Chapter 3 Ford County Dance

Dodge City

Kitty stood in front of her full length looking glass admiring Sarah's handiwork. The dress was a masterful piece of art. Kitty was glad Sarah convinced her to go with the violet. It was a perfect color for this time of year. Made of velvet, the bodice had a motif of foliage and roses. The long sleeves were also velvet. It was attached to a satin skirt. The rich velvet and smooth satin hugged Kitty in all the right places, showing off her curves. The princess neckline accentuated Kitty's alabaster skin. She wore a simple pearl token necklace.

"That dress is so pretty and so soft," Ruby admired as she gently ran her hand down the skirt of the dress.

Kitty looked at her daughter. "Thank you. I hope your hands are clean." The last thing Kitty wanted was for her dress to be stained before she and Matt even made it to the dance.

"Don't worry, momma. They are." Ruby showed her momma her hands to prove they were clean.

Kitty inspected Ruby's hands and her dress. She was relieved that she did not see any dirt. "It looks like they passed inspection."

"Momma, you are going to be the most beautifulest lady there," Ruby complimented.

"She most certainly is," Matt agreed as he walked into the bedroom. He was all dressed up and ready to go. He admired the view before him. "I better not let her out of my sight."

"Oh you two," Kitty said with amusement. "What am I going to do with you?" Kitty took a real good look at Matt. "Cowboy, I better not let you out of my sight."

"Momma, I wish I could go with you 'n daddy to the dance," Ruby pouted. "I'm gonna have nothin' ta do here by myself."

"Oh stop," Kitty told her daughter. "First, you know that daddy and I would never leave you by yourself. You also know that we are going to the dance with Uncle Will and Aunt Bess, and that they're bringing Robin, Mary, and Rosie. Robin is gonna watch the three of you. You'll have fun."

"Probably not as fun as you 'n daddy," Ruby mumbled

"Ruby, that's enough." Matt's voice had that warning tone that told Ruby she better stop.

An hour later the Ronnigers arrived in their two-seater buckboard. Will and Bess were riding up front and the girls were riding on the back seat. Matt was considering getting one. Soon Ruby would be too big to ride comfortably between him and Kitty. They would keep the single seat buggy and their wagon. They would still have uses for those. He would have to talk to Kitty about his thoughts some other time.

"Bess, you are lookin' mighty pretty," Matt greeted with a smile.

"Thank you," Bess grinned. "You are quite the charmer. I'm lookin' as pretty as I can for having as many children as I do. Speaking of which, girls hop on down. Aunt Kitty 'n I are gonna sit back there. Yer daddy and Uncle Matt will sit up front."

Matt assisted Bess as she climbed down from the front seat. He was about to offer his help to the girls, but they had already managed to get down by themselves. Matt's face lit up when he saw his wife step outside with Ruby. His breath caught in the back of his throat. Matt had seen Kitty five minutes ago in the house, but the way the sun shone down on her made her even more beautiful.

"Robin, thank you so much for bringing Mary and Rosie with you and watching the girls. I have a plate of four cookies in the kitchen, one for each of you." said Kitty. "We should be home around ten." Kitty looked at the other adults. "Right?"

"That's what me 'n Bess were thinkin'," said Will.

"Yes," Bess agreed. "You girls mind Robin. We expect a good report."

"We will," the three younger girls said in unison. They waved as the pair of adults rode away.

Twenty minutes later, the Dillons and the Ronnigers arrived at the dance. Matt and Will aided their wives as they stepped down from the buckboard. Arm in arm, the two couples entered the large barn where the dance was being held. It looked as though half of Ford County was in attendance. Up in the loft, a quartet of fiddles and harmonicas supplied the music. The Ronnigers separated themselves from the Dillons and joined the other couples out on the dance floor.

Louie Pheeters, helping himself to a glass a punch, spotted Matt and Kitty, and walked over to them. He was dressed in his best suit, a flower in his boutonniere. Louie took hold of one of his lapels and straightened his posture. He puffed out his chest a bit.

"Marshal Dillon and Miss Kitty," he greeted the couple. "It sure is nice to see you at this dance. Miss Kitty, you look really nice."

"Thank you, Louie," Kitty smiled as she accepted Louie's compliment. "You look nice as well."

Kitty's compliment made Louie stand taller. "Miss Kitty, I'd be honored if you would share a dance with me."

"Louie, I would be honored as well," said Kitty. "But I would like to dance with Matt first. Give me time to do that, and I promise I'll find you later."

"That sounds fine, Miss Kitty," said Louie, accepting Kitty's offer. "I'll be around." He walked in the direction of the punch bowl. Neither Matt nor Kitty were surprised.

Kitty turned to the tall man standing next to her. "Cowboy, I heard you were a pretty good dancer."

"I hope you know what yer getting into," Matt smiled as he led Kitty out to the dance area.

Kitty let Matt pull her out to the crowded dance area. "I'm willing to take the risk."

