Mountain Man's Proposal

by Lauren Wood

  He rode for a while in silence. It was peaceful and I was able to see the lights going down for the day and the beautiful colors that the sun gave off. If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought that the leaves and the sun were competing against each other. I couldn’t say which one was winning.

  “We’re here?”

  “Huh?”

  My head was leaned against the door and I realized that I must have dozed off in those few moments with no sound but the hum of the engine.

  “We are here Sherry. Your directions were perfect.”

  I looked up at my childhood home and smiled to myself. It was good to be home and all I wanted to do was get inside and get some rest. It had been many hours of traveling and I was ready to stay still for a time. It was hard to do that when I was always on the go, but now school was over and I had time to decide what was next. I had just finished up my bachelors and I was taking some time off before I tried to conquer a master’s degree. This was the long overdue break that I needed. Not sure where it was going to take me yet, but all I could think about now was drinking some tea on the front porch and watching the leaves fall. It would be a long time, years even that I had been able to do that. Every time I was here, it was either summer or a short stint in the winter for the holidays.

  Now I was here for the perfect part of the year. But it was late and everything was dark. Most of the lights were off in the house. It didn’t seem like it was that late to me, but like I had told Steve, things ran a little slower here in Hartford. I made my way up the stairs to the door and let myself in. I wasn’t even going to bother with getting something for dinner. I just wanted to take a shower and then get some sleep. I was still groggy from my nap in the cab and it made me realize how badly I needed to actually get some rest. College life was hectic and I was ready for the slow movement of Hartford, if only for a little while until I discovered what my next adventure was going to be.

  Chapter 4

  Rex

  I just got back from a hot few minutes with Candy in her small apartment in downtown Hartford. She was everything that I had hoped she would be and more. The girl was talented and I had to wonder where she had learned her moves. She was better than any of the city girls that I had had in a while. Candy was going to fit in well at the club. We were going to pick her up in the morning since we were forced to stay overnight. Charlie’s sister had a late flight so she wouldn’t be in until the morning.

  When I got back to Charlie’s house, everyone was already asleep and since I was told I could stay in Sherry’s room, I made my way upstairs. She wouldn’t be in for a little while, most likely morning, so I was going to get a few hours of sleep before all of that happened. I didn’t remember Sherry as much as I should have. She was always so much younger It had been years since she had been home when I was there and last time I seen her, she was tall and awkward. It made sense that she was going to become a scientist now.

  I went up to her room and noticed that the lights were on. I figured that Rosalyn or her husband had left it on for me. It was one of those thoughtful things that she did that made me feel welcome there more than any other place. It was part of the reason that I always tagged along when Charlie was coming over for a visit.

  I put my bag down and kicked my shoes off. I should go jump in the shower, but it was loud and I didn’t want to wake anyone up. It was down the hall on the other side of the house where everyone was already sleeping. Besides, I didn’t need to draw attention to the fact that I was coming in so late. Charlie wasn’t the only one that didn’t want questions shot his way.

  With the light on, I could see all of the trophies and plaques that Sherry had won over the years. She was ambitious, not like me and her brother. Her ambition was good and pure. Sherry was into sports and academics. Mine came from a want of money that was hard to get any other way. What would my life have been like if I had parents like these? What would it had been like to have all of my energy pushed into other things.

  I shook my head and tittered myself. There was no reason to think this way. I had the life I had and I worked hard to keep what it was that I wanted. Sherry was just a kid, an innocent one and as soon as she got home, me and Charlie would be back in the city and I could forget about the right ways to do things. What I did wouldn’t be considered right by a lot of people, but it gave me the life that I wanted since I was a kid in foster care and never had any clean clothes.

  I was tired and after shirking off my clothes real quick, I slid into the bed and sighed. It was so comfortable and after having my way with Candy, I was actually a little beat. I don’t know why, but it had been a long day and that girl had nearly sucked me dry. Candy was the last thing that I thought about as I closed my eyes. She was going to be a fun tagalong, I could see it now. All we had to do was wait a little longer and then we would be back to the city where things were normal and I didn’t feel so damn unclean around these nice sorts of people.

  Sleep was fast coming because my body was so sore. It was one of those nights that I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. It didn’t matter that I was in someone else’s room or that everything in there was pink. All that mattered was the softness of the bed and the darkness in the room so I didn’t have to see any of it.

  It was a while later that I felt someone shifting into the bed with me and when I was half asleep, I was sure that it was Candy. My mind was still on the wild time that we had together. I called out her name as I pulled her warm body to me. She was wet though and when she made a noise, I knew that it wasn’t Candy and I was getting pulled out of my slumber from the high-pitched sound that came next.

  “What the hell! Who are you and why are you in my bed?!”

