We walked into my room from the porch access. I climbed into the bed, holding the blankets open for Sam. He left his shorts on, climbing under the covers with me. I wrapped myself into his side, feeling more safe than I had in my life.
"Thank you Sam." I whispered to him before I fell into the best sleep of my life.
Chapter 10: Let the Fog Clear.
As Always Happy Reading.
My body was slow to react to my phone's alarm, forcing me into consciousness. The bed, once hot from Sam's heat, now felt ice cold. Pulling back the freezing covers I stood quickly, getting dressed for the day.
I chose to to dress with warm layers. I haven't been on a boat with my Dad since I was a little kid. At that time he still picked out my fishing outfits.
The alluring smell of hot coffee drew me out of my room. Charlie was just putting the lids on two travel cups.
"You still take a double double right?" Charlie asked.
"Yes. It is the best way to take a first cup of coffee" I smiled at him.
The fishing poles laid across the table. The same table that Embry was bleeding out on last night. I looked around the room, if Embry stayed over he must have bunked in one of the rooms. Mind spinning for a moment, I did not know if he was okay. I had held his leg and watched him heal, but Sam pulled me out of the room before I knew. He had to be okay. He healed too fast for him to not be okay.
"Want to grab the cooler or the fishing rods?" Charlie asked.
"Cooler" I hoisted the empty fishing cooler up with ease. The food and beer filled second cooler set me off balance a bit. It caused me to lean to my left side as I waddled out the front door. I hoped Leah did not mind that I was borrowing her shoes again today.
Charlie held the rods and tackle box with an expert grasp. He had been doing this for years, after all. I wonder if I would have chosen to carry the rods if I grew up here. I would have gone fishing with my single parent father, because that is how he likes to spend his time. Maybe I would not be borrowing one of his spare rods, instead having one of my own. The rods would not look like tangled messes in the making - as I looked at the delicate line, I am convinced that I would get it tangled on the short walk to the truck.
Charlie tossed the rods and tackle box in the back of the truck. I hoisted both coolers in, luckily volleyball training had provided me with upper body strength. Charlie covered everything with a weighted tarp.
"Just precautionary. I don't need anyone questioning the Chief of Police's truck safety. A few years back, a hunter did not tie down his load properly. The entire town of Forks was on edge when driving behind any trucks coming back from hunting. I did the tarp to appease them, now it is a habit."
"Makes sense, you going above the letter of the law." I laughed.
Charlie smiled the entire drive to the boat. We listened to the local station, which at 5am seemed to have the same four songs repeating over and over. It was nice though, setting the day for doing repetitive things on the lake.
The fog settled on the lake, like it was holding in a mystery. I shook my head, maybe the wonder of this place was making me paranoid. It was not like other magical things existed here. Just because Sam and my step-siblings could turn into giant wolves, along with like 15 others, did not mean this place was anything more then it seemed. Scrunching my eyebrows together, I tried to convince myself just that.
Yet as the fog rolled along the lake, I could not escape the feeling that this was more than it appeared to be. Opening my door, I helped Charlie untarp our equipment. The air seemed thicker here. Like the lake itself was trying to cling to my lungs. The deeper I breathed, the more the fog infiltrated my body. It did not smell bad. On the contrary, the lake smelled like life, in a way I am unable to explain.
Billy drove up minutes later. Charlie and I had already loaded all of our equipment into a tin bottom motor boat. It had five seats all lining the sides, with one by the motor. Charlie had placed the empty cooler in the middle of the boat. I hoped I could catch one edible fish for him.
"Good morning," Billy called. He rolled over to us. His wheelchair looked like it was designed for the terrain here. It easily maneuvered over the loose rocks and dips in the earth.
"Morning," Charlie called.
"Good morning Billy" I smiled.
"Now, Charlie, you will have to tell me your secret. I have been trying to get my daughters out on the lake for years. They hear the time we leave at and refuse to go." Billy smiled. Loading his rod and another case of beer on the boat.
"What can I say, I am just that lucky" Charlie smiled.
Charlie held my hand as he helped me in. He motioned for me to sit in the chair nearest the front of the boat. With each step I felt my legs overcorrecting. The boat thankfully stayed upright as I reached my seat. I resigned to never leaving the worn leather cushion for the rest of the voyage.
The men got in with relative ease. Billy took steps into the boat. Sitting at the back, he started prepping the motor as Charlie ran his chair back to the truck. Stowing it in the box before skillfully reaching his seat in the middle of the boat.
"No boys today?" Charlie asked.
"Not today. Last night's hunt took a lot out of them. Told them all to sleep in. If they need any fish for the big house, Bella could catch some" Billy winked at me.
