This chapter we see a softer side of both Jacob and Ren. Enjoy!

Chapter 9 -

The week passed by quickly, almost too quickly. In between shifts at the bakery and trying to organize and unpack the guest house, it seemed like I had barely blinked before waking up and finding it Thursday. Emily had given me the day off to "prepare and pack" before leaving for Seattle, and I spent the first few hours of the early morning doing just so. Kim and Claire had told me to pack a nicer outfit for one of the nights, but I told them I hadn't anything suitable for the five-star restaurant they'd described to me during a visit to the bakery.

"Oh, come on, cute thing like you — not even a cocktail dress?" Claire asked.

I shook my head no.

"Work slacks?"

I shook my head again, sighing. "I work here, and luckily, that only requires a comfy pair of jeans and the standard work tee,"

"Well, okay, how about this," Kim butted in, shifting her snoozing newborn son, Ben, on her shoulder, "we land mid-morning, so while the boys are —" she stopped short, glancing at Claire, "doing their thing, we can go downtown and find an outfit for you. Besides, we'll have nothing else to do."

I nodded, grinning. In the last couple months, I'd been severely lacking girl time, and it now seemed like exactly what I needed. "It sounds perfect," I said, reaching into the display case and fixing an overturned muffin. "So you guys go to Seattle every year? Out of just tradition?"

Kim and Claire exchanged a glance. "Well," Kim began, "it's more of like an auto-shop business thing. There's a fancy dinner Friday night for all the well-earning auto-shops in Washington, and a couple meetings during the weekend — I'm not sure what about, actually. But the boys enjoy it, I think because they manage to show-off to the corporate stiffs."

Claire nodded along, grinning. "It's a bunch of hoity-toity nonsense for the most part, but it is fun to dress up and drink fancy champagne." Our giggles bothered sleepy Ben, who'd had a rough night before due to teething. He let out an aggravated wail, lifting his little head from Kim's shoulder to blink angrily at us.

"Yeah, and," Kim said once she had put a pacifier into Ben's mouth and soothed him back to sleep, "I get to leave the kids with my mom for a whole weekend. Jared and I haven't had this much time alone since before Gabrielle was born — and Gabrielle is five."

Claire and I laughed quietly, keeping our hands over our mouths so as not to wake Ben again.

Claire reached out a hand to stroke his soft newborn hair, "gosh are they cute though," she murmured, "Quil's chomping at the bit to have one, but I want to wait until at least we're married for a year."

"Ren, do you want kids?"

Did I? The question stalled me for a moment. "Maybe, I guess I've never considered it, it's not a decision I'd be able to make on my own without the right guy."

Kim smiled and laid her hand on mine. "You're an old soul, Ren, you'll be good for —" she stopped herself, smiling, "you'll be good for whoever comes your way."

"Thanks, Kim." And I meant it, it was a kind thing to say, but even kinder because I could hear the sincerity behind her words.

After I'd finished packing, I went downstairs in search of something to do. Breakfast and organizing the spice rack took up almost thirty minutes, then I sat and watched the morning news as I drank a second cup of coffee. I half-watched, half-listened to whatever was going on outside. It sounded like Jacob and a couple of the guys were in the garage. I could hear them talking and laughing, all the while Jacob's voice stood out the most. It was louder and clearer than the rest, and all though I could make out moments where the others talked over each other, it seemed that whenever Jacob spoke, nobody else was.

I couldn't make out what they were discussing, just the murmured pitches and tones of their voices, but it was fascinating to listen to them change. Quick and overlapping to calm and slow, careful of speaking in the space another had left. I was still listening when my phone buzzed in my robe pocket, it almost loud against the soft background noises around me.

I pulled it out without checking the ID, figuring — and hoping — it was Charlie inviting me to dinner.

"Hello?" I asked, my voice warm.

"Hi, darling," a cool, silky voice replied.

"Edward," I muttered, the warmth fading from my voice at once. I sat up quickly, sloshing the coffee inside my mug violently.

"I just wanted to talk," he replied,

"Now's not a good time,"

"You always say that when I call. I worry about you — we all do. Aunt Alice said you're in Forks?"

Shit, Alice. Why'd you have to mention it? "Uh, yeah. Just visiting Charlie for a while."

"Well that's good — anything change about that old town since I left?"

I sighed. Outside the kitchen window, Jacob had stepped into frame. I watched him laugh at something Embry said, throwing his head back and clapping his hands. "Nothing at all," I told Edward.

"Well, look, darling, I'd like to talk about you going back to school —"

"I've got a job here and I'm doing fine, I don't think I need to."

"Darling, of course, you need to. Your education is of the utmost importance. Every Cullen has received their doctorate from an esteemed university, and I'll not have you be the first to break the tradition." He kept his voice light and soft as always, the trademark tone of a Cullen. But the threat beneath his words loomed. "Even your mother would agree with that, despite her inclination to do as you please."

"Do not mention her," I snapped, feeling fiercely protective. Outside, Jacob had stopped laughing and was now staring at the guesthouse, his eyebrows knitted together.

"I didn't mean to upset you, darling—"

"You will not mention her to me, not when you couldn't care enough to show up to her funeral."

The silence on the other end was tense. When Edward spoke again, his voice had lost its softness. "I cared for your mother very much, Renesmee, you know that."

