Discliamer: SM owns Twilight

Ch12:Cookie Lockdown

Jacob maneuvered up a steep paved road, slowing when he spotted a large two story long cabin with a wraparound porch in a nearby clearing. Leah had given him the directions to her closet neighbors, Jared and Kim Walsh. If he had wanted to visit his neighbor, then he only had to walk about five feet to the next door apartment instead of getting into a vehicle and driving there.

He had found her unusually quiet and withdrawn after they had left the jewelry shop, and he wondered if she had been thinking about what it would have been like to exchange rings with her late fiancé instead of a stranger who had unceremoniously invaded not only her sanctuary, but also her life.

Jacob was always cognizant that Leah could order him to move out of her house if he put too much pressure on her. After all, she had moved in and then out of Sam Uley's apartment and into her own home. What he had longed to do was reveal who he was and why he was hanging out in the area.

He knew he was using her, using her to establish a cover and using her to pass the time when he would have been holed in a lodge watching television, reading or hiking while waiting for Embry call to contact him. What he didn't want to acknowledge was that he was using her body. Whenever they'd lie together he had wanted not to be Jacob Black, field supervisor. He wanted to become a pencil pushing bureaucrat until it came time for him to collect his government pension.

"Do you think we've picked up enough beer?"

Leah's dulcet voice broke into Jacob's musings. He gave her a quick glance. "Six cases of beer, a case of red and white wine and a dozen three liter bottles of soda is more than enough liquid beverage for a cookout for every weekend of the summer."

"Kim told me not to bring anything but I just couldn't show up ended handed."

Jacob turned into an area where sedans, SUVs and pickups were parked. He parked and shut off the engine. Shifting on his seat he gave Leah a long, penetrating stare. "You're impossible."

"What are you talking about?"

"Your friend tells you not to bring anything and you do just the opposite."

"That's what I call being capricious and prepared, because Kim is a local celebrity and their gatherings are nothing short of a pep rally."

"I'd say it's more like you being contrary. If things don't go your way or how you believe they should be then you try and correct it. Bend it to your will."

Her eyebrows shot up. "You're a fine one to talk, Jacob Black. You came to me at a supermarket under the guise you didn't know anything about cabbage. Then you have the balls to try and claim a dog that probably would have died if I hadn't operated on him. And don't forget you're living with me under the pretense we're—"

"I catch your drift Leah." Jacob interrupted. "And wrong choice of word. You could have said audacity instead of balls."

"I used the right word, Mr. Black, and you know it. You are ballsy."

"What I do know is that I can be a little heavy handed."

"Heavy handed," Leah repeated. "Do you realize how many times you have told me what I can and cannot say?"

He ran his fingers through her hair. "I'm sorry babe."

"Sure are until the next time." She looked at him pointedly.

Jacob unbuckled his seatbelt, lifting Leah effortlessly over the console where she sat half on and half off his lap. "I want you to stop me whenever I come at you sideways."

Staring up at him through her lashes, Leah bit back a smile. "Will it do any good?"

"You can always try," he teased, winking at her.

Instinctively, her body arched toward him, silently communicating how much she needed and wanted Jacob. She needed him to remind her that each time they lay together she was able to celebrate the essence of being born female. And, she wanted him because he made her feel safe, protected. Even if she were in one part of the house and he in another, she was able to feel his presence.

The exchange of rings the day before had affected her more than she had wanted. For a brief moment, she had fantasized it was Sam instead of Jacob who had slipped the ring on her finger. However, what she had found disturbing was she couldn't remember Sam's face. She had wanted to cry, but couldn't—not in public not when she would have to explain to Jacob why she hadn't been able to keep it together.

As an intern, she had survived the wrath of her supervisors and the many firsts that came with the intense training to become a medical doctor: delivering a baby, performing a tracheotomy and calling the time of death. The images were vividly imprinted on her brain like a permanent tattoo, yet the man she had promised to marry hadn't been dead a year and she couldn't remember his face.

Jacob buried his face in Leah's hair, inhaling the floral scent clinging to her soft curls. "What's the matter baby?"

"What makes you think anything is the matter?" she asked, answering his question with one of her own.

"You're shaking."

