“What are you going to do?” Melanie asked John, fighting to hold her bonnet still against the wind.
“Summon the Sheriff,” John answered and, one by one, began throwing the rocks in his hand through the metal bars on the window.
“Who's out there? You pesky kids better not be throwing rocks again,” a hard, rough, voice yelled from inside the building.
Melanie watched as Sheriff Wheeler's face appeared behind the bars. “Sheriff Wheeler,” she called out, “we need your help. Please come around back. We can't be seen.”
Sheriff Wheeler eyes Melanie and John through the snow. “Please,” John said in a voice just loud enough to carry over the wind, “Edward has set a trap to get a confession from Richard Griffith. He saw Richard rob the bank.”
“Don't move an inch,” Sheriff Wheeler ordered and vanished from the window.
Melanie grabbed John's hand. “I'm scared, John. I'm scared for you. I know God brought me here to take you from this awful place. Are we doing wrong by staying?”
John studied Melanie's cold face. He didn't see a scared woman looking back at him with loving eyes. Instead, he saw a beautiful woman with a warmth and courage powerful enough to capture any man's heart. “My sister's voice calls to me while I dream. She was a woman much like yourself...beautiful, kind, loving, strong. She would have loved you and you would have loved her. Now is the time to stand strong and pray God wins our battle instead of fearing we have disobeyed His Will.”
“I--”
John reached out and touched Melanie's lips. “I see the heart of my sister in your heart. I can see now that God has given me back part of my sister, in you. You will laugh for my sister and smile her stolen smiles. You will share her heart and voice. Not only for my sister but for every woman that deserved love but were hunted down before they could taste the sweet water of a gentle stream. And I will laugh and smile for every man, such as Michael, the man my sister loved, that had their love stolen from them. Together, we allow love to live.”
Tears began to fall from Melanie's eyes. And then, before she knew what John was doing, the man leaned forward and gently kissed her trembling lips. “Don't die,” Melanie begged.
“You are the first woman I have ever kissed,” John whispered into Melanie's ear. “You will be the only woman I will ever kiss. Today you have hunted down my heart and pierced it with your arrows.”
“What's this all about?” Sheriff Wheeler demanded rushing toward Melanie and John with his rifle at the ready.
“Sheriff,” John spoke calmly, “Edward needs you to wait behind the General Store. Richard Griffith is going to meet him there at lunch. You will hear Richard Griffith confess that he robbed the bank.”
“It's the truth,” Melanie promised Sheriff Wheeler. Taking John's hand she drew in a deep breath. “That's why Edward Hayes returned to town. He said he saw Richard Griffith rob the bank and kill that innocent man. But, he let Richard Griffith pay him off. He left town with the payoff money, but his conscience kept bothering him. So he came back to bring justice against the guilty.”
Sheriff Wheeler stood very still and considered each and every word Melanie and John spoke to him. “I saw you two riding out of town.”
“Edward wanted it to seem that we left in order to deceive Richard,” John explained. “He ordered us to double back and summon you.”
“Alright then,” Sheriff Wheeler said in a rough voice, “let's go catch a killer.”
“The owner of the General Store said if Richard Griffith was killed, then Greenville would die. He said that people depend on Richard Griffith.”
“Then let people find a new cow to get milk from,” Sheriff Wheeler told Melanie. “I'm a lawman, not a politician. Let's go, the both of you.” Sheriff Wheeler raised his rifle and pointed it at John. “I'm going to lock you both up until I get the answers I need. Now move.”
John shook his head no. “Richard Griffith murdered my sister and the man she loved. I will hear him confess the truth today.”
“I said move,” Sheriff Wheeler demanded.
“Shoot me if you have to,” John answered. “I will not be placed behind bars as a coward while the man who murdered my sister is free.”
Melanie stepped in front of John. “Shoot me first, Sheriff, because I will stand with John for the rest of my life.”
“Oh good grief,” Sheriff Wheeler fussed. “Come on then, let's get a move on. It's almost lunch.”
