Chapter Six: I'm Off To La Push. If I Don't Come Back At Noon, My Sister Killed Me
When I was out of view, I hid my shoes in a hollow tree and tied my clothes into a bundle. I tied the bundle up with a cord attached to my leg. I phased and ran toward my former home. When our dad died, Rachel got the house. I didn't want it because I wouldn't be staying in the area and Rachel was. She lived there with her husband, and my former pack mate, Paul and their kids. They had a daughter, Emma, who was fifteen and a son, Billy, who was twelve. Billy was named after mine and Rachel's dad. He looks a lot like his grandfather.
When I was half a mile from the house, I phased back to human and put my clothes back on. It didn't take long to get to the front yard. It was so familiar. I grew up in that house. It was the house Bella and I had spent long, lazy afternoons in during what she calls her personal dark ages when Edward had left her to give her a normal life. There was the garage we spent hour working on our bikes and my old car. I sold the car before I left but I think the bike is still in there. Not much has changed to this place.
Billy was there in the yard, raking leaves. He was whistling a cheerful tune I didn't recognize. I paused to watch him in his carefree adolescence. Sometimes I miss being a kid; the kid I was before the wolf gene kicked in. I hoped he would never go through that but I don't think it will happen. In about two years, that happy, carefree kid would probably be a wolf roaming around in the woods and wondering what the hell happened to him. Poor kid. I hate to think of that.
He looked up after a minute and saw me. "Uncle Jake!" he shouted and dropped the rake. He ran over to me and threw his arms around my waist. I wrapped my arm around his neck and scrubbed my knuckles into his head.
"Hey kid. Long time no see. How's it been?" I asked him. Billy wrenched himself out of my hold and moved to stand in front of me. He was still small and wiry. His frame was very similar to mine when I was that age.
"Yeah it has been a long time. What brings you by?" he asked me with a smile.
"You caught me. I need to get something from here. Is your mom home?" I explained.
"Sure, sure. She's in the kitchen cooking lunch. Are you going to stick around for that?" Billy asked with hope in his eyes.
"Yeah, I guess I could spare the time to eat lunch with my family." His eyes lit up at that. I ruffled his hair as I walked pat him to the house. I didn't bother to knock as I opened the door; it was partially my house too and I was used to just letting myself in. Rachel was standing at the stove stirring a pot. It smelled really good.
She heard me close the door and thought I was Billy so she shouted, "young man, you had better be done with those leaves. I told you not to come back in until they are taken care of." She didn't turn away from the stove as she shouted that. I smiled. Rachel hadn't changed much since the last time I saw her.
"I think thirty-six is a little too old for me to be called a young man." I said, laughing. She jumped at the sound of my voice. Rachel turned around with the spoon still in her hand. When she saw me, she smiled and came to hug me.
Rachel pulled away and hit me with the spoon saying, "Why don't you visit more often? Do you know how much Billy looks up to you? You need to spend more time with your niece and nephew." Rachel looked irritated and was prodding me with the spoon roughly.
"Ok, ok. If I promise to spend the entire day here tomorrow, will you stop yelling at me?" I asked her.
She looked at me strangely and said, "Why don't you spend the day here today?" Damn it! I was hoping she would be satisfied with tomorrow and not ask for today.
"I'm sorry, sis. I can't today." I told her. She was angry now.
"Why did you come today if you weren't planning on staying? I have half a mind to throw you out of my house." She was pretty pissed.
I sighed and explained, "I need to meet Nessie and the others at noon. I'm here until then. It's her birthday and I need to get something I left here. I need the ring." Rachel stared at me for a second.
"So those vampires get more time with you than your own family? Are they more important to you than we are? I cant believe-" she shouted angrily at me before I put my hand over her mouth to silence her.
"Rachel, my family is important to me. But Nessie is my number one priority. I need the ring because I am going to ask her to marry me today." I told her, keeping my hand over her mouth as I spoke. Her face lost the red tint it had before as she began to understand.
