Here's your first little taste of Kate's POV. Enjoy the chapter. Doc being charming... and then the wind taken out of his sails.
Kate got dressed more quickly than Doc. She had many years of practice throwing her clothes back on to make a hasty exit when one of her customers' wives came home earlier than expected. When she was ready, she turned to help Doc on with his waistcoat before going to the door. He grabbed his hat and followed.
They hurried down the hall, then the steps, Kate holding his hand just in case he was lightheaded from their exploits. They arrived on the edge of the crowd just in time to hear Charlie Bassett urge everyone to disperse. Kate looked from Frankie to Wyatt, trying to glean clues from their faces. She suspected that Frankie's tirade had been justified; after all, what sort of man was so hurt by words that he had to respond with violence? On the other hand... She looked at Doc. Her lover was often perturbed by men's words and responded quickly and viciously with knife or pistol. But that was because he knew he didn't stand a chance in a fist fight.
Doc glanced toward the doors of the Long Branch saloon, and then she saw him nod. She looked back just in time to see Wyatt break eye contact with him.
"You're completely on his side, aren't you?" she asked.
"I don't know all of the facts here, darlin'. All I know is that my friend can use my help."
"Well, you help him if you want to." She turned on her heel and headed back toward the boarding house.
"Kate..."
She didn't look back. She went up to their room and put her frustration into tidying up. She gathered empty whiskey bottles and set them outside the room. She hung up a jacket and put other clothing away in the chest of drawers. Then she made up the bed. Finally, she took their pitcher and basin down to the kitchen where she could rinse them out at the pump and refill the pitcher for the next morning. The room looked perfect when she was done. It made her angry.
Kate sounded accusatory. Doc tried to appease her.
"I don't know all of the facts here, darlin'. All I know is that my friend can use my help."
"Well, you help him if you want to." She turned and headed back toward the boarding house.
"Kate..."
She didn't look back.
Doc debated running after her. But he had made a silent promise to Wyatt. Instead of following her, he turned toward the Long Branch where Mattie Blaylock was still at the door.
"Good evening, Miss Blaylock." Doc tipped his hat slightly. "Since Wyatt seems to be tied up at the moment, would you do me the honor of sitting down to a spot of dinner? I'm sure he'll be along as soon as he can."
Mattie shifted from one foot to the other and then said, "All right, Doctor Holliday. If you're sure Wyatt won't mind."
"Only thing he'll mind is that he couldn't be here sooner." He gave her a winning smile and offered her his arm.
She set her hand in the crook of his elbow and they entered the saloon together. He ordered them each a hearty supper and they sat at a corner table together.
"Do you know what all that trouble with Frankie was about?" Mattie asked as they waited for their food to be served.
"Not entirely," Doc said. "I'm afraid any explanation I gave you would rely heavily on speculation."
"But you're his friend... so your speculation is probably better than most."
She wasn't going to let him brush it off. Doc sat back and pulled a deck of cards from his waistcoat pocket. He thumbed through the deck as he formulated an answer. "If I had to hazard a guess, I would say that Frankie had gotten herself rather heartsick over Wyatt. Him being sort of a dashing young fellow, up and coming as a lawman... these things happen. And Wyatt not having the good sense to see her affection for what it was, he probably did her some favor or service in his capacity of serving the people of our fair city" (he used the word "fair" lightly) "which caused her to mistake the object of his affections for herself, rather than you. Then today sometime, she learned the truth and it cut her to the quick." He looked up. "That would be my very best attempt at speculation."
"I see... She sure lost her temper on him... I think I'd have slapped her too."
"Well, I trust your judgment, ma'am, but being a gentleman, I really oughtn't take sides."
Their food arrived, and Mattie hesitated. "Do you..."
Doc tilted his head to the side.
"Sorry. I was just wondering something. Last night at dinner, Wyatt didn't say a blessing, but that could have been because he was a little bit excited. Or nervous. Do you know if he's a praying man?"
He wasn't sure if she wanted the answer to be yes or no. "I can't say I know him well enough to answer that question."
"Well... he seems like an awfully good person, and I don't want to disappoint him. But I haven't said prayers or been to a church in so long."
"I can tell you I haven't known him to attend Sunday services. He's aware of the church events such as the picnic they held the other day, but to my knowledge he shows no designs of acquiring membership."
"I see." She looked a little relieved.
"If it makes you feel better, I have a trick that satisfies most church-goers, should the need arise."
"Oh? What's that?"
Doc flung his arms wide as if to show that there were no cards up his sleeves. Then he clasped his hands in front of him and bowed his head slightly. "For what we are about to receive, may the Lord make us truly thankful. Amen."
When he looked up, she was smiling broadly. "It's almost like a toast."
"Exactly! Now you're set."
