Jo looked over at the oven clock for the third time in ten minutes. Jacob would be cutting it close. Of all days to be late; the day he was to be standing up as best man at Sam and Emily's wedding.
The Black's home was abuzz as the Clearwater's had come over with Charlie Swan to get ready for the event. Charlie was aggrevated as he was in the process of tying Billy's tie for the fourth time while Sue was in the bathroom, doing final touches on her make up. Seth stood on the porch, trying once again to get ahold of Jake.
Meanwhile, Leah had stayed back at her house intending to get ready there. No one argued with her or pushed her. There was a good chance that she'd not show up at all and no one blamed her for it. It would be a rough day for Leah. It was hard enough when she found out that Sam and Emily were having a baby together, let alone having to watch someone whom she once loved more than anything in the world, marry her ex-best friend and cousin. Although everyone was surprised when Emily went as far to ask Leah to stand with her as a bridesmaid, no one was shocked when Leah laughed at her and outright refused. Jo was glad that Emily hadn't asked her to stand with her. She was already feeling torn between supporting her cousin whom she had grown to love as much as a sister and a woman who was quickly becoming a good friend. Unfortunately for Emily, when it came down to it, Leah came first and Jo would stick beside her cousin. Jo considered staying back with Leah and hang out together for the day, but Leah quickly dismissed the idea and insisted that she went and had a good time.
"Can you do just one thing for me?" Leah had asked Jo, smirking. "Make sure that Seth and Jake poke fun of the god-aweful bridesmaid dresses that Emily picked out. Knowing her, it'll probably be some frilly canary yellow or peachy apricot colour that would make someone want to gag."
Jo smiled, feeling slightly ashamed that she was agreeing to do this for Leah. Leah was right too. Jo had seen pictures of what Emily was having Kim and a few other friends of hers wear. In Jo's opinion, the bridesmaid dresses were hideous, but no one could tell Emily that. Sam was determined to make his imprint happy on her wedding day and with the mood swings Emily had been experiencing, the last thing he'd want is for someone to come up to her and say that the dresses look horrible.
When Jo had shown a picture to Seth, he winced, quickly agreeing with Jo's assessment and the decision to not tell Emily. Yet, he smirked when he said that he'd gladly poke fun at them with Jake on Leah's behalf, as long as the bride and groom weren't aware of it. The last thing he'd want is to endure the wrath of his Alpha.
Concerned that Jacob hadn't arrived back home before the wedding, Seth walked back inside and stood beside Jo to look out the window. He shoved his hands into his dress pants pockets and sighed. Jo glanced at him and smirked. She had never seen her little cousin looking as dapper as he had in that moment. The light blue tie paired with the crisp white shirt looked good on him. She was certain that he'd be one of the best dressed ushers at the wedding, but she was a bit biased.
"Jake's late," she commented, as Seth nodded.
"I know. I've tried calling his cell and it's going right to voice mail each time. Billy said that he was working at your new place."
"He wasn't planning on working there today. He was just picking up an order of lumber and supplies from Forks and dropping it off at the property so he can get started right away tomorrow morning," Jo corrected him, before looking over at the oven once again. "But it shouldn't be taking three hours to do it."
"No sign of Jake yet?" Charlie Swan asked, coming to look over their shoulders.
Jo shook her head and turned, as Billy rolled towards them in his wheelchair. He smiled at her.
"Don't you worry," he said, with a wink. "I'm sure he's on his way. He'd not let his beautiful wife go on without him."
Charlie shook his head in amazement and looked over at Billy.
"Wife. That's something I still can't believe," he said. "Jake's not only married but has a kid on the way too. It makes me feel old."
Billy chuckled. "Speak for yourself, Chief. Having kids and babies around is what keeps us old folk feeling young. And ironically enough, nothing makes me feel young more than knowing I'm going to be a grandpa."
"Yeah? Well, maybe somoene should tell Bella and Edward that," Charlie said. "By the sounds of it, they're not planning on ever having kids."
