Chapter 11

Unpredictable

At that point, there was nothing to do but wait for the Volturi to return.

Charlie was sitting on the couch, watching the baseball game with Emmett. It was almost as if Emmett had become the son that Charlie never had. They seemed to have so much in common, from watching sports to hunting bears. Emmett was really starting to grow on Charlie.

The ball game must have reminded Charlie of Billy; Jacob's father, they usually watched a lot of the games together, but that was not the only reason that I assumed the game had reminded Charlie of his best friend. Charlie broke his concentration from the game, looking at Jacob, and started a conversation which was bound to be unpleasant.

Charlie seemed frustrated and intrigued. I noticed by gazing at Jasper, that Charlie had blocked off his ability. My suspicion was confirmed when Jasper walked in my direction and whispered in terror. "This is not going to be good."

Charlie spoke in a mean tone, he sounded like he did when he was at work.

"Do you ever go home Jacob? I am sure Billy needs you around the house. When exactly did you move in with the Cullen's?"

"Dad?!" I could not believe how rude he was being.

Carlisle tried to lead the conversation into a different direction, trying to calm things down. He assured Charlie that Jacob had become part of the family, and that we were all happy to have him here. His sincerity made Charlie feel bad about what he had said.

"Sorry kid, I am just worried about Billy." It pleased me that Charlie referred to Jacob as "kid" instead of wolf.

Jacob said he knew that Charlie meant well, and that while he was here, the others were helping out his dad. He was not alone. Jacob did sound a little down, as if he was also worried about Billy.

"Alright kid, but I am also a little worried about you. You should get out there and meet a nice girl. I am not trying to be mean or embarrass you, but Bella has been married for a while now, nothing is going to change."

Emmett chuckled and opened his big mouth. "He is not here because of Bella, if he was, Edward would have finished him by now." He laughed without even realized what he had done.

We all gave him an evil look, and by his expression we knew he finally understood that he made a mistake.

Charlie had not missed a thing. He demanded to know why exactly Jacob was here so much.

He would find out sooner or later, I just wished the timing was better.

I asked Edward to take Renesmee and Jacob for a walk. He hesitated in leaving me to deal with this alone, but I assured him that I would be fine.

"Please, Edward." I asked in a low voice. He finally agreed.

Jacob was fussing, saying that he had nothing to hide and nothing to be afraid off.

I was getting frustrated. "Just go Jacob, if not for you; do it for Nessie."

The three of them left. Charlie looked impatient, but he was finally starting to see things clearly. "Is Jacob here because of Nessie?

I gazed at Emmett and saw that he was holding back a smile. He just loved drama. I ignored him, and directed my attention to Charlie, confirming that Jacob was indeed here because of Renesmee.

"Bella! Nessie is not Jacob's daughter, is she?! Even as he asked that question he already knew that was not the case.

"Eww! No, DAD. You know that Jacob and I were never more than friends… Besides, how else would Renesmee be half vampire? ... and she looks just like Edward!" I shook my head in disbelief that he even thought of that possibility.

"So, what is it then?" He asked impatiently.

I turned to Carlisle and asked him to explain. He was better than anyone else in keeping calm and making things clear. I just hoped that he would be able to explain without setting Charlie off in any way.

Carlisle started talking about wolves' legends. Charlie listened respectfully, but seemed confused to what that had to do with Renesmee and Jacob. Finally, Carlisle got into the topic that I feared. He started talking about imprinting. He explained it as carefully as possible, even giving examples of how imprinting worked when there was a significant age difference; how it was related to protection and making sure the other person was happy. I could not have done a better job in explaining it all, but throughout Carlisle's explanation, Charlie's expression changed, from impatient, to furious, and then it was just a blank expression.

I had the impression that suddenly, all of this new reality had got to Charlie. He didn't seem mad, just overwhelmed. Even jasper was in shock, confused by Charlie's unexpected emotions.

Charlie stood up, and calmly informed us that he needed to go for a walk, just to process things; to make sense of everything. I hesitated in letting him go by himself. I turned to Alice and she said she did not see anything bad happening, that he would be nearby.

Charlie rolled him eyes at me; I knew that was because I had checked in with Alice to make sure he would be fine.

He walked out the door and a few minutes later, Edward, Jacob and Renesmee came back inside the house. Edward asked me what had happened, he explained that Charlie had blocked off his ability, and since the time that he walked out the door he had been unable to read anyone's mind.

Rosalie took Renesmee to her room while we told Edward and Jacob everything that had happened.

Alice suddenly looked as if she was dizzy.

"Are you alright Alice?" I asked concerned.

"Yes, but I can't see anything. The last thing I was able to see was Charlie walking into the woods. He is blocking my visions."

At that point, we were all concerned, except for Carlisle.

"Let's just give Charlie some time and privacy. I am sure he will be fine, and if he is not back within the hour, we will go look for him."

… That hour was definitely going to drag by. Every sound coming from the driveway made me jump. Edward was now playing the piano, trying to calm everyone's nerves, since Charlie also had blocked off Jasper's ability.

I would have to have a serious talk with Charlie when he got back. We didn't need him playing with our abilities when the Volturi were so close by.

I started to panic. What if the Volturi weren't in Seattle like they said they would be? Carlisle noticed my agony. I could not wait any longer… Before I could say anything, Carlisle spoke.

"I am sure Charlie is fine, but let's go ahead and look for him. It should be a few hours before the Volturi return; it is best if Charlie is here with us… Emmett, Edward, you come with me. The rest of you stay here in case Charlie returns.

I was not about to just stay at the house and wait. "Carlisle, I can't just stay here." Anxiety was evident in my voice.

Carlisle agreed, instructing me to stay with Edward and he would take another path, with Emmet. "Just follow the scent. It may be a weak scent because of our abilities being disabled, but there will still be a scent."

Edward and I searched for what seemed to be hours before we finally saw Charlie, sitting by a lake.

Charlie was not alone, and shockingly, he was smiling. His company was a stunningly beautiful woman. She was pale, with long and curly light brown hair, and her eyes were the same beautiful color as Edward's when he was not thirsty, and just like Charlie, she also smiled.

Edward and I stared at each other, wondering if we should interrupt. I could not remember the last time that Charlie had smiled like that.

We slowly approached them. Charlie saw us, and he did not seem upset that we were there.

"Bells, I am so sorry, I must have lost track of time. I didn't mean to worry you."

He sounded sincere. "No problem dad."

Still smiling, and in a soft voice he said, "Let me introduce you… Bella, Edward … this is Elizabeth."