CAITLIN STILL COULDN'T quite believe it sometimes. With a blissful smile, she sat on Jax' lap while she sipped her glass of wine and watched contentedly as Erin, Ope and the three kids played in Opie's garden.

Her sister had been here for two months now, both of them closer than ever after the long separation. Not a day went by that the Peters sisters weren't seeing each other. One simple reason was because they worked together in the same hotel, and when they didn't have to work the two families spent their time together at each other's houses or in the clubhouse.

Things happened quickly between Erin and Ope. Even though the older Peter's sister had her own small apartment nearby, she still spent most of her time with Ope and his kids.

Caitlin knew that her sister was slowly losing her heart to the giant biker, who always brought a smile to the brunette's lips. Erin also enjoyed spending time with Ope's kids, who had already bonded with her since Erin, Ope and the kids had been on regular video calls while she was still in Ireland. And once Erin was finally here in Charming they had started doing lots of fun things together.

"Abel is really attached to her", Jax said with an amused chuckle, his arm loosely snaked around his Old Lady's waist, his hand resting on her thigh where his Crow was tattooed. Thanks to the short summer dress Caitlin wore, everyone could see it. "Should we be jealous?"

"No." Her lips curled into a grin, Caitlin quickly shook her head, her red curls bouncing slightly. "Abel just missed her. Besides..", she looked down at her boyfriend sultry, running her fingers through his blonde strands before placing her hand on the back of his neck. With a hum, she brushed her lips against his. "This way we'll have more time for..other things when he wants to stay over at Erin's."

"Mhm..when you look at it that way, it sounds a lot better", Jax croaked with a grin of his own before he captured Caitlin's soft, cherry coloured lips and rubbed his hand up and down her thigh, drawing a contented sigh from her.

Caitlin's breath hitched in her throat as his fingers slipped under the hem of her yellow dress, teasing her by digging his fingertips deep into her flesh while his tongue brushed against hers, making her whimper.

"Stop, not here", the redhead almost whined as she could clearly feel the heat between her legs, quickly crossing one over the other. "You know we still have a few hours before we can enjoy this."

"Right", Jax nodded with his signature smile, not even thinking about removing his hand. Instead, he squeezed her thigh demandingly, a deep chuckle rattling through his throat as Caitlin bit her bottom lip as she shifted on his lap. "Patience, darlin'. You'll get what you want later."

"Uh huh..", she muttered with a frustrated groan and let her forehead fall against his, discreetly rubbing her now crossed legs together. "Why isn't that hard for you, huh?"

"Who said it isn't?" Jax let out a soft snort before his fingertips dug deeper into her flesh, his grip on her waist also tightening. "Be good for me and stop that, okay? I wanna see you squirm until we get home."

Caitlin, her eyes now wide, a mix of shock and anticipation but also lust flashing in them. That's why she just scoffed at his words. "A little sadistic to wanna see me suffer, don't you think?

"Now you're exaggerating, babe", Jax' laugh brushed her lips as he finally removed his hand from her thigh, pinching her chin between his thumb and forefinger so he could pull her into a gentle kiss, sighing contentedly afterwards. "You always taste so good."

"I see, you really wanna make it hard hard for me", the redhead grumbled with a slight pout. However, the corners of her mouth lifted into a smile when she heard another one of Jax' laugh. "I still love you though."

"I hope so", Jax replied, feigning hurt, grinning up at her as her face hovered slightly above his, her red strands falling into her face. He gently tucked a few of them behind her ear, his expression sincere. "You have no idea how much I love you, babe. And I'm still grateful that you chose to come to Charming with me."

"Awe, so soft for me." Her arm slipped around his neck so she could snuggle up closer, the sun warm on her skin as she simply enjoyed the sweet moment between them. "I would make the same decision again and again, baby. Every damn timeᅳ just so we could be together."

He leaned in a little, caressing Caitlin's cheek with the side of his thumb as her words swept away any insecurity that had been left inside him. Searching for her blue eyes, he smiled as he found nothing but pure admiration in them.