"Oh Charlie," Sue said softly, as she gently weaved her hand over his arm. "They're still young. They could still change their minds."
Except, they all knew that it wasn't the case. As much hope as they could offer Charlie that one day he'd be a grandfather, they knew that it would never happen. Bella's decision to become one of the Cullen's in every sense of the word, effectively ended the Swan family line through Charlie. Yet, no one could ever tell him that.
"That's what I'm hoping for," Charlie said softly.
Billy felt sympathetic towards his best friend. He knew the joy he felt when he discovered he'd become a grandfather. It pained him to know that his best friend would never experience that.
"In the meantime, I doubt my grandchild would mind having an extra grandpa around," Billy said, glancing over at Jo who nodded back at him.
Charlie seemed visibly touched, glancing between Jo and Billy's smiling faces. "That's...that's awfully kind of you, Billy. But I'm still holding out that Bella changes her mind. It'd be great if our grandkids could grow up together like Bella and Jake had."
Billy smiled sadly and nodded. "That would be great, Charlie. And I'm sure Jacob would agree."
"If he'd only show up," Jo said, looking back out the window. Billy's pickup still hadn't returned. "He's certainly going to be late now."
Sue sighed. "We will all be late if we don't get going."
The group seemed to agree yet as they all headed towards the door, Jo slipped off her black dress flats and headed back down the hallway. No one saw her disappear as they were all busy ensuring that they had everything while opening the door and proceeding to leave the house. When Jo reappeared, she was carrying a garment bag over her shoulder and a pair of black men's dress shoes in the other hand.
Seth paused at the door when he saw his cousin and walked up to her, taking the items from her arms. He instantly recognized them as Jacob's clothing Sam was wanting him to wear for the wedding and realized what she was intending to do.
"You're going to go get Jake, aren't you? You can't go out to the property, Jo," Seth reminded her, while she walked purposely past him. She grabbed a pair of work boots that she had a tendency to wear around La Push before she picked up her own shoes from the floor.
"Neither Collin or Brady are going to be there," Jo assured him, before taking back the garment bag and tucked Jacob's dress shoes under her arm. "Jake gave them the weekend off and chances are, Jake's over there and lost track of time. I'll bring his clothes to him and we will meet you guys at First Beach."
"Sam gave an order for you not to go there," Seth whispered firmly.
Jo scoffed. As scary as Sam appeared to the rest of the pack when he gave an order, he didn't scare her. Intimidated her perhaps, but not scare. Besides, from her perspective, Sam would probably want to have his best man at his wedding one way or another. There was no danger for her to be heading to the property.
She smiled at Seth.
"Since when am I supposed to listen to Sam? He's not my alpha."
Seth winced at her words, feeling the desire to not only insist that she obeys Sam's order but also his wolf's desire to protect her. She was a pregnant imprint but not only that, she was the imprint of Jacob Black; the Alpha by birth.
"Jake's not answering his phone and that alone concerns me," she told him, breaking through his internal argument.
"Then, I'll go with you," Seth stated, just as Sue walked back into the house.
"Are you two coming?"
Seth and Jo looked back at Sue standing in the doorway. Behind her, they could see Charlie putting Billy's wheelchair in the back of Sue's SUV.
Jo quickly looked back at Seth.
"You're an usher," she told him. "You need to be there early. Jake and I will only be a few minutes behind you. I promise we'll be quick."
Without waiting for another moment to pass or to allow Seth the opportunity to disagree further with her, Jo walked away from him and towards the door, passing Sue.
Her aunt saw Jo's hands full of Jacob's wedding clothes and the work boots on her feet that clashed horribly with her lavender dress.
"Jo?"
"I'm going to pick up Jake at the property," she called over her shoulder as she headed towards Jacob's red Rabbit.
She could feel both Sue, Seth and Billy's eyes on her as she opened the passenger side door and laid the garment bag over the seat before quickly closing the door.
