An Occasion
Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to SM.
A/N-thank you all for reading and reviewing.
Part Six-Black Swan Private Investigators
The Black's house was vaguely familiar, a small wooden place with narrow windows, the dull red paint making it resemble a tiny barn. Bella noticed that Jacob was already waiting for her on the front porch. Before Charlie had even helped her out of the cruiser, he was running to meet her.
"Bella!" His excited grin stretched wide across his face, the bright teeth standing in vivid contrast to the deep russet colour of his skin. His hair was loose for once, falling like black satin curtains on either side of his face. He really was very good looking.
"Hey, Jake." Charlie greeted him casually. "I've delivered Bella to you."
Bella shot her father an annoyed glare. "I'm not a package."
Charlie just laughed. "Where's your old man?" He asked Jacob.
"He's waiting for you inside." Jacob waved his hand vaguely toward the house. He couldn't seem to take his eyes away from Bella's face.
"Good." Charlie began to stroll toward the house. "I'll pick you up later, Bells." He called over his shoulder. "You kids have fun."
Bella rolled her eyes impatiently behind her father's back. Charlie had been in an unusually good mood since finding out she would be spending the whole day in La Push with Jacob. When he disappeared inside the house, she focused all her attention on Jacob. "Hi."
"Hi." Jacob answered eagerly. "Ready for some brainstorming?"
"Yes. Lead on MacDuff."
"K.'" Jacob looked at her keenly, his dark eyes drifting to the bulky cast covering her injured leg. "Need some help? The ground is pretty uneven around here. I don't want you tripping up and injuring your good leg. The chief would never forgive me."
"Such a gentleman." Bella gave him a wry smile as she accepted the steadying arm he offered.
As she hobbled along by his side, it gave Bella a chance to study Jacob discreetly. He had grown into some of his potential since she had moved back to Forks. He'd passed that point where the soft muscles of childhood hardened into the solid, lanky build of a teenager, the tendons and veins had become prominent under the red brown skin of his arms, his hands. His face was still sweet like she remembered it, though it had hardened too-the planes of his cheekbone's sharper, his jaw squared off, all the childish roundness gone.
And was it possible he had grown taller since last night? She was having to crane her neck to look up at him. "You grew again!" She accused playfully.
Jacob laughed; his smile still impossibly wide. "Dad commented on the same thing this morning, actually. So, I measured myself, and I have grown another couple of inches. Weird, huh? I'm six five now."
"Well do you think you can stop now? I'm getting a stiff neck from looking up at you."
"No can do, Bella. You'll just have to try and catch up, that's all. You're so small." Jacob teased, his voice was deeper than she remembered, but it still had the same husky tones. It felt like he'd raced through puberty overnight.
Jacob helped her inside the house, putting one arm around Bella's waist as he half lifted her over the doorstep to prevent her tripping. She leaned on him gratefully as he led into the tiny square living room. Billy was there with Charlie, but they weren't alone.
"It's good to see you, Bella. Have you met Quil?" Billy greeted her with a sly smile.
Bella tuned her attention to the sprightly old man standing next to Billy's wheelchair. Most of his head was covered by an old baseball cap with the slogan 'I'm with stupid' emblazoned on the front. He peered at Bella through his thick lensed glasses, beaming as he held out his hand for her to shake. "Hello, my dear. We've met before, several times in fact, but you were probably too young to remember."
Bella's hand got lost in his as he shook it enthusiastically. For an old man he had a surprisingly strong grip. "Its nice to meet you. Again!" She added, smiling weakly. She noticed the same slogan that was on his hat scrawled across his t-shirt, underneath was an arrow, which was currently pointing in her father's direction. She had a sudden urge to laugh.
Old Quil noticed Bella looking at his t-shirt. "Do you like it?" He asked.
Bella nodded, feeling lost for words.
"My grandson-also called Quil." He chuckled. "You'd like him. He bought this for my birthday a few years back. He thought it was a great joke, but the joke was on him-when he stands next to me, the arrow points in his direction. See?"
"Its pointing at Charlie right now." Billy said in amusement. "Are you really calling the police chief stupid, Quil?"
"Shut up, Billy." Charlie muttered irritably as the two men began to roar with laughter. "Are you ready to go or what?"
"Do you mind if I tag along?" Old Quil asked good-naturedly.
"Fine by me." Charlie moved behind Billy's wheelchair and took the handles. "But we need to leave now, we're cutting it fine as it is." He grouched.
