"It Might Have Been" MM's/ATC from "Bloody Hands." (Season 2)
Matt had resigned from being Marshal of Dodge City. He did not like to use the word quit. He did not consider himself to be a quitter. Resigned sounded much better. Since he did resign from being Marshal, he had more time on his hands. Time he was not used to having. So far to occupy that time, he visited Doc and played multiple games of checkers. Visiting Doc and playing checkers with him was fine, but he had better plans in mind. Matt was going to take Kitty fishing and then have a picnic with her using the fish he hoped they would catch.
Matt left the jailhouse and walked over to the Long Branch. He was still staying at the jail because he did feel someone should be there until his replacement arrived. Arriving at the Long Branch, Matt peered over the batwing doors. It didn't take him long to locate Kitty. She was standing at the end of the bar talking to Bill Pence. She must've felt his presence because she looked up and smiled at him. Matt pushed the doors open and walked towards the object of his affection.
"Afternoon, Marshal," said Bill. "Can I get ya a beer?"
"Thanks, BIll," Matt answered. "That would be great."
Bill went to get Matt a beer. After placing the frothy drink in front of Matt, Bill went to go and clear the mugs and shot glasses off of the abandoned tables around the bar. He wanted to give Matt and Kitty some privacy. He highly suspected there was something between the two of them. The clues were there. Kitty was the only girl the Marshal spoke with and he never saw Kitty take a man upstairs. Bill wasn't complaining. He was happy for his saloon girl and the Marshal. Yes, he still considered Matt Dillon to be the Marshal of Dodge City. He couldn't fathom the town without him as Marshal.
"Kitty, when is your next day off?" Matt asked.
"Tomorrow," Kitty replied. "Why?"
"Well, since I have time on my hands, I was wondering if you wanted to go fishing with me. I'm hoping we can catch some fish and have a picnic with them," said Matt.
Kitty's face showed pure delight. The chance to spend some alone time with Matt sounded absolutely splendid. "Oh Matt!" Kitty exclaimed. "That sounds wonderful. I would love to go fishing with you."
"Perfect," said Matt. "I'll pick you up tomorrow morning at eight o'clock. That's not too early. Is it? The earlier we can go, the better."
"Eight o'clock is fine. I'll be ready," said Kitty.
"I'll see ya then," said Matt as he finished his beer and left the Long Branch.
Kitty went upstairs to her room to start preparing for tomorrow's fishing trip and picnic with Matt. They weren't leaving until tomorrow morning, but Kitty felt the more she could get done the day before, the better. This would give her a little more sleeping time. Kitty thought about what she could do at that moment to save time tomorrow and the only thing she could come up with was to pick out what dress she was going to wear. More than likely the day was going to be warm like it was today, so she wanted to wear a lightweight dress. As she was rummaging through her wardrobe, she found the perfect dress. It was a white cotton dress with flowers on it. It had a scooped neckline and the sleeves came down to the elbows. The waistline of the dress was accentuated with a beautiful bow. Kitty was hoping that the scooped neckline would come in handy while she and Matt were alone.
Kitty finished working at the Long Branch that evening and went to her room. She wanted to get to bed as soon as she could, knowing that she had an early morning date with Matt. Her sleep was full of pleasant dreams of her and Matt spending the day together.
Kitty awoke the next morning as rays of sunshine began to stream through her window. She purposely left the shade up about a quarter of the way, so the brightness of her room would wake her up. Kitty always made sure the shades were completely drawn so her room would stay dark and the sun's light wouldn't wake her up. Not this time. This time she needed to be sure she was up early.
Kitty got herself out of bed and got herself ready. She put on the dress and then sat in front of her mirror to do her hair and make up. Kitty remembered the time when Matt told her that he liked it when her hair wasn't completely up. With that in mind, Kitty just pulled her sides up, keeping the rest of her hair down. She also decided to go light on the make up. Looking at the clock, Kitty could see it was five minutes before eight. Matt would be there soon.
Kitty walked downstairs to see Matt already standing at the bar. "Matt, I hope you haven't been waiting too long. You did say eight."
"I got here a minute or so ago. I knew you would be down soon," said Matt. "Are you ready to go?"
