"Hillary," he whispered, taking a step towards her.
Hillary felt the urge to step towards him, but fought it and took a step back, bumping into Paul. She watched his face crumble into a twisted visage of pain. Her stomach twisted and her chest throbbed painfully. She felt Paul steady her and Rachel step beside her. Her entire body trembled as she watched him.
"Please," he whispered hoarsely, "please just let me talk to you. Let me explain."
Hillary closed her eyes, refusing to let him see her cry. "There isn't anything to say, Jacob," she said tiredly. "You made your feelings about the situation and me abundantly clear over three years ago."
"Please," he implored brokenly.
In that moment Hillary was tired of fighting and tired of running. She could feel his pain rolling off of him in waves. It matched the painful throb that she had been feeling for years.
"I barely survived this, Jacob," she said emotionally. "I barely pulled myself together enough to get to where I am now. I can't let you break me again."
She watched as he took a cautious step forward and then another. Before she knew it she was swept into his arms. Closing her eyes she sank into his embrace and leaned her head against his chest. They hadn't hugged in years. She felt the sob rise up in her before she could squash it down.
Jacob looked down at his imprint, his beautiful little Hillary. Panic rose in him as he heard her crying. He felt her hot tears against his bare chest and acted on instinct. Swinging her up into his arms he started walking down the beach away from the pack. When he was sure that they were far enough away from being overheard he sank down in the sand and sat with her across his lap.
"Please don't cry, Hillary," he begged her. "I know that I'm an asshole. I know that I don't deserve you or a second chance, but please let me try to make this right. I can't live like this anymore. I can't live without you. Tell me what I need to do, what you need, please!"
Hillary buried her face into his chest and let the pain and pent up frustration she felt out. Something in her jolted her out of her crying jag. She came back to herself and realized where she was and who she was with. Pushing back from his chest, she tried to move, but he held her in place.
"I know that you're mad at me," he murmured into her hair. "I can't let you go, Hillary. I can't."
Hillary tried to ignore his hot breath on her neck, tried to ignore the feeling of finally being in his arms. She trembled as she felt her chest constrict. She could feel that he was not unaffected by their position either. Her limbs felt hot and heavy and there was an entirely different type of ache that she was experiencing. Hillary knew that he could tell because his arms tightening reflexively around her and he swore under his breath as he nuzzled down into the crook of her neck. Her gut clenched in reaction and she bit back a groan. Subconsciously she tilted her head to the side giving him better access, causing him to nip gently as a rumbling noise rose in his chest.
She leaned her forehead against the crook of his neck and breathed him in. Trying to calm herself down, she knew that they had a long way to go before she could let them go where things were currently headed. It didn't matter that they were both nearly twenty-one year old adults. They had to work on being friends first, something she wasn't sure they could be again.
Hillary pushed against his chest and pulled back. "Please let me up," she said softly.
Jacob fought for control, fought the urge to take her, the urge to show her what she meant to him. His limbs trembled as he reluctantly let her up. He closed his eyes and choked back a groan as he felt her shift and slide out of his lap. Swallowing thickly, he ran a shaky hand through his hair and looked up at her through hooded eyes.
Hillary stood shakily and turned her back to him, facing the ocean. "I don't even know what to say to you," she whispered softly.
"Can we just talk?" he asked gently.
Hillary turned to face him and really looked at him. His features seemed sharper, strained. He was still Jacob, but he looked older, more mature. Meeting his eyes she saw the pain there, the sincerity. Nodding, she went to sit beside him, but found herself tugged into his lap again.
"I will spend the rest of our lives trying to apologize to you," he murmured against her temple. "I was a selfish idiot, Hillary."
"No arguments here about that," she said leaning against him.
"I knew the day you left that I was wrong," he admitted. "When I realized that you were gone, something in me snapped. Everything came crashing down on me, everything that I had done to drive you away. The guys made me view it through their eyes, all of it. I'm so sorry, Hillary."
