CHAPTER 56

Embry POV:

I crashed at Sam's and I was out before my head hit the pillow! I woke up to Sam leaning over me saying, "Embry, sweetie, it's time to get up," in some stupid girly voice. I rolled over and put the pillow over my head. Then he laughed and said, "Hey! Do you want the kick in the ass again? Come on, bro, it's after eleven! Get your ass up!"

I threw the pillow off of my head and said, "Alright, already! I'll get up! Just go away with your cheery morning attitude. I hate that."

He really laughed at that and walked out the door. I sat up and wiped my eyes and looked out the window. The leaves on the trees had changed color and were starting to fall. It was the beginning of November and the snow would be here soon. I was actually looking forward to the holidays this year. Thanksgiving and Christmas had always been a little lonely for me and Mom. This year we had a family to celebrate with. How awesome was that?

I hauled my ass out of bed and headed for the shower. I got dressed and headed out to the kitchen for some breakfast.

"Good morning, sleepy head," Emily said.

"How can you be so cheery this morning? You should be exhausted after all the work you did for this wedding," I said to her.

"Oh I was tired. I came home and went right to sleep. I even slept in until nine! I never do that," she told me as she set a cup of coffee in front of me.

"Thanks," I grunted as I took a sip.

"You want some breakfast, little brother?"

"No. It's late enough, I'll just wait for lunch," I answered. I looked over at Emily and noticed how pretty she looked. I told her, "You know, you are even prettier since you got pregnant. There is something about you . . . you just look, so happy."

She beamed at me. "Why thank you! I feel so happy. I can feel the baby kick now. She was just kicking me a few minutes ago. Here," she said as she sat down beside me. "Give me your hand." I held out my hand and she put it on her baby belly. "Now wait," she said. We sat there for a few moments and all of a sudden I felt something move against my hand.

"Holy crap! That was the baby?" I exclaimed.

She laughed and said, "Yes, that was the baby."

I left my hand there and felt it again. "Wow, Emily. That is amazing." I was completely in awe. I had never felt that before. I never knew anyone who was pregnant before!

Just then Sam walked in and asked, "You feel the baby kick?"

I turned to him. "That is so amazing."

He chuckled. "Yea it is. She's pretty strong. Maybe we got another member of the pack, huh?"

Emily shot him a look that said she didn't care for that comment. I removed my hand and said, "So, I'm going to go and call my fiancé. Isn't that cool? I love saying that word."

Emily smiled at me. "Yes, it's very cool. So, when is the next wedding? I will have to get my cake books back out."

"Well, I'd run off and do it today, but we can't. I want to be able to support her. So, after I graduate in January, Jake and I are going to concentrate on the shop. Once we move in and things are going well then we'll plan the wedding."

"Sounds good. You're not as dumb as everyone says you are," Sam quipped then laughed at his own joke.

"Ha, ha. Who told you you were funny?" I asked with a smile. He tousled my hair and I stood up and dug my phone out of my pocket. I walked back to the bedroom I had used and sat down on the bed to call Leah.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Seth. Can I talk to my fiancé, please?"

"Yea, hold on," he answered. "Leah! It's some guy on the phone asking to talk to his fiancé. Should I hang up?" I heard him yell. I laughed.

She took the phone from him and said, "Hey fiancé. Good morning."

"Hey, baby. What are you doing?"

"I just finished cleaning up the kitchen. I made Seth chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. It was fun watching Abby see Seth eat like 20 pancakes."

"She doesn't understand the werewolf appetite, does she?"

"No, she doesn't. Her eyes were huge! It was great. So, what are you doing?"

"Me? I just got up. I showered and dressed, and oh yea! Emily let me feel the baby kick. That was fucking awesome!"

"It is, isn't it? She let me feel that yesterday. I can't wait for that."

"Really? Are you in a hurry to be a mom?"

"No, I want to finish school and stuff first. But, someday."

"Good. I want that, too."

It was quiet for a minute and I said, "Leah, come over to my house for dinner tonight. I'll even cook."

She laughed at that. "What, KFC or pizza?"

"I am insulted by your lack of confidence in my cooking ability."

"Maybe because I've never seen you cook anything." Well, she had a point there. Now that I thought about it, I can't think of the last time I DID cook anything.

"Well, there is a first time for everything, you know, and tonight I'm cooking you dinner."

"OK. I look forward to it! What time?"

"Um, come over around five."

