The Other Side of Lone Mountain

Chapter Twelve

Upon arriving at Mandy’s, Paul went directly to the phone and made the call to Vickie. While he was on the phone, Mandy prepared a quick dinner of spaghetti, salad, garlic bread and red wine. When Paul got off the phone she invited him to have dinner before
going back to the Bed and Breakfast. They ate in silence. Finally Paul broke the silence by saying “Mandy, thank you for being such a good friend. I’m sure I wouldn’t have found Mark if it weren’t for your help. Now we can find out what happened to him.”

“Paul, believe me no thanks are necessary. I did it for myself as well. I’m just glad we found him alive and he’s going to be fine. That’s all that really matters.”

Paul seemed more relaxed since they left the hospital. “Mandy, can I ask you what may sound like a silly question?”

“Sure, go ahead.” “How did this town get a name like Hickup Falls?” Mandy started laughing. “What’s so funny?”

“Well, according to town legend,” she began, “the original name of the town was suppose to be Hickory Falls after old man Tom Hickory. He and his family were the first ones to settle here and start the logging camp. Well anyway, the day of the dedication ceremony, the town’s Mayor got the hiccups so each time he tried to say Hickory he would hiccup and it would come out Hick-up. After a few tries he finally gave up on Hickory and ended calling it Hickup Falls instead.” By this time Paul was laughing so hard he was holding his side.

“You made that up, right?”

“Nope, that’s the story. Whether it’s true or not, I don’t know, but that’s the town legend.” Now they were both laughing uncontrollably.

Suddenly Paul stopped laughing and stared at her. “What?” she asked.

“Nothing, I was just looking at your eyes. They sparkle when you laugh.”

Suddenly Mandy realized that she hadn’t laughed like that since before Kenny died. It felt good, it felt real good. The tension they had been feeling seemed to slip away. “By the way, Vickie and the kids are going to be arriving here tomorrow. I’m going to talk with your mom about a room for them because I think Vickie is going to want to stay closer to the hospital.”

“I’m sure it won’t be a problem. It’s not like we’re a high volume tourist town.”

“I know you’ll like Vickie and you will totally fall in love with her kids.”

“I’m glad we found your friend alive and that he will make a full recovery. But we still need to find out what happened. I’m going to call Jeff and let him know what’s going on and that I’ll be questioning Mark in an official capacity in the morning. Then I’ll make a full report.

Paul barely heard Mandy’s last words. He was completely absorbed in her beautiful emerald green eyes. He never heard her question. “What time do you want to go to the hospital?” When he didn’t answer, she called, “Paul, earth to Paul!”

“Huh? I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“Are you okay Paul? You look like your mind was miles away.”

“Oh, no, I’m fine. What were you saying?”

“I just asked what time you wanted to go the hospital tomorrow.”
“Whatever time you think is best. You’ll probably want to go to the department first, right?”

“Ya, and I also want to call the hospital before going to make sure Mark is up to answering a few questions.”

“Okay, just call me when you’re ready and we’ll get together then. By the way, thanks for dinner that was delicious. I think I’d better get going, this has been a long day.” She walked him to the door and opened it. As he started to walk out he turned back to her and said, “Well goodnight, I’ll talk you in the morning. Sleep well.”

“Goodnight Paul” she replied. To her surprise, he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “Well goodnight” he said again and walked away leaving her staring after him.

Mandy stood at the door watching him as he walked out the gate and turned toward the Bed and Breakfast. She felt stirrings she hadn’t felt since Kenny. She was still holding the spot on her cheek where he had kissed her as she closed the door. Her heart was racing. This is crazy! She thought to herself. I hardly know him!

During the night she couldn’t seem to get Paul out of her mind as she lay there. She recalled his face strong, rugged, yet gentle and caring, his velvet brown eyes that expressed such tenderness. Yet, she felt that he probably had quite a temper if angered. His arms were muscular and well built. She knew she would feel safe in them. She pictured his full soft lips touching hers. When she finally fell asleep, she dreamt of him. In her dream she was in his arms, where she felt safe and content. Suddenly her dream turned frightening. She and Paul were searching for his friend and found them-selves in danger. They were running from someone, but they couldn’t see his face. He had a gun and was shooting at them. They ran into the forest where they found a place to hide and hoped that the person shooting at them wouldn’t find them. Mandy awoke, she was drenched in sweat and her heart was racing. As hard as she tried, she was unable to fall back to sleep. She finally decided to get up and make herself a hot cup of chamomile tea hoping that it would help. She took the tea into the living room and sat on the floor in front of the fireplace even though it wasn’t lit. She thought back on her dream and wondered if that was some kind of warning. She still felt shaken up and was tempted to call Paul but thought better of it. Why disturb him over a dream. After all, that’s all it was, just a dream. Mandy finished her tea and returned to bed. After a long time she finally fell back to sleep.