Gunsmoke: Never Wanna Live Without You
Part 8
"How do you think we'll hold up, out there Paul?" Matt asked later as the drivers loaded up baggage and cargo. Paul and his partner Jeff had been taking runs out of Dodge for a few years now.
"Well, Marshal, I've been through worse. It won't be easy, but we'll make it," he reassured. Matt nodded and walked around to get on the stage. So far, he had seen two new passengers, a woman seated next to him and an older man on the other side of her. The two men from before were seated on the bench across from them. He was glad no one sat directly across from him, leaving some space for him to stretch his legs.
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"Damn it," she cursed softly under her breath. Snow had gotten in her boots and it was terribly uncomfortable. It was hard enough trekking through the snow as it was, and the bags she was carrying didn't make it any easier. She squinted across the street to see the driver talking to the people already on the stage through the window. She tried stepping in previously made tracks to quicken her pace. "Driver," she yelled trying to catch his attention before she got left. The man turned around and immediately hurried over to her as best he could in the deep snow.
"You gettin' on the stage bound for St. Louis, ma'am?" Paul asked taking her bags from her and grabbing her elbow to try and keep her steady.
"I sure am," she told him thankful for his help.
"A few minutes later and you would have missed us," he said as they approached the front of the stage. He didn't think he had ever seen a finer looking woman. "It would have been a shame if a beautiful woman like you had gotten stranded," he flirted. She smiled sweetly at him and pulled her ticket from the pocket of her cape.
"There's still room for me isn't there?"
"Sure is. We got exactly one seat left." He tossed her bags up to his partner and then turned to assist her inside the stage.
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Everyone inside sat quietly, listening to the mumble of voices outside. They were more than ready to start the trip. Matt sat up in his seat as the stagecoach door came open practically blinding everyone inside. He strained to see through the brightness as someone prepared to get in. So much for his leg room. The first thing to hit his senses was the scent of her perfume. It was forever imbedded into his brain. He blinked rapidly against the light, trying to catch a glimpse of the new passenger.
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She could barely make out anything inside of the stage due to the snow blindness. She grabbed her cape and skirts in one hand and pulled herself up into the stage with the other. She plopped down onto the empty seat and quickly situated herself as her vision cleared.
Matt's mouth fell open slightly when he finally saw her. "Kitty?" he asked not sure if he was really seeing her.
Her head snapped up at the sound of his voice. "Matt?" He was the last person she ever expected to see.
Before either of them could say anything else, the driver hollered out and the stage was in motion, jerking all of the passengers in their seats. Their eyes locked and held with a silent understanding that it wasn't the time or the place, especially with so many ears around. As far as Kitty was concerned, they didn't have too much to say to one another anyway. She looked around at the others who were trying to pretend like they weren't interested in the brief exchange.
There wasn't much she could do with her eyes. She wanted to look out the window, but it was too cold to put the flap up. Her gaze wandered discretely over to the young woman sitting rather close to Matt. One would think they were an item she was sitting so close. The older man next to the woman was already dozing and the two men next to Kitty, one blonde and one brunette, were having a quiet conversation. She was trying her hardest not to make eye contact with Matt.
He, on the other hand, couldn't keep his eyes off of her. There wasn't ever a time where he couldn't remember being drawn to her and now was no different. So you were the mysterious woman trudging across the street? he thought to himself. Now, he knew why he was so interested in her. There had to be at least three other women crossing that same street, but he had paid no attention to them. What was she doing in Jefferson City? When he had checked her ticket stub those months ago, it had said that her final destination was San Francisco. They were an awful long ways from California right now. There were a million questions that he wanted to ask her, but he knew that he wasn't privy to her business anymore. He figured she didn't want to talk to him anyway considering the way she avoided his eyes. But how could he blame her?
Kitty couldn't believe it. As soon as she saw him, her instincts told her to get off of the stage and wait for another one, but with the unpredictable weather, there was no telling when another storm would hit or when the next stage would head out. It was sure to be an awkward trip though. Except for the two men beside her who only talked to each other, no one seemed to be very conversational. What was Matt doing all the way in Jefferson City anyway? It was a long way from Dodge and as far as she knew Dodge City had a hold on him like no friend, woman, or family ever had or would. It was an unkind thing to think, but she would be lying if she said that she had completely forgiven him. She knew from first hand experience that nothing could compete with his job, and she hadn't been trying to really. Matt was a lawman and she loved Matt; therefore she loved Matt the lawman.
The only thing to do was sleep, so Kitty closed her eyes and prayed that it be a quick trip.
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Two hours passed before she woke up to the sound of a shrill voice.
"…and daddy usually never lets me travel alone, but I told him that I was more than capable of taking care of myself." Kitty cracked her eyes open and looked at Matt who was trying his darndest to be polite and listen as the bubbly woman chattered on and on. A hint of a smile formed on her lips. Every time the young woman said something, she would place a hand on Matt's thigh. Her smile grew wider as she noticed him inching his leg in closer and closer, further away from the touchy hands. The stage was cramped as it was, but anyone sitting across from the huge marshal would be even more confined. Kitty's legs were already tightly closed and Matt's legs were practically encasing them. She looked at the empty spot next to the woman and saw the older gentleman had disappeared. They must have made a stop while she was sleeping.
Matt wished the woman would be quiet and stop touching him. He steadily moved his knee in and his eyes shot over to Kitty as he accidentally bumped her. He watched her beautiful face for a moment as she slept. As he was about to turn his attention back to the woman, he noticed a small sparkle beneath her eyelashes. She had been awake the whole time. He gave her a lopsided smile and she winked at him. Maybe she didn't hate him after all.
