Chapter 1

I decided I wasn’t the wisest of persons. I arrived home from a posting to the Mideast. I say this because I planned to marry my sweetheart, Chloe Kilmer, when I returned. To be assured that she had enough money to live on while I was serving the last eight months of my hitch, I set up a joint account to save money into. I opened the door to our apartment. There was a man just sitting down to breakfast when I walked in.

The guy looked up at me as I entered, “Who the hell are you?” He was getting up and coming toward me.

I stated, “I’m Pete and I’m here to see my fiancée, Chloe. I’m out of the service and ready to make our life together.”

“She’s not your fiancée any longer. She’s my wife. We were married a month ago.”

“Where is she?”

“She doesn’t need to see you. Get out of here. This is our home and you’re intruding.”

“We’ll see about that; the last I knew this was my apartment.” I was brave, but couldn’t quite back it up. I came to wearing cuffs lying in the hallway with a cop and an EMT standing over me.

I had my day in court for creating a disturbance, but it didn’t go well. A person should never admit that he threw the first blow. I was fined and the only money I had was my last pay when I mustered out of the service. I did still have a few dollars, but only what was left in my pocket. It seems that my bank account had been closed before I got home. This was done by my ex-fiancée and my money was gone. The bank declared what she did was legal and I had better talk to an attorney to see if I could recover any of it. No luck with that.

I sewed what few dollars I had left into an old leather jacket and went out on the street to live. I kept myself reasonably presentable by using the city provided place to shower and I always shaved. I took up panhandling for a living and did well enough to buy a bunk every night in a flop house.

The city had an ordinance that panhandlers could only set up in certain designated places. It just so happened there was one in front of the apartment building that I formerly called home. I made sure I was in the closest spot where my former fiancée had to step around me. That worked pretty well until her husband beat me up again. He had threatened me several times so when he had enough of me being there, it was him who went in front of the judge. Six panhandlers were lined up as witnesses for me and said I was beaten up without provocation after several threats for bodily injury so it was he who paid the fine.

Of course, the judge, after hearing his story, decided I did provoke Harrison from spite and was barred from using this particular spot to set up again. The judge could see my reason of what and why this happened. He let the fine stand against Harrison and warned my former fiancée, Chloe, to control her husband.

Two beatings were enough for me. I guess I had made my former fiancée uncomfortable long enough. There was no way I could see I would be able to get any of the money back. I almost returned to the military, but I had been there and done that. I was twenty-six and didn’t have anything to show for my life so far.

I cleaned up and went looking for work. I found it in a large grocery store---one of a franchise chain. I would start working early mornings 1:00 AM in the warehouse in the back. That suited me, I didn’t want to meet the public anyway. It was mostly moving stock around working with a list. Sometimes I would be loading boxes onto a motorized pallet truck for clerks to take out front and load the grocery shelves. I was busy and that’s what I needed. I spoke when spoken to, piled product onto pallets, and pretty much kept to myself.

Two years into doing this with spending off time in the afternoons in the local library. Things do change. My boss stopped me one day and asked, “Pete, are you happy doing this?”

“It’s a job, Sam.”

“Pete, I wondered. You still bed down in a flop house, eat what we have in the deli section and don’t socialize with the other help. Do you have a life outside of your work here?”

“I spend afternoons in the library and read a lot. Why the questions?”

“Well, I’m looking for a person to travel with my half-sister and protect her from any accidents that may come up while she is poking around a mountain out west. She’s got it into her head she wants to go out to Colorado again and hunt for gemstones like she did last year. She needs a man to do the heavy work when she is digging in the side of a mountain on the same claim she owns from last year. She thinks she can work alone, but she will be far from civilization and I fear she will get hurt. My brothers would chip in a salary for you to be with her.

“It won’t be as much as you are earning now, but we are setting her up with an outfit. We could give you a percentage of anything she finds on top of what we pay you if it turns out of any value. Would you be interested?”

“What’s she like?”

“She’s a lot like you Pete, quiet and keeps to herself. She has a strong will and you will soon notice that in her. She’s not the prettiest woman so I don’t expect you’d be hitting on her. What caused you to be in this situation? Everyone has a story. What is yours?”

“I wouldn’t hit on her, anyway. I had some trouble with a woman after I got home from the service. I wasn’t always like this. I loved the woman and I thought she loved me.” I stopped speaking. I didn’t know if I wanted to share my previous problems with him. What harm could it do? “I was putting my pay into a joint account the last time I went overseas. When I came home she was married to someone else and had taken everything from our account and closed it.”

“That must have burned you.”

“It did, Sam. No money to hire an attorney and I was inept at seeking a bit of revenge. I was beaten up a couple of times and had to pay a fine. I was ordered to move from my spot on the street.”

“Jesus, didn’t you get any revenge at all?”

