since I’ve been in town. Even though I wanted to go back the next day to spend some time with Hope, I convinced myself she was just being nice and that I should give her some space.
So today I’m meeting the guys at the shop in town. It’s called the Whiskey River Local Retail and run by Jack, who is a great guy. He would make a great mountain man, but he likes living in town.
Each of us is able to sell things we make at his shop, and it goes over big with the tourists wanting hand-crafted items.
Axel makes homemade jerky and hand-carved knives. His wife, Emelie, makes some baked goods and home decor pieces from recycled items at their cabin.
Phoenix makes hand-crafted furniture. That’s how he met his wife, Jenna, who is an amazing photographer and sells her prints at the shop. Mostly photographs of the national parks and some local spots.
Bennett brings in the hunting gear he makes. His bow and arrows are really big with hunters in the area. I bring in furs from the animals I trap. With the furs, I also make blankets and coats with them. In addition, I sell the raw furs and Jack helps with that.
While I don’t really need the money, not after my brother passed, I enjoy trapping, and it fills up my time in the winter. It also gives me a reason to come into town and see the guys. They are the only friends I have and I don’t want to lose them.
I am the last to arrive at the shop and Emelie and Jenna both greet me with a hug. Then we all take care of business.
‘So, I met Hope,’ Emelie says.
‘She is really nice,’ I tell her, not sure what else to say.
‘Are you going to see her again?’ She asks with that soft, kind look on her face that makes it really easy to open up to her.
‘Well, I was thinking of going to visit her today.’ I shrug my shoulders because I’m still not sure.
‘Oh, that’s perfect! Will you give her a note for me?’ She walks over to the counter and takes the notepad and pen that Jack keeps by his register and scribbles something down and folds it up before handing it to me.
‘I’m ready to go home, My Giant,’ she smiles up at Axel, and the love between them is something I want so badly.
Judging by the look on Bennett’s face, he is feeling the same way. With Axel and Phoenix happily married, our group now feels a bit split. Knowing it’s possible to live our lives and find a woman who loves you like this makes the craving that much stronger.
I don’t want to be alone forever. I want my own Emelie or Jenna by my side. But I do know I want to stay on the mountain. We buried my brother there and I plan to be buried right next to him.
We say our goodbyes and as they all head home, while I walk down the road to the café where Hope said she’d be. Taking a deep breath before walking in, I see her immediately. She’s easy to spot since she’s at the same table she was last week. Her back is toward me, and she is facing the grocery area.
At just the sight of her, my heart starts racing. I almost turn around and bolt, but I know I need to at least give her the note from Emelie. It’s the perfect excuse to go talk to her again.
That’s when I realize it was probably the exact reason Emelie gave me the note. I have to remember to thank her later. Taking another deep breath, I make my way over to her table. Even though I’m not sure if she was just being nice or if she actually wants me there, I sit down next to her, while ignoring every pair of eyes in the cafe that are on me., Then I wait for her to notice me. When she looks up, she gives me a huge smile and that’s enough to make me relax.
‘I’m really glad you came. After you left the other day, I asked my friend Jana about you. She’s the store manager here.’
I like that she asked about me. That means she was thinking about me, right? Since that day last week, I haven’t stopped thinking about her. But I don’t think I’m supposed to admit that to her, so I keep quiet. But before I forget, I hand her the note from Emelie.
‘I don’t have many friends other than the guys and their wives. Earlier today, I was down there visiting with them and Emelie asked me to give that to you.’
She takes the note from me and reads it with a small smile on her face.
‘We were supposed to have lunch today, but she had to cancel. It’s fine though, because that means I get to spend some time with you.”
Right now, I’m even more certain that this was a setup from Emelie. But in a way, I’m thankful because Hope is the first person, other than the guys, to talk to me since my Harvey passed. If I am honest, I’m just plain lonely now. Even though my brother wasn’t always the best company, he was there and someone to have around. Now my cabin on the mountain seems so big all by myself.
‘I was sorry to hear about your brother,’ she says. In a soft tender voice, she asks, ‘How did he die?’
If it was anyone else, I don’t think I’d want to talk about this. But with her, I don’t think I mind. In fact, I love that she wants to know.
‘Cancer. He died because he refused treatment.’
If she asks someone about me, I doubt this is new information. Everyone in town knows about my brother, but at least she’s asking me, instead of just trusting whatever gossip is going around.
‘Why did he refuse treatment?’
‘He was really smart. Before he was eighteen, he had a bunch of patents that made him a lot of money. The government paid him for one of his patents and he signed the paperwork. Then that night, our parents died. Somehow, he was convinced that it was the government trying to kill him off so that they could have the patent and not pay him. He was supposed to be in that car and only decided to stay in town at the last minute. After that, he was convinced that the government was after him. Big Brother, spies, all that. So we moved up to the mountain when I was seven and became as self-sufficient as possible. He didn’t believe in doctors and didn’t deal with people any more than he had to.’
Why did I tell her all of that? A simple explanation would have done. But something about her makes me want to be open and honest. Maybe I’m just craving that connection with another person. But somehow, I don’t think that’s completely true. I think it’s her. There’s something about her that makes it easy for me to open up to her.
‘Do you believe as he did?’
It’s a fair question, considering my brother did raise me. I’m guessing I wouldn’t want to be friends with someone who believes that crazy stuff. I’m sure that’s why my brother had no friends that I know of, anyway.
‘No, I don’t.’
She looks at me, and I can tell there’s more on her mind. It’s as if she’s waging a battle on whether she should ask her next question or not.
‘But your brother raised you, right?’
I don’t know why this question makes me smile. Maybe because she’s interested in actually getting to know me and not just believing the rumors going around the town or maybe just because it’s an excuse to talk to her. If it means that I get to keep talking to her, I’ll tell her the most painful parts of my past.
‘Yeah, he raised me, and homeschooled me. But his way of teaching me was by handing me a book and having me read it from cover to cover, so I learned a lot.
According to the gossip, I was asleep during the accident. But I keep having the same recurring dream of the accident. It’s as if I was asleep, but still conscious of what happened. My mom wanted my dad to pull over and wait out the storm, but he just wanted to get home. Even though there was no one else on the road, it was slippery and my dad lost control while he and my mom were arguing. Then we started going off the road and that’s when I always wake up. I have no idea what happened after that other than I was pulled from the car and my parents didn’t make it. My brother had the accident investigated several times by different people and every one of them always came back saying there was no foul play.’ I shrug my shoulder, not sure what else to say.
All of a sudden, I notice that all eyes are on me. There are more people in the cafe than when I first got here, and it makes me really uncomfortable.
Hope senses it as she looks around the cafe with a thoughtful look. Yes, I’m not as comfortable as I might be, but I’m not ready to give up any time with her just yet. So I’ll endure it and feed the gossip mill for a little while longer. Hope being the angel that she is seems to understand.
‘I was about to go back to my cabin since it’s a bit too crowded in here. Care to join me?’
