Author's note; Many, many thanks to all of you who reviewed the previous chapter. I think I have now, replied to all of you. Thank you also, to those of you who have added this story to your Favourites/Story Alerts Lists and to those of you who have added me to your Favourite Author's List. I am very flattered. So, on with the story. I'm not going to say much about this chapter. I'll let you read it and then, when you have decided what you think about it, you can........

Disclaimer; I do not own Twilight. It's sad but true.

COOK WANTED

Friday

Once again the week went by, all too quickly. The whole family had been very busy. Alice was putting together the final touches to her designs for New York, Edward seemed to be working more then the allotted hours, in surgery, and I had another wedding cake order for October.

As I tidied away the breakfast dishes and loaded the diswasher, after everyone had gone to work, I set my plan into action, to head out to Forks for the weekend. I would be the only person able to go that morning. Edward had said that he would try and join me in the evening, but he couldn't promise. I decided to go anyway. I wanted to give my truck a good run and listen to her purr along the roads, eating up the miles, without any of the old hindrances on her abilities.

"You will text me when you get there, Bella?" Edward had asked, before he went to work.

"You worry too much, Edward. I've got the satnav, to make sure I don't take any wrong turns." I chided, rolling my eyes at him. It's lovely that he cares so much about me, though.

I pulled him to me, as he got ready to leave the house and planted a chaste kiss on his wonderful lips. "I'll see you when you get there, okay?" I smiled.

He nodded in reply and shut the front door behind him.

I quickly got my overnight bag together, making sure I had some music for the journey and made my way down, to my beauty, waiting for me on the front drive. I smiled at her. Even though she had been turned into a rather seductive thing on four wheels, she was still my truck, underneath all that shiny black paint and alloys.

I settled myself in the drivers seat and started her up. Wow! She sounded good. A sudden thought sprang to my mind. I would go and visit Jacob, say hello and show him how wonderful my truck looks now. Even if he had seen the finished product, I wanted to show him how much I appreciated his part, in my birthday present. I hadn't seen Jacob in a while and I was sure that sufficient time had passed, that his feelings for me, would have cooled, especially now that Edward and I had set the date, the details of which had been posted in the papers that week.

I had always valued Jacob's friendship, and that was what I hoped we could retun too. Being friends as we were, all those years ago.

I put on some music once I got through the city traffic, taking the route that would lead me to Forks. My mind drifted from thoughts of the wedding and things that still needed to be done for that occassion to thoughts of what I would say to Jacob, once I arrived. I then thought about what I would do at the weekend. Hopefully, with Edward joining me at some point, we could spend plenty of time relaxing. A midnight swim sounded like a very lovely idea. I wonder if there'll be a full moon tonight? Umm, swimming with Edward in the moonlight. Heaven!

I had to quickly shake those ideas out of my head, literally, before I potentially, veered off the road.

When I finally arrived at Forks, still feeling very positive about seeing Jacob again, I parked the car at the front of the repair garage. The shutter was open and I could hear music coming from somewhere inside. I killed the engine. I quickly took out my phone and sent Edward a text, as promised, to say that I had arrived safely in Forks.

I then got out of the truck and made my way into the garage via the open shutter.

"Jacob!" I called. There was no answer. I knew that he wouldn't leave the garage unattended, with the music on and the shutter open, so I called out again.

"Jacob!" I wandered over to where the music was coming from. It was then, that I saw a pair of jean clad legs, sticking out from under a car.

I bent down and looked along the body, laying on the ground. Seeing his face, albeit from an unusual angle, I knew it was him. I called his name, again.

"Jacob! It's me, Bella." He tilted his head forward slightly, so as not to bang his head on the engine above him. He smiled.

"Hi Bella. I'll be out in a second." He replied, raising his voice slightly.

"Okay, no rush." I answered, stood up and waited by the office, leaning on the door. The only chair that seemed to be available, had a large oil stain on the seat. I wasn't going to chance that one. I only intended to be here a short time anyway.

Jacob finished what he was doing and pulled himself out from under the car. He stood for a moment smiling at me, while he wiped his greasy hands on a rag. He nodded to me.

"It's good to see you Bella. What brings you over to this neck of the woods?" He moved away to a tool chest, at the back of the garage, to put away whatever tools, he had been working with.

