Shifter Mountain

by Annora Soule

  "Well, I'm sold," Bob said. "This definitely is the spot. And I doubt this woman would mind making some extra cash if we lease this place for a few days. Jordan, what do you say? Are we in? It's obviously completely your decision."

  After what just happened, Jordan should have wanted to leave Scopes Mountain altogether. But instead, he realized that maybe something on Scopes Mountain was actually trying to get rid of him, and what he really needed to do was dig his heels in.

  Something doesn't want me here, he mused. Well, screw that.

  "Yes, I'm in," Jordan said. "This is the place. We'll offer her a good price. This music video may turn out to be the most expensive one we've ever produced, but it's going to be worth it."

  Chapter 5

  Kay slowly was trying to clean up the cabin since Cephas had been gone. He had nearly destroyed the place when he attacked her last, knocking over furniture and sweeping things off bureau tops. He had knocked over a whole rack of his own CDs, cracking the cases on some. Kay swept up the plastic chips and then gathered the CDs and started reloading the rack. She figured she probably really should not have cared about Cephas' belongings, and at this point she didn't, but the mess was in her way.

  That's when she came upon one particular CD that caught her attention. The recording artist was Jordan Lawless and the cover showed a close-up of his face, which made her take pause. She knew this particular CD and actually liked the artist, having heard him quite a bit on the radio. Why was she having such a weird feeling just this second?

  As she pondered this, she heard the crunching of gravel outside as someone was pulling up to the cabin. Her heart started racing.

  He's back, she thought in a panic. She froze momentarily, took a nervous swallow and reminded herself that she had made a stand, and she had promised herself she wouldn't go down without a fight. So she went and grabbed the shotgun before she answered the door.

  Outside, Jimmy's Jeep had pulled in first, with Jordan's truck falling in behind.

  Kay peered out a window, careful not to pull the curtains back too much. She saw the two vehicles, recognizing that neither belonged to Cephas. They also didn't look like they belonged to either of his brothers.

  She saw one of the men walk up to the door, and she knew she only had seconds to decided whether she would answer the door or not. Cephas could have sent other men instead of his brothers.

  Jimmy noticed that someone was watching him through the window. He stepped up on the front porch steps and knocked on the door.

  No one answered, and no one called out to ask who he was. He looked back toward Jordan and Bob, both still in the truck. Jimmy threw up his arms in a shrug, then turned and knocked on the door again. Still no answer.

  Jordan decided to get out of his vehicle as well, because he, too, had seen someone looking out the window. He walked up toward Jimmy.

  "Someone's in there," Jordan said.

  "Yeah, I know."

  "Guess they don't like strangers much around here, like you said."

  At first, through the lace curtain, Kay could only see the profile of the second man. But when he turned and fully faced the house, she realized who he was — the man she had met earlier. Now she recognized his expensive truck.

  Kay sucked in her breath and opened the door.

  At the sound of the door opening, both men turned back to look at who had finally decided to deal with them.

  When Jordan saw Kay, his eyebrows flashed in surprise. He instinctively took off his baseball cap and ran his fingers through his hair to ruffle it out to something presentable.

  "Ma'am," he said with a nod. "Guess this is the second time we're meeting today. Can't say it was planned."

  "What are you doing?" Kay said. "You shouldn't be here. I'll be a real trouble."

  "With who, your husband?" Jordan asked.

  "What's going on here, exactly?" Jimmy asked.

  "This is the woman I was talking to at the general store."

  "Oh. Wow. Small world."

  That's when both Jordan and Jimmy noticed that she had a shotgun in her grip.

  "Uh, Ma'am, there will be no need of that," Jimmy said. "We're perfectly safe, and I also happen to be a State Police Officer."

  "In my experience, that doesn't mean much," Kay said.

  "Well, okay, then," Jimmy said, throwing up his hands a bit and backing off.

