A Bride to Melt the Sheriff’s Iron Heart

by Melynda Carlyle

  “Do you know Victoria Thompson?” Peter blurted out the question before he could stop himself, watching Melanie’s expression transition through shock, fear, and curiosity in the span of a few seconds. “She lives in Kansas City.”

  “That is the name of my father’s sister, and she was the one I was staying with before I came to move here. Why do you ask? Has Edward said something about her?” Melanie bombarded him with her questions, a faint laugh escaping his throat despite himself. He had missed just being able to sit and talk with her.

  “No, nothing like that. I received correspondence from a friend of mine in Kansas City, and he mentioned her briefly in his letter. Apparently, some nasty business happened there a couple of months back. Couple of society women found dead,” he said, sipping the lukewarm coffee that sat on his desk.

  He watched the color drain from Melanie’s face at the mention, her hand moving up in front of her face as she chewed nervously on her thumbnail. She looked distinctly troubled, her eyes constantly darting toward the front door of the jailhouse. “That’s truly terrible,” she finally managed to blurt out, realizing that they’d been silent for a few moments. “Do they have any leads?”

  “I haven’t had a chance to finish the rest of the letter,” he admitted, shrugging his shoulders gently. “I’m sure that there’s nothing to worry about here. Kansas City is a fair distance away from us, after all.”

  “That doesn’t mean that trouble couldn’t follow me from there,” Melanie countered. “Edward is a perfect example of that. I just wish I knew how he found out where I went when I made absolutely certain not to tell anyone what I was planning on doing.”

  “You didn’t happen to leave the ad for the schoolteacher position behind, did you?” Peter asked aloud.

  “No, I made sure to bring it with me. I cut it out of the newspaper, but there should have been no way for him to be able to discover what ad I took unless he had another paper to compare it to,” she began, her voice trailing off as she realized the implication of her words. “Oh, curse him to the ends of the Earth!”

  Peter slowly stood from his desk and walked over to the coffee pot, pouring another cup of the strong black coffee that he’d brewed earlier that morning and handing it to her. She accepted it gratefully, making a face after taking the first sip. “It got away from me this morning; my apologies.”

  “It’s okay,” she replied meekly, setting the cup down on his desk. She took a deep breath, running her hands through her hair in clear agitation. “I came here because I decided that it was time for you and me to have a chat. It’s time I came clean and told you everything. Everything about why I came here, my history with Edward, all of it. I don’t want you to get angry, and I don’t want you to interrupt me until I’m finished. It’s already hard for me to admit all of this to you.”

  “Why would it be hard? Don’t you trust me enough to confide in me?” Peter asked, unable to keep the hurt from his tone.

  She swallowed as she gazed up at him, the confident and opinionated woman he’d come to know now standing before him looking frightened. He found himself hating the forces at play that would ever dampen such a beautiful face. “I promise that once I’ve told you everything, we’ll have a chance to talk about us.”

  He nodded silently but didn’t trust himself to speak. Did this mean that it was finally time for the cat to come out of the bag? He was certain that they both knew where things stood between them, that kiss that they’d shared over a week ago still fresh in his mind.

  Still, it would be nice to no longer be in the dark about the woman that he’d unwittingly fallen for. But if he heard straight from her lips that she shared his feelings, wouldn’t it make it harder to let her go? Either way, he didn’t want to spend the rest of his life wondering about what could have been between them. And he certainly wasn’t ready to just let her go without putting up a fight.

  “Alright, you have my full attention,” Peter said.

  Chapter 33

  “It should have been a happy occasion. I just moved into my new house yesterday. I was particularly impressed with the skill that had gone into its construction, like the various symbols I saw carved on some of the walls. I think it was John’s work since I know he has a particular fondness for woodwork,” Melanie said, tapping the side of her glass. “It had felt so strange being by myself after getting used to being at Iris’ house. Even if sometimes it could be overwhelming, the promise of always having someone else around that I could confide in had been something I took for granted.”

  “After cooking a simple dinner of salt pork and potatoes with butter-fried onions, I got ready to crawl into bed. I made sure to slide the locks on each of my doors into place, the sound of them latching helping me feel slightly better. Still, it wasn’t enough for me. If Edward wanted to get in, there wasn’t a door or window in existence that would stop him from doing it. And with no one else around, there was no one there to keep me safe from my thoughts.” She shivered as she recalled it.

  “In the shadows of the dark night, the moonlight streaming through my window, I was terrified. I slept fitfully all night. It had been bad enough that as I’d been falling asleep, I felt myself being grabbed and dragged down into my bed. That made me panic just before I went unconscious, paving the way for a long series of nightmarish dreams. Every one of them seemed to involve Edward, his sneering face and echoing laugh following me no matter how much I tried to escape.” She didn’t want to tell him that one of her dreams had briefly involved him.

  “That sounds awful,” Peter admitted.

  “Yes, but that wasn’t what I came here to tell you,” Melanie said, taking a deep breath. “You just have to understand that this is hard for me to talk about.”

