I have to apologize over and over to you guys for this taking so long. December was an absolutely horrid month at work. I felt like I lived there. I finally wrote this chapter, completely rewrote it, and then edited it so it took a little longer to get out. I swear I will not abandon this story. I will keep writing until it comes to it's end, which is still MANY chapters away. Thank you to my beta, Kate Pedroso, for getting this edited so quickly. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to the wonderful Stephenie Meyer and her Twilight series. I hope I did Jacob justice.

Embry and Quil left shortly after our conversation. My mind was spinning circles so I wasn't the best company. I knew I wanted to be there when Eden came around again that afternoon but I couldn't stand being cooped up in the house just pacing in anticipation.

The day was overcast but rays of sun were peaking through the clouds. The air was very warm and heavy with moisture. With closed eyes I took a deep breath and it calmed me.

I knew it was going to rain sooner or later that day but I got out my bike anyway. Riding was almost as exhilarating as running as a wolf, but I liked the fact that I could do this in my human form.

I swung my leg over the bike and kicked it to life. I reveled in the growl of the motor, the vibration beneath me. It was like a restrained animal and I had all the power in the world to release it as I pleased. I could concentrate on the ride and in controlling the beast beneath me.

I tore away from the house with no particular destination in mind. I drove the back roads for awhile before pulling onto the highway, where I could drive faster. I liked to push the machine to the limits.

The speedometer on the bike was hovering around 80 mph on an open part of the highway. I'd loved to have pushed it faster but since Charlie wasn't on duty I wasn't completely sure I could talk my way out of a ticket.

I had just rounded a corner when I met that old familiar red truck. I was going too fast to get a look at who was behind the wheel. It was a good bet though that none of the vampires would drive that slow piece of steel. Either way, I wasn't about to turn around and go after it. I was still mad at Bella.

That didn't stop me from taking a peek in my mirror. The rear brake lights went bright just as she started around the corner and all of a sudden the rear of the truck fishtailed wildly.

When I had driven past that corner I had noticed that there was gravel spilled from the shoulder on the opposite side of the road. She must have hit it just right. I braked hard and swung the bike around easily. I watched as Bella went off the road and into the ditch. She had slowed enough that the truck didn't look as if it would roll but she had nudged a tree pretty hard by the time she actually stopped.

I was mad at her but that didn't mean I didn't still care. I felt my heart skip in panic when she didn't get out of the truck right away.

I rode quickly to the corner and stopped at the edge of the road. "Bella! Bella, are you ok?"

I jumped off the bike and into the ditch. I could hear a small moan as I strode to her door and flung it open. Bella's face was turned towards me and her eyes were closed but she was conscious, swearing softly once under her breath. She had a hand to her forehead and I could see a tiny stream of red flowing down to her cheek.

"Damn it, Bella. Are you trying to kill yourself?" I was definitely relieved that she was alright but now that I knew she was some of the anger I'd felt towards her was seeping out.

She groaned again but her lips turned up at the corners. "You should know by now, Jake, that I never try. Accidents just always seem to happen. Danger magnet, remember?"

She pulled her hand away from her head to see that it was bleeding. She went white as a sheet and groaned again, slumping in her seat.

"The blood?" She nodded and I laughed once, rolling my eyes. At this point I had little compassion for her situation. "You realize this is going to be your food source in a few short months…weeks, whatever. You should probably start getting used to it."

Bella scowled and tried to push me out of the way so she could get out of the vehicle. She should have known it was futile. I took her head in my hands and turned it back and forth to look for further injuries, refusing to let her swat my hands away. Her skin was split was above her right eye, just under the brow, and it was starting to swell.

"I'm fine," she said, still trying to get past me. "Let me out of the truck."

I ignored her and continued my examination. "Must have hit your head on the steering wheel. You're going to need some stitches and you're already bruising. Better put your hand back on that."

I offered her the handkerchief out of my pocket. She took it and scowled again as she lifted her hand back to the cut. "Since when did you get all bossy?"

"You mean since when did I stop pouring over you with concern? Sorry, I'm fresh out of it at the moment. I'm sure the leeches have plenty to cover my portion," I said sarcastically. "And I'm sure your boyfriend will be here any second to do just that."

She flinched at my words and I could see that her eyes were shining with tears. I could what I said had hurt her but my regret over what I said was overshadowed by my continuing anger.

She slid down the side of the truck and sat with her back against the rear tire. "Edward is away hunting with Carlisle, Emmett, and Rosalie."

