Well, there it is. It's out there. Shit, Jax hasn't said anything. I knew I should have told him in private. Why did I think dropping a baby bomb on him in front of everyone was going to be a good idea? Nicely done Sam, as usual you have proven completely incapable of normal human behavior. What if Jax doesn't even want more kids? I mean I know I mentioned I wanted a kid eventually when we first met but he didn't really say anything about it. And what about Abel? What if he doesn't want a little brother or sister? Oh lord Sam, snap out of it, you're talking about a baby. He doesn't even know what a little brother is. Oh my God Sam, just breathe.
During Sam's entire inner monologue her eyes hadn't left Jax's face. The whole thing had lasted less than ten seconds but those ten seconds seemed to drag out for eternity.
Jax's face melted into a smile and he stood kissing her fiercely. He wrapped his arms around her waist, picked her up and spun her around to the cheers of everyone else. When he set her down, he grabbed her face. "I love you," he said beaming at her.
"I love you too," she said kissing him again before arms wrapped her in a hug from behind. It was Opie.
"Congratulations mommy," he said with a smirk.
"Thanks Ope," she said. All of the others had their turn congratulating the couple with Gemma and Clay bringing up the last of the hugs.
"You know what this means," Gemma said smiling. Sam just raised her eyebrows in question. "You can't drink at your own graduation party tomorrow."
"Yeah, no celebratory shots of whiskey babe," Jax said with his hand on her hip.
"It's going to be a very long six months," Sam joked.
"You're already three months?' Gemma asked.
"Yep. I was lucky enough not to have a bad puking phase. Now I just have to get fat."
"Enjoy every minute of it," Gemma offered. "It's an incredible experience."
"You know what this means," she said to Jax. "We have to finally move my shit out of that apartment and into the house. We can sell off the furniture we don't need."
"You aren't moving anything," he said placing his hand on the front of her stomach and beamed down at where his baby was growing. "They guys and I will get it."
"Sam would this be the apartment that we moved all that shit into six months ago and then you never lived there." Tig asked sarcastically.
"Oh kiss my ass Tig," she shot back and he made a kissy face at her.
"You gonna sell all that furniture?" Clay asked. "The appliances too?"
"Yeah, why you need something?"
"The clubhouse could use a new fridge. Our's is on borrowed time."
"Man, yes please take it."
"How much you want?"
"No sir, just take it. I just need to get it out of the apartment."
"Sam, what about those couches?" Tig asked.
"Anything. Guys anything you all want, it's yours. Anything else I can sell."
Opie slung his arm around her shoulders. "Jax I like this girl man. Why couldn't you find her earlier?" he joked.
"I've wondered that myself," Jax answered smiling at Sam who just smiled back.
Later that evening, they had put Abel to bed and were lying on the couch watching TV. Sam was laying beside Jax with her head on his chest and his arms wrapped around her.
"When Abel's old enough we should turn the spare room into his bedroom," Jax said suddenly.
Sam laughed. "We will but he will be in that crib for a while yet."
"I know, I'm just thinking ahead."
Sam lifted her head to smile at him. "So you are happy about this baby? I haven't asked you since I dropped the bomb on you at dinner."
Jax looked into her eyes seriously. "Babe, I am very happy about this baby. I know that you are already a mom to Abel but this baby will be a piece of both of us. Plus, I wasn't around before Abel was born. This time I get to see every part of this."
"Do you have a preference? Boy or girl?"
"Girl. A strong, beautiful woman just like her mother."
Sam laughed. "Babe look at us. Clearly we have the beautiful thing locked down," she said jokingly.
"What about you? Do you have a preference?"
"Boy. A strong, protective, handsome man with a heart of gold just like his daddy."
Jax smiled. "Then there is only one solution here, isn't there. It has to be twins," he said smiling.
Sam laughed. "No do not put that on me. I already have to get fat for one kid, imagine how bad it would be for two."
"Well then we will just have to have another one," he said continuing the topic.
"Okay," she said smiling and kissing him. There was a knock on the door and Sam looked at Jax confused. "Did the club call?"
They both sat up and Jax checked his cell. "No," he said confused. He pulled a gun off the mantle and they walked to the door, Jax keeping her behind him.
Jax opened the door to find Clay, Tig, Bobby, Chibs and Ope on their doorstep. "Sorry," Clay said nodding to Jax's gun. "Didn't want to wake the baby with the bell."
Jax let them inside before closing the door. "What's going on?"
"I'll let you all talk," Sam said. "I'm going to bed." Jax kissed her cheek and she turned for the bedroom.
"Actually we are here for you Sam," Clay said and she turned back and shared a confused look with Jax. "Bobby was looking into the CaraCara books and came across some discrepancies. And since we have a new accountant in our corner, we thought we'd ask you to take a look." Clay gestured to Bobby who held up accounting ledgers and other books.
"Of course, but I did just finish school so I don't know how much help I can really be."
"Anything helps," clay said.
"Come on into the kitchen, I'll make some coffee," she said leading the men into the other room.
Sam looked over the books, occasionally making notes on her own notepad. The guys looked on silently.
"Okay," she said finally. "There is definitely something off here. Every three months she was depositing fifty grand into her account but always deducts it exactly ten days later. It stopped when she died though. You see this," she said turning the books and the guys looked on. "There is a description for every transaction so when she goes to the accounting software at the end of the month, she remembers what it was for. Now here is the fifty grand," she said pointing at a single line.
"No description," Ope said pointing out the obvious.
"Not for any of these transactions," Sam said. "Do you have any idea what LuAnn would have been doing with that money?"
"Forgot to ask before she got whacked," Clay said dryly.
"Well it looks to me like she was mediating it for someone. One amount goes in and then that exact amount goes out. No deduction for her cut of it. Any idea who?"
"No idea, but we will find out," Clay said standing. "Thanks Sam, I love having you in this family more and more each day," he said hugging her.
"Happy to help," she said following them all to the door.
"Do we need to worry about this?" Jax asked.
"Not right now," Clay said. "Tomorrow is a day of celebration. We will get to this later," he said and the guys left.
Jax closed the door behind them and turned to Sam giving her a look.
Sam just nodded. "Come on," she said grabbing his hand. "Let's go to bed." She dragged him off down the hallway, both of them thinking about that conversation and the fact that they both had the feeling something bad was going to come out of this.