Restless Heart Read online

  Lettie sighed heavily. “I’m going to say yes, but only because I agree with what you said. There isn’t anyone closer to me, and likely never will be.”

  Angeline’s heart pinched with the recognition her friend would remain lonely until she allowed herself to be free. She was still trapped in the horror of Josiah’s control, hiding from the woman she could be. There was nothing Angeline could do except continue to be her friend and never lose hope that something or someone could change her mind.

  “Thank you. You mean a lot to me. I hope you know that.”

  Lettie murmured her thanks and walked back up the steps into the kitchen. Angeline stood outside a few minutes longer until she no longer felt the urge to cry. Her life was about to change drastically, and the excitement mixed with fear.

  She was strong, and she would be okay. There was nothing she couldn’t do with love at her side and in her heart. Sam was her mate; she felt it deep down into her bones. Now, she just had to get through the wedding and truly take him as her husband.

  Angeline went back into the restaurant and into the heated discussion of where to hold the wedding. Pieter apparently agreed with Alice, while Karen and Marta thought the lake was the perfect place.

  Angeline finally got a word in while they were all sucking in breaths. “Everyone, I appreciate you all being enthusiastic about the wedding. I don’t want anyone’s feelings to be hurt. What if we wait a few days and have the wedding and the party in the restaurant? Alice is right—this is where we met, and it’s special to all of us.”

  She looked at Sam, and he nodded. It honestly didn’t matter where they married, just that they did. The lake held special meaning for them, and that wouldn’t change. It would make peace between them all if they stayed at The Blue Plate. After all, it’s where her new family was.

  “That would be wonderful,” Marta exclaimed. “We will make you a dress, and oh, such lovely food for the party.”

  With that, the Gundersons and the rest of their group started planning the wedding in earnest. Sam kissed her and led his father out, leaving her to be a part of the madness.

  Angeline sat back and listened to them all chatter and exclaim. She felt a wave of sweet love for all of them, even Alice seemed to warm up to the idea of a wedding. She sat down next to Angeline.

  “I think it’s right nice.”

  “What is?”

  Alice looked down at her hands. “The way he looks at you. He loves you for truth, and it ain’t the fake kind neither.”

  “I love him, too.” Angeline put her arm around the other woman. “I think there’s someone out there for you as well.”

  “I haven’t seen hide nor hair of him yet.” Alice snorted. “You know the kind of fella that’s attracted to me.”

  Angeline remembered all too well exactly what kind of man liked Alice. She hoped the girl had learned her lesson about how to pick a beau.

  “Well, all you have to do is stop picking them and like I told you, he’ll find you.” Angeline smiled and was rewarded with a genuine smile from the petite brunette.

  “What’s this? The wedding has made everyone into happy little critters,” Lettie teased.

  Alice stuck out her tongue and everyone laughed, including Alice. Pieter kissed Angeline’s forehead.

  “You have a good man, little angel.”

  Yes, she had found a good man and he had given her the power to heal. It would be a marriage of equals, a partnership born of love and trust.

  Sam left Angeline with the ladies at the restaurant and went down to the jail with his father by his side. He had to explain to at least six different people that the paper wouldn’t be published for a while. He had had no idea so many people actually read it.

  It just made his father’s confusion worse and Sam’s guilt sharper. If only he could find some way to keep publishing the paper and keep his father safe.

  First though, he had to find out how young Jonathan was and make sure the sheriff took care of the kid.

  As they stepped into the jail, his father peppered him with questions. “Why are we here? Did you get arrested? What did you do wrong?” His father looked around, like a young child who was visiting an intimidating place for the first time.

  Sheriff Booth was drinking coffee at his desk. He smiled and rose to his feet.

  “Well, good morning Carvers. I’m glad you came by.”

  “Samuel, who is this person?” Sam’s father reared back, obviously frightened by the tall and boisterous lawman.

  Booth held up his hands, apparently understanding something was wrong with the elder Mr. Carver. “I’m Sheriff Booth, Henry Booth. It’s good to see you again, Michael.”

