A Bride to Melt the Sheriff’s Iron Heart

by Melynda Carlyle

Melanie was another issue entirely. Sure, she came across as spunky and in control, but with the size of her class, it would be a simple matter to lose track of Darwin. Especially with how good the kid had gotten at being able to slip away without people noticing.

  He could be a private investigator in the future if he could get his act together. He reminds me of Billy from the old days.

  Lying in wait like this was reminding Peter of the old days. As he glanced over at Chris, he temporarily saw Billy’s face superimposed over his deputy. When he rubbed his eyes and looked again, the vision had faded, but the feeling of homesickness didn’t. He thought of the many nights he and his gang had sat around a roaring fire, cracking jokes and philosophizing under the night’s sky. He wondered if Alfred had ever straightened out and gotten into the shipping business like he’d talked about. Hawk, the young blond sharpshooter that Peter had saved from a group of bandits, would have just been turning of age now. He wondered if she had grown up to be just as beautiful as he’d always told her she would.

  They’d unwittingly formed their own little family throughout those years of stirring up trouble together and being apart from them still felt like a fresh knife wound in his side. He’d never thought that he’d be in a position where he understood the feeling of longing for people that his friend Deangelo used to talk about. The feeling where you are surrounded by familiar faces but still feel like you are standing all by yourself. It was a lingering sadness that never faded.

  The sound of hoofbeats in the distance forced Peter to focus his attention back to the present. He could hear the faint sound of a horse snorting, the crunch of boots on dirt following shortly after. He turned to where he could see Chris was hiding and raised his watch case so it caught the light, causing it to shine briefly where the deputy could see. He used the gold case to reflect the light three times, his deputy repeating the same action using the badge that was clipped to his vest.

  The time was drawing near, and Peter still had so many questions. They were going to need to stop this person and find out if they were with the bandits. If they were a high-profile person, his posse would be serving as their escort the rest of the way into town. He only hoped the stranger didn’t alert the bandits to their presence.

  Chapter 11

  She was used to seeing Darwin look bored and distracted at times, but that was nothing compared to how the youth was acting now. As the time grew closer and closer to noon, the boy had begun to look more and more restless. While she had her back turned to the class to write the occasional term on the blackboard, she had to continually tell him to stay in his seat. She’d gone so far as to blockade the class door using one of the spare tables, an admittedly draconian but effective approach.

  Iris had only laughed and watched while Melanie had gone about dragging the table into place since she wasn’t in much shape to be doing any heavy lifting. Iris had continued her pattern of allowing Melanie to take control of the class throughout the day, and Melanie was almost comfortable with the thought of doing it alone.

  Darwin was proving to be a unique challenge in that regard. To say that he had the spirit of a wild animal would have been a gross understatement. Darwin was like someone had trapped an infernal fire in the body of an eight-year-old boy. He seemed to constantly be burning with unseen passion; whether from anger or something else, Melanie couldn’t be certain. She’d helped her father break in stallions that had been easier to handle than this boy was proving to be.

  When lunchtime finally dragged around, Melanie ordered the kids to follow her in a single-file line out toward the picnic area behind the school building. She and Iris thought the children would like to spend time outside of the school in the plentiful sunshine. Melanie had put Iris in charge of shepherding the younger children over to the picnic area while she kept Darwin and the older children under her watchful eye. Darwin had already tried to slip out of her sight twice now, so she was giving him most of her attention.

  She heard the familiar clopping of hooves coming from the front of the school, turning toward Darwin with an accusatory glare. He was already hurtling himself down the side lane of the school, Melanie only having enough time to yell for the rest of the class to listen to Iris until she got back before she did her best to run after him. She rounded the corner of the school and got to the top of the hill just in time to see a boy she didn’t recognize handing Darwin the reins to a brown mustang.

  “Darwin, don’t you dare!” Melanie called out, doing her best to summon all her authority into her voice. “Sheriff Matherson specifically requested that I make sure you stay in school. What has gotten into you that you think you can just ride off in the middle of my class without so much as a word to me? Do you even know how to ride a horse?”

  “I don’t have time to explain it to you, lady. You only have two options right now. You either get on the horse and come with me, or you watch as both the horse and I disappear into a cloud of dust in the distance. The sheriff needs all the men he can get, and last I heard, he only has ten people. I know how to shoot, so if they give me a weapon, I can protect you too,” Darwin replied impatiently, leaping up onto the horse’s back with surprising grace. “Make your choice, Miss Thompson.”

  How could a child possibly know how to use a gun? “Darwin, you are sounding ridiculous. Do you even know where they went?”

  “They went to Atalaya Mountain to see if the bandit camp is responsible for all the robberies,” he stated matter-of-factly. “Chris told me. Please, Miss Thompson. He’s a good man, and I don’t want to risk him getting killed.”

  Melanie bit the inside of her cheek and nodded. Reaching out her hand for the reins, she jumped as best she could onto the back of the horse. No sooner than she felt herself slide into place behind Darwin did the youth dig his heels into the side of their trusty steed, spurring the animal forward into a breakneck dash. She was forced to wrap her arms around Darwin in front of her, trying to peer over his shoulder as the terrain whipped past them.

