someday the house and land would belong to her.
At the time, such a big gift hadn't made an impression on her. She thought Grandpa Gene would live forever, and there was no such thing as death. She hadn't the heart to tell him she wanted one of those new mountain bikes that'd become popular instead of a house.
Snapping out of her past, she stuck the key in the door and prayed it would work. The satisfying click vibrated up her arm, and she let out the breath she held.
Zach and Kenny bounded in ahead of her and stopped in the middle of the living room. Swept back in memories, expecting to smell the aroma of Grandpa Gene's coffee, it took her several seconds to realize what she was seeing.
There were beer cans on every available surface. Several jeans covered the corner of a sofa. A sofa she had never seen before.
She turned and went into the kitchen, seeking out the changes. A wooden table sat under the window with dirty dishes scattered on top. She widened her eyes. A poster of a naked woman sprawled out over a black motorcycle hung on the front of the refrigerator.
"Uh, mom?" Zach touched her arm. "There's shit in the bedrooms."
"Stuff, Zach. Not shit." She hurried back into the living room and down the hallway.
Inside the first bedroom, she found more clothes, magazines, dirty dishes. Stumbling on a black leather boot on the floor, she searched the rest of the house.
People were living here. In Grandpa Gene's house. In her house.
Her anxiety grew. When she'd decided to bring the boys here, finding someone else living in the house was never a part of the equation.
All she was prepared for was minor plumbing repair from non-use and repair a broken window or two from years of neglect.
"What are we going to do?" Zach kicked at a magazine on the floor. The pages turned to the centerfold.
Ever the mom, she grabbed Zach's arm and turned him away from the room, taking him into the hallway.
"Well, as soon as I tell whoever is living here that I'm the owner, they'll leave." Her heart raced, not liking confrontations. "I have proof of the house belonging to me."
"Can't we get the cops to come and kick them out?" Kenny picked up a chain.
"Put that down." She paced in the living room, having no idea how to go about telling people—strangers, they needed to leave immediately.
"The cops won't do anything, stupid." Zach opened the front door. "I don't think we should be inside when whoever lives here decides to come home."
She grabbed on to Zach's suggestion. "You're right. We'll wait in the car."
Thankful for the boys doing what she wanted for a change, she marched to the vehicle and opened the driver's door.
Too wound up to sit and wait, she walked several feet away and turned toward her sons. "Everything is going to be fine. They probably thought nobody owned the house—it had been vacant for eighteen years. Once they understand what's going on, we'll be able to move in."
"Did Grandma Jules take all Grandpa Gene's things?" Zach scoffed and crossed his arms. "Cause that doesn't look like old man stuff in there."
Her mom had come to Avery Falls after Grandpa Gene died. At his request, he wanted his ashes spread around the property. She'd stayed with a childhood friend because her mom wouldn't let her come because she was in school.
"Your grandma cleaned out the house," she said softly.
"I wonder if we're going to die young." Kenny hopped onto the hood of the car and sat.
"Don't say that." She shook her head. "I know it seems like our family has had more than their fair share of death, but your dad was in a car accident, no fault of his own, and your grandma, well, a brain aneurysm is a freak medical condition you don't know until it's too late. Nobody knows if or when that can happen. But Grandpa Gene lived until he was ninety years old, so I think we'll live a long, happy life."
Her head pounded. Until now, she hadn't realized how much she'd battled a headache all day. Maybe they should come back tomorrow and try and catch someone home.
"This sucks." Zach walked off toward the woods.
She wanted to call him back and keep him close, but he was sixteen years old. Old enough to go off on his own. He deserved to have time away from her and his brother.
"Wait up." Kenny jumped off