Mountain Refuge (Mountain Mutineers #1)

Chapter 30

Chapter Thirty

Elijah

T he news about Trenton had been hard to hear. I’d known him since he was fifteen years old. For all of his faults when I’d first met him, he was a good kid and had grown into an even better man. He had risked his life to save his sister’s and had worked tirelessly to right his father’s wrongs. Some men twice his age weren’t half as strong as he was.

It sickened me that Trenton had been born into that life. More so than Belle or Lucas, because they were still young enough to grow and forget. To let memories heal and fade away. It had been a long time since Belle had mentioned ‘the bad man’ haunting her dreams. Lucas, thankfully, would never know about any of it. He would grow up in a life that Trenton had never been offered.

What sort of person would Trenton be if he hadn’t grown up his father’s son? To be raised to become a criminal? There couldn’t be many fates worse than that. Trenton had known from a very young age what his path in life was—and yet he had fought it at every turn. From failing in school to stepping up to be a part of his half-sister’s life. Trenton had shown more gumption than I had given him enough credit for.

Like his little sister, he had a heart of gold and nerves of steel.

Several days after Jack’s initial call, I returned to Corbin’s cabin. I hated leaving Brooke alone and had convinced her to come up with me. Dalton had generously agreed to check on her cabin and stores during her absence. Logically, I knew that Gunther still had no idea where we were, nor could he get to us even if he did, but that old fear had taken root in my system and it was difficult to shake.

We were safer at Corbin’s further up the mountain. I knew how capable Brooke was, but I still needed her with me.

When Corbin had moved the kids and me into his cabin last year, he had shown me an elevation map of the mountain. It had taken me by surprise how close to town we were. As the crow flies, it was only about two miles. However, with the terrain, the elevation, and the weather, the paths to each of our homes become a lot longer and more treacherous. After reaching Tommy’s land, there was no way to get a full sized vehicle up the mountain. It was frightening to learn just how close the kids and I had come to death the night I drove up the mountain due to a miscommunication and my ignorance.

I knew better now. We had been up on this mountain for fourteen months. I knew how to navigate and use the mountain to my advantage. Even if Gunther located us, he did not know this mountain. As Corbin and Brooke continually tried to tell me, we had the home advantage.

It was about a week after Trenton and Josie’s attack when we got word from Jack they were well enough to travel. His man, Owen, was bringing them to Montana. This was a risk, with Gunther’s location still unknown, but one I was willing to take on. Trenton deserved to see his brother and sister again after all this time and after all he had suffered to protect them. Additionally, Trenton had nowhere else to go with Gunther out of jail.

I recalled all the precautions I had taken to get the kids and myself to Whitefish and had no doubt that Jack’s man, Owen, would take equal measures to ensure they were not followed.

We needed to figure out living arrangements. There were only so many bedrooms available. As soon as the weather cleared enough, Brooke, Corbin, and I were going to start moving the kids’ things down to Brooke’s cabin. Until then, however, Corbin did not have a spare bedroom.

Brooke suggested putting Josie up with her—and I had to fight to find a reason not to do that since it did make the most logical sense. However, I wanted to be the one bunking with Brooke. It was selfish, given our limited housing space, but I had just spent months without her.

We still had several days before Josie and Trenton would arrive in Whitefish to figure it out. Dalton had said he would help where he could but could not offer up his cabin for anyone to sleep. The two cabins they used to house special visitors were already occupied. I didn’t know by who and no one would say. Even Brooke was being close-lipped about it. I got it—I wasn’t part of their group—but I did not like not being in the know.

It made the most sense to house Trenton with me and the kids. He had a right to his brother and sister. Legally, he had more of a right to Belle than I did. I knew that Trenton had no designs to take her from me, but the fact that he could was never far from my mind.

Then we all received a shock over the radio. Walter, who was even further up the mountain than Corbin was, had volunteered to house Josie. I had never met Walter, but I knew his voice. He had a deep bass vocal range that reminded me of Paul Robeson and the classic songs my mom listened to.

Both Brooke and Corbin looked as shocked as I felt by this announcement. According to them, Walter only aided with protection on the mountain and had never actively been involved with the people Jack took in. From what I understood, people didn’t stay on the mountain. The kids and I were an exception because of Corbin. The two cabins they used to house people were temporary until other arrangements could be made. I didn’t know where those cabins were in proximity to Brooke’s or Corbin’s cabins, but I had pieced together enough to know they were not high up. If I had to make a guess, they were between Tommy’s and Brooke’s land in elevation.

Belle knew that Trenton was coming. After Gunther’s arrest, we had even arranged for Belle to talk to Trenton on the phone during her last trip to town before the snowfall. She loved her brother and missed him. Lucas was too young to remember Trenton or to have the family dynamics explained to him now.

“I’m going to tell him all about my new uncle and my new grammy and my new cabin and my new hair and my new name and my new friend, Brooke, and my new shoes…” Belle had babbled on for days after learning Trenton was going to be joining us on the mountain.

