AN: Sorry for the delay in posting. I was on a Rob hunt but you'll hear more about that at the end of this chapter. I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 3- Surprise Arrivals
"Man, this is beautiful." Jacob sat in awe looking over the valley below him.
The sun was high in the sky, allowing the cumulus clouds to cast odd shaped shadows across the valley and the nearby mountains before us. It was very peaceful.
"Yea, it is."
This was my most favorite place to come, sit, and think things through when it seemed my life was too chaotic. I'd been coming here since I'd first found this place when I was ten years old and was running away from home.
I came here a lot when I was a teenager; it helped to get me through my awkward years. I'd been here every day since Gran's death.
Some days I would pray; other days I'd just talk to Gran, and others I'd just sit here in silence and listen to nature. Gran was probably sitting on her pedestal looking down thinking I was crazy.
Maybe I was.
"All of this is yours." It was more of a statement rather than a question but I answered him anyways.
"Yea."
Time passed in silence as we soaked in the sun and the beautiful view before either of us spoke.
"Let's take the horses down there," I pointed to a pond that lay just at the base of the ridge we were sitting on. "The horses will need a good drink before we head back to the house."
"We've got to leave so soon?" Jacob still hadn't pulled his eyes from the view.
"I'm afraid so. You see the dark clouds on the other side of those mountains?" He nodded. "We need to beat them to the house or else we'll be soaked."
Jacob finally turned to look at me. He had the most adorable pout I believed I'd ever seen.
"But I don't wanna," he whined.
"Sorry buddy," I cooed, then spurred Moon Girl forward towards the ponds.
Everyday Jacob and I managed to find time to take a ride out to the ridge just to sit for several hours and take in the peacefulness. Everyday rain clouds warded us away and sent us racing back to the stables.
Each day we would take bets on who would beat who back, and I always won. I tried to tell him there was no use in betting his hard earned money on anyone but me. I must admit he took his beatings like a man.
Our conversations never extended beyond the ranch and what a wonderful person my Gran was.
Jacob and I raced home that day and, to my surprise, he beat me, but only by a little.
"I can't believe I let you beat me." I shoved against Jacob's arm, trying to push him into the stall door so that I could at least beat him out of the barn but it didn't work. He was like a seven foot wall of steel.
I would have compared his size to Emmett's but Jacob was more tall and lanky compared to Emmett's six foot, stout brick-wall-like build.
"Ahh, stop your whining; you didn't let me win. I won fair and square and you know it." He was boasting and I'd allow it…this time.
"Whatever," I told him, smiling. I was willing to brush it off as long as he shut up about it because across the yard I could see Emmett heading our way, and if he heard Jacob saying he beat me in a race back to the stables I'd never live to hear it down.
Jacob placed his arm across my shoulders and squeezed me to him. I could feel my face heat up at the intimate contact. He was warm and comforting until he opened his mouth, "Maybe next time." Then he ruffled my hair, officially ruining the almost moment, and ran a few steps away from me when I tried to punch at him.
Emmett jogged up to meet Jacob and I, a little breathless.
"B," Emmett's labored breaths drowned out Jacob's laughter.
"What's wrong, Em?" I could feel panic beginning to creep into me. Emmett looked worried.
"We've got some bad storms coming."
"Yea, Jacob and I saw some terrible black clouds headed this way over the Big Horn Mountains." I knew those clouds were too dark to be any good.
"Weather station says they've had several spottings of tornados and softball sized hail," he panted between heaving breaths. "We've got to get everything battened down; the storms are moving fast and getting stronger. You put the Star and Moon up, right?"
"Yes. -Okay, I can handle this." I took two deep breaths to steady myself then looked over to Jacob.
"You go find Embry and wait by the flower shed back behind the house. There should be flashlights in the nightstands in your room, grab them and your bed pillows and the rest of us will take care of everything else," I commanded him.
"We will help secure everything before we go wait," Jacob demanded.
"No, you don't know your way around the ranch like the rest of us and we may not have time to find you once everything is done and the storms are here. Go now."
