Chapter 29

I woke up quite early the next morning and smiled happily, I felt like I was getting my life back. I had actually slept well every night since I had got back to Charming. It was a nice feeling, the feeling of sleeping the night through. I crawled out of bed and was instantly aware that there was someone else in the house. Soft snores filled the hallway. I had almost forgotten that AJ was still over. I went quietly into the kitchen to start coffee and make some breakfast. I was happy that Juice had stocked the kitchen, he must have been staying at my house more than he actually told anyone. I made a big meal because I didn't know how long the Irish thing would take or when I would get food. I made breakfast potatoes, eggs and bacon. When breakfast was just about done I heard the padding of bare feet behind me. I turned to see AJ staring at me from the doorway of the kitchen.

"Mmm. Morning." He said as he stretched his muscular body and ran his hands over his thick blond hair.

"Morning. Would you like some breakfast?" I asked as I started to plate the food.

He walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table. I handed him a plate of food and then a cup of coffee. "Thanks, Ky." He smiled politely at me. "Did you sleep well?"

"You're welcome. Yeah, I did sleep well. I guess it something about being back home that makes ones soul calm." I smiled as I sat down across from him.

"So what's you plan for today?" He asked

"I have to go with the club today. Juice will be here around 10 this morning." I glanced over at the clock and it was 8:30 am. My guess was he was going to show up earlier then he originally said now that he knew that AJ was at the house.

"Oh. When are you coming back to Red Bluff?" He asked me. I knew he was hoping that he might still be able to work things out with me.

"I don't know. I should probably tell you now, I have decided to move back to Charming. I miss my family, I miss my home." I took a bite of my breakfast, I hadn't realized how hungry I was. I ate a little bit the night before but not a whole lot, it was funny how sorrow tended to be the best way to curb my appetite.

"I figured as much, especially since you want to spend more time with Juice again." He said in between bites. "You're a good cook." He smiled at me.

I laughed, "Thanks, I try."

"I think I should hit the road soon." He glanced at me sadly. I wondered if he thought I would be heading back to Red Bluff with him when he started out to Charming. I nodded at him, I didn't know what to say, this was going to be our goodbye.

"I should get ready to too. The Irish don't like to be kept waiting."

"Oh, is that where you got it from?" He joked with me as I took our plates from the table and placed them into the dish washer.

I laughed at him. "Are you saying I don't like to be kept waiting?"

"Hey I am just calling it, like I see it." He teased as I left the room. I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Things were finally moving in the right direction in my life and it made my heart happy. I changed into a pair of black leggings and light knit light pink cotton sweater and cream colored infinity scarf. It was a cooler day but I knew that I would get chilly on the ride if I didn't wear something warmer. I pulled on a pair of cream colored boot socks and a tan lace up boots. When I was finally dressed I put on some make up and pulled my hair up into messy ponytail, no use in making my hair look nice when it would be under a helmet for most of the day. When I emerged from the back of the house, AJ was sitting on the couch looking like he was ready to go.

"You look nice." He said as he glanced up at me.

"Thanks. I forgot I had these clothes….I guess that is what happens when you only take part of your wardrobe with you when you run from home." I smiled sadly. "Looks like you are ready to go." I touched his bag that was sitting on the love seat.

"Yeah, I should hit the road. Walk me out?" He asked me.

I laughed, he sounded like such a girl. "Of course. Would you like me to carry your bag for you too?" I teased him.

He laughed at me as he stood up. "Well if you're offering." He smirked. I shook my head at him and started to walk out of the house.

When we got to his bike I turned to him, "I'm sorry things didn't turn out the way you wanted them to." I looked up at him with sadness.

"As long as you are at a good place and you are happy, I'll get over it." He took me into his arms and embraced me tightly. I wrapped my arms around him and returned the embrace. "If he decides to be a prick again let me know, I'll be waiting in the wings."

