It took all of Caroline's willpower not to roll her eyes. Her Aunt Karen had been going on about drapery fabric for what had to have been at least twenty minutes. It had taken only a couple of days staying with her uncle's family in his big house for Caroline to realize that wasn't going to work long-term, so she'd moved into the small apartment above the stables vacated by the previous trainer. Unfortunately, since the apartment was now occupied by family instead of staff, Karen was obsessed with redecorating it. The last two weeks had been a parade of fabric, paint, furniture, and accessories.

"So what do you think, then? The blue?" Karen looked at Caroline expectantly.

"Uh, sure, the blue is nice." Caroline glanced at the fabric swatches. In truth, there was little she cared about less than interior decorating. She was happy with the apartment as it was—the only really important part was the lock on the door.

Karen laughed. "Caroline, you aren't paying any attention!"

"Sorry." Caroline forced a smile. "I've never been very good at this kind of stuff. But I'm sure whatever you pick will look great."

Karen shook her head. "You're as bad as Elliot. Pretending to listen to me go on, all the time wondering how soon you can get out there to those damn horses."

She wasn't wrong. Caroline looked slightly shamefaced. She had been thinking about the horses.

"OK, you're excused!" Karen waved her hand towards the door. "Go ahead. My decorator is coming by in a bit anyway—I'll discuss the colors with him."

Grateful, Caroline started to head for the door. She was almost there when Karen called out to her. "Actually, Caroline? Would you mind doing me a favor before you head out to the horses?" She looked at her watch. "I told Elliot I'd go pick up his cleaning, but I'm not gonna get there and back before the decorator gets here. Would you run out and pick it up? Take my car. Don't want to get the shirts dirty in your truck."

Stifling her irritation, Caroline smiled back at her aunt. "Sure." At least it would get her out of looking at paint samples.

Caroline was just pulling out of the dry cleaners, her uncle's shirts safely hung in the back of her aunt's pristine Lexus, when she heard motorcycles coming down the street. It was amazing how loud they seemed in otherwise quiet Charming. She turned her head to look, drawn by the sound, and recognized one rider as Chibs. The other she didn't know, but she noticed he wore white sneakers instead of boots. Watching them, she didn't pay close attention to the space she was backing out of. Suddenly, she heard a crunch.

"Fuck. FUCK!" Caroline didn't even have to get out of the car to know what had happened. While she'd been ogling at Chibs and his friend, she'd over-steered and caught the front corner of the car against a loose shopping cart. Still swearing, she killed the engine and got out to check the damage. Groaning, she realized she was about to have company—Chibs and the other biker had seen the whole thing and were pulling into the lot.

By the time the two bikers had pulled up next to Caroline and cut their engines, she was standing at the front of the car, examining where the shopping cart had broken the left headlight. "Goddammit," she muttered, giving the cart a hard shove.

Chibs laughed as he pulled off his helmet. "Hell on the vehicles, aren't you darlin'?"

Caroline turned her scowl in his direction. "Apparently," she said dryly.

"Maybe you ought to keep your eyes on the road?" Chibs asked, raising an eyebrow above the top of his sunglasses.

Caroline's pale face blushed nearly scarlet. "Yeah," she said, "I guess so."

Chibs' companion got down from his bike, kicking the kickstand into place, and moved towards Caroline He leaned over to examine the broken light. "Looks like it's just the light," he said. "Easy enough to fix." He turned an appraising glance toward Caroline, then stuck his hand out. "I'm Jax."

"Caroline." She shook his hand and returned his smile. He was gorgeous, she noted. He was thinking the same. He could certainly see what Chibs found so compelling about her.

"Take it over to the garage," Chibs said as Jax climbed back on his bike. "Somebody there can fix it for you." He smiled at her again. "I'd go do it myself, but we're kinda in a rush." He put his helmet back on. "Why the hell are you drivin' this cage, anyway? Where's your truck?"

Caroline shook her head. "Good fuckin' question," she muttered.. "I oughtta know better."

Chibs laughed again as he started his bike. "See you soon, sweet Caroline," he said before he took off.

Stopped at a light on the next block, Chibs turned his head towards Jax. "Don't even think about it, brother," he said. "That one is all mine."

Jax laughed. "Don't worry," he said. "I'm playin' things hitched these days. It's all about Tara." He grinned. "If I weren't, though…" He laughed as they took off again.

-0-

As she pulled into the Teller-Morrow lot, Caroline wasn't sure who she was hoping to see, but as soon as she spotted Juice's tattooed head, she felt marginally better. He was wearing one of the leather vests, rather than the mechanic's shirt he'd worn when they met, but he had the same friendly expression. "Hey again," she said, hoping he'd remember who she was. He was somehow more intimidating in his leather, smile or no.

"Hey, Caroline!" Juice smiled. "Good to see you." He glanced towards the car and instantly spotted the busted headlight. "Need to get that light fixed?"