Rachel moved my hand to speak, "oh. Well, in that case, congratulations. Sit down and make yourself comfortable. I'll go get the ring for you. Paul and Emma will be back soon. Are you staying for lunch?" she moved toward the back of the house. Paul had added an extra bedroom and bathroom just before Billy was born. Rachel headed to that bedroom.
"Yeah, sure. Thanks, I was hoping you would feed me." I called after her as I sat down in a chair at the table.
"Why didn't you bring Nessie with you? I always like chatting with her and Bella. By the way, how are they?" she called as she shuffled around in her room.
"Nessie and Bella are both fine. They are spending time with the rest of the family. I haven't proposed to Nessie yet. I just told her I had to get her birthday present from you." I explained. She was walking she was walking back into the kitchen now, carrying a small, black jewelry box.
"Here it is. When are you going to propose?" she asked as she took a seat across from me at the table. Rachel set the box on the table in front of me. I grabbed it and put it in my pocket.
"Thanks. I'm going to do it at the same time and in the same place I imprinted on her. 3:08pm in the Cullen's living room." I told her.
"Oh, that is really sweet. Please bring her here tomorrow so we can celebrate." Rachel crowed.
"Sure, sure. Nessie would-" I said before I was interrupted.
"Honey, we're back!" Paul shouted from the door. Obviously he had not seen me yet because he moved instantly to Rachel's side and kissed her.
"Paul, we have a visitor." Rachel tittered nervously.
"Uncle Jake!" Emma squealed as she ran to me. I stood up and hugged her.
"Hey, baby doll." I said before planting a kiss on her cheek. I had always called Emma baby doll because she looked as small and sweet as a doll.
"I missed you a lot." She said and then looked around. "Hey, where's Nessie?"
"She's with her family. But we will both be spending the day here tomorrow."
"Yay! I can't wait to see her." Emma had a large smile on her face. She was only five years younger that Nessie and they were really good friends.
"Hey Jake. I thought I smelled a vampire." Paul joked.
"Ha ha. No vampires in this house." I said and punched his arm.
"Sure. I can still smell traces of wolf under the vampire stench. How are the Cullens anyway?" Paul was curious if they were all here.
"Everyone is fine. There are sixteen vampires total at the Cullen house. That isn't including Nessie." I told him.
"Sixteen? Who are the other eight?" Paul wanted to know. He knew that the first eight were the Cullens.
"The five Denali's and the three Amazonians are here." I told him. "Everyone is here to celebrate Nessie's birthday."
"I suppose that's why you are here too." Paul said with a scowl. He didn't like the idea of so many vampires down the road or that I was in league with them but he was trying to be nice about it.
"That and other reasons." I replied, squeezing Emma. I didn't want him to know my real reason for being here, not yet.
"Lunch will be ready in ten minutes. Paul, will you go check on Billy?" Rachel said from the stove.
"Sure, honey." Paul said and went outside.
"Uncle Jake, come see the painting I entered in the art fair last spring. It took second place." Emma said excitedly and started pulling me to her room.
"Oh, we have an artist in the family, huh?" I commented and followed her.
The painting was a wolf, alone on a mountain, howling at a silver moon. The wolf was big and had russet colored fur. It was me.
"You were my inspiration for this, uncle Jake. I started this after the last time I saw you as a wolf. I'd like to sketch as a wolf if you'd let me." Emma stared at me to see how I would react.
"Sure, baby doll. Tomorrow you can." I told her and smiled. " I really like the painting. I'm flattered." She smiled widely up at me.
"Lunch is ready!" Rachel called. The five of us sat down together and Rachel served us all homemade tomato soup and bread filled with ham and cheddar cheese. It was really good. It had been a long time since I had eaten anything besides raw animal meat. And even longer since I ate at a table.
While we ate, we talked about things that had happened since the last time we were all together. We told stories and caught up on each others' lives. It was great to see them all again. I had missed them all more than I realized.
I looked at the clock and nearly swore. It was 11:48am.
"Oh man. I'm sorry but I gotta go. I promise I'll be back with Nessie tomorrow at nine." I said as I stood up. I shook hands with Paul then hugged Rachel, Emma, and Billy. I ran out of the house, pulling my shirt off as I went. I turned back to the house and waved at them before heading into the trees.