Chapter 17 – Road Trip!
Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, New Moon, or Eclipse. I just like having fun with the characters and world the wonderful Stephenie Meyer created.
A/N: Sorry this was delayed - a combination of chronic illness, head cold, specialists, and Halloween prep has taken over my life. I wish I could escape into a story!
But YAY! 3/3 stories updated today!
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Jacob POV:
Intellectually I know that it makes the most sense for me to sit in the back of the car with Mystic - dogs get along together. Plus, she and I needed sleep and the other two didn't. finally, Edward could drive FAST, and I couldn't drive that fast.
However, it felt like the longest, most deranged road trip ever. I used Mystic as an excuse to stop so that I could get out of the car and get a Coke or some food. I should've packed more food - I forgot that Edward and Bella wouldn't need to stop, so I felt guilty asking for a trip through a fast food place, anything that took us off the road to get to Utah.
Edward's driving made it difficult to appreciate the scenery. I did see enough from Washington to Utah to know that I'd like to drive through again. Once we settled in, we'd only be an hour (the way normal people drive) from Colorado, and I had heard a lot of cool stuff about Colorado.
I'm so nervous about this! I know I have the Alpha traits, but I've never been the Alpha! I've always left that to Sam. Heck, I was happy to leave that to Sam! Now I need to:
A: Teach a pack of new werewolves how to control themselves, especially how not to phase at random and how to keep themselves from scaring the cattle
B: Teach that pack of werewolves how to fight
C: Teach the werewolves that not all vampires are evil, and I'm not a traitor because I hang out with a werewolf/vampire hybrid and a "vegetarian" vampire
D: Teach the werewolves about red-eyed vamps and amber-eyed vamps.
E: Kill the red-eyed vamps
That sounds like an exciting to do list. yeesh. I feel overwhelmed already. I think I'll sleep while I can...
I was really glad that Edward had left my thoughts alone - before this whole thing with Bella had blown up, he had always made snide comments about my thoughts. Now he only said something when a thought was directed at him or when I was in wolf form. It was nice. Of course, I wasn't being snide any more, so that was probably a part of it.
I woke up a few hours later, still feeling overwhelmed, but at least I was well-rested and overwhelmed rather than sleep-deprived and overwhelmed.
"Hey, you're awake!" Bella said, smiling at me.
"Yeah. I think I needed that sleep. I've got far too much to do when we get to Utah." I replied.
"Sorry to tell you this, Jake, but we are in Utah. You've still got some time, though, the reservation is on the opposite side of the state." Edward said.
"I'm sure you heard my thoughts before I fell asleep, Edward. Any ideas on what I should do?" I said, I couldn't quite believe I was asking him for advice.
"Let's review them so Bella can think about them too. She's pretty smart." Edward said. Both of us looked at her with goofy smiles. She whacked us both on the head with a map.
"Get a room, guys!" Bella teased. "But yeah, tell me what's in your head, and maybe we can help."
So I explained problems A-E to Bella and Edward. Even if they didn't help me at all, it felt good to share the problem with someone else.
"I wouldn't worry about problem E right now." Bella said. "Edward and I can tell them they have awakened a group of werewolves - just knowing that might get them to leave the area, which would would stop new werewolves from cropping up."
"Good point, love." Edward said. "I'd work on A & B first. They need to stay away from the cattle or the reservation's livelihood could be jeopardized. Since Bella doesn't seem like a werewolf nor a vampire, she might be able to get a job with Mystic helping with the cattle. She could wolf occasionally to help you, too - both to protect the cattle and to teach the new pups how to fight."
"Thanks, guys. that does help a lot. You're both right - I can't deal with everything at once, but if I work at them slowly, things will fall into place. I'm not that worried about Bella being near the res, she doesn't smell all vampy." I saw Edward roll his eyes at my word choice, but whatever. "But I'm not sure what we should do with you, Edward." I continued. "I don't want the new wolves to attack you, mostly for the sake of their own hide, but still..."
