The Sunny Side of the Mountain

by Charliann Roberts

  Furious, he turned around, trudged to the edge of the woods and began to show the full measure of his rage. “You bitch!” He spat the words into the brush and debated whether to show himself, or return to his truck. He decided now wasn’t the right time to approach her. Shaking his head in anger, he started the long trek through the deep forest.

  He knew he owed Duncan big time for this. As he trod carefully through the thick dead leaves and branches that crossed his path, he wished he hadn’t worn these heavy army boots, but he had no idea what he’d be walking into amid these deep woods, with nothing but the moon to guide him. Duncan told him it was a long walk in. Someone would most likely see him if he was to drive in. So he’d left the truck parked at a rest stop back on the highway and hiked a mile through the woods.

  “Damn it!” he growled, trying to keep his voice down when a tree branch swiped him across the face. “She’ll pay for this. She had no right to do this to me. I’ve never done anything to her, and she knows it.”

  When he finally reached his truck, opened the door, and the interior light went on. He climbed in, and felt blood trickling down his face. Gritting his teeth, he looked in the rearview mirror and saw a huge gash on his forehead.

  The minute he arrived in Woodland, he stopped by Duncan’s house, intending to pay him off, but apparently he was out for the evening. Duncan had always been an excellent P. I., and he’d done a good job, hunting down the family. Duncan could find or do just about anything he set his mind to, and he was worth every dollar he charged.

  Back in his dingy apartment, Jeff lit a cigarette and plopped down on the sofa with a beer. Putting his muddy boots up on the coffee table, he let out a long, audible breath, and carefully planned his next move.

  *

  Cassandra was at the stove, and looked up when Kayla wandered through the doorway. “Good morning, Sunshine,” she said with a smile. She turned the bacon. “How many eggs would you like?”

  “’Morning, Mom,” she answered with a yawn. “Two please.” She reached for a glass of juice and sat down at the table. “Sherry called on my cell phone last night. She and Adam can come up next weekend if that would be okay.”

  “Sure, that’ll work. The express bus passes through Pinewood Hills on Saturday mornings around ten a.m. I’ll let Shannon know that we’ll be waiting when the bus arrives.”

  “That’s awesome, Mom. They’re both going to love it here. They’re looking forward to it. By the way, yesterday Nick asked me and Kyle if we’d like to go riding this morning.”

  “That’s good, honey. I’m sure you’ll have fun.” She turned off the burner, placed two eggs along with two slices of bacon on a plate and handed it to Kayla. She then poured herself another cup of coffee and picked up a slice of bacon. “I have a report that needs to be completed today. I’ll be at my desk working, so just let me know when you’re ready to go.”

  “Okay, go ahead and get started, Mom. I’ll clean the dishes. Kyle said I shouldn’t wake him until I’m ready to go out the door. He said I take too long to get ready, so I might as well let him sleep.”

  “Okay, thanks, honey.” She smiled and nibbled at the bacon on her way down the hall. Last night, she mentioned to the twins that she’d rather drive them over to Nick’s ranch. She had a bad feeling about that noise in the woods.

  *

  Two weeks later, Cassandra received a call from Shannon. “Good morning, Shannon. Is anything wrong, or do you just miss the kids?”

  “It’s only been a week,” she said, and laughed. “I just got some news from Dan and wanted to let you in on it. He found out he’s going to have two weeks off, beginning next week. We thought we’d take the kids on a trip to Colorado. The reason I’m calling is how would you, Kyle, and Kayla like to come along?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. I really have a lot of work right now,” she said, and tucked some flyaway hair behind her ear. “This is our busiest time of the year, and my boss had been so good to allow me to work from here.”

  “Well, Kyle and Kayla could come with us, and you’d have some time off. You’ve had all four of them for over a week now. We’ll take them with us. It’ll be fun for them, and you’ll have some peace and quiet for two weeks, even if you do have to work. That is, if you’ll be okay up there by yourself.”

