At the bottom of the stairs, Hedy placed her shades and noticed the pawn shop door on the left was propped open. She glanced inside, seeing nobody then continued through the glass foyer out onto the boardwalk. Grateful for the sweatpants and long flannel she turned into the cool morning air. Down the stairs to street level, she tossed her bag in the car and headed across the street. Billy was at the register and said politely “Morning.” She smiled “Morning Billy” and he blushed red. It never failed when she called him by name. She sometimes caught him in the mirror above the coolers watching her. Amusing little game they played. She liked Billy. He is on the team, and she cheered him on with the rest of the town. Taking the “mini” shopping cart she went to the grocery “row”. The C-Store served as many things as possible here in town and she needed food for the trip up to the Lodge.
Gibby made sure he had steaks, chops, burger, dogs, sausages, eggs, cheeses and all the “snacks” one could need. Not really a grocery store but much appreciated here in Destiny. Stocking the lodge in spring seemed like it took more than one trip every year. Turning up the “drug store” she tossed in some paper towels and TP. Toothpaste and a bottle of Bayer aspirin. They had the cheap stuff but her dad had always said Bayer was the stuff.
Billy helped her with the bags across the street and then into the back seat of the Royal Purple Escalade. They talked about the lodge as he packed. “Careful with that one,” Hedy said, handing him the last one. “Eggs.” Billy gave a quick nod, sliding it onto the seat like it mattered.
“Got it.”
For a second, everything felt… ordinary. Groceries. Early morning glow in Mountain shadows. The low hum of town, awakening, drifting up and down the street. She handed him a twenty and of course he blushed again, stammered a thank you, stepped back and watched as she drove off up main.
Giggling at the look on his face she saw him just standing there in the mirror. Blinker clicking left turn she stopped at the T and noticed Mary heading up the steps at the Courthouse. She glanced at the clock as she turned and smiled, 7 am was early for government work. Heading west out of Destiny was the scenic drive. She waved at Marvin outside the shop and he returned the greeting with a smile and his raised coffee cup. The streets out this way wound up the ridges and here and there you could spot the houses as the sun rose over the peaks to the east of the valley. The glows off windows gave each one of the away as she drove. Not quite one thousand people lived here tucked into places hidden from most. CR 384 runs flat for a stretch, then begins a winding twisting ascent to the summit of St Vrain Mountain. If you keep going it winds on out to Elk Tooth and Ogallala Peak. Further on it ends near Arapaho Bay on Lake Granby. If you drove on around the lake you come to Highway 34 and headwaters of the Mighty Colorado River.
Today though, Hedy made the right turn onto “their” Trail Ridge Road. Its not marked at all but when you know the landmarks you turn. Here the gravel ends. It really is a trail, barely qualified as a road—wagon ruts, rock, and memory forcing slow progress.. Four climbing switchbacks up the flat spot appears. Pushing the button she watches the door open and pulls in. Cool and quiet. A few days of the Lodge is always good for the soul…
Leaving the supplies in the back seat she goes in and starts the fire. Always start the fire. It is part of life here and part of what make it the Lodge. Looking out the massive windows is always an astonishing sight. Far mountain peaks in blazing spring sunshine. The valley below with just a few glints of moving water through the trees and here and there a vehicle going where ever it is going. This place is not home but if you are going away it is the kind of place that becomes home as soon as you walk in. The phone ringing in the Escalade brought her back to the task at hand. “Andrew!” “hey babe” he replied and explained he should be there in a few hours, before dark for sure.
That goon down in Boulder had really set her off. She called his bluff and sent him packing. Back to Washington with her answer. She was staying until further notice “Inactive”. She earned it and was taking it. The servers were fine and Phloyd was there, so this was her time. Andrew time… Mountain time…
Later, groceries put away, Hedy stepped out onto the deck. Now in daisy dukes and her favorite orange cami, she stretched into the warmth. Spring in the mountains. Snow can come and go but today at seventy-eight degrees she was doing the sun. The quietness that takes away the world and responsibilities.
