Mystery on Majestic Mountain (Kristi Cameron Book 9)

by Cynthia Griffith

  It was a simple, childlike prayer. Jenny looked up in her mother’s face and touched the tears of joy that were running down her cheeks now. “Mommy’s still crying?”

  “Yes, Honey. Mommy’s crying because she’s so happy now!”

  “Hey!” Skeeter said. “We had our chocolate, we prayed—now let’s praise! I know a praise song that Jenny and Cody would like! Praise Him, Praise Him, All ye little children! God is good! God is good!” he started singing. Soon Jenny and Liz were singing along with him as Cody clapped his pudgy little hands and gurgled happily.

  God is good! Skeeter thought as he sang. The angels are rejoicing at the salvation of this new child of God even in the middle of all this mess. And Mom and Dad, Dan and Kristi are in His hands along with all the rest. Everything will be alright. God is in control.

  __________

  CHAPTER NINE

  __________

  SuperHero

  They heard them before they reached the top. “Listen!” Steve suddenly said. They stopped. Voices singing Praise Him, Praise Him, All Ye Little Children were coming from somewhere up ahead.

  “It’s Skeeter!” Dan cried. “And Liz and the kids, too!”

  Suddenly they were filled with new energy. They forged ahead going uphill on the unstable snow. They could not have done it without the snowshoes. They went cautiously, afraid of another slide, but now that they had the voices to guide them, they were eager to reach the end of their search.

  Skeeter was so wrapped up in his singing he never heard them coming. They came to the end of the chorus for the third time and suddenly he heard a voice from above say, “So this is what you’re doing while we’re frantically looking for you! Eating chocolate and singing songs!”

  They looked up. “Dad!” Skeeter yelled, staring at his father’s face looking down on him from the top of one of the broken walls. Dan’s face appeared next to his dad’s. “Hey, Dan! Hey, guys! We’re stuck!”

  “You don’t say!” Steve laughed. “I suppose you want us to help you get out?”

  “Yes, please! Are Mom and Kristi and everyone else okay?”

  “Yes, except for being worried sick about you all, they’re fine. Hold on. We’re going to get you out of there.”

  “Steve, I’m worried about trying to go through that deep snow with the babies,” Liz called up to him. “It’s so deep, if we should sink down into it, or if another slide happens…”

  “It’s the only way, Liz,” Steve called down to her. “There’s no way we can dig you out. The whole second floor is buried. I had an idea, though. Just hang tight! It’s going to take us a little while to get what we need. Are you all okay?”

  “We’re fine,” Liz called, “except that Skeeter needs a jacket. He gave up his jacket and his sweatshirt for Jenny and the baby! He’s cold!”

  “Nah! I’m okay!” Skeeter tried to deny it.

  “Here! Take mine!” Steve called, dropping the jacket to him. “I’ve got a sweater on and I was getting too hot anyway!”

  Skeeter caught the jacket and gratefully put it on. “Thanks, Dad! Hey, how are you gonna get us out?”

  “It’s easy!” All of a sudden Steve jumped down into the room with them! “I’m going to join you!” Steve reached out to give his son a big hug. “Actually, it’s only about seven or eight feet to the top of the wall. I’m going to lift each of you up far enough for Jake and Dan to grab you and pull you out.”

  “Great! What are we waiting for?”

  “Dan and Pete went back for a couple things. I don’t want to bring you and the babies up there, Liz, until Dan gets back. So—what’s been going on since you’ve been stuck here?”

  “Well, besides a couple little things like having the roof cave in on us and being buried under an avalanche—I accepted Jesus as my Savior and now I am a child of God!” Liz said shyly.

  “What?! Well, praise God! That is wonderful, Liz! If all it took was an avalanche to fall on you, then I guess it was worth it!”

  Liz laughed. “Well, I’ll pass on any more avalanches, thank you very much! But yes, I am so happy! I can’t wait to tell Jim. I just pray that someday he’ll see that he needs Jesus for his Savior, too.”

  “We’ll be praying, too, Liz,” Steve said. “But tell me—how did you all manage to escape from being buried?”

  Skeeter filled him in on all that had happened, with Liz adding a few details here and there. “And then God answered our prayers by sending you here to find us! Couldn’t get better than that, could it, Liz?”

