Not long after Kitty returned to the bar room, business began to pick up. It wasn't as busy as it would be later on but busy enough. Before she knew it, two hours and then three passed and the saloon just got busier. Kitty's leg hurt a little but she ignored that and continued to work. Whether delivering a tray of drinks to a table or drawing beers behind the bar she kept on.
By the time early afternoon and a slowdown arrived, Kitty and Sam along with Tess, another of Kitty's girls, were tired. Tess, fortunately, had come in early and she, along with Kitty and Sam had been at it all day and none of them had taken a dinner break or even so much as stepped outside for air.
"Miss Kitty?" Tess leaned in next to her. "Do you mind if I sit down for a little bit? My feet are killing me."
"No, go head." Kitty answered wearily. "Looks like things are slowing down so it's a good time to do just that." She looked over Sam who was standing to her left. "You too, Sam. Go take a break."
"Oh, I'm alright, Miss Kitty." Sam shook his head. "Besides you look as tired as we are."
"Doesn't matter what I look like," Kitty answered him sternly. "I'm the boss around here and I say you need to go take a break. Ok?"
"Alright." Sam nodded. He knew better to than to argue with her. Besides, his hand was beginning to ache a lot more than he was willing to admit.
As he walked around the bar, Kitty shook her head at him and reached down and grabbed a cup from under the bar. She'd made a fresh pot of coffee not too long ago and hadn't had time as of yet to drink any. Once the coffee was poured, Kitty leaned against the back bar and took her first uninterrupted sip of the day. It was good; but it also reminded her she hadn't eaten all day, nor had her employees.
"Sam." She stopped him before he got too far from the bar. "Why don't you and Tess go on over to Delmonico's and get something to eat. Bring me a tray when you get back. Okay?"
"Well," Sam looked around the half full barroom.
"I'll be okay." Kitty assured him. "Just go on. Bring me back a steak."
"Well, if you're sure." Sam hedged. He hated to leave her alone there but he was hungry.
"I'm sure." She smiled. "Go on. Have them put it on my tab, okay?"
"Yes, Ma'am." Sam nodded as he called Tess to him and they both left the saloon.
Reaching for her coffee cup again, Kitty once more heard her name. Turning she saw a slender young man standing in front of her.
"You are Miss Kitty, ain't ya?" He asked.
"Yes," she nodded. "Uh, how can I help you?"
"Well, I heard you might buy my gold from me." He answered as he reached in his pocket and pulled a cloth wrapped object and placed it on the bar in front of her.
"Your gold?" She gingerly pried the cloth away to reveal a shiny rock.
"Yes, Ma'am." He said. "I took it down to the assay office but there won't no one there. Feller on the sidewalk said to come and see you. He said you was always willing to help a feller out."
Kitty bristled at that, grateful that the young man didn't know exactly what that 'feller' might've meant and she didn't know who that feller was. Instead she concentrated on the rock in front of her. It was shiny, but it wasn't gold.
"Well?" He looked over at her with a gap-toothed grin. "What do you think?"
Kitty stared intently at the palm-sized rock currently residing on her bar top. It was certainly shiny enough. And if value were measured in weight alone it would be very valuable indeed. However, it's weight and shiny exterior did not change the fact that it was worthless to anyone except the hard luck kid standing in front of her.
"Well?" He asked again.
Before answering, Kitty looked back up at the young man. Rail thin with wispy, dirty blonde hair, light blue eyes and tattered clothing, it was clear he could certainly use the money he thought the rock was worth. "Well, it's not gold." She finally sighed with a regretful shake of her head until she saw the crestfallen look on his face. "But it's not completely worthless." She quickly added. "I could give you 20 dollars for it."
"You could!?" His eyes lit up at the amount she mentioned and a slow smile crept across his face.
"I could." She confirmed with a smile of her own. "You stay here for a minute and I'll get the money." She started back towards the other end of the bar where the cash box was but the boy called her back.
"Ma'am?" When Kitty looked back at him, he picked up the rock and extended it to her. "Don't forget to put this up. You don't want it stolen."
