Roots Run Deep

Chapter 10

"I'm gonna wait outside," Jax said as he lit a cigarette outside Tara's house.

Katie looked at him with confusion. "Why? I'm sure he'd love to see you."

Jax smirked and shook his head. "I'm good. I'll see him when he gets home."

"I know that's bullshit," she said with a huff.

He shrugged. "You gonna push or you gonna visit your brother who took a bullet for ya?"

"Whatever." Katie rolled her eyes as she strolled up to the front door and knocked loudly.

Tara was expecting visitors that day but when she opened the door she was shocked to see the leggy, black haired woman on her front step. "Hi," she said, slightly uneasy.

"I'm Jay's sister, Kate," she smiled.

"Ah yes," Tara laughed. "I can see the resemblance."

Katie nodded. "Yeah we both favor our dad. Can I see him?"

"Sure," Tara stepped aside and welcomed Katie in. "He got pretty lucky, he'll be off his bike for a bit though while his shoulder heals."

"'Course, I will," Jake said sarcastically.

"You will, you dip shit," Katie growled. "If I have to stay here until you're cleared I will."

Jake's eyes grew smaller as he squinted at her. "You couldn't wait to leave."

"Yeah but that was before," she shrugged.

"Before what?"

Showing her annoyance, her hand on her hip as it jutted out to the right, Katie huffed, "Before you got hurt."

"Not before you got kidnapped?"

"Did Jax drop you off?" Tara asked out of the blue.

Katie turned to look at Tara as she stood in the other room. "Yeah. I stayed at Gemma and Clay's last night so I needed a ride. Our family had a rough few days," she said by way of explanation.

"Looks like it," Tara mused before heading toward the front of the house. She peeked outside and saw Jax leaning on his bike a few feet up from the front of the house. Taking a deep breath she stepped outside and waved. "Hey."

"Hey," Jax smiled at her although it was more subdued than usual. "Jake doing alright?"

"Yeah," Tara nodded. "How are you? The other night was intense."

Closing his eyes he nodded. "Yeah it was."

"I'm not okay," she said sadly despite his refusal to ask. "I'm not okay. We kill-"

"You didn't do anything," he reminded her.

"Jax," she sighed. "Who is she?"

"Jake's sister," he flicked his cigarette into the gutter.

Tara rolled her eyes. "She's wearing a SAMCRO shirt tied into a crop top and came here on the back of your bike."

"We're friends," he said defensively. "And the shirt is Clay's."

"What?" Her nose scrunched in a mix of confusion and disgust.

Jax sighed and moved closer to her, speaking in a whisper. "She stayed there last night so we could keep an eye on her, she was in some trouble and we just wanted to make sure she was safe."

"You love girls in trouble," Tara reminded him. "Like me, the other night."

"I love you, trouble or not," he admitted.