Page 2 of Mountain Man Crush
I hand her over my card. She swipes it and I sign the receipt before taking my food back to my car and continuing on my way.
Chapter Two
JACK
After watching the news and seeing that our first big winter storm will be passing through in a couple of hours, I shut off the TV and walk to the kitchen to check over my supplies. I mainly live off the land, and everything I garden in the summer gets canned to last the winter. The cabinets and pantry are filled with preserved fruits and vegetables. I check the oversized deep freeze and find that my supply of meat is still holding strong, thanks to my hunting last fall and the whole cow and a couple of pigs I bought from some local farmers.
All of my water comes out of a well, so I check the spare bedroom where I keep all my water stocked. The room is still full of jugs of water and dried goods, things like salt, flour, and yeast for baking bread. I know I have plenty of wood to burn in the stove because that’s a daily task in my routine. I check my bathroom and find that I’m running low on toilet paper, and I know I need to get some fresh gasoline for the generator in case the power goes out. I pull my coat on over my sweatpants and go out to start the truck to warm up while I finish getting ready.
It’s frigid outside, and the wind has picked up. It’s icy and wet with the approaching storm. I hurry back inside, remove my coat and toss it aside as I go to my bedroom to get dressed. I pull on a pair of jeans, a flannel shirt, thick socks, and my boots. I grab a sock hat and my gloves before tugging my coat back on and starting for the truck.
The inside of the cab is warm by the time I climb in. I pull on my seatbelt and shift into reverse, backing out of the drive. My old truck is big and rusty, and it squeaks and rattles with every bump in the old mountain road. I drive slowly and carefully, looking out at the scenery as I go. It all reminds me of better days.
I’ve lived up on this mountain for ten years now. My wife and I thought it would be perfect and romantic, being up on a mountain alone together. She said it would be like we were the last two people on earth. She was right, but then she passed away a few years back, and now I’m theverylast person on earth. Day in and day out, it’s just me…completely alone.
We never got around to having children. It was something we wanted to do, but we thought we had all the time in the world. Now, I’m thankful we didn’t. I don’t know how I’d hold a family together without her.
We always wanted to live off the grid and the mountain was as close as we could get. The cabin has power and satellite TV, and I looked at it like it was the best of both worlds. We had the quiet of the country while still being connected to the outside. We started our garden, we hunted wild game, and we got our water from a well. A year or so back, I added a generator that’s hooked up to the fridge and deep freeze so that if I do lose power, my food won’t go bad.
While I don’t have many bills to pay, I still have a few. I pay for the satellite TV, my phone, my truck, and whatever I buy in town. In order to keep a little money in my pocket, I do small side jobs for the folks in town. I plow their driveways when we get snow, I chop firewood for the older couples who don’t get around as well as they used to, and I take care of many yards, maintaining their gardens, raking their leaves, or mowing their grass when needed. It’s not much, but it gives me the little money I need to survive the way I like. As much as I love growing my own fruits and vegetables and hunting and fishing for my meat, sometimes you just want an Oreo, and those cost money.
I make it into town, and I stop at the gas station first. I fill up the four gas cans in the back of my truck and go inside to pay.
“Hey, Jack. You’re ahead of schedule,” the owner and cashier, Mike, says.
I stop at the counter and pull out my wallet. “Yeah, this storm has me out of the house a little sooner than normal.” I hand over some cash to cover my bill.
He takes it and rings me up. “It’s going to be a doozy. Do you think you’ll still be plowing driveways this year?”
I nod. “I plan on it.”
“Good. Add me to the list, will ya?”
“Sure thing,” I agree, taking my change.
“Don’t be a stranger, Jack,” he says as I turn to walk out.
I laugh. “I don’t plan on it, but I prefer to stay up on my mountain. Things are simpler up there.”
He smiles. “I hear that. Maybe one of these days I’ll build a place up there. You can show me how to catch all the fish you do.”
“My little secret,” I tease, pushing open the door and stepping out.
I climb behind the wheel and look up at the sky. It’s dark gray and full of thick clouds. The wind is still blowing up a storm, but it doesn’t seem like it will start for a couple more hours, so I decide to grab some lunch and a beer from the bar and grill. I drive over and park in the gravel lot. When I walk in, the place almost seems shut down. There aren’t many people out today, probably because of the threat of the storm.
I take a seat at the bar and the bartender walks over. “What can I get ya?”
“I’ll take a beer and a double bacon cheeseburger with fries.”
She nods. “Coming right up.” She turns in my food order and then brings me a beer. While I wait, I watch the game that’s playing on TV. The place hasn’t changed much since the last time I’d come in six months ago. I prefer to cook for myself, but sometimes it’s nice not having to worry about cooking and cleaning up. You can’t go wrong with a big, juicy burger covered in melted cheese and crispy bacon.
The door opens and a familiar face walks in. “Hey, Chuck,” I say, tipping back my bottle for a drink.
He shrugs out of his coat. “Well, if it isn’t Jack Freemont. What in the world are you doing off that mountain?” he asks around a friendly smile.
“Stocking up for the storm,” I reply.
He nods and flags down the bartender for a drink. “Yeah, it’s going to be a big one. That’s why I snuck out now for a drink. I’m going to be trapped in the house with that wife of mine for who knows how long.”
