“I will leave then,” John told the old man. “I am not a coward. I am not afraid of Richard Griffith.”
“Get out then,” the old man told John and marched away.
“Oh dear,” Melanie gasped. “John, what will you do? Where will you go? What I mean to ask is...do you have any money?”
John glanced down at his poor clothes. “I am not paid a wage,” he admitted. “My food and bed are my wages.” Balling his hands into two tight fists, he growled. “I have been a fool to remain here for so long. I should have killed Richard Griffith many moons ago.”
“No,” Melanie said and rushed to John. “Murder is not the answer.”
“Richard Griffith murdered my sister,” John told Melanie. Staring into her worried eyes, he continued. “My sister, like me, was abandoned. Our mother took her to a ranch and placed me here, at the hotel. The ranch my mother left my sister at belonged to Gary Griffith.”
“Oh my,” Melanie said as she walked deeply into John's troubled and angry eyes.
“Richard Griffith hated my sister because she was half Paiute. But his brother, Michael, loved my sister. They were going to be married. But the night before the wedding, my sister and Michael were found dead at Shallow Rock River...both shot to death with arrows. Their murders were blamed on the Paiutes, but I know the true murderer is.”
“How?” Melanie asked.
“My sister left a letter for me. In the letter, she told me that she was scared Richard was going to kill her and Michael in order to steal the Griffith ranch from them. Gary Griffith was ill at the time, and it was well known that when he died his ranch would be turned over to Michael, his oldest son.”
“I'm beginning to understand.”
“Four days after my sister and Michael were murdered, Gary Griffith died,” John continued. “That was four years ago. Richard Griffith took his inheritance and began hiring guns. One by one he ran off most of the ranchers, taking full control.”
“But the stage coach driver said Greenville was a nice place to live,” Melanie asked confused.
“To the blind man,” John told Melanie. “To someone like yourself who is not aware of the poison hiding under the rug, yes, Greenville is a pleasant place to live. At the picnics and social gatherings, you will see a smiling Richard Griffith standing with the major and Sheriff pretending to watch the children play. But what people do not see is the children are nervous, the men scared, and the hired guns ready to draw on anyone who gets out of line.”
“How horrible,” Melanie gasped.
“Only Sheriff Wheeler has enough courage to make a stand against Griffith.” John steadied himself. “Please, you do not need to be involved with my troubles. Leave this place as soon as the storm ends. Go to Sacramento and begin your new life.”
Melanie could not take her eyes away from John's face. Now she understood the man's pain, emptiness, and despair. Something deep within her heart could not walk away from John, leaving him all alone, to fight a battle that would certainly lead to his death. Thinking back to the first day she saw her husband, Melanie remembered a strange fight. Her husband was going fist to fist with an angry Irish man. The two men were battling in the middle of the town's main street. A large crowd was gathered, cheering on Melanie's husband. But, to Melanie's fright, the Irish man was beating her with quick and powerful punches. Yet, her husband stood his ground until the Sheriff arrived and stopped the fight. “He would have rather died than to have admitted being defeated,” Melanie whispered.
“Who?” John asked.
“Huh...oh, I was thinking about my husband. John, you remind me of him...his courage and willingness to fight until the very end. My husband was a peaceful man and died fighting for peace. But he never backed down from a fight worth fighting, either,” Melanie explained staring into the face of an angry and hurt man. “John...come to Sacramento with me.”
John stared at Melanie in shock. “You do not even know me? I am a stranger to you.”
Melanie couldn't she believe that she asked a man—who, in truth, was a complete stranger to her—to travel to Sacramento with her. What in the world was she thinking? But Melanie knew what she was thinking. “Perhaps, John, God made this storm because I was meant to stop in this town and meet you? Let's take a walk, okay. Walk with me to the General Store.”
John agreed. He walked to the front took, took a brown coat off a wooden coat rack, and escorted Melanie outside into a snowy, stormy, morning. The town was completely white, hindered with icy winds and flying snow. Melanie didn't see a single soul. “Are you sure?” John asked over the winds.
