Chapter 19

It was a chilly night down at the reservation, despite it being mid May, not that anyone there would be affected much by the weather. About fifty feet or so from Masen and Leah's back door, a bonfire illuminated the darkness around them. Now that the entire pack had reunited, the feeling was more complete.

Alice sat comfortably on the ground in between Jasper's legs and perched her elbows onto his knees. She whispered to Masen who sat next to them, "So when is the wedding taking place? You need to set a date!"

He leaned in toward her with a similar whisper, "We're going to stay engaged for a few years. No date yet."

"No fun!" She responded back in a whispered yell.

Masen smiled and winked at Leah, who had heard their conversation. Her long brown hair blew in the light breeze that carried over their group. She crossed one foot over the other and placed her hands on her lap to keep her coral sundress from blowing up.

Alice leaned her head back to face Jasper and perked her lips up. He smiled and gave her a kiss and wrapped his arms around her from behind. "So the little lovebirds got in trouble, huh?" he asked her, having been away for about twenty four hours to keep Michael on the strait and narrow. He'd been tempted several times by the same person, so Jasper had taken him out of the area and tried to be a mentor to him.

"They have to be careful," she said shaking her head, "I kind of felt bad though."

He nodded, "Have your visions on their situation changed at all?"

She shook her head, and Jasper sensed she didn't want to talk about it because everyone else was close by. Alice had seen that William and Maddy would relocate together soon in between Washington and Alaska. She also so Rosalie's reaction to the situation, and dreaded when the day would eventually come. She wasn't totally sure on when it would occur, but she was almost certain it would soon.

"How's Michael?" she asked, changing the subject.

"He's fine," Jasper assured her.

"Hasn't come around much..."

"I know. He will though. I think his biggest fear is Charlie. He would hate it if he put Bella's father in danger. I tried to relate to him a few weeks ago about what happened with Bella and I years ago, but I think I did the opposite of what I was intending."

"He's more afraid to come by now?" Alice asked.

Jasper nodded, "I feel for the guy. I think he'd be just fine. He has been all along. It was that one person that screwed up his mind. He thinks he's out of control, and he's not."

"I've noticed he's very hard on himself. The fact that he didn't attack is a power in it's own. Most of us don't have that restraint."

"You do, my lady," he said, tickling her side, "And because of you, I do too."

The two of them took their flirting to the next level and shared some intimate kisses before Emmett launched a handful of pebbles in their direction, "Alexandra's here, keep it PG." He put a hand on her perfectly straitened hair and began to mess it up.

"Oh, stop Emmett," Alexandra said. She brushed her hair back into place and flipped off the hat he was wearing.

Alice smiled and Jasper looked Emmett in the eye as he planted his lips on Alice's cheek.

"She's beautiful, isn't she?" Alice said to him.

"Mmm-hmm," Jasper responded, "Can't tell who she looks like."

"I think Esme a little more," she tilted her head to the side, "And this one looks like pops." She pointed to Masen with her thumb.

"Have we decided yet?" Jasper asked.

"About... that?"

He nodded and played with the strap of her tank top.

Alice turned halfway around, "I say... we go for it."

"The eclipse did just pass," Jasper told her.

"I have the next one marked down," she smiled.

"Is this a secret?" Masen whispered, overhearing them.

"Yes," Alice whispered back.

Leah leaned forward, "We won't tell anyone."

Jasper kissed Alice on the cheek and pulled her close, "I love you."

"Love you too."

Seth stood up and told a ghost story, eager to be the one to frighten the younger members of their tribe after being considered the young one for so many years. Jacob, Renesme and Billy soon joined them, as did Charlie and Sue.

One of the youngest boys jumped as Jacob pushed his father a little extra fast up next to him on purpose.

"Gotcha," his voice called.

Billy shook his head, "Be careful with your old man Jake."

"Oh, you're fine," he insisted.

Bella and Edward immediately greeted her father and Sue, finding a place close to them to sit. Renesme sat close to Jacob, both next to Billy and listened as Seth continued on with his story. Several others got up and took their turns, with Jacob rounding out the storytelling with a few of his own - some tribe legends, others just stories he thought would be fun given the surroundings. All in all, the night was lowkey and fun, and everyone got along.

"I wish Michael would have come," Jasper said again to Alice, "I feel like he's isolating himself. Seems a little depressed."

"We'll go crash his loneliness when we leave here," she told him, "I know how to cheer him up, and you can work your magic."

"Well kids," Seth said, "That's it for tonight, I think."

Everyone started packing up and Edward made eye contact with Jacob. They both exchanged a nod and Bella smiled at her friend. He took Renesme by the hand, "Come with me." Her eyes lit up, as they always did when Jacob spoke to her.

Bella recognized the expression, knowing she must have looked the same way still when interacting with Edward. She looked up at her husband and smiled. "I love you Edward."

"I love you too," he said with a genuine smile. They shared a quick moment of passion before walking away from the fire.

"Happy for them?" she asked him.

"I am," he admitted, "I never thought I'd feel this way, but they're as perfect for each other as we are."

Jacob raced Renesme up toward the cliffs where she'd often gone to paint. They ran at an impossible rate, hand in hand.

"Where are we going?" her voice lit up happier than her face, excited by his game.

"You'll see," he said, determined to get there, checking every so often in the deep pocket of his jeans to make sure the ring he'd bought her was still there.

When they finally arrived on top of the massive rockface, Renesme smiled.

Jacob pulled her into a long a kiss and hugged her tightly. His breathing came out rapid and choppy, as his nerves were beginning to get the better of him. When he pulled himself away, Renesme began to protest, pulling him back to her.

A laugh escaped his mouth, "Hang on."

She stared back at him, grinning at his perfectly aligned teeth that stood out in the darkness around them. He took a deep breath and looked at her, then proceeded to kneel down on one knee.

Renesme's eyes widened with happiness, "Jake..."

He removed the small ring box from his pocket and before he asked the question, he felt the need to explain everything, "I would have done this so much sooner, but I needed to save the money. I didn't want to borrow or take anything from anyone else. I wanted to earn this all from my own pocket. So I finally have..."

She stood staring at him with an elated expression and her hands by her face.

"Renesme Cullen... will you marry me?"

Tears formed at the corners of her eyes and fell as the word, "yes," spilled out of her mouth three or four times.

Jacob smiled and stood up, hands shaking, as he placed the engagement ring on her own shaking finger. She jumped into his arms and he spun them both in a circle.

"I love you," she said, "I love you so much Jacob."

"I love you too. You're my everything Ness."

She planted her mouth on his, kissing him with thankful aggression and began to tear at the buttons on his shirt, causing the collar to rip. Her hands began to travel down his torso, and he caught her hands at his waistline with a smile.

Jacob laughed, sensing where this was going. "Renesme... as much as I want to do this, we've waited this long. I think it's best to wait it out a little longer until we're married. We can get married tomorow if you want," he laughed again, "But I think..."

"Okay," she said with a wide smile, "Okay. I can wait if you can. I don't care." She continued to kiss him and his hands clutched her hips. "Sure you want to wait?"

He laughed again, "No. I'm not really sure. Can we get married tomorrow?"

Their laughs echoed through the emptiness of the night.

"Is this because of my father that you've held out on me?" Her voice was playful and happy.

Jacob smiled again, "No. At first - yes. But, we've been together for so long. It's going to happen. I just think we've waited this long.. a little while longer won't hurt."

"Well, it could hurt.." Renesme said, cupping his face in her hands.

"It could... it does already," he said.

"The second we say I do..." Renesme teased.

He nodded, "Agreed."