  His father turned to Sam. “Do I know him?”

  “Yes, Pa, he’s your friend,” Sam reassured him. “Now, why don’t you look at the wanted posters while I talk to him.”

  “Do I know them?”

  “Maybe. If you do, it would help catch them and put them behind bars where they belong.” Sam felt a bit of hopelessness wash through him as his father, once a healthy, strapping man, full of life, had been reduced to a confused old man.

  “How long has this been going on?” Sheriff Booth came up beside him, and they both watched Sam’s father peer at the posters hung on the wall behind the desk.

  “A while. It’s only been bad about three months.” Sam sighed. “I’ve got to find someone to watch him all the time. He’s already wandered off in the middle of the night.”

  Henry whistled through his teeth. “Hard to believe. Something hit him in the head maybe?”

  “I wish it were that simple. He’s just fading away, Henry.” Sam’s voice started to break, so he took a breath and swallowed a few times. “I’ll work it out, but I came down here to check on Jonathan.”

  “Ah, the kid. He’s a scrapper, that’s for sure. I had the doc in here earlier. He had a look at the kid, and Jonathan tried to run out of the jail.” Booth shook his head. “Not sure what to do with him. I’m afraid he’ll go after you or Miss Angeline, and I can’t let that happen.”

  Sam was afraid of that. “Can you keep him in custody for a few days? Maybe he’ll calm down and see reason. I don’t want him to hurt Angeline or do anything to jeopardize our wedding.”

  “Wedding? You’re getting hitched?” Booth’s blue eyes twinkled as he clapped Sam on the shoulder. “She’s quite a find. Congratulations, Sam.”

  Sam’s smile was genuine. “Thanks Henry. We’re going to work out the details today and hope to get married in a couple of days.”

  Henry winked. “I don’t blame you for wanting to get it done quickly. She’s, ah, quite a beauty.”

  Sam didn’t bother to tell the sheriff that particular party had already happened three times. Instead, he simply smiled and nodded. “I’m going to take my father home then.”

  “No need. He can stay here with me for a spell. Maybe talking about old times will help.” The sheriff’s gruff voice had softened. “I can’t believe I missed what was happening.”

  “He didn’t want folks to know.” Sam swallowed the lump of emotion at the other man’s generosity. “I appreciate the offer to keep him for a spell. Let me know if anything changes with the kid. I don’t want him hurt, but I don’t want my angel in danger either.”

  “Don’t worry, Sam. I’ll make sure he keeps away from y’all. Don’t forget to invite me to the wedding!” Booth clapped him on the shoulder again.

  “Of course.” With emotions jumping around inside him, Sam left the sheriff’s office and headed home.

  Angeline walked to the jail with a determined stride. She needed to speak to Jonathan, to find out what had happened and why. He had seemed to accept her decision when he’d left a week earlier. Now, he was back and acting like someone she didn’t even know.

  While everyone at the restaurant was busy making plans for her wedding, she left quietly. Jonathan’s behavior made no sense to her. It was as if he’d become a different person.

  The mor
ning coolness had given way to a gentle warmth from the sun. She breathed in deeply, pulling in courage from the fierceness of the glowing orb in the sky. By the time she arrived, she was ready to face him.

  At first when she stepped into the gloomy exterior, she was momentarily blinded by the change from bright to dark.

  “I know you. You’re the angel from my house.” Michael Carver’s voice came from her left.

  She blinked until she could see him sitting at the desk, a stack of papers in front of him. He smiled at her, and she returned the smile.

  “Hello, Mr. Carver.”

  “I’m looking for crooks, helping my friend Henry.” He went back to the stack of papers, peering at them as if they held great secrets.

  She was glad to see him interested in something. He’d seemed so lost before. Perhaps spending time at the jail would be a good thing for the older Mr. Carver.

  “Is the sheriff here?”

  “Went to use the necessary. But since it’s after coffee, he might be there a while pooping.”

  Angeline smiled despite the fact she shouldn’t find it amusing to talk about the sheriff using the outhouse. Mr. Carver’s illness had made the clock turn back, so he had the sometimes brutal honesty of a child.

