Page 16 of Mountain Refuge
“Brooke, babe, if you’re listening, thank you. I owe you.”
I leaned to the side so she could talk if she wanted to, butshe shook her head. Then she indicated to downstairs and the kids. I took that to mean she was going down to give me some privacy. “Thank you,” I told her before turning back to the mic and speaker. It would have been better to see him in person, but this was second best. I keyed the microphone. “We’ve been at Brooke’s house for two days.”
“Hold on, man, let me scramble the channel so hopefully we can talk without being overheard. Jack, if you’re listening, turn off your speaker.”The radio made a whirling sound, almost reminding me of the AOL dial tone from my childhood, giving me some serious flashbacks from the 90s, and then beeped twice. Corbin’s voice came back over.“Okay, we should be good now.”
“Scramble the radio? Shit, man, when did you get so techie?”
Corbin laughed, which was great to hear. He hadn’t had much to laugh about in his childhood.“I literally hit one button. Be grateful I knew how to do that. Me and technology still aren’t friends.”
Before we got into the heavy stuff, I had to ask. “How are you, Cor? Really? It’s been eighteen years and I’m so grateful that you helped me out. I just need to know how you’re doing. Are you okay after…everything?”
Corbin had been convicted of manslaughter. In my opinion, unlawfully. It had been self-defense but because his father had been a cop, well, the judge had taken one look at tall, scrawny Corbin and found him guilty. The underpaid, overworked public defender hadn’t even stood a chance.
“It wasn’t easy,”he said with a sigh.“I don’t like to dwell on it. I’ll fill you in on how I ended up here when I see you. This place is amazing, Adam. It saved my life and I know it can save yours too. I have never regretted my decision to come here.”
I was almost afraid to ask. After her husband’s death andCorbin’s sentencing, his mom had moved away. As far as I knew, my mom had lost contact with her years ago. “And…what about your mom?”
There was a pause and then a feminine voice came across the speaker.“Hello, Adam.”
My mind almost blew. Holy shit! “Mrs. Mullaney? Holy… I mean, it’s so good to hear from you. I can’t believe you’re here.” Then I paused. “You guys are here, right? I mean, you’re on this mountain too?”
A feminine laugh. It made me realize that I don’t think I’d ever heard his mom laugh before. Ever.“Yes, we’re on the mountain too. My Corbin found me after he was released and brought me here to live with him.”
I was so happy to hear that. Corbin and Mrs. Mullaney both deserved peace after what her husband and his father had put them through and then how justice had failed them. Corbin had killed his father. That was never a question. He’d admitted it when the cops had come to the house. What no one seemed to take into account was that Corbin had walked in on Mr. Mullaney beating Mrs. Mullaney with his belt. Corbin, enraged and terrified for his mom, had pushed Mr. Mullaney away from her. He’d tripped, hit his head on a glass coffee table. The glass had shattered, and a piece had pierced his heart. But what had condemned Corbin as a murderer was picking up another piece and stabbing his father nine times in the back as he’d laid there already dying.
At least he had only gotten ten years. Manslaughter was generally a lot longer. His age had been the one thing going for him. He’d only just turned eighteen the week before and the public defender had gotten him tried as a minor instead of an adult given the history of abuse.
Corbin’s voice came over next.“We can catch up on us later. Tell me about the kids. Are they okay?”
“Better than okay,” I said with confidence. “I was in bad shape when we arrived. I was exhausted and cold from keeping the kids protected from the storm. I passed out soon after we’d arrived. Brooke kept the kids calm, fed them, and watched over them while I slept.”
That still grated on me, but I needed to give Brooke credit where credit was due.
“She’s amazing,” Corbin said with admiration.“She helps out one of the old mountain men next to her. If she hadn’t been doing regular check-ins on him, he might have died last year when he fell and broke his hip. She found him, got ahold of Jack, and got him down the mountain so the paramedics could meet them.”
Wow. My Brooke was a regular heroine. The pride I felt in that moment was suddenly bombarded by shock. What the fuck was that?MyBrooke? She wasn’tmyanything. In fact, based on thebabeendearments Corbin had called her, she might behisBrooke.
“Yeah, she’s been great.” I didn’t like how my voice cracked. Christ, I felt like a teen with his first crush. I cleared my throat. “She said it’s supposed to storm again. I take it that it’s not safe enough to travel to you now.”
I wasn’t sure if I was grateful or frustrated by his negative answer. I shouldn’t want to stay here.“Definitely not. I’ve got baby supplies and toys here for the kids, but I wouldn’t risk bringing them out in this. If needed I can bring supplies down to you, but my recommendation is to leave them there. You’re already safe and holed up. Let’s keep you where you are a bit longer. I need to update Jack and make sure you’re in the clear. Can you tell me where you left your car so we can dump it?”
My fear that it had been stolen resurfaced, but I didn’t comment. “Honestly, I have no idea. Brooke mentioned we were off the main road, but I couldn’t even begin totell you where. I’m just so grateful she found us and was able to bring us here. Corbin, my kids could have died out there.”
A low expletive could be heard before,“I know, man. I’m so sorry about that. It wasn’t supposed to go down that way. I’ve been really worried. Brooke’s amazing like that though. You’re in really good hands with her. And if you’re lucky she’ll cook you some of her venison stew.”
“Venison?” I repeated, wanting to make sure I’d heard him correctly. I wasn’t so city that I didn’t know that venison meant deer.
“Welcome to Montana,”he laughed.
I shook my head. Deer was not a meat regularly available in NYC. “Thanks, man. I feel the welcome.” I was terrified to ask, but I had to know. “Has there been anything from the city? While we were driving, Jack kept saying we weren’t being followed but there were times when I would swear we were. Cor, how do you know we are safe here?”
“It’s as safe as we can make you.”It wasn’t much of an assurance, but it was more than we’d had since we’d run.“Look, I’m not happy about us losing contact all these years but in this instance, it’s actually helped you. No one will ever guess that you’re here with me. Why would they? Beyond that, even if they guessed you are with me, no one knows where I am. My land isn’t under my name. I have no utilities or bills in my name. The mountain is the safest place I can imagine for you and the kids to disappear. Plus, between me, the others up here, and Jack down in town, we have eyes and ears everywhere. No one steps foot on this mountain without us knowing.”
I breathed out a sigh of relief at that. “I don’t want to endanger you either.”
“I’m not in any danger and protecting you and those kids would be worth any trouble. You did the right thing, Adam. I know it’s tough right now but you got them out of there. I don’tknow your full story but I do know that.”He paused for a second then added, “Listen, I’ll check in with you guys tomorrow. Let me know if you’re running low on any supplies. I won’t bring Mom out in this, but I can manage to get stuff down to you if necessary.”
The worddowncaught my attention. That meant he was higher up the mountain than we already were. I wasn’t sure if I was comfortable with that. Were the kids safe out here? There was no medical attention or pharmacies nearby. What if we ran out of diapers and formula? I vaguely recalled Brooke saying when I’d first woken up that we were almost out of baby food.