Without another word Jacob began to run towards his and Embry's cabin, and Emmett and I headed back to the stables to secure the horses and lock all the doors.
We finished up with the last of the barns and met up with the others back at the house to make sure we were all together and ready to go to the underground shelter. A painful dread set into the pit of my stomach and I felt the urge to vomit. Somehow I managed not to.
"Everything taken care of?" I asked, picking up the last of the batteries from the table.
"Yes Ma'am," Ben answered.
"Then let's do this." We all headed out the back door and I waited for Emmett to bring up the rear to make sure that the door was locked before we placed a board up against it, bracing it with a two by four.
Worry must have been written all over me.
"B, everything will be okay. As long as we all stay safe, we'll be okay," Emmett assured me, pulling me into a tight hug.
"I hope so," I mumbled into his chest.
We made into the shed as the last of the group, besides us, disappeared down the stairs into the shelter. I went in first then waited for Emmett to lock us safely in the storm shelter. When we passed through the second door we joined our friends, who looked as worried as I felt. Emmett rummaged through a box that sat on one of the shelves and produced a weather radio. He quickly tuned it in and turned it up loud enough so that we all could hear.
Glancing around the room I noticed Jacob sitting on a sofa in the back corner of the room. He caught my eye and patted the seat next to him, motioning for me to sit with him.
With trembling legs I turned to take a step in his direction. When I did, I felt my body slightly sway, and as it did, Emmett wrapped his arm around me, steadying me. Without letting me go, Emmett grabbed a chair and sat down in it, pulling me into his lap.
Jacob gave me a disappointed look but how could I resist the comfort of my best friend when I was as scared as I was? I couldn't. So I sat wrapped in Emmett's large, secure arms as he rocked and reassured me that everything would be fine.
After what seemed like forever, the buzzing of the weather radio lulled me into a dreamless sleep.
"B, wake up babe. It's over," Emmett whispered into my ear while lightly shaking me.
"Hum?" I was still too groggy to comprehend.
Where were we?
Oh, shit! The storm shelter.
"It's over! The tornados!" I rubbed at my eyes and sat up as comprehension washed over me. I looked around the room, franticly checking to make sure everyone was still there and was okay. They were.
"Yea, it got pretty bad there for a little while; it sounded like the doors were going to be ripped off, but you slept right through it. You must have been really tired." Emmett chuckled, "The new kid wear you out that bad?"
"Not hardly." I shoved off of Emmett's lap. It was just like him to make jokes when things were bad. Of course, that was one of the many reasons why I loved him all the more.
"How long was I out?" I rubbed at my eyes, removing the sleepy sand that had gathered there.
"'Bout two hours. Did you know you still talk nonstop in your sleep?" Emmett ruffled my hair, creating more of a mess.
"I do not!"
"Do too," the others laughed around us, confirming Emmett's words as the truth. I could feel a crimson blush rushing over my face.
Gah, I could have gone the rest of my life without Emmett finding that out!
"Has anyone tried to get us out of here yet?" I asked, looking around at my friends who were beginning to rise from their seats.
"You were kind'a sleeping on our battering ram." Emily smiled at me and pointed at Emmett.
"Oh, I guess I was. Sorry," I apologized, running my hands through my hair then stuffing them into my back pockets. I was a little embarrassed.
"It's okay B," Emmett puckered his lips and placed a loud, wet, sloppy kiss on my cheek. "The winds only died down a few minutes ago," then he walked up the stairs to the latched doors.
After several very forceful pushes against them, with no luck, Jacob offered to help. A couple of times they almost made some headway in opening the doors but still fell short of pushing the debris away enough to allow us an exit. Finally, Embry offered to assist them and within seconds the three men had the doors open.
The damage wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.
At first glance, trees and limbs were laying all over the yard and a large branch was across the house. Some metal sheets were missing from some of the roofs –which ones was yet to be seen- and a few windows were broken on the main house and one of the close by cabins, but other than that, everything was okay.
