Chapter Two: Trouble Returns

"Trouble... is that really you?"

The voice hit me like a spark to gasoline. My head snapped toward the garage bay, and there he was — Chibs, leaning on a wrench, a grin spreading across his face faster than I could blink. His eyes widened, and before I could even answer, he shouted again, louder this time, as if to convince himself I was real.

"Christ Almighty, it is you!"

He tossed the wrench aside, barking at a prospect to finish what he was doing before striding across the lot with that half-cocked gait I remembered so well. By the time he reached me, his laughter had already filled the space between us.

"My God, girl," he said, wrapping me in an embrace that smelled of oil and leather. He pulled back just far enough to look at me, still shaking his head in disbelief. "Trouble walks into TM like she never left. If this ain't a sight."

I laughed, startled by how easily it came. "I didn't think anyone would recognize me."

"Recognize you? Lass, you've barely changed a bit. Just grown into those sharp edges, haven't you?" His grin softened, and for a moment, his eyes dropped. "Heard about your da'. I'm sorry, Rae. He was a good man."

The weight of it landed heavy, but Chibs didn't let it linger. He gestured toward the Chevelle behind me, whistling low. "Well now... would you look at that beauty. She's still running? Christ, I'd say that car's got more lives than Tig's cats."

"Barely," I admitted, glancing back at the car. "She needs a lot of work."

"We'll sort it. Jackie boy'll lose his mind when he sees you pull in with that beast."

My chest tightened at the mention of Jax, and the words slipped out before I could think. "He... doesn't know I'm here."

Chibs arched an eyebrow but didn't press. Instead, he slung an arm around my shoulders, already hollering toward the garage. "Tiggy! Look what wandered in! Trouble herself, back from the dead!"

Tig, half-buried under the hood of a car, peered out with that crooked grin of his. "Well, I'll be damned. Trouble in Charming again? Don't tell me you're here to cause more of it."

Chibs puffed up, beaming like a kid showing off a prize pig at the fair. "She's ours again, brother. Don't she look good?"

Before I could respond, Bobby ambled over, curiosity tugging at his features. We fell into easy chatter — the kind that felt like no time had passed at all — when the heavy thud of boots on gravel cut through the air.

"Alright, what's all this noise?" Clay's gravel voice boomed across the lot, irritation riding shotgun with authority. His presence stilled the laughter, pulled everyone back into line like gravity itself.

And then, just over his shoulder, I saw him.

Jax.

Blue eyes locked onto mine like they'd been waiting years to find me again. And for the first time in a long time, I forgot how to breathe.