The Other Side of Lone Mountain

Chapter Tweenty-Six

The next morning Paul woke up first. He looked over at Mandy, her head still resting on his shoulder. He leaned over and kissed her forehead. He carefully slipped his arm out from under her head. She stirred but didn’t wake up. He quietly got up, walked into the bathroom and showered. He then went into the kitchen and searched around until he found the coffee and got that started. He looked out of the window and saw that it looked like the rain wanted to return. The clouds were gathering and they looked very pregnant and ominous. He was glad she didn’t have to work today. He figured they would spend the day together. He found the eggs and some bacon; he also found a loaf of whole wheat bread. He opened the freezer and found a package of hash browns. After he made breakfast, he went outside and cut a beautiful red rose from her garden. He placed everything on a tray he found in one of the cabinets and brought everything into the bedroom.

Mandy was still asleep. He leaned down and gently kissed her lips. She slowly opened her eyes. “Good morning beautiful” he said as she sat up in bed. He placed the tray on her lap.

“Wow! Did you make this?”

“With my very own big hands” he chuckled. “You’re not the only one who can cook.”

“I could get use to this kind of service” she commented.

“I hope so because I want to keep making you happy for the rest of our lives.”

She suddenly became very serious. “Paul, do you think we might be going a little too fast? After all we’ve only recently met. We really don’t know much about each other. Actually I don’t know anything about you except that you’re a Geologist and you came here to find your missing friend. Don’t get me wrong, I love being with you and last night was absolutely heaven, but I wonder what will happen when Mark finally gets well and goes back home and everything is solved and there is no project to keep you here. What will happen to us? I just don’t want either of us to get hurt.”

“Mandy, I understand your concern, but I don’t want not having you in my life. I love you. There, I said it. I love you. I don’t want to spend one day of my life without you in it. I’ll tell you anything you want to know about me, my entire life’s story if necessary.”

“But do you think we’re really ready to make such a big commitment to each other?” she asked.

“Maybe not, but I do want to give us chance. Why don’t we take it one step at a time and see what happens next?”

“Okay, because I love you too. I’m just afraid that if we jump into something we could end up hurting each other and I don’t ever want that to happen.” He finished his coffee just as she finished her breakfast.

“I’ll take these back into the kitchen.” He gave her a quick kiss and left. She lay back down on the bed resting her head on the pillow he had slept on. She could still smell his scent on the pillow. She took a deep breath and inhaled his fragrance. Suddenly he reappeared in the doorway. “Would you happen to have an extra toothbrush?”

“Sure, there should be an extra one in the medicine cabinet.”

“Thanks”

“Come here a second” motioning to him with her finger. Paul walked over to her. She reached her arms up and pulled him back down to the bed with her. She kissed him hard and long; her tongue, searching the very depths of his mouth. He returned her kiss with the same intense passion. They spent the greater part of the morning under the covers.
It was almost noon when they finally decided to get up. They showered together which started a whole new way of pleasing each other. They finally left the shower and got dressed. “What do you want to do now?” he asked.

“Why don’t we check on Vickie and Mark? See how he’s coming along. After that we can take a ride to my side of the mountain. It’s beautiful up there. Oh ya; and Grammy has been bugging me about introducing you to her. She keeps seeing you come over here and she is curious about you. To be more specific, she wants to put her stamp of approval on you.”

“Well then, we don’t want to disappoint Grammy.” replied Paul.

She called Miss Melly and arranged to bring Paul over to meet her. After hanging up they left the house and walked across the street. Miss Melly was already at the door when they arrived. She invited them in as she examined Paul from head to toe. “Please, have a seat. Would you kids like something to drink? All I have is ice tea or coffee.”

“We’re fine Grammy, but thanks anyway.” answered Mandy.

“Now Paul, Mandy tells me you’re a Geologist.”

“Yes, ma’am” “Do you work for a company or the government?”

“Actually, I own my own company with a partner. We do independent surveys for large companies and investors.”

“Well, I don’t pussy foot around so I’m going to be straight forward with you.” Mandy closes her eyes because she knows what’s coming next. That was why she had procrastinated about bringing Paul over here. “I know you’ve been spending a lot of time with Amanda. Do you love her?” The question took Paul by surprise.

“I’m sorry Paul, I should have warned you. Grammy is very blunt and to the point.”

“I don’t mind, the question just took my by surprise. Yes, Miss Melly, I love Mandy very much.”

“Good, then you can call me Grammy.” That was Grammy’s way of telling Mandy that she approved of him. “Just make sure you treat her right. Make her happy. Heaven knows this child has suffered enough pain in her young life.”

“Grammy, I promise I will do all in my power to see to it that she is always happy and that she is never hurt again.”

