Chapter 2
The train was not as crowded as Kitty expected it to be, but she was still thankful for her private apartment.
As the hours passed by, the late afternoon soon gave way to the night.
Kitty would let her mind wander back to everyone she left in Dodge.
Doc, Festus, Newly, along with a handful of others, But the one her mind would wander to the most was Matt. The thought of not seeing him every day anymore hurt.
Kitty was sitting on the settee in her room, looking out the window, watching the scenery pass her by. She let out a sigh, there was not much to look at as the sun was now setting. A blanket of darkness was covering the night sky as the full moon and stars adored it. She looked over at the stack of letters that laid on the foot of her bed.
She walked over and sat on the edge of her bed, picking up another handwritten letter, she started to read a longer letter from Bethany.
Bethany wrote about all the books Aunt Sarah had been reading to her and Maddie,
The long walks they enjoyed in the evening and the picnics they had every Sunday after church. Bethany also mentioned how she and Maddie wanted to go shopping with her after she arrived.
A smile graced Kitty's lips, it eased her mind as she read her daughter's handwriting. It helped with some of the pain of missing Matt, or at least it did for the time being anyway.
It was midnight when Kitty crawled in the bed after turning the lights off in the train car, bathing the room in the soft moonlight. The sounds of the train passing over the tracks and the swaying of the train rocked Kitty to sleep.
"Ten minutes until St. Louis!" the conductor called as he walked back in forth about the corridor. It was 5 a.m. when the train pulled into St. Louis.
Kitty smiled as she straightened her hat and pinned it in place,
She was all set and ready for the day.
Making sure she packed everything back in her bags, Kitty left the key in the door and watched from the landing as the train pulled into St. Louis. She was ready for the next chapter to begin.
Stepping down from the train, she looked around. The sights, the sounds, and the smells were different from Dodge.
The city of St. Louis was busy for it being so early in the morning.
It reminded Kitty of the busy nights of Dodge City after all the cattle drovers would come into town. They would come to the Long Branch like a herd of stampeded cattle.
Kitty sighed as she pushed all these memories to the back of her mind.
St. Louis meant a new life.
The city of St Louis was her home now. Her old life from being a saloon girl to a saloon owner was in the past, no one here knew about her history, and that was simply fine. She wanted nothing more to do with that lifestyle anymore. She moved here to be with her daughters, for they were her main priority and reason for being here. She was doing this more for Bethany and Maddie's sake than her very own.
But if she was honest with herself, this new life was going to be more difficult than she imagined because her heart ached and yearned for the one man she left behind in Dodge.
It was still dark outside, but the sun was coming up over the horizon.
The smells coming from the cafes and diners were very tempting to Kitty, as her stomach growled at the aromas and the thought of food.
But knowing Sarah, after all these years, she would have fresh coffee on the stove and breakfast ready to go in the oven.
Kitty hired a cabbie driver to take her to Sarah's home.
The widow lived in an uptown neighborhood, where streets with rows of trees, fenced yards, and houses lined each block, making it a very quaint neighborhood.
Kitty smiled when the two-story, sky-blue house, with white trim, and white picket fence, came into view.
The driver pulled the horse and buggy to a stop in front of the gate.
He then helped Kitty down from the buggy.
"Will that be all, Mrs. Dillon?"
Kitty paused, then smiled. She loved how that name sounded to her.
She shook her head as she pulled out some cash,
"No, thank you, sir. That will be all."
The gentlemen climbed back into the buggy and tipped his hat to Kitty before driving away.
Kitty smiled when she noticed Lady, Sarah's collie, lying on the porch.
Kitty slowly opened the gate that gave a loud creak as it swung open, announcing that someone new had arrived.
Lady slowly walked down the steps, smelling the air as she walked.
She held her head low in a friendly but still unsure posture as she came closer to Kitty and released a quiet "Woof."
Kitty knelt to Lady's level and pressed her fingers to her lips.
"Lady, it's me!" Kitty whispered to keep the dog from barking and awakening everyone up in the neighborhood.
She began to laugh when Lady realized it was her.
The excitement built to uncontrollable wiggles and low whimpering as Lady moved about Kitty's feet.
"Yes, hello to you too, Lady."
She said as she calmly petted Lady.
The dog settled to Kitty's gentle touch. then Kitty stood up to her full height before looking down at the collie.
