Snow day! 2nd day of Spring and we have 8 inches of snow out there. After 5 inches of snow on the 1st day of Spring.


~WH~

~4~

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Jasper paced in front of the small cabin, and wandered aimlessly throughout the interior, waiting for Peter to arrive with the transitioning human. He felt a strange quivering in his belly. Almost like he was nervous. It had been a long time since he'd dealt with a newborn vampire, but he was confident he could handle it. Or him. Her? Jasper never even asked if the human was male or female. Not that Peter had given him a chance to ask, and not that it mattered all that much. Newborns were all cantankerous pains in the ass.

Peter's hideout was in the Gila National Forest. The rustic cabin was actually closer to Silver City, but Las Cruces was the closest big city, and El Paso wasn't much farther. They had mountains around them and tree cover. There was even some snow. The cabin was sparse, yet quaint. Staying there wouldn't be so bad, as long as the newborn didn't tear the place down.

Since the last time Jasper had seen it, which had been decades, Peter had added a metal roof. They were good for the long haul, but not much else had changed.

When Jasper had first arrived, he'd opened it up, and got a fire going to warm up the house, so he could turn on the water. He'd gotten a little spoiled living all those years with the Cullens. Hot and cold running water was a luxury he didn't want to do without if he didn't have to.

In the distance, he heard the low rumble of an engine approaching. Jasper stepped out of the house, and onto the porch, watching for any sign of Peter.

He didn't have to wait long before a 1978 Plymouth Roadrunner came fishtailing down the long dirt pathway like the devil was on its tail, throwing up dust and rocks, making tracks.

The Super Coupe drifted to a dust-raising, gravel-slinging stop, and Peter hopped out of the car.

The two old friends smiled broadly and immediately embraced each other.

After a few short seconds, Jasper squeezed Peter a bit tighter and moaned, "You smell so fuckin' good."

Not exactly the greeting Peter had been expecting, he abruptly let go, took two steps back, and jabbed a finger in Jasper's chest. "It's good to see you too, weirdo, but I didn't bring you any. I wouldn't want to upset your little lady by temptin' you with the good stuff."

An expression Peter couldn't read crossed Jasper's face. "We've got a lot of catchin' up to do."

"Boy, do we ever!" Peter grinned, his eyes twinkling.

Jasper was pleased to see Peter looking so happy and content, unlike their last visit. With everything going on, he knew it wasn't the time to unload all of his Cullen woes, and tell Peter he had done quite a bit of soul searching on the long ride to New Mexico. "The sounds coming from inside your trunk are definitely of the feminine variety," he joked.

"That's what smells so damn good." Peter sighed.

"Well, I knew it wasn't you." Jasper scrunched up his nose. "You always smelled like rotten cabbage seasoned with dirty socks and," Jasper sniffed again. "Hot sauce?"

"That's the mace."

"Oh?"

"She sprayed me with some God-blamed, blue, stinkin' to high Heaven dye. Soon as she wakes up, me and her are gonna have words." He set his jaw and frowned a bit. "I got it mostly washed offa me, but I had to trash my best jacket and my favorite hat!"

"Don't you have like a dozen favorite hats? Like the one you have on?"

"That's besides the point." Peter shot him a withering look. "I got that coat for next to nothin' on eBay, and it looked good on me. It was vintage . . . Man, I don't know if I'm ever gonna be able to find another one like it."

Jasper just raised an eyebrow at him.

"She was bleedin' all over the place, it got all over me, had to change my clothes. Had to stop for gas a couple times, and bein' dyed blue and covered in blood woulda drawn too much attention."

"You don't say." Jasper wished Peter would stop rambling and tell him what was really going on. He'd never changed anyone before. Not that he was aware of. His old friend had horrible control when it came to drinking, and the girl smelled so damn good, he wasn't sure how anyone could have stopped. "Why didn't you put her in the back seat?"

"And get blood all over that expensive upholstery job?" Peter scoffed.

"Well, I came all this way. Might as well show me what you've got in the box."

They walked around the sleek vehicle, and Peter paused before popping the trunk.

"To keep her from wreckin' my car or hurtin' herself anymore, I hogtied her. Then I had to put some tape over her mouth when she started screamin'."

Jasper gave him the side eye. "You always keep rope and duct tape in your car?"

With a shrug, Peter reached for the trunk. "Doesn't everybody?"

The trunk lid lifted, and the scent from inside hit him like a ton of bricks. Jasper was immediately overwhelmed. He'd never smelled anything so good in his century and-a-half, and all he could do was stare in awe at the bound and gagged brunette.

He finally found his voice. "Damn," he murmured, a touch of wonder coloring his tone.

"I know," Peter readily agreed, nodding slowly toward the writhing woman. "I almost forgot my own damn name when she walked into the Waffle House. She was a little wet from the rain, and her scent was … I don't know. In my brain. Then I got a look at her and that pretty long brown hair, and …" He scrubbed at his face. "I almost snatched her up and ran out of the place, to hell with anybody seein' me."

Quicker than a blink, Jasper had the squirming woman in his arms, and his nose was buried in her hair. He decided right then and there he wouldn't ever go back to Alice. He wanted to be wherever Peter's changeling was. He propped his foot on the bumper, settled the woman's butt on his thigh, and slowly peeled the wide silver tape from her mouth. His breath caught in his throat.

Peter beamed as he reached inside the trunk and plucked out a small leather handbag. "Not only does she smell like Heaven, she's pretty, too. Nice bonus."

Jasper had been so overtaken by the young woman's natural perfume, he'd forgotten Peter was beside him. "Do you know her name?"

"Got her purse right here. Didn't have a chance to look, since I was in a hurry and all."

