Chapter 2 I know

The Saturday morning sun shone brightly in the Arizona sky. Matt was on his way into town. He was making his weekly outing to get his mail and any needed supplies for the ranch and the house. Matt had a routine. He would go to the mercantile first and then to the post office. Matt parked his wagon in front of the mercantile and set the brake. He expertly climbed down from his seat, careful not to aggravate his bad knee.

"Good mornin' Matt," greeted Dave Sporeman, proprietor of the mercantile. "Do ya have yer usual list?"

"Mornin, Dave," Matt returned the greeting. "I sure do. Here ya go." Matt handed Dave his list. "I did add something new."

Dave looked at the list and smiled. "A wicker basket baby bed. How is Beth feeling?"

"She's feeling as good as any woman who's in her late stage of pregnancy can feel. She 'n Josh are lookin' forward to becoming parents."

"How 'bout you? Are you lookin' forward to becoming a grandfather?" asked Dave.

Pride was evident on Matt's face. "You bet I am."

"Let me get the items on yer list. I may even have a basket in the back room." Dave left to retrieve the items. He returned ten minutes later. "I did have all yer items, including the baby basket. I'm sure Beth is gonna love it."

"Actually, the basket is for my place. The little guy is gonna need a place ta sleep when he's visiting his grandpa," Matt explained.

"I thought Beth was still pregnant." Dave was confused. "How do ya know it's a boy?"

Matt started to laugh. "I guess I don't. Not too long ago Beth said she had a feeling she was having a boy. She said it was mother's intuition. Boy or girl, I'll be a proud grandpa."

Dave placed Matt's items in the baby basket, making it easier for Matt to carry everything out to his wagon. Matt loaded the basket in the back of the wagon and rode towards the post office. He parked his wagon and walked inside.

Matt walked up to the counter. "Any mail for me, Sherman?"

"A couple pieces." Sherman, the postmaster, handed Matt his mail.

Matt accepted the offered mail. "Much obliged. I'll see ya next Saturday."

Walking out of the post office, Matt briefly went through his mail. When he came to the last piece of mail, Matt froze in his tracks. In his hand he held an envelope with familiar handwriting he had not seen in close to eighteen years. Matt immediately knew it was from Kitty. Even though he did not have to, Matt turned the envelope over and saw New Orleans, Louisiana as the return address. It took all of his willpower not to tear the envelope open at that very moment. Collecting himself, Matt put the mail in his pocket and boarded the wagon. He would wait until he got back to the house before he opened the letter.

After so many years, Kitty had written him a letter. Matt recalled the last letter he had received from her. It was shortly after he finally decided to hang up his badge and retire. Before retiring, Matt was trying to decide how to ask Kitty if she still had interest in any sort of future with him. She had been gone from Dodge City for almost five years, and he missed her something fierce. He enjoyed her letters, but letters could not replace Kitty. Kitty's last letter answered his question before he could even ask about their future.

In her last letter, Kitty congratulated him on his retirement. She wished him a bright and happy future. The next line stated that she had moved on, and this would be her last letter. That was a blow to Matt's gut. Chances were he was not going to see Kitty again. She had a man and a life in New Orleans.

As Matt continued to recall the last letter he read from Kitty, he remembered her telling him that Doc shared the news of Matt's retirement. Doc and Kitty would meet and visit each other a few times a year. They usually met in Wichita. Doc would take the train from Dodge and Kitty would take the train from New Orleans. Kitty refused to travel any further west.

Matt tried his hardest not to speculate about what was written in Kitty's most current letter, but he found it difficult to do so. The forty minute trip across the desert seemed like an eternity. Finally after reaching his ranch, Matt unhitched the team and let the horses gallop around the coral. He gathered the baby basket, filled with his goods, and went into the house. Matt placed the basket of items on the couch. He would deal with that later. He had more pressing issues to deal with.

Matt sat down next to the basket and took the mail out of his pocket. He tossed all envelopes aside, except for the letter from Kitty. He grabbed his letter opener and carefully opened the envelope. He pulled the stationery out, unfolded it, and began to read.

Dear Matt,

I am sure that I am the last person you ever expected to get a letter from. How long has it been since the last letter? I think it's been close to eighteen years. That means you have been retired for almost eighteen years. It's hard to believe you've been without the badge for about as long as you wore it. I'm rambling on here. Let me get to the reason why I'm writing to you after all these years.

I know you have a daughter. I know about Beth. What I don't know is why you've never said anything or written anything to me about her. I need answers. I want an explanation.

I am coming to Arizona. I will be arriving in Tombstone on Monday on the noon train. Don't worry about offering me a place to stay. I'll stay at the local hotel.

There is really no point in writing anymore. We will talk when I see you.

Sincerely,

Kitty

I know you have a daughter. Matt read that line multiple times. How did Kitty know he had a daughter? Who told her about Beth? He was confident that he never shared that information with her. Her letter indicated that. The only people that knew about Beth were Festus and Newly, and he asked them to promise not to mention her to anyone. It wasn't that he was ashamed of her. He was concerned about her safety. Matt thought back to the day he told his former deputies about Beth.

Two Years Ago

Matt walked into the small cabin he had been living in since his retirement. He took off his hat, hung it on the hook, and went over to his chest of drawers. Pulling open the top drawer, Matt took out an envelope and removed the letter inside. It was from Mike. She had written to him a couple of months ago saying she thought it was time that Beth met her real father. In her letter, Mike asked Matt to return if he could. Matt did not reply to the letter, nor had he returned to Arizona.

