Chapter 3

Elle

Elle was low on gas, low on food, and freezing her butt off when she saw the turn off that led into the mountains and the remote town of Stone Peak, Montana. She’d never heard of the place, she’d been driving all day, and hadn’t even ever been to Montana before, but something about the name of the town attracted her. It was twenty-five miles from the highway, and the road looked like it wound precariously through dense forest, high up into the icy peaks of the mountains. The route wasn’t her best bet. It was covered in snow and she lacked winter tires. The way would get progressively more frigid and treacherous as she ascended into the mountains, and there was something seriously wrong with the heater on her battered old car. Maybe she’d damaged it when she rammed the Camaro. If she had, it was worth it.

She looked at her gas gauge. Less than a quarter tank left. She’d make it. She had to.

Another town, another life, she thought to herself as she rounded the dangerous bends leading ever higher into the Rockies. She was only twenty-three and she’d already lost count of all the towns she’d lived in. The last stop, the three year stint she’d done with Gris, had been the longest of her life. She wondered apprehensively what this next town would have in store for her. Would it be the place that offered her a lasting refuge? Would it be the place she could finally settle down in for good? Would it be a home to her?

She shook her head. Now was not the time for sentimentality. She had less than a hundred dollars in her wallet, a few bank cards that had probably already been cancelled, and not a person in the world she could turn to. She was alone.

Moving is what keeps me safe, she told herself. If I know no one, no one can hurt me. If I have nothing, I can lose nothing.

That was the kind of thinking that had brought her this far. It was what had protected her through poverty, loneliness, and abuse. She let no one in, not even the people who’d thought they owned her.

She drove on into the mountains, refusing to turn back even when her wheels skidded. She’d die getting up that mountain if that’s what it took. She wrapped herself in the old blanket she always kept on the back seat. The clothes she’d worn when she left Gris’s place were no match for the mountain cold. The gas light was on, the sky darkened, and to make matters worse, it began to snow. The wind whipped up the snow into ferocious little flurries and she realized a blizzard was coming in.

She knew she should have been keeping her cool but as the panic, and impending sense of doom, mounted inside her, she put her foot down harder on the gas and sped up.

Fuck it, she told herself. No one ever got where they needed to be by being light on the gas pedal.

She almost cried in relief when she saw the yellow glow of the town in the distance, high above her, nestled into the rocky peaks.

The first building she passed was the gas station. She knew she was running on fumes, but to fill up would cost her half of the hundred dollars she had in her wallet. She needed that money for more important things, like food and shelter. Elle wasn’t the kind of girl to balk at sleeping in the back of her car, but in a blizzard high up in the Rocky Mountains in winter, that wasn’t really an option. The next building she passed was a motel. She breathed a sigh of relief at the red Vacancy sign that was lit up over the parking lot. The price posted for a night’s stay was forty-nine dollars. She made a note of the price in her head and drove on. She stopped at a set of lights and looked to her left and right. She was at the center of the town. There didn’t seem to be much to it. The street she was crossing was Main, and it was lined with stores that seemed to cater mostly to tourists, skiers and hunters. At the very end of Main Street was a luxurious looking lodge, built of timber, with gaslit, flame lamps at the entry. It was like a magnificent, medieval castle overlooking the town. Even from the distance, she could see the flames of a massive open fireplace through the windows. She smiled to herself as she wondered what it would cost to stay in a place like that for the night. Her hundred dollars probably wouldn’t cut it.

Across the intersection was a brightly lit diner that seemed, miraculously, to be packed with people. It’s light and warmth called to her.

Elle parked outside the diner, pulled her light jacket tightly around her, and ran through the driving snow for the door.

“Welcome to Gracie’s,” the waitress said as Elle pulled the door closed behind her. “Come in and get warm. It’s a whore out there.”

Elle laughed. The sound of her own voice surprised her. She hadn’t laughed out loud in quite a while.

“It is,” she said.

“Just grab a seat anywhere,” the waitress said. “I’ll be right with you.”

Elle sat at the counter and observed her surroundings. The waitress was run off her feet, bringing coffee and beer and classic diner cuisine to the people of Stone Peak. She watched the men mostly, who seemed rugged and capable, dressed in practical snow boots and warm plaid shirts. She counted. Of the fourteen men sitting in the diner, fully thirteen of them wore full beards. Many of them sat alone, men in their forties or fifties who no doubt lived off the land. The few women she could see were definitely wives. None were as young as Elle herself, apart from the waitress, who introduced herself as Kelly. She was about Elle’s age and wore a pretty waitress uniform. Her hair was sensibly tied back from her eyes.

“So, what brings you to Stone Peak?” Kelly said when she brought Elle her burger, fries and coffee.

“I guess you’d say I’m running away from something,” Elle said matter-of-factly.

“Let me guess,” Kelly said with a wink. “A guy? An ex-boyfriend, or husband?”

“An ex-asshole,” Elle said.

“I hear you, sister,” Kelly said.

Kelly left Elle alone to eat, but Elle kept an eye on her. Without really knowing why, Elle was very excited to see a girl her own age in the town. She secretly prayed that it would be possible for her to set up a life for herself there, not least because she didn’t have gas money to get back out of the mountains.

“So,” Kelly said as she cleared away Elle’s dinner, “are you just passing through?”

Elle looked up at her and smiled. She knew an offer of friendship when she saw it. “Actually, I don’t have anywhere to go.”

Kelly nodded. “Is that your car parked outside?”

Elle looked out the window at it. “The broken down wreck with an empty tank? Yes.”

“And you don’t have a place to stay?”

Elle laughed. “I’m staying at the five-star ski resort on the top of the hill,” she said.

“Right,” Kelly said. “That place is like a thousand bucks a night.”

“What is it?”

“Well, you might think you’re at the ends of the earth up here, but people actually come from all over the world for the pristine ski slopes. They usually come in and out by helicopter, fly up to the top of the slopes by helicopter, and rarely venture out of the grounds of the hotel. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever served a single guest of the hotel here at the diner.”

“They’re too exclusive for the likes of simple townsfolk?”

“Exactly. Too exclusive, too rich. They’re from New York and LA. They’re here for the ski slopes, not the local cuisine. Some of my friends work there. They say we’re not missing much. Rich foreigners and businessmen who don’t know how to have much fun, other than a glass of port by the fire in the evening.”

“It does look pretty cozy,” Elle said.

Kelly shrugged. “You want cozy? I’ve got cozy.”

“Really?”

“If you’re willing to work for it.”

“What?”

“You ever waitress before?”

“Girl, I was born with a tray in my hands. I started as a dishwasher when I was still a kid. I’ve worked in more diners than you can imagine.”

“Well, as you can see, we’re kind of shorthanded around here.”

“You’re kidding me?”

“I’m not kidding, Elle. If you want a job and a place to stay, we could use you here.”

“You are kidding me,” Elle said, rising to her feet.

She could already feel the tears coming to her eyes but didn’t care. She was so relieved she wanted to kiss Kelly. Instead, she threw her arms around her and squeezed her tighter than was probably appropriate for a job offer of waitress at a small town diner.

“It’s not the Hilton,” Kelly went on, “but the local mechanic, Denny, rents some rooms nearby. Nothing fancy, like I said, but we could get you a room there.”

Elle just nodded. She was doing her best not to burst into tears. “Yes,” she said. “Yes, Kelly, yes. I’ll take it.”