AN: I cannot believe how fast time has passed! It is already December and since 2013 is coming to an end, I figured why not end it with another addition to The Choice Series? This one was definitely one of those that I did not plan on writing, but had a blast with, so I hope you enjoy it. Also, I just started a twitter for The Choice Series, so for all you twitter lovers out there, you can now follow me at TheChoiceSeries. I hope everyone that celebrates had a great Thanksgiving and here is Bella's Choice!
Chapter 1
There was an eerie calm deep within the Olympic Forest in the middle of the night. The clouds blanketed the sky and fog hovered over the forest floor. It had been two weeks since the Cullens, Denalis, and Blacks returned from their Italian vacation and the wintery conditions of Washington in January were a stark contrast to Isola Marcime. Zach let out a growl of frustration as he began to pout and his uncle chuckled at his impatience.
"It has been five minutes. You really cannot stand still for that long," asked Jasper in amusement and Zach huffed.
"It isn't the standing still part. It is having my eyes closed and standing in the middle of the forest when I could actually be having fun," whined Zach.
"I thought you were excited about training with me."
"I thought training with you would be fun." Jasper chuckled again.
"I am trying to teach you how to rely on your other senses instead of just your ability. You need to learn how to focus and channel your energy into your other senses. The reason I suggested this in the first place is because you are fifteen years old. You are becoming a man." Zach opened his eyes and turned to face his uncle with a frown.
"Uncle Jasper, I have been full grown since I was five years old."
"Physically, but now you are reaching a level of maturity that proves you are ready to develop on a different level. As vampires, we are frozen in time physically, but that does not mean we cannot grow mentally and emotionally. I saw the way you interacted with other vampires in Italy, especially the females, which your mother is still not enthused over by the way. It has just made me realize that you are not simply my little nephew anymore. You are becoming a man and it is my duty as your uncle to make sure you are embracing every part of your vampire nature. Now, close your eyes."
"But I want to go play baseball," whined Zach.
"Maybe I am overestimating your maturity."
"Maybe this is just overkill."
"Nope, it is necessary, but since you refuse to not peek, you must wear this," said Jasper as he removed the scarf from his neck and placed it around Zach's eyes.
"Are you serious?"
"Yes, now stop talking. Listen, nephew. Listen to what is happening around you. Focus on your other senses. Hear the forest, smell the air until you can taste it, and feel the moisture of the fog around us," urged Jasper. Zach took in a deep breath and did as he was told. The moisture from the fog surrounding them collected onto his skin. The pungent, sweet aroma of the evergreens filled his nose and he let the sounds of the forest consume him.
"Okay, I am using my other senses, but now what?" Jasper did not respond, which made Zach frown.
"Uncle Jasper," he called and the question echoed around the forest. Zach began to take off the scarf when he heard the abrupt pitter patter of feet rushing toward him. He yanked off the scarf and spun around just in time to see his uncle in midair, lunging toward him.
"Whoa," shrieked Zach in surprise, but his shriek turned into laughter as his force field pulsed through him in time to knock Jasper back. Zach pumped his fist as his uncle crashed into the forest floor with a loud thud.
"Really Uncle Jasper, this whole thing was a ruse so you could finally beat me?" Jasper smirked as he dusted himself off.
"No, it was a test to see if you could focus long enough on your other abilities. Vampires can be quite stealthy. What happens if you ever had to face an opponent like Zafrina that could blind you or Alexander, someone that could sneak up on you instantly?"
"Why are you so worried about this? I am awesome. I have proven that I can kick plenty of butt, so why am I out here when a massive storm is about to roll through and make for perfect baseball weather?"
"It isn't about proving anything….."
"Yes, it is. I always have to prove myself. I am the youngest, the baby of the family. I get lectured anytime I go pick up Josh. I constantly have to refrain from using my power even though everyone else in this family can use theirs freely."
"Not Keegan," reminded Jasper, but Zach waved him off.
"He is a firestarter. The guy could potentially destroy entire regions with his power. That is different. Uncle Jasper, I don't need all this training to prove my ability or who I am. I am Zach McCarty Cullen. I belong to the coolest family. My best friend is the most powerful wolf of all time and I just so happen to be a pretty powerful vampire if I do say so myself. Maybe you should put a little more faith in me and spend a little less time trying to find flaws in my power."
