"MC?" she said.
"Motorcycle Club."
"Oh." She had no idea how the bikers ran Avery Falls.
The few people she'd met growing up while visiting Grandpa Gene, mostly older people, stayed to themselves and only offered a short conversation when in town. She had a feeling all of Grandpa's friends had passed on or moved to a warmer year-round climate than the Bitterroot Mountains could provide.
"Everyone starts showing up around six o'clock. Usually, people stay late. There's a lot of food and drinks." He looked toward the window. "There are teenagers, so your boys will get to meet the kids who live on the mountain."
Was he asking her to come to the get-together?"
"If you're leery about driving on the roads after dark, I can follow you home and make sure you get back safely," he said.
He was asking her to go. She pried her tongue off the roof of her mouth and swallowed. They'd only just moved in. The boys haven't had one night in the house.
"Tonight's not a good time for me to meet...the neighbors," she said.
"No worries." He stepped toward the door. "Come and eat, at least."
"I..." She stepped toward him, not wanting him to think she was going to show up when she had no plans of going anywhere. "I've got stuff to do around here. We'll try and go to another barbecue later. You said they were weekly?"
He gave a short nod. "You need to eat, don't you?"
His square jaw gave him a chiseled face. All hard angles and masculinity. He could have his pick of women, and she wanted to know why he was pressuring her to go to the get-together.
"Well, yes, but the boys and I planned to run into town and buy some groceries." She sounded stuck-up and blurted, "I promised them they could have frozen pizza tonight since I have to clean the kitchen and check to make sure the stove even works."
All the appliances were old. Plus, the man who'd lived here for the last year had left behind a mess. There was caked food on the burners and petrified French fries on the bottom of the oven that'd turned almost unrecognizable.
The corner of Trip's mouth lifted, and his gaze softened. Warmth flooded her face, putting her excuses out in front of him. They sounded pathetic.
One look around, and he could see she was unprepared to make the house into a home for her sons.
She lifted her chin, prepared to defend herself against his judgment.
He had no idea what she'd gone through. What had led to her packing the boys in a car and driving eight hours, not knowing what mess she'd find on arrival.
"Fine." Her throat tightened. "I'll bring the boys over, and they can eat."
His amusement at her expense melted away, and he nodded his approval. She rubbed her arms, convinced she appeared a competent mother who had her shit together from his view.
It was the exact opposite of how she felt. And, she hated the hit to her confidence.
He paused in the doorway and looked back at her. "If you don't feel like making sweet with the locals, find me. You and the kids can hang out and not talk with the others."
Then, he walked out of her house. She stepped to the screen and looked out, overwhelmed with her head spinning. What was she doing?
Who was Trip?
There was a moment before she'd agreed to go to the clubhouse where she'd based her decision on wanting to go because he'd invited her, and she wanted to make him happy.
She scoffed under her breath. When she went to the get-together, she'd stay away from him. She didn't have to prove herself to any man.
Not even one who wore a leather vest and had the hard edge of a badass. Her chest tightened, looking at his backside. A badass that had a mighty fine walk.
Sensual desire thrummed through her. She sighed, lusting after him. It'd been so long since she'd found herself ogling the appearance of a man.
There must be something in the water in Avery Falls to make a man like that, because she'd never seen one like that in Boise.
Trip approached his motorcycle, and Zach stopped him from getting on the bike. She put her hand on the screen, braced for what her oldest son would do.
Zach had grown more protective of her the older he got. The men she'd dated in the past never amounted to a full relationship. She rarely brought them home, preferring to let her mom babysit while she went out.
They both squatted beside the black motorcycle, with Trip pointing to something on the engine. Zach nodded and stood. From her distance, she couldn't tell what they talked about, only that her moody son's mouth was moving, and that made her happy.
He'd had few moments to be himself and drop the attitude lately.
Trip sat the motorcycle, talking with Zach until he rode in a circle out of her yard and down the driveway. She stepped outside and waited until the noise lowered and then called her sons to her.
Kenny ran over while Zach meandered, taking his time. Once they stood in front of her, she said, "We're going to a barbecue for dinner. We'll go shopping for groceries in the morning."
She expected them both to put up a fight about going around other people. People that were strangers. They were teenage boys. It was expected.
But both of them remained quiet and accepting.
"Okay, then." She blew out her breath. "Let's finish cleaning the bedrooms and roll out our sleeping bags, so we have somewhere to sleep when we get home."
She walked to the house and stopped. Now that she had the money Trip gave her, she could make things right for her boys.
Looking over her shoulder, she said, "If you guys want, before we come back home tonight, we can stop by the gas station—where our phones came in the best—and I can order us each
