A Wee in the Mountains

Passion in James County XIV: A Week In The Mountains

Before they left the Bobar cabin, Frankie got some things out of the refrigerator and put them in a bag. While he did, he informed Kay he planned to make his special meatloaf for dinner that night.

Kay was glad the young man was thinking about cooking. It meant he was starting to think about the future and was getting his mind off his loss, even if only for a short while. She was both saddened and gladdened by the things that had happened to them. As awful as what they'd both been through had been, they'd managed to weather the tragedy together so far and it seemed to have brought them even closer. She thought it was ironic that Stu had no idea what a favor he'd done her by telling her he wanted a divorce.

"I'll get started on the meatloaf right away," Frankie said when they arrived at Kay's cabin. He took his bag of groceries and walked into the kitchen. "Why don't you have a seat and relax while I get supper together?"

"If you keep this up, you'll spoil me, Frankie," Kay told him.

The young man grinned. "I don't plan on cooking every night," he teased. "Just tonight. After this, it's up to you. I want to find out whether you can cook, too."

"All right," Kay replied, and started for the living room.

"Darn," Frankie said.

Kay stopped and turned around. "What's the matter, Frankie?" she asked.

"I'm sure I brought some breadcrumbs along," the young man replied. "I remember taking them out of the cupboard and putting them in the bag."

"Maybe they fell out of the bag when you put it in the car," Kay said. "I'll go out to the garage and look."

"I'll go," Frankie said. "You don't have to."

Kay shook her head. "You work on the meatloaf," she said, starting for the door. "I'll get the breadcrumbs out of the car. If they're not there, I'll run out to the store at Mott's Landing and get a can." She opened the door, went out, walked across the driveway, and into the garage.

The container of breadcrumbs was lying on the floor in the back of the car. As Kay suspected it must have fallen out when Frankie put the bag in the back seat. She bent down, picked it up, closed the car door, turned, and jumped. Ronny Amos, frowning, stood near the back of her car.

A feral smiled formed on Ronny's face and his eyes traveled boldly up and down Kay's body, making her cringe. She didn't like the cold, feral look in the young man's eyes and felt a little frightened.

"Hey, there, babe," the young man said. "How you doin'?"

"What...what do you want here?" Kay replied. She was getting more and more frightened. She didn't like the young man and the look in his eyes scared her. Why had he come up here like this?

"I figure you, or Frankie, ratted me out to that fuckin' cop, Greg," Ronny said. "You guys cost me one of the best pieces of ass I had in a long time, and I figure you owe me. I think, maybe, you oughta fill in, don't you?"

Ever since the day of the fatal crash, Ronny had been stewing over what Greg had done to him. He was angry at Greg but he was afraid of the deputy sheriff and knew he had no chance of ever extracting his revenge on Greg. However his as his anger kept growing stronger and stronger, it turned into an almost white-hot fury. He decided Frankie and Mrs. Tobin were responsible for what he felt was an injustice, mainly because he thought Frankie was weaker than Greg, someone he could beat up. And he'd been angry about Kay's rebuff, too, so much of the anger he felt toward Frankie came to include her, too.

When he saw them leave Frankie's cabin and go to the place the woman he thought of as "the frigid bitch" had purchased, he followed them and sat watching until he saw the woman come out of the cabin and go into the garage. He decided it was time to act, to get the revenge he'd been wanting for over a week.

"What...what are you talking about?" Kay responded. "Mrs. Ervins' husband was hurt in a crash. The...the same crash that Frankie's parents were killed in. We...we told Sergeant Atkinson where Sue was so he could tell her what happened and get her to the hospital where her husband was."

Ronny moved closer to Kay. She backed up, trying to keep away from him. Unfortunately, her attempt didn't work. Eventually, she backed up against a workbench that sat in front of the car. The young man kept coming toward her.

"I know what you and Frankie have been up to," Ronny said, "and I figure since he's gettin' some from you, and you guys cost me Susie's pussy, I oughta get some from you, too."

