Gunsmoke and Spies 6

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Kitty had already gone to bed, though not to sleep, when Matt finally made it up to her room for the night. "You're awful late, Cowboy." She gently remonstrated.

"Sorry," Matt dropped his head as he sat down on the side of the bed and took off his boots. "I was just making sure everything was locked up tight around town."

"Uh huh," Kitty sat up in bed and lit the lamp on the small table beside her. Looking at the worry lines on Matt's face, she had an idea of why he took so long. "Those two brought trouble with them, didn't they?" She asked knowingly.

Matt had learned early in their relationship never to try and hide anything from Kitty, because she could read him too well. With a deep sigh, he nodded as he got to his feet and shucked his clothes. "Yeah, I'm afraid so, Kitty. Believe it or not but those two are federal agents out of Washington. His real name is Lee Stetson not Ricky Joe Jackson.

Kitty's eyes widened, shocked. "Both of them? You mean they're not married?"

Matt shook his head with a weary chuckle. "Oh, no, they're married alright. Just got married a couple of weeks ago as a matter of fact. They decided to use their honeymoon as a sort of cover for their real identities. They're here trying to find and stop a gun runner named Armando Saldez. He's been stealing guns from the army and selling them to the Indians. This Stetson thinks Saldez has got an inside contact at the fort helping him."

Kitty shook her head in wonder. "You mean they're on their honeymoon and trying to stop a gun runner at the same time?"

Matt nodded. "Yep. Well he is anyway. Although she works for the same branch of the government that he does, she's more a secretary than an actual agent, but he seems pretty sold on her as a working partner."

"Well, doesn't Washington usually contact you about this kind of thing?" She asked a little offended for Matt that he had been kept in the dark on something like this.

"Usually, when it's an official investigation. But this Stetson is doing this on his own. His superior in Washington, a Mr. Billy Melrose, doesn't know anything about it. He wouldn't let him do it if he knew. So he used his marriage to Amanda as an excuse for the trip and figured he could investigate while he was at it." Matt shook his head. "I understand wanting to get this Saldez but dragging a wife into it is crazy. Getting married period is crazy, if you ask me."

"Why?" Kitty asked. His refusal to marry was a bone of contention with her. "You know, not everyone is as against marriage as you are, Matt Dillon."

Matt took a deep breath. He really didn't want to get into that this time of night. "Kitty, you know how I feel. I just…"

"I know. I know, Matt." Kitty stopped him with a wave of her hand. "And it's obvious I've accepted your terms, but that doesn't mean everyone else has to. If those two love each other, and judging by the way I saw them look at each other, they do. Then I think they should get married. Of course I think their crazy too for doing the work they are."

"Well I agree with you on that." Matt finished undressing and settled into the bed beside Kitty and pulled her into his arms. "Life's hard enough without going out of your way to make it harder by working a risky job like theirs."

Kitty settled her head on Matt's shoulder and looked lovingly up into his eyes. "You mean they should have safer jobs like a US Marshal or a saloon owner, huh?"

Matt laughed out loud as he pulled her lips to his and enveloped them passionately. "Yeah, like that."

The next morning the sun had already climbed fairly high when Kitty woke to an empty bed, as she expected. Pulling Matt's pillow to her, she inhaled deeply for several minutes savoring the smell of him and the memories it evoked of the previous evening. Finally, however, she put the pillow down and pulled herself from bed.

Federal agent or not, she had a feeling that Amanda wasn't as adept at survival on the frontier as her husband was and would need some help. Besides, if she knew anything about men, Amanda's husband and Matt would have their heads together trying to figure a way to stop this Saldez.

Amanda would be alone in a strange place on her honeymoon. Kitty knew she would be a poor substitute for Amanda's husband but at least she could make her feel a little more comfortable while she was there.

Making her way into her water closet, Kitty made short work of her morning absolutions and quickly got dressed in a simple black skirt and white shirtwaist. Eschewing her usual elaborate hairstyle and makeup, she simply pinned the sides of her hair back and let it hang down in the back and put on the bare minimum of makeup to cover the freckles she hated.

"Sam," she called her bartender as she made her way downstairs. "I'm going up to Doc's. I want ya to take care of things here for a while. Okay?"

"Yes, Ma'am." Sam smiled at his pretty employer. There was very little he wouldn't do for her.

Returning the smile, Kitty left the bar and made her way towards Doc's office. She never knew she was being watched and had no idea that the life of a saloon owner was about to be a little riskier than usual.

TBC