A Time to Grieve

One

The Dillon Ranch on Silver Creek - the morning after the wedding.

It was hours later, closer to dawn that he awoke and remembered the mare still hitched to the front porch rail. He rolled over on his side and gave some thought to easing his conscience and tending to the animal.

The first light of day cast a rosy glow in the room and he took that opportunity to study his sleeping bride. A smile gradually crossed his face as he remembered with some pride his endurance the night before, "I did give her a wedding night to remember, by golly." He thought as his smile grew into a soft chuckle, it had been a night he wouldn't be likely to forget either.

Ever so slowly, he raised himself from the quilted floor, his muscles were stiff and cramped and the thought came to him that he wasn't as young as he used to be. Considering that, his wedding night performance and subsequent encores were all the more remarkable. He took one of the blankets from the dresser and covered his wife with great tenderness.

He found his pants with the long johns still inside them lying in a heap on the floor. He smiled again, in an effort to be shed of them in last night's frenzy; he had taken off both pants and long johns at once. He left the underwear on the floor and pulled on only the pants. His shirt was still buttoned from the day before and he hastily pulled it over his head, and then tugged on his boots and left the room shutting the door quietly behind him.

Standing on his front porch he let the crisp morning air invigorate him. It promised to be a glorious day and he took a moment just to appreciate the world coming to life around him. He couldn't remember ever being happier than he was at that very moment. The mare interrupted his reverie with an impatient nicker.

"Hang on Lily Belle, there's enough of me to go around for all the females in the Dillon household," he said as he led the mare to the barn. Opening the doors he inhaled the familiar smells of hay, leather and horse manure, he found a match and lit the lantern, bringing sudden light to the barn. There in the center of the building was the brass bed. He laughed out loud at the sight of it, spooking the mare. He couldn't help but feel grateful to Bent and Burke; their little joke had added an extra measure of sweetness to the wedding night. With the mare bedded down he headed back to the house with the hopes of kissing his wife good morning.

GS GS GS

She lay on the quilt with pillows plumped behind her and a blanket barely covering her breasts watching him shave, there was something innately intimate in observing this purely male function. Striped to the waist as he was, she could watch the simple play of one muscle against the next as he raised and lowered his arms in performance of the chore. She felt a renewed appreciation for the male form. He caught her eyes in the mirror and smiled. Much to her own surprise Kitty returned his smile with a blush.

GS GS GS

The table at the corner of the front porch had been dressed for the occasion with a red-checkered cloth. Wild flowers left over from the wedding served as a centerpiece. Kitty had prepared that first breakfast with loving hands and now they sat together cocooned in the warmth of the wedding night's intimacies. She wore a simple cotton dress of blue, with her long hair pulled back and held in place by the pair of ivory combs Matt had given her for her last birthday. There was no powder or rouge to hide her face from his. Her freckles showed through making her look years younger and much more vulnerable. He thought she'd never looked prettier. As they ate their meal they shared remembrances of the day before, so much of it seemed to pass in a blur and they were eager to fill in the missing pieces of each other's wedding day puzzle.

"Miss Pry's cake was wonderful," Kitty mused and then chuckled as she added, "I thought she would swoon when you asked her to dance."

"She's not a bad dancer, "he replied taking a bite of toast, "for an old bat."

"Matt!" She scolded, gently swatting his arm.

He laughed; he seemed to be doing a lot of that lately, "It sure was nice to see so many old faces. Did you get a chance to talk with Thad and Sara?" he asked.

"Just for a bit, you know they're planning on leaving town pretty quick, maybe we could have them over for dinner before they go."

He raised his eyebrows in answer, "You up to that?" he asked.

"Oh Matt, Thad and Sara are like family, and I'd love to show off our home."

It was true Matt thought, Thad Greenwood had come to Dodge, a young man seeking to avenge his father's death, instead he'd stayed and become a lawman. He had been especially close to Matt and Doc. Dillon had taught him about the law, but Doc had taught him about life. Thad had fallen hopelessly in love with Sara; he had accepted a job with the U.S. Marshal's Service, which involved traveling to wherever he was needed. Thad asked Sara to his wife and come with him, but when Sara became pregnant a year later, Thad had sent her home to Dodge and the only family they had left for her confinement. Sara lived with Kitty the last three months of her pregnancy and Doc delivered their son. The bond had remained strong over the years, and their visits as frequent as possible.