"Actually, I don't. And I don't care enough to get into this with you, especially when I was having such a nice morning." I slammed my coffee mug onto the coffee table as I hung up, leaving Edward unable to speak. A moment later my phone vibrated again, buzzing loudly on my trembling knees.

I heard the guest house door swing open, the sound of the boys' voices from outside becoming clearer as it did so. I wiped my eyes, trying to hide the evidence that I was upset. When I looked up, Jacob was standing there, his gaze concerned.

"Morning, Ness," he said.

"Morning, Jacob,"

"So, what're you watching?" He asked, sitting beside me.

I sniffled. "I dunno, I think this is supposed to be Good Morning Washington, but I haven't been paying attention."

"Ah," he murmured, watching the commercials for a second. "Wanna take a walk?"

I looked down at my pajamas and robe and turned back to him, shrugging. "I gotta change real fast, but yeah, actually, a walk sounds great."

A couple minutes later I returned downstairs in a pair of leggings and a hoodie, my hair tied behind my head in a low ponytail. Jacob was watching Good Morning Washington with his arms crossed behind his head, his legs resting on the coffee table. I tried not to stare at the piece of abdomen that had ridden up, exposing his sculpted stomach. After a moment of surveying what had been hiding under his shirt, I cleared my throat, drawing him away from a story of state-wide disappearances I'd seen earlier.

"Scary, huh, all those people disappearing?"

"Yeah," Jacob murmured, looking troubled. "None near here, though," he added, grinning.

"That's true," I shivered. "Gosh — you don't think that day I got lost in the woods — ?"

Jacob shook his head as he stood, flicking the TV off. He walked towards me, stopping when there was less than a foot-space between us. He rested his hands on my shoulders, looking pensive. "You're with us and there's nowhere safer than here,"

I nodded, chewing my bottom lip. "Ready?"

I followed Jacob through the backyard and into the woods behind his house. He had made a pathway with wood planks that cut through the thick forest, leading down a steady slope towards what I could tell was the beach. We walked side by side, quiet and each lost in our own thoughts. My thoughts wondered to my father and our conversation. The rejection of him leaving Mom and I still stung, even though it was years and years afterward. It was all so confusing: being so mad at him, loving him, wanting to make him feel the way I did.

All around the trees were lush still, despite that the cold had been slowly growing. At the base of the path the dirt and dead leaves turned to sand, the sound of the waves became louder and the air turned salty and fierce with wind.

Silently, Jacob wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me towards him. We passed a rock-faced cliff without saying anything, just listening to the sounds of the wind and crashing waves. When I felt my cheeks turn wet I first thought it was rain taking us by surprise, but staring at the sky confirmed that it wasn't raining — I was crying. I stopped walking, wiping at my eyes before Jacob could notice. But it was too late, he had realized I was crying perhaps before I had.

"I'm sorry," I muttered, shaking my head. "I don't know why I'm crying —"

"You don't have anything to apologize for, this is a good spot for crying. Nobody can see or hear you here," he ran his hand up and down my arm gently. I tried to hold it together a second longer before I felt my head lean against his shoulders, burrowing myself into his embrace.

"Why doesn't he care, Jake?" I asked. "Why didn't he come to her funeral? How come she had to die and he gets to live? And how come he's still trying to make me like him — 'all Cullen's have earned doctorates from prestigious schools,'" I mocked into Jacob's jacket. I lifted my head to look into Jacob's eyes, trying to find the answers there. "And why does it even matter to me?"

He rubbed my back for a while as the last of my tears came out, the sound of his heart beating and the ocean in my ears, quiet and soothing. "Did you talk to anyone after Bella—? Like, a professional?"

I shook my head. "Yeah, once, in San Francisco. But then it became clear I needed to leave, and since I've been here, I guess I've just been managing it."

"Well, when Seth and Leah's dad died, they both had a really hard time handling it. They spoke to Dr. Allen, over in downtown Forks — they still had a hard time, still do — but it was easier to manage, I think." He was staring at me as he said this, his voice so warm and caring I almost couldn't remember that it had ever been harsh with me. "Not that I'm telling you what to do — just a recommendation — from a friend."

I nodded and stepped apart from him, crossing my arms over my chest. "A friend," I murmured. "I like it."

Jacob's mouth turned up at both corners as he turned away, beginning to walk again. We stepped in time together, leaving our footprints side by side behind us. "Listen, Ness, I've been meaning to ask you a favor,"

I'm sure the surprise was evident in my voice as I accepted, listening carefully.

"This weekend I've been invited to a dinner Saturday night with some corporate shmucks. It's standard that everyone has a date, and usually I bring Leah —" I tried not to let my stomach clench in jealousy, "but well, I was wondering if maybe, um, you'd be my — date? Just as friends, of course." Jacob was staring at our feet like his life depended on it, unwilling to meet my eyes.

I bit my lip, trying not to smile too wide. "Yeah, of course, I will!"

Jacob looked up, surprised and relieved. I had the strange desire to hug him again, but instead, I settled for one of those infectious, wolfy grins of his. Above his head, the clouds suddenly broke apart and let out a little bit of sunshine. Between his warmth and the sunshine, I was completely thawed out.

Love this soft side of Jacob.