  “Go at your own pace. I’m in no hurry,” Peter replied kindly, smiling gently.

  “I guess it all started with my father’s death. It happened so suddenly that I didn’t have time to prepare for it. I’m still not certain what caused it. He was perfectly healthy when we said goodnight to one another, but the next morning when I went to wake him, he was cold and unmoving,” Melanie said, her hand covering her mouth as tears began to flow down her cheeks. “I shook him and called out his name, but he just wouldn’t respond.”

  Peter was gazing at her with a look of pity, a single tear rolling down his cheek. Whether he was crying for her or not, she couldn’t be certain, but it felt nice to have someone to commiserate with her.

  “Things moved pretty quickly after that. With none of my mother’s family living in the area, the only person who was willing to take me in was my aunt Victoria. She is such a wonderful woman; I hope you get a chance to meet her one day. She was the only one who helped me work through my feelings of grief or cut me slack when I didn’t feel up to accompanying my uncle to various social gatherings. It was too painful to be around people back then,” Melanie said sadly. “The wound was just too fresh.”

  “I understand exactly what you mean,” Peter offered, grimacing as he realized he’d interrupted her again. “Sorry.”

  “To help me feel better, my aunt began inviting local scholars over to come talk with me. I had told her that I had interest in various subjects like shipbuilding and botany, so she would find people well-versed in those subjects and bring them to me. It wasn’t all terribly interesting, but it offered me the escape that I needed. So long as my mind was distracted with these conversations, I didn’t have to focus on the empty feeling that stayed with me. Since I only had to deal with these guests one or two at a time, it was manageable.” Melanie paused to sip her coffee, clearing her throat.

  “Then, shortly around the time that I turned twenty-two, things changed. I’d known that my aunt wasn’t going to allow me to continue my reclusive ways for much longer. I’d occasionally attended parties to keep up appearances, but I guess I became known as a moody woman who never left the house, so that was a wasted effort.” Peter snorted with laughter, slapping the top of the table. She shot him a look, try
ing hard not to smile before continuing. “That was around the time that Edward and his father came into the picture.

  “Their arrival was quite the event. Cannons were fired off, trumpets sounded, and I think they even had a dance troupe that led a procession for them through the town. It was all rather garish if you ask me, but I guess that is what some people choose to waste their money on. My aunt immediately began doing everything in her power to ingratiate herself to him. They must have mentioned me at some point because the next thing I knew, I was being forced to meet both Edward and his father. I guess I didn’t mind them at first. They were a bit standoffish, but I just chalked that up to my emotional state.”

  “How did that result in you leaving?” Peter asked, clearly confused.

  “When I finally started to allow Edward to take me on dates, he impressed me during our first couple of outings. He seemed genuinely polite and knowledgeable, and we had bonded over our love of learning. He regaled me with stories of the Far East and their strange customs, and I started viewing him as a possible friend,” Melanie said wistfully, recalling it all with a look of sadness. “I even considered accepting his marriage proposal at one point.”

  “I take it something changed then,” Peter chimed in.

  “I was attending a party at one of my aunt Victoria’s friends’ home and had brought him along as a partner. He had practically begged me to go for two weeks leading up to the event, and even though I didn’t want to, I went. I suffered through small talk for hours only to find out that he had snuck away with one of his mistresses. I left the party that night, and I decided that I didn’t want to be near him anymore. That’s why I came here for the teaching job,” Melanie finished, sighing.

  “You have to tell him that you are done. He needs to hear it from you,” Peter said finally, leaning back in his chair.

  “He won’t listen to me. If I tell him that, there’s no limit to what he’ll try to do to me,” she snapped. “I couldn’t even sleep last night because I am fearful of even seeing his shadow. Do you know what that feels like?”

  “I sure do,” Peter replied, catching her off guard. “In the old days, I would have helped you deal with this kind of situation the old-fashioned way. However, I’m the sheriff of this town. I can’t just break the law and lock up a man on fear alone. I need him to do something, or I can’t do anything against him. But rest assured, the moment he tries anything, we’ll nail him.”

  Melanie bit her bottom lip gently, nodding. She didn’t voice her concern that it might be too late to come to him for help when Edward decided to strike, simply thanking him for the warm coffee and allowing him to walk her to the back door of the jail. He followed her around the side of the building, peeking out around the corner and nodding to her once he saw the coast was clear. “Be safe on your way back home, Melanie. Lock your door as soon as you get there.”

  As if she needed to be told twice. She offered him one last longing look before she began to walk away briskly. She gathered her scarf around her face as a sudden gust of wind sped past, causing her dress to flap about her ankles wildly. Her hand immediately flew down out of reflex, not wanting to treat any passersby with the sight of her underclothes. She felt like eyes were on her the whole way home, despite no one being in view each time she’d turn around. She was certain she wasn’t being followed, yet she felt like she was in immediate danger.

  The sound of the door being latched behind her brought relief. Melanie slumped down on the other side of the door and hugged her knees to her chest. For now, she was safe, but how long would that last? Edward had told her she had a week to come up with a date for him, or else he would hurt everyone. What am I going to do?

