Mountain Refuge (Mountain Mutineers #1)

Chapter 33

Chapter Thirty-Three

Brooke

I t was finally moving day. The snow had finally relented enough for Corbin to hook a trailer up to the ATV and get it down to my cabin safely. A lot had happened in the five weeks since Josie and Trenton had come to the mountain.

Both were healing exceptionally well, considering. Trenton needed a lot of help with both hands injured. It had been awkward the first few days before the two of us had figured out a routine and how I could help Trenton while still offering him a sense of modesty and pride. Having to be fed like a baby was not exactly dignifying. Eventually, things got easier as Trenton got stronger and his hands healed up more. His right hand would remain casted for another couple of weeks, but he had been experimenting with removing the brace from his left for short periods of time.

Right after Josie and Trenton came up to the mountain, Jack had fallen sick with pneumonia. In all my time here and knowing Jack, I couldn’t recall a time when he’d ever been sick. Thankfully, the town pitched in to help Jack as well as keep his store open. Even with the Mutineers he had planted all over, no one could do what Jack did with a computer. He tried to keep up, but his health had faltered and eventually Jack had to concede that he lost track of Gunther. The last anyone had seen of him, he was headed overseas to visit with Trenton’s mother and his in-laws—though I couldn’t imagine what sort of terms he was on with them.

That was about three weeks ago.

While Elijah did not blame Jack and expressed only for him to take his time to get himself healthy, I knew that he was worried. The times the weather had cleared enough for Elijah, Corbin, and/or Dalton to make it down so we could start working on the construction, I could tell from the bags under Elijah’s eyes that he was not sleeping well. I wished that I could be there for him, to help soothe his fears, but he was not willing to be separated from his kids while Gunther’s whereabouts were still unknown.

I wished Elijah would trust my mountain as I did. Even if by some fluke of a miracle Gunther did learn that Adam Greene and all three of his children were on this mountain, there was no way he could get to us. The roads were still not passable. Additionally, Owen and several other Mutineers were remaining in town to keep an eye on things while Jack was in the hospital.

Construction on my cabin was not completed. We still needed some supplies from town to finish. However, we were able to install a temporary wall against the loft’s banister, move the couch from upstairs to down, take my bedroom door off that room and place it at the top of the stairs, and replace the kids’ new room with a farmhouse dutch door. We had to install a real wall at the top of the stairs for the bedroom door, which is mainly what Corbin and Dalton had been doing while Elijah and I worked on getting my clothes and bedroom items organized.

Now that it was moving day, my queen bed would need to be moved out first so the kids’ bunk bed could be brought inside. Corbin had it in sections that he could install together once they were through the door frames. Since we did not have any kid-size mattresses yet, Belle and Lucas were going to be sleeping on camping pads and sleeping bags for a bit. I also had a tent in case they wanted to sleep in that rather than their bunkbeds.

With the dutch door, we didn’t need a monitor system or baby locks throughout the cabin. Their bedroom would also be their playroom.

Elijah and I would be sleeping up in the loft or out in the living room until our king bed was ready. As long as we remembered to get dressed after any adult fun time, I was looking forward to many fire-lit nights with him on the living room floor.

Trenton would be going with Corbin when he left and moving into Elijah’s old room. I heard the engines long before I saw them. I grabbed a shawl and walked out onto my covered porch in my wool socks to watch them approach. My heart was beating fiercely in my chest—but only in anticipation. Due to the nature of our relationship, the time separated, our time together, and the construction needed, I had spent a lot of hours contemplating if this was the right decision for me and for us as a family.

I knew it was. No hesitation. No second thoughts. I wanted a life here on this mountain with Elijah and his kids.

We never discussed marriage. If I was being honest, I wasn’t sure I wanted to get married again. Marriage meant little in the long run. Vows could easily be broken with or without that piece of paper. What was the point? What I cared about was our relationship, our partnership . We were a team with or without a set of rings.

Calling Elijah ‘my husband’ was not a necessity on the mountain.

I didn’t care about titles. Husband, boyfriend, lover, friend… It didn’t matter. At the end of the day, he was mine . That claim trumped all the rest.

Elijah drove a snowmobile. He had Lucas strapped to his chest and bundled up in his adorable snowsuit that made him look like a red miniature Michelin Man .

