Chapter 6
Masen, Leah, Cassandra, Jacob and Renesme took a flight out to Minnesota to visit for the first time. While Bella and Edward, as well as Carlisle and Esme had dropped into Forks a few times since moving, they thought it was only right to make the trip to see where their family lived.
Esme smothered all of them when they pulled up the long driveway, beginning with Cassandra and ending with Masen. She took his face in her hand and looked at him as if she hadn't in decades.
"Cassandra," she gushed, "You're so beautiful." She ran a hand through her strait, dark hair, making her granddaughter grin.
"Thanks," she said with a wide smile, then ran to greet all the girls.
"This is even bigger than it looks in the pictures," Leah said with a laugh.
"Yeah, how do you not get lost inside," Masen joked, glancing up toward the oversized house, "This place is a mansion... literally."
"Tell me about it," Esme said, "I was a little overwhelmed when we first moved in but it feels like home now."
"As much as Forks?" Leah asked, still grinning.
"Nothing will ever feel quite as 'home' as Forks," Esme told her, bringing her in for a hug, "I've missed you guys."
"We miss you too," she told her.
Jacob and Renesme were laughing with Edward and Bella, and Masen made his way to his father, sharing a big hug and a smile.
"Nice house," Masen said again, raising his eyebrows.
Carlisle looked down and nodded, "Over the top, isn't it?"
"Rose's choice?" he asked wit ha laugh.
Carlisle chuckled and nodded, then patted his son on the back, "I'm glad you all came out here."
"Me too," Masen told him with a nod, "I mean with work and everything..." he shrugged and ran a hand through his hair, "You know how it gets."
He smiled at his son admirably, "I'm proud of you Masen. You and Leah have established quite the life together."
"Learned from the best," he told him with a grin, tapping his chest lightly.
Caleb walked up to Masen with open arms and his brother's eyebrows raised. "Mase!"
"Wow!" Masen said, "You're huge."
They laughed and shared long hug, "We've talked over the computer," Caleb told him, "On the web cam."
"I know, but it didn't hit me until just now. You're like... a man now." The two of them began to laugh before Masen pulled him back in for another hug, "Good to see you brother."
"You too Mase," Caleb said, smiling.
"Where's the uh, the lady friend?" Masen asked, raising his eyebrows.
"She's coming by soon," he said, "I can't wait for you to meet her."
"The one who got you into all sorts of trouble?" Leah asked, bumping her hip against his.
"Yeah, that one," Caleb told her with a snicker.
"Am I going to have to take my claws out?" she asked him.
"You don't want to see that," Masen assured his brother.
"No, Alex and Rosalie have done plenty of that," Caleb told them.
"I'll be on my best behavior,' Leah assured him with a wink.
"Yeah, sure, Leah..."
She laughed and Masen took her hand in his. The two of them walked up to greet Alex and Michael before they were given a tour of the house.
"A pool!" Cassandra said excitedly, looking at Nicole and Mackenzie, then Alex, "Oh, we're going in."
"Definitely," Nicole said, "As soon as you guys get settled we can put on some music or a movie, maybe drink a little wine and take a dip."
"Just when I thought you couldn't outdo your old place," Jacob said, shaking his head at Edward.
"Hey, if it was my way we'd all be in a quaint, little place out in the woods," Edward told him.
"Oh, don't act like you don't love this place. The pool, the game room, the massive garage..."
He shrugged, "It has its perks, I guess."
"And it is in the middle of the woods," Jacob said with a laugh.
"Hey, are you giving my dad a hard time?" Renesme teased, slinking in beside Edward.
"Of course not," Jacob told her, narrowing his eyes with a wide, toothy grin.
She laughed and hugged Edward, "This is awesome."
"Can I come live here?" Cassandra asked, grinning as she entered the room with Esme.
"We want to come back to Forks," Caleb told her, smiling, "I miss it there."
They approached where Edward and everyone stood talking.
"Jacob, how is the pack doing?" Esme asked him with a smile.
He grinned, "They're doing good. No new members since you've moved out here."
She stopped to think for a moment, "Will you start to age?"
Jacob shook his head, "Nessy, Masen, Lucy and probably Cassandra have enough pull to keep us all in our warrior forms."
Esme felt relieved, "Good. We would have had to move back."
He laughed and smiled wide at her, "Seth wanted me to say hello to you and Carlisle, by the way."
"They should have come."
Jacob shrugged, "That's what I said, but Seth just started working and Lucy is going to hairdressing school."
