Chapter 4

Jax stopped at the stop sign around the corner. He took in a deep breath as he looked around and didn't see any cars. What was he still doing with that ring on? He had filed for divorce from Wendy almost a month ago now. Was it habit? Was he being hopeful? He rolled his eyes, pushing the thoughts out of his head. He reached for his hand and slipped the ring from his finger. He slipped it into the pocket of his jeans as he looked around once more before driving off down the road.

"Hey Gemma," said Tessie, as she stepped into the office. She smiled as she noticed the place had papers everywhere, not to mention pinups as well. Gemma stood up and walked over to the girl, embracing her in a small hug.

"How you been, darlin'?" she asked the young woman. "I heard you were in town, I just couldn't believe it." Tessie laughed lightly, shrugging her shoulders a bit as Gemma motioned for her to sit down.

"It's kind of a long story," she said, taking in a deep breath. Her and Gemma talked for a couple of hours before Gemma offered Tess a job. Of course, Tessie wasn't looking for one, but she couldn't quite tell Gemma that she was a Federal Agent investigating their family, now could she? Gemma needed help in the office and Tessie was the perfect person to help. She knew the rules of the club and she knew her way around the members. Plus, she was Chibs niece, and she was still family.

Tessie told her yes that she'd help. She needed a way in and this was it. Granted deep down she really hated herself for this. But what else was she supposed to do. Gemma said she would talk to Clay and for Tess to be back in the morning. Tessie smiled, mentioning that she was probably staying at the club house again, so she'd be there.

She stepped out of the office looking around the lot. People were walking around, acting like they owned the place. And in truth, they did. The MC is what kept this town safe and kept it going. Although, nobody would ever admit to that. Tessie smiled as she seen her friend Charlie walking out of the club house. Charlie's sunglasses were over her eyes before she even walked out the door, which meant that she was still hung over. Tess checked her phone to see what time it was, it was a little past one in the afternoon.

"Well, lookie what we have here," she laughed as she walked up to Charlie.

"Bite me!" Charlie said, rubbing her head.

"Did you have a good time last night with Juice?" asked Tess as she wiggled her eyebrows, trying her hardest not to bust out into laughter. Charlie sleeping with one of the members was not part of the plan, but it sure the hell amused Tess.

"Ha ha, you are so funny, bitch! Did you have fun sleeping with Teller?" she asked, raising her eyebrows as her lips pulled up into a grin.

"For your information, Jax and I did not sleep together," she said, sticking her tongue out at Charlie. The two girls walked over to Tessie's car and climbed inside. She started up the engine and pulled out of the lot. Once they were far enough away, the silence being the most annoying thing ever, Tessie opened her mouth.

"Gemma offered me a job," she said, glancing over to Charlie. "Helping her out in the office. She figured if I'd be around for a while, I may as well be useful." Tessie laughed lightly at the end of her sentence. She stopped the car at a light and glanced over to see the dropped jaw look on Charlie's face.

"What? It was a way in, so I took it," said Tess. Charlie just shook her head, knowing that Tessie was right and nothing would change her mind. Once they parked outside of one of the diner's in town, the two girls called the office to check in and keep them posted. They hung up the phone, cleaned out the call list, and switched out the sim card. Nobody would be the wiser.

They walked into the diner for a nice lunch, talking about the night before and their plans for where they were going to stay. Charlie, of course, didn't have a problem staying with Juice at the club house. It was Tessie who was slightly weary about staying there. They would never get any work done, and it was a big risk even if they tried. Plus, she was worried about what would happen if she did end up in the same room alone with Jax again.

After they finished eating, the two girls hopped back in the car and made their way back to TM. They had decided that from here on out, they would play it by ear and hope that something would catch their attention. But Tessie knew that the Sons were careful about things, and that it would probably be a while before anyone found anything out about them.

She pulled her car into the lot, moving into one of the empty spots as if she had done this a thousand times. Only that was ten years ago. She stepped out of the car, grabbing her bag and making her way back to the club house. She noticed the bikes were back, which meant the guys were here. That also meant that Tessie was about to have a very awkward conversation with Jax. She wasn't sure she was ready for that yet.