Hillary sat there in his lap with his arms wrapped around her. She didn't know what to say or do. She wasn't sure how she should feel or what she should think. It was all a bit much. Sighing she leaned her forehead against his shoulder.
"I need to go home," she said quietly. "I'm supposed to have dinner with my parents tonight."
"When can I see you again?" he asked.
"I don't know, Jacob." She replied honestly. "There's a lot I don't know right now. I just got back yesterday and I have to figure out somethings."
"You won't leave again?" he asked painfully. "Please?"
Hillary looked up and met his tortured eyes and nodded slowly. "I won't leave again," she whispered. "We need to work on being friends again first, Jacob. I don't know that I could ever be anything more than that with you, but we can start as friends, okay?"
Jacob closed his eyes in pain and nodded once. He would take what he could get, as long as she was part of his life. He would do anything for her, anything to make her forgive him, anything to make her happy. Tears stung his eyes as he realized not for the first time, that he had really hurt her. It made him sick to think about just how much he had hurt her.
Hillary watched in concern as he trembled. She watched him fighting his emotions and gently wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in to a hug. She felt his arms band around her as his shoulders shook. She could feel his hot tears on her shoulder and she felt an ache rising in her chest. Her own tears stung her eyes. She could feel his pain, echoing her own. Goodness, they'd both made a mess of it. First, there was him and his behavior. Second, were her own actions and her fleeing.
They sat there for a while longer clinging to each other, sharing in each other's pain. Eventually Hillary began to shiver from her wet clothing and the cool breeze that was now rolling off of the ocean. The sky was getting darker and Jacob knew that he needed to get her home before she got sick. He let her stand up and stood beside her. They walked in silence towards town. The rest of the pack had left them to try to figure things out.
Jacob led her back to his house to grab his keys and get her a change of clothes. She heard him rummaging in his room and waited by the front door. She was hit with a wave of nostalgia standing in the living room. Not much had changed since she had last been there. Jacob came down the hallway with a large hooded sweatshirt, sweatpants, and keys. He handed her the clothes with a small smile.
"You're freezing," he said softly. "You should change into those before you get sick. I shouldn't have kept you out so long."
Hillary shrugged with a grateful smile and went to get changed in the bathroom. Pulling off her wet clothes, she tugged on the too large sweat shirt and sweatpants. She had to roll the pants a few times and they were still too big. She put her phone and keys into the front pocket of the sweatshirt and carried her wet clothes out of the bathroom.
Jacob was leaning on the wall in the hallway waiting for her. He held out a shopping bag for her to put the clothes in. He swallowed thickly as he saw her standing there in his clothes. Something that had been so innocently done as children now had an entirely different and strong effect on him. Clearing his throat awkwardly, he tugged her hand towards the door with a grin.
Hillary rolled her eyes at him, but followed. When they stepped out on the porch she realized that it had started raining. Jake turned to her and flashed a grin before racing towards his car. Hillary took off after him with a laugh. They threw themselves into his car to get out of the rain still laughing. Hillary looked over at him laughing and realized that it was almost like old times. Like they used to be before Bella and all of the Pack business took over their lives.
Jacob became serious looking at her and looked like he wanted to say something, but turned away and put the key in the ignition. He eased the car out of his driveway and drove towards Hillary's parents' house in silence. He knew that he had a long way to go with her, but it was a start. She was talking to him and in close proximity to him, which was a good start. He vowed to do whatever he needed to make her understand, to get her to forgive him and to give him a chance. He needed her and he wasn't going to let her go without a fight this time.
Hillary glanced at him out of the corner of her eye as they drove. He went from being the happy carefree Jacob that she remembered to the solemn, serious man she was reintroduced to. Logically she knew that they were the same person, but she missed her Jacob, the Jacob that she could stay up all night laughing with. Sighing she turned to look out the window and realized that they were almost to her house.
