A/N: I have edited, and added content to this chapter. Many of you have been waiting/wondering where a new chapter is. To be honest, I work between 66 to 80 hrs a week at the moment and this chapter in its original form stumped me for further chapters. Hence why I changed it a bit. A new chapter is coming, I promise.
Bran felt the paint splatter against her bare legs as she poured the rich green paint into the paint tray. She was well on her way into the second coat of the living room, music pouring out of her entertainment system and a half empty can of red bull sat on her coffee table. She was wearing her oldest, more stained the not pair of cut off shorts and an equally old t-shirt. Like her legs, neither had survived her two day painting spree paint free. Her pony tail bounced with the beat of the song as she painted, using the long roller.
The inside of the house was really starting to take shape the last few days. Sure, there was what she was sure a million little details left to do before it was completely home but at least the big jobs were mostly completed or getting that way. She had painted the kitchen, front hallway and downstairs bathroom yesterday and would have the upstairs finished by the end of the weekend she hoped.
Keeping her hands busy was the key, Bran figured. If they were busy then she wouldn't have time to look at her phone. Juice had taken the hit yesterday, and stop lighting her phone up with unanswered messages. For some reason, it made her a bit sad.
It was for the best that things didn't progress further then what it did between her and Juice. Even though a part of her ache for a relationship that was her own, Juice was a sexy, goofy man wrapped up in caution signs and she knew heading down that road would be a complicated, and dangerous journey.
But that taste of him, lingered in her mind, and on her lips. A taste was all she was ever going to get, and she needed to forget him.
And in till her traitorous body did, she was going to throw her self into making this house she had bought a home, and avoiding a certain mo hawked, deliciously sexy man as best should could.
As Bran raised the paint stick up towards the wall, she caught out of the corner of her eye and flash of colour. Turning her head, her eyes widened a little taking in the site of Gemma Teller-Morrow walking by her bay window's up the walkway towards the front door.
"Mother fucker." muttered Bran under breath. There was something about Gemma that rubbed Bran in all the wrong places. Gemma wasn't stupid, she would know that Tara wasn't here so whatever Gemma was here for it was something to do with her.
She put down the roller down into the paint tray and turned off the music before making her way to the front door. She opened it as Gemma was ringing the bell. The other woman was dressed in a similar fashion that Bran had seen her in last time. A flashy shirt, tight dark wash jeans, and tall knee high boots. Gemma's hair was styled in a way that made Bran slightly jealous. The California heat was making her hair frizz out more then normal, and Gemma's was sleek, shinny and curled to perfection around her face.
"Hey, Gemma." Bran forced a smile, as she crossed her arms and leaned against the door frame. " Tara isn't here."
" I know. I brought your dish back." Gemma stated, thrusting the dish out towards Bran. Bran recognized it, as she had dropped it off full of pasta that she had made for Juice for dinner a few nights back at Tara's. She had no desire to eat lasagna for the next three days because Juice was a jerk and cancelled.
Bran took it from her and tucked it under her arm." Thanks. How did you end up with it?"
"Tara dropped off the left over's for the boys." Gemma told her as she moved inside the door." You going to offer me a cold drink. It's hot as hell out here."
Bran frowned behind Gemma's back, as she watched the other woman walk into the house ahead of her and towards the back of the house where the kitchen was located. Shaking her head, Bran followed Gemma watching the woman as she inspected the house as she walked through it.
"Nice little place you have here." Gemma's eyes missed nothing as she walked through the hallway and into the kitchen. She could smell the paint, and see the details coming together in the house. Clearly the little neighbour girl had been busy. And not just with Juice. "You've done a lot of work in a short amount of time.'
"Been burning the mid night oil." Bran said as she set the glass dish on the counter and reached up to the cupboard to grab some glasses. Pulling down two glasses she made her way over the fridge. "I have ice tea, fruit juice or milk."
"Ice tea is fine." Gemma told her as she looked over the kitchen. The appliances where new, stainless steal, and Gemma could see that this woman was serious about cooking, or at least she wanted people to think so from the looks of the small appliances on her counter. The kitchen walls were painted a cheery pale blue that set the back splash off very nicely. The sent of fresh flowers that were sitting in a pretty vase on the kitchen table, right next to the open purse and afternoon breeze coming through the open window over the sink were trying hard to combat the heavy smell of paint that lingered in the air from the living room. "Paint smell is pretty strong in here."
"We can drink the ice tea on the back porch if you like." Bran offered as she poured the dark brown ice tea into the glasses before putting the jug back into the fridge.
