The One That Got Away (SOA Fan Fiction)

Chapter 21

January

Abby looked up from her books and glanced around the diner. Tapping her fingers on the countertop, she sighed and shut her notebook. "Hey Katie, can I get a huge cup of coffee to go?"

The waitress behind the counter came over and smiled. "Sure thing Abby. How's the studying going?"

"It's not," she mumbled and closed the book she had been trying to read.

The heat in Bobby's house malfunctioned the night before and it was going to take all day for the repairmen to fix it. She had tried to study in her room with the door closed, but the noise was too much for her to handle. Thinking the diner was a good idea because she could keep drinking coffee all day while studying, she took off there. Unfortunately, between the noise and wanting to observe people as they came in and out, Abby couldn't continue to hang out there.

Grabbing the cup of coffee while slinging her bag over her shoulder, she groaned. Abby had called Gemma that morning to see if she could study over there, but she was having a roof put on the back porch. Gemma had suggested she come over to TM to study. The guys would only be at the clubhouse for a little in the afternoon and it was a slow day at the garage. It looked as though that was her only option.

Shivering as she stepped onto the sidewalk, she tied the sash on her long, grey fleece coat. An unseasonably cold day, coupled with not having heat all night and Abby felt like it might take all day to get her body temperature back to normal.

As she began to head toward her car, she noticed a familiar face standing in front of the pharmacy. "Hey Jake," she greeted, stopping in front of the tall, shaggy haired guy who had a smile on his face as she approached. "I didn't realize you were still in Charming. Weren't you living in Arizona?"

"I was, but my grandma died about a year ago. I came home for the funeral and never made it back."

"I'm sorry to hear about your grandma," she paused, looking at the guy that had crushed on her in high school. "So, are you planning on going back to Arizona?"

Before, Jake could answer, the bell above the pharmacy door dinged as the stocky figure of Ernest Darby stepped out. Looking Abby up and down, he smiled coyly. "Hey Abby, you back in town?"

"Just temporarily. I'm here studying for the bar exam and then off to Chicago."

"I bet the Sons would love to have you stay and represent them with any legal issues they might encounter."

Abby just smiled, pulling her bag tighter over her shoulder. Darby had always been a huge thorn in the Sons side and he seemed to have a way of creeping Abby out. She looked back at Jake and touched his arm. "It was really nice seeing you Jake." Quickly, she took off toward her car feeling as though Darby's eyes were stuck on her making her shiver.

Darby looked at his nephew who was watching the Munson girl walk down the sidewalk. "I bet her uncle is thrilled to have his prized possession back in town," he paused, turning his attention to the curls bouncing in the distance. "Didn't you have a thing for her in high school?" He smiled as he heard his nephew mumble yes, watching as Abby disappeared around the corner.

**

Gemma wasn't lying when she said TM would be quiet today. The guys had been gone all afternoon and the garage was surprisingly dead. There was one car being worked on and that was pretty much the extent of it.

Abby was in a groove with her studying. For the first time in many months, she was feeling really motivated to take the bar exam.

The motorcycles roaring into the parking lot snapped her head up. With a sigh, she knew her motivation was going to go downhill now.