Kitty's eyes danced with excitement, "It can be a party Matt, Chester and Quint are still in town, Doc, Newly, Festus …" she started counting off the guest list on her fingers.

He smiled at her eagerness. The sound of approaching riders cut their conversation short. Bent Dillard and Nathan Burke pulled their horses to a stop, dismounted and tied up to the porch railing.

"Thought you might be needing some help with furniture moving Marshal…" Bent said barely able to conceal his mirth.

Burke elbowed his companion adding, "Yeah, you know how it is with wives always wanting to rearrange things, chairs, tables and … BEDS!" At the mention of the word bed, both men burst out laughing, tears streamed from their eyes as they held onto the rail to keep from falling over.

Matt slowly rose to his full height, towering over the two men and said in an even voice, "You know a lot about wives, do you Burke?"

Kitty brought her lace hanky to her mouth in an effort to hide and contain her own giggles as she watched the two men shrink under Matt's watch.

Bent stammered a nervous response, "Ah, w-well w-we'll just take a l- look in the barn and see if anything needs m-moving."

The lawman narrowed steel blue eyes at them, "You do that." He said.

Like a pair of scared jackrabbits, the two backed up before turning heel and running stumble toed in the direction of the outbuildings. At that, Kitty let loose her giggles, laughing helplessly at the sight.

"I don't think I'll let on to them that their little prank ended up in one helluva picnic." The humor was in his eyes, but something else too was causing them to burn bright at the memory.

It was later that morning that he told her he'd be away for a while; he had something he had to attend to. She watched him ride off, feeling a little disappointed he would leave her alone on the first day of their honeymoon. There was plenty to keep her busy while he was gone, wedding presents to be put away and thank you notes to write, but still the longer he was gone the more annoyed she began to feel.

Close to two hours later he came up behind her in the kitchen where she was washing glassware they'd received as wedding gifts. "I've got a surprise for you." He whispered in her ear, making her jump and nearly drop the goblet in her hand. She turned to him with the beginnings of a frown on her face.

"Come on, Mrs. Dillon." He encouraged taking her hand and pulling her through the kitchen door to the back porch.

"Where are we going?" she asked, but then she saw. They were moving in the direction of Silver Creek, which ran through their property, about 100 yards from the back of the ranch house. He led her down the path to where the trees gave way to the grassy bank, and there obscured from view he had laid out a picnic. "Bessie packed the picnic basket. I had to go over to the Roniger's to pick it up." he told her, explaining his absence, "There's champagne chilling in the stream, and fishing poles if you want them." The sight of the quilt on the grass brought a smile to her lips. He sat down and offered up his hand to her. "Come on, sit by me." She took his hand and let him pull her down.

Early fall was taking hold of the trees, quaking aspen were just beginning to show the gold which would cloak their color in a few short weeks. A tall maple bore a flame of reds and oranges amidst the summer greens. The creek was alive with jumping fish and water bugs, dragon flies and a small flock of ducks taking an afternoon break on the rippling water. Just looking at it all brought such peace and calm to Kitty that she knew she had truly come home.

Together they munched on the delicacies from Bessie's kitchen and sipped the sparkling wine, no words were needed for the one to enjoy the other's company.

After a while she asked, "Tell me about the ranch Matt."

"Well," he began, his eyes set off in the distance as if he could see what he was about to describe. "Next week we get our first shipment of cattle, about 100 head, a mixed herd, we'll be branding them and then turning them out to open range."

"What's our brand going to be?" she asked.

"I've been giving that some thought." He said, as he ran his hand lightly up and down her arm, "what would you think of the MK brand?"

"Sounds good to me." She said, but then wondered, "What will it look like?"

A boyish grin brought warmth to his eyes; gently he pushed her back on the blanket and moved over her with his arms braced on either side. Moving in for a kiss he said, "I was thinking of something like the M inside of the K."

She giggled, "Oh my, Mr. Dillon, I think you'll have to show me how that works."

And he did.