  “No it really couldn’t! Saved from my sins and saved from an avalanche all in the same day! Thank you, Lord!”

  Jake called down to them just then, “Here comes Dan!”

  A few seconds later Dan was looking down on them as well. “I got the stuff, Dad. And I told Mom we found them. You should have seen her and Kristi and the other girls all boo-hooing! ‘Happy tears,’ they said.” He waved his hands in front of his face, mimicking the girls. “Are you ready, Dad?”

  Steve nodded. “We’re ready!” He turned to Liz. “We’re going to get you out first so you can take the kids then as we bring them out. Dan’s got an old plastic toboggan up there that was in the storage closet. When you get up there, go ahead and sit down on the back of it. We’ll pass Jenny up to you next and have her sit in front of you between your legs. Then we’ll hand up Cody and you can sandwich him in between you and Jenny, okay? You won’t have to worry so much about the snow giving way and falling through, this way. Your weight will be spread more evenly over the snow. Plus, you get to just sit back and glide down, rather than having to wade through the snow. Does that sound good to you?”

  Jenny nodded. “That sounds great, Steve! Thank you so much!”

  “Okay, then, let’s go! Skeeter, you watch Jenny and Cody for a minute until we’re ready for them. Liz, this wall isn’t that tall. Let’s try this first: I’m going to link my hands together like the stirrup on a saddle. You put your foot in it and then I’ll give you a boost upwards. Jake and Dan will grab your arms and haul you over the wall. Everyone understand?”

  “Got it!”

  They moved up against the wall and put their plan into action. Liz went flying over the wall so fast that she and Dan and Jake toppled backwards in the snow! “Maybe not quite so much rocket fuel the next time, okay, Dad?” Dan called down to him with a laugh.

  “Ready, Jenny?” Steve asked the little girl with a smile.

  “Am I going to fly like a rocket, too?” she asked, her eyes wide.

  “No, no!” he laughed. “I’m going to pick you up, just like this, and hold you up for Dan and Jake. They’re going to take you very carefully and hand you to your Mommy and then you get to ride a sled with her all the way down to the bottom! Doesn’t that sound like fun?”

  “Uh-huh. Baby Cody, too?”

  “Yep, Baby Cody, too! Ready? Here we go!”

  A few seconds later Jenny was settled with her mom on the toboggan. Steve took Cody from Skeeter and handed him up the same way. Then he turned to Skeeter. “Your turn!”

  “Wait a minute, Dad! How are you going to get out then? Who’s going to give you a boost?”

  “Uh—”

  “I have an idea! I’ll give you a boost, and then I’ll toss my rope up to you and you guys can hold it while I climb up!” He whipped the rope out of his spy kit and waved it in front of his dad’s face.

  Steve ducked and then said, “Two questions: Where did you get the rope?”

  “Oh, I had it in my spy k—I mean my old ski cap.” Skeeter touched the bulging knit cap that hung below his belt. “Just thought it might, you know, come in handy or something!”

  “Uh-huh. Second question: Do you really think you’re strong enough to give me a boost? I probably weigh at least eighty pounds more than you, Skeeter!”

  “Dad!” Skeeter sounded hurt. “You’re forgetting who you’re talking to! Superman, remember?” He struck his famous pose and added, “You can’t judge a book by its cover, y
ou know!” He bent over and linked his fingers together. “Let’s give it a try, anyway!”

  Steve shrugged and put his foot in between Skeeter’s hands. He jumped just as Skeeter heaved and used his knee besides to give him a little more oomph. To everyone’s surprise, the boost was enough to get Steve up there. Dan and Jake grabbed him, and although Steve had to scramble with his feet against the wall a bit, he made it over the top. They tossed the rope down and Skeeter scooted quickly up it like a monkey.

  They were all out. “Good job, Skeeter!” Dan said, pounding his younger brother on the back. “Way to go! I didn’t know you had it in you!” He grabbed him then and gave him a big bear hug.

  “Oh, ye of little faith!” Skeeter tried to reply with his face smooshed against Dan’s jacket. Jake shook his hand, too, when Dan finally released him.

  Skeeter looked around. “Where’s Pete?” he asked.