"Is that such a good idea?" Sue asked, her voice laced with concern as she also knew that Jo was to go no where near the property. Yet with Charlie in listening range, she wasn't about to disclose the reasons aloud even though Jo was already well aware of them.
Instead, Jo looked over at her and smiled.
"I'll be fine, Aunt Sue. Just ask Seth," she told her as she walked around to the driver's seat. "I'll pick up Jake and we'll be there as soon as we can."
Sue and Seth walked over to her SUV and watched as Jo peeled out of the driveway in Jacob's Rabbit heading down the road towards the property.
"She said that Jake gave Collin and Brady the weekend off. They won't be there," Seth told Sue, loud enough that Billy could hear from where he sat with the window open in the backseat.
Sue sighed, looking at the vacant road where Jo had just disappeared down.
"Still, don't breath one word of this to Sam," Sue said softly to her son before he climbed into the backseat with Billy. "That'll be the last thing we need today."
Jo smiled when she saw the large wooden building of where Jacob's garage would soon be. It sat near the road; the perfect place for Jacob's auto shop business.
Following his decision to start the business, Embry and Quil had approached Jake asking if he'd want any business partners. If anything, the added manpower from the pair for any perspective clients along with their investment simply caused the project to move quicker. With assistance from Sam and Paul, the foundation and cement base had been poured, the building was quickly framed, and ceiling trusses and walls were put up. Boxes of siding and shingles waited on the ground for installation. All that was really missing were the two large bay doors that Jacob had put on order a few days ago. At the same time, he had been working on their home.
The last time Jo had seen the property, it was a vacant lot with trees along with a sad looking shack sitting further into the bush. Now with the soon-to-be completed garage, it completely blocked the view of the shack from the road.
Following the tire worn dirt path next to the garage, Jo could see the outline of the former small shack that Jacob was quickly turning into a home. Long gone were the curled shingles, broken windows and worn porch deck. The old wooden siding had been pulled down and new vinyl was in the process of being put up. The overgrowth had been cut back and a load of gravel had been delivered to the property to mark out a proper driveway and parking area from the garage.
When Jacob had told her of the plans that he had for their home, she couldn't picture it. It wasn't that she doubted him. Jo simply couldn't imagine what it would look like until it was right in front of her. Now, with it partially complete, she could finally see the vision that Jacob had seen weeks ago when he had spoken so excitedly to her about the plans that he had.
"It already has three bedrooms, so there's no need to put on an addition onto it. We'll have plenty of space," he had told her, as they had walked through the overgrowth towards the broken front door weeks ago. Jo had climbed the steps and peered through a dusty window that was partially boarded. "Both the kitchen and bathroom needs to be gutted. Paul said that he's gladly do that for us and he knows a guy who can get us a deal on cabinets and a countertop. We may end up moving in without the kitchen complete though but I'll be sure to have it done before the baby comes. I'll need to replumb the bathroom but that'll be easy to do once Paul's done with the demo in there. According to Sam, the foundation is sound and that's the important thing. Everything else, we can handle. Sam says he'll help us out to get it done and get Jared in here too. Once the big stuff is done, you can decorate and paint it any way you'd like." He had paused, watching Jo with anticipation for her reaction. "So, what do you think?"
Jo turned to him and forced a smile. In that moment, Jacob could tell that it wasn't genuine and his own smile and excitement dropped.
"What?"
Jo shrugged before looking out from the porch deck out towards the road where the VW Rabbit sat. The open space was full of weeds and the house was falling apart.
"I'm sorry, Jake. I don't mean to be a downer, I just can't seem to see the potential here like you can."
Jacob had smiled once again, wrapping his arms around Jo from behind, and rested his head on her shoulder as they looked out at the yard. When he had placed his hands over her stomach, Jo smiled and covered his hands with her own.