"It isn't about not having faith in you."
"Yes, it is."
"No, it is about keeping you safe," shouted Jasper in frustration and Zach was surprised by his admission.
"Uncle Jasper, I am safe. Wait, did Aunt Alice see something? Does my mom know? She would totally kick the butt of anyone that came close to me even before I had the chance so…."
"No, it isn't that," laughed Jasper.
"Then what is going on? Why are we here?" Jasper took in a shaky breath as he stepped closer to his nephew.
"As I am sure you have noticed from all the stories of my past, coming to this family was not an easy transition for me. It took me longer than I ever imagined it would to become acclimated to the environment of a family setting and even longer to begin to trust everyone. I was trained to not trust other vampires, ever, but our family does not work that way. I never imagined when I was first turned that I would have so much and be surrounded by people that I not only trust, but love. You are my nephew, Zach, and even though I know you can take care of yourself I am extremely protective of you," confessed Jasper and Zach smiled slyly at him.
"Even as protective as my mom?" Jasper scoffed.
"No, that is impossible," teased Jasper as he ruffled the curls of Zach's hair.
"That's true," chuckled Zach.
"However, that does not mean I do not believe it is my duty to make sure you are always prepared. We come from a very powerful family, but what our family also shows us is that powerful beings are out there, some we may not even know of, and it is my job to make sure you can always protect yourself."
"So you blindfolded me and tried to sneak attack me? I will always be able to use my ability and stop you."
"Do not get cocky, nephew. That is what I am trying to teach you. A good warrior never underestimates his opponents or the circumstances he may find himself in. The only way you have used your force field is if you can see what is coming, but if you could harness your other senses so that they can help guide you, maybe you can tap into your power even more."
"Wait, so you think I may be even more powerful than I already am?" Jasper pondered the question for a moment as he began to circle Zach.
"Eleazar believes that your power will develop as you get older. It is the pattern we have all seen with our abilities. There is a time when I could not control the way others' emotions affected me. Your Aunt Alice can now tap into her visions easier and has more control than she did when she was first turned. Your Aunt Bella had to train in order to reach her potential as a shield and she still finds new ways to use her power. It is about learning control, nephew. That is what I am trying to teach you because even though you have never faced an opponent that you could not conquer, we exist in a world full of the unknown. Never get too cocky. Never underestimate anyone. Oh, and never turn your back on your opponent." Before Zach could question his advice, Jasper gave him a swift leg sweep, knocking Zach on his back. Jasper laughed as his nephew began to pout.
"Hey, that was cheating," shouted Zach and Jasper helped him up.
"Yes, it was, but I still managed to catch you off guard."
"You are my uncle. I am supposed to be able to have my guard down around you."
"Point taken, now, since you have shown great patience, I suppose we could go find the others and get ready for the baseball game."
"Cool! I have to go see J first though. He got in trouble at school and I am pretty sure this is the perfect time to tease him about it."
"Well go have fun while you can. Your Aunt Alice warned me that the mood may be somber later on." Zach frowned in confusion, but could tell by his uncle's look that he should leave it at that. He gave his uncle a quick hug in thanks before heading in the direction of La Push.
Josh sat down in one of the lounge chairs on the front porch of his house as he tried to focus on the book in front of him. He knew he did not want to be inside his house at the moment, but was also not allowed to leave the premises anytime soon, according to his mother. He could hear the voices inside, but tried to drown them out, refusing to acknowledge the subject matter they spoke of.
"Charlie, is this really necessary," asked Edward from inside the house as he joined the rest of the adults at the table. Edward, Bella, Renesmee, Nahuel, Seth, and Kaya sat beside Jacob and Leah as Charlie and Sue stood in front of them at the kitchen table.
"What is the point of putting it off any longer? This year, I will be seventy eight years old and Sue will be….."
"Younger than that," interrupted Sue. Charlie kissed her and smiled.
"Right, so it is time to talk about the inevitable," announced Charlie as he placed a folder on the table. Edward glanced at his mate and daughter.
