Welcome to Book Two. The response to book one was more than I could have hoped for. I sincerely hope you've carried on to this section of the story, too.

Much love to Gredelina1 for the beta magic and for helping me get this story written.

Book Two

Chapter One — The Start of Summer

July 2005

Bella

The steam billowed up and I leaned back as I tipped the pan of pasta over the colander. I was preparing a meal for Charlie before going to Edward's house. It was the first day of the summer break, and I was looking forward to weeks of Edward's company without the pressure of school to think of. It promised to be a good summer. My injuries from James' attack were healed at last and I was free to enjoy myself.

I heard the front door click open and Charlie's voice called out, "Hey, Bells. We've got company."

My heart leapt. I hadn't expected Edward yet, but I wasn't complaining about him coming early. The more time I had with him, the better.

Edward and Charlie's relationship had improved exponentially since I left the hospital, aided by my and Carlisle's championing of him. Charlie had always liked Carlisle, especially following the robbery, but now he practically worshipped him after he saved my life following my 'accident'.

Beaming smile in place, I walked out into the hall to greet Edward, but it wasn't my love waiting in the hall, it was Jacob and Billy. I managed to keep my smile in place as I greeted them, though I was careful not to show Jacob too much enthusiasm. Edward's warning about his crush remained in my mind. I didn't want to lead him on; that wouldn't be fair.

He grinned as he caught sight of me. "Hey, Bella."

"Billy and Jake came by to drop off some fish fry," Charlie explained, holding a paper sack in his hand. "I invited them to dinner. You don't mind do you?"

I shook my head. "Not at all. I've made plenty." All I would have to do was add some bread and salad and we'd be good.

I went back into the kitchen and delved into the fridge to find the salad. I felt a presence behind me, and I knew before he spoke who it would be.

"I haven't seen you for ages," Jacob said.

I moved to the counter and set to work preparing the salad. "I've been busy."

"Yeah, I heard about your accident. You must be pretty klutzy to fall down the stairs."

"I guess so. I'm fine now, though."

He nodded. "So I see. You want help with that?"

I stepped away from the counter and handed him the knife. "If you don't mind."

"Nah, I cook at home all the time." He set to work chopping the salad with more speed and precision that I could manage.

I returned to the stove and stirred the sauce I had prepared for the pasta.

"What you doing this summer?" he asked.

I smiled. "I'm planning on spending as much time with Edward as I can." It was the truth and it had the added bonus of reminding Jacob that I wasn't available, if he was even still interested in me. Months had passed since I'd seen him last and teenage boys were nothing if not changeable. Perhaps he had found someone else already.

"Oh, yeah," he said. "That's your boyfriend, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah, that's Edward. How about you? Do you have someone special in your life?"

He looked down at the countertop. "There's someone, but she's taken."

Oh. Probably not changeable then. That was a shame.

I took the sauce from the stove and prepared the plates of food for us. Jacob arranged the salad in a bowl and I called Billy and Charlie in to eat.

I felt Billy's eyes on me as we ate, and I wondered if this visit was going to end with him trying to warn me away from Edward again. I hoped not, I wasn't interested in defending my relationship, not to him.

When we were finished, Charlie and Billy went back into the lounge to finish watching the baseball game dinner had interrupted. I told Jacob he was fine to go watch with them, but he said he'd be happier helping me clean up. Not wanting to seem ungrateful, I set him to washing the dishes while I dried. We were almost done and I was putting away a glass, when Jacob called my name. I turned in time to get a handful of soap suds blown into my face. I sputtered as I wiped the suds from my face. He howled with laughter and I found myself laughing with him; his humor was infectious.

"You two okay in there?" Charlie called from the lounge.

"We're… fine," I said between chuckles.

We choked ourselves to calm again, occasionally hiccupping a laugh.

"I'm sorry," Jacob said. "I couldn't resist."

"I bet."

We finished putting away the dishes, and then I suggested we sit out on the back porch for a while. I wasn't in the mood to feign interest in baseball for Charlie's benefit. We grabbed a soda each from the fridge and sat down on the swing out back.

"So," I said, breaking the silence, "what are yourplans for the summer?"

He beamed at me. "I'm still working on my car. I have the basics of a body now and I'm ready to get to work on the engine." Just as the last time he'd told me about his car, he rambled on until I only understood every other word. I was happy to listen though, and he was more than happy to talk. When he had exhausted the topic of his car, he moved onto his friends on the reservation, Embry and Quil. He was just getting to the topic of people he wasn't as keen on—someone called Sam seemed to be the main one—when Charlie appeared at the door.

"Jake, your dad's ready to go."

