This chapter just kind of wrote itself. I felt like my fingertips were on autopilot. With that being said, I apologize for any typos but I just couldn't wait to share this chapter. Hopefully my read through caught most everything. Now, you get to reading and I'll get back to writing! Thank you so much for your reviews, keep them coming!

Chapter 6

I loosened my hold on Happy's waist as his speed steadied. I was comfortable on motorcycles, having grown up around them since I was born. Still, riding with Happy was different than riding with Jax, Opie or my dad. Happy's riding style was a mix between unbridled exhilaration and technical expertise. It was the kind of riding where nothing was on your mind but the ride and the road. It was also exactly what I didn't know I needed.

We rode about an hour east and ended up out by the Camanche Reservoir. The road was deserted at that time of night, so Happy pulled the bike onto the shoulder and cut it off. Once the engine was off, I could hear an owl somewhere off in the distance. Happy gave me his hand to help me off the bike before rising himself. It was nice, the nothingness of the fields on either side of the road. There were some houses a few miles ahead but you couldn't even see their lights from where we were.

"It's nice out here." I said after a few minutes. Happy nodded and offered me his cigarette. I smiled and took a small drag before handing it back to him before walking a few yards into the field. Happy stayed behind by the bike and finished his cigarette as I tried to find out where the owl was perched.

"It could be a ways out, Lexie." Happy said, startling me. I had not heard a single step coming towards me. I shrugged.

"I know." I didn't have any real expectations of finding the owl, I just liked looking for it. "Thank you."

"For?" He rasped, his own eyes scanning the few trees around. I wondered how many people ever got the chance to see him relaxed like that. Sure, the guys saw him let loose and party with the best of them, but this was different. This was Happy just relaxing and enjoying the calm.

"Bringing me out here. Letting me ride with you." I explained with a shrug. He glanced down at me and then pointed at the tree behind us and to the right. I smiled and looked at the dark owl in perched on a high branch. The full moon at its back made for an eerie sight. "You found him."

"You don't need to thank me, Lexie. I wanted to." He said, gazing at the owl. "You're going to be okay. You're stronger than you think."

"I hope you're right." I dropped my eyes from the owl and shrugged a little. I felt his palm on my cheek and looked up at him. The moon cast a silvery light around him and it made some of his tattoos practically glow. I couldn't deny the pull I felt towards him, it had always been there from the day I met him at a rally in Tacoma.

"I am." He said. He placed his forehead on mine and I closed my eyes. I didn't want to run from him, I didn't want to feel like this was wrong. I felt him take a deep breath and then his touch was gone. I opened my eyes and he was standing a couple feet back. "I didn't want to leave without saying goodbye."

"What?" I asked, my mind running at a snail's pace. I couldn't explain why but it hurt that he was leaving, even though I was leaving on Sunday as well. Maybe it was my need to be the one leaving instead of the one being left.

"I was just coming through Charming on the way to see my Ma. I was supposed to be down there already." I let what he'd said hang in the air for a minute. I didn't want to admit knowing that he probably stayed because of me. If I admitted that, I would also have to admit that I wanted him to. I nodded and shoved my hands in my back pockets.

"Oh, well tell her I said hello." I knew he wouldn't. "We should probably get back so you can get some sleep."

"I'm leaving tonight, Lexie. You know I prefer riding at night if I'm not with the club." He was right. I did know that. He'd explained the strategy in great length one day years ago. I led the way towards the motorcycle and kicked myself for wishing he would just stay a few more days. It wasn't right. It was selfish and inappropriate. We turned back West and I let the road clear my mind again. It wasn't until we passed the welcome sign that my mind started racing. He killed the engine a block away from Mom's house and offered me his hand. He seemed undecided about getting off the bike or not. After a moment he kicked the stand down and stood up, pulling me into a hug. I took it all in, knowing it could be a long time before we ever saw one another again. The realization made my heart race. He planted a kiss on the top of my head before letting go.

"Take care of yourself, Lexie." I nodded with a forced smile that felt pretty similar to a frown and turned to start the short walk home. I paused and turned back to him quickly. He looked up from his bike, "Yeah?"

"Am I still the only one?" I knew he'd understand the vague question. The corner of his mouth perked up as he nodded.