  I couldn’t make out the words, but I could surely see and hear that I wasn’t supposed to be here. It took almost a full minute of me blinking into the bright lights to realize that I was still in Sherry’s room, but now I was not alone. A dark-haired woman was staring down at me and I looked down to what she saw in horror and saw that I was out. I never slept with any clothes on and thinking about Candy had made me rock hard. Now this girl was staring at me like I was a rapist or something, yet it did nothing to staunch my body’s desires. A stiff breeze made me this way and this woman in her bra and panties was doing the same damn thing.

  “Who are you?”

  “Who am I? This is my room! What the hell are you doing in here Rex?”

  Her words finally got to me and I didn’t know what to say. “Sherry?” Was this woman in front of me my best friend’s little sister? She looks so different than I remembered. When did she grow up and become a woman?

  **END OF PREVIEW**

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  Chapter one

  I was working on a tight wire without a safety net underneath me. Justice sometimes was blind and dumb to the plight of others. Criminals fell through the cracks once again on the street wreaking havoc for everyone. It wasn’t my job to police the police. Their numbers were scarce with not enough manpower to make a difference.

  Sitting in the nondescript black sedan drumming my fingers on the steering wheel in the shadows was where you would find me at midnight. Answering phones was my day job. When the night surrounded the city in a blanket it opened up many windows of opportunity.

  “After you finish your night shift, come by for a few minutes to talk. I know the stress is getting to you. I can see it in your eyes. You don’t sleep and it takes a lot to get you to open up.” Copeland was on the speakerphone of the cell.

  He was my next door neighbor living with the god complex. I befriended him when I moved in looking for somebody to carry those heavy boxes. He was fascinated by some of the literary masterpieces in my collection.

  They were trophies. Like
a serial killer, I kept mementos of those who felt my wrath firsthand.

  “I might be a little later than expected. Keep a light on for me.” Dressed in black and carrying the tools of my trade had become just another night in many.

  “Rachel, you have been burning the candle at both ends. It’s a wonder you haven’t passed out from exhaustion. I might have to consider giving you a full physical.” He was a first-year resident skating through on his photographic memory.

  “No offense, but I’m not really looking for your bedside manner. We talked about this at length and we’re better off as friends.” His blond hair and body of Adonis made me fantasize with my fingers doing the walking.

  “I think the woman doth protest too much. Get a few drinks in you and we’ll see what I look like with beer goggles.” He was a good-looking man, but drawing him into my gravity was only going to hurt him in the end.

  “I’ve never been drunk and I don’t plan to start now.” The business at hand demanded my full attention and to have full control of my faculties.

  The man in the army jacket was pacing back and forth in front of the liquor store. The gun in his hand was lying at his side. He had already taken a few slugs from a concealed bottle in his pocket to give him liquid courage. Only a few hours out of lockup and he was already content with doing the very same thing.

  “You don’t know if you’re going to like it if you haven’t tried it. You have a good heart. The path of a humanitarian can’t be easy.” I had let slip during one of our lengthy conversations how half of my income was earmarked for several different charities.

  “You know what happened to my father in that alley when I was eight years old. My mother was institutionalized lost in her own head. I was raised by my grandparents who were a stickler for details.” My grandfather was a cop.

  I saw the heavy burden he carried of those victims who demanded justice.

  “An only child makes for a lonely existence. Trying to get anything out of you is like a time bomb about to go off. I can’t pretend to walk a mile in your shoes.” He was a bad ass Physician in the making.

  His unorthodox methods had been used to save several different victims. We were both doing our part to make the world a better place in vastly different ways. Listening to him tell the tale of heroism made me swoon like a lovesick teenager. He didn’t notice my lingering glances of seduction. Copeland was oblivious. It wasn’t part of his charm.

  “There’s really nothing that interesting about me. I have to go.” I waited for his telltale call sign.

  “The Dr. is out.” The deathly silence was thick in the air.

  I had a piece of black tape over the light above me. Slipping out and mingling with the dregs of society was easier every time. I could hear the noise of the police sirens in the distance. The smell of takeout assaulted my senses. A switch was turned and I became decisive in my thinking. I was in no hurry and patience was a virtue.

  My soft-soled shoes made me sneak up on him without alerting him to my presence. These were the little things I had learned from trial and error over the years. I had gotten into a few tough spots and managed to weasel my way out of them. Each one was a learning experience never to be repeated twice. I was becoming surgical in my approach.

  The electricity making him dance on the sidewalk was running through his body with 1000 volts. He collapsed into my arms and I dragged him unconscious into the darkness. It would’ve been so easy to slit his throat. It wasn’t like anybody was going to miss a piece of excrement like him. I’d found myself on the brink of insanity.

  I checked his pulse by pressing my two fingers on his wrist and found that it was strong. He was breathing steady. I dropped the bag at my feet and found what I was looking for in the dark.

  I stashed a bag of cocaine in his jacket. The gun I had found in his apartment inside the wall vent would give the authorities more than enough to prosecute. They didn’t need a search warrant.

  The sirens were getting closer. My anonymous call had been picked up on the wire. The press would swarm into the area. I was handing him over on a silver platter with the evidence to put him away for a very long time. I had an amazing upper body with my shoulders formed into the kind of muscles to carry somebody of his dead weight.

