RISING SUN

six

The bell overhead tinkled a greeting as I slipped out of the rain and into the shop, shaking the hood back off my head. Seth glanced up from his place at the register, the phone wedged between his ear and shoulder, and flashed me a grin. On the counter next to him, right in front of the stool I usually sat on, was a plastic wrapped blueberry muffin, and a still-steaming take-out cup of coffee from the little place in Forks. I smiled to myself as I shrugged out of my jacket, draping it over the stool to dry, and picked up my breakfast, edging back around the counter past Seth.

Jacob was at his desk, one knee bouncing absently as he scrolled through something on his laptop, brow furrowed and lips moving wordlessly as the radio on the shelf behind him sputtered out the morning forecast and news headlines.

He glanced up at me when I poked my head around the edge of the door, his expression instantly clearing as his lips curled up into a smile. "Hey."

I stepped into the office and nudged the door shut with my elbow. "You didn't happen to see the delivery guy, did you?" I asked, lifting the muffin and coffee cup in my hands. "I'd like to tip him."

He grinned and leaned back in his chair as I rounded the corner of the desk, setting the food down. He reached for me, his hand slipping around the curve of my hip and pulling me down into his lap before I had a chance to sit anywhere else.

"I'll take it for him," he said, pressing his lips against mine firmly, and I grinned against him as I kissed him back. I pulled back after a moment, conscious of the fact that we were in his office, surrounded by multiple people that could probably hear us, but he grunted in protest, leaning forward, and suddenly I found myself very much not caring. It was a long few minutes before his lips left mine again, and the rush of oxygen I pulled in as he leaned back a few inches was dizzying.

He smirked, looking incredibly pleased with himself as I tried to remember the reason I'd come in in the first place. "Good morning," he murmured, dropping one last kiss onto my flushed cheek.

"You can say that again," I muttered distractedly, watching the way his lips curled back into a smile as he chuckled, that dimple in his cheek flashing. I caught the traces of coffee on his breath, and remembered.

"You're going to run the miles up on that car," I said affectionately, slipping my fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck. It'd been a pattern this week - he would stay late at Billy's, I would walk him out to his car where we would spend a long while saying goodbye, and every morning, like clockwork, there would be a coffee and a pastry of some sort waiting for me when I got to the garage.

He grinned. "Good thing I know a guy."

I snickered, the sound coming out a little breathless as his head dipped forward once more and his lips found the curve of my jaw. "You're shameless."

He hummed in agreement, the sound reverberating against my throat. "Completely. You're gorgeous."

My eyes fluttered closed as his nose traced down the column of my neck. "Keep talking."

His chuckle was a low sound in the back of his throat - sexy, I thought suddenly. "Beautiful," he murmured as he peppered kisses across my skin. "Perfect."

He pulled back, and I opened my eyes to see him smiling down at me, his expression soft and his eyes warm. "I love you."

I smiled back, my arms slipping up around his neck as his words sent a little thrill through me. "I love you, too."

There was a knock at the door, and both of us glanced up reflexively. I shifted, moving to stand, but he held me securely in place.

"Yeah?"

The hinges creaked as Seth opened the door far enough to poke his head in, and I felt myself flush, even as Jacob's hand slid reassuringly up the line of my back. Seth didn't even blink, though, and I relaxed.

"That dude's here with the Streamliner," he said, and I looked up at Jacob in surprise.

"All right," Jacob said, making no effort to move. "I'll be right there."

Seth closed the door behind him, his footsteps echoing back toward the shop, and I sat back farther, tipping my head to the side and leveling him with an accusing look.

"You didn't tell me you decided to do it," I said, and he shrugged, grinning.

"Somebody seemed pretty certain that I could handle it," he said, and I felt warmth curl through my chest at the words. He slid me gently off his lap, but his hands kept me close as he stood. "Come see."

Jacob bent low over the engine compartment of the 1946 Pontiac, staring down at some rusted out part or another. He narrowed his eyes, tilting his head to the side for a moment, and then glanced over at me, nodding at the phone in my hands.

"Can I see that for a sec? I need a flashlight."

I tossed it to him and he caught it easily, tapping a few buttons on the screen until the flashlight turned on, angling it so he could peer down under the hood again. He found whatever it was he was looking for, and then set the phone down on the frame, reaching for the stub of a pencil that was tucked behind his ear and scribbling something on a clipboard in his other hand. He sighed, tucked the pencil back into place, and reached for the phone again. I bit my lip around a smile. He'd been at it for a little over an hour, meticulously cataloging each part and its specifications.

"Google flathead six, Pontiac Streamliner, 1946," he said, and I reached for the laptop on the bench next to me, typing his request into the search engine.

"Okay," I said, once the results had populated.

"See if you can find me what kind of carburetor kit it needs."

I smirked as I scrolled down, clicking on an article and scanning through it. "Don't tell Randy," I muttered, and I saw him grin out the corner of my eye. "Carter WA-1?"

I glanced up at him, and he nodded, as though that made some sort of sense to him. "Can you find me a price estimate?"

I opened up a search through his parts supplier, and scrolled through several listings. "Um," I said, my eyes scanning the screen. "I see a universal, and a 1940's Pontiac specific, each for sixty-five and some change. Oh, wait." I frowned. "Here's a one-barrel '46-'52 Pontiac for fifty-one." I pursed my lips. I had no idea what one-barrel meant.

I felt his eyes on me, and I glanced up to see him watching me, an indulgent smile on his face.

"What?"

He shook his head, picking his way back over to the work bench, and set the clipboard down next to me.

"I don't want a one-barrel," he said, amusement coloring his tone. "Let me see this."

He propped his hip against the bench, his left hand sliding around my back as he reached for the laptop with his right, tilting the screen so that he could see. His finger ran lightly over the mouse pad, scrolling, his eyes flickering as he read, and I was struck, not for the first time, with how strangely beautiful he was, in an entirely masculine way, and how proud I was of him. I leaned forward, pressing my lips against his cheek.

"And you were worried you wouldn't know what you were doing," I murmured, giving him a pointed look when he glanced at me.

He grinned, his arm slipping farther around me as he reached for his clipboard and pencil to make another note.

"Damnit!"

We both turned, looking across the garage to where Lucas was stalking toward the bench, a scowl carving deeply into his expression. He tossed a lug wrench, and it thudded across the wooden surface, bouncing and skipping several times before falling to the floor with a clang.

Jacob let out a breath through his nose, his jaw tightening as he straightened up to his full height, flicking the pencil between his fingers in irritation. Over at his workstation, Lucas muttered under his breath as he dug through his tool box, the contents clanging together loudly as he searched for something.

I watched Jacob's face, the way his eyes narrowed slightly as he followed the movement. "What is it?" I asked quietly, only loud enough for him to hear.

Lucas apparently found whatever he was looking for, snatching it up and stomping back over to the car he was working on, grabbing his discarded wrench as he passed. The wrench worked back and forth in quick, angry zips as he loosed a tire and lifted it off the frame of the car in his bay.

