Chapter 21

The next morning, I packed up Emma's diaper bag and told Hap that we'd be back in a day or two that we were heading up to Tacoma to visit Lee and the boys. He kissed me, telling me to be careful and to call when I got there. I loved Hap. He didn't try to stop me from living my life and he knew that there wasn't a chance in hell that he could tell me what to do but I also knew that if he thought that I was in danger that I would do what I was told…no questions asked.

Driving up the highway, I thought about the night before. A lot of things had been said. Lyla had left Opie. Maybe she had been more like Donna than any of us had realized. One thing I didn't get though, was why did Jax and Lyla seem to think that Opie was in love with me? Opie had been my best friend for as long as I could remember. But was he really? Was it something that he'd pushed down because he knew that I was happy? I shook the thoughts from my head. No way! There was no way that Ope was in love with me. The other strange occurrence from last night was that Jax apologized. He apologized for all of the heart ache that he'd caused me since I'd turned up in Charming when Donna had been murdered. When he'd told me that Hap had kicked his ass when they were inside, all I wanted to do was laugh at him. Hap had been in the club longer than Jax had and he knew the way of the club better than Jax did. That was why when Jax insulted me and disrespected me, Hap had no choice. You didn't disrespect an Old Lady. Jax was just lucky that Hap didn't kill him.

It was several hours later, when I pulled into the parking lot at the Tacoma clubhouse. I quickly called Hap to let him know that I'd made it safely. He told me he loved me and that he'd check in later. When I climbed out of the car, I grabbed Emma's car seat and headed inside. "Jessie!" I heard someone call my name.

I looked around the room and saw Erica, Lee's Old Lady approaching me. I sat Emma's car seat on the floor as Erica pulled me into a hug. "Hey Erica." I said, when she released me.

"Did the boys know that you were coming up?" She asked me.

I shook my head. "Nope. Surprise visit. Had some news to share and thought that it would be better in person. That and I thought that you might want to see your goddaughter." I told her.

She laughed. "Good. Hand her over. I think the boys are in Church but I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you interrupted." Erica said picking up Emma's car seat. "I'll go get us some coffee while you pop your head in." She said walking away.

I turned on my heel and made my way over to the Chapel door and knocked. When I heard someone shout "Come in" I slowly opened the door.

"Hey guys!" I said greeting my boys. "Erica said it'd be okay to pop in for a minute." I said, smiling at them.

Lee and Donut were the first ones to greet me. Lee immediately pulled me into a hug. "Hi sweetheart. Did I know you were coming?" Lee said.

I shook my head. "No. I brought Emma, but I had some news to share with you guys and thought it would be better in person." I told him.

Lee put both of his hands on my shoulders and looked me in the eyes, "Are you okay? Are you in trouble?" He asked worried.

I shook my head. "No. Everything is fine. Perfect even. It's good news. I promise." I said.

He nodded. "Okay. Well, lets us finish then you can share your news. Kay?" He said.

"Sure." I said, before I turned and walked out of the room.

I headed into the barroom and sat at the bar. One of the Croweaters brought a cup of coffee over for me. I nodded at her. I sat there and waited while the guys finished up in Chapel. I couldn't wait to share the news with them. When I'd first come to SAMTAC, after I'd earned the guys' trust, Lee had become a father figure to me. Which I guess was why I wanted to tell Lee about the engagement in person. I sat there drinking my coffee waiting on the guys l thought about everything that had happened since I'd met the Tacoma crew.

By the time I finished my second cup of coffee, the boys were coming out of Chapel. I turned in my seat so that I could look at the guys as they all approached me. Lee and Donut were the first two to get to me. Lee put his hand on my shoulder. "Now, what's this news you have?" Lee asked me.

I held up my left hand. "Hap and I are engaged." I said. It was simple and to the point.

"That's amazing baby girl." He said as he leaned forward and hugged me. "I'm so happy for you guys."

I couldn't help but smile at him. "Thanks. I just knew that I couldn't tell you guys over the phone. I knew that I had to do it in person." I said.

Lee nodded. "I get it. And I'm glad you did. Now, where's my granddaughter?" He asked and I laughed.

"Erica stole her." I smiled. He nodded, and took off down the hallway to find his wife.

Kozik headed behind the bar, and started pouring shots for everyone so that we could celebrate. I was just about to down my shot when my phone started ringing from my back pocket. I pulled it out and saw that Hap was calling. I quickly answered it. "Hey baby." I said.

"Jess…" I could hear the sadness in his voice.

"What is it?" I asked concerned.

"You need to come home." He said.

I felt panic rise within me. "What happened?" I asked.

"It's Ope, Jess. He's dead." Hap said.

Everything happened so quickly. I dropped the phone. Fell off my chair into the floor. I screamed.

Once I'd finally calmed down slightly, thanks to Lee, I managed to find out that Clay had pissed off the Galindo Cartel and that the Cartel had taken out Opie and Bobby in retaliation. Lee told Hap that the entire Charter would be making their way down to Charming with me. Kozik would be driving my car and they were gonna load Kozik's bike up in the back of the van that one of the Prospects would be driving. They'd had to sedate me because I just kept screaming, crying and shouting that it wasn't true. I just knew that it couldn't be true. I knew deep down that we were gonna pull up at SAMCRO and Ope was gonna jump out and say "Gotcha". But then again, another part of me knew that Hap wouldn't call me and tell me something like that if it wasn't true.

