Mountain Rough

“What brings you up to the resort? Charlie said it had something to do with permits?” I tilted my head with an inquisitive stare.

“Yeah, you know I wouldn’t get involved in this kind of thing normally, but Charlie has been talking about all the stuff y’all are working on when he stops by the bar at night. Hell, I didn’t even realize you were still around until someone told me what they heard. You probably don’t know since you’ve been away for a while, but Blue Ridge incorporated the whole mountain about five years ago.” He motioned with his hand. “Anything that happens up here, whether it is a new building or a simple repair, has to go through Mayor Remington’s office first.”

“Mayor Remington.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “I see. Would Mayor Remington be related to the same family that owns almost all of the luxury cabin rentals up here?”

“There aren’t many Remingtons in Blue Ridge, so I’m sure you already know the answer to that question, Red.” He shrugged. “They own a lot more of them than they did when you left, too. If you’ll stop by the Mayor’s office tomorrow, I’m sure they’ll help you get everything filed properly—for the necessary fees.”

“I guess it’s a good thing I decided to take the day off work.” I nodded. “So what happens if I decide to keep working without the permits?”

“I’m afraid I’ll have to use these.” He turned and tapped his handcuffs. “But that won’t be necessary, right? You understand it’s just my job to enforce the law.”

“Right.” I nodded with absolute clarity. “I guess I’ll have to get those permits then.”

“Oh, and Red?” He turned his head towards Mandy’s car. “You don’t have any guests do you? You have to get this place inspected before you can.”

“No.” I lied eloquently without moving my eyes or my head. “It’s just a friend.”

“Okay, good.” He exhaled sharply. “By the way, when you do stop by, you might want to just try and avoid Mayor Remington altogether.”

“Why is that?” I felt concern growing and my face didn’t hide it.

“Cause there’s a Remington that you probably don’t remember from back in the day, but you know her quite well. I hear you two reconnected yesterday in the supermarket. The Mayor’s real unhappy about that.” He opened his car door.

“Sharon…” I blinked a couple of times. “Sharon married into the Remington family?”

“She did. Hell, it wasn’t long after you left.” He slid into his car, closed the door and rolled down the window when the engine was roaring. “You know you could just sell this place, right? I know it ain’t worth much after the incorporation, but there’s no reason for you to bust your balls up here if you don’t want to be in Blue Ridge. The price ain’t going up any, even if you get it back to the way it used to be.”

“Brandon Remington.” I ignored the rest of what he said. “She married Brandon, didn’t she?”

“She did.” He put the car in reverse. “They’re real happy, too, so don’t go fucking that up for her. You left her, remember.”

“I haven’t forgotten.” I nodded and watched as he turned his car around and headed down the mountain.

Brandon Remington. That stupid fucking, pussy-ass, mama-boy bitch. I turned back towards my cabin and I was raging inside. Sharon could have married anyone in Blue Ridge but him. I wouldn’t have even cared if she married one of the other Remington brothers. I played football with the eldest and he was a beast of a man, even at eighteen. Hell, I would have felt better if she married their old man. Anyone but the conniving little whore-child, Brandon. He was a scrawny runt with an squeaky, annoying voice. He had been up Sharon’s ass since we were in grade school. He always pretended to be her best friend, and when they hugged, he smiled at me knowing that I couldn’t lay a finger on him, because Sharon loved him like a brother. He cock blocked me for years while trying to get with Sharon, but when she finally gave in and agreed to a date, he swore he’d hurt me.

The little bastard found a way—even after I was long gone from Blue Ridge.

I WAS BOILING WITH rage when I returned to my cabin, and even the sight of my sweet peach ripe for the taking wasn’t enough to calm me down. Neither was whiskey—at least not at first. I poured gratuitous amounts into my glass and then into my stomach. I had almost forgotten about Mandy when I heard footsteps behind me and she walked into the living room, rubbing her eyes. She still looked beautiful, but I was fuming with an anger that I couldn’t control. She looked at me for a moment and then walked over. She plopped down on the couch and turned in my direction, with her feet folded underneath her ass.

“Is Mr. Grouchy Pants going to come back out and start spanking me or can I just hang out in here?” She leaned forward and nudged me with a grin on her face.

“I’m angry right now.” I looked towards her and took a sip of my whiskey. “I would never lay a hand on someone like that when I was angry.”

“Did I do something wrong?” The smile instantly faded from her beautiful face.

“What? No.” I shook my head back and forth as I finished my glass. “I need more whiskey.”

“I’ll get it.” She hopped up, grabbed the bottle from the table, and poured it into my glass. “What’s the problem?”

“I got some bad news after you went to sleep.” I exhaled sharply.

“I mean, I know you just met me and all, but I’m a good listener.” She scooted closer and squeezed my hand.

My story began at the beginning and it started without me even thinking about what I was saying. I told her about Sharon, our high school romance, and the way I left her because of my desire to find a place in the world outside of Blue Ridge. I told her about Brandon and what a snake he was, always tormenting me because he knew I couldn’t snap his neck if I wanted to keep Sharon by my side. I told her about college, feeling like I was dumb as a brick, but still managing to graduate. I told her about my suffocating job at an insurance company. I even told her about my ex-girlfriend, in so much vivid detail that my sweet virgin’s eyes were bulging out of her head when I described the D/s life we had when things were good.

“Well, I guess I understand how you got so good at all of the things you did to me earlier.” She bit down on her lip and still looked surprised.

The story was quick from there, because life just kind of paused and repeated itself after I was with my ex. Sometimes she was with me, sometimes she wasn’t, and most of the time I drove her away because she was too submissive. She did things that were incredibly stupid, just to chase the high of my wrath, and when I wouldn’t give it to her, she made me angry. That only pushed me further away. The back and forth continued until we had a blow up that we couldn’t come back from and she chose another man who would give her the awful things she craved—things that were too depraved for me. It was shortly after that when my father passed, and I put my past in front of me to start rebuilding the resort.