CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
(BPOV)
The late Summer breeze blew steadily in through the opened windows of our kitchen, as I busied myself with baking a fresh apple pie, using an older recipe my mother had given me years ago, and keeping my mind distracted from other things until later.
I carefully diced all the apples, and placed them in the large bowl now setting on the edge of the counter in front of me before warming the oven.
My attention was so keenly focused on the fine print of the recipe card handed down to me from my mother that I failed to take notice of Charlie's sudden arrival.
He entered the kitchen with an exasperated huff and nearly jumped me out of my skin.
"Dad!" I gasped, dropping the warn index card with a startled glance his way. Charlie chuckled at my clumsiness and scooped up the fallen card with a pointed glare.
"Here you go, even though your mother and I argued a lot when you were little, before we separated, I have to admit that she did still make one of the best apple pies in town. Wouldn't want to be the reason you mess it up." He mused, though his look remained irritated.
"Thanks." I offered, taking the card from him with a curious stare. "What has you so wound up today? Shouldn't you be at the station?"
Charlie's glare got a bit darker at this, his brow furrowing and his agitation growing to new heights from my question.
"Yeah, well, I was-" He huffed, reaching into his uniform pocket and retrieving an envelope there, his eyes soon nervously scanning around the room before he handed it over to me. "Jake isn't home, right?"
I shook my head and stopped reading over the recipe when I caught his edgy but slightly worried tone.
"No, Jake went to get the kids from Billy's house. They spent the night there with he and Gentry."
"Oh, well, that's good. Cause I'm pretty sure he wouldn't wanna be here when I dropped this off. This came for you. It was on my desk at the station when I got back from a call today. Officer Cruz said a tall and well dressed gentlemen dropped it off and personally asked that I get it before the day ends."
I wiped my hands free of the sticky sugar now coating my fingertips and nervously reached for the envelope.
"Did this mystery guest leave a name behind?"
Charlie went silent at this, his frustrated sigh causing me to peer up at him in confusion, as I searched for the letter opener in one of our kitchen drawers and slowly opened it.
To my surprise, there was already a small tear at the top of it and I sighed in disbelief.
"Don't be upset with me. I opened it before because I didn't particularly like the description officer Cruz gave of the gentlemen who left it for me to pass along to you. Curiosity got the better of me, Bella."
"Haven't you ever heard of how curiosity killed the cat?" I countered, noting the still perturbed and flushed look Charlie wore.
Before I could pull the letter from the envelope, Charlie placed his hand over mine and directed my gaze back to his.
"Bells, you don't have to read it. Some things are better left alone."
I paused at this, and felt my skin start to chill from the pleading look there in my fathers eyes.
"-because of what's in this letter, or because of who sent it?" I meekly questioned.
"Both." He truthfully answered.
I drew in a steadying breath and finished tearing it open, as my gaze fell on the fancy inscription at the top of the page.
A writing meant for a different time. One that came from a different era entirely.
I could feel Charlie's eyes burning a hole through the paper as I silently read it.
Dearest Isabella,
It's been years since we've last seen each other and while I know this might sound sudden, my family and I are making a trip back to Washington next week and we'd very much love to see you again. We think of you often- I think of you often. Our wish is that you are well, but some things have arisen in the previous weeks that require our attention and warrant a visit back your way. We don't want to cause you any trouble, but it would be negligent and potentially harmful for us to stay away. Please understand, it is not without just cause that we send this note along to you. I'm sure you'll receive it in a timely fashion, hopefully sooner rather than later. We wouldn't want our visit to bring with it unnecessary alarm or panick on the reservation. The treaty still stands firm and Carlisle is adamant to abide by it despite the adequate time that has passed. It's hard to believe that it's been so long since I last saw your face. Time never stops. Well, for some, it's forever frozen. Nevertheless, the earth still keeps spinning from day to day. I'm leaving my number at the bottom of the page here for you, please be in touch, and please send my best to your father and to Jacob. Hope to talk to you soon.
Until Then
Edward Cullen
I couldn't take my eyes from the page as the seconds ticked on. I kept re-reading his words, and glancing down at his signature with stunned silence.
"Kiddo, hey- you still with me?" Charlie fretted, while nudging into me a few more times.
I shook my head in an attempt to clear it, but the fog of confusion and disbelief remained.
"It's been so long." I eventually stated, setting the letter down before taking a seat in the empty chair at the table.
"Not long enough if you ask me-" Charlie huffed. "What do you think he really wants? Are they moving back here?"
"I-I don't know." I stammered, the prospect alone making my heart clench painfully in my chest as I thought of the kids and the future of the pack. "For him to deliver it by hand- tells me it's true - what he wrote. It's important."
"Or he's just looking to stir up some trouble for you and Jake?" Charlie suspiciously countered.
"After all this time? What purpose would that serve him?"
"None, I guess, but I still don't trust it. The guy abandoned you in the woods, so he's not exactly one for sound judgement."
I felt my throat grow tight at the memory of my former zombie days and tried not to let my mind run away from me.
"That was a long time ago."
"He still left you there- in the freaking woods, Bella. If it hadn't been for Sam-"
"I know, dad. I know."
Despite my best attempts, my thoughts raced anyway and I was soon unable to sit still. I paced there in front of Charlie, as I debated on calling the number he'd left for me at the end of that page.
"You're wearing a hole in the floor."
