Shadows of Love
Chapter Twelve
Ren's Test
JPOV
A few months after the showdown at the First Beach Bowl, Ren was put to the test again. But this time was much more
dangerous than the football game could have possibly been. I thought I had lost her and the abject fear running through
my veins simply brought me to my knees.
Ren had been at the cabin working with Billy. It was 'don't tell him the dessert is sugar free' and exercise day. They had
gotten into the habit of going out onto the back patio after Billy's workout, if the weather was decent, and sitting at our old
picnic table, sharing a cup of tea and thoughts from their hearts. My Dad loved Ren so much. He treated her as if she was
a member of the family, a beloved daughter. He had taken her into his heart the same as everyone else that knew her.
This particular afternoon, Ren had no other pressing commitments and they were lingering out back, enjoying an unseasonably
warm early spring evening. While they were chatting, their surroundings had faded from their consciousness and they paid
no attention to the unusual noises coming from the edge of the woods that ran right up behind the house.
Suddenly, a twig snapped and a low rumbling growl came from the trees just a few feet from where they were sitting. They
stopped their conversation, listening intently for any more noises to tell them who their visitor might be. Ren naturally assumed
it was either me or one of the other wolves, sneaking up on them to play a practical joke. That was Quil's M.O. and it wouldn't
have surprised anyone if he had decided to try to, in his own inimitable way, say boo to Ren and my Dad.
Ren had looked over at her companion, winked and put her finger to her lips. She eased off of the picnic bench and began to
shuffle quietly toward the edge of the concrete patio. Dusk was gathering and neither of them could really see what was hiding
in the trees, but no fear overtook them. They were assuming that their peeping tom was a wolf and all would come out shortly
and be a big joke. Nothing could have been further from the truth.
As Ren got to the end of the concrete and quietly began stalking over the ground toward the spot they'd heard the rumble, Embry
came trotting by on a patrol at the opposite edge of the back yard boundary with the forest. I happened to be patrolling on the far
side of the Rez but of course, I had a front row seat to what was happening behind my house. The series of things I saw next pulled
a heart-rending howl from my muzzle and brought the entire rest of the Pack into the joined mind with Embry and me. As soon as
they were all in our heads, creating a cacophony of discord, I silenced them all with an Alpha order that I thought I would never have
to use.
"Everyone stay silent! Ren is walking toward something in the woods behind my house, and it's not one of us!"
Embry still couldn't see what it was but Ren was so close to it, he didn't dare try to move or make a sound. There was no way he
could get to her in time to intercept an attack from whatever lurked in the dense, dark tree line. Along with every other wolf in the
Pack, I ran at top speed toward my home, fear and panic already gripping and squeezing my heart that I might be about to lose the
one person that made my life worth anything at all, made my life worth everything, worth living. I begged Ren inside my mind to
please stop and turn around. I tried to call to her through the imprint bond to please stop walking toward whatever that was and
back away slowly and carefully. Perhaps if the imprint had been sealed it would have worked, but all I was getting was her curiosity
and a slight tremor of nervousness. I figured that might be the tiny trickle of my off-the-graph fear that she was feeling.
I sent images back and forth with Embry trying to work out a strategy for getting in between Ren and whatever it was. Time had
slowed down to a molasses pace when Embry's eyes riveted away from Ren and onto a huge pair of yellowish green eyes. They
were locked on my girl and moving forward. Within a couple of seconds, the biggest cougar I had ever seen stalked slowly out of
the trees.
Forks and the surrounding area occasionally got the odd lone cougar coming down below their natural habitat elevation, especially
if the winter in their mountains had been particularly brutal and food had been scarce. They were attracted by food smells, just like
bears, and would sometimes venture much closer to human settlements than either they or the humans could really be comfortable
with. I had heard of them coming around, very seldom, but I had never actually seen a Western mountain cougar up close and certainly
not IN La Push!
But I didn't have time to worry about how this big cat was blowing the statistics and patterns for his kind out of the water. All I could
see was the too few feet distance between him and my imprint, and no obvious way for my brother, who was right there, to get between
them. As the rest of the Pack rapidly closed in on the scene unfolding in my backyard, I began to despair of a happy outcome to this day.
I never anticipated the miracle I watched occurring through my brother's eyes.
When Ren caught sight of the cougar that she obviously fully expected to be a wolf, she became a statue. I was able to feel the spike
of fear from her then. She had the good sense to stand stock still but it was obvious her eyes were flitting around wildly trying to come
up with a solution to her dangerous dilemma. Just seconds before I arrived at Embry's side, we all watched in complete shock as a chunk
of a brick sailed through the air straight for the cougar's head. The aim was true and the speed and trajectory carried the projectile right
into the side of cat's ear. The brick was tumbling and actually rolled over the cougar's neck as a glancing blow but it was enough to take
his focus off of Ren for a split second. The first throw was immediately followed with another piece of brick hurled even faster and more
deadly accurate than the first. It banged the giant cat right between the eyes and staggered him for several seconds. He stumbled to his
knees for a moment, shook his head hard to stop the ringing that no doubt populated his brain with confusion, regained his footing and
spun on his big paws, escaping into the darkened forest. Ren was unharmed and safe.