“Not really and the best I could do was to make them both uncomfortable. Harrison had to pay a fine for beating me up the last time. Sad to say, they were the ones who came out on top every time.”

“My brothers and I wouldn’t have stood for that.”

“Yeah, well I was coming out on the bottom every time I tried something so I decided it wasn’t worth it.”

“So Pete, would you be interested in my proposition?”

“Where is this place your sister is going to?”

“Colorado, near the Wyoming border. It’s in the mountains, of course. She will be living in town in a small cabin when not out working the mine.”

“Sam, when you say working the mine, what do you mean?” I had a vision of crawling down underground and not being able to stand.

“It’s a plot of land us brothers staked last year for her to work on hunting gems and minerals. The only time you would know it was a mine is if you saw the claim stakes at the four corners. It is also recorded in the land records. It’s pretty wild out there on a mountain and only accessible a few months of the year. You two will pretty much be on your own and that’s the reason we want someone with Sis.”

“What’s your sister’s name?”

“Mary.”

“That’s a good Christian name.”

“Uh huh, names don’t mean much. Mary’s problem is that she has a horrible birthmark across her chest. We were told her mother who was our step-mother was horrified to see Mary when she was handed to her at birth. She kept Mary mostly hidden in a small room with only herself as attendant. Our step-mother said she had the mark of the devil on her chest.

“We’ve seen it and think it is just a birthmark. That was when she was about two. Of course we haven’t seen it since she began to develop into a young woman. Stepmom gave her the name Mary to counteract her looks. It hasn’t helped much and Mary is definitely weird.

“That’s too bad. How does Mary feel about this?”

“I don’t think it bothers her mentally, but she always has to be aware how to hide it and always has it covered. That’s why she prefers to be alone. Also, she doesn’t invite conversation that much.”

“Sam, I assume you want me to meet her before we leave?”

“Only if you are considering working with her.”

“Again, how did you come to pick me for this chore?”

“Pete, some of it is how you treat your coworkers in not asking about their lives. You are a good worker and pay attention to details. That would be necessary in working in a somewhat hostile and sometimes dangerous environment.”

“When is this all going to happen if I decide to do this?”

“You would have a week to clean up your affairs.”

“I can leave earlier if necessary.”

“No, it would take Mary that long to get organized. You had better come for dinner tonight. About seven-thirty, would be good. Do you have transportation?”

“No, but I can take a taxi. Give me your address, Sam.”

“No Pete, wait in front of your quarters and one of us will pick you up.”

“Fine with me.”

A Subaru Forrester pulled up in front of the flop house at six-forty-five. A woman leaned across the seat and spoke through the window. “Are you Pete?”

“I am. You’re Mary, I’d guess?”

“Get in.” I slid into the seat, staring straight ahead. Mary didn’t say anything, which was okay with me. We drove for almost twenty minutes and Mary wheeled into a long driveway of a large house sitting at the end of it two hundred yards from the street. The grounds were well kept. It must be beautiful during the late spring, summer, and fall. The lawns hadn’t greened up from the past winter yet.

She pulled under a roof that extended out from the house. You wouldn’t get wet if it was raining. Mary announced, “This is my home and I live in a small apartment. Sam’s family has the rest of the house. It belonged to my father and mother and my mother left it to me. But Sam is the older brother and it should have been his.”

Mary stopped the car and got out, again not speaking after her brief remarks. I had to move fast to keep up with her as she entered the house. There were several people sitting at a large dining table. I picked out my boss, Sam, and four other men who resembled him. These must be Mary’s brothers.

I felt like I was in a fishbowl with everyone staring at me. There were five women, wives I assumed, of the five brothers, and several children of different ages. My boss introduced me, “This is Pete Manning and we are the Goodell family. Pete is interviewing for the job of going out west with Mary. They’ll be working together and Mary will be safer by having a man with her.”

“Sam, damn it, I was out there last year and made out okay.”

“Yeah, but you were laid up with a sprained ankle twice if I remember correctly. One of those times, you’d have been in real trouble if a Ranger hadn’t come by to check on you. He had to carry you over a half mile to get you back to his vehicle so he could truck you into town to see a doctor.”

“Okay, but I’m more careful now. Let’s eat and I want to be the one to ask this person the questions. He looks like a dude and that’s not good. Christ, his jeans are even pressed.”

“Yeah Mary, and your jeans have holes in them and could stand to see a washing machine.”

“You said you thought he was a hippy. I wanted him to feel comfortable. Now somebody, serve us the food, I’m hungry.” This was a strong-willed woman. She addressed me, “Pete, just so you know, I think this whole deal is bullshit.”