"Well, should we go inside?"
Lady let out a snort before she ran up the stairs and waited by the door for the woman to reach the steps.
Kitty could only smile as she watched the dog, who looked at her then at the door and back again in anticipation.
The woman then reached up and knocked on the door, waiting a moment then with no answer, she opened the door.
When the door opened, Lady dashed past Kitty to find her bed by the fireplace.
Kitty smiled as she walked into the house, but not finding Sarah anywhere, she called out.
"Sarah, are you in the kitchen?"
Kitty let her words trail off as she took a deep breath as wonderful aromas filled the air with the smells of freshly baked bread, sweet rolls, baked apples in the oven, and fresh coffee on the stove was enough to make Kitty's mouth water.
The young woman closed her eyes as she inhaled the heavenly aromas.
Sarah walked in from the kitchen, wiping her hands clean of excess flour on her apron.
"You know, if you came into the kitchen, you could eat some of those heavenly aromas you smell,"
The older woman laughed as Kitty jumped slightly.
"Oh, Sarah, it's so good to see you!"
The redheaded woman hugged her longtime friend.
"Sorry, I didn't intend to startle you; however, you looked like you were in a daydream."
Kitty chuckled, "No, but the smell of food and coffee made my stomach growl and..."
Sarah held up her hand, "Say no more, I can fix that in two shakes of a lamb's tail. Come on."
Sarah smiled with a twinkle in her eye as both women walked through the house.
Kitty took another deep breath when she walked into the kitchen. The aromas were more heavenly here than they were in the foyer.
Sarah went to the stove, picked up the coffee pot, and took it to the table, along with a coffee cup and a clean plate with a few sweet rolls.
"Here you go, Kitty."
The younger woman only nodded as she bit into the sweet roll and sipped her coffee. Kitty then smiled, "Thank you, Sarah. These rolls are delicious. I was going to try to wait for breakfast with the girls, except my stomach had other ideas."
Sarah nodded as she went back to working with her dough,
"Well, Bethany and Maddie won't be up for a while, they played hard yesterday.
We had another church picnic, so the girls played with their friends until dusk. Then old man Jackson told the children old stories, and then it was time to leave. So, the girls didn't get to bed till late last night."
Kitty sipped her coffee again.
"That sounds like a fun-filled evening, I'm sure the girls enjoyed it. It sounds a lot better than being on the train for 12 hours,"
Kitty winked up at the older woman who was putting the dough into a bowl so it could rise.
Sarah softly smiled, "How was your trip? It couldn't have been that bad."
Kitty shrugged her shoulders, "It was long, tiring, not much to do. I kept myself busy by rereading all the letters from the girls, but that still left me with a great deal of time to reflect on things."
She sighed, letting the last of her words fade.
Sarah watched Kitty, who had a distant look on her face as she was stirring her coffee, not paying much attention.
Sarah looked at her again then placed her hands on her hips,
"You miss him. You really do miss him, don't you?"
Kitty looked up, and the dazed expression on her face disappeared.
"Uh-huh? Who? What? Sarah, I have no clue who or what you are talking about."
Sarah raised her brow as she looked at the younger woman,
"Kitty, what you are not saying is louder than what you are saying. I know how much you love Matt Dillon, and I know you miss him."
Kitty sighed, biting her lip,
"Is it really that obvious?"
Sarah nodded, "Kitty, I've known you since we were young children and I know you like the back of my own hand. The proof of your love for Matt is upstairs sleeping.
I still will never understand why..."
Sarah stopped what she was about to say.
Now was not the time nor the place to bring that up.
Kitty had her reasons, she told Sarah that the day Bethany was born.
"Kitty, all that I can say, is that, yes, it's obvious to me and all those who know you and Matt."
Kitty could only nod in response.
Sarah was so much like an older sister to Kitty, if she would have ever had a sister. Sarah could read her like a book. She knew when something was bothering her or when she was missing her cowboy.
There were things that Kitty would tell Sarah that she could never bring herself to tell Matt.
With Sarah, Kitty could let her guard down completely, without worry about someone taking sides, or the fear of rumors being started.
She would talk about herself and Matt and the secrets that she's kept all these years.
Sure, Matt could read her like a book too, and she had let him know her unlike anyone else before, but she had her reasons for the secrets that she kept from him.