When they pulled in the driveway, she saw that her parents were waiting for her on the front porch. Hillary turned to Jacob and found him watching her carefully. Grabbing her clothes, she paused with a hand on the door handle.
Glancing back at Jacob she smiled softly, "I'll call you later, okay?"
A slow smile spread across his face and he nodded. "I'll be waiting," he said seriously. "I'm glad that you're back, Hillary. I've missed you."
"I missed you too, Jacob," she said weakly. "More than I think you can imagine. Not just the past three years, but the year before as well. I missed my friend, Jake, my best friend. I should go in before dad comes to get me."
Hillary launched from the car, running to get out of the rain. Her father pinned Jacob with a scowl when he noticed what she was wearing. She grinned up at her parents and said something that eased the tension and she tugged her father into the house. Her mother paused at the door and winked at Jacob before closing the door.
Jacob sat there in her driveway for a few minutes before leaving. His mind raced and replayed everything that had happened since he woke up that morning. She was back. She was back and willing to talk to him. She was willing to try being friends again. As he put his car in reverse, he vowed that he would do whatever it took to have her in his life, to make her his. Looking in the rear view mirror he watched her house get smaller and smaller and for the first time in a long time her felt hope again.
After the day at the beach life had settled down a bit for Hillary and everyone in La Push. Her parents were giving her space to decide what she wanted to do with her degree. Eventually Hillary spoke with the Elders and the Council about a business plan that involved the Pack. They listened carefully to her idea and told her that they would support it, but she would just need to discuss it with the Pack
She had been brainstorming for years, since before she left for college actually. The Pack relied on the support of the Council and Elders for a lot financially. It wasn't like they could work for other people and explain the random hours they needed. Sam had started up a small construction business, but Hillary had an idea for another business. She knew that Jacob and his friends worked on cars, they loved it. So she wanted to help them get a garage and mechanic shop set up to help support themselves and their future families.
Sam was already trying to do this with his construction company. She would have to broach the subject carefully, but she wanted to offer to look over the business plan and books for him and the others. She just wasn't sure her help would be welcome, especially after how she had confronted him three weeks ago.
Hillary sighed looking out at the ocean. She was leaning back against a rock looking out over the water. She had come here every day since she had been back. So here she was sitting up on the cliffs with her back against a large rock watching the waves roll and crash along the shore. It was soothing and peaceful. She really couldn't explain what drew her to this spot, but she loved it here.
Behind her she heard a twig snap and she glanced over her shoulder to see Jacob approaching her. He sank to the ground beside her and pulled her snug against his side. She felt him lean down and nuzzle into her hair, breathing in deeply.
"Why are you so anxious?" he asked gruffly. "I've tried to let you come to me with whatever is bothering you, but I can't take it anymore."
"I'm fine," she said with a soft smile looking up at him. "I have an idea that I want to propose to the Pack. I'm just not sure how everyone is going to take it."
Jacob looked down at her and searched her eyes and nodded slowly. "Do you want me to contact them?" he asked. "We can have them meet at my father's or the beach."
Hillary nodded nervously, "Your father's house might be best. He already knows."
He looked at her in confusion, but nodded. "You're sure that everything is okay?"
Hillary turned to hug him. She breathed him in and nodded against his chest. Closing her eyes, she let his presence calm her. Pulling away she stood and nodded to the path leading down to the beach. Jacob stood and grinned down at her, his eyes bright with mischief. He lunged and swung her up on his shoulder and quickly made his way down to the beach with her laughing and trying to wriggle free from his grasp. On the way there he pulled her cell phone from her pocket and called Sam and told him to have everyone meet them at his father's house.
Hillary smacked him on his back and told him to put her down, but he just chuckled and swung her back and began to carry her bridal style across the beach towards where her car was parked. Hillary smirked and leaned into his shoulder and nipped him, nearly making him stumble. He looked down at her with such a startled, but heated look that she began to feel her belly fill with butterflies.
