It was about 10:30 when we finally got out of bed. Ben was still sleeping as we tip toed down the stairs.
"What the heck are you guys doing here?" I asked to Paul and Embry in the kitchen.
"Morning lovebirds," Paul joked as he watched our entwined hands.
I rolled my eyes and went to the fridge to make breakfast.
"Seriously, what are you doing here?" I asked them.
"There was a scent of a bloodsucker in the woods a few miles away. Led us to a dead end." Embry said solemnly.
Sam immediately had on his alpha face. "When did this happen?"
"About an hour ago. Nothing big."
"Who's on patrol now?" Sam asked.
"Leah and Quil." Paul said. "Do you think the Cullens are back?"
Sam's eyebrows furrowed. "No, they usually call to give us a heads up."
"So we have a bloodsucker on the lose." Embry said a bit upset.
"I want increased patrol till this vampire is caught. I'll set up a pack meet later today." Sam commanded.
Paul and Embry nodded somberly.
"Staying for brunch boys?" I asked.
Both their heads popped up and they shrugged nonchalantly.
"Sure Bella." Paul answered.
"Thanks." Embry said.
I let out a laugh and nodded.
While making eggs, toast, bacon, sandwiches, and fresh orange juice, I found Sam to be unusually quiet.
"Hey boys, will you call the rest of the pack here? We might as well have a big brunch together and then you guys can have the pack meeting."
Paul and Embry nodded, getting up out of their seats and away from the house.
"Sam?" I asked.
"Bells, how could I let this happen?" he asked.
"Sam, vampires come and go. You don't know what happened yet. All you can do is get the counsel aware and increase patrols."
"Yea, but I was up. I should have-"
"If you keep telling yourself what you could or should have done, you will drive yourself crazy. You spent your morning with me. There is nothing you can do about that. All you can do now is make sure this vampire doesn't return or hurt anyone."
Sam nodded and pulled me to sit on his lap.
"I love you." I whispered, kissing his cheek.
"I love you too," he said.
When the boys returned I was back at the stove cooking away.
"Everyone should be here in a few." Paul said.
Sam commanded the guys to help set the table and get the food ready (which I found pretty funny).
As they went around the table, Embry spoke up.
"Where's Ben?"
"Still sleeping. You're welcome to wake him up," I said behind my shoulder.
Embry nodded eagerly and was off, leaving Paul to finish his job.
The pack came a few minutes later, all barreling in.
"Morning guys," I told them as they walked in.
"Smells good Bells," Jake said coming inside to hug me.
"Where's Ben?" Leah asked.
"Here!" a little boy shouted.
"Morning bud." I chirped as he ran into my legs.
"Is breakfast almost ready?"
I nodded and ruffled his hair.
"Its ready now. Come eat everyone!" I yelled as I set the scrambled eggs in a dish and put it on the table.
Chatter buzzed around the room and it was chaos all around. The chaos was good though; it was like organized chaos if you could believe it. The dishes were passed around in a circle and everyone helped Ben get food on his plate.
The worry of the vampire on the loose wasn't brought up and didn't show any concern at lunch as we talked and ate.
Sam returned to his normal self- making sure no one was too out of line and being all boyfriend like.
"So how did you guys get in this morning?" I asked.
"Front door. We grabbed the spare key under the mat." Embry said
I gave a raised eyebrow, not knowing there even was one.
"Oh, by the way Bells, there is a spare key under the mat," Sam laughed.
I chuckled and rolled my eyes. "Thanks Sam."
He gave me a wink and the silly conversations went on and on.
The brunch soon came to an end though. Ben stayed in the kitchen to help me clean up while the pack went into the living room to have a meeting.
"What are they doing in there Belley?" Ben asked as he brought some dishes to the sink.
"Just talking Bud. Nothing to worry about."
Ben nodded, still curious of what was going on.
"I was thinking about going to see Uncle Billy today. Maybe go to the beach later too. Are you up for it?" I asked.
"Yea!" he said.
"Alright. After we finish cleaning up, you can grab your suit and we can head over for a bit and say hi."
Ben nodded vigorously and helped me clean up quickly.
"I'll be right back!" Ben said rushing up the stairs.