Melanie nodded her head. “Yes,” she called out using her right hand to hold her bonnet down. John studied the front street, looking through the snow with cautious eyes. Something in the way he examined each building, each corner, each shadow, let Melanie know that danger was not far away. “Ready?”
“Yes,” John answered.
Melanie drew in a deep breath and slowly looped her left arm around John's right arm. John looked down at Melanie's arm. He had never had a woman hold his arm before. He had never kissed a woman or even held hands. “I trust you,” Melanie promised John.
John wanted to smile, but he knew being out in the open, in a blinding storm, made him an easy target. Richard Griffith wanted him dead. Hurrying away from the hotel, John led Melanie past a few wooden buildings, finally stopping at the General Store that was hugged between Doc Mayfield's office and Mr. DeLoach's feed store. “Very cold,” Melanie told John stepping into a neat and orderly room full of merchandise, food, and supplies. The room was being warmed by a wooden stove sitting in the middle of the floor.
John pushed the front door closed. His eyes walked up to the front counter. He saw a short man with thick black curly hair reading an inventory sheet. The man glared at John, then glanced at Melanie, and went back to his chore. “I don't have any money,” John admitted shamefully.
“I have money,” Melanie assured John and began browsing the wooden shelves. “John,” she said in a serious voice stopping at a shelf holding canned food, “I have never been to Sacramento. It's scary going to a new place all alone. Have you ever been to Sacramento?”
“Once,” John answered Melanie, “when my sister died. Mr. Hayes sent me away. He was afraid I might cause trouble for him. When I returned, he took me back in because he thought it was wiser to watch me than to let me go around unsupervised.”
Melanie looked into John's troubled eyes. Her heart longed to love again. Yet, she felt guilty. She was a widow. How could a woman ever love again after losing her husband? But was Melanie's husband really her true love? The man had been kind and decent to her; loyal and faithful. But he had not been able to give her children, or the true happiness she so desired and hungered for. And, Melanie thought sadly, her husband had become a stranger to her before being killed.
Tangled up in her thoughts and emotions, Melanie looked away from John. “It's very warm in here….well kept. I'm very impressed.”
John glanced up at the man standing behind the front counter. The man glared at John but didn't say anything. It was obvious John was not welcomed in his store. “Is there anything you want to buy?” he asked Melanie.
“Yes,” Melanie smiled at John. She waved at the man at the front counter. “We need assistance please.”
The man put down the piece of paper he was holding and ventured down the front aisle to Melanie. “Yes, mam, how may I help you?” he asked.
“I need new clothes this man,” she explained. “I want the best you have. Money is not an issue. I want a hat, jacket, shirts, pants, socks and boots.”
“No,” John objected.
“Yes,” Melanie replied in a stubborn voice. “If we're going to be traveling to Sacramento together, you will need new clothes.”
“I never said--”
Melanie waved her hand at John. “The Lord does not want you in this place, John. You don't belong here. Maybe you don't belong in Sacramento, either. But I
'm not leaving without you. When we get to Sacramento, you can find work and choose what path you want to take. Until then, I'm going to make it my personal duty to take care of you.”
“The sooner you get out town the better,” the man told John in a serious, hateful, voice. “I'm surprised Richard as let you live this long.”
John balled his hands into fists. Melanie shook her head at him. “Sir, if you want my business, get the items I asked for.”
John bit down hard on his lip. “The...sooner...the better...” he said biting back his temper.
The man grinned and hurried away to the back room. Moments later he returned with a new pair of brown boots, a pair of brown pants, a gray button-up shirt and a dark brown jacket and tan hat. “Here you go,” he said handing John the items. “You can get dressed back there in the back room.”
“Go on,” Melanie urged John. John hesitated and then walked away. “I need a horse and buggy,” Melanie told the man in a quick voice. Digging in her purse she brought out cash money. “I will be leaving with John as soon as you get me what I need. I will also need blankets, food, and a rifle. Can you get me what I need?”
