Chapter 1 "I Love You, Matt."

Sarah Drew and Lou Hacker left his house on horseback. Sarah led the way since Lou obviously did not know where she and Matt set up camp. All Sarah could do was think about getting back to Matt. She just had to get back to him. He had a terrible fever when she left him. Leaving him was the hardest decision she had to make, but she really had no choice. If she didn't leave and go find help, Matt would die. But leaving didn't guarantee that she would find help. Sarah was beyond grateful that she came upon the house. To her it was truly a miracle. Now that help was on the way, she prayed that Matt would still be alive when she returned with Lou.

During their ride back to the makeshift camp, Sarah let her mind wander to Matt. He certainly was an outstanding man. She had never met any other man like him, including her fiance Jamie. There was something about Matt that pulled her to him. Even before they set out onto the prairie to Fort Wallace, Sarah felt as though she was falling in love with the Marshal of Dodge City. She was convinced that maybe he was falling in love with her. She felt as though the signs were there.

The first thing she noticed was that he never mentioned having a wife or another woman in his life. Sarah was convinced that if he was involved with someone, he would've said so. The next sign for her was that he accompanied her to supper at Delmonico's. Yes she did ask him to supper. He could have refused the invitation, but he didn't. He even wore a nice coat and string tie. The biggest clue of all was the conversation she had several evenings ago with Gody. Sarah's thoughts went back to that night.

Sarah was turning down the bed, when she heard a soft knock on the door. "Come in," she said.

The door opened and Gody walked. "I hope I'm not disturbin' ya. I could see light from under the door, so I figured you were still awake."

"You're not disturbing me at all," smiled Sarah. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"Not really," Gody responded. "It's just that I never really get female visitors out here. They're usually of the male persuasion. I thought it might be nice to visit with somebody of the female persuasion."

Sarah could not imagine living alone out in the middle of the prairie. She came from Boston. There were people around constantly. Living alone on the prairie would probably cause Sarah to die of boredom. If female company is what Gody wanted, then that's what Sarah would give her.

"I'm not busy at all. Some conversation with a female companion would be nice," said Sarah as she sat down on the bed. "What is it that you'd like to talk about?"

Gody sat down next to Sarah. "Sonny boy," she simply stated.

"Sonny boy?" Sarah questioned. She knew who Gody was talking about, but didn't know why Gody wanted to talk about Matt.

"Matt Dillon, the man you came here with," Gody responded.

"I know who you're talking about," Sarah laughed. "What is it about him that you want to talk about?"

"I actually want to talk about the two of you," said Gody.

"The two of us?" asked Sarah.

"Yes, the two of you," confirmed Gody. "What's the story between the two of you?"

"There is no story between us," Sarah responded. "He's taking me to Fort Wallace so I can meet up with Jamie, my fiance."

"I know. That's the story that the two of you told me at supper, but I ain't buying it," said Gody.

"Gody, I don't know how to convince you, but that story is true," said Sarah. "Why would we make that story up?"

"As far as I know, Sonny has never lied to me and I don't think he would start now," said Gody. "But let me tell you something. A trip to Fort Wallace is a waste of time."

"I don't think going to my fiance is a waste of time," said Sarah.

"It is if he's not the man for you," Gody stated.

"How do you know he's not the man for me?" Sarah inquired. "You've never met him."

"I don't have to meet him," said Gody. "I've seen you and Matt together. I feel a chemistry between the two of you."

"Oh Gody," Sarah said, a light blush covering her face. "I've only known Matt a few days. I've known Jamie for practically my whole life."

"Don't matter," said Gody. "I can tell by the blush on your face that you feel something for Matt, and I'm convinced he feels something for you."

"What's convinced you of that?" asked Sarah. She was curious to know.

"My dear, in all the years I've known Matt Dillon he's never brought a woman out with him. He's never even mentioned a woman," said Gody.

"He never mentioned a woman when we were in Dodge City," Sarah said. She was more or less saying it to herself, but Gody heard her.

"There ya go. All the more reason for me to be convinced that you're the woman for him," said Gody. "You take my advice. Cancel that trip to Fort Wallace."

Sarah was tired and didn't want to argue with Gody. "I'll think about it. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to get some sleep."

"Alright, I'll leave you to get some sleep," said Gody. "But you mark my words." Gody got up from the bed and walked out the room.

Sarah was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of Lou's voice. "Are we almost there?" he asked.

"Yes, the camp is just up over that hill," Sarah responded.

Twenty more minutes of riding and Sarah and Lou made it back to camp. Sarah quickly dismounted her horse and went immediately to Matt. She breathed a huge sigh of relief when she realized he was still alive. The fever hadn't taken him, not yet anyway. Matt's life was still at risk.

Lou walked up to Matt and Sarah. "He sure is a big devil," Lou observed.

"Help him," Sarah desperately urged.

"I suppose you'd be mighty grateful if I did," said Lou.

Sarah was getting frustrated. "Just help him."

Lou finally decided to help Matt. "I'll fix a fire," Lou told Sarah. He walked away to do just that.

"Matt, I'm back," said Sarah. "I've brought help."

"Good," said Matt as he briefly came out of unconsciousness, only to slip back into it.

