Chapter 27

Masen sat with an acoustic guitar on his lap by a fire in a tucked away corner of La Push Beach. Leah sat next to him and Cassandra was a few feet away tossing a ball around with Seth. Most of the Cullens and a number of Quileute members were present, either around the fire or close by playing around. Aside from their group, the beach was vacant. Waves crashed along the coastline of the winter night in Forks and stars took over the blackness above them.

"You're a regular John Mayer," Emmett joked, tossing a shell from the sand at Masen, "Look out Leah."

She snickered and shook her head, then linked her arm through Masen's.

Esme sat nearby with Caleb and grinned at the happiness of her son and his beautiful wife. She was also glad to see that Seth and Luciana had decided to move back to the area, as they had been spending more time with everyone lately. Upon everything that happened, any lingering awkwardness that revolved around the trip to Italy in the past had all but diminished.

"Dad still at work?" Masen asked, as he strummed his fingers over the guitar strings a few times lazily.

Esme nodded and tried not to sigh, "Yeah." She looked down at Caleb who clung to her shoulder beneath a blanket she'd wrapped around them.

"Home work or hospital work?"

"Hospital," she said with a smile.

"We're waiting for him to come out from the home lab he set up with his hair all over the place and an Albert Einstein moustache," Emmett joked, raising his eyebrows at Esme. Rosalie grinned at the thought, finding it slightly amusing.

Esme couldn't help but chuckle at his joke, "He's getting close," she told him, shaking her head.

"He feels responsible," Edward told them. He crossed one leg over the other and leaned back onto his hands from where he and Bella sat on a blanket.

"How could he?" Masen asked.

"He just wants to be prepared in case there's a next time," Edward went on, "I've just gotten this from his thoughts."

Nicole came running over from where ever she had been with Alice, "Sing Wonderwall!"

"Oh, yeah," Renesme said, seated in between Jacob's legs, as he draped his arms around her, "I love that song. Who sings it?"

Jacob smiled and rubbed her arms then kissed her on the cheek, "I think it's Oasis."

Alexandra and Michael came in from the water with William and Madison. All of them had individual towels wrapped around them, giving a summer-like appearance, from their quick dip in the ocean.

"Just play it," Leah said to Masen, knowing he'd done the particular song already and was the one he played the most whenever he decided to play.

He grinned and began to strum the tune, giving Nicole a quick wink. She clapped her hands and began to sing along with the words just as he started, turning her body back and forth that caused her pin straight, shoulder length hair to blow wildly in the winds coming off the water.

Esme smiled at the sound of her son's voice as he sang so nicely. Caleb's eyes focused on him for a minute and Masen stopped the song briefly to wave his fingers at his brother before continuing.

Seth brought Cassandra toward them on his shoulders and dropped her down before cuddling up with Luciana near Jacob and Renesme.

A few people sang along with the melody and more of them joined in with the chorus. Cassandra skipped over toward Jacob and wrapped her arms around his neck and almost shouted the words to him as she sang, "Cuz maybe... you're gunna be the one that saves me..."

Both he and Renesme started to laugh before Jacob pulled Cassandra so she fell into his lap and started to tickle her.

"Stop!" she begged through a series of giggles, "Jake." He continued for a minute before setting her back down next to them with a smile. She made her way back around them and continued to hang on his shoulders.

"Looks like you have some competition there Nessy," Emmett joked.

They both smiled and Cassandra looked over at him.

"Someone has a crush on Jacob," he said in a teasing voice.

Cassandra made a face and immediately separated herself from him, "Eww. No I don't."

Esme looked at Emmett and shook her head as Masen finished the song, sending a light clap to trickle around the fire.

Seth and Jacob looked at each other, then seemed to nod and smile.

"Where you going?" Renesme asked.

"For a swim," he told her, "That okay?"

She nodded as he got up.

"The pup needs permission?" Emmett asked, looking up as Jacob stood, "Wow, Ness. You have him on a tight leash."

Jacob kicked sand in Emmett's direction before removing shirt and heading for the water. Seth was close by and a few of the other pack members that were to the side still kicking a ball around joined them.

Cassandra made her way back to her parents and flopped down in front of Leah, who immediately took her daughter into her arms. She let out a big yawn and stared into the fire.

"It's almost time for you to go to sleep," Leah told her.

She turned around and shook her head, "I'm not tired yet."

Masen looked at his phone for the time, "It's past ten."

"Can we stay until ten thirty?" Cassandra asked him, putting her best cute face.

He glanced over at Leah, who was smiling before giving her a nod, "Then we're out of here girlfriend."

"Ugh, don't say that Dad," she told him, putting a hand on her forehead.

Esme and Masen exchanged a glance and both laughed at her comment. She looked down at Caleb and stood up, "I think we better be heading back to the house."

"Alright," he told her, placing the guitar to the side to give her a hug.

Leah stood up and did the same before gathering the makings of a s'more for her daughter.

"We'll head back, too," Alice offered, causing Nicole to flash her a look of disappointment. She looked at her daughter, "Dad's probably back and if he's there alone, he's probably getting bored."

"Can I stay?" she asked, "I'll go home with Rosalie and Bella and everyone."

Her eyes looked to her siblings who nodded and shrugged as if to say 'it's fine with us'.

"Alright," Alice agreed, "But you have to listen to them. Don't go wandering away on your own."

Nicole hugged her mother, "Okay. Thanks."

Esme and Alice gave a little wave to everyone as they wandered away from their winter beach party.

"So, everyone's about back to normal," Esme said, as they walked slower than normal from the beach toward the woods, "That was fun. I'm so glad we ended the treaty with the Quileutes. They're really a lot of fun, and the beach here is so nice."

Alice nodded, "Yeah. I think between Nessy and Jake, then Masen and Leah, there was no way to keep us all apart. It was silly to begin with," she looked over at Caleb, "We have to get Carlisle back to normal now."

Esme looked over at her, "Yeah. I've tried to pull him out of this... trance he's been in. It's going to drive him crazy."

"I think it already has," Alice said lightly with a smile, though had a hint of seriousness in her voice, "I'd pack your bags and force you both to go on vacation again, but with Caleb being so young..."

"Yeah," Esme agreed, "I'm not ready to be away from him yet. Not for that long."

Alice nodded and let the idea drift from her mind, though she knew she had some of the skills in her outgoing, party planning mind to come up with something to bring her father out of the funk he was in.