Shadows Of Love
Chapter Seven
They Grow Up So Fast
JPOV
Ren stayed with us in La Push for the next two months. I let her go back to visit the Cullens one last time when she was six
months old. I had consulted closely with Carlisle about her development and progress and we brought Sue Clearwater into
the discussions to have her input and bring her up to speed with Carlisle's research. He duplicated all of Renesmee's medical
records for us, showing us the evidence he had collected indicating that Ren was virtually 100 percent human. This was the
best news we'd had in a while. It appeared, Carlisle explained, that as she aged she was becoming more human, less vampire.
It was as if by the time she was fully grown she would be fully human. What would happen with her aging at that point was
strictly guesswork on everyone's part. Carlisle reasoned that if she did indeed become completely human, she would no longer
have need of a vampire physician. They began to make their preparations to leave, forever.
The first parting gift the vampire side of Ren's family gave her was the biggest and most important in my opinion. A few weeks
after she was born, Alice had a crippling vision and called us all together to tell us that the Volturi were on their way to Washington.
With no other warning than that, the Italian vampire royalty appeared on the Cullen's doorstep less than 24 hours later. The Pack
was on high alert with wolves in the woods surrounding the house. Ren was hidden as far away as we dared take her. I had phased
and carried her into the Canadian Rockies with camping and survival gear and supplies for 2 months. Carlisle answered the door and
welcomed seven of the bloodsuckers into the house like old friends or long lost cousins. With wolves close by and me phased up North,
I had a front row seat to the whole scene. Sam's black wolf had the prime view through a window as all the Pack bore witness to the
defense of our lives mounted by the Cullens.
The head leech, Aro they called him, tried to act nice and happy to see everyone, until he noticed that 'everyone' wasn't there. He
demanded to know where Edward and Bella were and had Bella been turned yet. He didn't initially believe the story he was hearing
and the group began to get agitated and threatening. But that little pixie, Alice, came to the rescue. She stepped up to Aro, brazen
as anything, and held her hand out to him as if to shake his hand in greeting. We watched in paralyzed silence as he gripped her
hand and closed his eyes, dropping his head as if in prayer. I know all of the Pack was praying at that moment. We had been told
that this bloodsucker could touch you and read all the thoughts you'd ever had in your life AND see everything you'd ever seen in
your life. It didn't take long. Alice showed him Bella's death after Renesmee's birth. Then she showed him the vision she had of
Edward running with Ren toward the bonfire. Since the wolves were blind spots for her visions, there was nobody for Aro to see
but Edward and Ren, the rest of the beach appeared empty. Alice's vision had shown her that Edward had been successful in his
insane meltdown and had killed himself and his daughter in the flames. This was what she showed Aro. We all held our breath.
Finally, Aro opened his eyes, released Alice's hand and stepped back. He expressed what seemed to me to be a false sadness at
the events he'd seen, offered Alice a position with his organization, which she declined, and he and his entourage departed the
home with a farewell and an invitation to Carlisle to visit them in Italy soon. Almost immediately after they left, Alice had a new
vision of them returning to Italy without delay and promptly forgetting that Forks even existed. I waited another 10 days before
returning to La Push with my girl. We camped in the wilderness and took advantage of the time alone to get to know each other
better. It was a time I would treasure for the rest of my life.
I had not demanded it, just strongly suggested that it would benefit everybody if the amber-eyed coven left the area, and didn't
return. All of the Cullens were not of the same mind. Neither Esme nor Rosalie wanted to go. They said it felt like they were
abandoning Ren. Rosalie said that since Bella had not survived that she should be the one to raise Renesmee. I made it clear
that would happen over my dead body. Rosalie offered to help me achieve that situation but Ren stepped between us and put
a stop to the confrontation with just a look. The rest of the family saw the logic in leaving. They felt that more than enough
damage had been done and their absence, their distance, was the greatest gift they could give to her. I was not amazed at
all when Ren was the one to convince Esme and Rose to go. She made them understand that their presence reminded her of
her father and it had grown uncomfortable for her to be around them. She promised she would keep in touch with them and
persuaded them to carry out their plans to sign over their home and lands to me and vacate the area permanently. I protested
the property transfer, but Ren persuaded me as well, telling me that it would normally be hers as their next of kin, but that she
was too young to own property. The Cullens legally named Leah as Renesmee's guardian. This satisfied my little girl.