Sarah looked up to see that Lou had started a fire. She watched as he took the bag he brought with him and took items out of the bag. They were cooking items and kitchen utensils. There were also chicken bones with some meat still on them. Lou took a small metal pail to the creek and filled it with water. He put the chicken bones in the pan and hung the pan on a hook over the fire. Sarah silently watched him do all of this.

"We need to get the fever down," said Lou. He grabbed a cloth out of his bag and handed it to Sarah. "Get this wet, wring it out and place it on his forehead."

Sarah did as she was told. When the wet cloth became warm from Matt's fevered forehead, Sarah would rewet it with cool water from the creek. She did this over and over. Sarah was determined to rid Matt of his fever, no matter how many trips she had to make to the creek. At one point Lou came up to her and gave her a cup of soup.

"Here," he said as he handed her the cup. "Drink this. It's bone broth. It has lots of nourishment. If ya want to continue helping him, ya have ta keep your strength up."

Sarah accepted the cup and took a sip. "This is really good."

"Like I said, it's full of nourishment," said Lou. "If he pulls through, we'll make sure he gets some. He's gonna be weak, but his body is going to need the nutrients."

"There's no if about it," Sarah stated. "He will pull through."

A couple of hours later Matt started to regain consciousness. Sarah put her hand to Matt's forehead and was relieved to feel that it was much cooler than what it had been. She knew without a doubt that Matt's fever finally broke. Matt was going to be alright. Sarah sent up a silent prayer in thanksgiving.

"Your fever broke," Sarah told Matt. "How do you feel?"

"I'm feeling much better," Matt replied.

"You just rest. I'll go and get you some soup," she said.

Sarah left Matt and went to the fire to get the soup. She removed the pan from its hook and poured some soup into a cup. Sarah didn't realize that Lou was watching her. After she was done pouring the soup into the cup, Sarah went back over to Matt. Knowing that Matt was still weak from his fever, Sarah held the cup of soup, whie Matt slowly took a sip.

"Where did you get that?" Matt asked after he took a sip.

"Nevermind," Sarah replied. "Just drink."

"I give it to her," said Lou.

"This man saved your life, Matt," said Sarah.

Matt looked back at Lou, then at Sarah, and then back to Lou. "I'm much obliged to ya."

"She come beggin'" said Lou.

Matt couldn't believe what he had just heard. "You went for help?" he asked Sarah.

"I had to," said Sarah, defending her actions.

"I told you not to do that," said Matt. "It was too much of a risk."

"It worked out," said Sarah.

"You was a goner when we come back," said Lou.

"Like I said, I'm obliged," said Matt.

"You're not the one that's obliged," said Lou. "It's her."

Lou started making his way towards Sarah. Sarah saw the look on Lou's face and in his eyes. She knew exactly how Lou expected her to pay him back for saving Matt's life. He planned on having his way with her. Lou planned on raping her. With Matt in his weakened state, Lou figured there was nothing he could do to stop him. Matt also knew what Lou was planning to do. When Lou was close enough, Matt grabbed Lou's legs and brought him down to the ground.

Falling backward, Lou went for his gun, pulling it out of its holster. He wasn't expecting Matt to do that. Lou may have saved Matt's life, but now he was going to end it. He wanted that woman to himself and the only way that was going to happen was if he shot and killed Matt. Sarah saw the gun and threw herself at Lou, going for the gun.

Lou and Sarah wrestled around for a few moments. Matt still didn't have all of his strength, but he knew he had to help Sarah. As he tried to make his way over to Lou and Sarah, Lou kicked him away. Lou and Sarah continued to wrestle a moment longer and then the gun went off. Sarah's body went limp and Lou pushed her away.

Matt, who had very little strength a few minutes ago, suddenly found some. Adrenaline surged through his body. He leaped towards Lou and pounded Lou's arm, the one with the gun, into the ground over and over. Matt was then able to wrap his good arm around Lou and choke the life out of him. When Matt was convinced that Lou was dead, he released his arm from around Lou's neck.

Matt immediately went over to Sarah and lifted her into his arms. "Sarah," he said to her.

"Is he dead?" she asked.

"He is," Matt replied. He looked down and saw blood on Sarah. "Are you okay? I see blood. I'm so sorry, Sarah. This never should've happened. You shouldn't have been shot."

"I think I'm going to be alright," said Sarah. "The gun went off, but I think the bullet just grazed me."

"Do you mind if I look?" asked Matt.

"Go ahead," Sarah told him, untucking her shirt from her skirt.

Matt examined the area on Sarah where the blood was. He was relieved to see that she was right. There wasn't a penetrating wound there. The bullet did seem to just graze her.

"You're right," said Matt. "It does seem to be a grazing wound."

Sarah took a deep breath. Matt was still holding her and she wasn't quite ready to leave his arms yet. She needed to talk to him and she felt now was the perfect time to say what she wanted to say.

Sarah placed a hand on Matt's face. "I love you, Matt. I knew before Gody that I loved you. Everyday on that wretched prairie I loved you more. I know if we were to spend more time together, you'd love me, Matt."

Matt didn't know how to respond to Sarah's confession. He just silently stared at her.

TBC