BOBBY LEANED BACK in his chair, a deep sigh slipping past his lips as he let the whole story sink in. Alone all the bruises on her face and the gash above her eyebrow caused an anger inside him he's never felt before. How could he, as a father, not have seen the signs? He should've known that Nola would never have cut him off without reasonᅳ but Alden had never seemed like the typical wife beater, quite the opposite.

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart." Shaking his head, Bobby heaved himself forward again, reaching for his daughter's hands, which she nervously kneaded. "I should've questioned the sudden change much moreᅳ but I didn't want to pressure you or make you feel like you had to have me in your life just because I'm your father."

"It's okay, not your fault", Nola assured him wistfully, enjoying the warmth of his hands. It felt just as familiar as it had years ago, so comforting; exactly what she needed at the moment. "Part of me was glad you just accepted it, so I didn't have to make up hundreds of excuses like I did with Momᅳ it took forever and a move to Oregon for her to stop showing up at our door asking questions."

"You should've talked to usᅳ someone, Nola." It was clear how guilty Bobby felt for not doing more, for never seeing the truth. "What about your sister? Does she at least know about it?"

What Bobby was really glad about was the fact that his two daughters had always had a close relationship even though they didn't share the same mother. That his ex-wives had no problem with the sisters seeing each other regularly was something Bobby had always appreciated.

"Jesus no", Nola snorted with a vigorous shake of her head, which she immediately regretted thanks to the concussion. "Ginny would've never left me alone with him again, you know herᅳ I didn't have the heart to cut her off, but that just made it harder for me. All the lies I had to tell her..I hated it."

Nola and Ginny had been inseparable since childhood. The women were only two years apart in age, Nola the younger one, so they had always had almost the same interests and spent a lot more time together than some other siblings. So much time that their mothers even decided to move to the same city so they didn't have to constantly travel from one state to anotherᅳ which is why the siblings ended up growing up together in Utah.

"Why didn't you ever say anything, sweetheart? We would've helped you", Bobby sighed, not trying to blame her; he just wanted to understand. "You can't tell me you wanted to stay with someone like that voluntarily."

"I didn't, believe me", the blonde shot back eagerly, knowing that her father wasn't blaming her but more himself. "It's hard to explain, really. Once you're in that position, once you're manipulated to the point where you honestly believe you deserve every single punch and insult..it's just hard as fuck to get away."

"I never thought Alden was one of those menᅳ he really did try his best to play the perfect son-in-law." Bobby took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to immediately search for Alden and kill him with his bare hands. He hurt his little girl, could've even killed her; why should he show mercy now?

"Well, that's what he was best atᅳ manipulating others." A sad smile crossed Nola's soft features, her lips formed into a thin line before she spoke again. "He knew what he was doing, Dad, he was a pro at it. Shit, people in our town celebrated him, loved how well he handled all the kids and teenagers and was probably one of the best football coaches in town. No one could ever see behind that perfect facadeᅳ probably no one would've believed me anyway."

Which was a shame, but too many people simply used an abusive husband as an excuse to get attention, so the real victims were less and less believed.

"So I just hoped for a miracle, especially after I found out I was pregnant", she said with a slight shrug, the slightest, most sincere smile now on her lips. "And then Happy showed up, even threatened to kick the door in. I was desperate, so scared that I immediately trusted a stranger so I wouldn't have to stay with Alden for another minute."

"And I'm damn glad it was Happy who found you", Bobby murmured in his beard, patting Nola's hand. "Fate sometimes has strange ways of helping you. Seems like the universe wanted Happy to find you so he could bring you to me."

"I'm glad to be here, to be able to talk to you again, really", the blonde said sincerely before her guilty conscience came back. "I'm really sorry, dad. I hope you know now that I didn't want to voluntarily cut you out. Believe me, I've missed talking to you and Mom every day."

She had never told anyone why she had cut off her parents. Ginny had asked so many times and never understood why her little sister suddenly wanted to keep her distance from everyone but herᅳ but at one point the older Munson daughter had simply given up and was basically just happy that Nola at least allowed her to remain part of her life.

"You don't have to be sorry for anything", Bobby insisted adamantly, getting up to pull Nola to her feet the next moment, his hands now resting against her arms. "You stay with me for now, I'll take care of Aldenᅳ you won't run into that guy again."

The fine line between reason and revenge was crossed and Bobby, who usually always tried to handle everything without having to shed blood, just wanted to see the man who abused his daughter deadᅳ but to do that he needed some support from the club.

"What do you mean, I'll never run into him again?", asked Nola, the young woman visibly confused. At some point she would have to see Alden again, for better or for worse. "I have to file for divorce, which means I'll see him at least two or three more times."

"Let that be my business, okay?" Bobby told her gently, squeezing her arms slightly. "Should we get your things from Happy?"

"Oᅳ okay, whatever you say." Still a little confused but simply too tired to think about it, Nola left it at that for now. At his next question, Nola cleared her throat and rubbed the side of her neck embarrassedly. "Is it okay if I stay with Happy for now until I find something for the baby and me? Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to finally have you back in my lifeᅳ but I treated you wrong and it would feel wrong to take advantage of your help now."

"You're not taking advantage of me, Nola", Bobby shook his head vigorously, cupping his daughter's face in his hands. "You had no other choice, you don't need to feel guilty. But if you prefer, talk to Happy and ask if it's okay if you stay with him for a while."

The blonde breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Dad. I promise to call you regularly. And now I also know that I can find you here too and not only at your house."

"Yeah..your mom won't like that", he winked with the slightest grin before his expression became more serious again. "Talk to your mom, kiddo. Better today than tomorrow."