"Sounds good." Gemma nodded, as she looked down the hall away from the kitchen. "I need to use your washroom."
"Down the hall, second door on the right." Bran nodded towards the hallway that lead past the living room. She grabbed both glasses and started towards the back door. " I'll meet you out side."
Gemma smiled as she watched the younger woman move towards the back door and turned to head down the hall towards the bathroom. She heard the screen door slam against the house and turned her long legs around made her way back the kitchen. Gemma felt no guilt as she rummaged through the black purse on the table. After all it was already open. She pulled out a long, rectangular green wallet and unclasped the latch on it. She flipped open the wallet and pulled the driver licence out with one hand and with the other she grabbed her phone out of her own bag. Snapping a photo of Bran Donovan new California drivers licence before placing it back into Bran's wallet. Tossing her phone back into her own bag, Gemma dropped the wallet back into Bran's bag before heading out the back door.
She would be making a phone call to Luann later, there wasn't anything she didn't want to know about this little bitch.
She found Bran sitting on a wicker chair drinking her glass of tea. Gemma took a seat across from her and looked around. The house may be coming along nicely but the back yard looked like shit. She reached for the glass and took a drink before Bran spoke.
"Gemma, you look like a woman who like who appreciates getting to point, so I'll do just that." Bran looked across the porch at Gemma and tried not to to think about the last time she was out here with Juice. " Neither one of us is stupid, you've got another reason to be here and returning the dish just got you in the door."
Smart mouth little bitch. Thought Gemma before she replied with a icy smile and dry tone." Heard about your argument with Charming's own gossip hag, Lisa."
"It was more of a discussion." Bran frowned, and shook her head. It was apparent that people in the small town of Charming were hard up for entertainment if that little disagreement between her and that nosey bitch Tina had reached Gemma's ears. "I'm sure by the time you heard about it, it was exaggerated greatly."
"Not many people would take up for a person they met once." Gemma pointed out watching the Bran like a hawk. She didn't know exactly what she didn't like about here, but there was something there that set off her warning flags. Like Tara, this little bitch was going to work her last nerve.
"I wouldn't be much a person if I took pleasure in someone else tragedy. I'm not interested in getting into someone else business." Bran informed Gemma, trying to figure out what Gemma's game was.
Tina had been a thorn in Gemma's side since high school, and Gemma had a more then a few not so friendly chats with Tina back then. And the prissy stuck up bitch hadn't forgotten them either. Tina wasted no opportunity to talk shit about Samcro or Gemma. It was one thing for Gemma to put Tina in her place, but for an outsider to do so wasn't something she was use to hearing about.
"What's your agenda here hunny?"
"Excuse me?" If Bran had been drinking from her ice tea she would have choked on it. Gemma coming her and accusing her of having an agenda just proved getting involved with Juice or anything that has to do with Samcro was more hassle then anything. " What are you talking about?"
Gemma gave Bran a slow smile that reminded her of something predatoral. " Honey, I know this town. Born and bred here, I know the way it works. You've been here long enough for some big mouth to fill your pretty ears about Samcro. Your smart enough to be curious enough to find out what you didn't hear already from someone else after Tina's little fit at the market."
"I'm still not understanding what this has to do with me trying to build a life here." Bran shifted in her seat, and cracked her neck. Gemma was a puzzle, Bran wasn't interested in figuring out. That pretty little nose was going to try to push it's way all up into her shit, and Bran wasn't having any of it. "Why do you think I have this hidden agenda cause I told some bitch to shut up about Opie's personal business?"
Little girl had balls, Gemma mused as she took a drink of the ice tea. Decent cook, and straight to the point. She could admire that, as long as the little girl knew her fucking place. And that wasn't within Samcro.
"It was still a nice thing you did for someone you met only once." Gemma stood and moved away from the chair to lean against the deck rail." Did you do it thinking it would get you into Juice's pants?"
"Really?" Bran scuffed as she looked at Gemma. She set the glass down on the table before her and raised an eyebrow at the older woman. " I hardly doubt I would have to go to that much trouble to get Juice's pants off. And no Gemma, telling that twat off wasn't about Juice. I think it's disgusting to use someone else's personal tragedy to pad your moral high ground."
Gemma nodded, setting her glass aside on the railing. " Your fucking with Juice's head."
" I wasn't aware that you were his mother too."
"I'm not, smart ass." Gemma snarled, at the tone Bran used towards her. " He's a good kid, stupid but a good kid. I don't want to see him get fucked over."
