"There's never an answer to that question…. don't try to figure out why any woman loves, Matt."

—Kitty Russell, "The Cover Up"

The Dance

"You're lookin' mighty pretty this evenin', Miss Kitty," Joshua Tanner approached and said mere seconds after Kitty Russell had finally managed to plop herself down at an empty table inside the Tanners' barn, their annual autumn dance now in full-swing.

The tall, dark-haired eighteen-year-old had removed his hat as he'd approached her. "Would you do me the honor of dancin' this next one with me?" he asked, his handsome face hopeful. Kitty's sixth dance in a row had just ended and she had finally managed to take a seat in order to give her aching feet a moment's rest.

"Why, I thank you for askin', Josh, but I'm gonna sit this next one out." She smiled kindly, fanning her flushed face as the oldest Tanner boy walked away, looking more than a bit crestfallen. Kitty sipped the cider she'd obtained and took in the scene around her.

It was a crisp, beautiful autumn evening, perfect for the dance that was now fully underway. Kitty guessed at least half of Dodge was in attendance. There was plenty of good food and drink, lively fiddle music, several experienced dance callers—including Doc—and an overall spirited atmosphere. The tables were covered with cheerful blue-and-white-checkered tablecloths and decorated with mason jars full of black eyed susans. Pumpkins, squash, yellow chrysanthemums, and a hand-painted banner decorated the rest of the barn. The delicious smell of apples, cinnamon, and cloves pervaded the air, and a welcoming glow from an abundance of lanterns and candles lit up the night.

Kitty's low-cut emerald silk and black-lace overlay dress had been quite a hit, and had taken her around the Tanners' barn in the arms of more than a few of Dodge's men this evening. It seemed like just about every man in the place had asked her to dance—including Doc and Chester. Kitty would normally have considered that she had gotten her money's worth out of this particular dress...

Except the one man she'd wanted to dance with as she wore it, the one man she'd had it made for, hadn't even seen it.

Kitty had stayed in the Long Branch, sitting by the batwing doors until well past the time when the dance had begun. She'd wanted Matt to be able to easily find her, in the off-chance that he returned home at the last moment and could attend. And even after Doc and Chester had convinced her to let them escort her to the event, she had kept her eyes peeled to the doorway as she danced, hoping to see his big, handsome form looming in the doorway with that crooked, little-boy smile on his face that never failed to set her heart racing.

She'd been dreaming of this night for weeks. The dancing, the music, the levity, the tall cowboy that would hold her tight in his corded arms, gaze down at her with those clear-blue eyes, and make her heart squeeze with joy as he led her around the dance floor all night.

There had been dancing. There had been music. But her tall, handsome Cowboy's arms had not held her tonight. His handsome form had not loomed in the doorway. His clear-blue eyes had not shone down on her.

Kitty felt a pang of jealousy as she looked out at the other girls enjoying their beaus. Where was her man? Where was Matt Dillon?!

Then she thought about where Matt Dillon most likely was. Thought of him riding alone out there in the cold, on the dark, dangerous prairie, possibly injured, possibly worse. Thought about the last time he'd been late returning home, and why.

Kitty suddenly felt guilty, sitting here feeling sorry for herself and annoyed at Matt, when she wasn't even sure he was safe. She downed her remaining cider and rose to go find her cloak. Kitty had had enough of this dance. She wanted to go home.

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A weary Matt Dillon rode Buck into a quiet Dodge well after midnight with a heavy heart. He was getting back to town a good twenty-four hours after he'd planned to, and he had missed the Tanners' barn dance. Matt knew how much the dance had meant to Kitty, so he had tried his best to make it. He wasn't much of a dancer, but he'd been looking forward to going with the most beautiful girl in Dodge—the most beautiful girl anywhere—on his arm.

Golly, that would have made him proud.

Matt dismounted Buck outside of the stable and opened the outer doors. Moss must have heard him approach, for the door to the small room where he slept opened, and he appeared in the doorway with a lantern, hair tousled, suspenders hanging down, his leathery face smiling up at Matt.

"Hello there, Moss," Matt said in a friendly voice to the older man. "This ole boy's earned some extra hay."

"Evenin', Marshal," Moss said, nodding and smiling. "How was yer trip?"

"Best part's havin' it over with," Matt said with a weary smile.

"I guess ya didn't make it to the Tanners' tonight, huh?" Moss asked.

"No. No, Moss, I didn't," Matt said, genuinely regretful at having missed the event.

"Oh, that's a shame, Marshal. Heard it was a real nice little shindig," Moss smiled kindly up at Matt, noticing how worn the Marshal looked this evening.

"Well, goodnight, Moss, and thanks," Matt tipped his hat as he turned to leave.

"Night, Marshal," Moss said as he gently led Buck to his familiar stall.

Matt walked from the stable down Front Street, trying to decide if his next stop should be his lonely cot at the jail, or room number six at the Long Branch. He knew where he wanted to be. He just wasn't sure if he would be welcome….or if he deserved to be welcome after disappointing his beautiful Kitty.

