It's not so much your pretty face I see

It's not the clothes you wear

It's more that special way you look at me

That always keeps me there

"You Are the Woman" Sung by Firefall, written by Rick Roberts

Chapter Fourteen

"I can take care of my wife, Doc!"

Kitty opened the door to Matt's office, interrupting the heated discussion he and Doc had obviously been having. "You were saying something about taking care of me?" She let the door fall shut behind her.

Doc spoke first. "This overgrown civil servant has been trying to convince me you're actually considering living on that farm out in the middle of nowhere once your honeymoon is over."

Matt leaned against his desk, crossing his arms and sighing. Here we go again, his look told her.

"That's right. I told him I'd think about it."

"Have you both taken leave of your senses?"

"Doc!" Kitty protested.

"No, you're going to listen until I talk some sense into one of you. Matt, your wife has been capable of taking care of herself on more than one occasion, but that's beside the point. How in thunder do you plan on taking care of her when you're gone all the time? Kitty has no business being that far from town in her condition with or without you. Too many things could go wrong and she'd have no one to send for help. Winter's coming, and that's going to make it even worse."

"I wish you wouldn't talk about me as if I weren't here! Doc, I wouldn't be the first one of your patients to have a baby out on a farm. Now, how many times did you tell me Matt and I should get a piece of land outside of town and...raise things?"

"Well, we were all quite a bit younger when I said that, and at the risk of offending you again, that means you, especially. Do I need to explain the risks to you again?"

She sighed impatiently. "No, Doc."

"Now, listen, Doc. This is my decision and Kitty's to make."

Doc slammed the empty coffee cup he was holding down on the table and started for the door. Kitty put her hand on his arm.

"Just wait a minute, Doc, please?" she said quietly, then turned to her husband. "Matt, I got our bags packed if you want to bring them down. Just give me a couple of minutes to say goodbye to Doc, all right?"

"All right, Kitty. See you later, Doc."

"Matt." Doc nodded curtly in his direction. Kitty waited until Matt left to resume speaking.

"Doc, I know you're just looking out for me and the baby, and I appreciate it, but Matt's my husband now. I know it won't be easy, but we'll figure out a way. If I need taking care of, he'll take care of me, and whenever I need you, he'll come after you."

Doc rubbed vigorously at his mustache and shook his head. Clearing his throat a couple of times he said, finally, "Kitty, I always thought if Matt ever put a ring on your finger, it would involve taking off his badge at the same time. I just wish I could be as sure as you are that he's going to do right by you."

"Come on, Curly, don't be mad at him. He's still learning, and I guess I have a few things to learn too. Just don't tell him that. And we will take into consideration what you said when we decide. And now I'm going to go find my husband, because we have a honeymoon to get back to."

"Kitty, I—"Doc sighed and patted her shoulder. "All right. Just...go and be happy, honey. I'll see you when you get back."

"Well, Kitty, I think that's about the best breakfast I've ever eaten."

"I'm glad you liked it, Matt. A growing boy like you needs to keep his strength up."

"Speaking of keeping your strength up, you didn't eat very much. You feeling all right?"

"My appetite's a little off this morning," she admitted, picking at the food on her plate. She smiled and looked across the table at him. "You, know, I was just thinking about the best breakfast I've ever eaten."

"The cafe."

She nodded. "Twenty years ago this month. And now here we are today." She reached for his hand. "I love you, Cowboy. Now, it seems to me there was some talk the other night about a little courting. Is that offer of a buggy ride still open?"

"You mean you haven't had enough buggy riding the last two days? You feel like taking a walk?"

"You want to show me around the place," she guessed.

"I'd like to."

"Just let me clean all this up and we can be on our way."

Matt watched contentedly as Kitty put away the breakfast things and washed the dishes. Seeing her so happy gave him a momentary twinge of guilt for all the years of hurt and disappointment his stubbornness had caused her. She turned around and caught him watching her.

"All finished. I'll just go get my cloak."

Matt showed her the barn first. Kitty spent some time petting and talking to the horses and then insisted on exploring every stall and storage bin.

Matt chuckled at her. "What are you doing, taking inventory?"

"I need to get to know the place if I'm going to be doing farm work."

"You aren't going to be doing that anytime soon. Doc's already after my hide the way it is."

She pointed at the hayloft. "Any chance I could talk you into a tour of the upstairs?" She gave him a suggestive look.

"That's a mighty tempting request, Mrs. Dillon, but you're going to get both of us in trouble if we're not careful."

