All the Money in the World

Chapter 29

"I'm so glad the heatwave broke," Katie said quietly. She was hoping not to wake Nathaniel as she and Happy sat with their son on the porch of the cabin.

Happy nodded, watching Charlotte as she played a few feet away with Abel and Thomas. "When'd Jax say he was gonna by back?"

"Soon," she whispered. "DId he tell you what happened with Tara?"

"No," he said casually, not really interested in the Teller's domestic issues. "I dun care, I just wanted out of town, shit was weighing on me."

"I know," she said sympathetically. "Me too. I'm just dying to know what the hell he needed to send us up here for?"

"They don't know where we are they can't take the kids," he assumed. Happy watched as she held the baby tighter. "No one's gonna touch em', any of em', I don't care that CPS worker is a chick, I'll kill her before she even looks at them again."

Katie smiled at him. "Even you promising to commit murder is somehow romantic."

"When I'm not promising to murder you, yeah," he chuckled.

Turning her body toward him she cocked her head to the side and looked at him with a pensive expression. "Have you ever been so mad you wanted to kill me?"

"Yeah," he said flatly with no hesitation. "I couldn't but there was once, or twice, I wanted to."

Katie looked horrified. "Oh."

"I wouldn't," he said quickly. "But I hated you, Kate. Back when you were still working with...him and then after you had Charlotte."

Katie nodded. "I hated you too," she laughed. "I definitely had that "I wanna kill him," thought so I guess I get it."

"Maybe it's different," he shrugged.

"Yeah, cause you uhh, are a killer," she winked at him. "Didn't they call you the Tacoma Killer or some shit? Ya know, back before you were a family man?"

He laughed at that and nodded. "You're making me wanna go prove myself."

"Not necessary, I know who you are, Hap," she said more heartfelt than before. "It's okay."

"Good," he nodded.

Katie smirked, "You're not a loveless monster even if you act like one." Looking away from him as the sound of a Harley hit her ears, Katie hoped Jax would have some answers for them.

"He's a couple minutes away," Happy told her. "You hear everything up here."

"Everything?" She looked at him suggestively.

"We'll find out later," he said, looking up at the increasingly stormy sky. "Go in," he advised. "I'll get them."

Katie headed inside, hearing Happy calling for Charlotte and the boys to get inside before the rain started, and imagined for just a moment that they could be their life. After the gym burnt down any reminisce of her time as a sex worker was gone and she was fine with it, she was fine with being a wife and a mother and an old lady but the potential for horrors didn't end with that.

The kids' tiny feet creaked along the old floorboards back toward the bedrooms while Happy's boots thumped into the cabin. "Jax is here, lucky he didn't get caught in the fucking rain."

"Yeah," she chuckled. When he joined them, his hair dripping with the first few raindrops that caught him moments before, he looked relieved but not nearly as much as they had hoped. "So?"

"Wendy," he grumbled.

Happy sneered but didn't say anything. "What'd she do?"

"Her and Tara got into it, Wendy complained to a friend, that friend decided to help," he summed up the long winded story quickly for them.

"So it's bullshit?" Katie asked happily. "Wait, but why us?"

"The CPS worker thought it would be less obvious if she started with us and claimed it brought attention to the boys."

"So, what are we doing, killing her?"

Jax looked at Happy with a confused expression. "No, man, we're not killing her."

"Why?" Katie asked. "I mean I'm not usually an advocate of murder but the more I think about this the more I want to kill this bitch."

Jax looked at both of them in shock. "No, we're not killing the CPS worker, guys."

"Alright," Happy shrugged. "What are we doing?"

"I don't know," Jax huffed. "I talked to Wendy, she's pretty fucking adamant about seeing Abel," he explained.

Katie felt herself growing more and more bitter over her involvement. "Just tell her she can see him, get her to have the CPS woman back off, then back out."

"You don't know Wendy," Happy chuckled. "She's a nightmare."

"She was a nightmare when she was high," Jax clarified. "She's sober and she's worse now."

"Get Gemma on her," Katie suggested. "Gemma is fucking terrifying, Jax."

"You're scared of my mom?" He looked at her with an amused smile.

"We all are," Happy admitted.

Happy's admission gave Jax an idea. "Maybe you're right."

"Of course I'm right," she laughed.

"Lemme borrow your truck," he said to Katie. "I'm not riding back in this storm but I wanna head out now."

"Take the kids," Happy said quickly. "If this is all smoke that bitch can't take em' away."

Katie looked at Happy and laughed. "Nat is staying, but you can take your three," she said to Jax.

Looking at both of them Jax's nose scrunched up. "Try not to contaminate the whole goddamn place."

"Get your stuff, guys," Katie called back to the kids. "Dad's taking you home."

"Is Tara cool?" Happy asked an only received a quickly whispered negative response. "Sorry, brother."

"She blames herself for this shit," he shrugged.

"Do you blame her?" Katie asked as the kids bolted back into the living room.

Jax nodded, "I know it's bullshit though. I'm mad about what Wendy did, not what Tara said."

Katie nodded, "Charlotte be good, okay?"

"You're not coming?" She said sadly.

"Mommy needs a little quiet time," Katie explained. "I'll be back tomorrow."

"Or the next day," Happy added quickly.

"Hoods up," Katie said as they headed for the door. "Careful driving."

"I'm gonna sleep," Happy said once Jax and the kids left.

"What?" Katie looked at him in horror. "No, no you're not. Tha-"

Happy kissed her, scooping her up into his arms as he did. "I'm fucking with you." On their way to the bedroom, she glanced at Nat as he slept in the Pack n Play, a tiny smile on his face. "See, he's chillin'," Happy assured her.

"I love you, Hap," she giggled. "I never want to go home."

Tossing her gently on the bed, Happy shrugged. "I don't care where we are."

"As long as you're fucking me?"

"Yep," he growled as he dove into bed with her. 

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Vote and comment pretty please! Also, there's another Katie story, Roots Run Deep, that I started so, give that a try! xoxoxo

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