CHAPTER TWO

"Bells!" Charlie called, his voice gruff as he yanked on his boots, "Come on, we're late, we gotta go!"

Bella scurried around the kitchen, putting her perfectly puffed and sugar-dusted babies into the Tupperware containers laying on the table, "I know, I know! I just got the last batch out of the oven."

Breathing in deep, she couldn't fight off the smile as she clipped the last lid closed. She couldn't wait for everyone to try them. Still smiling wide, honestly, she hadn't stopped since she arrived. She stacked up the containers in her arm, starting towards the door, "Can you take the top half?" She asked Charlie as she paused to slip on her sandals.

She heard Charlie's startled breath as she all but shoved the containers into his chest, "Uh, yeah… sure." He fumbled as he juggled the Tupperware to keep it from falling, "Wow, Bells, you really went all out."

Balancing her stack as they stepped down the porch steps and towards the cruiser, she responded, "Well, I know that everyone usually brings food to these things, and so I decided that a good dessert was in order. I just hope everyone likes them!"

Setting down the treats in the trunk of the cruiser, Charlie took a deep inhale of the fragrant pastries, "Trust me, Bells, everyone'll love them!" He assured her as he moved to open the passenger door for her.

As he sank down into his own seat behind the wheel, Charlie cleared his throat as he gestured towards the second car in the driveway, "So when do you have to have the rental back?"

For the first time, Bella's smile dimmed. Looking down at her lap, she shrugged, "Well, it's pretty expensive, so I was planning on returning it next week." She mumbled as she played with her fingers. This was the one blip in her plan, the reminder that she wasn't a full adult yet.

In Arizona, she had used public transport to get to and from school, but here in the middle of nowhere's, that wasn't exactly an option. With her school being an hour away, she had to have reliable transportation, and at the moment, she didn't have that.

The car shook and jerked as Charlie backed up and started down the road, "Um, well, you know, I was thinking about that," he began, his voice taking on that gruff and uncomfortable tone that he often used around his only child, "and, I know you don't like people handing you stuff. But well, I am your father, and I really don't get to do much for you…." He trailed off, eyes darting towards her to gauge her reaction, "so, well, I bought you one."

Bella's eyes widened as she swung to face him, "What?"

He cleared his throat as he steadily kept his eyes on the road, "I bought you one." He repeated hastily, almost refusing to look in her direction.

"You bought me a car?"

"Um, yeah."

"Dad—" She started but was swiftly cut off as Charlie found his confidence once again.

"Before you start, it's nothing new, but it's reliable and gets good gas mileage." He assured as he steered the car around a corner and drove down the last stretch of road before they hit the beach. "It's Jakes's old car, completely redone, an old Volkswagen rabbit. It's not much, but the boy completely rebuilt it back in school, treated the thing like his baby. But now it just sits in Billy's garage, and he agreed to sell it to me. We should have it by next week. Jake agreed to look at it to make sure it's still in good shape."

Bella stared at him with her mouth agape. Not only was that the most words she ever heard her dad say at once, but it was also the nicest thing anyone had ever done for her, "Dad…. I don't know what to say."

Putting the car in park and killing the engine, Charlie simply shrugged and opened the door, "Well, you could just say thanks." He flashed her a smile as he got out.

Bella laughed in shock as she joined him in getting the containers out of the trunk, "Thank you, dad." She said and meant it.

Charlie simply shrugged, but she didn't miss the small smile that graced his lips as he turned to make his way down the steps to the beach, carrying all the containers in his arms and essentially leaving her to trail behind.

Bella breathed the salty air in deep, looking over at the darkening beach as the many people milled around, most already with plates piled high with food. Scanning her eyes around, she easily caught sight of Billy as he stuck to the wooden boardwalk. Next to him were three figures that caused Bella to pause in her steps.

Holy shit! There were more of these giants?! She thought in astonishment as she eyed the men, not only was the figure of the now mysterious Jacob Black standing there, but so were two other slightly (and she meant slightly) smaller men. All three looked to be in deep conversation with the elders of the tribe who surrounded them.

She continued to watch as the three men seemed to get tenser and tenser as more words were thrown into the conversation. As they all seemed wholly absorbed, she took the time to observe them. Jacob, it seemed, had definitely grown up. She couldn't believe this was a 20-year-old kid! He was simply huge and had to be at least 6'6 if not 6'7. His shortly cropped hair showcased his high cheekbones and somber eyes. He looked like a man who had too much responsibility set on him. She vaguely wondered what he did for a living.

Letting her eyes shift, she observed the man to his right. He was only an inch or so shorter but seemed more relaxed in his stance. The same serious face, but it looked like he didn't let whatever pressures they all been put under get to him, he looked like a thinker, and she could barely make out the softness of his mouth. Smiling as Bella's eyes landed on this mysterious man, Bella finally took in the last man of the giant mutant group. Standing to Jake's left, Bella almost took a step back. Now this man… this man looked mean. While Jacob had a darkness about him, this man nearly bled with black. His mouth was turned down into a feral frown as his dark eyes narrowed slightly in anger. Even with these unwelcoming attributes, Bella wasn't scared of him. She almost felt a sadness overtake her at the apparent pain that the other had gone through to become this engrossed in rage.

Seeing that the conversation was coming to a close, Bella was just about to continue to the beach when Billy suddenly caught her eye. Smiling widely, the older man quickly lifted his hand in a wave, immediately causing Bella to mimic his actions as she too quickly raised her hand and grinned widely. Waving exuberantly, she took in his group again as they all darted their eyes to stare at her.

Gasping loudly, her movement suddenly came to an end, her arm still raised, and her fingers still parted in what was once a greeting as her eyes met with the eyes of the three men she had been observing. They had all three froze, bodies standing at full height and becoming impossibly still as they gazed at her, their eyes taking on a glazed appearance even with the distance. She stared back unabashedly as a strange feeling overtook her as they all four seemed to be connected.