Chapter Sixteen
Jasper
Megan was beside herself with joy, her wish had come true, her mommy had turned up to see her and not only that but she was coming home with us. I wondered how her 'business' had gone. I assumed she had called Edward to tell him she wouldn't be home for Christmas. I just prayed she hasn't told him why or he would hunt us down and Megan didn't deserve to be faced by a father she knew had wanted her dead. Especially not now she was so happy. I got the feeling that Edward was a dead man as far as Bella was concerned although I doubted he would just go away. From her attitude when she learned the truth he didn't stand a chance of winning his daughter or his wife back. He always struck me as the kind of man who liked to hold onto things he considered his and that encompassed both Bella and Megan once he discovered her existence. He would fight for his rights no doubt, whether he wanted his daughter or not. Still, we could face this later, for now, I intended to give both Megan and Bella the best Christmas they had ever had.
I paid the bill and Megan and I joined Bella at the truck where she sat staring into space but when she heard our approach she jumped out smiling at her daughter.
"Well, I for one am excited to see your home. So, is it far?"
I looked up at the sky where the snow was falling thicker now, it was going to be one hell of a trip.
"Far enough. We should leave now if we want to get home before Santa visits."
"We have to, poppa, you promised."
"Come on then. Let's hit the road."
Bella hesitated and I smiled.
"I'm fine to drive. Why don't you sit in back with Megan? I'm sure you two have a lot to talk about."
She smiled at me gratefully and climbed into the back, checking that Meg was strapped in as I drove out of the parking lot and headed home.
It felt strange, I was used to there being just Meg and I and now there was a third person. Not a stranger, someone who had more right to be here than me but I didn't feel jealous. It was good to bathe in the love and joy both Bella and Megan were radiating and I knew I had done the right thing bringing them together.
I listened as the two of them chatted about nothing very important. The zoo, the reindeer, and the hotel we stayed at. Megan could yak the hind legs off a donkey and now she had such an attentive audience she was in her element. I heard her describing Celeste to her mom and then tuned their conversation out for a while. I envied Bella having a child of her own, something I could never have. I'd never considered it important until I found myself alone with Megan, a parent by proxy. I still couldn't figure out how Edward could have abandoned his own flesh and blood once he had held her in his arms. I had felt a connection and she was nothing to me.
As the snow fell more thickly I turned on the radio to hear blizzard warnings for the area followed by the first road closures. It was going to be a close thing, the nearer we got to home the more roads were becoming impassable and I knew the chances of getting the truck along our track, if we could even get that close, would be virtually nil. Luckily I had a couple of blankets in the trunk so I could wrap Megan up warmly and run to the house while neither Bella nor I would feel the drop in temperature, one of the perks of being a vampire.
The conversation in the rear had faded away and Bella slipped into the passenger seat.
"She's exhausted, I guess it's been quite an emotional day for her."
I nodded, "For you too. Look I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Megan earlier but.."
She shook her head.
"I understand, Jasper. You were afraid for her. You knew what Edward had done and that I couldn't look after her, not as a newborn and there wasn't anyone else you could trust to look after her. I owe you my thanks."
"After the way I treated you I guess I owe you at least that much. Besides, having Megan in my life has made a big difference. She's a wonderful child."
Bella glanced back at her daughter's sleeping form.
"She's so beautiful. It's hard to think that I gave birth to her only two years ago. She's grown so quickly."
I laughed, "You have no idea. One minute I had this fragile tiny creature in my arms, dependant on me for everything then the next she was toddling about and chatting to me."
"She's very articulate. So well mannered too. You said she was gifted, what did you mean?"
"I haven't had time to go into it properly, not with looking after her and keeping an eye on you when I could. She gets feelings. You were at the same mall we were a few days ago and she felt your sadness."
I could see Bella was choked up.
"I felt her too, Jasper. For a moment I felt whole but I had no idea why. To think I was so close yet if I had seen her I wouldn't have known who she was."
"She was desperate to see you. She asked me about her parents but when I began to tell her I discovered she already knew some of it. I did my best not to paint Edward too dark but she seemed to know that he never wanted her. She certainly knew you did. I made sure of that."