"Off we go!" Old Quil sailed past Bella and Jacob with an agility that seemed at odds with his age. He was practically skipping out of the house. "You should come over for a visit, Bella. My grandson would love to meet – "
"Quil!" Billy admonished him when he noticed the annoyed scowl forming on Jacob's face. "See you, kids. Don't get into too much trouble while we're gone."
Jacob brightened up when the men left and they were finally alone. "At last! I thought they were never going to leave." He was smiling so wide, it looked like it would hurt his cheeks. "Let's eat."
Bella stifled a laugh. It hadn't taken him long to zone in on the bag of food Charlie had left on the kitchen counter. She had brought a ton of snacks with her. "You promised to provide the sodas, remember?"
"Done." Jacob reluctantly left the bag and opened the fridge, grabbing two cans of soda. "We can't brain storm on an empty stomach."
Bella began to hobble toward the small kitchen table, but Jacob reached out to stop her. "What?"
"Not here." Jacob held the bag of food in his left hand, the soda's clutched in his right. "I've got something to show you. Its out back, in the garage."
"Okay." Bella replied, feeling mystified.
A thick stand of trees and shrubbery concealed his garage from the house. The garage was no more than a couple of big preformed sheds that had been bolted together with their interior walls knocked out. Under the shelter, raised on cinder blocks, was what looked like a completed automobile. Bella recognised the symbol on the grille, at least.
"I want to introduce you to my baby." Jacob laughed, glancing at Bella coyly. "Its an old Rabbit-1986, a classic."
"Nice." Bella said appraisingly. "How's it going?"
"Almost finished." Jacob replied cheerfully. And then his voice dropped into a lower key. "My dad made good on his promise. I finally prised the money he owed me out of him last night…"
Bella felt her face flush. "Oh! I owe you that hundred dollars. You did uphold your end of the bargain…."
"Bella, that's not what I meant." Jacob rushed to reassure her. "I don't want your money. It was a freebie."
"Ah." Bella smiled in relief. "Thanks."
"I plan on getting her finished tonight. If we're going to be private investigators, we'll need a set of wheels." Jacob joked.
"There's always my truck." Bella reminded him.
Jacob grimaced. "Bella, honey, that thing is so noisy it'll give us away before we even got close. If we want to spy on my old man and the others, we've got to be really quiet."
"I guess." Bella felt slightly miffed. She loved the old Chevy and didn't like it being dissed in any way.
Jacob didn't notice her defensiveness. He was in the process of opening the Rabbit's passenger door. "We can sit in the car to eat. I mean, isn't that what all the old school private detectives do on the TV?"
"True." Bella conceded. She took the hand he offered as he helped ease her into the passenger side of the Volkswagen.
As soon as she was settled, Jacob jogged around to the driver's side and quickly climbed inside. He passed Bella one of the sodas and began to share out the food between them. While they ate, Jacob chattered happily, needing only the lightest of nudges from Bella to keep the conversation flowing. He updated her on the progress of his sophomore year of school, running on about his classes and his two best friends, one of which included the infamous Quil.
"Is Quil like his grandfather?" Bella asked with interest.
"They are like two peas in a pod." Jacob chuckled.
"Old Quil seems really fit for his age." Bella mused as she took a tentative sip of her soda. "How old is he?"
"No one knows. Its like a closely guarded secret." Jacob answered thoughtfully.
"Tell me more about him." Bella suggested.
"He's one of the elders. Since the passing of his son in a freak boating accident, he's spent the past decade raising and caring for Quil, along with Quil's mom, Joy. He runs the local store. He can be pretty eccentric." Jacob explained. "But sometimes I think it's just an act he puts on."
"I got that impression." Bella reflected as she took another sip of her soda. "He intrigues me. I think we should start with him. I mean he is the oldest out of the three of them."
"True." Jacob agreed. "You know all good detective duo's need a name. What should we call ourselves?"
"Are you serious?" Bella laughed.
"Yeah." Jacob confirmed, joining in her laughter. "I was thinking Jake and Bells Private Investigators."
Bella shook her head, pursing her lips slightly. "We need something catchier-like Starsky and Hutch and Cagney and Lacey. How about… Black Swan Private Investigators?"
"I think that's perfect." Jacob grinned. He tapped his half empty soda can against Bella's. "Here's to newest detectives on the block." He toasted.
A/N-thanks for reading! Please review.