Changes

I truly did not intend to write a sequel to an ATC that I recently wrote. However, I got quite a few requests for one anyway. I can't say this is my best or my worst or somewhere in between. That will be for you, the reader, to decide.

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. I just like to spend time with them. No other profit to be had.

**M&K**

"We'll be in at the station in an hour, Ma'am." The conductor smiled down at Kitty. "Is there anything I can get you before then?"

"Oh, no." She shook her head. "No, I'm fine. But thank you."

"Yes, Ma'am." He touched the brim of his hat as he took his leave.

Kitty took a deep breath and looked back up and out the window. But instead of seeing the landscape rushing by she saw the dusty streets of a small cow town and the blue eyes of the man she loved and yet left.

Kitty closed her eyes as she remembered the last night she'd spent with him. The lovemaking, the kisses the warmth of each of them enveloped in the other. If she were honest she'd say their coupling was deliberate, on her part at least. When she'd taken Matt up with her that night, she fully intended to make love to him and give him every part of her that he wanted because she knew it would be for the last time. Of course, if Matt hadn't of wanted to, she wouldn't have forced it. But he'd wanted it very much and as she'd always done, she gave him her all. And then days later, she left Dodge City for good.

When she'd arrived in New Orleans, she had, as planned, gone straight to Julie Blaine. Julie had done her best to help, and Kitty would be forever grateful for that. Julie had allowed Kitty to stay with her and her grandson and helped Kitty find a place of her own when she was ready. Though Julie no longer owned a gambling house she still had friends that did and offered to help Kitty get a job.

But Kitty had declined the offer. After the sale of the Long Branch and her residual profits from her still thriving gold mine as well as other investments, Kitty hadn't been too worried about money. And there was something else as well. When she'd first left Dodge, she was positive she'd never return. That part of her life was sadly over and she decided to completely reshape her future. No saloons, or gambling houses or lawmen with no desire to be anything more than a friend.

She found a small house in a nice part of town with a small yard and deep porch where she could sit and enjoy the evening air. She established a bank account and even visited a few of the churches around town. She found she didn't mind some of the preaching and loved most of the hymns but she wasn't fond of a lot of the people. Most of them looked down on anyone not a part of their clique. But that wasn't all of them.

About a quarter of a mile from her little house she found a lively little church full of spirit and kindness and love for whoever walked in their doors. They never asked Kitty about her past and welcomed her present lovingly. The preacher, though not as fiery as some, did have an intimate knowledge of the good book and was a good teacher. She wasn't sure she'd ever actually call herself a 'Christian' woman but at least she could now say she felt she knew God in a way she never had before.

As the days passed, Kitty's life took on a certain routine. With no job to go to, she used her weekdays to make her home a happy place. With new paint and furniture and small accents that brightened the place, she turned a small house into a haven of rest for herself. Most Saturdays she would spend time wandering around New Orleans and re-acquainting herself with her child hood home. Sundays, after church, she would go home and just relax.

Of course, every day and almost every waking hour she thought about Matt. He would always be a part of her life regardless of the distance between them. As she went about her days she saw him in everything, the sight of a man riding a light colored horse, or the blue eyes of the child who lived next door or in the evening's sunset, as they'd seldom enjoyed a sunrise together.

Being apart from him didn't lessen her worry or her love for him. But in some ways, the distance made it all a little more tolerable. If she didn't know what was going on with him, her beleaguered mind told her, then she could believe that all was well and he was safe. He'd not have anyone being cruel to him if she didn't know about it, including her.

Of course, she hadn't been cruel to Matt, when she left. She'd been honest and blunt, but not cruel when she'd told Matt of her decision to leave. He, though upset, stated the same things he'd always said. "You know how I feel, Kitty, but it's your decision to make." "I can't tell you what to do with your life." "I hope you find someone who'll give you what you need." All of those things were nice but his words hadn't exactly been comforting and they hadn't engendered any desire of hers to stay. Instead, they reinforced her decision to leave.

And in moments of weakness, when she desperately wanted to take the next train back to Dodge and fling herself into his arms, his final words to her were what kept her in New Orleans, away from him. She'd given him every opportunity to claim her, to tell her what he wanted, to tell her he loved her. He didn't do it. She figured he probably couldn't do it. And she would never force herself onto him. All during their years together, things were almost always his way. She had to leave it at that.

TBC