"Yeah, Alexis. I don't let just any bitch on the back of my bike." Those were the exact words he'd said before our first ride together. I had thought that there would have been someone after nine years. If he was anyone else I could have thought that he may have been lying to satisfy me. That wasn't Happy though. He was always honest, even brutally honest sometimes. I smiled brightly and turned back towards home. The Harley roared to life behind me and we went our separate ways again.

"Have a good ride?" I almost jumped out of my skin and my hand reflexively went for the pistol I kept in my bag, only my bag was on my dresser.

"Jesus Christ, Jax! You don't think you could have just waited on the front porch or something normal? Get out of the damn shadow." I said, pressing my palm onto my chest to slow my racing heart. He laughed and fell into step beside me.

"What and let Mom know you went on a four hour ride with Happy?" I froze in place and stared at him. He rolled his eyes and nudged me forward. "Yeah, I know. He told me he was leaving after he told you goodbye. Do I even want to know what's going on there?"

"Nothing is going on. I haven't seen him in years. We were friends before I left for Duke." I said, leaving out any and all detail. He shook his head and put his arm around my shoulders.

"Well, if Mom says anything, you couldn't sleep and we went out on the bike. You obviously know how to sneak around so just come up with something." He said, a little snap to his voice. Jax was always protective of me and he hated everyone I'd ever dated in high school. I gave him a kiss on the cheek when we got to the driveway.

"In case I don't get a chance to say it before I leave, I think you should talk to Tara. I know you still love her. Take it from me, Jax. You don't want to waste time when you don't know when your last day could be." I watched his chest rise high and then fall back down slowly.

"I'll think about it." He said with a small smile. I nodded and opened the front door slowly, knowing it had a creak to it when it was open more than halfway. The house seemed quiet, so I slipped back down the hall and into my room. My jeans and boots were barely off before I was falling asleep.

"So, wait. Jax knew that you were going to ride with Happy? Wasn't he usually the one focusing on no one knowing about you two? Why would he tell Jax anything?" Tara asked as we waited for the waiter. I shook my head and pushed my sunglasses up onto the top of my head. The sun was warming my back as we sat on the patio and talked about everything that had happened the night before.

"I don't know. I guess since nothing was going to happen, he wanted to be straight with Jax in case anyone was missing me? I stopped trying to understand men a long time ago, club men even longer." I said with a laugh. Tara chuckled and nodded in agreement. When it came to men, the club took the prize in being complicated. Tara had always likened dating Jax to dating a married man. To her, being an old lady was like being a mistress and the club was Jax's wife and three kids. It was one of the many reasons she'd gone to Chicago.

"How do you like Emory? I've heard their surgical teaching staff is like a hall of fame." Tara asked brightly. I nodded and we delved into a conversation about doctors we'd worked with, cases we'd worked on and days we'd gone without sleep. It wasn't anywhere near as glamorous as TV could make it seem and nothing prepared you for the first ruptured bowel you had to repair. We spent the whole lunch talking about anything and everything. It was only towards the end that I realized I'd not talked about Hank or felt the ache of his absence.

"You should come visit me in Atlanta next time you have some vacation hours to blow." I said, hugging Tara. I knew her schedule was pretty full for the rest of the week and there wouldn't be much time to see each other before I was scheduled to leave.

"Ugh, I'm going to miss you." Tara said, squeezing me tightly. "You know there are open residency slots here. They're practically begging for surgeons."

"I'd hate to steal your thunder." I said with a wink. We had a running joke about who was the better surgeon. She had a couple more years under her belt but I was pretty sure of myself. "If I'm late to the nail place Mom may claw my eyes out with her acrylics."

We parted ways and I headed across town, not that it was that far, to have a Mother-Daughter day with Mom. She was waiting in her Cadillac when I parked the mustang by the front door. Surprisingly, she didn't say too much about my tardiness. My choice in nail color seemed to be a far worse offense.

"Alexis. You aren't ten. Pale pink isn't cute anymore. You need something bold, something mature. Look at this red." She handed me a bottle of stop-sign red and I scrunched my nose at it. It was definitely too bold for me. "Lexie."

"I'll get French. It's always classic and it's definitely mature." I said with a smile. She scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Sure, if you're an aging debutante." She muttered, walking towards her nail technician with the bright red bottle she'd offered me. I chuckled and settled down with my technician.

