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So when are you gonna tell her?

I didn't answer right away, concentrating on the trail I was on. The redheaded leech had taken off, but that didn't mean we didn't do regular sweeps just in case. I had a feeling she would come back.

I dunno, I answered Embry. I'm not sure how she'll take it.

Pft. What do you mean? You love the girl. There's no reason for her to be upset by that. I've seen the way she looks at you. That pleased me, but the feeling went away quickly.

I can think of a reason, I said darkly. An image of Cullen popped into my head before I could stop it. I growled involuntarily.

I don't think he's coming back, Embry said quietly. I was glad the rest of the pack was staying out of the conversation—I knew Sam agreed with Embry, and Paul thought I was being stupid as well.

You never know. She misses him. While I hated admitting that, was it was obviously true. Bella had been happier—she smiled now, and she looked more human than she had when she first came to me. But as desperately as I wished for it to not be true, she loved Cullen.

Yeah, but… I dunno, man, I think she might love you too.

I snorted. We're friends. That's all she sees right now.

That might be true, Embry allowed. I could tell he didn't believe it.

This morning had been weird. The bloodsucker kept looking at me with a mixture of disgust and curiosity. Bella had gushed over the return of her friend, of course. The leech said she would stay for a day or two, which pleased Bella. I was glad she was happy, although I didn't know what would happen when the leech left. Maybe I could convince the bloodsucker to come back and visit for awhile—Bella would like that.

I stayed around the house for awhile, a little leery of leaving it while the vampire was there. But eventually it came time to patrol, and Bella wouldn't let me persuade her to stay with Emily.

"I was around vampires for a long time before I started hanging out with you," she reminded me in a pacifying tone. I couldn't argue with that. And Charlie was fine with the leech staying there—ecstatic, actually. I was amazed, to say the least.

Grudgingly, I left, with the knowledge that the vampire would be there when I got back—Bella had asked her to stay the night. I was going to go there after I was done patrolling, just to make sure everything was okay, though. I hated leaving her.

Focus on this, Jake, and then you can go, Sam said privately. I was grateful for the way he was taking this in stride. He knew exactly how I felt—except, of course, for the fact that he never had to deal with the knowledge that the girl he loved was in love with a parasite.

Leave it to me to make things complicated.

I knocked on the door, shaking the rain out of my hair and clothes now that I was under the roof of the front porch (kinda funny how many doglike habits you pick up after running on all fours a few hours every day). Charlie answered, looking pleased as always to see me.

"Hey, Jake," he greeted warmly. "She's in the kitchen. I'm under explicit instructions to stay out of there while she finishes dinner." He rolled his eyes a little.

I stepped in the house, sniffing a bit. Oh, God. Lasagna. Kicking off my shoes by the door, I followed my nose toward the kitchen, eyes wide in amazement. It smelled delicious.

Bella turned around, hearing either my feet or my sniffing. She smiled.

"I hoped you might be here in time for dinner. I made two pans."

I adored this girl.

She opened the oven, checking the food. "Alice told Charlie she was going to her house to check on things, and that she had a big lunch." I had wondered how the leech was going to explain her lack of eating.

Bella grabbed a few potholders, carefully taking out the lasagna pans as I watched, wary of her lack of coordination. She set them on the counter over more potholders, then turned and sat across from me at the kitchen table. I glanced over at the lasagna, salivating a little. Bella giggled.

"Give it time to cool," she chastised me. I grinned.

"So how was … you know." I shrugged, smiling a bit.

"Boring. Nothing out of the ordinary."

"Boring," she muttered. "I've never seen someone so determined to get into trouble." I grinned—she just didn't understand the rush you get out of running as fast as we can.

Twenty minutes later, Bella got sick of me staring at the lasagna and called Charlie in to eat. I moaned as I took the first bite, earning a proud smile from Bella. Charlie grinned.

"Isn't she an awesome cook?" I nodded, my mouth stuffed full of cheese, pasta, and meat sauce.

"I don't let Charlie cook anymore," Bella told me. The chief nodded.

"Bella is my savior."

I finished my first bite of food, then looked at Bella in adoration. "Thank you," I said sincerely. Charlie barked out a laugh.

"Bells is a smart girl. Best way to get to a man's heart is through his stomach." Bella blushed, looking down into her plate as I grinned.

A/N: Relatively short chapter, sorry. More coming soon—thanks for all the reviews, and keep 'em comin'!