Mountains Wanted Read Free Page B

card into the pocket of his uniform, his eyes never
leaving hers.
    At that moment a flash
of lightning struck her mind...a brilliant image of those broad, tan fingers
gliding over her, gripping her... Whoa, speaking of which, I need to get a
grip , Sarah thought.   This is my cue to exit. The ball is in his
court.
    ***

Chapter Two
Coffee
                I stand in the shadow
of the mountain with my gear fastened securely. My eyes scan up the rock to the
point where the sun blazes like it might catch fire, its strong rays appearing
to penetrate the cliff. Every muscle in my body is ready and poised to
climb. I lift my foot to find my first hold, reaching my arm high above my
head....
    Sarah slept restlessly,
in and out of dreams, awakening to the sound of Owen tearing through the house
with Abby chasing after him screaming, “Mom! Mom! He took the batteries
from my Wii remote and won’t give them back!!!”
    Sarah sighed. First
world problems.  “Give your sister her batteries back, Owen,” she
called half-heartedly from her bed.
    Suddenly both of their
young faces appeared in her doorway. “There aren’t any other batteries,
Mom,” Owen explained, his long-lashed brown eyes wide with innocence.  
    Sarah shifted her gaze
to her daughter just in time to catch an in-progress eyeroll.  “Abby, are
you playing the Wii right this minute?” Sarah arbitrated.
    Her daughter shook her
head slowly, her face scrunched up in a snarl.
    “Fine, just let him
borrow the batteries until you want to play again, alright?  We’ll get
some more at the store later today.”
    “Whatever,” Abby
retorted and slinked away. Owen beamed. Sarah hated the feeling of
choosing one kid over the other during a disagreement. She liked it better
when they could work out their own differences, but she was too tired to listen
to them bicker over something so trivial.
    The green light on her
phone was flashing to signal a new text message so she stretched her arms high
over her head and swung her legs over the side of the bed, while simultaneously
reaching for her phone on the nightstand. It was from Rachel: How did
last night go? You going with me tonight or what?
    She glanced at the
clock.  8:04 . She noticed
Rachel had sent the text at 4:52. That could mean a couple of different things:
insomnia or her friend had late night company that she kicked out before the
sun came up this morning. She decided to text back rather than call so she
wouldn’t wake Rachel up if she’d subsequently gone to bed.   Last night
was great. Met an interesting guy. What time do you want to leave?
    Sarah headed down to the
kitchen where she began to brew coffee and cleared cereal bowls from the
counter. Her phone buzzed to announce the reply from Rachel: I’m thinking
like 3 pm? What are you going to wear? And then:   New guy?! Awesome,
gives us something to discuss on our 3 hour drive.
    Fortunately Sarah had
given her mother a heads up about her potential plans earlier in the week when
she’d watched Owen while he recovered from that mild virus that had sent him
home from school. It was such a blessing to have her mother nearby. Kathy
Lynde had raised Sarah and her younger brother Adam back in the 70’s and 80’s
and she knew firsthand how difficult it was to be a single mother. Now her
daughter’s life seemed to parallel her own, and having retired from her career
has an elementary school teacher just a few years before, she insisted on
moving to Maryland with Sarah so she could help whenever she was needed .  Sarah’s children were her only grandchildren, and there was no
place she’d rather be than with her darling Abby and Owen.  
    Sarah began preparing a
to-do list. Call Mom and tell her the kids are coming. Groceries. Batteries
for Owen. Finish the laundry. Try to get at least a few of the annotated
bibliographies graded. Find something to wear to the party. Oh.... she
realized suddenly... I have some...um...shaving to