A Bride to Melt the Sheriff’s Iron Heart

by Melynda Carlyle

  “We’ve found out a good deal, actually. The most important being that none of the men that we fought today are from our town,” Peter said, holding his coffee cup out of the way as Daisy Mae attempted to jump up onto his lap. He laughed softly and set his cup down on the nearby table, pulling the footrest from nearby and setting it up so he could sit comfortably with Daisy Mae across his legs. “They were all called here from out of town by someone, though they won’t tell me who.”

  “Well, it would have to be someone from the town, wouldn’t it?” Melanie said quietly, looking at Peter meaningfully.

  “That doesn’t exactly narrow down the list. I’m sure there are plenty of people who have known me throughout my life who would love to see me dead. I don’t know if you’ve heard the rumors by now, but what they say about my old days as an outlaw is true. I did a lot of people wrong in the old days, and it could just be that my poor luck is catching up to me,” Peter replied, grimacing. “Plus, I don’t want to make accusations against every person in this town who would have reason to pull something against me. Half of this town would be on the chopping block.”

  Melanie shook her head. “There has to be something that we are overlooking.”

  “Good luck getting them to talk,” John said, having finally returned to the room with a plate piled high with refried beans, thick sausage, and bread made from leftover potatoes. He accepted it gratefully, Daisy Mae glancing up at him but making no move to take his food. “Half of them have already clammed up, and the others aren’t going to be budging any time soon.”

  “I just want to know how Darwin knew. I have no doubts that whoever it is has either paid Darwin for his silence or has threatened him into not telling me. Either way, I’m not expecting many leads to come from him,” Peter said, digging into the food gratefully.

  “I did ask Darwin about how he knew of the bandits, but he didn’t want to talk to me about it. I told him that if he cared about you as much as he seemed to that he would help you solve the case. I can be quite persuasive when I want to be,” Melanie said proudly, watching Peter eat. He didn’t seem too worried about appearances, but he did have the manners to keep wiping his mouth clean on a handkerchief.

  “And what did you learn from our young friend Darwin?” Peter said through a mouthful of his dinner. “Anything of use?”

  “All he would tell me was that it was someone from his class that told him about it. They heard about it from their father. I know that doesn’t necessarily narrow it down, but it does tell us it is someone that Darwin is relatively close to and that trusts him. Perhaps we should keep an eye on who Darwin is spending time with in the school and get as much information about them as possible. That may be the only lead we have for now,” Melanie admitted, her hands fidgeting.

  “I am of half a mind to wake the boy up right now and make him tell me,” Peter said, setting his plate down on the stool beside him, Daisy Mae immediately moving her big head to lick up the leftover gravy on the plate. Peter didn’t even try to stop her, his gaze remaining on Melanie.

  “I say that we let him continue sleeping, and I can ask him more about it tomorrow during free time. They told you when you got here that we aren’t trying to keep you long, and you trying to interrogate the willfully silent one is not going to get you home any faster,” Melanie said wisely, forcing Peter to nod in agreement.

  “I suppose you are right about that. No reason to try and get him to talk if we know he isn’t going to. I can think of plenty of things I would rather be doing than trying to get a brick wall to tell me its secrets,” Peter said, laughing bitterly. “We dealt with it for now, and we can always try to get some of those men we captured to crack and tell us what they know. It will just be a matter of biding our time and following up on the few possible leads we’ve got.”

  “That’s the spirit. Peter, can I interest you in a piece of strawberry rhubarb pie? I cooked it for our dessert and for the kids to snack on tomorrow, but I figured that you would appreciate my special recipe,” Iris said, noticing the way that he’d been looking at his empty plate somewhat remorsefully.

  “You can read me like a book, Iris. I would love that,” Peter admitted, a weary smile pulling at his lips. “Do you need me to go grab it?”

  “No, please. I’ve been sitting most of the day, and I’m about to be lying down. I’d prefer to walk as much as I can before I’m not able to. I have a feeling I’m going to be recovering from this young one for a while yet,” Iris admitted, looking distant briefly. Peter knew that something important was being left unsaid, but it was not his place to say anything.

  When she had left the room, Melanie looked at Peter. “I’ll make sure that Darwin gets to school tomorrow morning. You should go ahead and take the extra rest, however little it might be. You look like you could sleep for days.”

  “I feel like I could sleep for days,” Peter admitted, taking the piece of pie from Iris and thanking her politely. “The problem is that I can’t trust anything to get done at the jail if I’m not there.”

  “I think you are giving Chris too little credit. He might be a little wet behind the ears, but he’s really coming along. He does a lot of stuff I don’t think you give him credit for, Peter. Any man can tell that he looks up to you and is constantly seeking your approval. He held his own in that ambush today, and I can vouch for that,” John said, taking a seat beside Iris and taking her hand. “Besides, we have no shortage of lawmen. I could even go in early tomorrow until you get in, then head home to be there when the kids get out of school.”

