AN: Thank you for sticking with a long story. A special thanks to those who took the time to comment. Guests I'd answer you personally if I could. I truly appreciate everyone's thoughts, ideas, plot predictions and opinions about the characters. On with the finale.
Three Weeks Later
Standing tall, but taking shorter strides than normal, Matt walked into Ma Smalley's boarding house and rounded the corner into his room. He smiled as he closed the door behind him. "You sure look beautiful." Kitty, sitting on the edge of the bed in a pale blue dress, was pinning bluebell flowers in her stunning red hair. She looked up. "Matt, isn't there some rule that the groom isn't supposed to see the bride until the wedding?"
"Hmm I think there's a special dispensation if the bride and groom have been naked in bed with each other for 20 years." Kitty laughed out loud, and shook her head. "You better get yourself ready. You can't be late for our wedding. Your clothes are laid out on that chair." She laced up the stylish shoes that had been dyed to match her dress, and crossed the room to the dresser that had been Matt's alone for 20 years. Recently it had been filled to overflowing, mostly with her things. She opened the top drawer, musing on the past few months. "Matt, when I think about it, I can't believe how close I came to marrying John Hanover. In the end it was clear that we never really understood each other, or what we wanted in life."
"Kitty, there are things I wish I …."
"No, Matt." She put up a hand. "We both did what we had to do. I'm convinced that we each had to go our own way, to find the path back to each other, and be together." She glanced around and smiled, breaking the serious mood. "Speaking of being together, this room was sure jam-packed, when my trunks and other belongings where piled up in here. I'm glad we sent my things off to our new place."
"Yep, all except that one item you decided not to keep."
"Which reminds me of what I wanted to ask you." She opened the dresser drawer and pulled out a piece of paper. "Here's Doc's list. Could you check to make sure everything on it has been paid for and taken care of?"
Matt quickly finished buttoning his shirt and carefully scanned the list. "Yep, everything here is arrange for and final payments made. Gail doesn't have to worry at all, about trying to work. She's got nice housing here in town that's on the ground floor, good meals are arranged and paid for, a housekeeper's hired, treatments are all set up to keep her more comfortable, and she's got the wheelchair. There's money left in case she needs anything else."
He set down the list. "Kitty, Doc and I were tearing our hair out, trying to figure out how to come up with the money to help Gail. Then you had the idea of selling that sapphire necklace."
Kitty reached up to straighten Matt's tie. "I told you about how I sold it, and how the jeweler picked it out for John. That necklace has had a strange life. At this point I can't imagine a better use for it than selling it to help Gail. We got a very good price, and I hope the next person who owns it, wears it with love.
She looked Matt up and down. Tall, broad and clear-eyed – the easy handsomeness of youth replaced by the rugged good looks of a man who never put himself before others. "You are a fine looking man, Matt Dillon. Maybe we should go get married."
He grinned and offered his arm, and they made their way to the Town Hall. The place was abuzz with well wishers wearing their Sunday finery. Doc was waiting in the back, wearing the new suit he bought, to stand as Matt's best man. Gail sat in her wheelchair, in a deep blue maid of honor dress, holding a bluebell bouquet. Festus, hair slicked back, in a borrowed jacket, stood ready to push the wheelchair down the aisle.
Grace, the minister's wife sat down at the piano, and started the wedding march. Doc and Gail, being pushed by Festus, led the way. Matt and Kitty followed. When they reached Judge Brooker, the maid of honor and best man moved off to the side, and the couple stood before him. The judge smiled at the crowd "Well, like many of you, I've been waiting a very long time for this occasion. Let's get to it." The place erupted in laughter. Brooker nodded at Kitty and Matt. The entire room held their breath, you never know what could go wrong. Vows were taken. Each person said "I do." The applause were thunderous. Matt turned and shook Doc's hand, "Matt, don't be afraid to be happy." Matt nodded. "I owe you, Doc. I always will." Kitty bent and kissed Gail's cheek. "You are a wonderful friend." Gail smiled. "And I will continue to be one, as long as I can."
Judge Brooker gave Matt a hearty pat on the back. "I wouldn't have missed performing his ceremony for anything, but I must be on my way. Remember what we talked about. Like I said to you and Kitty, it won't be easy, but I've left you everything you need and I'll check in regularly."