"Thank you." She answered as she extended a hand to clasp the shiny rock. "I'll be right back."
Going down to the other end of the bar, Kitty laid the rock on a bottom shelf and grabbed her cash box from beside it. Pulling out the money, she closed the box and went back down to the boy. Though, those that knew her, would shake their heads at her for paying a boy she didn't know $20 for a piece of pyrite, she couldn't help it. She remembered all too well what it felt like to be alone, hungry and broke.
With a smile, she held out the money but refused, for a moment, to release her grip of it. "Now, don't take this money and gamble it away or throw it away on whiskey or girls. Okay? You need to get yourself something to eat and at least a decent jacket. That one's worn out."
The boy self-consciously looked down at his coat with a sad nod of agreement. "Yes, Ma'am. Guess I could at that. Okay. I promise."
"Good." Kitty placed the money into his hand. "Now, get on out of here. This saloon is no place for you."
"Alright." He happily put the money in the pocket of his threadbare jacket. "And thank you, Ma'am. I sure do appreciate it."
"You're welcome. Now go." As the young man left, Kitty let out a breath, shook her head and drank her coffee.
An hour later, Sam and Tess returned with a tray of food for her followed by Julie, who was late but at least there. Grateful for the respite, Kitty took the tray back to her office and closed the door behind her. She was in need of a few quiet moments alone more than she was in need of the food. But as she pulled the cloth from the tray, she realized she needed that as well.
However, Kitty had only eaten a few bites of her steak when she heard a commotion coming from the bar room. Taking a deep breath and with a weary shake her head, Kitty got back up and went out front. She found two men arguing with Sam in the middle yelling for them to quit.
"Sam?" Kitty marched out to where the two men faced off. "What's going on?"
"He's trying to take my gal." Jim Tuft growled as he scowled over at Otis Clemper. "Julie's my gal."
"She ain't neither." Warren quarreled. "She's mine."
"No, she ain't." Jim moved forward with his fist raised prepared to pound Otis into the bar room floor.
But Kitty quickly moved in between the two of them. "Now, you two stop this. You want to fight, do it outside. But not in here."
Jim stopped, raised fist slowly coming down to his side. Otis, however, was too angry and had too little sense to follow suit.
"We don't need to fight." Otis bragged. "Cause he cain't beat me and he knows it. And Julie," he reached over and grabbed the girl's arm, "is mine."
Like waving a red flag at a bull, Otis' words served to enrage Jim all over again and without thinking he lashed out, rushing forward to push Otis onto his backside. Unfortunately, it wasn't Otis he came into contact with. Because Kitty was still in between them, it was she who was pushed to the ground.
"Miss Kitty!" Sam yelled as he bent down beside her. "You okay?"
"Nothing hurt but my pride." She groaned as he helped her back to her feet.
"You two ought to be ashamed of yourselves." Sam turned on the two would-be Romeos. "You could've hurt Miss Kitty bad."
"Gee, Miss Kitty, I sure an sorry." Jim was instantly contrite. "I wouldn't hurt you for nothing. It was just Otis made me so mad. He's at fault here, cause he couldn't keep his mouth shut."
"I ain't neither." Otis denied. "You're the one who can't keep your temper. You…"
"That's ENOUGH!" Kitty used her loudest and angriest voice. "Now you two have a choice. You go out there on the street and beat each other's brains out or you each have a drink on the house and let Julie decide whose girl she is." She looked at each of the men. "Well? Which is it?"
"We sure do thank you for the drink, Ma'am." Otis quickly accepted.
"Yes, Ma'am." Jim nodded. "Thank you."
"Sam," Kitty looked over at her bartender. "I'm going back to my supper."
"Yes, Ma'am." Sam nodded as he returned the back of the bar. Glaring at Jim and Otis, Sam reached for a bottle. "When you two finish your drinks, I want you out of here. You hear me? You've caused enough trouble in here."
"We hear." Jim nodded as he grabbed the glass of whiskey from Sam. "We hear."
