IN THEIR EYES: A MM to "Matt's Love Story"
Chapter 1
Kitty Russell sat at a back table in the early morning emptiness of
the Long Branch, her auburn head bent low over the big black ledgers.
She was assiduously re-checking an especially troublesome column of
figures when she felt her heart begin to pound wildly beneath her
simple white shirtwaist.
Dear God, she thought, the presence of only one person on earth had
ever set her heart to pounding like that. But Matt Dillon had been gone for
nearly five weeks now, with no word to her or anyone else as to his
whereabouts. She didn't even know for certain if he was dead or alive.
Looking up, she saw the familiar figure of the man who held her heart
filling the space above the batwing doors, the clear blue eyes
squinting as they scanned the cool darkness of the room.
"Matt!" Her voice came out as little more than a whisper as she leaped
from her chair, scattering ledgers and papers to the floor as she flew
across the room and threw herself into the big marshal's arms.
Stretching on her tiptoes to wrap her arms around his neck and press
her lips to his, she felt his body stiffen and draw back, as if in an
effort to remove himself from her enthusiastic embrace.
"What's the matter, Cowboy? You hurt?" she asked as her hands slid
under his vest and moved with deliberate slowness over his broad back and
chest, searching for any new injury to his already scarred and
battered body.
"Uh, no...it's, I'm fine, Kitty. Just give me a minute to take a look
at you." Holding her at arm's length, his keen eyes once again took in
her still beautiful face, the deep auburn curls pulled back this morning
into a simple pony tail, and her eyes, those fantastic long-lashed
sapphire eyes that could penetrate to the very depths of his soul.
Matt Dillon loved every inch of Kitty Russell's exquisite face and
body, but if forced, he would have to admit that it was her eyes that had
first captivated him, and held him to her exclusively for eighteen
years...large and round and crystal clear, laughing, twinkling, dancing,
teasing blue eyes that reflected every one of her frequent and varied
moods. Eyes that softened with warmth and love when she covertly
watched him across a crowded room. Eyes that widened with pleasure and
darkened with desire when she lay in his arms. Eyes that could be tempestuous
as a stormy prairie sky when he displeased her. And eyes that could be
wounded and vulnerable when he hurt her.
It was these last two that concerned him at the moment. There was
something he needed to tell her and needed to tell her immediately,
before that first passionate kiss erupted into a conflagration of
pent-up longing and need so intense that it propelled them again into
each others arms and up the polished stairs to satisfy their yearning
in that oldest ritual known to man.
He had to tell her. He couldn't continue to kiss her, to hold her in
his arms. He couldn't take her to bed, couldn't make love to her with the
knowledge...was it the guilt...of what had happened weighing heavy on
his mind.
Still holding her hands, Matt looked down into Kitty's trusting blue
eyes and said, "Kitty, we need to talk. I...I need to tell you
something. Can we go..." and he nodded his head in the direction of
the saloon office.
Kitty missed that gesture completely as she began to gather the papers
and ledgers from where they had fallen on the table and floor. "Why
don't you go on upstairs while I put this away and ask Sam to keep an
eye on things in here. I'll be right up."
Not exactly what he wanted, but how could he tell Kitty he didn't want
to go to her room? It will be all right, he told himself and slowly
climbed the long wooden staircase to the second floor.
A few minutes later, Kitty entered her upstairs rooms carrying a full
bottle of rye whiskey and two glasses. She found the man she loved
beyond all reason sitting on the edge of the settee, turning his big
Stetson in his hands and staring at the floor.
She placed the bottle and glasses on the nearest table and quickly
crossed the room to kneel before him. Cupping a hand beneath his
strong jaw, she forced his head up and searched his expressive eyes for a
clue as to what was going on. In those clear depths she saw fatigue, a
touch of sadness, and something she couldn't quite identify, for in all
their years together she had never seen that look in his eyes before.
"What is it, Matt? Are you sure you're not hurt? You were gone for so
long with no word. Festus asked every stage driver who came into town
if he'd seen you. He and Newly took turns tracking for days in every
direction. Doc had Barney send telegrams to all the stations north of
here cause that's the direction you said you were going, but...there
was nothing. I...I kept telling myself you'd be back, but I was beginning
to think I was lying."
Kitty stopped speaking and waited for the big man to respond. After
what seemed an eternity, he took her slender hand from his jaw, pressed a
warm kiss into the palm and held it tenderly between his two huge
ones. He drew in a deep breath. "Kitty..." he began and stopped.
Kitty wrapped her other arm around his left knee and laid her cheek
against his hard, muscular thigh. "I know something bad happened out
there, Matt. If you're not ready to talk about it yet, that's okay. I
can wait. In the meantime, let's see what we can do about making you
feel better," she said as she slid her hand along his broad chest and
reached for the buttons on his shirt.
Much to her surprise, he abruptly grabbed her hand from his chest and
held it down to her side. "No, Kitty...wait, I need to talk to you
first."
"Matt?"