Kitty's Love Story

Chapter 6

Kitty stared at her ledger, trying to concentrate on columns of numbers that didn't seem nearly as important as usual. She had managed to take inventory and pay some bills, but she couldn't seem to focus long enough to add up these damn numbers. She decided to give it one more try when she heard the sound of a team of horses in the distance. The afternoon stage had arrived.

Kitty felt a knot in the pit of her stomach. Would he even want to see her? She had been so angry when they parted, and he didn't handle conflict very well. She needed to apologize, to tell him she understood that it wasn't his fault he had to cancel their trip and go to Hays. That she had been frustrated and disappointed and was sorry she had taken it out on him. But she needed to tell him something else as well, before he saw it with his own eyes.

What was she going to say? It had been all she had thought about since Festus told her about the wire. She had thought about it plenty before that, too. Matt had no idea that Bill existed, much less that she had been seeing him. There was no way that he wasn't going to be blindsided by this development. She feared that it would seem like a spiteful act, and she wanted him to know that it wasn't like that at all. It just happened, and she was as surprised as anyone. She was confused and needed time to figure out how she really felt.

Wow, that sounds lame. It was all true, but she tried to imagine how she would react if he gave her the same speech under these circumstances. She tried, but she couldn't. Still, it was all she had.

Kitty took a deep breath and left her office, passing through the saloon and its few afternoon customers on her way out to Front Street. She could see him taking his luggage off the stage, the same luggage that should have gone to Kansas City for their romantic getaway. He was still wearing his courtroom suit, which was the same as his wedding suit, funeral suit, and social event suit. The man just didn't care much for fancy clothes. He must have left directly after testifying, and he looked good.

He stopped in his tracks the moment he saw her standing outside of The Long Branch. Had she changed her mind? He thought she had gone on to Kansas City without him and didn't expect to see her. He wanted to drop the suitcases and run to her, to take her in his arms and tell her how much he wanted to be with her these past few days instead of some stuffy courtroom in Hays. But he couldn't do that. He could never do that, not out in public. Even if he could, he didn't know if she wanted to hear it.

Matt felt a sense of relief as Kitty began to walk toward him. She wanted to talk to him, and that was a good sign. If she was still mad, she wouldn't greet him at the stage. She would ignore him and let him sweat it out until she was ready to make up and let it go. She'd had a lot of practice putting disappointments behind her.

"Hello, Kitty," he said with a hopeful smile. She looked stunning as usual, her hair swept up with loose curls and that jade green dress he loved so much.

"Hi Matt," she returned warmly, but in a somber tone. "How was your trip?"

"Not nearly as good as it should have been," he replied, letting her know with one look how badly he had wanted to spend that time with her. "I suppose you decided not to go to Kansas City after all," he ventured.

Kitty looked uncomfortable, and he immediately regretted bringing it up. "No, I didn't go to Kansas City," she said, appearing hesitant to continue. "Matt, I need to tell you—"

"It's alright, Kitty, I understand," he assured her. He didn't want her to feel like she had to apologize. It was an unfortunate situation, and once again she had paid for the demands of his job. He was just grateful that she was here now, welcoming him home and clearly not angry. They'd had a fight and it was in the past.

"But you don't," Kitty insisted. He had no idea how much he didn't understand. "We need to talk, Matt."

We need to talk. Was that ever a good thing? Matt suddenly felt his optimism fading. "Okay," he said with more calmness than he felt. "Let me put these bags away, and I'll come over."

"I'll be up in my room," she told him. Matt nodded and they headed off in opposite directions, neither one looking forward to the upcoming conversation.

TBC