Salads, fresh baked bread rolls, soup, and then prime rib made its appearance. The children laughed and joked and their fathers and mothers looked on them fondly, seemingly keeping control of their exuberance. Everyone was busy eating and the wives paid Mary no attention. Mary was sitting across from me and I caught her looking at me when I glanced that way. Chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream were the dessert.

The table was cleared of the dishes, the wives and the kids leaving the room together. Mary looked at me. “I’m going to tell you about where my claim is located, and how difficult it is to get to. I’m going to tell you what the mountain is like and some of the problems a miner has in getting the gems out of it. Then I’m going to see if you have any ideas to keep me safe for my brothers. That seems to be a problem with them and what they want most.”

Mary talked for a half hour. I had pulled a lined note book from my back pocket and a pencil from my shirt pocket. I took notes, not often looking at her or asking questions. My turn would come.

“Water?”

“No water unless it rains and then there might be some standing until it sinks into the ground at the foot of the mountain.”

“Shelter from the weather?”

“None, no trees as high as the claim. Maybe shelter behind some big boulders.”

“Mary, is there apt to be many thunderstorms?”

“Many and often, Pete, and sometimes more than one in a day.”

“How close to your claim can you get the Subaru?”

“Two miles or seems like it. There is a narrow trail to the foot of the mountain. You have to climb about a quarter mile up the mountain from there to get to where my claim is located.”

“Do you always return to your cabin every day?”

“Sometimes I stayed at the foot of the mountain when I was finding good ground and the claim showed promise. There is some overburden on the claim that has to be removed which is hard work.”

“Mary, is your mine profitable?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“It is my business. I came here with the promise I would receive 10% of your finds. I don’t trust women any more since I came home from the service in Afghanistan.”

“Pete, why don’t you trust women?”

“Sharing that would come under your need to know. I don’t think that is the case here so I guess we are done. Sam, thanks for the wonderful dinner. Mary.” I looked at her and bowed just a little, put my note book in my pocket and rose to go out the door.

“Pete, sit down. Mary made over ten thousand dollars last season. Your cut would be $1,000 and more because she hasn’t yet sold all the gems she dug up. Mary, apologize to Pete. By the questions he has asked, you’ll be a lot safer and enjoy yourself more this season if he is with you.”

“Oh, I’ll apologize, but I’m going to be living with him and I should know a little about his past.”

I answered this, “Fair enough. Sam, if you’ll ask your brothers to step out, I’ll tell you and Mary why I feel the way I do.”

“Crap, they don’t have to leave; come with me and we’ll find a place to talk. The three of us went into and anti-room where I shared some of my life.

“Sam and Mary, first, I have been hauled off to jail and fined for creating a disturbance and this is why.” I got started and shared my problems and how they had affected me.

“How much did you lose when your fiancée closed your joint account?”

“A few dollars less than $8,000 of what I earned in the eight months I was away. Originally my account had $20,000 in it when I added her name.”

“Didn’t you get any of it back?”

“No, I didn’t. It was a joint account and she had the right to take it so the judge told me. I got a free half hour with an attorney, but he couldn’t see that I had much of a case. Do you wonder why I feel as I do?”

“Pete, didn’t you get any revenge at all?”

“Not much. The only thing I did was panhandle in front of my old apartment where the two are living. It made her husband really mad and he beat the crap out of me again. It was him who got hauled into court this time. He had to pay a fine. The judge warned me not to use this spot to panhandle any longer. That’s when I looked for work and found it at Sam’s store. I had enough pain and not much money.”

“Well, I would have got revenge somehow.”

I looked disgusted at Mary. “Sam and Mary, revenge isn’t always sweet. I have some more questions about how to mine.” We returned to the dining room.

Mary suddenly got up and went to a drawer in the buffet at the side of the room. She brought back a box. Folded in soft cloth was a myriad of gemstones. They were small but beautiful. Also there was a small box that held unpolished stones. “These are what we will be finding and what the gems look like as they come out of the ground.”

My resentment was gone. Just think, I could help dig up gems such as these. I watched Mary walk across the room. Her figure was good. Her hair wasn’t styled. It was cut around her head close up to almost the top of her ears and then it was full and thick above the cut-line. It looked like she had a trimmed mop on top of her head. Her eyebrows hadn’t been plucked or trimmed.

Her lips were a little too full for my ideal woman. But her nose was classic although she could use some lotion on her skin. With a little care and instruction, she might come off as being somewhat attractive. She never would be beautiful, but nothing to me. Why didn’t her sister-in-laws help her? Probably she pushed them away for some reason.

“Food and water, do you take them to the claim with you?”

“No food, unless I plan to stay at the mountain. It’s too far to carry if I have tools with me. I wait until I reach town to eat unless I have a breakfast sausage left over. I carry water in a gallon jug that keeps it cold.” I was back to jotting notes in my note pad.

