What I Was Missing Part 2
Doc walked into the Long Branch to find Kitty and Matt sitting at the bar together. Matt was looking into Kitty's eyes and grinning widely at something she just said. He tugged on his ear as he walked over to them. "When are you two gonna quit making eyes at each other and get together?" They both looked away embarrassed and said nothing as the ornery old man waved Sam over.
"What can I get for you, Doc?" Sam asked.
"I'd like the coldest beer you've got."
"Long time, no see, Doc," Matt said as he took a swallow of his beer. He had actually gotten off of work at a decent time for a change.
"What have you been doing with yourself?" he asked as he took a seat next to Kitty.
"He's been working himself to death, that's what," she answered Doc and shot Matt a disapproving look. "And I've invited him over to my place for dinner this weekend so he can relax for a change. You wanna come, Doc?" Kitty invited.
"No, I can't, Kitty. I've got a conference to go to this weekend. I will take a rain check though."
"Sure. Now, if you boys will excuse me, I've got some work I have to do," she said as she slid off of her bar stool and walked toward her office. Today, she was wearing a black skirt that came to just above the knee, a sleeveless, black top and black pumps to match. Her hair was left down around her shoulders. Doc shook his head as he watched her walk away.
"Matt, I don't see how on earth you can resist a woman that looks that good…unless of course…you're gay," he said not missing a beat.
"Doc!" Matt said not believing what the old man had just said.
"Well…why haven't you asked her out then?"
"For your information, Kitty and I have gone out plenty of times."
"Sure, as friends maybe, but nothing more," Doc pointed out.
"That's right!" Matt said. "Because that's what we are…friends…and as long as I'm a U.S. Marshal that's all we're gonna be." He knew how Kitty felt about him and he couldn't say that he didn't feel the same. She was pretty honest with him about it from the beginning, but how could he possibly be with her knowing that any day he could be killed on the job? He wasn't sure if he could live with that fact. He didn't want to leave a family behind if something were to happen to him.
"Kitty is a beautiful, smart, and amazing woman, Matt." Doc looked down at the end of the bar and saw that Kitty had come out of her office and was helping Sam make drinks. "I bet you'll never meet another woman like her."
"Probably not, Doc," Matt said as he took another drink of his beer.
"Imagine all the beautiful children you could have with her," Doc said enticingly as he watched Matt out of the corner of his eye. He didn't mean to press Matt so much, but he had never seen two people who were so right for each other.
Matt looked over to where Kitty was, smiling beautifully and chatting with a customer. He would be lying if he said he had never thought about things like that with her, then he would remember his job and it would smother the thought. "Doc, I hope you didn't come in here tonight just to badger me," he said hoping to change the topic.
"No, I didn't, but you need a good badgering every now and then and I haven't seen you in nearly a month so I figured you were due for one," he said as Matt chuckled. Doc looked over to where Kitty was again. She was talking to a man with black hair and Doc was sure that he had seen him in the Long Branch on plenty of other occasions.
"Say, do you know who that man is that Kitty is talking to?" he asked Matt. Matt looked down the bar at the man.
"No, I don't recognize him. Why?"
"No reason. I see him in here quite a bit. Seems he's always talking to Kitty, too," Doc said wondering.
"Well, Doc, Kitty knows a lot of people and she has a lot of regular customers. He's probably just one of them," Matt said a little annoyed. Sometimes when Doc got going, he didn't stop. Besides, he figured that whatever went on, or didn't, between him and Kitty was their business.
"Well, I just know that if it were my girlfriend talking to some man I didn't know…" Doc trailed off.
"Kitty is not my girlfriend," Matt said as he turned to stare incredulously at the old man. Doc took a swig of his beer and turned his head the other way as he held in a laugh. "Now can we please change the subject?" Matt asked as his eyes darted quickly to where Kitty was standing, still talking to the dark haired man.
"Fine, fine," said Doc. "How is work, really? Have you caught that Davis character yet?"
"Yes, we did," Matt said glad Doc wasn't hassling him anymore. "He was charged with two counts rape, two counts second degree murder, and a long list of drug charges." Frank Davis was a man that Matt and his team had been after for years. He had somehow always managed to stay one step ahead of them, but he finally slipped up and they caught him. It was one of the biggest raids he had ever been apart of. The man had enough drugs stashed at his house to start five different companies if he wanted to.
"Good thing he's off the street. What are you working on now?"
"Just more of the same, Doc. There seems to be a never ending supply of murderers and drug dealers to catch."
"I hear ya."