Bella nodded and I was aware of her staring at me for a moment.
"What happened with Jake? I can't believe he managed to hurt you."
I shrugged, "If I'd defended myself then Megan could have been injured or even killed. She was weak, cold, and very fragile."
"So you let him hurt you to protect her?"
"There was no contest, Bella. Besides, I healed."
She sighed and lifted her hand as if to touch the scars on my cheek, then dropped it to her lap.
"How badly were you injured?"
"I'm still here, and I coped."
She could see I wasn't going to talk about myself so she changed tack.
"Can you tell me any more about that night? The last thing I remember was tumbling downstairs trying desperately to protect my baby then pain and nothing until I woke up as a newborn and then I didn't even remember about my baby. How terrible is that?"
"Rage and uncontrollable thirst will do that to you. Besides, I guess Edward didn't remind you?"
She shook her head, her jaw tightening and I felt a stab of fury before she shut down on it.
"He never said a word about it. I didn't even know my dad was dead for over a year."
"Charlie's dead? I'm sorry. That must have been a terrible shock for you. I know you two were close."
"He never even knew he had a granddaughter and of course my mom will never know Megan. I don't have any family now, except Megan."
"You don't intend allowing Edward any place in her life?"
She shook her head vehemently and I was relieved.
"How could I? He would have left her to die. He didn't even feel anything when he held her in his arms. He must have seen that she was perfect. You did."
" I can't say I'm sorry to hear you say that. It's the one thing that always worried me."
She smiled and touched my arm briefly sending a tingle shooting through my body.
"Then you can stop worrying. Let's just relax and enjoy Christmas. One I never thought I would ever see."
The rest of the trip we didn't talk much. I knew Bella was thinking about Meg, she could hardly take her eyes off the little girl turning in her seat so she had a good view. I kept my eyes on the road as the snowdrifts slowed our progress choking our passage while the wipers struggled to keep the screen clear.
About a mile from the house I was forced to stop, the road was closed, a huge snowbank preventing any further progress.
"Well, I guess we walk from here."
Meg who had woken when I stopped sat up rubbing her eyes then smiled at Bella.
"Mommy! I thought I'd been dreaming but you're really here. Are we home, poppa?"
"Almost darlin'. We have to go the rest of the way on foot. Here.."
I shrugged off my jacket and wrapped it around her then retrieved the blanket from the trunk.
"If you feel cold you holler, OK?"
She nodded as I wrapped the blanket around her for extra protection against the bitter wind and snowfall and holding her close turned to Bella.
"Follow me. It's only about a mile and I'm going to run, I don't want Meg out in this any longer than necessary."
"Sure."
I took off knowing Bella would stay close, she didn't know the way to the house and there was no way she was going to let Meg out of her sight now she'd found her.
Bella
I ached to have Meg in my arms but Jasper knew the way and she was comfortable in his familiar embrace. The two of them seemed so natural together that anyone seeing the pair would naturally assume they were father and daughter.
I wouldn't have lost them in any case, he kicked up a flurry of snow and eddies in the falling powder with the speed of his passing and soon a house came into sight. I didn't get a really good look at it, just noticing it was small and wooden, more a cabin than a house, and that a light shone on the porch and in the hallway. Was there someone else here? A pang of jealousy shot through me. He hadn't mentioned anyone else. Did he have a girlfriend? Was there already a woman in Megan's life? I didn't like the idea of that at all although I could hardly say anything.
Inside the glow from the light wasn't the only pleasant surprise. In the lounge, a log fire burned brightly making the place warm and cosy and very inviting.
Jasper unwrapped his burden then put her down and shook the snow off his jacket and boots ignoring the small mound on the shoulders of his shirt and in his hair as he grabbed a towel and offered it to me.
"Could you dry Megs hair for me while I put the kettle on and find out who's been here."
I tensed, a stranger?
He picked up a Christmas card standing in the center of the kitchen table, opened it and the tension left his face. The smile that replaced it making him look younger and more relaxed.
"Oh right. I should have guessed."
"Poppa. Mary's been here. Look, she left some cinnamon cookies for me like the ones we drew on your card."
