He could see him in the distance, but he was faster, faster than Lonnie was anyhow.
“This won’t be the last time you see me, Lonnie!” Willard shouted. “But you’ll certainly wish that it was!”
He ran into town, into the crowds, and Lonnie stopped chasing. He didn’t stand a chance of finding him in a crowd of people. He’d had a chance and he’d blown it. How was he going to explain this to the sheriff?
He walked to the side of the road and sat down, his arm bleeding heavily from the bullet wound. A woman stopped nearby, her brow knitted together in concern.
“Don’t you worry, now,” she said, taking off her headscarf. “I’ve got you, give me that arm.”
“Madam, it’s really not—”
“Hush now,” she said, taking his arm, pulling a little too hard and making him wince. “Stop that,” she grumbled. She tied her headscarf around his shoulder tight.
“You chasing after that fella?” she asked.
Lonnie nodded, feeling suddenly stupid for not asking anyone to come with him. How foolish was he, thinking that he could handle Willard on his own?
“You’re a braver man than most,” she said. “Do you need help getting back to wherever you’re from?”
Lonnie shook his head. “My horse is up by the saloon,” he said.
She got to her feet and helped him up. “Then I’ll get you as far as the saloon,” she said.
Chapter 21
The store had been mostly empty for the past couple of days, a few customers here and there, but mostly people were just avoiding Evelyn and the store at all costs. She didn’t know how much longer she would be able to survive if business continued that way. When she finished up that afternoon, she didn’t even bother sweeping the floors and cleaning the place.
Nobody’s even set foot in here today, she thought. Why should I even waste my time?
She gathered her things and stepped outside. Evelyn hadn’t been expecting to see Lonnie around town. She couldn’t explain it, but she’d managed to put him far enough out of her head, that seeing him wandering by the saloon after she’d finished work had caught her by surprise.
What’s happened to his arm? she thought, immediately seeing the bloodied bandage wrapped around his shoulder. What’s he been doing?
Without thinking, Evelyn locked up the door to the hardware store as quickly as she could, hurrying through the town square and toward him at such a speed that when she reached him, she had to skid to a halt.
His eyes widened at her sudden appearance. “Evelyn,” he breathed. “What are you—”
“What happened to you?” she asked, her voice high-pitched, unable to catch her breath. “I didn’t know you were hurt why didn’t you—”
“I didn’t think you wanted to see me anymore,” he said bluntly. “You’d made your position pretty clear.”
“I—” Evelyn opened her mouth to speak but stopped herself suddenly. Of course, she had. She’d made it abundantly clear that she didn’t want to see him anymore, that men were terrible, and he was just another man out to break her heart. “Well, I’m sorry I even came over here, then!” she snapped, turning on her heels and walking back through town.
Stupid, stupid, stupid, she thought as she walked. How many people saw that? How many people saw me running through town the second I saw him hurt? God, they must think I’m ridiculous.
But she couldn’t get him out of her head all the way home. Even as she greeted her father and prepared him dinner, she couldn’t stop herself from thinking about Lonnie with that bandage on his arm. He was out there hurting himself, probably getting shot, and she didn’t know a thing about it.
You didn’t want to know a thing about it, she thought. You didn’t want anything to do with him.
But now she’d confused herself. She didn’t want anything to do with him when she thought he was an awful man out to use her for what she knew about Willard. She didn’t want him hurt and injured.
There was a knock at Evelyn’s door later that evening. She’d lost track of the amount of time she’d spent thinking about Lonnie. She’d barely touched her dinner; she’d barely said two words to her father. She couldn’t think who it could possibly be. She’d not seen Rose in the last few days, and she couldn’t imagine it being Lonnie, not now.
The knock became more persistent. It was late, there shouldn’t have been anybody coming to call at that hour. It made her nervous.
She may not have liked Lonnie in that moment, but she was somewhat grateful for what he had shown her about guns. She took the one she kept in her bedside drawer and started toward the door, holding the gun out in front of her. She was ready to shoot if she needed to. She needed to protect herself.
She went to the window, peering out through the curtains to see who it was. She let out a sigh of relief and hurried over to the door, opening it only a little.
“Billy, get out of here,” she hissed. “I told you, and I told Willard, I don’t want anything to do with either of you.”
“Miss Evelyn, you’re going to want to hear this message.”
“No!”
“Miss Evelyn, it’s for your own good.”
It sounded like a threat. She didn’t take well to threats.
Evelyn stood up straight and opened the door a little wider, making it clear to Billy that she was armed. He already knew that she was dangerous, surely, he could put two and two together and leave her alone.
Billy looked down at the gun and then back up at her face. He looked more nervous than he had a few moments ago. This wasn’t how he was expecting this conversation to escalate, clearly.
