Matt sat on Kitty's bed and watched her as she packed her suitcase for her business trip to Topeka. He didn't want her to go, but knew she would. She went on this business trip every year. The location rotated between Topeka, Wichita, and St. Louis. If it was possible, he would accompany her, and they would make a mini vacation out of it. This year going with her was not possible. Chester's army friend was once again stationed at Fort Dodge and Matt gave Chester a few days off to go and see him. With Chester gone, Matt had to stay in Dodge.

"When you go on these trips and I'm left back in Dodge, I know how you feel when I have to go to Hays or trail an outlaw," Matt said as he fingered the rim of his Stetson.

"At least you know I'll be back in four days. I usually don't know how long you'll be gone. Sometimes it's weeks," Kitty said, latching her suitcase.

Matt stood up and pulled Kitty close to him. He rubbed his hand in circular motions at the small of her back. "What time does your train leave?"

"In less than an hour," Kitty sighed. She was enjoying the sensation that Matt's action was giving her.

"Darn, not enough time to give you a proper send off." Matt looked into Kitty's eyes, disappointment coloring his face.

"Nooo, but I'll settle for a kiss and look forward to a proper welcome home." Kitty smiled.

Matt returned the smile and bent down so his lips met Kitty's lips. They shared a deep and compassionate kiss. If that kiss was any indication of what the welcome home would be like, both could not wait for Kitty's return. Four days was going to seem like an awful long time.

Not wanting to miss her train, Kitty reluctantly broke away from the kiss and reached for her suitcase. Before she could grab her suitcase, Matt took hold of it. Knowing that Matt was going to carry her suitcase for her, Kitty grabbed her reticule off her dresser. She checked inside to make sure she had her train ticket. Seeing the ticket was in there, both she and Matt walked out of her room at Ma Torvet's.

Kitty decided to rent a room at Ma Torvet's after she and Matt started to get serious and she and Matt wanted more privacy. She still had her room at the Long Branch, but there were times she just wanted to get away from the noise and the smell of the Long Branch and it really didn't offer the privacy Matt and Kitty wanted. Ma Torvet's boarding house wasn't Matt and Kitty's first choice of rooms for Kitty to rent. She was going to rent a room at Ma Smalley's, but Matt had a room there and they thought it might look a little coincidental if they both had a room there. Kitty made sure her door was locked and she and Matt made the short trek to the train depot.

Arriving at the train depot, Kitty walked up to the ticket window to make sure she had her return ticket to come back to Dodge. "You're all set, Miss Russelll. Have a wonderful trip."

"Thank you," Kitty said as she put the ticket in her reticule.

She turned and headed towards the platform to board her train. Matt walked beside her. When she reached the steps of the train, Matt offered his hand and helped her up the steps. Once she was at the entry of the train, he handed her the suitcase.

There were too many people around, so they couldn't give each other a kiss goodbye. A hug also seemed out of the question, even though it wasn't uncommon for good friends to hug. Nonetheless, they had to make it look like it was just a simple goodbye between the two of them, and that is just what they did. Before Kitty stepped inside the train she waved and said goodbye to Matt and Matt waved and said goodbye to Kitty.

Kitty entered the train and quickly found a seat near the window. She looked out and saw Matt standing there. Kitty tapped on the window to get his attention. When she had his attention, she slyly blew him a kiss. Discreetly, he caught the kiss and placed that hand on his heart. The gesture made Kitty feel all warm inside. She couldn't wait to get back to her Cowboy.

Matt stood on the platform and watched as the train traveled east. He watched the train as it went further out of view. The sound of the train whistle became quieter and quieter as it got further and further from Dodge. Knowing there was no point standing at the train depot anymore, Matt walked back to town. He decided to go find Doc and see if he wanted to go to DelMonico's for lunch. He had to do something to get his mind off of Kitty.

Before going to Doc's office, Matt wanted to make a stop at his office. Upon his arrival, Matt could see Doc sitting on one of the chairs outside of the jail. "You saved me a trip. I had to make a quick stop at the office, and then I was going to head to your office and see if you wanted to get lunch at DelMonico's." Matt took a key out of his pocket and unlocked the door to his office/jail.

"We were obviously both thinking about lunch. That's why I'm here." Doc stood up and followed Matt inside.

Matt did what he had to do, and then he and Doc strolled on over to DelMonico's. DelMonico's has been more crowded lately. They had a new cook that was pretty decent and people were going to enjoy him while he was there. Despite the crowd, Matt and Doc were able to find a table. They sat down and waited for Joe to take their orders.

Joe came and took their orders. It didn't take long for their food to arrive. While eating, Doc noticed that Matt was pushing the food around on his plate more than he was eating it, and he knew exactly why. "When do you expect Kitty back?'

"On Saturday," Matt responded.

"Good thing it isn't any longer. I'd hate to see you waste away to nothing."

Knowing what Doc meant, Matt started to take more bites of his food. It was going to be a long four days.

TBC