Love, Lies, & Crows

Chapter 1: Homecoming

Of all the times for her truck to break down it had to choose that moment. Sighing, the driver of the purple, four dour Chevy Silverado, pulled over on the side of the highway. After shutting it down, she looked at the time and swore under her breath. 10:13 pm. Her instincts told her that it was dangerous to be walking at this time of night but what else could she do. She was only about 2 miles away from town.

Her mind made up, she grabbed her backpack and began shoving stuff into it. Once she had everything else, she hopped out of the truck and grabbed her handgun from under the seat. After sticking it in the back of her waistband, slinging the backpack on her back, and locking up her truck, she began walking. She had only gotten short distance when the storm hit. Great…now not only was she taking a risk walking by herself at night, she was doing so in a thunderstorm.

Luckily, the storm blew over quickly. The woman continued her journey. All of her senses were on high alert. Every little sound caused her to jump and look around. On more than one occasion, she had reached for her gun but then saw it was only some leaves blowing across the road or a small animal nearby.

"Calm down. You are better than this. You can handle yourself. Just keep walking and get to your ass there." She told herself.

Her walk remained uneventful for about 20 minutes. Then she heard a familiar sound. The sound of a motorcycle coming from behind her. This time, she pulled her gun out and kept it down to her side. Just in case. She could not afford to be too relaxed. Caution was how she stayed alive. She didn't want to seem too paranoid but didn't want to keep her back to whoever was headed her way. Therefore, she did the only thing she could think of. She squatted down so that she was facing the road and thus could see the approaching motorcycle in her peripheral vision, and pretended to fix her shoelaces.

As the bike approached and pulled up beside her, she noticed the kutte the rider was wearing and relaxed. He was a member of SAMCRO but not one she recognized. Her luck was finally looking up. She just had to turn on the charm.

…

Juice was heading back into Charming when he saw a redheaded woman walking down the road. She had a backpack on her back and was sexy as hell. Without hesitating, he pulled up by her and stopped. The redhead looked up at him and flashed him the cutest smile ever. Juice didn't know what was happening but he felt his heart skip a beat when she smiled at him.

"Well hello there, Fella! I didn't think I'd see anyone else on this road tonight." The redhead said, smiling up at him.

"Just headed back home to Charming. What's a sexy girl like you, doing out her all alone? It's not safe." Juice replied, climbing off his bike and offering his hand to help her back to her feet. She took the offered hand and let him pull her to her feet.

"My truck broke down and I had no choice but to walk. I thought my luck was terrible tonight but it just might be changing. I was heading to Charming when it broke. It's too dark out here to try to fix it, so I decided to walk. It was that, or stay the night in my truck on the side of the road." She answered, giving him her sweetest smile.

"Well then, it's your lucky night after all. My name's Juice and I can give you a ride if you'd like. I'm sure we can get someone at TM to come tow your truck back to the shop for ya. If you need to, you can crash in my room for the night." Juice said.

She smiled brightly and giggled. "Pleasure to meet you, Juice. I'm Charlotte. If it wouldn't be too much trouble, I'd appreciate it. TM is Teller-Morrow, right?"

Juice nodded and grabbed the extra helmet he happened to have with him. He handed it to her and then climbed back on his bike. He grinned as he watched her put the helmet on and walk over. Once she climbed on, he felt her arms snake around his waist and Juice took off towards TM.

…

Charlotte turned up the charm and scored herself a ride to her destination, Teller-Morrow and the SAMCRO clubhouse. The bonus was that not only would her arrival be a surprise, but the fellas would be shocked to see her show up on the back of this Juice fella's bike. This was going to be great!

The feel of the wind blowing her long, curly red hair behind her and blowing on her face as they sped down the road was exhilarating. It had been a while since she'd been on the back of a motorcycle like this and she had missed it. She just hoped that at the end of the ride, she'd be welcomed home.

So many things ran through her head as she held onto Juice. How much had things changed? Was Clay still the Pres? Was Jax and Tara still together? What were Opie, Chibs, Bobby, and Tig doing? She got lost in all the thoughts running through her head and didn't realize they had arrived at TM, until she felt the bike coming to a stop. Juice climbed off, removed his helmet and then helped her off the bike. Once on the ground safely, she removed the helmet he'd loaned her and handed it back.

"Thanks for the ride. Maybe we can do it again sometime." She smiled and winked at him.

She giggled when she saw him blush. Instead of getting a reply though, she watched him walk up to another club member who was sitting at the tables outside the clubhouse.

