"You want to go do what?" Rebecca said, sipping her morning coffee and eyeing her sister-in-law warily.
Grace had dark bags under her eyes and was yawning every few minutes like she hadn't just woken up. She and Solomon had gotten back around eleven last night and Grace had been dead to the world when Becca had checked on her.
"I want to take my camera out." Grace blinked, stifling another yawn. "It's so pretty here and I'd love to see more of the town."
Billy smiled at the young girl next to him. "I'm sure we can arrange one of the guys to show you around…"
"Especially if you want to go out into the woods…" Jacob cleared his throat. "There are some strange things in these woods."
Grace giggled at his mysterious tone and the smirk on his face, nudging his large arm with her elbow. He winked at her and then made awkward eye contact with his father over her head. If only she knew…
"Hello?"
Jacob wanted to roll his eyes. Paul had warned him that he'd stop by in the morning but he hadn't expected the idiot so early.
"Kitchen." Billy called out. "Hello, Paul."
Paul glanced around the kitchen, deliberately saving Grace for last. She was sat next to Billy with her injured foot propped up on his lap. It looked comical, but then, there weren't any other chairs and Billy didn't look bothered.
"Just came to check up on the patient." He grinned at Grace's blushing cheeks. "And to see if you and Seth needed help tonight…"
Jacob scoffed quietly at his friend. He hadn't taken his eyes off Grace since he'd walked into the room – his second excuse was void. "No. We made arrangements with the folks that own the house and they said that there hadn't been anyone on their land since their last guests."
Paul swallowed thickly and glanced at Grace and then Billy. Both of them were frowning but Billy's was more out of frustration.
Their surprise leech visitor had gone missing but they were all still on high alert. If the Cullen's didn't know of any others in the area then they were well and truly in the dark. Paul sighed. "That's good then… I could use a break."
He did need a small vacation from the 24/7 patrolling he'd been doing – and he refused to admit out loud that it had anything to do with the tiny woman sitting with Jacob's father.
"You work for Sam?" the woman in question asked, biting her lip.
Paul shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck. "I work with Sam on security around La Push. I suppose that means that I work for Billy, right?"
Billy's chest rumbled with silent laughter. "The council hires some of the guys on the reservation to keep the peace. It's part-time for some of them but Paul is one of our fixed employees."
No need to mention that he got paid a hefty sum of money every month – just like the others – from an account run by Alice Cullen and her uncanny ability to predict stock markets…
Grace nodded understandingly and smiled up at Paul shyly. "I guess that works. Makes me feel super safe…"
Paul's chest puffed with pride and he felt the urge to blush. He beat it down for the sake of not being teased by Jacob but he smiled back at his imprint wide enough to put the sun to shame. "Thanks… I try my best."
"And Sam owns the contracting business while you do private security for families in Forks?" Grace moved on, glancing at her Jacob for confirmation. "Right… I'm in the loop now."
Solomon barked a laugh and leant over to ruffle his sister's hair. "You're such a smartass."
"You love me anyway." Grace scrunched her nose at him before sighing. "All right! I'm going to go get dressed and start charging my camera and the extra batteries. If I want nice pictures, I'll need them."
"Pictures?" Paul asked, cocking his head at her curiously.
Jacob groaned and Rebecca laughed. "Yeah, Emily mentioned the other night that First Beach and the woods around La Push were beautiful in the daytime so our little invalid decided that it would be a good time to go out and photograph it."
Billy handed Grace her crutches and she squeezed his shoulder in thanks before making her way back to her room. "Billy said I could ask one of the locals to take me since Becca hates tagging along when I photograph."
"I'm sure that the local will hate it too by the end of it…" Solomon laughed, nudging his wife with an elbow. "You lose yourself completely when that thing's in your hands…"
She narrowed her eyes at him as her tongue darted out childishly. Paul chuckled and bit his lip as he watched her leave the room.
He pulled out the chair that Grace had been occupying and sat down, listening to her puttering around in the room as he absently paid attention to the conversation around him.
The little gray Uley house was silent as Paul walked inside. He'd left Billy's house only because Jacob had subtly forced him and even then, he'd stuck around the tree line for an hour listening to Grace and Rebecca discuss recipes.
"Sam? Em?" he called out; he didn't need to but it was polite. He could hear Emily in the guest room and Sam's heavy heartbeat thudded from the garage behind the little house.
"I'll be right there, Paul." Emily called down, sighing lightly as she ruffled some material.
He knew that Emily wished for more privacy from the pack but that she loved them nonetheless. He was there, he hoped, to give her some respite.