The two girls walked into the place acting like nothing was different. Truth was, nothing was different. They had to be themselves for this thing to work. Charlie found Juice, smiled at Tess, and then walked away. Tessie shook her head as she looked around for Chibs or for Jax. She found her uncle first.

Tessie smiled as she walked over to him, clapping him on the back. He was talking with Tig and Clay, which of course made Tessie nervous, but she would never let it show.

"Well, well, well, Chibs and Gemma told me you were here, but I still don't believe my eyes," said Clay, smiling at the girl. Tessie never trusted Clay, she got that idea from Jax. But she knew better. This was his house. He was head of the household. And he was still her family as well.

"You better believe it," she grinned, "I'm sticking around this time." She knew that part wasn't fully true, but they didn't need to know that.

"That's good to hear, kiddo. Who's your friend?" asked Clay, nodding over in Charlie's direction.

"She was my roommate back in New York. She's cool," Tessie smiled. Clay nodded his approval, knowing that Juice would keep him informed if she wasn't. Deep down, Tessie knew that as well.

"So, where's the little prince?" Tessie laughed lightly at the nickname for Jax. She wasn't the only one to ever call him that, but she knew that Jax hated it.

"I think he's in his room, lass," said Chibs, motioning behind them.

"Thanks, Unc," she smiled and nodded her head slightly. She waved to the guys as she moved away from the three of them. She couldn't help but cringe, knowing at least Tig had his eyes on her as she walked away. She rolled her eyes and continued down the hallway.

She stopped outside of Jax's room, knowing it was safer to knock than to just walk in. She reached up, rapping her knuckles against the door.

"Yeah?" she heard Jax from the other side.

"It's me. Is it safe to come in?" she asked, laughing lightly as she moved her hand to the door knob.

"Yeah, come on in, Tess," she could hear the laughter in Jax's voice as she turned the door knob and walked in the room. He was alone, which didn't really surprise her. He was sitting at the edge of his bed, cigarette lit between his fingers. She closed the door behind her, leaning against it as she folded her arms across her chest.

"Your ma offered me a job," she laughed softly as she kept her eyes on him. He looked up at her and smiled.

"Yeah, she told me," he said, plain and simple. He seemed as if something was wrong, but at the same time Tessie really couldn't read him. She raised an eyebrow as she took a step into the room.

"Everything okay, Jax?" she asked, softly. Part of her wasn't sure if she even wanted to know the answer. He dropped his eyes to his hands, taking a puff off the cigarette before looking back up to her.

"We should talk. About earlier," he said. Now Tessie was confused. What on Earth was he talking about?

"What do you mean?" she asked, walking over and sitting in the chair across from him.

"I'm not married….anymore," he said, his eyes meeting hers. "I filed for divorce a while back. I just haven't taken the ring off." She didn't understand why he was telling her this. It wasn't any of her business.

"Jax, I don't care," she gave him a small smile, "I mean, I've been gone for a while now. You were bound to move on. It happens."

"See, that's the thing. I didn't move on." His eyes locked on to hers and now Tessie was scared of what would happen next. She promised herself that she wasn't here for Jax. She wasn't here to start this up again. But now, it seemed like she was going to be breaking that promise. She took in a deep breath before she opened her mouth to speak.

"I don't know what to say…" she trailed off. He left her at a standstill and now she was speechless. This was never a good sign. "Why did you get married, then?" The minute the words left her lips, she completely regretted them. Why did she have to ask him that?

"Honestly?" he asked before shrugging his shoulders. "I think I was getting tired of being lonely." His eyes moved away from hers. "I realized that you weren't coming back, and then that was it. I figured I needed to move on and get over it. So I got married."

Tessie raised her eyebrows as she watched him speak. Was he blaming her for leaving? She shook her head lightly. She wasn't quite sure how he wanted her to react to this, but part of her just wanted to hit him as hard as she could, just to get it over with.

"Jax, I…" she stopped short when his lips crashed against hers. It happened so fast, she could barely register it. He placed his hands on either side of her face as he kissed her. Tessie fell into the kiss, knowing it was a bad idea, but not caring either. She stood up, her hands moving to his waist as she gripped onto his cut to hold her balance. He pulled away, his eyes staring into hers. In that moment, they both knew they missed each other. They both realized they were where they needed to be. And the final thought that ran through Tessie's head was 'Oh boy. This can't be good!'