Free Wild Hearts by Susan Mallery Page A

It’s a fine way to welcome me home. Good for you.”
    Billy grabbed his arm. “It’s not a joke, Zeke. You’ve got to do something to help us. You’re the only one. We want you to court Alethea Harbaugh. Get her to fall in love with you. All the women do, it won’t be hard. Have your way with her, ruin her, then send her back where she came from.”
    â€œI’m not sure her husband will approve of me courting her.”
    â€œShe’s a widow,” Big John said. “She’s powerful, Zeke. There’s something about the way she looks at a man. As if she knows every bad thing he’s ever done.”
    â€œWhy is she here?” Zeke asked, still convinced they were joking. They had to be.
    â€œShe’s the new schoolteacher,” one of the men said. “The books she’s brought with her. Plays by some dead Englishman. Something about a ham. My boys are walking around quoting him all the time. You’ve gotta stop it!”
    Billy sucked in a breath. “Zeke, we’re desperate men. We’ll do anything you say. Just get that harpy out of town.”
    The wagon driver handed down Zeke’s trunk. Big John took it and put it on his shoulder as if it weighed less than a chicken. The group of men began moving toward the hotel.
    â€œYou get her gone and things will go back the way they were,” old Sam said. “Zeke, we’re depending on you. I’ll give you first pick of my prize sow’s spring litter.”
    â€œI’ll butcher it for free,” another man said.
    â€œWe’ll get together and build you a house, if you want. The biggest house Titanville’s ever seen. Just get her to leave.”
    Billy nodded. “Anything, Zeke. You can bring your mares to stud with my best stallion.”
    These were fine offers, Zeke thought. Generous. Desperate. He’d played enough cards in his life to know when a man was down to his last dollar, and these men were. He couldn’t believe they were afraid of a woman. Especially a schoolteacher. Women who preferred books over men were usually lonely and quiet. They were like buds, needing a little sunshine to blossom, and he was happy to provide the heat. But this Mrs. Harbaugh had already known the touch of a man. So there had to be another problem.
    â€œThe town pays her salary,” he said. “Why not just have a meeting and vote to fire her?”
    Big John shuddered. “We can’t. Our wives have already warned us that if we do that, they won’t be sharing our beds anymore. You know how much a man needs the warmth of a woman, Zeke.”
    Zeke did. It was a threat to be taken seriously. He found himself intrigued by a woman who had inspired such extraordinary loyalty in such a short period of time.
    â€œWhat’s she like?” he asked.
    Billy shuddered. “She’s a powerful presence. Her eyes are cold and dark.”
    â€œHer skin’s all scarred.”
    â€œShe walks as stiff as the dead.”
    â€œThe cats run from her.”
    â€œMy Bessy stopped giving milk the day she came to visit.”
    Zeke pulled out his pocket watch. It was a little after three. “Where is she now?”
    â€œThe schoolhouse.”
    He faced the men. “I’ll take care of Mrs. Harbaugh. She’ll be gone in a month.”
    They started to cheer, then stopped suddenly and looked around. As if they weren’t allowed to be happy anymore.
    â€œYou swear?” Billy asked.
    â€œIn thirty days Mrs. Harbaugh will no longer be a problem. You have my word.”
    He left them clustered together like cattle in a thunderstorm and started up the narrow street. Business had been good, he thought, taking in the two new stores and crowded streets. As he owned more than half the buildings and land in town, that meant his bank account would be full.
    He saw there had been improvements, as well as trade. Wooden sidewalks had been started and there were