"I'm not really sure," Jake murmured, shaking his head. "Something's just - off."

I glanced back over at Lucas, who had moved on to removing the next tire, and tilted my head to the side. "Maybe it's hormonal," I said. "He looks like he's hitting a growth spurt or something." He did, in fact, look like he was going through a growth spurt - in the last several days, he seemed to have grown at least an inch, and his uniform shirt stretched across the line of his shoulders where they had started to fill out.

"Yeah," Jacob said, his brows furrowing together, and I got the feeling that he wasn't necessarily agreeing. "Maybe so."

I dropped my voice even lower, a thought striking me. "You don't think it's, like, some sort of illegal substance or something, do you?"

He blinked, turning his head to look at me. "No," he said, his tone certain. "I don't think it's substance related at all."

I opened my mouth to ask him what he meant, but the door to the shop opened, and Quil poked his head out, his eyes searching until they landed on me.

"Nessie!" He called, a wide grin stretching across his face. "FedEx just left."

I grinned back at him, feeling a flicker of his same excitement as I slipped down off the bench and caught Jacob's hand. "Come on." I tugged him behind me, and he set the clipboard down, following obediently.

"I have a feeling this isn't the regular office supply delivery," he commented mildly, and I tossed a laugh over my shoulder.

"No," I said. "It's not."

Quil had the long box laid across the counter, and was carefully slicing through the packing tape with a pocket knife. He lifted the flaps, and reached down to gently work the instrument loose from its styrofoam shipping mold. He ran a hand gently over the cellophane covered body, admiring it.

"It's beautiful," I said, taking it from him when he held it out to me. I pulled off the wrapping and fitted my hand around the neck, my fingers coming to rest on the frets automatically. "She'll love it."

It wasn't just a standard black-on-tan guitar. The body was stained a rich, deep walnut, the wood's grain standing out in a contrasting veining. The pick guard, saddle, and neck were all a smooth, complimentary ebony. I knew that he had been working on a brightly beaded strap, its pattern similar to the one on the bracelet I wore around my wrist.

I strummed my thumb over the strings, tilting my head as I twisted the keys with my other hand, tuning it roughly by ear. Jacob grinned when I handed it to him, his fingers plucking out a simple melody.

"You should teach him Wonderwall," he said, bridging into the chorus, and I rolled my eyes. "Then she'll be putty in his hands."

"Is that how that works?" I asked dryly as Quil laughed, and Jacob's grin stretched wider.

"I dunno," he said. "You tell me."

"I hate to break it to you," I said, smirking, as he handed the guitar back to Quil. "But it wasn't your musical abilities that caught my eye."

"Oh yeah?" He leaned forward, slipping an arm around my waist and tugging me to him. His lips were warm when they pressed against my temple. "Then what was it?"

I grinned impishly up at him, leaning against his chest as his other arm came around me as well. "Your dancing," I said, and he laughed. I looked over at Quil, who was smirking as he tucked the guitar back into the box. "Did you know Jacob can waltz?"

"Hey now," Jacob protested good-naturedly as Quil snorted. "Those are trade secrets."

"Well," Quil deadpanned as he reached under the counter for a roll of box tape and ripped off a piece long enough to reclose the package. "I won't be waltzing for a while." He cocked an eyebrow in our direction, and Jacob chuckled at the innuendo. I grinned, even as I felt myself flush, and leaned farther back into the circle of his arms. Quil braced his weight against the counter, blowing out a long breath of air as he glanced up at the clock on the wall. "You guys are coming tomorrow night, right?"

I knew that after he got off work, he was headed over to Sam and Emily's for a family birthday party for Claire, and then tomorrow night would be the first organized bonfire of the season - and the first one that Claire would be allowed to attend. She'd heard bits and pieces of the Quileute legends growing up, but this would be the first time she'd hear them as more than stories, in the presence of the tribal leaders and the pack.

"Of course," Jacob said, and I nodded in agreement. "We wouldn't miss it."

Relief washed over his face, and he grinned, tucking the guitar box under his arm. "Cool. I'm gonna run this upstairs, I'll be right back."

"Quil?" Jacob called as he made his way towards the door, and Quil stopped, glancing back over his shoulder at us. "Get out of here. Go spend the day with her."

A grin stretched wide across his face, and he didn't have to be told twice, nodding and lifting a hand in farewell as he shouldered his way out the door.

I ran my hands over the arms that were wrapped around me, glancing back over my shoulder with a smile. "That was generous of you."

He turned me, slipping his arms low around my waist and leaning forward to drop a kiss to the top of my head with a hum. "He caught me on a good day."

"You want me to do your inventory?" I offered, halfway joking.

He shook his head, stepping back and slipping his hand into mine, pulling me towards the garage. "Seth can handle it. Or it can wait 'til Monday. Come distract me while I try to finish this estimate."

I grinned and let him lead me back out to the garage.

The knock on Billy's front door was almost as unexpected as the woman standing on the other side of it.

I blinked at her, one hand coming to rest automatically on Maddie's head as she wound an arm around my leg, leaning around me to see who was standing on the porch.

"Hi Auntie Leah," she greeted cheerfully, and then she was twisting away, ducking back inside as the opening credits to her favorite cartoon rolled on the TV.

A ghost of a smile curled around the edges of Leah's lips, slipping away as her eyes moved back up to mine.

"Is Jake here?"

Obviously Jake is here, I wanted to say. His car was parked in the driveway, right in front of her bike. Before I had a chance to respond, though, I felt a familiar set of hands on my shoulders, a solid chest at my back.

"Leah," Jacob said, and his voice was carefully void of any inflection.

Her eyes flickered up to his. "Can we talk?" she asked, and the hands at my shoulders rubbed reassuringly as I felt myself tense, remembering their last talk. I forced out a breath, and her eyes dropped down to me for a second. "Please?"

Jacob took a step forward, pressing me out over the threshold and forcing Leah to take a step back. He slipped around me, catching my wrist and pulling me gently after him as he marched wordlessly down the front steps and out towards the driveway. After a moment, Leah's footsteps followed us.

He came to a stop behind the El Camino, settling back against the bumper and sliding an arm low around my waist. Leah stopped next to us, one hand absently fiddling with her handlebar grip as her eyes moved back and forth between the two of us. Something like resignation crept over her face, and I understood, suddenly, the statement that Jacob was making. I knew it was petty, but I leaned against him anyway.

"I'm leaving," she said, and I blinked as I felt Jacob's arm go slack around me. "I'm going to Seattle. They have a sports medicine program there that I applied for, and I just got the email yesterday that I was accepted. I just - I need to get away for a while, I think." She scuffed her boot over a weed crawling along the edge of the driveway. "I just wanted to let you know."

A beat of silence stretched before Jacob asked, "Will you keep phasing?"

She shrugged. "Maybe. I dunno."

"When do you leave?"

Her eyes flickered up to his, assessing. "Tomorrow morning." Another shrug. "Maybe tonight, if I can get all my stuff together."

