Chapter Five

"Well, this is as good as it's going to get."

I'm eying myself in my bedroom mirror. I have no idea what people wear to bonfires- the last time I went to anything that could remotely be considered at party, I was a junior in college, and I wore a leather miniskirt with a sequined tube top, and something tells me that wouldn't be appropriate for tonight. I've settled on dark wash skinny jeans and a black tank top. I slip on my black knee-high leather boots. I let my hair fall to my shoulders in its natural ringlets. I decide to grab my garnet leather jacket in case it gets chilly. Even though it's summertime I'm learning that hot just isn't a temperature that exists in Washington.

"Max, are you ready yet?" I call down the hallway. Max emerges from his room and I'm surprised to find I'm happy with his clothing choices. He's wearing khaki pants and a red flannel shirt. I nod proudly. "Make sure you grab a jacket, baby."

He nods and disappears back to his room. I check my reflection one more time. Why do you care so much about looking nice? I scold myself. But I already know the answer: I am crazily attracted to Seth. And why wouldn't I be? He's extremely handsome. Just sideways glance from him renders me unable to concentrate on anything. He's a cop, which leads me to believe he's got at least some intelligence. And on top of that, he's so sweet and sensitive. He seems almost like he's attuned to Max and me- he understood and accepted Max before he knew anything about him.

And yet- I feel like there's more to it. I consider Will to be the only man I've ever loved. But the feelings I get just thinking about Seth blow my former feelings out of the water. Why is that? There is something more to it and I want to know what it is.

I hear a knock at the door. Just like a few nights ago Max exclaims, "He's here!" and he is pounding down the stairs. This time he doesn't wait for me to open the door. I hear him swing the door open and say to Seth, "I hope the fire's gonna be big."

Seth chuckles. "You know what? I bet it's going to be huge."

Once I'm at the top of the stairs I cough quietly to get the boys' attention. Seth widens his eyes when he sees me. "Wow, Andy, you look incredible."

I blush while I walk down the rest of the stairs. Seth, of course, looks amazing again. He's got on jeans and a dark green v-neck shirt. It still surprises me how much he towers over me. And how nervous I feel when he's around me. I clear my throat while I do my best to clear my thoughts. "Ready to go?"

Seth answers by offering his arm to me, which I take gladly. On the way out the door I grab the cookies I made for the event. I knew I'd feel weird showing up without food, so I made a couple dozen peanut butter cookies so I'd feel like I was contributing. We stroll to his car- a modest green pickup truck- with Max following quietly behind us. Since riding in a vehicle is involved he's brought his iPod, and he's already plugged in, ignoring us. I help strap him into a seatbelt in the backseat and then I'm buckling myself in. Seth, being a complete gentleman, is holding the door open until my seatbelt is on. Then he shuts it and walks to his side. At first we're riding in silence, me enjoying the familiar hum of a truck. My dad had an old truck when I was a kid and I was deathly attached to it. I bawled like a baby when he finally traded it in for a new car.

Seth breaks the silence. "I should warn you," he begins reluctantly. "My friends…are rambunctious. And obnoxious. And loud? But I swear they're pretty cool when you look past all of that."

I laugh. "Well, with that winning endorsement on your part I don't know how I couldn't love them." He laughs too, but nervously. I think he's actually worried about what I'm going to think, and part of me warms at that thought. I rest a hand on his arm gently and he jumps. "I bet they're great Seth," I say, trying to reassure them.

"Well, you're about to find out."

I live close to the reservation. So in no time Seth is turning off the road and riding on gravel. It's still dusk outside so I can see we're at a beach. But not in the traditional sense; instead of sand there are stones lining the ocean. There are more people than I expected, close to twenty in total unloading cars and setting up tables. Seth wasn't kidding when he said there were a bunch of them having a bonfire.

Seth shuts the car off and I turn towards Max, who has pulled off his headphones and is eyeing me. "Max, I need you to do something for me." He's still eyeing me, now warily. "Let's leave the iPod in the car, okay? Let's try to hang out with the other kids."

He gives me such a skeptic look, I swear it makes him look years older. "What if they don't like elephants."

I want to groan. Elephants are Max's favorite animal, and that is what spurred on his zoology obsession. Before I can answer Seth comes to the rescue. "Hey, you know what? There's a girl here named Claire. She's eleven now and you know what her favorite animal in the whole world is? An elephant."

