AFTER KITTY'S RETURN
Every so often in life you encounter a situation that affords you the opportunity to have some very special people enter your life. Once that happens some other extraordinary events follow. That is what happened when I received a personal message from someone who read one of my Fan Fictions. I replied, and it turned into a very special friendship. As a result of this encounter I was introduced to an exceptional man. This man will be 100 years old on February 20, 2019. Not only does he share a birthday with our favorite redhead, but he also worked with her, and the cast, on Gunsmoke. As our relationship has grown, he has been so very generous in sharing wonderful stories about his and his wife's adventures on this classic western. He is known as Uncle Dubs and she was Aunt Mae. They were married for 74 years. So, in honor of his birthday and to say thank you for all the wonderful insights to GS he is being immortalized in this story. Thank you from the bottom of my heart Samuel Franklin Smith, you are one of a kind, and a celebrity in my book. A very special thanks to you, Sharon, for introducing me to Uncle Dubs and all the time you have given to letting me get to know you, your extended family, and ALL the hilarious stories.
Many thanks to my BETA, Dodge City Angel. You always help to enhance my stories not to mention being my grammar/ continuity Queen. I use way too many commas. Thanks for the fast turn around.
I also want to thank my dear friend, Little Miss Andrea, for her enthusiasm and for keeping me on task. You don't know how much it helps.
To all of you who read and review a big THANK YOU. You are what keeps all of us writing. I wish all of you very Happy Holidays and a Happy Healthy New Year. I am truly blessed.
CHAPTER ONE: WEDDING PLANS
It was Thursday night and tomorrow was the rehearsal for, Marshal Matthew James Dillon's wedding to Miss Kathleen Elizabeth Russell. He couldn't believe this day would ever come! As the United States Marshal for Dodge City, Kansas and the surrounding area, he never expected to live long enough to get married, let alone resign as a marshal. However, he had sent in his papers resigning his post and recommending Newly O'Brien as his successor. The rehearsal and dinner was in preparation for the ceremony uniting him with the woman he had loved most of his life. So many people wanted to see this couple married, finally united after all those years. It was being held out at the Ronigers' at Silver Creek.
Kitty had been through a horrendous ordeal the year before and Matt wanted this to be an event she would never forget. He had arranged to have a number of surprise guests ready to greet his bride. Unbeknownst to her, the people he had invited had been part of their lives over the years and were already at the Ronigers. Keeping Kitty away from the place had become quite a job, as she thought she should be running things.
A lot of the people from Dodge would be coming out together on the wedding day. Those from out of town had already arrived and the new marshal was trying to coordinate everything. Matt had asked Festus to be his best man, along with Chester who was there with his wife Libby, and their two sons Magnus and Matthew. Quint Asper had shown up at the Marshal's office that afternoon, having traveled from his home in New Mexico.
Bess Roniger would stand up for Kitty and Mary Baines, the little foundling Kitty had cared for, and Kitty's goddaughter, Kathleen Roniger, would be flower girls. Kitty had insisted on taking all of them to her dressmaker in Dodge for new clothes. It had been quite a process and the little girls did a lot of giggling as they were measured for beautiful little dresses. Kitty was making sure that the wedding dress she had made so many years before fit well, after having lost so much weight after her accident. The men had been banned from the area and gathered in the Long Branch to discuss all the work women went to for such events.
Matt looked at his friends who had been in his life for so many years. Next to him was Dr. Galen Adams, who had saved his life so many times, and was like a father to him and Kitty. Doc would be escorting his bride down the aisle to him. It had been quite a ride for all of them. So many years, so many adventures. Thank goodness there were more to come. A few months ago, when Kitty disappeared, things had looked pretty bleak for the couple who been the subject of much speculation for years.
When Matt had proposed, he hadn't given much thought to how he would support his wife and he didn't want to live in her rooms at the saloon. He thought about buying a small ranch and raising horses. Then came the summons to Washington, D.C. Of course, she wanted to go with him but there was a lot to do to get ready for the wedding, and she was still recovering from her ordeal.
It was an unusual situation for them to be at the train station, and he was kissing her good-bye in front of half the town. She made him promise to hurry home. "Kit," he protested, "the wedding is six weeks away. I'll be back in plenty of time."
She looked up at him with her beautiful blue eyes and replied, "I don't want anything to happen to you. We are so close to finally being together... forever."
"I know, Sweetheart. I'll find out what they want and be on the next train home. I WILL be sending you a telegram."
Reluctantly, she let him go and Doc, who was standing nearby, took her arm and led her to Delmonico's. "He'll be back before you know it," he assured her.
WASHINGTON D. C.