"But why? You're a great guy and Happy can't be such a bad guy if he helps a woman in need that he doesn't even know", she said, shrugging her shoulders.

Apparently her mom had overreacted when she thought that all bikers were dangerous. Her dad certainly wasn't. "I'll give her a call later, I promise. But first I want to talk to Happy and see if I can occupy his guest room for a while."

"That's a story for another day, okay?" Bobby asked, gently patting Nola's cheek with his hand before leading her to the two large doors, one of which he pushed open. "Hap! Give me a minute?"

Nola smiled sheepishly as the SAA stood up and crossed the room with a confident stride, from the bar to the chapel. His long strides carried him quickly towards them and when he came to a stop in front of her she couldn't stop herself from checking him out.

He gave a soft grunt in Nola's direction, his gaze not giving away much as he examined her before looking back at Bobby. "You need something?"

Bobby nodded as he ran his fingers through his long beard. "Can Nola stay with you until we find a suitable place for her?"

"She can't stay with you?" Confusion settled over the heavily tattooed biker's sharp features, almost eliciting a soft sigh from Nola.

If she couldn't stay with him, she would have to stay with her father, but who wants to live with their parents at twenty-four? Especially after she cut him off back thenᅳ it wouldn't feel right.

"She could, but she prefers to take things slow",  Bobby explained calmly, hoping that it was okay for Nola to tell Happy the real reason. "Is that a problem for you?"

There was a brief silence before Happy glanced at the blonde and shook his head. "No problem, she can stay as long as she wants."

"Are you sure?" If there was one thing Nola didn't want, it was to get on someone's nerves. "I promise to clean regularly, I can also cook or whatever. And about the rentᅳ"

"I don't want rent", Happy interrupted her quickly, followed by a soft grunt. "You're Bobby's kid, so you're family."

"That's right", Bobby agreed contentedly, but he hadn't expected that anyone would abandon his daughter. "You make sure you check in with me regularly, okay? You can find me here or call me anytime."

"I promiseᅳ I won't make the same mistake again." Now that she no longer had anyone telling her what to do or even threatening her, that was no longer a problem.

Her bright eyes met Happy's again, a slight smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Thank you, I appreciate your help. But you can also be honest if you want your house for yourself."

"I hardly use it anyway, it's probably yours most of the time", he told her with a shrug of his shoulders, squaring them as he realized how hard it was for him to look away, to not stare at her all the time. "I'll have a second key made for you tomorrow, then you can come and go as you please."

"That would be absolutely great", Nola nodded eagerly as she realized that she was a free person again. "Uh, is it okay if we leave? I'm still tired and a little exhausted. But I can also take the bus if you wanna stay here."

"You're not taking the bus", Bobby said firmly, rubbing her back as he was looking down at her proudly. "But before you go, you wanna show me the ultrasound pictures?"

After Nola had told him earlier that she had just come back from a doctor's appointment, he couldn't wait to see his grandchild. He was going to be a grandfather for the first time, of course he was excited.

"Sure!" Full of joy, Nola pulled the ultrasound pictures out of the pocket of her jeans, the paper still neatly folded, before handing the pictures to her dad. "I'm not at the point where you can see everything yet, but I think you can see a lot already."

Bobby's chest filled with pride as he looked at the pictures, a reminder of how he had felt twenty-four and twenty-six years ago when he saw the first pictures of his own children.

"I can't believe my youngest is going to be a mother herself", he said, his voice thick with emotion before handing her the pictures back. "I'm always here for you, okay? If you need anything, be it for you or the baby, I want you to come to me."

"I appreciate that, dad, I really do", Nola answered honestly before wrapping her slim arms around her father, catching a few curious glances from the othersᅳ but no one dared to disturb the moment. "I'll come by tomorrowᅳ or you'll come by."

"We'll sort that out tomorrow. You still got my number?" Giving her one last squeeze, Bobby pulled away. "If not, Happy can give it to you later."

"No, I still have it", the blonde assured him. When she had to yawn, she covered her mouth with the back of her hand, turning away slightly. "Okay, I should get some rest. Talk to you tomorrow, yeah?"

"Hap, can you take her home?" Bobby wanted to know, otherwise he would drive her himself. "And I want to have a word with you and the others tomorrow, it would be good if you were here in the morning."

"Sure, I'll be there", the SAA nodded immediately and placed a hand against Nola's tailbone, already sensing what Bobby wanted to talk about with them. "Let's go, you need a bed."

Nola didn't argue, too tired to even think about it, and just nodded. With another smile, she bid her father goodbye and flashed a friendly smile in the others directionᅳ but there was no sign of Jax and Tara, the two probably still arguing in the back.

"I can take the bus, really. You don't have to treat me extra nicely just because you're friends with my dad", the blonde assured the man who had already led her to his bike, a knot of anticipation forming in the pit of her stomach at the thought of feeling the wind in her hair again. "Also, now that we're alone again, you might as well be honest about wanting your house to yourself again. It would be okay for me."

"I meant what I said", Happy croaked, carefully placing his helmet back on the blonde's head. "If I had a problem with you staying in my house, I'd have told Bobby soᅳ but I don't mind if you stay longer. Besides, family always helps each other."

"I'm starting to like your concept", Nola hummed with a small smile that caused that flutter sensation in Happy's chest to grow stronger. "Thanks again."

With a kiss that she timidly placed against his cheek and received a quiet grunt in return, she let him help her climb on the bike and waited patiently until Happy was also sitting and started the engine before she wrapped her arms around his torso, biting her lip as she could feel the abs under his shirt.

Despite the complicated circumstances, her life felt less complicated than it had in a long timeᅳ which would hopefully stay that way once she had filed for divorce and reported Alden.

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