"Charlie, maybe this isn't the best time," advised Edward.
"There is never a good time for something like this. We asked for everyone to meet us here because we have written our wills," revealed Charlie.
"What," shrieked Renesmee and Seth, but Bella, Leah, and Jacob simply sighed.
"I guess we should have seen this coming," admitted Leah and Sue smiled comfortingly at her daughter.
"We don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon, but things happen. We want to be prepared and we have thought about this since Billy passed away," explained Sue.
"We weren't prepared when my dad passed and I wish we would have been. Rachel and Rebecca weren't exactly fond of going through his things and deciding how to divide it up. It wasn't the best experience for me either," said Jacob.
"Sue and I know that it is going to be a hard time for all of you and we just want to make it as painless as possible," said Charlie and Seth gulped.
"Is one of you sick or something? Is something wrong," asked Seth. Sue walked over to him and kissed his forehead.
"No sweetheart, nothing is wrong. We just aren't as young as we used to be and it is our responsibility to make sure our loved ones are taken care of when we are gone," explained Sue. Bella glanced nervously at her daughter, sensing her angst. Nahuel sensed it from his mate as well and tried to wrap his arm around her, but she shrugged it off.
"This is ridiculously morbid. If you two are fine, then why are we even talking about this," argued Renesmee.
"Because it is important for us to talk about," defended Charlie. Renesmee jumped up and shook her head as she walked out.
"I'm not listening to this," she called over her shoulder before storming out of the house. Edward smiled apologetically at Charlie and Sue.
"She is just upset about what this means," said Edward and Charlie sighed.
"I know. She is my granddaughter after all. We tend not to do well with heavy stuff like this. Sue and I want everyone here to know that this does not mean we plan on leaving any of you anytime soon. It is just something we need to discuss." The others solemnly nodded and Nahuel stood up along with Kaya.
"I will go check on Renesmee," said Nahuel.
"I will go with him. This is a family matter," added Kaya, but Seth quickly grabbed her hand.
"You are family and I need you here. Please stay," said Seth and Kaya took in a shaky breath as she sat back down. She was not used to dealing with death. It made her uncomfortable, but she would endure it if it meant being there for her mate.
Josh waved awkwardly at Renesmee as she stormed onto the porch. She took in a deep breath of fresh air to calm her nerves and gave a wave back.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you," said Renesmee and Josh shrugged.
"You aren't. I'm just hiding out here instead of being in there dealing with all of that."
"At least you were smart enough to get out of dodge in the first place."
"I have homework anyways. I am already on my mom's list and I don't need to add failing a presentation."
"What's the presentation about," she asked as she sat down beside him.
"Hamlet," he grumbled.
"One of Shakespeare's great tragedies, I guess that is fitting for the night."
"Yea, I mean I get why grandma and Charlie want to plan it all. It doesn't mean I want to talk about it though."
"Exactly, so how about I help you with your homework instead," she suggested as Nahuel leaned against the railing of the porch to join them. He gave his mate a smile, letting her know he was there if she needed him.
"Well, I have to memorize and recite this soliloquy in front of the entire class, so maybe you two can be my first audience," explained Josh and the two of them nodded as he stood up. He cleared his throat dramatically, getting a laugh out of them before he began.
"To be, or not to be, that is the question. Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune or to take arms against a sea of troubles…and by opposing, end them. To die…..to sleep….no more and….."
"I need to go hunt," announced Renesmee before darting off toward the forest and Josh smiled sheepishly.
"Am I that bad," he asked and Nahuel chuckled.
"Of course not, you were fine. She is just having a hard time coping right now and a speech about Hamlet pondering death doesn't help. You are doing great," assured Nahuel.
"I don't know. He sounded pretty cheesy to me," said Zach as he walked onto the porch and Josh threw the book at him. Zach caught it with ease and began sifting through it as Nahuel hopped from the porch.
"I am going to check on my mate. You two stay out of trouble. From what I hear, Josh cannot afford to get into anymore," warned Nahuel before racing after his mate. Zach rolled his eyes as he and Josh sat down on the steps of the porch.