The next words were out of my mouth before I even realized I had said them. "Oh, poor baby, how will you survive?"

Her head whipped around, fury flashing amongst the tears. "What the hell is your problem? I didn't ask you to stop for me."

The tears were now overflowing and I could feel my resolve start to crack so I turned around, popped the hood, and went to the front of the vehicle. "I'll take a look to see if there is any damage."

I knew that the truck was like a tank so I wasn't too concerned. There was only a small dent in the bumper and hood. The engine itself didn't look as if it sustained any damage.

"Try to start it," I ordered.

I could hear her get up and move to the open door. "Why have you gotten so cold, Jake?" Her voice was still thick with tears and the sadness blatantly apparent.

"Still nice and toasty, Bella," I said, knowing perfectly well she didn't mean my body temperature.

I heard the sound of another engine pull up as the truck's churned loudly to life.

"Bella? Bella, are you alright," I heard an alarmed female voice ask.

The concern in her voice over this little accident sounded absolutely absurd compared to what was in store for Bella. Disgust washed over me and I took an extra second before I dropped the hood back down. Alice was standing next to Bella and Jasper stood at the side of the road, next to Edward's Volvo.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Bella said.

"It's good that this thing is practically indestructible," Alice said, pointing to the truck in relief. Then she started in on her scolding. "I would have thought your driving skills were a little better than that. You had me thinking you were dead for the second time in the last few months."

"What do you mean? You should have seen that I was just fine." She sat down on the driver's seat, facing the open door.

"You seem to forget how this works," Alice said.

"She didn't see that you were ok because I stopped," I said, reminding Bella. I circled around the vehicle, towards my bike, putting plenty of distance between myself and the vampires.

"You must have bumped your head pretty hard," Alice said with worry. "You usually pick up on this kind of thing a little faster. I saw you hit the tree and then your future disappeared. It took us a little while to find you."

"I'm sorry, Alice…," Bella started and then shot straight up in her seat. "Please tell me you didn't call Edward."

Alice put her hands reassuringly on Bella's shoulders. "No, no, no. I learned my lesson the first time around. He's going to be mad enough as it is that you've been hurt. Now, let's get you home."

Knowing that they could easily pull her out of the ditch, I swung onto my bike without another word. The first kick failed to start the bike but it brought Bella's attention back to me.

"Jake! Wait…," Bella called as she walked my way, looking back towards Alice. "Give me a second."

Alice nodded and when Bella turned around she waved Jasper down so the two of them could decide how best to get the truck out of the ditch.

Bella climbed up the small hill and almost fell near the gravel shoulder. I instinctively reached out and caught her with one arm.

"Thanks," she said sheepishly.

"What is it, Bella. I've got to get back to the rez." Eden will be there soon. My heart even skipped a beat at the thought.

"Can I stop by tonight?"

I did a double-take in surprise. "What for?"

"I'm going to be…leaving soon and I don't want our friendship to be like this," she said, gesturing to something invisible between us. She looked at the ground and continued very softly. "Especially since we may never see each other again after I leave Forks."

I sighed. She was right, I didn't want to end whatever relationship we had this way. "See if you can have someone drop you off at the border. I'll pick you up and we can have lunch."

Bella let out the breath she must have been holding and smiled. "That sounds great." She hesitated and then threw her arms around me in a hug. "Thanks for stopping, Jake."

I couldn't help myself and I hugged her back. "You make it hard to be mad at you." I gently pulled back and nudged her towards the Volvo parked behind me. "Get going, I'll see you tomorrow."

I kicked the bike to life and shifted it into gear. As I roared away I pushed the bike to it's limit, no longer worried about a ticket.

I had been gone for hours and Billy and Charlie were back by the time I returned home. They spent the next hour telling me about the adventure they'd had that day while the three of us scaled the fish they'd caught.

"…and then Billy almost fell out of the boat," Charlie said before slapping his knee and laughing heartily.

"Dad, you should be more careful."

Billy was amused at my scolding. "Relax, Jake. He's exaggerating. I was nowhere near falling out of the boat."

"Even if you did, you have your own nurse now to take care of you," Charlie joked.

Billy nodded. "Which reminds me, she'll be here any minute so I should probably get cleaned up. Why don't you stay for dinner tonight, Charlie? I'm sure Bella wouldn't mind."

"I'd love to. Bella is staying over at the Cullen's with Alice so I was just going to order pizza tonight."

"Ok then, why don't you go see if you can find a game on while I get washed up."