A blood curdling scream interrupted them, and the woman started struggling again.

Jasper sprinted to the porch and into the house, but Peter beat him to the lone bedroom, stripping the quilt from the queen-sized bed.

"What the hell, Pete?" Jasper growled before placing his precious cargo in the center of the bed.

"I appreciate you takin' it out and shakin' off the dust, but I don't need her rippin' it to shreds." He worked at the knots of rope holding her ankles and wrists and soon freed her.

"I'll buy ya ten damn quilts," Jasper groused, digging through the little purse. "How the hell do women get so much shit in these tiny little bags?" Finally finding her ID, Jasper was surprised to see it had been issued in Arizona. "Here's her license. Her name is Isabella Marie Swan. You picked her up in Florida? She was a long way from home."

"Her name is as pretty as she is." With utter delight, Peter took the ID and looked it over. "Maybe she was on vacation."

"What were you doin' in Florida, and why did you decide to change her, and how did you do it? I honestly don't think I would have been able to stop." Jasper was unable to hold off his curiosity any longer.

"Hey! I got plenty of control, bein' on the proper diet. And, I don't know. I wanted to drink her down, but I wanted her more. I just had to change her." He scratched at the side of his neck. "Long, strange story."

Peter proceeded to fill him in on the events leading up to finding her at the Waffle House—how he had traveled to Florida on one of his whims, heard about the serial killings, and decided to track the killer down. How Isabella just happened to get in the way, and subsequently very nearly became the man's next victim. "It was just bad luck. She got cut up pretty bad with the asshole's knife as she was fightin' him off. She's a real pistol."

"Cover story? Somebody's going to be lookin' for her."

"Taken care of, and they'll find the killer's body but not hers a' course." Peter was feeling rather proud of himself. "There's canals and alligators everywhere over there. It'll look like he attacked her at her car and couldn't stuff her inside. Then he forced her to the nearby canal, where she fought him some more, stabbed him in the neck with his own knife, and then a gator got her and drug her into the water."

Jasper just gave him an incredulous stare.

"What? It could happen. And how do you think I washed off most of the blood and dye?" He lifted his hat, smoothed his hair back, and replaced it. "Pretty damn ingenious, don't ya think?"

Jasper blinked a couple times when he realized he'd only been half listening to Peter's off-the-wall story. He was unable to focus on much of anything other than the girl he was holding in his arms. "Can I have her?" he asked.

"I don't think Alice would approve." Peter chuckled. "And anyhow, I saw her first. She's mine."

Jasper's mood darkened, the whole atmosphere of the room shifted. Peter felt a heaviness weighing down on him.

"I'm not going back to Alice or going back to live with the Cullens. And I'm damn sure not goin' back to high school."

"Oh." Peter hadn't been expecting that. He'd thought everything had been going well for his old war buddy. Although he had never agreed with the lifestyle the Cullen's lived, Jasper had seemed to have found a place with the family. He still had those crazy yellow eyes from his all-animal diet, so he hadn't partaken of a vampire's natural food source. He couldn't imagine what had changed, but it was probably something serious, judging by the feelings he was throwing off. "What happened, man?"

"Alice doesn't love me, and I don't love her. That's the gist of it. There's a whole lot of other bullshit, but let's not get into that right now. We need to get Isabella cleaned up." He started to peel her shirt back where it had been slashed through with the knife. The dried blood made the fabric stick to her skin.

"Let me help." Peter reached over and Jasper growled, smacking his hand away.

It appeared they were at an impasse.

Peter blew out a long, measured breath and studied the man beside him, not yet ready to entertain the notion that their soon-to-be newborn had the same effect on Jasper as she had on him. He pushed that thought to the back of his mind and said, "I'm gonna let that one slide, on account of you've been suckin' on gentle woodland creatures for so long, and she smells so good, and both of those things put together have obviously made you muy loco."

With narrowed eyes, Jasper finally took in Peter's rigid stance and the odd mix of emotions he was emanating—a warm caring, a contentedness that had never been there before, all edged with a protectiveness directed toward their charge that mimicked the growing feeling within himself. When he suddenly realized he was feeling jealous over the girl, the fog began to clear. He wasn't sure what had come over him. A distant sound reached him over Isabella's twitches and incoherent mutters. "Do you hear somethin'?"

Peter did hear something. It sounded like a vehicle getting closer by the second. By the pitch of the engine's whine, it was traveling fast. "Did you invite somebody?"

"No. Did you?" As he watched Peter shake his head, and listened to the vehicle come ever closer to the cabin, it dawned on him. "Did you buy Isabella some new clothes on your way over?"

Peter cocked his hat back. "No. Didn't have time. I was gonna leave her here with you and do that later."

"Shit."

"What?"

"It has to be Alice comin'. She knew I was headed to visit you, and if she saw an opportunity to go shoppin' and dress somebody, I don't think she'd be able to contain herself." Jasper was mad as hell. "You tell her we don't need her or her clothes, and that I'm busy. I don't want to see her, and I don't want to go the dance, either." Jasper lifted Isabella and hugged her tighter, instinctively soothing himself.

"The dance?" Peter had no clue what he was talking about. All he was sure of was Jasper had lost his mind. "What makes you think she'd listen to me? She never has before." He wanted to be the one holding Isabella, stroking her hair, washing the dried blood off of her naked body.

Jasper gave him a mean look. "What in the fuck is going through your head right now?"

"Nothin'. Gimme back my newborn. You should go handle your wife, or your ex, or your whatever she is." Peter frowned and gave him a hard look.

The vehicle came to a stop outside the cabin and the motor cut off.

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~4~

~WH~

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