The man looked at the money in Melanie's hand. “Mam, you're wasting your time on that filthy Paiute. But that's none of my mind. As soon as you get him out of town, everyone will sleep a little better.”
“Why? Why is John hated so much?” Melanie demanded.
“That Paiute intends to kill Richard Griffith. That man keeps this town alive. If Richard Griffith ever pulled ups takes and left Greenville, why, this town would wither away in a matter of days. So you listen to me and listen good. I'll get you everything you asked for and you get that Paiute out of Nevada, you hear?”
Melanie listened to the winds cry outside. “It's going to be cold and hard, but we'll make it to Virginia City and from there take a stage coach to Sacramento.”
“The Paiute knows the way to Virginia City,” the man told Melanie. “Let me grab my coat. Give me half and hour and I'll have the horse and buggy in the back of my store. You be ready. Word is Richard Griffith is coming into town today looking for Edward Hayes. If your Paiute friend gets in the way, Richard might cut him down and--”
“Or John might end Richard Griffith's life. Isn't that what you're worried about?” Melanie asked.
“You just be ready,” the man ordered Melanie and hurried away.
A few minutes later, John appeared in his new clothes. Handsome and intelligent looking, he slowly approached Melanie. “I will pay you the money for these clothes when--”
Melanie shook her head at John. “I'm not worried about the money. I'm worried about you. I spent all night thinking about you, John. The Lord has laid you on my heart.” Easing her way over to the wooden stove, Melanie warmed her hands. “John, I've arranged for a horse and buggy. The owner of this store is taking care of the arrangements. He wants you out of town. We have to get to Virginia City. Can you get us there in this storm?”
John carefully approached Melanie and warmed his hands at the stove. “If we are careful and do not drive the horses too hard, we can make Virginia City by noon tomorrow. I have seen worse storms, but we must use caution in any storm.”
Melanie looked up into John's eyes. The man was tormented. “I know you don't want to leave without avenging your sister's death. But listen to me, God will judge the guilty, John. You have to believe that. If you love your sister, leave this place and be happy for her. Live for her, John. Smile the smiles that were stolen from your sister and laugh the laughs she never got to. Please.”
“Why are you so kind?” John asked Melanie confused. “No one has ever shown me such kindness other than Mrs. Hayes. But as I grew into an adult, the love she showed me as a child began to change. I do not know why? Instead of loving me, Mrs. Hayes began to...tolerate me.”
Melanie took her hand away from the arm stove and gently touched John's face. “I was raised in an orphanage. My mother deserted me, too. A man and woman from New York adopted me. I was ten years old. At last, I thought...a real family wanted me. The man and woman turned out to be very mean, though. At the age of sixteen, I escaped and returned to Atlanta. John, I know how it feels to be unloved and unwanted. Maybe...that's why I married my husband so quickly instead of taking the time to really understand and know him. My husband showed me such kindness and love...a kindness and love that I so desperately needed.”
John raised his hand and softly touched Melanie's hand. Staring into her painful eyes, an understanding whispered in his heart that he had not seen before. Maybe, he thought, it was time to let go of his anger, have the faith his Bible taught him to have, and move on with his life. Had not God placed this strange woman in his path? Surely Melanie's presence was not a coincidence. “We will take the time we need to understand our hearts and what they need. Yes?”
Melanie smiled as a single tear dropped from her eye. “Yes,” she said, “we will take all the time in the world, John. Love is not meant to be rushed.”
“Love?” John whispered. Leaning forward, he placed his head down onto Melanie’s gentle shoulder and closed his eyes. “I have hunted for love like a warrior watching a deer in a distance that he would never be able to cross.”
“Love is possible,” Melanie promised. “Now, we must hurry and get our supplies. We have a long journey ahead of us. But, oh, John, the journey will be very exciting.”
For the first time in John's life, a smile touched his lips that came from a feeling if joy.
