The Path To Tame a Wild Heart: A Historical Western Romance Novel

by Melynda Carlyle

  Lonnie didn’t say a thing. What was there to say? He didn’t want to get to know Evelyn as a means to an end. He wanted to get to know her for who she was.

  Chapter 8

  Evelyn was getting a little sick of seeing Officer Lonnie Steele everywhere she went. She would try to work, and he would be outside, making himself useful with the townspeople. She would try to walk home, and he would be there talking to people outside the general store. Everywhere she went, she was reminded of him. Even her father had somehow brought him up in conversation with her the other night. He could barely remember his own name, but as she served him a pie that she had cooked that morning, he’d asked her about the new ranger in town and she’d been forced to talk about Lonnie once again.

  One morning, Evelyn rounded the corner toward her store, when she stopped dead in her tracks.

  “You again?” Evelyn groaned. Lonnie was waiting for her outside the shop, leaning on the door frame. Does he have nothing better to do with his time? she thought.

  He stood up, looking a little stricken. “Do you really hate me that much?”

  “Not just you,” she said as she walked up the stairs to the door, unlocking it and opening it wide. The inside of the store was cool, not yet oppressed by the heat of the day. She welcomed the way it felt on her skin. “All men. It’s nothing personal. Anything else?”

  He leaned on the door frame and looked at her with those deep blue eyes. He was used to getting his own way with women, that much she could tell. The fact that he couldn’t charm her with a single glance must have been driving him insane.

  “I don’t blame you,” he said. “Willard Lane, however, is not the guy you should base your opinions of men on.”

  It was like a punch to the gut. Who was he to come here and judge her life, to judge her choices? He’d barely been in town for five minutes, he didn’t know her life, didn’t know the things she had been through.

  Without a second thought, she slammed the door in his face, relishing the moment he jumped back to avoid getting his nose caught. She locked the door from the inside and headed over to the front desk, breathing deeply, trying to keep her cool. The door slam had felt good. Maybe she’d do it again for good measure.

  There was a knock.

  Another knock.

  “Come on Evelyn, I didn’t mean it like that.” Lonnie was still outside, still waiting for her.

  Can’t this guy take a hint? she thought.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. That got her attention. “I didn’t mean to criticize you or Willard, I just meant that you deserve better than him. He treated you like dirt and I…” he trailed off. “I wouldn’t do that.” He stopped, his cheeks flushing.

  She breathed out a heavy sigh and walked back to the door. Slowly, she unlocked it, opening it a little bit so she could see him, still leaning on the door frame but now presenting her with less of an act. He seemed less sure of himself, and it wrong-footed her in a way she hadn’t been before. Maybe she shouldn’t be so... rude…

  “You mean that?” she asked.

  “I do,” he said. “I wouldn’t treat you bad, Evelyn, you shouldn’t be treated bad by anybody. It ain’t right.”

  “What will it take for you to stop flirting with me?” she asked, opening the door a little wider.

  He smiled at her, shrugging. “A chance, maybe?”

  She raised an eyebrow. “A chance for…?”

  “A chance to let me get to know you,” he said. “Before you throw me in with all the other men that you think are terrible and not worthy of your time, I ask you to get to know me a little better. I think it’s only fair.”

  Fair.

  That certainly was rich. Evelyn had been dealt her share of unfairness over the past few years. Why should she give this guy a chance? What was so special about him?

  She looked him up and down, taking him in once again.

  He seemed like a good enough guy. He was working for the sheriff, for crying out loud, he couldn’t be a bad guy. And what had he done to her? He’d made sure she was okay. He’d bought her flowers, sort of. He wanted to get to know her, which was more than she could say of any other guy in Kecheetah.

  But can I trust him? she thought. Whenever she let her guard down, or trusted anyone at all, she was let down. Willard had disappointed her time and time again, enough that her guard was up constantly. Why would he be any different? What if he was just like Willard?

  He won’t stop, she thought. That was the thing, Lonnie was persistent. And, in a strange way, it was awful nice to be wanted by somebody, even if he did smile too much…

  “Fine,” she said.

  “Really?”

  “Yes,” she said. “Prove to me that not all men are terrible.”

  Out of nowhere, he pulled out another rose and handed it to her. “You won’t regret this.” He turned and walked away.

  When she was sure he was gone, she pulled the rose to her face and inhaled the scent deeply. She certainly hoped she wouldn’t.

  Later that day, the door opened. Evelyn had been leaning on the desk and, as she seemed to every time a customer walked through the door, she suddenly bolted upright so she didn’t look lazy. When she noticed it was Rose and a few of the girls that she hung around with, she relaxed a little.

  Rose approached the cash desk, a broad smile on her face. “You’ll never guess who I just saw,” she teased.