"It'll take a few days for the insurance adjuster to get out here to file a claim, but once he's gone we can start fixing everything until it's good as new." Emmett was good at reading my emotions, and I'm sure the despair I was feeling was very evident to him.
Jacob and Embry had only been working on the repairs from before the storms for a week and now all their hard work was literally blown to smithereens. The destruction left behind by the storms wasn't devastating by any means, but it was enough to keep a whole crew of people working nonstop for several weeks; a whole crew of people that I really didn't have nor could afford.
I just nodded. I knew he was right and that all of the physical damage that the storm had done was one hundred percent fixable, but it didn't really ease my uneasy feelings. This tourist season was going to be hell and all this just added to it.
I was proverbially screwed!
The ground was too wet for Emmett and me to take full stock of the damage the storms and tornados had caused, so we all opted for covering the windows of the main house and the damaged cabin with pieces of plywood to prevent further water damage.
Tucker, with the volunteer fire department down the road, came by to make sure that everyone was okay and to cut off all the gas lines until we could see if they were damaged. I thanked him with a glass of Emily's homemade lemonade and sent him on his way.
I walked with Emmett over to his house to see what havoc had been wreaked over there and, to our surprise, his house was virtually unscathed. Only a few stray limbs lying around and his screen door had blown off. We didn't go beyond the back yard but from where we stood we could tell there really wasn't much damage at all to his barn or his tool shed. We'd have to wait until the next day to check his fences and mine as well.
It just went to show you how unpredictable Wyoming storms could be.
We returned back to my house to find that Emily had rustled up sandwiches for everyone. The woman truly was a saint.
After we were finished, I washed the dishes, with Jacob's help of course.
"So you and Emmett, huh?" I knew Jacob was curious, especially after the affectionate display of me curling up on Emmett's lap during the storms and falling asleep.
"Yea, but not like you think." He snorted. "Really, Emmett and I are close; closer than close. He's like my big brother that I never had; only we're best friends too. He's always there for me no matter what." And it was true, all of it. He was my rock, my constant.
"Oh," was Jacob's only reply. Several dishes were washed and dried before he spoke again, "So he's not your… boyfriend?" Ah, the truth behind the questioning.
Jacob wanted to know if I was seeing anyone. No I wasn't, but I wasn't sure what his intentions would be when he learned that fact. My last break up had been a rough one, not for me, but for Eric, and I wasn't sure I was really up for a replay.
Not to say that Jacob was like Eric in any way, because he wasn't. I knew this much and I'd only known Jacob for a few days and I'm sure Jacob would make a wonderful boyfriend. He was caring, friendly, happy-go-lucky, funny, and sexy as hell on a stick; all the things any girl could hope for in a guy. But, having only known him for a little more than a week I wasn't sure if I could have more than a working relationship with him.
Yet.
"Listen, Jacob," I started, my voice loaded with enough confidence to let him down as easily as possible.
"Jake," he interrupted.
"What?" He totally confused me.
"Jake, call me Jake. Jacob is too formal and we're friends right?" Jake flashed his pearly whites at me and gave me a wink. He knew exactly what I was about to say and he, evidently, didn't want to hear it.
Sly, damn the boy's good.
I returned his smile and nodded my head, "Yea, friends."
And it was just that simple; Jake had carved his way into my heart where he would always stay.
I put the last of the dishes away and we went into the living room where the others had congregated.
"Anyone have any luck with getting cell phone service?" I had checked the land line, and, like the power, it was out too. I needed to get a hold of Charlie to let him know we were all okay. He was the police chief out in Chad and I knew he would be beside himself with worry if he knew the storms were heading my way, like I'm sure he did.
"I didn't," Emily and Ben both announced.
"Well look at this, would'ja? I've got two bars." Emmett pointed to the screen of his phone with a victorious smile, "Now that's why I love Windom Wireless. They have service everywhere and under all conditions, guaranteed."
"Great." I snatched the phone from his hand and plopped down on the couch to call my dad.
