AN: Apologies for the erratic posting over the last couple of weeks; I think it's my state of mind that's not quite with it, but I'm assured you learn to live with loss though I can't fathom when.

Anyhow, this chapter sees an unwelcome person is back though not in person.

Thanks have to go, as always to my team of ladies, MeteorOnAMoonlessNight, midnight cougar and ghostreader24, who are ready with suggestions and red pens. Without these ladies I have my doubts if this story would've ever gotten finished.

There are 8 more chapters to post along with an epilogue and two outtakes, and a future take.

Reviews are like manna from heaven, they keep me going, and I read every single one even though I don't always answer them. To those who follow and favorite please let me know what you think.

Disclaimer: It's a shame, I know, but Stephenie Meyer owns the rights to Twilight and all these lovely character we play with.

Deceit and Destiny Chapter 62

Bella

Friday 15th January

I vaguely remembered Edward leaning over and kissing me goodbye at some awful hour this morning, but I'd immediately gone back to sleep. When I woke at ten, surprised I'd slept so long, I yawned and stretched, then slid out of bed and drew back the curtains to find that, as usual, the sky was overcast, but for the moment, it wasn't raining.

After washing up and brushing my teeth, I put up my hair in a messy bun and gathered the laundry from both our bedrooms—giving my heart a little jolt as I thought that it would save me having to go back to the house for more clean clothes for Connor and me.

A trip to the grocery store filled the refrigerator and added a few things to the cupboard, and I decided to fix myself a sandwich, then make a lasagna for dinner.

I left the apartment again at three to drive to Connor's school to pick him up and take him to the park. When it started raining, we grabbed an ice cream for Connor before heading to what I was beginning to think of as home.

Connor didn't seem to be bothered about not having a yard to play in, though it would be a different matter in the summer months. He lay on the floor in front of the television watching a movie. I set about preparing garlic bread ready for baking and a salad to go with the lasagna, then while I ran his bath, he gathered his water toys.

My phone rang as I turned off the bath taps. Tomorrow was Saturday and I had to work, but Edward had offered to have Connor for the day instead of him going to Mom and Dad's. He was excited about that so we were a little later than usual as Connor talked non-stop about what he wanted to do with Edward.

Jake's name flashed across the screen, surprising me, as it was the first time he'd actually called me since he'd moved to New Hampshire. Despite leaving him numerous messages, he'd failed to return any of my calls since the beginning of December.

"Get in the bath please, Connor. And try not to splash water on the floor, okay?"

I pressed the accept call button on the phone as I left the bathroom and stood just inside the doorway where I could hear Connor. For the moment, I didn't want Connor to know Jake was calling; not until I knew the direction the call would be taking.

"Hi, Jake," I said, more calmly than I felt. "How are you?"

"Why isn't the house on the market yet, Bella?" Before I could answer, he yelled, "You don't need to say a word because I know why. Now you're shacking up with your baby daddy. Seems to me you're not even trying to sell it."

"Jake! That's not—" I was both outraged and hurt that he'd think that of me.

"Well, I need that money now, or I'm gonna miss out on the partnership," he slurred.

"What—" Again, he didn't give me a chance to speak.

"Don't bother to deny it, Bella. Sam told me everything."

I wondered what the hell Sam could possibly have told Jake that would make him so angry, and I felt my temper rise. It was difficult to stay calm when he was yelling at me.

"Now, you listen to me, Jacob Black. My private life is none of your business. If you'd bothered to call, you would know the house is being spruced up to be listed right now. I'm temporarily staying away because the paint fumes aren't safe for the baby or your son, Connor. Do you remember him?"

I waited for a few seconds for him to ask about Connor, and I wasn't surprised when he completely ignored my comment, but I tried to interest him in his son's life.

"Connor's doing really well in kindergarten and he loves it. Maybe you could call and talk—"

"No!" The word was harsh. "He has nothing to do with me."

My heart plummeted. In the back of my mind, I'd known Jake wasn't going to step up, no matter what I said, but to hear it confirmed was heartbreaking. I took a deep breath, containing the words I really wanted to say—for now.

"The house will go on the market when it's ready," I said firmly. I lowered my voice, although the sound of splashing water in the bathroom would likely cover my words. "I've left you multiple voicemails and texts because I wanted to talk to you about the court mandated child support payments. You've missed two now."

"If you'd fucking sold the house already, then I'd be able to pay it, wouldn't I?'' Jake snarled at me. "Embry's partner wants me to buy out his half of the business, and he won't wait much longer. I want that money now," he grated out.