Sighing heavily, Jacob got to his feet. "Okay. See you soon, Bella."

I nodded and followed him and Charlie back into the house. Billy was waiting for them by the door. He eyed me as I came into the hall. "It was good to see you again, Bella, especially since you are recovered from your… accident."

I forced a smile. "It's all thanks to Edward and Carlisle, they saved me."

"I bet they did," he said darkly.

Charlie frowned and I was sure I knew the path his thoughts had taken. Billy seemed to be dredging up the old prejudice against the Cullens.

Jacob looked embarrassed. He grabbed the handles of Billy wheelchair and pushed him out onto the porch. I watched as he and Charlie carried Billy down the steps.

I waved from the door as Jacob and Billy drove away and then made for the stairs. It was too late for me to go to Edward's now, so I would have to wait for him to arrive when I went to bed to see him. Though I was disappointed, it would have been nice to see the rest of the family, I'd had a good evening with Jacob. If I could just break his crush, he could be a good friend.

When I got to my bedroom, I saw a note on my bed. In Edward's perfect script was the message, Alice has seen that you will have visitors this evening, so I am going to take the opportunity to hunt. I will be back before you wake.

Disappointed that I wouldn't see him that evening, I hurried through my shower and changed into my nightclothes. I picked up a book from my shelf and curled up on the bed to read. I must have fallen asleep, as the next thing I knew the book was being tugged out of my hand and a cool body was lying down beside me.

"Edward," I sighed happily.

"I am here," he said softly. "Now sleep, I will be here when you wake."

I burrowed into his chest and fell asleep again.

The next afternoon I drove along the dirt track that led to Edward's house, tapping my hands on the steering wheel.

In the distance I could hear rumbling sounds like thunder, and I guessed I was about to interrupt a wrestling match. The odds were on it being Emmett and Jasper; they were engaged in some kind of prolonged tournament at the moment. I didn't understand the rules or motivation, but then I didn't understand half of what my vampires did. They really did live in a different world.

As I came out into the meadow in front of the house, I caught sight of Edward standing on the front porch. Emmett and Jasper were there too, leaning against the balustrade, both looking distinctly ruffled, confirming my suspicions that it was them that had been wrestling.

Edward opened my door and I climbed out into his arms. He buried his face in my hair and inhaled deeply.

I heard Emmett's snicker, but I ignored him. Edward had explained to me that my scent was a dual pleasure and pain for him. It scorched his throat, but it reminded him that I was safe and well.

He leaned back and looked into my eyes. "I missed you."

I grinned. "Me too."

He released me and I turned to greet Emmett and Jasper. "I heard you wrestling. Who won?"

"Me," Emmett said triumphantly. "Jasper forfeited because I was whipping his ass."

"I didn't forfeit," Jasper said. "I stopped because Bella arrived. She still owes me a chess match."

Edward's expression darkened, and I wondered if he was going to attempt to stop our game. I hadn't had much of a chance to get to know Jasper as I had the other members of the family. At first, he had kept his distance, but as time passed he seemed to become more confident around me, or perhaps it was because he was becoming accustomed to my scent. Whatever the reason, he didn't lurk in doorways when I was visiting anymore. He would join us on the couch to watch movies and would sit on the stool in the kitchen as I prepared my lunch with Alice.

"C'mon, Edward," Emmett said. "You can't hog Bella to yourself all the time."

"I'm not…" Edward began irritably but I pressed a finger to his lips.

"I'll be fine."

He stared into my eyes for a moment and then nodded. "Okay."

It wasn't exactly the enthusiastic response I was hoping for, but it was better than nothing.

Jasper opened the door and gestured me in ahead of him. "If you are ready, Miss. Swan."

"Prepare to be beaten, Mr. Whitlock."

Emmett bellowed a laugh and I could hear soft titters from inside the house which I guessed to be Esme and Alice.

Rosalie was lounging on the couch and as I came inside, she gave me a speculative look. It was an improvement on the open hostility we had started with, and it made me wonder whether we'd reach civil before the end—before my end. Jasper was setting up the board and he looked up. I guessed he had caught the tenor of my mood as I considered my death. I forced myself to smile brightly in return, reaching for the excitement of summer to block my dour emotions.

A lot of the time, I could live my life and enjoy it, not dwelling on my approaching end. All humans lived with the knowledge that they would die hanging over them, and while it was entirely possible that the reason I wasn't with Edward in his future was because I had died a natural death after a long life, I doubted it somehow. Edward's desperate apologies and devastating sadness made me sure that my time had come too soon.

Jasper sat down at one side of the ornate chessboard that stood in the lounge, and he waved a hand at the seat opposite him in invitation. I sat down and cracked my knuckles.

