Free Mountain's Captive by Michelle M. Pillow

dear grandchildren,” Everest cleared his throat. “By the way, Grandpa is also my actual grandfather. And Gladys, the meddling waitress, is his wife.”
    “Naturally, why wouldn’t she be?” Chloe nodded again through her bewilderment. She wondered if his entire family was in the habit of disappearing and leaving notes.
    “Anyway,” Everest continued. “To my dear grandchildren. It does my old heart good to see two young people find each other in such an unrelenting world. I would hate to think that you didn’t give your marriage the best shot it deserved. So in the spirit of meddling grandparents everywhere, I am taking it upon myself to get involved. Should you like, you would discover that an avalanche occurred shortly after my crossing Old Miner’s Pass this same morning. You will also find that I have borrowed the mattress from the spare room. Good luck, see you in a few months. If in that time you find you are still not suitable for one another, I will gladly stand aside. But, until then, Grandpa. Oh, and we would like some great-grandkids if you have nothing better to do this winter.”
    Chloe shook her head. “That’s impossible. How could he know an avalanche was going to start? He told me they were unpredictable.”
    “Grandpa is a trained observer of avalanches. He can tell when they are close to happening and we did have some wild storms the last couple of weeks.” Everest folded the note and slipped it back into his pocket.
    “He can predict the exact time?” Chloe asked disbelieving.
    “No,” Everest answered.
    “Then we can still make it.” Chloe’s eyes turned hopeful.
    “No.”
    “But you just said that Grandpa can’t tell.” Chloe stood, growing completely frustrated at his nonchalant attitude. “Come on, let’s go.”
    “That’s where I went this morning.” Everest sighed. Then, standing, he yawned. “I need some coffee.”
    Chloe followed him as he went to the kitchen. “Then you saw it?”
    “Yes. I saw it.” Everest grabbed a clean cup from the cabinet and poured himself a drink. Everest sighed, before continuing, “Do you remember passing a white clearing of snow that was devoid of trees?”
    “Where there was an avalanche a couple years back?” Chloe waited for his nod. “Grandpa pointed it out yesterday.”
    “That was Old Miner’s Pass. My guess is that Grandpa shot his rifle up at the snow and encouraged another avalanche.” Everest took a drink.
    Chloe stared at him in disbelief. He acted as if this kind of behavior was normal. Maybe it was here in the mountains, but not where she was from. “You’re telling me he purposely snowed us in? Anything could happen to us. We could die up here. What if there were people in that pass?”
    “There’s no one except us within several miles of that pass.” Everest saw her mounting fear and resisted the urge to comfort her. He had to remind himself that married to him or not, she belonged to another man. And Everest was not the kind of person to stand in the way of such things. “We have plenty of supplies to last us. He made sure of that yesterday, unless you plan on dying from boredom.”
    Chloe considered that for a moment. “Can I at least use your telephone to call my lawyer and editor? I have many obligations. I can’t just disappear.”
    “Don’t have one,” Everest answered. He took a sip of coffee. “If people need to get a hold of me they call Grandpa and he gets me the message.”
    “Of course, why would you have a phone?” Chloe muttered under her heated breath. “It’s only the twenty-first century.”
    Everest pretended not to hear her.
    “What about a two-way radio or a telegraph?” Chloe questioned sharply. “Or perchance a smoke stack I can use to signal the surrounding tribes?”
    “I do have a two-way radio, but it won’t work after an avalanche. There is no way of communicating to the outside world. Besides, the only person who can receive messages from it is Grandpa.” Everest