"You're not going to wait until after the bonfire?" Disapproval was heavy in his voice, and I could hear what he wasn't saying - he was irritated that she would leave right before such an important milestone for one of her pack brothers. She looked at him wordlessly, her expression pointed.

Jacob pulled in a long breath, and let it out slowly. "Well, keep in touch with somebody. Your mom, or Seth."

She flinched at his words, almost imperceptibly, but I saw it, and I realized that she'd been waiting for him to stop her, to ask her to stay, to tell her he still needed her.

But he didn't, and she blinked rapidly, turning her head away as she dug in her pockets for her keys. She swung a leg over the bike, and the engine roared to life.

"Leah," Jacob said loudly over the sound, and she paused, her eyes trained on the handlebars as a muscle twitched in her jaw. "I hope you find what you're looking for."

She kicked the bike into gear, twisting the throttle with a sharp flick of her wrist, and then she was gone in a spray of gravel.

Jacob reached up to run a hand over his face, letting out a tired sounding sigh, and I felt a twinge of sympathy for the position that he was in. Leah had been his right hand man, so to speak, for years.

"She doesn't really have feelings for me," he said abruptly, his eyes cutting over to mine. "Not like that, anyway. She thinks she does - or at least wishes that she did, but she doesn't."

I nodded, turning the words over in my mind. Part of me had guessed as much, even as that same possessiveness still curled through me, heady and instinctual. "Rachel told me about her and Sam," I said.

He nodded absently, his eyes trained on the spot where she'd stood in the driveway as his hand rubbed back and forth across the back of his neck.

"Are you," I began hesitantly, a thought striking me suddenly, "upset? That she's leaving?"

He blinked, and turned to look down at me. "No," he said, and as ridiculous as I knew it was, I felt relieved to hear the surprise in his voice. "No, not at all." His expression turned wry, a rueful grin tugging at his lips, and he chuckled. "That sounds bad, but it's true."

His arm slipped around my shoulders, pulling me around to his chest, and I leaned into him, my ear against the place where his heart beat steadily, evenly. His other arm folded around me as well, holding me tighter as his chin rested on the top of my head, and I smiled to myself as I slid my hands up over his sides, feeling the play of muscle under the thin layer of his shirt and the warmth of his skin, his pulse fluttering under my ear at the touch.

"She's like one of my sisters," he said after a moment. "I really do want her to be happy. She can be a pain in the ass sometimes, but she deserves to be happy after everything she's been through."

I thought about that for a second, and then tipped my head back to look at him.

"Do you think I've been too hard on her?"

He grinned, his hands coming up to the sides of my face as he leaned forward to kiss me.

"Nah," he said, his head shaking back and forth. "I like seeing you jealous every once in a while. It's pretty hot."

I choked out a laugh at that, and the sound was smothered as he leaned forward again, his lips curling into a grin against mine.

There was already a crowd gathering at the beach by the time we arrived, lugging ice chests of food and drinks, and piles of beach towels. Emily and Sue were setting various platters out on a line of folding tables placed end to end, and Sam was scrubbing at the grate of a massive charcoal grill with a long handled wire brush, Charlie next to him, sodas in hand as they chatted. Collin and Brady tossed a football with two guys that I had never met in person but knew as Ethan and Isaac, both of whom had started phasing shortly after my birth. Collin's new wife, Ashley, sat on a piece of driftwood that had been dragged into the tide, her toes dangling in the water as Sam and Emily's three sons splashed nearby.

Rachel and I picked our way over to the bonfire pit, where several logs had already been placed around in a circle, and claimed a spot, Jacob following behind us with Billy as Paul carried two ice chests over to the food tables.

Maddie whined, tugging on the hem of her mother's shirt as Rachel dug through her diaper bag for something.

"Here." I set the large tote that hung from my arm down on the sand next to my feet, and held my arms out for Makenna. "Let me take her. Go make a sandcastle."

Maddie had been talking all day about sandcastles - princess sandcastles, more specifically. Rachel rolled her eyes exasperatedly, but smiled at me in appreciation, handing off the baby and following her oldest out towards the water.

I settled Makenna on my hip, and she laid her head down against my shoulder, still groggy from her nap, as I dug one handed through the tote for a beach towel to lay across the log.

Another hand joined mine in the bag, finding the towel easily and pulling it out for me, and I smiled up at Jacob as he unfolded it and spread it out. "Thank you."

"You okay?" he asked, and I nodded, sitting down and settling Makenna in my lap. He turned, slipping the strap of Billy's camp chair off of his shoulder and sinking it firmly down into the sand before transferring Billy into it from his spot on a log nearby. "Be right back," he told us both, jogging off towards where Paul had dropped our coolers and was unloading packs of hotdogs onto the table nearest the grill.

Makenna leaned forward in my arms, straining toward her grandfather with a whimper, and he reached for her obligingly, swinging her over into his lap. She snuggled back against him, one finger going to her mouth, and Billy dropped a kiss onto her silky head.

We settled into companionable silence, watching as Seth joined in the football game, and the opposing team protested loudly at the uneven split. Paul joined them after a moment, and a loud whoop went up. Rachel and Maddie had found a spot about halfway out towards the water, well out of the football's throwing range, and were busy patting bucketfuls of sand into a lopsided construction.

"You got dumped for the next best thing," Jacob teased, nodding toward Makenna as he handed me and Billy each a bottle of water. Billy chuckled fondly, and I grinned, glancing over at the little girl who had already fallen back asleep.

"I know," I said wryly, and he dropped down next to me, slinging an arm around my shoulders and pulling me close.

"That's alright," he murmured, dropping a brief kiss on my lips. "I'll take you. One baby's trash is another man's treasure."

I laughed at that, and he grinned, cracking open his bottle of water and taking a long drink.

"Do Sue and Emily need any help over there?" I asked.

He shook his head as he swallowed, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, and I took a moment to appreciate the sleeveless shirt he was wearing, and the way the muscles rippled in his arm as he moved.

"Too many cooks in the kitchen," he said, his expression turning knowing as he caught me staring. I felt myself flush, and he grinned impishly as he leaned back, spreading his arms wide and waggling his eyebrows ridiculously.

"Looking's free," he said, and I raised an eyebrow as I considered.

"What's the rest of it cost me?" I asked, dragging my gaze pointedly down his front, and it was absolutely worth it to see the way his expression froze in place for half a second, the way he blinked as he turned my words over in his head and choked out a strangled laugh.

I chuckled as his arm slipped around my waist, dragging me bodily towards him, but the sound caught in my throat as his head dropped down and he nipped playfully at my earlobe, his teeth scraping gently over the curve of flesh and sending a bolt of heat straight through me before his lips pressed against the same place, soothing gently.

"It's all free for you, baby," he muttered, only loud enough for me to hear, and I felt a flush wash over my entire body, my stomach tingling pleasantly as my mouth went dry.

"Hello, Charlie!"

Billy's greeting was unusually loud, and I snapped my head around to see my grandfather making his way over, his eyes flickering between Jacob and me. I felt Jacob's chuckle behind me, and the brief press of his lips against my shoulder before he was straightening up, his hand slipping up higher on my waist. I gulped down a drink of water, and hoped that my face wasn't as red as I felt like it was.

