Welcome to Charming!

Squinting her eyes, Madison James sped past the sign that welcomed her to her mother's hometown.

"What am I doing here?" she mumbled as she drove through the town. It had been nearly five months since her mother died in a car accident. As she had been cleaning out the attic at her mom's house, she'd found a box full of photos and a very detailed journal about her mother's life in Charming. Through this journal, Madison discovered that her mother had left Charming when she found out she was pregnant. Madison had never known her father was, and her mother had always told her that he died before she was born.

There were too many unanswered questions about the past, and Madison had struggled with letting the past go. But, being a lawyer, Madison was used to digging for evidence and she just couldn't let this go. She knew from what she'd read in her mother's journal that she was walking into a dangerous place. The journal had detailed the illegal activity of the motorcycle club, Sons of Anarchy. Her mother had been what she called a croweater. Madison cringed at the thought of her mom being involved with anything illegal. Grace James had always kept Madison on the straight and narrow.

Seeing the sign for the Teller-Morrow garage, Madison slowed down. She'd debated with herself for weeks now about how she would go about doing this. After reading the journal several times, she figured her best way to get information was to contact the one person her mother mentioned as a close friend.

After parking her car in one of the parking spaces, she got out of the car and stretched. Her eyes immediately found the entrance for the office and she readjusted her sunglasses before making her way towards the building.

"Something I can help you with?"

Madison turned her head to the left to see a man with caramel colored skin smiling at her. The tattoos on either side of his head stood out against his skin.

"I'm looking for Gemma Teller," she said with a smile of her own.

"She's in the office," he replied. "You dropping your car off?"

"No," Madison answered before continuing her trek to the office. Once there, she opened the door and came face-to-face with the woman whose face she'd memorized from the photos in her mother's box. Of course, age had taken its toll on her features, but she was still a striking beauty.

"Can I help you, sweetie?" Gemma asked.

"Gemma?" Madison answered.

"Yeah. Do I know you?" Gemma countered as she arched her eyebrow at the petite, blonde standing in the doorway.

"I'm Madison James. I think you knew my mother, Grace."

"Oh my," Gemma whispered as she heard the name. "I knew Grace. She was my best friend when we were younger. How is she?"

"She died five months ago," Madison replied as she removed her sunglasses.

"Oh baby, I'm so sorry," Gemma said as tears filled her eyes. "After she left, I never heard from her again. I've missed her so much."

"I didn't want to upset you," Madison said quietly. "I just have so many questions about my mother and her life here in Charming. I was hoping you could answer some of them for me."

"Of course, baby," Gemma said with a smile. "I have some work to do here, but we could get dinner tonight and start working on that."

"I'd like that," Madison said. "Let me give you my number. I'll be staying at the hotel downtown."

After exchanging numbers, Gemma wrapped her arms around Madison's shoulders.

"You look so much like her," she said.

"Thank you," Madison replied with a smile. "I'll see you later."

Stepping back into the sunshine, Madison put her sunglasses back on her face and made her ways towards her car. Just as she crossing the parking lot, the roar of a motorcycle came closer. Madison saw a man wearing a black leather kutte boasting Sons of Anarchy California pull to a stop to let her cross. She nodded at him and he returned the gesture.

Madison got behind the wheel of her car and watched the man park the bike. Before she pulled out of her parking spot, she saw him remove his helmet. His blonde locks shone like spun straw in the sunlight.

Jackson Teller.

She'd done enough research on the Sons that she instantly recognized his face from his mug shots. She'd made it her business to know what she walking into before coming to Charming. She knew she had to tread carefully for several reasons. First of all, these guys are known criminals. Second of all, her job as a district attorney could be in jeopardy if word got out that she had associations with these guys.

What am I doing? She thought again as she got back on the main road. Her curiosity about her mother's life is what got the better of her. Maybe Gemma Teller could shed some light on why her mother left Charming, and she might even know who Madison's father was.

Here goes nothing.