Forgiveness Doesn't Have to Be Hard
Chapter 7
Rated M
Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. I just like imagining what could have happened if Bella didn't turn into a vampire, or stay with Edward.
Bella twirled the red ribbon in her fingers from the dessert. Jacob reached out and grabbed it from her, grabbing her pinky and gently tugging it. She stepped forward, closer to Jake, but tilting her head down.
"Do you want to head up to the swing?" He asked quietly. Bella simply nodded. Jake turned to lead the way. As he went up the stairs, he started peeling off his shirt and belt. Bella's heart thudded as she thought about the time they'd spent together in the shower.
He tossed the shirt and belt on the dresser and stepped on the heel of his shoes to take them off. Then he grabbed a quilt off the rocking chair and went out onto the porch.
Bella kicked off the heels and went into the closet to look through the bag the girls packed her. Thankfully there were some yoga pants and a sweatshirt. She quickly changed, stuffing the bra she was wearing into the bag. Jake peeked in when she was sitting on the edge of the bed putting on some socks.
He opened the door wider for her as she padded out onto the porch. The quilt had been hung over the back of the swing so that Bella could wrap up in it when she sat down. Jake sat down first and Bella cozied up beside him, pulling the quilt around her shoulder.
The swing gently rocked as they sat in silence, listening to the sound of the water rushing past. Eventually, Bella dozed off and Jacob continued to hold her as he enjoyed the peace of nature and the lull of the swing. When he felt his head jerk up after falling asleep himself, he carefully lifted Bella and carried her into the house.
Even though sleep came easily to him on the swing, once he was in the bed, sleep was elusive. He stared at Bella while she slept, his mind replaying the story of her honeymoon. He hadn't seen her in 10 years. Did she have any boyfriends or date while she was in Florida? He had tried dating, but every time he'd find some flaw that he couldn't deal with.
In the beginning, the guys heckled him to try a second date but eventually they left him alone. They'd all moved on in their lives and trying to get their friend to do something that he didn't want to, was pointless.
It had taken some courage to finally date someone long enough to sleep with them. But, even though the sex was fine, the girls didn't enjoy being with a guy that didn't want to settle down and get married, or take them to his house.
The last girl he dated was 2 years ago. Two years ago, Jacob had decided to give up dating until the right girl came along. He figured when he met her, he would know. It seemed his subconscious mind was pretty smart.
The wolf left him years ago but left behind the enhanced senses. Jake still kept himself physically fit by running and doing some weightlifting. He continued to be warmer than most.
Eventually, Jacob drifted off, his last memory of watching Bella sleep peacefully. It was his nose that woke him in the morning. Without opening his eyes, he rolled onto his back and reached his arms up over his head to stretch out his back.
"Hey, sit up," Bella told him. Jake opened his eyes and saw Bella standing next to the bed with a lap tray in her hands. He shifted in the bed so that he could sit up and then Bella put the tray across his legs. His hand reached out a grabbed a sausage link, narrowly missing hers as she pulled her hand back.
"Thanks for cooking," he told her. She turned and headed out of the bedroom. Jake grabbed the fork and cut up the waffles Bella had made. He savored the taste that only seemed to come from food she made.
When she came back upstairs with her own tray, she chuckled at the amount of food he'd eaten while she was gone for a short time. Both trays were ready, she could only carry one at a time. Jake steadied her tray as she climbed on the bed next to him. They continued to eat in silence until most of the food was gone.
"Did you have any plans for today?" Bella asked, as she sipped from a travel mug.
"I didn't have anything set in stone. Rachel and Paul went home from the hospital last night. I want to give them a few days to get settled before I go over. Did you want to visit your friend, Angela?"
"She went home too. I've been keeping in touch with her by text. She's really exhausted. I might go see her Monday after we leave here. Maybe we could go for a hike?"
Jacob just looked at her but didn't say a word. She smiled at him. "What?"
"You want to go for a hike?" His voice echoed his obvious surprise.
"I know I'm not the most athletic person on Earth, but I think I can do okay with you. If worse comes to worst, you can phase and I can hop on, right?" She smiled.
"Well, you can hop on my back, but Bells, the wolf is gone. I don't phase anymore. I haven't in a long time."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I assumed. That was dumb of me," she said, quickly backpedaling.
Jacob set his empty tray on the floor and turned back toward Bella. He reached out to her plate and grabbed a grape.
"You didn't know. Don't feel bad. I assumed you knew since I haven't been patrolling or anything. Why don't we go wash up the dishes real quick and then we can get a shower?"
"A shower, huh?"
"Definitely want to have you wash my back again. That was awesome."
"So, I'll wash and you dry?"
Together they cleaned the kitchen, and then later, each other in the shower. Jacob seemed to sense Bella's hesitation for getting too close in the shower, so he kept his hands to himself as much as possible.
Later, when they pulled up to the trailhead for their hike, Jacob harnessed the rucksack on his back and held his out his hand for Bella. She wrapped her fingers in his and looked up into the woods. They walked for nearly an hour before stopping.
Jake sat on a boulder and patted the space in front of him, indicating that Bella should sit there. She climbed up and sat in front of him. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. Bella watched the forest around them, and Jacob rested his forehead against the top of her head.
Neither spoke as they enjoyed the serenity of nature and the comfort of the other's nearness.
"What's next for us, Bells?" Jacob asked her.
"I'm not sure. I feel like it's unfair for you to forget everything that's happened and have us move on like I never hurt you."
"Okay. Let's say that I can move on and forget that you ever hurt me. That you being here now is all I needed to heal."
"Honestly, I would love that. I've dreamed of it for years. I'm afraid that down the road, your true feelings would come out and we'd start fighting with each other."
"Do you think we'd be strong enough to get through that together?" He asked.
