THE LARGE, ROUND LENSES of the sunglasses covered Randi's eyes, her elbows pushed back and resting on the wooden surface of the picnic table as she sought some shade under the canopy. A few of her hairs stuck to her neck while the rest fell straight down her back, the heat almost unbearable.

Last night sat still deep in her bones, the alcohol not quite evaporated yet. After a quickie with Happy in his room after they had thrown Julia out, they had gone back to the party that went on until the early hours of the morning.

Her body was definitely no longer used to partying like that and yet she had enjoyed every minute of it, no matter how much she regretted it right now.

While the guys, including Happy, were already out and doing whatever, she had barely managed to roll out of bed and take a shower earlier. Accordingly, her outfit was relatively simple. Short, black denim hot pants with fringes, her combat boots and a black crop top. More than enough in this heat.

The soft sounds of the workshop were almost soothing as Randi tilted her head back and stretched out her feet, trying not to fall asleep right where she sat. With her mind still foggy from all the booze, she didn't notice much else around her.

Not even when her aunt came up to her, the biggest grin on the woman's lips. Randi only noticed when she was startled as Anne nudged her niece's foot with the tip of her own cowboy boot. "Hey sweetie, missed me?"

Randi jumped up from her seat and tore the sunglasses from her eyes, her arms quickly wrapping around the neck of the woman who still looked no older than thirty-five. "Of course I missed you! Especially last night."

"Yeah, sorry about that, baby", Anne murmured into the crook of Randi's neck, which was covered by her long, brown hair, pulling the girl closer. "I can't believe I'll finally be seeing you here more often again."

Randi lingered in her aunt's arms for a moment before pulling away, smiling widely as she rubbed her hands together. "It was the right decision. And to be honest, I'm glad to be back."

Anne gently led her back to the bench where the women sat down, each swinging a leg over either side so they could face each other. Anne's bag landed on the table with a soft thud, a pack of cigarettes already in her hand.

With her teeth, Anne pulled a cancer stick out of the box and offered her niece one as well, shrugging her shoulders when Randi declined with a shake of her head. "So you stuck it out and really quit smoking? Good for you, baby. But tell me, are you sure you wanna give up your dream?"

"As a dancer, I needed the endurance, and my lungs tooᅳ so I didn't really have much of a choice", Randi explained with a small chuckle, resting her forearm on the tabletop, eyeing her aunt. "No, of course not, I loved my job. But I realized that I love Happy more; much more. He's worth giving up my dream."

"He really robbed you of all your senses, didn't he?" Anne asked, placing the cigarette between her lips. Holding the stick between her teeth, she lit it, dipping her head to the side as she blew out the first cloud of smoke. Sideways so that nothing got in Randi's face. "It must be nice to have found someone you love so much that everything else takes a back seat. You have no idea how happy I am that you found someone like him."

"Thanks Anne, I'm a pretty lucky girl." Randi smiled sheepishly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "It would just be nice if I had the same opportunities in Charming, you know? At the moment I don't really know what to do. What kind of job should I get? I've never done anything other than dance."

Anne's eyebrows furrowed thoughtfully, taking another drag from her cigarette before pointing to the office behind her, the embers of her cigarette glowing red between her fingers. "You could work in the office, splitting the work with your mom until you find something else."

"Hell no", Randi snorted, her answer coming quickly; almost too quickly. "Don't get me wrong, I love my momᅳ but I sure as shit won't work with her."

"Yeah, right, that's calling for fights and possible manslaughter in the first three days", Anne taunted with a grin, earning a laugh from Randi in return. "Okay, but you could also just stay home for now. I mean, you've probably made enough money to get by for a few weeks, right?"

"Yeah, sure. If I wanted to, it would last for months. But I wanna go to work", the brunette said with a casual shrug, her gaze following the cigarette, which landed on the floor and then under Anne's cowboy boots. "But I told my boss that he can have my last two paychecks for quitting so spontaneously."

"Jesus Christ, are you stupid?" With a scowl, Anne shoved her niece's shoulder, shaking her head in horror. "That's your hard-earned money, sweetheart, not his. Is it a shitty situation for him? Probably. But not your problem."

"Hey!" Matching her aunt's scowl, Randi rubbed her shoulder, followed by a frustrated sigh. "He's pissed, Anne, extremelyᅳ and he has every right to be. I knew how important my classes and the income were for the studio."

"Okay, yeah, maybe not your best idea to just quit and leave. Still, you have a right to decide what you want for yourself", the older brunette argued stubbornly. "You keep your money, you hear me? Or do I have to talk to your father?"

"Jesus, no", Randi muttered under her breath. "Stop threatening me with my Dad, he'll humiliate the poor guy."

An almost amused laugh fell from Anne's lips, her arm lazily resting on the table. "Poor guy? I don't think so, baby. I don't know him, but a good boss would never expect a former employee to give her hard-earned money back to him."

Something about Anne's words was true and Randi knew it. Still, she understood why Steven was so pissed, after all, he was afraid of losing everything he had built all by himself over a decade ago. And somehow Randi felt responsible for supporting him after he had given her the chance to get this far in her career.

"It doesn't matter. He'll get the money and I'll try to find someone who can take over my classesᅳ then I don't have to feel bad anymore and be done with it", she said firmly, closing the subject with that statement. "Wanna go to town with Mom, Tara and me later? I need to buy some stuff before I get mine from Seattle next week."

Anne narrowed her eyes, not a fan of Randi's decision. But the young woman was just as stubborn as she and the rest of their family; so she let it go, and probably had no choice but to accept the decision.