"Oh, all right." Kitty pretended to pout. "Let's go see something else, then." Arm in arm, they walked as Matt showed her the root cellar and the tool shed, and then the large corral that would someday be filled with horses.

"Over there's the garden." Matt pointed out a large plot next to the house, and Kitty imagined herself planting and harvesting vegetables the next year. She would have to find someone to show her how to put them up; maybe Bess Roniger or Ma Smalley, if they had time. Then she remembered she wouldn't be in any shape to be digging in a garden next spring. The year after next, then.

"Is there any more?" she asked Matt.

"All this grazing land around us is part of it. There's a creek that feeds into a pond so the stock will have water."

"You really want this, don't you, Matt?"

"It depends on how much the bank wants for it, Kitty. They could probably get a lot more for it than what I've got."

"You mean what we've got. I'm sure the money from the Long Branch will-"

"The Long Branch! Kitty, I wouldn't ask you to sell the Long Branch."

"You don't have to ask, I'm going to sell it, as soon as I get the right offer. I don't want our child to have anything to do with saloons, or gambling, or…any of the things that go with it. And I don't have the heart to try to run it without Sam. It's just a building to me now."

"I couldn't take your money, Kitty."

"It's our money, Matt. This would be my farm, too."

"Does that mean you want to stay?"

"I'm still thinking about it. Doc has a point, though. I don't know that I want to be out here all winter with a baby on the way. And I gotta ask you something."

"What's that?"

"How do you plan to run this farm while you're still wearing that badge?"

"I guess I won't be." Kitty waited for more, but apparently that was all the answer she was going to get for now. If he'd meant what it sounded like, it was the closest he'd come in a long time to saying he'd take off the badge.

Back at the cabin, Matt announced that he was going out to hunt for some meat for the next couple of days. Knowing that meant he probably wanted to be alone to think about what she'd just asked him, Kitty watched him go without protest.

"Don't be too long, it's getting close to lunch time." She spent a few minutes planning their lunch and then sat down on the sofa to wait. My goodness, that walk sure wore me out, she thought, her eyes beginning to droop. The next thing she knew, the door from the lean-to opened and Matt walked into the kitchen.

"Did you get anything?" she asked sleepily. Matt held up four rabbits, with an expression on his face of a proud little boy after his first hunt.

"Oh, those are nice ones!" she exclaimed, feeling slightly queasy as she looked at them. "If you could just take care of them...outside...while I get lunch ready, I can stew them for supper tonight."

Her discomfort must have showed. "Sorry, honey," he said a little guiltily, backing out the door.

Kitty put lunch on the table but only took a cup of tea for herself. "Kitty, don't you think you'd feel better if you ate something?" Matt asked her when he noticed. Her eyes narrowed over her cup of tea. She set it down hastily and covered her mouth. "Honey, I'm sorry," he said again. "You're not gonna get sick, are you?"

"Not if I can help it," she said through gritted teeth. "Could you please not talk about it?" Matt leaned close to her and stroked her back, wondering how to change the subject.

"Weather's gonna turn cold tonight. We might even get a snowstorm. I think I'll go out and cut some more firewood this afternoon." Kitty nodded without saying anything, taking another sip of her tea.

"Why don't you go rest for a while and I'll clear the table."

"Matt, you don't have to wait on me. I'll be all right."

I told Doc I'd take care of you, Kitty. "I'm not waiting on you; I'm the one that, uh, had lunch here. And don't worry about the...uh…" he motioned his head toward the lean-to. "I'll get that started so you don't have to."

Kitty poured herself another cup of tea and managed a smile for him. "Well, Cowboy, guess I'll just sit here and wait for you to finish your chores, and then maybe we can spend some quiet time in front of the fire the rest of the evening."

"I'd like that."

She was on her third cup of tea and listening to the sound of her husband splitting firewood outside. She had just begun to think she could manage a piece of toast when she heard a muffled curse followed by a thud. She jumped up from the table in alarm. "Matt!" Her first thought was to run outside to him, but she had no way of knowing for sure what had just happened. He might not be alone, and his gunbelt was hanging inside next to the front door.

Taking the gun with her, she went out to the lean-to and peered out the outside door. She couldn't see Matt from there; he was probably behind the cabin. She didn't think anyone would be able to see her until she got all the way back there. Moving slowly and quietly, she stayed as close to the outside wall as she could until she got to the corner. She heard Matt groan quietly. Oh, Dear God, please, not again, she tried to pray. Taking a deep breath, she prepared herself for whatever was around the corner.