After two more days in Seattle and a few more painting stuff in the trunk, Happy and Sage stopped by Happy's mom before heading back to Charming. The redhead already knew her Old Man's mother and always found it nice when they found time to visit Maria. And Happy's aunt was also someone nice to talk to.

Since Maria was often unable to visit Happy because of the pain the MS caused, the two of them drove to Bakersfield more oftenᅳ which wasn't as far away as Phoenix, where Sage's mom lived.

Even though Sage wasn't used to seeing Breanna, her mom, often, she still missed sometimes just being able to talk to her in person. It would be really helpful, especially now during her pregnancy. After all, Breanna had three kids herself.

Of course, Sage could always ask Gemma for advice, after all the matriarch had experience. Still, it wasn't the same and it would be nice if Breanna could be a little more involved in the pregnancy.

"What's on your mind, little girl?" Happy's deep, gravelly voice ripped her out of her thoughts and stopped her from staring out the window.

"Hm?", she asked, only then, after a short delay, did his question reach her. She smiled softly. "I was just thinking about what it would be like if my mom lived closer to us. Especially now that I'm pregnant."

Happy nodded curtly after stopping at a red light, placing a hand on her leg. He still wasn't keen on driving in a cage, but today it was a lot more practical as they were on their way to a baby store.

The trunk would definitely be full afterwards if they really wanted to buy everything that was on the list that Sage and Gemma had written last night.

"We can visit her if you want", he suggested after a moment of thinking, his gaze wandering towards her. "I know it's not the same, but at least it's something."

"No, that's a good idea", she agreed immediately as she slipped her hand into his. "But you can't be away from the club all the time. Because of me, you're gone a few days every month for doctor's appointments anyway."

"And?" He raised a brow before squeezing her hand. "The doctor is good and that's worth driving the same route every month. And the guys understand that."

"Luckily, otherwise it would be really stressful", she murmured.

The fact that everyone at the club offered their support and was understanding of Happy's absence each month was not something Sage wanted to take for granted and she was grateful for all the help. "But it would be nice if we could actually visit my mom."

Happy's gaze was back on the road as the light turned green. "Do you have a good relationship with your mom?"

"Yes, we're pretty close. Even though she was the strict one, we always got along well", she said with a smile as a feeling of nostalgia arose. "It's just kinda annoying that she moved back to Arizona right after the divorce."

"But you lived with her, right?" Happy asked, only now realizing how little he actually knew about this topicᅳ which bothered him. He should know more about his Old Lady's past.

"Yeah, we did. Dad wanted to keep us, but he knew we'd have more structure with mom. So he gave in." She shrugged slightly, brushing some strands of hair out of her face to tug it behind her ear. "But he visited regularly or picked us up and took us to Charming for a few days. We were also always with him during the holidays."

"Sounds like Tig and your ma had it pretty well under control", the SAA said.

Shortly afterwards he turned into the large parking lot and looked for a parking space directly in front of the store. "Does she know about the problems between you and Fawn?"

"They did, which really surprised us kids. The two of them used to argue constantly, but after the divorce they started communicating normally with each other", she chuckled. Sometimes relationships were weird and she was glad that her and Happy's relationship wasn't as weird.

Before she answered Happy's other question, she slipped out of the car and waited until he got out too. With his arm loosely around her shoulder, she walked with him inside the store, which looked bigger than expected on the inside.

"Wow, this is a paradise for pregnant women and parents", she said with a grin as she found the first item she liked at the entrance. With bright eyes, she reached for a purple onesie with a bunny on it. "Look, isn't that cute?"

Even though Happy found it amusing at the moment how excited Sage was, he already suspected that they would leave here with more things than planned. "Take it if you like it."

"Really?", she asked excitedly. As Happy nodded, the onesie ended up in the basket that she grabbed while walking. "To your question; yes, she knows about the tension between Fawn and me and she doesn't like it. Unlike Dad, she's still trying to play peacemaker."

"You don't sound thrilled about that", he pointed out when he heard her sigh deeply. "It's none of her business, and after what Fawn did she should understand."

"I know, and she does", Sage paused for a moment, her lips drawn into a thin line. "But she just wants all her kids to get along. Which won't happen, not in this life."