  “I don’t know why I wouldn’t. Nick’s just down the road if I needed help with anything. Let me talk to the kids when they return. They’re out horseback riding right now. I’ll call you tonight.”

  “Okay, I’ll let Dan know. I’ll talk to you later.”

  *

  With the luscious aroma of chicken drifting through the cabin, Cassandra called everyone in for dinner. They all sat at the table, and Cassandra gave a prayer of thanks for their food and for Auntie Em being able to provide them with such a wonderful place to stay.

  They were all enjoying their dinner when Cassandra put her fork down and said, “Okay gang, listen up. Shannon called today to invite all of us to go on a trip with them to Colorado for two weeks. Is there anyone here who’d like to go?”

  “Oh, awesome!” Kayla said with excitement, and she looked over at Sherry. “Did you already know about this?”

  “Adam and I both knew, but Mom didn’t want us to say anything until Dad found out for sure. You can go, can’t you?” she asked Cassandra.

  “Well, I was thinking,” she said, and looked over at the twins. “Would you like to go on the trip without me? I’m awfully busy with my work at this time of the year, so I really can’t leave right now.” She offered the plate of chicken to Adam, but he shook his head and placed his hand on his stomach.

  “No thank you,” he said with a grin. “It’s delicious, but I’ve already eaten more than enough.”

  “I don’t know, Mom,” Kyle said. “I don’t think you should be here by yourself.” His eyebrows slanted in a frown. “What if something happened and you needed help?”

  “We’d be worried about you, Mom,” Kayla added.

  “I’d be fine, honey,” she said with a slow smile. She understood their worry. “If I’d need any help, Nick is right down the road.”

  “I guess,” said Kayla, with a concerned look on her face.

  “It could really be fun, Kayla,” Sherry said. “Your mom will be okay. You can both call her on your cell phones all the time, if you’re worried.”

  “Well… okay Mom, if you really wouldn’t mind. When will we be leaving?” Kyle asked, as he and Adam excused themselves from the table.

  “Next weekend. Shannon said they’d be here to pick you up Saturday morning.” She wiped off her mouth with her napkin, pushed herself away from the table and stood to collect the dirty dishes. Kayla and Sherry, excited about the trip, jumped up to help clear off the table.

  “Sherry and I can do the dishes, Mom.” Kayla placed the dishes into the sink full of sudsy water, and began washing while Sherry grabbed a towel.

  “Okay, thank you, girls. I’m going back to work. You can start planning your trip together.”

  “Thanks for the dinner, it was delicious,” Sherry said. “You really should have called us in to help you.” She placed the clean plates back up in the cupboard.

  “Oh, you’re welcome, Sherry. It was no problem. You were all out having fun. I really didn’t mind.” She continued down the hallway.

  *

  Weariness enveloped her as she tried to concentrate. After five hours, her report was finally completed. She sat back in her chair, stretched, and then leaned forward to check her email before heading off to bed.

  Immediately upon opening her email inbox, she found another URGENT message. He hadn’t written anything for a week now, and she’d been hoping and praying that he’d finally given up. This time the email said, I’LL SEE YOU SOON.

  Did that mean he found out where they are, or was he just trying to scare her? He was doing a good job of it.

  It made her a bit nervous when she thought of being here alone, but she didn’t want the kids to worr
y. She decided not to let them know about this message, or they wouldn’t want to leave her. She’d be fine, she’d just have to be very careful, that’s all. She let out a long sigh of exhaustion, then stood up and got ready for bed.

  *

  Ever since the Millers left with the children, Cassandra had been having a hard time sleeping through the night. This morning, she had to force herself to climb out of bed early to finish another report. She planned to deliver it tomorrow.

  When her work was completed, she poured a fresh cup of coffee and carried it outdoors. She sat on the porch swing. The sun was warm and the air felt refreshing. Leaning back, she was finally able to relax. She enjoyed the peace and quiet, the only noise coming from the chirping of the birds and the gurgle of the rapidly flowing creek. Tomorrow, she’d again need to be up early. She’d have to arrive in Woodland by eight a.m. for a company meeting. She decided she’d go to the shopping mall for a short time afterward, and then make a stop at Auntie Em’s to visit before heading back to the cabin.