I made it quick, just the technicalities. There was a lot of damage, but we were all okay, and that's all he cared about. He was busy, it seemed the same storms that tormented us had also hit them and he had to deal with vandals and thieves that were taking advantage of the power outages. I informed Charlie that if he needed to reach me that he could call Emmett's cell phone because we were experiencing outages, too. He told me he would and the usual dad-like cautionary things before we hung up.
I handed the phone back to Emmett and thanked him.
It was getting dark outside and night was quickly rolling in over the mountains. I sent up a silent prayer asking that the worst of the storms be over.
"No prob' babe. I think I'll head over to the house and get some shut eye and meet you guys here, bright and fuzzy, in the morning. Maybe then we can pull out that old generator and see what we can do with her. G'night everyone," he called out.
"Goodnight," everyone in the room returned.
"M'kay, sounds good." I hugged Emmett good-bye then turned to the others, "You guys are more than welcome to find a place here to sleep just in case the storms return… or you can go back to your own quarters. I don't think the employee living quarters were damaged by the storms."
I was reluctant to give the latter option for fear that everyone would leave me to my own devices for the night, and if they did, I wasn't sure how well I would fair. I was already to my breaking point, as far as my stress level was concerned, before all the damage that was done by today's storms. I wasn't sure what would become of me once I settled down and tried to sleep, and I really didn't want to be alone when it happened. Even if everyone was in other rooms, I would still be comforted by knowing that I wasn't in my big house all by myself.
There were mutters from around the room and finally Jake spoke up and said, "If it's okay with you, we'll all just crash here for tonight."
"Okay, good." I nodded then set to the task of finding pillows and blankets for everyone and showing them to the bedrooms.
The only problem that I had was how I was going to squeeze all six of us into my modest three bedroom house? Ben and Angela took the first bedroom, Emily took the couch and Embry braved Gran's old room. Lucky for him, I'd had new mattresses brought in a couple weeks back. That left me in my room and Jake… well I wasn't exactly sure where to put Jake.
"You got a pillow and blanket for me?" Jake asked with a less than happy smile on his face.
"Um, yea, let me get it for you. Where are you going to sleep?" I so wished I had a spare couch or maybe one of those hide-away beds that we kept out in the tenant's quarters for when the guests needed extra sleeping space.
"I'll just sleep on the floor in the den. I'm a pretty limber guy; I think I'll manage okay." He laughed humorlessly.
"No! You can't sleep in the floor. I won't allow it!" I snatched back the blanket I was about to hand him.
"Well what do you suggest I do then," he snapped at me before continuing with his rant. "I'm not sure Sam would appreciate me snuggling up on the couch with Emily and I'm definitely not sleeping in the same bed with Embry. I can barely tolerate sharing living quarters with him, let alone a single room or bed, not to mention that's just gross. Emmett's already gone home and is probably dead to the world by now and Ben and Angela… well I'm not even going to go there and that only leaves you. So unless you are going to welcome me into your bed for the night then I'm sleeping on the floor in the den." Jacob huffed like a five year old, crossing his arms over his chest.
He was tired, it had been a long day, and now he wanted to go to sleep but I couldn't live with myself if I allowed him to sleep on the floor. I could be an adult about this.
Really I could.
"Okay." I could handle a guy being in my bed for one night. Never mind the fact that he's tall, dark, and sexy, very sexy.
"Okay what?" I nervously gnawed on my bottom lip before I answered his question.
"You can sleep in my room in my bed tonight," I clarified.
"And where will you sleep?" Jake asked suspiciously.
"In my bed with you." Maybe if I acted nonchalantly about it he wouldn't know I was nervous as hell about having him in my bed so close to me.
I mean it wasn't like I saw Jacob as a love interest. I only saw him as a friend; a really sexy, tan, well toned, sweet-as-sugar friend.
Yea, a friend with benefits maybe. Bella Swan, stop that train of thought this instant!