"Which is okay", Happy grunted from the side as he headed towards the strollers. A certain one immediately caught his eye. "I think you might like this one."

He knew Sage's tastes by now. No one probably thought he would pay attention to such things, but he did. And the stroller, which wasn't too modern and had something timeless about it, could correspond to his Old Lady's ideas.

Sage's eyes lit up when she spotted the stroller. She carefully ran her fingers over the light, olive green material. "I love it! It looks so elegant and yet sporty. Do you think it's a good one? It's even on sale!"

She didn't know anything about strollers, and Happy probably didn't either. But maybe there was some way to test whether a stroller was good or not. But she definitely wanted something that wouldn't fall apart after two months. "Oh wait, there's a salesman!"

While Sage went to get the guy, Happy pulled out the stroller and examined it closely. Just like Sage, he wanted the best for his kid and wouldn't compromise on that. Nevertheless, he hoped that he wouldn't lose too much money here todayᅳ after all, they might soon need money for a house too.

ᚔ

Almost two hours later, Happy was putting the things they bought in the car. Sage's SUV had enough storage space, but even that was running out. The stroller and few bags of clothes, diapers and bottles took up the entire trunk. The boxes containing the baby bed and a changing table took over the back seat. A bathtub for the baby and a high chair would get delivered in a few days.

As expected, they got more things from the store and Happy's wallet was a lot lighter now. However, now they had everything they needed and had to worry about one thing less. He grunted at Sage's offer to pay and didn't even give her a chance to pull out her wallet.

His ego was too big to let his woman pay. And thanks to the deal that Jax had made with Nero and was now co-owner of Diosa's, the club was making good, even legit moneyᅳ which he could put to good use at the moment. The SAA also earned some extra money from other jobs, just like he had done years ago to finance his mom's medication.

"Holy crap, we bought a lot", Sage commented as she watched the car fill up. Happy had literally forbidden her from carrying anything, so she had no choice but to stand by. "We probably should've slowed down."

The concern written all over her face immediately got Happy's attention. "I told you not to worry."

"But we can't spend that much money." A sigh fell from her red lips as she crossed her arms. "Well, we can at the moment, but we should really be careful. After all, we might have to buy furniture and everything soon."

After Happy decided to sell his furniture along with his house, they actually had to get every single piece new. At least they already had everything for the nurseryᅳ and that was the most important thing.

Happy closed the trunk and wiped his nose with the back of his hand before grabbing Sage's wrist, pulling the redhead towards him.

"Do I have to repeat myself, little girl?", he rasped as he looked into her beautiful green eyes. "We're fine. I'm making enough money right now, stop worrying."

"And you know I don't like that", she expressed with the slightest pout.

Her worries had gone over her head when Happy told her a few weeks ago that he was taking on jobs on the side. She knew what kind of jobs these were. Something like that was never safe and always dangerous, even for someone with as much experience as Happy. But she knew she couldn't change his mind.

"I know. But we need the money." Placing a hand against her cheek, he tucked his thumb under her chin and lifted her head slightly. "You have to trust me, Sage."

"I do, Happy", she said quickly, her tone firm as she looked into his eyes.

"Good, because I won't stop making good, quick money for my family." He wouldn't discuss this either. Happy knew what he was doing and all he needed was Sage to trust him.

"I never said you have to", she pointed out with a shrug, placing her hands on his chest. "I just ask you to be careful."

"You know I always am." After placing a kiss on top of her head, he gently squeezed her hip. "Come on, we have the viewing in an hour."

"Yes, I know", she murmured with a sigh before nodding. Getting back in the car with him, they made their way to the house so that they could be there in time.

She left the topic for now and wouldn't tell Happy what he could do and what he couldn't do, he was his own person just like she was. That didn't mean she stopped worrying about it. On the contrary.

ᚔ

Another two hours later Sage's mood had quickly changed again. When the estate agent said goodbye and got into his car, she finally let out a squeal of joy before throwing her arms around Happy's neck, who just let out a chuckle.

"I can't believe we're owning a house soon!" Full of excitement, she gently pushed herself away from him with a huge smile on her freckle-covered face. "We can move in in two weeks, isn't that amazing?"

"I told you not to be nervous", he winked teasingly. With a frown, he looked behind him to study the house again. "It's even bigger than it looked in the photos. We made a good catch."

