Cate smiled brilliantly, her green eyes twinkling in the broad sunlight. Her velvety black hair had grown, just below her ears now, Jacob noticed, smiling back at her. She wobbled unsteadily over to him, arms outstretched.
He swept her into his arms, kissing her forehead before throwing her up into the air and catching her again. She laughed, his favorite sound in the entire universe, clapping her hands. He wondered how he could have ever raised a child so perfect as she was.
Edward watched Cate silently from behind the tree, his eyes growing unbearably sad as he witnessed how much she loved the tall Indian as he played with her. She laughed. It only reminded Edward of how beautiful a child she was. She was getting so much bigger…
Her birthday, Edward knew only too well, was only a day away now. Two. Two years that she'd spent without him. Two years that he'd watched -- hoping for any sign of danger or unfair treatment or even unhappiness— and yet she was happier than ever.
Edward was always so afraid Jacob would lose control -- just once -- and kill her. It'd be so easy to do. She was so very small. Edward knew he could have taken care of her whether Bella was a vampire or not.
Bella missed her too and often spoke of her. But she never regretted her choice. But to Edward, he disliked her decision more than anything Bella'd ever done. Edward turned away from the scene, in too much agony to watch any more.
Jacob walked alongside the ocean, holding her little hand. He sat down with her after he noticed Cate's struggles to keep up, and they turned to face the ocean, watching the sun go down.
She was silent then, just watching the sun sink into the ocean as Bella once had with Jacob.
He looked at Cate's face, and once again saw the face -- HER face. Jacob almost felt that they were both one person caught in different periods of time in different environments. They shared names and features- and the same happy outlook.
But now one was gone. In a way, perhaps two Cates couldn't share a world. Jacob wished with all his heart that they could have.