Coming Home to the Mountain: Complete Edition

3. Graham

CHAPTER 3

Graham

I t’s a long, agonizing day. I didn’t expect anything less.

Lots of coffee, lots of soda, me desperately trying to get caffeine from any source that I can.

Again and again, I’m scooping stranded people up who did whatever they could to survive this sudden predicament. People on whatever scraps they could find floating in the mud, people on top of tall buildings, and people stranded in the nearby wilderness, all scratching and clawing to survive, hoping to hang on just long enough for help to come.

It’s what I wanted to do. Be the hero people need. I scoop them up, ferrying them back and forth, guiding them over to the Burly fairgrounds where there are hastily constructed, temporary shelters. By no means luxurious, just loads of cots and MREs brought in from the local military base, but it’s safe and dry. People can make do there until we get aid from county, state, and federal sources, and decide what to do next.

When my shift comes to an end, I’m dropped off at the fairgrounds. I should just call up Bartlett to come and pick me up, but I can’t shake one particular survivor I laid eyes on.

Tallie Miller.

Fuck, she was gorgeous, and that was probably her at her worst. Running for her life with her child, flirting with death from a sudden event. Mud-covered and wearing not a stitch of makeup, from the looks of it.

Yet she was still absolutely fucking mesmerizing. A dark brunette, curvy as hell, looking like she could weather a rough storm both in the literal sense and in the double entendre sense. I like that in a woman. I guess it’s just a Rough boy thing. We take our names kinda literally in that we like girls who can work a day on a farm or pitch in at the construction company, girls with a little extra to love, something to keep us warm on cold winter nights.

I decide to wander into the tents to check on her. It’s a mess inside, lots of people chattering, crying, still recovering from nature’s cruelty being inflicted on them. I wander the aisles, seeing various people I’ve helped today, but I’m focused on finding Tallie and her child.

Luck’s with me today, and I see her. She’s sitting on a cot, still holding her child so close. One of the social workers is standing in front of her, talking to her. It takes me a moment, but I realize I’ve seen that particular social worker around. “How’s it going in here, Gertie?”

Gertie looks up at me with those coke-bottle frames of hers, her old eyes focusing a bit. “Well, well, if it isn’t Graham Rough. It’s going how you’d expect. Everyone’s in a bad way.”

Tallie looks up to see me, light igniting in her eyes. She looks to me, and then to Gertie. “You know him?”

“Oh yes, I’m friends with his mother. I’ve seen this lad grow up from playing cops and robbers with his brothers into a real police officer. Although back in the day he was usually playing the robber...”

“I got my robbing out of my system when I was young, Gertie,” I say, smiling.

“The Rough family has been good for Home, and Home’s been good to them,” Gertie says. “What brings you in here, Graham?”

“Just call me a softie who's particularly worried about a woman and her baby. I wanted to check to see how they are, and I was wondering if there’s anything I can do.”

“You’ve done so much already,” Tallie says, shaking her head.

“I can do more if you let me.”

“I’m going around getting the names of everyone here,” Gertie says. “And seeing if they have options other than staying here. Family or friends in Home, or somewhere else nearby. Sleeping in a cot under a fairground tent is no one’s first choice for where they want to stay for a night.”

“Wait, you have names?” Tallie says, her voice picking up. “Have you found Julia Miller?”

Gertie flips through her papers. “We don’t have a Julia recorded here. Not yet, anyway. I’ll notify you if we get in contact with her.”

The color drains from Tallie’s face. She seems so very worried and even though it’s warranted given the situation, my heart aches for her.

“I’m more worried about you and your baby right now,” Gertie says. “Do you have anyone who would be willing to take you in, if only for a few days?”

Tallie shakes her head. “No. No one to take me in. I have nowhere to go.”

I cock an eyebrow. “You don’t have a husband? A partner?”

“No. No, I don’t. Never had one.”

Never had one? My heart breaks further. If that were my baby – my woman – I’d die before I left them. How could anyone let them go?

Nevertheless, she’s a woman in danger, and I feel the need to help however I can. “If you want to get out of here, you can come to my home, Tallie.”

Her eyes shoot open. “What?”

“I have a ton of extra space in my cabin. It was recently built, and my parents can help make it childproof. They’re always willing to help out someone in need, doubly so if they have a child.”

She looks around the fairgrounds. Kindness built this place, but it’s not where any of us want to be. People need to be at home, not among a sea of desperate people. They’ll survive here but in no way will they thrive.

Tallie shakes her head. “I need to stay here. In case they find my sister.”

I kneel down, a hand on her shoulder. “Gertie says she’ll notify you if anyone named Julia shows up. And she’s a woman of her word.”

Gertie nods. “And I can vouch for the character of the Roughs, miss. This one will take good care of you. This is no place for a baby.”

Tallie’s eyes dart back and forth in thought before she finally relents, her shoulders sinking. “Alright. If you’re willing to help, I guess I have to accept your offer.”

I’m relieved to hear it. “Come on then. You need a hot meal, a hot shower, a warm bed, and the peace of mind that the roof over your head is going to be there tomorrow.” I offer my hand.

She takes it. “Thank you. You’ve just done so much already.”

“Giving can be just as fulfilling as receiving sometimes,” I say, my eyebrow cocked, wondering if she’s in the mental place to notice the double entendre that slipped out before I noticed it.

I give my contact info to Gertie, then head out to my truck, Tallie in tow. She’s so overwhelmed, and hesitant to make eye contact.

She's a mess, and it isn’t hard to see why. I worry that not even my hospitality will be enough to put her at ease.

But damn, I’ll try my hardest.