"I promise you, Jo," he whispered to her. "This will be everything we ever dreamed that it could be. It will be perfect for our family. We can stay here for the rest of our lives if you want to."
Jacob's words that he had whispered to her weeks ago had come to pass. It was then that she realized how close that they were to having their own home. She could even envision the baby swing hanging from the tree branch high above or perhaps an old tire swing as the years go on. As Jo looked at the covered porch with the freshly painted railing, she knew that she'd be spending many rainy afternoons sitting in a chair listening to the drops hit the rooftop while her child would run around, splashing in the fresh puddles.
Jo smiled at the thought before looking around for any sign of Jacob. Billy's pickup was there, and had the load of lumber still sitting in the back.
She parked the Rabbit right beside the pickup and turned off the engine. She climbed out of the car and was instantly greeted by the tranquility of the forest. Birds sung, and squirrels raced around the tree tops, chattering to each other. The sound of the car door closing echoed around the otherwise silent property.
Knowing that they were going to be late, Jo quickly made her way up the front steps towards the front door and pushed it open. She was met with the fresh scent of sawdust and wood. Paul's scroll saw that Jacob had been borrowing sat in the corner along with a tool pouch and an extension cord. Jo walked into the kitchen finding that it too was empty. Sunlight shone through the window in the back door off the kitchen. Jo could see the beginnings of a deck where Jacob hoped to one day put a barbecue. The kitchen cabinets had been installed except the doors were still missing as was the counter. In the space where the fridge would eventually go, Jacob had placed a small card table and those that helped out would end up leaving empty beverage containers on it along with wallets and keys.
Jo walked over to it, seeing Jacob's wallet, cell phone, keys and a small box sitting beside them. She picked up the phone and checked it, seeing Seth's calls had been logged yet they had never been acknowledged that Jacob had seen it. Jo put it back down and went down the hallway, peering in each room and found them to be empty as well.
Coming back into the kitchen, Jo placed the phone back on the table and was about to walk back outside when the small box caught her eye. From her experience, it appeared to be the same size as one would use for jewelry; for a pair of earrings or a ring. Curiousity got the better of her and she gently opened it. Her breath caught in the back of her throat when she saw the ring.
A stunning, yet simple square diamond ring stared back at her. On either side of the diamond were two smaller stones set within what she guessed was either a white gold or silver band.
Jacob had told her that he intended to get her a wedding ring, but with all the added expenses surrounding the house, Jo knew it would be a while until he could make due on that promise. She was surprised to be holding in her hand what she presumed to be her ring.
Upon hearing the sound of a motor approaching the house, she quickly closed the box and placed it back on the table before heading towards the front door. Jo was smiling and was fully intending on greeting her husband before demanding that he got ready for the wedding. When she realized that the figure on the old moped was certainly not Jacob, her smile faded. She didn't recognize the young teen while he took off his helmet, yet she stepped off the porch as he approached the house. The first thing she noticed was his face was flushed, sweat beaded on his forehead despite the cool autumn breeze that blew in from the coast. As he held onto his helmet under his arm, his hands seemed to tremble slightly.
"Can I help you?" Jo asked, slightly concerned.
"Yeah, I'm..uh...I'm looking for Jacob," the teen replied. "Is he around?"
Jo smiled politely. "I'm actually looking for him myself." She extended her hand towards him. "I'm his wife, Jo."
The teen boy smiled slightly and took her hand. "I'm Brady Fuller."
The heat the emanated from his grip was mirrored to that of the wolf pack. Jo's smile faded as the full impact of who he was and that it was extremely obvious that he was near phasing hit her. She pulled her hand back from Brady and attempted to make her withdrawal from him appear natural. All the while, she forced a smile on her face in order to not provoke any hostilities from him.
"You're my cousin," she told him, as he nodded.
"Yeah, Jacob told me about you. It's nice to meet you."
"So, what are you doing out this way? I thought Jake gave you the day off."
Brady nodded. "He did. I just came to get paid. He said he'd be here this morning for a few hours and that I could swing by."
