The scene opens at Boot Hill Cemetery, Marshall Santos kneels on one knee beside a plain stone marker and ponders a few thoughts.
"Around Dodge City and in the western territories, there is just one way to handle all the killers and the spoilers, and that is with a US Marshall and the smell of gun smoke. This is Mannysmoke, the transcribed story of the violence that moved west with young America and the story of a man who moved with it. I am that man, Danny "Matt Dillion" Santos, United States Marshall. Out here, I remind myself of how violence always ends, buried here in the rim of a nation on the edge of the wild frontier. Some were slaughtered aimlessly, the rest I killed. I'm a lawman and a US Marshall. Law comes hard to the frontier and men like these did not want it. And there are more men alive today who will come to Dodge City that do not want it. They are the drifters and the lawless, they have to be dealt with. I am the first man they look for and the last one they want to meet. It is a chancy job, and it makes a man watchful and a little lonely."
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The next morning, Michelle awoke to the sounds of wolves in the distance. She stirred and noticed the Marshall's absence. She stood up, trying to remove the wrinkles in her dress with the palms of her hands. She pinched her cheeks and went down to the creek to wash her face and hands.
Michelle heard a rustling sound and some twigs snapped. She looked towards the direction of the sound and saw the Marshall sitting watching a small group of deer. She laughed and the deer bounded off. He stood up and walked over to her.
"The Comanche's believe that the deer are special medicine teachers. If you see deer, you should stop and ask yourself if you could do more things to keep yourself out of trouble, to keep yourself from becoming overwhelmed with life's events. I was just watching them and thinking about this trip. It has been a little rough, don't you think?"
He did not allow her a chance to speak, "Those deer were black-tailed, and they are pretty rare in this part of the country. They only eat berries, grass, and brush. Every time I see them, I stop and think about how sensitive they are to their surroundings and how they will bound off at the slightest disturbance or wrong smell. If we were as attuned to the earth, I think we'd be better off as a people."
She looked up at him, who was this gentle man who was talking about the deer as a gentle medicine teacher? Was he the same man who had shot a marauder just three days ago? Why did she seem to have so much trouble listening to what he was saying when she looked directly at him?
They said little else before clearing the camp and preparing to ride. He picked her up this morning and sat her on the horse. Yesterday he had abruptly pulled her up. When he mounted the horse, she started to settle back into his arms but he pushed her forward. This man was full of contrasts.
The Marshall said, "Yesterday, I wanted us both to sit back on the mare, horses get tired too and need to be led sometimes. Today, she needs to know we are in charge and are heading somewhere."
Michelle asked him what she should call him. He suggested anything would do. She laughed at that and said, "Does that mean I can call you cowboy?"
"Well, I am not real partial to that. Your brother calls me Danny, that would be fine or you can call me Marshall if you wish to be more formal?"
"Oh after these last few days, you want to go back to formalities. Should I take that as an insult Marshall Santos?" She said the last line with a bit of a southern drawl, which made the Marshall a little bit nervous, and he shifted around in the saddle.
"Sure, I thought that was what a woman in your position would desire, being new in Dodge City and all. Hanging out with a lawman might hurt your reputation a little bit."
"Oh, so is my brother's reputation tarnished when he drinks with you all the time? Yes, I know a bit more about him than you might think."
"Miss Bauer, it is kind of early in the morning to fight don't you think? Why don't you sit back and enjoy the scenery." As soon as these words left his lips, he wanted to take them back. Obviously, she was waiting for just this invitation, because she leaned back into his arms and settled herself up against him. He knew that she had no understanding of what she was doing to him nestling up to him like that. She was obviously unschooled in some education areas, he could tell that. However, it did not make his discomfort any more palatable. Danny reasoned that it would be easier on her if she did lean back, less chance for saddle sores.
