Sins of the Father

Chapter Eight

By the end of lunch with her mom, Mercy was close to tears. To everyone they knew, Mercy and Teagan Nelson were a close, loving mother and daughter. Most of the time, that was true. Then there were days like today when Teagan would get into one of her 'funny' moods. These funny moods were likely to occur after any little mention of Mercy's father. It was like during those moods, Teagan suddenly remembered who Mercy shared half of her DNA with and decided to temporarily hate the ground Mercy walked on. After Teagan's second comment about her weight, Mercy had had enough and asked to be dropped off at the diner. At least Austin didn't care what she looked like, and she already had plans to meet Happy there for their date later.

Austin knew what was up the second he saw her face. "Evil mommy came out to play?" He put down the tray he had just served table four with and gave her a sympathetic smile. He never stopped moving. He was the only one working, and it was the end of the lunch rush.

"Yeah. Happy birthday to me." Mercy sat at the counter and pouted. "What do you know about Happy?"

Austin chuckled as he went about putting together a tray full of BLT sandwiches. "I know he's a bald biker who has a thing for you. You know I leave the gossip to you and your mom. Why?"

Mercy shook her head just as her pager went off in her purse. "Just something my mom said." The number on her pager, Mercy had learned the night before, was the phone number of the Sons of Anarchy clubhouse on the outskirts of the city. "I'm gonna go and use the phone in the office."

Austin rolled his eyes as he picked his tray back up to make a delivery. "Don't tell Happy I said hi," he replied sarcastically. "You should really invest in a cell phone, kiddo."

***

Happy was quick to answer when Mercy called. "Happy birthday, baby."

"Thanks, Hap." Mercy tried to keep her voice upbeat but, apparently, she failed miserably.

"What's the matter, little girl?" There was an edge to Happy's tone that had not been there before. He really was worried about her.

"Just not getting along with my mom today, no big deal," she assured him. "I'm hanging out with Austin here at the diner, so I'll be fine."

"You're not hanging out at work on your damn birthday, woman." Happy said in disapproval. "I'll be there to get you in twenty minutes."