  Nick stopped by earlier to make sure everything was okay. He mentioned that he’d be over tomorrow to mow the lawn while she was gone, so the noise wouldn’t be bothering her while she worked. That was very thoughtful of him. Nick had been very respectful. He seemed to understand that she needed time to recover from a bad marriage.

  Her divorce would be final next week. Now she was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

  *

  Cassandra had an enjoyable lunch with Auntie Em and then began her return trip to the cabin. When she arrived in Pinewood Hills, she decided to stop at the food market to pick up a few groceries. Waiting in line at the checkout, she grabbed the Pinewood Hills newspaper and tossed it in her basket.

  While loading the shopping bags into the car, her eyes were drawn to the newspaper’s headline. She pulled the paper from the bag. The article was about a woman who lived alone in the town of Huntington, twenty miles west of Pinewood Hills. A burglar had broken into her home early last evening. As the burglar entered her bedroom, the woman stopped him by using pepper spray. Spraying directly into the burglar’s eyes caused him to jump back, falling down the stairs, and his head hit the wooden banister rail. The woman then shut and locked her bedroom door and dialed nine-one-one. When the police arrived, they found the man lying at the bottom of the stairway, unconscious, but still alive.

  Cassandra slid behind the wheel and proceeded to drive to the cabin. When she’d finished putting the groceries away, she went online and ordered some pepper spray. It would be reassuring to have a bit of security while she was here alone, and it would give her a little peace of mind.

  Shipped out today, please allow two days for delivery, she read in a confirmation email from the SafeSense Security Company.

  She now felt relieved as she plopped down on the sofa. Picking up the remote, she turned on the television and smiled when she discovered the beginning of an old movie, one of her favorites, The Sound of Music. The feeling of warmth from the fireplace, combined with the soft music, caused her to doze off, and she dreamed of what life would be like if she made this her permanent home.

  Chapter Nine

  When Cassandra gazed out the screen door, she noticed the ground was slightly wet. There’d been a light rain last night, just enough to dampen the grass. She tightened the belt on her terrycloth robe and brought her cup of coffee out onto the porch. Taking in a deep breath of the fresh morning air, she looked out over the moist lawn. Her heart faltered for a second when she noticed footprints along the edge of the cabin that stopped in front of the living room window. She shrugged and thought nothing of it when she remembered that Nick was here yesterday to mow the lawn, and just assumed the prints were his. However, she then recalled that Nick wore only cowboy boots, since he worked on a ranch with horses every day. These looked like they’d been heavy work boots, not at all like Nick’s cowboy boots. A chill ran through her body.

  Cassandra went back in the house. Discarding her robe, she threw on jeans and a sweatshirt, then she picked up her cell phone to give Nick a call.

  “Colburn Stables,” he answered.

  “Hi Nick, this is Cassandra.”

  “Hello there. How’s everything going? Did you have a nice trip yesterday?”

  “Yes, very nice. Actually, I’m calling about a problem. Well, I don’t know if I have a problem here or not. Would you have time to stop by to take a look at something for me?”

  “Sure, I can come over right now. What’s wrong?”

  “Well, I found some footprints running along the cabin, and they stop under the living room window. I’m hoping that they’re yours from working on the lawn yesterday...”

  “I’ll be right over.”

  “Okay, thank you. I really appreciate it.” She closed her cell phone and pressed the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger. A mild headache nagged. She was worried that Jeff had discovered her whereabouts.

  She went into the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face, brushed her teeth and ran a comb through her hair. She certainly hadn’t expected to wake up to a day like this. She walked into the bedroom and turned on her computer. While waiting for the system to come up, she looked out the window and saw Nick’s truck approaching.

  She rushed out onto the porch, just as he was stepping down from his truck. “Good grief, I’d need a ladder to get in and out of that monster.”

