~Excuses, excuses... I'm sure no one wants to hear them, but if I don't post for a long time on any of my stories, it's usually not a good thing. Something is wrong, I'm not just being lazy or torturing anyone on purpose. I'm better because I knocked out a couple of these chapters after a brief pause. I appreciate the reviews so much, even the ones that reminded me of my current update failures. I kid, I love all of them and they made me smile.

The day and date are divided in two separate chapters, so don't freak out. It's not a cliffy.

Chapter 20: New Day, Different Rules

I was surprised to see Bella up and raring to go. She obviously slept way better than I did. I was starting to hate her rug with a passion. She wanted to see the progress with the house if I didn't mind. How could I refuse her? We'd be together practically all day and that was all I ever wanted since meeting her. I knew the deep, eye opening talk was coming, who I was and why I existed... vamps and wolves, not imaginary like her stories. In fact, I pretty much planned on it before she went back to school Monday. I already told Charlie, Mom and the pack it couldn't be helped. If Dr. Fang was going to play hardball, I wasn't taking any chances when it came to Bells. What if she would have actually taken up with the Cullens and liked them? I shook that disgusting thought out of my head. I was glad she already knew they were odd. Hopefully, our day of togetherness would pave the way for an easier confession. Bella trusted me, but she was really going to have to be open minded. I didn't want to create any sort of rift between us. I never dreamed of telling a woman I had an interest in the truth about the pack. Of course, the term interest was putting it mildly. What I felt for her was all consuming.

I noticed when I made it to the kitchen, she was putting on the act perfectly, like nothing was going on between us. Mom asked why Bella had to give up her Saturday, couldn't I make the delivery fine on my own.

"Better yet, take Quil. He doesn't get away much."

"Well, there's a damn good reason for that. He shouldn't mix with the public too much."

Both Bella and Mom fussed at me for my insults towards Quil. Bella took it a step further.

"That's not a bad idea, maybe we should invite him. He's always so entertaining." She had a good laugh, no doubt at the look on my face and Mom thinking she was serious. I needed to hurry her out of the house and let her know being alone was going to be in both our favors.

She asked me to grab the box office the table.

"What's all this?"

"Lunch."

"For who?"

"Us and the crew."

I couldn't believe she had gotten up early enough to prepare lunch for possibly ten guys, most she didn't even know.

"You're just full of surprises, aren't you? "

Mom concurred, "I know, Bella's a keeper. Don't take her for granted."

I was caught off guard, "Huh?" Did she mean something by that? Was it possible she already knew how we felt?

She continued by adding, "Emily's great but having a family keeps her distracted some. I bet Bella is the best employee you could have asked for."

"Yeah, she's alright, I guess."

Mom was distracted and Bella pinched my side. "I'll show you alright later, Mister."

We made it to the turn off, "Why so far away, Bells?" She quickly scooted to my side. I lifted my arm so she could slide right in, she sighed with contentment. The first stop sign we came to, I paused long enough to give her a kiss. No one was behind us. We kinda wore out our welcome at the intersection.

"Was that alright?" She teased.

"Yeah, way better than that." I kissed her quickly one more time and started driving again. I hugged her a little tighter, "Morning, beautiful. I'm so glad you're going today. I can't wait to see what you think about the house." I told her, Mom wouldn't watch the progress. She only wanted to see the finished product. The old house held too many memories. She didn't want to see the in between parts.

We drove to La Push those next few minutes talking and enjoying ourselves. It was hard not to touch her every second. She kept her hand on my leg. We were going to have to keep it professional when we got to the house and I knew that was going to be a challenge.

Bella greeted Sam and Jared with hugs and they introduced her to the other guys that worked for them.

I cut in, "Bells made us all lunch." They liked the sound of that even though it was a little while before lunch. She downplayed her efforts and said it was just cold cuts. She had them all individually wrapped with small chip bags and leftover cookies from the party. I sit the box down on the porch since she had it all insulated with cold packs. Sam told the guys to get back to work. He pulled me aside as Bella stepped inside with Jared.

"I'm happy for you Jake. I'd say she's exactly what you were needing. I think it will be good for the guys too." Not sure why he thought my relationship status was important to the rest of them, but we'd have to wait and see if he was right. "Although, this secrecy isn't going to last. You know that, right? We all saw through it immediately. Charlie and Sarah live with you, they'll figure it out soon enough."

"We're being careful."

Sam chuckled and slapped me on the back, "Sure you are."

Jared was helping Bella get her bearings. She was bubbling over with excitement. Now that there was a roof, the walls were going up. The interior had taken shape. She almost ran to me with a little too much excitement, but stopped herself when she noticed all the onlookers. She slowed it down and didn't grab onto me. I gently guided her to the kitchen away from where they were all working.

"This is going to be a great space. I'd love to cook here."