"Oh, I wasn't aware of that," Jo stated, cursing Jacob for the oversight. Then again, she was never to come over while Brady and Collin were assisting Jacob.
"We're actually late for Sam Uley's wedding. Knowing Jake, he's probably somewhere getting ready for it."
Brady nodded reluctantly. Jo could see the obvious struggle he was having in controlling his emotions as he ran a shaky hand through his shoulder length hair. She wanted nothing more than for him to leave. It was dangerous for her to be around him and it didn't appear like he was in any rush to leave. The poor boy needed someone who could help him out right now and it certainly wasn't her.
"Chances are that he's already over at Sam Uley's place right now," Jo told him, hoping that somoene would be hanging back a bit before heading to First Beach. "If you want to find Jacob, you'll probably have some luck over there. I can give you directions."
Brady scowled as he looked at the pair of vehicles sitting in front of the house. He gestured to the pickup.
"That's the truck Jake's been using," Brady countered. "Whenever the truck's here, Jacob is here. Where the hell is he?!"
Suddenly, the trembling increased in Brady's hands as he fisted them in a feeble attempt to quench the unjustified anger that he was feeling.
"Is Jacob Black trying to cheat me out of my pay?"
"What? No!" Jo exclaimed incredulously, holding out her hands as she attempted to calm him down. "You know that we would never do that to you, Brady. Both Jacob and I have been very appreciative of the help that you've been giving him. If Jacob was here, you know that he'd pay you."
When it looked as though Brady wasn't eager to be leaving, Jo had to shift her tactic. There was no way she was willing to continue a conversation that was obviously becoming very stressful for Brady. The last thing she wanted was to be near him when he phased. Images of Emily's scarred face filled her mind and she put a protective hand over her pregnant stomach. Even as he stood a half dozen feet in front of where she stood at the bottom of the porch, Jo knew that she was still too close. If she was going to be on her own with him, she was going to do her best to prolong his phasing.
"Brady, are you feeling all right? You don't look so good."
As though he suddenly realized it, his face turned from anger to shock and the trembling of his muscles subsided again somewhat.
"Yeah," he breathed. "I...uh...I feel strange."
He hunched over and took some deep breaths.
"You may be coming down with something. Maybe you should head home and get some rest."
"Brady, you're going to be all right."
Jacob.
Both Jo and Brady recognized the voice. From out of the forest, Jacob walked out and quickly headed to Jo's side. He wore only his cut off shorts and mud caked shoes. Water beaded from his wet hair and down his bare chest. In his hand he carried his t-shirt which he passed to Jo as he stepped in front of her, effectively blocking Jo from Brady. He ran his hand protectively down Jo's arm as he turned to Brady. Jacob was aware that Brady's eyes watched Jacob's actions and seemed to recognize the authority within Jacob's stance as he stepped in front of Jo.
"My cell phone is on the table inside, Jo," Jacob said firmly, his eyes never leaving Brady as the young teen glared at him, his muscles trembling once again. "Call Paul to let him know we're going to be late for the wedding. And stay inside."
Jo didn't respond but gently placed her hand on Jacob's hot back before she quickly turned and made her way into the house, closing the door behind her.
For the first time, it felt as though she could breath once again. Jo sighed as she stood against the back of the door, hearing Jacob's voice speaking calmly and firmly to Brady outside. After a beat, she rushed for Jacob's cell and quickly dialled Paul's number.
It rang once before he answered with a chuckle. In the background, she could hear the roudiness of most likely the entire pack as Paul tried to shush them before he spoke.
"Jake! You're so late, bro! You had better haul your ass down..."
"Paul, there's a problem," Jo quickly said, interrupting Paul.
The man paused upon hearing the urgency in Jo's voice as did the background noise.
"Jo? What's wrong? Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," she replied, walking up to the window to see Jacob speaking to Brady outside in the yard. "It's Brady. I think he's going to phase anytime."