I ended up sleeping for most of the trip. It wasn't until we passed the "Welcome To Charming" sign that I realized just how out of it I was. I started apologizing to Kozik for not being very sociable during the drive. He told me that he understood why I'd been quiet. I looked to the backseat and saw that Emma was fast asleep and couldn't help the weak smile on my face.

When we pulled into the lot at TM, Hap was the one to open my door and kneel next to me. He pulled me into his arms. "I'm so sorry baby. There was nothing that we could do." Hap said.

When he pulled back, I nodded and said, "I know. Where are the kids?"

"With Gemma. As soon as we get you and Emma inside, I'll call Neeta to come get her and Gemma will bring Kenny and Ellie. Also, Ally needs to talk to you. She's right inside." Hap said and the only thing I could do was nod.

Hap helped me out of the car and into the clubhouse. He led me over to a table where he helped me to a chair. One of the Croweaters brought me a cup of tea (not that I could drink it). Kozik sat Emma's car seat on the floor beside me. Hap sat down beside me and scooted his chair close to me. I leaned my head on his shoulder.

It was about ten minutes later when Ally Lowen walked through the door of the clubhouse, with Piney following closely behind her. When they got to the table, I stood up and hugged Piney. "I'm so sorry Piney." I told him. I could already feel the tears building again.

He wrapped his arms around me and whispered in my ear, "I know sweet girl. He loved you so much. You were his best friend. Some times more so than Jackson." Piney said.

I pulled away and gave him a weak smile. The three of us (Piney, Ally and myself) sat down at the table with Hap. Ally reached across the table and gently grabbed my hand. "Opie came to see me shortly after Lyla left him. He told me that he hadn't been truly happy since Donna died. He said the only thing that had brought him true joy since her death was the kids and spending time with you. Opie drafted his will with me." Ally said and I nodded. "Opie told me that he wanted to make sure that not only his kids were taken care of but you as well." Ally said.

"What are you saying?" I asked her.

She slid a stack of papers towards me. "Opie named you the executor of his estate, including guardianship of Kenny and Ellie." Ally said.

I gasped. Opie wanted me to take care of his kids? I loved Kenny and Ellie but how was I supposed to take care of them and Emma? I looked over at Piney. "Are you and Mary okay with this?" I asked him.

He nodded. "It's what he wanted. Neither Mary or I are really in a place to raise any more kids." Piney said.

I nodded, before I looked at Hap. "You okay with this?" I asked him.

He nodded. "Of course." He said, kissing the tip of my nose.

I turned back to Ally. "What else?" I asked her.

"The house now belongs to you. You can keep it, sell it, whatever you like. He set up three trusts. One for each of the kids and one for Emma as well." Ally told us.

I was shocked. "He set up a trust for Emma?" Hap asked her.

Ally nodded. "Yep. He said that he had to make sure that his goddaughter was taken care of no matter what. He set all three up with the same amount. They'll gain access to it when they turn eighteen." Ally said. I nodded. She slid two pieces of paper across to me. "These, I need you to sign. They state that you accept all responsibility for Kenny and Ellie Winston." She said. I signed both pages before sliding them back to her. "This one," She said, "transfers the deed of the house into your name." I signed and slid it back. "This next one, gives you medical power of attorney for Piney." Ally said.

I looked at Piney. "Opie was my power of attorney. Just in case. He and I discussed it a while back. You're the logical choice." Piney said and I nodded. I signed the paper. I slid it back.

Ally side another across. "This is Piney's medical directive. It clearly states his medical wishes should anything happen and you need to make any decisions. St. Thomas already has a copy, but you'll need to have that and your copy of the power of attorney, should you need to be there." Ally said. I nodded and sat the paper to the side. She slid three more pages towards me. "These are in relation to the trusts. It states that you are in control of them, yada yada." Ally said.

I signed and slid them back. "Anything else?" I asked.

"Nothing that can't wait. I'll get all of these processed and bring you the official copies when I have them." Ally said.

I nodded and she stood up. "Thanks Ally." I said. She gave me a weak smile before she left. A few minutes after she left, I looked at Piney. "Do the kids know?" I asked. He shook his head. "Call Gemma. Get them here." I said to no one particular.

About fifteen minutes later, Gemma came walking into the clubhouse with Kenny and Ellie following behind her. As soon as they saw me they came running. Ellie was the first to speak. "Aunt Jessie! Where's Dad?" She asked.

I had to fight back the tears. "Sit down guys, I gotta talk to you." I told them as they let go of me and sat down at the table I'd been at since I'd walked through the door. "Your dad…your Dad was hurt. He got hurt really bad." I told them.

"Is he okay?" Kenny asked.

I shook my head. "No Ken, he's not. Remember how Mom got hurt and she went to heaven?" I asked, they both nodded.

"Dad's with Mom now isn't he?" Ellie asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, Elle, he is." I said, my voice breaking a little.

"What's gonna happen to me and Kenny?" She asked me.

I reached across the table and grabbed each of their hands. "Well, I talked with Grandpa and he and Grandma decided that it might be best if you guys came to live with Uncle Hap, Emma and I." I said. They both nodded but didn't say anything. "Is that okay with you guys?" They nodded.

"Okay. Well let's go home." I said.

Everyone was hurting over the loss of Opie but I knew that we'd find a way to get through all of it. One way or another.