"Can you believe him telling us to stay out of trouble? I swear everyone around here treats us like babies," said Zach.
"Yea, I know. It is so annoying. They act like we are always in trouble," agreed Josh. Zach handed him the book and eyed his friend as Josh read over the soliloquy again.
"So, what did you do this time," asked Zach and Josh huffed.
"It wasn't even a big deal. So what if I skipped a couple of classes today."
"How many are a couple?"
"All of them."
"J, seriously," shrieked Zach and Josh shushed him.
"Calm down, people skip all the time, but you wouldn't know that since you never have to go to school. You don't know what it is like constantly being surrounded by humans, Z. I wish my parents would just let me stop going. I hate school."
"Come on, it can't be that bad. My parents repeated the process a gazillion times."
"Your parents wanted to feel normal, but I don't want that. I don't want to be normal. That is boring and I actually like my life even though my parents act like going to Forks High School is going to make me a normal kid. I am a wolf. The rules of a normal teenage life do not apply to me and yet here I am, reading Shakespeare so I can recite it for a stupid class presentation tomorrow."
"What did you do when you skipped?"
"I just went for a run in the forest. I was just letting loose. I wish you could have been there though."
"Yea, that would have been fun. Too bad we couldn't have done that tonight instead of me having to train with my Uncle Jasper."
"Don't even try to act like you have actual problems. Oh poor Zach gets to go train in the forest with his uncle."
"It wasn't nearly as fun as it sounds. We didn't even wrestle!"
"Yea, but Seth told me the family is going to play baseball tonight since the storm is rolling in." Zach chuckled.
"Yea, that's going to be awesome."
"See!"
"Alright, you got me. My life is the best, but at least you are almost done. You have one more year left, J."
"I guess you are right. I better finish memorizing this stupid stuff, so I can ace my presentation tomorrow," grumbled Josh as he stood up to go inside.
"Hey, I am sure you are going to do fine. Maybe we can talk our parents into letting me pick you up tomorrow," suggested Zach. Suddenly, Rosalie and Emmett emerged from the forest.
"I will see what I can do, but your mom is pretty upset with you Joshua," warned Rosalie and Josh groaned.
"Yea, yea," he mumbled before marching into the house with a pout. Zach jogged over to his parents and Rosalie kissed his cheek. Emmett rubbed his hands together in anticipation.
"This baseball game is going to be epic. Alice says the storm is going to last all night. Let the games begin," bellowed Emmett and Rosalie swatted at his shoulder as she shushed him.
"It is eight at night, Em. Be quiet. Besides, there is a pretty depressing conversation going on inside," she warned.
"Poor Charlie and Sue, it would suck to be human," said Emmett.
"They aren't the ones I am worried about. Come on let's go to the field Alice has chosen. The others will meet us there later," said Rosalie.
As the winter storm rolled into the region, Emmett and Zach were ecstatic, but the overall mood of the family was the opposite. Seth usually enjoyed being the umpire and making controversial calls just to keep the game interesting, but instead of joining in, he sat to the side, promising to cheer everyone on. He was not interested in being a part of the game after hearing about his mother and Charlie's will. Kaya sat beside him and stroked his hair as she tried to comfort her mate. Rosalie was concerned about not only Seth, but Renesmee and Bella as well. While Bella managed to keep on a brave face for the sake of her daughter, Renesmee refused to speak about it. She wanted to remain in denial for as long as possible. Edward truly felt helpless as he listened to his daughter's thoughts and even though Bella kept hers private, he knew his mate was struggling with the mortality of her father. He was relieved when he heard Garrett's boisterous laugh as the man leapt from a tree and into the clearing.
"I call first at bat," he announced as the rest of the Denali Coven emerged from the forest. He looked around the field at the Cullens and frowned. Edward groaned as he read Garrett's thoughts.
"Garrett, don't…." But before Edward could finish, Garrett spoke.
"What's with the sad faces, who died," he questioned and Renesmee smirked before rushing off into the forest and away from the field. Nahuel turned to follow her, but Bella stopped him.
"Let me try," she suggested and Nahuel hesitantly nodded. Bella kissed Edward and opened her mind to him.