"Don't do that again, Hillary," he said in a husky voice. "Don't do that unless you're ready for the consequences of it because there will be no going back afterwards."
Hillary squeaked and nodded at him and he smirked down at her. She felt his large, hot hand dig into the pocket of her shorts again and felt goosebumps erupt along her skin. Her eye lifted to meet his and found him watching her. She swallowed thickly and glanced back down as he gently let her feet touch the pavement. He was holding out his hand showing her the keys to her car.
"Do you mind if I drive us?" he asked softly.
Hillary shook her head, both in response and to clear her head. This man was going to drive her mad, she was sure of it. He gently pushed her into the passenger seat of the car and walked around to the driver's seat. They drove to his father's house in silence, though they kept stealing glances at one another.
Hillary watched the familiar landscape pass by in the window. She lost herself in her thoughts. She knew that she wouldn't be able to keep fighting the pull towards him for much longer. On a daily basis she had to fight not to throw herself in his arms.
Blinking in confusion, she realized that they had parked and Jacob was watching her quietly with a raised eyebrow and a knowing smile tugging at his lips, lips that she thought about far too often. She threw herself out of the car to put some distance between them, if only briefly.
Hillary greeted Billy with a hug and sat on the steps of the porch waiting for the others to arrive. Jake leaned against her car watching her talk to his father with a soft smile on his face. His thoughts were interrupted when Quil and Embry tackled him to the ground. Hillary looked over and rolled her eyes with a laugh. In another fifteen minutes everyone had arrived.
Hillary looked over at Billy who nodded encouragingly. She stood and turned to address the pack. She told them about her plan before college, about how she wanted to get a business degree to find a way to help the packs. She described her business proposals and the garage and offered Sam her help with his construction company's business plan and then waited.
Jake walked to her side scooped her up and swung her around. He laughed and let her feet down, before looking over to the rest of the pack and his friends. Whatever he had been thinking, this wasn't it, but it was a pleasant and welcome surprise.
"I vote we open the garage," he said looking at the group. "Mechanics work long hours and we could have rotating shifts on the jobs that come in."
Paul snorted, "You just like it because Hillary came up with the idea and it involves cars."
Jake shrugged, "Maybe, but I always work on cars anyways. This way here we can actually have a business plan and not rely so heavily on the Council and Elders. We could provide for our future families and imprints."
Sam stood watching the interaction of the group and thought back to Hillary's tongue lashing at the beach. He watched as Jacob was subconsciously stepping into a leadership role and Alpha. He wasn't issuing an order, but he was thinking of bettering the lives of the pack, like his mate. Hillary, she certainly was a breath of fresh air in his opinion. She was a perfect match for Jake and had clearly been trying to find a way to help even before she left for school, when Jacob should have rightly taken over as Alpha.
Sam stepped forward keeping his face carefully blank. "I think that this would be something that we could try to implement. It would certainly help the pack, but also the tribe," he said looking straight at Hillary. "Thank you for your offer of help, I will take you up on it."
Sam watched in silent amusement seeing the reactions of everyone else. He knew deep down that Hillary had been right that day on the beach. He also knew that Jacob was nearly ready to take over the pack. Emily and he were married and wanted to start a family soon. The only thing holding them back was his responsibility to the pack. Once Jacob was ready, he would stop phasing and pass over leadership of the pack. In an emergency he could still phase and help, but his days of doing so full time would be over soon.
Hillary smiled and nodded to him in thanks. Sam winked in return and nodded to Jacob before leaving to go home to Emily. He needed to go home and talk to Emily and see what she wanted. Everything that he did was for her. He had a lot of making up to do for his past actions. She desperately wanted children and he would be lying if he didn't admit he wanted a family as well.
Jacob held her close to his side as the rest of the pack stayed and talked about the new business plans excitedly. None of them liked relying on others to provide for them, it went against everything that they stood for. True, they were warriors, but they were also providers for their families. Hillary was giving them the opportunity to do both.