After eating her meal, Kitty took a deep breath and sat back in her chair for a few minutes. The steak was cold by the time she'd gotten back to it, but she ate it anyway. Drinking the last of her coffee, which was also cold, Kitty got up and went back to work hoping the evening would be better than the morning.
A few more hours and Kitty decided it was time to call it a day. It wasn't as late as they usually stayed open but the saloon was empty, the girls had already retired for the night and she was tired. Looking over at Sam, she could tell he was too. "Sam, you look as tired as I feel. What you say we call it a day and close up?"
'Well, I sure wouldn't complain about it." Sam answered, holding up his bandaged hand. "I think this bandage needs to be changed and it's hurting a little."
An instant look of concern crossed her face and Kitty moved over to him, to inspect his hand. "Why didn't you say something sooner? I knew I shouldn't have let you come back to work."
"Oh, now, Miss Kitty." He shook his head as he pulled his hand away. "It's not that bad. It'll be alright. But like I said, I sure won't complain about closing up."
"Good." She smiled up at him. "Cause I don't feel like arguing with you about it. Now, you go on and I'll lock up behind you. Cleaning up can wait until later." Sam nodded and started to turn just as Kitty stopped him again. "Oh, and Sam, don't come in tomorrow if that hand is still bothering you. Okay? It being a Wednesday, it's not likely to be too busy anyway."
"Well, I thank you, Miss Kitty." Sam answered. "But my hand should be alright. All I need is a little rest."
"Uh, huh." She rolled her eyes at him. "Never the less, I want you to do as I said. If that hand hurts, then go to see Doc, but don't come to work. You hear me?"
"I hear you." He nodded as he grabbed his jacket and hat and headed out. "Good night, Miss Kitty."
"Good night, Sam." She followed him to the doors and then closed them tightly behind him and locked them. Looking around the bar room, Kitty decided to tackle at least the mugs and glasses and the wiping down of the bar. The chairs didn't necessarily need to be put up and she'd sweep the floor in the morning.
Quickly moving about the room, she collected all the dirty mugs and glasses left on the tables, as well as empty whiskey bottles and took them to the bar. Quickly washing the glassware, she put the bottles into a crate and moved it to the back. That done, she picked up a deck of cards that'd been forgotten on the back table. And quickly moved the chairs close to their respective tables. After that she picked up several full ashtrays and moved them back to the bar setting them down.
Leaning against the bar for a moment, she took a deep breath. She'd done as much as she could and would on the bar room for this night. Picking up her books and cash box, she went back into her office. After securing the moneybox and placing her book on the desk, Kitty reached up to douse the lamp on her desk. However, she spotted the bottle of whisky sitting on the back of her roll top. Kitty usually didn't drink anything before heading up to bed but this had been a long day.
Sitting down at her desk, she picked up the bottle and a glass and poured herself a small shot. Drinking it down, she sat the glass back down and dropped her hands into her head. If she never heard her name called again, at least for a while, she wasn't sure she'd be upset.
This day, as most days, it had seemed like every turn was hers and everything that needed done was up to her to get done. Of course, as soon as the thought had hit her, she chastised herself for it. She hadn't been alone. Sam, despite his injured hand, had been there to help and Ben Prine had tackled her door for her. And her girls had saved her a lot of steps this evening in delivering drinks and keeping the customers happy.
Still, this day had tried her more than once. Anything pertaining to the Long Branch was of course her responsibility and she accepted the challenges concerning it as her due. And she'd never minded listening to her employees concerns and lending them an ear, a hand or a necklace when she could. But when you added all the other people who'd come in that day, wanting Matt, advise or a loan or simply a shoulder to cry on, she was feeling overwhelmed.
Logically, she told herself, it was her place to do all the things she did. Her business, her employees, her friends, they were her responsibility in one way or another. But bearing that responsibility was difficult at best when working without someone beside you. Doing it alone was occasionally unbearable.
Kitty sat back in her chair and took another long breath. "Quit feeling sorry for yourself, Russell." She demanded, not actually realizing that she was speaking out loud. "You settled for this life. Deal with it. If you have to do everything alone, it's no one's fault but your own."
