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Chapter 538 Expected Visitor

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After Clay brought the gavel down ending the meeting, Jax found Scarlett and Donna sitting at a table. He was glad that she and Donna had become such good friends. Donna didn't really fit in with the whole crow-eaters thing and neither did Scarlett.

Scarlett asked him how he felt about her asking Tara to come to the clubhouse while they waited for Church to be over. Now that the three of them had their talk about Kohn's shooting, he was OK with it. He believed or wanted to believe that Tara saw the error of her ways and was going to change. He was pleased that Scarlett was willing to give Tara a second chance.

Clay had been pressuring him to make amends with Gemma. He pointed out that it was Gemma who needed to apologize for her behavior both to him and to Scarlett and until that happened, he wasn't having any contact outside of work with her.

Surprisingly, he didn't miss her much. It was a relief not having her nosing into every aspect of his life and giving her opinion. He felt free of his mother's constant interference and even if she did make amends; he was going to make it clear he was done with her trying to dominate his life. Part of being a man meant not letting his mother control his life.

Jax watched as Scarlett and Donna laughed together over something one of them said. He spotted Tara sitting with Steve and wondered if her interest in Steve had anything to do with his connection to SAMCRO. He hoped that Tara wasn't using Steve as a replacement for him. He didn't feel any stir of jealousy at seeing Tara with another man. He had never had more than a friendship love for her. He knew that now that he'd met Scarlett and found romantic passionate love with her. As a friend, he did want the best for Tara and Steve was a good guy.

If Jax got his way, Steve would prospect for the club. He would be a great addition. The sticking point was his serving a year as a prospect. Traditionally, prospects are supposed to be available 24/7 and it becomes an endurance test. It isn't a very practical standard if someone has a real job outside of TM as Steve did.

Jax wanted to make changes to how prospects were treated. Steve wouldn't prospect if he had to give up his business. He was willing to change some rules to make that happen. It was important for the MC to be able to recruit guys who had jobs and weren't dependant on TM for work. It would give them a greater number of guys who might join the MC. He didn't want SAMCRO to get too big, but a couple of new members would be useful.

After Jax and Opie played a couple of games of pool, he and Scarlett headed to the lake house. She had physiotherapy on Monday and then one final appointment the following Monday and then she was finished unless she decided she needed more physio.

Jax could feel the improvement in Scarlett's strength as he helped her with her exercises. She'd even dropped a sock on the ground and showed him how she could pick it up without using the reacher he'd gotten for her at the convenience store. She walked her hands down the front of her legs, picked up the sock and then walked her hands back up her legs until she was standing upright. She'd been so proud of herself. She could even lift her legs a few inches on her own.

He also noticed that she was taking less pain medication at night. He was glad she was improving and he was proud that she was working so hard to regain her strength. Scarlett never complained, but that wasn't always a good thing. He had to watch over her and make sure she didn't try to do too much and suffer a setback.

Sex had definitely changed things between them. It deepened their connection and their love. She brought out this gentle tender side to him that he hadn't known he had. His love for had grown and deepened with the physical connection between them. She made his life better and he couldn't imagine a life without her.

Saturday, Scarlett with his help got into a floating pool chair and floated in the lake occasionally trying to kick her feet. Jax swam around her and they splashed each other. It was another perfect afternoon, followed by a shared shower, some back washing and sex before both falling asleep for an afternoon nap.

Shortly after dinner, Scarlett's phone rang. By the time the call was over, her face was drained of color.

"What's wrong?" Jax asked.

"My dad will be here in thirty to forty-five minutes." She frowned. "He knows that you and I were spending the weekend together and he wouldn't just come here without a really good reason."

"You think he's got bad news?"

"Yeah. What if my psycho ex escaped from prison or got out on bail?"

"It's OK," Jax said wrapping his arms around her. "Even if that happened, that doesn't mean he knows where you are. You're still safe."

"I wish I could believe that. I'm afraid that we'll have to run and disappear again."

Jax felt that fear stab him. He couldn't imagine losing Scarlett. There had to be a way to kill her psycho ex.

"You're safe. It's OK. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

"You don't understand. If he is out of prison and he knows where I am, that means you're in danger too."

"I'm not afraid," Jax said with a wide grin. "I have an entire MC behind me. We'll keep you and your father safe."

"You don't understand what he's capable of."

Jax tightened his arms around Scarlett. He was willing to do whatever he had to do to keep Scarlett safe including cold-blooded murder.