Shelter for the Mountain Man (Whispered Echoes Season 2: A Wounded Mountain Man)

Chapter 1

Bishop Spade

Sitting at the table in the corner of Muggs Up, I watch as Jax walks up glancing at the chair next to me.

“Hey man, you got your rucksack. What’s up with that?” Jax sits across the table from me. “Something happen at your interview with the Sheriff?”

“Naw, that went great. He pretty much said I had the deputy position, but he can’t officially offer it to me until he talks to the County Sheriff who’s on vacation. He’ll be back in like a week and a half.

“I thought I’d take a few days and trek around the mountain to get a better feel for the area while I wait.”

“Would have thought you’d had enough trekking, coming all the way from Chicago to Oregon.”

“Didn’t trek the whole way. Took some trains. Just got off and trekked when the scenery caught my eye. I had a lot to work through in my head.”

“Any news from your ex?”

“I told her I don’t want the furniture I paid for or the house. I won’t ask for the downpayment I made on the house, but I want my name off the title. My savings account is mine, hers is hers. Having a valid settlement agreement will speed up the divorce.

“She was going to try for child support, but the tests proved I’m not the father.

My lawyer says she’s got affidavits from about twenty people of what was really going on while I was deployed.

The parents of the child’s biological father want custody.

I asked for the birth certificate to be changed. ”

“You good with all this?”

“Good?” Finding out my wife cheated on me the whole time we were married and then had a kid with another man while I was deployed? “Better.”

Jax nods. “You did the right thing, coming here, taking the time, clearing your head. I tell you, Kennedy, Oregon is a great place to start over. The mountain air is clean, the mountains fresh and uncluttered. Peace is here if you want it. The apartment above Maura’s boutique working okay for you?”

“It’s great man.”

“I appreciate you being there. Knowing you’re close if Maura needs help is a relief. She’s a little headstrong.”

I laugh. “Ya think? I caught her with one of the twins in her arms trying to slide a box down the stairs the day I moved in.”

Jax just shakes his head and rubs a hand down his face.

He was my team leader for a few years before he left the military.

The best damn leader I ever had. Almost ten years older and a hella lot wiser, he helped me though more than one tough spot.

Even after he left and was dealing with his own issues he kept in touch with all ‘his men’.

“Once I catch a little time off, you gonna be good to help me with the addition to the cabin?”

“Hell yeah, construction is my playground. Sheriff said I might be on three twelve-hour shifts or four tens. We’ll make time on the side as we both can and each work on our own too.”

Jax looks at me. “I’m glad to have you here, Spade. Kinda feels like the good days.”

I nod. I know how he feels. The men we fought with were more like brothers. Once people started transitioning out it was like a family breaking up.

He finishes his coffee and stands. “Storms might be blowing in. You got your satellite phone?”

I nod.

“They work most of the time on the mountain but there are a few dead spots. I want twelve-hour check-ins with coordinates.”

I smirk. “Yes, Dad.”

He makes like he’s gonna smack me upside the head and walks away.

I finish my coffee, shoulder my rucksack, nod goodbye to Maizie, the owner of Muggs Up, and head out. The air’s a little cool, but the sun on my face is bright and clear. A great day to trek.

I’m not interested in distance. I’ll be sticking to a forty-mile radius.

What I need is the open space, the sounds of nature, the clean air.

The seclusion. I plan to go up the mountain and circle over to Jax’s place and come back down to town.

Take my time, take some pictures and get a real feel for my new home.

I grew up in Chicago but would go to Wisconsin with Gramps three or four times a year to trek the trails and woods, to fish and camp. Re-ground he’d call it.

I make a cold camp early and lie where I can see the stars.

This is peace. The last year has been rough.

Transitioning out of the military to please my wife.

Coming home to that wife and a child who wasn’t mine.

Learning my wife had never been faithful.

The fights. The failed attempts to reconcile.

The realization that I’d been nothing more than a bank account.

The legal battles over assets and property.

Then the hardest part. The child. Having come from a dysfunctional home, my concerns that the child would be taken care of played heavy on my heart. He was the only innocent one in the whole mess. The added heartache for him, on top of coming off the losses from my team, took a real toll.

Getting back to nature…I stare at Orion in the sky. This peace is what I need. Being here, having a friend and mentor in Jax has already helped. I just need a little more time, a new purpose and job to get back to the old me.

The morning light wakes me. I eat a couple breakfast bars as I trek higher.

Pausing, I see the river down below. Pulling my camera out, I take a few shots of the sunrise framed by the majestic mountains.

Later I get a few more shots of deer, eagles, and an owl.

Checking my coordinates, I adjust my path to head back toward Jax’s place.

Hearing a boat engine, I alter my path to where I can see the river again.

Standing on a rocky outcropping I see a jet boat pulling into a small hidden inlet.

There’s a guy on shore with a four-wheeler who grabs the line.

My instincts and training as a spotter kick in.

Dropping to a crouch, I adjust the lens on my camera and start snapping shots.

They unload two crates, securing them on the four-wheeler, then pull a brush covered net over the boat to hide it from easy view.

Their actions feel off. They don’t carry themselves like hunters. So why camouflage your boat?

The taller of the two men stops at one of the tubs, lifts a corner and reaches in, pulling out two bricks of what I assume is drugs. They both laugh and each pocket one.

Stowing my camera in my pack, I slip it back on and stay crouched, hoping they don’t head up the mountain toward me. I glance over the rocky edge, watching and waiting. A shout rings out, “Over there.”

I’ve been spotted. The engine revs amidst the yelling. Two shots ring out as I prepare to leap over the edge. A burning sensation slices along my left bicep, then my head connects with something….