For the Love of Kitty 1

I don't own these characters; I just like to spend time with them. No other profit to be had.

Author's Note: I usually stay away from season 20 because Kitty wasn't a part of it. I absolutely loath most of RTD. I also stay away from any idea of Kitty and Matt married with kids because the show didn't have it. But sometimes stories make you tell them. This is one of those. It's set after season 19.

By the way, I know Sam and Louie were gone by then, but they were just too good to leave out. So, using writer's privilege, I have included Sam and Louie and fired Hannah and Floyd. I didn't like them anyway.

KITTYKITTYKITTYKITTYKITTY

Kitty Russell marched down the boardwalk towards the mercantile. She needed a pick me up & decided to do some shopping. Matt had ridden back to town the night before, after being gone for 8 days, and now he was heading back out again. She never seemed to see him anymore and it was getting to her. He would, of course, always point to his badge and say it was his job. But sometimes she wondered if it was the badge or he himself that kept him away from her.

As she walked, she thought about her relationship with the great US Marshal Matt Dillon. That she loved him there was no doubt. She had loved him from the first. Before she even knew his name, she knew that. But now she was beginning to wonder if love was enough.

She was also beginning to wonder about Matt. He was usually very tightlipped when it came to speaking of his feelings. Occasionally, he would tell her he loved her but mostly in the privacy of her bedroom, and that was usually when they were making love. Very seldom did he speak of love at any other time.

It wasn't that he didn't show her love. He did in many ways. But a woman needs more than that sometimes. And very seldom did Matt give her more than that.

Her mind was so preoccupied with the lawman, that she didn't see the man standing in the doorway of the mercantile, until she almost ran into him. "Oh, I'm….I'm sorry" she stammered at the incredibly handsome man. "I guess I had my mind elsewhere. Please excuse me."

Kitty tried not to stare but it wasn't often she met men of his caliber. Tall, sandy brown hair, blue eyes, chiseled features. A truly handsome man if she had ever seen one.

"Why that's alright, Ma'am," he tipped his hat at her. "It was probably more my fault than yours. I was standing in the way."

"Thank you," she smiled at him, "but really it was my fault Mr…..?"

"Harp, ma'am. David Harp. And you are…..?

"My name's Kitty Russell," she smiled and put her hand out. Instead of shaking hands however the man enveloped hers in his and kissed it gallantly.

"It is my great pleasure to meet you." He said "Ahh, could I be so lucky that you are a Miss rather then a Mrs.?"

Kitty grinned ruefully. "Yes it's Miss," she said.

Harp grinned back at her. "I am very glad to hear that." He sighed.

Kitty had been sweet talked more times than she could remember, and by some of the best sweet talkers around, so she knew when she was being fed a line of bull. But this man seemed genuine to her and she couldn't help but notice the way he deported himself. This man was a gentleman. Still, he wasn't Matt and her heart was too full of the big man to allow anyone else in. "Well, Mr. Harp," she said, "it was certainly nice to meet you. If you stop in the Long Branch some time I'll buy you a drink."

"The Long Branch?" he asked.

"Yes it's a saloon," she answered. "Right down the street there. I own it."

Harp noticed the proud tone to her voice and tilt of her chin as she claimed ownership of the business. The pride, along with the very beautiful package it was tied up in, enticed the man. "Well, Miss Russell, I would be delighted to visit your establishment. And I thank you for the invitation."

"You're welcome," Kitty smiled as she finally turned and walked into the store.

Though she didn't turn around and look, Kitty knew the man had continued to appraise her as she walked away. She was not a vain person, but she knew she was attractive. In fact she traded on that extensively for her business. But she got the sense that this man was going beyond her looks. He was seeing something that, until then, she thought only Matt had noticed. With that thought, she realized that she actually wanted him to stop by the Long Branch for the drink she had promised.

Harp stood and looked at her as she went inside. He couldn't ever remember meeting a woman who had the charm and beauty of this one. But there was something more to her than those attributes alone. She had a certain essence that shone light a flame in the dark. "The Long Branch, huh?" he smiled as he walked away.

TBC