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Fire on the Mountain

by Lee K. Merialdo

171 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #03-1020; ISBN 1-4120-0650-3; US$18.00, C$20.95, EUR15.00, £10.50

Can fourteen-year-old Tawny Hughes stop her mother's upcoming marriage? Who is staying in the mysterious stone building? Who owns it? No one seems to know.

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about the book      about the author      sample excerpts or table of contents      catalogue info

About the Book Tawny Hughes glares at her mother, "But why do you want to marry him?" she demands. How can she stop this marriage? In the mountain community of Lake Pearl, Tawny and her best friend Alix uncover a local mystery and befriend a runaway boy. When Tawny single handedly saves the town from peril, she discovers a strength she didn't know she had.

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About the Author

Lee Merialdo raised her family in a small mountain community like the "Lake Pearl" in her novel.

She wrote this book to keep alive the memory of a time and of those who lived there.

She now lives in Las Vegas. She is an artist and enjoys illustrating children's books.

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Sample Excerpts or Table of Contents

"But, Mom, what about me?" Anger and frustration echoed in Tawny's plea. Viciously she punched the pillow in her lap, then shoved it behind her to prop herself against her mother's headboard.

Usually Tawny loved to watch her mother get ready to go out. It was one of their special times together. She loved having a pretty mother, especially when people remarked about how much they looked alike. But tonight everything was different. The magic had vanished at her mother's casual announcement.

Laura Hughes, seated at her dressing table, glanced at her daughter's reflection in the mirror, and registered Tawny's outburst without a change of expression.

"Mom," Tawny's voice rippled again. "Why do you want to marry him? What about Sammy and me?" On the verge of tears, she glared at her mother.

Laura turned to face her daughter, her mascara brush poised in mid air. "But, dear," she said, "I thought you liked Ranger."

"Oh, he's OK I guess. But I just don't think you have to go and marry him." Tawny stressed each word. "Alix told me the worst day of her life was when her mother married Mr. Clark."

Laura stood up to check her image. She poked at her short, brown hair, fluffing it up around her face. Her light, summer dress hung perfectly on her slim figure, a contrast to the jeans and T-shirt she wore to work each day at the General Store.

Tawny jumped to her feet and dug her fists into her sides." What about you and me?" she demanded, tears not far below the surface.

"Darling," Laura replied, "nothing will change between us. I love our closeness, our talks, and our times together. That will never change."

Tawny could stand it no longer. She bolted out of the bedroom, across the living room, and let the kitchen door slam behind her.

A few minutes later Laura crossed the wide porch to where Tawny sat hunched in the wicker chair, her legs drawn up in front of her.

"We won't be home late, dear," Laura said, kissing Tawny lightly on the cheek. "Make sure Sammy is in the house by eight, but he can stay up for a while if he wants to."

Ranger's blue pick-up turned off the highway and was nearing the house. Laura hurried down the flight of stone steps that ran along the side of the house to the road below.

"What can she be thinking?" Tawny mumbled as she watched the pick-up drive the two short blocks to the highway, turn and disappear from sight.

For a long time Tawny sat there. Thoughts and emotions tumbled together. My whole life is ruined! she thought. Nobody ever understands how I feel.

Dusk settled over the small, mountain community of Lake Pearl. Tawny's anger began to lessen. Crickets chirped their nightly symphony, fireflies flashed and darted. The owl that slept each day on the broken limb of the tree behind the house, gave his first "hoot" of the evening.

Soon the coyotes would make their presence known. Their plaintive barks, ending with the three distinctive, high pitched "yips", like three periods at the end of a sentence, would echo over the mountain side.

From the row of lilac bushes, thick as a hedge, that bordered the far side of the stone steps, drifted the heavy, sweet scent of the purple flowers.

Eight-year-old Sammy bounded up the steps. His bare feet slapped softly against the flat stone surfaces.

"Hi, Tawn," he greeted his sister. "What cha' doing?"

Tawny ignored his greeting. "Mother wants to marry Ranger," she said, an icy edge in her voice.

Sammy stood beside her chair wearing only a pair of khaki shorts, his choice of dress for the summer of play: swimming, fishing, and exploring the lake shore and the mountain side with his two best friends. The summer sun had already begun to lighten his hair and tan his fair skin.

After a moment, he knew there would be no further explanation from his sister.

"Oh," Sammy responded.

He went into the house and turned on the TV.

The living room windows were open along the wall behind Tawny. No drapes or blinds had ever covered them. The front of the wood frame house was built over an open garage, setting the living room and porch high above the gravel road, insuring privacy. The back bedrooms nestled securely, half buried into the mountainside. The National Forest rose steep and high behind the house. Not that privacy was an issue. The closest house, where her best friend Alix lived, stood three small lots away and off to the side.

Tawny rested her head back against the rough wicker, and was lost in thought. Then a scene played across the screen of her mind; one she had recalled many times before. Was it a dream, the memory of a dream, or something else? What? Tawny was never sure. It was always the same.

She saw again the man who carried the small girl in his strong arms, and set her gently onto the rear seat of a rowboat. The sun was warm, and sparkles of light darted and danced on the water. A gentle breeze lifted small waves that lapped against the sides of the wooden boat.

The child wore a white bathing suit with a design of pink rosebuds on it. She saw a rope tied to a metal ring at the front of the boat. The other end of the rope lay loosely coiled on the beach. She watched the rope begin to move, to uncoil itself, to slip silently across the sand to the water's edge and into the shallow water. Then it disappeared from sight.

She saw the beach move away. Fear gripped her throat. Shadowy figures on the shore seemed not to see her. Fear turned to panic.

Further and further from shore she drifted. Terror roared in her head. She could neither speak nor scream.

The vision faded. Tawny sat motionless in the wicker chair, her heart pounding. After a time her breath slowed, and she became aware of the night around her. Abruptly she got to her feet and went inside.

When Ranger's pick-up turned off the highway, Tawny was on the couch watching a re-run. Quickly she snapped off the TV and went to her room. A few minutes later, when Laura looked in on her daughter, Tawny pretended to be asleep.

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Catalogue Information

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