^^ Shelby ^^

"So, how was it?" I ask Shelby as I watch her wiping the counter down. She grins at me and stops to lean opposite me.

"It was amazing!" She gushes. "I met some really interesting people and found most of the talks really interesting. If I never fly again though, it'll be too soon!" She laughs. She'd told me about the flight when Mel and I picked her up from the airport. It had been delayed by three hours and from what Shelby said, it had been constant turbulence.

I laugh and grab a muffin from the display case, pouting when she tries to slap my hand away. "Try flying from London to New York, sitting next to a guy that obviously never heard of a shower!" She screws her nose up and shudders. I lean forward and whisper, "Did you meet any nice men?"

She laughs and shoves my shoulder. "It was for women in business!" But I can see the faint tinge of pink on her cheeks and I gasp.

"Oh my god, you did!" She doesn't say anything but I can tell I'm right. I laugh and let out a cheer, fist pumping the air.

"What's got you so bloody cheery?" I hear Skids ask from where he sits with Jay, Smiler and Banjo at a table behind me.

I turn around and throw him a wide grin. "Shelby met a man!" He laughs as Smiler and Banjo roll their eyes. I look at Jay and see him chuckling, but even from here I can tell it's forced. My thought is confirmed when he drops the act and turns to look out of the window. I raise an eyebrow and turn back to Shelby. "Someone's jealous!" I whisper again.

She shakes her head and frowns at me. "You know, I think all that loving you get from Smiler has gone to your head, and now you see romance wherever you look."

I grin at her as she walks around me to clear down a table that has just been vacated. The café has begun to settle down after the evening rush and there are only a few customers left now. I notice a girl sitting at a table near the door. She catches my eye because even in the Arizona heat, she has her hood up. Her eyes are focused on the table-top as she eats her sandwich. Turning back to the guys, I see Smiler watching me already, and he winks as he catches my eye.

"I'll just take these out and I'll get you a refill," Shelby tells me as she walks past with several plates balanced expertly on her arms. I've always been jealous of people who can do that. I can barely manage to carry a cup of coffee without dropping it and spectacularly coating everything within a five-foot radius with it. I focus on my napkin, folding it in various ways and pretending for a moment that I'm an expert in origami. I only look up when I hear Shelby yell.

"Hey!" She's just walked out of the kitchen and is looking at something behind me, a furious expression on her face. I turn to see what's bothering her and notice the hooded girl making a dash for the door. Before she reaches it, Smiler and Jay are in the way, blocking her path. "She hasn't paid!" Shelby explains.

I watch Smiler take a small step forward towards the girl, and notice how she steps back, her eyes wide with fear. Her hands are shaking and I finally get a good look at her face. Her eyes are filled with unshed tears, surrounded by dark circles, and her cheeks are gaunt.

I slip off my stool and put my hand up. "Let her go," I tell the guys.

"What?" Jay asks, looking at me as if I'm crazy.

"I'll pay for it. Just let her go," He and Smiler share a look before stepping away from the door. The girl rushes to it as soon as they do, but she turns to look at me briefly, nodding as she makes a hasty exit.

Smiler walks towards me and cups my face with his hands. He looks concerned as he watches me closely. "What was that all about?" He asks.

I sigh and lean into his touch. "A year ago, that girl was me."

He doesn't need any more explanation and leans forward to place a gentle kiss on my lips. I can sense the others watching me closely. It's a bit unnerving. I know I've had a history of the occasional breakdown and crazy moment, but I'm honestly a lot better now. I wonder when they'll ever get over it. I mean, we've all had the urge to shove a gun in a sheriff's face, or blow up the odd psycho's bike, if we're honest.

The tension of the moment is broken when the bell above the door rings, and I look up to see Mel and Ash entering, with Lena in her buggy. They both have wide smiles on their faces and I can't help but return it.

"Hey!" I look at Mel and my smile gets even wider. "You look more like yourself!" I tell her, leaning down to kiss Lena's chubby cheeks. The dark circles under her eyes are almost gone, and her skin is back to its normal rosy glow. She looks like the Mel I met all those months ago at the clubhouse, minus the bump.

