In addition to the continued reference to Time of the Jackel from Season 14, there's also a direct reference to Season 1's Reed Survives.
Chapter 14 – Some Decisions Are Made for You
Matt and Chester pushed through the crowd to the bar where Matt ordered a rye for himself and a beer for his friend. He didn't need to do the early evening rounds because Josh Stryker had already taken care of them while he and his companion were out rounding up the rest of the gang. Still, out of habit he surveyed the room while he sipped his drink. It was then he spotted Lee sitting on a chair to the right and slightly behind the gambler he'd seen her with earlier.
"C'mon, finish your beer so we can get out of here. I'd rather get a table at the Long Branch until my late rounds."
Chester downed the rest of his beer quickly and followed Matt out of the saloon and back onto Front Street, brushing against Lee's chair as he did. His friend's reason for leaving so abruptly was now perfectly clear.
At the Long Branch Matt and Chester each bought a beer, which they brought to an empty table against the stairs. The tall marshal planned to nurse this drink and enjoy what remained of the evening despite what he'd seen at the Lady Gay. Morning would be soon enough to talk with Leona Drummond. At least he'd be well rested because he planned on sleeping in his own room tonight. Meanwhile, he'd content himself with spending the rest of the evening with Chester.
Even in here, it didn't take long for their quiet conversation to be interrupted. A stranger, maybe five years older than Matt, approached their table. He wore his gun belt slung low and his steely eyes never waivered from Matt.
"Your name Dillon, Matt Dillon from San Antone? "
"I lived there. Why do you ask?"
"You recollect gunnin' a fella by the name of Wade Johnston there, claimin' he resisted arrest? I see you do from your face. I'm his brother Mal and everyone who knows us Johnstons agrees I'm faster than Wade even though he was a couple years younger. I'll be waitn' fer yah outside."
"If I shot your brother, it was only because he forced me into it. If he'd come peacable, he'd be back out to causing trouble by now."
"So you say. I saw it different then and I still do now that I've caught up with yah. Like I said, I'll be waitin'"
An hour later the two friends left the Long Branch, Chester for his bed at the jailhouse so that Marshal Stryker could go home to his wife and daughter and Matt to do the late rounds a bit early before he also turned in for the night. Matt had turned one way, and Chester the other when a voice rang out from the middle of the street and behind him.
"I told yah, I'd be waitin'. Now draw unless you're too scared."
Matt spun around as he heard the unmistakable cocking of the hammer of a Colt Peacemaker, drawing his own Colt as he did so, aiming and firing. His bullet hit its mark, killing Mal Johnston just as Johnston pulled the trigger. The gunman's shot grazed Matt's shirt before falling harmlessly in the dirt. Doc was kneeling by the body as Matt stood there trying to get past the senselessness of it all. Only after he heard Doc call for the body to be taken away did he realize Lee was beside him.
"Where's your gambler friend?"
"That's right, Matt. Tim Jackson's my friend. I got to know him while you were gone so long. A girl's got to be seen in her town or else her business might suffer. I came outside when that man called you out."
"Does that mean you care what happens to me?"
"Yeah, I do. What girl in her right mind wouldn't want to see if the man who seems to want to marry her was gonna live or die. I'm glad you lived. Your dying isn't the kind of excitement I want."
Matt walked Lee home. He wanted things settled between them, but one thing led to another and the couple wound up entwined. Talk was forgotten. Besides, the physical encounter might just be his answer. They did agree to ride out toward the homestead he wanted to claim for their ranch with a picnic lunch as soon as he made his report to Stryker and Washington about the gunfight and the capture of the bank robbers. Stryker usually didn't mind if he took time off during mid-day, at least if the reason was to court his girl.
By ten Matt was ready to ride out with Lee. He stowed the picnic basket under the seat of the buggy he'd rented from Moss. Then he parked it in the alley by the stage depot while he went inside to fetch Lee. She was dressed for a ride in the country and was giving the clerk last minute instructions when Matt walked in.
Matt drove the buggy at a leisurely pace during the 20-mile journey to the place by Crooked Creek he would claim if Lee agreed. It was nearly one by the time the cabin and barn were in sight. Both of them were famished so Lee carried the picnic basket into the house while Matt saw to the horse in the barn. The would-be rancher discovered some oats remained in the feed bin along with the hay. In the house, his confused date found a table remained in the kitchen and a couple of chairs had been left in the main room. She laid out their meal.
Their meal over, Matt took his girl on a guided tour of what he hoped would be their home. There wasn't much more to see in the house, just the bedroom. It even had a bed they could throw a clean blanket over, which he'd remembered to bring, if they decided to celebrate before returning home to Dodge. Following the house tour he took her arm to lead her outside and up a small hill where they could survey the entire spread.
"I get the feeling you're trying to sell me on living here after we marry. I don't want any part of it."
"I'm sorry Lee. I thought you'd like it. We can find another ranch."
"I don't want any ranch or farm. I moved to Dodge City not only to be with you, but to get away from my dull life in the country."
"Are you saying you don't want to get married?"
"No. I'm saying I don't want to live so far from town. Fact is, I don't want to live outside the town limits."
"I don't know what I'd do to earn a living if we stayed in town."
"What do you mean? You already have a job in town."
"I can't be a lawman and raise a family. It's far too chancy."
"Well, I won't marry you if you insist on being a rancher or any job if it meant you gave up your gun."
"I reckon we're through 'cause I won't keep the badge if I'm to marry. You saw what happened last night. I've already got a reputation. At least it's early enough that it can be forgotten, especially if I do nothing to help it grow like keep having to use my gun."
Lee nodded before she turned her back and walked back to the house to gather up what they'd left behind there. Matt, for his part, turned dejectedly back to the barn to hitch the horse to the buggy. The return trip took little more than an hour during which they ignored each other. He halted in front of the stage office to drop her off before returning the rig to Moss. Nothing remained but to head to the office to let Josh know he was back.
Over the next couple of weeks the couple didn't exactly avoid meeting, but neither of them went out of the way to ensure they were together. When they did meet nothing of substance was discussed. Matt felt his life was in limbo until two weeks after the disastrous picnic at what he'd hoped would be the home where they raised their family. He glanced through the window of the stage depot as he walked by. Lee wasn't inside so he decided to walk down Front Street to the Long Branch. Less than a block further on he met Lee and Jackson strolling arm in arm toward him while talking animatedly yet softly to each other.
"Hi, Matt. I didn't want to tell you on the street, but at least you won't be surprised once it becomes general knowledge. I've quit my job. My replacement will take over on Monday. Tim & I are getting married Saturday. I leave it up to you whether you want to attend or not."
Matt didn't bother to respond. Instead he continued his interrupted journey to the Long Branch feeling disdainful toward all gamblers as represented by Jackson and devastated by Lee's betrayal. He would dedicate his life to the badge, however long that life proved to be, and follow Adam Kimbro's advice by staying away from relationships as long as he wore the badge. When it came to women, he'd get his sexual release but steer clear of any of them who might in any remote way mean something more.
As he was ordering his drink, a new girl, Lucy Parker, asked him to buy her a drink. Matt obliged.