"Billy, Nessie," Charlie greeted as he plopped down between Billy and I. He cast an appraising look at Jacob. "Jake."

"Hey, Chief," Jacob greeted easily, tipping the rest of his water into his mouth. He crumpled the empty bottle in his hand, and set it down next to his foot as he leaned around me to see Charlie. "Catch the game last night?"

The three of them slipped into their own conversation, tossing game highlights back and forth, and I zoned out as I watched Sam's boys chase Maddie through the waves, a clump of seaweed dangling from the middle one's hand as she shrieked. The sandcastle venture had apparently been abandoned, and Rachel sat on the driftwood log next to Ashley. One of them called out something to the boys, and they reluctantly stopped.

I felt Jacob stiffen beside me, his shoulders straightening up, and I glanced over at him briefly before twisting around to follow his gaze. Embry was walking toward the beach, his arm around the waist of a petite, dark skinned girl.

Jacob stood abruptly, and Charlie stopped mid-sentence. "Excuse me," Jacob said shortly, stalking off in Embry's direction, and I pushed myself up to follow him, shooting an apologetic glance over my shoulder at Charlie and Billy.

"Em!" Jacob called as he drew closer, and Embry turned reflexively, the grin slipping off his face as he caught sight of Jacob. I jogged to catch up with Jacob's long strides, smiling as I fell into step beside him.

"Hey, Embry," I greeted, and he smiled back halfheartedly, his arm tightening around the girl next to him. I held my hand out to her, and after a moment of hesitation, she took it. "I'm Nessie."

"Natalie," she said, a genuine smile pulling up the corners of her mouth. She was pretty, with hazel eyes and a riot of corkscrew curls held back with a brightly colored scarf.

"Natalie," I repeated with a smile, years of Esme's etiquette lessons kicking in automatically. "I'd be happy to introduce you to some of the other ladies."

She glanced back at Embry, his eyes flickering over to Jacob before he nodded, and she took a step towards me. I led her over to the tables where Sue and Emily were laying out mountainous piles of grilled hotdogs.

"This is Emily," I said, gesturing to her, and Natalie, for her part, didn't miss a beat as Emily turned around. I wondered if Embry had briefed her at all, or if her poker face was that good. "And Sue. Sue, Emily, this is Natalie. She came with Embry."

There was half a moment where understanding widened both of their eyes, and then Sue was stepping forward and slipping an arm around Natalie's shoulders, guiding her around to where the plates were and asking her about what she did for a living. Emily and I shared a brief look, her gaze darting behind me to where Jacob and Embry were still standing, and she nodded almost imperceptibly towards them, her lips curving up reassuringly as she turned to follow Sue.

Jacob and Embry's voices were low, but not low enough that I couldn't make out the words that they were saying as I crossed back over to them, their tones clipped and tense.

"What happened to the last one?" Jacob asked, his arms crossing over his chest. "Amy?"

"Abby," Embry ground out. "And it just didn't work out."

Jacob snorted. "I wonder why."

"You know, I don't know why you're being such a dick about this, Jake. I figured you, of all people, would understand."

"What I don't understand is why the hell you're doing this tonight. You know how big of a deal this is for Quil."

A muscle twitched in Embry's jaw, and he huffed out a humorless laugh. "What, do I get the gag order again? Are you gonna buzz my hair for me too, make me get another tattoo? Property of Black Pack?" He turned a glare in Jacob's direction, taking a step forward so that they were chest to chest, eye to eye. I jogged the last handful of feet to reach them, and neither one of them looked at me, though I knew good and well they'd heard me approach. Jacob shifted his weight, just a little bit, until he was standing halfway in front of me, blocking me from Embry's view.

I leaned around him, my eyes on Embry's face. "Natalie's with Sue," I said, and his gaze finally flicked over to me, his expression softening a little bit. "She's getting a plate."

He nodded slightly in thanks, and his eyes cut back over to Jacob. There was something deeper going on here, something that I didn't know anything about, but First Beach in the presence of kids and ignorant visitors wasn't the place to hash it out. I reached out and touched Jacob's back, my hand sliding down the line of his spine, and I watched as his shoulders dropped infinitesimally. Embry must've seen it too, because he let out a breath, slipping around both of us.

"Embry," Jacob said without turning, and Embry's footsteps paused. "She needs to go before Dad starts."

There was a beat of silence, and then the footsteps started again, carrying Embry back over towards his date.

Jacob let out a long breath, the rest of the tension seeping out of his shoulders, and I slipped around him. He had his eyes closed, his jaw clenched tight, and I knew that these were the moments that he hated having to be Alpha instead of just Jacob, the moments where he had to put his personal feelings aside for the sake of the pack and his duty to his tribe. It was resentment, I realized suddenly, studying his face, that had sparked his temper and hardened his tone. Some part of him resented the position that Embry had put him in.

"Hey." I stepped forward, slipping my arms around his waist, and pushed myself up on my toes to press my forehead against his jaw. His arms came around me immediately, his face dipping towards mine as he tightened his hold. "Everything okay?"

He took another breath, his fingers gripping my waist, and I slid my arms up around his neck, combing through his hair.

"Yeah," he said after a moment, his grip loosening around me. I pulled back just far enough to look at him, to lift a hand to trace over the furrow between his eyes and the downward turn of his lips.

"You're so strong," I murmured, leaning forward to press my lips to the corner of his frown. "And so selfless. I love you for it."

His hand came up to the back of my head, catching me and holding me in place as he kissed me. When he pulled back, his expression had softened.

"Flattery will get you everywhere," he said wryly, and my lips quirked up as I stroked my thumbs down the sides of his face.

"I'm serious," I said, and his eyes flickered back and forth between mine, open and unusually vulnerable as he looked at me, and I willed him to accept the compliment. "You're the best guy I know."

His lips finally curled up, and I felt a knot loosen in my chest that I hadn't known was there. He turned his face into my hand, pressing kisses down over the center of my palm and the underside of my wrist.

"You're too good to me," he murmured, and I shook my head mutely, an indulgent smile tugging at the edges of my lips.

"I'll accept your appreciation in burnt hotdogs," I told him, grinning, and he laughed at that, swinging me up off my feet. I tightened my arms around his neck, bracing my weight against his shoulders, as he pressed his lips to mine, kissing me slow and deep for a long moment.

"Burnt hotdogs, huh?" he said when he had pulled away, and I nodded against him, my voice not quite working. He took a step, his hands sliding down over my hips to hook under my legs and pull them up around his waist, holding me securely and taking the brunt of my weight as he did for so many others. "You got it."

I had the feeling he would've been content carrying me like that for the rest of the night, but as we neared Charlie and Billy, I let my legs drop down, and he let me go. Billy glanced over to where Embry and Natalie were seated across the fire, and looked at Jacob, his eyebrows raised.

"Everything okay?" he asked.