  The clerk had died at the scene several months ago with his family heartbroken. It was all circumstantial evidence. The address for the search warrant was a clerical error. Nothing was admissible. Somehow they had missed a crucial piece of evidence inside the wall vent.

  I took a few tentative steps backward watching as the police arrived. There was no reason for them to search the area. He wasn’t dead and I made sure the cocaine was visible to the naked eye. The handle of the gun was sticking out of his pocket with his fingerprints making him the only one that handled it.

  I called and was put through to the detective in charge at the scene of the crime. My blonde hair was hidden underneath my black cap. The form-fitting black jeans and sweater were hiding my natural attributes. I was a natural blond.

  “Who is this?” I had given him more than enough, but I felt it was necessary to guide him.

  “Detective Rodriguez, the man you are looking at is Ronald Grover. You might recognize him from the news report this afternoon. Have the gun tested. There’s no wiggle room this time. Possession of the cocaine is the icing on the cake. Don’t screw this up.” My voice was modulated to be the baritone of a man’s voice.

  “I don’t look fondly upon vigilantism. I will make sure this is given the utmost urgency. I’ve heard of you. They call you the guardian. Some vilify you and others shout your name from the rooftops. I don’t know where I stand. Don’t make a mistake of getting caught in the act. I won’t show you any kind of leniency.” He was by the book and I didn’t expect it any other way.

  “I clean up the mess and make it possible for the victims’ families to find closure. A child should not wake up without his mother. A father should not outlive his son. You have a hard job and the system is flawed. I make it easier for all of you to look at yourselves in the mirror and like what is looking back.” I didn’t consider myself a saint and actions had consequences.

  “Get yourself a badge and see how you feel when a perp walks. We are trained to enforce the law. What you are doing goes against everything I believe. There’s a part of me that hopes they never catch up with you.” He was close to where I was standing and then he made his way back to where Ronald was being read his rights.

  “I will leave the real police work to you and those in blue. Call me a contingency plan when things don’t go according to plan. I’m the last line of defense. He was planning to rob that convenience store. One wrong move and the clerk would be just another statistic. I couldn’t have that on my conscience.” I was living on borrowed time.

  “I hear real concern for a fellow human being. Where do you cross the line? I get the feeling killing isn’t your first option. Keep true to your values. It’s the only thing separating you from becoming one of these animals.” Talking to him made me feel better, but being with Copeland would bring me solace.

  I felt like I was walking in two different pairs of shoes. It was hard to differentiate between the two. They were bleeding in a little more each day. My personality was changing. I blew up at my boss at work with hardly any provocation. I was made to go to anger management which was a waste of my time.

  “I know where to stop. It’s different when you don’t have your hands behind your back by legal red tape. I can work independently of the law. I don’t do anything that you don’t fantasize about in the middle of the night. I’m not a Caped crusader. I don’t jump from rooftops and swing from one building to another. I do what is necessary to make sure others don’t suffer the same fate.” I knew I saved a lot of lives.

  “The law is there for a reason. I uphold it with a long tradition of police officers in my family. This isn’t the right way. The badge is something I carry with pride. What you do undermines our authority.” The
detective made some valid points and I couldn’t dispute him.

  “The fact remains criminals will always find a way to take away your power. The feeling of satisfaction from a job well done is something we have in common. If I stop to think about it, I might realize the mistake I am making by putting my life in peril. I don’t have the luxury of letting this go. It might sound a little self-righteous, but I’m doing what you can’t do.” He was scrutinizing those beyond the yellow tape.

  The assumption was that I would be there to see my handiwork. He wasn’t wrong, but I wasn’t going to be that upfront with my intentions. I was snubbing my nose by being within spitting distance of his authority.

  I walked away with my hands in my pocket, keeping my head down low and not making the mistake of looking back.

  Chapter two

  “I don’t mind you showing up at this late hour, but why the waterworks.” I broke down with my emotions running high.

  I blubbered like a schoolgirl on his shoulder. The tear stains dropped onto his bare shoulder. They weren’t in sadness. The joy I felt encompassed my entire being. I was elated beyond words. I was ready to go out and do it again. My next target was yet to be confirmed. It wasn’t like there was a short supply of those getting off with a crack to their knuckles.

  “I can’t help it. I wear my heart on my sleeve. Don’t make fun of me.” I could see the hot tub on his deck bubbling with the machine humming its vibrant tune.

  “I couldn’t wait up for you. I got in the hot tub when you showed up unexpectedly. I hope you don’t mind. I’m not exactly dressed for visitors.” The terry cloth towel around his waist left little to the imagination.

  “I know you’re a typical man, but could you try and keep it in your pants. I’m flattered by your reaction. It touches me deeply to know I have that effect on you. I don’t get out much with my erratic schedule.” His chiseled good looks and muscles flexing were hard to ignore.