"OK. See you then. I love you," she said softly.

"Love you, too. Bye." I hung up and looked at the phone. I stood up and walked down the hall. "Emily?" I hollered. "I need cooking help!"

Leah POV:

I was getting a little behind in my school work, so I decided to dedicate the afternoon to that. I didn't have to work again until Tuesday, so that would help. I had a paper due this next week and I hadn't even started it. I hunkered down at the kitchen table with my laptop and started my research.

"Hey, Leah," Abby said as she sat down at the table. Well, looks like I won't be getting any research done now. I closed my laptop and looked over at her. "Hey, Abby. You OK?"

"Um, yea. I guess I'm just wondering how long it will be before your mom makes you guys take me home," she said.

"Why would you think she would make you go home? She really likes you, Abby. We all do."

She brightened up a little at that. "I don't know. I guess . . . I just thought . . . my mom doesn't like me to have friends over. She doesn't even like me around most of the time."

"Abby, I'm so sorry. I wish you had it better at home. I know Seth hates it every time we have to drop you off there."

"It's not that bad," she said. "I mean, she doesn't hit me or anything . . . " her voice drifted off and she looked out toward the back door and got real quiet.

"Abby? Is everything OK there? I mean, maybe she doesn't hit you, but is there anything else going on . . ."

"No!" she said a little too quickly. "No. Um, I shouldn't have said anything. Seth went to take a shower, so I'll just wait in the living room."

She started to get up and I grabbed her hand and said, "Hey, we're sisters now, remember? You can talk to me about anything and I have to keep it just between us. Sister Rule."

She smiled and sat back down. "It's not my mom. It's . . . Jim, her boyfriend. He, um . . . " She wrapped her arms around herself, like she was trying to protect herself, "He's kind of weird. I don't like how he looks at me and sometimes, he says stuff . . . that makes me uncomfortable, you know? Like when I got dressed for the wedding, he looked at me and said, 'Your boobs look nice in that dress, baby.' Mom just laughed."

I closed my eyes for a second and wanted to really go over there and kick the shit out of both of them. How did this sweet girl come from a mom like that? I opened my eyes and took Abby's hand and looked at her and said, "Abby, that's not right, and you know it, don't you?" She nodded. "Has he ever . . . touched you?" I really hated to ask her, but I needed to know.

She started to tear up, and she said, "Um, the other night when Seth dropped me off, he, um, he asked me if I was 'getting any from this kid.' I told him it wasn't any of his business. But when I tried to walk by him to go to my room, he um, . . . he grabbed me and squeezed my boob and said, 'well, when you want a real man, just let know.' " Tears fell from her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. "Then, he . . . kissed me and . . ." She couldn't go on and I didn't make her.

I squeezed her hand and said, "Abby, we have to get you out of there. Do you have any other relatives that live around here? Grandparents or an aunt or something? What about your father?"

She shook her head. "My grandma died last year, and she's the only other family I had besides my brother. And I can't live with him. I already asked him when we went to Seattle to see him last week. He told me he's on a ship for 6 months out of the year. And, I don't know where my father is. I never knew him, um, he left after I was born. I guess he was a drunk, like all her boyfriends."

I closed my eyes and willed myself to calm down. How can people treat their kids this way? "Look. I'm not letting you go back there while this Jim is living there. We will figure something out, OK?" I put my arms around her and let her cry a little.

Seth came into the kitchen and asked, "Hey, what's wrong? Abby? Are you OK?"

She sat up quickly and wiped her eyes then looked at me. I got the feeling she hadn't told Seth and maybe she didn't want him to know.

"Just some girl talk, Seth." I looked at Abby and said, "Why don't you go put some cold water on your face and you'll feel better, OK?" She nodded and got up to go to the bathroom.

Seth waited until she was out of the room. "What's wrong?" I sighed and sat back and rubbed my eyes. What should I tell him? "Leah, tell me. She doesn't want to go home, does she? She's afraid for some reason, but she won't tell me why."

"We can't let her stay there, Seth. It's not safe for her there anymore, but I'm not sure what to do. And I told her I wouldn't share what she told me with anyone, so you will have to wait for her to tell you. Sorry."

He nodded. I could see the hurt on his face. Hurt that she didn't trust him to tell him, and hurt for her for what she was going through. "She doesn't have any other relatives, and I don't want to go to Child Services because they will just put her in foster care, which might be worse. We have to find somewhere for her to stay." He nodded.