…

"Hey Prospect!" Juice greeted the prospect.

"Hey there Juice. Welcome home, Brother! Who's the hot mama you got with you? Is she a new Sweetbutt or something?" the prospect replied.

"Nah, she needs us to go tow her truck back here to the shop. I found her walking all by herself down the highway. Go grab the keys to the wrecker and let's go."

The prospect did as he was told and came back out with keys in hand. Juice smiled at Charlotte and motioned for her to join them.

"This is Half-Sack. Half-Sack, this is Charlotte. Ready to go get your truck?" Juice looked at Charlotte as she nodded. He led her to the wrecker.

Once the three of them were in the tow truck, it didn't take them long to get to Charlotte's truck and get it back to the garage. When they got out and were standing outside the clubhouse, Juice noticed Charlotte looking around nervously. She seemed scared a little bit and he assumed it was because of being at the SAMCRO clubhouse. He placed his hand on her arm gently and smiled at her.

"Hey, don't worry, you're safe here. You can crash here for the night and tomorrow Half-Sack and I will get that truck fixed for you. Most of the guys are out of town on business so it should be a quiet night. Are you hungry? The prospect can get you something to eat if you want."

"Thanks Juice. Food does sound good right now." Charlotte smiled as she followed Juice and Half-Sack inside.

…

After enjoying the mac and cheese that Half-Sack made for her, Charlotte sat around talking with him and Juice for a bit. The three of them had a great time just talking and laughing as Charlotte sat on the couch, leaning her head against Juice. He had his arm around her and they both seemed rather content for the moment. Charlotte yawned.

"Alright, Fellas, I think it's time I get some beauty sleep." Charlotte said while getting up and stretching. "Good night, thanks again for letting me crash here."

She grabbed her bag and headed to the room that Juice had told her she could crash in. It was right next to his which for some reason made her smile. Ugh. What was she doing? She just met the fella and just because he was SAMCRO didn't mean he was a good guy or that it was wise for her to get herself into anything. No, she needed to play it safe…guard her heart and keep it from falling. She couldn't let anyone else get hurt because of her. Sighing, she grabbed a pair of sweatpants and a tank top out of her bag and headed to the private bathroom.

After a nice hot shower, she snuggled into the bed, hugging her wolf stuffed animal close. It didn't take long for her to be sound asleep.

…

Juice woke up because of a blood-curdling scream. Without hesitating, he jumped out of bed and grabbed his gun. The scream sounded like it was coming from Charlotte's room. Had he put her in danger by bringing her here? Gun ready just in case, he headed the room next to his. He opened the door to find Charlotte alone in bed, clearly having a nightmare. Putting his gun on the nightstand, he sat down on the bed and gently pulling her towards him.

"Shhhh, Baby Girl. I got you. Juice has ya. You're safe now." He held her and stroked her hair, talking to her softly. She calmed down and opened her eyes, looking at him sheepishly. Juice just smiled down at her.

"Sorry for waking you up." She told him timidly.

"Hey, don't worry about it. It's all good. Wanna talk about that nightmare?"

"Just a stupid nightmare. I have them a lot. Thanks for coming to my rescue though!" Charlotte smiled.

Dang, there was something about that smile of hers. Juice couldn't help but want to kiss her but he resisted the urge. After all, he had just met her and she wasn't one of the Crow Eaters. If Jax were in his shoes, he'd just go ahead and have a good time with her. But Juice wasn't Jax. He couldn't just have sex with her like that. Sure, he did it all the time with the Crow Eaters, hookers, and porn stars that hung around the clubhouse and other places the club members went, but there was something different about this girl. Reluctantly, he forced himself to let go of her and get up from the bed.

"Anytime, Darling." He smiled at her and then went to leave the room.

"Wait…don't leave me alone in here please?" she looked up at him with those emerald eyes, looking so innocent. How could he say no to that?

"Come on, you can stay in my room tonight. You'll be safe there." Juice smiled and held out his hand to her.

Smiling, she took his hand, grabbed her wolf, and followed him to his room.

…

Snuggling down into Juice's bed, Charlotte couldn't help but mentally yell at herself. Sure he'd been a perfect gentleman so far but what if that changed? She didn't know this fella. He could be just like…no she refused to let her thoughts wonder there. Besides, if he tried anything, he'd be dealt with. Smiling, she laid her head on his chest and allowed him to hold her as she slipped into a peaceful sleep.