Page 22 of You're My Person - For Always

Zane walked to the window. "I'll feel better with you going to visit dad. I haven't heard anything so at least his privileges weren't stripped away, forcing him to miss visitation day."

Outside, Kenna walked past the bar, heading up the hill toward the clubhouse. His chest tightened. She wasn't working at the bar today. Usually, she stuck close to River but since filling in at the bar, she hadn't gone with River to work at the campground.

It worried him that she'd leave Gem Haven, and he hated having her out of sight. He had to trust her to stay, for her to learn to trust him again. If that meant giving her freedom around Gem Haven, then that's what he'd do.

"I better get out of here before something else pulls me in." Zane looked out the window. "Everything okay between you and Kenna?"

"She's talking to me again."

"That's good."

Since they got back together, she'd slept in his bed every night. There was no hint that she wanted to leave Gem Haven. But so much remained in the balance over her dad not wanting to see her.

Burt Shay would never understand the amount of pain and heartbreak he'd put on Kenna and River.

He turned from the window. "Did you ever find out the story behind Zora when you were going through Dad's records?"

"Nothing." Zane walked down the hall beside him. "I don't ever remember him bringing up her name before. Though, I do remember him grounding me for riding onto the other side of the mountain when I was around twelve. A few of us kids took off for the day and used the old place for target practice with our twenty-twos. Dad was livid."

"Was Zora living there at the time?"

Zane opened the door and stepped outside. "I have no idea. I thought the place was vacant."

"She's been living there for quite some time to grow all that shit. There're flowers and raised beds all around the cabin, with gravel pathways leading to different trails. It looks like she's self-sufficient. I didn't see any mode of transportation. She's getting her water from a nearby spring," he said.

"I don't understand what the fuck is going on."

Kingsley pulled on his beard. "Nobody could live there year-round without some form of heat. Maybe she only stays there during the summer."

"Nope, Big John had been checking on her. He confessed to bringing her firewood, food, and making sure she had water during the winter. He also takes her flowers into some florist in Couer D'alene who buys them from her."

"Is it Big John's woman?" he asked.

Zane shook his head. "He says she isn't."

Kingsley stopped. Kenna had spotted him and hurried in his direction. "Believe me, I'll ask Dad what's up with her."

He couldn't explain why the woman seemed familiar to him. But it wasn't the mystery of where he'd seen her before that bothered him. There shouldn't be a woman living alone on the mountain. Period. It was dangerous.

Kenna stopped short of touching him, looking between Zane and him. "Am I interrupting?"

"Never." He hooked her behind the neck and brought her to his side. "What's up?"

"The woman that lives at the cabin was at the house." She frowned. "She didn't stay."

"What do you mean she was there?" Kingsley shared a glance with Zane, knowing something was wrong. "Did you see her?"

"She knocked, but by the time I got downstairs, nobody was there. When I opened the door, I caught her hurrying into the trees. I'm sure it was her. I've never seen anyone with hair that specific color or that long." Kenna leaned against him. "She left a basket by the front door."

"Just a basket?" asked Zane.

Kenna shrugged. "There's something in it, but it looks like it's wrapped in material. I didn't look. I thought one of you might want to see what it is right away, so I came looking for you."

Zane motioned for Kingsley to go ahead and check it out. "I need to ride over to the campground. If it's an emergency, call the desk and get ahold of me. I'll be there for about thirty minutes. After that, use my cell."

"You're leaving?"

"No, I'll be at the bar. River's meeting Taylor—a friend, for dinner and to catch up." Zane walked backward toward his Harley. "You might also want to find out why Razz and Guy never spotted Zora leaving the cabin."

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