Don't worry. Stay here and try to have fun. I need to try to talk to her alone.
Edward gave a curt nod and grabbed a glove to join the game. Garrett yelped when Kate shocked him.
"What did I say," he asked in a pout and Kate rolled her eyes at him.
"Obviously something wrong if you upset Renesmee," said Kate.
"Is everything alright," asked Tanya and Carlisle smiled sympathetically at them.
"It isn't Garrett's fault. Charlie and Sue wanted to discuss their will tonight," explained Carlisle and all of the Denalis nodded their understanding. Eleazar clapped Carlisle on the back.
"Mortality can be quite disheartening," said Eleazar and Tanya rested her head on Benjamin's shoulder as sadness washed over her.
"Yes, but even vampires have to deal with loss," said Tanya. Her thoughts, along with Kate's, wandered off to their lost sister and Edward grimaced at the thoughts of Irina's demise. Jasper sent a wave of happiness to his family members as he smiled.
"Come on, the storm is here and it is time to play," encouraged Jasper and Emmett pumped his fist.
"Time to pick teams, I call first captain and my first pick is my baby boy," he bellowed, but Alice stomped her foot.
"You can't just call first captain or first pick and who says you get Zach," she challenged.
"He is my son."
"He is my nephew," she argued and Rosalie smirked.
"Well he is my son too and I call first captain and choose my baby boy," she said. Emmett guffawed as Alice began to argue with her sister. Carlisle stepped in between them.
"Now, now, can we actually start playing before we have the first disagreement," asked Carlisle and Zach wrapped an arm around him with a dimpled grin.
"I kind of like it. Alright, who else wants me on their team," he questioned as he flexed his muscles and the others laughed.
"That is your son, Em," giggled Rosalie.
"Damn right," cheered Emmett. Esme kissed her grandson's cheek.
"You can be on my team, my handsome grandson. I will be first captain and I pick Zach," she announced as she put a hat on him. Alice's jaw dropped and Rosalie shook her head with a smile.
"Nicely played mom," applauded Rosalie, but Alice was not as amused.
"Shouldn't you be upset? She just stole first captain and first pick," said Alice, but Rosalie shrugged. Carlisle chuckled.
"I am more upset that her first pick was not me, her own mate," he teased as Esme blew him a kiss. Alice gulped as she received a vision and Edward stiffened at her thoughts. She put her hand up to stop him from reacting and Rosalie frowned at them as Alice grabbed her hand.
"We will join the game later. Be right back Jazzy," called Alice and Rosalie eyed Edward curiously as she followed Alice away from the field. Jasper walked over to Edward, sensing his anxiety.
"What is it," he asked his brother and Edward stared down at the ground in defeat.
"I just feel helpless. There is nothing I can say to make this better for them. Maybe Alice can figure out a way. I am giving her ten minutes and then I am going after them as well," stated Edward and Jasper gave a sympathetic smile, realizing the vision was about Bella and Renesmee.
Bella winced as she saw her daughter sitting on a fallen log and sobbing into her hands. She joined her on the log and wrapped her arms around Renesmee, stroking her hair as Renesmee rested her head on her mother's shoulder.
"It just isn't fair. I don't want grandpa or Sue to die," she sobbed.
"I know, sweetheart. I do not want that as well, but that is why we should spend as much time with them as we can. I hate that this is happening, but your grandfather is right. The will is just something they need to have. It is not sealing their fate. No one is going to die anytime soon, Renesmee."
"I just hate this."
"I do too. It is the reason why I never pushed for you and my mother to become close," confessed Bella.
"Is that why we don't spend time with her?" Bella giggled.
"Well, that is mainly her choice. You must understand that your grandmother loves you very much, but she is flighty. She gets lost in her own whims and acts impulsively. I knew that it would be hard to pin her down long enough for you to gain a relationship like the one you have with my dad, so I just accepted that. I always knew it would be hard enough losing a grandparent that you are close with, so I didn't want to force the issue with my mother."
"At least she sends us postcards and letters."
"Yes, she is very good at that. She seems to be enjoying life in Costa Rica right now." Renesmee sighed.