Bella
Meg stood patiently while I dried her long dark hair, so much like mine but with a few bronze highlights. The only reminder of her father's part in her conception that I could see.
"There you go, sweetie. What a lovely place you have here. That tree is so pretty."
"Thank you. Poppa and I decorated it. We made some of the decorations ourselves. Oh, I have something for you mommy."
I stared at her somewhat taken aback. How could she have something for me? Jasper hadn't told her I would be at the zoo because he hadn't known for sure himself and he would never do anything to upset Meg, that much was obvious.
She rummaged in her backpack taking out a drawing pad, colored pens, an empty sweet bag, and soda can and some books then drew out something and offered it to me shyly.
"I took it to the zoo in case my wish came true but I forgot to give it to you. Mary and I made it when poppa was out and she looked after me at the hotel. I hope you like it."
I took the precious bundle from her and looked at it, lost for words. It was a plastic jar decorated to look like a snowman and full of gaily wrapped candy that smelled strongly of peppermint.
"You don't have to eat the peppermints if you don't want to. Poppa tried one and he said they were nice but I don't think he liked the taste really. He doesn't eat normal food and I guess you don't either. I never thought about that."
I dropped to my knees and hugged her to me,
"This is the most wonderful present I've ever had, Megan. I will keep it always and you and I can share the sweets with poppa. Did you make them too?"
She nodded giggling.
"I think I ate more than we wrapped. Poppa won't let me have sweets very often and they were so nice."
She wriggled free and I knew it still seemed strange to her to have me holding her. The mother she hardly knew.
"Would you like to see my room? I have to wash my hands before supper and I can smell the spaghetti, it's almost ready."
"I'd love to. Maybe I should clean up too."
It was with a twinge of pleasure that I felt her hand in mine as she guided me upstairs to her bedroom. It was small but had been lovingly decorated and furnished in pale green with books and toys on shelves and what looked like a homemade quilt on the bed.
Seeing me look at it she lifted one corner.
"Poppa made this out of my clothes as I grew out of them so when you came back, you would be able to see them. Look, that's from when I was really little."
She pointed to a small white sock no larger than dolls with a tiny pink ribbon.
"And this.."
She stroked a piece of golden fur, "This was the teddy that I lost when poppa and I were moving and when he found it poor teddy was too mucky to keep so we cut a piece off and washed it then poppa buried the rest in a shoebox for me. It's in the garden out there by the snowdog."
We were interrupted by Jasper's voice calling Meg down for supper and hurriedly washed our hands before joining him.
The table in the kitchen was laid for three although only Megan had a bowl of spaghetti with some freshly baked bread.
"Mary left this ready for you, Meg. We'll have to call and send our thanks to her. Now eat up while it's warm."
We sat with her and I picked up the mug that was set in front of me surprised to smell the scent of blood.
"Elk?"
"Yes. I'm afraid it's not so good warmed up."
"It's fine. Thank you."
"Can I have some poppa?"
I looked at Meg as she chewed on her roll, butter dribbling down her chin.
"Excuse me, young lady? We do not talk with our mouths full and haven't you forgotten something?"
I hid my smile hearing my own father say the same thing as Meg wiped her mouth looking contrite.
"Sorry, Poppa. Please, may I have some?"
"Of course."
Jasper poured her a small amount nodding at me.
"Meg is a mixture of human and us. She lives mostly on human food these days but she does drink blood too."
"Oh, right. I guess that must have been a challenge for you."
"It was at first. I had to feel my way but she was pretty good at letting me know what she wanted."
I smiled, how had he been able to cope with an infant so seemingly effortlessly?
"Meg showed me her room. I love her quilt."
He looked a little embarrassed.
"Oh right. Well, I remembered my own momma making what she called a memory quilt. It had bits from all of us, my brothers and sisters clothes, my poppa's flannel shirt. She had a story for each piece of that quilt and I thought it might be nice for you and Meg. My sewing isn't up to much but it hasn't fallen to pieces yet. Did she tell you about Teddy?"
I nodded, taking a sip of my drink and feeling a little like Alice having just woken up after tumbling down the rabbit hole. Whatever happened in the future I would always treasure this day as the most precious of my life.