Belle was sitting behind Corbin on his ATV. The wheels on the trailer had been removed and replaced with skis.

Lucas had not been back to my cabin since last fall. The winter weather was not conducive for him to travel in. Belle, however, had recently started traveling down with Elijah or Corbin to ‘help’ with the construction. Mostly, though, she visited with her big brother. It was admirable to see the two of them together. Even though Trenton was sixteen years older than her, they had a great relationship.

Trenton hadn’t seen Lucas since he was six months old. I stood back, not wanting to interfere as I watched how timid Lucas was with Trenton. It wasn’t until Belle hugged Trenton that Lucas followed suit. Eventually, Lucas was letting Trenton pick him up or seat him on his lap.

It took some time to get the kids settled with Trenton and then to get all of the furniture moved around. Corbin and Elijah were working on getting the bunkbeds put together while I was making everyone lunch.

I couldn’t place the sound at first. The way the mountain echoed the thunder almost made it sound like an avalanche, but I knew immediately that that couldn’t be right. While avalanches were certainly a possibility, the likelihood of one happening this late in the year or starting at our elevation was slim.

As the noise got louder, my hackles started to rise. I had not gotten word of any missing hikers or tourists from the ski lodge. The local SAR team had a helicopter, but they had no reason to be bringing it so close to my cabin .

Snow tornados twirled outside my kitchen window the closer it got.

That was when I saw what looked like a special ops team propelling down. All dressed in black like this was some B-rated action movie. The fools were wearing black in a white terrain.

I moved out of pure instinct.

I leapt into my pantry where my guns were stored on the top shelf. I grabbed as many as I could while calling out for Corbin and Elijah. No doubt they had heard the propellers too. It was too loud to possibly miss.

Corbin appeared in the pantry doorway. He started collecting ammunition.

“The kids?” I demanded.

“Bedroom fireplace,” Corbin answered shortly. His face was alight with a fury I had never seen before.

I had let the fire in my bedroom go out in anticipation of cleaning it before building a protector around it for the kids. The room would certainly be colder but the brick was the best place to protect the kids from bullets. I didn’t exactly have Kevlar in my arsenal.

“Do we know how many?” Corbin asked.

“I counted at least half a dozen.” I checked my long range rifle I used for large game.

We exited the pantry just as Elijah came bursting into the kitchen. “How did they find us?” he demanded. “Is there a possibility this is the police?”

Both Corbin and I shook our heads. “Police would announce themselves,” I told him. “They have to.”

“Owen or one of the others would have heard something on the police scanners and warned us,” Corbin added.

Elijah accepted the gun from me. “So this is Gunther?”

“Without a doubt,” I answered .

The two of us paused for a moment. There was so much I wanted to say to him, but I also knew we didn’t have time.

Quickly, I leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his lips. “Stay safe.”

“You too,” he muttered.

“Brooke, take the loft.” Corbin barked out orders. “Call the others. They might not get here in time, but they also might. Elijah, you’re here in the kitchen. Take position in the pantry and guard that back door,” he said pointing to it. “I’ve got the living room.”

“Trenton’s got the kids,” Elijah said. I could hear the slight tremor in his voice, but also the determination. “He needs a gun too.”

“I’ll get it to him,” Corbin said. “Get to your positions and call out if you need help. If we need to fall back, we fall back to the bedroom.”

I gave Elijah one last look before I ran off to the loft. The large scenic windows were both an advantage and a disadvantage. I could see everything going on at the back of the cabin—including the half dozen men circling around back through the trees—but they also provided me with no cover.

Careful to not lose track of my guns or ammo, I rushed over to my desk. I keyed the microphone, “Foxtrot-Niner-Niner-Charlie-Eight-Seven SOS. Foxtrot-Niner-Niner-Charlie-Eight-Seven SOS. Helicopter, unknown number of tangos. The kids are here! I repeat, the kids are here!” I was just barely able to keep the panic out of my voice at the last statement.

The kids…

As the first bullets began to fly downstairs destroying the home I had so painstakingly built over the past decade, I knew none of it mattered. I knocked everything off of my desk and tipped it onto its side. Using it as a barrier, I lifted my rifle and took aim.

My cabin could fall to pieces. Every item and memento I owned could be destroyed and I wouldn’t care. My only priority was protecting those kids.

I fired my first shot, knowing it was far from my last.