I took a deep breath and answered him as quietly and calmly as I could. "Don't raise your voice at me, please, Jake. I'm doing the best I can, and I'm sorry it's taking so long, but it's a lot to handle on my own. It's your house and your responsibility too, you know."

The door from the living room opened and Edward stepped into the hall, looking at me quizzically. "What's going on?" he mouthed. "Who're you talking to?"

"Hold on a minute, Jake."

I ignored Jake's loud huff and verbal outrage and muted the phone to answer Edward.

"I'm talking to Jake, or rather, he's yelling at me. He's being difficult about the house, though I didn't expect him to be happy about the delay. Evidently, Sam told him that I'm living here with you, so Jake's telling me that if I don't need the house then there's no reason I can't sell for less because he needs the money right now."

Jake continued to shout through the phone. "Why can't you buy me out, Bella? You're the one who wanted the house, not me! Or, borrow the money from Renée and Charlie. It's his meddling that got us here. He owes me."

I unmuted the phone, exasperated at his attitude.

"No, absolutely not, Jake. It's not happening, so you'll just have to be patient."

"Give me a second to say hello to Connor and make sure he's okay, then we should take this into the bedroom out of his hearing."

I muted the phone again as Edward walked into Connor's room. I could hear his voice as he spoke to him, followed by Connor's laugh ringing out. He was back beside me less than a minute later, and we sat together on the bed.

"He's fine for a little longer," he assured me, covering my hand with his and squeezing lightly. "We'll deal with this together, okay? Put him on loudspeaker, please."

I hesitated, not wanting to pull him into the brewing shit-storm, but eventually, I nodded and pressed the speaker button. Jake's voice filled the room, and I quickly turned the sound down.

"He's already suggested I ask Mom and Dad for the money or buy him out myself," I said quietly to Edward.

He nodded, then spoke. "Jacob, Edward Cullen here. You're on loudspeaker. What's the problem?"

"Oh, it's you," Jake said rudely. "She won't give me my money for my half of the house. What about you, Cullen? I'm sure you've got enough to buy me out, rich doctor like you. How about you do that?"

"That's not my choice to make, Jacob. It's up to Bella."

"I said no, Jake," I answered at the same time as Edward. That was definitely not what I wanted. "The house will be on the market next week some time, and I'm sure it will sell soon. You'll just have to wait for your money."

"Jake, be reasonable, man," Edward said calmly. "Bella's doing her best, as she already said. You left, abandoning her to make the decisions on her own. So now, you will have to respect her choices. It's not good business sense for either of you to sell the house for less than the market value. I think you need to back off and let her do her job. This fighting isn't good for her or the baby."

"The kid's not my problem. I want my money within the month. Sell the damn house, Bella."

With that, he hung up, leaving us in silence for a few moments.

"Oh, my God," I said, embarrassed. I covered my face with my hands. "I'm so sorry, Edward. He had no right to say those things to you." Tears welled in my eyes in delayed reaction. "He didn't even want to know anything about Connor."

"Hey, sweetheart." Edward put his arms around me. "Connor has you, and now he has me, too, and together we'll make sure he's fine. Jake's words mean nothing to me, but you have to try not to worry. You're doing everything you can."

"But I don't want him to cause trouble. This isn't like him."

It's exactly like him, Bella, my inner voice insisted. The real him has been hiding for a long time.

"He's going to cause trouble whatever you do. It's nothing you're doing or not doing." Edward hesitated for a second. "Do you want me to buy him out?" he asked.

"What? No!" I pulled back a little so I could look him in the eye. "This is my problem, Edward. I can't ask you to get involved."

"I'm already involved, Bella, and if you want me to buy his half, then I can release some of my investments and stop this situation. Again, all this stress isn't good for you or the baby."

"Really, Edward. I couldn't even—please don't think of doing that. I want to move, to . . . to start over in a new place."

I didn't quite have the courage to say the words that were on the tip of my tongue; that I wanted us to start over—together.

The sound of Connor's shout halted the conversation.

"We can talk more later, okay?" Edward suggested.

I nodded and placed my phone on the nightstand, suddenly exhausted.

"Come on." Edward stood and held out his hand. "Let's get Connor out of the bath before he turns into a prune."

Accepting his hand, we left our room for Connor's, and I grabbed his pajamas while Edward washed his hair. It didn't take long before Connor was ready for bed and the bathroom was clean and clear, then the three of us headed back to the living room.