We all headed into the house. Charlie washed his hands in the kitchen sink while Billy headed to the bathroom. I set out enough fish for dinner and put it in the fridge, then bagged the rest to freeze.

Charlie and Billy settled themselves in front of the TV while waiting for Eden. I went to the bathroom and scrubbed and scrubbed my hands and forearms so that I wouldn't smell like fish. When that wasn't enough I changed my clothes and put on cologne.

I sat down in the recliner in the living room and, after a moment of silence, found that both Billy and Charlie were staring at me with smiles on their face.

"What?"

"Nothing," Billy said. "You just smell nice." He and Charlie chuckled and then went back to watching TV. I just smiled and shook my head.

An hour later we were still waiting on Eden and I was getting impatient just listening to Charlie and Billy discuss which baseball team had the most potential for the World Series.

"Jake, do you mind," Billy said. "You're going to punch a hole in the floor with your foot soon if you don't knock it off."

"Sorry," I said, just as a vehicle pulled up into our drive.

I jumped up to see Eden's SUV in our driveway. She sat there for a moment, her lips moving as if she was talking to herself, and then climbed out with her bag in tow. She made her way up the walk and knocked on the door.

"I'll get it," I said, with just a little too much enthusiasm. It sent Charlie and Billy back into chuckles. I had to restrain myself not to run to the door and once I reached it I took a deep breath to calm myself.

Eden was standing on the porch, looking at her shoes and twiddling her thumbs. She looked up at me as the door opened and her beautiful lips stretched wide into a smile. Her hair was pulled back into the same dark, smooth braid as when I first met her. She was wearing red scrub pants and a white scrub top, trimmed in red with heart outlines in red, pink, and black. Her white tote bag was slung over her shoulder.

"Hi, Jake," she said, her emerald eyes sparkling.

"Hey, Eden," I said. Again my voice seemed thick and deep. Embarrassed, I cleared my throat. "Come on in."

I moved back so that she could enter and her scent as she walked by me made my stomach muscles clench and my mouth go dry. I closed my eyes. Her eyes, her scent, her walk…her very presence made me feel something I'd never felt with any other woman so I couldn't quite define what it was.

Billy met us in the hallway. "Hey there, we were starting to wonder if you'd forgotten about us." He smiled and led Eden into the kitchen and I leaned against the wall.

She set her bag on the table. "I don't think that would be possible," she said, quickly flicking a glance in my direction before turning back to Billy. "I'm sorry that I'm a little late, my truck is acting up."

She turned towards the table and started removing her supplies from the bag. Billy gave me a silent look. I could practically read his mind. 'Ask her about her vehicle you idiot!'

"Uh…wha… what's it doing," I asked. After I got it out I wanted to bang my head on the wall. I couldn't speak clearly in front of her without stuttering!

She shrugged and turned around. "Hmmm…it's making this weird buzzing type noise and it smells funny. I'm going to have to take it in for someone to look at it."

"I could take a look at it for you," I blurted out.

She gave me a contemplative look before answering. "I don't know…"

Charlie walked into the room. "He's great with vehicles. Heck, if Jake had his own business I'd be one of his best customers." He introduced himself as the sheriff, giving his opinion more credit.

She bit her bottom lip and I almost melted into a puddle at her feet. "Well….as long as I'm here I guess it might not be a bad idea."

She dug the keys out her pocket and held out her hand. I reached forward and plucked them from her palm. My skin barely grazed hers but the small contact between us was electric. My muscles went tense and she caught her breath.

I looked into her eyes and that moment seemed to go on forever until Billy cleared his throat. "Why don't you get to that, Jake."

I nodded and headed out the door. The air was thick with moisture and it was starting to drizzle. I took a deep breath and smiled. At least I finished a complete sentence this time.

I climbed into her SUV. It was neat and tidy. There was a travel mug in the cup holder next to the driver's seat and large blanket in the backseat. The vehicle smelled of Eden, her scent infused into every service. My blood started to simmer with lust and I had to roll down the window to clear the haze it put me in.

I turned the key in the ignition and drove it down the road a few blocks so I could get a sense of what Eden had heard, smelled. Right away I could tell that it was probably a belt that needed to be replaced and that she needed her oil changed.

I pulled her vehicle back towards my little garage so that it was out of the rain. I popped the hood, turned on my radio and cranked the volume up. I took a thorough look at her engine and the other components. She was going to need a new belt but it would be safe to drive with for now. I checked her dipstick and her oil was indeed very low. That, at least, I could do right then. I wasn't exactly dressed to work on a vehicle so I took off my shirt and stuffed a greasy towel in my back pocket before getting to work.