  Evelyn raised an eyebrow. “Do I really want to know?”

  “I don’t know, maybe you—” She stopped suddenly and looked a little to one side. Evelyn followed her gaze to just behind her where the rose was. She’d put it in a vase. She didn’t want it to go bad and, well, this time she was keeping the rose so what was the harm in making sure it was alright? “You kept it!”

  “Did you come here to tell me who you saw or grill me about why I have a rose?” Evelyn said, feeling the colour rise in her cheeks. “Because I’ve got plenty to be doing around—”

  “You’ve barely had a customer all day,” Rose said with a smirk. “Well, you’ve had a customer, but he didn’t come here to buy anything but your heart!”

  “Stop that!” Evelyn scolded. “You’re being silly.”

  The rest of the girls tottered over. They were all around Rose’s age, bright smiles on, eyes wide and happy-go-lucky. They’d not seen the world in the way that Evelyn had. She almost envied them.

  “You’ll never guess what?” Rose said to the girls, apparently holding court right in the middle of Evelyn’s store. “That rose is from the new ranger.”

  The girls squealed. A brunette girl clutched at her chest and turned her gaze to Evelyn, her eyes looking a little crazed. “He gave you a rose?”

  Evelyn shrugged. “Yeah? So what?”

  “Oh my God, that’s so romantic!” A blonde girl cooed.

  “That’s what I thought!” Rose said, turning back to Evelyn. “You’re so sour, he’s just being nice to you.”

  Evelyn rolled her eyes. “You’re being naïve,” she growled. “Besides, it’s just a rose, it doesn’t mean anything.”

  “But it’s not the first time he’s brought you a rose, is it, Evelyn?” Rose said, apparently enjoying the attention she was getting. Evelyn, on the other hand, was not enjoying it. “He brought you one yesterday too, huh?”

  “He did, but I threw it back in his face,” Evelyn said. “Don’t know where he gets off thinking he can just buy me a rose and suddenly I’ll fall at his feet.”

  “What made you change your mind this time?” Rose asked.

  “Well…we…uh…we talked a little,” Evelyn said. “But I was just keeping it safe here, no point letting a good rose go to waste and—”

  “He’s so dreamy,” the brunette girl interrupted. “He just dashes around town all day in that hat, he just looks so manly so…”

  “So heroic,” the blonde said. She turned to Evelyn. “You’re so lucky, you know. He’s so darn charming.”

  “Is he?” Evelyn said, keeping her ext
erior as steely as possible. Though even she had to admit that Lonnie was charming. He’d managed to convince her to give him a chance after all. “Well, I suppose he is.”

  “You suppose?” Rose asked.

  “Yeah, but it’s part of his job isn’t it?” Evelyn said. “He’s got to be good with people because he works with people, he can’t go round being… being… un-charming, that just wouldn’t do at all!”

  Rose giggled. “Un-charming?” she repeated.

  “What? Is that not a word?”

  “I don’t know,” Rose said. “You just seem to be looking for excuses, that’s all!”

  “Hey, now Rose, I don’t—”

  “I won’t say anything more about it,” Rose said, putting her hands up. “I was just coming in to check that you were still coming to dinner.”

  “Of course, I am,” Evelyn replied.

  “Good,” Rose smiled. “I’ll see you then!”

  Evelyn couldn’t get Lonnie out of her head for the rest of the day. Any customers she did have definitely noticed that she was more than a little bit distracted while she was talking to them. But every time she so much as turned around, she saw the rose sitting there. Even a couple of customers commented how nice it was to see a little flower there, apparently it brightened up the whole place. Evelyn wasn’t so sure about that. But every time she looked at it, she couldn’t help but smile. That was certainly something.

  She headed home when her day was over, clutching the rose close to her chest as she walked, just so people wouldn’t see it. When she made it inside, she put it in some water on the dining room table and got straight to tending the housework that she had left to pile up. She cleaned the dishes from the morning, she swept the floors, then did some washing, all while her Pops sat out on the porch swing without a care in the world.

  Evelyn sometimes felt like she had too many cares, like she was carrying the burden of more people than she deserved. Maybe that was just her lot in life.

  She stopped sweeping the floors and looked at the rose again. It really was pretty. The petals were thick, the deep red of them so dark in places that it almost looked black. With a careful hand, she reached out and caressed the petals. They were soft and smooth.

  Evelyn took the rose outside, clearing a space in the backyard by the flowerbeds. She was happy to get her hands dirty, clearing a space for the rose to sit where it would get plenty of sunlight during the day.

  Carefully, she placed the stem into the ground and covered it over with dirt, the head already reaching out for some sunlight. She felt a pang as she realized how much she had deprived it today, keeping it inside in a vase.

  She watered it and admired it sitting in the dirt, this tiny little ray of hope.