Jacob nodded. "Yeah. She's not staying long." He glanced over at me. "What else, besides hotdogs?"

I shrugged. "Whatever looks good." I'd yet to have anything at a pack gathering that hadn't been delicious, and he knew what I liked.

He grinned. "Cucumber salad and pork rinds," he said, turning to head towards the food. "Got it."

Billy chuckled, and I rolled my eyes as I took a seat next to Charlie. He studied me as he took a long swig of his soda.

"So," he said after a minute. I glanced over at him. "I take it you know all about - this." He waved a hand vaguely around.

I pressed my lips together against a grin. "Yes."

He nodded slowly, and then tilted his head, his eyes narrowing as if something had just occurred to him. "You don't turn into a big dog too, do you?"

I couldn't hold back my snicker, and heard Billy chuckling from Charlie's other side. "No," I assured him, glancing up as Jacob jogged back over, several large paper plates balanced in his hands. "I do not turn into a big dog."

Jacob gave me a strange look as he handed me a plate before passing another to Billy, and then his eyes cut over to Charlie and he snorted. "Nah," he said, dropping down into the seat next to me and taking a bite of his own hotdog - one of six on his plate. "She just eats them for breakfast," he said around a mouthful of food, and Charlie choked on his drink. "And it's wolves, Charlie - not dogs."

"I have never," I said firmly, shooting Jacob a look as he chortled, "eaten a dog, or a wolf, for breakfast."

"Just their hearts," he clarified, grinning wickedly as he pressed a hand dramatically over his own chest, and I was relieved to hear Charlie's strained chuckle. As much literal truth as was in Jacob's words - I did eat heart occasionally for breakfast, though I'd never eaten a canine heart, purely out of principle - Charlie had obviously taken the metaphorical double meaning.

"Only yours," I said sweetly, playing into it, and Jacob smirked.

I picked up my hotdog - blessedly black and shriveled and crispy - and bit into it, surveying the rest of my plate as Billy turned the conversation toward fishing. Baked beans, corn on the cob, thick slices of watermelon, several spoonfuls of various pasta and potato salads - I had no idea how I would finish it all. Though, I realized as Jacob finished off the last of his hotdogs and glanced surreptitiously over at my food, that might've been his plan all along. I bumped my shoulder against his, holding the plate out wordlessly toward him as I took a bite of beans, and he grinned, scooping up some potato salad.

"I don't know why you still even bother with that old net," Charlie groused, accepting the plate that Sue brought him with a grunt of thanks. "It's a hassle, is all it is. And a mess."

Billy shook his head adamantly, chewing and swallowing before he answered. "It's a one and done. I throw it one time, and I've got enough to feed everybody for a week. And there's no need for me to sit in some camp chair all day and get eaten up by mosquitoes."

Charlie looked at him like he'd grown a second head. "Getting to sit out on the shore all day, or out on your boat in the water, just you and the peace and quiet - that's the whole reason anybody wants to fish."

I grinned at that, because, for Charlie, I'm sure it was true.

"Rod fishing is boring," Jacob piped up from my other side, and I turned at the same time as Charlie to shoot him an incredulous look.

"You used to take me rod fishing all the time," I said, and he snorted.

"Yeah, 'cause you liked poking their eyes and watching them flop all around on the ground." I tilted my head in acquiescence to that, as Charlie chuckled. I had, in fact, liked watching the fish flop around - until I realized why they flopped, and then fishing for sport lost some of its appeal. "I couldn't subject more than one fish at a time to that."

"A girl after my own heart," Charlie said heartily, dropping an arm around my shoulders and squeezing me. I grinned. "We'll have to go out one of these days before the summer's over, just you and me. Leave these two jokers to get tangled up in their nets."

Jacob perked up at that, nosing out the possibility of a little friendly competition better than any trained scent hound.

"You name the date," I told Charlie, and Jacob raised an eyebrow at me, his mouth opening to retort.

"Hey Jake!"

All four of us looked over, and Sam tilted his head towards the fire pit in the center of the ring. "You want to help me get this going?"

"Sure, sure." Jacob passed me his empty plate and stood, dusting off the seat of his pants before jogging over to the pile of driftwood they'd collected earlier. Seth and Isaac were breaking them down into smaller pieces, stepping on them and yanking, ripping easily through inches-thick trunks and branches as if they were kindling. Charlie let out a disbelieving huff as he watched them, and I glanced over at him.

"Hey, Charlie?"

He looked at me, his eyebrows raised expectantly, and I hesitated for a moment. He obviously knew at least some of the Quileute legends, but I knew that more would be added tonight, for Claire's benefit, and even though Billy would be as discreet as possible out of respect for me, there was only so much that they could skirt around. Charlie was in the unique position of knowing not only the Quileute side, but also my family's side, what little of it he did know, and there was a great probability that he would walk away from tonight with many more pieces of the puzzle in place.

"Whatever you hear tonight," I finally said, and his brows drew together in confusion, "promise me you won't let your imagination run off. Okay?"

He nodded, though I knew he didn't fully understand what I was asking of him. I reached over for his hand, and he squeezed my fingers.

"Just - just remember that we're all fine. My parents, me, Jacob, the rest of the guys - everything turned out okay in the end."

Over Charlie's shoulder, Billy watched us silently, his dark eyes understanding.

"Sure, Ness," Charlie said a little gruffly, releasing my hand to pat my shoulder. "I'll remember."

"Thank you." I smiled at him, and then lifted the empty plates stacked in my hand, gesturing for his. "I'm going to run these over to the trash. Can I get either of you anything while I'm up?"

They shook their heads, each of them handing over empty plates and soda cans, and I took them, slipping the sandals off my feet so that I could walk easier through the sand. Sue and Emily were packing up what little food was left, and they both waved me off when I offered to help, insisting that they were almost done.

"Nessie!"

I turned at the sound of my name, and grinned at the girl jogging towards me. A brightly beaded strap wound across her torso, and the neck of a guitar poked up over the back of her head.

"Hey, Claire." I hugged her around her shoulders, careful of her cargo. "Happy Birthday."

She grinned up at me as she stepped back. "Thank you." She glanced over her shoulder, looking for Quil, who had stopped to talk to Brady. She reached behind her for the instrument on her back, pulling it around to her front, and glanced up shyly from under her lashes. "Quil said you helped him pick it out." Her fingers traced reverently over the strings. "It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

I smiled at her, reaching out to squeeze her shoulder, and dropped my voice conspiratorially. "Quil's really the one that picked it," I said with a wink, and a grin stretched wide across her face as he stepped up behind her. "But I'm glad you like it."

Quil grinned at me from over her head, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and squeezing her when she leaned into his side.

"Will you teach me some chords tonight?" she asked, her tone hopeful, and my eyes flicked up to Quil's for half a second.

"If it doesn't get too late," I hedged, and she nodded, smiling. Something caught her attention behind me, and she stepped away from us, tossing a glance back over her shoulder.

"I'm going to go show Sue," she said, jogging off.

