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

by Melynda Carlyle

  “And you let him get away?”

  “There was no letting about it, sir,” Lonnie said. “I fired my gun into the air, which set him running, but there were too many people around for me to get a shot that wouldn’t injure someone else.” Lonnie took a breath. “Besides, wouldn’t you much rather I brought him in alive?”

  The mayor choked on his coffee. “Alive or dead, I want that man gone.”

  “I understand, sir, but surely it would be better to bring him back alive and make an example of him. If we kill him, he could end up being this glorified figure. I don’t want that. I want him to be punished for what he has done.”

  The Mayor took a deep breath. “So, you’re a man that wants to see justice served and his penance paid?”

  “More than that,” Lonnie replied. “I want people to feel safe, I want people to know that he is gone and that they can carry on with their lives.”

  The Mayor nodded and looked around the room, lost in his own thoughts. He turned his gaze back to Lonnie, his gray eyes fixed on him carefully. A smile crept its way across his large face.

  “I think you’re a good egg, Lonnie Steele, I’ve said it for quite some time,” the Mayor started. “Ever since you came here, you’ve been good for this town. You’ve made sure that people feel safe, that they see a ranger’s presence in the town. I am willing to keep you here until you get the job done and give you whatever you need to make that possible.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “You’re more than welcome, Lon,” the Mayor said. “I need this town to flourish, I need people to want to be out on the streets, to want to spend money in the local businesses and be with one another. With Willard’s shadow hanging over the place, it just feels like people are becoming too scared to set foot outside their own homes. And I don’t want that. So, I want you to solve this Willard problem as soon as you can.”

  “I’ve been trying, sir. As I’m sure you can appreciate, he’s pretty hard to pin down.”

  The Mayor looked toward the window, to where Lonnie had been standing just a few moments before. Lonnie felt his cheeks go a little pink since he had been caught staring at Evelyn’s house.

  “Do you care for her?” the Mayor asked.

  “I did, sir, yes,” Lonnie replied. “But I… I have my suspicions about what’s happening between her and Willard. If I’m honest, sir, it makes me a little cautious. I’m not really sure what’s going on, but I want to find out.”

  “I think that might be the key to figuring out all of this, Lonnie,” the Mayor said, looking grave. “All I know is she has been acting strange as of a few days ago. My Rose came home in tears after seeing her in town and I didn’t know what to think. Do you happen to know what’s going on?”

  Lonnie didn’t know what to say. “No, sir, I don’t.”

  “Well, I’d keep a close eye on that one,” he said. “I’ve known her and her family for a number of years and, because she was friends with my Rose, I was always a little more lenient with her than I perhaps would have been otherwise. I trust my Rose to pick her own friends and she’d never been anything but nice to her. But after what happened a few days ago, I’m not so sure I can keep defending her when people are calling to have her run out of town.”

  Lonnie wasn’t sure what to think. On the one hand, it looked like she was conspiring with Willard again, acting shady with Billy in the dead of night, and trying to push him away certainly pointed to that. But there was a niggling voice in the back of his head that told him not to believe that. He just didn’t think Evelyn had it in her to be that way. She’d sworn off him, off all men in fact. Why would she choose to let Willard back in now?

  Lonnie looked at the Mayor. “I’ll do my best to get to the bottom of it, sir,” he said. “And as soon as I find out anything else, I will let you know.”

  “Thank you, Lonnie, that’s good to hear.”

  They continued to talk about business and what had been happening in town recently, letting the topic of Willard and Evelyn fade into the background, but Lonnie couldn’t keep it from his mind. Having seen her with Billy, all he wanted to do was confront her, to find out what was going on. He could feel the betrayal burning in his chest. He needed to get to the bottom of it, and soon.

  He left the mayor’s house some time later, walking the long route home, the coffee keeping his brain buzzing. He walked to Evelyn’s house and stood outside, watching it in the light of the moon. It looked almost ghostly, so quiet now that the day had disappeared.

  What are you up to? he thought. And why won’t you talk to me about it?

  If she was in trouble, then he wanted to know, but if she wasn’t and she was conspiring with Willard after all, he would have no choice but to arrest her too, when the time came. He didn’t want to, but he had no choice but to do his duty.

  Chapter 23

  Evelyn rounded the corner toward her house, half-expecting to see her father sitting on the porch swing as usual, watching the world go by. She didn’t think anything of it when she didn’t see him there.

  He must have headed inside, she thought.

  “Pops?” Evelyn called out as she opened the front door. The house was eerily quiet. A couple of the windows were open, a light breeze drifting through, but not a single noise came back to her. Evelyn started to feel nervous. “Hello?” she called out.

  It wasn’t like her Pops not to answer, not to respond at all. He might not have known what was going on half the time, but when somebody was calling him, it wasn’t like him to ignore it.