Leah knew she could lie to Jacob any more than she could continue to lie to herself. She had loved Sam when she wasn't in love with him. "Why can't I remember his face?" she said tearfully.

Jacob suddenly realized she was talking about her late fiancé. "Don't beat yourself up Leah. You not only went through medical trauma but also psychological distress. You saw two people murdered, not knowing whether you would be next. It's a miracle you hadn't blotted out everything that happened that night."

"You don't understand, Jacob. I wasn't in love with Sam. Did I love him? Yes. But not enough to set a wedding date, although I would continue to wear his ring. We would make love more when we didn't live together, and after I had moved out, I had unconsciously begun to withdraw from him physically and emotionally. What I hadn't wanted to do was accept it." She closed her eyes. "Sam knew, but was in denial. I had told myself we could continue the way it had been, working together and planning a future that would never come. He'd wanted to have children right away, and I wanted to wait. He didn't want a long engagement, but I kept throwing up roadblocks because deep down inside, I knew he wasn't the man I'd wanted to spend the rest of my life with."

"Do you think it would have been better if you hadn't survived, because then you wouldn't be burdened with unsubstantiated guilt?"

Despite the overwhelming feeling on confusion, Leah managed to smile. "You sound like my therapist."

"You didn't answer my question."

She shook her head. "No. Sam's mother came to see me during a period when I wasn't heavily sedated and grief had aged her appreciably. If it hadn't been for her voice, I wouldn't have recognized her. She kept repeating that parents weren't supposed to bury their children. Sam was her only child and she had looked forward to our marriage because she wanted grandchildren."

Jacob wanted to tell Leah that Sam had already made his mother a grandmother. The son Sam had sired at seventeen was now a twenty six year old father of two and that meant his mother was now a great grandmother.

"Did you ever think maybe Sam proposed marriage so that he would give his mother grandchildren?"

"No."

Leah had said no when it'd suddenly dawned on her that Sam was fixated with her having his child. It'd reached a point where she no longer trusted him to protect her and had her ob-gyn fit her for an intrauterine device. Even that had become irrelevant because their sex life went from sporadic to nonexistent.

She and Jacob pulled apart at the sound of an approaching vehicle. "Are you ready to go in?"

Jacob traced the delicate curve of her cheekbone with his finger. "Are you okay?"

Turning her face, Leah kissed his broad palm. "I'm wonderful."

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yes."

He got out and came around to help Leah, raising her left hand and kissing the band on her finger. "Let's go and meet your neighbors, Mrs. Black."

Still holding his hands, Leah led Jacob around to the rear of the house where a crowd had gathered. Many were sitting at picnic tables leading down to the lake, while others stood in line at an outdoor kitchen waiting for food and drink. Kim Walsh, not an award winning illustrator, had used her earning to expand what had become her dream house. Erected on a hill, the cabin's location—surrounded by ancient oak and towering pine trees—overlooked a lake.

"The woman wearing the red, white and blue striped bibbed apron is Kim. Her husband, Jared, is flipping burgers," Leah whispered.

"She's pregnant," Jacob said matter of factly.

"She's very pregnant, darling. That is why I've been knitting every chance I get to finish the blanket for the layette before she gives birth."

"When…" Jacob's words trailed off when he noticed a short squat man with a reddish beard and strawberry blond hair staring at Leah. The expression on the man's face was one he recognized immediately. It was adoration. "I think you have an admirer."

He didn't blame the man for staring at Leah because when she'd come down the stairs, he had found it almost impossible to take his eyes off her. A pair of cropped stretch jeans hugged her hips like second skin, and the red and white stripped stretch top with three quarter sleeves showed off her flat midsection and firm breasts. He had been tempted to ask her if she planned to wear a jacked but then realized Leah could possibly believe he was jealous. And a display of jealously meant he was becoming emotionally involved and that was something Jacob wanted to avoid at all cost.

"That's Kim's half-brother." Leah waved to the man gripping a long neck in one hand a burger in the other.

Kim Walsh turned when she heard a familiar feminine voice. A wide smile split her face. "Leah, you made it."

She smiled at the woman who always had a kind word and friendly smile for everyone she encountered. Kim, barely five foot, had a mass of dark brown tinted hair. Every inch of her face was covered with freckles. The women exchanged air kisses.