Max considers this for a moment. Then he stuffs his iPod into the back pocket of Seth's seat. "Okay. Let's go."

I eye Seth gratefully while we walk towards everyone on the beach. "You're the best," I whisper lowly.

He grins. "He's a good kid."

Once we get closer I am mobbed by a group of people. I meet Sam, a somberly-faced man who is married to Emily, the beautiful woman with three long scars that begin on one side of her forehead and continue down until they disappear under her shirt. Max is there for that introduction and the eye contact he gives her is startling. "Why do you have those scratches?" he bluntly asks her.

I am going to die of mortification. Before I can reprimand Max, Emily crouches to his level and smiles. Her smile lights up her entire face, even though the side with the scars has a permanent droop. "Well sweetie, a bear came up to me one day and hit me right in the face."

Max cocks his head to the side. "That's really cool," he decides. "Was it a grizzly bear? Or a black bear? You probably got too close to its babies. That really makes them mad." And with that he's running off towards the ocean.

I turn to apologize to Emily but she is smiling sadly at me. "I'm so glad someone just asked me what happened. Right up front. Without the pity or the horror." Thank God that didn't upset her.

The introductions continue. I meet Jared, a giant man- like everyone here seems to be- with a baby face, and his wife Kim, who clings to his side and smiles shyly at me. Paul is just about the scariest looking man I have ever seen. He seems to have a permanent scowl plastered to his face. But his girlfriend, Arden, punches his arm. "Stop looking so mean," she chides him. She rolls her eyes at me. "Honestly, it's like dealing with a five year-old sometimes," she mutters with a wink. Paul glares at her but it melts so quickly to a smile that I can practically feel his devotion to her.

Seth pulls me away from them and I meet Embry, who stays quiet but shyly waves, and Quil. Quil is boisterous and happy and I instantly like him. "Seth mentioned you had a son, Andy. Is he here?" Quil asks.

I look around for Max. He's at the edge of the ocean, probably searching for marine life. "I do, his name is Max," I reply, gesturing in Max's direction.

Quil nods. "Hey Claire!" A little girl, who looks a bit older than Max, comes running to his side. As soon as she reaches Quil she clings to his waist, eyeing me curiously. Quil crouches to her level. "This is Andy, Seth's friend. She brought her son Max over by the water. Think you can show him around a little?"

She narrows her eyes. "Only if we can get ice cream after the bonfire."

Quil shakes his heading, still smiling. "It'll be way past your bedtime for ice cream. But we'll get some tomorrow, I promise."

Claire considers this for a moment then nodes. "Okay, sure." And with that she goes running towards Max. Please let Max tolerate her, I plead to myself.

Meanwhile I grin at Quil while he's standing up. "She seems like a handful," I laugh. "Is she your daughter?"

All of the sudden Quil and Seth both look very uncomfortable. "Um, no…she's Emily's niece," Quil mumbles. "I just babysit her sometimes."

Before I can wonder what I've said wrong, I hear a female's voice behind us. "So, this is who my brother can't seem to shut up about…"

I turn and face possibly the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. She's tall, almost as tall as all of the men here, like an Amazon. Her face has the kind of exotic beauty you'd see in couture magazines. Her ebony hair is cropped to just above her shoulders. She eyes me up and down with a sly smile, then sticks out her hand. "I'm Leah."

His sister is here…I was not expecting that. And before I can recover from that shock enough to shake her hand, another woman joins us, and she doesn't even have to say who she is because I can see her resemblance to Leah. "Leah dear, I hope you're being nice. I'm Sue, Seth's mother." She smiles wistfully at me and I swear her eyes are misty. "You are just so beautiful, honey," she says, her voice just above a whisper. "Absolutely beautiful."

Seth interrupts after that. "Mom, stop being so weird." He smiles sheepishly in my direction.

I've recovered enough from the fact that I'm meeting Seth's family to shake their hands and smile as warmly as I can. "It's so nice to meet the both of you. I'm Andy."

"Oh we know that," Sue says with a wink. "Seth can hardly stop talking about you!"

"Mom!" Seth looks like he wants to sink in the ground. I'm feeling that way too as my face heats up.

Leah snorts. "Seriously, he really hasn't shut up."

I laugh to hide how uncomfortable I feel. We continue to exchange pleasantries but the whole time my mind is in another place. Sure, Sue and Leah seem nice. I can tell Leah has a sassiness that I would love. But…who introduces someone to their family so quickly? I don't even know if this is a date. And Seth doesn't know me at all. For all he knows, I'm completely psychotic. Why do I suddenly feel like I'm in the middle of some kind of crazy family gathering and I'm the only one who doesn't actually belong here?

