The Rescue 12
Debbie W. Thank you! Hope you enjoy the rest of the story.
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The next morning Kitty woke with a good feeling. Matt was already up and gone, of course, but by the smell of it, not before making a pot of coffee.
Pulling herself up, she reached for the jeans and shirt she'd worn for the last two months until her eye landed on the blue gingham dress Matt had bought her. Though not nearly as fancy as the clothes she used to wear, it was certainly a lot more special. Chucking aside the jeans and the old worn shirt, she smiled as she grabbed the dress and the underclothes she'd gotten with it and began to dress.
When she finally emerged from the bedroom, she found a pot of coffee on the stove and a note. "Working on something." It said. "Be back in time for dinner. If you see anyone other than me or Festus; hide."
Shaking her head in wonder at what he could be working on, Kitty smiled happily as she remembered their evening together. It was a gift to be here she decided, despite the circumstances. For now at least, she and Matt and Festus were safe and alone and in a way, happy. Still, she wondered how long that happiness would last.
Not too far from the cabin, Matt and Festus were busily engaged in cutting down trees and trimming them, readying them to be pulled down to the cabin.
"Ya know, Matthew." Festus grunted as he cut one branch after another off the sturdy tree he'd just chopped down. "We ain't got ta do this. I kin sleep in the barn."
"Maybe so," Matt replied as he stopped and wiped the sweat from his brow. "But you know Kitty. She'd never allow it and I think she deserves to have what she needs and wants, don't you?"
"Yes'ir." He answered. "I shore do."
Four hours later, two very weary men, trudged back down to the cabin, cheered by the smell of food cooking. "We'd better clean up before we go in there, Festus." Matt told him. "Kitty'll kick us out of there if we don't."
"I reckon yer right." Festus grinned.
When the two finally walked through the cabin door, they were greeted by the smell of stew and biscuits and the sight of a beautiful woman in a blue gingham dress with a smile on her face. "I was hoping you would get here pretty soon. Stew's no good if it cooks too long and I just now pulled the biscuits from the oven."
With identical grins both men quickly sat down at the table and filled their plates with the delectable smelling food. Matt grabbed a spoon to dig in, but Kitty stilled him with a hand on his arm. "Would you say grace?" She asked.
"Grace?" Matt looked a little puzzled. This was the first time, since he'd known her, she'd requested for grace to be said over a meal.
"Yeah, that's right. Grace." Kitty nodded. "I just thought… well… I mean, well…" She wasn't sure how to explain it but somehow it felt wrong to dig into their meal without giving thanks for what they had, especially as she thought about what could've been.
"Yeah." Matt said with a smile in her direction. "Grace it is." Waiting a moment for Kitty and Festus to bow their heads, Matt followed suit and closed his eyes, trying to think of a suitable prayer. "Lord, we thank you for this meal and for the hands that prepared it. We ask you bless it to the nourishment of our bodies and keep us safe and together. And we thank you for all you've given us. Amen." Though not very original, he decided it was good enough when he saw the smile on Kitty's face.
"Thank you." She said quietly.
After dinner was over, Matt and Festus got up and prepared to return to their labors. "What are you two doing?" Kitty asked curiously.
"It's a surprise." Matt grinned as he bent down and gave her a kiss before leaving.
For two days, Matt and Festus continued to cut and trim trees, always with an ear out for any sound coming from the direction of the cabin. Matt was certain they were safe and that their location was secure, but he wasn't about to take any chances, not after all of this.
When the men decided they'd felled enough trees, they began the arduous task of hauling them down to the cabin using the horses and Ruth. Matt knew once they started the next phase of their work they'd not be able to keep the secret from Kitty so he planned on telling her when they got the first trees to the worksite. He hoped she'd be pleased.
Kitty was sitting quietly on the bench near the fireplace, mending Matt's extra shirt when she heard noise outside. Cautiously, she rose and looked out of one of the cabin's small windows on the western side of the building. With a puzzled look, she grabbed her coat and slipped it around her shoulders before going out to see what was going on.
"What are you two doing?" She asked as Matt and Festus brought the animals to a halt at the end of the cabin.
"We're building you a worry free room." Matt told her with a grin.
"A what?" Kitty looked from one man to the other with a crinkled brow.
"You heard me," Matt said. Handing the reins of his horse to Festus, Matt stepped over and pulled Kitty into a hug. "Me and Festus got to talking, Kitty, and we decided to add a room to the cabin. It'll be much bigger than that little sleeping alcove and it'll have a sturdy door between it and the rest of the house. When it's done, you and me will move in there and Festus will take over the sleeping alcove."
Glancing back at Festus to make sure he didn't hear his next words, Matt gave Kitty a slow smile. "You won't have to worry about him sleeping out in the barn and I won't have to worry about him interrupting us while we're in there, or even hearing us."
He said the last with a lifted brow and Kitty knew exactly what his meaning was. "Oh, Matt." She jumped and kissed him. "I love you."
"I love you too." He smiled. "Now why don't you go on and let us get this thing started. It's gonna be a long winter unless we get this done before then."
"And we wouldn't want that." She grinned. "You two work on that and I'll make sure you have plenty of food to keep you going."
As Kitty returned to the house, Festus paused and watched her and then looked at the grin on Matt's face. "Ya know, Matthew." He stroked his chin slightly. "It shore is pleasin' to the eyeballs to see Miss Kitty that happy."
Matt looked at the cabin and back at his friend. "It sure is, Festus. And as long as I'm breathing, I'm going to see to it that she stays that way. Come on, this get this room built.
TBC