  Maybe this time, she thought to herself. Maybe this time it won’t be so bad.

  Chapter 9

  Lonnie spent the rest of his day with Evelyn running circles in his mind. Barely a moment went by when he wasn’t thinking of her. It made him distracted. It made him wander around Kecheetah with a big smile on his face, prompting almost everyone he met to ask him what he was so happy about. Even Sheriff Hawker was confused.

  When the day was coming to a close, he finished up with the sheriff and collected another rose from the general store, practically skipping through town to see Evelyn, the rose clutched tightly to his chest.

  If this is what she wants, this is what she’ll get, he thought. She wants somebody who is going to be around, somebody who is going to treat her right. So, I will be there for her and I will treat her right. I’ll win her over, I know I will. It was a solemn vow he made to himself in private, one that he was determined to come through with.

  Evelyn was already locking up her father’s shop as he rounded the corner. Her hair was a little bit out of place, and she looked a little beaten down by the day. So if her day had been bad, it was his responsibility to make it better.

  She stood up straight after locking up, their eyes meeting almost immediately, like she had sensed his presence. She smiled the smallest of smiles. No matter how hard she tried, she didn’t seem to be able to get it off her face. She turned back to look at her father’s shop, hiding herself from him, then turned back to him with a scowl.

  Lonnie laughed.

  “What’s so funny?” she asked, as he got within earshot.

  “You make me laugh,” he said. “Is that so wrong?”

  “What are you even doing here?” she said, her gaze drifting from his face to the rose and back again. “I thought I’d gotten rid of you this morning.”

  “Gotten rid of me?”

  “Well, at least managed to get you to leave me be for the day,” she said, still looking at the rose. Lonnie couldn’t help but smile. It was almost like she was actually enjoying this. Maybe she liked the idea of somebody treating her this way. “So, what are you doing here?”

  “I thought I would come to offer you a safe passage home.”

  She scoffed. “I don’t live that far,” she said. “It’s hardly the most dangerous town in the world.”

  “I just want to make sure that you’re safe.”

  “I will be,” Evelyn said. “But if I can’t stop you, and I don’t suppose I can, then you are more than welcome to walk me home. Is the… rose for anyone in particular?”

  He smiled and handed it to her. “For you, of course.”

  “Do you have a rose bush in your garden or something?” she asked, bringing the rose to her nose for a sniff. “Just a never-ending supply.”

  Lonnie shook his head. “Only the best get roses.”

  “Really? The best? Well, I’ll just have to keep on doing what I’m doing,” Evelyn said. “Shall we?”

  “Sure.”

  They started to walk through town, Lonnie painfully aware of how close they were to one another. He wanted to reach out and take her hand or, at the very least, offer her his arm so she could hold onto him while they walked. But he couldn’t imagine for a single second that it would be something Evelyn would want to do. He might not know her that well, but he knew enough to realise she would laugh him out of town if he tried to offer.

  The sun was setting, the town bathed in shades of orange that gave everything a glow. Even the most rundown of buildings looked almost charming in the fading light of day. Kecheetah looked pretty, but Lonnie couldn’t tell if that was the light or the company he was keeping.

  “So, tell me a little about you, Evelyn,” he said.

  She sighed. “I’m fairly sure you know all there is to know already,” she said. “If you’ve been here for longer than ten minutes, someone will have told you all about my life and painted me as a villain no doubt.” She paused. “Sorry.”

  “What for?”

  She shrugged. “I’m just not used to people asking for my side of the story, that’s all.”

  “Well, I’m asking,” Lonnie said. “And I want to know. I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t interested.”

  “What do you want to know?”

  “Everything.”

  “Everything?”

  “Start at the beginning,” he said. “I won’t stop you.”

  She sighed, looking around at the townspeople drifting away from the town square and into the saloon, or mounting horses to head back to their ranches. Lonnie eyed her carefully. Even he could see that she loved this town, but it hurt her to even be here, given what everyone said about her. She might have a strong exterior, but inside she was skin and bone like everybody else. Words could hurt.

  “I’ve lived here my whole life,” she said. “Me, my younger sister Alice, and my Pops.”

  “What about your Mom?”

  She shook her head. “No longer with us.”

  “I’m sorry,” Lonnie said quickly, suddenly sheepish and feeling like he’d overstepped. “I didn’t mean to pry, I just—”

  “It’s okay,” Evelyn said. “She was around until I was ten, until Alice was eight, and she was the best. She looked after us, she made sure we were clothed
and fed, did whatever it took to keep us happy. Pops did too. He used to run the hardware store before me.”

  “What does he do now?”

  She shrugged. “Not a lot,” she said. “He mostly sits and stares, watches the world go by. I have no idea if he’s even taking it in half the time.”