The Other Side of Lone Mountain

Chapter Four

The following morning Mandy woke up with the sun streaming through her bedroom window. The rain had finally stopped and it promised to be a beautiful day. She was glad, because she hadn’t relished the idea of traveling up the mountain in all that rain and wind. The mountain roads were treacherous enough without having to fight bad weather as well. She quietly slipped out of bed and went into the bathroom. She quickly showered and dressed. Trying to be as quiet as possible as to not disturb Paul she went into the kitchen and started breakfast.

Paul woke up to the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and bacon sizzling in the pan. He slowly opened his eyes and sat up. He could hear Mandy in the kitchen. He stood up and silently walked to the kitchen door. He stood there watching as she poured the coffee and placed a half grapefruit on each plate. Paul thought to himself, She’s beautiful even first thing in morning. I could get used to this kind of life. Paul never married so he was never able to understand why his friend was always in such a hurry to finish a project and get home. The women he had gone out with were not the home keeping type. They had all been high-end businesswomen or fashion models. He doubted if any one of them would have been able to boil an egg. As he stood there watching Mandy prepare breakfast, he felt that he finally understood Mark’s desire to rush home.

Just then Mandy looked up and saw him standing in the doorway. “Well good morning, did you sleep well?” she asked.

“Yes I did. You were right, that is a comfortable couch. This is the first time I’ve seen one that long. Usually my feet hang over the end.” Paul replied.

“I had that specially made. I fall asleep on the couch a lot, so I decided I wanted one that would allow me to stretch out in comfort.”

“Something smells awfully good. Can I do anything to help?”

“No, you just sit. I’ll be done in a moment. I figured we should have a good breakfast before leaving because I don’t know how long we’ll be up on the mountain. Of course I’ll bring some lunch, but it will only be sandwiches and drinks. It might be quite a while before we have another hot meal. I’ve made hot cakes, eggs and bacon. Sit down and have your grapefruit.”

“Great service but before you do that, is there somewhere I can wash up?”

“Oh! I’m so sorry, what was I thinking? Of course; the bathroom is right through there” she replied, pointing to the door next to her bedroom. “I’ll get you a clean towel.”

“I’m going out to the car for some clean clothes. I’ll be right back.”

“The clean towel will be in the bathroom.”

“Thanks” he called out as he went out the door.

After breakfast they loaded Paul’s Grand Cherokee with lunch, hiking equipment and some rescue equipment, in case it was needed. It was a little after seven when they finally took to the road. Paul had given Mandy the location and she had mapped it out for him. The road up the mountain was made more treacherous than usual from all the rain they had the previous several days. She was just glad that they weren’t going up to the snow line. At least here they’d be dealing only with wet ground instead of snow. Mandy was impressed with the way Paul handled the road. He seemed to be a very skillful driver. Mandy finally asked, “Why would anyone want to build a resort all the way up here? It’s so far away from everything.”

“I guess that’s the point”, said Paul. You have to admit, it is beautiful country.”

“Yes it is; that’s one of the reasons I like coming up here to hike. Actually, I go on the other side of the mountain. This is too close to one of the logging camps. That’s another
Thing, if these people want a place out of the way, why build so close to a logging camp? It doesn’t make sense.”

“I don’t think the investors are aware that there’s a logging camp up here. That’s part of our job, to find out the feasibility of such a venture and report our findings to the investors. Not to change the subject, but I’ve been wondering, is Mandy your given name or is it a nickname?”

“It’s a nickname. I was named after my two grandmothers, Amanda Sheridan Blake. I never knew my grandmother Amanda. She died before I was born. She was my maternal grandmother. So when I was born my mother wanted to name me after her. She felt it wasn’t fair to name me after one grandmother and not the other so she and my dad decided upon Sheridan, dad’s mother, as my middle name.”

“That’s a beautiful name.”

“The only person who calls me Amanda is Grammy.”

“Is that your grandmother, Sheridan?”

“No, Grammy is Miss Melly. She was my mother’s high school teacher. When I was born she kinda became like a surrogate grandmother to me so I call her Grammy. She lives across from me and I’m sure she saw you going into the house last night. I was surprised she didn’t call me last night to ask me who you were. But you can be sure she’ll demand to know who you are and will want to meet you. That I can promise.”

As they drew closer to the site Mandy became quieter and her mood turned solemn.


Paul figured she was thinking of her father. “Thinking of your dad?” he asked.

“No, actually I was thinking of my husband Kenny.” She caught him completely by surprise and he almost slammed on the brakes. Paul had seen a picture of Mandy and a guy on the mantle but he assumed the guy was an old boyfriend since she still had her maiden name.

“Your husband?” he finally managed to ask. “I didn’t think you were married since you still have your maiden name.”

“I’m not”, she said. Not anymore, anyway. I lost my husband last year, right up here in this mountain.”

“I’m sorry”, said Paul. I should have realized that a woman as beautiful as you would not have stayed single. How did it happen?”

“They said it was a logging accident. He got pinned under some timber. Kenny was a Scaler; he measured the logs prior to being transported. They said someone yelled “clear” before he had cleared the area. The timber was dropped and he was trapped under the logs. When they were finally able to free him from under all the timber it was too late, he was dead. I never really bought the story of his death being an accident just like I didn’t believe my dad’s death was an accident.”

“Did you tell anyone about your suspicions?

“I did, and just like with my dad, they said it was an accident, and didn’t want to hear anything else unless I could prove otherwise.”

“You said you’re close to the Sheriff, didn’t he believe you?”

“Yes, he believed me and he even tried to help find proof , but we never did and he was forced to drop it.”

“But why go back to your maiden name, I don’t understand.”

“Kenny and I had been married just under a year when he died. As a matter of fact, he died three weeks before our first anniversary. It was very hard for me to accept that I would never get to really know the man whose name I carried. I hadn’t even had a chance to really get use to being a married woman. I felt that keeping his name was too painful a reminder of what I had lost so I decided to return to my maiden name. I believed that would help me move on with my life. It’s not that I don’t think of Kenny or that I don’t miss him, because I do, very much.”

“I’m so sorry Mandy. You’ve lost so much on this mountain. First it was your dad, then your husband. I’m surprised you’re still willing to come up here.”

“I guess it’s because I feel closer to them whenever I’m up here. Sometimes I wonder what our lives would have been like if Kenny had lived. Of course I’ll never know.”

“Mandy, I don’t want to sound insensitive, but have there been other accidents up here other than the ones you mentioned?”

“Yes, why? What are you thinking?” asked Mandy. Before Paul could answer Mandy was sure she knew what he was thinking. “Are you thinking that if maybe my dad’s and Kenny’s deaths weren’t accidents there may have been others that weren’t accidents as well. Am I right?” asked Mandy.

“Exactly” said Paul. You told me that your dad was an experienced hiker and that he knew this mountain like the back of his hand. I also take it that Kenny was an expert logger and wouldn’t have been so careless in such a dangerous situation. Especially being a newly married man. Think of this possibility. What if they found out or saw something they weren’t suppose to? And maybe some of those other people also stumbled across the same information and had to be silenced. What better way than by arranging for a convenient accident. No one would be the wiser and if anyone suspected anything, like yourself, they would have a hard time proving it.”

“Paul, are you sure you’re not a cop?”

“Positive!” replied Paul. They both laughed. It seemed to break the tension they were both feeling. Paul got serious again. “I really feel that something awful has happened to Mark. I can’t seem to shake that feeling.”

“Just have faith Paul, we’ll find your friend. I know we will.” Even as she said it, she wasn’t so sure. She said that to encourage herself as much as Paul. They continued the rest of the way in silence each deep in their own thoughts.