"What do you want to me say Gemma? What are you looking for here?" Bran was about to reach her limit with Gemma. She may be queen bitch in the Samcro world but no one came into her home and disrespected her like Gemma was.
"Your ignoring him cause your pissed about him blowing you off for club business."
"Club business?" Bran brought a hand up to the back of her neck and rubbed the ache till it eased. She knew that Samcro was the reason he had blew her off but she wasn't about to admit it to Gemma. " He never gave a reason. I never asked. Like I said before, I'm not interested in getting into anyone else shit. "
"Don't play stupid." Gemma told her, sizing the other woman up." It doesn't look well on you. You been in Charming long enough to hear what people say about Samcro. You have an idea of what and who they are."
"I've heard things." Bran replied, keeping the fact that there was a file on her lap top twenty pages long on Samcro. " Your point, Gemma."
"What do you want from Juice?"
Bran had to give it to Gemma, she had balls the size of grapefruit's. "I hadn't really thought that far, I mean I just met the kid two days ago."
"You want to fuck him, get it over with." Gemma told her bluntly and with force. " Spread those skinny legs of yours and be done with it. And when he's done with you, be a smart girl and fuck off because your never going to be an old lady."
Bran watch Gemma walk off the porch and around the side of the house making her way to the front yard and her car.
"Fucking bitch."muttered Bran as she stood up and took both the glasses into the house. " What the fuck is an old lady?"
Jax pulled into his drive way just in time to see his mother backing up from his neighbour's drive way. To see his mother leaving Tara's new friends house left him with an odd feeling was an understatement. Any time his mother stuck her nose into anything, it always ended up bad.
He waved her down as he kicked the stand down and got off his bike. He walked down the length of his drive way towards the black caddie as his mother waited for him with her window down.
" Hello darling." Gemma called out, giving her son one of her rare genuine smiles." Your home early. Things go well with Ope?"
"Handled, ma." Jax replied leaning into the car to kiss his mother's cheek." What are you doing at the neighbour's?"
"Just being friendly." Gemma replied, knowing the look her son was giving her." What, I can't be friendly?"
"Never have been before, at least to outsiders and those members of the female sex."
"Smart ass." Gemma smirked. "I think you need to tell Tara to back off her. There something I don't like about here."
"There is something you don't like about Tara." Jax sighed, dragging his fingers through his blonde hair. His mother just couldn't let Tara have anything. Not even a friend out side the club. " Leave it alone, ma. Tara likes her, she's nice."
"She's sniffing after Juice." Gemma informed him, reaching for her pack of smokes. She pulled one out of the package and lit the cigarette up. "It's fucking with his head. He's moping at the shop all day, growling at everyone."
"From what I see, Juice is sniffing after her." Jax shook his head. The things that worked his mother up sometimes was beyond his understanding." He's a grown man, he'll handle it. Mind your business."
"We don't need outsider's fucking with club business." Gemma pointed out and she took a drag of the smoke.
"This ain't club business." Jax countered, pulling out his own cigarette and lighting it up. He put it to his mouth and sucked the nicotine and smoke into his lungs before exhaling. " If Juice wants to try and get his dick wet with Bran it's his choice."
"Fine." Gemma reached out the window and flicked her ash. Sensing that Jax wasn't going to back her with this, she changed the topic. " Don't be late for Bobby's party. Tara coming?"
"She'll be there after her shift." Jax backed away from the car as his mother nodded and drove off. He peered across the street, as he smoked and watched his neighbour paint her walls with a little more force then necessary. Clearly, whatever Gemma had sad to her had worked it's way under her skin and Jax was more then tempted to let it Tara deal with it but knowing his woman the way he did he knew he would be hearing about sooner then later. A pissy Tara meant no sex for him.
Shit, he hated dealing with bitch problems.
He made his way across the street and up the lawn. When he knocked on the door, he heard her yell to come in. Jax stubbed out his smoke and dropped it in the bush beside the door. Walking into the house, he whipped his boots on the mat and made his way down the hall, towards the living room where she was painting.
"Hey Bran." he said to her as she flashed him a smile while she continued painting.
"Jax, how's it going?" Bran really wasn't in the mood for visitor's as Gemma had exhausted whatever social need she thought she had. But this was Tara's man, and she really liked Tara so she plastered a smile on her face before asking him a question. "Thirsty? I've got iced tea."
"No, it's ok thanks darling." Jax replied as Bran nodded and continued to paint the wall. " I noticed my mother payed you a visit."
Bran scoffed, and shook her head. "That she did."