Emmett stood behind Jasper, bracing his hands on Jasper's shoulders. "No pressure, Jasper, but the fate of Cullen pride rests on you."

Alice flitted into the room and pushed Emmett's hands away, replacing them with her own, then leaned down to press a kiss to Jasper's cheek. "Don't worry, Jazz. We'll still love you if you lose."

I wondered if that meant she already knew who was going to win. It wouldn't be the first time she used her ability to get ahead in a game of some sort. Jasper and Emmett resolutely refused to play board games with her or Edward because of their gifts. It could be that she already knew, or it could be that she was trying to lull me into a false sense of security, either way, I had to concentrate. Jasper made his opening move and I prepared to do battle.

You would have thought it was a Super Bowl the reaction our game got. Emmett whooped and hollered every time Jasper captured one of my pieces, and Edward rewarded my captures with a cheer and kiss to my hair. Even Rosalie turned off the TV and turned in her seat to watch us.

As Jasper made his last move, checkmating me, Emmett burst into a victory dance, punching the air.

"Never mind, love," Edward said consolingly. "You'll get him next time."

Jasper reached across the board, extending a hand to me to shake. I took it, feeling the coolness of his smooth skin, and shook, thinking that even though I had been soundly beaten, it had served the purpose of developing our relationship a little.

I was sitting on Edward's lap in the lounge, eating my sandwich and half watching the TV show Alice and Rosalie were absorbed in, when Emmett threw himself down on the couch and sighed heavily. "I need a vacation," he announced.

Rosalie turned to him and smiled sweetly. "I was thinking about that. We could go visit Zafrina's coven."

My attention switched from the TV to Emmett and Rosalie's conversation. Other than my vampires and Tanya's coven in Denali, I didn't know much about the Cullens' friends. The only other friendly vampire I had heard of was Makenna and all I knew about her was that she was the one that was going to reunite Edward with me in my past.

Emmett's wide smile faltered. "Actually, babe, I was thinking we could all go somewhere together."

"Hold that thought," Alice said, not turning from the TV. "Carlisle will be home in three minutes."

Edward turned to the door and smiled. I was sure he could hear the approach of Carlisle's car, or perhaps his thoughts. We waited in silence and after the assured minutes, the door opened and Carlisle stepped inside. Esme darted down the stairs in a blur and came to a stop in front of Carlisle.

"Esme," he said softly, staring into her eyes with such love that it made me feel warm just to watch. He kissed her cheek gently and then turned his attention to the room at large.

"Emmett has an idea," Alice said, "and we're going to need your help to pull it off."

"Way to steal my thunder," Emmett said irritably. He wasn't the only one looking irritated. Rosalie's sweet smile had faded and she was glaring at him. I wondered what it was she had worked out that I was still lagging behind with.

Carlisle shrugged off his coat and laid it over a chair by the door and then he came to sit on the couch. "How can I be of assistance?" he asked.

Alice opened her mouth to speak but Emmett spoke over her, eager to share his plan himself. "I think we need a family vacation. Some time to get to know one another a little better. We need you to sell the idea to Charlie."

I understood at last. I was being included in this example of family. It made a smile creep across my face. I thought of all of the Cullens as my family, as I had since the moment I first heard their names all those years ago. They were an extension of Edward and therefore I loved them. That had been how it started at least. Now I knew them all for who they really were and I loved them for themselves, even Rosalie.

"That's a lovely idea," Esme said. "Where shall we go?"

"Camping," Emmett said with glee. "I figure we could go back to Oregon. There was that spot by Lava Lake we went to that time."

I raised a tentative hand. "Not that camping doesn't sound fun, but what about your propensity to sparkle in the sunlight? Won't people notice if we're sharing a campground?"

"That would be a problem if we were using a campground," Emmett said. "The place we're going is pretty isolated. We can only get there on foot, so it's unlikely any humans are going to be around, and even if they are, Alice will see them coming and we can get undercover until they're gone. It's foolproof, Bella."

Isolated sounded great, time alone with Edward and his family sounded even better. I looked up and saw the glimmer of excitement in Edward's eyes. He really wanted this, and judging by the other's faces—with one obvious exception—they wanted it too.

"Okay," I said, a wide smile on my face. "Sounds good. Someone else will have to sell it to Charlie though."

Carlisle smiled. "I believe that is my cue." He pulled a slim, silver phone from his pocket and started to dial.

So… We're back to the cutesy tootsie stuff again for a while. These and future chapters are ones that I wrote more recently, so you may notice a difference in my writing style. Hope it's not too much of a problem.

Until next time…

Simaril xxx