The time I spent away from you

was time lost in the rain

I'm meant to live my life with you

that's something nothing can change

"Strong, Strong Wind" Sung by Heart, written by Diane Warren

Chapter Four

Kitty Russell wanted to tell the whole world. The only thing that was stopping her from climbing to the roof of the Long Branch and shouting to everyone on Front Street, "Listen, Dodge! I'm having the Marshal's baby!" was the knowledge that Doc would probably have a heart attack if she did. Well, that, and the fact that Matt deserved to know before anyone else, of course. Walking home from Doc's office, it was all she could do not to stop everyone she passed by and share the news. Dignity and respectability be damned! Everyone had known, or at least suspected, for years that she was the Marshal's woman and he was her man. Why shouldn't she be just as proud as any other woman of the child that resulted? Prouder. Kitty knew that no one in Kansas could be as proud or happy as she was at that moment. Or as impatient. Why in the world had she gone to see Doc when Matt wasn't due back in town for three more days? She needed to tell him right now!

"Afternoon, Sam! Isn't it a beautiful day?" she greeted him as she walked past the bar, as though she hadn't just seen him two hours ago.

Sam looked up from the glasses he was putting away. "Afternoon, Miss Kitty. It is a rather nice day, isn't it?" Watching her go up the stairs to her rooms, he wondered at the sudden change in her mood. Maybe she'd gotten word that the Marshal was returning sooner than expected. While she was never anything less than pleasant to him, he doubted he'd ever seen her so cheerful while the Marshal was away. He looked at the overcast sky outside, shook his head with a smile, and went back to stacking glasses.

The night of Matt's return had finally arrived, and she'd come to the realization that before telling Matt about the baby, she needed to tell him about the other ones. Doc had told her she might have a hard time with the baby, and knowing about the others might help him understand why. This was the longest she had ever carried any of her babies, and she took that as a good sign, even if Doc was still worried. Well, he was a doctor; it was his job to worry. She had other things to worry about, like whether the baby would be a boy or a girl, and what in the world was keeping Matt? He should have been here hours ago!

And then he was finally there, and he was so loving while she told him the story that it almost hadn't hurt to tell it. Then she told him about the baby and she knew her long-ago instinct about him had been right as, with no hesitation at all, he transformed from a lawman with a secret woman to a proud family man in front of her eyes. And then he'd acted accordingly, and proposed marriage, at least, she thought he had. It sounded an awful lot like that's what he was talking about, as he offered her his mother's wedding ring along with his love. She put the ring back in the box, wanting to be sure of his intentions before accepting it.

This was her someday, their someday, and she wanted all of it.

Was this her answer? Had he waited too long, after all? Did she think he was only asking her because of the baby? She smiled as she handed the box back to him. "You can put this on my hand for real, Matt Dillon, when we're standing in front of a preacher." Relief flooded his entire body.

"You mean, you'll have me?"

"Well, I might if you proposed to me properly." Wasn't that what he was trying to do? "I've waited a long time for this and I'd like to hear the words." Cowboy, you just made the longest speech I've ever heard you make in your life. You can say four little words. Matt stood up and ran both hands through his hair in an attempt to tame it. Sensing what he was about to do, Kitty suddenly exclaimed "Hold it!" sounding so much like him that he would have laughed under any other circumstances. She grabbed one of the throw pillows from the settee and tossed it on the floor at his feet. Looking up at him she smiled sweetly and said "Continue."

Matt carefully knelt down in front of her with one knee on the pillow and took her hand. "Miss Russell, I love you, and I hope you will do me the honor of being my wife." Kitty continued to look at him, still waiting. Say the words, Matt, please. Ask the question. "If I haven't been too much of a fool, will you marry me?" Kitty sat silently and he saw a tear trickle down one cheek, then the other, and he felt his hopes sliding away along with them. "Kitty, I'm sorry. Let me try this again. Tell me what you want me to say and and I'll say it just the way you want me to." She began to cry softly, but there was a smile on her face.

"Oh, Matt, that was just perfect. I don't want you to change a thing. " She raised her other hand to his cheek. "What you just told me-it's so much more than I ever imagined. I'm so honored that you want me to have your mother's ring-" she stopped as she realized the significance of what she was saying. "You stopped to get the ring before you came here." He nodded. "You were...you were going to ask me before you knew about the baby?"

"That's right."

"You know, I think you're something special yourself, Cowboy. You wait twenty years to tell a girl how you feel and you don't hold anything back, do you? To tell you the truth, I'm not even sure if I was ready to hear that until now. Sometimes I love you so much I can't even breathe, like my heart is so full of love that there couldn't possibly be room for any more. There was a time if you said those things to me I would have turned and run the other way, not because I didn't love you but because I wouldn't have known what to do with all that love. We're quite a pair, aren't we?" She pulled him toward her, nearly knocking him off balance, and gave him a long, lingering kiss. He returned it enthusiastically, until he remembered she hadn't actually answered his question. All right, two can play at that game.

Matt stood up, assumed his Marshal's stance-feet set apart, thumbs hooked over his belt, and cleared his throat. "Matt, I don't know what's going on here, but if you keep standing in front of me that way, some clothes are going to get ripped off."

"Actually, ma'am, I'm here to inform you that you're in violation of a city ordinance."

"What? Oh…now what ordinance would that be?" Kitty caught on to the game and stood, folding her arms in front of her.

"The one that states all proper proposals that take place within the city limits require an official answer."

"Is that a fact, Marshal?" she asked, edging closer to him.

"That is a fact, ma'am."

"Well, since I wouldn't want to be in violation of anything...the answer is yes. I always intended to be your wife, too." She reached out and caught the front of his shirt in both hands and he pulled her against him. "Just one question, Marshal. Are you aware that there's an amendment to that city ordinance?"

"Is there."

"There is. The one that states that whenever his proposal is accepted by the local saloonkeeper the Marshal must perform certain...duties in order to make the engagement official."

"Is that a fact."

"That is a fact, Marshal."

"And does this amendment say where those duties are to be performed?"

"Marshal, that is entirely within the discretion of your fiancee."

Matt had seen neither Kitty nor Doc all day when he went to the Long Branch to pick her up for supper. Finding that she had gone to Doc's office, he walked over, hearing both of their voices raised when he got close to the door at the top of the steps. He knocked, and the voices stopped. "It's me."

"Come on in, Matt, Doc said wearily. He opened the door and stepped in. Doc had nothing more than the usual cranky look on his face, but Kitty sat, arms crossed, lips pressed together, her eyes looking as though they could burst into flames at any moment.