The tips of her fingers ghosted over Happy's chest as she traced his tattoos that she loved so much. In her eyes, his body was pure art. She had always loved tattoos and wanted many of them herself, which would have to wait until she would make more money again. With her current job in a bar she only made enough money to pay half the rent and some groceries.

Once again it was in the middle of the night as they lay awake next to each other enjoying each others company while the rain pattered softly against the window panes, which calmed Cassie down further. Warm weather and the sun shining had been always something she loved and preferred over the rainy and cold weather here in Washington, yet summer rain had something peaceful⸺ especially at night.

“What did James wanted to talk about with all of you guys before?” She finally asked the question that had been nagging on her tongue since hours.

Happy's fingers, which had just been drawing circles on her upper arm, were now simply resting on her arm as he let out a sigh. He knew that she knew exactly not to ask questions about club business⸺ James always tried to keep her away from it as much as possible. But in this case Happy understood why she asked.

“He asked for a transfer to Charming. We need to make sure that anything that could lead back to Benny gets handled. Which includes a conversation with your mother”, that was all he could tell her but he was sure she was smart enough to figure out the rest.

“Wait, why did he ask for a transfer then? This won't take any longer than a few weeks.” Confused, the dark haired woman sat up a bit, supporting herself on her elbow before she raised a eyebrow at him. “A conversation, huh? I'm not stupid, Happy.”

Cassie knew the life well enough to know they wouldn't just have a nice chat with her mother. That bitch would be dead the moment James laid his eyes on her and Cassie feared that he wouldn't mind killing his own mother at all. Part of her understood. The way she treated their little brother, practically letting him starve, forcing him to make money no matter how and accepting her shitty boyfriend to abuse Benny was something that Cassie wanted her dead for. Yet, she wasn't sure if she'd be able to pull the trigger if she had the chance to. Probably yes, but the guilt would eat her up afterwards.

“He asked for transfer because he wants Benny to go back to his old school near Charming, which he recently dropped out of. James wants him to graduate there since it's a pretty good school. But first he has to get custody of him, which is only possible if he also lives in the area”, Happy explained, his eyes searching for hers only to spot a pool of emotions in them.

“But⸺ that means my whole family will be in Cali while I'm still here”, her words were barely more than a whisper, yet Happy could clearly hear the irritation in them.

“He won't leave you behind, Cassie.” Now Happy sat up, too, staring into her piercing blue eyes, a somewhat weird feeling in his stomach as he did so. Was it a..tingle? No, that just wasn't possible. He shook the feeling off and focused on their conversation again.

“Who said I want to move?”, she asked with a huff.

“What do you have left here when your brothers, Kayla and Lily are in Cali?”, he inquired. Somehow, his question seemed to piss her off even more.

“Well, a lot”, she replied sharply, throwing the blanket away so she could get out of Happy's bed. “Besides, Kayla doesn't want me around her family anyway.”

She slipped into her underwear after picking it up off the floor and ran a hand through her dark hair with a sigh. She couldn't explain why she felt so attacked. It was probably because she knew very well that Happy was right. What else did she have in Tacoma without her family? Her job she loved was gone, she had no real friends except a few acquaintances from parties. The darkhaired suddenly felt useless, which was an absolute shitty feeling.

“I thought you and Kayla were close?”, he asked, frowning. With a grunt, he got up to slip back into his boxers whereupon he gently pushed Cassie towards the kitchen and got two beers out of the fridge for them.

“Sit”, he demanded. He himself leaned against the kitchen counter and watched every step Cassie made. When she sat down with a low grunt, he uttered a thanks. “What's the problem with Kayla?”

“She told me in the morning that if she had a say in all of this she wouldn't let me near Lily anymore. In her eyes I'm nothing more than an addict.” Cassie snorted a humourless laugh, scratching her eyebrow. “I really have no idea how my life had gone down the wrong track so quickly. But I do know that I'm not an addict and definitely not a danger to my niece. And neither is Benny.”

Happy couldn't help but think about Jax' wife.  What Cassie was telling him sounded like she was describing Tara and even though he wasn't here often anymore, he still knew Kayla from back then and knew how close Cassie and her were once. He honestly never thought Kayla would ever say shit like that to her sister in law.

“That's bullshit”, he huffed. Now he was the one being all irritated. Maybe Cassie wasn't quite herself at the moment and a little lost, he saw that the moment she stepped into the apartment the day he came here. But smoking weed didn't make anyone an addict. “Does James know about this?”

“No, I'm not a snitch”, she let out a sigh and slightly shrugged her shoulders. “They're struggling already. If I tell him about that conversation they'll just have another fight. That's not what I want.”

“He needs to know before shit escalates between you and Kayla.” He knew how dirty women could fight. They weren't like men who had a quick fight and everything was forgotten afterwards. When women were angry with each other, it quickly led to intrigues and other dangerous things. And he absolutely didn't want Cassie to get hurt.