They stopped once outside of Dodge to let the Palomino drink from a creek. He helped her down off the horse and she sort of fell off as her dress hem tangled in the reins. He caught her and let her slide slowly down his body. He could not resist, he lowered his mouth to her rosy lips and tasted them. It was just for a moment, just to satisfy his curiosity. The kiss intensified and she parted her supple lips underneath his gentle onslaught. She put her arms around his waist and interlaced her hands, pulling him closer without realizing it. She heard him half groan, half murmur and he pulled away abruptly.
He said he needed some air and walked away from her. She stood there licking her lips slightly; they felt fuller somehow. She reached up and touched them. The hunt and peck kisses beaus at college gave her were nothing like this. Michelle realized that she liked the kiss and wanted more, she was a bit shocked at this revelation. When the Marshall returned and apologized to her, she felt shame at her wanton behavior.
Within two hours time they were in Dodge City. Danny deposited her at her brother's office, a small walkup over one of the saloons. Michelle thought to herself, what if someone were very sick, how would they climb all of these stairs? The Marshall followed her up the steps, she noted that he seemed to be watching her closely. Her brother, Doc, although surprised at her sudden arrival and disheveled appearance, was delighted to see her. They embraced in the usual Bauer way, a quick hug and embarrassed looks all the way around.
Doc Bauer thanked Danny and said that he would walk Michelle over to Eleni "Ma Smalley" Cooper's Boarding House. The Marshall tipped his hat to Michelle, smiled and said, "It was a pleasure ma'am," before retreating down the steps.
Michelle looked at her brother closely. He was such a contrast from Danny Santos. Sure, they had fought in the third Illinois Calvary together but what else did these two disparate men have in common? Her brother seemed to be wearing the same blue suit she'd seen him in five years ago. But he always wore blue ever since one lovely patient told him that the color blue accentuated the steel blue of his eyes (the poor woman died under Doc's care, she had a nasty fall that broke one of her arms and even though Rick tried to save her, he ended up saying it was useless). Good old brother Rick was always clean and well groomed, he prided himself on that. He wore a watch on a fob at his waist and wore a cloth tie, which seemed out of place in this western town. The Marshall's shirt collar was always open with two buttons undone. Rick's suit had a gray vest to which the fob was attached. He offered up that he needed glasses now when he made his own pills in the little apothecary.
She laughed and engaged him in a joke when she spotted his little black bag. "Rick do you still have the little black book in your bag? Do you still quote Leviticus and the stories of Lazarus?" Her brother hated this kind of jabbing. He was well read and told every one of this fact. He also liked to tell and distort for his own purposes native legends such as the rising of the Phoenix.
"Michelle, you must remember that a man is valued for his higher education in a small city like this. I have people that I must impress. My patients must believe in me when I treat them for their maladies."
Michelle looked at him, the three furrows in his forehead were more pronounced now after the passage of years, why hadn't some self realization sunk in as well? His old mustache was gone, thank goodness. He still had that annoying tick of touching his nose about ten times a minute when he made a point, though.
While she was visiting, a young male patient came in with a swollen leg. It was obvious to Michelle that the wound was from an infected abscess. But her brother wouldn't draw any conclusions, he shook his head, listened to the man's heart and said well we will have to wait and see. Michelle stepped forward and suggested the man start cleaning the abscess with whisky or some other type of alcohol to clean out the infection. The young man looked to Doc who stood scratching his nose and said that might be an idea.
Miss Bauer was appalled. She had forgotten about her brother's inability to make decisions and go out on a limb for a patient's welfare even if it was a little risky for himself. He was a candidate for sure for that new group forming back east, the American Medical Association. But that group was new and probably would never last, it was not like the practice of Homeopathy was ever going to become less popular.
Rick started grabbing his ear after the patient left and reprimanded her for interfering in his practice. Michelle had forgotten that bit with him pulling at his ear. She hated to say it but what her brother needed was a good woman. Normally she did not believe in the notions of changing a person but her brother could use some help in coming down off that high horse he liked to ride.
Still she told herself that her brother did the best job that he could with the limitations of modern medicine in a small town like this. They left the office and her brother showed her once again his sick form of humor, "Look Michelle, thirteen steps, the same as a man has to walk up to the gallows before he is hanged. Kind of telling, don't you think?"