"How are you holding up?" I teased, bumping my shoulder against Quil's as he watched her go. He let out a long breath, pinning me with a look, and I chuckled. "She'll be fine. She's grown up hearing the stories from Sam and Emily."

"Yeah," he said flatly, "and Rachel grew up hearing them from Billy, but she still freaked when Paul told her."

"Well," I said, tipping my head to the side as I glanced over at the man in question, who was shoving an entire hotdog, bun and all, into his mouth. A glob of ketchup dropped from his bottom lip, and Rachel rolled her eyes, shoving a napkin at him. "That might be because he's Paul."

He snorted at that. "Touché."

I chuckled, and he tipped his head towards the tables behind me. "I'm gonna grab a couple plates before the food's all gone. Be over there in a sec."

The massive pyre in the pit had been lit in several different places, the flickering tongues acting as a beacon to the few stragglers who had yet to make their way over from splashing in the waves or tossing the football farther down the beach. There was still a sliver of sunlight hovering just above the water, but I knew it would be gone in minutes, leaving the darkness to shroud around us like a thick blanket. As I rejoined them, Charlie stood, scooting to a seat farther down to make room for Sue to sit beside Billy. Emily settled her youngest on a towel in the sand next to her other two, all three of them fast asleep, and joined Sam on Billy's other side, beckoning Claire with a tilt of her head as she and Quil made their way over with their plates.

Jacob had given up his seat to Rachel, and had settled on a blanket spread out across the sand, Maddie on his lap as he leaned against the log at his back. He caught my eye and smiled at me, patting the ground next to him. An expectant silence fell around the group as I sat, settling against Jacob's side and pulling my knees up to my chest. The heat from the crackling fire warmed my front, and Jacob's arm around me warmed my back, and any other time, the sensation might've lulled me to sleep. As it was, a buzz of energy hummed in the air, and my gaze alternated between Claire and Charlie when Billy began to speak, his low voice rumbling easily over the popping of the wood and the crashing of the waves along the shore, spinning the tales of Taha Aki and the first Spirit Warriors, of the Third Wife's selfless sacrifice, of Chief Ephraim Black and the treaty that he had made with the Cold Ones.

"It was almost a hundred years before the Cold Ones returned to Quileute land," Billy said, and a few seats down, I saw Claire set her fork down and lean forward, this part of the story new to her. "They came peaceably, in the name of the treaty once forged between their leader and Ephraim Black, but their presence brought more of their kind, more of them who weren't peaceful, and the spirit that had once rested on our fathers' shoulders came to life inside of our sons." His gaze traveled around the circle, landing briefly on each of the men who bore the legends of their ancestors as truth, and Claire went completely still.

"A leader arose from among them, a Uley son, and he took the role of Alpha upon himself. They fought against the Cold Ones, protecting their people from danger as they always had, until the birth of the child that would unite the two enemies forever." Billy looked at Jacob, a solemn pride evident in his expression and tone. "The same inexplicable tie that bound Taha Aki to his beloved Third Wife, that bound several of our sons to their mates, bound a son of Ephraim Black to a daughter of the Cold Ones, a daughter born of a human mother, a daughter of flesh and blood."

Across the fire, Charlie's eyes snapped to mine, and Jacob tightened his hold around my waist, his fingers tracing idly over the curve of my hip as his cheek came to rest on the top of my head.

"The love and devotion that this young warrior felt for the daughter of the Cold Ones gave him the strength to assume his birthright as leader. For the first time in our history, our sons united with the Cold Ones to protect the child, to defeat a great and evil Darkness, bringing peace to our land and our people once more."

A silence fell around the group, the air crackling with tension as one by one, each of the pack's gaze moved to Quil and Claire. I finally tore my eyes away from Charlie, the wheels obviously turning in his head, to look at Claire. Her dark eyes flickered as she stared into the flames before her, unseeing. Emily ran a hand over her hair soothingly, and she blinked, swallowing, as she turned abruptly to look at the man beside her.

"It's all true, isn't it?"

Wordlessly, he nodded, and a beat of silence passed before she jumped up.

"Show me."

No one hardly dared to breathe as Quil looked at her, and she gave a small, impatient huff. "I want to see, Quil."

His eyes moved from her face over to Jacob's, and Jacob gave an almost imperceptible nod, his arm slipping from around me to hand Maddie over to Rachel as he and Quil both pushed themselves to their feet. Jacob glanced around the circle, and Seth rose also, followed by Collin and Brady, and then the rest of them that were still regularly phasing. I stood as well, falling into step beside Emily and Claire. Behind me, I heard a heavy set of footsteps, and glanced back to see Charlie picking his way across the sand.

I paused, waiting for him to catch up, and when he did, his expression was unreadable.

"You're the baby," he finally croaked, and I nodded.

"Yes."

"And Jacob is - your mate?" He choked over the last word, his voice rising up in disbelief.

"It's called imprinting," I said. I reached out to take his arm, hurrying to explain as I saw the disgusted sneer twist his expression. "And it's not what you're thinking. My parents - they wouldn't have let him anywhere close to me if it was." Charlie paused at that, the truth of my words setting him somewhat at ease, though he still looked uncertain. "You said yourself that you didn't know what happened to Jake, but that you saw the way he watched over me and took care of me. This is what it is."

He eyed me carefully, but the tension had smoothed from his jaw and his shoulders, and his expression now was simply curious, hesitant. "Imprinting," he repeated dubiously. "Like - like ducklings?"

I grinned at that, filing it away to tell Jacob later. I was sure he would love being compared to a helpless, fluffy baby duck. "It just means that he'll always be there for me," I explained. "As a protector, or brother, or friend - or more. But he won't be anything I don't want him to be," I finished firmly, and he relaxed a little more at that.

He blinked, suddenly, as if remembering something else. "Your mother," he said faintly, his eyes widening. "Bella. I let her -"

"Charlie," I said, taking hold of his other arm as well and shaking him gently, and that was enough to get his attention.

He looked at me, and the despair in his eyes brought a lump to my throat. "She's fine," I forced out in a strangled voice. I swallowed, and pulled in a steadying breath. "Remember what I told you earlier? We're all fine. Everything turned out okay. She loves my dad, more than anything in the world, and she chose a life with him. She knew exactly what she was doing when she made her choice."

Something crossed his face, a tenderness that I'd never seen in him before, and his hands reached up to grip my shoulders. "Renee and Esme," he murmured. "Renesmee."

I nodded, and he swallowed thickly. "Carlisle and Charlie," he continued. "Carlie. Renesmee Carlie Cullen."

I nodded again. He looked at me like he was seeing me for the first time, and the biggest smile I'd ever seen him wear stretched from one side of his face to the other as he dragged me to his chest in a crushing embrace.

"I always wondered," he managed, his voice trembling a little. "Now I know."

I hugged him back, as tightly as I dared. "Now you know," I agreed, and I prayed that that knowledge wouldn't come back to hurt him.

The waves washed over my toes, the coldness of the water making them curl involuntarily into the sand. The cloud cover was thick, not a star in sight, and I could just barely make out the silhouette of James Island against the blackness of the sky.