"I hope that we're strong enough to get through anything together, Jake." Bella turned to look him in the eyes. He leaned down and his warm lips pressed into hers. Their eyes stayed on each other, not closing. Bella opened her lips and slipped her tongue into Jake's mouth, letting her tongue lightly dance against his. It was gentle and unhurried.
"I brought my camera. I was hoping to get some good pictures while we were out here."
Carefully, Jake climbed down from his position on the large rock and opened the rucksack. It took him a few minutes to assemble the camera and when he snapped a picture of Bella, she squealed.
"No! Don't take pictures of me!" She giggled and turned her head away.
"What are you talking about? There's nothing else here I want to photograph!" Jake chuckled as he continued to click away without her knowledge, loving how her face lit up with happiness. He wasn't a portrait photographer, so this was perfect.
"Why don't you just sit there for a minute? I'll take some pictures, you don't even have to look at me."
Bella didn't respond. She scratched at an imaginary spot on her brown cords. Slowly, her eyes peered up at Jake and she watched as he took the pictures he wanted. It took effort for her to keep from complaining, mostly because she was embarrassed when she was the center of attention.
"All done, sweetheart," Jake said as he packed things back into the bigger bag. "Do you want to go look at your new car?"
"Sure. Where is it?"
"Ahh. That's part of the surprise!"
A few hours later, Bella stood staring at a rusty hunk of metal. Her eyes moved from the flat tires, to the dents, and missing paint. This wasn't exactly what she had in mind when Jacob said he had the perfect car in mind for her. As she stood with her arms crossed, unmoving, Jacob walked around the car, talking about what a great car it would be.
"There's a big problem with this heap, Jake."
He looked up at her with surprise.
"What's wrong with it? It's a classic, Bells."
"A classic piece of junk! How am I going to get around in this? The truck was old but it…worked!" Her hand shook at it, as if to accentuate her point. "I need to get a job and to get there, I need something that runs."
When she turned around to look at him, he was shaking with laughter. He realized she was looking at him and the laughter bubbled out into full guffaws.
"Oh, I totally had you!" He continued to laugh as he walked up to a stunned Bella. "Oh, honey. I don't think you should get this piece of crap. I can't believe you fell for it." Quickly, he dropped a kiss on her lips and backed up before her hands could slap his chest.
"All right, smartass. Where's the real car?"
"Follow me."
This time, Bella followed Jake behind the rusty piles of cars and a modular building that served as the office to the junkyard. There was a large garage and Jake started to push the big metal door open. Looking behind them, Bella watched for someone to come out and start yelling at them.
Once inside, Jake flipped a light switch. There were 6 cars in the garage, all covered with white covers. He walked determinedly to the last car on the left and grabbed the corner of the cover.
"Ready?"
Bella nodded. Jake tugged back the cover and revealed a shiny, black Jeep. The car didn't seem very old and Bella wondered why it was at a junkyard. She walked up close and peered inside the vehicle. It had nice leather seats and was a hardtop. It would be great for her. She liked it.
"So?"
"It's great. I like it. But why's it here at the junkyard?"
"Is that Bella Swan I hear?" boomed a voice from behind them. Bella turned to see Quil walking up to them.
"Quil! Hey! Is this your place?" Bella smiled at him. He walked straight up to her and wrapped his arms around her.
"How are you, girl? You are looking fantastic! Yes, this is my place. Embry and I own it together. But this baby here. This car is mine. I finally fixed up an old muscle car like Jake and I don't really drive it anymore. I've been thinking about selling it, but haven't really tried. When Jake told me he had the perfect buyer for it, I wasn't sure who he had in mind. If you want it, I'll give you a great deal. You know it comes from a loving home." Quil smiled at her.
"Definitely. How have you been, Quil? How's Claire?"
Before Quil answered, his eyes flicked to Jake and the odd look on his face passed as quickly as it came. His smile and deep dimples returned before he continued talking.
"I've been doing really well. We've got this place going. Nothing like a junkyard to keep us busy. I heard you talked to Embry. He didn't tell you about this place?"
"We didn't really chat about what was going on back here and that was a long time ago." Bella turned away, slightly embarrassed again.
Jake came around the Jeep and wrapped his arm around Bella's waist.
"Can she pick it up Monday afternoon?" Jake asked his friend.
"Want me to bring it by Charlie's place?" Quil offered.
"No. Bring it to my house. Have Embry follow you with your car though."
"Cool, man. Thanks, Bella. I'm glad somebody is going to take good care of my Katydid."
"Katydid?"
"Yeah. You know, cars have names."
Bella laughed and shook her head. She turned and wrapped her arms around Jake's waist, resting her cheek against his check.
"So, are you guys together now?" Quil asked with no shame.
"Yes," Bella answered.
"No," Jake answered at the same time.
"Well, we haven't really talked about it," Bella blushed a bright shade of scarlet.
"It's fine, Bells. Of course, I want to call you mine." He leaned down and rubbed his nose against her forehead. Bella tilted her head back and stepped up on tiptoes for Jake to kiss her.
"Oh great. If you're going to be all lovey-dovey now, I've got paperwork to get done in the office," Quil announced before spinning around and leaving the garage.
"Let's get out of here. Let's go back to the house and make dinner. Maybe try out that dessert." Jacob winked at Bella, as she buried her face in his chest.
A/N: So I have two gals I chat with frequently through FF. One of them is writing this awesome story right now called Separation and Lies, tonyamic10. If you aren't reading it yet, I promise you, you are missing out. Head on over, tell her TJ sent you and feel free to beg her for updates.
My other girl, plainjanedee, is always an inspiration to continue when giving up sounds better. She's got an awesome story going too. It's called Vegas, Baby! A great bxj story.
