Chapter 2 "Matt's Gemstone" (A short story focusing on a sweet and tender moment between Matt and his three year old daughter)

Matt stood with Kitty on the train platform. He had her travel bag in one hand and their three year old daughter in his other arm. Kitty was going to be taking the train to Topeka. She and Bess Roniger were going to spend a few days there and do some shopping, maybe even see a play. This was going to be a girls' trip for the two of them. They were both looking forward to it.

The train was pulling into the depot and Kitty checked her reticule to make sure she had both tickets, one to Topeka and one to return to Dodge. She then turned to Matt and her daughter to say goodbye.

"Oh I'm going to miss you two so much," Kitty said, wrapping her arms around both of them.

"We're gonna miss you too. We love you and want you to have a great time," Matt said as he held her to him.

"I wuv you too, mommy. Don't worry. I'll take care of daddy for you," said their little girl.

Matt and Kitty looked at each other with amused looks on their faces. "Thank you, sweetheart," said Kitty. She then placed a kiss on her daughter's face. After kissing her daughter, she placed a kiss on Matt's lips.

While Kitty was saying goodbye to her family, Bess was doing the same thing. Since she had a much bigger family, her goodbyes took a little longer. Once both ladies said their goodbyes, they boarded the train. The train took off down the track and towards Topeka. Matt watched the train for a couple minutes and then walked to the wagon and headed home.

Later that evening supper had been eaten and Matt was getting his daughter ready for bed. As he was unbuttoning her dress, his mind wandered back several years to when Charity Gill came into his life. Matt was helping Charity get ready for bed, and she asked him if he was going to help her change out of her clothes. Feeling very uncomfortable, Matt told her it was getting late and she needed to go to sleep. He helped her lie down and took off her shoes. Shoes off, he covered her up with a blanket.

That was nine years ago and now here he was with his daughter getting her ready for bed. Unlike before with Charity, Matt was not uncomfortable getting his daughter ready for bed. He unbuttoned the last button on her dress and lifted it over her head. He then took the nightgown that was draped over the rocking chair and helped her into it. He buttoned the little button in the back.

Now that the nightgown was on, Matt filled the small basin with water so he could wash his daughter's face. He took a washcloth, dipped into the water to get it wet, and then wrung it out. He was about to wash his daughter's face, but she stopped him.

"Don't wash this cheek. Mommy kissed that cheek and I don't want it washed off."

"Okay, honey. I'll make sure I don't wash that cheek," Matt said as he gently washed the rest of her face.

The nightgown was on and her face was washed. The last thing Matt had to do to get his daughter ready for bed was to take the braids out of her hair and gently brush through it. Her hair was as red as her mother's. Brushing through his daughter's hair, brought Matt back to the day she was born.

When she was born, she already had a head full of red hair. It was that red hair that inspired their daughter's name. Matt and Kitty were pretty much set on a boy's name, but they were having trouble with a girl's name. Doc had made a comment about her hair being as red as a ruby. Matt and Kitty both looked at each other and knew that would be their daughter's name. Her full name was Ruby Kathleen Dillon. Matt also thought Ruby was the perfect name for her not only because of her red hair, but because she was so precious and valuable to him, just like a gemstone.

Matt finished brushing Ruby's hair and carried her to bed. He turned down the covers and laid her down, covering her with the blanket and quilt. He was about to kiss her goodnight, but she stopped him. "Make sure you kiss this side. Remember that mommy's kiss is on this side."

"Yes, of course. I wouldn't want to mess up mommy's kiss." Matt kissed the cheek that didn't hold Kitty's kiss. "Sweet dreams, Ruby. Daddy loves you."

"I wuv you too, daddy," Ruby yawned. She turned over, closed her eyes, and soon was asleep.

'Yup,' thought Matt as he looked at her. 'My most precious gemstone.'

TBC