"I told you I wouldn't miss this."

Kim stared boldly behind the lenses of her sunglasses at the man with Leah. To say he was gorgeous was an understatement. There was something about his face that reminded her of Steven Strait.

"This is turning into a spectacle. Jared invited half of his high school graduating class and their families." Kim shook her hair.

Leah exchanged a knowing glance at Jacob. She hadn't bought too much. "I told you I was bringing a guest, but didn't tell you who he is because I wanted it to be a surprise. Jacob, this is our hostess, Kim Walsh. Kim, Jacob Black, my husband."

The expression on Kim Walsh's face was priceless when Leah introduced Jacob as her husband. The children's book illustrator opened and closed her mouth several times. She cradled her belly with both hands. "Omigosh! You're married!" Her expression changed again. This time it was a grimace.

"Are you all right?" Leah asked.

Kim nodded. "I'm good. Every once in a while I have a few contractions. It looks as if my daughter…oops! The sex of the baby has been a secret until now."

"Jacob and I promise to keep your secret. Won't you, darling?"

"Oh, yes. Of course," he replied quickly, extending a hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Kim. And congratulations on the baby."

Kim accepted his handshake. "Are you two planning on starting a family right away?"

"No."

"Yes."

Leah and Jacob had spoken in unison.

"Which is it?" Kim questioned, her gaze shifting from her friend to her new husband. "Yes or no?"

Jacob put his arm around Leah's waist, pulling her closer. "Leah wants to wait, but if it were up to me she would already be pregnant."

Reaching out Kim took Leah's free hand. "The girls are going to have a little chat, but not before I introduce you to my husband," she told Jacob.

Jacob nodded and dropped his arm. "I'm going to need a couple of strong arms to help me unload some liquid refreshment from my truck."

Kim glared at Leah. "I told you not to bring anything."

"Please, Kim. Do you realize how many people are here?" The rear of the property was quickly becoming more crowded with newcomers. Many of the benches at the picnic tables were filled and some guests were sitting under trees and a few had gone as far as the lake. A loud roar went up when a group of men arrived carrying audio equipment.

"Last year, everyone complained because we didn't play music, so this year we asked some of the guys Jared works with who deejay during their off time to bring their equipment."

"It's a good thing your closest neighbor is far enough away so you don't have to worry about them calling the police," Leah teased.

Kim winked at Leah. "That's the reason why I invited my neighbor, and if she were to call the police then her neighbor's husband would answer the call."

"Your husband is a police officer?" Jacob asked.

"He's a state trooper. Most of his close friends are law enforcement. Some are local and the others are state and federal."

Jacob followed Kim into the outdoor kitchen, his mind going into overdrive. When she had mentioned federal police, he wondered if he would recognize any of them, or if they would in turn recognize him.

Jared Walsh was taking orders as to the doneness of hamburgers, franks, sausages and steaks. The outdoor kitchen was magnificent with a double grill, burners, oven and smoker. It also contained a sub-zero fridge, sink and icemaker. Styrofoam chests were filled with a portable bar, and judging by the number of people lined up in front of it, the two bartenders were being kept very busy.

Kim tapped her husband's arm to garner his attention. "Babe, I would like you to meet Leah's husband."

Jared's green eyes grew wider in a deeply tanned face as he turned to stare at Jacob. His straight coal black hair was a vivid contrast to the emerald green orbs. His features clearly identified him as Native American.

"You and Leah are married?"

Jacob flashed a half smile. He knew Leah's friends would be shocked by the announcement because there was no doubt they knew and had probably met Sam Uley.

"Yes we are."

"Congratulations. I'd shake your hand, but if I take off the mitt, then I'm going to lose my momentum. I can tell you now that some of my buddies are going to be disappointed to hear she is no longer available. Most of them didn't like her fiancé and when we got the news that he had been killed during that hospital shootout they said all the proper words out of respect, but I for one thought he was a puffed up pain in the ass."

"I'm going to need some of your buddies so they can help me unload my truck. Leah decided to clean out the beverage store. After that, if you need help I'm willing to help you grill."

Jared turned to a tall, skinny teenage boy with a flaxen ponytail. "What'll you have, Collin?"

"Steak, medium-well."

