Home | Happy Lowman/OC (Book 1)

fourteen

HAPPY

"You sure this is a good idea?" Kozik asked, reading the ingredients on the back of a pack of peanut M&M's. They were standing in the snack aisle of the convenience store around the corner from the Red Hot, killing time waiting on Lee and Lorca to get back from running SAMTAC errands so Happy could get some paperwork from Lee before they left for California tomorrow.

"The shit you put in your body or the trip to Charming? Because the trip really isn't optional." Happy's numerous diagnosed yet unmedicated issues gave him severe opposition to brightly colored food of any kind.

"Not the trip, dickhead. The people we're bringing to Charming."

Happy sighed and turned to head down the aisle toward the cash register, but Kozik kept talking.

"The clubhouse is gonna be full, man. I just don't know if we thought this through."

"You're the one who invited the blonde."

"Yeah, I know that, but I'm havin' some second thoughts. And her name's Jac. You could try using it once in a while."

The cashier was a young kid with bright blue hair and a piercing through his septum. He said nothing as he started ringing up their gas and Kozik's stockpile of road trip snacks. Happy appreciated his silence.

"Look, the Irish will be dealt with, the Mayans are at peace with SAMCRO. Bowie and Patrick will be down to help as soon as the stuff up north is settled. That'll be two weeks tops. Charming will be safer than it's been in months by the time it's all said and done."

"The problem's not Charming's safety, Hap. It's theirs. You know how the guys can be. Not to mention all the other shit."

Happy knew exactly what Kozik meant. The Sons were his family. Besides his mother and aunt in Bakersfield, they were the only family he had, but Kozik was right to be worried.

The subject of women and the MC wasn't always a pretty one. Crow eaters and sweet butts had it rough, but for the most part, they chose to be where they were. No one was keeping them tied to the club. If they wanted to walk, they could, but you really couldn't deny they got the short end of the stick.

Old ladies were another thing entirely. They got the respect they deserved from both club members and non-patches. They were the glue that held it all together. Anyone messed with a Son's old lady and they'd have hell to pay.

But Victoria and Jac were neither. Happy wasn't even sure they understood the terms. Happy had always referred to Cameron as Victoria's old man and she'd never questioned him, but he wasn't so sure she got the true meaning. How would a clubhouse full of Sons respond to two women who, as far as they were concerned, were a shiny new free for all? The Redwood Originals were different from the Tacoma charter. They were more outspoken, more entitled. They saw something they wanted, they took it regardless of circumstance. Being a member of the mother charter came with a sense of arrogance, Happy had noticed over the years and his many stays with many charters. He recognized just how different they were.

Tacoma didn't have that. Tacoma was a little more rugged with less concern about prizes and their station, or pedestal so to speak. Lee got his hands dirty just as much as his sergeant and he was married to a woman he'd die for. Straying from Beck for a shiny new piece of ass wasn't his style. But Clay and Jackson, not to mention all the rest, he wasn't so sure. Happy had promised Victoria she'd be safe with him. He had to make sure he kept it.

With the gas and snacks paid for, they headed out to their bikes when Happy's phone started to ring. "Yeah?"

"We got the time," Juice's voice came clear across the other line. "Three years. Parole in fourteen months."