  For the second time today, Jordan realized just how much he was attracted to this unknown woman, even though he shouldn't be. She was married, after all, and one thing he had never done was go after another man's wife. That sort of thing just wasn't right in his book. But goddamn, she was pretty.

  Jordan cleared his throat.

  "Ma'am, let me introduce myself. I'm Jordan Lawless, and I'm a Country and Western singer. Maybe you've heard of me? I've put out three albums. Maybe you've heard me on the radio?"

  Kay stared at him, her face frozen. This was the guy on the CD. He was exactly who he said he was. Now she completely recognized him.

  Jordan took the look on Kay's face to mean that, once again, she had no idea who he was and clearly she was not impressed with him at all. This was not good for his ego, he had to admit. Women usually threw themselves at him, even if they spent the first few minutes playing hard-to-get. Women who thought they were playing hard to get, in his experience, rarely were able to pull it off for long.

  Jordan had no idea that Kay was staring at him the way she was because she had never met anyone famous before, and she could not believe that someone famous would bother to talk to her. She was also was a bit paralyzed at realizing — yet again — how good looking this man was up close.

  "What do you want?" she asked. One again, she sounded colder and harsher than she meant to. Her guard was up and even though she wanted to be more hospitable, something in her just couldn't relax.

  "Well, we understand that you are the last living member of the Slacom family in these parts. Would that be true?"

  "It is," she said.

  Jimmy noticed she was still holding the gun.

  "Ma'am, would it be okay if you put that thing away?" he asked her.

  Kay glanced at Jimmy and thought about it. Then she leaned the gun up against the door jam, freeing her hands enough so that she could cross her arms protectively across her chest. The effect highlighted her uppermost assets, in the way of cleavage, and Jordan had to suppress a smile and look away so she wouldn't notice that he could not stop staring her.

  "Well, I've told you my name, and this here is my friend Jimmy. I happen to know your maiden name and your married name. Not sure of your first name thought."

  "It's Kay," she said.

  Jordan took a step closer and looked her in the eye. With all sincerity, after she held his gaze for a second, he dropped his gaze to the floor and held out his hand.

  "It's very nice to meet you, Kay."

  Kay stared at his hand, and then tentatively held out her own. Her fingers fell into his palm, and his own large hand enveloped hers gently. She felt a light nip of electricity at the warmth of Jordan's grip. He held her hand gently in his, but then gave it a squeeze. She had to pull her hand away quickly because she didn't know what to do with herself. The only time Cephas held her hand was when he was trying to drag her off somewhere she didn't want to go.

  "What we've got for you is a business proposition," Jordan said. "There's some good money in it for you."

  "What kind of business could I possibly help you with?" she asked.

  "The holler that runs into an overhang on the western side of Scopes Mountain. Those acres belong to your family? To you?" Jordan asked.

  "You mean the overhang with the view of Lake Surepa?"

  "That's the one," Jimmy said.

  "Yes, that belongs to my family. Although technically, my husband controls that."

  "What do you mean?"

  "When we got married, technically everything that's mine got transferred to him."

  "That sounds odd. Was there some
kind of contract or something?" Jimmy asked.

  "No, that's just the way things are done around here," Kay said.

  That's when Jordan noticed a large bruise on her arm, just behind her elbow. It was shadowed by the sleeve of her T-Shirt, but Jordan saw just enough so that his sharp instinct kicked in and he got a general idea as to what was going on here with this woman. He felt his face start to flush with hot anger. This beautiful woman was being beaten by her husband.

  "Jordan, let's talk for a second," Jimmy said.

  "That would be a good idea," Jordan said. "Excuse us, Kay, just for a sec."

  Both men walked off the porch.

  "It seems this woman doesn't actually know that, legally, that land is still hers," Jimmy said.

  "Her husband beats her," Jordan said.

  "What makes you say that?"

  "She's got a huge bruise on her upper arm."

  "You might be right, but it's not sure proof."

  "It's the kind of bruise a woman gets when a man grabs her hard by the arm," Jordan said.

