CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile. Photo of the kitchen on Photobucket. The floor is wrong though; imagine it with black and white tiles.

Wednesday vanishes into a haze of packing more stuff, moving boxes and unpacking at the new house. A trip on Wednesday afternoon with Al to run some errands and pick out a washer and dryer make it easier on me when Thursday morning Kip, Miles and Jax move his ones to the new house. Thursday I spend the entire day at the new house with the piles of newly brought linen washing it and hanging it in the sun in the backyard to dry. Gemma comes over mid Thursday with Doj who gallops around the house like he's always lived there, the appearance of the squishy red couch on the upstairs landing making it home for him.

Helping me get the last of the washing off the line she smiles at me "You ready for the party tomorrow?"

Nodding I lift up the basket "Yeah, I picked up the plates, cups, napkins you ordered, I got a few more of those throw away table cloths. The guys set up all the tables in the back yard last night and the chairs are in the laundry to be put out tomorrow morning. Is there anything I need to make?"

Fully expecting her to tell me to do some baking I'm surprised when she shakes her head "Nope nothing. I ordered a cake from a bakery in Stockton. I'll pick it up tomorrow when I go get the meat. We're doing all the cooking at home then we'll bring it over about 6. Everyone knows not to come over till after then, you'll get the early comers of course, but they can be bullied into helping. Did you invite your family?"

I lift my eyebrows at her snorting "My family will be there, all of them."

Gemma follows me while I set the washing bin on the bottom stair, lifting the pile of napkins and the three table cloths I brought she follows me into the dining room "I mean the Hales."

I shake my head "I didn't see the point. I know you'll probably invite them to the reception. Don't hold your breath on any of them coming. But tomorrow I don't want them to be here, they'll be judgemental and rude about it. None of them even know that Jax and I got married."

Gemma hugs me tightly when I sit the napkins down "It's okay baby."

Sniffing slightly I shake my head "I know, it's stupid to get upset about it." Smiling at her I push the feelings to the back of my brain "Besides, I don't want to have to deal with breaking up fights between Jax and David all night. And I'm still trying to get everyone to keep their knowledge of him leaving quiet. It would be harder if he was here."

Gemma lifts her eyebrow "He's leaving?"

I nod "Didn't anyone tell you?" Shaking her head I chuckle "Guess it really wasn't important. Jax, Clay and Ope know. He's being transferred to Sacramento in January."

Gemma leaves not long after that, my asking her if she was going to help me figure out the linen cupboard had her calling for the dog and dashing out the door faster than I would have expected in the 5 inch stiletto boots she was wearing. Doj trots out behind her, happily jumping into the back of her Escalade, Gemma leans out the window and grins at me as I start to close the front door "You owe me a car grooming by the way. My leather is covered in dog hair."

Laughing at her I wave "Okay grandma."

The builders come up to see me as I'm putting the last of the sheets into the cupboard and the second I see them I know something bad's happened. "What?"

Bob pushes to the front of them with a frown "We had an incident with the bench tops."

Looking around the team of four I assess them all "Okay, there's no blood. Is someone hurt?"

Bob shakes his head and gestures towards the stairs "No, come have a look."

Walking into the kitchen I look around the room speechless. Bob grins at me when I turn a full circle "It's finished?"

Bob nods "Yeah. Mr Oswald said to tell you it was his idea to change the cabinet doors. He said that that much black would be overpowering in here, even with all the light but that if you wanted the other ones he'd get it sorted by Monday."

I nod, looking again at the cabinets. The cabinet's I'd picked were meant to have had their doors painted black and then speckled with white to carry the marble look from the granite but instead they're all white with black handles. The varied levels of bench top mean that when Ellie and Kenny come over they can have bits their own height, the way I'd intended on having the ovens put has been changed, instead of being stacked they're side by side at eye level, the extractor fan over the stove has been hidden by a piece of panelling that makes it seem like it could have once been a chimney. The entire room is flooded with light pouring in the French doors in the corner.

Shaking my head I lean against the bench, something tapping my knee. Looking down I laugh when I realise there's a built in wine rack, a single bottle already in the dips. Pulling it out I look over my shoulder, Bob shrugs again "It arrived last week by courier."

I smile, running my hand over the label. The bottle is one of only 100 that were made the second year after I invested in a winery, the blend named after my parents. The blend I'd laughingly named Nicarale combining parts of Nicki, Charles and Hale all into one word had been harder than choosing a type of wine to have in the bottles.

Ignoring the looks on the builder's faces I slide the bottle back into the rack and stand up "It's amazing."

Bob shrugs "We've still got to come back tomorrow to do the finishing touches, and clean again."

I nod my brain still processing the enormous room and how perfect it's going to be to cook in. Walking around the centre island I pull open a cupboard and find it's not a cupboard but a false cover for the dishwasher.

"I just can't believe it's done so fast. I wasn't expecting to be in here for at least another few weeks."

Bob shrugs again ushering his workers towards the front door "We'll be back about 8am, should be all done here by 5 at the latest."

Still leaning against the counter I nod distractedly thinking about the boxes of things that can now be unpacked. Everything for the kitchen is stacked in the storeroom with my cookbooks which I hadn't unpacked cause of the sawdust still floating around. Having been banned from entering the kitchen while the work was done makes a lot more sense now that I see it, I'd been very confused the previous morning when Bob had come to see me as I arrived telling me they were closing the door off cause of fumes. I hadn't been able to smell a single thing but with Abel in his carrier I'd accepted it without a conversation.

Running my hand along the edge of the black granite bench top I can already see the way I want to set everything out, there's a tiny shelf built into one part of the room which I know will hold my favourite cookbooks, the three I inherited from my mother, including one full of her scribbles of recipe modifications.

It's a combination of Abel babbling from the car seat and my phone ringing that brings me out of the thoughts that have occupied my brain since I stepped into the completed kitchen. Picking up the phone I'm surprised to see before I answer that it's almost 430.

"Hey baby, sorry I got caught up at the house. I'm on my way in a minute."

"That's okay; you need to come to the clubhouse. Ope should be there in a minute to bring you here." Jax's voice is slightly strained.

"Why?"

"Just do it. Please."

"Okay." I hear the sound of a bike coming into the drive and lean over to check Abel's buckles "Ope just pulled in. I'll be there in a few."

Picking up the car seat I don't even get to the door before Opie's in it and holding out his hand for the seat. Passing Abel over to him I pick my bag up from beside the door, alarm the house and lock the door. Following Opie towards Jax's Ram I struggle to keep up with him "Ope what's going on?"

Opie looks down at me and shrugs "I don't know. I was at Bluebird and got a call to come to the lot, but to swing by and make sure you were coming too."

I shake my head but get into the driver's seat waiting till Opie's back on his bike before starting the engine. Following him through the streets of Charming it only takes a few minutes before I'm backing into a space in front of the office. Jax appears at my door and opens it almost before I've turned the truck off.

Jax waits till I'm out of the truck, Gemma lifting Abel and the diaper bag from the back seat and walking towards the office with him. Resting his hand on my shoulder he guides me towards the clubhouse "This guy showed up about 20 minutes ago, I'm not sure how he knew to find you here, but he's waiting inside with Clay and Tig."

I frown slightly as Jax pulls the door open "Who is he?"

Jax shrugs "He said his name was Robert Goldsmith."

"Fuck." I mutter quietly, my eyes closing "What the fuck does he want."