Chapter 1:
BPOV
I feel my eyes slide open ever so lightly, absorbing the warm morning light shining through the blinds. I groan as my alarm clock goes off. I get my arm from inside the mess of sheets and blankets to hit the stupid thing. I hear another groan, but this time from my husband's side of the bed. I feel his warm lips on my ear.
"Good morning, my love," he whispers, yet again reminding me why I married him. I feel his arm snake around my waist, pulling me closer to him. I smile and place my hand upon his.
"Morning, Jake," I reply, twisting around so that I am facing him. I smile as he places his finger under my chin and lifts my face up to his level. He stoops down and our lips meet. We stay kissing for a minute or two until we hear a squeaking noise and a faint giggle. I reluctantly disconnect our lips and look at Jacob. We roll our eyes in unison.
"Rhett!" Jacob says sitting up. Suddenly a little head pops up and giggles ensue. Suddenly little Rhett is crawling on me and Jacob.
"Mommy and Daddy, sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Rhett screams. Laughter erupts from my mischievous little boy. Jacob sits up suddenly, a smirk on his face.
"You're right, Rhett," Jacob says, a wry smile on his face. Rhett cocks his head to the side in confusion. "I do love kissing your mommy!" Suddenly Jake's lips were on mine as Rhett runs away screaming "Ew!". Jacob takes his lips from mine and we both laugh. After Rhett is gone, Jake places a gentle kiss on my forehead. I close my eyes and sigh. "What?" Jake questions as if worried.
"I'm just so…happy." I smile and Jake does the same.
"I love you," Jake says out of nowhere. I smile wider.
"I will always love you," I respond. We kiss one last time before going to the kitchen. Rhett is already sitting in his chair, cereal bowl ready. I snicker and poor Fruit Loops into his neon bowl. Jacob fetches the milk and completes the recipe. I head for the stove before I am stopped by Jake.
"You honestly think I'm going to let you cook breakfast again? Sit your butt down, woman. I feel like such a bad husband when I don't help out at least sometimes." Jake was always concerned that he didn't help out often enough around the house, an absurd thought.
"Jake, you could never be a bad husband," I saw thoughtfully. Jake stops shuffling through pots and pans, turns around and smiles at me. I smile back. Ten minutes later, Rhett is upstairs getting ready for school and Jacob is serving eggs. He places a heaping plate of eggs in front of me so large it could feed ten people. "Woah, shall we remember that I am not a werewolf, honey?" Jake chuckles as he serves himself an even bigger plate of eggs. We try not to talk about the whole werewolf thing in front of Rhett. Ever since I got pregnant, Jake and I have been banking on the slight chance that our son wouldn't carry the werewolf gene like his father. If he did happen to develop the gene, we would tell him at that point. But until then, he didn't need to know. After all, Jacob hadn't phased in probably a year. After breakfast, Jake and I head to the bedroom to get ready for work. Jake had opened his own auto and machinery store right before we got married. He still worked there, of course, and even though he has the money to move us out of the small little red house that we live in now, Jake refuses to leave the place. It is the only home he's ever known. I work at a local book store just for fun. We don't need the money; I just get stir crazy when I am forced to stay home. I change into a blue button down and khakis then I begin to speak.
"Hey, honey?" I ask. Jake "mmhmm"s in response. "What are we going to do if Rhett carries the gene?" I turn around to see Jake frozen in place next to his bureau. He remains silent for a few seconds. "Honey?" I prod.
"We don't have to worry about that yet," he respond. I make a skeptical face and continue.
"But, babe, we might need to have a plan for—"
"Bella, we don't need to worry about that yet. Rhett is only seven. Please. Let's not talk about it." He then comes over and kisses me on the forehead. We remain silent while he holds his lips to the roots of my hair. He sighs. "I'm sorry. Just, please. We'll talk about it when we need to talk about it. I need to go down to the office in Seattle, so I'll be home a little late. I love you," he says as he walks toward the front door. I remain in a haze for a few seconds. Why was he so touchy about Rhett? He's never cut me off like that before… The front door slams, bringing me back to reality.
"I love you, too," I whisper back a second too late.