"I'm sorry about that, Kitty."
Kitty whirled around in her chair, startled at the voice, seeing Matt standing in the doorway of her office. "Matt! What are you doing here? I thought you rode out to Mr. Grant's place."
He moved further into her office and reached down, pulling her up into his arms. "I ran into one of Grant's cowboy's and he took the papers to his boss for me so I could come back tonight. Looks like it was a good thing I did. You okay?"
"I'm fine." She answered, her voice just slightly tinny. "What makes you think I'm not?"
"What you just said, about settling for this life. Sounded like you were unhappy about that." Matt studied her face, seeing the truth in her eyes, despite her protestations.
"Oh, no, Matt. Honestly, it's just… it's just been a long day." She couldn't and didn't want to try to explain to Matt how she'd been feeling.
"Uh huh." He nodded. "And what was that about doing it all alone?" He refused to let her evade his gaze.
"Oh, Matt, it doesn't matter. The days over and now that you're here, I'm no longer alone. What you say we go upstairs, huh?"
"We will." Matt nodded. "But not yet."
"Why?" She narrowed her eyes in question.
"Because you're trying to evade my question." Matt released Kitty from his arms and led her back to her chair. Once she was seated, he pulled another chair and sat down across from her. "What's been going on around here, Kitty? What's got you so down?"
Kitty let out a deep breath. "Matt, like I said, it's just been a long day. Sam hurt his hand and my kitchen door was damaged and …. Oh, just a bunch of little things happened. I've not had a moment's peace all day."
"Sam okay?" Matt asked knowing how she felt about her bartender.
"Yeah, or at least he will be." Kitty nodded.
"And your kitchen door?" He pressed. When she nodded, he continued. "Kitty, I'm sorry that you had to deal with all that alone. And it didn't help that I wasn't here. Shoot, even when I am in town, I'm seldom here, beside you. And with no family members around…"
"Oh, now, you wait a minute." Kitty protested. "What do you mean, 'no family members'? What do you call Doc and Festus and Sam and… and you? You're my family, Matt. All of you. If my father taught me anything, he taught me that blood doesn't make you family. Love does."
Matt dropped his head for a moment before looking back up at her. "That's true. But it doesn't help much when you're family, blood or otherwise is never around. Kitty, half the time I'm way out on the prairie somewhere. It's not like you can just call me from the next room when you need something."
Kitty arched a brow at him. "Are you trying to cheer me up or depress me?"
Matt shook his head. "I'm trying to tell you that I understand. You handle a million things a day and you do most of it alone. Now, I wish I could change that for you, but you know I can't. At least not right now. But when I am in town, I want you to know that you can always come to me. You don't ever have to deal with anything alone when I'm here."
"And when you're not." She asked quietly.
"Then call on your other 'family' members." He answered soberly. "Doc, Festus, Sam as well as me. We think the world and all of you, Kitty. There's not a one of us that wouldn't drop everything to help you."
"I know that, Matt." Kitty answered. "But today was one of those days that none of you were here except Sam. And he was hurt." She sighed. "It was a tough day, Matt, and I was alone and tired and…."
"And you survived it, didn't you." Matt stood up and again pulled back up into his arms. "I know you didn't think of it that way, Kitty, but you did survive. I don't know what all went on here today, but I know none of it was a match for you." He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead as she rested her head on his broad chest. "That's always been one of the things I love most about you. You're strong when you need to be."
He heard a slight sniffle and looked down to see a tear slowly rolling down her cheek. "I'm sorry, Kitty." He gently wiped the tear away. "Like I told you, I can't promise to always be here, but when I am, I promise you that I'll be the strong one. When I'm here, you never have to deal with anything alone. You'll have all the peace I can give you. Deal?"
Kitty smiled and leaned up, kissing him. "Deal." Pulling away, she grabbed him by the hand. "Now tell ya what, lets go upstairs and you show me just how strong you are. Okay?"
Matt grinned. "Yes, Ma'am."
The End