He looked over his shoulders. It was pitch dark, but the moon was out, so he was definitely visible. If anybody walked by and noticed his shock of blond hair, they would know it was him. Evelyn was enjoying watching him squirm.
“Miss Evelyn, please let me come inside,” he said, his eyes big and wide, his lips quivering. “I just want to talk to you. I have a message from Willard that I have to tell you, and then I promise I will leave you alone.”
“Why can’t you give it to me here?”
“I need the privacy.”
“There’s nobody out here, Billy.”
“Miss Evelyn, please!” he raised his voice a little. It startled her. He was clearly getting agitated.
Evelyn sighed and pushed the door open, letting him walk inside. “Don’t make yourself comfortable,” she groaned, making sure to keep her grip firmly on the gun in case he tried any funny business. Though Billy was hardly the type. He was one of Willard’s henchmen, sure, but the boy was soft. That much Evelyn knew. “What is it?”
“I came here with a message from Willard,” he said slowly. “Gosh, Miss Evelyn, I really think you ought to come and see him. He’s getting riled up now, and you know what he gets like when he gets riled up.”
She knew all too well. “Why?”
“He says that if you don’t come and see him, he’s going to come and take you anyway. And you know him, Miss Evelyn, you know he is true to his word and when he wants something, he will stop at nothing to get it.” Billy took a deep breath. “So, it is my recommendation that you just step outside with me and I’ll take you to see him and then—”
“No.”
“No?”
“No, Billy, I told you, I’m done with all of this!” She couldn’t get it through his thick skull. “I don’t want anything to do with you, or Willard. I told him that when he skipped town last time, and I told him when he visited. I’m done.”
“Miss Evelyn, he seems pretty serious,” Billy said, his voice shaking.
“I don’t care,” she said, the slight quiver in her voice betraying her nerves. Willard was unpredictable at the best of times, but if he said he was going to come and get her, then he probably meant it. “Now leave me alone.”
Billy sighed and started toward the door.
“Why do you do it?” Evelyn asked.
Billy turned around and blinked. “Do wh
at?”
“Why do you work for him?” she said. “He’s awful to you most of the time, he scares you half to death, why do you follow him around?”
“The money is good,” Billy laughed.
“Money is one thing, Billy but don’t you value your life more?” she replied. “You could be doing absolutely anything, Billy, and you’re choosing to help this no-good criminal.”
“Like I said,” Billy replied, a little firmer. “I need the money. I like the money. It’s a lot.”
“Yeah, but that’s all Willard wants too,” Evelyn said. “It was always about loot with him, and he is using you to get that. He’d much rather put you in harm's way than himself. The second you’re not useful to him anymore, he’ll cut you loose and then where will you be?”
“Free?”
“Dead, Billy,” she said. “He’ll kill you, and you know he will, otherwise you wouldn’t be pleading with me to come with you.” She sighed. “What did he say to you to get you to come here, huh? Did he threaten you? What’s the price you’re going to pay for not bringing me back with you?”
Billy hesitated. “Never you mind.”
“But I do mind, Billy, because I know you’re a decent person,” Evelyn said. “I know that you don’t want to hurt me or drag me away with you because, if you were that kind of guy, you would have done it as soon as I opened that door. You don’t want to hurt people, Billy, you’re better than all of this.”
Billy shrugged. “Maybe,” he said. “But Willard will find me if I don’t come back.”
“Then help put him away,” Evelyn said. “Do something that will help put him behind bars and get him out of your hair for good.”
Billy ran a hand through his hair, looking a little confused, like she was talking literally or something. Evelyn suppressed the urge to roll her eyes.
“I’ve gotta go,” he said. “But before I do, I’m just going to warn you—”
“Don’t threaten me, Billy Rivera,” Evelyn said, raising her gun. “I know how to shoot, you know.”
“I’m not going to threaten you, Evelyn,” he said. “I wouldn’t dare, you scare me too much.”
Evelyn laughed. Billy didn’t.
“I’m just going to offer you a little bit of advice,” he said. “Keep your eyes peeled for Willard, okay? Because he’s going to come for you, I know he is, and I can’t stop him. Protect yourself.”
She waved her gun at him. “I’ve got this, don’t I?”
Billy looked at her seriously. “You know what he’s like, Evelyn, you know how he can get. If you’ve got somebody who can protect you, then get their help.”
Billy smiled at her and then left the house, heading off into the night. She went back inside and watched him from the window, her mind torn between concern and frustration.
It was fair to say that she didn’t exactly care for Billy. He was one of Willard’s men after all. But she didn’t want him getting killed for the sake of a little bit of money. It worried her that he was involved in all of this. Then there was what he’d said about Willard. She knew him better than most, but she also knew that she was pretty much alone in all this now.