"Jacob, you will always be with me. I trust you. You and Leah can take care of this for me, won't you? Please?"
Of course, any refusal to her was not going to happen. I was incapable of telling her no. But she was so far from being a spoiled
brat. She was so mature and sound-minded. She was wise. Sometimes I would try, but I simply could not put into words how
amazing this child was. I was so proud of her.
The Cullens left when Renesmee was 8 months old. They moved to Europe and the Pack could not have been happier. Another
bonfire was in the offing but I postponed it. It was still too soon I felt. The memory of Edward's last act of insanity was still raw
in our minds. I knew it would be a while before I could look at a bonfire without remembering that horrible night. I feared what
would go through Ren's mind if she were brought to the beach with a roaring blaze in front of her. I told the rest of the Pack.
"Just a little bit longer, let's make sure the past has had enough time to fade."
With the departure of our local vampire coven, life in Forks and La Push calmed right down. The rare nomad would pass through.
Actually, they would pass in, just not out. No bloodsucker ever entered our territory; which now encompassed the entire county
and the National Forest; that we didn't find them, and end them. Patrols were constant, but relaxed. With 10 wolves, it was
simple to have one on patrol at all times. The estate that had been left to Ren benefitted the Rez, at her insistence, and income
worries were a thing of the past. The wolf pack members could work if they chose. There were businesses within the Reservation
that employed most of us. A construction company and an auto repair garage occupied the majority. Leah had essentially become
a full-time mother to Renesmee. She and Sue were taking excellent care of her, even home-schooling her since her attendance at
a public school would have attracted too much attention. Her rapid growth was one thing, but her incredible intelligence and
learning capacity was the most noticeable. When she was two years old and physically about fourteen, she was taking online college
courses. By the time she was big enough to be considered an adult, she would have a master's degree. I couldn't get over it.
Charlie was impressed, too. He was proud to the bursting point of his granddaughter. They spent a great deal of time together.
They bonded in such a special way, it made me hopeful for Charlie's peace of mind. The loss of Bella weighed heavily on his
shoulders still, but I knew that, slowly, Ren was making a difference in his life. Not only would they hang out together, she
would actually watch sports on TV with him. She became a student of baseball, basketball and football and Charlie became her
professor. And she enjoyed watching and was smart enough to grasp what he was telling her and converse with him about what
was happening. The most important thing that she did for him, however, was ask him about Bella. She wanted him to talk about
Bella and tell her what kind of a person her mother had been. At first, it was painful for Charlie, and Ren never asked him to talk
about Bells unless I was with them. The three of us had some long, deep into the night conversations about her. Ren wanted to
understand the relationship that Charlie had with his daughter and she had some remarkable insights that she shared with him.
I think it was the best thing anyone could have done for him. She was healing him. Just like she healed me.
Healing was the supernatural power that Renesmee got. She had no other vampire traits. But she definitely had a gift. She could
love with her whole self and if that love was directed at you, you felt it right through to your bones. She could sense when someone
was sad or worried, even if they were making every effort to hide it. Her abilities to empathize were boundless. She could put
herself in your shoes. And then she could commiserate and give gentle advice that didn't sound like advice. I would often stand
off to the side at gatherings and watch her sit next to someone that seemed to her to be distraught about something. She would
take their hand and look directly into their eyes and sooth their souls. She did that for me more times than I could count. She did
it for Charlie. She did it for Leah.
That had been a most astonishing thing to watch. The transformation of Leah Clearwater, as implemented by Renesmee Cullen, was
a story for the ages. At first Leah approached Ren's caretaking as an obligation, a duty, and not necessarily a pleasant one, just
something that needed to be done. By the time Ren was in her teenage body, Leah, who had also continued to phase so had not
aged, was Ren's best friend. Leah's bitterness had left her, talked out of her by her charge, Renesmee. I wasn't privy to most of
those conversations, but the end result was nothing short of miraculous. Leah had been reborn and it was strictly due to her
association with Renesmee. What can I say, my girl was a healer.