Abby walked back in and he smiled at her. "Hey. Wanna go downstairs and play a game of pool?"

She looked at me and I smiled and nodded. She smiled and said, "Sure." He took her hand and led her out of the kitchen. I sat there trying to decide what to do. I was way out of my element here. I knew I should talk to Mom, but she was at work in the ICU today, so she didn't like to have calls unless it was an emergency. This was kind of an emergency, but . . . maybe I should call Emily. She might know what to do.

I went to the phone and called her. "Hello?"

"Hey, Em. I have a problem that I really need help with. It's about Abby." I tried to tell her a little of what was going on without giving away everything. I didn't want to break Abby's confidence. "She can't stay there, but I don't know what to do."

"That sweet girl. I think we should sick the pack on them," she suggested.

I smiled. "Whoa, vicious. I like it! Well, that would scare them, but not solve our problem."

"Yea. OK. Let me think on it awhile and I'll get back to you."

"Thanks, Em. Love you."

"Aw, I love you, too, Leah. Talk to you soon." I hung up and hoped that she could come up with a solution.

Embry POV:

Emily sat me down and we went over a couple of simple ideas for dinner. She suggested spaghetti because it was the easiest to cook. She had canned her own spaghetti sauce this last summer when she had so many tomatoes from her garden so she got out a jar for me to take with me. Then she made a list for me of stuff to get at the store. "You can do this, Embry. And if you get stuck, call me, OK?"

I smiled and hugged her. "Thanks, Em. You're the best."

I left their house and went straight to the store. I bought the stuff on Em's list and added a bouquet of flowers. Leah deserved some flowers. I took the stuff home and put everything away and decided to clean the house a little bit. Especially my room. I was really hoping that dinner might lead to breakfast. So, I stripped my bed and decided to wash my sheets.

I walked into my room and looked at the bed. It was so tiny! How were we both going to fit into it? I thought about using Mom's room, but . . . after thinking about Mom and Dad spending their first married night together there, I quickly changed my mind. Gross.

I pulled the sheets off of my bed and took them to the washer. I threw in some of my dirty clothes, too, that I had picked up off of the floor. When was the last time I really cleaned my room? I have no idea. I guess that means it's been too long!

I picked everything up off of the floor and found the vacuum cleaner in the hall closet and brought it in and swept the carpet. I even swept the hallway and living room before I put it back. Then I went through my room and put things away and made sure it was tidy. I opened the window for awhile so it would smell better. When the sheets were done, I put them back on the bed and added an extra pillow from the hall closet with a fresh pillow case on it. It looked kind of cozy. I threw my quilt over the end of the bed. I doubted we would need it with both of us carrying such high temps, but I like the way it looked.

I looked around the house and found some scented candles that Mom likes to use sometimes. I put them in my room and thought maybe they would add a nice atmosphere. I put the flowers in a vase and put them on my dresser. It looked pretty good!

I jumped in the shower to clean up then shaved. I wasn't sure what to wear. I wanted to look nice, but not too nice. Not like I was dressed up or anything. I decided on my black jeans. I remembered Leah saying one time that she really liked how I looked in them. Then I threw on a dark red v-neck t-shirt. Nice.

Now comes the hard part. Cooking. I followed Emily directions and had the sauce heating and the spaghetti boiling. I had bought the salad in a bag, so that was easy. I dumped it into a big bowl and Emily told me not to add the dressing until right before we ate or it would get soggy. So, I set the bowl in the fridge.

Emily sent home with me an extra layer from the wedding cake that she didn't use for dessert. It was frosted and she added a couple of hearts on it with some chocolate curls. I rolled my eyes and she smiled. "What? Just trying to help you score some points, Embry." I laughed at that. She was the best. I had the cake sitting on the table so Leah would see it when we sat down to eat.

Everything was ready. Now all I needed was Leah.

Leah POV:

I spent the afternoon trying to figure out a solution to our Abby problem. It was getting close to time for me to leave and go to Embry's. I knew that would leave Seth and Abby home alone until Mom came home at 11:30 p.m. I didn't want to cancel dinner with Embry because he was so excited about it, but I wasn't sure what to do. Finally Emily called me back.

"Hey, Leah. Sam and I have done some talking, and after I got him to promise he wouldn't go over there and kill these people, he agreed that we should have Abby come and stay with us for awhile. I don't think it's a permanent solution, but it will get her out of there until we can figure something else out."

