Matt sat in his chair next to the potbelly stove. It was late into the night, but his mind was full of thoughts and questions without answers.

It kept him from sleeping, as much as he needed sleep. It was the furthest thing from his mind.

Everything felt more like murky water, the more he tried to think things through the more muddled and murkier it became.

He sighed in frustration, he had even picked up a book over an hour or so ago, trying to get his mind off things, but it didn't help. He could only think of Kitty, the dolls, and his dreams.

Matt tossed the book back over to the bookcase, where it landed on the top shelf where it belonged.

He sat there in his room; it was almost dark since the lamp was about out of oil. The only sound that could be heard was from the fire as it popped and crackled. He sighed, nothing made sense anymore. Nothing at all. Shaking his head, he pushed himself out of the chair and walked over to his bed where his packed bag was sitting. He had packed the bag as soon as he got back from Newly's that night.

He picked up the bag and set it by the door.

As he turned, he knocked something off his nightstand in the process.

Hearing the thump Matt turned back to see a black book lying on the floor.

He knelt and brushed off the dirt and the dust that it collected from the floor.

He traced the gold lettering that read,

"Holy Bible."

The bible belonged to his father, the edges of the bible were faded and worn. His father had underlined and marked different passages, as well as wrote other ones on the back inside of the cover. Yes, the bible might be older than Matt. the edges might be faded and worn. but it still read just as good as a new bible. But a new one would not be as special to Matt, because it would never belong to his father like this one.

He smiled as he traced his father's handwriting. For that was the one thing he could remember his father by.

Matt opened the bible and found a saying his father wrote on the inside of the cover.

"To any questions you may have, you can always find the answers. From words written in red or words the Lord said. But He always answers with the words in between In the beginning and to the end."

Matt softly smiled, as he opened it up to Genesis,

"Let's see what I can find, in here."

Matt read the story of Joseph, how he trusted God in times of trouble. Then he flipped through a few more pages, chapters, and books. He read about David, trusting God while King Saul was on the hunt to kill him.

Then Matt flipped to Proverbs and read

" Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths."

Matt found his heart racing a little faster and his mouth went dry,

This wasn't the answer he was looking for. But he knew the truth when he saw it.

He closed the bible and set it back down on the nightstand, then walked over to his window.

Matt raked his fingers through his hair, as he looked up to the heavens.

"Lord," he swallowed.

"I-I don't know what to say. I'm at a loss for words."

Matt had the window shut but could see the wind blowing outside. Trees bowing to the wind as others seemed to dance. Matt was mesmerized as he watched the scene unfold. All was quiet and still, in his room, it was then he heard a still small voice.

"Trust in me."

He knew that voice. It had awoken him one night from his dreams and had stopped him from killing the dog soldiers when they took Kitty.

Matt swallowed the lump in his throat. He was a big man, but at this moment, he felt like he was the size of a young toddler. He didn't know what to say as he sat in the darkness of his room even his words seemed to fade once he thought of them.

Yet he could still hear the heavenly words echo in the room.

"Trust in me."

Matt sighed. That was the only answer Doc and Newly gave him earlier today. He walked back to his bed and sat down, "Lord, I don't know what is going on here. I'm blind by all this. Honestly, I'm almost scared to find out." Matt went quiet, the only thing that Matt could hear was the fire as it popped and crackled.

Looking up at the ceiling Matt sighed,

"Lord, what awaits me in St. Louis?"

Matt waited and waited, but there was no response. He picked up the bible once more and read.

"Peace be still and know that I am God."

Matt could only nod, "Alright Lord, I leave all of this in your hands."

With that, Matt got up and put the bible in his bag, then walked back to his bed to get some sleep.

The next morning rolled around, there was a knock on the door.

"Matt!"

"Mm-mmm"

"Matt Dillon, wake up!"

Doc said as he persistently kept knocking.

Matt rolled out of bed his hair was a mess, and he was in long johns. He sighed as he heard the knocking on the door again.

"Alright, alright! I'm coming, Doc, just give me a moment."

Once he dressed for the day, Matt let the older man in.