"I feel it!" She tells me. "Hanging out with you guys Friday really helped. Plus Lena's tooth finally came through so she finally slept right through last night. I think I actually managed to get seven solid hours sleep!" She laughs it off but the relief is obvious in both her face and her body language.

Ash puts an arm around her shoulders and kisses the top of her head. "And we have good news," he continues for her. We all look at him, waiting for him to continue. "The offer we put in on that house got accepted yesterday. The paperwork should be going through this week!"

The café is suddenly filled with the loud cheers of us all. Mel and Ash had been living in a small one-bedroom apartment since they were married. They'd recently found a gorgeous three-bedroom house with a decent sized garden, and they had fallen in love with it immediately. They had finally found the place they wanted to make their forever home, and I was ecstatic that their offer had been accepted.

I watch as Jay slaps Ash on the back, offering to help with the moving in when necessary, and I can't help but wonder why men do that. Girls hug each other or kiss each other's cheeks, but men insist on hitting each other. I can't help but wonder if it's some macho show of strength thing. Like, yes I'm happy for you, but I still have to remind you how strong I am. I almost roll my eyes at my inner bitch, but catch myself as I see Mel giving me a strange look.

"What?" I ask her, paranoid.

"You had a whole internal monologue thing going on just then, didn't you?" She asks.

I tut. "Pfft. No, of course not," I say, allowing myself to roll my eyes this time, and ignoring hers and Shelby's laughter.

***

"Are you sure you have to go?" I whine at Banjo, sitting on his bed as I watch him pack. Sammy has taken up most of the bed, and I perch on the edge, running my fingers through his fur. Banjo looks over at me and I stick my bottom lip out and give him the puppy eyes. It doesn't work; he just shakes his head and turns away again.

"It's my brother's wedding, Len," he laughs.

I huff and cross my arms. "I know that, dickhead. I mean, do you have to travel alone? What if something happens, like you come off the bike, or you bump in-" I'm stopped when his hand covers my mouth and I look up to see him grinning.

"You worry too much," He removes his hand and I go back to pouting. "I'm meeting another charter in New Mexico and they're escorting me to the Texas border. I'll be fine."

I sigh. "Okay, but what if something happens before or after you meet up with them?"

He groans and opens his door. "Smiler! Will you come and get your woman before I throw her out the window?"

I hear laughter coming from the bar, followed by footsteps. I stand and scowl at Banjo. "Rude!" I tell him before leaving his room. I bump straight into Smiler, who pulls me into a hug when I rest my forehead on his shoulder.

"Why are you pestering him, babe?" He asks, and I can hear the grin in his voice.

"Because he's being stupid and bloody reckless!" I yell loud enough for Banjo to hear.

"I love you!" I hear him yell in reply.

"Love you too," I mutter begrudgingly.

Smiler leads me back to the bar where he and Skids spend the next ten minutes repeating everything Banjo just told me, and attempting to reassure me he'll be okay. I appreciate it, but it doesn't help. I have this niggling feeling in my gut that just won't go away.

"Aren't you meeting Mel?" Smiler asks. "Or is it Brenda's turn today?"

I jump up. "Shit! No, it's my turn. I'll see you in a bit," I quickly kiss him before darting out of the door. I make it about three steps outside before I turn around and walk back in. Smiler is sitting there grinning and holding my car keys up. "Thank you! I love you!" I shout, rushing out of the door again.

Mel has started back at work for a few hours each weekend, and me and Brenda - her mum - have been taking it in turns to have Lena when Ash can't. Mel's been really enjoying having some normalcy in her life again, and the routine seems to have done her good. I make it to the café with about ten minutes to spare, although I may have broken every traffic law to get there. I honestly can't wait until Lena is old enough to go on the bike with me, rather than having to drive.

Shelby looks up as I dash through the doorway before slowing down and smoothing my hair out, trying to look casual. She raises an eyebrow at me.

"You forgot, didn't you?"

I scoff. "No, not at all. I was just a bit delayed, that's all,"

She grins at me. "Smiler?"

"Nope. Banjo," I say, the pout returning to my face. Shelby knows my worries, and although she's slightly concerned, she's another one that thinks I'm overreacting.

