Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

A/N-thanks for the awesome reviews. Nikki :)

Part Thirteen

Jacob reluctantly moved home the next morning. He and Bella shared some secret kisses out of sight of Charlie and Renee, before he left. They had both decided to keep their newly formed relationship to themselves for a while. They wanted to enjoy each other without having others butt in and offer advice. Bella watched from the top step of the house as Jacob drove away in Paul's car. She waved until he was out of sight and then went sadly back into the house.

Today she had another priority to sort out; Bella needed to hunt for a job. Jacob was planning on doing the same thing when he checked in on Billy. The storage fees for her truck were also backing up and Bella knew she was going to have to take a trip back to Texas and pick it up at some point. She needed a ride living back in Forks, she was isolated without it. After she had made sure Charlie was comfortable and had everything he needed, Bella pulled out her dad's laptop and began to search for a job. She pulled up a list of the schools closest to her and trawled through their job vacancies. To her chagrin she found nothing. She widened her search to include schools further out, even as far as Seattle. There seemed to be opportunities in the big city, but not close to home. Bella knew she was going to have to abort trying to find a job she had studied hard for four years for, and go for something else. She had no choice if she wanted to stay in the area.

Jacob shook hands with Jim Dowling. "When would you like me to start?" He asked.

"Tomorrow morning would be good. I have a ton of work backing up and I could use an extra pair of hands. I can only pay you the minimum wage though. There will be plenty of overtime, that should shore up your wages." Jim stated baldly.

Jacob rubbed the back of his neck as he watched Jim looking at him shrewdly. Dowling had a reputation for being tight and he was certainly living up to that. But Jacob had no choice but to accept the position, there wasn't much work going around and he knew he had been lucky to find this job. He nodded reluctantly. "I'll see you early in the morning." He agreed.

"Be prompt. I don't like shirkers." Jim called over his shoulder as he strolled back to his office.

Jacob gritted his teeth to stop himself issuing a retort. He was going to have a hard job keeping his cool with this guy, but he had to, for his and Bella's sake. If he wanted to build a future with her then he needed to start earning some serious money. He took a deep breath and left the garage so he could return Paul's car and let his dad know that he had found employment.

"The only shifts we have left are the late ones. You gonna be alright with that, sweetie?" Cora asked as she passed the uniform to Bella.

Bella took the dark pink pinafore dress and nodded. "That will suit me actually. I can fit them round caring for my dad."

Cora gave her a tired smile. "Yes, I heard about Charlie. Such a shame him getting shot like that. A man in the prime of his life. Bring him over here when he feels up to it, sweetie. There's a free meal for you both."

"Thanks." Bella returned her smile weakly. She glanced around at the busy diner which was going to be her new place of employment for the foreseeable future. Her feet were aching, she had been to every local business in a twenty mile radius, even to Newton's where she had worked when she was a teenager. But they had all politely declined her services, most saying she was overqualified for menial labour. Bella had practically begged Mrs, Newton for a job, any job, but the older woman had refused, telling her she could find something so much better. Bella reddened at the patronising way Mrs, Newton had addressed her. In the end she had been glad that the woman had not given her a job. The diner had been her last port of call and thankfully Cora had been very understanding about her situation and given her a chance.

"I'll see you tomorrow at six." Bella stood up and shook Cora's hand.

"You're a good girl to come home and look after your Pa like that." Cora said admiringly. "See you tomorrow."

Bella smiled again before leaving. Her heart a little lighter now that she had achieved something.

Jacob turned up late in the evening just in time to help Bella put Charlie to bed. The older man was tired after doing the exercises the physiotherapist had shown him. He had been pushing himself a little too hard and was now paying the price. The pain in his lower back was excruciating and he had taken a high dose of painkillers to ease the pain. They had made him groggy and he was soon asleep.

Bella and Jacob wandered out into the back garden and sat on the porch swing. They held hands as they spoke about their day. "I'm going to be working for Dowling." Jacob confessed.

"That old crook?" Bella was surprised. "Are you sure you'll get along with him? You know his reputation."

"I haven't got a choice. There is not much work around here and I had to take what I can get." Jacob kissed the top of her head as she smiled at him sadly.

"I'm sorry Jake. I wish we could win the lottery. Then you could open your own garage and I could...I could...I don't know." She laughed at her lack of insight.

"You could help me run it. I would be crap at doing the paperwork. You though, would be awesome. We could build a big house which was all on one floor and have all the mod cons for our dad's to be able to get about without difficulty." Jacob continued.

"Sounds nice. The house would have to have a big kitchen. If I'm going to be cooking for you and the pack I need a lot of space. One of those long tables would be great. All of us could sit together then. It could be like a regular thing. I would love that..." Bella's voice sounded dreamy as she pictured the huge room. She could see it clearly. Everyone together at the table, laughing and joking together companionably, as they ate.

"You would do that?" Jacob was surprised at her words. "Cook for everyone?"

Bella pulled herself back into the moment. "Of course I would. The pack are a big part of your life, well they are your extended family. And I love to cook..."

"You are awesome, Bella Swan." Jacob took her face between his hands and gazed into her eyes lovingly. "And beautiful too. And a kick ass cook."