  “Angeline?”

  Jonathan’s voice came from the cells. The smile forgotten, she walked toward him, knowing she should wait for Sheriff Booth, but she didn’t want to.

  As she stepped around the corner, the smell hit her first. It was a combination of urine, feces and blood. When she saw him in the cell, her discomfort at the stench gave way to shock.

  Jonathan was a different man; someone she didn’t know at all. His clothes were covered in dirt and dried blood, his face a mask of bruises and cuts. His normally neat brown hair was sticking every which way. He’d obviously thrown the chamber pot against the wall, judging by the stains currently oozing down to the floor.

  However, it was his eyes that told her the true story. He looked like a caged animal, which he was, with a wild, feral gleam in his gaze.

  “Angeline,” he breathed, reaching through the bars toward her. “I knew you’d come for me.”

  “I haven’t come for you, Jonathan. I came to speak to you.”

  Her hard-won courage didn’t desert her, although it was tempting. She faced the man who would have been her husband, if things hadn’t gone so horribly wrong and Josiah hadn’t turned his leering gaze her way. Jonathan was a good man, she firmly believed that, but he had definitely lost himself.

  “What happened to you? Why are you here acting this way?”

  His smile faded and turned into a baring of teeth. “You forced me to.”

  She shook her head. “I didn’t force you to do anything. This was your choice. I asked you to leave, to understand that I could never be your wife or return to Utah.” Her throat grew tight with sadness as she gazed at her childhood friend. She pulled a handkerchief from her pocket, and he yanked at it, hauling her within reach.

  Angeline dropped the handkerchief, but it was too late. He took hold of her braid and pulled her tight against the bars. She had never been afraid of Jonathan until that very moment. His brown eyes were full of anger and hate.

  “Let me go.”

  “Not yet, Angel. I want to find out what I’ve been missing.” He reached for her breast, and she slapped at his hand.

  His eyes widened. “Did you just hit me?”

  “Let me go,” she repeated, her voice growing stronger. “You’re hurting me.”

  “Hurting you? Hurting you? Now, that’s funny. You have completely decimated me, and you complain I’m hurting you.” He tightened his grip on her hair. “I could kill you right now, choke you until you turn blue.”

  She stared into his eyes and finally saw the fear and sadness hidden behind the crazed man who held her captive. “Jonathan, please let me go.”

  “I saw you with him. Don’t think I don’t know what you’ve been doing with that Indian. Fucking him like a common whore in his bed. You’re a married woman. How dare you throw away the vows of marriage so quickly and for what? A fucking Indian.” Spittle flew from his mouth, landing on her cheek and lips.

  She wanted to wipe it off but dared not move just yet. Shock kept her immobile—he’d been spying on them? How could he do such a thing?

  “I love him, Jonathan. Do you understand that? What we had was friendship, nothing more. I could never be with you.”

  “And I could make it so you could never be with him.” His hand closed around her throat, and too late, Angeline realized she should have called for help already.

  As he began to squeeze her throat, she knew she had only moments to stop him, to save herself from the madness that seemed to have taken over a normally sane man. Angeline leaned forward as far as she could and kissed him.

  Astonishment lit Jonathan’s face long enough for her to twist from his hold on her hair and bite his hand. He howled and tried to slap her, but she fell to the floor and scuttled out of his reach.

  “You bitch.”

  She trembled so hard she could barely stand, but she got to her feet anyway. Angeline dusted off the dirt on her clothes, but realized the rest of her would require soap and water. She forced herself to look at Jonathan, at the man she really didn’t know.

  Instead of being the furious animal she’d found in the cell, he sat on the edge of the bed, staring at his hands. “I tried to kill you.”

  “You didn’t succeed.” Her voice was hoarse with a hundred different emotions, not the least of which was profound sadness. She’d lost the boy she’d grown up with, her best friend.

  He glanced up at her. “Your neck is red from my hand. I don’t understand what’s happening.” Finally, the real Jonathan had come through the haze of fury surrounding him. “Angeline, what have I done?”