"Really?" Esme asked with a hint of excitement, "That's great."
He nodded, still smiling.
"What do we have to eat around here?" Masen asked Carlisle, as they linked up with the rest of them.
"Lots," Carlisle told him with a grin.
"Want to go?" he asked him.
He nodded, "Yeah."
"I'm coming," Caleb said to them with a grin.
Esme looked at Carlisle and smiled, feeling waves of happiness every time she saw Masen's face.
"I guess we'll be back soon," Masen told them.
Carlisle patted his son on the back, enjoying his company and took both of his sons out the front door with him.
Rosalie and Alice both walked into the room with aprons, "We're getting dinner started," Alice told everyone, "We finally get to cook again."
"I'll help," Renesme offered immediately with a smile.
"No, no, relax," Esme told them, "We've got it." She looked at Leah who was also about to head in that direction. "Stay," she told her with a smile.
"You're our guests," Alice added, "So go make yourself comfortable, or..." she looked at Cassandra, "Go enjoy the pool."
"Come on," Nicole grabbed her by the hand, "Let's go for dip."
Mackenzie, Alex and Madison joined them and William leaned an arm on his mother, "I'll help you guys."
"Yikes," Emmett said, "Don't burn down the place."
William made a face and shook his head, "I may not be the best cook, but I'm very good at following Mom's orders."
Rosalie laughed and gave her husband a thumbs up. "He's right."
"Want to go for a swim?" Bella asked her daughter with a smile.
"Sure," she said, then made the slightest movement with her head and eyes that indicated that she wanted to speak with her privately.
Bella easily caught on and didn't say anything to blow her cover. "Let's go get changed. I have over five or six bathing suits that I've never worn."
"Thanks to Alice," Edward said with a grin.
She nodded and laughed, "Yeah. So, come with me and you can pick out whichever one you want."
"Meet you by the pool?" Edward asked the two of them.
Renesme nodded with a smile and Bella responded, "Yes," before he and Jacob strolled lazily out of the room together.
When Bella and Renesme were upstairs, Renesme put her hand on her mother's face and Bella waited as her communication sunk in properly.
"We have to tell-" Bella started, but Renesme silenced her with a quick whispered, "No!"
They stood looking at each other for a moment before Renesme continued, "Lucy said the Volturi aren't at all focused on us anymore," she explained, "So, I'm guessing Aro won't go out of his way to try reading mine and Jake's thoughts. Seth doesn't even know because Aro does unfortunately pick through his mind whenever he gets a chance."
"How can I not say anything to your father?" Bella asked.
"Because it's for the best," Renesme whispered, "Aro can't see into your mind. You're the only one I can tell."
She sighed, not wanting to keep anything from Edward, though she blatantly recognized that her daughter had a valid point. In her thoughts that she portrayed through the simple touch of Bella's cheek, Renesme showed her mother that Micah and Helen had been frequently visiting with the wolves of Montana. They considered each other allies, though didn't stick around the area long enough to draw attention to their location. The Cullens had been brought up on occasion, and at one point the vampire couple contemplated taking their chances with the Volturi in order to protect the Cullens from the unjust wrath of their coven.
On top of it all, Renesme and Jacob were also both keeping in touch with Kayla and Jeremy, as well as a few of the others they were close with from the tribe. The thought made Bella nauseous, but she felt she had to trust that Renesme and Jacob wouldn't put themselves in harms way, and if they found themselves there then they would reach out for help.
Bella trusted Jacob with the life of her daughter. She knew he would do anything to protect her, and that included dying for her; but she didn't want to see things get to that point. She didn't want anyone in her family in harms way.
"We're fine," Renesme whispered, "They don't come around all that much, but they do occasionally stop by Kayla's reservation. Jake and I haven't been out there in a long time. If anything, they come visit us once a month or once every couple of months."
"Renesme..." Bella shook his head and ran a hand through her hair.
"I know it sounds like heavy information," she whispered, "But it's not. I just wanted to let you know in case for some reason you ever needed the information. Trust us."
Bella sighed and hugged her. "Okay." She knew it would be difficult to keep the information from Edward and everyone else, but knew her daughter was being strategic in her thought to tell her. The fact that Luciana was on her side made things seem a little more comfortable. Bella just hoped that nothing bad would come it.
"Let's go enjoy the water," Renesme said. She looked at her mother and half-smiled.
Bella nodded and stood up, taking her daughter toward the closet to pick out a swim suit.