Safe In All Things IV: Death on the Mountain
by L. M. Steen
In Death on the Mountain, Lil is challenged by something a parent should never have to face: the death of a child. As a result of that, another person would enter her life and change the future of her new family. The struggles and humor with Benjamin Pennington come to a head after Lil is kidnapped by three prisoners working a fire line in the Kootenai National Forest. In the wake of that, Russell finds his own strength to be of little use to save her. In his grief, he turns to the heavens and demands that she return to him.
Excerpts:
Shortly after their late lunch, she heard laughter and stuck her head out the glass door. Both of the men were sitting on the deck in the lounger doing something strange and laughing.
“I’m grateful for the laughter, but what on earth is going on out here?”
“A spitting contest, Mrs. B.”
“A what?”
“A spitting contest, Mom.” Batsy’s composure collapsed into laughter and the cherries popped out of his mouth into his hand.
“You aren’t!”
“Yup, I are…” Russell let fly with something from his mouth that flew over the railing and disappeared from sight.
“Dad! No fair, you spit out of turn!”
“Okay, you take two.”
“Mr. B, would you care to illuminate me as to the object of this little display of gross human male behavior?” she asked, putting her hands on her hips.
“Nah, just sit down and watch.”
She did – as far away from them as she could.
“Dang it, Batsy, you got clear to the stick!”
“Yeah, I did, didn’t I. Give up?”
“Not on your life, you young whipper-snapper!” Russell stated, imitating someone Lil guessed to have been either his father or his grandfather.
She was beginning to get the idea. “Okay, the loser has to clean them up, but what does the winner get?” she asked dryly.
“We aren’t sure this time, but it’s family tradition, if possible.” Russell paused to look at her. “Batsy was a little perturbed with me last year because I wouldn’t do it. I was still pursuing you and I wouldn’t risk it.”
“Yeah – spit, spit – he seemed to think you wouldn’t like it,” Batsy explained, trying to spit again. “I kept telling him you’d think it was fun, but he was pretty stubborn about it. Your turn, Dad.”
“Too bad, this might have inspired me to greater heights. Excuse me for a minute.”
She went to her art supplies and got the largest piece of paper and drew some circles on it in bright red and walked back out right into the line of fire.
“Okay, STOP – just for a minute. Now, let’s make this a little more even.” She walked off the deck with her paper and looked for the right place. Yes…that stump. “This too far? I don’t see much out here.” Just then something hit her pant leg.
“Oh shucky darn! Sorry. No, just fine there,” the bass voice drawled at her.
Batsy choked on something, laughing. “Dad, you are asking for it!”
“You do that again, Mr. B, and you will lose your waltz privileges to Batsy!”
“You just stand there and hold it…”
“And your…uh…other privileges, Mr. B!” she yelled for good measure. She attached the paper to the stump then ran out of range. “And you watch that cherry juice on your teeth! Both of you will be at the dentist!”
“Dang, but she sounds like grandma, doesn’t she?”
“Batsy, she’s a woman. A might fine one, but a woman, nonetheless,” the drawl replied.
“Mr. B! You watch your mouth or this woman will be spitting cherry pits at you!”
“Hah!” came the reply.
She marched up to the deck and grabbed the bag of cherries. “I shall take that as a challenge!”
“No! No women allowed!” Russell leaned forward in his spot trying to reinforce his statement.
She ignored him. “That was last generation, Mr. B. This is a new day!”
She popped about five cherries in her mouth hoping she wouldn’t ruin her own teeth, marched back into the cabin for something then back out. Unfortunately she couldn’t talk with her mouth full so she had to pop them back out momentarily. “I get advantage because I’ve had no practice at this.”
“What’d you say, Batsy, we let the woman have her way?”
“Yeah, it might be something we could hold over her head later. Yup, works for me.”
“Okay, I get advantage, say… The railing?” she suggested.
“Yup,” Russell accepted.
“Dad, your turn.”
She watched while sorting the pits from the cherries with her teeth. Five should be enough. Her aim might not be as good as when she was younger, but it was worth a try. If nothing else, her son would have a good laugh.
“Yours, Mom.”
She spit the pit out of her mouth into her hand, put it into the seat of the rubber band and let fly. Spat! It hit the third ring on the paper! She hadn’t lost it – completely anyway.
“Woman, you took unfair advantage!”
“You mean like you do when you pick me up using your strength and size against me to win arguments, or other things?”
“She’s got you there, Dad.”
“Spit your pit, Batsy!”
Batsy’s pit stuck closer to the bull’s eye than hers. Russell spit his a little better this time, but didn’t get it into the two inner rings. She got hers into the second ring, Batsy put his in the third ring. The heat was on. Both men had changed their relaxed states into full competition status.
“Is this what it’s like at the end?” she asked casually. “Or are you just afraid of the woman in your midst?”
“Woman, you be quiet! I’m concentrating…”
Spat! Unfortunately for her, his pit smacked the line between the second and first ring. The heat was definitely on!
She spit the third pit into her hand, took careful aim, and sprung the rubber band. Spat! Right next to Russell’s.
“Well, we do share the same bed…” She said casually. Russell coughed a little.
“Dad, you keep your eye on the ball now, no listening to her. Mom, you be quiet!”
In spite of his comment, laughter erupted from her son. He choked it off as much as possible because there was no way to spit with his lips that far apart and he needed his concentration. Spat! Just inside theirs, closer to the Bull’s eye.
It was Russell’s turn. His mouth worked at his cherry… He pinched his lips… Concentrating...
“You be careful now, Mr. B. We need this over. The heat is getting to me and I need to wet my T-shirt down… Soak it…” she hinted as his lips tensed against his teeth. “…or a cold…shower…with my…clothes on…”
Russell sucked instead of spit and swallowed his pit, choking on it!
“Too bad. My turn.” She spit the fourth pit into her hand and seated it into the rubber band, taking careful aim while Batsy slapped his choking father on the back several times.
“Woman, don’t you even think it – cough, cough – if you win this, you will have ruined three generations of men spitting on this deck! Cough, cough. Three generations! Cough…ruined it all!”
“Oh pooh. Too bad. What do I win, Mr. B? Ummm?” she inquired, keeping her aim steady.
“Dad, she isn’t going to win, so stop that. You sit down now! Dad, that’s cheating!”
She let the pit fly before Russell grabbed her. Spat! Her pit was touching the bull’s eye! Russell let go and hung over the railing looking absolutely dejected.
“Aw, Lil, you didn’t have to do that. You were going to win anyway.”
“How do you know that, Mr. B?”
“I would have let you—”
“Hah! Right!” she snapped at him.
Russell started laughing and made a grab for her but she had already darted for the stairs.
“Dad! Dad!” Batsy yelled behind her, laughing. “You lose. Clean it up!”
Unfortunately, Russell jumped the railing and grabbed her at the bottom of the stairs.
“Not fair!” she shrieked as he swung her up on his shoulder.
“Fair, woman! I’m your prize!” he boomed into his mountains. “Batsy, I have a woman to tangle with so don’t y’all worry about them pits. I’ll git ‘em later,” he said, calmly walking back up the deck steps and into the common room.
Batsy was doubled over on the deck in their lounger when they passed him, his choking voice giving utterance to his feelings again. “Oh man, my sides ache! I luve being home!”
“Let me guess, your father’s drawl,” she asked Russell from her position.
“Woman, you have been talking to my mother, haven’t you! We pack – now!”