I looked up at him still in his arms as I heard bikes turning down the street to my house. "AJ please don't wait for me because there will never be anyone else…It will always be him." I said truthfully. There would never be anyone for me other than Juice. The bikes stopped in my drive way. I felt awkward in AJ's arms. "You should really think about asking Laura out." I smiled as I let go, he kissed my forehead.

"I'll miss you, Ky. If you ever need to just get away, Red Bluff will always be your home." He finally let me out of his embrace, I could feel Juice's eye burning into the back of my skull even though I hadn't turned around to see who had shown up.

"Have a save trip AJ." I smiled as I turned to see Juice's eyes full of jealousy and anger. I shook my head at him as if to say just leave it. His jaw clinched in response. Happy was the other person who was with Juice. He nodded at AJ who gave an acknowledging nod in return. I turned back to AJ, "Bye." I gave him a sad smile.

"See you soon Ky." He smiled at me as he started his Harley and left.

I turned back to Juice and Happy and smiled at them. "Hey guys. Let me run in and get my bag." I started for the house and I head footsteps behind me. I turned when I got into the house knowing it was Juice. I smiled at me as I turned, he did not return the smile.

"Looked pretty cozy when we drove up." He said with no emotion in his voice; but I could tell there was a storm raging in his eyes.

I stared at him with disbelief, "Are you going to ruin my perfectly wonderful mood?" I asked him.

"Grab your bag and let's go." He demanded of me.

I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him, "No! The Irish can wait! What the fuck is your deal?"

"He was my deal, he had his hand all over you like you were his and he kissed you. It took me everything I had not to get off my bike and kick his ass." He growled. Rage rolled off him in waves.

I rolled my eyes, "You're shitting me right?! I ended things between us; I told you that last night…he is just a friend. You wouldn't say anything if you found me with any of the Sons like that." I was getting angry with him.

He stood there as if he was considering what I said. "Well none of the brothers have seen you naked…none of them have had sex with you." He barked out at me.

"Are you serious?! You're saying that to me when I had to see you with that fucking whore the other night? And when I go into that club house, I will probably be looking at some girl you fucked while I was away?" I grabbed my bag roughly and stormed out of the house. I turned back to him, "You know what I am riding with Happy today. You ruined my good mood and just reminded me about how times you have fucked someone who wasn't me!" I shoved him hard in the chest. "Do you know that every time I was with him, every time we had sex; I felt guilty afterwards because I felt like I was cheating on you? How many times did you even think about me, Juice?"

He didn't say anything, he was at a loss for words. I turned and grabbed my helmet off of his bike and walked over to Happy's bike where he was sitting quietly smoking a cigarette. He shook his head at me as reached him. "You should have sent him home last night." His voice was full of warning.

"Juice knew he was here." I slung my bag over my shoulder and climbed on behind Happy. I was holding my ground, I needed Juice to know that I wasn't going to be pushed over and let him think he could control me.

"You should go easy on him. If I was your man and saw you with another guy like that I would have shot him between the eyes, right then and there." I hadn't thought about it. I glanced over at Juice who was getting onto his bike. He looked over at me, the rage was gone and replaced by defeat. I knew if things were going to work out for us I needed to stop throwing the whores in his face. I wasn't even home when that happened, and I was the one who left.

"Hap?" I said quietly as he was getting ready to start his bike. He turned back at me. "Thanks. Can you give me a second?" I got off the bike and walked over to Juice. I looked at him searching his eyes. "I'm sorry for going off on you, and throwing what you did back in your face. It's not fair of me to bring that up when I wasn't here, when I was the one who left you."

He sat on his running bike quietly for a second and took my hand into his and kissed the top of my hand. "I'm sorry for being a dick." He said as he patted the seat behind him on his bike. I glanced over at Happy, he had stared his bike and was already backing it out of the driveway. I climbed on the bike behind Juice, once my arms were around him our fight was shoved to the back of my mine and as we got on the road it was completely forgotten. It was just us, the road and Happy on the bike next to us. I enjoyed the ride. Being on the back of Juice's bike had always felt so right, even from day one. It was like we were made to be together. I snuggled up next to him trying to protect myself from the wind of the road which was making me cold and he rode with his hand on my thigh. It was as if we never parted.