As he reached the jail, he kept walking on toward the Long Branch. He stopped underneath the back stairs and gazed up to Kitty's second story window. The green lamp near the window was lit and emitting an encouraging glow, a literal beacon representing the even brighter one within.

His heart taking a rare lead over his head, Matt Dillon ascended the back stairs to the Long Branch, and took out the spare key Kitty had given him to the outer door. Matt entered and quietly walked down the hall to number six. He took a deep breath and knocked lightly, softly whispering Kitty's name.

Matt heard movement within the room. The door opened, revealing the girl he'd been missing since the second he'd left town a week or so prior. There she stood in her pink, ruffled dressing gown, face hopeful as she opened the door, her freckles sprinkling her face, her fiery hair flowing freely down her back in soft waves. She smiled so broadly, so brightly when she saw him, that for a moment Matt allowed himself to pretend that everything was alright, that he hadn't just let her down once again.

"Hello, Kitty," he said, twirling his Stetson between his hands, hesitating in the doorway.

Kitty's heart leapt with joy as she took in the delicious sight of her man standing there before her. His dark hair was tousled, he was sporting a several-day beard, his clothes were covered in trail dust, and he smelled of saddle leather and horses. But he was the most beautiful sight she'd ever seen in her life.

"Come on in, Matt," Kitty said warmly, moving aside, letting him enter her bedroom. Matt took a quick glance around. Even in the face of his inner storm, he immediately felt a sense of peace as he entered his sanctuary. Dresses and underclothes were scattered about. The room was warm, smelled of Kitty's delicious scent, and was softly lit, casting welcoming shadows across the walls. A beautiful green-silk dress hung on the form in the corner. Matt wasn't always the best with remembering ladies' dresses, but he knew he hadn't seen that one before. With a pang of regret, he wondered if he'd missed seeing Kitty in it at the dance tonight.

As she closed the door and turned around, his large hand reached out, seeming of its own accord, and pulled her against him, searching her eyes with his steady, intense gaze.

Matt looked down at Kitty, his expressive steel-blue eyes uncertain, hurting. Kitty knew that look on Matt Dillon's face. She had seen it on the night they'd first made love—earlier in the evening when Matt Dillon had tried to convince her that he was no good for her. Seeing it now made her heart squeeze with apprehension. "Somethin' wrong, Matt?" she asked.

He looked at her, swallowing hard. "Yeah. Yeah, Kitty there is."

"What's botherin' you?" she asked, searching his eyes, although she was pretty sure she already knew.

"I'll tell ya, Kitty. I did a lot of thinkin' on this trip. About us," Matt whispered, staring earnestly into her concerned eyes, an uncharacteristic vulnerability woven into his voice. "I wasn't sure if I should come here tonight, Kitty—wasn't sure you'd want me to after I missed that dance. I've been thinkin' before too long you might get tired of a broke, beat-up lawman who lets you down all the time. And I've been thinkin' even if you don't, Kitty, that maybe I shouldn't let you do this to yourself over and over—"

Kitty had been listening intently to Matt with a furrowed brow, but she'd heard enough. She stopped his rambling speech by reaching up to cup his neck before hungrily pulling his mouth to hers. She quickly pressed her tongue against his teeth, needing to taste him, needing him to taste her.

Matt was of course powerless to resist her kiss. He opened his mouth and slid his hot tongue against hers, instantly both comforted and titillated by their connection. As Kitty's kiss always did, it stole the breath from his lungs. When he positively needed to breathe, Matt pulled back and stared down at her, gasping. His mouth crashed down on hers once again and they frantically kissed, desperate to feel one another. Matt wrapped his arms around her and lifted Kitty up against him, lost in the feel of his sweet, beautiful girl. Lost in the feel of coming home.

When they both once more desperately needed to breathe, Kitty reluctantly pulled away. Matt put her down but still kept his palm on the small of her back. Trying to catch her breath, she gently placed her small palms on either side of his troubled face, and looked deep into his imploring blue eyes.

"Don't you do that, Matt Dillon. Don't you dare do that. Do you know what I was doin' just now? Matt, I was sittin' up here, praying you were safe, hoping you would still get home tonight. Hopin' you would come to me," she whispered that last part, searching his eyes, tears forming in her own, silently begging for him to see the truth behind her words…. "Don't you see Matt?" She took his huge hand and placed it over her left breast, so he could feel the steady pounding of her heart, "I missed you so much."

Matt's face looked heartsick, "And I miss you when we're apart, Kitty. More than you can ever know. But Kitty, I don't know how you can—"

"Matt, tonight I went to that dance. I wore that dress over there, the green one hangin' on the form. I had it made 'specially for you, because you always seem to like how green looks with my hair."

"See, that's exactly—"

"Eh eh—Matt, hear me out….I had it made especially for you. I was looking forward to you seeing me wearin' it, to you holdin' me in it. Now I don't think it's boastin' to say that quite a few fellas liked me in that dress, and quite a few of 'em asked me to dance. I danced with them and I guess I even had a good time, but, Matt….those other men, they just reminded me that no other man can hold a candle to you. They just reminded me that you're the only man I want. Your arms holding me, your eyes gazing at me, your body loving me."