My face went red. Fuck, I was only planning on trying to catch one fish. I saw the pack eat. One fish was not going to be enough for them. What if I could not even get my line into the water, let alone convince a fish to die for me?
Both men's laughter was drowned out by the motor spinning to life. Charlie skillfully undid the rope tying us to the dock. I think the men were trying to show off a little. The speed at which we rocketed into the center of the lake had me gripping my seat. Both men howled with laughter as the boat broke blindly into the fog.
There was no way Billy could see through the thick vale of fog. It was impossible for me, and I was the closest to the breaking point. If this was a cartoon, it would be my figure you would see in the fog print we left in our wake. Yet, both men acted like this was completely natural. This realization did not stop my white knuckled hold on my raised seat.
The motor kicked off. Silence did not cut my nerves. I did not realize that I was using the fog-piercing noise of the boat's motor as a comfort. Now it was just us, alone, in a fog shrouded lake.
"Looks like we are fishing by feel for the first bit" Charlie seemed happy by this.
"The fish will not see us coming today" Billy was overjoyed.
Charlie handed me a rod. I looked at it with analytical eyes. My knowledge base for fishing rods did not come in handy. As I sat there I held it with the carefulness of an explosive device. I wasn't sure if I touched it wrong it would break. My only knowledge of real fishing was when Charlie took me as a kid. Back then my fishing rod was Belle themed, and had fake floating fish to catch. This was a professional, adult fishing rod.
I watched the men. They unhooked the tackle and swoosh, the line was in the water. My mind must have glitched out; it should not be a swoosh and in. There must have been a step I was missing. I watched Charlie place a second line into the water. Fuck, Charlie was so good he was double rodding. Here I was, fifty percent with his genetics. I gathered courage.
Carefully unhooking the hook, I pointed my rod out so my tackle was now over the water. Slowly, I unreeled it and let it submerge slowly. No swooshing here folks. When I figured it was at a fish catchable length, I sat back in my chair. When I looked at both the men in the boat they were staring at me, the way they looked you would have thought I put the wrong side of the rod in the water. Looking at both their fishing poles I knew that was not true.
"Bella, where is your cast?" Charlie asked.
"Cast? Dad, I don't have any bones broken" We both looked at each other with eyebrows creasing.
Billy broke out in a laugh. "Charlie. Teach her how to cast when the fog clears more. You will want the subtle heads up before you get a hook stuck in you."
We sat in silence for a while. Each of the men seemed to be lost in thought. I found that I enjoyed the relaxed pace of fishing. I let my pole rest nimbly in my hands, occasionally pulling up on the end, as I noticed the men did. I assumed that was to make the shiny bait on my rod look alive. I respected the fish for not wanting to eat a dead piece of metal. The fog started to clear, little by little. Each hour that passed I was able to see farther out onto the dark water.
"Bella" Charlie got my attention. He looked like he had something important to say. Oh Fuck. What was he going to say?
"Sup Dad?" I tried to use relaxed language.
"I think we need to talk about some things" Charlie swallowed.
I am in big shit. Does he know Sam slept over last night? It is not like we had sex. He just slept in my bed for a few hours. We both had clothing on the entire time. Years of living with Renee had me biting down on my lip. I learned early on to not add evidence to an interrogation. Not trusting my mouth I simply nodded.
"I know about Sam"
"What about Sam, Dad?" I tried to feign confusion. Why in the world would he ever ask about my werewolf imprint?
"Bella, I know he is a shapeshifter." Charlie surprised me.
"I know that too"
"I also know that he is the Alpha of the pack" Charlie stated. His eyes watching my reactions. I tried to make my face into a calm expression. With Renee, I knew what faces to use. It was always best for me to act like I had all my shit together. Mainly because anytime she looked at me like Charlie was now, meant that it would be the last time I would see her for a while.
Not trusting my face, let alone my voice, I nodded.
"Do you know what happened?" Charlie asked.
This was uncharted territory. I was used to a parental figure who did not give a shit. When she did, it was mainly about herself, so Renee would talk at me. Charlie was talking to me, wanting to have a conversation.
"He imprinted on me" I said as confidently as I could muster.
"And you know what that means?" Charlie asked.
"I think I understand the gist" I admitted. It had only been two days, I was sure that I would know more.
"Do you understand the responsibilities the imprint put on you?" Billy asked.
The responsibilities? I thought about it. Everything Sam had said did not add responsibilities to my life. I mean maybe I would be in charge of making pack dinners.
"What responsibilities?" I asked. Both men suddenly looked like Dads. I watched their faces as they mulled over what they wanted to tell me.
"Bella, do you know who is on the tribal council?" Billy asked.
I shook my head. I assumed that he was but other than Billy I did not know who was on the council.