Back at the Dillon house, Robin walked the plate of cookies over to the table where Ruby, Rosie, and Mary were sitting. She placed the plate in the middle. Before she had a chance to sit down, the three little girls were about to grab a cookie.

"Stop!" Robin commanded. The girls looked up and quickly withdrew their hands. "That's not how a lady takes a cookie. Let me show you how it's done." Robin demonstrated how to properly take a cookie and the girls followed suit.

"These cookies are really good," said Mary with a mouthful of cookies.

"Mary, don't talk with your mouth full," Robin told her sister. "It's impolite."

Rosie made sure she swallowed before commenting. She looked at Ruby. "She can be bossy at times."

Robin chose not to respond, but just rolled her eyes. "Ruby, when you're done eating, we need to get you ready for bed and tucked in before your parents get home."

"I don't wanna go ta bed if Rosie and Mary are still here," Ruby complained. "Can't I go ta bed when my daddy 'n momma get home?"

Robin lightly bit down on her bottom lip as she decided what to do. "You have to at least put your nightgown on and then the three of you can rest on the couch until our parents get home. Deal?"

Ruby tapped her chin as she contemplated Robin's offer. "Deal."

"Good," said Robin. "Rosie 'n Mary, you go 'n sit on the couch and wait for Ruby. Ruby, go put your nightgown on." Each girl did as they were told.

For the next couple of hours Matt, Kitty, Will, and Bess shared slow dances and enjoyed each other's company during the faster dances. Both Matt and Will weren't into the faster dances, and their wives weren't going to force them to dance the faster ones. Kitty did keep her promise and danced with Louie. For being the town drunk, Louie was a fairly decent dancer.

It was times like this with Matt that Kitty cherished. Even though Matt attending events, such as barn dances, was better than they had been in the past, it was not always a guarantee that he would be able to attend. The two couples shared one more dance before they decided to head home. They told Robin they would return at ten o'clock, and that's what they intended to do. On the way home, Bess sat up front with Will, while Matt and Kitty sat in the back.

When they left for the dance, the sun had been shining, making it feel warm outside. At that time, Kitty was warm in her dress. Now that the sun had gone down, the night was cool. Kitty wished she had worn one of her shawls. She wrapped her arms around herself and involuntarily shivered. Noticing Kitty shiver, Matt wordlessly took off his coat and wrapped it around his wife. Kitty looked up at Matt and smiled. She scooted closer to him and he wrapped his arm around her.

Robin had been sitting in Matt's overstuffed chair, when she heard her parents and Matt and Kitty return. Ruby, Mary, and Rosie were fast asleep on the couch. Hearing the key turn in the lock, Robin stood up. Matt and Kitty, along with Will and Bess, entered the house. They saw Robin standing in the middle of the parlor and the three little girls asleep on the couch.

"Aunt Kitty, I'm sorry Ruby isn't in bed," Robin apologized. "But she didn't wanna go to bed with Rosie and Mary out here. I did convince her to put her nightgown on."

"That's fine. Don't worry about it," Kitty assured Robin. "Uncle Matt 'n I will get her to bed. We appreciate you coming over. I do hope Ruby behaved herself tonight."

"Oh, she did. All three of them did," Robin reported.

"I'm glad ta hear that," Kitty responded.

"Yes," Bess agreed.

Matt extended his hand to Will. "I wanna thank you for driving tonight. I'm much obliged."

Will took the offered hand. "It was no problem. I was glad ta do it."

"I guess we better collect our sleeping kids and get goin'," said Bess as she and Will each picked up one of their daughters. "Matt, Kitty, it's been fun. I hope we can do it again sometime."

"Me too," Kitty replied with a smile. After the Ronnigers left, Kitty turned her attention to Matt. "Do you wanna pick up your daughter and carry her to her bed?"

"No problem." Matt effortlessly picked up his sleeping little girl.

Ruby was in such a deep sleep that she didn't even stir when Matt lifted her off the couch. He followed Kitty to Ruby's room, and waited for her to turn down the covers on Ruby's bed. Once the bed was ready, Matt gently laid Ruby on her bed and pulled the covers on top of her. He placed a kiss on Ruby's forehead and then stepped back to let Kitty give Ruby a kiss goodnight. Before giving Ruby a kiss, Kitty placed Annie and Lulu on each side of Ruby. She didn't want Ruby to wake up and wonder where her dolls were. Kitty gave Ruby a kiss and left the room with Matt. They quietly closed the door behind them.

"If yer not too tired, maybe we could do some private dancing of our own in our bedroom," Matt suggested, looking deeply into Kitty's eyes.

Kitty knew exactly what Matt was referring to. She took Matt's hand and pulled him towards the bedroom. "Cowboy, I'm not too tired for some dancing with you."

Sometime later Matt and Kitty were basking in the afterglow of their lovemaking. Matt was lying on his back with Kitty's head pillowed on his chest. It was their favorite sleeping position after making love. They soon fell into a deep sleep.

TBC