Other Side of the Tracks

Chapter 3

Arriving right on time, Jax waited standing beside his bike as Julia stepped out of the bakery and locked the door. She turned, a playful smile on her face, and headed toward him with a spring in her step. She was very much lighter than he had seen and although he liked the casual smile she wore he was more than simply surprised by it.

"You showed up," she she sang as a greeting. "I wasn't sure you would because of Charlie."

"Guess I'm a just sucker for a pretty face." He practically cooed the words as he took her hand and guided her to the curb. Her cheeks flushed as he handed her his helmet and swung his leg over, patting the spot behind him for her to sit.

"My first ride," she said as she wrapped her arms around his waist. "I'm kind of anxious."

"I got ya, darlin', don't worry."

They whipped through Stockton and into Charming, a town Julia had never been to, and Jax felt her head lift up as she looked around Main Street. It wasn't long before they rolled through the chain link and arrived at the clubhouse.

"So this is it, huh?" She smirked as she looked around.

"Guess my home base beats Uncle Charlie's huh?"

"I don't want to talk about Charlie tonight," she chided. "No business, at all."

"No business," he smirked, draping his arm over her shoulders.

Brothers moved around the lot, in and out of the clubhouse, but nothing more than quiet nods passed between them and Jax. Julia was absorbing everything, she couldn't help it, she'd been programmed her entire life to memorize every detail. As a child it was for her own safety, her father wanted to instill that kind of defense in her but once he died Charlie focused on gathering the information for less noble uses.

"Hey brother," Opie chuckled at Jax as they approached the bar.

"Ope," Jax tapped the bar for beers, "This is Jules, Jules, Opie."

"Julia," she corrected as she offered Opie her hand. He was taken aback by the greeting and didn't bother hiding how strange he thought it was.

"Hey," Opie mumbled, shaking her hand, awkward as usual. "You talk to Gemma?" He asked as he reached across the bar to grab himself a fresh beer. "She was around looking for you."

"Nah," he shrugged. "Had some shit to take care of then I picked up Jules."

"She has Abel, came by said it was about Wendy," Opie said knowingly.

"Ah shit," Jax's mood tanked. "Again?"

Opie nodded, an apologetic look on his face, and headed back to the pool table where Bobby and a few of the others were playing.

"Everything okay?" Julia asked casually.

He nodded, seeming somewhat exacerbated by the mere mention of Wendy, and took a long gulp of his beer. "Abel's mom," he explained, "She's got some shit going on. Again."

"Sounds personal," Julia joked. "I guess as long as Abel is okay you don't want to get too involved."

Jax nodded. "I tried to help her but it's the same shit all the time. I wonder what it's doing to my kid."

"He's young," Julia clinked her nails against the neck of her beer bottle. "Messy ex's are messy, I don't think he'll be any worse off than the other kids."

"Comforting," he laughed. "You said no business but I don't think this was the conversation you had in mind."

"I don't really care about your favorite band," she winked. "And it's more real than you flashing your gun," Julia pushed his cut to the side to see what he was carrying. "Not that I don't like a nice piece."