"Well, it took you long enough."

Matt rolled his eyes, "Doc, it's too early for this. You just got me out of bed."

"It's a good thing too, it's 11' o'clock."

Matt rubbed his tired eyes. Staring at the clock in disbelief.

"Don't worry. I got your ticket right here."

"Doc, you didn't have to do that."

Doc only rubbed his face, like he was hiding something, "I don't mind at all. You've got everything together, right?"

"Yeah, I think so, I packed last night when we got back. Just so I didn't forget anything."

Doc nodded looking at the bigger sized bag,

"You even have the dolls in there too, I see."

Matt nodded. "Yeah, I do. But I still don't understand what they have to do with Kitty."

Doc pulled at his ear, "Well, that will be found out soon enough. Oh, Matt, I want to give this to you; I have a feeling you're going to be needing it but don't open it yet. Read the note first, that will help clear things a little more. But wait until you're in St. Louis before opening the box."

Matt looked at the small-sized box, wrapped in brown paper, with a note in Doc's handwriting. He was even more puzzled now. "What do you have in here?"

"You'll find out later. It will be something you'll need; I can promise you that."

Matt could only nod,

"Some kind of surprise, huh?"

The town doctor only nodded.

"But Doc, aren't you going to be there when I leave?"

Doc shook his head, "No, I won't unfortunately. One of the Roniger Children is having their first baby. So, I'm on baby watch."

Matt smiled.

"Well now. They have their twenty children. Now it's time for the next generation to begin."

Doc only laughed as he headed out the door.

Kitty sat downstairs enjoying the quietness of the afternoon. She was thinking of Matt, Thanksgiving being only a few weeks along with Maddie's birthday that same week.

So many thoughts raced through her mind. Matt had sent her a telegram telling her that he was coming and that he would be there by tomorrow morning.

What was she going to say to him, how would things turn out between them?

Would he just turn tail and run? Kitty shook her head; No! Matt wasn't that kind of a man.

But what scared her the most was the fact she could no longer hide the secrets she had been keeping from him for so long.

She was thankful that Abigale and John took the girls for the next few days, While Kitty talked with Matt. She was grateful too that Sarah was staying with her until Matt arrived the next morning.

"Sarah, I'm going to go up and clean up my room for Matt to sleep in."

Sarah only nodded. There was a loud thump, as Sarah had accidentally dropped the book she'd been reading. Kitty jumped at the sound, she put her hand over her heart trying to slow its pace. For it felt like a herd of wild horses.

The older woman looked over at her,

"Kitty, what's wrong? You're like a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs."

The younger woman only shrugged her shoulders, "I-I guess some of it is, having to tell Matt, the truth."

Sarah could only smile at Kitty, "Everything will be all right Kit, I know running from the truth is much easier, but facing makes you wiser, braver and more courageous than ever."

Kitty sighed as she looked at her friend.

"Sarah, if I'm all that, then why am I shaking so?"

"Because you're doing what is right. Don't ya think Matt gets that way sometimes?"

Kitty smiled. "I know he does, and I know he has. But this-this is different."

The older woman gently shook her head as she walked over to Kitty, and hugged her,

"No, Kitty, No it's not. Truth never changes. He always stays the same. We're the ones that forget that."

Kitty could only smile. She knew that Sarah wasn't talking about the kind of truth she needed to tell Matt about the girls. But the truth comes from the one who gives courage, peace, and bravery to do such things.

"Thank you, Sarah."

The older woman smiled as she watched Kitty walk up the stairs. Once Sarah heard the bedroom door shut. She could hear Kitty pacing the floor, but she knew that Kitty needed to sort this out between God, herself, and Matt. The only thing Sarah knew she could do right now was to pray.

Author's note.

Thank you, guys, so much for all the sweet commits/reviews on the last chapter! I'm so glad you guys enjoyed it. I know my posting days have changed a little, but I am trying to be more persistent when it comes to my writing.

On another note, I have found all my old drafts for the story. YAY!

So that helps a lot. Thank you, guys, again. See you again soon.