Finally Sue glances to where tables have been set up. "Well, I'm going to go help set up the food. And Charlie should be here any minute now with the potato salad I asked him to pick up." She takes my plate of cookies gratefully. "You are so sweet for making these, Andy. I'll go set everything up. Please, help yourself to anything to drink!" She gives me one more wistful smile, and then she walks away.

Leah stays. She smirks at Seth. "Seth, I have a feeling Andy doesn't realize just how obsessed you are with her…"

Seth glowers at her, and for as cute as he is, he can look downright scary. "Go to hell, Leah."

She laughs and trots away. Seth smiles sheepishly at me, his cheeks pink. "Leah…likes to mess with me a lot. She didn't mean that. Can I get you anything to drink?"

Everything inside of me tells me to give Seth the benefit of the doubt. So I decide, for now, to push my concerns aside. I rest my hand on his arm briefly. "I would love a beer."

Seth jogs off towards the coolers and I watch while Jared and Paul stack firewood inside a pit. It's good they're starting the fire up now- it's nearly dark. By the time Seth returns the fire is roaring. Even though we aren't very close to it I can still feel the heat of the fire radiating onto me. Seth hands me a bottle and I take it gratefully. I swallow back the beer and let it warm me up. And calm me down. "There sure are a lot of you here," I comment, looking around at everyone. People seem to be paired off completely. Only a few of the men are without a date, and they are standing in a group together, laughing and pushing each other. To my delight Max is crouched by the fire with Claire. They seem to be in deep discussion about something. Probably elephants, I think with amusement. I keep scanning the crowd until I see Sue standing with a stiff-looking man in a police uniform. "Do you work with him?" I ask, gesturing towards the man.

Seth nods. "That's my stepdad, and the police chief. Charlie. We've known him since I was little. He and my dad were buddies. They used to go fishing with Billy Black- that man over there in the wheelchair- on the weekends."

"Where's your Dad now?"

Seth coughs and looks down, moving pebbles around with his foot. "He died nine years ago."

I blink, shocked. "And then Charlie married your mom?"

Seth shrugs. "Yeah. I know it seems really weird but he makes her happy. I think at first they both tried to fight how they were feeling, but when you find someone you love, you should be with them, you know? They got married a couple of years ago."

I take another swig of beer and nod. "You know what? I think that's great." I pause, then continue. "Sorry if I was being abrasive just now. I was being nosy. I don't know what came over me." I chuckle awkwardly and then I'm serious again. "And I'm sorry about your dad."

"Hey, it's okay. And I don't mind answering your questions." He gives me a soft smile. "I like talking to you."

I find myself smiling back. I can't even help it. His smile is contagious and I don't mind it. Actually, I like it. I really do.

Everyone begins congregating and lining up at the tables of food. Seth holds out his hand. "Come on, you can save us a spot and I'll get food for the three of us." I interlace my fingers through his. His hand is huge, the ends of his fingers just grazing my wrist, and rough with calluses. He's warm- hot really- and it makes me feel like I'm in the sun for the first time in years.

Now where did that thought come from? There I go again, feeling like a twelve year-old with her first crush. Every time I'm around this man I feel like I lose part of myself, the part that's been jaded by the past ten years, the part that wants to be suspicious of people's intentions. I feel like I'm climbing higher and higher, and the adrenaline is leaving me breathless.

Seth leads me to a spot near the fire and helps me get settled. Then he jogs off towards the food. I lose myself for a moment, staring into the flames, until Max startles me when he plops breathlessly to the ground next to me.

"We played," he puffs between breaths, "hide and seek."

I smile and ruffle his hair. "Do you like playing with Claire?"

He's staring at the fire. "I guess so."

I don't press the topic. He played with someone and that's enough to have me beaming. Within a few minutes Seth is sitting next to me, balancing four plates on his arms. He extends one arm to me and I take the two plates off of it- each with a hot dog and some potato salad. I give one to Max and then I'm gaping at Seth's plate. One has hotdogs piled on it. I count ten. Ten hotdogs! The other plate has to have about a pound of potato salad. I shake my head at him. "You're going to eat yourself sick."

Seth sets his plate on the ground and pats his stomach, poking it out a bit. "This is a bottomless pit."