  Jordan barely remembered anything from his early years on Scopes Mountain, but in this moment he realized he remembered that.

  Jimmy looked at his friend with curiosity.

  "My father used to beat my mother," Jordan explained. "That's why she left and took me with her."

  "Sorry. I didn't know that."

  "Can you do anything here?"

  "I'd have to either see the husband beating on her right in front of my face," Jimmy said, "or she'd have to be willing to walk up to me and ask me to take her out of here so she can get a restraining order. Domestic abuse gets real twisted. Women protect their men, even when any sane person can see it's only a matter of time until he puts her six feet down. And I can tell just by looking at her, this one definitely isn't giving up her husband."

  Jordan walked back up to Kay. He kept a comfortable distance, leaning up against a railing, so as not to make her feel like he was too pushy.

  "Look, Kay, the thing is — we've been to the assessors office and we've looked up the deed to that property. Legally, it's yours and not your husband's. We want to lease it for a few days, and we're willing to pay you $5,000 for it. We want to make a music video, and I want to do it on Scopes Mountain. That holler is the perfect setting."

  "A music video? Why Scopes Mountain?" Kay asked.

  "I grew up here, Kay."

  Kay looked surprised.

  "I never knew that anything good ever came out of Scopes Mountain," she said. For the first time, she felt herself give Jordan a little smile.

  "Truth is," she said, "I didn't recognize you at first. But my husband actually owns one of your CDs."

  "Does he," Jordan said.

  "And I've heard you on the radio," she admitted.

  Jordan felt a little better now that he knew he wasn't a total nothing in her eyes.

  "If you let us use the land, we'd be grateful. But here's the thing," he said, now straightening up and walking closer to her. Kay felt goose bumps as he approached, leaning in a little close now.

  He wasn't being pushy. Jordan just wanted to be very clear about things.

  "I will pay you $5,000 to lease the holler. I will not pay your husband. He has no right to this money. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

  Kay nodded nervously. She realized that with $5,000 she might actually be able to make a run for it.

  "The fact is, we're not going to be able to hide this from him," she said.

  "You won't need to hide it. I'll explain it to him, real clear-like. When I meet him."

  Kay wasn't so sure that having Jordan Lawless meet her husband was such a good idea.

  "He hasn't been around for a few days."

  "Here's the thing, Kay. We're gonna bring a whole film crew up here. At least 20 people are going to be here, and we all need a place to stay."

  "There's another cabin, just an acre away. I guess you could use that."

  "Well, yes, we need arrangements, but that's not what I'm trying to explain here.

  Without thinking about it, Jordan reached out and touched the sleeve of her T-Shirt. His finger lightly slipped under and gently grazed the bruise hidden underneath. Kay flinched in fear, despite the fact that he looked at her so kindly.

  He knows, she thought with alarm.

  Jimmy watched the two of them, and how they were looking at each other. He got the feeling that something was bubbling just below the surface with Jordan and this woman. And Jordan was stepping into some dangerous territory. Jimmy knew the rumors about Scopes Mountain, as did Jordan. He was never scared enough of the area to stay away, and that's why he suggested the holler. But now his friend was tippy-toeing into a dysfunctional mess between one of the locals and his woman.

  "Jordan," Jimmy said. "It's going to be sundown soon, and we should get back.

  Jordan ignored him.

  "What I'm trying to say, Kay," Jordan said, "is that means I've got 20 people. With me. On my side. I'm sure your husband and I might have an okay conversation about this just man-to-man. But at the same time, in case that conversation were not to go so well, I'm not up here all by my lonesome. I've got people to back me up, if your husband has a problem with this financial arrangement."

  Kay gulped.

  "I see."

  "I'm guessing that maybe he will have a problem with this financial arrangement?"

  "Probably," Kay admitted.

  "Well, like you said, he hasn't been around in a few days. So we'll see what happens."

  Jordan turned back towards his truck.

  "Bob!" he called out.

  Bob stuck his head out the window.