"It's a date, you'll be the first to touch my burners."

She giggled and smiled at my cheesy comment. Then she rattled off a bunch of questions concerning my feelings with the decor. Did I want to keep it coastal or more rustic... cottage or cabin? She started talking about color palettes and themes. I honestly didn't care, she could pick out anything she wanted even though it was my house. That's how I felt about having her here with me. I was already anticipating her cooking in my kitchen like I promised. I kept her walking in circles, slowly inching our way to what would be the master suite.

I told Bella this was originally my childhood bedroom, but we almost quadrupled the size counting the ensuite bathroom. The other side of the house which belonged to my parents was going to be a study/guest area. I had to have space for my sisters whenever they wanted to visit. The house technically still belonged to the three of us.

"This is a big space, Jake." She walked to where the large window would face. It was still covered, so she wondered what my view would be.

All the others were busy in the living room and entryway. I moved in behind her and wrapped both my arms around her. I twisted her ponytail between my fingers and spoke against her neck, "Whatever you want it to be."

"Me? It's your room. I'm sure you aren't going to give me free reign and make all the decisions."

"Maybe I am, because..." I stopped there. Was she ready to here my true desire? It didn't make sense, but I still thought about it. I actually thought about it a lot.

"Because, what?"

I slowly turned her around. She looked up at me. I pulled her chin slightly, so she couldn't keep biting her lip. We both licked our lips and I moved closer to get the kiss I needed to build up my courage. We had a few quick pecks in the truck, but this was the real morning kiss I desired. I knew Sam and Jared wouldn't allow us to be interrupted. During our moment, I imagined getting that sort of wake up greeting every morning.

When we finally pulled apart, she was flushed and breathing heavily. "Because, I picture you in this room... it's not just mine, it's ours."

"Jake," she held her hand over her mouth briefly and then stuttered, "we just, I... I mean. Okay, I don't even know what I'm trying to say?"

"Maybe that it's really sudden, we only kissed for the first time last night, and Charlie may or may not have a heart attack over this, but I honestly don't care. I want to be honest, I'm crazy about you, Bells. The house will be done just before you graduate. Hopefully, I'll have the guts to be honest with Charlie by then, so why not? You could move in with me. I want you to." It was almost as if I needed it even more, but I didn't go overboard. She was shocked by my suggestion.

"You don't beat around the bush, do you?"

"Nope, not anymore." I never knew why it bugged me for the guys to insinuate this would be some bachelor pad, crazy party house, man cave, but now I knew why. This was a family's home. I grew up in this house and even though I'd changed it a great deal to suit my needs, that much hadn't changed. My parents fell in love and raised a family within these walls. We had different walls, but the ground the house stood on was no different.

I could see the wheels turning behind those big brown eyes. I was giving her a lot to consider, but she didn't say no either. The next kiss she initiated provided she was entertaining my request.

We walked around the entire house and talked exteriors and landscaping. Bella loved the big porch. She already planned the seating. She insisted matching rocking chairs on one side and a porch swing on the other. She walked out in the yard to the area that would face the bedroom. "A garden. That's what I'd like to see when I look out the window, flowers over here and vegetable and herbs in little wooden boxes."

Done. I kept it to myself, but I would make sure it happened. I had one more thing to show her before we got out the lunches. I took her hand and led her out to the garage.

"More surprises, huh?"

"Yes. Remember, I said I saved parts from the old place?" I pulled the covering off to reveal the mantle. Bella knelt down to touch the piece.

"This is lovely, so unique." I told her the story behind it. It was a recovered piece of driftwood that my father salvaged and crafted into a mantle. My parents' initials were hidden on the underside. "That's a beautiful story. I'm so glad you saved it." She asked how I really felt when our parents fell in love. "Was it ever weird?"

"No, it happened gradually. It wasn't like Charlie or Mom planned on it. He was a good friend to Dad and I'm sure he would want to know she was loved and cared for. I know their love is genuine. A few people turned their noses up at them, maybe thought it wasn't appropriate. There was a rumor they had a long-going affair, which was bullshit. All that really mattered was how our family felt. Rebecca, Rachel and I knew Charlie was the best thing for our mother."

"Let's hope he's open-minded when we decide to talk to him. He's so protective of me. I'm afraid it's hard for him to see me as a woman and not a little girl."

I understood that somewhat. I guess one of my biggest worries was Charlie knew my history with women. He knew I had never been serious and he'd counseled me a few times about it. I didn't want him to get the wrong idea. I was in quite a predicament, he knew all about me and that could be both good and bad.

Bella read off the last few details of the directions to me. The place was so remote. I thought he had to build the roads just to get to the spot. They weren't on any of the maps or GPS. We finally pulled up to the log cabin. Bella double checked, "Girlfriend or sister?"

"What?"

"Do I act like your sister or can I be your girlfriend? This guy's practically a mountain man, right? Who's he going to tell?"