Reaching into the cooler, Jared took out a rib eye steak and placed it on the grill. He then took off the mitt, handing it and the long-handled fork with a digital thermometer to Jacob. "Show me what you got."

Smiling, Jacob put on the mitt and picked up another fork without the thermometer. "I don't need a fork with a read out to tell when a steak is medium well." He inhaled the smoke coming off the grill. "Nice. There's nothing better than mesquite grilled bone in steak."

Crossing his arms over his chest, Jared nodded his head. "So, you do know a little sumptin' about grillin'."

"Only a little," Jacob answered modestly.

His secret desire, once retired, was to open a barbeque joint where he would serve ribs, brisket, chicken, pulled pork and the requisite side dishes. If Leah had her college roommate and grandmother to thank for her culinary prowess, then he would have to pay homage to his mother. His mother was an unofficial pit master, who had learned the skill of smoking meat from her father. Whenever her church hosted barbecue fundraisers or a revival, everyone in Charlotte came out for the event.

Whistling sharply through his teeth, Jared called out to three of his coworkers. "I need you to help me with something."

Jacob relinquished the mitt and fork and shook hands with the men, none of whom he recognized. Although none were in uniform, he could easily identify them as law enforcement.

"You a cop?" asked a short, stocky black trooper Jared had introduced as Laurent.

"Personal security," Jacob answered.

"You babysit folks like those crazy ass Hollywood actors who have too much money, and don't know what to do with it?"

Jacob's impassive expression did not change. "No. I usually babysit the families of the invisible people who have enough money to buy private islands or run a small country."

Laurent's eyebrows went up a fraction. "The pay must be real good."

Jared slapped his colleague on the back. "Stop interrogating the man and go unload his truck."

Jacob gave his host a surreptitious wink as he led the way back to where he had parked the Yukon. There was something Laurent had said that he found irritating, not only had the man asked too many questions, but the questions were too personal in nature to ask someone he had just met. Trooper Laurent would bear watching closely.

Leah sat in Kim's living room, holding her two year old son. The toddler had inherited his mother's curly hair, but the color was raven-black like his father's. His eyes were a beautiful hazel ringed by the longest lashes she had ever seen on a boy. His coloring had compromised. It was a dusky peach with a spray of freckles over his pert nose and cheeks. Since picking him up, Jared Jr. had played a visual peekaboo with her. Leah felt sorry for the girls who would eventually become the recipient of his gaze.

Kim sat on a matching club chair, supporting her bare feet on a footstool. She took a deep swallow of water, peering at Leah over the rim of her glass. "Are you going to tell me, or do I have to get into your business by asking what's up?"

Leah and Jacob had lain in bed earlier that morning concocting a story that would be consistent whenever anyone asked about their pretense of a marriage. "What do you want to know?"

Leah shook her head in amazement. "You're incredible Kim Walsh! You're about to give birth and you're talking about hooking up with another man."

A flush crept up Kim's face to her hairline. "I'm not looking for me," she said. "I wouldn't trade my Jare-bear for all the men in the world—even if they came with a perfect face and boy like your husband's."

It was Leah's turn to blush. She had discovered Jacob didn't have to do a thing to attract stares from women. All he had to do was walk by or walk into a room. He had caught her attention immediately when he had approached her in the supermarket.

"He is rather nice on the eyes," she agreed.

"He's more than nice Leah. I'm going to let you in on a little secret."

"What is it?"

"We Cooper girls like our meat either medium-well or well done."

Leah covered her mouth to hold back screams of laughter. "Now you tell me," she said between her fingers. She lowered her hand when Jared Jr. gave her puzzled look. "I suppose you wouldn't have given Sam a second look."

Kim shook her head. "Please. Not even if I was desperate. I had always thought he was so wrong for you, Leah. He was too old, and if you hadn't been who you are you would have ended up as his doormat. Jared said he only hooked up with you because you are smart and beautiful. It's too bad he had to die the way that he did, but if he had to check out in order for you to find someone like Jacob… I don't mean to sound glib, but such is life. Now, tell me how you met Mr. January, February, March and the other twelve months of the year."

