First time I saw you

I knew with you to light my nights

Somehow I would get by

"Leather and Lace" Sung by Stevie Nicks and Don Henley, written by Stevie Nicks

Chapter Three

Matt settled back into the corner of the settee, studying her face. "I'm listening."

Kitty took both his hands and met his gaze. He could see her struggling for just the right words. Not looking away. Her hands began to tremble and she held his tighter than he thought possible. He smiled at her encouragingly. Tell me, sweetheart.

Suddenly there was nothing but happiness, love for her man, and hope for the future. She smiled back, tilting her head slightly. "I'm kind of surprised about it after all this time, but I'm carrying your baby, Cowboy." Please be as happy about this as I am, darling. His breath caught in his throat and he looked at her, stunned. In that instant, Matt had no knowledge of any words that could have expressed his feelings, nor would he have been capable of uttering them if he had. She watched him, enjoying the effect her news had on him. He looked at her as if he had never seen her before. She had become an entirely new being to him, more than just his woman; she was now the mother of his child. He pulled back slightly to look at all of her, taking in appreciatively the barely noticeable changes in her figure. He brought one hand to her waist, sliding it down to cover the slight swelling just below. He had the same lovesick look on his face he used to get when they were young, the one she always thought meant "I can't believe this glorious creature is mine," the one he thought no one else noticed. Finally, a few words reached his consciousness. "By golly, Kitty," he said, shaking his head. "A baby?"

"A baby."

"My...baby." Their eyes met once more.

"Your baby," she answered, certain she had the same look on her face. He surrounded her in his arms and pulled her toward him for a kiss.

"But...how?"

"How?" she repeated with amusement, arching her brows at him. "As near as I can tell, it must have been the night you came home from...after...your arm. Or any of those nights afterward when you just couldn't get enough of me," she said teasingly.

Matt blushed. "No, I meant...well, like you said it's been a long time. I mean, it looked like, well, I thought...that you couldn't have any after…"

"So did I. So did Doc. Surprise."

"It's a nice surprise, honey."

"I'm glad you're taking this so well. Now," she murmured, softly kissing him under the jawline, "how about getting some sleep?"

"Wait." Matt gently pulled away. "What did Doc say? Are you all right? Is the baby all right?"

"Well, I'm about three months; Doc says that's long enough that he thinks the baby is going to...make it. I've been feeling really good, not sick at all this time, just, well...late, so I wasn't sure if it was a baby, I thought maybe I was just...getting old. So I finally went to see Doc last week and he said it's definitely a baby. He wants to talk to me about some things tomorrow-oh, I guess now it's this afternoon." She resumed her kissing and was working her way down his neck.

"Kitty, what does Doc want to talk to you about?" he asked in alarm, interrupting her again.

"Oh, nothing to worry about, I'm sure. Now, if you don't mind, Marshal, I'm trying to get you over to that bed!"

"And you're being mighty tempting, too," Matt said, trying his best to ignore the effect she was having on him. "But you aren't the only one with things to talk about."

"What? Matt Dillon wants to talk?" Kitty said playfully, giving him a peck on the cheek. "I'm all ears!"

Matt grinned, shaking his head. "You're not going to make this easy on me, are you?"

"I'm sorry, Matt, you're right. I'm being mean. Go on." She wasn't at all sorry for teasing him, but if she didn't stop, he might not say any more, and she couldn't wait to find out what he had to say at three o'clock in the morning when they could both be sleeping or otherwise occupying themselves in her bed.

"No, you're right. I guess I deserve that. But, well, you're going to have to give me a minute. Somehow what I was going to say doesn't seem quite right after what you just told me. I need to apologize to you. I've been selfish and unfair about, well, about a lot of things, and I guess you know what they are." Kitty nodded slightly and reached for his hand. "But I guess this isn't really the time to talk about them. So, instead, I want to tell you a little story. It's about the only thing I have of my mother's."

"I didn't know you had anything left of your mother's, Matt. I'm sorry. Keep going."

"I've never shown it to anyone. Everything else I had of hers is gone now; all I have left is her wedding ring. She made me promise not to lose it, so, no matter where I went, I always found a safe place to keep it so it couldn't be lost...or taken from me. I always knew where it was. I knew she wanted me to save it for the girl I married, but...well, I knew I was just going to have to keep it put away. And then one morning I was eating breakfast and I saw her. I didn't know it was her, yet, but I could tell she was something special. And the more I got to know her, well, one day I realized she was the girl. And I didn't know what to do. That wasn't supposed to happen. But what I did know, was no matter what happened between us, it was your ring. I couldn't see anyone else wearing it. Now I've been a fool, Kitty. I thought I was protecting you by keeping us a secret. I wanted you to be like the ring, and keep you in a safe place where no one could hurt you or take you from me. I wanted to always know where you were."

Kitty hadn't realized she was crying until Matt reached over to wipe the tears from her cheeks. "Do you need me to stop?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Don't you dare. I can't wait to see how this story ends."

He continued. "I never told you this, but I always intended for you to be my wife. I'm so, so sorry I never said it. It's almost twenty years late, but I want you to have this, sweetheart, no matter what your answer is." He placed a small box in Kitty's hand and her eyes widened in recognition. It was wrapped in a piece of the blue and silver paper she used to wrap the first Christmas present she gave him-there was her name, written on the top, in her own handwriting, from where she'd written "Merry Christmas, Matt. Yours, Kitty." It was tied with a piece of brighter blue ribbon-the ribbon she wore in her hair on the long-ago day of the first time Matt took her fishing. Matt had pulled the ribbon from her hair, just so he could watch it fall around her shoulders and down her back, he said.

She touched the awkwardly tied bow. "You told me you couldn't find it that day," she said, laughing through her tears.

"Open it," he said softly. Inside, lying on a piece of folded silk left over from the first dress she'd had made with him in mind, was the ring. Just a simple gold band, a little worn around the edges, a little dull from not being worn for so many years, it was the most beautiful piece of jewelry Kitty had ever seen. She looked at Matt. "Go on," he urged. Gently she picked up the ring and, almost in a daze, slowly placed it on her left ring finger. She held her hand out in front of her, knowing that this had to be a dream. Looking at him again, with an expression he couldn't read, she just as slowly removed the ring and put it back in the box.

"Kitty?"