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Later on that evening, Kitty and Matt sat at a booth having dinner. Kitty looked up from her plate and over at Matt. "Matt you've been here ever since you got off work. Aren't you tired?" she asked as she bit a French fry in half. Having gone home earlier to change, she was now dressed in a pair of faded jeans and a tight orange T-shirt with some tennis shoes. Matt swallowed his bite of hamburger and answered.
"Yeah, I'm tired alright, but I don't have any food at my place and you know I can't stand grocery shopping."
"Oh, I get it. You just hang around here for the free food and drinks," she kidded.
"Well, aside from the beautiful owner, what else is there to hang around for?" he smiled. Kitty returned his smile and they both continued to eat. She wondered if he had any idea how his comments like that affected her. There had always been a certain amount of friendly flirting in their relationship, but these days it only seemed to remind Kitty of what they could, but probably never would have together. She figured she would rather have his friendship than nothing at all though, so she never really made mention of how his comments made her feel. She didn't want to make him uncomfortable either.
For some reason, lately, relationships had been on her mind. She knew that she loved Matt without a doubt, but she wasn't sure that she wanted to wait around forever on the hopes that he would someday change his mind about her. She wasn't itching to be married, but it was something she would definitely consider with the right person. She eventually wanted someone to share her life with and maybe even children. The Long Branch certainly was good to her, but she wanted more than it in her life. She was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of Matt's voice. "What?" she asked, missing what he had said.
"That guy you were talking to earlier…when Doc was here," Matt said trying to be nonchalant in his questioning. The corner of Kitty's mouth lifted. She could see right through it. On the rare occasion that she did date, Matt was always bad at hiding his jealousy.
"Oh, what about him?" She wasn't going to make it easy for him.
"Do you know him?" Matt asked as he took a sip of his Coke having switched from beer hours ago.
"Yeah, a little. He's been coming in here lately."
"What's his name?"
"Adam Bellamy."
"Hm."
"Do you know who he is?" Kitty asked.
"No, I was just wondering." Kitty was about to say more when she looked over to see Chester limping toward them.
"Hi, Chester," she said with a smile as he approached their table. She scooted over so he could sit beside her.
"Hello, Chester," Matt greeted, very glad for the interruption.
"Howdy, Miss Kitty, Mr. Dillon." Chester was always so formal. Doc would always tease that he probably called his wife Mrs. Goode.
"What brings you by tonight, Chester?" Matt asked.
"Ohhh," he sighed, "Samantha is with her mother for the weekend and I just figured I'd come by and have a beer," he said, referring to his six year old daughter.
"How is Alison?" Kitty asked of Chester's ex-wife.
"She's just fine. She started a new job down at the post office last week."
"Good," Kitty said, knowing that Alison had been in between jobs for a few months. Chester and Alison had been married long before Kitty had come to Dodge and at one time, she was a waitress at the Long Branch. Even though they were divorced, they still remained civil toward each other for Samantha's sake. "So, Chester, Matt and I are having dinner at my place this weekend. You wanna come?" she asked him.
"Well, I sure would, Miss Kitty. Thank you," Chester said. "It'd be nice to get outta the house this weekend. You want me to bring anything?" he offered.
"Nope, just bring you," Kitty smiled. A waitress named Jane eventually came over to take Chester's order and now he was at the bar talking to her.
"I think Chester falls in love at least once a week," said Matt chuckling.
"I think you're right," Kitty agreed. They had long since finished with their dinner and she was about ready to call it a night. She let her head fall back against the booth and closed her eyes. Then she stretched her arms wide and gave a long purr. Matt watched her from his side of the booth and couldn't help but admire how pretty she was and the way her t-shirt strained when she stretched. She was absolutely the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Sometimes he thought himself crazy for not furthering their relationship, but then all of the reasons that he didn't would rush to the front of his mind. He thought about what Doc had said earlier about children. He bet that Kitty would look even more beautiful pregnant. "Let's get out of here," Kitty said, cutting through his thoughts. She stood and walked over to the bar and Matt stood as well following and blushing a little at what he was thinking about. He heard Kitty tell Chester and Sam that they were leaving.
"Alright, Miss Kitty. I'll be seein' you tomorrow then. You, too, Mr. Dillon…say you look a little flushed," Chester noticed and Matt mentally rolled his eyes. Leave it up to Chester.
"I'm fine, Chester. Just a little warm is all," Matt explained, hoping that the attention would veer away from him. Kitty looked over at him and gave a look of concern. She knew that he was the type to say nothing even if he was sick. Matt gave her a reassuring smile and they left.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Kitty asked as he walked her to her car.