When Matt first received Mike's letter, he could not bring himself to go back to Arizona. For some reason that he could not explain, Matt felt that he was betraying Kitty if he returned to Arizona. That was a couple of months ago. Matt had to remind himself that Kitty had moved on years ago. It was quite possible that she had her own family.

He had been retired for some time now. Maybe it was time for him to start a new chapter in his life. Maybe it was time for him to meet Beth once more and to start a father/daughter relationship. Matt also decided that it was time to tell his two closest friends that he had a daughter. Right then and there, Matt decided to leave Dodge City and tell Festus and Newly about Beth.

The three men were sitting in Matt's cabin. Looking at their longtime friend pacing around the room, Festus and Newly could see that Matt was nervous about something. He wanted to tell them something. They knew that much.

"Matthew, ya asked us over here ta tell us somethin'" Festus pointed out. "Jest go on 'n spit it out before you choke on yer words."

"I wanted ta let you know that the two of you have been great friends," Matt began.

"This sounds like the start of a goodbye speech," Newly interrupted.

"It shore does," Festus agreed.

Matt took a deep breath through his nose and slowly released it out of his mouth. "That's because it is. I'm going ta be leaving this area."

"Why, Matthew?" asked Festus. "Ain't ya happy here no more."

"It's not that," Matt replied.

"Then what?" Newly questioned.

"I'm getting to that," said Matt. He paused for a moment, while Newly and Festus patiently waited. "I guess there's no reason for me to beat around the bush. I might as well just say it. I have a daughter."

Newly and Festus looked at one another. That was the last thing they expected to come out of Matt Dillon's mouth. They didn't even realize Matt had been seeing a woman. He never said anything to either or them. His cabin showed no signs of a woman ever being there.

Festus was the first to find his voice. "I don't mean no disrespect or nothin', but ain't ya kinda of on the old side ta be a father to a youngin? Yer at the age when a feller should be a grandfather."

"My daughter isn't a baby. She's twenty-one years old," said Matt.

"Twenty-one?" Newly questioned. "It was twenty-one years ago when Miss Kitty left."

Festus could see where Newly was going. "Matthew, is that why Mizz Kitty suddenly left? Was she carrying yer youngin'? Did she leave ta have yer youngin, 'n yer now just going ta them? That don't sound like you."

"Kitty isn't the mother of my child," Matt confessed

"Did I hear ya correctly, Matthew?" asked Festus as he tugged on his ear.

"You did," Matt confirmed.

"Is that why Kitty left Dodge?" asked Newly. "Because another woman had yer baby?"

"Kitty left Dodge because her good friend, Lucy, became very ill," Matt reminded his friends. "Besides, Kitty didn't know about my daughter when she left. I never told her. I still haven't. Doc never knew either. You two are the only ones I've ever told."

"Back 'er up a bit," said Festus. "I'm havin' a bit of trouble tryin' ta figure out when you would've gotten a woman pregnant twenty-one years ago. I know you'd never do somethin like that to Mizz Kitty. So maybe you should start splainin' yerself."

Matt began his story. He told them everything they did not about his six week absence from Dodge over twenty years ago. Matt explained how Mike Yardner was a woman. He made sure to let them know that Kitty knew about Mike and how the two of them shared her bed one time. Matt went on to tell Festus and Newly that he had returned to Mike Yardner's after he had been shot and his arm was severely damaged.

"It was during that time that I learned that Mike was pregnant with my child," said Matt. "I stayed for the birth and a couple weeks after that. During that time Mike and I discussed the dangers of her and the baby being associated with me. Mike didn't even give Beth my last name. Her name is Elizabeth Ann Yardner. We decided to let people think that Mike's deceased husband fathered Beth before he passed on. Mike and I made arrangements while I was there. She would send me short letters letting me know how Beth was doing. Once in a while she would include a picture."

"Weren't you ever afraid that the letters would get in the wrong hands?" asked Newly. "Did Kitty ever see any of these letters?"

"The letters started coming after Kitty left," Matt replied. "No, I was never afraid of the letters getting in the wrong hands. The letters never indicated that I was Beth's father. They were very generic. People knew I stayed with a Mike when I lost my memory. People assumed Mike was a man. Kitty and I agreed to let everyone, including Doc and the two of you, think that Mike was a man. If anyone saw any of the letters, they'd probably figure Mike Yardner became a good friend of mine and was just being a proud father."

"You still haven't told us why yer leaving," Newly pointed out.

"I received a letter from Mike a few months ago. In her letter, she wrote that she thought it was time Beth knew who her real father was. She asked me, if I could, to come to Arizona," Matt explained.

"If you got the letter a few months ago, why are you still here?" asked Newly. "Don't you want ta see yer daughter?"

"I guess when I first got the letter, the thought of going back to Arizona felt like a betrayal to Kitty," Matt confessed. "But now I realize that Kitty moved on a long time ago, and Beth deserves to meet her father."

Present Time

Matt didn't think Newly and Festus would share with Kitty that he had a daughter. They knew he hadn't said anything to Kitty. So why would they? Yet they were the only ones of Matt's friends who knew about Matt being Beth's father. It was a mystery. A mystery that Matt was sure would be solved when he saw Kitty, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to know how she knew.

TBC