  “Pops? You here?”

  She started to worry he might have gone out by himself. For all she knew, he could be wandering around the town or out in the wilderness.

  He could be anywhere, she thought, hurrying to his bedroom and flinging the door open. The bed was a mess, the side table toppled over, clothes strewn about the place. It was a mess. The window had been smashed, shards of glass peppering the floor.

  “Oh no,” she whispered.

  She saw the note on his bed, words scratched into it by a hand that she recognized all too well. They had her father. Willard Lane had her father.

  “No, no, no!” she screamed.

  Evelyn hurried from the house, her heart pounding, tears already filling her eyes and rolling down her face. She ran to the only person that she thought might listen, running to the mayor’s front door and pounding on it until her hand ached.

  “Open up! Open up! Please!” she cried.

  The mayor opened the door, startled to see her there. He opened his mouth to speak, but Evelyn didn’t give him a chance to say anything.

  “Help me, Mayor Evans, please, my father, I can’t…” She couldn’t catch her breath. “My father, he’s…”

  “Now, now, Evelyn, that’s quite enough of the hysterics,” Mayor Evans scolded, looking down at her with a look of disgust on his face. Had she really hurt everyone around her so badly? Had she broken all ties? She couldn’t. She just couldn’t. “I’ve heard quite enough.” He moved to close the door, but she hurried forward and stopped him.

  “These are not hysterics, Mr. Mayor, please,” Evelyn said. “I need your help.”

  “You need my help?” he repeated. “Miss Pierce, after everything that you’ve done to this town, everything that I've heard about you from my daughter, do you really think that I would be willing to help you?”

  “Mr. Mayor—”

  “She told me about the way you treated her when she has been nothing but kind to you in a town full of people determined to drag you down.” He shook his head and tutted. “I listened to her, I trusted her, I let you into my home, and this is how you repay me?” He leaned in close. “You and Willard deserve each other,” he snarled. “And when we catch him and put him away, we’ll put you away too. And you can spend the rest of eternity together.”

  He tried to force the door closed once again but Evelyn threw her body in the way, the tears still rolling down her face.

  “You have to listen t
o me, Mayor Evans, I’m not with Willard, I’m not helping him, I don’t want anything to do with him,” she screamed. “My father has been kidnapped.”

  “Kidnapped?”

  “Yes, sir, he has been taken from our home and I… I… I don’t know where he is or what to do!” She leaned against the door, crying at the mayor’s feet. “I don’t want anything to do with Willard, sir, you have to believe me. I want him caught. I hate him for what he has done to me, to my life, to this town. This needs to stop.”

  The mayor looked at her carefully. Evelyn could hardly bear to meet his gaze. He was trying to figure out if she was lying or not. She could see he was conflicted, and she hated that she had become so untrustworthy.

  “Please, Mayor Evans, I don’t know where else to turn,” she pleaded. “I’m worried about my father, he’s the only family that I have left. I don’t know what I would do without him.”

  The Mayor sighed and rubbed his temples. “I can’t leave you upset like this,” he said. “If anything happened to my daughter, I would be devastated, so I can only imagine what you’re feeling.”

  “What’s going on here?” Evelyn turned sharply at the sound of Lonnie’s voice. He was at the bottom of the path leading to the mayor’s house, a bouquet of flowers bundled in his arms, a look of concern on his face. He hurried toward them.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked.

  “We were having Lonnie over for dinner,” the Mayor interjected.

  “Evelyn, what’s happened?” Lonnie asked. “Are you… are you crying?”

  He looked at her curiously, and Evelyn realized this was probably the first moment he had seen her upset. It was certainly the first time he had seen her this vulnerable and, if she could have helped it, she probably wouldn’t have let it happen. The last thing she wanted was pity from Lonnie Steele. Though she probably could do with his help…

  “We have a problem, Lon,” the Mayor said. “You might want to come inside.” He looked down at Evelyn. “Both of you.”

  Evelyn stood up and followed the mayor inside, Lonnie close behind her. She followed him into the living room where, from the big window near the front of the house, she could see her own little home. It seemed tainted now, just looking at it. She wasn’t sure she wanted to go back there. Her mind was racing. What if they came back for her?

  Don’t think like that, she thought to herself. You’ve got nothing to worry about now, you’re safe, it’s your pops that’s not.

  It made her body ache. She had no idea where he was, no idea what could be happening to him right now, and it was all her fault. He was missing, most likely in danger, and here she was thinking about herself.

  Stupid, she thought. How could you be so stupid?

  “What’s happened?” Lonnie asked, pulling Evelyn from her reverie.

  She looked up at him, staring into his kind face and seeing that he actually cared. After everything she had said to him, he still found it in his heart to care for her and want to help her. She didn’t deserve his help, but she was grateful for it. Evelyn took a steadying breath. She knew she’d have to speak as plainly as she could, no time for hysterics. If she wanted to see her father again, that’s what it would take.