"Are you kidding me? Seriously? Emily, that's awesome! I can't thank you guys enough."

"Well, I hope she'll be comfortable with the idea. She doesn't know us very well. But, I know you guys don't have a room for her, and we do. Plus, I don't think she and Seth should live under the same roof at their age, do you?"

"No. I know Seth is being a good boy, but he is a werewolf, and I don't know how long he can hold back. I'm hoping because he's young, it will be awhile."

"Me, too. OK, well, talk to her about it and let me know. I have the room ready whenever she wants to come over. Sam said he would go with her and Seth to get her things. "

"I'll tell them. Thanks again, Em. You're the best."

"Hmmm, that's the second time someone has told me that today."

"Really? Then it must be true."

She laughed. "Embry told me that today when he came running begging me for cooking help. I hope you enjoy your dinner tonight!"

"Thanks for helping him. I was a little worried about what I was going to get. I thought it might be some weird concoction like Pop-Tart Casserole or something."

That really made her laugh. "Well, I'm glad I saved you from that. I'll wait to hear from you about Abby, OK?"

"Yea, I'll get right back to you. Bye." I hung up and went to find Seth and Abby.

They were in the living room watching a movie on TV. They were curled up on the couch, and Seth had his arm around her and she had her head on his shoulder. I walked in and sat down in the chair. "Hey, guys. Can I talk to you for a sec?"

They looked over and Seth stopped the movie with the remote. "Sure. What's up?" Seth asked.

"Um, Abby. You know our little chat this morning? I might have a solution for you. I need to talk to you about it. Is it OK if we talk in front of Seth, or should we go upstairs?" She sat there quietly then looked over at Seth. I knew she wanted him to know, but for some reason she was afraid.

"We don't have to go into details, but it's about some different living arrangements for you." Seth whipped his head toward me and said, "What? You found a way to get her out of there?"

I nodded. She said, "It's OK." Seth looked at her and smiled and then they both looked at me.

"I talked to Emily and she talked to Sam, and they would both love for you to stay with them for awhile. You would have your own room, and they would make sure you had a ride to school every day. Sam said that he would go with you and Seth to get your things. And Emily has made him promise to behave, but he will be there to protect you while you pack. I know that you don't know them very well, but I have to tell you that they are two of the greatest people you will ever know. Emily is a mom to everyone - she is so loving and caring. I know you would love being around her. And Sam has a foul mouth sometimes, but he has a huge heart. I really think you would like it there. And we all hang out there, so Seth would be over all the time, and you can still come here and hang out, too. Do you think that is something you would be open to?"

She looked so fragile, like she would crumble at any moment. Seth pulled her closer to him and said softly, "Please, Abby? I can't stand you living there anymore. I worry about you so much. I know that Sam and Emily would watch out for you and you would be really happy there."

She looked at us and said, "I can't believe they would do this for me. They don't even know me! Why would they do this?"

"Because of who they are. And because you need a safe place to stay, and they have room. It's that simple," I told her.

"That's really nice of them. I think I would like to try it," she said slowly. Seth smiled and hugged her.

"Abby, do you think your mom will cause a fuss about you moving out?" I asked.

She shook her head. "No. She'll probably be glad. She hates the way Jim looks at me. I guess it makes her jealous or something." I could see the anger immediately in Seth's face. I put my hand on his arm and he looked at me. I gave him a look that told him to calm down. Abby didn't need that right now.

"OK. Well, I'll call Emily and tell her it's a go. Sam will come over and pick you guys up and take you to get your things. I would go, too, but my fiancé is cooking me dinner tonight and I have to go and get ready." I stood up and smiled at Abby. "You're doing the right thing, Abby. I'm proud of you."

She stood up and hugged me. "Thank you so much, Leah. " I hugged her and then she let go. She wiped tears from her eyes as Seth said, "Yea, sis. Thanks."

"You're both welcome." I turned to go back to the kitchen to call Emily. She was happy that Abby had said yes, and she told me to tell them that Sam would be over in about a half hour to get them. I thanked her again and hung up then went to tell Seth and Abby what she said. Then I ran upstairs to get ready for my big date!

I stood at the closet trying to figure out what to wear. I didn't think it was a dress occasion, so I pulled out the jeans that Embry liked on me so much and pulled on a tight fitting shirt that showed just a little cleavage. Yep, he would like that.