"Paul?" Sam asked from the door. Paul could smell motor oil as his Alpha wiped his hands on an old rag. "Something wrong?"
Paul laughed lightly and scratched the back of his head as Emily traipsed into the room offering coffee and banana muffins. "I wanted to talk to you about… maybe… if I could have some… time off from patrols."
Sam blinked slowly at his third-in-command and watched the man fidget with his fingers. He knew Paul was a hard-working guy and that he hadn't taken so much as a day off from patrols like he, Jake and Jared regularly did – for the sake of their imprints.
Emily set down a large cup of coffee and a plate of muffins in front of each of them and patted Paul's shoulder. "Grace?"
Sam almost chuckled at the sheepish look on his friends' face. He knew that Grace Finau would have had something to do with the time off that Paul wanted but he didn't think that Paul would look so guilty because of it.
"If you wanted time off, you could have taken it without asking." Sam smiled. "I know you need a break. We have enough members to handle patrols and if we really needed you, I know you'd help. Relax, man."
Paul grinned at Sam, humming around a bite of muffin as he thought about all the ways he wanted to spend time with Grace.
The photography jaunt to First Beach the first on his list…
"Just be yourself." Emily rubbed Sam's arms as she sat down on his lap. "Smile and be your usual charming self… she'll come around."
"Here's hoping." Paul mock-toasted with his coffee cup and laughed along with his oldest friends.
"Oh my god, these are amazing!" Autumn gushed as she studied the pictures that Grace had taken of a flock of seagulls picking at a crab carcass. "Morbid but totally amazing!"
Grace giggled and tucked some more hair behind her ear as she glanced around for more subject matter. She'd gotten a sizable number of photos – especially because the little pebbles on the beach made for a great background.
Autumn was good at spotting things as well and Grace was glad that she was spending some more time with her and Leah.
Leah hung back mostly, letting the more artistic girls flit around like giggly schoolgirls.
Grace bit her lip as she watched Leah survey the beach from the top of a large rock. She looked ethereal, silhouetted by the little sunlight that fought its way through the clouds, head bent down as if she were listening for something.
"I want a copy of that." Autumn whispered in Grace's ear as she sat down behind the photographer. "Gonna frame it above my bedside table…"
Grace smiled at the love in Autumn's voice when she spoke of her sometimes grumpy wife. There was no doubt that they had been made for each other and Grace admired their devotion.
"Baby, can we take Grace into the woods?" Autumn called suddenly and Grace blinked as she looked up at Leah. The taller woman looked slightly hesitant but nodded anyway, picking her way down towards them.
Grace hung her camera around her neck and grabbed her crutches. Autumn and Leah walked on either side of her, hands at the ready; just in case she fell again.
She almost told them not to worry but a sudden noise behind them startled her and she had to grab onto Leah as her crutch stuck in the sand.
She followed Autumn's gaze and found Paul running toward them. He had his shirt off and Grace found that she had forgotten how to swallow or breathe…
"Went around to Billy's to offer to take you out and found out you were gone already." He laughed. Grace blinked up at him stupidly as Leah started hissing under her breath.
Autumn chuckled and lightly traced two fingers over her wife's back, "You can join us anyway. I'm afraid I'm not much help in my condition and I can't expect Leah to carry Grace around – especially since we're heading into the woods."
Grace nodded and looked back at the looming forest and then at Paul's bare chest again. "That is if you're gonna be fine against the cold…"
"I'll be fine." Paul bit his lip and took Autumn's place next to his imprint. "We Quileute's are built for this weather."
Grace blushed scarlet and the four of them set off again. Autumn kept up most of the conversation but Grace found it hard to concentrate on anything other than Paul's warm hand at the small of her back.
"Oh! That'll look so nice, Grace!" Autumn pointed at a downed tree and the weirdly shaped mushrooms around it. "You could even photoshop it with some fairy lights… like fantasy stuff."
Grace smiled at Autumn's enthusiasm and looked around for a place to sit. It was difficult with the crutches and she always found that she took better pictures when she was sitting down or on her stomach.
"What?" Paul had noticed her preoccupation and grasped at the opportunity to help.
"I need somewhere to sit." Grace said shyly. "Like a rock or log or…"
"Me?" Paul offered. "There aren't rocks or logs near here but you could perch on my knees…"
Leah sniggered behind them and Paul sent her a warning growl, fighting to keep the open expression on his face. He wanted more than anything for her to say yes, for her to be so close to him.
"If you're sure." She nervously glanced around again for a rock or log. "I don't want to put you out…"
Paul rolled his eyes and set her crutches against a tree as he lifted her and asked where he should perch. Grace was mortified by the time she'd gotten a dozen good pictures of the mushrooms against their mossy wall.