  “My father has been kidnapped,” she said quietly. “By Willard.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Am I sure he’s been kidnapped? Are you seriously asking me that?”

  “Evelyn.” The Mayor’s voice boomed like a warning.

  “Sorry,” Evelyn said. “Yes, I’m sure he’s been kidnapped. There was a note left behind. It’s not signed, but it’s not hard to figure out who has taken him.” Evelyn took the note from her pocket and handed it to them, watching as they scanned every word. She held onto her own hands, trying to stop them from shaking. She needed to pull herself together. She took a deep breath, trying to stop herself from crying again. She needed action, not more tears. “I needed help, so I came to the Mayor.”

  Lonnie looked up at her from the note. “I’ll do what I can.”

  “Lonnie—”

  “I’ll do whatever I can to bring him back to you, as fast as I can,” he said. “I know he’s vulnerable, I don’t want you to have to worry.”

  Evelyn laughed. “It’s a little late for that.” She was shaking all over. Lonnie offered her a smile. It was like she could feel the bridge that she had burned being rebuilt between them. She just wished her father didn’t have to be kidnapped to mend their fractured relationship.

  “This isn’t a trick?” he asked. “I need to know for sure you have nothing to do with Willard, okay? I need to be able to trust you.”

  “Likewise,” she said. “I don’t have anything to do with him. He has been using Billy to try to get to me, but other than that, I haven’t had anything to do with him. I don’t want anything to do with him.” Evelyn took another steadying breath. “I should have listened to you.”

  “What?” Lonnie said.

  “When you warned me, Lon,” she said. “I should have listened to your warnings, I was being stubborn I—”

  “That doesn’t matter now.”

  “Lonnie, it does, I said such horrible things to you I—”

  “No,” Lonnie said, stepping forward and putting his hands on her shoulders. It grounded her, steadied her in a way that she needed in that moment. “It really doesn’t matter now. What matters is helping your father.”

  “Thank you, Lonnie.”

  He smiled. “Don’t mention it,” he said. “And just to make things clear,” he added. “I was never using you, Evelyn. Please know that I wanted to get to know you for you, not to get closer to Willard.”

  “I’m so sorry Lonnie,” she replied. “This is all my fault, everything that’s happened I—” She could feel herself getting carried away now. “I just don’t know what I’m going to do without him, please, you have to help him, I—”

  Lonnie hurried toward her and wrapped her up in his arms. It was like an instinct, and in that moment, she could feel how well the two of them fit together. He squeezed her tight, breathing her in.

  “We won’t have any more of that,” he said. “You listen to me, Evelyn, I’m going to do everything I can to get your father back, okay? And I’m going to keep you safe and I am going to stop him. I promise you. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe.”

  They stayed there for a moment longer. He waited for Evelyn to calm down, until she stopped shuddering, until the tears stopped rolling down her face. She took a deep breath and tore herself away from him.

  Evelyn forced a smile. Lonnie smiled back. She felt she could breathe a little easier. With Lonnie on her side in this, she felt like maybe everything would be okay.

  “Do you have any idea where he could be?” Lonnie asked. “I know you don’t have anything to do with him anymore, but does he have any hideouts, any places that he would go to if he was on the run?”

  Evelyn thought about it. There were a lot of places they had been in the past, but where were the places he liked to go to hide or to blow off steam?

  “One town over,” she said. “I think it’s called Malwakee, there was a saloon there that he used to find shelter in. They had a lot of rooms in it and when things were getting a little too hot here, he’d go over there and stay until everything blew over. But I don’t think he would be staying there right now, it’s probably too open. He wouldn’t be that stupid.”

  “Anywhere else?” Lonnie asked.

  “Lots of places,” she said. “But I don’t think he’d be picking somewhere like that; he’d need somewhere to hide my dad.”

  Evelyn racked her brain trying to figure out where he could possibly be, but every turning she went down seemed to lead to a dead end. She had Lonnie and the mayor on her side but had no idea where to go from there.

   If they didn’t act quickly, who knew how long her father would have left.

  Chapter 24

  “What have you done?!” Willard bellowed, pushing Billy to one side to
look at who he had brought with him. Willard was in Malwakee, hiding out in an inn right in the middle of town. He’d been waiting for Billy for most of the day and had been hoping he would be returning with Evelyn, but he had made a mistake.

  Evelyn’s father looked frightened, his arms tied behind his back, his feet tied together and a gag in his mouth to keep him from talking. He looked at Willard, his eyes wide with fear. He was sweating. He shouldn’t be there. Willard knew that. Billy had messed this up.

  “When I said for you to bring Evelyn to me, what on Earth made you think that I meant for you to bring me her father?” Willard barked. “Are you out of your mind?”