I’ve pushed Lonnie away, I’ve pushed Rose away, it’s just me, I’m on my own now, she thought. Her dad was still asleep in his room, completely none the wiser as to what had just happened. Her life had been threatened, twice, in her own house and she had no idea where to turn.
Chapter 22
The second he’d gotten back from Blue Cove Point, Lonnie had gone to see the doctor. He’d tried to avoid it initially, but the sheriff had dragged him there himself.
“I’m already out of action,” Tommy grumbled. “If we don’t get you fixed up, who knows what will happen to this town. Now get to that doctor’s office!”
He did as he was told and was poked and prodded by the doctor for a little while before he was cleaned up and sent on his way, told to take it easy if he could. But how he was meant to take it easy when there was a bandit like Willard on the loose, he had no idea.
Tommy didn’t seem to mind that he had let Willard go, probably because Lonnie had a bullet in his shoulder to at least show that he’d given it a try. But it didn’t make Lonnie feel any better. He just wanted to catch him and have all of this awfulness over with.
When he’d bumped into Evelyn the day after, he was almost pleased to see her, before he remembered that they were fighting. She seemed to remember too, and that was the end of that little conversation. But she seemed to care that he was hurt. That had to be something, didn’t it?
That night, he was headed over to the mayor’s house for dinner. When they’d heard about what had happened in Blue Cove Point, they wanted to make sure that he was well and taking care of himself. They wouldn’t take no for an answer and have him going home all by himself that night.
“How is the arm, Lon?” the mayor’s wife had asked him a good five times since he’d arrived. “You feeling okay?”
Every time he’d responded to tell her that he was doing okay, and that her dinner was helping. Which it certainly was. She cooked a very good meal. But he was in pain, both physically and mentally. He couldn’t get Evelyn out of his head, and every now and again he got a little twinge of pain in his shoulder. He hoped it healed soon.
“Why don’t you go sit in the living room, Lon?” the Mayor suggested. “We can have some coffee there, talk a little.”
Lonnie forced a smile. “Sounds wonderful,” he said, heading in there ahead of them. Immediately he walked over to the window. From there he could see Evelyn’s house. The lights were off, and it seemed like she’d shut up for the night. He was about to walk away and take a seat, when he saw movement at the front door.
He watched as Evelyn opened her door and a boy with bright blond hair scuttled out and off into the night. If he weren’t here, he would chase him, he would track him down and find out exactly what was going on, but today wasn’t the day. If he saw Billy around town, he would collar him and question him properly this time. He’d obviously let him go too easy.
“Everything alright, Lonnie?” the Mayor asked. He’d returned from the kitchen with some coffee. “You seen somethin’?”
“No,” Lonnie lied. “It’s just such a beautiful night, that’s all. Bright moon, still, you can see for miles.”
Lonnie looked out once again and could see Evelyn’s face in the window. She was staring out, watching the direction Billy had left in. He didn’t want to believe that she was still in cahoots with Willard, he really didn’t, but this was the proof wasn’t it? Billy Rivera sneaking out of her house in the dead of night.
If they just happened to be friends and it was nothing to do with Willard after all, why would they wait until nightfall? he thought. All signs pointed to them meeting under cover of darkness to keep whatever was going on hidden. He shook his head. He’d trusted her. He’d blindly trusted her because, what, she was a beautiful woman? He’d been bamboozled by her, by the way she carried herself, by the way she wasn’t like all the other women in town. And that had clouded his judgment.
No more, he thought.
“Lonnie, why don’t you come and sit down?” the mayor asked, gesturing to the chair near his. “I was speaking with Sheriff Hawker just today and he was telling me of all the plans that you have for the town, ways to keep us safe in these uncertain times. Why don’t you tell me about them?”
Lonnie shut the curtains and walked over to the mayor, taking the seat across from him. He took a cup of coffee and had a sip. It was delicious. Sweet, smooth, nothing like the tar he’d had at Evelyn’s. He almost missed that coffee.
He shook her from his head once again. “Well, as you know, I am doing my best to stand in for Tommy while he is injured,” Lonnie started. “But I don’t want that to be the end of my time here. I want him to get better, of course I do, but I would hate to leave this town when it doesn’t feel like my work is done.”
The mayor raised a bushy eyebrow. “And what work would t
hat be?”
Lonnie took a breath. “Willard Lane.”
The mayor sat back in his chair. “Ah, Wild Willard,” he groaned. “That man has caused me more problems than I can count. The sooner we are rid of him, the sooner this town can move on to brighter days. So, you want to be the one to capture him?”
Lonnie shrugged. “There is a little more to it than that.”
“Enlighten me.”
“I had a run-in with Willard just a few days ago,” Lonnie said. “He was not too far from town, somewhere between here and Malwakee, and he was up to something. I caught him in the middle of trying to steal a herd of cattle from Blue Cove Point.”
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