"Sorry, you know I pace like this when I'm nervous."
"You need to show the letter to Jacob. There's no way around that."
As if on cue, the front door flew open then and in came the kids, all of them running eagerly to Charlie with wide grins.
"Papa Charlie!" Clarissa exclaimed, reaching him before Madison and Mason could catch up. "What are you doing here? Did you come for lunch with us today? Mama makes a great turkey sandwich!"
Charlie's irritated and hardened expression from before melted away in seconds once she was in his arms and peering down at him.
"You know what, staying for lunch sounds like a great idea. How about we all take a sandwich out to the picnic table and build something in the sandbox before I head back to work?"
"Okay!" Clarissa grinned, her arms eagerly reaching over to me for a tight hug and a kiss, before they all grabbed a sandwich and headed back outside with Charlie. "I love you, mama. See you in a little while."
"I love you, too Clarissa."
Mason and Madison blew a kiss to me on their way out the door and Jacob nearly tripped over them on their dead run to keep up behind Clarissa.
"Hey there, Charlie." Jake hedged in casual greeting with a chuckle. "Didn't know you were coming over for lunch. It's nice to see you."
"You too, son. You too." Charlie replied, patting him on the shoulder as he passed.
"Don't let them wear you out too much." Jake then teased, earning himself a bemused huff from my father.
"Oh please, they keep me young."
Jacob merely grinned at this and swung the screen door closed before crossing the room and gathering me in his arms, his words sincere with care when he spoke.
"Billy sends his love. Gentry too."
I nodded and wrapped my arms tightly around his neck in response.
"I hope they were good for them?"
"They were, in fact, Gentry wants to start having them over on Friday nights at his house. He wants to start some kind of movie night with he and Leah. What do you think? I told him I'd ask you."
"Of course, I'm sure the kids would love that. Lots of ice cream and sugar and all." I lightly countered.
"I'll tell him you're okay with the idea. I'm sure they'll both be thrilled, besides, it gives them good practice."
I pulled back some and met his rich gaze then, his face now full of a happiness I hadn't expected to see.
"Practice?"
"Yeah, honey. Practice." He repeated, pressing a kiss to my forehead and stilling almost instantly at our closeness. I felt his body tense seconds before his tremors started. He pulled away from me, his dark gaze roaming my face while he finished his prior thought."Gentry just told me he and Leah are looking into adoption. They wanna give a child in need a home."
I forced a half smile to him at this news, and it was almost enough to make me forget about the letter still laying on the counter, but the fierce look on his face had me guessing that he could smell them already.
"That's fantastic. They deserve that. For sure." I managed, noting the way his gaze then scanned the room, like he was doing mental inventory.
"Gentry's excited. Like a kid in a candy store on Christmas." He carefully stated, taking another step back from me.
"-and Leah?" I questioned.
"She's a bit more reserved about the whole process." He admitted, his eyes soon falling to my trembling hands with narrowed intensity. "I think cause she knows what it will entail, and there's that small part of her that is still clinging to the hope of having their very own one day."
I nodded in understanding with a dreaded sigh as I headed for the letter, my nerves running on high and my stomach twisting in knots already.
"I hope they get what they want, Jake. I really do. They'd make great parents. Any child would be lucky to have them."
"Hey- Bells- are we okay? Really?" He asked, his low and worried tone reaching me just as I opened the letter again and turned back around to face him with it.
"This came today. Charlie brought it over, and I think, based on your reaction, you can already smell who it's from."
He hastily took the letter from me and scanned the words, his tremors growing with every written line he followed. When he was finished, he looked at me with a haunted and almost tortured expression.
"They're coming back." He asked, though it came out as more of a statement instead of a question.
"Seems so."
"No-... Why?!"
"I don't know."
His blazing stare was lit with a burning intensity that was hard for me to hold for long.
"They haven't crossed our path in years."
"I know."
"What could they possibly want to-"
He stopped talking then, his voice cut off as if he was unable to finish the sentence when his stare lingered out past me to the kids who were still playing in the yard with Charlie.
I watched the color drain from his face, his paled look making me reach for him.
"Jake- wh-what. Tell me, what is it- what are you-" I pried, though the sickening nausea now whirling unrestrained in my gut told me that I already knew where his thoughts were.
"The kids-..." He choked, his dark eyes going glossy as he continued to look out to them through the screen door.
"What-..."
"If the Cullens come back here, after all this time, it will initiate the change for the next generation, Bella. Look at what happened to Brenner and how young he was then. That was when there was only one threat. One of them too close to the Reservation. If all seven of them return to Washington, there's no telling how far the next phase could reach, or how young they would be when it started. Our last meeting about it with the elders was over two years ago, and they warned us then of what could happen should a clan of that size take up residence here again."
My head whipped around to see Mason as he came running inside with another wildflower he'd picked for me, his brown eyes sparkling with innocent joy and matching Jacobs when he held it up to me with a grin.
"Here mama! I picked a purple one for you this time. Is purple still one of your favorite colors?"
I knelt down and wrapped my arms tightly around him with my answer.
"You picked my favorite. I love it. Just like I love you, Mason."
Jacob met my fearful gaze seconds before he tore off out of the house and bolted for the woods, leaving nothing behind but his shredded cut offs as he rapidly vanished into it's dense covering.
A/N: I hope you liked this new chapter. Please leave a review and look for more coming soon! Thank you!