Chapter One #2
"You don't think she'll give up?" he asked.
"A woman alone with two kids asking about a house that no one should know about..." Steven shook his head. "She's staying in the RV park, in the rental trailer. The car she drove was stuffed to the roof. I'm surprised the kids could fit in the car."
"Where's she from?"
"IA"
Recognizing the Idaho designator for Ada County, he said, "Boise?"
"Yeah." Trip turned his head and spit on the ground. "I'll phone Prez when I get back to the clubhouse and let him know."
"Better yet, go talk to her."
"The less she knows, the sooner she'll give up, hit the road, and move on."
"I don't think she's going anywhere until she finds the house." Steven stepped away. "Check her out yourself."
His MC brother motioned him inside. Lugging the duffle off his bike, he walked into the back of the diner.
He shoved the bag at Steven. "Put it in the office until I'm done."
"She's sitting in the booth by the front door with the kids. Two boys."
Striding into the diner, he caught Elena's gaze and lifted his chin. The waitress hurried to him.
"Hey, Trip. Do you want your regular?" Elana smiled up into his face.
"Not tonight." He gazed to the front booth, expecting to find a middle-aged woman.
The woman with two kids couldn't be a day over thirty.
His gaze dropped to the bare crossed legs and the slip-on sneaker dangling from her toes as she swung her foot back and forth. Maybe she was the kids' older sister.
"Do me a favor and bring me a coffee." He strode across the small diner and slid into the booth behind the woman and her family.
He looked out the window, seeing Keenan and Hank ride by. They were part of the crew going into the cave tonight. Tomorrow night would be his turn to work, and he needed to get more sleep before then.
"Here you go." Elena placed the coffee in front of him. "Two spoons full of sugar like you drink it."
"Thanks." He brought the mug to his lips, barely letting the steaming hot liquid touch his tongue before he got a taste.
Elena stepped to her right and directed her attention to the next booth. "Is there anything else I can get you three?"
He straightened his head. The woman's soft reply barely heard over the music playing in the diner.
"Can you tell me where the courthouse is?" she asked.
Elena leaned her hip against the back of the booth, directly at Trip's side.
"That building is over in Federal. The easiest way to get there would be to go back through St. Maries and work your way up to Interstate 90 and head east. You can't miss it.
If you cross the Montana border, you've gone too far. "
"There's no one closer who can help me get directions to the house?" The woman paused. "I don't understand how this has become so difficult. Everyone I ask from the area doesn't know the address."
She was a determined woman, not letting the lack of information go.
He reached over and patted Elana's leg. The waitress shifted.
"Trip, you know all the places around here. Have you ever heard of Sunrise Gulch?" Elena smiled at the woman. "He's lived around here forever. I'm sure if there's such a place, he'd know where it was."
He scooted out of the booth and stood, facing the woman. Up close, he couldn't miss the anticipation on her face or how her eyebrows raised in the hope that someone would know the address.
"Nope. Never heard of the name." He glanced at the boys, who appeared uninterested in the conversation.
The one with longer hair sulked in his seat, looking out the window. The other, with a crewcut that made him appear younger, though body-wise—the two boys could be twins for all he knew, barely glanced at him before diving into the last half of his hamburger.
"I have a picture." The woman dug in a backpack and handed him an old Polaroid that had seen better days. "That house...it was my grandpa's place."
"Then, it's probably best you ask your grand—"
"He died when I was fourteen years old." She sighed and picked up the picture when he set it down in front of her on the table. "I know it exists. My mom would bring me every summer, and we'd spend a couple of months with him."
"I don't know what to tell you." He met her startling dark gaze.
"If your grandpa's gone, it's probably someone else's house, or it could've been torn down.
Once the silver bust petered out in the eighties, most people left the area.
Winters are harsh around here. Vacant houses don't last long before the elements do their damage. "
"You don't understand." She dug through her bag again and produced a yellow Manilla envelope. "I have the deed. The house and property belong to me. Even if the house isn't there anymore, the land is still there."
He tensed. When the motorcycle club purchased the town, they'd paid everyone off who was still alive, living out of state, and holding clear deeds. Back then, the land was worth next to nothing. It was to the club's advantage to own Avery Falls.
Either the woman was mistaken, and her grandfather hadn't mentioned he'd sold the place out from under her, or the club fucked up, thinking no one would come and claim the property.
If that was the case, the courthouse over in Federal would validate her claim, and the club would be up shit creek without a paddle.
The property she wanted to claim was in the direct line of the cave.
"Every inch of Avery Falls is privately owned. It has been for years." He rocked back on the heels of his boots. "It must be an old deed, already transferred to the new owner."
The club had renamed every road, trail, mountain peak since control of the area.
The woman needed to hop in her car and hit the road and go back home. There was nothing here for her.
She put the envelope back in her pack. "Thank you for your help."
"No problem." He stepped over and picked up his mug of coffee.
Draining the drink on his way to the back, he dropped the empty cup off in the kitchen, picked up his duffle, and hit the back door.
Prez needed to know about their new problem.