. A large black crow, with huge wings was circling above. He landed between Carl and Matt. Another followed, then another, and 3 more. The birds peered around with small, sharp eyes, cawing loudly even frantically. Startled by the sudden appearance of the large, boisterous crows, Carl scrambled to his feet and looked over at Matt. His eye widened with fear. He lifted his gun and fired.

Hotel Cimarron

It was barely dawn. The hotel clerk sat sleepily behind his desk with his head resting on his hand, doing his best to ignore the red-haired lady who was pacing back and forth. She paused and turned towards the stairs. "Doc, you're here. Let's get going." "Kitty, it's barely sun-up, we could not have have left one minute sooner. Did you get any sleep?" She shook her head. He took her arm, "Me neither. Let's see if the sheriff is waiting."They stepped out of the two story hotel, and were relieved to see Sheriff Taylor waiting outside with three horses. He tipped his hat. "Mrs. Dillon, I wasn't sure if you'd want to ride sidesaddle. I guessed not, but if you do, I can change your horse's saddle real quick." "You guessed right. Let's get moving." They quickly got on the horses and the sheriff took the lead. Kitty followed with Doc riding a bit awkwardly, behind her. He hadn't been on horseback in years, but Kitty was right, they might need to get into places a wagon couldn't go.

They followed the sheriff down the main road without speaking. 10 minutes in Johnny stopped and pointed. "You can see the ground is caked with blood. That's where I shot and killed Ben Grant." He swallowed hard. "He told me his pa made him and his brothers promise to kill Matt Dillon. Let's keep going." The gloomy parade moved on. After 15 more minutes of silent riding Doc pulled on his reins. "Hold on there." He pointed a few feet away. "Right there, dried blood in at least a couple of spots. Quite a bit of it by the color of the dirt. I guarantee there's been violence here, and if Matt got shot, this is likely where it happened. Where could he go from here, if he moved on his own?" Sheriff Taylor twisted around in his saddle and eyed his companions. "Well, there's a steep dirt hill on one side, with a narrow pathway going up. On the other side is a field of tall grass, as far as the eye can see. If Matt Dillon was shot but lived, it would be easier to move into grassland and hide, than struggle up the hill. Let's ride in and look for signs of blood." They rode in single file, looking for any sign that an injured man had gone by. The search felt aimless, long and hopeless. Kitty flicked her reins to catch to Johnny Taylor. "Sheriff, isn't there some better way to search. At this rate, in a field this large, it could be days before we find anything." Taylor looked at the woman he knew as Dillon's wife. His frustration at the situation, was made much worse because he had no answers for this strong and beautiful woman. "Ma' am, I think this is the only way we can…" The sound of a gunshot pierced the air. Three heads turned towards towards the echo. Johnny pointed west. "Let's go." They took off through the tall, thick grass as fast as they could ride.

TBC