"That's just it. I let you down. And I know I'm gonna keep lettin' you down, Kitty. I wanted to go to that dance with you. But somethin' came up in Ellsworth, and the sheriff needed me to stay an extra day. Kitty, I can't promise you it won't be something else next time. It probably will. It's the job, Kitty."

"Matt, don't you see—the answer isn't to throw it all away….the answer is to hold on even tighter to what we have. I told you in the beginning, if I'm here it's because I want to be. I'm still here aren't I?"

Matt searched her face, his expressive eyes connecting with hers, "I guess sometimes I don't know why you love me, Kitty," he confessed in a voice just barely above a whisper.

Kitty smiled patiently as she reached up and cupped his cheek, her eyes locked with his, "I love you because you are decent. And brave. And kind. And because you saw somethin' in me that I'd forgotten was there. And I love you because you've given me the kind of love I couldn't even have imagined before I met you. I will always love you."

Matt looked down at her, gently stroking her face, searching her eyes, wanting so much to be convinced that loving Kitty was doing right by her.

"Matt, can't you just accept that there are some things you can't understand? Especially when it comes to women? You're a very talented man, Cowboy, but understanding women is not one of your strong suits."

Matt gazed at her, taking in the love and adoration in her eyes. Heaven help him, he'd wanted Kitty to reassure him that he was worthy of her love. And—at least for tonight—she had.

Slowly, the little-boy smile Kitty found so irresistible replaced the frown on Matt Dillon's face and the sparkle returned to his beautiful eyes, "Kitty, I know I'm late, and I'm no good at this but, Kitty….will you dance with me?"

She smiled coyly as she reached up again and stroked his stubble-covered face, letting her hand slide down over his broad chest, her fingers toying with the buttons of his shirt and vest, covered in dust and sweat. "I thought you'd never ask."

Matt cleared his throat nervously. He took her right hand in his left and with the other grasped the small of her back, sliding it across the smooth fabric of her dressing gown, aching to caress the skin underneath. He gently rubbed circles against her soft hand with his thumb. "I might need some help here, Kitty," Matt said, grinning sheepishly.

Kitty beamed up at him, her heart so full it felt like at any moment it might burst. "I'll lead, Matt," she coaxed with an encouraging smile. She softly, smoothly began to hum a tune that was fresh in her mind from the Tanners' dance—When You And I Were Young, Maggie. As Matt and Kitty danced a basic waltz, they tightly held one another, gazing into each other's eyes, love and desire surging between them. Kitty lay her head on Matt's chest and rejoiced in the steady beat of his precious heart.

"That was the best dance I've had all night," Kitty sighed into Matt's chest when they'd gradually slowed to a stop. She looked up into his eyes, just so incredibly happy to have him safe and in her arms.

Matt cupped her face and leaned down, smiling into her gorgeous face. "Let's see if we can do even better," he whispered, his lips so close they grazed hers as he spoke. Matt placed his full, parted lips on top of Kitty's, kissing her so gently, so tenderly, belying his impatience to be one with her. Matt again lifted Kitty up against him, and the two clung tightly to one another. The kiss grew and grew until it burst into a conflagration that consumed them both.

Matt walked them over to the side of Kitty's bed where they both made quick work of removing each other's clothes. By the time they landed on Kitty's soft, warm bed, their bodies were throbbing, aching for one another. Matt tenderly brushed the hair from Kitty's face and stared into her darkening blue eyes, his love and gratitude for her filling his heart as he braced himself over her. He blushed and ducked his head before looking back up at her. "I can lead this one, Kitty," Matt assured her with his most alluring smile.

Kitty playfully smiled up at him, her arousal coursing within her. "Oh, I know it. Lead on, Cowboy." Matt and Kitty moved to the sweet tune of their very own song, in a synchronization they'd perfected over the last several months….

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Matt Dillon awoke close to dawn with Kitty nestled tightly in his arms. Every morning he woke holding her felt just as amazing as the first. He lay staring at her, forever in awe of her beauty. Forever in awe of her love. He reached out and gently stroked her peacefully sleeping face, softly lit by the last remnants of the moon streaming in through the window. Matt pressed his lips to the fragrant, red tresses atop her sleeping head. "I love you, Kitty," he said softly, voice hoarse with emotion. He gathered her even closer in his arms, never wanting to let her go. "I still don't understand why you love me….but by golly, Kitty, I'm glad you do," he whispered into her hair with a peaceful smile.

A few moments later, a slender, freckle-covered hand reached up and stroked Matt's face. Kitty lifted her head and wiggled her little body up so they were face to face. She braced herself over him and stared into his eyes, her red hair falling down over her face, her breasts grazing his hard chest. As always, her beauty took Matt's breath away. "Can I interest you in a dance, Cowboy?" her smooth, whiskey-voice asked as her blue eyes sparkled in mischief.

Matt grinned from ear to ear, his eyes shining as they raked over her stunning body, taking in his breathtaking girl. "Yes ma'am," he answered in his rich, baritone voice, as he pulled Kitty down to him.

end