Caroline nodded, glad she wasn't going to have to explain how it had broken. "Yeah, and it's my aunt's car, so if I could get it done before I take it back to her, that would be great."

Juice nodded and looked towards the garage. "I actually have to do something else right now, but let me get somebody to help you."

Juice disappeared into the garage for a minute, then returned with another man. He was tall, well-built, and bald, with dark skin and heavily tattooed arms. Caroline barely heard Juice as he introduced her to the man, who bore the unlikely name of Happy. From the inked-over muscles of his arms to the planes of his unsmiling face, Caroline couldn't stop looking at him. His eyes were so brown they were almost black, and they were completely unabashed in raking up and down her body. She felt naked.

When Happy spoke, it to was to Juice rather than Caroline. "I got this, bro. Go, you got shit to do." The rough growl of his voice sent a chill down Caroline's spine. She forced herself to look down and swallowed, trying to regain her composure. When she looked back up again, Happy was staring at her, smirking slightly. Juice was already headed towards his bike.

Caroline said a silent prayer to keep her shit together and not say anything stupid, then spoke. "Will it take long to fix?"

"Nah," he said. "We got this in stock." He held his hand out. "Give me your keys." Caroline handed him her keys, noticing how oddly small her hand seemed next to his big palm. Without another word, he got in the car and drove it into the garage, leaving Caroline standing there awkwardly, unsure what to do.

As Happy got out of the Lexus, Tig peered out to see Caroline standing on the lot and laughed. "That's the redheaded bitch Chibs is trying to bang. Oswald's niece."

"Is it?" Happy had enough women look at him the way Caroline just had to know exactly what it meant. "Might not be a good day to be Chibs, then. Ten minutes with that girl and she's gonna be beggin' for my cock."

Tig laughed. "Serves the bragging son of a bitch right." He peered out again, noting that Caroline had taken a seat on the curb and was examining her hands. "I got this," he said, nodding towards the broken light. "Go work your magic, Killa'."

Happy was never much on talking to anybody, but he was particularly disinclined to talk much to women. However, for the sake of giving Chibs a hard time, and lack of anything better to do, he sat down next to Caroline and started a conversation. Once he was there, it was easy enough—she chattered nervously and he mostly just nodded and watched her. She was cute. Her jeans and t-shirt didn't show much, but he had a pretty good idea of the body hiding under them. The thing that he kept coming back to, though, was her wide mouth. Her talking focused him on it, and he thought idly about how it would feel wrapped around his dick.

Though Caroline didn't irritate him as much as he'd have expected a chatty woman would, it didn't take too long for Happy to decide she wasn't his type, no matter how appealing he found the idea of her lips on him. There was a sweet politeness about her that seemed extraordinarily out of place on the T-M lot. He had no particular problem with young women, but she seemed so innocent, constantly blushing. More than that, though, he was put off by her lack of acquiescence. She was unfailingly polite, but there was no deference in her tone or manner. It was almost as if she thought she was his equal. Must be a rich girl thing, he thought.

By the time the car was finished, Happy had every intention of waving Caroline off and heading to the Clubhouse for a beer without another thought. Just as she'd started to open the car door, though, he heard Chibs and Jax pull into the lot. No reason to waste the opportunity to bust Chibs' balls, he thought. He moved deftly, making sure Caroline's body was between his and the open car door as Chibs pulled into sight. "This real?" he asked, picking a chunk of her hair from her shoulder and pulling it out as if to examine it. He ran his eyes down her body. " You redheaded everywhere?"'

As he'd known she would, Caroline blushed so red it had to be easy for Chibs to see, even from where he was dismounting his bike. "Yeah," she murmured. "It's natural."

Happy chuckled. God, this should not be so easy. "So I guess you'd rather we not mention this busted headlight to your aunt? Or to Oswald?" he asked.

Caroline shook her head, then looked up at him with wide eyes. "If it could be our secret, that would be great."

"I dunno…seems like a pretty good thing to extort you with," he answered, smiling a rare smile. "I'm a bad man, Caroline. Shouldn't be givin' me things to hold over your head." He moved closer as he said it, lowering his voice and leaning down slightly.

Caroline smiled up at him as she responded. "You gonna blackmail me?" she asked. "What are you out to get?" Though her subtleness and politeness was still very much intact, her sparkling eyes made it clear what she was hoping he'd shake her down for.

Happy's previously considered idea of simply picking Caroline up and taking her to the Clubhouse to fuck reentered his mind. Unless he was reading her signals all wrong, she'd be game. She was likely both wild enough to do it, and tamed enough to be so embarrassed about it afterwards that he'd never hear from her again. He could hear Chibs' boots behind him on the lot, though, and decided he'd better stick with his other plan. "Guess we'll see just have to wait and see what comes along," he said. Sure Chibs was watching, he leaned down and kissed Caroline's forehead in an oddly chaste gesture that sent a shiver through her he could feel. "Drive careful." Then he turned and headed towards the Clubhouse, leaving her standing wide-eyed outside the open car door.