Leah didn't want to believe that Kim had echoed the sentiments of her family members. They had called Sam spoiled, controlling and at times condescending. It was the attempt to control her that had them at odds with each other. She wasn't certain whether his need to control came from their age difference or his warped sense of entitlement because he was a third generation physician.

"Either you're particularly horny, or you need some," Leah said, teasingly.

"Both. I've been spotting the past two months, so my doctor has Jared on cookie lockdown."

"Lockdown or lockout?"

"Both come on Leah. Tell me how you met Jacob."

Taking a breath, Leah told Kim that she had met Jacob when he worked a security detail for one of her brother's Thoroughbreds when Seth transported the horse to a Florida racetrack.

"Seth came to see me before he drove back to Virginia. Jacob was with him because he was dropping him off in Charlotte. To say I was a hot mess was an understatement. I needed a haircut in the worst way and I was so thin I could have passed for a Halloween scare crow, but Jacob looked at me, I felt as if I were the only woman in the world. He asked if he could call me and I said yes. Whenever he wasn't assigned to provide security for a client, he would come and visit. And, as they say, the rest is history."

Kim flashed a Cheshire-cat grin. "That's what I'm talking about! Although you're thinner than the last time I saw you, you are still stunning. Does he make you happy Leah?"

She stared at the little boy who had fallen asleep in her arms. "He makes me deliriously happy, Kim."

Leah hadn't lied to her friend. She had smiled and laughed more since meeting Jacob than she had in years. She felt closer to him than she had ever felt with Sam. And sex had little to do with it.

"If that's the truth, then why do you want to wait to have a baby? Jared and I were different because he wanted to finish college and get his career on track so he could support me and our children without having to penny pinch. Neither of us anticipated how much income my illustrations would generate, but even if I never illustrated another book we would still live comfortably. You're a doctor Leah. Even if you decided not to go on staff at a hospital, you could always set up a private practice. You can either work out of your home or hire a nanny to take care of the baby when you are seeing patients."

"That's a possibility."

"What is a possibility, Leah?"

Both women turned at the sound of a man's voice. Jacob had come into the living room without making a sound. "We were talking about your wife having your baby," Kim announced.

Jacob moved closer, staring at the little boy in Leah's arms. It suddenly struck him that he and Leah were playing a very dangerous game. They had concocted a story supporting their courtship and marriage, but they hadn't talked about children. Most people wanted to know if or when a newly married couple planned to start a family.

He had never denied wanting to marry or father children. It was his undercover work that posed the problem, because he didn't want his wife to go through what his mother had experienced. Jacob didn't want agents coming to his home to inform his wife that her husband had sacrificed his life in the service of his country.

He had an obligation to his mother, himself and the Bureau to bring his brother back alive, and he had also promised Seth Clearwater he would keep his sister safe. Jacob Black had pledged to help everyone, but whom could he turn to when he needed love and understanding? Leah was as close as he had come to a life partner, and even their time together came with an expiration date.

"If you've changed your mind, then we can start tonight," he crooned.

Leah almost choked. "Can we talk about this later, Jacob?"

"Of course babe. I just came in to ask you if you're ready to eat."

"Yes I am." As much as she always enjoyed interacting with Kim, the baby talk was making her very uncomfortable. She watched as Jacob closed the distance between them, scooped the little boy off her lap and cradled him to his chest. A lump rose in her throat when her eyes met Jacob's.

Her heart stopped, and then started up again in a runaway rhythm. She had tired of the lies only because she'd never been a good liar. Tell one lie and then she had to tell another to cover the first one. After a while, the lies escalated to where she would recognize the truth even if it meant survival.

"I'll meet you outside."

Turning on her heels, she walked out of the house and into the warm afternoon sun. Perhaps she'd be able to pull off the farce without the angst she was undergoing if she hadn't slept with Jacob.

She now found it almost impossible to differentiate between lust, passion, desire, infatuation and what she had been afraid to acknowledge as another four letter word…love.

Awww... both Leah & Jakey got a bit caught up in the baby moment :)

Yay T.G.I.F! \(-_-)/

Best Day of the week :)

So I was watching The Convenant last night after my favorite show Big Brother and Steven Strait and Taylor Lautner could be brothers seriously with how much they look alike in some ways. Or maybe it's just me lol but I really think so.

anyways review loves!

xoxo