A/N: I want to give a 'thanks' to my nagging editor, who just LOVED Carter and kept after me to bring him back in a story.

Rekindling the Flame

Chapter 1

Calleigh Off Kilter

"I spoke to Jonas and he's special-ordering balloons and these little toy whistles! I want to get ice cream. Lots of it. Oh, and a banner with streamers!"

"Calleigh." Kitty laughed softly, knowing that once the girl was on a rant, there wasn't any slowing her down—but she had to try. "Her birthday isn't for three more months!"

"That's what I'm saying—we don't have much time left!" Calleigh's focus stayed on Kitty as she reached for Hadley. Without looking ahead, she stepped into the path of a satisfied customer exiting the Prairie Rose. Both women instinctively grabbed for the child, to protect her. Before any such mishap could occur, the man grabbed Calleigh's arms, steadying both the young woman and the toddler.

The grateful young lady looked up into steel gray eyes. She wanted to say thank you, or I'm sorry, or even excuse me. But the sight of the stranger caused her blood to run cold and she couldn't utter a sound.

Kitty watched the color drain from her daughter's face and quickly snatched her youngest child from Calleigh's arms. "Sweet Pea, are you all right?"

The tall, fancy-dressed man was still holding Calleigh's arms. "Miss, are you okay?"

Calleigh sucked in a sharp breath and jerked free of his grasp. "Fine," she mumbled. "I'm fine." She looked to her mother, her heart in her throat and fear stretched across her face.

Kitty was quick to shuffle Hadley to her other hip and reached out with her free hand to pull her older child closer. She turned to the man still standing in the doorway. "Thank you. We'll be fine." She politely pushed past him, bringing both of her children inside. Tia, as usual, was right at the door to welcome her guests. Her smile faded slightly as she moved closer to her friend. For a moment, she was amazed at the way Calleigh's freckles stood out—bright as blood—against a pasty white background. Instead of their normal table by the window, Tia quickly led them to a secluded one in the back.

Kitty handed the baby to Tia and hovered over Calleigh as she took a seat. "I'm okay," the girl argued. "He just startled me and… I was afraid I was going to drop Hadley." She reached for the glass of water that Tia had signaled for the waitress to bring to the table.

"That wasn't just being afraid of falling! Talk to me, Calleigh. What in the heck was that! I have never seen you so afraid." Kitty looked back at the doorway as if to replay the scene. "Did you know that man?"

"No." Calleigh hoped her response hadn't seemed too quick. "I told you. I was just afraid that I would drop Hadley." She reached up, taking the child from Tia's arms. Calleigh hugged her tight, but to both women watching, it seemed that the closeness was more for herself than the toddler. All this being scrutinized was twisting her fear into anger. "I said I'm fine! Can we just order something?" As if to dismiss the two ladies, she turned her attention back to Hadley. "Are you hungry, baby girl?"

"Cake?"

A genuine smile surfaced, breaking the tension. "You can have cake, AFTER, you have some dinner. How about some soup?"

"Mmmm, like soup!" The tiny redhead nodded vigorously.

"I know you do." Calleigh got Hadley settled into the highchair and pulled it to the edge of the table. "Could you please, bring a bowl of vegetable soup and some rolls for each of us?"

Kitty ordered a bowl of soup, as well and a glass of tea. She watched as Tia disappeared into the kitchen before confronting her daughter again. "Are you feeling better now?"

Calleigh could find no way to completely ignore her mother. With a forced smile, she confronted the concerned redhead. "Really, I'm fine. I was just scared-"

"…That you would drop Hadley. Yeah. You said that." Kitty would not push, she knew better, but she wouldn't accept a lie either. "You still want to make plans for her party?"

"No. Like you said, we have three months."

It was the answer Kitty had expected. The tension hung between them, but they pretended not to notice as they worked their way through a series of unimportant, uninteresting subjects.

Despite her insistence that she was fine, Calleigh picked and poked at her meal. To top it off, she even passed on a piece of pie. Never had it been so obvious that something was wrong. "I completely forgot that I have to go out to the Braxton place. Wilma's down with lumbago again."

Kitty nodded, since she already expected some sort of excuse after the meal. "I understand. We can finish shopping tomorrow. You take the buggy and I'll go by the office to ride home with your Dad."

The young doctor was already on her feet, gathering her things. She kissed the tiny redhead and hugged the older one. "I'll be by later tonight. Love you both."

Hadley reached up her arms, ready to be removed from the contraption. Her momma slid hands under the pudgy, wiggling appendages and lifted the little one into her arms. "Come on, let's go see Daddy."

MKMKMKMKMK

Lincoln Forbes sauntered down Front Street with his usual cocky gait. He was a handsome man and was very aware of that fact. Hovering a little over six feet, he maintained a lean but muscular body for a relatively sedentary professional gambler. A mass of coal-black curls covered his head and invariably, one curl would droop down onto his forehead. That single curl and those steel gray eyes were like magnets to women. He had been a gambler for a long time and he was very good at it; but, if he couldn't win honestly, he was equally good at cheating. It took money to wear nice clothes, stay in the best hotels and eat in the finest restaurants. All of which were priorities to Forbes.

It was the incident at the restaurant that was preying on his mind right at this moment. That pretty young redhead at the Prairie Rose...two pretty ladies, actually. He'd also noticed the little one, which meant one of them was a mother, but he wasn't sure which one. Didn't matter; he would bed down with either of them—or both… Ooooh, possibly sisters? Hadn't done that since Waco. What he intended as a smile, blossomed into a sneer.

He pushed open the batwing doors of the Long Branch and looked around, before stepping inside. It was one of the nicest places he had been in for a while. It had been a long, hard ride to get away from Santa Fe—two weeks, to be exact; but he was pretty sure he was out of danger here.

Running was not in his nature, but he had messed up again. It was the whiskey. Too much always got him into trouble. Those things would never happen when he was sober. His hope now, was that Dodge would give him a place to rest until he could get to Denver. Lincoln stepped down the two steps and crossed over to the bar.

"Who do I talk to about a job? I'm a Faro dealer." Arrogance was a favorite trait of Lincoln Forbes. "A good one." He would have added 'honest,' but he would have had a hard time saying that with a straight face.

TBC