But that was not the miracle we all witnessed. The miracle was my father, the source of the thrown bricks from a STANDING position in
front of his wheelchair. He wasn't even holding onto the arm of the chair. For several moments, nobody moved. Ren had turned in fright
when the second brick had finally driven the cougar to retreat. All of the Pack had by then arrived at the edge of my backyard, but had
not yet advanced into the clearing. My father was alternately looking up at Ren and down at his feet with an expression of stunned
bewilderment covering his face. As suddenly as the thrown brick had appeared in the air hurtling toward the cougar, everyone was moving
toward my father and Renesmee.
She reached him first and skidded to a stop right up to his toes whereupon she looked down at his legs, up at his face, and then wrapped
her arms around his shoulders as far as she could reach, holding him tightly. The rest of us phased and quickly threw on cutoffs or sweats
and clustered around the duo on the patio. We were almost afraid to approach them but I walked up behind Ren, who was looking over her
shoulder at me, grinning like an idiot but with tears running down her face. I looked at Dad, who also had wet cheeks, and couldn't make my
mouth or lungs cooperate to form speech so I simply wrapped my arms around both of them together. We stood hugging one another,
growing more into the family I always hoped we'd be. I didn't feel so bad about my choked up throat since it appeared nobody else had
found their voice either.
Finally, Dad began to tremble and spoke to both Ren and me.
"Kids, I'm just as shocked and proud as you guys are, but I think I'm gonna need to sit down now. That may be all the energy little Rennie's
got built up in these old legs so far."
We both released him instantly and Ren reached to make sure the brakes were set on the wheels, while I held his arms to help steady him as
he lowered himself back into the chair that had been his prison for so many years. As he settled tiredly back into the seat, the rest of the Pack
broke into cheers and shouts as they clustered around us. They were all initially slapping Dad on the shoulders, congratulating him on both his
rise from the chair and his quick thinking and true aim. When Dad acknowledged their attention and deflected, telling us to give credit where
credit was due, he pointed at Ren, still speechless and crying in my arms.
"Right there's your hero folks. She's an angel and my champion all rolled into one. Ren, Honey, I hardly know what to say except thank you
and I love you."
If it was possible she began to cry even harder, but she still wiggled out of my grasp and flung herself at Dad. He wrapped his arms around her
shaking shoulders and held her to his chest, stroking her hair as she soaked his shirt with salty tears.
"Ssshhh. Don't cry, Honey. We're supposed to be happy right? This is what our workouts have accomplished. This is the payoff, the reward.
You did good baby girl."
She sobbed and mumbled into his shoulder.
"Oh, B-B-Billy. I AM happy! It's just that I was so scared and you saved me! I should be the one saying thank you, and you know I love you
too don't you?"
"Yes, I know, sweetie, I know. Come on now. Let's get the waterworks under control. It'll be okay."
Ren couldn't be persuaded to release him for a few more minutes, but finally she sniffled and hiccupped a few times and stood back to her feet.
Dad brushed some of the wetness from her face with his thumbs and handed her his handkerchief for her messy nose. She blew into it noisily
prompting him to assure her she could keep the square of cotton for her very own.
Dad eventually looked up at me, at the wetness on my own face, and smiled proudly. I couldn't find any words profound enough to express what
I was feeling and he nodded his understanding. We grasped forearms and I put my hand behind his neck to pull him in for a more thorough hug
and a quick kiss on top of his head. Our joy at his milestone accomplishment overflowed onto my Pack, still gathered around us basking in the
glow of his and Ren's achievement.
Sometime later, after the rest of my brothers and my sister wolf had dispersed to their patrols, jobs or homes, I called out to my father that I was
leaving to walk Ren home to the Clearwater residence and would be back shortly. He hollered goodnight to Ren and said he'd see her on their
next workout date.
"Okay, sweetie, sleep tight. I'll see you Thursday."
I walked my girl down the path toward her adopted home, holding hands and just enjoying the silence of the evening. When we were almost there,
I pulled lightly on her hand to stop her progress and she turned to look at me with puzzlement in her eyes.
"Babe, I don't really know what to say to you right now, but I have to say something. What you've done for Dad is beyond words to adequately
express how I feel about it. You're a marvelous work and wonder to me and you've given my father a long overdue open window to go along with
that closed door he's been looking at for so many years. Thank you Renesmee, just,...thank you."
She looked at me for a long while without speaking, just gazing up with the barest hint of a smile playing about her soft lips.
"You're welcome, Jacob."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SOL~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I kissed Ren goodnight and made sure the door closed tight behind her, waiting until I heard the lock click, then I made my way back home.
When I got close to our little red cabin, I could hear my Dad talking inside. I couldn't imagine who was visiting at this late hour and there
were no strange vehicles parked out front. As I got to the top of the steps and approached the door I could clearly hear Dad's voice, only Dad's.
"Sarah you wouldn't have believed it, Honey. That big ol' cat was right behind the house and little Ren was nearly on top of him before he
showed himself. I had to do somethin', ya know? Jake couldn't take it if somethin' happened to that little girl, and truth be told, neither
could I. Then I just felt it Honey. I had reached over and picked up those two broken pieces of firebrick off that ol' barbecue pit. I was
gonna try to use just my arm strength to get them there but then my legs just...I don't know...felt strong. I had nothing to lose and Ren
and Jake had everything to lose. You'da been proud o' me Sarah. At least I think you would have. I hope so anyway. I miss you Sarah.
Every day. Good night, Honey."
I stayed on the porch for quite a while before I went inside.