  The town buildings faded away in no time, the wind managing to pry loose hairs from her bun, giving her a frazzled appearance. When Darwin finally allowed their heaving horse to slow his gait, she found that she was gazing at the mountains. She could see a nearly cavernous structure up ahead of them where a few unrecognizable dots moved in the distance.

  Melanie had hoped that she’d be able to use the short horse ride to talk some sense into Darwin and encourage him to abandon his reckless plan, but the boy was either unable to hear her or was flat out ignoring her. She could see the sweat beading on the back of his neck as they rode, his knuckles white from how tightly he was holding the horse’s reins.

  The scowl spread across his features upon their arrival told her that Peter was not happy they were there. The throbbing vein on his forehead that threatened to burst out from underneath his skin was another subtle hint. “What in tarnation are the two of you fools doing here? Did I not specifically stress to both of you how much you should not be here, Darwin?”

  Darwin had the sense not to answer, the boy looking genuinely cowed for the first time since Melanie had met him. She, on the other hand, didn’t like the ingratitude in Peter’s voice. “He rode out here because he was worried about you and wanted to help you somehow,” she snapped back angrily.

  “The greatest amount of help that he could have given me would have been to not bring two unarmed civilians into the midst of a potential firefight. Now I have two liabilities that I have to look after, one of whom is a hotheaded idiot who is likely to get himself killed. The worst thing you could have done was come, yet here you are,” he added dryly. Melanie had the good sense to look ashamed.

  “I was the one who made her come with me, Peter,” Darwin finally piped up, the boy sitting up taller in his saddle. “Plus, I rode all the way out here just so I could make sure that you were alright.”

  “Okay, thanks for the concern. You’ve seen that I am fine. Now take that horse you rode here on and take both of your butts
back to town now. If you leave now, maybe I will be a little more lenient with your punishment!” Peter snarled at Darwin, looking up at Melanie. “Make him go, please. Before you two manage to get yourselves killed.”

  Melanie slowly slid off the horse, deciding it was finally time for her to start raising her voice to tell him off. “I am not just some fragile little flower that needs to be taken care of. I’ll have you know that I am the daughter of a former sheriff, thank you very much.”

  “Do you have a gun on you, Miss Thompson? Do you currently have a pistol or any means of defending yourself? If so, then you are more than welcome to join the fray. If not, then like I said before, make yourself scarce!” Peter barked, not backing down from her for an instant. His eyes were wide with panic as if he was particularly bothered about the fact that she was there. “Do you know how bad it would make me feel if something were to happen to you?” he added, looking Melanie directly in the eyes.

  Right as his words began to click into place for her, the resounding sound of a gun discharging echoed throughout the valley. She could briefly hear a bullet as it keened through the air, watching as the dirt about a foot to the right of her suddenly exploded.

  “See, now!” Peter roared, turning back in the direction the shot had come from and shouting. “The first shots have been fired. To arms, men! Form up around the woman and the boy, and don’t let anyone through you. Shoot to disable their horses; do not shoot to kill unless they do first!”

  Melanie felt like time slowed down for her. The ringing in her ears from the shot meant that she couldn’t hear the words that Peter was saying. She could feel herself growing short of breath, her feet suddenly feeling unsteady beneath her. Glancing around, she could see Darwin all scraped up, and it was at that moment she realized the horse they’d ridden on was nowhere to be seen. It must have darted off after the gunshot.

  Melanie had enough time to realize that someone was hurtling toward her just as she felt someone collide with her stomach. She was suddenly grateful for her light breakfast as she grunted in pain, reflexively curling up as she fell to the ground. All the air in her lungs was suddenly forced out, leaving her gasping as her body seemed to remain suspended in midair before she slammed hard into the ground.

  She didn’t have a chance to cry out. She didn’t know if the person who had tackled her was a friend or a foe. For all she knew, she was about to be staring down the business end of a gun. All of the fears about stories of what bandits did to defenseless women on the road flooded back into her mind, causing her to briefly go into a blind panic.

  Resigning herself to the dull throbbing in the back of her head, Melanie found herself suddenly sleepy. It seemed ridiculous to feel as exhausted as she suddenly felt, but she couldn’t keep her eyes open. She must have hit her head harder than she thought.

  Like a person trying to breach the surface after diving too deep underwater, Melanie continued her struggle. Her thoughts were becoming slower and slower, every attempt for her to remain conscious proving to be ineffective. One of the last things that she remembered before everything went black was that she hoped Peter would have the wherewithal to keep her safe. Without him to watch over her, she would be as good as dead.

  Chapter 12

  It had been pure reflex. He lunged forward, knocking Melanie down to the ground and shielding her with his body. His right hand shot out as he fell past Darwin, yanking the boy’s leg and tripping him, causing him to fall flat on his face. “Move for your life, Darwin! To the rocks! Get behind the rocks!”