Our trip ended as we pulled into a secluded wooded area and came to a giant opening where there were dark cars parked as well as bikes from some of the other club members. From the looks of it they were not all there yet. I got off the bike and Juice took them helmet from me. He looked at me. "Are we okay?" He asked.

"We're fine but we should talk later." I said matter-of-factly. He nodded as we walked towards the group of men who had gathered. I knew at most of the faces there two stood out to me, Seamus and one that was burned into my head forever, Matthew O'Brien. He was one of Liam's associates who beat me the day I lost the baby. I stopped suddenly, Juice and Happy stopped and both turned to look at me.

"Kylee?" Juice said quietly. "You okay?" He looked toward the group to see if he could tell what I was looking at.

I tore my eyes away from Matthew long enough to look back at Juice. I felt ill, like that day was flashing back in furious waves. I took a deep breath and nodded to Juice who didn't believe me.

"I don't believe you. You're pale, if this is too much for you we can go." Juice searched my face. I knew he was worried but he was probably thinking I was worried about what might happen. The fact was I was face to face with one of the men who killed my unborn child.

"I'm fine, Juice." I put on a small brave smile. I had gotten good at putting up fronts even though I wanted to turn and go. Seeing Matthew for the first time in nearly five years brought back feelings that I thought I had worked through and moved past. But I felt the sting for that life that was growing inside of me. That innocent child that never got a chance to take its first breath or make its mark on this world. The only mark it left one the one in my heart. I didn't want to give Matthew the satisfaction of knowing he could still wound me so deeply. I started to walk again. We reached the group of men.

"Kylee, love!" I was suddenly embraced by Seamus. He was exactly how I remembered him, granted it had only been about a year since I had seen him.

"Shay!" I hugged him back, he had gained a bit of weight, my fingertips barely touched when I hugged his midsection. "I am so happy to see you."

"You look good love. I hadn't realized you were back in Charming. If I had known I would have taken some time out to see you." He smiled at me.

I smiled back at him. "Oh, well up until a few days ago I wasn't. I am sure you have heard about Opie and his family."

"Aye, tough break. How are you dealing?" He looked at me with concern in his eyes.

"I am okay. I miss Donna, but I can't change what happened so I will just deal." I said. I glanced over at the rest of the faces. "Hello Sean." I waved at a short, stalky balding man.

"Hello Kylee. You are looking much better than the last time I saw you." He smiled politely as I walked up to him.

"Thanks. How's the family?" I asked.

"Good, thanks." He said. His wife was close to my age even though he was old enough to be her father. He sat her on a pedestal so high above the world her feet never had to touch the ground. I thought she needed to be knocked down a few pegs but I would have never told them that.

"I am glad to hear that." I smiled as I walked towards the other members of SAMCRO

"Jackson? Did you think that bringing Kylee would change the way we feel about your club leaving the gun trade?" It was Cormack, he was a high ranked club member.

"What?" He looked over at me like he hadn't noticed I was there.

"Oh Jackson, you know what I am talking about." He said with a false politeness that I knew that most of them were good at.

"She knows you better than we do. I am sure she will be able to tell me if you are being honest or trying to keep me in the shadows." Jax said with a bit of self-assuredness.

"Oh aye, she knows us all, some better than others." He glanced over at Seamus. Who looked at Jax, he knew my involvement could get us into trouble with his club.

I saw the calculation in Cormack's eyes. "Please Cormack. Seamus has nothing to do with this. He didn't know I was coming." I knew that his loyalties would be tested if things went badly. I couldn't deal with it, if anything happened to him.

"Kylee, did you know what was going to happen here today?" He asked me.

I shook my head, "All I know is that Jax wants to get SAMCRO legit and to do that he needs out of the gun business."