"I am currently Chief of the tribe, as my grandfather was the last Alpha of the pack. Soon, I hope that I can pass the responsibility down to my son Jacob. Currently I am training him for the position. Old Quil is a member, he is Quil's grandfather. Sue is on the council, she took over her late husband's seat. Sam is on the council as well, as he is Alpha of the pack, he is responsible for the safety of the tribe.
With Sam's responsibility to both the pack and the council, he will need to have a partner take over some responsibilities. Sue told me how well you handled Embry's injuries last night. If healing is a passion of yours, you could train in healing with our elders. If you have a talent, we could even sponsor you to go to medical school.
Jacob was raving about your cooking. That is traditionally the responsibility of the Alphas partner. Cooking for the pack is very important. We need our protectors strong when they go into battles."
"Why is Jacob not the Alpha?" I asked before Billy could start his next suggestion.
"He had a right to be. Sam offered the position to him. Jacob turned it down. He wisely evaluated how important both tribal roles are. Instead of letting the promise of power tempt him into leading an unbalanced council, Jacob decided to focus on the tribe as future Chief, whereas Sam will continue to focus on the safety of the pack." Billy sounded proud of his son.
"So Bells. I think we should talk about you moving up here permanently" Charlie added.
"What?" I felt as if the world opened up and swallowed me.
"Well, you can't be away from Sam for long periods. Seth told Jacob that you already felt the strain of separation last night. How do you think that would feel across the country?" Billy asked.
"I, well, I know you are right. It's just... I have a life in Phoenix" I told them truthfully.
"You can finish your high school education here. Hopefully the La Push school will make a special exception and let you in. If not, Forks is a short drive to school." Billy informed me.
"It's not that. I could finish my high school online if I needed to." I told both the men.
"How is Renee?" Charlie asked. I knew he wasn't asking if she was holding down a job. He was asking how she was in general.
"She was stable. If I am moving here, I need to tell her in person. I don't want to be responsible for her becoming unstable" I told Charlie.
"How unstable has she been?" Charlie asked.
"Dad," I warned him. I did not want to cause him to worry about me before his wedding.
"Bella, tell me," He pleaded.
"Well lets just say I was used to taking care of myself. She went to rehab a few times, would come home and be good. She should be in rehab now." I faked a smile.
"Why did you not tell me?" Charlie looked pained.
"Dad. Every time I was going to tell you, she got better." I tried to strain the truth in my words.
"Bella. I know your mother. I know you are sugar coating her actions. Sue told me you work at a bakery, why?" Dad asked.
"Dad. It's not like that" I tried to brush him off. Focusing on my fishing rod instead of the little girl in my heart that was so close to being seen.
"Bella, how much food was in the cupboards when you left Phoenix?" Dad's analyzing gaze struck my heart.
"I think we had some pasta," I told him honestly.
Both men turned to their lines. Adjusting them as I sat burning. Praying to any god that would answer that I did not want to talk about her anymore.
"The money I sent monthly?" Charlie asked.
"Mortgage" I told him honestly.
"You went to a fancy school though. How did you afford that?" Charlie asked.
"Scholarships and low income partnerships. I played volleyball because they would pay for my education if we made it in the top ten teams. I worked my ass off to get us to the top three each year." I admitted.
"You could have asked for more money" Charlie looked hurt.
"No. I couldn't" I admitted to him.
"What do you mean you couldn't? I have money for you. I will always have money for you" Charlie's voice cracked.
"Dad, I worked when I was not in school because I knew if I asked you for more money Renee would have taken it. I had set up an auto payment for all our bills and mortgage. Anything that was not in that inaccessible account would be gone in a day if Renee found it. Maybe I am cutting her short, she once spent all our savings in an hour." Truthful words spilling from my lips. It was something about being with the Dads that made me feel safe.
"I am so sorry I was not there for you. I should have never let Renee take you" Charlies eyes shone with unshed tears.
"Dad, no. You didn't know. When Grandma was around it was fine. She kept Mom sober and kicked her out when she was not. It was good." I tried to make Charlie feel better.
"No. I knew your mother. I knew she needed someone to love her. I knew she would be a poor excuse for a mother. I was just a young man back then. Had I not been afraid of the courts siding with her and me losing all rights to you..." Charlie paused. "I should have never let you walk out that door."
"Dad. I want to stay in La Push. It feels like I am actually home." I spoke softly across the small space.
Charlie stood up walking towards my side of the boat. He stood before me with his arms wide.
"Welcome home baby girl" Charlie whispered through tears. I dived into his arms holding him tight. For the first time I felt the responsibility of Renee lifted from my shoulders. "Now. lets work on your casting"
Authors Note: Please let me know what you think about this chapter. Thanks for reading!