I laugh and dig into my own food. Soon we're joined by Embry, Quil, Claire, and Leah. Everyone is teasing each other and laughing and I find it easy to join in. This is like one big family, and I'm happy to be a part of it, even if it's just for tonight. Max stays quiet but he doesn't look uncomfortable or tense, like he normally would be around groups like this. Every now and then Claire cajoles a few words out of him. She's bossy and I can't help but love it.

Once everyone is done eating the conversation begins to die down. Billy Black sits in his wheelchair where everyone can see him, and all the attention seems to turn on him. Sue and Charlie sit right next to him.

"It makes me happy to see all of us together on these nights," he begins. "It reminds me how sacred our bond is. We are Quileute. Our history, our stories, run in our blood, deep in our veins, and that binds us together."

Everyone hums their assent. Billy continues talking. He begins telling us all the history of the tribe and their greatest chiefs. It's clear as he begins that everyone has heard these stories before by the way they nod along to his words.

Between his stories and the fire roaring beside me, I feel like I'm in a trance. Maybe we all are. Everyone is silent, hypnotized by what Billy is saying. He tells us myths of tribe warriors who can change into beasts that destroy their enemies, the Cold Ones. I know they're just stories but I can't help feeling uneasy. The way he describes the tribe's enemies makes a coldness seep into me, almost like a dread going into my bones. I shiver.

And then I'm warm again. Seth has scooted so his side is pressed against mine, and he leans on an arm that's just behind my back. I lean into him, comforted by the contact. I close my eyes while Billy finishes the tribal legends.

And then someone is gently shaking my shoulder. I groggily open my eyes and see Seth smiling down at me. "Hey," he murmurs. "Let's get you home."

I sit upright and then stand, stretching and stifling a yawn. "I guess my late nights doing paperwork must be getting to me," I say with a laugh. "Where's Max?"

"He's already at the truck. I told him I might have to carry you over there," he teases.

I roll my eyes and shove him playfully. A throat clears behind me and I turn, coming face-to-face with Leah. I swallow. She is an intimidating woman when she's staring you down. But then a smile graces her features. "You seem pretty cool. Take care of my brother, okay? He's pretty helpless." Seth shoves her and she grabs him in a headlock. They both laugh and Leah jogs away.

We stroll hand-in-hand to Seth's truck, taking our time. Neither of us talk; I think we're both enjoying the peaceful night sounds. Like Seth said, Max is waiting patiently by the truck. As soon as we all climb in Max is plugged in. I chuckle softly at him. He looks happy. He wouldn't say it, maybe he wouldn't even understand how he felt, but I think he enjoyed tonight.

Seth has turned the radio on and we listen to it in silence until we reach the house. I turn to Max and hand him my keys. "Go ahead and head up for bed," I tell him. He nods and runs towards the door. Seth and I follow him to the door, but more slowly. When we reach the door, I face him. "Tonight was amazing," I tell him. "I had no idea the tribe had such a…colorful history."

He laughs but for some reason I feel that he looks guarded. "Yeah, those stories are pretty crazy, huh?"

I lay my hand on his arm and he jumps again at the contact. "Thank you for inviting us, Seth. I had a great time. And I know Max did too."

He looks nervous. "I'm glad you had a good time. You know…everyone there loved you. If you ever needed anything? It's not just me you could go to. Quil, Leah, Emily…any of them. They would be there for you in a second." He pauses and I know he has more to say. "Andy. I would really like to take you out to dinner." He shuffles his feet again. "On a date. I would really like that."

Of course I would love it too. I feel my heart pounding at the question. But I don't want him to know how eager I feel, so I eye him playfully. "You know, usually people usually go on the date, then meet the family."

Seth's eyes widened. "You mean tonight? Geez, Andy, I didn't even think you would think of it like that." He laughs and rubs his face with his hand. "I hope that didn't completely freak you out."

I can't help but laugh. "It…did at first, I'm not going to lie," I admit. "But don't worry, I'm pretty tough." I wink.

He releases a breath he must have been holding. "Good. So…can I call you tomorrow? Make a plan for dinner?"

I look in his eyes and that lost feeling finds me again. "I would like that a lot," I murmur.

Seth nods. He seems just as lost as I am. He takes my hands and squeezes them. "Goodnight, Andy."

Once I'm inside my house I lean against the door dizzily. I know a goofy smile is plastered on my face. I'm feeling like the twelve year-old with a crush again.

But you know what? I don't care.