Sand shifted under silent footsteps behind me, and I had half a second of a tickle of intuition along the back of my neck before the steps morphed into a run. I tensed, the shriek catching in the back of my throat as a body collided with mine, familiar arms locking around my waist, the momentum knocking me off my feet. I pulled my knees up reflexively, curling myself around Jacob's forearm.

"Don't! It's cold!"

He chuckled as he spun me lazily, his movement slowing, shifting me bodily around until he could slip his other arm under my knees. His grin was bright in the darkness when I looked up at him.

"I wasn't thinking about it being cold," he admitted, and then his eyes took on a glint. "Just that you'd be all wet."

I snorted at that, looping an arm around his neck, but then I thought about the way he'd looked that night at Sue and Charlie's when he'd gotten into that water gun fight with Rachel, and tipped my head to the side, considering. Maybe being cold would be worth it.

Something in my expression must've given me away, because he laughed, the sound echoing out over the water.

He walked, slowly, his feet dragging through the waves as they lapped at his shins, and I pulled myself up a little farther in his arms, crossing one ankle over the other where they draped over his elbow.

"I can walk," I offered, but he shook his head just as I expected him to. I slid my fingers up over the side of his face, thumbing at that little furrow that had reappeared between his eyebrows. "What are you thinking so hard about?"

"Embry," he said, glancing over at me. He hesitated for half a second. "He's trying to force himself to imprint."

"Force himself to imprint?" I repeated, my eyebrows jumping up. "It doesn't work like that, does it?"

"No." He shook his head, and snorted. "Not at all."

Their exchange earlier, no one being particularly surprised to see Embry showing up with a date, one that was apparently new - it all suddenly made much more sense. Except -

"What did he mean about you understanding?"

He let out a sigh, squinting as he stared out across the water. "There was this one time," he said. "I went to this park, and tried to force myself to imprint on all the girls that walked by." His eyes cut over to me. "It was when your mom was pregnant, and I didn't understand what the hell was happening - why I couldn't seem to stay away from her. I thought if I imprinted, it would all just magically go away."

I thought about that for a second. "Well," I pointed out, "you weren't wrong."

He grinned at that. "Yeah," he agreed. "I guess not. But it definitely didn't happen the way I thought it would."

Something in the water jumped several yards away, ripples fanning out across the surface, and we both turned to watch them for a moment. I thought about his words - I was sure there was absolutely no part of him that ever thought he would imprint on the human-vampire hybrid newborn daughter of his best friend. But then I thought of Sam and Emily, Jared and Kim, Quil and Claire, Paul and Rachel. None of them had been looking for their matches in the other, either. It had just happened. There was some sort of tragic irony, though, in the fact that one who wanted to imprint so badly hadn't yet.

"Maybe that's part of it," I said, musing aloud. "Maybe it'll happen when he's not looking, when he least expects it. Maybe it's the universe's way of leading you to the person you'd never consider otherwise."

He turned his head to look at me, his arm slipping from under my knees, and I let my legs drop down, sucking in a sharp breath as they sunk into the cold water. His hands steadied me at my hips, his lips twitching up into a smile.

"I would've found you," he murmured, reaching up to brush his thumb across my cheek and tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. "I would've made my way back to you. Someway, somehow. I would've kept searching for that missing piece."

I leaned against his chest, my arms slipping around his waist, and tried to imagine what my life would've been like without Jacob - without his warmth, his laughter, his love.

It would've been awfully cold and empty.

"Yeah," I said, because I knew that he would've. "But I'm glad you didn't have to."

His fingers slipped back into my hair, tilting my face up, and I stretched up on my toes to meet him halfway.

"Yeah," he agreed, and his lips brushed over mine once, twice. "Me too."

I put the truck in park, idling for a moment as I worked the window crank, rolling it up. Inside the house in front of me, one of the curtains twitched back, a familiar face appearing for a split second.

Kim opened the front door as I pulled the key from the ignition and climbed out, reaching back across the bench seat for the two iced coffees and the box of muffins that were precariously balanced there. Her expression was curious, obviously surprised to see me, but not unwelcoming, and she tipped her head to the side as I climbed the front steps.

"Hey."

I smiled, holding out one of the cups to her, and she took it hesitantly. "Hey," I returned. I nodded to the cup in her hand, and she twisted it around, looking down at it. "I wasn't sure what you liked, so I just got the same thing that I usually get. It won't hurt my feelings if you don't drink it."

Her head dipped down, and she caught the straw between her lips, taking a sip. Her eyes widened, a little hum of pleasure in the back of her throat, and she glanced back up at me with a smile.

"Caramel," she said, nodding. "It's good."

"You can never go wrong with caramel," I agreed, mirroring her nod.

We stood there for a moment, her dark eyes studying me, until she seemed to remember that we were on the porch. She shook her head as if banishing an irritating fly, and stepped back towards the open door.

"Sorry," she said, stepping over the threshold and motioning with her head for me to follow. "I just – wasn't expecting visitors."

I felt a twinge of guilt at my unexpected appearance as she flittered around the room, pulling open the curtains and straightening the throw pillows, plucking a fleece blanket up off the couch and draping it over the back of a nearby easy chair. She reached for an empty wine bottle on the side table, her cheeks flushing red, and I put a hand on her arm.

"It's fine," I said simply when she glanced over at me. "You don't have to entertain. I was just thinking about you, and thought I'd stop by for minute."

She let out a breath, a sheepish grin spreading across her face. "In that case," she said dryly, gesturing towards the couch, "mess those pillows back up."

I grinned at that, and set the box of muffins on the coffee table between us before dropping down onto the couch beside her. She folded her pajama-clad legs under her, tucking each foot under the opposite knee, and I reached behind me to rearrange said pillows into a more comfortable position.

"My grandma Esme," I said, "used to hate it when Jacob would come over. She'd have all of these designer pillows arranged just perfectly the way she wanted them, and then he'd come over and throw them all into a big pile on the floor." I grinned at the memory of Esme, whose patience any other time could rival that of a saint, her face lined with poorly masked chagrin at the sight of her beautiful Williams Sonoma and West Elm accent pillows strewn carelessly around the floor. Jacob had done it innocently the first few times, grumbling under his breath about the pointless things just taking up good space and digging into his kidneys, but once he figured out how much it grated on her, it'd turned into a good-natured game of affectionate ribbing.

Kim chuckled. "I suppose they are called 'throw pillows'."

A wry smile curled up my lips. "That's what he always said."

I reached for the muffins, handing her one before taking one for myself and peeling back the little paper wrapper.

"Are these the ones Rachel's always going on about?" she asked, taking a nibble, and I nodded, chewing. She took a bigger bite, getting a bit of the lemon filling as well, and hummed under her breath. "I can see why," she said around her mouthful.

"Yeah," I said once I'd swallowed, reaching for my coffee and taking a swig to wash it down. "They really are fantastic. Jacob brought me one every morning last week, and they still haven't gotten old."