*
Edward Hayes watched John load blankets and food into the back of a worn down horse buggy attached to a brown and white horse that barely had strength enough to stand. When he spotted Melanie hurrying out of the back door of the General Store wrapped in a thick green blanket, he drew in a deep breath of cold air. He needed John's help. If John escaped Greenville, Edward thought to himself, any chance of bringing Richard Griffith to justice would fly out of the door into the wind. “Let's play cards,” he said and dashed out from behind a stack of empty supply boxes. “Hello, John!”
John swirled around. When he saw Edward walking toward him, he grabbed Melanie's hand and pulled the woman behind the horse buggy. “What do you want?” he demanded of Edward.
Melanie glanced at the rifle leaning against the far side of the horse buggy. John's hand was close enough to grab the rifle if the situation required. “I come in peace,” Edward answered John and pulled his jacket up off his pants to prove that he wasn't wearing a gun belt. “John, we both know Richard Griffith robbed the bank. He has to keep his hired guns paid but he can't do that when he gambles all his money away playing poker, now can he?”
“I am leaving town, Edward,” John replied.
“With a lovely woman, I see,” Edward smiled at Melanie. “Nice to see you again, mam.”
“Leave us alone,” Melanie ordered Edward. “I'm taking John away from this horrible place. We're going to begin a new life together in Sacramento.”
“That's fine,” Edward told Melanie, “but first I need John's help. You do want Richard Griffith brought to justice, don't you John? That skunk did kill your sister, didn't he?”
Even though the icy winds were tearing into John's face with heartless claws, he felt his cheeks flush red with anger. “Of course I want justice brought to that man's neck.”
“Good,” Edward grinned and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket. “John, I saw Richard rob the bank, and he saw me. I saw him gun down an innocent man. Now...I admit, I played the wrong cards afterward. I let Richard pay me off and send me out of town with a pocket full of money.”
“You coward,” Melanie snapped at Edward.
“Life of a gambler, I'm afraid,” Edward confessed as he walked closer to the horse buggy. “But even skunks like me has a conscience somewhere. The truth is...the blood of an innocent man haunts my every breath. I won't have peace until Richard Griffith hangs.”
“What is your plan?” John asked.
“John, no,�
�� Melanie begged to feel the heavy snow attacking her face.
“My plan is already in motion,” Edward explained. “Richard knows I'm back in Greenville. I sent word to him that I want more money. We're supposed to meet right here. All you have to do is get Sheriff over here and watch me play my last hand.”
John turned and focused on Melanie. “It is possible that Edward may get Richard Griffith to confess. If the Sheriff is present, he will make an arrest. Wheeler is an honest man.”
Melanie wanted to beg John to run away with her; to ride away into the snow toward a warm spring and leave the horrible memories behind. But as she stared into John's eyes, she knew the man deserved peace. “One last battle, then?”
“Yes,” John agreed. “And then we begin a life together in a new home that is clean of this ugly stain.”
“Good,” Edward said please. “Now here's what you two need to do. Leave town. I want Richard to think you're gone. Then circle back and get the Sheriff. Richard is going to meet me at lunch. So hurry up and don't go for any romantic walks in the snow.”
“My husband was killed because he was fighting for peace...don't die, too, John,” Melanie begged and threw her head into John's chest and began to cry. “Oh, please don't die, too...”
Chapter 3
Faith and Life
John parked the horse buggy under a tall tree, unhitched the horse, and eased back into town in town with Melanie riding bareback. The storm was growing worse. He was worried. “Careful,” he said helping Melanie down off the horse.
Melanie felt scared. “How are we going to get around to the front of the Sheriff's office without being seen?” she asked John. Standing at the back of the wooden building, she glanced up at a window lined with iron bars. The wind was throwing snow to the bars. “Lord, we need a miracle,” she whispered.
John bent down, threw his hands down into the snow, and seconds later came up holding a few rocks in his hand. “Sometimes, we must bring the bird to us by using crumbs,” he explained to Melanie.
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