Her grin found its way back to her face, her hair sliding off her shoulder as she nodded eagerly. "Sounds like a plan, I'm in. Where are you going to live for now? With your parents, Jax and Tara? Or are you going to move back in with Happy?"

Randi's cheeks turned a shade of red, a smile dancing on her lips. "With Happy. He didn't really give me a choice and insisted that I come back home."

Anne hummed contentedly, patting Randi's tanned thigh. "That's good, baby, that's where you belong."

"Yeah, I know that now too", Randi nodded confidently, her tone filled with the same energy.

She would never make the mistake of leaving Happy again, no matter what opportunities presented themselves. Her career was important, but a life with Happy was much more important and all she wanted.

ᅳ

TARA LOOKED OVER at Randi when she heard her friend's phone ring again. Watching Randi turn the sound off in annoyance and stare at the screen, clearly feeling uncomfortable, while scrolling up with her thumb, the doctor got a weird feeling.

Making sure Gemma and Anne couldn't eavesdrop, the two women out of earshot as they rummaged through racks of clothes, Tara put a pair of pants down and cleared her throat to get Randi's attention.

"Who keeps texting you?", she asked cautiously, nodding at the phone. "It's definitely not Happy, otherwise you'd have a different look on your face."

Randi hesitated, passing her phone from one hand to the other before clicking her tongue. "My boss, he..he just makes sure to let me know how pissed he really is."

Tara furrowed her brows, lowering her voice slightly as people passed them. "What do you mean? Is he threatening you?"

"No, not reallyᅳ I think", the brunette answered uncertainly, handing the phone to her friend. "Read yourself, I can't really tell what he wants from me."

Tara reached out to take the phone, her eyes on the screen as she scrolled through the clearly unsettling messages.

Steven; You should've stayed where you came from. A small town with nothing to offer, maybe marry a farmer.

Steven; You were never good enough to make it to the top, I just let you believe it because you were sweet.

Shaking her head, Tara snorted bitterly before reading the next three messages, clearly feeling Randi's nervous gaze on her. Her friend knew exactly that those messages were hidden threats.

Steven; You weren't worth putting so much work into. Should've never trusted you.

Steven; That night we spent together, fucking like there's no tomorrow, remember? Bet you don't, that was probably just a way to sleep your way up. Greedy slut.

Steven; But I kept something of you, of us. You're going to regret letting me down, Miranda.

"Jesus Randi." Tara's eyes shot up, staring at her friend. A shaky breath slipped past her lips, the woman visibly worried as she held up the phone. "Those are threats! No matter how pissed someone is, that's going too far."

Randi waved it off, gently snatching her phone from Tara's hand, swallowing nervously. "I bet he just got drunk out of frustration and then wrote that shit. Not much time passed between the messages."

"Stop defending his behavior", Tara hissed as she desperately grabbed Randi's arm, only concerned for her sister-in-law. "This isn't a joke anymore, Randiᅳ the guy wants to hurt you because his ego is bruised. You know how dangerous men like that are."

Randi sighed as she watched Tara's features harden, hearing the woman swallow. With sympathy in her brown orbs, the Morrow woman placed her free hand against Tara's wrist. "I know you're talking about Kohn, but Steven isn't a sociopathic stalker or in love with me. He's just angry."

Tara swallowed again, the blood in her veins freezing as she thought back to the time with Josh, how he had treated her. She didn't want that for Randi. "It doesn't always need love to be obsessed with someone. You're underestimating this whole thing."

"Okay, you're not wrong", Randi agreed with her sister-in-law, trying to convince herself that everything was fine with her next words. "But what do you think he's gonna do, Tara? He's in Seattle, I'm here in Charming."

"That's not really an obstacle", the doctor murmured, straightening her shoulders uncomfortably. "Besides, you're in Seattle next week."

"Yeah, and Happy will be there, too", Randi shot back quickly, trying to calm Tara's nerves down a little. "I'm not stupid, Tara, I'm smart enough to not going to meet him alone. And I'm pretty sure Steven won't dare say a bad word about me as long as Happy is with me."

"I still don't like this." Exhaling loudly, Tara ran a hand through her hair, scrutinizing Randi sternly. "Does Happy know about the messages?"

Randi shifted on her feet, looking around nervously as if she could avoid the question by that. But Tara's grip on her arm became more assertive, full of concern.

"Randiᅳ"

"No, he doesn't know yet", Randi cut her off with a sigh, awkwardly scratching the side of her forehead. "Things are going really well right now, and I don't want to cause trouble again. Besides, he'd probably kick Steven's ass for it."

"As he should!" It was rare that Tara supported violence, but she also knew by now that it was a part of her life with a son. "Better that way before Steven really comes up with stupid ideas. Talk to Happy, please."

As stubborn as Randi was, her eyebrows furrowed in thought, she let out a deep sigh as Tara slowly let go of her arm. "Okay, fine, I'll talk to him. But not until tomorrow, I just wanna enjoy dinner with him later. After the long night yesterday, I need some peace."

"Fine, tomorrowᅳ or I'll talk to him", Tara warned softly, even though she didn't like going against her friend; Randi's safety was important to her.

"Tara!" Randi shot the brunette a nasty look, but the doctor ignored it with a hum and grabbed the pants from before to go to the checkout.

"Bitch", Randi muttered under her breath, without really meaning it in a rude way.

She loved Tara, especially for her determination and willpower, but sometimes she wanted to wring her neck. A small smile crept onto her lips, knowing that the women could always rely on each other and that Tara was basically just worried.

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