"Since when did I say you were my girlfriend?"

"I only presumed, since you kissed my socks off at the party despite your injury which I'm assuming is okay. You never mentioned being in pain today."

"I'm not, I'm fine, but let's just be neutral and I'm teasing, you're all mine. We're officially going steady." The guy was a bit eccentric. I appreciated his taste in fine automobiles, but he didn't have my trust completely. I barely knew him. Mr. Kelton was a little more friendly and personable on his own turf. I explained Bella's interest in design so he gave us the full tour. He told her how hard it was to bring in the building supplies. He pulled out an album that chronicled the building process for Bella to look through while he and I moved out to his garage. He had a recently purchased a truck for winter, which was smart. He never hinted at returning back to the Northeast. I had no idea what went on that drove him away from his corporate life.

He wasn't much older than I was, but he seemed like it. I couldn't imagine burnout at thirty. We chatted about random subjects while I helped change out the fog lamps.

"Cute girl, your assistant, right?"

I thought about Bella's question about our behavior in front of this stranger. I wasn't sure how to respond but he rarely came to Forks. He got all his supplies from Olympia.

"Yeah, close enough. She's also my step-father's only daughter."

"Oh, big brother, huh? Are you protective?" I dropped my tool. I wasn't sure what his angle was.

"Yep. You could say that. Bella's special."

He ended up laughing, "Wow, I'd hate to be in your shoes." I didn't even know for sure if my cover was blown, but I got antsy when other males were around her. That damn wolf, made my voice sound gruff and raw when I spoke of her. I zoned out thinking maybe they were all correct and Charlie had to hear the truth. Hearing it from my lips had to be better than discovering it another way.

We soon made it back inside with Bella. She was interested in all the ways he made the cabin work. He told her all about the solar panels and the cistern. He had a backup generator that ran off fuel. He also had propane for cooking. He had no phone lines or internet, and no cell signal until he got down the mountain, but there was an emergency pole about five miles away. She was fascinated by his stories. He still was a bit mysterious, never telling us exactly why he chose to live this way. I still wasn't convinced he'd make it through a bad winter, but he seemed to have done his research.

I asked if he minded if we changed before heading out. He offered to make us dinner, but when Bella headed into the bathroom. I admitted I had reservations.

"Oh, I've tried that place. Nice spot, good food. She'll be impressed." He looked at me knowingly. I had officially lost my touch, even complete strangers could read me like a book. He only had one bathroom so I patiently waited on Bella. I only brought a nicer shirt, she brought a whole bag with her. I slipped it all in the backseat when Mom wasn't looking. I didn't care to explain it to her. Charlie was working when we left and I hoped they'd be in bed before we came home.

She came out after half an hour. Funny, how she was barely showing a bit of skin, but I still found her so sexy. She ditched the ponytail and let her hair down. She wore a long sweater that could be a dress, but her legs were covered in tight black pants. Finally, I can be alone with her when she wears one of those short skirts and she's all covered up. Oh well, I still appreciated the way she looked. I quickly changed shirts, messed with my hair a little. It always looked the same no matter what I did. We said our goodbyes and told Mr. Kelton next time he was on a supply run to get in touch and let me know how the lights were working.

He yelled out, "You kids have fun. Thanks a lot." He'd already paid me in cash in the garage, so dinner was basically on him.

Bella waved goodbye. She immediately chatted about how much fun she had. She loved his place and thought he was a fascinating man. "And he's handsome too. I wonder what his story is? I bet it's over a heartbreak and that's what he's running from."

I growled. Typical whenever I thought another man interested her.

"Stop silly, no one is as handsome as you." She moved back across the seat closer to me now that we were all alone. "Can't I compliment another man without making you jealous?"

"That depends."

"On what?"

"Nothing. I don't know why I said that. No, the answer is a firm no. I'm jealous."

"That's dumb. You can say a woman's beautiful and I won't care, as long as it's not Lauren or that horrible Evette woman." I laughed because even Bells had her limits. "Like Leah, she's super gorgeous and Emily's pretty. You can talk about them."

"Whatever, they're both like my sisters."

Bella squeezed a little harder and higher up on my thigh. Her voice lowered into the sexy realm. "Jake, I am your sister."

"Fuck, Bells. Don't do that."

"Do what? I was stating the non-biological facts."

I was pretty sure she knew what I meant. Yes, the fact was our parents were married, but she knew she was making it sound a little dirty, slightly off limits and now I was very turned on. We still had a dinner reservation an hour away, so I couldn't stop to explore it. Afterwards, on the way home was another story. I might be up for a little naughty talk with her if I found a remote location to park and talk about our unique relationship or maybe, not talk and start exploring it instead.

~Thanks for reading.

Basically, I need tons of positive feedback if you want me to update the rest of this date over the weekend.