The exterior walls of the house were painted a delicate terracotta. The curved windows had white frames that matched the garage door perfectly. The driveway had just been rebuilt, you could see that at first glance, and everything inside had also been renovated.

The house was hardly comparable to the one Happy had lived in before. The kitchen was twice as big, as were the living room and bedroom. There was even an attached bathroom in the master bedroom, which was a luxury.

The rest was divided into a guest bathroom, a smaller bathroom with a shower and three more rooms. They would use the largest of them as the nursery, the smaller one for Sage's small home gallery and one room would serve as a guest room.

Basically it was the perfect house that even had a large garden with a pool. For this he was happy to pay whatever price was asked. He even managed to negotiate the price a little more and instead of six-hundred-thousand, they now had to pay fifty thousand less.

"I know, right?" Sage took a look around, taking in the other houses in the quiet neighborhood. This was definitely a good area. "And the neighborhood doesn't seem to be the worst either. Everything here looks so clean", she added, her voice trembling with excitement.

"You need to calm down, woman", Happy rasped in amusement as he led her back to her SUV, his hand resting on her lower back. "Before you lose  it completely you better get in the car."

"Oh please", Sage snickered with an eyeroll. Yet she opened the door to the passenger side and plopped down on the seat.

She surveyed the house contentedly from her seat. All of this still felt so unreal right now, as if she was dreaming. "Everything seems to work out latelyᅳ that's good."

"Is it." Happy leaned against the car, his eyes slightly squinted because of the sun that shone in his face. "Are you happy, Sage?"

At his question, she looked up at him with confused eyes and tilted her head slightly to the side. "Of course I'm happy, Hap. Why shouldn't I be happy?"

"I don’t know", he said with a shrug. "I just want to make sure you're not just doing all this to make things easier for me."

Her silence answered his question and only confirmed his suspicion that she was only doing it for him, although he didn't get to say a word as Sage started to speak.

"It was like that at first, that's no secret", she began, scratching the side of her nose before rubbing small circles around her stomach. "And I miss Seattle, and Fawn. God, sometimes I just want to go back and stay there."

Snorting a nervous laugh, she shook her head and continued. "But I love you, and I appreciate what you do for the baby and meᅳ I really do, Hap."

Every muscle in his body was tense as she looked up at him with her doe eyes, a faint smile on her lips. Everything sounded like there was something else coming that he wouldn't like.

"That sounds like a but", he grumbled, still staring at her.

"No", she shook her head as she reached for his hand and slipped her fingers between his. "No buts. We have found the best solution for now. I don't feel at home yet, but that can change quickly."

"You think so?", he asked as he ran his thumb over the back of her hand.

The redhead nodded eagerly. "I'm sure. When we just looked at the house...I felt really excited and happy. I want to live here, I just have to get used to itᅳ and I still have to get used that I have to be around Fawn. That's all", she announced with a shrug.

"She's kept her mouth shut for the last few months. That's progress", he said, not trying to justify Fawn's previous behavior. That bitch deserved every glare she got from others. "And if she says something fuckin'  inappropriate again, she'll have a problem with me."

"I hate to admit it but yeahᅳ it's progress." A small smile crossed her face. "I think that won't happen. But with Fawn we can never know."

"We'll see", Happy grunted before pushing himself away from the car, walking to the other side before he got in as well. "Let's tell the others about the news first. Then you can show Gemma, Ima and Lyla all the stuff we got."

"Good idea", she said eagerly as she closed her door and sank deeper into the seat, averting her gaze out the window. "We made the right decision with the house, I just know it."

"We did", Happy assured her as he pulled out of the driveway before turning the other way to get to the clubhouse. "You'll see that it won't  take long until you feel at home, baby."

"I know, I don't worry about that", she said honestly. Then she closed her eyes to regain some energy during the twenty minute drive after the enlightening day.

[to make it easier for you to imagine what the house looks like! That's a dream of a house and I'm usually not even a house person.😂]

ᚔ

authors note; next chapter will have a little time jump and then there will be another one, just to give you guys a heads up. By the way, I'm not sure if the house price is realistic for California (so many different answers on Google and homes for sale pages, lol). So please, if you live in California, just let me know if there's something not realistic! 🥰