He turned to me again awaiting my reply. I couldn't quite understand why the sight of him, as he was, was having such a strange affect on me. He smiled at me again and took a couple of steps forward in my direction, tilting his head to one side.

I took a deep breath and refocused, on the reason why I had stopped by.

"Oh, I wanted to say hi and say thank you for your part in my birthday present." I actually felt my face flush slightly. What is going on?

"Think nothing of it, Bella. You now how much I love to work on cars. I was my pleasure." He said, looking at me intently. "I take it you drove down in her?"

"Yes, that's why I wanted to stop by, so you could have a look at her. I wasn't sure if you saw her in all her glory." I stated.

He beamed at me. "No, I didn't. When she left here, she was still red and rusty." He made his way to the front of the garage and stepped outside. I followed him.

"Wow! She looks beautiful." He said, turning to face me again. I gave him a weak smile.

"She's wonderful to drive, now. Thanks to you." I stated, nodding towards her. He turned again and walked the length of her, inspecting every curve, with his fingers ghosting over the bodywork.

"Rose, certainly chose the right colour for her. You must look quite mean, going down the road in this. What is she like to drive?"

"A dream, compared to what she used to be. She purrs like a cat." I added. He smiled wrily and gave me a sidwards glance. He walked up to the drivers door and opened it to inspect the dash board. He nodded his approval and shut the door again.

"Is it good, to feel independent again?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Yes, it is. It was nice to be driven around by Charlie, but I really missed being able to do things the minute I wanted too." I smiled. He nodded in understanding.

"So, what have you got planned for the weekend?" He asked, with a small smile on his lips.

"Well, everyone seems to be busy. Edward said that he hoped to travel down this evening, but there's no guarantee. He's very busy at the moment."

"So your going to be alone?" He sounded surprised.

"Well, pretty much. I don't mind though. I have a lot of thinking to do, what with the wedding next year. I'll be able to get some ideas for it, put down on paper." His face fell at my words. Oh God. He obviously hasn't read about it yet.

"So, you've set the date, have you?" He asked, in a steady tone.

"Yes, June, next year." I replied, quietly. "Jacob." I began. "I really don't want there to be any awkwardness between us. Your sister and I were friends for quite a while and I would like to think that we could still remain friends. As long as, you do too."

He looked down at the ground for a moment, as if he were making up his mind about an answer.

"Yes, your right, Bella. Friends. If nothing else, we can be friends." He confirmed, looking at me once again and smiling, his usual, warm smile.

"Good." I replied, sighing with relief.

"So, what are you going to do now?" He asked, heading back inside the garage.

"I'll head out to the house and have some lunch."

"Hey, how about we go to the diner." He said enthusiastically. "I haven't eaten yet and I've finished here, for the day." He added.

"Well, I..."

"It's okay, Bella. I understand. I just thought it would be nice for us to catch up, that's all." He had a point. If we were going to act like adults and start off on the right foot with our friendship, a simple meal with a friend, was a good place to start. I smiled at him and his face relaxed.

"Okay then. I'd love too. I'll wait in the truck for you." I gave him a quick nod and made my way to the truck.

"Give me ten minutes, to get cleaned up." He called out disappearing into the back of the garage.

I made myself comfortable in the truck and put on some music to help pass the time. I watched the traffic pass by in my rearview mirror. Forks was quite busy for a Friday afternoon. I wondered if they were the city workers, finishing work early and wanting to get away from it all. I noticed a black car parked opposite the garage with a man sitting in the driver's seat. He seemed to be looking over in my direction, though I couldn't be sure of that. I looked down for a moment to change the music and when I looked back in my rearview mirror, he had gone. He was no doubt waiting for someone to come out of a shop. I paid no further heed.

Jacob was true to his word. Ten minutes, was all it took him to get cleaned up. He walked out of the garage and appeared to be freshly showered, wearing a clean set of clothes. His hair was tied back and he was wearing a pair of dark blue jeans and a very tight white t-shirt. I felt my eyes gaze at his torso, a little too long. I shut my eyes in order to refocus. What was wrong with me?

He got into the truck, smiling broadly. Instantly he filled the inside of the truck with the fresh smell of soap and musk. Not unpleasant.

"I didn't realise that you had all the modern conveniences in the garage." I snorted, sarcastically.

"When Rose took over the place, that was one of the things she insisted on. The garage in Seattle is a little more up market. It has a shower for women too!"

