Rewind

Chapter 37

"It's not tearing at you," Opie remarked.

"It is," she assured him, "I know when I can let it out. I keep wondering if she's cold or if she's safe and well-fed."

"I wonder if she's alive," he said, "And if she is, if she even wants to be," he added ominously.

"Ope," Gemma inhaled sharply. "I never should have hurt her. I shouldn't have let her leave that morning. I should have protected her."

"If you did it would have been you lying next to Beach in the morgue," Gemma caressed his face maternally. "She's smart. She'll find a way to reach out to us."

Opie wasn't as hopeful and while he kept his darkest fears from Jax and Clay he knew Gemma could handle it. "I don't know. You just said you wonder if she's warm and fed."

"At the worst of times, yes," she admitted, "But she's a Teller. That's gotta mean something."

Nodding sadly, Opie shrugged and let out a little chuckle. "Besides, she's always hungry," he joked to break the tension.

"Tell me about it, little thing ate more than Jax did growing up," she reminisced. "Oh god," she felt the urge to cry overwhelm her. "Ope, I want her back. I'd take it all back to bring her home."

"Gem," Opie sighed, pulling her into a hug. "It's okay. She's okay. He's too obsessed to hurt her and she's too smart to make a move forcing him."

"I hope so," Gemma cried into his chest.

—

"Where are we going?" Macy asked, watching in the rearview as Shane buckled the baby into his car seat.

"Dinner," he said vaguely. "I want you to meet one of my guys and his fiancée. Might be good for you to have a friend up here."

"Since you killed my last one?" She grumbled once he shut the back door and walked around to the driver's side.

"Sound good?" He asked, jumping into the truck.

"Yep," she smiled.

"Good," he slapped his hand on her thigh. "It's gonna be good."

"I know," she looked at him lovingly. "I'm starting to come around."

Shane smiled, leaning over to kiss her cheek, then pulled out of their driveway and off to dinner. The ride was quiet, Shane going on about the operation the Irish had recently set up and the group of guys he had working for him.

"He's not great but I think it's good to keep shit friendly," Shane explained.

"I get it," she told him. "Can I carry him?" Macy gestured back to the baby.

"I got him," Shane said sternly. "We're not there yet, suga. Soon."

They strolled into the restaurant toward the table where the other couple was standing to greet them as they got closer. Shane hugged the man and kissed the woman on the cheek before gesturing to Macy.

"Chad, Nicole, this is my wife Macy. Mace, this is Chad and his fiancée Nicole."

Macy and Nicole hugged while Shane buckled the baby into the high chair.  When Chad moved to embrace her, though, Macy shied away.

"Sorry," he said awkwardly. Chad wasn't apologizing to Macy but hoping Shane wasn't angry by the apparent overstep.

"She's weird like that," Shane said dismissively.

Shane ordered himself a beer and Macy an unsweetened iced tea while Chad and Nicole sipped drinks of their own.

"Is ordering for you a Southern thing?" Nicole asked quietly.

Macy's mouth hung open for a split second. "Oh, no, it's just a Shane thing."

"They can't read body language at all," she scoffed. "Even I could tell you don't want the iced tea."

"I want liquor," Macy said with a chuckle.

"Have some," Nicole suggested. "When he comes back just order something."

Macy smiled and nodded although she had no intention of going against what Shane clearly wanted.

"How do you like The Tdot?" Chad asked a distracted Macy enthusiastically.

Looking up, surprised he was speaking to her, Macy hesitated. "Oh," she scrambled to find something believable and unsuspicious about the move. "I was expecting igloos and plates of poutine everywhere so I'm pleasantly surprised."

"The igloo gated community is just a bit north," Nicole joked. "It's nice, lacking poutine though.

Macy laughed, actually enjoying the forced socialization. "I'm good with that. Can't really get into it."

"You will," Chad said eagerly. "They won't give you citizenship if you don't."

"Guess I'll go back to the States!" Macy joked but Shane's face was dark as he looked at her. "Or just force it down for appearances." 

"The latter," he said to her.

"Yeah," she shrugged and looked down, "Bad joke. Sorry."

"I have to use the bathroom," Nicole announced. "Wanna go?" She asked as she pushed her chair out front the table.

First, Macy looked at Shane for permission and only once he nodded did she stand. Macy followed Nicole away from the table but they weren't moving toward the bathrooms.

"I think the bathroom is to the left," Macy told her.

"We're taking the long way and making a pit stop," Nicole said. "Don't worry, Chad will talk him into a coma, we're getting you a drink."

"Oh no," Macy said quickly.

"You said you want one," Nicole reminded her. "You in recovery? Pregnant?"

"No," Macy shook her head.

"Then it's fine, just one drink," Nicole said as she knocked her knuckles on the bar. "Hey, two tequila shots."

"Thank you," Macy spoke quietly.

"No problem," she placed some cash on the bar. "You look like you could use some help relaxing. Don't like Toronto?"

"Just really new," Macy lied. "I'm from California, it's a whole new fucking planet up here."

"California?" Nicole asked with a confused expression. "Chad said you two were from Georgia."

"Shane is," Macy said, wondering how badly she was ruining the cover story.

Nicole nodded, "Chad isn't a detail man, he probably didn't get it exactly right."

The bartender placed the shots in front of Nicole and Macy and in seconds they were gone.

"To more shots," Nicole laughed, clinking her empty glass against Macy's, "And new friendships."