"Take your time!" I yelled.
A few bangs were sounded through the house and I knew it was Ben going through all his boxes looking for his swimsuit.
I laughed throwing the towel on the counter and walking to go help him.
Everyone shot me a concerned look as I passed the living room and I flashed them a smile. I gave Sam a 'nothing to worry about' look and then walked upstairs to help the kid.
Ben had this determined yet confused look on his face as he went searching through numerous boxes.
"Maybe we should stay here and sort all of these." I suggested.
He shook his head and continued to look. As he went on his tiptoes to look into a box, the huge stack fell over and he went tumbling.
"Ben!" I yelled concerned.
Giggles sounded through the air and he took his head out from the box.
"I found Mr. Bear!" he said cheerfully. He and I both laughed and laughed till our stomachs hurt.
"Okay, time to find your swim trunks," I breathed as I helped the kid up. We went searching through pretty much all the boxes till I found one-labeled 'clothes' at the bottom of the stack.
"Ah ha!" I yelled in victory as I held up his suit. He looked up at me with a smile and ran for the trunks.
Stepping over all his stuffed animals emptied on the floor and around the boxes he finally got to me with a huge smile on his face.
"I thought we were never going to find them."
"Me either," I smiled.
He hugged my legs for a bit before letting go.
"Alright, you change and I will go find my swimsuit." I said kissing his head as I left.
Walking to Sam's room…or well, I guess our room; I searched through a box or two and found my suit.
"Ready Belley?" Ben questioned through the door.
"One sec bud, you can come in." I shouted as I tried tying the halter neck top.
"Need help?" he asked innocently.
"Sure," I smiled knowing he couldn't tie it in a bow.
A knot will do, I told myself.
I knelled down, letting his small hands grab the ties. Within a matter of seconds he had it tied in a perfect-knotted bow.
"How did you do that?" I asked feeling the ties of my suit.
"Embry taught me how to tie." He said. "Can we go now?"
"Sure," I smiled still impressed. I grabbed my cover-up and walked down with Ben.
When we got downstairs the boys were still talking. Instead of interrupting, I went to the kitchen and wrote a quick note to everyone saying where we would be.
"Let's go," I whispered to Ben as I walked out the door.
It took us about a 15-minute walk to Billy's. I negotiated Ben into going there first so Billy could either go with us to the beach or we could talk him into having a picnic with us.
We knocked on the door, waiting for the man to wheel his way to us.
"Bella! Ben!" he said in happiness. "What brings you here?"
"Just came to visit," I smiled as Ben leaned over to give the man a hug. I leaned down like Ben had once down and gave Uncle Billy a warm hug.
"Its good to see you," I whispered in his ear.
"Want to go to the beach with us?" Ben asked excitedly.
Billy looked at me and then back at Ben. He looked sad at the thought of letting the boy down. "I think I might have to pass on that,"
"But," Ben started to argue but I shot him a look.
"Would you like to join us for a picnic? There is a nice table out there on the outskirts of the beach."
Billy again looked a bit sad and torn.
"I promise, it will be worth it. The weather is gorgeous and you need to get out of the house." I told him.
"Please uncle Billy." Ben said putting on his puppy dog eyes.
"Fine," Billy sighed.
Ben and I both high fived each other and the three of us laughed.
I told Ben to quickly go to the bathroom before he left and Billy wheeled himself in the living room to wait for him.
"Stop worrying so much. It will be fun."
"Bella, my wheels don't do sand."
"We can figure it out."
"Bella…" he sighed.
"Billy, you need to get out of the house. Jake's been busy doing who knows what. But you need to get out of here. Let yourself see a change of scenery. Stop worrying about the little things. You need to see this land- you are an elder after all."
Billy smiled at me but shook his head. "I am fine here."
"So if I looked in your kitchen right now, I wouldn't see an almost empty fridge or Tupperwares of food from others."
He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face.
"Exactly." I pointed out. "Now, on our way to the beach, we can stop at the mart and pick up some snacks. Sound good?"
He nodded defeated and I smiled.
"Stop being so stubborn old man, you will have fun."
He shot me a joking glare, which I returned lightly.
