Family Reunion

UNFINISHED WORK IN PROGRESS

“You sure you don’t need anything else before I go?” Mark, always the last guest of the season to leave, asked for the tenth time that day.

“Thanks, Mark, but I’m good.” Molly pointed towards the towering woodpile beside her small log cabin and chuckled. “I think you guys put up enough wood for the next three winters.”

“Just making sure.” Mark hefted another duffel bag filled with mountain climbing gear into his truck bed and shrugged. “We worry about you, you know?”

“Why because I am just a helpless little woman living all by her lonesome in the big scary mountains?” She gave him a wink and patted the gun holstered on her hip.

Mark smirked and put his large, calloused hands up in a mock gesture of surrender. “Hey, I am the last person to argue that you are an amazing shot. I’d just feel much better if you had gotten another dog. Living alone, in such a remote place, it’s just safer with a gun and a dog.” He shrugged. “Don’t matter if you are a man or a woman.”

Molly frowned, fighting back the tears that welled in her eyes at the mention of old Clyde. She’d adopted the boxer from the local shelter a week after she had moved here. She’d begun renovations immediately and turned the three bedroom cabin and four acre property into a rustic bed and breakfast slash campground for mountaineers and hikers. That had been five years ago and the canine had already been well into adulthood by then.

She knew she wouldn’t have a whole lot of time with him, but he had been the perfect balance of sweet and protective from the moment she had stepped foot into his kennel. Besides, she always felt bad for the adult dogs, getting passed over for the cuter puppies.

Mark noticed the shift in her mood and swept her up in a tight hug. “Sorry girly. Don’t mean to be bringing back bad memories. Cancer is a bitch.” He set her down and she noticed a bit of extra moisture in his own eyes.

“Clyde was a fine dog, lived a good life with you here, he’ll be missed by all of us.”

Molly took a deep breath. “Thanks Mark. I really appreciate the grave you guys dug for him and that hand-carved cross Tim made.”

“Hey, he was like a part of the family.” Mark paused, then asked tentatively. “You sure you don’t want me to take you by the shelter? We could get you a new pup for the winter. I just don’t want you to be all alone until the thaw.”

“I’ve survived the past four winters up here. I’ll be fine. Even that wolf I’ve seen lurking around, he stays off the property. Hasn’t even wandered into the campgrounds and you know how much trash the weekenders leave behind. If half eaten hot dogs and steaks don’t tempt him, I seriously doubt he’s suddenly gonna become too friendly with humans.”

“I’m not so worried about the wildlife Molly, I’m more worried about questionable humans.” Genuine concern wrinkled his face.

“You’re starting to sound like my mother.”

“Well maybe she has a point. I mean your brother did go missing on a camping trip. It’s normal she’d worry about you out here alone in the woods.”

The tears Molly had so carefully been holding back over the loss of her dog, poured down her cheeks at the mention of her younger brother’s disappearance. Angrily she swiped them away. She didn’t like crying in front of the guys, even if the hyper-masculine mountaineering men that came up here were all really big softies at heart.

“Oh fuck, Molly. I’m sorry. I need to learn to just keep my damn mouth shut. Someone ought to chain me up on the mountainside where I can’t talk to anyone but birds and bears.”

“It’s OK, Mark. You’re right. My mom and dad can’t understand why I’d want to live up here, so close to where he went missing either.” Molly paused and looked out towards the hiking trails.

“But you know, people deal with loss differently. For me, moving here just made sense. I feel close to him here. And we both loved camping. Taking care of you guys is kind of my way of honoring him, you know? And I may have never gone on to become a nurse like I had dreamed, but dreams change, and my skills certainly come in handy with how often you idiots hurt yourselves.” She joked playfully, the wetness still drying on her cheeks.

Mark shook his bandaged knee at her. “And boy am I grateful for it! If you hadn’t patched me up, that scrape might have gotten infected and ended my fun early this year. You know you are better than any army doc I had in all my years in the service.”

“Scrape? Scrapes don’t require stitches, Mark.” Molly smiled at the compliment but couldn’t help giving him a snappy retort.

Mark’s face turned serious again. “Still, I’d feel better knowing you had a dog to look after you.”

Molly rolled her eyes and laughed. “Seriously Mark, I am not potty training a puppy in the middle of a blizzard. You best get going. News said a storm is moving in. They are expecting an early snowfall, might make the roads down the mountain treacherous.”

*****

“You sure you don’t need anything else before I go?” Mark, always the last guest of the season to leave, asked for the tenth time that day.

“Thanks, Mark, but I’m good.” Molly pointed towards the towering woodpile beside her small log cabin and chuckled. “I think you guys put up enough wood for the next three winters.”

“Just making sure.” Mark hefted another duffel bag filled with mountain climbing gear into his truck bed and shrugged. “We worry about you, you know?”

“Why because I am just a helpless little woman living all by her lonesome in the big scary mountains?” She gave him a wink and patted the gun holstered on her hip.