"What? Where are you?"
"At the property," Jo replied. "I'm inside the house. Jake is outside talking with him now. But Brady's pissed and can't keep still. Jake said to call you."
"Shit," Paul mumbled before he sighed. "All right, sit tight and stay inside. Help is on the way."
Jo hung up the phone and looked back out the window, overhearing Jacob's conversation with Brady. The poor teenager had his head between his hands.
"This has nothing to do with me not being around to pay you," Jacob told him. "If not me, you'd be pissed at someone else for some other reason."
"I feel so strange," Brady moaned. "It just doesn't feel right."
"I know," Jacob said softly. "But it will get easier. Trust me. I know what you're going through."
"Don't tell me that you know what I'm going through!" Brady exclaimed. "You have no idea! This is not what puberty is supposed to be like!"
Jacob managed to smile. "No, this has nothing to do with puberty. This...is entirely different that was never covered in health class at school."
Brady looked up at him, a look of fear on his face. "What's wrong with me?"
Jacob walked up to him, a feeling of sympathy tugging at him.
It wasn't fair. Suddenly, Quileute boys were phasing at a younger age; another childhood existence and a life sentence was being instilled before the boy even had a chance to live his own life. He wondered how far off Collin was from phasing as well. Jacob had originally thought that phasing at 16 was rough. To experience it at barely 14 was unusual. But it was obvious that they were living in unusual times. He only hoped that Collin and Brady would learn to not resent it sooner than later. Jacob learned that it took Jo to come into his life for him to finally realize that being a shape shifter wasn't so much of a curse. He was really living a life; albeit not one that he ever expected. Now with being married and a child on the way while his home being built, life began to feel normal in the crazy world they lived in. It helped to forget the danger that would soon be encroaching on their land once again in a few months.
"There's nothing wrong with you," Jacob told him firmly. "None of this is your fault. There's nothing you could do to stop it."
"Stop what?"
As though the answer suddenly materialized from the forest, Jacob and then Brady turned as a wolf slowly walked out of the woods. First one, and then another finally emerged from the woods. Jacob sighed frustratingly, knowing that this wasn't entirely the optimal way of revealing the truth to Brady. But he knew that the presense of the wolves would serve to cause the change to occur faster. After all, phasing for the first time was all based on strong emotions and no emotion was stronger than that of fear. Jacob could sense it in the air as the pack approached them. The only problem was that they weren't expecting Brady to run.
Before Jacob could turn, Brady had raced for the front door to his home, pushing it open and quickly slamming it behind him.
Inside, Jo gasped and backed up, startled to see Brady panting and trembling as he stood with his back against the door.
"Brady, you can't be in here," Jo told him, nervously as her eyes took in the severity of the situation.
Brady was breathing deeply, his fists clenched and tears were in his eyes as he fought for control that he was slowly losing. Still, he stood with his back against the door, determined that nothing was going to get in the house. That act alone made Jo realize that the wolves were not going to provoke him at all knowing that she was in there with him.
For now, she was on her own.
"You have to help me. I feel like I'm going insane. There are big-ass wolves out there."
Sympathy suddenly flowed through her, hearing the desperation in his young voice. It tore at her heart. She knew what it was like to be scared to death. His world was about to be turned upside down and spun out of control.
"I'm sorry, Brady but I can't help you. The only ones that know what you're going through and who can help you, are the wolves outside," she told him, attempting to keep her voice strong despite their situation.
It was obvious that Brady didn't think that going back outside was an option.
A growl exploded from Brady's lips.
A/N
Not much to say here today... Except, please review! Thanks for the reviews - I love that I can take up your entire afternoon reading the stories that come into my mine. I just hope that it's a rainy afternoon or you're outside enjoy the sunshine while you're reading. I hope to update by the end of the week...or early Saturday.
Welcome to all the new favouriters and followers. I hope you enjoy the ride - it's far from over...;)