My question, “Mary, bug dope, of course. What do you carry for protection? You’re in the wild; you should have a firearm against the animals and a woman alone is always in danger. There will always be people who might like to catch you alone in the woods. How about claim jumpers?”

Mary’s face was getting red. “We’ll talk about it before we leave. I suppose I should listen to you if my brothers are paying you.” I didn’t say anything, just smiled.

I turned to Sam. “I’ll quit my job. Mary and I should get together and make lists. There is a lot more I need to know. Where can she and I meet to go over things?”

“Use the house here. You can store your things here while you are out in Colorado. Anything big or expensive you can ask us for. Anything that will make you safer and happier, right guys?” Sam had turned to his brothers for this. They all seemed to agree.

“Come on, Pete, I’ll take you home.”

“I don’t really have a home, you know? I have a bed and a locker. I greased a palm and am able to have the same bed every night. Otherwise, I would have to take what comes. I’m not even let inside before five in the afternoon and I have to be out of there by eight in the morning. Try that when you aren’t feeling well.”

“Boy Pete, you need to get some revenge on your ex who has done you wrong. I’ll think of something. I may not get your money back, but those two do need some pain.”

“Let it go, Mary. It’s just a bad time in my life. I really am glad to get away from here and have an interest in something I never would have thought of.”

“Oh, you’ll enjoy hunting for and finding gems. Right now that is my whole life. I think you and I are going to get along. I never told my brothers, but I was fearful of something bad happening to me while all alone. You must have felt that way when you were in Afghanistan?”

“No, I didn’t because we were always in a team and someone had our back. Even when in a fire fight, you felt fairly safe. When there was a death in the squad it usually was because we were surprised and that wasn’t often.”

“And then you came home finding no one had your back. It doesn’t seem right.”

“Please let it go, Mary.”

“Pete, how long will it take to pack up your stuff? There is a daybed in my little apartment so come stay with me here at the house. You can sleep in the next room.”

“Hold on just a minute Mary. I have friends I want to say goodbye to. I’ll see you in the morning. I’ll be back at eight o:clock.”

“Pete, do you hate women that much? How are we going to get along if you hate me and we live in a cabin that is smaller than my apartment here at home?”

“I don’t hate you. Think about having me in the room next to yours. You don’t know me. You should be a little worried until you know me better and we have a little time interacting with each other.”

“Huh, I know you better than you think. I would trust a man who stopped at getting revenge after what your ex did to you. You’re right though, I am rushing things. I’ll drop you off.” Mary said goodnight and left me standing on the sidewalk without trying to persuade me again to stay in her apartment that night.

I did lie to Mary last night. I only had one friend to say goodbye to. He was the person who arranged for me to always have the same bed. I packed up and left just as he was locking the door in the morning two days later. Mary was there waiting for me. My things went into the back seat of the Subaru. I did have a suit that I hung on the hook. “You really do travel light, don’t you?”

I laughed. “Having things are a burden and when you find out how much they own you, you begin traveling light. That’s where I am now. In fact I have been for the last two years.”

“You don’t have any money?”

“A little. Oh, I could spend some. I have enough to outfit myself when we get to Colorado when I find out what I need and I won’t even have to pack it or carry it until then. I’ll bet you will have the back of the car full of bags and boxes.”

“Won’t either. There is some nightlife in town where we will be staying. We might want to go out sometimes. I’ll wear pressed jeans so we will look the same.

“Mary, we can do that. I’m sure no one will notice if I wear the same pair of trousers every time.”

“Pete, women are different and they are noticed. People stare at me all the time because I’m so homely.”

“And they will continue to if you don’t try to make yourself a little more attractive.”

“You’re mean.”

“Maybe. I tell you what. When we finish for the season, promise that you will go to a spa and see what they can do for you ... my treat. You will forget how cruel I am when you see yourself.”

“Deal. Pete, are we going to get along?”

“I think so. That is if we try to overlook some remarks that we are sensitive about.”

“What are you sensitive about?”

“I’m sensitive about your thoughts of me not seeking revenge. It makes me feel like a weak person. I don’t think I am, but the thought is still there when brought up. It may take you a long time to come to the conclusion that my way is the right way. Till then, I’ll admit I am sensitive about the way I act.”

“Pete, I won’t bring it up again.”

“Thank you. Okay, now tell me more about the claim. I want to know everything. Start just as you leave your cabin heading toward the mountain. Let me see it through your eyes. I want to know how it is on a day when it is terrible hot and one when the weather is awful. Like how long it takes after you discover there is a violent storm coming so I will know how long it takes to reach a safe place. Do you carry your tools off the mountain when you are done for the day?”

“Why do you need to know all of this before we even get there?”

“Mary, it’s called planning. What if we get up on the mountain and have forgotten to bring a special shovel or hoe? We should cache some food and water on the mountain in case for some reason we have to stay up there.”