"Mostly?" Edward teased with a crooked smile. "Bella and I were talking about that. For right now it makes sense to get a house near the reservation, you and Bella can go back and forth to the res, but I stay put in the house, unless it's dark and people won't notice me. I hate to do it, but we need to do what's best for our little pack/coven. Having me show up right when they are preparing to do war with other vampires would be bad news. I don't really want to fight off a whole pack of new, over-enthusiastic werewolves. I can get out of the house for hikes and go hunting at night."
"It would be even better if we could find a house with a couple acres around it," Bella said. "That way we could have a little privacy, and no one would know if you were there or not."
"Let's see what's there when we look for a house." I said. Edward and Bella nodded, and the trip continued.
When we got close to Fort Duchesne, we pulled over at a rest stop, let everyone (including Mystic) stretch their legs, got some food for me to eat, and then I swapped seats with Edward.
Once we were moving again, I called Parker Sawock. "Hello, Mr. Sawock? This is Jacob Black calling."
"Hello Jacob. One moment." I could hear him crossing a room and shutting a door. "You're on your way, then?" he asked.
"Actually, I'm on Route 40, so I'm not too far away. I was able to reschedule that evening meeting so I could get down here as soon as I could."
"Thank goodness, young man! We are eagerly awaiting your arrival! When do you think you'll get here?" He sounded completely thrilled.
"Should be within the hour, if all goes well." I replied. I do need to know where to go when I get there, and where the local library is. My girlfriend wants to look for a house while I'm meeting with you." Bella's eyes brightened, and she smiled at me as she heard me call her my girlfriend. Edward didn't growl, so I took that as an improvement.
"If you take a right off 191, you'll go right through the center of Fort Duchesne. My office is in the town hall on your left. I'm the town clerk in addition to being a tribal elder. The library is across the street from the town hall. We're a small town, but we still have wireless internet in our library." He sounded very proud, so I guessed that this was a new development.
"That sounds perfect, sir. I look forward to meeting you." I clicked the phone shut, and we continued the monotonous drive.
Edward POV:
We have been lucky - since the sun has come up today, it's been overcast. Jacob wouldn't be able to pass Bella off as his girlfriend (and part of me ached to hear him call her that) if the sun had been out. As much as I disliked hiding for the beginning of our mission here in Utah, it did make sense. It had the added bonus that on the days Bella wasn't on the reservation with Jacob, she'd be staying in the house with me.
When Jacob called Bella his girlfriend on the phone, I could see her eyes light up, and her smile brighten her face. As if she knew that this would hurt me to hear, she snaked her hand behind her seat, and squeezed my knee, then held my hand. It was reassuring to have Bella want to ease my anxiety.
I knew how much Bella loved both of us, but I also knew that creating a life together wouldn't be easy. It was probably best that I would be looking for the vampires, and Jacob teaching the new pups, because if we were all just stuck in the house together we'd all go crazy.
Our road trip was almost over. Bella made sure she had Mystic's leash, and she grabbed an extra blanket to throw over me. It made sense to have extra blankets in a car with a dog. As we turned off the highway, I lowered myself onto the floor of the back seat and let Bella tuck in the blanket. Mystic seemed to find this amusing, and instantly sat on my chest, the silly dog.
"We're at the town hall," Bella whispered, and she took Mystic out of the car to take her for a quick walk before she went across to the library. All the windows were cracked a couple inches so Mystic could get air when she came back in. My job was to listen to what the local folks were saying while Bella looked for houses and Jacob met with the man from the Tribal Council.
Our road trip was over. Now to start our new lives together.
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A/N: Thanks for reading! Reviews make me so happy!
I'm going to see how far I can take this story before Halloween, my self-imposed deadline since I'm writing a novel in November. I'd like to have fun with the local werewolves and the vampire, but it will depend on what the next few days are like here.