"Look, my ma can come on a bit strong. Whatever she said to you, you should just ignore it." Jax told her. He could see why Juice was circling around his neighbor. She had a pretty face, and a shapely body but she was a bit on the shorter side for his liking. He liked his ladies tall and willowy like Tara.
"Your mother said a lot of shit." Bran told him as she rolled the paint roller in the tray. "Look, I'm here for a fresh start. Drama really isn't something that I am interested in being apart of. Your mother is a bit much to handle."
"Yeah, she is." Jax nodded, understanding what she was saying. Tara had said the same thing a time or two to him. He would have to be blind, deaf and stupid not to see the effect that his mother had on people in general. " We've got this thing at the club house on Friday, you should come."
"The club house?" Bran looked at him, with a confused expression. From what she read in the file she figured he meant the building located on the Teller-Morrow lot. It was used exclusively for club members, and their associates. This wasn't the kind of place that you roll up to expected or unannounced. It was invite only.
It Gemma's turf.
"Yah, it's beside the garage. We usual have party's there every Friday night. Tara has to wrk but she can pick you up after. You two will have fun." Jax suggested, knowing that Tara would have more fun with Bran around instead of standing off to the side by herself glaring at the crow eaters who dare to breath the same air as him in front of her. " Juice will be there."
"I seriously doubt that's a good idea. " Bran looked over a blonde, taking the differences between his and Juice's cuts in the badges. Jax was clearly higher up on the food chain, with his vice president badge on his cut and Bran figured it was rightfully so as his father was the founding president and his step father now occupied that seat. Looking further down she noted his 'men of mayhem' badge and briefly wondered what Jax did to earn it. With a shake of her head, she push the thought away. Not her business. " I like spending time with Tara, but your mother has made it very clear how she feels about me spending time with Juice. She has some interesting idea's about that."
"Do you always listen to other people?" Jax smiled giving her that trade mark Teller smile that made the panties drop on more then one lady. "There will be a lot more people there then Juice. Your new here in Charming, coming to the party will expand your social circle."
Jax's smile was nice, but Juice's groofy grin was better. She could see why Tara liked Jax. He was charismatic, good looking and confidante boarding on cocky. He was very appealing but her taste never ran in blondes.
Going to the Samcro club house was exactly what she wanted to avoid. It would put right into the shit, and directly in Gemma's eye sight. But after Gemma's little smack down on her back porch she wanted to show Gemma that she wasn't here to be pushed around. Plus spending time with Tara and seeing Juice wasn't horrible either.
Seeing hesitation in her eyes, Jax pressed on further with his argument." I'm sure Juice will make up for cancelling on you the other night."
"Jesus, does everyone fucking know about that?" Bran turned away from him and reached for a rag. She rubbed it up and down her arms with force that town Jax she didn't like her business being talked about.
"It's a small town, darling." Jax shrugged and tucked his hands in his pocket. Bran would have to get used to people knowing her business if she was going to stay in Charming. It was a way of life, here. "People talk. Speaking of talking, I heard you did some at the grocery store."
Bran frowned and through the rag down on the plastic sheet." Are you going to accuse me of having an ulterior motive like you lovely mother did?"
Jesus Gemma, your a piece of work. Jax thought before answering. " My mother certainly has a way with words. Opie's is obviously having a tough time right now and so are his kids. Their world is kinda in a tail spin right now, and hearing people talk shit is hard for them all. So unlike my mother, I am grateful that you would speak up in his defense. Whatever your reason was."
It said a lot about Bran to Jax that she would go to the mat for his best friend. He wasn't jaded enough like his mother to think that Bran was harboring a secret agenda to do Samcro harm but he wasn't naive either. No one was what their appeared to be. But he had enough of his father in him to give her a chance.
And enough of his mother to crush her if she proved him wrong.
"Fine, just cause I like spending time with Tara." Bran stated hoping that Jax got the point that Juice wasn't her focus on coming as she still had no idea what she wanted to do with her feeling about him. But that was her business, not his. Or anyone else's.
"I'll let Tara know." Jax nodded, flashing her a smile and headed out of the house letting her get back to painting.
He knew his mother wouldn't be happy, and over the last few days he had seen the difference in Juice. His lack of interest in the sweetbuts around the club house and his grumpier attitude, was apparent to everyone around him. To many of his brother's were miserable, and he wanted to see a change in that.
If Juice wanted Bran to stick around he would have to handle his own shit. Jax would set his brother up with an opportunity, and hopefully Juice wasn't as stupid as he looked to waste it.