Page 19 of December's Ride with Scar

“I'll take it. I wanted to talk more about the party and about the hot springs deal, too. After I read the email you sent me with the details, I talked to Sheriff Lawson, Orville, and even Ruby. They all thought it was weird that no one else from Mustang Mountain attended. I went to the cafe and asked around, but no one even knew about the event,” he says, taking a seat on one of the folding chairs that have been brought in.

“It almost felt intentional,” I say. “The way that woman reacted when Orville introduced us. Evelyn told me later she had a fake smile when talking to us, but a real one when she was talking to the others.”

“Which is odd, since you need the mayor on your side to do anything here. It's a historical building so they can't even change the paint color without Orville and the historical committee's approval,” Atlas says.

“And Ruby is on the historical committee.” I voice what we are both thinking. “Maybe that’s why only the two of them were invited. They didn't expect them to bring Evelyn and me, and then when the sheriff showed up, I bet it made them tense.”

"We looked into the company and there is nothing. They popped up out of nowhere and purchased some land in Silver City before buying the hot springs and then nothing. There is no income source,” Thunder says, joining us.

“Which means they are funded by another company,” I say.

“Or by someone else,” Atlas says. “I could be wrong, but my gut is saying not to dismiss this. After the year we have had, maybe I'm just on edge, but this isn't adding up for me.”

“Did you check to see who this company is registered to?”

“Yeah, it led to some shell company in the Caribbean and that led us to a dead end. It will take some work to figure out where the shell company leads to,” Thunder says. “We will keep digging, though.”

There is a pause in the conversation before Atlas smiles.

“I just found out Shane plans to move home after the first of the year. He says he's going to get the ranch up and going again. With everything that had been going on and with Savage Bones, he stayed away. Now he's ready to start over,” Atlas says.

“Well, you know the club will welcome him because he's important to you,” I say.

“I know, I just hope the rest of the town will be so welcoming.” The smile fades from Atlas’s face.

“Well, I'm sure it's because Shane served some time behind bars. In my mind, he's done his time and ever since he’s working to make things right. He's been nothing but helpful, like at Thanksgiving.”

“Remind the town we owe him for Thanksgiving. He saved many lives and the town thousands if not millions of dollars by stopping that bomb Savage Bones planted,” Thunder says.

“I will. Couldn't hurt having you guys speak up for him, too. I have a feeling he has an uphill battle ahead of him,” Atlas says.

Then both mine and Thunder’s phone go off at the same time.

We look at each other as we reach for our phones.

I relax when I see it’s Evelyn.

“Hey, sweetheart. How’s the shopping?” I ask.

“Fine. We are done and on our way to the train station,” she says, hanging up abruptly.

She’s either angry or something is wrong. Whatever, my gut is screaming.

I look up at Thunder and know his girl was on the phone, too.

“I have to go get Evelyn. Something is off.”

Then I'm out the door before either of them can speak. In record time, I'm in my truck and at the train station in town.

When I walk in and spot Evelyn, I can tell she's mad. She sees me, but won't meet my eyes. With her arms crossed, she looks at me, but doesn’t move. No greeting or anything. Instead, shewalks by me and straight for the door, gathering a few shopping bags on the way.

When I look over at the other girls, none of them will meet my eyes. I don't waste any time following Evelyn out to my truck.

CHAPTER 10

EVELYN

“Please tell me what's wrong,”Scar pleads once we are in the truck.

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