“That’s all one can ask for. You seem to be a very nice young man. Don’t be a stranger. My door is always open to you.” They spent another hour there and Paul explained what he and his partner were doing here. He told her about Mark and what happened to him and how Lone Wolfe and Mandy had helped find Mark. Finally Grammy said, “You two be careful, there are things happening around here that isn’t right. People misusing their authority and power for personal gain. That just isn’t right. Some people have no business being given authority and power. But how is a body to know until it’s too late.” They had just been entertaining Grammy, but now she had their undivided attention. Who was this person she was talking about? Grammy didn’t leave the house much, but somehow she seemed to know everything that had something to do with the town.

“Grammy, who is this person you’re talking about?” asked Mandy.

“Never mind, you’ll know soon enough, things like that don’t stay hidden forever. Look you kids run along now, enjoy the rest of the day because it looks like rain is on its way again.” They got up and Mandy went over and gave Grammy a kiss on the cheek. They prepared to leave when Grammy said, “What’s wrong with you boy, are you too grown to give Grammy a kiss?” Paul turned around and smiled. “Never Grammy.” He bent over and planted a big kiss on her cheek.

“Now that’s what I call a kiss!” she said. With that Paul and Mandy made their exit.

Once outside Paul turned to Mandy, “She’s a nice old lady.”

“Don’t let her hear you calling her old.”

“Okay then, she is a wonderful mature lady. I really like her. I can see why you love her. Who do you think she was talking about?”

“Probably the same person Jeff was talking about.”

“What do you want to do now?”

“Why don’t we make a picnic basket and go up to the mountain?” suggested Mandy.

“Sounds like a great idea. This time we’ll go on your side of the mountain.
They went into the house and Mandy went into the laundry/storage room and pulled out a wicker picnic basket. Mandy got an old blanket and some other picnic items. They decided to pick up some French Bread, some cheese and a bottle of wine on the way. While in the store they decided to also pick up some grapes and strawberries. Mandy decided she wanted whipped cream to go with the strawberries. Finally they were ready to head to the mountain.

Mandy drove since she was the one who knew where they were going. On the trip up Mandy asked Paul, “Why haven’t you ever mentioned your family?”

“I guess it’s because I’ve been concentrating so much on Mark and what was going on right here. “What would you like to know?”

“Everything.”

“Okay. May parents are both alive, they own a farm, Covington Farm.”

“You mean, THE Covington Farm, in Massachusetts?”

“Yes, are you familiar with it?” “

Am I ever! They have the best Sugar Honey Corn in New England! It’s so sweet and the color is the color of the sun, perfect color. The other Covington vegetables are good too.”

“My father would love to hear you say that. But anyhow, my father wanted me to work the farm with him and my brother but I learned early in life that farming wasn’t for me. I also have a sister. When she won the Steeple Chase, my father bought her an equestrian stable. She now raises prize winning equestrian horses. Her horses have participated in the Macey’s Thanksgiving Parade, The Rose Bowl Parade and many others. My brother has stayed at home and helps my father run the farm.”

“Where exactly is the Covington Farm?”

“It’s in Canton, Massachusetts.”

“What made you choose to be a Geologist instead of a farmer?”

“As a little boy of eight or nine, I was fascinated with dirt. I didn’t just want to play in it; I wanted to study it. I wanted to know how you could put a dried up seed in the ground and get food or flowers from it, depending on what kind of seed you put in there. I started digging holes around the farm trying to understand this mystery. One day I dug a hole so deep that I was able to see the different layers of earth. I wanted to understand why the layers were different so I began reading about the earth and its formation. I later found out that the study of earth and rocks was known as geology.”

“But weren’t your parents upset when you decided not to be a farmer?”

“They were disappointed, especially my father, because he always thought my brother and I would take over the farm when he and my mother were gone. However, my parents are very understanding and they have always taught us to follow our own dreams. My parents have arranged for my brother to run the farm, and my sister and I will get a percentage of whatever the farm yields. We’re all happy with that because we are all doing what we love. My brother is the farmer.”

“Are you the oldest of your siblings?”

“You weren’t kidding when you said you wanted to know everything! I’m the youngest my brother is the oldest.”

They finally reached Mandy’s favorite spot, she parked and they got out of the car. Paul looked around in amazement at the beauty before his eyes. From where they were standing they could look down on the town of Hickory Falls. The view from where they were was breathtaking. Behind them was a lush forest and in front of them views of the Twin Mountain and a few other mountains in the area. Mandy explained that there was a ski chalet higher up on the mountain where the locals enjoyed skiing in the winter. Paul stood behind Mandy and wrapped his arms around her and she leaned back into his embrace. They stood there for a while just staring out at the awesome view. Eventually, Paul said, “I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry. Let’s go get the blanket and the picnic basket.”

“Great idea, let’s go.” she replied.

They walked over to the car and pulled everything out and placed them on the ground. Paul and Mandy spend the entire afternoon on the other side of Lone Mountain. The rain that was threatening earlier in the day seemed to have dissipated and the sun was coming out to create the perfect picnic weather. During that afternoon Mandy and Paul committed themselves to each other without a word and without realizing what they were doing. When they left the other side of Lone Mountain, they knew they belonged to one another and nothing would ever change that.