Mountain Rough

“Life isn’t fair.” He pulled his hand away before the guard could interject. “I left Susan when she needed me most. I may not have known she was pregnant, but it doesn’t make what I did right. I drove her into Brandon’s arms, and he married her.”

“You shouldn’t have to go to prison because of it. You would have done the right thing if you knew she was pregnant.” I put my hands on the table and resisted the urge to reach out again.

“Well, it doesn’t matter now.” Red shrugged and held up his shackled hands. “My temper got the best of me and I’m going to prison to pay for what I did.”

“I refuse to give up.” I shook my head back and forth. “I need you to promise me something.”

“Yeah? What’s that?” He exhaled sharply and I saw a look of absolute defeat on his face.

“Don’t give up—please.” I ignored the guard and grabbed his hands again. “I’m begging you.”

“I do like it when you beg.” He smirked and squeezed my hands. “I just wish it was that easy. I wish we were back at the resort.”

“We will be.” I felt tears welling up in my eyes. “That’s a promise, Red. Don’t you give up on this. I’m not Susan. You don’t get to just run away and leave me.”

TWO MONTHS WENT BY without any progress on Red’s case. Brandon had managed to convince the judge not to grant bail because they considered him a flight risk. I stayed at the resort, practically living like a savage without the comforts of home. Every morning, I drove into town and waited until I could see Red. Some days they didn’t even let him have visitors, but I still went. The guards at the jail seemed sympathetic, and most of them knew me by sight when I appeared. When I wasn’t at the jail, I was working a part time job in the touristy area of town, waiting tables at a local establishment, mostly for tips. It wasn’t perfect, but it was something to kill time when I couldn’t see Red.

“Someone said you were still here. I had to come see for myself.” I heard a voice behind me and I turned to see Susan, the woman Red was once in love with.

“I am.” I nodded and sighed. “I’m not sure we are allowed to talk. Red’s lawyer said any communication between us and the victim and his family would hurt his case.”

“Can you take a break? I’d like to talk.” She looked down at the floor for a minute. “I won’t take much of your time.”

I wasn’t sure what to make of Susan, but I agreed to talk with her. I hoped I wasn’t jeopardizing Red’s case, or setting myself up for a cell next to him. I was distrustful of her, to say the least. The fact she hid her pregnancy, never told Red’s father in an attempt to find him, and instead married someone she didn’t love—at least at the time—didn’t sit right with me. I had never been in that situation before, but I couldn’t imagine myself just giving up, even if Red wanted to leave. I would have fought to keep my family together, give him the option of raising his son, and if he still wanted to run, then I would have done everything in my power to raise the child on my own.

“I’ve been talking to Brandon about the case. He’s finally moved past anger.” She pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lit one up.

“Oh, he’s the one that is angry?” I glared at her. “He fucked over Red’s father. He participated in—possibly even perpetuated—a lie that went on for nearly sixteen years. Why? So he could have the woman of his dreams?”

“You don’t understand.” Susan exhaled a stream of smoke and her hand trembled slightly. “Blue Ridge isn’t a progressive town. If I would have started showing without a wedding ring on my finger, I would have been an outcast. My family would have disowned me, the church would have exiled me. It would have ruined my life—and my son’s chance of having any sort of future.”

“Did you ever think about talking to Red’s father? Didn’t you think that maybe he would be in contact with his son at some point and could let him know the situation?” I continued to glare, feeling my anger building.

“God, you’re so naive.” She took another drag off of her cigarette. “Red’s father wasn’t a saint. He was a cruel bastard. He treated Red’s mom like shit. After she was gone, all of that fell on Red. I wasn’t the only one Red was running from when he left B

lue Ridge.”

“Maybe that’s true.” I shrugged and shook my head. “But there had to be another way.”

“What would you have done? Would you have locked him down in a marriage he didn’t want? Forced him to live in Blue Ridge where the only good memories he had were the ones he shared with me—if they even meant that much to start with. Brandon loved me. He loved me from the moment he saw me. He stepped up and agreed to marry me after Red was gone, because he didn’t want me to suffer after I got unceremoniously dumped by the man I loved.” She leaned against the wall and sighed. “Everything was perfect until we found out Red was back in town. It started to stir those old memories. It brought the skeletons in my closet out to dance in the streets.”

“Yet here we are.” I folded my arms across my chest. “Red is in jail. His son still doesn’t know who his real father is. This time Red won’t be running from Blue Ridge. He’ll be leaving in handcuffs on his way to a state prison. Is that really the last memory you want?”

“No.” Susan took another drag and shook her head. “I don’t want that. That’s why I came to talk to you. Brandon’s moved past anger, like I said. I’ve been working on him, trying to convince him that this trial is not going to help anyone. Once Red takes the stand, who knows what he will say. If he reveals that Jacob is his son, then our world will crash harder than his.”

“I’d like to say you don’t deserve it, but I’m not sure I’d be able to say it with a straight face.” I narrowed my eyes at her. “Why are you here? What are you proposing?”

“I’m proposing time…” She dropped her cigarette and stepped on it. “Just a few years.”

“You want Red to go to jail for a few years?” My face twisted to a scowl.

“No, I just want him to leave. While he may want a relationship with Jacob, it wouldn’t be fair to our son. If the truth comes out, Jacob will suffer. His friends will look at him differently. He’ll lose his grandparents. I’m pretty sure they suspect something, but they’re happy living in ignorance, especially now that they have Sally who is one-hundred-percent their granddaughter.” She sighed and leaned forward. “Brandon will make this go away. The charges will disappear, the judge will get a nice contribution to his reelection campaign, and Red can go back to the life he had before he returned to Blue Ridge.”

“And the resort? I’m pretty sure he’s not going to just walk away from that.” I continued scowling.

“No, I don’t think he will. Brandon has agreed to pay for all of the repairs once Red is gone. He’ll even pay to have someone run it in Red’s absence and all of the profit will go to Red. In a few years, once Jacob is in college and no longer living under the shadow of that mountain, we will all sit down and talk to him. We’ll tell him the truth and if Red wants to come back after that, we’re both open to letting time heal these wounds.” She reached out and put her hand on my shoulder. “It’s a fair deal and the best one Red is going to get.”

“I can’t speak for Red, but I’ll talk to him.” I let out a sigh. “This may change his mind.”