The Silent Mountain Man

Nearly getting killed in a mudslide only reminds me why I hate the mountains. I'm uninjured, but my car is wrecked, there's no way I can get into town, and there's no reception here. Maybe it's karma for putting this trip off. I haven't been able to bring myself to visit since Pa's funeral. And then there are the painful memories that still haunt me of my first love and heartbreak. The summer I turned eighteen, I exchanged letters with a free-spirited, long-haired boy who lived down the road. It was the best time of my life. But now I'm all alone. And then, just as I'm about to give up hope, a pickup truck pulls up. A man steps out. Big muscles, a thick beard, and an intense stare that's making me rethink my dislike of the mountains. Harrick offers me a place to stay, and despite being a total stranger, there's something familiar about him. Also, what other choice have I got? He takes me back to his cabin. I almost forget that I'm here to sell my father's house and finally move on from the guy who left me brokenhearted all those years ago. And then I find a letter in Harrick's house—one of the letters I wrote—and everything changes. Contains mature themes.