"I am," Kitty responded.
"Alright, let's go then," said Matt as he led Kitty out of the Long Branch and to the wagon he rented from Moss Grimmick. Matt helped Kitty up onto the wagon.
While they rode to their fishing destination, Matt and Kitty engaged in small talk. Not once did the subject of Matt resigning as Marshal come up during their conversations. Both Matt and Kitty didn't want that subject to ruin their special day. Every once in a while they would steal kisses from one another. The kisses were sweet kisses, nothing too heavy. Matt had to make sure to keep the wagon on the road.
"I'm surprised Chester didn't beg you to bring him," said Kitty. "Unless he did, and by some miracle you were able to convince him not to come."
Matt laughed at Kitty's statement. "I'm surprised as well. Although he did ask where we were going to be fishing."
"Did you tell him?" asked Kitty.
"Before I realized that telling him probably wasn't the best idea, I told him where we would be," said Matt. "I'm just hoping he doesn't decide to invade in on our time."
Matt and Kitty arrived at their destination and got everything ready to go fishing. It was while they were preparing their fishing poles, that Kitty noticed something. It was something she had never seen before. Matt was not wearing his gun belt. When he was out in public, he always had on his gun belt. It was a part of his wardrobe. Kitty honestly didn't know what to think about that.
Feeling Kitty staring at him, Matt turned towards her. "Is there something wrong?" he asked.
"No," said Kitty, shaking her head. "I guess I just realized that you're not wearing your gun belt. I guess I'm not used to seeing you without it."
"Not used to seeing me without it? You know I don't wear it when we're in bed together," teased Matt.
"Oh, very funny," said Kitty. "You know what I mean."
"Yeah. I figured if I want to be done with my killing days, then I need to get used to not wearing my gun belt. If I'm not going to kill anymore, then I don't need my gun," said Matt. "Anyway, enough talk. Let's go fishing."
Kitty nodded her head in agreement, and she and Matt walked towards the creek to go fishing. After fishing for over an hour, they caught three fish. Kitty caught one and Matt caught two. Matt asked Kitty if she would mind making some coffee, while he cleaned the fish. Kitty didn't mind at all. She would rather fix coffee than clean fish. It didn't take Matt long to clean the fish.
"Warm up the frying pan. The fish are cleaned and all ready to go," said Matt as he carried the bag containing the fish towards the fire they built earlier.
"That didn't take you long," said Kitty, admiring how quickly Matt was able to clean the fish.
"I'm a devil when it comes to cleaning fish," said Matt. "Now you fry them. I did my job."
"Just what I love, a man that needs to be waited on," said Kitty. "Should I get you a cup of coffee so you can stay awake to watch me cook?"
"As long as it's good and hot," said Matt. He knew Kitty was aware that they were having fun with this conversation.
"If it isn't, you let me know and I'll fix it for you," said Kitty as she handed Matt the cup of coffee.
Matt took the cup of coffee from her with a smile. "Thanks."
"Can I get you a pillow?" asked Kitty. She knew there wasn't a pillow to give to Matt.
Matt knew there wasn't a pillow available. "No, I'm fine."
"Is the coffee alright?" she asked.
"Just right," Matt said. It was more than the coffee that was just right. Being with Kitty was just right.
"Matt, I'm worried," said Kitty, with concern in her voice.
"What about?" asked Matt.
"You're becoming so lazy, that you're likely to starve to death before you find a new job," said Kitty.
"Don't worry about me," said Matt as he reclined himself. "This is the kind of life I like."
It wasn't a life of laziness that he liked. It was spending alone time with Kitty in the middle of the afternoon. He was hoping that later on the two of them could spend time in each other's arms, enjoying one another. It couldn't be anything that required removal of their clothing. Chester knew where they were, and with their luck he would come there at the most inappropriate time. He noticed her dress and how it gave access to her beautiful neck and chest, access to his kisses.
Kitty was about to put the fish in the frying pan, when she heard the distant sound of a horse. She looked up and saw Chester on a galloping horse, coming towards them. "Matt," said Kitty, getting Matt's attention. "What's he doing out here?"
'There goes my other plans with Kitty,' thought Matt.