I smiled at this piece of information. Why did that not surprise me?! Rose never came home looking anything but immaculate from a day of working inside and under cars.

I brought the truck to life. Jacob smiled as he tilted his head to one side, concentrating on the sound of the engine. He began to smile and nod. I strapped myself in.

"What d'you think, then?" I asked looking at him as I reversed, out of the garage parking area.

"She sounds good. So much better than before. There is no comparison." He settled back on the seat and strapped himself in.

The diner was only a short ride from the garage. We could have walked it, but I wanted to show off to Jacob how wonderful the truck was now, and to show him how pleased I was.

I parked the truck in a parking bay outside the diner, doing a double take in my rear view mirror. The black car was there again. This time the man in the driver's seat, bent down and seemed to pull out a map, opening it out across the steering wheel. He must be lost. I gave him no further thought as Jacob shut the passenger door rather loadly, breaking me out of the musings.

"Come on, Bella. I'm starving!" He chided and motioned for me to hurry up. I caught up with him just inside the diner door, after grabbing my purse and locking up the truck.

Jacob ordered the steak and all the trimmings and I ordered the chicken with a green salad and French fries.

"Umm, this tastes good." I stated, taking a sip of my soda.

"Not as good as your cooking, Bella. That meal you cooked that night, was out of this world. I don' t think I have ever tasted anything, so good before." He beamed enthusiastically.

"Okay, Jacob enough with the compliments. Your making me blush." I playfully, punched his arm.

"You should be complimented, Bella. Your an amazing...cook." He said, his face taking on a serious tone. His hesitation, did not go unnoticed by me.

The rest of our meal was taken up with general chit chat about his family and my parents. He didn't ask any questions about the Cullens or the wedding. I didn't mind. This was after all, our time to attempt at re-establishing some kind of friendship, once again.

We rounded off the meal with a coffee and sat back in our seats not feeling particularly rushed. Jacob graciously settled the bill. He refused for me to pay my half, clamping his large hand over mine, when I attempted to get the money out of my purse. We both fell silent for a moment, looking down at his hand covering mine. His hand was very warm and soft even though he spent most of his time working on car engines.

The silence became almost awkward. He finally moved his hand from mine, sliding it away, as if to maintain contact with me for as long as possible. I looked up at him to find him smiling, sheepishly.

"I'm sorry, Bella. I didn't mean to overstep any bounderies. I..."

"It's okay, Jacob. Let's forget about it. Do you need a lift anywhere?"

"Umm, yeah. Would you mind dropping me off at home?"

"So, where is home, exactly?" I asked, cheerily

"I still live on the reservation. I have my own place now. It's not too big, but it suits my needs." He said, standing.

"You'll have to give me directions, Jacob. This is unchartered territory, for me." I stated.

"Sure, no problem. I'll make sure you're going in the right direction, once you've dropped me off. I know where the Cullen House is. It's fairly easy to find, from the res."

We made our way back to my truck and settled ourselves in for the journey. Some twenty five minutes later, we arrived at the reservation and Jacob's house.

"Thanks, Bella. Just take the route back that I explained, you can't go wrong. Would you like to come in and have a look at the place before you go?" He asked, hopefully.

"No, Jacob I really should be going. If Edward has managed to make it to Forks by now, he'll be wondering where I am." I answered. Jacob nodded and jumped down from the passenger side of the truck. He walked round to my door. I pressed the switch to lower the window.

"Thanks for coming by, Bella. It was good to see you." He smiled, softly at me.

"Likewise, Jacob. Thank you for the meal. It was good to see you. And thank you for all the hard work that you did, on the truck. She really is a work of art, now."

"Yeah." He chuckled. "I suppose you could call her that." He said slowly, looking at me intently, again.

"I'll see you sometime again, Jacob." Breaking him out of his daydream. "Take care." I added, as I pressed the switch, to close the window.

He gave me a small wave as I brought the truck back to life and I headed out onto the road again.

I had only been back on the road for some ten minutes, when a car pulled in front of me. I frowned at the car, as it began to slow down. The driver was motioning with his hand for me to pull over. What on earth does he want?

I then realised, as I came to a stop, that this was the same car that I had seen a couple of times today, in town. I looked closer at the driver through the front windscreen. Yes, it was the same driver. What is his problem? He must be really lost.

