"A Promise Made. A Promise Kept." Matt has to miss another dance with Kitty, but promises to make it up to her. (I'll let you pick what season this takes place.)
The air was turning colder. Winter was knocking on the door in Dodge City. Matt was in his office getting his saddlebags ready for his ride to Hays City. The ride to Hays City was his least favorite. It was long and the terrain wasn't always the best. Matt stepped outside to load the saddlebags onto Buck and looked up to see Kitty walking towards him. He felt extremely guilty when he saw her. There was a town dance in two days, and he wouldn't be able to take her. Granted his trip to Hays had been planned before the dance was even a thought, but he still felt bad he couldn't take her.
"Are you getting ready to leave?" asked Kitty, shivering when she did.
"Yeah, but I should only be gone for a few days. I really wish I didn't have to go. Nothing would make me happier than to take you to that dance," Matt answered.
"Good, I hate it when you're gone for weeks. Don't worry about the dance. At least this time your trip wasn't a last minute one after I had made all my preparations for the dance," said Kitty, once again shivering.
Matt noticed Kitty shivering and then noticed she wasn't wearing a coat. "Sweetheart, why aren't you wearing a coat? It's cold out here." Matt had his coat on and a pair of gloves.
"Oh, well, I knew you were leaving soon and I wanted to make sure I said goodbye to you."
Matt looked at her with love and smiled. "I appreciate your coming to say goodbye to me, but I don't want you freezing. You better get back to the Long Branch before you do." Matt then looked around and gave Kitty a quick kiss on the lips. "I'll see ya in a few days. I promise I'll make missing the dance up to you"
"See ya later, Cowboy." Kitty watched as Matt mounted Buck and took off towards the direction of Hays City. She watched him for several minutes before returning to the Long Branch. She let Matt's last words linger in her mind. Kitty knew Matt felt bad missing the dance with her, but she also knew keeping promises to make it up to her was not always easy for the Marshall.
A few days later, just as Matt told Kitty he would, he returned from Hays City. He could see that while he was away a blanket of several inches of snow had fallen. Matt had ridden through some snow showers on his way home, but Dodge obviously received more than snow showers. He rode up to the jail to unload his gear.
Matt walked inside and saw Chester sitting at his desk. "Welcome back, Mr. Dillon. How was your trip?'
"Fine Chester, just fine. I'm going to take Buck to Moss Grimmick's. I'll be back in a few minutes."
"Awright, sir," Chester said.
Matt walked Buck over to Moss's livery stable. While he was walking his horse, he tried to figure out how he was going to make it up to Kitty for missing the dance. He had been thinking about it for most of the ride back, but couldn't come up with anything. Matt wanted to do something other than just take Kitty to dinner. He wanted to do something special for her.
Matt walked into the stable and called out to Moss. "Moss, are ya here?"
Moss walked from the back of the stable. "Marshall, it's good to have you back. I'll take your horse for ya."
"Thank you, Moss. I appreciate it." Matt was about to leave, when he noticed something in the corner. "I didn't notice that when I left. How long has it been here?"
"It was dropped off yesterday. The owner said he doesn't use it anymore and wanted to know if I wanted it. I told him I'd take it. It's in good shape. I'm thinking about renting it out to make some extra money."
"Moss, if it's alright with you, I'd like to rent it out tomorrow." Matt had the perfect idea to make up for missing the dance.
Matt returned to the jail and told Chester he was going over to the Long Branch to see Kitty. Matt strolled over to the Long Branch and peered over the batwing doors. He saw Kitty standing at the end of the bar. He pushed open the doors and walked towards her. Kitty must've felt Matt's presence because before he was next to her, she looked his way.
She greeted him with a warm smile. "Welcome back, Cowboy. It's good to have you home. How about a drink?"
"It's good to be home. To answer your question, I'll take whiskey. What hours do you work tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow is my day off," Kitty answered.
"Perfect, I'm taking the day off. I have plans for us," Matt told Kitty as he drank his whiskey.
"You're taking a day off? Who are you and what have you done with Matt Dillon?" Kitty asked. She was having a hard time believing what she was hearing.
"I promised that I would make up for not being able to go to the dance, and I aim to do that tomorrow. L'll pick you up at 9:00. We'll have breakfast at Delmonico's and we'll go from there."
"What do you have planned?" Kitty was very suspicious.
"You'll see. It's a surprise. Just be ready at 9:00."
"Are you spending the night?" Kitty whispered.
"I would love to, but not tonight. I'll have to get things ready for tomorrow." Matt finished his whiskey and left.
The next morning Matt picked Kitty up at 9:00 and the two of them enjoyed breakfast at Delmonico's. They walked back to the Long Branch. "Kitty I need for you to get your hand warmer, scarf, and a blanket, and then wait for me outside. I'll be back in a bit to pick you up."
Before Kitty could respond, Matt had walked away. Kitty went up to her room to retrieve the items Matt told her to get. Once she had everything, Kitty went outside to wait for Matt. She had been waiting for a couple minutes, when she saw Matt approaching. He was driving a sleigh, pulled by a single horse. Her face lit up. She wasn't expecting that.
"Miss Russell, how would you like to go for a sleigh ride with me?" Matt asked.
"Oh Matt, I would love to go for a sleigh ride with you. Where did you get the sleigh?"
"Moss Grimmick said someone gave it to him the other day. He decided to rent it out to people. We are his first customers."
Matt helped Kitty into the sleigh. He took the blanket from Kitty and layed it across both of their laps. They rode off towards the prairie. Kitty snuggled up close to Matt and he put his arm around her. She was having a wonderful time. Matt came through with his promise.
"Thank you Cowboy. I'm having a wonderful time. I hope you are too," Kitty said.
"Of course I am. Besides, it's really hard not to when I'm with you," Matt replied.
Matt may have to miss a lot of events with her, but she knew how much he loved her. She made a promise to herself to appreciate the time they could spend together.
"Our cheeks are nice and rosy and comfy and cozy are we. We're snuggled up together like two birds of a feather would be. Come on, it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you."
(Parts of the lyrics from "Sleigh Ride" Songwriters: Leroy Anderson / Mitchell Parish)
The End
