What I Was Missing Part 4
Matt unlocked his door and stepped into the dark apartment. He could see the red light of his answering machine blinking and he turned on the lights. He dropped his travel bag by the door and tossed his keys onto the desk. Then he shrugged out of his jacket and finally hit the play button.
"Mr. Dillon, this is Chester. I know that you're probably not there right now, but give me a call when you get in from outta town."
Beep!
"This is Chester again, Mr. Dillon. It's real important that I talk to you just as soon as possible. It isn't a huge emergency or anything like'at, but its very import'nt. Give me a call."
Beep!
"Me, again. To tell you the truth, Mr. Dillon, it's about Miss Kitty. She's not hurt or anything like'at. I don't mean to scare you none. But there's somethin' goin' on and I just feel like you should know about it."
Matt sighed as the messages ended. He had to admit that his curiosity was peeked, but he knew that Chester had the tendency to overreact about a situation. He knew one thing though…he sure had missed Kitty. He absolutely hated the way he had left things, but duty called and he had to go out of town. Initially, he had avoided the Long Branch, feeling that they both needed a few days to themselves, but he hoped that Kitty didn't think he was avoiding her all this time.
Matt walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. He stripped down and stepped into the hot spray, the water cascading down his tired muscles. He thought about Kitty's huge bathtub and he wished that he was relaxing in it instead. She had been on his mind constantly and he couldn't stop thinking about the kiss they had shared. He knew he would be lying if he said he didn't want to kiss her again…and much more. He let out a deep groan at his body's physical reaction to his thoughts and reached to the knob to make the water temperature cooler. Finally, he finished washing and climbed into bed naked, barely even taking the time to dry off.
He had done a lot of thinking while he was away and he knew that Kitty was right about at least one thing. He was running scared. With past girlfriends it was easy to justify to them why a permanent relationship wasn't possible, but with Kitty it was different. Doc had once told him that of all the women that had ever been in Matt's life, Kitty was the only one who was strong enough to be with him. Kitty Russell was the total package. She was everything that a woman should be. She was tougher than leather one minute and she was a girly girl the next. He had seen her stand up to plenty of guys twice her own size and he had seen her run like a sissy from a spider. He hadn't understood at first, but Doc went on to explain that a woman like Kitty was something rare. She wasn't the type who would try to change him and she wasn't the type to try and give him ultimatums. She wasn't faultless, but she wasn't far from it either, especially in Matt's eyes.
"Kitty knows how to let you be a man, Matt and she would help you to become an even better man," Doc told him. "She is the only woman that I have ever seen you with that is strong enough to handle the dangers of your job. If you don't let that girl know how you feel…" Doc said vehemently. He shook his head and pulled on his ear, "Then you're a darn fool."
Of course, Matt hadn't listened. He continued to convince himself that a family didn't equate into his line of work. He had seen so many good men die in the line of duty and he had seen their wives at their funerals and how utterly defeated they looked. He didn't want to do that to Kitty and he told Doc as much.
"Matt, that's life," the old man responded. "Tomorrow isn't promised to any of us, but that doesn't mean we stop living. If you continue to deny yourself then you'll be doing just that. You'll only be living half of your life and that, my friend, is no way to live."
Matt dozed as he thought about Doc's words from so long ago and he knew that he was right. All of his reasons were starting to sound flimsy even to him. He knew that it was time he and Kitty had a serious talk. Just before he fell into a deep sleep, he remembered something else Doc had said that night.
"I've been alive for a longtime, Matt and I've seen a lot of things, but never in my life have I seen anything like what I see when you and Kitty are together."
kMkMk
It was nearing six o'clock the next evening and Kitty had seen no signs of Adam, which was a good thing. She hoped that she never had to see him again. She sat at a table in the back with a glass of ice water doing some work and never even noticed when someone came in and walked toward her. A hand came to rest on her shoulder and she jumped. She turned around to see Matt standing there. "Matt," Kitty sighed with relief. "You scared me." Once she had calmed down from the scare, her heart began beating faster due to his presence. What if he came to tell her that they couldn't be friends anymore? She wasn't sure if she could live with that.
"Kitty, I need to talk to you," he said softly. Kitty glanced up at him.
"Okay, we can go into the office." If this was to be the end of them, she didn't want it to be in front of a bunch of strangers. She gathered up her things and led the way. Once inside, she sat her things on her desk and kept her back to him. "What is it, Matt?" she asked.
Matt watched her as she nervously fidgeted with stuff on her desk. He had already talked to Chester earlier in the day and he knew all about Adam Bellamy. He wondered if that was why she seemed so nervous. He walked up behind her quietly and placed his hands on her shoulders.
She couldn't help but relax at his touch.
"Kitty…" he whispered. She slowly turned around and stared up at him with uncertainty. "I can't stop thinking about that kiss," he told her as his hands slid down to her waist pulling her against him. That was the last thing that she expected to hear come out of his mouth and Matt hadn't planned on saying it either, but it sort of just tumbled out.
"What?" Kitty asked dumbfounded. She could only watch as Matt slowly leaned down to her. Her eyes shut of their own accord and soon after she felt his warm breath on her parted lips.
Matt leaned in the rest of the way and captured Kitty's lips with his own. If at all possible, she tasted even better than before. He felt her arms wrap around his neck and her fingers in his hair. He deepened the kiss and his tongue caressed hers. It was only the second time that they had ever shared a kiss, but something about it seemed so familiar to both of them. They only pulled away due to the need to breath. Kitty rested her head on Matt's chest and he hugged her tight. "I love you, Kitty," he told her softly. He was full of surprises tonight. Kitty leaned back and looked into his eyes finding passion and sincerity and tears came to her own eyes.