She took up her fork, still smiling.
A minute later, Wyatt entered the saloon. He looked around, spotted Doc and Mattie, and walked over to them. "Hello, Mattie. I'm sorry to keep you waiting. Doc." He nodded to his friend.
Doc pushed his chair back. He had barely started eating, but he wasn't very hungry. "Good to see you, Wyatt. I've kept a place warm for you. Enjoy your evening."
"Thank you," Mattie said, giving Doc a warm smile.
Wyatt put a hand on Doc's shoulder briefly as he got to his feet. "Thanks... I owe you."
"Yes, you do," Doc purred, too quietly for Mattie to hear. He nodded to Mattie. "Good evening, ma'am."
For some reason, the way Doc said "Yes, you do" stirred something deep in Wyatt's stomach. It rippled upward and petered out through his chest. He shook off the feeling and sat down across from Mattie. Thinking nothing of it, he took up the fork Doc had left on the plate and started eating his dinner.
"Frankie sounded furious," Mattie ventured.
After a moment's hesitation, Wyatt swallowed and said, "Just a misunderstanding. I'm sorry you had to hear that."
"Will she be all right?"
"I think so. But I'd let her be for a few days."
Mattie toyed with her food. "Doc Holliday thinks maybe she had her sights set on you, so she was disappointed you and me are... that we have an understanding."
God bless you, Doc. "I think that's about right."
"Why would she think you wanted her?"
Then again, I retract that blessing. "Oh, I guess she remembered some occasion when we spent some time together and she made a little much of it when she shouldn't."
"I see." She didn't look happy.
He reached across the table and took her hand. "Don't worry, sweetheart. All that's over now. You're the only one I'll see from now on."
She perked up and squeezed his hand.
I take it back. God bless you, Doc. Wyatt stroked Mattie's fingers and smiled at her. "When we're done here, may I walk you home? I have to do rounds tonight, or I'd sit with you a spell."
"All right. Maybe... Maybe you could stop by when you finish your rounds?"
She looked as shy as an innocent country girl. As innocent now as she seemed experienced when they were alone. It looked good on her, he thought.
"I'll certainly try."
When Doc got back to his room at the boarding house, everything was clean. It was unnerving. It hadn't been this tidy since they moved in.
Kate was standing by the window, back toward him, arms folded.
"I'm back," Doc stated the obvious. "You hungry?"
Kate shrugged.
"Why are you sore at me?"
The tension seemed to thicken palpably, as if it were making Doc's very heart struggle to beat.
Finally, she turned toward him. "I think it's fairly obvious what happened. Wyatt was waiting for his night with Mattie, he got bored and hired Frankie. He led her on. Isn't that right?"
"I don't know. That's the truth. I barely said two things to Wyatt since you walked off. If it means that much to you, I'll ask him for the details later. But what do you care if that's what happened? You never made anyone else's business your own before."
"I care because you do! I've seen men come and go from your life, but this one you care about."
"No more than... reason," Doc said, wincing at his accidental Shakespeare quotation.
"He seemed so sincere about wanting to win Mattie, and then he betrayed her before he could even make good on it!"
"Technically, if it happened before, he wasn't really betraying her..."
She glared daggers at him. "You said you'd never lie to me."
"And so I shan't."
"And yet you seem quite ready to support deceit from your friend."
"He is my friend, so I will support him, whether his choices be sound or foolhardy."
She moved from her place by the window as if her feet had been stuck and she suddenly wrenched them free. "I'm leaving."
Doc's heart sank. "Please... don't go. I'm sorry."
"No, you're not." She grabbed a bag and began packing a change of clothes.
"You stay here. I'll go," he offered. If she was staying in the same place, at least he would know where to find her.
She faltered, glanced at him, and went back to packing. "You need to sleep in a proper bed. I can easily find one elsewhere."
That was like an arrow to the heart. Doc fought to keep from choking up, focusing on breathing steadily. Ignoring the sting at the back of his eyes. "Kate..."
She closed the bag and went to his side. Putting a hand to the side of his face, she kissed him softly. "Make sure you don't stay up too late. I'll be back."
"When?"
"I don't know." She closed the door behind her.
Doc sank onto the bed and stared at the floor. Many wretched thoughts assaulted his mind. Finally, he lay back and allowed a couple of tears to escape. You sure as hell owe me, Wyatt Earp.
Doc's accidental Shakespeare quote:
Beatrice: Do not you love me?
Benedick: Troth, no, no more than reason.
~Much Ado About Nothing
Poor Doc. He plays Cyrano for Wyatt and ends up in trouble with his own girl. This is the first of many increasingly ugly fights with Kate. To quote another line from Shakespeare, "The course of true love never did run smooth." (A Midsummer Night's Dream)