Jake arched an eyebrow and smirked, "You sure?" He thought he would call me out on my offer, thinking I would take it back, but I wasn't going to. I could do this.
"I'm sure. Now let's get to bed." I couldn't help but give Jake a smirk of my own in return on our way through my bedroom door.
Finally, everyone was settled in and the house grew unbearably quite. I could hear Jake's steady breaths and could tell he was sound asleep. If only sleep would find me so easily, I thought as turned back to my side for the umpteenth time.
Time ticked on.
How much?
I wasn't sure, but eventually I fell into a restless sleep.
Running.
I was running as hard as my feet would take me.
Where?
I wasn't sure where. All I knew was that I had to keep running or 'it' would catch me.
What was 'it'?
I had no idea but I knew I couldn't let 'it' get close.
I was panting and…moaning?
I was slowing down. Bright colors were swarming around me. It felt good to be surrounded by the warmth, the colors.
Another moan escaped me. Then I heard a voice call to me.
"That's right Bella, let it go. It's just a bad dream."
Wait? Was that Jake calling out to me?
I began to rouse from my less than restful slumber.
I could feel warmth wrapped all around me.
I moaned yet again and then I could feel them.
Two large hands roaming my body and massaging me in places that hadn't been touched by someone other than myself in a very long time.
"Nugh," I couldn't stop the sounds that radiated from me. Lord help me, I knew it was wrong to let this continue but I just couldn't bring myself to stop it.
"That'a girl. Just relax and replace those bad dreams with something good." His breath tingled across my skin when he whispered to me.
Fully awake now I turned onto my back. Jake's hardened member brushed my leg in the process but I was much too wrapped up in what was happening to my body to be concerned by it.
I thrust my hips up, eager for more friction.
"Jake we shouldn't," I rasped out between heavy pants.
"Shhh, just feel good Bella. In all the bad that's happened around you, you just need to feel good right now." And I couldn't agree more with him at that moment as my insides flared to life with the anticipation of release.
Jake removed his hand from between my legs and ran it under my shirt up to my breast where he strummed his fingers over my erect nipples. What started out as a disgruntled groan quickly turned into a hiss of pleasure at the new sensation.
My hips moved of their own accord, flexing up and down while Jake's hands continued to fondle my breast. I moved both my hands from where they were once fisting the sheets below me up to pinch and tug at my nipples, rendering his hands useless there.
"Jake please, I need more," I begged, pushing my head back further into my pillow, eyes shut tightly.
He obliged and moved his fingers back down towards my waist, stopping only long enough to drive me crazy as he lightly ran his fingers around my navel.
"Please," I pleaded. He was driving my primal need to an all time new high.
Once again, he didn't disappoint, as he ran his hand under the waistband of my shorts and under the barrier of my panties. His long fingers found their prize of hot, womanly flesh and wasted no time in delving in.
He stroked me from front to entrance, then back again before finding purchase on my clit. My thrusts became ruthless and I could tell by the tightening of the muscles in my stomach that I was on the brink of release.
Small, rapid pants filled the air, "Ahhh. –Oh. Oh," I whimpered out as my world toppled over into pure pleasurable release.
"That's it Bella, just like that. Release all the stress, all the worries." Jake's hands were sent from heaven, that I was sure of.
As I came back into myself I realized that I was still pinching at my nipples and felt more than slightly embarrassed. Jake removed his hand from my shorts and quickly I pulled my hands back to my sides, not really sure of what to do next.
Lucky for me, Jake knew just what to do. He placed an innocent kiss to my forehead and bid me goodnight, wrapping one of his arms around me, pulling us into a spooning position. It didn't feel sexual or possessive, maybe a little protective and comforting, but nothing more. Together we drifted off to sleep and, fortunately for me, my nightmares were not quite so bad the rest of the night, and I was able to get some much needed sleep.
The next day wasn't as awkward as I was afraid it might be between Jake and I. Breakfast consisted of imitation Lucky Charms and fresh fruit. Taste the rainbow. At that thought I instantly blushed, remembering all the beautiful colors from my nightmare during the night, before Jake had woke me up.
