Chapter 7

Texas was a big state, and she had no idea where Jasper was living. All she had was his name, and thankfully Jasper Whitlock was an uncommon one. After searching Texas property tax records for days she found a large parcel of land in Minneola, Texas. It was about an hour away from Tyler, Texas where they had a college named Texas College. She would find a way to get there, and hopefully find Jasper.

Her parents went along with her decision of college; they thought it was great that she would be living half way between each of them. Charlie was just glad her mood had improved. She had been so excited about the idea, he couldn't have refused. It would be a fresh start, a clean slate, just what she needed.

Weeks later she had moved into her own little apartment on campus, and started classes. She had driven her old truck all the way from Forks, filled with her few possessions, and moved in to the all ready furnished apartment all by herself. It was nice to feel the sun again, but it sure was hot in Texas!

Bella decided she would attempt to find Jasper on Saturday. She was really nervous about seeing him again. Would he remember her? Would he devour her? Would he be alone? Would he even be there? What had his life been like without Alice? All the questions swirling around in her head had prevented her from looking for Jasper for the past few weeks, but when she woke up Saturday morning she put on the clothes he had last seen her in, back in the civil war, jumped in the truck and headed out toward Jaspers property.

She drove down the country highway, and passed fields of cows and corn. It was a peaceful drive, but inside Bella felt very anxious. She almost missed the obscured dirt path. It was marked only by a dented and rusted mailbox. She barely made out the numbers, but there they were. She felt a bit discouraged, but she turned down the path. It apparently hadn't been traveled down for a long time because the trees and brush scraped along the edges of her truck.

Finally she drove into a clearing, and saw an old abandoned house set in a field of weeds. She decided to get out of her truck and look around. The house was falling apart, and all the windows had been busted out, the weeds were waist deep. She had made a mistake by coming here. She turned around to go back to her truck and gasped when she saw him. He was watching her from the edge of the forest.

Jasper!