"Yes, that is amusing brother," Michelle said. Although she was not exactly sure, what this told her about anything. Within two hours, Michelle had checked into the boarding house, taken a bath, borrowed some clothing from Eleni and had a light lunch. After quite a long chat and dinner with Eleni and some of the other boarders, Michelle walked over to the schoolhouse and planned her first lessons. She thought about the day, purposefully omitting the ride to Dodge this morning and that kiss.
She walked back to the boarding house and prepared for bed. She changed into one of Eleni's sheer cotton nightgowns (a bit suggestive but she figured Eleni's relatives were from Europe and Eleni had been married so...
Michelle liked the feel of the thin gauzy cotton on her body and the feel of the cool night air coming in through her open window.
She climbed into bed and turned off the kerosene lamp. She gave one quick glance outside her window and saw a figure looming, no sitting in the tree outside her window. She let out a bloodcurdling scream.
Within seconds, the man was in her room, standing beside her bed. He placed one gloved hand over her mouth and turned up the lamp, which still had some flicker left. The man removed his hand and she saw that it was Marshall Danny Santos.
Eleni Cooper came flying into the room with a Patterson in her hands; this was one strong and capable woman. She saw the Marshall and laughed. "Why Marshall Santos what are you doing here bothering my new tenant? This is very unlike you but I assume it is all government business?"
Eleni liked the Marshall and made no secrets about it. When she left Frank Cooper and his deadbeat gang, the first stop she made in town was at the Marshall's office. She knew he did not return her feelings but she wanted him to know nevertheless. Her trump card was the information she had on the Cooper gang. She dangled those tidbits in front of him whenever she could.
Sooner or later, he would come calling and then he could kiss the information out of her if he wanted it. So far her plan hadn't worked, it had been six months and Eleni was beginning to think that the Marshall might not be interested in anything other than his job. Therefore, bemusement was the best word she could think of to describe her feelings when she saw him tonight in Michelle's room.
Michelle murmured that everything was okay and Eleni left the room suggesting that she might want to put a shawl on if she was going to entertain the Marshall much longer. The new schoolteacher, reached for the purple shawl at the end of the bed and her gown slipped off her shoulder exposing a very desirable part of her anatomy. She quickly pulled the gown back up and Danny handed her the shawl.
Without thinking, he sat on the bed and held her arms. "I am sorry if I scared you. I just wanted to make sure you are safe. You are my best friend's little sister and I have to ensure everyone's safety in this town."
He laughed at his stupid lines. What was wrong with him? He bent down and brushed a kiss across her forehead. "I'll leave now, ma'am."
Danny left Michelle's room the same way he had entered it, through the window. What was it about this woman that got under his skin? Would the memory of seeing her undress in front of the window like that ever leave his mind and the sight of her in that sheer gown and her innocent eyes unknowing that she was baring herself to him? He hit his head against the tree again.
Damn, that hurt, he would have to think of some other way to clear his head. He would end up senseless like his deputy Jesse "Chester Goode" Blue if he did not watch out.
He had work to do, tomorrow he would ride out to check on some reports of horse thefts near the Spaulding gang's Rancherino (why Alan Spaulding had to call his ranch that dimwitted name always bewildered him). Yep, some good hard work would get that innocent schoolteacher out of his mind. He shook his head, Miss Michelle Bauer was proving to be more than a distraction, she was turning into an obsession.
Michelle felt very hot. She couldn't stop remembering the feel of the Marshall's hands on her; helping her down off the horse, catching her, kissing her and holding her waist, his hand over her lips and the lingering touch of his hands on the inside of her arms tonight. He'd trailed his gloved fingers down the inside of each arm while he spoke almost as if he had no idea of what it might be doing to her or the feelings this awoke in her body. Tomorrow after her lessons, she would go over to the courthouse and ask him to dinner and then she would promptly learn how to cook.