"You come running so quickly to aide those who broke you and let you stay shattered without a word." He said in reference to my return to Belfast. He has seen me when Kerrianne and Trinity brought me up from Dublin, huddled between the two of them.

"I left them. They never left me." I announced to him. "If I had sought help from them they would have come, just like I am doing for them."

He raised his eyebrow at me as he turned to Sean and said something quietly to him. He nodded and then said. "Alright Jackson, let's talk." He motioned for him to walk with him.

They left us all standing there; I could feel Matthew's eye on me. I tried to ignore him and turned to talk to Bobby who was the closest to me now.

"Good job sweetheart." Bobby said. "You may have singlehandedly changed the course of this club.

"The only reason they are talking with Jax is…." I heard multiple gunshots as I was shoved hard to the ground from behind. I turned to see what was going on and I saw Juice laying on the ground next to me. "Juice?!" I crawled over to him. His breathing was heavy and there was blood streaming from multiple bullet wounds. "Oh my god…JUICE!" I put my hands over the wounds blood was oozing through my fingers. I started to cry as panic set in, how could this happen? "Please Juice…Please don't leave me!" I cried. "Oh my god! Someone help me please!" I looked up trying to figure out what was going on, where was everyone one? It was chaotic, there were men running everywhere. "Happy?!" I cried out as I turned back to Juice. He opened his eyes slightly, my hands were still holding pressure to the wounds that were bleeding severely. "Juice? Please…stay with me." Why wasn't anyone there to help?

"Ky?" He said in an almost in audible whisper. "I…" He tried to look at me.

"Shh. I know baby. Please just hold on." I kissed him and then looked up again. "PLEASE SOMEONE HELP ME!" I screamed out my plea. I started to sob, I didn't want to lose Juice after I just got him back. I couldn't figure out why anyone would shoot Juice. I thought it was a peaceful meeting. Could it have been the Irish had betrayed the club?

Suddenly Happy was next to me, "Fuck! Chibs!" He yelled. Happy had blood on his hands. I looked at him, he didn't say anything. "We'll get him to the hospital Ky." He said to me calmly. I was confused by everything that was going on. "Hold on, brother!" He said as Chibs arrived next to us.

"You're doing a good job sweetheart." Chibs touched my shoulder. I continued holding off the wounds on Juice's chest. His shirt was soaked with blood. I tried to collect myself but I couldn't I started to sob harder. "Ky…come on now love. He needs you to be strong." Chibs called out to me as he moved one of my hands and put someone's shirt on the first bullet wound and then placed my hand on it. I pushed hard, Juice moaned quietly. He did the same thing with the other bullet wound that I was holding. "Okay Kylee we need to move him to the van." It was like the club's van had materialized out of now where. "Let Happy and Jax get him into the van." Chibs touched my shoulder lightly.

I reluctantly let them take over. I stood up and instantly felt pain near my right shoulder. I though I must have hit the ground funny. I looked around quickly to see if I could make sense out of everything. The Irish were still standing there, surveying what was going on, they were next to a body. Then it hit me what happened. It was Matthew, he tried to shoot me and Juice saved my life. I looked back just in time to see the van pulling away quickly. I was supposed to be in there with Juice.

"Come on Kylee." Happy grabbed my hand and pulled me to his bike. "He's in good hands." He said to me in reassurance.

"He saved me." I said to Happy as if he didn't know.

"I know." He handed me a helmet, he was already on the bike and starting it. I jumped on ignoring the nagging pain near my shoulder.

By the time we got to the hospital my shoulder went from a nagging pain to an intense one. I got off the bike and I felt faint. I looked at Happy's back and it was blood streaked. "Happy are you bleeding?"

"What?" He turned to look at me. "Oh fuck!" He said as he looked at me.

"What is it?" I looked down at myself, my once nice pink sweater was now covered in blood most of it concentrated on my right side. I looked up at Happy, "I think he missed one." I said as the world went black.