The Rescue 24
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A couple of days after the battle, Buster approached Matt when he'd gotten up while Kitty was sleeping. "Dillon?"
"Buster." Matt greeted him. "Do something for you?"
Buster shook his head. "Nope, but I think I can do something fer you and your little miss."
"What do you mean?" Matt asked him curiously.
"Follow me and I'll show ya." Buster replied with a grin.
Totally mystified, Matt followed Buster Musgrove as he led the way to the back of the trading post, through the storeroom, where they'd temporarily held Cash Hogle's body and to a small door well hidden behind a tall stack of crates. Taking a key from his pocket, he opened the door onto a beautiful and spacious room stretched across the back of the building.
"My wife and me lived in this room for two year afore she died." Buster told Matt. "After that it was hard for me to stay back here too long. That's why I stay in a room upstairs. Easier sleepin' there."
Matt looked around at the room. In the middle of the north wall were two windows. On the east side of the room in the corner was a large stone fireplace, with a large bed opposite it. Close to the fireplace were an oak rocking chair and a larger comfortable looking overstuffed chair. Matt was amazed.
"I don't come back here much," he said looking around with saddened eyes. "I come occasional and knock the dust down but that's about it. You and the Miss are welcome to stay here. If anybody was to come ya'd be safe back here, and nobody'd know ya was anywhere around. There's bushes and such in front of the winders and ain't nobody knows this is back here."
Matt stood, silently looking at the handmade furniture and the patchwork quilt covering the bed. It was obvious a lot of love had gone into the making of this one room abode and, looking over at Buster, a lot of grief went into closing it. "How many years?" He asked softly.
Buster shook his head for a second before running a hand across his face with a deep sigh. "Near on 30 years. We was young ones then. I was 23 and she was barely 20. She died trying to give me a son. Don't know for sure what happened, but she had troubles and there weren't no one around to help us. I wanted to ride for help but she didn't want me to go. She…" He stopped and turned mournful eyes on Matt. "Sorry," he said. "You don't need me worrying ya about such as that. But anyway, if ya want this for you and the Miss. It's yours."
Matt nodded. "Thank you, Buster. We'd appreciate it."
Buster smiled and reached out a hand to Matt. "Mighty glad to hear that, Dillon. Mighty glad."
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Kitty bent over the basin for the third time and lost the contents of her stomach as Matt held her hair back and passed a wet cloth over her face. When her stomach finally stopped heaving, she sat back weakly and gave Matt a tired smile. "I'm sorry, Matt." She apologized. "I don't know why my stomach's been so touchy lately. I can't seem to get over whatever this is."
They had been at the trading post now for close to two weeks and though her shoulder was getting better, she seemed to be getting worse. She'd been consistently sick at her stomach, dizzy and tired. Matt had done everything he could think of to make her feel better, but all too often his efforts only resulted in her dissolving into tears.
"Honey, it's alright." He reassured her. "You can't help being sick. I just wish I knew what was causing it so we could get you better."
"Matt," Maizie called from the doorway. She'd come back to check on Kitty and heard her vomiting as well as their conversation and she had a pretty good idea of what was causing Kitty's illness.
"Maizie." Matt stood when Maizie came in, glancing once again at Kitty's pale features.
"I, uh… didn't mean to interrupt you all." Maizie said as she entered. "Please, Matt, sit down." When he regained his seat in the chair beside Kitty, Maizie perched herself on the side of the bed.
"You didn't interrupt anything but me being sick again." Kitty shook her head ruefully.
"Well, that's what I'd like to talk to you about, Kitty." Maizie looked over at Matt apologetically. "Do you mind if I talk to Kitty alone for a couple of minutes, Matt?"
Matt got the uncomfortable feeling he was being dismissed because Maizie was going to tell Kitty something terrible and he didn't want to leave her side if that was the case. "If you know what's making her sick, I'd like to know too."
Maizie contemplated the stubborn set of his jaw and the worried look on Kitty's face and decided perhaps he should be there for this news. "Well…" She paused unsure of exactly how to say it. She began with a question. "Kitty, how long have you been feeling like this?"
Kitty searched her memory and shrugged. "A couple of months or so, I guess."
Matt looked over at her startled and more than a little disturbed at that revelation. "Kitty, you never told me it's been going on that long."
"And what could you have done about it, if I had?" She asked logically. "We're on the run from the law, Matt. Not exactly prime conditions under which to seek a doctors cure for something that wasn't too bad."
"Wasn't…" Matt looked at her, stunned at her take on her illness. "Wasn't too bad? Honey, you can hardly keep anything down, you're barely eating, you get dizzy just walking across the room…"
"I know that, Matt." Kitty cut him off. "But that's just the way it's been this last week or so. It wasn't like this at first."
"Still, you should've told me. Kitty, I hate seeing you sick." Matt took her hand.
Maizie listened to the concern in Matt's voice, and had a feeling what she was about to say was only going to make him worse. But she hoped, if she was right, and she was pretty sure she was, it would also make him happy.
Kitty gave him a loving smile. "I know, Matt. I'm sorry; I just didn't want to worry you." She turned her gaze back to Maizie. "I'm sorry, Maizie. We aren't arguing, exactly. He just worries more about me than he should."
Maizie grinned with a shake of her head. "I understand. And I know that you're both beginning to really worry about this but I have a feeling I know what's wrong and depending on how you look at it, I think it could be very, very right."
Matt and Kitty looked at her curiously. "What do you mean?" Kitty asked.
"Kitty," Maizie reached over and took her hand. "Despite my successful operation on your shoulder," she gave her a self-conscious grin, "I am not a doctor so there's every possibility that I could be wrong. But I have been through this twice myself so I'm pretty sure I'm right, when I tell you," she paused. What she was going to say was going to be startling to both of them and would mean some changes.
"What?" Matt prodded her.
Maizie looked at Matt then back at Kitty. "Unless I miss my guess, Kitty, I think you're pregnant." She finally told the stunned red head who sat silently for a moment.
"Pregnant?" She looked up at Maizie then over at Matt. "Are… are you sure?"
Maizie shrugged. "Not a hundred percent positive, no. But you have all the symptoms and unless you know of a reason why you can't possibly be pregnant then it's a pretty good possibility."
Both Kitty and Matt sat staring down. Neither one spoke. Maizie understood. They were not exactly under perfect conditions for having and raising a child. "Look," she said as she got up and started for the door. "You two have a lot to think about and talk about now, so I'm going to leave you to it. I'll keep dinner warm for you."
Once at the door, she paused and looked back at them. "I know bringing a child into the world is hard under the best of circumstances, but I also know, no two people would be any better at being parents, regardless of the conditions."
Matt looked up at her words but said nothing as Maizie walked out and softly closed the door behind her. Looking back over at Kitty, his tongue was still tied but his hands weren't. Swiftly, he moved over to the bed and pulled her into his arms as she laid her head on his chest and cried.
TBC