She awoke to the beating of the constant rain on her window, Groaning, the young woman rolled away from the grey gloom and pulled a pillow over her head.

It was near dawn on Monday, and Mat had been gone a week now. After taking a prisoner up to Hays, he had been asked by Judge Brooking to stay on to testify in a trial scheduled to begin in a few days.

Kitty reached over to Matt's side of the bed and sighed. The sheets felt so cold and empty. She was wearing his old light blue shirt that she had appropriated after their wondrous first night together. It was getting a bit worn, but she loved knowing that it was his, and it reminded her of the color of his eyes.

Unable to get back to sleep, she rolled over to her back, stretched, pulled her pillow under her head and thought about the past week.

When Matt rode by early last Monday morning on his way to Hays, his handcuffed prisoner beside him, Kitty had been standing outside the Long Branch, silently watching.

Per their parting routine, Matt met her eyes and gave a slight nod when slowly passing Kitty, who gave him the smile she saved just for him.

The first day without him was both the best and the worst. The best because she could still feel his presence. His scent still clung to her sheets. The worst because it was just the beginning of an endless time without him, each hour and day dragging by. And then she would berate herself for needing anyone so much, while fearing he would not return.

"Kitty, Honey, you certainly look exceptionally pretty tonight! Like a filly in a field of buttercups!" The older man scooted his chair closer to hers at their usual table in the Long Branch.

"Doc, you really must want another drink on the house," Kitty laughed.

Doc smiled, put his hand over hers and patted it. He knew how hard these frequent separations from Matt were on her, although she tried to hide it under a tough fa?ade that had helped her survive since a young girl. He also knew that the first night was the hardest on her. No matter how tired he was or how hard of a day he had gone through, Doc would stay at the table until closing time, if possible.

On Tuesday night, Chester looked in over the saloon's swinging doors, spotted Kitty at the bar, and ambled in. He was left to "watch over" the town while Matt was gone, and took his responsibilities very seriously, with the unspoken added responsibility of watching over Kitty in particular.

"Miss Kitty, you sure look pretty! How…er…wat…how are ya?"

Kitty was leaning on the end of the bar, eating a hard-boiled egg. She looked up at her gentle friend's concerned deep brown eyes and smiled.

"Thank you Chester. Have you been taking lessons from Doc?" She signaled to the bartender to bring over two beers.

"Huh? Whadaya mean? Lessons in what?" He pulled a nickel out of his pants pocket, but Kitty gently pushed his hand away from the counter.

"Just kidding you, Chester. Drink your beer. The LAW drinks free tonight!"

He grinned, puffed out his chest a little, and leaned against the bar next to her.

They were chatting and laughing when Brett Larkin looked over the saloon doors, spotted the dazzling red-haired woman, and strutted in.

"Hey, sweet thing! You must be the 'Miss Kitty' I've heard about. Do you taste as good as you look?!" He shoved Chester aside, grabbed Kitty's right arm forcefully, and yanked her against his chest, trying to kiss her.

"Let go of me!" Kitty slapped the big cowboy's unshaven face, kicked his shin, and pulled away from his grasp.

"Ow! You little spitfire!" As Larkin raised his big right hand to slap her, Chester launched himself at him, wrapping his arms around the cowboy and yanking him off balance.

By now, Bill Pence had appeared from the office and grabbed the heavy wooden mallet from behind the bar. After the big cowboy punched Chester, Pence whacked the hammer on Larkin's head, and he crumpled to the floor.

"Oh, Chester, are you all right? You were so brave!" Kitty knelt beside the young man, his head in her lap as he groggily looked around.

"I'm…I'm fine, Miss Kitty. Did he hurt ya?" Chester sat up and looked around, wondering how the big cowboy had been laid out on the saloon floor.

Bill threw a pitcher of water on the unconscious cowboy, and as he got to his feet and staggered out, he looked back at Kitty who was helping Chester up and getting him a fresh beer.

"I'll be back to see ya, Miss KIT-TEE," he barked with a humorless, toothy grin.

"You get out and don't ever come back here!", Bill Pence hollered, waving the mallet in front of him.

Wednesday and Thursday dragged by uneventfully. Kitty found herself even wishing for a small drunken brawl in the saloon to break the monotony. Doc and Chester took her to Delmonico's every day, and stopped by the Long Branch at night, trying to keep her mind off of Matt being gone.

"Wal, Miss Kitty, the Marshal shouldn't be gone more than another week or two, I'd guess. He sent a telegram this morning that the trial was due to start any day now."

Doc gave Chester a sharp jab in the ribs with his elbow.

"Doc, that hurt! Ya oughta git that elbow filed down some!"

"It's all right Doc. I should be used to this by now." Kitty put her hand on Doc's nearby forearm and squeezed.

Doc nodded, thinking about the heartbreaking visit of her long-lost father a few days before Matt left. He loved and admired Kitty for her kindness and spirit, but knew that Wayne Russell had deeply hurt, disappointed, and shaken her. She needed her close friends near, whether she realized it or not. People she could trust and rely on, always. People who didn't judge or use her, just loved her.