  Darwin hadn’t taken even a moment to argue, though he did turn around and help Peter drag Melanie to cover. The sound of bullets ricocheting off the rocks resounded all around them, but after a quick check, it didn’t look like any of them had been wounded. Peter cursed softly as he used his pocket watch to flash a quick signal to Chris. Stay. He watched his deputy flash a short response soon after. Waiting.

  “If I hadn’t come, you wouldn’t have anyone to warn you about the bandits you are going after!” Darwin managed to choke out, struggling free from the grip Peter had on him. “They aren’t who you think they are.”

  Darwin went silent, the young man not meeting Peter’s gaze. Peter could tell that the young man was hesitant of saying more for fear of further provoking his wrath, but he needed answers. The sheriff now had a firefight on his hands, like it or not, and they were going to need to get moving if they hoped to get out of the situation without dying. “Darwin, if you know anything else, you need to tell me. This could be a matter of life and death for us!”

  “I can’t tell you that, Sheriff. All I can tell you is that I managed to overhear it. You never listen to what I try to say, so this time I was going to come along and prove to you that you can stop treating me like a child,” Darwin shot back, speaking in a hurried whisper.

  “You and I are going to have a long talk when we get back to town, assuming this half-cocked plan of yours doesn’t get the lot of us killed. You won’t tell me how you know about the bandits, but at least tell me what you know,” Peter relented, scratching the back of his head.

  “From what I heard, the so-called bandits are really just various men from different towns that have been camping out here after responding to the flyer. It sounded like they sent out a whole bunch of them to get whoever would reply to gather. I tried to tell Chris that he would want to take the extra time for more men, but he said your skills more than made up for the lack of numbers.”

  “That sounds like something stupid he would say,” Peter said, hefting his rifle and slipping some bullets from his pocket into the chambers of his weapon before cocking it. “They were probably planning to pick us off from a distance. Bunch of cowards.”

  “What are we going to do, Sheriff? Miss Thompson still hasn’t come to, and we are surrounded by the enemy. This isn't exactly a great situation to be in,” Darwin exclaimed, eyes wide with terror.

  “The most important thing is that you help me keep her out of harm’s way. If you actually listen to my orders this time around, we might have a chance,” Peter replied, moving his gaze back over to where Chris was kneeling. Keeping himself low, Peter made his way over to his deputy.

  “It looks like we weren’t the only ones invited to this party,” Chris said with a scowl, the deputy having to shout to be heard over the gunfire that seemed to rain down around them. “What should we do?”

  “Darwin says there are four riflemen placed roughly ten feet apart along the upper lines of the crags over there. I’m going to need some way to get over there to take them out one by one. Can you and the men create a distraction? You’ll need to look out for the rest of the bandits as well,” Peter asked, wishing desperately that he had a shaving mirror with him.

  Sheriff Norton had taught him how to use a mirror to check around corners of buildings or rocks to see what his opponents were doing. “You have to ride out each day with a plan in your mind that’s better than anything your foes could come up with against you. If you aim to outlast your enemies when in a prolonged firefight, it is always prudent to ascertain your enemies’ locations before doing anything else,” the old man would say, grinning wide enough to show all of his teeth.

  “I don’t understand. How can we deal with the shooters if we are pinned down? It is laughable to think we’ll be able to accomplish much unless we take care of the first few shooters,” Chris inquired, raising his rifle level to glance through the scope.

  “We just need to manage to crawl far enough up the hill that we can get a sight on the other shooters. If we get some warning shots off, most of them will run off,” Peter said, the assembled members of his posse each exchanging looks. “Then we’ll deal with the ones that don’t run.”

  “That sounds reasonable. We got to spread the word to the rest of the fellas about what the plan is,” Chris smirked, looking around at where their various comrades were hidden. “Are you going to run over to each of them to check in?”

  “No, that would be far t
oo dangerous to me,” Peter countered, his face deadpan. “That’s why I am going to send you to do it.”

  If it weren’t for the fact that their lives were in danger, Peter would have burst out laughing as he watched Chris scramble from hiding place to hiding place amidst a hail of gunfire. The deputy must have had a guardian spirit because there was no other explanation for why all of the bullets seemed to just miss him.

  Returning to where he’d left Melanie and Darwin, Peter was pleased to see the schoolteacher regaining consciousness. “Sorry I had to get so rough with you back there.”

  “I suppose I can forgive you considering the circumstances,” Melanie replied haughtily, rubbing the back of her head gingerly. “I’m going to have such a headache in the next few days.”

  “Let’s hope that we all live long enough for you to experience it,” Peter said, gripping his rifle tightly and looking her directly in the eye. “Now you and Darwin stay behind this boulder. I don’t want either of you to move a muscle until I give the all clear.”

  “Yes, Sheriff,” Darwin mumbled softly. Darwin’s compliance came across as a bit strange to him, but Peter wasn’t about to complain. If Darwin was going to listen for once, this would be the best time to do it.