Soon Emmett came over and I made a call to my insurance company. They assured me that they would have someone out by the end of the day to do assessments and that a check would be made out to me for the repairs while the adjuster was here. This was a good thing because I really hoped we would be able to do most of the repairs ourselves if we all worked together.
I told the guys what the insurance people said and they agreed with me that we would be able to do most of the repairs ourselves with little or no outside help.
Emmett insisted that no one try to clean up anything around the yard, saying that the insurance company would figure in cleanup cost with the repairs. So, that being said, we pulled back all the curtains in the mess hall and dusted off our stock of family game night games.
"Oh, oh, we have to play Family Feud!" Emmett bounced up and down in his seat, unable to contain his excitement. It was times like these when it was very evident that Emmett and Alice were true brother and sister. Neither could contain their excitement, at all.
Thinking about Alice made me miss her.
"Hey Em, did you get to talk to Alice last night and let her know we were alright?" I hadn't heard him mention Alice in a few days.
"Yea, she called me right before the weather people issued warnings for us. You know her and her uncanny ability to predict things, well, she called to tell me to get everyone and go down to the storm shelter but that everything was going to be okay." Everyone gave him arched eyebrow expressions. "She's a freak, we all know this, except you two maybe." Emmett pointed in the direction of Embry and Jake then shook his head.
"Anyways, when she called last night she said to tell you she bought you some things from New York and not to say anything about not wanting it because if you do, and I quote, 'she will force you into doing a fashion show for everyone'. And you know she can do it, so just accept what she got you, m'kay?"
"I'll try, but I'm not making any promises." Everyone laughed at my expense. For the most part, everyone knew I hated playing dress up with Alice and would do just about anything to keep from it.
We began our game of Family Feud with Emmett as our announcer.
"What are the top five things kept in a woman's purse?"
It was my team's turn to go first, and my team consisted of myself, Embry, and Jake; so to say we were screwed with this question was an understatement.
"Embry, you're first young man." Emmett cracked me up with his boxy announcer's voice.
"Um, ink pen," Embry asked, unsure of himself.
"Do we see ink pen?"
"Yes, it's in the number three position, earning you fifteen points. Jake, on to you. Do you know what you would find in a woman's purse?"
"A pack of post-it notes," Jake confidently answered.
"Annnk. Wrong. That's strike one. Tell me Bella, you're a woman, right?" Emmett smirked at me, knowing good and well that I never carried a purse with more than my money and identification.
"Yes, Emmett, and I say money."
"Let's see if money could be on this list and yes, money is in the number two position, earning you twenty eight points. Very good Bella; now back to Embry. Embry, do you know what else could possibly be in a woman's purse?"
"A tampon, maybe?"
"The survey says? Annnk, strike number two. Jake, man, it's back to you. Think hard, do you know what the majority says is in a woman's purse?"
"Identification?" Damn it, Jake took my next answer.
"Survey says? Ding, you've managed to save the day Jake. Now, Bella, back to you. For the win, do you know what is most likely to be found in a woman's purse?"
What else could be in a woman's purse? We've listed everything possible.
I was at a total loss; I had no idea and, just as I was about to concede to the other side, I heard a feminine voice with a southern drawl announce, "Why it's lipstick of course."
Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to see my two favorite cousins in the whole world, Rosalie and Jasper Hale.
EN: I got to see Rob shirtless! For those of you who don't know, Robert Pattinson is filming Water for Elephants, well he was filming it will wrap today, near to my home town and I stalked him mercilessly for 5 days. Along my hunt for Rob journey I got to meet some very special people. Friends that I will always hold dear to my heart. Really Rose T(from fffw), Cherrish, and Kelly were the best part of my week long escape and Rob was just a perk. ;) They are officially my ROBFFs! If anyone would like to see pictures of my Rob hunt pm me and I'll give you the link to my blog where I have posted the pics.
Now if you will please leave me some love!