Hedy heard it before she saw it. Gravel carried the sound up the ridge.
She stepped out onto the deck, with the sun still stuck behind the mountain. Standing in a silver long silk robe pulled tighter against the cold. The pickup came around the last turn slow, easing out of the shadows and over the ruts like it knew them. Andrew’s truck. Rolling around back. As she stepped into the garage he began apologizing.
“Had to stay,” he said. “Guy needed a ride… and someone to sit with.” That was enough. “I know, thanks for calling… Coffee?” she asked. A small smile. “Yeah.”
Inside, the fire was going. Mornings up here are always cold. Andrew stepped into the warmth and took a look out through the windows like he’d been gone longer than a day.
“Miss anything?” he asked. Hedy shook her head as she wrapped her arms around him. “Just the quiet.” Andrew glanced toward the ridge, as the sun broke over the top.
“Yeah,” he said quietly. Feeling the warmth of her body and the strength of her presence in his world. She had become his person. The one who knew all the secrets. All the hurt. All the drama. She had become his sponsor without ever asking her. He could have a meeting right here if he needed it. And she was his and it still blew his mind. This woman who was so out of his league… This FOX he found in his arms… The feel of silk… Slowly kissing her, he walked her backwards. Past the kitchen and down the hall. All thoughts of that coffee gone for now…
Stepping out of the shower Andrew could hear sizzling. He walked towards the kitchen bacon smells reminding him he didn’t eat last night. He stayed in Arora at the clubhouse late and got a room around 2am. Drama and relapse hurt so bad. Sometimes just sitting there with a cup of coffee listening worked in the moment. Dave said he would call, and could see Mark if the urge was to strong as they parted ways. Andrew liked Dave and he just need to make that ninety day mark… He missed it twice and the fear of doing it again drives some to give up. That is why he slept alone. Another alcoholic needed him. He got up early and headed northwest. A quick stop in town, a few assorted cans of Bang from Billy (once a speed freak always a speed freak he had explained to the kid and laughed) at the C-Store and then up the “Oregon Trail” as he called it.
Hashbrowns from Orphan Taters (leftover baked ones Phloyd had insisted on sending for just this reason) eggs and links. They ate in silence and he just could not help but watch every movement she made. I love you he thought over and over. The glint of light from her black leggings as she crossed her legs. The way her shoulder peeked out from the Def Leppard T-shirt that was really his so it hung just so. The way the steam from her coffee curled around her red hair. Sunlight creating an aura that seemed to frame her in front of the mountain view behind.
“So what’s the plan?” he asked setting down his “damn Dam Store” mug. “Three days of nothing” she smiled. He raised an eyebrow. “Nothing?” “Weather holds we sit on the deck and watch” “If it turns, we’re right here by the fire” Andrew liked that idea, both of them.
“So how did the Goon meeting go? “Well I had to let him know that he had no control of the situation and that Washington could wait…” I might call the Major next week but they know its all under control.” Andrew nodded, but his mind drifted. The computers Phloyd had running at home. He didn’t know all of it—didn’t need to—but enough to understand there were bigger things moving under the surface. High stakes, quiet money, systems that didn’t show up on any map.
Hedy and Berny would slip off sometimes, talking just out of earshot. He’d catch fragments… numbers… places… enough to know this world she lived in was deeper than it looked.
“Hello?” He blinked.
Hedy was watching him. Laughing, he shook his head. “Yeah… sorry. I was gone for a minute.” “Clearly,” she said. “That grin said everything.” “Well,” he said, “if we’ve got no plans… I think we should start the day over.”
She didn’t move. Didn’t need to.
Andrew in control reached for her, guiding her back toward the fire, the warmth catching both of them as the room settled into quiet again. He paused just long enough to look at her.
Really look. “I love you,” he said softly.