Sheriff Wheeler hurried away. John and Melanie followed. As they reached the front street, a gun shot rang out from behind the General Store. Sheriff Wheeler stopped, reached down to his gun belt, drew out a gun and tossed it to John. “I'm making you a temporary deputy instead of a prisoner. Let's go.”
“Stay behind me,” John ordered Melanie.
“I promise,” Melanie told John.
Together, Melanie and John followed Sheriff through the storm and stopped when they saw a man standing at the back of the General Store, looking down at a body. “Hands up, Griffith,” Sheriff Wheeler yelled raising his rifle as he cautiously approached Richard Griffith.
John slid to a stop. He looked down at the snow. Edward Hayes lay dead. “You killed Edward!” John yelled.
Melanie looked through the snow at a large man who was about her age. The man's attire was all black, including his hat. Even though the snow was heavy and visibility weak, she could see a set of deadly, cold, viscous eyes hiding under the hat, attached to a cruel face lined with greed and poison. It was no wonder the men in Greenville was scared of Richard Griffith, she thought. But John wasn't afraid of the man. “I didn't kill this crooked card player,” Richard yelled back at John. “This man tried to rob me. I killed him in self-defense. Look, there is his gun.”
Melanie looked down at the snow. A gun was sitting beside Edward's right hand. “Edward Hayes wasn't a wearing a gun belt when we spoke to him, Sheriff.”
“Edward never wore a gun belt. He was horrible with guns,” John snapped at Richard. “You shot him in cold blood because he saw you rob the bank.”
“Now those are fighting words,” Richard hissed at John. “You should have left when you had the chance. I was gonna let you go, you filthy Paiute.”
“Get your hands in the air,” Sheriff Wheeler ordered Richard. “We'll let Judge Whitfield decide what happened here.”
Richard grinned. “Judge Whitfield and I are close friends. I'm sure he will see it my way.”
Richard's words punched John in the gut. Feeling his energy drain from his body, he dropped the gun in his hand. “This killer will go free,” he told Sheriff Wheeler. “Judge Whitfield will accept a bribe and excuse him from the hanging rope.”
“That's right, you pathetic excuse for a man,” Richard laughed and held his hands out to Sheriff Wheeler. “Arrest me, Sheriff.”
Sheriff Wheeler looked into Richard's poison face. And then he looked over at John. Nodding his head, he reached out and snatched Richard's gun away and threw it down into the snow. “John, how you are bare fist fighting?”
“What are you doing?” Richard roared.
Sheriff Wheeler backed up a few paces from Richard, carefully keeping his rifle at the ready. “Justice will be served today. John is going to one of two things, you filthy skunk. He is either going to beat you to death with his feast of beat a confession out of you.”
John couldn't believe his ears. Suddenly, a bolt of energy surged through his body like lightning. “Bring justice to your sister and peace to your heart,” Melanie whispered in John's ear and gently kissed him. Then she bent down and picked up his gun. “I know how to use a gun. I will protect you.”
“When my fist brings justice, we will leave this place,” John promised.
Richard glared at Sheriff Wheeler. “I'm not going to fight that worthless Paiute. I refuse!”
“Don't matter to me. But you better fight because John is going to cut you down with his fist if you don't,” Sheriff Wheeler warned Richard.
Before Richard
could say another word, John charged through the snow like a vicious bear. Throwing one hard fist after the next, he tore into Richard's face with deadly claws. Richard struggled to fight back, but the man was a coward without his hired guns to protect him and even more of a coward without his own gun to do his dirty work.
Melanie watched as John punished Richard. “Confess to murdering my sister!” John yelled throwing a hard punch into Richard's face. The punch Richard down onto the ground.
Bloody and beaten and afraid for his life, Richard yelled out. “I...killed your sister...and I robbed the bank...” Then he saw the gun sitting in the snow next to Edward's hands. In a last ditch effort to save his life, he reached and grabbed the gun before John could stop him. “I'm going to kill you the same way I killed your sister...but I won't make you beg for your worthless life the way I made her beg!”