  “He stayed down below so you could use his snowshoes, Skeeter,” Dan said.

  Skeeter’s eyes lit up. “I finally get to try the snowshoes? Cool!”

  He strapped them on while Steve tied the rope to the back of the sled. “I’m going to be your brake, Liz,” he said. “Jake will pull the sled but we don’t want you to get away from us or go too fast, so I’ll help control it from back here.”

  They headed down the slope. It wasn’t far—less than a hundred feet—but without the snowshoes and sled they would have really struggled. All Liz’s fears were laid to rest. It could not have been easier getting the little ones down. In fact, Jenny and Cody giggled all the way!

  They pulled the sled around to the front of the cabin and the door opened. Skeeter’s mother and sister, and all their friends came pouring out with arms wide open. Joyful cries and happy tears welcomed them. They were pulled every which way into warm hugs by all except for Mr. Andrews. That was alright. They didn’t even miss him.

  “Come in, come in!” Rachel finally said above the laughter and the questions that were flying all around. “Let’s get out of the cold! We have to get these poor babies warmed up!”

  “Am I your poor baby, too, Mama?” Skeeter asked in baby talk. “I need some nice warm food to warm my poor little baby tum-tum!” He looked up at her with big puppy-dog eyes and a pouty lip.

  Jenny and Cody giggled and everyone else laughed, as well. “Well, we lost everything upstairs, but at least we still have the food and we still have a kitchen!” Rachel said. “And once again, Skeeter walks through the door and banishes his poor old mother to the kitchen! Ah, well! Good thing I started a big pot of homemade soup this morning! It will be ready as soon as I get the cheese biscuits made to go with it!”

  She glanced at her watch. “Hey, wait a minute! Skeeter Cameron, it’s only three o’clock in the afternoon! We just finished lunch a couple hours ago! It’s not nearly time for supper!”

  “Yeah, but Mom—a lot has happened in those two hours! I used up all my Superhero energy! Tell her, Dad! It feels like it was forever ago that we ate lunch!”

  Rachel looked at her growing thirteen-year-old, red-haired, freckle-faced boy and said softly, “Yes, it does, Skeeter. It feels like forever ago. Come on, Kiddo. I’ll find you a snack to hold you until supper—and anyone else who wants one, too!”

  _________

  CHAPTER TEN

  _________

  The Old Coot

  There was a lot that had to be done before the sun went down. No one knew when help would arrive and the road would be cleared so they needed to find a way to make it through until then. Everyone was exhausted after all that had happened, but they picked themselves up and got back to work.

  They had lost everything upstairs—all their clothes and blankets and personal belongings. Fortunately, Liz and John Andrews had more clothes and things in their cars down below. They gave their keys to the boys and let them go down with the toboggan to bring the things back up.

  “I’m so glad I had more diapers and pull-ups in the car!” Liz said after Dan and Pete left. “I mean, I can get by with what I’m wearing, but I would have been in a pickle without diapers for Cody! I’m glad to have changes of clothes for the kids, too. I’d be happy to share some of my things with you and the girls, too, Rachel,” she offered.

  John Andrews made no offers to share anything with anybody.

  Steve and Jake took a good look at the loft and the structures holding up the entire second floor. “I can’t see anything to make me think we’re in danger of the whole thing collapsing,” he told Rachel, “but there are tons of snow up there. I don’t want anyone on the staircase or upstairs, and as much as possible, we should all stay out from under the loft, as well, just in case.”

  Rachel sighed. “I hope we’re out of here before all that snow starts to melt! It’s going to be a regular waterfall coming over the edge of the loft and down the stairs. That’s all we need next—a flood! I feel so bad for Dave and Suzanne. This was such a beautiful place.”

  “I’m sure they have insurance, Honey,” Steve said. “They’ll get it fixed up again. Knowing Dave, they won’t be nearly as upset about the cabin as they will be relieved that we all made it out safely.”

  He changed the subject. “We’ve got one more chore we have to do before it gets dark—get some more firewood in here. The boys had started chopping just before the avalanche hit, but it’s all buried under feet of snow now. There’s a little bit up here against the cabin that we can use, but we’re going to need a lot more tonight when the sun goes down and all that cold air from upstairs starts chilling this house. Jake, why don’t you and I go out there and see if we can find the chopping block and axes and all those logs the boys were about to chop, and get some firewood? Skeeter, put on a pair of snowshoes, and you can go out under the trees and gather any dead branches you can find. Stay within sight of the cabin, though! I do not want to have to go looking for you!”