  Nick laughed. “Yeah, it is pretty big, but I need a large one to pull the horse trailers.”

  “Well, come on over here and I’ll show you the footprints,” she said. She headed toward the cabin and Nick followed, carefully inspecting the ground.

  He crouched down over the first one, and after he looked it over, he said, “No, these aren’t mine. I don’t ever wear heavy boots like these. I only wear my cowboy boots. This is very strange, to be happening up here. I think you should report it. We’ve never had any problems before, at least not that I’m aware of.”

  “Do you think they could possibly have been from someone that night we’d heard the noise in the woods?”

  “When we had a fire and roasted hot dogs?”

  She nodded.

  “That was around two weeks ago.”

  “Perhaps it actually was a person, and he returned later.”

  “I really doubt it; I’d think that one of us would have noticed the footprints before now. But it’s possible, I guess. If you hadn’t heard a noise out here during the night, I guess no one would’ve been looking for them. I may even have missed them when I mowed the lawn. They don’t look fresh, so I guess it could have been that long ago.”

  Cassandra brought him into the house and showed him the article she’d read in the newspaper.

  “I just ordered pepper spray last night. It should arrive tomorrow,” she told him, when they walked back outside.

  “I’ll tell you what. I’ll call my brother. He works for a home security company in Huntington. I’ll ask him if he can come out here as soon as possible to put a security system in. In the meantime, I’ll go into Pinewood Hills and pick up some spotlights that will light up a distance of three hundred feet from each side of the house, if it senses any movement whatsoever. That should alert anyone nosing around that you have security.”

  “That’s really nice of you, but I know you’re awfully busy with the ranch.”

  “Don’t worry. It won’t take long to run into town. I’ll install them today. I’m not real busy, and my ranch hands know to call my cell if they need me.”

  “Well, just let me know how much it comes to, and I’ll reimburse you.”

  “We’ll see; right now I’d better get moving, if we want them installed today.”

  “Okay, thanks a million, Nick. I have to get to work. I’ll make us some lunch when you return,” she shouted, and then waved as he drove away.

  When she went inside, she still felt a bit nervous, and latched the bolt lock behind her. Returning to her desk with another cup of coffee, she sat down in
front of the computer, and there it was. The urgent message:

  YOU HAVEN’T CHANGED. STILL A REAL SWEET BITCH.

  In anger, she slammed her fist on the desk in front of her, then reached over and disconnected the Internet. She must let everyone know that she’d be changing her email address. Maybe she should wait to tell Auntie Em and the twins, so they won’t worry.

  Cassandra felt utterly helpless and terrified, just as she had when she’d first realized that she’d have to make a go of it alone with the twins. She’d fought to overcome the need to be dependent on him. She sat up straight, and sighed loudly. Biting down hard on her lower lip, she just sat there, shaking her head back and forth. She jumped to her feet and found that her hands were shaking.

  This is not right. I fought hard to be able to make it on my own. When I left him, I felt as though a thousand pounds had been lifted from my shoulders.

  She sat back down, angrily wiped away her tears, and decided it was definitely time to change her email address. She called her boss to let him know and then called Auntie Em and informed her of the change. She’d let the kids know when they returned next week. Maybe now he’ll have no way to bother us.

  For the remainder of the day, she buried herself in work, and soon the tension eased off. She was actually relieved that she had a heavy workload to keep her busy.

  Time passed. Cassandra glanced up at the clock on the wall and noticed it was already ten p.m. She’d been working straight through the afternoon and evening. Her assignment finally completed, she uploaded it, and shut down her computer.

  Nick had installed the lighting around the cabin, and his brother told him he’d be out in a couple of days to put in what he claimed was the best security system available. That should keep Jeff at bay, but he is stubborn. When he’d had too much to drink, she never knew what to expect.

  To help her relax, she decided to soak in a bubble bath. She lit a candle that Auntie Em had left sitting on the ledge above the foot of the tub. She turned on the water, poured an abundance of moisturizing bath beads, and grabbed one of the books she’d purchased at the bookstore.