Money Can't Buy Happiness

Chapter 54

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When Happy woke up the next morning Katie was not in bed beside him as he expected. He stumbled out from beneath the top sheet and called out her name but got no reply.

"Kate," he pushed open the bathroom door. "Katie?"

She was in the tub, completely dry, and revealed herself by simply pulling the curtain open and looking up at him.

"Hey," he said softly as he crouched down beside the tub. "You okay?"

"No," she scoffed. "I killed a man."

"You had to," he assured her. "He was shady."

"Shady doesn't equal the death penalty."

Nodding, Happy sighed heavily. "I'm sorry, babe. This...sucks."

"You talk to Jax?" She asked, suddenly more eager to talk than she had been seconds before.

"Nah, I will today," he said casually. "What's he know?"

"Nothing, I don't think," she shrugged. "It's kind of scrambled in my head. It happened so fast."

"Alright," he stood again. "Some random guy scared you, you thought he was gonna jump ya, that's it. Okay?"

"Yeah," Katie agreed. "Sure."

"You gonna be okay," he asked her, obviously concerned.

"I don't-" she huffed, "Eventually. Shit," she hissed, "Anna's had Charlotte all night, I gotta get back."

Happy watched as she slowly got to her feet and stepped out of the porcelain tub. "Maybe that ain't a great idea," he said reluctantly. "After you fell asleep I found some voicemails on my phone, uhh, and Jax called to tell me he took Charlie for the night. Said he didn't wanna bother you so he called me."

"Oh," she hesitated. "I should still get her."

"Baby," he spoke with uncharacteristic tenderness. "You need to relax. Your head is fucked. You can't be takin' care of a baby."

Closing her eyes she nodded and sank back down to the tub. "Okay."

"I'm gonna get dressed and head out," he said sadly. "I gotta talk to Jax about this thing but I'm coming right back. You gonna be good?"

"I'll be fine," she assured him. "Just go and get back."

Happy bent over and, with his thumb and pointer fingers, tiles her head up to press a kiss on her lips. As he dressed, he tried to shake the worry from his mind but she was so torn up he was genuinely scared for her.

As he dressed and prepared to leave he wondered if he really should, if that was the best for her, but quickly decided it was. There were answers he needed and precautions that he had to be sure were taken. Happy needed to protect his old lady and do what he did best.

When Happy arrived at the clubhouse he and Jax immediately slipped into the kitchen to talk. It wasn't some secret conspiracy but what happened was still basically unknown and both men wanted to keep it that way.

"How is she?" Jax asked, leaning back against the stainless steel countertop.

Happy shrugged. "Sitting in the tub all night, no water. Just there."

"Gem's got the baby," Jax explained. "Anna is coming by to get her again before lunch. We got everything handled. She's just gotta worry about her head."

"Yeah," he nodded. "What'd you do with him?"

Jax's blue eyes met Happy's dark stare. "Burned him. Same spot I took Kohn back in the day, it was the first idea 'cause of the circumstances."

Not thrilled over Jax's thought process Happy just nodded. "Everything's cleaned up?"

"Alley's spotless, no cameras back there, we're in the clear." Jax pulled his cigarettes from his pocket and lit one. "What was she doing back there?"

"Joggin'," Happy shrugged. "Heather was closing and Katie was an idiot," he grumbled. "I told those girls," he said angrily.

"They learned the hard way," Jax huffed. "Was Heather there?"

"I don't," Happy stopped. "I don't think so. She woulda came out?"

"We should tie up that loose end," Jax said. "She good?"

Happy nodded. "She won't say anything. I'll talk to her but she's not a threat."

"Good," Jax nodded. "Then we really just gotta worry about Kate."

"I'll worry about Katie," Happy said quickly. "Thank you for helping her but I'm back now, I got it."

Jax agreed and the two of them shook hands before parting ways to act as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened because really, for them, it hadn't.

—

While waiting for Happy, Katie wandered the house aimlessly, her hands still shaking, until there was a knock at the door. Approaching the front of the house only after a second, more urgent knock, Katie peeled out to see Gemma on the step.

"Hi," she said with a polite smile.

"You mind?" She said, pointing into the house as she stepped forward to enter.

Katie stepped aside, "Uh guess not."

"I heard about what happened," she said as she looked around the room. "That can really mess you up but you have to think about number one first."

"Yeah, you know, this isn't a good time," Katie said softly.

Gemma nodded, "I know. I also know you're asking questions about the accident."

"No I'm not," she mumbled. "You swerved to avoid an deer, Gem."

"I don't appreciate you poking around my relationship with Nero or what I do at Diosa," she said matter-of-factly.

"Okay," Katie agreed simply to shut her up.

"I know you and Tara have been talking," she continued.

Katie sighed heavily, "Not really."

They had shared more words in the past weeks than ever before but that wasn't hard with how little they previously communicated. The accident seemed to bridge something between them but now it brought unwanted attention from Tara's biggest adversary.

"Nothing is going to get between me and my grandchildren, not Tara and not some hooker," Gemma reminded her.

"Let me guess, Happy and Jax are doing something for you right now?"

She smiled, "Just moving something out of the garage at home. Happy should be here shortly."

"Have a nice day, Gemma," Katie said as she opened the door again. "Now get out."

"Feel better, darlin'," she said with a smile as she stepped over the threshold and out of the house. "I'll see you around soon."