Mountain Rough

“We’re in the mountains.” She walked up and took my hand. “I think we’re allowed to be a little grimy.”

“I think you’re just wanting to go with me to make sure I don’t do anything stupid.” I pulled her close. “I promise I’ll try to control my temper.”

“I’ll be there to make sure of it.” She hugged me and we stayed in our embrace for several minutes before we started walking towards my truck.

“AH, MR. ADAMS.” A thin blonde lawyer with a lot of makeup on her face motioned for me to follow her. “My name is Abigail Sawyer. Please join me in the conference room.”

“Thank you.” I nodded and trailed after her.

“And you are?” She held the door and stared at Mandy.

“She’s a friend.” I walked into the conference room and took a seat.

“Normally, we wouldn’t discuss these matters with anyone other than our client, but since you are the beneficiary of your father’s will, I believe you have a right to know.” She took a seat across from me and opened her briefcase.

“From what we were able to discern from the emails, it looks like you were working on some sort of lawsuit that would challenge the incorporation?” Mandy leaned against the table. “The one that made Blue Ridge Mountain part of the town?”

“Yes, that is correct.” Abigail pulled a map out of her briefcase and unfolded it. “It wasn’t going to be an easy lawsuit, but your father was determined. The incorporation helped the town. Prior to it, none of the tax dollars from Blue Ridge Mountain went to the town. It all went to the federal and state government.”

“Then why did he want to challenge it?” Mandy tilted her head and stared at the map.

“The permits.” I felt my face tense up as I spoke. “The town got jurisdiction over Blue Ridge Mountain, which allowed them to stop anyone from building.”

“That was the basis for our case.” Abigail nodded. “Your father wasn’t the only one affected. The Thatcher family used to own all of the land on the south side of the mountain. The incorporation put them out of business.”

“They were direct competitors to the Remington family.” I let out a long sigh. “They had a lot of cabins on the south side.”

“Yep, I outlined all of them.” Abigail traced the map with her finger. “The incorporation stopped them from doing anything, and like your father, their permits were denied.”

“Why didn’t they file a lawsuit?” Mandy continued to stare at the map. “They should have been able to build a case.”

“I don’t know.” Abigail shrugged. “We tried to get in touch with them, but we were never able to reach the heirs. I guess they just didn’t have the will to fight.”

“But my father did?” I raised my eyebrows.

“Your father was a smart man.” Abigail smiled and nodded. “See, normally when something like this happens, there is a vote. He found a clause in the town charter that technically made the incorporation illegal without a vote, and he wanted to push to have it dissolved until the town could vote on it.”

“Yeah, but they would vote it in, right?” Mandy twisted her lip as if she was trying to figure out what she was hearing.

“Yes, but this is something that would have to go to a general election. It wouldn’t hit the ballot for a couple of years.” Abigail leaned back in her chair. “I believe that would have given him plenty of time to fix up the resort. Even if they did vote to incorporate again, it would be difficult to justify denying permits for a business that brought in that kind of revenue—which of course meant more tax dollars for the town.”

“That’s true.” I nodded and looked over to Mandy. “When the resort was thriving, it made a lot of money. We pulled a lot of business away from the cabin rentals.“

“Your email mentioned something about a family matter?” Mandy tilted her head. “Did that have anything to do with the lawsuit?”

“Honestly?” Abigail shrugged. “I’m not sure. We were already in discussions with your father about the lawsuit against the town when it came up. He never got a chance to elaborate.”

“This is fucked up.” I exhaled sharply. “I’m going to talk to the mayor.”

“Do you think that is a good idea?” Mandy reached over and put her hand on my arm. “Perhaps we should let them start working on the lawsuit again and just settle things in the courtroom.”

“Nah.” I pushed my chair back and stood up. “That ain’t my way.”

Sheriff Thompson had told me not to approach Brandon Remington, the mayor of Blue Ridge, but I was tired of listening to words. He was the one driving all of the change, and the incorporation was passed shortly after he took office. That definitely wasn’t a coincidence. The fact that his office killed all of my father’s permits after the incorporation passed was a direct attack on my family. I was starting to doubt that my father passed away from natural causes, although I didn’t think Brandon had the balls to resort to murder. If nothing else, it was the stress caused by watching the resort die around him that brought on his rather untimely passing.

“Do you really think this is a good idea?” I was already halfway to Town Hall before I heard Mandy’s voice again. “I really think you should do this with lawyers. Storming in there with threats isn’t going to accomplish anything except draw more attention to what you’re trying to do.”

“I already have their attention. I wasn’t trying to lay low when I returned to Blue Ridge, but they clearly had no idea I was working on the resort again. None of this shit started until Charlie started running his mouth.” I pulled away when Mandy tried to take my arm. “They’re not going to let me do any work on it at all. They’re just going to bury me in denials like they did to my father.”