"You're out of your mind!" Kay replied. "You're insane! Get...get away from me!" She couldn't believe this! This young man was crazy! It finally struck her that he planned to rape her and do harm to Frankie, too! Why was this happening now, on top of all the other horrible things that had happened to them?

"You're gonna find out you don't screw with me, bitch," Ronny said. He reached for Kay and grabbed her breasts through her dress. "You know, baby, you're better looking and got an even better bod than Susie. You're prime. If you think what Frankie's givin' you is good, you're gonna love what I got for you." With his free hand he grabbed his crotch and made an obscene gesture.

The young man's tight grip on Kay's breast was painful, and fear of what she felt was inevitable swept through her. She looked around desperately, trying to figure out what to do, looking for some means of escape, but she saw none.

Ronny grabbed her bottom with both hands and pulled her against him. Kay struggled, trying to break free, but the young man was too strong. He pushed her back against the workbench and held her there with his body while he ripped at her dress with his hands. He tore the top of the dress open, sending buttons rattling across the cement floor of the garage.

"Oh, God!" Kay thought, tears rolling down her cheeks while the young man continued to claw at her clothing. "Why is this happening to me! Why now?" She closed her eyes and continued to struggle, to try and escape the young man whose hands were pawing and clawing at her.

Then, suddenly, Ronny wasn't holding her any more and his body wasn't pressing against hers. Kay opened her eyes and saw Frankie standing there. His face was red and his eyes wilder than she'd ever seen them. She glanced around and saw that the young man who'd been trying to rape her was lying on the floor of the garage, some distance from her.

"Get in the house and call the police, Kay," Frankie yelled. "Now! Hurry!"

"Frankie, come with me," Kay said. "He...he's crazy, he...he'll hurt you!"

"Yeah, Frankie," Ronny said, his voice almost a growl. He got to his feet and stood there wearing a menacing look on his face. "You better get out of here while you still got a chance. Because if you don't, I'm gonna take care of you, then I'll take care of her. Don't matter to me who gets it first. You're gonna get what's comin' to you, and so is she."

"Kay, go call Greg!" Frankie said firmly. "I'll be OK."

Kay slipped behind Frankie and, clutching her torn dress around her, dashed across the driveway, up the steps, and into the house.

"If you go right now, Ronny, I'll let this drop. I'll tell Greg it was all a mistake," Frankie told the hulking young man who was now moving toward him. "If you don't..."

"If I don't what the fuck are you gonna do, Frankie! I'm gonna make you wish you were never born," Ronny said. "Then I'm gonna go fuck your bitch." His face red with anger, he rushed at Frankie, his arms outspread.

Frankie, moving with surprising speed, stepped aside and as the bigger boy rushed by him, he took Ronny's feet out from under him with a sweeping kick.

Ronny landed on his belly on the concrete floor and slid against one wheel of the car face-first, breaking his nose. When his face slammed into the tire, Ronny experienced a flash of intense pain and felt something warm and wet, which he realized was blood, flowing from his nose. "You bastard!" he muttered, growing even more furious. He rolled around, got to his knees, then he climbed to his feet. Blood was streaming from his broken nose, down over his mouth and chin. "I'm gonna kill you, you fucking bastard!" He lurched toward Frankie again. He should have been more careful, but he was too enraged to think clearly.

Frankie, again moving much faster than Ronny anticipated, stepped away from the car, spun completely around, and planted a powerful thrust kick in the onrushing thug's solar plexus. He heard the breath whoosh from the bigger boy and felt blood splattering him. Ronny wheezed, doubled over, and fell onto his back.

"Stay down, Ronny," Frankie gasped. "I don't want to hurt you any more, but I will if I have to." His chest was heaving, and his heart was pounding. He'd learned the karate moves he used on Ronny in an unarmed combat course taught by the Jamestown Sheriff's Department. Frankie had been a police cadet with the department for four years. He'd honed his skills working out with his friend Greg Atkinson, one of the course instructors.