Before Richard could fire a single shot, a rifle shot and a gunshot tore into his chest. John looked at Melanie who had fired the gun in her hand. Then he looked at Sheriff Wheeler who was lowering his rifle. “Well, that should do it,” he said and walked up to John and patted him on the shoulder. “You're a good man, John. Now do me a favor and leave town with that lovely woman. It ain't often a woman stands by her man the way she just did.”
Melanie dropped the gun in her hand and ran to John. Hugging him, she thanked God for His love and mercy. “Even in a storm, You are always with us.”
“Yes, God is always with us, even in a storm,” John agreed and wrapped his arms around Melanie. Looking down at Richard Griffith's dead body, he nodded his head. “Now I can leave in peace.”
*
Melanie walked into an exquisite restaurant fashioned with every luxury a woman could dream of. Dressed in a soft pink evening gown with her hair flowing freely over her tender shoulders, she appeared as princess prepared to eat her dinner. John, dressed in a gray suit that spoke of intelligence and strength, escorted Melanie to a table covered with a European designed table cloth. Sitting on the table were crystal water glasses and wine glasses, fancy plates and bowls, silverware and napkins that made John feel uneasy. Numerous patrons were sitting at the other tables, each talking and tending to their own meals, not paying Melanie or John a bit of attention. “This isn't Greenville,” Melanie smiled at John as he helped her sit down.
John sighed. “I know. But this restaurant is very fancy. I am very poor.”
“You are not poor. You were hired to work as a medical apprentice. That is very respectable, John,” Melanie pointed out proudly. “Rich or poor, I love you, John.”
“I love you, too,” John smiled into Melanie's eyes. He began to speak again when a strange man appeared.
“Is your name John?” the man asked.
Melanie felt her stomach tighten. The strange man had thin gray hair and a thin gray mustache. He was wearing a nice brown suit and carrying a briefcase. Melanie immediately knew the man was a lawyer. “Is there a problem?” she asked.
“I'll say there is. May I sit down?”
“Please,” John said.
“My name is James Johnson. I'm a lawyer,” the man explained taking his seat. “If you are who I think you are, then I will be very happy. If you are not, then I will be very upset. I have traveled all the way from Boston searching for the son of my client who passed away last year. And with today being Thanksgiving, I do hope you are the man I am searching for because I am ready to eat a warm meal and rest.”
“My name is John,” John told James.
“Your mother, she was a Paiute woman, right?” James asked as color and excitement flushed into his cheeks.
“Yes.”
“Oh praise be,” James beamed. “I have finally found you.”
“What is this all about?” Melanie asked.
“Money,” James replied and opened his briefcase. “You see, your biological father was a man named John McLeod. I suppose that's where you got your name.”
“My first name, yes. I was never given a last name,” John confessed.
“No matter,” James smiled and brought out a stack of papers. “Your mother, the Paiute, traveled to Boston with your father. She never confessed to him that she had twins. She made your father believe she miscarried. Why? Who knows...shame….fear...Anyway, a few years ago, your mother confessed to the truth before she died. Every since that day your father has been searching for you and your sister.”
“My sister is dead.”
“I found that out when I stopped in Greenville. What a dreary little town it was,” James told John. “However, the man who owned the hotel informed me that you had relocated to Sacramento. You had left Greenville one day before I arrived. The weather delayed me, I'm afraid.”
“How did you know John would be here, at this restaurant?” Melanie asked confused.
“You, my dear,” James smiled. “Sheriff Wheeler told me all about you. I was able to locate your new residence here in Sacramento and your maid told me where you were dining tonight. Now,” James continued, “let's get down to business. John, you father left you and your sister quite a bit of money...a fortune really.”
John sat very still and listened to James. When James finished speaking, John looked at Melanie. “What do you think?”
“Oh John,” Melanie giggled, “what do I think? I think you are a very wealthy man. I think that God has rewarded you for your courage and faithfulness. I think this is the best Thanksgiving ever. Waiter, please, bring us so bread.”