Connor was wide-awake with his excitement at spending a whole day with Edward, and I allowed him to watch one of his dinosaur programs while I cooked the prepared lasagna and set the table in the living room alcove.

Despite it being a little past his bedtime and having eaten earlier, Connor persuaded me to allow him to sit with us at the table, and he polished off three pieces of garlic bread and a glass of milk before succumbing to tiredness.

Connor brushed his teeth while I cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher. Edward read what had become the customary three stories to him, then the two of us settled on the sofa to watch a few episodes of The Walking Dead on Netflix, my newest obsession.

When I couldn't stop yawning and my eyes stayed closed longer every time I blinked, Edward suggested we call it a night, especially since I had work in the morning, and Connor would be up early ready for his day out. I yawned again as I agreed, and Edward turned off all the lights while I was in the bathroom, then we swapped places.

After we'd turned off the lamps, I couldn't relax, the conversation with Jake whirling around in my head. He'd been totally over-the-top with his accusations, and just as unreasonable. The worst of it was not the fight over the sale of the house, but his callous dismissal of Connor. In the short time Edward had been in our lives, he'd given my son a thousand times more affection and attention than Jake had ever shown.

Edward didn't say anything for a while, accommodating my fidgeting and shifting from one side to the other without complaint. When I swapped sides for the fourth time, he switched on the light on his side of the bed.

"What's wrong, Bella? Talk to me."

I sighed. "I'm sorry; I just can't relax and get the stuff with Jake out of my mind. He's never been this bad, even if he wasn't interested in what Connor was doing. He just wasn't around much, and that was okay, you know?"

Edward turned on his side to face me. "I think you accepted that as normal for a long time, and while you didn't force the issue, Jake's life could pretty much go on as he wanted it to. My guess is that when it all came out, the emotions he'd suppressed came roaring to the surface. I couldn't say if he's always been such an ass, or that's a new thing, but I can say that none of this is your fault. None of it, sweetheart."

"Maybe—" I started.

Edward's finger pressed against my lips. "Shh, 'maybe' nothing. It's not your fault."

His eyes flicked from mine to my lips, and I couldn't resist allowing my tongue to slip out from between my lips and wrap around his finger. His pupils dilated and darkened.

"I can help you relax." His voice deepened. "Do you want me to take your mind off everything?"

Nodding, my heart leaped in anticipation. I couldn't get enough of him.

He helped me out of my panties, and I propped myself up on my pillow as he lay between my legs, bringing me to a shaking orgasm twice, once with his tongue, then again with his fingers and tongue, until I was squirming and over-sensitive.

Balancing on his hands and knees, he hovered over me for a few seconds, kissing me deeply before sitting back on his heels and sliding his cock inside me in a single thrust. He plowed into me hard and fast, pushing me over the edge into a third orgasm in the space of thirty minutes, leaving me a tingling mess of jellied bones.

"Fuck." He flopped down beside me, breathing heavily. "I definitely prefer that sort of work-out rather than going to the gym."

Turning on my side, I leaned up on my elbow, brushing his hair off his damp forehead and kissing him lightly. I slid down the bed a little until I could put my head on his shoulder, his arm tightening around me.

It wouldn't be long before sex like that would be a little uncomfortable, but until then, I was going to take advantage of my permanent hormonal state. My eyes were already drifting shut when Edward pulled away and slipped out of bed.

The bathroom light went on, and what seemed like seconds later the bed dipped as he climbed back under the comforter.

"Bathroom's free, sweetheart."

With my eyes half-shut, I cleaned up. I didn't remember getting into bed, nor Edward switching off the light, falling asleep almost before my head hit the pillow, my head full of Edward; only Edward.

I groaned when my alarm went off on Saturday morning, snoozing it three times before I dragged myself out of bed, leaving Edward to stay there until Connor woke.

Unfortunately, although he'd managed to get my mind off Jake and his demands last night, the thoughts didn't take long to fill my head again. With Jess's day off being today, and Didi out of the office for most of it, I had no one to distract my thoughts.

Edward and Connor spent the day together, but I couldn't settle down to listen to them talk about what they'd done. I could feel that Edward wanted to talk to me, though I couldn't say if it was about me or Connor. At the same time, I felt both irrational and itching to do something—anything—to move the sale forward. I was distracted all evening.

Edward, the wonderful man that he was, gave me space to just be, not insisting on talking through what was in my head. Instead, he patiently waited for me to be ready to tell him what was bothering me. And I knew it was time I did that.

~ oOo ~