The Challenge(67)

Privately, Bill told the Pollocks that Pattie had gone insane, maybe from the pregnancy. But they knew the whole story. They thought Pattie was going to extremes, but Pitt suspected that this wasn’t the first time he had cheated on her. Bill had hinted at his exploits before and Pitt hadn’t taken him seriously then. Now he did. They felt as though they had lost members of their family. Pitt still saw Bill for lunch, but Anne had taken Pattie’s side. It was a bloody battle, and their court appearances and depositions were scheduled to start in July. They’d be doing that for the rest of the year and maybe longer.

The one thing Pattie hated most was a cheater. Her father had been one. She had suspected Bill of cheating on her before but he denied it. Now she knew it was true. She’d seen it. And in retrospect she realized he had cheated the other times too.

Bill rented a house in town and lived there while he came to work every day to run the ranch. Pattie had a court order forbidding him from entering the house, and his lawyer advised him to obey it, or she’d enforce it and put him in jail. She wasn’t kidding.

He had fired Kitty immediately, also on advice of counsel, and saw her occasionally at his house in town, as well as a waitress from the diner, or other pretty young girls he met around town.

Pattie’s goal, once she settled the terms of the divorce, was to stay in Fishtail for the next three years, so as not to disrupt her kids, and then move to L.A. when Matt left for college. She was ready for a bigger life, and she was planning to take the children and half of Bill’s money with her.

Pitt and Anne were crushed to see what had happened, but Bill turned out not to be the man they thought he was. People around town were talking and he’d had casual affairs with many women.

Tom was thinking of buying the Browns’ house when Pattie left, and Bill said he would sell the ranch to Pitt to expand his operation. He needed the land for his horses, and Bill was talking about moving to Texas and starting over with the money he’d have left.

Tom wanted to put down roots in Fishtail. It had been the right move for him. And he loved the idea of buying the Browns’ big, beautiful house, even in three years. He wanted a real home there. He intended to stay.

Beth’s divided life between New York and Fishtail was working and so was her relationship with Harvey. He had been to New York with her twice and loved it. He loved all the cultural options there, and enjoyed them all, theater, opera, symphony, ballet, museums.

With his parents’ bitter divorce, Matt was closer than ever to the Pollocks, and went there all the time. Noel came back from Denver every chance he got, so Matt, Peter, Tim, Noel, and Juliet were still the closest friends. The bond they’d formed on Granite Peak would last forever.



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In July, it was the anniversary of the day the kids got lost on the mountain. Beth remembered it all vividly. A year later, so many things had changed. The parents who had shared the agony had dispersed. Anne and Pitt were still there. Pattie and Bill were at war and intended to move away. Bob Wylie had died, and Marlene was living in Denver with Noel and trying to find her way. Justin had gotten out of rehab in June, and had done well. He was sober and starting at the University of Montana in September, and was excited about it. He had a summer job at a dude ranch in Wyoming, and had grown up a lot. Tom was still recovering from Marlene, and had to fight himself not to follow her to Denver, but it was still too complicated for now. She had been an obsession at the wrong time for both of them. But maybe in time things would be different. They had rushed it too soon after Bob’s death. He recognized that now. They spoke on the phone from time to time. And Noel and Justin had calmed down about him. Their moving to Denver had been the right decision for now. Tom had been love-starved after Beth, and Marlene had dazzled him, and she needed him. Beth didn’t. June was still dating the pediatrician from Billings. They were talking about getting married and Tim loved him. He was like a father to him, and the doctor wanted to adopt him.

Beth and Harvey had been dating for nine months. It wasn’t an eternity, but it was a longish time. He had saved their children, and he and Beth were still discovering each other: the stories, their histories, the hidden facets, their childhoods, their fears, the things that made them happy. Their relationship was based on admiration and joy. They loved doing things together, in Montana and New York. They enhanced each other’s lives. A year later, she was happy living in Fishtail and going to New York less frequently, but often enough to keep life interesting. Juliet loved living and going to school in Fishtail. She liked Harvey, and she was still in love with Peter, with his parents as their role models.

Beth wondered if the real challenge had been the mountain or just life, or were they one and the same? She hadn’t figured it out yet. Maybe she never would. Life was like the mountain. Ever challenging, frightening at times, dangerous, exciting, deceptive, alluring, with hidden crevasses and ravines. And then at last, you went home, with the memories and the victory that you had survived it.

“What are you thinking?” Harvey asked her, as she stared at Granite Peak, which had been their nightmare a year ago and seemed so peaceful now.

“I was thinking that you changed everything when you saved the children. Life would be so different now if you hadn’t.”

“I was lucky,” he said modestly.

“So was I.” She smiled at him. The mountain had been treacherous, the ultimate challenge, and he was the unexpected gift, the surprise after they won. It was the sweet spot that you never knew what life had in store. Some had lost, some had won, some had gone home with the prize, some were gone. But for now, she and Harvey were happy. She was grateful for that and for him every day. And for her daughter. And she and Tom were friends now.