With Walter taking Josie up to the cabin, which he assured me was not an issue even with the weather, we just had to find a place for Trenton. The snow the past two nights did not help. I finally had to concede that Trenton would need to stay with Brooke while the kids and I remained a little longer at Corbin’s.

Brooke and I took the time we had together before our guests arrived. We started to work on plans for her cabin’s renovation, which we would start as soon as the weather allowed us to get the supplies Jack had ordered for us. Corbin was even working on a bunkbed for Belle and Lucas’s room. I knew eventually we would have to figure out something else with their room, but it would work for now.

After some measurements and a couple failed suggestions, Brooke and I finally figured out what our furniture set up would be in the loft. I planned on using the remainder of the winter to help Corbin build us a king bed frame with storage underneath. We were only able to place a bigger bed in the room if we gave up furniture like dressers and nightstands. Therefore, our new bed would have shelving over it instead of a headboard. The couch that was currently up there was going into the kids’ new room and we were going to place a shoe chest in the corner. This left the large scenery windows unblocked too.

It would take time, but we would get there.

Once Trenton was healed and adjusted, we would need to figure out what he wanted to do. He didn’t have to stay on the mountain, but it would no doubt be the safest option for him. After telling his mom off, he couldn’t even go to Vivian for help against his father.

Jack was having a hard time finding Gunther because most of his associates had distanced themselves from him during his trial. Even with what remained of his assets returned to him, Gunther had other resources. Per Jack, Gunther had a number of aliases through his various shell corporations. Part of why it had taken Trenton and Josie so long to dismantle his father’s enterprise was because they had to track down what names belonged to actual people and which were Gunther under an assumed name.

There was no guarantee they had found all of Gunther’s names and accounts.

Jack was, however, able to track down Helena Blake, Belle’s birth mother. She had taken the money Gunther paid her and had moved to London, England. In the eight years since giving up her parental rights, Helena had been through three husbands, all of whom were now dead or dying. Upon learning this, Jack had made the decision not to reach out to her regarding Belle’s parental rights, which I wholly seconded. I wanted that woman nowhere near my daughter.

Until Owen arrived with Josie and Trenton, there was little to do but wait. We continued on like nothing was different or amiss for the sake of the children. Belle knew Trenton was coming, but I had not figured out yet how to tell her his condition.

Brooke knew I was worrying, even without me having to say anything. Her love and support held steady, even with our pending separation. I could only hope that the winter would come to an early end and we could get started on the construction soon. I was more than ready to move into her cabin and become a family.

I also started taking shooting lessons. Despite once having been accused of killing a man, I had never actually held a gun before a few days ago. Corbin had different hunting rifles and Gertie had an old pistol that had been her husband’s. Brooke had several handguns and hunting rifles. When Dalton learned of my lessons, he also joined in to help instruct me. It was decided to start off with a handgun and then work my way up to the rifle.

Though I wasn’t happy about it, Belle was also part of the lessons. Corbin had been teaching her gun safety as part of her hunting lessons. He’d started her off with a compound bow and arrows. Belle was an amazing shot and took her lessons very seriously. Unfortunately for me, Corbin was to the point where he couldn’t ‘add’ anything else to her lessons and I would soon have to make a decision if Belle was allowed to go hunting with Corbin this summer. After watching my lessons, Belle was also asking to learn how to shoot a gun.

I could appreciate Belle learning gun safety. I had heard a lot of stories growing up in New Jersey about kids ‘playing’ with their parents’ guns and accidentally shooting themselves or each other. I never wanted that to happen to Belle or Lucas. Guns were a part of mountain life and they needed to learn gun safety. However, I was still apprehensive about Belle actually shooting a gun at another living thing.

Maybe that was just my own fears coming to the surface. Animal or human, I had no idea if I actually had the strength to pull the trigger to end a life. Still targets were one thing.

I had yet to hit any of my targets. My bad aim was making me the laughing stock of the group—including my own daughter and the woman who held my heart.

Watching Brooke handle a gun should not have been sexy. But damn, I enjoyed watching her in action. As a former police officer and a veteran, Brooke and Dalton were nearly matched in skill and often had shooting contests during my training. Once Dalton had joined in, Corbin had stepped back to help keep Belle entertained so she didn’t keep asking when it was her turn.

“You’re going to need to let her at some point,” Brooke told me as we were packing up one day. The sun was setting fast and what little warmth we had been allotted that day was dying down.

“She’s eight years old!” I argued back. Again.

“She’s eight, almost nine, and she lives on a mountain.” She leaned over to press a kiss to my bearded cheek. “There are enough of us around to help keep her safe. I know you don’t like guns, but they’re a way of life up here. She’s a great shot with her bow. She’s never goofed off or mistreated the weapon. I know a gun seems scarier, but it’s no more dangerous than a bow in the wrong hands.”

I still didn’t like it, but I conceded. The next day, Corbin started Belle’s training with an eighteen-inch Ruger compact rifle he’d purchased for her.

I stood back and watched in trepidation as my little angel hit the bullseye after only three shots.