"I need to talk to you about something, darlin'. You think Erin can watch Abel for an hour or two tomorrow?" Jax asked, his voice soft as he watched her features closely.

Nervousness settled over Caitlin's features, nodding softly. "I think soᅳ I still need to ask to her though." Her eyebrows furrowed questioningly. "Why? Did something happen?"

"No." Jax placed another kiss on her lips as he smiled at her, the feeling of pure happiness sitting in his chest. "It's about our future. Just wait, okay?"

"Do you have any idea how hard that is?", she asked with a soft whine. Apparently today was the day her patience got tested more than once.

But Jax remained stubborn and didn't tell her what he wanted to talk about for the rest of the afternoon, making a big secret out of it, which didn't exactly ease Caitlin's nervousness.

ᅳ

AS ERIN AND CAITLIN stood together in the kitchen of the Winston house loading the dishwasher, the women, both with satisfied expressions on their faces, watched the scene outside in the garden which they could see from the large window above the sink.

The football flew from one direction to the other, between the players' feet and once even into the neighbor's garden. The old guy just grumbled and shook his head but threw the ball back over the fence. The boys were having a blast, clearly enjoying the fact that they had dads to spend time with, while Elli sat in the grass, a ton of picked daisies spread around her, making flower wreaths.

"You know, you'd really fit in here, in Ope's little family." Caitlin broke the comfortable silence first, smiling softly as she glanced at her sister, noticing the sheepish smile immediately. "I've never seen you like this before. Giggling, red cheeks..in love."

"I'm not!" Erin's head whipped to the side, her eyes wide with a red tinge on her cheeks. "It's just..I don't know..it feelsᅳ"

"Good?" Caitlin asked with a raised eyebrow when Erin couldn't think of a word to describe how she was feeling.

"Yeah..I think so", the brunette breathed out, letting the kitchen towel drop onto the counter as she watched Ope from the window, admiring everything about this man. "It feels pretty good."

"Well, what's the problem then?", the redhead genuinely wanted to know, shooting Jax a giddy smile as he glanced at her through the window and flashed her that perfect smile of his. "You could have the same thing I haveᅳ a family."

"I knowᅳ and that would be nice, really nice", Erin murmured with a soft sigh as she turned her back to the window and leaned against the countertop, her arms crossed over her chest. "But he lost his wife, Caitlin, you don't just forget things like that. What if he never really gets over it and I'm just a bed warmer?"

Caitlin was silent for a moment, watching her sister carefully as her body visibly tensed, her gaze lowered and focused on her sneakers. With a soft hum, Caitlin also leaned against the countertop, her palms resting on the edge.

Then she spoke, her soft voice but laced with determination. "Do you think Ope would make so much effort if that were the case? Would he really let you get so close to his children who are hoping to finally have something like a mother figure in their lives again?"

Caitlin shook her head, nudging Erin's arm. When the brunette looked at her, the younger Peters raised the corner of her mouth. "Besides, as you know yourself by now, there are enough Croweaters in the club that he could use to keep his bed warm."

"As if they could ever fully meet his needs", Erin replied immediately with a snort. "They wouldn't last a week as an Old Lady."

"Shit", Caitlin said through a small laugh, both eyebrows now lifted with an amused glint in her eyes. "You're jealous. Erin Peters, is that you?"

"Oh fuck off, ye' little scut", Erin spat lovingly, her Irish accent coming through thicker. "I'm just saying."

"Fuck off yourself." Feigning hurt, Caitlin smacked her sister's arm with the back of her hand, followed by a small chuckle as Erin rubbed the spot with a pout. "Just admit it; you want him for yourself."

"Oh please, ye' know how much shite they talk all day, tryin' t' get into their pants with cheap tricks", Erin scoffed as she swirled around and studied her sister in silence before letting out a deep sigh. "Okay, maybe yer' right and I'm just jealous", there was another short pause before Erin continued, sucking her teeth. "And I'm scared."