I sang along with the music, as I usually did. It felt good to be doing something useful again. I hadn't done much with cars since changing Emily's oil the month prior. It didn't take me long to finish. I pulled myself out from under and stood, still singing along with the radio. I set my tools aside and wiped my hands off on the towel in my pocket before reaching for a can of soda from the ever-present paper bag.

"I like that song," a sweet voice said from behind me.

I twisted around so fast that I dropped the soda. Eden was sitting on my car, on the opposite side of the SUV. Her legs were dangling down the hood and she was leaning forward on both her hands. I must have been so wrapped up in what I was doing and had the music so loud that I hadn't heard her come in.

"Damn, you almost gave me a heart attack," I said. It wouldn't have been the first time. I looked at her carefully. I hadn't been alone with her before and now that I was I didn't know what to do, what to say.

"Well, better me than someone else, right?" She said this with a big smile and popped up off the car. She gestured towards her own vehicle. "So, what's the verdict?"

I looked at the truck, went over and dropped the hood. "You're going to need a new belt but that won't be hard to come by. You'll make it home safely tonight." It was easier to speak if I wasn't looking directly at her.

When I turned back around I caught her staring at my bare chest. She was breathing deeply, her chest moving up and down slowly. I cleared my throat and she looked up at me. Her cheeks tinged red at being caught. And it's damn sexy on her. It made me want to sweep her off her feet and kiss those warm cheeks, taste that luscious mouth.

"Sorry," she said, embarrassed but the attraction I detected in her eyes was still smoldering.

"No problem," I said. I grabbed my shirt from the peg on the wall and pulled it on. Hopefully, it would make things easier for both of us.

"Umm, so if it is a belt that needs to be fixed, why were you under the truck?"

"Your oil was really low, so I changed it," I said, nonchalantly.

Eden cocked her head to the side and smiled, moving to stand next to me. "You really didn't need to do that."

"I was here, you were occupied, so why not," I shrugged. Besides, I liked that I was able to do something for her.

"I appreciate that." She started rummaging around in her tote, pulling out her wallet. "How much do I owe you?"

I waved her away. "On the house. And if you're coming back tomorrow I can get that belt and replace it for you."

She shook her head. "I can't do that, Jake. I appreciate it but, really, I can take it in to a mechanic."

"You're going to be here anyway, why not just let me do it? Trust me, I have plenty of experience."

"I believe you…and the service is definitely better," she said slyly. She looked at me for a moment. "Ok, tomorrow then. How much is this going to cost?"

When I told her she smiled. "That's decent. I expected it to be more. How much are you charging for labor?"

It was my turn to smile. "Nothing."

She shook her head, "Jake, I can't…"

I held up a hand to stop her. I decided to take a chance. "Ok. I have a way you can pay me but it isn't in cash."

Now it was her turn to look wary. "I'm afraid to ask."

I laughed. It was getting easier and easier to be around her. "I was thinking that I'd like to ask you to have dinner with me sometime." There, I took the leap. Please say yes…

She had a sort of tortured look on her face. "I'd love to, really…" Here comes the rejection. "But I can't right now."

I nodded. At least I tried. I must have looked pretty disappointed because she shook her head and put her hand on my arm. "No, Jake, it's not that I don't want to. I can't while I'm working with your father. It's unethical," she explained.

The skin of her hand was so soft against my arm that it felt like warm satin. The nerves there were buzzing from the contact. There's still a chance, I could hear Embry's voice in my head so I decided to try again. "How about after you're finished working with my dad?"

She paused for a second before looking back up at me. A small sweet half-smile lit up her face though it was still serious. "You make it hard for a girl to say no. I'd love to."

I was doing my 'happy dance' in my head and my heart was soaring. I couldn't restrain a huge smile from covering my face. "Sweet….uh, any idea when that might be?"

She laughed and the tingling sensation it caused was like fingers down my spine. "Soon. He should only need help with wound care for about another week. Then he'll be able to just go in for follow-up visits." Eden walked around her SUV and opened the door.

"Ok then, today is Thursday. How about next Saturday?" I felt confident to push the issue a little now that I knew she was interested.

She climbed in and looked at me through the windshield. "Next Saturday it is," she said, with a very sexy smile. She shut the door and gave her fingers a little wave before she pulled out