"Ready?" Ben asked excitedly.
"Lets go!" I sang as I waited for Billy to roll himself out of the house.
He rolled himself to the mart, which I was pretty surprised he could do.
"Alright, you two stay here, I will be right back. Ben, stay with Uncle Billy. No wandering. Got it?" I questioned.
Ben nodded and stood right next to Uncle Billy.
Turning back, I gave them a quick look over and headed into the store.
Walking down the chip aisle, I grabbed some munchies and put them in my basket. I next went to the bread aisle, getting us some ingredients for sandwiches. After getting everything we needed, including silverware and drinks, I quickly paid for the stuff and headed out with the bags in my hands.
"Alright! Lets go!" I smiled as Ben's face lit up.
Uncle Billy took some bags as I took over and wheeled him to the outskirts of the beach. It was partially sandy and partially grassy- and I found that pushing him was a bit difficult.
When we finally settled down at the picnic table, Ben quickly ran off and played in the water.
Billy and I watched the little boy and laughed.
"He's a handful," I smiled.
"But he's well worth it," Billy said.
"Very well worth it," I said softly.
Billy and I talked for a while till Ben came back dripping wet.
"Come play," he panted.
"Ben, Billy and I…"
"Go," Billy said with a smile. "I will be fine. You two should go play in the water."
I was about to ask if he was sure but he nodded his head again to the water.
"Go on,"
I smiled and pulled off my cover-up. Giving the man a quick kiss to the cheek, I smirked at Ben.
"Race ya!" I yelled over my shoulder and ran for the water.
Ben and I laughed for what seemed like forever. We had splashing wars and swimming contests. Whatever it was, we found humor out of it.
Quickly glancing at Billy, I found the pack arriving close behind him.
"Hey! Look!" I said to Ben.
Ben's face lit up even more as he saw the guys had arrived.
"Come on!" Ben said to me as he swam to shore.
We raced back to the table and met our boys.
"Hey! What are you doing here?" I asked Sam as he wrapped his arms around my wait.
"Saw the note and couldn't resist." Sam said.
"Oh really?" I asked as I wrapped my arms around his neck.
"Yea, who could resist going to the beach?" he asked jokingly.
I laughed, trying to look offended.
"Kidding, kidding," he smirked, leaning in for a kiss.
"Oh no you don't," I smirked back, pulling out of his arms.
He gave me the puppy dog eyes and I quickly gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"Nuh uh," he said grabbing my waist and planting one on me.
The boys hooted and hollered as Sam dipped me in a kiss.
"Alright, alright," I said calming the crowd down as Sam and I pulled away.
"Ewww," Ben said, "Embry, can we go play in the water?" he asked.
Embry shrugged and looked at me. "Lunch is in 10."
They both nodded and ran off.
"You're cheesy you know," I told Sam as he wrapped his arms around me from behind.
"But you love it," he smirked.
I turned my head and rolled my eyes at him. He gave me a quick peck to the lips and continued to follow me as I set up.
"You know, this task is a lot harder when you have someone attached from behind."
"You know that could be interpreted dirty," he said.
Again I rolled my eyes at him, "Only to the people with dirty minds,"
"Which is pretty much all of the guys here," Sam supplied with a laugh.
"What is with you today?" I asked at his easy goingness.
"I had a good morning," he smirked. "Or well…a good wake up."
I hummed in agreement and turned in his arms, kissing him again.
"Alright you two lovebirds, cut it out." Paul said in joking disgust.
Sam and I pulled apart from each other as Sam went to go kick Paul's butt.
We all laughed and went back to what we were doing.
I called Ben and Embry a bit later as I finished making a PB & J sandwich.
"Here you go!" I chirped to Ben as I pushed the plate to him.
Ben said a quick thank you and then dug into his sandwich. I made Embry 3 whole sandwiches before making Billy's along side his.
"You know, I didn't plan on making lunch for all of you wolves," I laughed as the guys all gathered around the table.
I silently gasped at my words as I realized Ben was at the table. The word didn't even seem to faze him at all; he just continued to eat.
Billy looked at me with understandment and I let out a breath of relief.
I didn't want him to find out just yet.