"I knew it. You can't lie to me; I'm still your sister who knows you better than anyone else", the redhead purred proudly before her features softened, her head tilted to the side. "Why are you scared? You know Ope pretty good by now."

"Scared tha' it won't work, I guess?" Despair crossed Erin's hard features, the weight of her unspoken fears resting on her shoulders. "I know I would still have you here, you and Abel. But it would be hella weird living with someone who I really liked but didn't work out in the same townᅳ a small town at that."

"Jesus, I never knew you were this insecure about relationships", the redhead admitted with a sigh, a hint of guilt evident in her blue orbs as she realized she had never really thought about why Erin hadn't been in a serious relationship until now.

With a comforting hand now placed on Erin's upper arm, a gentle look in her eyes, Caitlin shot her sister a smile. "Talk to him, and be completely honest, Erin. I think Ope is someone you can talk to about this kind of things."

A soft groan escaped Erin's throat as she threw her head back, slightly overwhelmed. "What if he thinks I'm a pussy? Insecure and scared?"

"And why would he think that?" Caitlin asked, shaking her head slowly. "You're worse than me when it comes to overthinking things. Fuckin' talk to him, Erin."

Uncertainty flashed in Erin's warm brown eyes as they fell back onto Caitlin. Her little sister suddenly seemed so grown up, so mature, like she was having full control over her lifeᅳ which filled Erin's chest with pride.

The brunette chewed the inside of her cheek thoughtfully. "Ye' really think I should be honest, talk to him?"

"Yes, Erin, I really do think that", Caitlin said with a small smile, now holding both of her sister's arms and pulling her into a hug the next moment. Sighing, she inhaled the sweet scent of Erin's shampoo. "Everything will work out, I just know it. Everyone can see that you both want more, but that neither of you really dares to take the first big step."

Caitlin smiled to herself as Erin's arms wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her even closer. "Then maybe I should finally make t' first big step, huh?"

"That's the answer I wanted to hear", Caitlin chirped happily as she pulled back from the hug. "Are you feeling a little better?"

"A little, yes", Erin assured after exhaling loudly. Nodding slightly, she looked at Caitlin wistfully again. "When did you grow up so much?"

"I have been for a long time, you just never wanted to see it", the redhead winked lovingly before resting her hands on her hips. "Oh, by the way, do you have an hour or two tomorrow to watch Abel? If not I can always ask Gemma", she asked, now she was the nervous one in the room. "Jax wants to talk to me...", Caitlin added in a murmur.

"Oh?" Erin's curiosity was aroused. But she had a good feeling about the conversation, even if she couldn't tell exactly why. Again, as she was used to, it was now her job to calm her nervous sister down. "Hey, maybe he just wants t' discuss something completely inconspicuous with ye'. But yeah, I could pick up Abel from you after my shift tomorrow, is tha' okay or too late?"

Since Caitlin's shift started earlier tomorrow, at five in the morning to be exact, and Erin's didn't start until around ten in the morning, Caitlin was of course also off earlier. Unfortunately, the sisters weren't always scheduled for the same shift, but that was perfectly fine for both of themᅳ they weren't so clingy that they had to spend every minute together.

"He just said that it's about our futureᅳ that gives me every reason to be nervous", Caitlin chuckled nervously, shaking her head as she raised her arms in the air. "But you're probably right and I'm exaggerating. It seems we both have a talent for getting nervous way too fast, huh?"

The brunette snorted an amused laugh, the warming sound rattling through her throat as she nodded. "Why the hell are we such pussies? We need t' get tougher again."

"I guess that's what happens when you love someone, you just don't want to lose them. It sucks, even hurts sometimesᅳ but isn't love still a really, really nice feeling?" Caitlin asked with a lovestruck smile, sighing softly as she thought about her words again. "Shit, that was cheesy."

"Yeah, let's just forget that", Erin taunted with a chuckle and followed an eye-rolling, smirking Caitlin back outside to keep Elli company and make flower wreaths with her while the boys finished their soccer game.

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