"…so now I'm headed to Virginia to be with my aunt and cousin." She had just given Matt and the other passengers her life story, but he had only heard a few sentences of it. "I'm Ginger," she said as she held out a gloved hand to him.
"Matt," he said taking the hand. It was going to be a long trip.
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"Whoa!" the driver yelled. Matt woke up to the sound and quickly lifted the flap on his window. They were pulling up to a relay station. The sun was gone and it had begun to snow again. He looked over to see that Kitty was still sleeping despite all of the noise. By this time, everyone else had begun piling out, happy to be able to stretch their legs.
"Howdy, folks!" he heard who he assumed was the relay manager call from outside.
"Kitty?" he called softly. No response. He reached a hand out to her face, his thumb gently caressing her cool cheek. He wanted more than anything to lean in further and wake her up like he used to.
It was a beautiful summer afternoon and they had taken advantage of the quiet day in Dodge. A small lunch was packed and a short ride found them at the river's edge where they waded in the water before finally relaxing under a tree.
The sound of a bird screeching woke Matt. He turned his head the side to see Kitty still sleeping peacefully beside him on her back. He situated the rest of his body until he was propped up by an elbow and looking down at her. His free hand went to her stomach where it rubbed lightly and then leisurely trailed a path down to her hip. She moaned softly, but still didn't wake. He leaned down slowly until his face was a hair's breath away from hers. His hand came up from where it had continued caressing her hip to rest gently on her face. He closed the distance between them and took her mouth in a warm kiss. Soon, he felt her respond and he intensified the kiss, his tongue gently pushing past her lips to play. He pulled away slowly and rested his forehead against hers.
"How did you know it was me?" he teased. Kitty smiled slyly and leaned in for another kiss.
"I'd know your touch anywhere," she told him. "Your kiss is on my soul."
Kitty turned her face into the comforting hand that was so familiar to her. Her eyes fluttered open to see Matt's face close to her own.
"Kitty," he said softly, "It's time to get off the stage. We're at a relay station in Washington." His hand reluctantly dropped from her face and he moved to get off the stage. Once he was out, he turned around to help her down, but not before Paul beat him to it. He stood watching them as Kitty carefully stepped down into the thick snow. Paul hurried to get her bags and was quickly back at her side. Matt picked up his own bag and turned around to go inside. Paul had a look on his face that he had seen plenty of times before.
The other passengers had already taken up seats by the fire located on the far side of the room. There was a long, wooden bench in front of the hearth and a few feet away sat a table. To the left was a counter and to the right were three doors. Ginger turned from the fire and spotted him, hurrying over with a cup. "I saved some coffee for you, Matt. It was the last of it," she said smiling up at him.
"Thanks," he said taking the cup.
"There's room over hear next to me," she said sweetly. Even though he didn't want to, Matt politely followed her over and took up the warm seat. "It's getting pretty bad out. Do you think we'll be stuck here?" she asked.
"I don't know." Matt turned around at the sound of the door opening. Kitty walked in with her two bags and placed them by the door with everyone else's. She looked like royalty in her cape. She pushed the hood of it back and unfastened the hat from her head, exposing her lustrous red hair. Matt looked over to see the two younger men from the stage watching her. They still had yet to introduce themselves. He turned back to her as she pulled her gloves off with her teeth and walked closer to the fire. All of the good seats had been taken. She walked over to the pot bellied stove and shook the empty coffee pot with a sigh. No one had bothered putting more on. Matt stood and went over to her. "Here you go," he said handing her his cup. Ginger watched them with an annoyed look on her face. She had saved that coffee for Matt, not that woman.
Kitty stared at him for a moment. "Thank you," she said finally, gratefully taking the warm cup. She wouldn't have taken it if she hadn't been so cold. Matt watched as her chin quivered. He wanted to wrap his arms around her, but he didn't dare. He stood there for a moment, not sure if he should try and have a conversation with her or not.
"Kitty, how have you been?" he asked, taking a chance. She glanced up at him and then stared into the dark, steaming liquid.
"I've been fine, Matt. How have you been?"
"Alright, I guess," he answered. They stood there for a few minutes in silence.
"And Doc and Chester?" she inquired.
"They've been fine. They miss you." Kitty nodded, wishing she would have said goodbye to them. "Look, Kitty," he began in a quiet voice, "I know that the last time we saw each other wasn't on the best terms." Neither noticed Ginger straining to hear what they were saying. "But I just want you to know that I never wanted to hurt you," he apologized.
Kitty didn't really know what to say to that. When she left Dodge she had been angry at him, but three months was a long time to hold a grudge and she liked to think that she had gotten past it, even if it was still painful sometimes. "It's alright, Matt. I guess you could say that I've come to realize that you were right. We just wouldn't have worked together," she lied. That wasn't an easy thing for her to say. She ran a finger around the rim of the cup. "Where are you headed?" she asked, quickly changing the subject.
"I've got some business in St. Louis," he answered, relieved that she was talking to him. "You?"
"I'm traveling to visit a friend," she said, not revealing whether her final stop was in St. Louis or not. Matt noticed. He wanted to ask her why she wasn't in California, but he didn't want her to know he had been checking up on her. She took a sip of her coffee. "Do you think we'll get stuck here?" she asked, unknowingly repeating Ginger's question from earlier. Ginger heard, irritated that Matt gave her more of an answer.
"I think we might," he said glancing out the window. "The snow is getting worse. I think I'm gonna go out and see what's keeping them." Kitty nodded as he headed toward the door.
To be continued…