Chapter 2 Going Home (Part 1)

Flashback

Doc, Kitty, and Festus had taken the Santa Fe from Dodge City to Arizona in the hopes of finding Matt. They had received a telegram from a man named Sly Edwards. Sly's telegram stated that he thought he saw a man that resembled the Marshal. However, he was not too sure. Kitty did not care if Sly was one hundred percent sure or not. She was going to be on the next train to Arizona to see for herself. Matt had been missing for a few weeks, with no word of his whereabouts. Kitty's hopes of his returning had been fading. Sly's telegram stoked Kitty's fading hope. The embers had been stirred up.

The trip to Arizona had paid off. Sly Edwards had been correct. He did see the Marshal in town. Doc, Kitty, and Festus had been grateful that Sly went with his gut instincts and sent the telegram. Kitty was most especially grateful. She was going to get her cowboy back, but getting him back wasn't all sunshine and roses. It was quite the opposite.

When Kitty, Doc, and Festus first arrived in the small town in the Arizona territory, they went to the telegraph office to meet Sly Edwards. Sly, unfortunately, had bad news for them. The man he thought was the Marshal of Dodge City, was not the Marshal. He was a man named Dan. He apologized to the trio of friends. He felt guilty that they came all that way for nothing. Just when they thought all hope was gone, Kitty, Doc, and Festus saw Matt riding out of a town in a wagon.

It was puzzling that he was alive and had not contacted Kitty. That was part of Matt and Kitty's agreement. If Matt had to leave town for an extended amount of time and a telegraph office was available, he would send Kitty a telegram. There was obviously a telegraph office in town, yet Matt never sent word to Kitty. Why was that? Furthermore, why was Matt riding out of town in a wagon with another woman? Something was not right. Doc, Kitty, and Festus would find out what was going on.

As much as they wanted to follow Matt, Kitty, Doc, and Festus had enough common sense to hold back. There had to be a good reason why Matt was riding in a wagon with a strange woman. Matt would not do something like that without a good reason. They did not want to risk losing Matt. The three of them would use Festus' superb tracking skills and track Matt later.

A couple of hours had passed before the trio set out to track Matt. Tracking the wheels of the wagon did not prove to be difficult at all. In fact, it was the only wagon trail that went in the direction that Matt took off in. Doc, Kitty, and Festus followed the wagon tracks to a ranch about ten miles out of town.

Knowing they couldn't just show up at the door without some excuse as to why they were there, Festus, Doc, and Kitty came up with a plan. They would say that they were lost and came upon the house. More than anything, the three of them wanted to make sure Matt was alright, especially Kitty. Even if he could not tell her with words that he was alright, he could tell her with his eyes. Matt and Kitty had a way of communicating with one another with the looks they gave each other. They had a way of doing it without anyone else noticing, well except for Doc. He noticed the looks they gave each other.

Upon arriving at the ranch, Festus, Doc, and Kitty had learned that Matt had been injured and had lost his memory. This was not good news. Matt had no idea who they were. Matt had no idea who Kitty was or that she was his wife. How were they going to convince Matt of who he was and who they were. To him, they were nothing but strangers. To make matters worse, Mike grabbed a shotgun. She tried to convince Matt that Doc, Kitty, and Festus were bank robbers. There was no way that Dan was going to leave her. Just when they thought things couldn't get worse, this happens.

Fortunately, inspiration struck Kitty. She did the only thing she thought would trigger Matt's memory. Kitty placed her hands around Matt's face and passionately kissed him. That kiss was all it took. The floodgates opened and Matt's memory had returned.

One would think that everything was going to be fine and that Matt, Kitty, Doc, and Festus would leave the ranch. Nope, everything was still not fine. Mike still had the shotgun. She was not going to give up on Dan being hers. Well, Mike had been so preoccupied, she didn't notice Festus. He was able to come up behind Mike and disarm her.

Before leaving, Kitty wanted to be able to charge Mike with something. Matt told her the only thing he could think of charging Mike with was theft for stealing his gold chain and wedding ring. Kitty had wished there could be more to charge Mike with, but she would have to be satisfied with theft charges. Mike would spend a few days in jail.

Present Day Santa Fe (Back to Dodge)

Now the foursome were on a train returning to Dodge City. The rhythm of the steel wheels on the steel track was guiding them home. They were sitting in a dining car enjoying a beefsteak supper. The trip to the Arizona territory had been filled with anxiety for Festus, Kitty, and Doc. They had no idea what to expect or if they would find Matt. The return trip was quite the opposite. Matt was with them.

After dinner, the foursome decided to go to Doc's sleeper car. They needed to talk and wanted privacy. They did not need any other ears hearing what they wanted to discuss.

"Festus, are you sure you'll be fine sleeping in a passenger car?" Kitty asked. "I would have purchased a sleeper car for you. You deserve one for all that you've done during this trip. I got one for Doc, and Matt and I are going to share one."

When Doc, Kitty, and Festus took the Santa Fe to the Arizona territory, Kitty purchased sleeper cars for her and Doc. She offered to purchase one for Festus, but he refused the offer. Kitty thought maybe Festus would have taken her up on her second offer, but he didn't.

"Golly bill, Mizz Kitty," twanged Festus. "I don't need no sleepy car. Us Haggens can sleep anywhere. Don't ya fret none 'bout me. Why I remember one time that my cousin slept in a cave for almost a year."

"A Hagen sleeping in a cave, now that doesn't come as a big surprise," Doc remarked, pulling and scratching at his ear.

"Now listen here ya ol' scudder," said Festus. "It's a gift ta be able ta sleep in all sorts of places."

"That's a gift only a Haggen would have," Doc retorted.

Matt and Kitty exchanged glances. They smiled at each other. Doc and Festus' bantering with one another was a familiarity for Matt. Remembering that gave Matt comfort. He took it as a good sign that he was on the road to recovery. Matt hoped he would make a full recovery.

"I just feel guilty that the three of us will be sleeping in comfort, while you're sleeping in a drafty passenger car," said Kitty.

"There ain't no need ta feel that way," Festus reassured her. "Like I said, us Haggens can sleep anywhere."

"When we get back to Dodge, what story are we going to share with the townsfolk?" asked Doc. "Matt's been gone for a few weeks. There's gonna be questions."

"Not necessarily," Kitty replied. "There have been plenty of times that Matt has left town and was gone for weeks at a time. Nobody seemed to question those times."

"That's true," said Doc. "But I still think we need to be prepared. We want to make sure we're telling the same story."

"What do ya suggest, Doc?" questioned Festus.

"Well, I don't think Matt wants people to know that he'd been staying with a woman these last few weeks," Doc answered. "That would certainly invite rumors."

"Nothing happened between me and Mike," Matt stressed.

"And we believe you," said Kitty. "But what you say and what we believe won't matter. You know how easily and quickly rumors start in Dodge City."

Matt should have thought of that. The people of Dodge liked to get the rumor mill going. He certainly did not want any rumors about his absence going around Dodge. It wasn't for his sake. It was for Kitty's sake. Matt did not want the citizens of Dodge making assumptions and talking behind her back. She did not deserve that.

"Alright, so let's come up with a story," said Matt.

"First, we have to agree not to mention Matt was staying with a woman," said Doc. All four nodded in agreement.

"How do we explain the three of us leaving to go and find Matt?" asked Kitty.

TBC