  Chapter 34

  Unbeknownst to Melanie, her departure had left Peter in quite a perplexed mood. Now that he had been filled in on the situation with Edward, he felt somewhat better. She wasn’t secretly trying to get back with him or anything that the foolish women in town had been saying, but instead was fearful of Edward acting out of hand against her. Still, he couldn’t say he was completely relieved either.

  If Melanie was truly worried about Edward trying something against her, it meant Peter was going to need to be much more careful from now on. He didn’t worry about what the spoiled rich boy could do to him, but Melanie had every reason to be scared of him and he feared for Melanie’s safety more than anything else.

  He forced himself to laugh aloud, slapping his cheeks gently. He needed to get his head back in the game. He’d been allowing this Melanie business to derail his work, and he was sure his other men had noticed it. Chris certainly had. He grinned as his deputy walked through the door less than a few minutes later. He was carrying a plate of food.

  “Was someone here?” the deputy asked, slowly sinking into his chair and pulling his plate closer.

  “Melanie stopped by. Cleared up some confusion about her relationship with Edward,” he said, unable to keep the tone of smug glee out of his voice. “It turns out that I have nothing to worry about him in terms of vying for her affection. Though she has come to me twice now to complain about him. I’m thinking the two of us are going to need to go visit him at his lodgings and inform him that he needs to keep his distance from her.”

  Chris nodded and simply continued scarfing down his meal, acting like he hadn’t eaten in days. Peter gave him an incredulous look and rolled his eyes, watching as Chris reached over and plucked the correspondent’s letter from where it sat on the edge of his desk. Peter had almost forgotten about it thanks to Melanie’s unexpected appearance, and he had to fight the urge to take the letter back from him. “It’s just a letter from one of my friends in Kansas. I don’t think you need to bother yourself with reading it.”

  Even as the words came out of his mouth, he watched as Chris’s expression had transitioned from one of passive disinterest to horror within a few heartbeats. “Sheriff, what did you say the name of the new guy in town was? The one that Melanie says she is having a hard time with?”

  “I’m surprised you haven’t had it ingrained in your head seeing how often the townspeople keep mentioning it. His name is Edward Brighton. Apparently, he is the son of some rich man in Kansas who made his fortune during a shipping venture. Melanie said he’s proven himself to be a terrifying man she doesn’t want to be alone with, but I hardly see how he could be worse than someone like Johnny Carrington. They seem quite alike if you ask me,” Peter replied haughtily.

  Chris pushed back from his desk hard enough to cause his chair to go crashing to the floor. “No! Sheriff, we need to get going now!”

  “What has got you all up in arms? Did you realize the butcher was having a special today?” Peter asked, wondering what had gotten his deputy so worked up.

  “Did you not finish reading this?” Chris asked, comprehension dawning on him as Peter shook his head.

  “I didn’t get the chance to. I was halfway through it when Melanie came in. I only just settled back down to try and finish it. Why, what does it say?” Peter’s smile was entirely gone now, his heart beating faster in his chest as he felt a sudden bad feeling tingling along the back of his neck. “Spit it out already.”

  Chris cleared his throat loudly. “By the way, you should keep your eye out for a man by the name of Edward Brighton. He is a blond-haired, blue-eyed man who typically dresses in suits that have a raven on the back of them. He should be treated with great caution and apprehended as soon as possible. He is wanted in Kansas for committing a series of murders that include the two high-society women I mentioned. I have included in the envelope a bulletin that has an artist’s depiction of what he looks like.”

  Chris reached over to the envelope and pulled out the second page, his mouth already set in a firm line before he unfolded it. Peter watched his deputy’s eyes widen temporarily before he spun the bulletin around. There, staring Peter in the face, was the image of the man who he had come to despise in the last few weeks. Peter swore loudly, a howl of frustration leaving his lips so
on afterward.

  Peter slapped himself on the forehead and scrambled out of his chair, making his way toward the door before he realized it himself. “Chris, sound the horn! We need every able-bodied deputy mounted and armed immediately. Edward probably knew they were looking for him and that’s why he came here. He’ll be trying to leave town, and he’ll probably take Melanie with him! We need to give chase and not let them get more of a head start than they already have.”

  “How will we know which way they went?” Chris called out, but Peter was now too far away from him to care to offer a reply. He felt like he had become one with the wind, every breath that filled his lungs only fueling the fire that suddenly burned within him. If that bastard Edward hurt so much as a hair on Melanie’s head, he was going to rue the day that he’d ever set foot in Santa Fe. Peter might even have to break his vow to Michael about never taking another man’s life in anger again.

  Peter’s fears were proved true the instant he came within sight of Melanie’s house. Her front door was missing, and when he stepped into the foyer, he realized why. Melanie’s front door hung open, half broken off of its hinges. He ran through the small house, calling out Melanie’s name the whole while. He stumbled as he tried to race up the stairs, growling in pain as his knee slammed down onto one of the stairs.