"It will be hard when she is gone too, but you are right. It will be nothing like losing grandpa. How am I supposed to just accept that he could die soon? I don't know how Jake did it and that was his dad. I don't want to lose him, mom. I don't think I can," cried Renesmee and Bella did as well as she held her daughter. They heard footsteps in the distance and were surprised when Rosalie and Alice appeared instead of Edward.
"We figured you could use some company," explained Alice as she sat down beside Bella and Rosalie smirked.
"She figured. I was forced," teased Rosalie, getting a giggle out of Renesmee in the process.
"Semantics," said Alice. Rosalie slipped her hand into Renesmee's and sat down beside her.
"Are you okay," she asked and Renesmee shrugged.
"To be honest, I don't know how I am supposed to be okay."
"It will not be easy, but you will cope and we will be here to help you every step of the way," assured Rosalie and Renesmee sighed.
"Good because I am going to need you."
"You are stuck with us," giggled Alice as she jumped on Renesmee, which made her laugh. Rosalie began showering her with kisses and Bella smiled as she watched her sisters cheer up her daughter.
"Come on, your mate is worried about you. Plus, you and I are on Tanya's team. She called dibs on second captain. She managed to keep you and Nahuel together as well," assured Alice and Renesmee smiled.
"Did we get Uncle Em or Zach," she asked and Alice pouted.
"No, but we did get my Jazzy. You know he can handle curve balls like no other. Come on I will race you back. Last one there has to pitch against Zach."
"But he cheats," whined Renesmee as she chased her Aunt Alice back toward the baseball field. Bella sighed in relief and nudged Rosalie.
"Thanks for helping to distract her. She is taking this pretty hard."
"I know she is and so are you. You may be able to fool your daughter, but you can't fool me. How are you holding up?" Bella looked up at the stormy sky and shrugged.
"It is odd the things you think about when you think about death. It is really blurry, but I keep thinking about our first real conversation we had."
"You mean the one where I told you that if we had happy endings, we'd all be under gravestones now?"
"That's the one." Rosalie giggled.
"Yea we didn't exactly get off on the right foot," admitted Rosalie.
"I was young and stubborn."
"And I was jealous and bitter. I was wrong, Bella." Bella's jaw dropped.
"Wait, did this just happen? Did you just admit that you were wrong?"
"Do not let it go to your head and start gloating. After all, it happens so rarely."
"Which is why I need to gloat," laughed Bella.
"You made the right decision for you and that is what matters. Bella, this existence is not for everyone and we have seen that. However, while I will never understand why I had to lose my human life the way that I did, I gained so much more than I could have ever imagined. When I was blessed with Zach, I realized that nothing can ever compare to this existence because I have my family and I never should have beseeched you to make your life choices based on my experiences."
"So why do I feel so horrible now that I am dealing with the consequences?"
"Because sometimes even the best choice has unfortunate consequences and we have to deal with them, but you and Renesmee will never have to deal with losing Charlie, Sue, or even your mother on your own. I just want you to know that." Bella pulled her in for a hug and smiled.
"Thanks Rose. You know, choosing anyone but Edward was never an option for me, but I never would have expected to have so many amazing people in my life because of it. In fact, I was pretty sure I would have to spend an eternity hiding from your glares." Rosalie's tinkling laughter echoed around them.
"Eternity is a very long time to glare, Bella. Even if I wouldn't have warmed up to you, I would have stopped glaring simply because it was a bad look on such a beautiful face," teased Rosalie.
"Yes, her vanity would have gotten the best of her," teased Edward as he approached and Rosalie rolled her eyes.
"I know this is not coming from Mr. Sullen Cullen, himself. You spent many a day scowling and brooding, dear brother."
"You would know. I was usually scowling at you." Rosalie punched his shoulder as she stood up to leave and Edward winked at her.
"I better get back to the game. I am sure Emmett and Zach have cheated several times by now."
"We will be right there," assured Edward and Rosalie departed. Bella sighed happily as her mate engulfed her in his warm embrace.
"You lasted longer than I thought you would. I figured you would come after us right away."