"I'm fine, Kitty. Honest." Kitty studied him for a moment and then raised a hand to his forehead.
"Alright," she said, convinced that he was telling her the truth. "I'll see you tomorrow." Matt opened her door for her and shut it once she was in. He watched until she drove off and then headed for his truck.
Matt arrived home a few minutes later and sorted through his keys as he walked up to the building. Once inside his apartment, he locked the door behind him and flipped on the lights. His apartment was rather small. The living room was big enough for a full couch, a desk and a television stand. The kitchen was tiny with a small slab of counter space, a sink and a stove. He didn't even have a microwave. He could afford better, but he saw no sense in moving considering the only thing he used the place for was sleeping. All of his other time was either spent working or at the Long Branch.
Right now, the place was a mess. Kitty would kill me if she saw this, Matt thought, not even realizing that the comment made them sound like a longtime married couple. There were papers scattered all over the desk, old newspapers piled next to the couch, and the dishes were way past needing to be done. He wasn't even sure how the place got so messy considering he barely spent any time there. "If I moved to a bigger apartment, then that would only give me more space to make an even bigger mess," he said as he looked around. With a sigh, he took off his jacket and tossed it onto the back of the couch. He made his way to the bedroom, finished undressing and plopped down onto the bed falling asleep quickly.
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Kitty was up early the next day with plenty of rest and energy. She was looking forward to spending some leisure time with her friends. She sure wished that Doc had been able to make it though. On the menu were barbequed ribs, grilled shrimp kabobs, corn and pepper fritters, and red beans and rice. Matt told her that he loved it when she made red beans and rice. For dessert they were having peach cobbler. Her New Orleans roots came in handy when it came to cooking.
Chester had come by around three. It was a beautiful and sunny day, so they decided to sit out on the deck. "Miss Kitty, you know, you just have the best lookin' house I've ever seen," Chester complimented as he looked around the huge yard. The dogs were out and running around.
"Thank you, Chester," Kitty smiled as she got up to check the ribs. Today, she was wearing a pair of blue jean Capri's that showed off an ankle bracelet, a red tank top and some plain brown flip-flops.
"Who cuts all your grass?" he asked.
"I do. Who else?"
"Oh, I don't know. I figured maybe you hired a lawn service or somethin'. Ya know, I should have seen if Samantha wanted to come along. She just had a ball the last time she was at your house, Miss Kitty," said Chester referring to last Fourth of July.
"Oh, Chester, you should go and call Alison and see if it's okay. Dinner won't be ready for a while yet anyway," Kitty said wanting to see the precious little girl as well.
"Alright, I think I will." Chester called and cleared everything with Alison and was on his way. While he was gone, Doc called.
"Hello," Kitty said.
"Kitty," came Doc's voice.
"Doc? I thought you were out of town this weekend."
"Well, I was supposed to be, but they canceled the conference. I thought I'd give you a call and see if I was still invited to dinner."
"Of course," Kitty said happily. "You just get yourself on over here." They ended the call and Kitty walked into the kitchen to pull out the beer and put it into a cooler. While doing so, the doorbell rang. She walked into the living room to answer it and opened the door to find Matt on the other side. "Hi, Cowboy," she greeted him with a big smile. He looked good in a pair of khaki pants and a burgundy Polo shirt. Matt returned her smile and handed her a bottle of wine.
"I thought it might go nice with dinner," he told her as he stepped inside. The wonderful smells of grilling, wafting in through the open patio door, hit him full in the face.
"Thanks," Kitty said as she put it in the cooler as well. "Chester decided to go and get Samantha," she told him as she put a few sodas inside the cooler. "And it turns out that Doc will be able to make it after all," she yelled from the kitchen.
"Anything you need me to do," Matt asked as he walked over to where she was.
"Yeah, you can go and check the ribs," Kitty told him. She poured more ice into the cooler while Matt went to do as he was told. A few minutes later, Kitty heard a beeping noise. With a furrowed brow, she went to find Matt. "Did you hear th…" she trailed off as he came in through the patio with his pager in his hands. He looked up and saw the disappointment on her face.
"I'm sorry, Kitty. It's an emergency though. I have to get down to the office and see what's going on." He was just as disappointed as she was. It was the first day he had off in a long while and he was looking forward to spending it with Doc, Chester and mainly her.
"It's alright, Matt. Just go on…and be careful," she told him as he hurried out the front door. Kitty sighed and went out to check the food.
To be continued…