Jacob leaned down and kissed Hillary's temple while talking with Embry and Quil. Both were thrilled at the aspect of working in a garage. Jared and Paul already pulled shifts with Sam in his construction business and would continue to do so, but just knowing that there would be work for everyone made them feel better. Hillary was completely right, a mechanic shop allowed anyone in the pack to work on jobs at any hour of day. Cars would get done faster with the different shift work that would be available.
Hillary was astonished to see the sheer size of the pack. Apparently more and more members had phased in her absence. Jacob seeing her questioning look knew that he would have to fill her in on more of what had happened since she was gone. Despite the Cullens being gone, their presence led to many rogues roaming the area.
Billy called out that they would be having a barbeque in a while. Jacob rolled his eyes and knew that he and Paul would need to run to the store to get enough food to feed an army. Hillary watched as he and Paul walked towards the truck. Rachel stepped beside her and looped her arm through Hillary's.
Embry looked down at Hillary and smiled sadly. She had been such a good friend to all of them before they phased. Then when it was safe enough they interacted with her again, at least until Jacob imprinted on her and tried to fight it. He and Quil shared a glance and looked back down at their former best friend.
Since she had returned she hadn't really spent time with any of them. It hurt to know that she still didn't feel like she was part of them, or welcome. Kim had tried to reach out to her, but after she had called Hillary's parents, Hillary avoided her. She only spoke to Rachel regularly.
Rachel tugged her towards the kitchen to get some of the side dishes ready, knowing that they would need to start soon if they expected to feed the pack. They worked in tandem in the kitchen preparing pasta and a couple of salads. Jacob and Paul returned with a truck load of food and started firing up the grill. Embry and Quil lugged in more groceries into the kitchen.
Hillary and Rachel worked for the next hour preparing food while Paul, Jacob, and Billy grilled a ridiculous amount of meat. Soon the food was ready and it was time to eat. The women and any non-pack member grabbed food first, then the pack descended upon the food. Hillary sat on the steps of the porch laughing beside Rachel.
"I don't know how Emily put up with this for so long," Hillary said between bites to Rachel. "I know that the Council and Elders help with food, but honestly if they're going to eat this much, there needs to be a better way of doing this."
Jacob looked up and watched her as he listened to her talking to Rachel nearby. Paul had paused as well, waiting for Rachel's reaction. Many of the pack members were listening to see where the conversation was going to go.
"It's just how it is," Rachel said tiredly. "They need to eat this much to sustain who and what they are."
"I'm not disagreeing," Hillary said, wiping her mouth with a napkin. "What I'm saying is that perhaps a rotating schedule of whose house they eat at each week, or each night even. Seriously Rachel, can you imagine having to cook like this multiple times a day every day? How she hasn't beaten someone with a broom or broken a chair over someone's head yet, I don't know."
Rachel choked on her food trying to imagine Emily doing that. Then she started laughing until she had tears in her eyes. "Good Lord, Hillary!" she gasped. "Emily doesn't have a mean bone in her body."
Hillary shrugged. "Well, perhaps that's me projecting. I have plans for myself and future that don't necessarily involve me spending everyday all day in the kitchen to feed a bunch of over grown man-children," she snorted. "Seriously, wasn't Emily studying to be a nurse before all of this happened? And what, she suddenly become Betty fucking Crocker and playing house? None of that makes sense Rachel."
"I know," Rachel whispered. "I don't understand it myself."
Hillary glanced at her friend and knew that they were both still adjusting to being back in La Push. Their conversation died as the shadow of Paul and Jacob standing before them blocked the sun. Both men looked unsure of themselves and a bit scared. Hillary glanced around and realized that their conversation had been overheard by the whole pack. Closing her eyes, she tried to shake away her guilt. She never meant any of them to feel bad, certainly not the ones that had imprinted, and especially not Jacob.