"I was going to, but Alice assured me that she and Rose could cheer up Renesmee. I knew that was the case when I saw Alice skipping around Renesmee on their way back to the baseball field. I was surprised when Alice had the vision of Rose cheering you up though."
"The two of us have come a long way over the years. Wow, that was thirty six years ago. It is all so blurry, back then when Rosalie was not fond of me."
"It is funny how it works. Some of the most pivotal moments in our relationship were when you were a human and yet, I am sure it seems like a lifetime ago for you."
"I told Renesmee about my mother and why I thought it would be best to just let it be when it comes to her relationship with our daughter."
"Do you regret that now?"
"No because we are happy and so is she. If my mother ever wanted to come see us, I would be more than happy to make sure that she was able to, but she has her life and we have ours. She is happy getting a letter from me and seeing pictures of Renesmee. I am happy getting postcards from wherever she is living at the moment."
"You know when I read Charlie's thoughts, I was afraid that you and Renesmee wouldn't cope well with it."
"What was my dad thinking? Is he worried?"
"No, more like relieved because now that it is out there, he doesn't have to think about the will anymore. He isn't trying to be morbid. He and Sue remember what it was like for Jacob once Billy was gone and they want to make sure you are taken care of. It is all going to be okay, love."
"I know it is, so how about we go play baseball with our family," she suggested and he kissed her tenderly.
"Only if I can be on your team," he said with a crooked grin. They held hands as they made their way back toward their family and could hear the rambunctiousness the closer they got. The impact of the bat hitting the ball cracked through the air like thunder and Zafrina managed to scoop up and throw the ball before Garrett could round first base. He stayed put, but Zach cheered for his father to slide home. Zafrina threw it to home plate where Carmen was waiting. As soon as Carmen caught it, she went to step on the plate as she tagged Emmett, but missed the plate by a centimeter.
"Cheater, I saw that all the way from over here, Z," shouted Seth as he hopped up and Zach shushed him.
"You aren't even playing! You said you wanted to sit this one out. Go back over to your mate," said Zach. Alice shook her head.
"You aren't getting away with that one, nephew. You used your power to move the plate so your dad wouldn't be out," accused Alice.
"Did not, Carmen missed my dad by a mile!"
"Sure did baby boy," agreed Emmett.
"Rose," called Tanya, Zafrina, and Alice, but Rosalie simply hummed and took some practice swings.
"Not in this," she said in a sing song voice as she walked over to the plate to take her turn at bat.
"Of course you are going to say that since you are on their team," said Jasper and Rosalie quirked an eyebrow at him.
"I would stay out of it too, dear brother. Unless you want to tell me why you blindfolded my son and tried to attack him earlier," warned Rosalie.
"Yea," said Zach and Jasper laughed nervously.
"It was a test," defended Jasper. Alice began to whine.
"Esme, they are cheating. Just because they are on your team doesn't mean you should condone it," said Alice and Rosalie pretended to cough.
"Mama's girl," coughed Rosalie. Esme giggled and motioned for Tanya to come over to her.
"Enough you two, Tanya and I will round up our teams and just start over. No more cheating, from either side. Besides, now Edward and Bella are here to join us. Bella, Edward, you are on my team along with Carlisle, Zach, Emmett, Rosalie, Kate, and Garrett."
"Wow our team is stacked," giggled Bella and Renesmee playfully glared at her mother.
"Funny, that's what I thought when I saw my team, mom," said Renesmee and Jasper wrapped an arm proudly around his niece.
"That's right, Renesmee and I have Tanya, Nahuel, Benjamin, Zafrina, Keegan, Eleazar, Carmen, and of course my darlin' Alice, so like I already told Zach, never underestimate your opponent," warned Jasper and Zach smirked.
"Well this time I am not blindfolded or being lured into a false sense of security so I think we will be fine. Game on," bellowed Zach and everyone laughed as they took the field. Bella nudged Edward as he grabbed a bat and he saw Nahuel chasing Renesmee around the bases as she tried to keep his hat and glove away from him.
"I think she is just fine, love," whispered Edward and Bella tenderly kissed him.
"Yes, we all are," agreed Bella and with that, the storm roared on and so did their baseball game.