Both Matt and Kitty stood up. When Chester arrived, he addressed Kitty. "Miss Kitty."
"Hello, Chester," Kitty greeted him.
Matt didn't even ask why Chester had ridden out. The only thing he saw was the gun belt around Chester's waist. Matt knew Chester did not wear a gun belt. "What's that for?" he asked.
Chester took off the belt. "It's for you."
"What do you mean?" asked Matt.
"Joe Stanger's back," said Chester.
"Well, doesn't he know that the deputy took Brand back to Wichita for trial?" asked Matt.
"Yeah, but that's not why I'm out here," said Chester. "I'm here because he came into the Long Branch and insulted one of the girls. When she slapped him, he shot her."
"Which girl, Chester?" Kitty asked. She worked with those girls. She was very concerned.
"That real nice one," said Chester.
"Linda Hawkins?" Kitty inquired.
"Yeah," Chester confirmed. He then looked at Matt. "Nobody would dare stand up to him, so I got a horse from the hitch rail and I come for you."
"I'm not the Marshal anymore. There's nothing I can do for that girl. She's dead," said Matt.
"Mr. Dillon, don't you see? Men like Stanger and Brand gotta be stopped. I'd do it, but I can't. I don't have what it takes, but you do. It's kinda too bad that you do, but that's just the way it is." Chester's voice was full of emotion.
Kitty had been listening to what Chester was saying. She thought that having Matt without his badge was what she wanted. But at what price would she and the people of Dodge be paying? With Matt as Marshal, Dodge City was becoming a more peaceful place to live. Would Dodge revert back to its lawless way of living? Kitty didn't want that to happen. She wanted to tell Matt to put the gun belt back on and go, but knew it was a decision he had to make on his own. When Matt took the gun belt from Chester, Kitty almost felt relief.
Matt put the gun belt on and then walked to his horse. Kitty handed him his hat. He spoke to Chester. "Maybe you can help Kitty get the fish back into town."
"Yes, sir," said Chester.
Matt mounted the horse Chester had ridden in on, and took off for Dodge City. Both Chester and Kitty watched him leave. After watching for a few minutes, they cleaned everything up, loaded the wagon and headed back into town themselves. The ride back was a silent one. Both were reflecting on Matt returning to Dodge to deal with Stanger.
Matt was able to deal with Stanger. Stanger had gotten into a gun fight with Matt. Not wanting to kill Stanger, Matt shot Stanger in the shoulder. He knew Stanger would hang for Linda Hawkin's murder, and Matt didn't want Stanger to get out of serving justice. Matt also knew there were probably other people that deserved justice because of what Stanger had done to them.
Later that night Matt was with Kitty up in her room. They lay together in bed basking in the afterglow of their lovemaking. Matt had Kitty gathered next to him with his arms around her. Kitty's head was on his chest and she was drawing lazy circles on that chest.
"Chester's speech must've really gotten to you," said Kitty. "You were so dead set on not being Marsha anymore."
"As emotional as it was, it wasn't Chester's speech that convinced me to stop Stanger," said Matt. "It was you."
"Me?" questioned Kitty. "I never said anything about you going back to being Marshal."
"I know you didn't say anything," said Matt as he kissed her forehead. "It was when I was riding back to Dodge. All that I could hear in my head was Chester saying that Linda Hawkins had been shot. I started to think how easily it might have been you. I know you wouldn't stand for any man insulting you, and you probably would've done the same thing Linda did. If that were the case, you would have been shot and killed. I would never have forgiven myself if that happened because I didn't do something about Stanger earlier. Then I thought that something like that could still happen, if I don't stop him."
Kitty let Matt's words sink in. She had to admit that she did think about how easily she could have been in Linda's shoes. Kitty also knew that Matt would take responsibility for her death. She knew her death would have consumed Matt. Kitty didn't want to dwell on that. Even though she grieved for Linda, she was thankful it wasn't her and that she still got to experience the feel of Matt's strong, loving arms around her.
"Of all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these, "It might have been." John Greenleaf Whittier
The End
Author's Note: I want to thank those who write reviews or comment as a guest. I can't send a private message to you, but I want you to know how much I appreciate you taking the time to read my stories and send a comment.