  The guys left the house and the girls put their heads together to figure out what they could do to help. “Mom,” Kristi said, “How about if Robyn and Anna and I round up everything we can find to use for blankets and beds tonight? We’re going to all have to sleep together in the great room tonight and there’s—uh, nine, ten, eleven of us, plus the two babies. We may as well start now, rather than trying to scramble for it tonight when we’re ready to go to bed.”

  “That would be great, Kristi. That will save me some work later on. I’m going to get busy making the biscuits right now. Liz, if you want to put the kids down for a nap, why don’t you use that couch by the ping-pong table? It’s kind of out of the way and more quiet over there—at least until the boys come back inside!”

  The girls began going through closets and gathering up the afghans and quilts that were part of the décor. Robyn found two sleeping bags in the storage closet where the toboggan and snowshoes had been. “Score!” she cried. “Look—you can unzip them and spread them out flat like large comforters! Two people could share each one.”

  “Ooo—that’s good, Robyn!” Anna said. “I took down that quilt that was hanging on the wall over the sofa. Two or even three people could use it.”

  “There’s an afghan on this couch and another one in the rocking chair. And oh—there’s another one folded up in this basket over here,” Kristi said as she scooped each one up. “I remember there’s a couple up in the loft, too, that aren’t buried in the snow, but Dad said we can’t go up upstairs. Hey, I think there’s a quilt hanging on the wall up there, too! Too bad we can’t go up there, though.” She looked up at the loft thoughtfully, as if trying to figure out a way to get to them. Suddenly she realized someone was looking back at her. Mr. Andrews.

  “Mr. Andrews!” she called. “You must not have heard my dad say it’s not safe to go up there! You’d probably better come down.”

  The old man snorted. “I’m no young kid! I can judge for myself if it’s safe or not! I say it is and I’m staying up here. I can’t take all that racket you kids make.”

  Kristi didn’t know what to say
. She had been taught to respect adults and not talk back, but she knew the old man was wrong. Well, she would leave it to her father to talk to him. She shrugged. “Well, as long as you’re up there would you please toss down the afghans on the sofa and love seat, and that quilt that is hanging on the wall? We’re collecting bedding for tonight.”

  John Andrews looked around and then said, “No. I’m going to need them for myself tonight. It’s cold up here.”

  Kristi was speechless. How selfish and ornery could one person be? Before she could find the words to answer him, though, her mother came out of the kitchen to her rescue.

  “Mr. Andrews,” Rachel said firmly, “no. You may keep one of the afghans for yourself, but you will hand over the others. There are thirteen people in this house, including two little children, and we are in very difficult circumstances. If you don’t like the situation, you are very welcome to return to your car, but if you choose to stay, you are going to have to cooperate with the rest of us.”

  Andrews stared down at this petite woman who was not afraid to stand up to him. He didn’t move for a minute, but then he went to the couches and grabbed the afghans and threw them down at Rachel. “I’m keeping the quilt,” he growled. It was twice the size of the afghans and much heavier.

  Rachel did not respond to that but said instead, “I just want to let you know, Mr. Andrews, that when it comes time for supper, you are welcome to join us down here. No one will be bringing your supper up there to you tonight, however. The stairs are too dangerous. If you don’t want to eat, that is fine, but you’ll be missing out on some pretty delicious homemade soup and biscuits, if I do say so myself!”

  “Bah!” he snorted.

  Rachel just shook her head and murmured, “Come on, Kristi!”

  Kristi took a good look at her mother then for the first time. Rachel had stopped in the middle of making the biscuits to talk to Mr. Andrews. Her hands were covered with sticky biscuit dough and she had a big smudge of flour across her cheek. It was the glob of dough on the end of her nose, though, that made Kristi burst into laughter. “Mom,” she giggled, “you sure sounded tough, anyway! But if you can’t make that man laugh, nobody can!” She reached up and pulled the dough off her mother’s nose and showed it to her.