Monday, September 24, 2012

Set Fire to the Rain 2, Ch. 4 "Back to Civilization"


This fanfiction is intended for mature readers due to the vivid depiction of a consensual adult relationship.  The setting is First Season, post-The Preacher.  The locations/events in this fanfiction bear absolutely no resemblance to actual Kansas geographical features or historical fact.  I’m making this stuff up as I go.

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Dempsey McCray slowly raised his hands up as Matt Dillon held Coy Wills’ borrowed rifle to his back.  “Kitty, wake up!” Matt urgently called and then said roughly to McCray, “Turn around, you bastard.” 

Sapphire-blue eyes opened sleepily and then widened with a gasp as she caught sight of McCray and then another man leading his horse through the trees downstream.  She hurried to stand behind Matt, wrapping her arms around his waist as he continued to point the rifle at both the men. 

“Who are you?” Matt demanded.  “What’s the idea of sneaking up on a defenseless woman like that?” he directed at McCray.  Matt’s face was thunderous with anger.

“I didn’t mean any harm!” McCray protested.  I was just out here with my business associate…”  He gestured to the well-dressed, gray-haired man leading his horse toward them who urgently questioned, “Mr. McCray?  Whatever is the matter?  I’m sure there must be some sort of misunderstanding...” 

Matt asked over his shoulder, “Kitty, are you alright?”

“Kitty?”  The well-dressed man called out curiously.  “As in Kitty Russell?  Kathleen Russell from Dodge City?”  Hepley averted his eyes politely when he was close enough to realize what was going on. “Oh my…”

Matt spoke for her.  “Who wants to know?”

“Irving Hepley, Mister…?”

“Marshal.  Marshal Matt Dillon.”

Hepley spoke hurriedly, clutching his hands together and looking toward the cloudless sky the whole while, “Miss Russell, I do apologize.  I am your uncle’s lawyer.  When you did not show up, I became worried.  My associate here, Dempsey McCray, and I just set out this morning looking for you.”  He cleared his throat as he continued to gaze toward the heavens.  “It seems we’ve found you.”

Kitty maintained an embarrassed silence as she peered around Matt’s arm at the two men.  She whispered to Matt, “Your gun…”

Matt grudgingly lowered the rifle and McCray glanced over his shoulder quickly to get a good look at Kitty, then his face lit in recognition.

“Say, I know you, little gal!”

Hepley placed a cautioning hand on McCray’s arm, but he continued.  “How could I forget hair like that?  And those eyes…  Yeah, don’t you remember me?”

Kitty’s face burned in humiliation, and Matt quickly demanded, “Gentlemen, I need you to clear out of here if you don’t mind.”  He cast a smoldering glance at McCray.  “Now.”

Hepley stuttered, “Of course, Marshal.  I apologize for our manners.  We’ll head on back to Cimarron now that we’ve found you.  Will you try and catch up?”

“Yeah, Hepley, we’ll meet up with you in a little while.  We can find our way.”

McCray shot one last smirk at Kitty behind the Marshal as he headed back to his horse, and he and Hepley rode away.

Kitty swore vehemently, “Damn that man!”  She waited until they were completely out of sight before she let Matt loose, grimacing when she realized what a tight grip she’d had on him.  “I didn’t hurt your side, did I?”

“No, I’m fine,” he grunted.  He was plainly put out.

She tiptoed and stretched her arms around his neck.  “Are you ashamed of me, Matt?” she whispered.  “Are you ashamed to be with me?”

“No, honey,” he said softly.  “You did what you had to do to survive.  This country’s hard on women…” he said as he stroked her smooth back, gave her a lingering kiss and then sighed, “Get dressed and let’s get on outta here.  Daylight’s a wastin’.”

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“Chin up, Kitty,” Matt muttered under his breath as they approached Hepley and McCray on horseback.  “Don’t let that son-of-a-bitch get the better of you.  If he so much as looks at you cross-eyed, Kitty, I swear I’ll…”

She looked back at him and quickly kissed his cheek.  “You’ll do no such thing, Matt Dillon.  I can take care of myself.”

Matt grumbled under his breath as Buck trotted abreast of the other horses, and he slowed him to a walk. 

Hepley smiled, “Ah, I see you made it!  Wonderful, we’re nearly to Cimarron.”

Kitty knew she and Matt both looked like a couple of ragamuffins after their morning ordeal, in their mud-stained, rumpled clothing and tousled hair, but she held her head high and confidently spoke up, “Mr. Hepley, we ran into a lot of trouble on the way.  We lost all our belongings and my horse.  Marshal Dillon and I have nothing except the clothes on our backs.”

McCray’s eyes narrowed and she could tell he was about to make an impolite remark, but Matt stared him down, daring him to open his mouth.  Matt added, “We’ve been through a rainstorm, a flood, and just today, a mudslide that could’ve killed us both.  We’ve gone through a lot to get here, Hepley.”

Hepley finally spoke, “Oh my, I had no idea…”

Kitty tucked her long hair behind one ear and continued, “We need money for new clothes and supplies while we’re here, Mr. Hepley.  Do you think you could arrange a cash advance on my uncle’s estate?”

“Most assuredly, Miss Russell.  I would be glad to do that for you.  I would have suggested that you wire your bank for funds, but I have been told that the telegraph wires are actually down in several locations due to the flooding.  I hope that they will be repaired soon, but one never knows.”

“Thank you, Mr. Hepley.  You’re very kind.”  Kitty felt Matt’s hand squeezing her arm reassuringly.

“We’ll go straight to the bank, Miss Russell, and then you can either go to the hotel or the mercantile to purchase some supplies.”  Hepley bowed his head in her direction.  “I’m so sorry that you’ve had such difficulty on your journey.  Mr. McCray and I shall do our utter best to see that your stay in Cimarron is uneventful.”

McCray’s eyes narrowed at her.  “Yeah,” he smiled.  “I’ll see to it…”

tbc

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