"Jake," she said softly, "Take a deep breath and look at me okay? We need to all figure this out. I get, accept, and somewhat understand this whole imprinting business. What I don't understand is how someone like Emily would give up on everything that she had been working for years and suddenly, poof, be okay with walking away from all of it."
"None of us know what happened there," Jacob said slowly. "But I would never, ever expect or ask you to do that, Hillary."
"I know that Jacob," she replied. "I know that and I would never ask you to give up being you. Wow, one conversation that was meant to be speculative and joking got too heavy."
Paul watched Rachel carefully. He knew that she came back, but was still trying to make sure that she was happy staying. She was his anchor and curbed his hot headed ways. He still struggled with the anger, but she balanced him.
"Rachel," he whispered, reaching out and touching her cheek.
"I know, Paul." She said with a smile. "We're good and yes, I'm happy."
He swallowed thickly and nodded to her. Rachel wrapped her arms around him and burrowed her face in his chest. Paul held her gently, yet tightly to his chest, as if afraid she would disappear.
Hillary looked at Jacob and stood. Putting her plate on the step that she had been sitting on, she turned to him. She stepped forward, uncaring of the eyes watching them. Jacob stood and watched her step until they were nearly standing against one another. She reached up and touched his cheek and looked up at him with such open, expressive eyes.
"If I've learned anything in the last few years," she began. "It is that we can figure anything out, we just have to be honest and willing to work together. I'm not going anywhere, Jacob. I'll support your decisions, but I'm not going to keep quiet if I don't believe it to be the right choice. We need to find common middle ground and compromise, but neither of us needs to bend so much that we break."
"I want your opinion, Hillary," he murmured, leaning into her touch. "I want you to tell me if I'm doing something you don't think is right and I may not agree, but I'll at least listen. You have to know that I would do anything for you, Hillary. I just want you to be happy."
"I know," she said with a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.
The sound of an unfamiliar vehicle approaching drew the attention of the group. Hillary turned and watched, as the small SUV turned around the corner and approached the house, pulling up beside the truck that Jacob and Paul had taken to the store. A slow grin spread over her face as she recognized the familiar faces that she didn't know if she'd ever see again. She turned and sprinted towards the open arms of her friends.
"Kahale! Honi! Alani!" she yelled as she threw herself into Kahale's waiting arms. "What are you doing here?"
Kahale lifted her and spun her around. "Well, since you couldn't stop talking about home we thought that we would pop in for a bit of a visit before fall semester starts up. Your mom gave us that address, so we came to find you," he explained laughing.
Alani wrapped her in a tight hug, while Honi just looked at her sadly with a soft smile. She looked at him in confusion. He shrugged and ran his hands through his hair.
"Being home seems to be good for you, Hillary." He told her softly. "You seem more at peace, more happy than you were in Hawaii."
"I was always meant to come home, Honi," she said with a shrug. "I was always going to come home. My life is here."
Kahale punched his twin in the arm and pinned him with a sharp look. Alani rolled her eyes at the pair of them and let Hillary lead them back towards were Jacob and the others were watching curiously. Jacob had a carefully blank look on his face. He recognized the names, but he also recognized the look in Honi's eyes when he looked at Hillary.
"Guys, these are my best friends from Hawaii!" Hillary explained with a wide grin.
Quil smirked and nudged Embry, glancing at Alani. "So these are the hooligans you go tattoos with?" Quil joked.
Embry looked up and met the chocolate eyes of Alani and his world spun. His breath left him in a rush and his entire center of gravity shifted. Quil looked at him with wide eyes and Paul snorted nearby.
"Well shit," Paul chuckled. "Another one bites the dust. Welcome to the club Embry."
Hillary glanced from where Embry stood staring stunned, towards where Alani was standing looking at him with wide eyes. Kahale and Honi looked back and forth between the pair and then looked at Hillary in question. She just shrugged and nudged Alani.
