PROMISES—Part 7

"Mmmm, I must say that was certainly worth waiting for." Kitty could conceal neither her wide smile nor the soft flush of total satisfaction that crossed her lovely face.

"Well, ma'am, I do have responsibilities to more than the badge, you know."

"And you perform them equally well, Marshal. The citizens of Dodge thank you for the diligent attention you give to this town, and I thank you for the diligent attention you give to…everything else. Now, do I remember a boast about doin' this all night long?"

"It wasn't a boast…'s my intention, but I'm not as young as I used to be, Kit. Give me a few minutes here...not sure I'm up for a third time quite yet."

She laughed against his chest and held him close, fingers entwined in his damp gray curls. "Oh, Matt. It feels so good to laugh with you again."

He buried his face against her neck. "And it's so good to be back in your arms again. I don't want to move. Fact is, I'm not sure I can."

She tugged him tighter. "I don't want you to move. Stay right where you are."

He planted one hand on the mattress to push himself up. "I'm too heavy for you, Kit."

"Nunh, unh…you're juussst right for me.

"Okay, Goldilocks." He teased. "Just tell me when you want me to move."

"Mmm, in about a hundred years." She laughed, "And Goldilocks? You've been reading entirely too many children's stories."

She arched her body closer into his and turned suddenly serious. "Matt, I need to say this…before you went to Hays, I said some terrible things to you and I'm so sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I was angry and…and I'm ashamed to admit I was resentful—even momentarily—of an innocent baby."

"It's over, Kitty. Forget it. I'm sorry, too. We both said things to each other we couldn't possibly mean. Let's face it; our lives have been turned pretty much upside down these past two weeks." He kissed her shoulder. "But, I had plenty of time to think on the ride to Hays and back, and I've come up with a plan."

"Go on," she encouraged, as she trailed her fingernails lightly up and down the long expanse of his back.

"I got to thinking about the day Manuel and I rode out to the Collins place. I watched their kids—young Gage and the little girl—playing in the yard. They were excited over those first green shoots of spring flowers pokin' up through the ground. Kate was hanging wash and that big Border collie was running all over the place and the kids were chasing him…or he was chasin' them. I'm not sure which."

He paused.

"Sounds idyllic."

Not quite sure if she was being sarcastic or serious, he plunged ahead. "I decided what I need is a house…a home. I was going to move us to Ma's tomorrow…and I will…but a boarding house is no place to raise a child. Beth's used to a real house with a place to play outdoors and a dog, and she deserves to have them back. That's the least I can do. With the sale of the ranch, I should be able to buy something decent here."

"How soon do you think the ranch'll sell?"

"I have no idea; I haven't even sent the letter yet. If Manuel is right that Naylor might want it, well, pretty quick I guess. If not, I have no idea. Why?"

"Well…" She rotated her shoulders and shifted slightly. "You aren't the only one who's been thinking. So have I, and I came to the same conclusion…you do need a house. Yesterday Manuel and I took Beth out to Spring Creek, and I noticed the Hutchins place is for sale. It would be so perfect, Matt. It has a nice yard and that big, wrap-around porch. I've never been inside, but there must be at least three bedrooms. And it looks like it's in excellent condition. I'm not sure there's a barn, but you could build one easy enough. And best of all, it's only about two miles outside of town."

"I hadn't thought of that. It is in excellent shape. Henry never would have put it up for sale if they hadn't had to go back east to take care of his parents. And it's close to town. Would you…would you go out there with me tomorrow to take a look?"

"Unh, hunh. But I don't want to just look at it with you." Grateful for the darkness that hid the bright red stain flooding her face, she took a deep breath and continued, "I want to live in it with you."

"Kitty…what…what are you saying?"

"Matt, we've known each other for twenty-four years. And we've been lovers for most of that time. You've practically lived here…with me…for more than half of those years. Oh, you sleep at the jail if you have prisoners or when the herds are in town, but I think it's safe to say that, for the most part, if you're in Dodge, you're in the Long Branch with me, either downstairs drinking coffee and talking, or up here talking and…"

"True."

"While you were gone, I took a good look at myself and the way I've been acting. I swear I wasn't really jealous of Beth. But I was feeling resentful that she's yours and Mike's and not ours. She looks exactly like the baby I always dreamed of having with you—dark curls, wide sky blue eyes and that sweet half smile that curves her mouth when she's asleep. This is the very child I wanted for us, Matt. The one we never had. But that's not her fault and I can't keep blaming her for it. I know I'm not her mother, but I do want to help you with her. I know you'll do fine on your own, and if that's what you want, I…I'll understand. But I love you so much, Matt…and Beth's a part of you. How could I not love her, too?"

"Kitty…you want to live with me…with us? What will people…? What about the Long Branch?"

She stopped his words with a kiss. "When was the last time I cared what people have to say about me? And will they really say anything worse if I sleep at your place or if you sleep at mine?"

"Well, yes, they will. Because now they'll know for sure, and before they were only guessing."

"Yeah, right! Listen, I have no intentions of quitting my job or getting rid of the Long Branch, but I have no qualms about leaving these rooms. And I'd still stay here on the weekends and during the busy times. Manuel needs to be at the Collins ranch during the day for the most part, and you…well, you need to be wherever you need to be whenever you need to be there. With the three of us, someone could be with Beth all the time. That is, if you…if you want me to be there."

"Kitty, I do want you to be there…wherever "there" turns out to be, but I can't let you...are you sure…are you sure this is what you really want?"

"You bet I'm sure. I've not been surer of anything since the first time I said 'yes' to you.

His heart lurched at her steadfastness. "I love you, Kitty...so much." He turned them and rolled her on top of him. "Speaking of love, you about ready for a little more...?"

In response she stretched along the length of his muscular body. He reached one large hand up to her breast, but stopped in mid-caress. They both held their breath and listened. There it was again, a definite knock on the door between the two bedrooms, followed by a high-pitched "Papa!"

Matt groaned. The few days in Hays had dimmed his memory of these nightly intrusions. Still, it didn't sound as if she were crying. "What do you need, Beth?" he called into the darkness.

"Nuthin'. I just wanna tell you I'm not s'posed to come in your room at night unless I knock on the door first and wait for you to say 'come in' on accounta p…pwi…pwivacy."

He couldn't help but chuckle, and to his great relief he felt Kitty's body shaking with laughter. "You and Beth have a little talk, did ya?" he whispered into her ear.

"Hmmm, maybe. Go tuck her in, Cowboy. I'll be right here when you get back."

A few minutes later, he returned to the bed and Kitty gathered him into her arms. "Oh, I do love her, Matt. And I love you. And I want to be with both of you forever and ever."

"I want that, too, Kit. We'll go look at that house tomorrow." He eased her onto her back. "Right now, I believe I have a promise to keep."

The End