  “You’ve made a choice, same as me. I’ll forgive you this time, Jonathan, but there’s nothing more between us. I’m going to leave this jail, and I don’t want to ever see you again.” She straightened her spine and put some force behind her words. “Do you understand me?”

  “Yes,” he whispered and lay back on the bed in a fetal position. “Just go then. Get out.”

  “Goodbye, Jonathan.” She picked up the handkerchief from the floor and walked out of the cell area.

  Mr. Carver still sat at the desk with his stack of posters. He waved happily at her as she left the jail. She waited until she was outside to cry.

  The next two days were a flurry of activity for the ladies. Angeline seemed to be swept along with the tide of happenings while Sam stepped back out of the way. She spent each day at the house with his father and her nights with Sam in his bed. Pieter disapproved, but Angeline refused to change her mind about where she slept.

  Sam had never loved her more.

  He was watching her cook breakfast the day before the wedding, her lovely behind swishing this way and that as she made eggs in the skillet. His father walked into the kitchen with an armful of clothes.

  “I heard you’re getting married.”

  Sam smiled at him. “Yes, sir. We sure are.”

  “Good, then I’d be right pleased to give these to your angel as a wedding gift.” Michael laid out clothes on the chair. “These are for you. She’d want you to have them.”

  Angeline’s hand flew to her mouth as she walked over to the table. Sam took the wooden utensil from her and took over minding the eggs. He took great pleasure in watching her pick up each article of clothing.

  He’d actually had no idea his father had kept his mother’s clothes. The very notion he was ready to give them to Angeline made Sam’s throat tighten. He knew he’d found the right woman.

  Angeline held up a wool coat and whipped around to look at Sam. “It’s lovely.”

  “I bought that for her in Denver. She looked right pretty in it.” His father sat at the table and picked up Sam’s mug of coffee, sipping happily.

  “Thank you, Michael. You’re so kind to give th
ese to me.” Angeline knelt beside him. “Are you sure?”

  “Of course, I’m sure. You’ll need to keep fixing me good suppers and singing to me though.” Michael shook his finger at her. “I like those a lot.”

  Angeline nodded and kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”

  Sam had never felt more content, more at ease, than with the two people he loved the most in the house with him. Everything was proceeding without a hitch for the wedding. The one thorn in his side was the disappearance of the young man, Jonathan. He’d been in the jail, but the next morning, he’d disappeared. Angeline didn’t seem to want to pursue him or even find out where he’d run off to.

  Sam, on the other hand, kept one eye out for any man he didn’t recognize, or even those he did. He didn’t want to tell Angeline how much it worried him, so he only spoke to Jessup.

  The older man had proved to be a good friend, who had taken to living in the barn behind Sam’s house. It was cold, but Jessup refused to live in the house with them. He just barely accepted the offer to live in the old side building that came with the newspaper. Mostly it was gathering dust but now it was a cozy spot for Jessup out of the cold.

  Each morning, Sam went to the Blue Plate before dawn and brought biscuits to Jessup. He had promised the old man, and he intended to keep the promise. It was late morning, and Sam was headed off to find Lettie. She was the last obstacle in a true life of happiness with Angeline.

  “Hey Sam, wait up there.” Jessup appeared from the side of the house, a hustle in his step. “I done what you asked.”

  Sam stopped in his tracks, his interest piqued. “And what did you find out?”

  “That man had been here a week ago. Folks seen him talking to Lettie and the angel. He left the next day, but he come back.” Jessup whistled. “And boy, he didn’t look the same. In fact, he looked more like me.” He apparently thought that funny because he chuckled.

  “Yeah, he was dirty and could have used a bath.” Sam pointed to the tub on the back porch. “You have no excuse anymore.”

  “Baths make ya sick. I don’t want no bath but once a year. Anyway, ain’t nobody seen the boy since day before yesterday.” Jessup poked at the dirty with one muddy boot. “And that was after, ah, someone else went to see him in the jail.”