Chapter Three

Luc

F or a moment, we all sort of just stare at the tangled mess of limbs that is now Jensen. Our silence doesn’t last for very long though as we all burst out laughing.

“I’m fine, thanks for checking,” Jensen snipes, making us laugh harder as he gets up.

“Sorry, dude, but I have absolutely no idea how you managed to do that,” I say.

“That makes two of us,” Jensen mumbles and then adds, “I fell because I was checking my phone. Someone has offered to buy the yard.”

“Already?” Trick asks, clearly surprised.

Jensen nods, “Yeah. They are from out of town and have offered to do it all electronically; they have given me their details and all the important stuff.”

“Can you look into them and see if they’re legitimate?” Cash asks him curiously.

“The last thing we want is for someone to move in that’s going to be doing something dodgy in town,” I add with a frown. We have only just got rid of the new drug that was circulating. We don't want to bring it back.

“Normally, I would say no, that’s way out of my capabilities, but this guy sent the email from his work address, so I can stalk him through his company,” Jensen replies, already doing just that.

We all move to stand behind him so we can see better as he starts to scroll. I’m aware that Jenny is probably wondering what the hell we’re doing out here, but we can’t exactly go inside and start talking about this sort of thing because she would definitely start asking questions that we can’t answer. Well, we can, it just wouldn’t be a good idea and lead to even more questions being asked.

“Oh, okay,” Trick says after we have all read what is written on his website and a few other bits. “He is definitely legitimate, has the money, and isn’t planning to run something dodgy from the place. At least, I would hope that he’s not going to, based on what we have read. Although, you can’t find everything that you want to know on the internet, so there is still a chance that he could do something illegal with the place.”

Riot shrugs, as he points out, “Yeah, but you could say that about anyone who wants to buy it and if we are going to start being that picky about who we’re going to let purchase the place then we don’t really have any hope of getting it sold quickly.”

Trick nods, “Shit, yeah. You’re right. I think I’m just a bit more wary now, we have only just gotten rid of the drugs, and it would be fucked up if we practically invited something like that back into town and sold them the land where they could do it from.”

I chuckle, “Yeah, it would, but at least we would know how to get in unseen.”

The guys laugh, and Rafe signs, “I think you are overthinking shit again, man. This guy seems fine, has the money, and most likely just wants to build a vacation home or something.”

“Good point,” Trick replies and then looks at Jensen, “okay, agree to the offer, and then arrange to have the keys dropped off and the money transferred.”

“How are we going to work that?” I ask. “It’s not like we can meet him there and hand the keys over to him ourselves.”

“Or could we?” Jensen asks, “We could just say something like, sorry dad couldn’t make it here are the keys?”

“We could, but then we run the risk of him questioning it.” Trick replies with a frown, “If it were me, I would definitely question it if a teenager was handing over the keys to a property worth a couple hundred thousand dollars, wouldn’t you?”

“Yeah, I would. I’d probably even question if it was sold with the parents knowing or something like that. Especially since it was done anonymously.” Cash agrees.

“It could even make the guy look more closely at the whole thing, and then we would have to deal with that too,” I point out. “I know we are being a little bit paranoid with this, but I almost think we have to be. The alternative would really fuck shit up for us.”

“Agreed,” several of them say at the same time.

“What about if I tell him that I’m out of the country at the moment, but I will have the keys left in a secured lock box on the gate of the property and send photo proof?” Jensen suggests.

Trick shrugs, “Try it, if he’s not happy with it we will just have to find a buyer who is, there isn’t really any choice.”

Jensen nods, “I’ll send the email now.”

“We will have to get a lock box, but that shouldn’t be too much of a problem.” Rafe signs.

“Boys, what are you doing standing in the driveway? Dinner is nearly ready.” Jenny calls from the front door, looking amused.

“Sorry, Mom,” Trick calls back, “we’re coming in now.”

“Sent,” Jensen says as we head inside, “we’ll just have to wait and see if he’s happy with that or not.”

“Great,” Riot replies and then adds with a grin, “Let’s eat. I’m starving.”

**********

Cash

“I had better be heading back; it’s getting late,” I say as I stand up and stretch.

“You can stay if you want? I’m sure mom won’t mind,” Trick offers.

I smile, “I would but mom’s missing me apparently, and wants me at home for at least a night this week, especially since they are going away for a few days tomorrow.”

The guy’s chuckles, and Jensen says, “Fair enough. Let us know when you get home.”

“Yeah, I will,” I say. “I might stop into Joe’s hardware store on the way home and pick up the lockbox. Since the guy agreed to buy the place, we can take the photograph tomorrow and get it sent off to him. Then it’s all done, and we don’t have to worry about it.”

“Yeah, that would be great, actually.” Trick replies, “We’ll head over to the yard tomorrow afternoon and get it all done.”

“Great,” I say, “bye guys.”

Heading out of the front door, I wave goodbye to Rob and Jenny too, before I jump into my car. We all made our way to Trick’s place this morning in our cars, unless we got a lift with one of the others and left them here. Everyone went in Trick’s truck to the track. It didn’t make sense for us to take all our cars there, so we just went in one.

I will have to head to the edge of town before I can go home if I’m going to Joe’s, and I’ll have to hurry up. Glancing at the clock on my dash, I realize that it’s not that long until closing time. Thank fuck for tiny towns, I should make it there just in time.

Joe’s is this traditional hardware store that sells a little bit of everything. I think Joe is the third generation ‘Joe’ to own it, his grandfather and father running it before him, and the family house still sitting behind it up a dirt track. His son, who is, in fact, called Jerry, is a lawyer in the nearest city, and none of his other kids are interested in taking it over.

The last time that I spoke to him, he said he was still hoping that they would change their minds and that he planned to keep it going for as long as he could. He is only in his fifties, so he has plenty of time before he has to worry about it properly.

He has started staying open later in the evenings in order to pick up some extra business since the new chain opened up in town. Whenever we need something like this, we always try to go to Joe's, unfortunately it doesn’t happen that often.

It’s not long until I’m pulling into the parking lot outside Joe’s. Night has fully fallen now, and the lot is surrounded by trees on all sides which are blocking out the moonlight, making the lot seem a lot darker than it usually would. I become a lot more aware of my surroundings. Not because I feel like there is a threat nearby, but more because it’s just a good idea when you are in a parking lot alone late at night.

Fortunately, it’s Serendipity, and not much happens here. Well, I suppose it does, but I’m usually directly involved with it somehow, like the Pit. As I walk through the lot, a car I recognize as being one of Billy’s people’s catches my eye. I would be willing to bet that they are here getting stuff to fix the cabin. I’m going to have to get in and out as quickly as possible and hope that they don’t see me. I don’t imagine that would go down very well, and I need to get home for dinner; I don’t want to waste time dealing with Billy or his people.

I briefly contemplate texting the guys and letting them know but think better of it. They would most likely want to come down here, and I think that’s probably even more confrontational and guaranteed to cause a problem.

Joe’s is a big store; I am reasonably certain that I can get around the store without them noticing me.