  “That could be, John. I could be completely blind to what he does and the things that he takes care of so I don’t have to. I could be, but I am not. I know how good Chris is to me, but I can’t let him know that. Not yet, anyway. He needs to keep the mindset that what he does now is the bare minimum of what he should be doing to serve these good people. At least, that is what Michael believed,” Peter said, finding himself unable to say any more.

  “You are doing real good, Peter. Real good,” John said softly. Iris merely nodded in agreement, looking between Peter and John curiously. “Michael would be proud to see what you’ve done these last few years.”

  “I can only hope so,” Peter said, popping the last bite of pie in his mouth and gently pushing Daisy Mae until the hound rose off his stiff legs. He slowly pushed himself to his feet. “I’ll put this in the kitchen before I head out.”

  “Remember, you can sleep in a little late tomorrow,” John said, giving him a wink as he walked past. “Enjoy it while you can.”

  Peter chuckled weakly. “Thanks for your concern. I’ll be sure to take care of myself. Daisy Mae will make sure that we get home alright. I’ll probably just let Daisy Mae ride in the back of my wagon. Here’s your part of the reward, John. I’ll see you all in the morning.”

  Chapter 15

  Melanie felt far more distracted than usual. After what she had been part of, it would have been crazy if she weren’t. The memory of being tackled by Peter and being covered by his body had her cheeks burning as she thought of the compromising position they had been in. She was just grateful that no one had been around to see it.

  Even Darwin was more out of it than usual, the boy gazing at the same page of his book for over five minutes before he would turn to the next one. Melanie really wanted a chance to talk to him alone again. He was probably suffering worse than anyone else, besides Peter, and the sheriff had to be used to attempts on his life by now. Darwin was a different story. The youth had not only had his own life threatened but had seen one of his idols held at gunpoint. That was an experience the emotionally scarred youth could have gone without.

  When she and Darwin had arrived at the Brough’s homestead the night before, she had sat with him on the front porch away from where the Brough’s children were playing so the two could talk alone. She’d made him tell her everything about what he’d heard about the bandits in the taverns as well as from his classmates. He’d been hesitant, but she
had convinced him by telling him that it would be a great service to Peter if he would help out.

  “You don't even have to give me anybody’s name. I just need to know if it is someone that the sheriff and I know,” Melanie had urged, taking Darwin’s hand gently in hers. “I want to be able to help the sheriff. He works so hard to keep all of us safe. He deserves at least that much from us.”

  “You are right, Miss Thompson,” Darwin had replied shortly. “I guess it isn’t fair to him to be kept in the dark. It’s not like I want to keep quiet about it. It’s just that there are far too many ears around the school. Word of mouth tends to travel fast, and there are people who would be really mad if I blabbed about it. You could say my life relies on my silence.”

  “Darwin, if someone has threatened your life, then you need to tell the sheriff. He can confront the individual and take him to task. You can’t just let someone bully you into silence. Sometimes doing the right thing means that you have to put your life on the line. I know that you are a smart and brave boy. I know you want to help,” Melanie had pleaded, looking Darwin right in the eyes as she spoke.

  “The sheriff never lets me help, no matter how much I want to. I don’t understand what his problem is. I know how to fire a gun and ride a horse, yet he still views me as a kid who's just playing at being a man. I don’t want him to baby me anymore,” Darwin had said gruffly, crossing his arms stubbornly.

  “So, because the sheriff is trying to keep you safe you are going to hold a grudge against him? That doesn’t sound like the intelligent Darwin I know. There has to be something more to it. Is it so embarrassing that you can’t bring yourself to confront your true feelings?” Melanie had asked, frowning.

  “You wouldn’t understand!” Darwin had shouted, closing his eyes and looking away from her. “He’s constantly bossing me around and forcing me to do things that I don’t want to do. Yet he isn't always in a bad mood, you know. Sometimes the two of us can get along. He was the one who taught me how to shoot a gun and ride a horse when no one else would. He’s also one of the only adults who actually takes time for me aside from Iris, and now, you,” he had added, his voice having gone soft once more. “He also occasionally takes me out to eat or buys me little treats when I do well in school.”

  “What does that tell you?” Melanie had asked, prodding Darwin to really consider the ramifications of what he was saying. “That he cares about you, right?”

  Darwin had still refused to reveal to her the source of the threat, and she didn’t really have it in her to keep drilling him over it. She’d let him go to bed and had waited up with the others for Peter. She felt a pang of guilt over the look of relief he had briefly given her when he’d seen her safe and sound in the house the night before.

  As Melanie managed to finally break herself out of her reverie, the end of the day bell rang. She figured the headmistress must have rung it, since she and Melanie were the only two women there today. “Alright, class! Everyone, please form an orderly line and follow me single file out of the school. Once you get to the front gates, you are free to go off as you please, but not before.”

  Darwin slowly gathered his things, one of the other children calling out to him as he crossed the room to fall in line behind him. Melanie didn’t pay much attention to the boy talking to Darwin, dismissing him at first as just a fellow student. Peter had told her to keep track of Darwin’s friends, but this was the first time she’d seen this particular child approach Darwin.

