Page 9 of December's Ride with Scar

“I think you should go, and I plan to stop by as well,” Sheriff Lawson says. “We had a break in at one of the empty stores last night. It looks like someone just slept there and moved on, but I want to make sure we don't overlook anything. New people moving into town means new problems.”

“It's weird no one knew it was up for sale, right?” I ask.

“Yeah. It’s even odder that Orville knew nothing about it. Any renovation plans would have crossed his desk, and he would have told Ruby,” Atlas says.

“It looks like a developer bought it,” Stone says while staring at his phone, his fingers flying across the screen. “Whoever it is hasalso been buying up property in Silver Creek.”

“Anyone we know?” Atlas asks.

“Nope, but the company is new, and to buy and spend this kind of money right out of the gate, they have to be backed by someone else,” Stone says.

“Rumor has it they are trying to bring in a hockey team to the area,” Ginger says as she walks over and sits in Six's lap as a few of the girls walk in.

“Where did you hear that?” Six asks her.

“They were talking about it in the cafe when I went in to get our coffee this morning,” she says.

“Well, you guys go to the party and ask some questions. See what you can find and let us know,” Atlas says.

“Sheriff Lawson,” Atlas says, and Sean smiles at the name. “If you find out anything about who owns it, will you let us know? I'm sure you understand why we are kind of weary after the year we have had.”

“I'm on it and I'm right there with you. Better to err on the side of caution at this point,” Sheriff Lawson says.

I realize in my head I'm already calling him Sheriff Lawson, so I know he's got it in the bag.

We get an update from Atlas on the progress with the Clubhouse and it seems to be going well. Orville has been helpful in getting the permits taken care of.

After the update, I head back to the main room and find Evelyn laughing with the girls. I love how carefree and happy she looks.

“Ready to go home?” I ask when she looks up at me.

“Yep!” She stands, gives the girls hugs and walks to my side.

I don't even realize I'm reaching for her until her hand lands in mine and the sparks shoot up my arm. Holding on tightly, I lead her out to my truck.

“Why do you guys meet in the train station?” she asks once we are on our way home.

“We have a clubhouse, but it was damaged last month, and it's being renovated. It's an old historical building, so it's taking a bit longer to fix as we want to keep it as close to the original as we can,” I say.

“I love historical buildings as there is always so much character and so many stories,” she says.

“Oh, there are plenty of stories. It used to be an old brothel.”

“Wow, how interesting! I can't wait to see it. But how was it damaged?” she asks.

I was hoping to avoid this question. While I don't want to lie to her, I don't want to scare her either.

“Mostly a fire. A rival club retaliated when we sent a few of their guys to jail. The rest of them are in jail or dead so they won't be an issue again.” I gloss over all the trouble Savage Bones has caused us this last year.

“Is that a normal occurrence for the club?”

“Nope, it was actually personal against our club president, but it's been all taken care of now,” I say, reaching over to squeeze her hand, giving her some reassurance.

We drive a bit in silence, and I'm worried I might have scared her off until she speaks next.

“Can I cook dinner tonight? I'm really in the mood for my mom's chicken casserole.”

“I'd love that. Let me know what I can do to help,” I tell her.

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