The Switch by Debra Kayn (desktop ebook reader TXT) 📗

and finding out who will find it first."

"You're not coming to the get-together?"

"Oh, shoot. I forgot it was Friday." Her brows pinched. "I need to talk to the boys and then see how the hunt goes. We should be done before it gets dark."

"If you don't come, I'll come and see you."

"But the boys—"

"After they're in bed."

She swallowed and stared at his chest before nodding. "I need to close out the register and bring the bikes inside before I lock up."

"I'll get out of here." He kissed her. "Try to make it tonight."

"I'll try." She pulled back, smiled, and stepped away. He wandered outside. She was hiding something from him. New to feeling this way about someone, he couldn't shake that there was more going on with her. That whatever this scavenger hunt was about, it was only an excuse.

He got on his bike and rode away. He'd have a much easier time if someone brought him a non-working motorcycle they needed fixed or one of the residents of Avery Falls needed him to solve a problem.

Bonnie had everything working for her and the boys. They were doing something enjoyable tonight, and she was looking forward to being with her sons.

There was nothing out of the ordinary there.

Her problem must be with him.

Chapter Thirty

Kenny leaned over the map spread on the table, taking the lead after she'd filled them in on what Grandpa Gene had documented in the notebook. Bonnie drank a cup of coffee, needing the caffeine after being up all night and working eight hours.

"That's the mountain to the east of the house." Zach pointed in front of him. "If we drive up the road, we'll be between the mountain and the house."

"How far?" Bonnie paced the kitchen. "I don't want to go out and get lost in the forest."

Kenny put his finger on the map, measuring it against the line. "Maybe a half-mile. That's not far."

"It is if there's no trail."

"Wait." Bonnie rushed to the table and stared down at the map.

Grandpa Gene mentioned black vans. They had to drive past the house on the same road.

"Let's go in the car and drive up the road. If nothing else, it'll be close to the base of the mountain."

"But we're looking for a cemetery." Kenny straightened. "Right?"

"Maybe, or it could just be a headstone. I don't ever remember seeing it as a kid or maybe I've forgotten." She put the coffee mug in the sink. "Grab a water bottle, and let's go. We only have a couple of hours before it'll start getting dark."

"Yeah, I want to go to the get-together, so let's hurry." Zach pushed out the screen door.

She hadn't promised that she'd go. But if they finished earlier than she planned for, she'd take the boys.

Whether the key was there or not, she hoped to have more answers tonight once they found her grandma's headstone.

She understood Grandpa Gene believed something was going on, but she knew Trip. He'd already admitted he knew her grandfather. Why wouldn't he tell her about paying him off to keep him away from the mountain?

Driving slowly up the road, she kept a steady eye out for any trails or dirt roads veering off the main road. She never had any need to drive past the house before. As a kid, she stayed in the yard and the edge of the woods unless Grandpa Gene was with her. The idea of wild animals roaming the woods kept her close to safety.

A shiver ran through her at the possibility of meeting a bear or moose. She had nothing against carrying a gun in the Bitterroot Mountains, but it wasn't something she wanted to buy or have around the boys.

But she bought a pepper spray canister at work that morning for tonight's excursion.

"We're almost there. You can see how close the mountain is to the ground." Kenny leaned forward, grabbing the dash. "I don't see the road."

"I think it's a dead-end. That's why we don't see much traffic as we come and go from the house." She stopped thirty feet from where the asphalt ended. "Let's stick together and have a look around. I have a feeling Grandpa Gene buried Grandma on the property, and I don't think it goes past the mountain."

"Ugh." Zach opened the door and got out of the car. "I thought that was illegal. You can't just bury someone on your property. You'd get arrested. They'd probably think the homeowner was a killer."

"Things are different in Idaho, plus it was a long time ago. Maybe the laws have changed," she muttered, planting her hands on her hips, looking around.

"Let's say we find a key. What do you think it goes to?" asked Zach.

"Yeah, Mom." Kenny picked up a rock and threw it into the bushes. "This is a treasure hunt."

"Scavenger hunt." She blew her breath out. "It's a key to a safety deposit box, I believe."

"You don't know?"

"Not really."

"What could be in the box?"

She shrugged. "Money?"

Kenny picked up another rock. "That'd be dope."

She squinted across the clearing. "Is that dirt area a clearing?"

They all walked to the right. Behind a stand of pine trees only twelve feet or so tall, a dirt path allowed them to follow the curve at the mountain's base.

Kenny ran ahead. She opened her mouth to yell at him to come back but realized he was staying in view.

"Whoa." Zach stopped, digging in his back pocket.

"What's wrong?"

"My phone." He pulled out his cell and looked at the screen. "There's reception right here. A text from Trina came through." He read. "She wants me to come to the get-together."

Not wanting to disappoint her son, she said, "Let's hurry. Maybe we'll finish in time."

"Mom!"

She jerked in Kenny's direction, having lost sight of him. "What?"

"There are motorcycles parked here."

She snapped her gaze to Zach, who shrugged. "Come on."

Jogging forward, they found Kenny standing by two black Harleys. Her adrenaline kicked in. Grandpa Gene mentioned the motorcycle club was part of what was happening on the mountain.

All the