Hillary made introductions and stepped to Jacob's side. She felt him slide a warm, but possessive arm around her waist. Glancing up at him he looked down at her with a heated look. She felt a blush warm her face and looked over to find Alani grinning at her. Kahale watched her with a guarded look on his face, searching to see if she truly were happy. Finding what he was searching for he smiled slowly and nodded to her. She found Honi's eyes and pressed herself against Jacob seeing the anger and hurt there.
"Seriously, Hillary?" he asked sharply. "After everything?" he couldn't seem to finish his sentence he was so upset.
"Honi, please don't," she said sadly.
He stepped forward and Hillary felt Jacob tense. The entire pack was on edge now. Kahale immediately noticed the change in the atmosphere and pulled his brother back. They shared a glance and Honi stormed back to the rental vehicle, leaving Kahale and Alani stranded at the Black's house.
"Well that was awkward," Alani said weakly. "We thought he'd be okay, Hillary. I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize for the idiot," Kahale said sharply. "He's responsible for his own actions. He knows that she doesn't return his feelings and never has. I tried to tell him that if he couldn't handle being here that he shouldn't come."
Jacob felt a growl rumble in his chest and Hillary elbowed him in the gut. He glanced down at her and saw her wince a bit. He gently took her elbow and checked it. Grinning at her, he pulled her back in and kissed her forehead.
"I can see that you and Jacob have," Alani struggled for the right thing to say.
"He pulled his head from his ass and realized what he was missing," Kahale said with a smirk. "Lucky he made his move when he did, Honi was all for coming here and convincing her to come back to Hawaii."
Hillary felt Jacob tense, but saw the teasing, playful gaze of Kahale's eyes. She tried to stifle the giggles, but they erupted from her uncontrollably. She and Rachel shared a glance and broke out in a fit of giggles. Rachel had her own experience of a past flame showing up begging her to come back after she had returned to La Push. It drove Paul nearly insane when it had happened.
Jacob growled softly in her hair. "I'm not sure what's so funny," he murmured in her ear.
Hillary grinned up at him and kissed his nose before stepping out of his arms. Alani looked over the group of shirtless males appreciatively. She caught Hillary's eye with a grin.
"So, what the Hell do they feel the males here?" Alani asked.
Hillary laughed throatily, causing Jake's gut to clench in response. She met his eye playfully and walked to loop her arm through Alani's. She winked at the pack and turned to her friend.
"Let's just call it good genetics," she said with a smile.
Jacob grinned wolfishly and winked at Hillary. The rest of the pack boomed with laughter. Alani met Embry's gaze and gave him a shy smile. Perhaps coming for a visit was just what she needed. It was somewhat awkward for her and Kahale, but they were adjusting back to being friends. Things just hadn't been clicking for some time. For some reason she couldn't explain she felt a pull to come here, to see Hillary. When she expressed her decision to come for a visit, the twins immediately jumped at the chance.
A couple of hours later they all found themselves around a large bonfire in Billy's backyard. Hillary was sitting between Jake's legs. Kahale sat to her right and Alani sat to her left. Embry sat beside Alani and was talking to her quietly. Kahale was talking to Quil, who was doing his damnedest to keep him occupied for Embry once they found remembered the pair had recently broken up.
Hillary leaned back into Jacob's strong chest and watched the flames of the fire dance. Jake kissed her temple and wrapped his arms around her, breathing in the scent that was uniquely her. There was a faint hint of lavender, jasmine, and home. He felt her sink further into his embrace and relished the feeling of having her in his arms.
Hillary looked around the fire and felt a slight pang of guilt. Honi had left and Sam and Emily hadn't joined. She would have to find Honi later and talk to him. There were also the groups of two and three that came and went throughout the day for their shifts on patrol. Sighing, she went back to watching the fire and enjoying the company of her friends and being home. It really was good to be home.