"Stay down, Ronny, please!" Frankie repeated when he saw Ronny again struggling to get to his feet. "I don't want to hurt you any more."

"You fucking bastard!" Ronny yelled. "I'll show you who's going to get hurt you bastard!" He reached to his belt, took a folding knife with a five-inch blade out of the scabbard there, and opened it. Holding the knife in his hand, he advanced toward Frankie, who backed up against the same workbench Kay had been trapped against earlier.

Ronny kept advancing toward Frankie. "I'm gonna kill you! I'm gonna cut you wide and deep, you fucker!" he growled. When he was closer, he stabbed wildly at Frankie with the knife. "You're gonna fuckin' die!" He was more careful this time. He wasn't sure how Frankie had avoided him before, but he wasn't going to let it happen again.

Out of the corner of his eye, Frankie spotted an axe-handle lying on the workbench. He reached back, grabbed the piece of wood, and brought it down hard on Ronny's hand. The bigger boy screamed, the knife clattered to the garage floor, and Ronny grabbed his shattered wrist with his other hand.

Immediately, Frankie changed his grip on the axe-handle and stabbed it into Ronny's solar plexus. Once more the air rushed from the bully and he doubled over, wheezing for breath, spraying blood everywhere.

Frankie stepped forward, raising the axe-handle over his head as he did. When Ronny doubled over, Frankie brought the axe-handle down full-force on his antagonist's shoulders. Ronny grunted, fell to the floor, and lay there groaning with pain.

Frankie looked around and saw some rope hanging on the wall over the workbench. He grabbed the rope off the wall, kicked Ronny onto his belly, and dropped on his knees atop him; forcing another groan from the bigger boy. Frankie pulled Ronny's hands behind his back and tied them as tightly as he could, ignoring the other boy's protests as he snugged the rope around his shattered wrist. Then he stood up and leaned back against the workbench, trembling and gasping for breath. His clothes were bloody where Ronny's forced exhalations had sprayed him with blood, and he was a little out of breath and shaken by what he'd done, but he wasn't hurt.

When Ronny finally got his breath back, he groaned and began to struggle against the ropes. "I'm gonna kill you, you fucker!" he mumbled, but he couldn't get himself free. All his struggles did was cause him to cry out in pain from his damaged wrist.

Just then, Frankie heard the sound of a roaring engine. Tires squealed as a car stopped outside the garage, then Greg, wearing jeans and a sweatshirt and holding a gun in his hand, burst through the door. He looked at Frankie, then down at Ronny, who was still struggling, and a smile formed on his lips. "Damn, Frankie!" he said. "Looks like you didn't need me. You OK?"

"I...I'm fine," Frankie replied. "I'm a little messed up, but I'm not hurt."

Greg shoved his gun into his belt while he looked down at Ronny and grinned. "Don't think we can say the same about this asshole, can we?" he commented. "Told you I'd lock you up before the summer was over, didn't I, Ronny?"

"Fuck you!" Ronny replied.

Behind Greg, Kay appeared in the doorway, her face white. "Frankie...is...is he all right?" she stammered.

"Hi, Kay," Greg said. "Frankie's fine, but old Ronny, here, isn't doing so well."

"Did...did you have to...?" Kay stammered, looking around, seeing Ronny lying on the floor trussed up. She looked up and saw Frankie, who was still leaning against the workbench. When she saw the blood on his clothes, she was frightened. "Frankie, are...are you all right?" she asked.

"I'm fine, Kay," Frankie said. "I'm a little shook up, but I'm not hurt."

"I'm off duty, so the state patrol's got an officer responding," Greg said. "The trooper should be here in a couple of minutes. I'll let them take Ronny to the lockup, and I'll get your statements from you."

"Is...is it OK if Kay and I go in the house?" Frankie asked.

"Sure," Greg said.

"Come on, Kay," Frankie said. "Let's go get cleaned up." He put his arm around Kay and led her toward the garage door.