9 Months Later – Topeka
Kitty sat on the porch of a small but tidy A-frame house, tallying figures in a notebook. "Mrs. Dillon." A young woman, with curly brown hair, stepped out of the house. "I'm finished for the day. A pot of stew is on the stove, for when you and Mr. Dillon are ready for supper."
"Thank you Mary, I'll see you tomorrow. Your sister too, right?."
Mary took off her apron and shoved it into her skirt pocket. "Yes, like always on distribution days. She appreciates the work."
"And I'm glad for the help."
Mary waved goodbye and sauntered down the road. Kitty smiled, knowing the young woman was off to see her beau.
As the pretty housekeeper rounded the corner, and disappeared from view, Matt rode into sight. Sitting tall in the saddle he turned onto the narrow, dirt path that led to the front porch. Kitty carefully looked him up and down. Without the rigors of the US Marshal's job, his leg and back bothered him less, but the stomach wound was taking time to heal. Riding horseback still took effort. That was one reason they moved into a house just a half-mile from Topeka, where he worked. There were other advantages too. Living close to a place that was becoming more city that town, meant shopping, visiting, attending events, and monthly visits to the train station, were done with comfortable ease.
"Hello Kitty." Matt climbed off his horse in front of the house. She looked up and smiled. Those two words, from Matt, never failed to warm her heart. He handed her envelopes of varying sizes. "I stopped to get the mail. Probably more orders." He took the seat beside her on the porch. A smile tugged at his lips. "It feels kinda good to know I married a genius." She smacked his arm. "Stop that Matt. This business was a natural fit. Once I left John, I wanted to find a way to stay with the Sweetwater Cafe. Their main money makers are fudge and fruit cake so being a distribution center, for those items, made perfect sense. I take orders from restaurants, cafes, general stores, even individuals, in Topeka and the surrounding towns. No order is too small, because I combine them and get a delivery by train once a month. Folks can pick up their orders here on any Wednesday. Matt, you're the one who thought of building that big shed in the back to use as a storehouse. It's a great system. Business is so good, I'm thinking of distributing 2 days a week. A nice thing is that I work from home, which will come in handy when this little one arrives." She ran her hand across her slightly swollen belly. "How was your day, Matt?"
"Good, I met some fine lawmen from different parts of Kansas and even some from Oklahoma. We had good training sessions. Everybody's got to understand that the new head of the Marshal Services is standing firm on the original intent of using marshals for federal crimes only. That means local law enforcement has to take on more, and have a better understanding of their authority. Helping with that transition has been interesting, but I'm glad it's a temporary assignment, just 3 more months.
Kitty nodded. "Then you can read for the law. Judge Brooker says, between all your studying, and the work you've been doing with him when he's here, you'll be more than ready."
"I think I will be. You know, I'm looking forward to offering legal services to folks. I mean regular folks who get pushed around if they don't have a lawyer fighting for them." He smiled with a shake of the head. "That kind of lawyering sure won't get us rich."
"Matt, your need to help and protect is one of the reasons I love you. Going from marshal to lawyer means you'll keep doing it, just in a different way. I'm not worried about money. We're not looking to be rich. With lawyer fees and the Sweetwater business, we'll pay our bills and even save a little."
She slipped her hand into his, and sitting side by side they watched the sun go down. They'd made mistakes, had ups and downs and done more living than most, but in the end, they found a way to build a life together, while remaining their true selves. That was a gift to cherish.
Kitty turned to her husband, "Well, there's stew on the stove. You want to go in for supper?"
"Let's stay out a little longer, it's such a nice night." He rubbed his hand across her belly. "We can go back to arguing about names for the baby."
She laughed. "Well, I finally accepted you don't want a Matt Jr. and you accepted I don't want a girl named after me. I had another idea. If we have a daughter how about the name, Gail?"
Matt looked off into the distance."I sure wish she was still with us, but it's good knowing that her last months were spent in comfort with no worries about money. And it's good we were with her at the end." He looked at Kitty. "Gail's a fine name. If we have a daughter she'll be named after a woman who was brave, wise and beautiful in every way." He smiled slyly. We could go for double of that. How about Gail Kathleen? Kitty laughed. "All right, my name can be a middle name, but then if it's a boy, Matthew's the middle name. How about Galen Matthew?"
"It's settled." They smiled at each other, cementing a moment they'd hold in their hearts forever. Kitty got to her feet. "Well Cowboy, how about you see to your horse, and I'll get that stew on the table."
He stood and brushed his lips across hers. "Now that's a plan."
The End