I brushed my hair until it shone and added some earrings and a just a touch of eye shadow, mascara and lip gloss. I checked myself in the mirror and decided I actually looked really nice. I smiled and picked up my purse and keys and headed downstairs.

"OK, you two. I'm heading over to Embry's. You have his cell number and I want you to call me if you have any trouble, OK? Although I'm sure that Sam will take care of you just fine." I walked over to Abby and said, "You'll be fine, I promise. Emily will spoil you terribly. She always does when Embry stays there." She smiled at me. "Speaking of Embry, I have to go! Bye!"

They both hollered goodbye as I walked out the door. I hurried to the Jeep and took off. I was excited at the thought of being with Embry all alone.

Embry POV:

It was five and I was pacing. Yes, I was pacing! Where was she? Why wasn't she here yet? I didn't want my spaghetti to get too mushy! Just then the door opened and there she was. I smiled as I noticed she was wearing her tight jeans that I really liked and a shirt that showed cleavage! Oh yea. She walked over to me and said, "Wow. Something smells really good!"

"That would be me, "I said with a sly smile. She laughed as I pulled her to me in a hug. I noticed she sniffed me and then she said, "Mmmm, you do smell good!" I kissed her long and slow and then let her go.

"What's for dinner? I was figuring maybe a Pop-Tart Casserole?" she said with a smile.

"Ha, ha. I made spaghetti and a salad and there is cake for dessert."

"No way! She went over to look on the stove. "Wow, you did cook. Awwww, that's so sweet! And look at this cake. Hmmmm, it looks just like the ones I helped Emily make for your mom and dad's wedding," she turned and said suspiciously.

"OK, you got me on that one. Emily said she wanted to help me score some points."

She laughed and said, "You don't need to worry about that. You already got me. See?" She held up her left hand and flashed her engagement ring at me. "This says I'm yours, baby."

I pulled her close and said, "And I am really glad about that." I kissed her again then remembered my dinner. "Hey! Quit distracting me!" She laughed as I pulled the spaghetti off of the stove and drained it. "Have a seat and I will serve you."

She pulled out a chair and sat down and I put some spaghetti on her plate then added the sauce. I had put the dressing on the salad right before she got there, so I put the bowl on the table and poured her a glass of iced tea. I got myself a plate and sat down.

"This is really nice, Embry. Thank you so much for doing this," she said.

"Well, don't thank me until you taste it," I told her. I handed her the parmesan cheese and she shook some on top of her spaghetti. She took a big bite of spaghetti. "It's good!" she told me. She chewed and swallowed then said, "Hey! The first meal I ever cooked for you was spaghetti and meatballs. Remember?"

I smiled. "Yea, I do. I was so nervous that night. I was like Seth trying to decide what to wear and worried my hair was too long, and I put on cologne. But, I did get to kiss you, so I guess it was worth it." She smiled at that memory.

While we ate, she filled me in on what was going on with Abby. She told me she couldn't go into detail because she promised Abby, but she let me know it was dangerous for her to stay there.

"Yea, I got that feeling something wasn't right there," I told her.

Then she told me that Sam and Emily were going to take her in. "Really? Wow. That's great!" I could see Emily insisting she stay there, but I was a little surprised at Sam. I knew he was a good guy, but it still surprised me a little.

"I told them to call on your cell if there was any trouble, but I assured them Sam would take care of them."

I nodded. "I hope he doesn't kill anyone."

She smiled and said, "Yea, I thought that, too. Although after what Abby told me today, I think I would let him. I thought about kicking the shit out of both of them." That's my woman, I thought with pride.

We finished our dinner and I asked, "Do you want some dessert now, or do you want to wait until later?"

"Um, I want dessert now, but cake later," she said with a sexy smile. God, I love this woman.

I smiled and said, "Well, we have to clean up the kitchen first then I'll think about your dessert."

"Fine," she said. I reached up on top of the refrigerator and flipped on the radio. I always worked faster with music on. It was set on the station that Mom listened to, so it wasn't the head-banging kind of music I was used to. We cleared the table and did the dishes in record time. A slow song came on the radio just as we were finishing, and I took the dish towel out of her hand and said, "Come dance with me."

She smiled. "I would love to." She wound her arms around my neck and I put my hands on her hips. We swayed to the music a little then I pulled her closer and she laid her head on my shoulder. We didn't do this enough. I loved holding her and moving to the music. The song ended and I whispered to her, "Are you ready for dessert?"

She looked at me and said, "Yes, please."