Mountain Rough

“How did you find me?” I stood up, feeling startled by her presence.

“You’re predictable.” Mandy walked up to Brandon. “But you—you’re fucking despicable.”

“We were just discussing that.” I stared at her and sighed. “You need to go. I don’t want you mixed up in this.”

“I’m already a part of it. I’ve been a part of it since I came to Blue Ridge. When I walked through the back door, I was as clueless as you.” Mandy walked up to me. “But I guess I wasn’t coming in here with blind rage.”

“No…” Brandon’s eyes filled with tears.

“Do you want to know why Brandon was so desperate to keep you away from Blue Ridge? I think this photograph will answer every question you have.” She turned it towards me.

It was a family photograph and judging by the clothes and the baskets on the ground, it appeared to be taken around Easter. Susan was arm in arm with Brandon and they were holding Sally, who was only slightly younger than she was when I saw her in the supermarket. Looking at the three of them together raised no doubt that she was Brandon’s daughter. She had his face, but her mother’s eyes, and while Brandon might have been a sniveling brat, his daughter was a beautiful child. It wasn’t the three of them that drew my attention, though. Standing behind them, looking too cool for the photograph and life in general, was their teenage son. It was like looking into a mirror that reflected the past. He looked just like me when I was fifteen. I took the picture from her and clutched it in my hand, feeling my heart drop straight into my stomach.

“Oh my god…” I looked at Brandon, who sank into the back of the chair.

“He’s your son.” Mandy nodded, confirming with words what I already knew. “He looks just like you—minus the beard.”

“Susan was pregnant.” My mouth fell open. “She was pregnant when I left.”

“Yes!” Brandon sat up suddenly. “She was fucking pregnant! You deserted her here in Blue Ridge while you went out to find yourself in the world.”

“I didn’t know…” I put the photograph on the bed. “I would have never left had I known I had a son.”

“Now you get it.” Brandon nodded and sighed. “That boy might have your blood, but he’s my son. I raised him. I married Susan so she wouldn’t be ridiculed by everyone in town for being an unwed mother. I was the one who took care of him when he was sick, held him when he got his heart broken for the first time, and cheered him on when he looked like you tearing down the football field.”

“That’s why you were so scared of me.” I shook my head back and forth. “You married Susan, but there was always a part of me here. All it would have taken wa

s one look for me to know he wasn’t your kid.”

“Your father must have known, too.” Mandy reached out and took my hand. “This has to be the family matter he wanted to talk about with the attorney.”

“My father never mentioned this to me.” I felt my stomach churning with bile. “I wonder how long he knew….”

I was too overwhelmed with emotions to continue trying to get answers out of Brandon. I put the photograph on the bed, took Mandy’s hand, and started walking down the stairs. It finally made sense. Brandon was trying to get rid of the resort because he knew it was the only thing that would ever bring me back to Blue Ridge. He didn’t expect my father to pass away. It was an unfortunate side effect of his meddling. Without the resort, my father lost his will to live. Finding out he had a grandson had to be quite a shock. He clearly wanted to talk to the attorney about it, but he never had the chance to do so.

Chapter 15: Mandy

Red didn’t try to resist when Sheriff Thompson showed up at the resort. He put his hands behind his back, allowed the handcuffs to be placed on his wrists, and then he was gone. When the week ended, I called Hannah and let her know I wasn’t coming to the beach. She was upset, but after she deserted me, I didn’t feel guilty. There were a number of charges against Red, and I wasn’t going to leave Blue Ridge until I saw it through to the end. I met with his lawyer several times, and she didn’t believe they had a good defense. Dozens of witnesses had seen what he did at Town Hall, and convincing a jury of his peers that he attacked Mayor Remington in his home didn’t seem like it would be tough to prove.

“What can I do?” I sat across the table from Abigail as she looked through the documents from his case.

“Pray?” She put a grainy photograph of Red at Town Hall in front of me. “This isn’t the best picture, but it will be hard to argue that isn’t him punching Mayor Remington in the face.”

“What about the incorporation? What about all the awful things that Brandon did leading up to this?” I leaned against the table and sighed. “That has to mean something.”

“It does, but you’re talking about a civil matter and a criminal matter. If they’re able to convict him on the criminal charges, the civil case will never see the light of day.” Abigail tapped the folder next to her. “It’s a shame too, because there’s a good chance we could turn the civil case into a criminal one against Mayor Remington if we had time.”

“So Brandon gets away with everything and Red goes to prison?” I felt my blood boiling as I said the words out loud.

“Even if he takes a plea bargain, he’ll serve time.” Abigail sighed. “What about his son? Maybe if we could prove that Mayor Remington drew Red into this, we could argue entrapment.”

“No.” I shook my head back and forth. “Red doesn’t want Jacob involved in this. He’d rather go to prison than destroy his son’s life. Brandon is the only father he’s known. It wouldn’t be fair to tell him the truth now.”

“Then we’re back to prayer.” Susan took the photograph and put it in her folder. “It’s the only thing we have.”

Things didn’t look good for Red. The evidence against him built a strong case. I had tried to convince him to tell the truth, but he just wouldn’t have it. I could tell he was dealing with a lot of guilt knowing that he left Susan when she was pregnant. He was happy his son had a good life, even if he was raised by Brandon. I understood his motives, but I didn’t like it. He didn’t deserve to rot in prison because of what happened. He thought Brandon had something to do with his father’s death. He had no idea that the true reason for what he had done was because Brandon was trying to protect his family.

“I HATE SEEING YOU LIKE this.” I reached across the table and took Red’s hand for a moment before the guard gave us a dirty look. “It isn’t fair.”