"They look amazing." Paul whispered and Grace shivered as his warm breath tickled the side of her neck. "We make a good team."
She turned to smile at him and found his face inches from hers. They blinked at each other and her eyes fell to his lips – full and slightly parted and waiting…
Paul blinked and cursed himself internally; pulling away before he did something stupid. He wanted to kiss her – God knows how much – but it was too soon and he was hellbent on making their first kiss perfect. Fairy-tale perfect.
They spent another hour and a half like that. She and Autumn would spot different things and Paul and Leah would lend a hand as they navigated their way around various shots and angles. It was the most fun Grace had had since finishing her degree and she was left giggling all the way home after they'd greeted Paul in the parking lot.
She'd wondered how he'd gotten to First Beach without a car but Leah just laughed and said that he liked to jog a lot. She'd brushed it off with a shrug but couldn't help but wonder…
Paul stared up at the tiny house he and his father shared. He'd never given much thought to it – not since it was only a place to sleep after he'd finished patrol. However, now that he had a new perspective on life…
"We need to do something to fix this place up, pop." His father glanced up from the book he'd been reading to stare. Paul was frowning at the roof with his hands on his hips. "I mean, how have we been living with a roof that leaks in three different places?"
Joseph watched his son pace around their little shoebox house for a while, stunned to silence at the sudden interest the boy was taking to a place he only ever spent five hours in – to sleep. "What's all this about?"
Paul paused his inspection of the kitchen. He'd forgotten that his father didn't know about Grace yet… and he wanted to keep it that way for a while. At least until he'd fixed the house enough to bring her in to meet his father.
"I've gotten some time off from patrol." Paul shrugged. "Thought I'd use it to fix this place up like we always wanted… maybe even add a few rooms for extra space."
Joseph didn't know what to do other than laugh but he indulged his son, getting up to walk through the small house together to discuss options.
Grace smacked Sol's arm as he stuffed his face with the honey pork chops she and Becca had spent the afternoon on. Jacob was handling it much better than her brother but only barely.
Billy laughed heartily at the shamed face his son-in-law gave Grace and complimented the young girl on her deliciously creamy mashed potatoes.
"It was a favourite growing up." Solomon said, remembering to swallow his food before talking. "I haven't had it since I left the nest and Grace has been stingy with Ma's recipe."
Rebecca kissed his cheek consolingly and thanked Jacob when he stood and started clearing plates off the table to give Grace break.
They'd made apple pie to accompany their meal and the boys hurried to finish the dishes so that Rebecca could dish up desert.
"I got a call from Xavier this morning." Rebecca whispered to Grace when she was sure her father wasn't paying attention. "Our offer on the Quillayute River house has been accepted. The people selling want it done ASAP."
Grace squealed, drawing attention, and blushed when Billy asked if she was all right. "I jostled my foot. I'm fine…"
She saw Jacob smirk and hid her own smile as Rebecca rummaged through the cupboards for plates and glasses. She dug out a bottle of sparkling wine and smiled at Sol before turning to her father and brother.
"We have news." Solomon said, grasping Rebecca's hand and kissing her wrist. "We made an offer on a house here and it's been accepted."
There was a moment of stunned silence before Jacob exploded into loud cheers and started swinging his sister around as she giggled. Billy was shaking Sol's hand, small tears in the corners of his eyes.
Jacob pulled Grace closer as well and she slapped his chest as she felt his rumble against her side from laughter.
"Now all we have to do is move all our stuff from Hawaii and we'll be set." Rebecca's smile was twice as wide as her brothers'. "I have an art teacher job lined up at the Rez school and Sol's been offered a job at the Animal Hospital starting in the new year."
Billy kissed his daughter's cheek and hugged her to his chest.
"What about you, Grace?" Jacob smiled down at her. "You got a job lined up?"
Her face fell and Sol and Rebecca glanced nervously from her to Jacob. He sensed the tension and frowned as she bit her lip and sat down, fiddling with her fingers.
"I'm not moving with them, Jake." She cleared her throat. "I have a life back in Kailua. I fully support Sol and Rebecca's choice; I just don't think I'm ready to move away from home, you know?"
Jacob and Billy shared a worried look as Rebecca tried to save the moment by handing out glasses – hoping that no one noticed the sparkling grape juice bottle behind the wine.
A/N: I have a poll up on my profile about possible sequels. Keep in mind that any sequels will be a while off and this is just so I have an idea of what you guys want.
All the love,
Nikolene.