Meanwhile, in the offices of the Chief of the Secret Service, John Bell, a meeting was going on with the chief and his second-in-command. "So, Sam, what do you think of our candidate for this new position?"
Studying the papers in front of him, his assistant proclaimed, "Matthew Dillon certainly has an exemplary record with the service. He has also survived much longer than many of our marshals."
Nodding his head, Mr. Bell agreed, "That is very true. However, he has given 20 years of service. He has survived many injuries and we hear that he wants to settle down and get married."
"I see here the woman's name is Kitty Russell and she is originally from New Orleans. She is also the owner of the Long Branch Saloon. Quite an accomplishment for a woman. What else do we know about her?"
As he looked through a dossier on his desk, the department head replied, "Her mother who was from an aristocratic family, married a gambler, a Wayne Russell, and was disowned by her family. The mother died at an early age and Kathleen, as she was then known, lived with her grandfather until his death when she was about 12. The father had deserted the family before the girl was born. She moved from place to place and landed in Dodge at about age 19. She is a very beautiful redhead."
Sam Smith looked at his boss and asked, "How long has she been involved with the marshal?"
His boss laughed. "Well, that is the matter of some speculation. Some say for many years but there doesn't seem to be any consensus. From what we have been able to gather, from informants, it has been a good long while."
"If they have had a relationship for this long, why are they marrying now?"
Bell picked up another paper, "Back a number of months ago, Miss Russell disappeared. It came out some time later she had been in a terrible train accident. Dillon was completely distraught and when they finally found her, he was determined when this assignment was up to resign and marry her."
"She must be a remarkable woman," Smith said thoughtfully.
"Amazing and beautiful from what I hear," the Chief remarked.
"Do you think Dillon will consider the job?" the aide wondered.
Shrugging his shoulders, his boss replied, "All we can do is present our plan to him and see his reaction."
"If you wouldn't mind, I would like to go out and look Dodge over and then make our final recommendation."
It was decided that if Matt Dillon accepted the job, Mr. Smith would follow him to Dodge shortly after his return, but as a mentor, not as the determining factor in the assignment they wanted him to take.
Matt Dillon was exhausted after the long train ride and being taken almost immediately to the office of the Chief of the Secret Service. They had made him an incredible offer and he had been overwhelmed. There were papers to look over and a decision to be made that would affect his and Kitty's future.
What was most appealing was a steady income that would more than support him and his new bride. They could buy a house near town and Kitty could have a lifestyle she had dreamed of for years.
He had been impressed with both Bell and Smith. They were offering him an opportunity few men could pass up. His job would be two-fold. He would be the head of training new U. S. Marshals in new territories opening to the west. He knew these areas better than most. It was the second part of the job he could tell no one about, not even his wife.
As more and more of the United States opened to expansion, so did problems with corruption, fraud, counterfeiting, and forgery. The job of the Secret Service was protecting the United States' financial status and eliminating those responsible for such crimes. It would be an undercover position and he would coordinate with other agents as their point of entry to these territories.
It was an opportunity to stay in law enforcement but not be in the danger that his job as a United States Marshal had presented. If he accepted and set up training headquarters in Dodge for U. S. Marshals, occasional travel could be explained and Kitty could relax. He wasn't sure why he was hesitating.
After a restless night, the marshal was ready to give the two gentleman his answer at their breakfast meeting. Settling his big frame into a chair in the dining room of his hotel, The Willard, he saw both men looking at him expectantly.
"Gentleman," he began clearing his throat, "I will accept your offer with one proviso. If, after six months, I feel the Secret Service is not a good fit, I can just train U. S. Marshals."
Glancing at his boss, Smith suggested, "Make it a year. Some of our investigations are ongoing. This is not your normal bank robber, cattle rustler, or drunken cowboy."
The marshal thought it over while they put in their orders. "All right, gentleman, count me in, but I will need training."
Bell gave a sigh of relief. "You know a lot of techniques already, Matt. All you really need is to learn our protocol. I am assigning Mr. Smith to train you and he will follow you to Dodge in a few weeks. We have also decided to hire Mr. O'Brien as your replacement. You can train him and have him help set up your training headquarters. You should have things pretty well organized by the time of your wedding. Congratulations, by the way!"
Matt thanked them and was glad to have that decision off his mind. He would spend a couple days visiting the Department of the Treasury, which ran the Secret Service. Kitty would be happy that he would be home soon but would be cautious until he explained the job.
Who knew getting married could be so time consuming? He had hoped she would have dragged him to the preacher the day after he proposed. Although, she had a lot of healing to do from her accident and he was so happy to have her back, he would have agreed to almost anything. Now he had to make sure he alleviated her fears so she wouldn't suspect he was holding anything back.