"Oh, what beautiful rings. Here, I don't want the chemicals to damage them." The young woman said, lifting my left hand. I slid the rings off and slid them into my jean pocket, feeling Mom's eyes on me. I looked over at her and smiled, letting her know that I was okay. We spent the rest of the day together, shopping and pampering ourselves. We didn't get back from Sacramento until a couple hours later than we'd planned, so we stopped by the clubhouse to let Jax and Clay know we were back safe. When we walked inside, the tension was so thick it was almost suffocating.

"Who was supposed to be watching the warehouse? That shipment was due next week! It probably looked like a fucking fireworks show out there!" Clay was yelling at no one in particular. I furrowed my brow, wondering what he was talking about.

"No one should have known it was even there. This had to be Alvarez. Who the hell else would rob it and then burn it?" Tig asked, kicking at a chair. I put two and two together and dropped my bag with a thud.

"Are you fucking kidding me? Guns? You had a warehouse full of guns?" I asked, louder than I really meant to. Everyone turned around and finally noticed Mom and I standing there.

"That's none of your business. It was just a warehouse." Clay snapped, pointing his ringed finger at me. I stormed up to him and resisted shoving him backwards.

"It was just a warehouse? Do you have ANY clue what improperly store ammunition can do during a fire? You put innocent firemen at risk, you idiot! They would have had no idea what they were getting into until they got in there and bullets started flying. You greedy bastard." My palm connected with his cheek with a loud pop. He grabbed my wrist and squeezed it tightly.

"Just because your trust-fund old man was dumb enough to walk into a fire doesn't give you any right to lecture me. If you weren't family I'd teach you a lesson in respect. You learn your place or you leave." He yelled, pushing me away. I rubbed my wrist where he'd been gripping it as Jax stepped between us.

"Clay!" Mom snapped. I put my hand up and shook my head.

"Don't bother, Mom. This is why I chose to stay on the other side of the country. Hank offered to move out here but I told him I couldn't bear to put him through having an in-law like him." I pointed at Clay and laughed darkly. "I'm not some old lady or sweet butt, Clay. You don't get my respect by wearing a flash on your kutte, you have to fucking earn it. You're not even half the man my father or my husband were. I'll leave the Mustang at your house and get a ride to the airport."

I stormed out of the clubhouse after giving Jax and Mom both a quick hug. There were sad eyes all around the room but I was too angry to care. I knew that if I stayed any longer, it would only get worse. As much as I didn't like seeing them together, I didn't want to cause any more problems between Mom and Clay. I drove near double the speed limit to the house, packed quickly and called Tara for a ride.

"I'm really sorry to ask you to do this." I said, getting in the passenger seat after tossing my stuff in the trunk. She shook her head.

"What are friends for? Besides, I know how Clay can be and it's probably better to get you out of here before you slice his jugular with a scalpel in the middle of the night." Tara said, joking to lighten the mood a little. I laughed darkly.

"Why do you think my medical bag is back in Atlanta?" I said, dead serious. Tara twisted her mouth and gave me a shallow nod. She listened to me vent about Clay the rest of the way to San Francisco. I sighed as she stopped the car in the unloading zone. "You're the best friend a girl could ask for."

"It goes along with being the best surgeon." She said with a wink and a squeeze of my hand. "It was good seeing you, Lexie. Take care of yourself."

"I will. Thanks again, Knowles." She nodded and gave me a wave as I closed the door. I charged the fee to change my flight on my credit card and waited for my flight back to reality. I checked my phone, having felt a phantom vibration in my pocket. There were no new messages so I opened my inbox, looking through it to kill the time. I came to Happy's messages and took a deep breath before selecting to delete the folder. There wasn't much in it besides a couple texts about meeting up and him letting me know he got to Bakersfield safe but I figured out of sight would mean out of mind. My phone asked me if I was sure I wanted to delete the messages and my thumb hovered over the screen.

"Flight 4716 to Atlanta is now boarding. Flight 4716 to Atlanta." I dropped my phone in my bag and headed to the gate quickly. I checked my pockets for my license and realized I hadn't put my rings back on. I looked at them for a minute before putting them back on my finger and handing the woman at the gate my boarding pass and license.

"Have a nice flight, Mrs. Grant." I gave her a polite smile and walked down the ramp to the plane, refusing to look back.