Haven [Sons of Anarchy]

Chapter Two

Hanna pulled on her riding boots, leaning against the wall to keep her balance. She stumbled a little when she caught sight of the person outside. A single motorcycle was parked in the driveway. Juice took off his helmet and glanced around.

She hurried to put on her other boot, and gave her ponytail a last tug before heading toward the steps. Hanna paused momentarily to tap the paint swatches by the door. Her room was still a disaster, half full of boxes from her teenage years, and half full of luggage she'd yet to unpack. She still couldn't commit to a new paint color. Part of her thought that if she did, it would imply that she intended to come back.

Hanna groaned and stepped into the hallway. She took the steps two at a time, stopping in the foyer at the bottom. Her stepmother had already intercepted Juice at the door. Karen looked between Hanna and the biker, shoulders tense and eyes a little wide. But she was a lady, and she maintained her composure.

"I didn't realize you were coming by," Hanna said, ignoring her stepmother altogether.

His eyes flicked toward Karen, and then back to Hanna. "I was in the neighborhood." Karen scoffed. Even Hanna had to admit it was a terrible excuse.

"Thanks for letting him in," Hanna said to Karen, dismissing her with a wave of her hand. Her stepmother shot her a look, but disappeared down the hall nonetheless. Hanna smirked at Juice. "You just couldn't stay away?"

He looked at her for a moment before shaking his head. "Do you want to go for a ride?"

Hanna glanced out the window at his bike. Memories of flying down back roads, half-drunk in the middle of the night, flashed through her mind as if it were yesterday. "Yes, but not on that." She motioned for him to follow her down the hallway.

On the way outside, they passed Elliot's study. The door was cracked open, and the sound of Karen's ranting spilled out into the hallway. "She may be your daughter, but I won't have her bringing trash into my daughter's life." The corner of Hanna's lips quirked up in a smirk.

Hanna pushed open the back door and stepped outside. She headed toward the barn, where her appaloosa was tied up and waiting. "That's a horse," Juice said, staring.

"Congratulations, you passed zoology." She laughed quietly. "Do you ride?" He shook his head once, still looking at the horse as if it was going to eat him. She brushed through the horse's mane with her fingers. "Do you want to learn?"

Hanna coached him into grabbing a saddle, and walked him through the steps to making sure it was firmly in place. "There's no such thing as too tight, at least not if you have the right saddle."

"Is this the right saddle?" He asked, frowning.

Hanna laughed quietly and checked the straps. "You'll have to trust me."

She helped him get into the saddle, and then led him around for a while, letting him get used to it. Eventually she turned him loose, and talked him through how to make the horse listen. "You're a natural."

"I am terrified," he whispered, as if talking at a normal volume would send the horse into a fit of rage.

"You're a badass biker, but you're scared of a horse?" She shook her head, with a smile on her face. "I guess we'll save the trail ride for next time. I don't want you to have a heart attack."

He shook his head. "Next time I'm going to teach you how to ride my bike."

Hanna shrugged her shoulders. "Okay, I can live with that."

Tristen walked over and pulled herself up onto the rail. Hanna joined her, leaving Juice in the middle of the ring alone. "Mom is freaking out," Tristen told her. "I've never seen her this pissed."