"Can you tell me where the courthouse is?" asked the woman.
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 were the case, the courthouse over in Federal would validate her claim, and the club would need to run her out of Avery Falls.
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 purchasing 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.
Chapter Two
"Why can't we go back home?" Zack punched the dashboard. "I'm missing the last week of school."
Bonnie put all her impatience on the steering wheel, making her knuckles ache. "According to the welcome message we received from the virtual school you'll be attending once summer is over, your grades and transcript won't be affected from leaving public school for a week."
Kenny hit the back of the passenger seat, jostling his brother. "Yeah, you'll still be the dumbass in tenth grade."
Zack reached for the latch of his seatbelt. Bonnie grabbed his wrist, stopping him from going after his brother.
Upheaving the boys from their life in Boise put a strain on all of them. On top of not knowing what tomorrow would bring each of them, she was jobless. It irritated her that the company she gave four years of her life to, and helped build, let her go, sighting downsizing. She loved her coworkers and working with the customers.
It wasn't her fault that the corporate office in another state couldn't see they were holding on to the past. Everyone was changing over to electronics, including with their hobbies. People needed technology in their life.
When runners went out, they used a smartwatch to track their path, heartbeat and log their training sessions. Bicyclists wanted the latest screen hooked up on their bike, showing the miles they traveled and the speed. They also wanted to go electric. Something the higher-ups couldn't wrap their head around, no matter how many times she explained what the customers were asking her for.
Screw them!
If they wanted to get rid of her, she'd go somewhere else. Life was about change. She wanted to show her boys there was more to life than staying in one place.
That newfound observation became more apparent as the fog lifted after losing her mother three years ago.
She wanted to show her sons to experience a different area, different people, different opportunities. To expand and show them