He got out of the car and made his way over to my door. He was quite tall and slim built, with dark blonde, wavy, collar length, hair. His eyes were a very piercing blue. He was looking very concerned.

I lowered the window down, once he stood next to my door."Can I help you? Are you lost?" I asked, as politely as my patience would allow, at this moment in time.

"I'm sorry 'bout this, something is not right with your rear driver's side tyre. I think you may need to have a look at it and then you'll see what I mean." I frowned at him. I hadn't noticed that there was anything wrong with the truck. She seemed to be running just fine. I certainly couldn't remember running over anything that might have caused a problem.

"Okay." I said slowly and opened the door to get out. He stood back for a second to allow the door to open.

Then, what happened next, occurred so quickly, that I really could not process it all at the same time. All I knew was, that he was now in the driver's seat, having pushed me over to the passenger side, with a considerable amount of force. He quickly locked the doors from the driver's side and pulled out a hand gun, pointing it at me.

I took in a large breath and shouted at him. "What the hell do you think you are doing?!" I bellowed. I grabbed at the door handle next to me in the futile attempt to escape the confines of the truck. But of course there was no way out. I sat back in the corner of the seat, up against the door, trying to stay as far away from the intruder as possible.

I opened my mouth again, ready to shout at him. I was incensed. He held the gun up to my face. "Shut the fuck up! If you say another word, I will use this!" He threatened.

I sat there frozen. My mouth open and my back pressed into the door as far as possible, the cold of the metal making the flesh on my back, goosebump. I raised my hands as an offer of submission and he promptly placed the gun on his lap, bring the truck to life, driving around his vehicle and continuing on the road towards town.

My heart was beating so fast and my head was pounding with fear. My throat had suddenly become very dry and it was difficult for me to swallow. What is going on? What does he want with me?

He obviously didn't worry about covering up his identity because from what I could see, he wasn't wearing any kind of a disguise. He face was set hard as he concentrated on driving. I suddenly wished that my truck was what it used to be, slow. Right now it seemed to be conspiring against me, taking me, too fast, to where ever this man wanted to take me.

I kept my eyes trained on him, trying to think if there was any way that I could pre-empt him. No matter what, he had the upper hand. He was strong and he had a gun. What chance do I have to get away from him? What does he intend to do to me? I tried hard, to concentrate on breathing properly.

Suddenly we came to a stop. I quickly turned my head looking out of the front windscreen. We were still on the main road, but exactly where I wasn't sure. I hadn't seen anything outside of the truck. I had spent the entire time watching him, in utter fear.

At the speed that we had been travelling, I could only suspect that by now, we were the other side of town, heading in the direction of the Cullen house. That thought naturally faded from my mind. Why on earth would we be going there? How would he know where it was? He didn't even know who I was, did he?

He placed his left hand deliberatly on top of the gun in his lap, as if he were warning me. He reached into the right hand pocket of his jacket and pulled out a piece of black material. He glanced over to me, his face still hard and looking angry.

"Put. This. On." He instructed me. I reached forward with my hand and took hold of the material, looking at it with suspicion. "Cover. Your. Eyes." Were the next set of instructions.

I quickly covered my eyes with the black material and tied it, behind my head. All I could now see, were my hands in my lap. "Don't take it off until I tell you too. D'you hear me?" I nodded. Speech was beyond me right at this moment in time. My throat was now, far too dry and tight. Breathing properly, long forgotten.

The truck came to life once again. We began to move. At first, we were still on the road and then the truck did a right turn onto what seemed like a dirt track, which was slightly bumpy and noisy, the tyres moving against gravel. We seemed to travel along this dirt track for quite a while.

Then suddenly, the truck stopped and he killed the engine. Everything was eerily quiet. All I could hear were my deep, panicky breaths and my abductor, mumbling something, under his breath.

Suddenly there was a familiar noise. My phone was chiming out, that a text message had been recieved. He grabbed at my purse and then I heard him huff.

"Bella, Bella, Bella. Poor Edward is going to be quite distraught when you don't answer him, don't you think?" He said, menacingly.

My hands began to shake. Does he know me? And does he know Edward? My stomach churned, making me feel quite nauseous.

I suddenly felt completely helpless. This was not a random abduction. It was planned and he knew exactly what was going to happen next. My whole body began to shake as the tears began to stream down my face.

End of Chapter

Author's note; ....REVIEW!! Take care.