  “Miss Thompson!” She turned in time to see that Peter had arrived to pick up Darwin, the sheriff looking much more rested than he had the night before. The dark rings that had been under his eyes were gone now, and his eyes looked far more alert, regaining some of their usual intensity. “I hope that Darwin didn’t prove to be too much of a handful today.”

  “On the contrary, Sheriff. I don’t think I heard him say a word all day,” Melanie replied glumly, glancing back at where the line of students was nearing its end as the children scattered once they hit the school gates. Darwin was walking next to another boy with bright blond hair and blue eyes, something about the boy nagging at the back of Melanie’s mind. “I think that Darwin might still be mixed up from yesterday.”

  “Can you honestly blame the boy? I’d be a little rattled if I’d just nearly beaten a man to death the day before. I know I told the men that I wouldn’t hold them responsible if they were protecting someone, but since Darwin acted out of anger, I’m not sure where the law would stand. I figure that his own mind is providing him the best punishment right now, but I also need to make sure that this incident doesn’t lead him down the wrong path,” Peter said empathetically, shaking his head. “I don’t want to have to punish him, so I’m giving him a chance to prove to me that he’s not going to go over to the wrong side.”

  “Sheriff, I wanted to talk to you last night, but you were so tired, I didn’t want to weigh you down with it. I talked to Darwin last night, and he told me that someone is threatening him into keeping the details of that day secret. I don’t think that it is one of his fellow students that he is afraid of, so it has to be someone else that he comes in contact with relatively frequently. At least, that’s what I am thinking,” Melanie admitted reluctantly, her gaze wandering from the sheriff back to where Darwin and his mystery friend were talking. As she looked closer, she recognized that the boy Darwin was talking to was Lawrence.

  Lawrence had been sitting in the front of the class when she had first come to the school and found that flyer. And now that she thought about it, he had been seated directly behind Darwin. Could the piece of paper that she’d found that day have come from Lawrence and not Darwin? Had she been accusing the wrong person the whole time?

  “What is the matter, Miss Thompson? You keep looking distracted,” Peter said, turning in place so that he could look where she was. “Is it something to do with the boy he’s talking to?”

  “Yes, as a matter of fact,” Melanie replied, placing her hand on her hip. “I think that it might be something very important too.”

  Peter’s eyes widened at that briefly, narrowing shortly afterward. “Tell me what you are thinking.”

  Before Melanie had a chance to say another word, the sound of a loud horse whip cracking through the air drew their attention toward the front gate. The clopping of hooves came from a horse-drawn carriage that had now halted in front of the school building. The unmistakable initials on the back of the carriage left no confusion as to who had arrived.

  “Oh, great, him again,” Melanie muttered softly under her breath, hoping that Peter didn’t hear her. She didn’t want him getting the wrong idea; she just happened to be less interested in the man who now strode toward her than she was in Peter. “What did I do to deserve this?”

  “Greetings and salutations, my beautiful flower in the desert. You are looking radiant as ever, but I could expect no less from a beauty such as you,” Johnny said slyly, his eyes glittering with their characteristic mischief. He turned to Peter and gave a curt nod. “Good to see you in one piece, Sheriff. Heard you got into a bit of a skirmish with those bandits yesterday.”

  “You heard right, Johnny. A shame you weren’t there to help out, but you told my deputy that you had some previous engagement,” Peter replied casually, his steel gray eyes glinting as he returned Johnny’s curt nod. Melanie could immediately sense the tension between the two men.

  “If I didn’t know any better, I would think that you were accusing me of something,” Johnny said coldly, his blue eyes glinting like chips of ice. “I must just be imagining things, right, Sheriff?”

  “You must be imagining things, Johnny. Maybe you’ve been out in the sun too long. That would explain that uneven tan that you’ve got going on,” Peter replied with a smirk. “Now, would you mind telling me what business you have here? School is over and you don’t have any children, last I checked.”

  “Looks like you’ll need to update your sources, Sheriff. I’m sure there is at least one c
hild here who could claim to be my son,” Johnny said smugly, spreading his arms wide. “It’s not like I need to beg for the attention of women. They practically throw themselves at me when I walk down the street. Besides, a smart officer like you couldn’t be foolish enough to assume I don’t have any family around?”

  Great, another wealthy clod who thinks that the world begins and ends with his pocketbook. Melanie silently hoped that Peter wouldn’t make an excuse to run off now that Johnny was there. Just like the first time they’d met, Melanie got the impression that this man could be dangerous. She went to take a step closer to Peter unconsciously, gasping when she suddenly found Johnny standing between the two of them.

  “Now, Melanie, I’ve come a long way to try to talk to you. The least you can do is offer me a polite ear,” Johnny said, his voice dripping with politeness. “It would be the ladylike thing to do.”

  Chapter 16

  Peter had come to the school to pick Darwin up as usual, still worried about the boy. He’d been secretly grateful for the opportunity to give someone else the responsibility of ensuring the boy went to school, and he wanted to ask Melanie how he’d behaved for her that morning.