James began to stand up. “Well, I will leave you two alone and we can talk more tomorrow.”
“No, stay and eat Thanksgiving dinner with us,” Melanie pleaded. “You are more than welcomed.”
“How about me?”
Melanie and John looked up and saw Sheriff Wheeler appear wearing a dark brown suit. His hair was combed and his rough beard was trimmed. “Sheriff Wheeler?”
“Yes, I forgot to mention that Sheriff Wheeler agreed to accompany me to Sacramento. It seems like he is no longer welcomed as Sheriff in Greenville,” James explained.
“I was about ready to retire anyway,” Sheriff Wheeler explained. “Can I sit down?”
“Please,” Melanie smiled. “It's so great to see you again.”
John reached out and patted Sheriff Wheeler on the shoulder. “My friend, it is good to see you again. Tonight is a night of great news and good friends.”
“Keep smiling because you're paying for my meal. You may be rich, but I'm still a poor man,” Sheriff Wheeler told John.
John smiled at Melanie. “A man who stands by a friend deserves to share in his friend's good fortune. You will not be poor for much longer, Sheriff Wheeler. Jesus commands us to love each other.”
“That's right,” Melanie said. “You stood by John as a true. And now I ask is you stand with him again as his best man at our wedding which will be very soon.” Melanie reached out across the table and touched John's hand. “A new life begins.”
“Yes,” John smiled happily, “a new life begins.”
“Wedding?” Sheriff Wheeler asked and then smiled and nodded his head. “I guess that shouldn't come as a surprise. Congratulations.”
“Love is forever,” John spoke and placed his eyes into Melanie's heart. “Love is not to be forgotten or denied. Love is to be cherished and cared for by two hearts that are forever united as one. For all the love lost, we who are alive, must capture that love and allow it to live.”
Melanie felt joy wrap itself around her heart. “I will love you the way I have always wanted to love a husband,” she whispered to John in her heart. Closing her eyes she saw herself leaving Atlanta as a broken woman. Now, she thought, opening her eyes and looking at John, her heart was complete in love. “Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. May we share many more together.”
Clarice’s Sweet Romance
Chapter 1 – Dusty Days
“Come along children! Please, hurry and watch your step! You don’t want to be late!” Clarice shook the bell loudly, sweeping her eyes ac
ross the small schoolyard and ushering all the children into the schoolhouse.
It was a small, one room schoolhouse, but the children filled the benches, and she enjoyed taking her place at the front of the room.
“Miss Cranberry?” a small voice at the back of the room piped up, and Clarice turned in surprise.
“Yes, Tommy? What is it?” she asked, putting her hands on her hips.
“My Ma wanted to know why we aren’t learning our letters faster. She says I ought to know all the alphabet by now.” He looked at her with large, round eyes and several of the other children murmured their agreement.
Clarice sighed. She had known it was just a matter of time before one of the children asked such a question, but she had hoped it would have been later rather than sooner.
“Well, Tommy, not everyone in class knows all the same letters yet, and I need to make sure you are all close to the same level before we can move on. You see, with all you boys and girls gathered here and depending on me to teach you, I need to make sure you all get to learn.” She smiled cheerfully, and could see that her answer more than satisfied the boy, but she silently wondered how his parents were going to take her reasoning.
Turning back to the board, she scrawled a few more letters across the black, letting her chalk squeak as she did so.
“Now, this is the letter ‘Q’ and this is an ‘R’. These larger letters are call capital letters, and the smaller ones we call lower case letters. I want all you to use your tablets to write these same letters a few times, then bring them up here so I can see how you did.” She smiled as each of the children got to work, then turned her attention to the older children in the class.
“For those of you who already know the alphabet, let’s get you started on some arithmetic. Billy, would you mind grabbing this chalk and solving this problem on the board for me? That’s a good boy.” She quickly etched a problem on the board, then held the chalk out for Billy to take.
Billy was holding the football he had been playing with before school, and now he hesitated as he looked around the class.
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