"You certainly know how to make a girl speechless, Cowboy," she told him in a shaky voice. She rested her head back on his chest squeezed him tight. "I love you, too, Matt."
"You were right, Kitty. I was scared, but I'm through with that now. I wanna be with you and I want you to be my girl," he told her, kissing the top of her head.
Kitty sighed and reveled in the feel and smell of him. "I've always been your girl, Matt. It just took your dense male brain a while to figure it out." She smiled up at him and he grinned back. They were going to be so good together.
A while later they were seated on the couch, kissing and touching and enjoying this new aspect of each other. Kitty's hand was rubbing Matt's thigh and gradually moving higher. "If you keep that up we're gonna end up making love right here on this couch," he told her as he placed a light kiss on her ear.
"That wouldn't be so bad," Kitty said even though she redirected her caresses.
"I don't want our first time together to be in your office."
"No? Where at then?" she asked him playfully.
"You're bad."
"You like it."
"I know it." They sat quietly for a while. Kitty knew that she should tell him about Adam.
"Matt, why did you stay away so long?" she asked instead.
"I did for the first few days, but after that I had to go out of town. Didn't Doc or Chester tell you?" he asked confused.
"No. I haven't seen much of them in the past two weeks. There's something I should tell you, Matt…"
"It's alright, Kitty. Chester already told me." The look Kitty gave him could have melted ice.
"Ya know, I love Chester dearly, but he really needs to learn how to mind his own business," she said, peeved at Chester's nosiness.
"I know, you're right, but I think he was really worried this time. He told me what Adam said." He hooked a finger under her chin and looked her in the eye. "I want you to tell me if he bothers you again," he told her seriously.
"I will, Matt," Kitty said feeling protected. "And I want you to know…nothing happened between me and Adam. We only went out a few times and he came by to visit me a lot. He was such a nice man at first, but just like that…he changed. I guess he was two men."
"It's alright, Kitty," Matt said simply as they sat a while longer.
"Come on," she said pulling out of his arms and standing up, "Let's go have a drink."
"I think I need something to eat first," he told her as he stood and took her hand. They walked out of the office talking quietly and made their way to the bar, not noticing anyone else.
"So, that's how it is, huh, Kitty?" said Adam from behind them and looking down at their joined hands. He took a long drink of the beer in his hand. Matt and Kitty both turned to look at him.
"Look, Adam, I don't want any trouble in here," she told him. It was amazing how fast he had become a pest. "You don't own me and I never did one thing to lead you on." Matt stepped up and stood in front of her. Adam only continued to stare at the two of them.
"Why don't you get outta here, Bellamy, before someone gets hurt?" All of a sudden, Adam threw his beer bottle and lunged at Matt. The bottle shattered at Kitty's feet and Matt knocked into her causing her to fall. He regained his balance and swung, hitting Adam in the jaw. He then grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back. He pushed him toward the door and warned, "You better not come back here again and I had better not catch you even ten feet from her! You do come back and I'll arrest you myself," Matt threatened. He wanted to pummel the man, but his being an officer of the law held him back.
"Oh, I get it. You're a cop, huh? Well, that's just fine. Kitty is nothin' but a bitch anyhow! You'll see," Adam said as he rubbed his bruising jaw. Matt said nothing and watched him until he got in his car and sped away. He turned to go back inside and found Kitty standing at the end of the bar with Sam wrapping her hand in a towel.
"What happened?" he asked rushing over.
"I guess I put my hand in the broken glass when I went to get up from the floor," Kitty explained. Matt carefully removed the reddening towel and inspected the damage. There were two larger pieces of glass and some smaller shards poking out of her hand.
"Come on, I'm taking you to the hospital," he said ushering her out of the bar.
"Wait. Go into the office and get my purse," Kitty told him. Matt did as he was told and then rushed her out to his truck.
kMkMk
Kitty scrunched her face up and bit her lip as Doc pulled out the larger pieces. He then grabbed a pair of tweezers with incredibly fine points and held her hand under a magnifying glass to pull out the smaller shards. The f-word was on the tip of her tongue as he began to prod for them. Matt was sitting next to her and he lightly rubbed her back trying to comfort her as best he could.
After Doc had finally removed all the glass, he walked her to the sink so he could rinse her hand. Then he retrieved a bottle of antibacterial disinfectant spray. "This is gonna sting, Kitty." She nodded her head in understanding. Doc sprayed her hand and this time the f-word slipped on out.
Ten minutes later, Doc had finally finished and Kitty was now sporting white bandages wrapped around her right hand, only the tips of her fingers and her thumb poking out. "I'm not gonna be able to get any work done like this," she said, her bottom lip pouting. "I can't even write anything."
"Good," Doc said. "The easier you take it the faster you'll heal."
"Well, what am I supposed to do? Lay around all day and watch TV?"
"…yeah…" chorused Doc and Matt. Kitty rolled her eyes.
"Don't worry," Matt said as he leaned over to kiss her temple. "I'll see if I can't get a few days off and help you."
"Really?" Kitty asked perking up at the possibilities. Matt nodded. Doc watched the two of them and they seemed to be chummier than usual.
"Say, what's all this?" he asked gesturing at them. Matt smiled brightly and wrapped an arm around Kitty's waist.
"I finally took your advice, Doc." The old man smiled and shook his head.
"It's about dog on time, Matt."
The End.