Bella felt choked up inside at his faith in her. "I wish I could live up to what you deserve, Jake. But I'm just me. I'm a screw up."

"And I'm not?" Jacob leaned down and kissed her on the mouth, his lips moving languidly with hers as he felt her melt against him. They were both breathless when the kiss ended. "We need to let go of the past, remember?"

"I know. I just still feel hugely guilty." Bella lowered her head to stare at her hands. "Have the others forgiven me too, Jake? I mean I sent them those letters, have they said anything to you?" She asked hesitantly.

Jacob put his hand under her chin and raised her head so she was forced to look at him. Her brown eyes reflected the fear that she felt inside at being rejected by the pack. Jacob kissed her again gently before answering. "Bells, they never blamed you in the first place. They were touched by what you wrote to them. The only reason they have kept their distance is because I asked them to. You were going through so much and I didn't want you to feel overwhelmed. But if you feel ready we can go see them."

Bella smiled tremulously. "Yes, I would like that."

"Good, I'll arrange it then." Jacob leaned back and put a strong arm across her shoulders. Bella snuggled up to him and rested her head on his broad shoulder. They both gazed up at the heavens, feeling content and at peace for the first time in a long time.

Jacob knew that Melissa was following him. He glanced in his wing mirror and saw her car tailing his. He had borrowed Paul's car to drive to work. He really needed to get one of his own. His brother-in-law was getting irritable at the amount of times that Jacob was borrowing the old wreck. The only reason that he had been allowed to take it today was because Paul had been fired from yet another job. He and Rachel were having one of their long 'lie ins.' Jacob couldn't wait to move into his own place with Billy. The little redwood house was feeling more claustrophobic by the day.

He checked in his wing mirror again, her car was still there. Jacob knew he was going to have to deal with her. This was his first day , he couldn't have Melissa hanging around causing trouble. He pulled over to the side of the road and waited as she did the same. When she had parked behind him, Jacob climbed out of his car and confronted her. "You have to stop this, Melissa." He snapped.

"I keep calling but you refuse to answer your cell." Melissa whined. She edged closer to him and gazed at him from under her long lashes. "Please, Jake. I miss you."

"Look, I can't make myself any plainer. I do not want anything to do with you. Stop harassing me and stop harassing Bella. Now get out of here." Jacob was beyond irritated.

"Are you sleeping with her?" Melissa's whole demeanor changed. Her dark eyes filled with spite as she glared at him.

"That is none of your business. Just pull yourself together and stop fucking stalking me." Jacob turned away from her and got back into his car. He turned on the engine and sped off, leaving Melissa standing bereft in the middle of the road, screaming his name.

Bella couldn't believe it when she opened her front door and found Melissa on her doorstep. She groaned in annoyance as she stepped outside and closed the door after her. She didn't want Renee or Charlie to hear. "What do you want?" She hissed.

Melissa had practiced her speech multiple times before approaching the Swan house. She put on her best sympathetic expression and looked Bella straight in the eye. "I know our last meeting didn't go well." She said pleasantly.

"What do you want?" Bella demanded again, already bored with dealing with this infuriating woman.

"Okay I'll get straight to the point." Melissa squared her shoulders. "Jake has been playing us both for fools."

"What?" Bella crossed her arms and waited impatiently for Melissa to continue.

"He led me to believe that I was special to him." Melissa forced tears to well up into her eyes as she carried on spinning her lies. "But I was fooled. Just like Jake is fooling you now. He didn't love me like he told me over and over. I guess he's said the same to you. I bet he promised you the world, that he would always be there for you and that you are the only one he sees. Believe me he is good at what he does. He has done it to several other girl's besides me."

"Is that the best you can do?" Bella said sarcastically.

Melissa had to stop herself from pulling out every hair on her rival's head. She curled her fingers so that her long nails dug into her palms. "I know you have no reason to believe me, but what I am telling you is true. He has a long list of broken hearts behind him. I could tell you all their names, but I doubt you would recognize them. There is one you might know though...your dad is a close friend of theirs."

Bella raised her eyebrows. "Well? Surprise me."

"Leah Clearwater. She and Jake have a thing. It's been going on for a long time. They are both quite feisty so they argue a lot, but I saw them last night. They were together. I admit I went over to his house to see him, like the lovesick idiot I am, but it made me open my eyes to what he is truly like." A tear rolled down Melissa's cheek.

"You saw them doing what exactly? I know that Jake and Leah are friends." Bella tried to hide the worry in her voice, but Melissa picked up on it straight away.

"Kissing, they were kissing and well other things I am sure you don't want to know about." Melissa kept her eyes trained on Bella's as she delivered her killer blow. "It seems that she came over to see him late last night to tell him she loved him and that she wanted him back. Jake always had a soft spot for her. I heard him say that he was going to find it hard to tell you because of your dad and everything. He thought he should wait. But I didn't think that was fair. So here I am."

Bella swallowed the bile in her throat. She opened the door again, before stepping inside she gave the other girl a look of disgust. "Leave now before I do something I regret." She warned her.

Melissa shrugged. "I am doing you a favor. It is up to you whether you let Jake make a fool of you or not. Don't say I didn't try." She spun round and smiled smugly to herself, pleased with her morning's work.

A/N-thanks for reading!