She smiled knowingly, her eyes crinkling around the edges, as her gaze flickered over to a vase of gerbera daisies on the side table – her and Jared's own version of coffee and muffins, I was sure.

I studied her surreptitiously as we ate in companionable silence, taking in her appearance. She still looked a little too thin, her high cheekbones just a little more pronounced than normal, and there were still deep circles under her eyes, but there was some color to her face, and her hair looked fuller and shinier.

I leaned forward to grab another muffin, and the edge of a brochure caught my attention, poking out from underneath the box. On it was a list of admission requirements for the University of Washington's graduate programs.

"Are you thinking about going back to school?"

I blurted out the question without thinking, and almost immediately regretted it. Kim froze for a moment, and then set her muffin down carefully on the table, tucking her hair behind her ears.

"I'm sorry," I said. "It's not really any of my business."

She pulled in a breath, and flashed me a weak smile, shaking her head. "No, it's fine. It's just been a touchy subject with Jared." I almost said something along the lines of then it's definitely none of my business – I had no desire to get involved in any marital spats – but something in her expression stopped me, and I simply sat, watching her silently.

"I don't really need to go back to school," she said after a moment. "Especially not for what I'm doing now. I just – I don't know how I'm supposed to go back into the classroom in two months, and spend eight hours a day with other people's kids."

Teaching – that's what she did for a living, I remembered suddenly. And if memory also served, she taught little ones. Preschool, kindergarten, something like that. I felt a pang of sympathy, and understood exactly why that might be difficult for her.

"I love teaching," she continued, "and I don't want to stop forever, but I just feel like I need a break, even just for a semester. I was looking at graduate programs for something to do with my time, so I wouldn't just be sitting around, but that costs a lot of money that we don't exactly have laying around, and we'll have even less if I'm not working, and it's just –" She cut off abruptly, and flapped a hand dismissively. "That's way more than you wanted to know, probably."

I smiled sympathetically. "That's all right." I reached over and squeezed her hand. "At the risk of sounding completely cliché, I'm sure you'll figure it out, either way."

She nodded, a small, sad smile curling around the edges of her lips. "Yeah," she agreed. "I'm sure we will."

She picked her muffin back up, taking another bite, and as she chewed, her expression turned thoughtful. "What about you?" she asked. "I'd heard you were only coming for the summer. Is that still your plan?"

I dropped my gaze to my lap, my fingers plucking idly at a loose thread in the hem of my shorts as I considered her question. I knew what she was getting at, and truth be told, it was something I hadn't put a whole lot of thought into. When I'd decided to come to La Push, I just knew that being close to Jacob was what I'd needed at the time. My planning hadn't gone a whole lot farther than that, but things had changed, drastically, in the last month.

"I don't know," I said honestly, looking back up at her. "I guess it's something we'll have to talk about."

She smiled, wryly. "I'm sure you'll figure it out."

"Yeah," I said, and we shared a grin before she glanced over at the clock, her expression turning apologetic.

"Sue's coming over in a little while," she said, and I understood that she didn't just mean for a social call. I stood, waving her off when she tried to hand be the box of muffins.

"Keep them," I said. "I'm sure Jared will eat them, if nothing else."

"They definitely won't go to waste," she said dryly, and I chuckled, heading for the door. "Hey, Nessie?"

I glanced back at her, and she surprised me by reaching out and pulling me into a quick, tight embrace.

"Thank you," she said sincerely, once she had pulled back. She squeezed my shoulder. "I really appreciate you coming by. It means a lot."

I looked at her for a moment, at the way the edges of her mouth were curled up into a soft smile, and the way her eyes looked just a little bit livelier. I hadn't exactly been sure what I'd find when I'd left the house to come over this morning – I just knew I wanted to check up on her, as she and Jared had been conspicuously absent from the bonfire the night before – and it hadn't really gone the way I'd expected it to at all, but maybe, I thought, that was exactly what she'd needed.

"Any time," I told her with a smile, and then a thought struck me. "Do you have your cell phone? I can put my number in."

She glanced around briefly before hurrying back over to the couch and grabbing her phone off the armrest. She handed it over to me, and I took it, typing in my name and number.

"I'll call you sometime," she said decisively when I handed it back. "Maybe we can go get some lunch or something."

"Sure," I agreed readily. "Just let me know."

She stood at the front door and waved as I backed out of the driveway, a wide smile on her face, and I grinned in return, lifting my fingers in farewell. It would be nice, I mused as I crossed the reservation, to have a friend that wasn't family, or related in some way.

Jacob and Paul were out front when I pulled up in front of Billy's house. Paul waved in greeting, his other hand wrapped around the grip of a weed eater as he made his way slowly down the front walk and around the flower bed. Jacob drove the ancient John Deere over to the truck, and idled in the grass next to it as I climbed out.

"Hey," he said, squinting up at me from under a wide straw sunhat.

I smiled fondly, reaching out to flick at the brim of the hat. "You look like you spared no expense," I teased. "All you need is a cane with a fossilized mosquito."

The corners of his eyes crinkled as he grinned. "Yeah, and about sixty years."

I caught his chin with my fingers, tilting his head up as I narrowed my eyes, considering. "Hmm."

He smacked my hand away, laughing, and I snickered.

"I'll have you know," he said loftily, "that I have very sensitive skin."

I hummed, leaning against his shoulder when he wound an arm around my waist and tugged me closer. "And did this this sensitivity occur before or after losing a bet with Paul?"

He grinned up at me, unbothered. "It was those damn Rangers." He shook his head. "They were so close, too."

I chuckled, tilting the hat back on his head as he leaned forward for a kiss. He was sweaty and sticky, but he smelled like fresh cut grass and sunshine, and I tasted maple syrup on his lips.

"Where've you been all morning?" he murmured, his fingers tracing distractedly over my hip. "I came to see you, and ended up getting roped into mowing."

I pressed my lips together against a smile. I doubted very much that he'd been roped into anything. The opposite scenario was much more likely.

"I went to see Kim," I said, and his expression softened.

"How was she?"

I tilted my head back and forth, a silent so-so. "She could've been worse," I finally said. "I left her my number. She said something about getting lunch sometime."

He smiled, and pressed a kiss against my cheek. "Good."

I nodded, glancing back over my shoulder as Maddie burst out the front door, hopping up and down on the front steps and yelling for me to come see her Legos.

"I'll be right there!" I called to her.

Jacob shot me a mock pout, and I widened my eyes innocently. "You heard her," I said. "There's yay-gos."

He chuckled at that, releasing me, and as I stepped away, he dropped the mower blade down, tipping his hat back into place on top of his head.

"She thinks my tractor's se-exy," he sang as he drove off, his voice exaggeratedly out of tune, his vowels twisting in an over the top southern twang. "It really tu-urns her o-on."

I grinned, shaking my head as he steered the mower around a curve, kicking up a cloud of clippings in Paul's direction. Paul shot him a one-fingered reply, and Maddie danced from foot to foot as she waited impatiently for me to climb the steps.

"Legos," I said, reaching for her hand. "Show me what you've got."