Inside the Clubhouse, Happy sat at the bar with Bobby and Tig and waited for Jax and Chibs to come in before he started talking. "Too bad I don't get off on redheads man," he said, noting Tig's smirk at what he knew was to come. "That girl would have been blowin' me in the parking lot if I'd given her half the chance."

Bobby snorted, not yet in on the joke. "And you declined because her hair is red? You gotta be makin' that shit up."

Tig chimed in, eyeing Chibs' scowl. "Nah brother, it's true. Gash had eyes for Hap like he was made of fuckin' candy. Most he would have had to do is ask real nice." He laughed. "Must like 'em bald and mean."

"Of course," Happy continued, "innocent as she seems to be, I'd probably have to give her instructions." He glanced at Chibs. "You got a naughty teacher fantasy, brother?"

"I dunno," Jax broke in, seeing what Happy was up to. "Met Caroline myself earlier and I think you boys might be underestimating her." He shook his head and whistled a low whistle. "Seems to me like a girl who knows what she wants. How soon you figure she'll be back, Hap? You gonna have to fight her off with a goddamn stick?"

"Wait a minute," said Bobby, finally getting it. "This Oswald's niece we're talkin' about?" He looked at Chibs, his eyebrows raised. "Weren't you tryin' to rub up on that?" He faked a look of confusion. "Thought you said it was gonna take some doin'?"

"I hate all you pricks," Chibs said. Then, to Happy, "especially you."

Happy laughed. "Fourteen months away, man. Serves you right if I fuck every woman you look at for the next year." He moved to slap Chibs on the back. "Not gonna do it, though. I meant what I said about redheads. Besides, unless I'm wrong, that's a girl who's gonna end up a lot more trouble than she's worth."

It wasn't until much later that evening that Happy's words came back to Chibs. He'd broken his short-lived fast and availed himself of the only even sort of redheaded sweetbutt he could find, and she was now asleep next to him. He knew some of his brothers tended to kick women out of bed when they were done with them, but he never had the heart. He slept better with a warm body close by anyway. For some reason, though, he wasn't drifting off. He'd thought about Caroline a lot since the day he saw her in the corral. He wasn't stupid—he knew she was exactly the wrong kind of woman to get even a little bit interested in—but that made her all the more difficult to forget. Her strange mix of confidence and innocence was unlike any he'd seen before, and it made him want to scratch the surface and see what was underneath.

After coming back from Ireland, with the taste of his wife still on his lips and his daughter's beautiful face still clear in his mind, Chibs had been unpleasantly shocked by the women in his world. They were hard, with too much makeup and too little clothing, their hair all smelling of cigarette smoke. Fiona was far from innocent, but there was something cultivated about her, something feminine, that he hadn't realized he had been missing until he'd gotten back and been unable to find it. Even the youngest of the Crow Eaters seemed too practiced, too jaded. For every one of them, there was a hard luck story—they'd all been victims, usually of men, and they'd all reacted to it in ways that made things worse more than better. Even Gemma, for whom Chibs held the utmost respect, was beginning to seem brittle and used up. As he'd watched Tara get big with Jax's baby, noticing her occasional giddy excitement about impending motherhood, Chibs understood for the first time what Jax saw in the doctor—she might not be totally pure, but she was a damn sight more so than any of the other women around. Meeting Caroline had struck him as an opportunity to touch something similarly clean, if only for a moment. He wanted that.

-0-

Sex had never held all that much interest for Caroline. Out of a sense of obligation to her Catholic family, as much as anything else, she'd waited until she started college to lose her virginity, and afterwards her first thought was, "was that it?" Since then, she'd had two serious boyfriends, and she'd done what was expected of her in both cases, but it hadn't really been all that exciting. She was very comfortable in the company of men, preferring them to women for the most part, but had never quite figured out how to deal with the advances that her red hair and curvy body seemed to draw from them. She just didn't see why it was such a big deal. After her father died, she thought she might be able to use casual sex to numb the pain, like she'd seen in books and movies, but after a single awkward, painful one night stand with a cowboy, she'd realized that wasn't a workable plan.

Given this lackluster history, Caroline was shocked at the feeling that rose in her belly when she met Happy. Just looking up and down her body, he stirred more inside her than the kisses and caresses of most of the men she'd know could. Despite her efforts to control it, her heart had sped up and she'd almost felt like panting. She'd been turned on before, but never like that. What was even stranger, though, was that she could tell he knew, and rather than being embarrassed by his knowing, she was all the more aroused.

Lying in her bed, listening to the sounds of the sleeping stables below her, Caroline puzzled over her afternoon. She wasn't sure what had gotten into her. First she gawked at Chibs and his attractive friend so hard she ran her aunt's car into a shopping cart, then she did everything but beg Happy to take her in the garage parking lot. Even hours later, remembering the way she'd felt undressed under his dark eyed gaze, her heart jumped. She knew she should be shocked not just at how he'd made her feel, but at her own forward behavior. Instead she was excited. She was already wondering when she might see him again.