Memoirs of a Lawman: William B. Gallant, #1

By Lance Myhan

William B. Gallant was just a boy when his father cracked open the family safe and began to reveal the stories and secrets spanning six generations. Will starts to learn the secrets of the safe and the sage advice that has been passed down from father to son for over a hundred years. Tales of wild west lawmen, outlaw gunslingers, trains, and saloons stir questions and set Will on his own path to be a lawman, just like the Gallant men before him.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lance Myhan
• Release date: May 4, 2019
• ISBN: 9781386495376

Lance Myhan

Lance Myhan is a history teacher with almost twenty years in public education.  He and his wife of seventeen years have three wonderful children. They reside in a quiet suburb outside of Chattanooga, Tennessee.  Spurred by Lance’s love of history and mystery, the stories of Will Gallant have come to life.

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This is a work of fiction. References to real people, events, establishments, organizations, businesses, companies or locales are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity, and are used fictitiously. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2019 by Lance Myhan. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

The Safe

William stared at the safe as he watched his father turn the dial. Although big, his hand was nimble as it turned the dial to the right five times, stopping at seventy-five. He continued to watch as the sequence of numbers was completed.

The safe was in his father’s office, the room often referred to as a study, and William was not usually allowed in. When he was, it was at the request of his father, Liam Beauregard Gallant, and he knew he was in trouble. This happened less often as he grew older, and today was not one of those days.

Happy birthday, Son. I hope your day has been enjoyable.

It’s been great. I’m sure it will be even better if you give me something out of that safe for my birthday, he cheekily replied.

You don’t even know what’s in there.

It’s a safe; whatever’s in there has to be valuable.

There are some items in here that are valuable because they’re worth quite a bit of money, Liam said, but there are also items that are valuable because they’re sentimental. Besides, you already have your birthday present.

You can’t have too many birthday presents. That safe looks really old, maybe it’s time for a new one.

This safe has been in our family for a long time and it holds a very rich history, Liam said. The contents are even richer, and not just because they are worth money. Each item tells a story about who we are—not all of who we are, but a big part of it. Our identity as Gallants is in this safe.

But I know who I am, William said.

Liam began to remove the contents from the safe and carefully place them on his oversized desk. I’m glad. That means I’m doing my job as a father. Where you come from and those who came before you, is what shapes who you are. You can try to break away from it or ignore it, but it will still be a part of you. But, William, who you are and who you want to be may not be the same thing.

I want to be a lawman, just like you.

Do you know why I am a lawman?

William thought for a moment. Because you’re good at it.

I’m good at a lot of things, but I chose the law.

Why not be a lawyer, or a judge, or something like that?

Now that’s a good question, Liam said. A lawyer or a judge might be a great career for you, maybe even a scientist or medical doctor, but I’m a lawman because I knew that is where I could make a difference in peoples’ lives. And in a way, the law chose me.

The law chose you? But you said you chose the law.

It’s hard to explain, Liam said. I’m not trying to dodge the question. It’s part of the reason you get to see inside the safe today. What’s inside can’t be your birthday present; it’s bigger than that. It’s your inheritance, it’s already meant for you.

This will all be mine?

Yes. But you need to know more than just what each item is. You need to know the story behind each one. When I was your age, my father opened this very safe for me—as did his father for him.

Am I part of a secret society like the Illuminati? William asked, suddenly excited. Or do we hunt treasure or secretly work for the President or something?

You have a vivid imagination, but no, we’re not part of a secret society. We do, however, have family that has found treasure, and even worked for the President.

Seriously?

Liam lifted a weathered journal off the desk. Seriously. One of the stories about treasure is in this journal.

He placed the journal back on the desk and picked up another one. And this one has a story about President Lincoln. Each of these journals contains stories about our family, but the entries are not complete.

What do you mean? They’re not finished?

That’s a good way to put it, Liam said. "They’re written like notes. At least the older ones are more like notes. You need to hear the