Dance Partners
No profit made. Just fun had while I worked on this. Hope it's fun to read as well.
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"Miss Kitty?"
"Yes?" She looked up from her books into the wide eyes of Jeremy Waddell, a young cowboy working for Taft Mills at the Bar R Ranch. With straight blond hair, and chubby baby face and the just barest hint of peach fuzz on his smooth chin, he barely looked old enough to be out from beneath his mother's skirts. Much less, be in a saloon.
"You're looking awful pretty tonight." He said earnestly, taking his hat off and holding it tightly in front of him like a shield.
A delicate brow arched upward and she gave him a slow, uncertain smile. "Why, thank you, Jeremy. Um… is there anything you wanted?"
"Oh… uh… well no, Ma'am. I mean… well… yes, Ma'am… I mean…" He was tripping over his words badly and couldn't seem to get anything out in a coherent manner.
"What exactly do you mean?" She asked curiously.
"Well…" He paused for several seconds, licking his lips, and swallowing hard. Finally he raised his eyes to hers and nodded. "Uh… Ma'am, the Patton's is holding a dance next Saturday over at their barn and everybody is welcome and I just wondering if maybe you'd go with me and be my date." He said it all in one breath and his face was flushed when he finished.
Kitty bit her bottom lip and forced down the chuckle that wanted so badly to escape. Looking at the boy's glittering eyes and the blush on his cheek, she surmised he was serious. But Jeremy Waddell was just that, a boy. He couldn't be more than 18 or 19 and that may be overestimating his age.
Giving him a kind smile, she shook her head. "I'm sorry, Jeremy. I really do appreciate the invitation but I'm afraid I can't."
"Is it the Marshal?" He asked boldly. "I mean if it is, I can talk to him. You know, man to man. Explain to him how it is? I doubt he'd mind anyway."
Kitty closed her eyes and gave her head a quick shake. "Jeremy, I just can't go. Besides, I am a lot older than you are. Why don't you ask someone younger? You know there are a lot of really nice girls in town, your age, that would love to go with you."
"I don't want a 'girl'." He said the word derisively. "They don't know about life and things. Not like a woman does." He paused and looked pleadingly at her. "Like you do." He gave her his best smile.
But Kitty ignored the pleading in his light blue eyes and shook her head again. "No, Jeremy. I'm sorry, but the answer is no."
"You sure?" He gave her another chance to take him up on his offer.
"I'm sure." She patted him on the arm. "Now you go on. It's getting late and I'm sure Mr. Mills will be looking for you."
"Ah, he ain't looking for me." Jeremy protested. "Besides I'm a grown man. I can come and go when I want."
"And grown men know when it's time to cut their losses and go home." She gave him a stern look. "Now, go on."
Ducking his head, he unhappily turned and started for the door.
"And, Jeremy…" He turned back. "Thank you for the invitation and for thinking of me. Makes an old woman feel good."
"Aw, heck, Miss Kitty." Jeremy threw his hat on his head and gave her a warm smile. "You ain't old. You ain't never gonna get old. You're just about the prettiest woman in this here town. And that Marshal's a fool for not seeing it." Taking a pleased note at the look of surprise on her face, Jeremy turned and headed through the doors, nearly running into Matt who stood looking at him curiously. "Evening, Marshal." Jeremy mumbled as he hurried away.
Kitty finally gave vent to the chuckle she'd been suppressing as Matt made his way into the saloon and over to her side.
"What was that all about?" He jerked a thumb over his shoulder to the door, Jeremy had disappeared through. "What'd he mean, I'm a fool?"
Kitty managed to control her laugh, and looked up into the blue eyes of the man she loved more than life. "Oh, nothing. He was just asking me to the Patton's barn dance and suggested you might be less than astute if you couldn't see how pretty I am." She raised her chin, batted her eyes and gave him a smirk.
"Oh?" Matt said as he looked around the nearly empty saloon, then back down at the beautiful woman in front of him. "Well, I've never been accused of being the smartest man on earth, but I promise you, I'm not the dumbest. I've noticed how pretty you are."
"Oh, really?" Kitty's brow shot up. "Then how come you seldom say it?"
"Uh, well…" Matt dropped his head and a blush crept up to color his cheeks as he searched for the words to get him out of the trouble he'd just got himself into.
Just then, Nathan Burke came running into the saloon. "Marshal! There's a couple of fellows trying to tear up the Lady Gay."
Inwardly, Matt sighed in relief and exasperation. He had come to the Long Branch to ask Kitty to the Patton's dance, but once again, his job prevailed. "See ya later, Kitty." He called over his shoulder as he turned and ran out.
"Yeah, sure." She muttered with an irritated shake of her head. Looking over at the bar, Kitty could see Sam was as tired as she was and since their last two patrons had just left, she decided it was closing time. "Sam, what you say we close up? It's late and it's quiet so we might as well."
"Sounds good to me, Miss Kitty." He smiled over at her.
Wearily, Kitty got to her feet and picked up her books. Taking them back to her office, she locked them up in the safe and then returned to the bar to help Sam clean up.
Fortunately for her, the saloon wasn't in too bad a shape. In no time at all she and Sam had the bar cleaned up and she was heading up to her rooms as Sam locked the doors and left.
Unfortunately for her, she didn't know, that would be the last normal night she would have, for some time.
TBC
