Just Three Dates by Burnett David

Author:Burnett, David [Burnett, David]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Published: 2017-07-01T04:00:00+00:00

The Mountain Grill

It was twilight before they reached the base of the mountain. The wind had picked up and the temperature had dropped. Karen shivered, walking as fast as she could from the trailhead, eager to hop into the car and dial up the heat. Her back was sore, but the rest she’d had and keeping moving seemed to ease the pain.

Mark was waiting, with the door unlocked, heat blowing. He reached into the back seat, pulling out a lined jacket.

“Put this on. It will take the car a few minutes to warm up. I think we need to head home and let you rest.”

“No way. We had a bet. You said you would beat me to the summit or you would buy dinner. My foot hit top at the same time as yours and I want to collect.”

“Dancing on the summit, you said, not limping up the trail with Mark’s arm around my back.”

“Not my fault. You insisted on helping me.”

“And you put up the most ferocious struggle.” Marked laughed and Karen realized that it was the second time she’d heard him do that.

“You know I’m teasing you, don’t you?” he asked.

“I suspected.”

“You seem to be feeling better.” Mark glanced at her.

“Much better. The medicine helped, and the guy I was with bandaged me up quite nicely.” She smiled as she squeezed his arm. “My back hurts from the cut, but, otherwise, I’m doing well.”

“The Mountain Grill has the best steak in North Carolina, if you are really up for it.”

“Let’s go.” She pointed down the road.

Mark steered the car deeper into the mountains. After a couple of miles and three hairpin curves, he turned sharply to the right, scattering gravel as he brought them to a halt in the one vacant space in in a dirt lot. Lights shone in all of the windows of a long, low building.

“Here we are.”

“Looks like an overgrown log cabin.”

Mark chuckled at the dubious expression Karen was certain was on her face.

“Appearances are not deceiving in this case. As I said, though, the best steak in the state.”

As they left the car, a loud squeak, like the sound of an out-of-tune fiddle, shot through the door some twenty feet away.

“I forgot to tell you. It’s not exactly a white-tablecloth, tuxedoed-waiter sort of place.”

Karen gave a deep, exaggerated sigh. “I suspected that might be the case.” She looked down at herself. “Good thing too. They would likely turn me away, dressed as I am.”

They mounted the front steps and pushed open the door. Heat from a massive fireplace, the aroma of grilling beef, and the sounds of an acoustic guitar assaulted them.

“Mark, my man.” A man’s voice boomed across the room as they stepped through the door. “Long time, no see. Welcome. Welcome.”

“Paul. He’s the owner,” Mark whispered.

Paul strode across the room and caught Mark in a bear hug. He towered above them, taller even than Karen’s father, who measured a couple of inches past six feet, and it seemed to her that Paul was as wide as the two of them together.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.