  "Everything's a go," Jordan said. "I need you to head back to Nashville and get the camera crew together. Take my truck, I'm staying here."

  "You are?" Kay said.

  "You are?" Jimmy said.

  "Yeah. I'm going to go check out that cabin you offered, Kay."

  Jimmy looked at Jordan strangely.

  "What?" Jordan demanded. "I'm going to hold down the fort, so to speak, that's all."

  "I'm not sure this is such a great idea," Kay said. "I mean it's fine when you come back, and I have a chance to get the cabin ready."

  "I'm going to stay, just in case your husband shows up, so we can hash this whole thing out. I don't want you to get blamed for something that was my idea."

  Jimmy shrugged, giving up easily. He could tell that Jordan had his mind set. He looked at his cellphone.

  "Well, thankfully there's cellphone reception up here, so if you run into any trouble, you call me right away."

  "Will do," Jordan said.

  Jordan gave Bob the keys to his truck, and then he asked Kay to show him the other cabin.

  Bob watched Jordan and Kay disappear into the woods, and then he drove off, following Jimmy and his Jeep back down to the base of the mountain.

  Chapter 6

  Kay picked through the tall brush as Jordan followed her down a dirt path. Maybe they had walked for about 15 minutes before they came upon a clearing. The cabin she had led him too was larger than he expected and well built.

  "This was the cabin my father rebuilt after we had a fire," she said. "The old one burned down to the ground about eight years back."

  "That's awful," Jordan said. "Was anybody hurt?"

  "Yeah," Kay said. "My mother and two brothers. They died in the fire."

  Jordan slowed down a bit, but Kay kept walking. She sounded too matter-of-fact-about it.

  "I'm sorry to hear that."

  "It was hard, but it was awhile ago. I miss them, but..." then her voice trailed off.

  "But what?"

  "I miss my Momma," she said. "My brothers...they were a bit like Cephas."

  "Where's your father?"

  "He died right after I got married."

  "Was he like Cephas, too?"

  "All the men around here are pretty much the same."

  Jordan started thinking about the father he had but could
n't remember. And about himself. Then an unwelcome thought came to him. If his mother had never left, would he have grown up to be this kind of man, too? One who treats women like dirt?

  Then he thought about the trick his mind had played on him when he threw a rock at that Hellbender. Scopes Mountain was a strange and somewhat unlikeable place. But that holler had called to him, with that view of Lake Surepa. And he still wanted to know if he had kin up here. Although, now Jordan was wondering if he would hate his kin once he met them, if they were no good.

  "You said you grew up here? When did you leave?"

  "When I was three."

  "You got family around here still?"

  "I thought maybe. That man at the general store said my family's name sounded familiar, but they haven't been around these parts now for a long time."

  "I thought people never left Scopes Mountain," Kay mused. "They wish they could, but they can't."

  "Can't? Why not? My mother did."

  "Most of the time they can't. But it sounds like your mother was the exception to the rule."

  They had reached the porch by this point. Kay opened the door and let them inside. She opened the shutters on the inside of the windows to let the sunlight in.

  "I have to say, this cabin is in better shape than I expected."

  He wasn't just being polite. The cabin wasn't even dusty and was fully furnished.

  "I try and keep this place up," Kay told him. "Quite frankly, it's nicer than my husband's cabin.

  "How many beds?"

  "The king size in the main room, and then three other bedrooms, one with a twin, and two with a double. Even though after the fire it was just down to him and me, my father built the cabin back up to its original layout when there were five of us in the family."

  "We've got a lot of people coming, so it seems most everyone will need to camp out. Not a problem. Part of the adventure for the crew. We'll bring a good cook up for them, so they won't have anything to complain about. And, I do believe I saw a first rate barbecue grill out there."

  "Oh, yeah," Kay said, flashing the second slight smile Jordan had seen yet today. "My daddy knew how to barbecue. Low and slow. A whole pig overnight. And his secret sauce, of course."