"He's leaving today?" She squeezes my hand when I nod. "He'll be fine, honey. He knows what he's doing." I take a deep breath and nod. She's probably right, I do worry too much. I have a bad habit of thinking the worst all the time. I hear the bell ring and turn around when I see a scowl on Shelby's face. It's the hooded girl from the other day, and she looks terrified as she looks around the café. She spots us at the counter and begins to walk over. I see Shelby start to speak and squeeze her hand sharply to stop her. She looks at me and I shake my head slightly. The girl reaches us and looks at the floor.

"Um, I just came to give you this," She puts some money on the counter. She sounds so young; I can't help but wonder what her story is. "It's for the other day. And I want to apologise."

"It's fine," Shelby says, but I can hear the wariness in her voice. I turn to look at the girl, who is staring at her feet as if she's never seen them before.

"You hungry?" I ask her.

Her head shoots up and she glares at me. "I don't need your charity!"

I roll my eyes. "It's not charity. Let me tell you a story." The girl scoffs and turns to leave. "Hey!" I shout, before lowering my voice again. "I stopped the MC kicking your arse the other day. The least you can do is hear me out." She stops and looks back at me again and I know I've got her attention. I look at Shelby briefly. "She'll have a burger and fries," I look back to the girl and smile when she nods. She walks to a table near the door and I move to join her. "I'm Lenni." Silence. "What's your name?" Silence again. I roll my eyes and take a deep breath. "Well, I can't just call you 'that girl' so I'll call you Robin." She looks up at me, and I notice the confusion on her face. I point to her hood. "Robin Hood." I shrug, and she lets out a small laugh. I feel my own smile widen, finally a reaction without an attitude.

I look up when a bottle of water is placed in front of Robin, and a coffee in front of me. I give Shelby a grateful smile and turn back to Robin. "A year ago I was homeless in New York," I tell her. She looks up at me with shock on her face. "I was staying in this shelter, which was alright, but we could only be there between eight p.m. and seven a.m. I spent most of the days wandering around the streets. It was coming up to winter, so it was pretty shit really. Always wet and cold, and then the days that it snowed were horrible. It wasn't nice snow. There were so many people and cars, it was like brown sludge." A shiver goes down my spine as I remember those days, and I take a long sip of my coffee. "Anyway, one day I found this massive library that was open from nine a.m. to six p.m., so I started spending all day every day in there. One day the librarian comes up to me. She must've been at least eighty, and she was tiny. But she put a sandwich and a coffee in front of me from the vending machines in the lobby. I told her I didn't need her charity," I pause and look up when I hear Robin chuckle. As I take in her face, I notice the dimple on her left cheek when she smiles. Her eyes are a blue so dark they look almost black. Her hair is limp and greasy, but I have no doubt it would be almost chocolate coloured when it was washed properly. "She told me it wasn't charity; it came with a condition. Of course, I asked her what. I was starving so I probably would've agreed to anything. She told me I could have it on the condition that, one day, when I saw someone struggling, I'd do the same for them."

Robin looks up at me again, obviously catching my meaning. "What happened then?" She asks softly.

I smile at her. "I agreed. And then I ended up helping her out. I would spend my days organising books or cleaning and dusting, and she'd repay me with food and drink."

We both look up when a plate of food is placed in front of Robin, and I hear her softly thank Shelby, who looks at me and smiles. The bell above the door rings and we turn to see Mel entering, carrying Lena.

"Hey," I greet her, reaching for the baby. "This is Robin," I gesture to the girl who is now tucking into her food. "This is Mel," I smile. Robin looks up and nods briefly, but I can see she has closed off again so I get up and leave her to eat.

"What's that about?" Mel asks when we reach the counter.

I shrug. "Just repaying a favour,"

Mel looks confused, but simply nods and walks through to the staff room at the back of the café. I grab a napkin and a pen and quickly scribble on it. I write 'Bulldogs MC Clubhouse', and my name and number. I walk over and place it in front of Robin, but don't say anything as she looks at it sceptically.

I'm playing with Lena at the counter when I hear Robin approach us. She is looking at Lena with a small smile. "Thank you for the food," she says, turning to leave before I can reply. That girl is fast when she wants to be. I look over at the table and see the empty plate, but the napkin is gone and I smile again. At least she didn't just screw it up and leave it.