CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

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After leaving the hospital we head straight for the Morrow household, we're barely off the bike when I can hear Doj barking excitedly in the back yard and I briefly wonder how they've been dealing with his lack of obedience for anyone but me, Cam or Al.

We step through the front door as the back door closes, "Giant hairball!" Gemma mutters as she spots us and smiles. "Your dog is filthy; he rolled in the freshly mowed grass, and he was only groomed yesterday."

I laugh and give her a hug "I'll go give him a wash. Hose still by the garage?"

Gem nods and I head to the back door, the second I open it Doj's tail starts wagging furiously. "Sit." I snap, pulling his leash from the hook that's hanging from just outside the door. Doj sits and waits patiently while I clip the lead to his collar.

I sigh and lead him over to the corner of the garage to where the hose is coiled. Doj spots the puddle of water by the hose and his tail starts wagging harder, slapping me in the back of the thigh as he pulls me towards it, sitting down right where the drops of water have gathered. I pull a section of the hose out and turn it on gently.

Rinsing the grass clippings from Doj's fur doesn't take long, the green tinge that hangs on his fur is an annoyance, but until I get his shampoo it'll have to stay that way.

Doj gets tied up back beside the back door and left there to dry while I go back inside, my arms and shirt are saturated, Gemma and Jax both laugh at me as I walk down the hall, closing Jax's bedroom door harder than needed. I strip off my shirt and pick up one of Jax's old ones as the door opens.

Jax steps through the door and closes it behind him leaning against it "Sorry didn't mean to laugh at you; you looked like a furious drowned rat when you came in."

I try to glare at him, the corner of my mouth twitching at the hang dog look he's trying to pull off "It's okay Jax. Doj is nuts when it comes to water, he loves the hose and always tries to steal it, normally ending up with me completely saturated. It's a good thing I was only wearing a t-shirt."

Jax steps across the room and pulls his shirt out of my hands, dropping it back on the dresser behind me, resting a hand on either side of my body I'm trapped between the hard edge of the dresser and his body, the leather creaking as he moves his wallet chain jingles slightly.

He breathes out, his breath wafting across my face "Do you know how much I'd like to strip you and fuck you here, on my childhood bed."

I lick my lips slowly "The amount of time we spent together in that bed when we were teenagers, do you really thing I didn't have that thought dozens of times back then? Do you think I'd stop you now?"

Jax leans down and kisses me, his lips soft against mine, contradicting the raw need in his voice "We can't, you know Ma will be looking for you in about 45 seconds if you're not back out there."

I grin and reach backwards, picking up the shirt again "I know." I tug the shirt over my head and kiss him quickly "We'll just have to make that fantasy come true another day."

Sure enough I've only just scooped my wet shirt from the ground when Gemma's voice calls down the hall "Sarah, I need your help with dinner."

I giggle and lean my forehead against Jax's chest "Duty calls."

Jax steps backwards to the door "Later then." He twists the handle and pulls the door open just as Gemma raises her hand to knock "It's okay Ma, we're not doing anything."

Gemma grins "I knew that. But I do need help."

Jax walks down the hall, calling over his shoulder "We all know that."

"Smart ass!" Gemma calls as she waits for me. I step out of the room and follow her down the hall into her huge kitchen. The mess is unusual for her and as I glance around I notice that there seems to be a lack of Winston's in her house.

"Where are Donna and the kids?"

"Donna took them to the park, said something about not having seen them since Tuesday was far too long." Gemma says as she pulls stuff out of the fridge and sets it on the bench. "Thought we'd have lasagne, which you can make, salad and garlic bread, which I'll make and then something for dessert, but I'm not sure what."

I nod searching through the things she's pulled out. "Don't suppose you have any tomatoes?"

Gemma nods and pulls a bag of plum tomatoes out of the bottom of the fridge and sets them on the bench beside me. "You have that bench, I'll use the middle."

I arrange all the ingredients that I've grabbed into three areas, one for the meat sauce, one for the white sauce and the other bits, the cheese and pasta sheets sitting to the side of both with the dish.

Gemma washes all the stuff for the salad while I dice the onions and garlic for the meat and slice the cheese on a separate board. The salad is made and in the fridge as I'm finishing making the two sauces, Gemma fills two glasses with wine and hands one to me while I stir some salt and pepper into the two sauces before pulling them both off the stove and leaving them to cool a little.

"Why cooking school?" Gemma asks, taking a sip of the crisp white wine she's poured.

"Don't let the chef's hear you call it cooking school. It's a culinary institute. Much more stuck up." I giggle "As to why I chose that as a profession, well you know I've always loved cooking. Uncle Jacob never let me into the kitchen, those times here cooking with you were some of the most relaxed, family feeling times I had as a teenager. When I went to New York I couldn't leave that feeling behind and decided if I couldn't cook for my family I wanted to cook for other people, and hopefully make them feel as relaxed eating as I always did cooking."

Jax steps into the kitchen, phone up to his ear and shakes his head "Hang on a second." He pulls his phone away from the side of his head and looks at the pair of us "Dinner will have to wait; Mayan's just tried to hit the warehouse. Clay wants us all up there. Sarah, stay here till I come back."

I nod, my face carefully schooled to not show the worry I'm feeling. The last time Mayan's came anywhere near Charming and did something like this was the start of a war that almost ripped the entire Sons of Anarchy MC apart. The stories I heard from Clay and Gemma years earlier run through my brain. I'm obviously not as good as hiding my feelings as I hoped, Jax steps over to me and wraps his arms around my waist "I'll be fine Darlin' Clay's already got Ope and Juice on their way here so I'm not going alone. We're going to meet up with everyone else on the outskirts. You know what's stored in the warehouse, and you know what this could mean, but Clay's not stupid, he's not gonna risk anyone's lives." Jax drops a kiss on my lips, wrapping his arms around me and putting his mouth by my ear "And if you think you're getting out of finishing what we didn't start then you're wrong."

I inhale the petrol, grease and earthy smell that seeps from Jax's pores and nod against his chest "Counting on it. And I can't go anywhere, my cars at the lot."

"Good." Jax drops a kiss on his mother's head and heads towards the front door, lifting his phone back to his ear "Ready to go. Sarah and Ma know not to go anywhere."

I roll my eyes at Gemma and turn back to the sauces "Do I assemble dinner now?"

Gemma nods "Sure, we'll just toss it in the fridge when it's cold and heat it later."

The rumble of Harley's slowing and then leaving almost covers the noise of car doors and excited kids. The door bounces open and the twins come running in, Donna trailing behind them, a tight expression on her face. She sets the kids in the living room with cartoons on the TV before coming into the kitchen "What's going on?"

Gemma stands and hugs Donna "Mayan's tried to hit the warehouse. Everyone's on the way up there, we'll know more when Clay gets there." She collects another glass and pours wine into it for Donna before handing it to her.

Donna sighs and sits down on Gemma's abandoned stool "Ope rang while I was at the park and ordered me to come back. The only way I got the kids out of there is the promise of cartoons and ice cream for dessert."

The three of us move to the dining room and sit at one end of the table quietly nursing the glasses in front of us, it would be comical watching as each of us sets cell phones in front of the glasses, Gemma retrieves the cordless phone as well and sets it in the middle of the table, knowing that the likelihood of it ringing is slim to none.