“It won't, Happy”, she rolled her eyes before taking a sip of the beer. After she sat down the bottle again, she stared at it apathetically. “I'll just keep my mouth shut and stay here. Maybe she's not so wrong though. I'm not the best influence for Lily nor my little brother.”

“What happened to you, little girl?”, he wanted to know. “You never gave up, always fought for the things you love. What changed?”

His question took her off guard and she had to think about it for a moment. To be honest, she had no idea what had changed, which frustrated her even more. She couldn't find a solution until she knew what was causing the lack of confidence.

“I don't know”, she admitted honestly, her gaze slowly wandered to him. “I guess I'm just tired. Tired from life. Nothing seems to work the way I want it to work anymore. Losing my job really put me on a downward spiral.”

Happy nodded briefly as he remembered how happy she was after she passed her exam and was able to work as a nurse. He also remembered the proud look in James' eyes as he could see what she had achieved at the age of twenty one. Watching his sister become a nurse at the local hospital was something he always bragged about⸺ but not in an overbearing and annoying way, he was just so proud and everyone around him was happy for him. Most of the guys in the club watched the siblings grow up, of course they were proud, too.

“I remember how proud James was. Also proud of himself because he knew that it was also his merit that you made it this far”, Happy smirked slightly, earning a soft chuckle from her.

“Yeah, on the day I passed my exam, he not only celebrated me but also himself”, she laughed briefly and the corners of her mouth twitched as a nostalgic smile formed on her face. “That's why I don't wanna tell him about Kayla, you know? He did so much for me in the last ten years. I don't wanna be the reason for a fight or even possible divorce.”

“But you can't let her push you out”, he said firmly, the grip around his bottle tightening. “I want you in Charming, Cassie. With me and your brothers.”

She slowly raised her head, skepticism in her eyes. “Why would you want me in Charming?”

Really, she had no idea. There was nothing too interesting or special about her. She was just a good listener, that's all. So, why would he need or want her in Cali?

“Because I miss having you around”, he shrugged slightly before heaving a sigh. Maybe it was time to tell her the truth about why he was here in the first place. “And because I'm worried about you.”

If she wasn't already confused enough, she was now. “Happy, just fuckin' spill it, you're not making any sense. Why would you be worried about me?”

“James called a few weeks ago and asked if I could come up, talk to you. He feels like he's not coming through you anymore so he was hoping I could. He's worried about the heavy weed use”, Happy explained, his eyes never leaving hers. Again he saw so many mixed emotions in her blue orbs but he couldn't exactly tell what she felt.

“Oh, perfect.” Cassie blew a strand of hair out of her face after lowering her head again. Now her brother thought she was an addict, too. “Why is everyone so involved trying to find out what I do in my spare time? I'm twenty five, not twelve.”

“He's just worried”, Happy grunted and took a seat on the chair across from her, having a hard time not to stare at her half naked, perfectly shaped body.

“There's nothing to worry about”, she retorted quickly.

“You sure about that, little girl?”, he raised a brow.

“Yes, I'm sure about that. Can y'all just let me smoke my weed in peace from now on?” The sass in her tone drove him nuts and if it would be anyone else talking to him in that tone he'd flip. But not with her.

“Just promise me not to drive while being high, okay?” The worry in his tone overrode the slight annoyance and Cassie couldn't help but feel bad for letting her mood swings out on him.

“I won't, I promise”, she nodded slightly. The darkhaired woman was someone who appreciated it when someone worried about her. “So basically you're here because of me?”

She tried to keep herself from smiling like a fool but somehow she lost all control over her body. The warm feeling that spread in her chest made her nervous, which you could tell by her constantly bouncing leg under the table.

“Yeah. The incident with Benny was coincidence”, he rasped and put a hand on her thigh to keep her bouncing leg still with a gentle yet firm grip.

Cassie sunk her teeth into her bottom lip at his firm grip, imagining what else he could do with those masculine hands. It was weird, but Happy was the only man that managed to turn her on with just a look or the right grip.

A grin crossed his lips as he caught the look in her eyes he knew only too well. Happy knew what an effect he had on her, and she also had that effect on him. If their lives weren't so complicated then they might even have a chance as a couple.

“We're not leaving you behind, Cassie. Pack your shit and get out of that depressive town. We got St. Thomas, the local hospital, and a small private clinic. I'm sure a nurse is needed somewhere”, he told her and, while he didn't know for sure, a hospital certainly wouldn't say no to another nurse. There was always a shortage of workers.

“I need to think about it first, okay? I'm not sure yet if I want to leave Tacoma”, she told him with a sigh, noticing the immediate disappoinment in his look, yet he nodded slightly. The only reason she would leave her hometown was Happy, her niece and her brothers. A life without them was unimaginable, yet it was a big step.