A/N: Don't own, don't sue, I have a dog to support.

Oh, take your time
Don't live too fast
Troubles will come
And they will pass
You'll find a woman
And you'll find love
Don't forget, son, there is someone up above

- "Simple Man" by Jason Manns & Jensen Ackles

I don't know what I expected Bella to drive, but the more-rust-than-actual-paint tank of a truck wasn't it. She eyed me warily as I looked it over, as if daring me to say something derogatory against it.

"Nice ride," I said honestly. "Suits you."

She blinked at me owlishly and I was almost too distracted by her gorgeous brown eyes to hear her say, "Thank you. My dad got it for me."

"He's got good taste."

She nodded and fiddled with her key ring nervously. "Do you need a ride somewhere? I've got some time before I need to get home."

Need one? No. But I wasn't going to pass up the chance to spend a little more time with her. "No, but I had some questions for you if you don't mind."

Bella stopped her fidgeting and cocked her head. "What about?"

"The Cullens mostly."

Almost instantly her face hardened as she closed in on herself. "I don't know where they went or how to contact them. They – Alice…. None of my emails or calls go through."

I took an instinctive step toward her and reached out my hand to comfort her but dropped it back to my side when she hunched her shoulders and stepped back toward her truck.

This was going to be a delicate thing, I thought to myself. My girl (and she would be my girl one day) was hurting; any plans to win her heart were going to have to be executed with utmost care. She was a tough little thing to have run with and loved vampires, but it'd left her heart more than a little battered.

"That's alright," I told her, trying to keep my voice light. "I was hoping you could tell me about them. Maybe it'd shed some light into how they were able to stick to their diet."

Something like hope glimmered in her eyes. "You think I could help you?"

"We won't know until we try," I replied with what I hoped was a reassuring smile.

She nodded slowly. Then, straightening her spine she turned back to her truck and climbed in on the driver's side, waving to me through the window to get in. The engine roared to life as she turned the key before settling into a dull rumble that vibrated through the cab. It smelled like her and the mint air freshener she'd hung from the rearview mirror.

"What do you want to know about the family?" She asked as she guided the truck back onto the highway. I didn't know where she was taking us and didn't really care.

"How'd you meet them?"

"At school. There's six of them, and they posed as a family. Carlisle is their leader and was a doctor at the local hospital. Esme's his mate and stayed home for the most part; I don't think she really likes attention very much. The other four pretended to be their foster kids: Emmett, his mate Rosalie, Alice, and Edward." She stumbled slightly over the last name and my resolve to kick his ass only strengthened.

"How'd you find out they were vampires?"

She glanced at me for a split second then back to the road. "I, uh, kind of figured it out. My friend Jake from the reservation told me some stories about his tribe. About how they were enemies with something called the Cold Ones. But I started connecting the dots when Edward saved me from being crushed by Tyler's van when it skidded on the ice – are you okay?"

It was then I realized I was growling. I mentally slapped myself as I tamped down the noise. "My apologies, darlin'. I'm alright. Please, continue."

Her brows furrowed but she continued. "It wasn't clear until I started paying attention to how different they were. Their eyes, skin, how they smelled – none of it made sense. And then when Edward later saved me from a bunch of thugs in Port Angeles, he told me he could read minds. He confirmed my suspicions later."

"And it didn't scare you?"

She shook her head, her hair falling over her shoulders with the motion and filling the cab with her natural perfume. I relaxed further into the seat as I let it wash over me. "I loved them. I guess… it didn't really occur to me to be afraid of them? I've always been the odd one out, and when I noticed they were too, I was drawn that much more to them." Her hands tightened on the wheel. "Nobody deserves to be alone."

I could help but stare at her in wonder. Our kind was designed to be attractive to our prey, but on some level, humans also kept their distance if they had the opportunity to. They tried to ignore their instincts, but some large part of them told them to stay away from us. Either Bella's were broken, or her capacity to love anyone was so large it drowned out the voice that was trying to keep her alive.

It was – no, she was – a marvel. A rare and beautiful creature I was utterly fascinated by. It'd been so long since I'd been this intrigued by something, and the feeling was almost novel.

They were fools to leave her behind. I wouldn't make the same mistake.

"Did they tell you about their diet?"

"Some. Edward didn't like talking about it. He doesn't like being a vampire." She glanced at me again with a sad smile. "He thinks he lost his soul when Carlisle changed him, and was constantly worried if I changed I would lose my soul too." Her emotions spiked with annoyance. "I tried to tell him I didn't believe that, that I didn't care but he didn't listen!"

This time I didn't stop myself from touching her. She stiffened as my hand came to rest on her knee and I projected a small brush of calm, just enough to take the edge off her deep-rooted frustration. The tension in her shoulders eased and she looked at me curiously.

"Are you manipulating my emotions?"

"A little. D'you want me to stop?"

She thought about it for a moment. "Maybe ask me first next time?" She sounded so nervous when she asked, almost as if she was worried she was going to upset me.

"I should've gotten your consent in the first place," I replied with a gentle squeeze to her knee. "I'm sorry darlin'. I'll do better goin' forward."

"Thanks." She flashed me a half-smile that if I were standing, I'm sure would've sent me to my knees. She had a beautiful smile, and I was determined to make her do it much more often.

"I remember Emmett telling me that carnivores tasted better than herbivores. He liked grizzlies, the more irritated the better. Edward liked mountain lion the best. I don't know about the rest of them."

"That's real helpful. Thank you." I didn't need to hunt just yet, but perhaps tomorrow I'd give it a try.

She opened her mouth as if to say something before closing it again, nerves rolling off her so thick it was almost palpable.

"What's eatin' you?"

"I -" Her knuckles went white from how tight she gripped the steering wheel and swallowed hard. "Have you come across any other vampires since you've been here? A red head by chance?"

"One of the Cullens?"

She shuddered. "No. Her names Victoria and she's hunting me."

There was no stopping the growl that escaped my chest. She jumped, clearly startled, and I fought to rein myself in. She guided the truck into the driveway of a two-story white house that butted up against the forest and killed the engine.

"Tell me everythin'," I said once I was calm enough to speak.

She recited her tale in an almost clinical manner, starting with the baseball game to the ballet studio; anger only coloring her words as she described Edward sucking out the venom and leaving her human.

The more I learned about the Cullen coven the more I questioned their choices. They'd broken our most important law by letting her in on the secret, took her in, apparently loved her, only to abandon her to be hunted by the mate of the male they'd killed for her? None of it made sense. Were they so intent on playing human that they'd forgotten how to be vampires?

"You don't have to worry about her, Bella," I reassured her. "I'll protect you."

"She's dangerous," she insisted as she leaned towards me. "James was the tracker, but Edward read her mind – she's a sadist. She tortures her prey, human, or vampire, it doesn't matter. She'll kill you and I couldn't bear it if anyone got hurt because of me!"

I couldn't help but chuckle. She was so earnest in her attempts to convince me, but she didn't have a clue who I was and what I was capable of. What I'd done. The thought sobered me; what if she rejected me when she learned about my past?

"Darlin', she doesn't have a chance in hell takin' me down," I said quietly. Looking around I quickly leaned forward and reached behind my head to yank off my long-sleeved t-shirt. She gasped, embarrassment coloring her cheeks a fetching shade of pink, and looked anywhere but at me. Her innocence was charming – almost as much as it was enticing.

"Look at me, Bella."

She looked me in the eyes, and I couldn't help the chuckle that escaped me. I scooted closer to her and reached for her hand to place it on my chest. "Look."

She dropped her eyes and then gasped. "Jasper, what happened to you?" Her fingers traced over the overlapping bites that covered my chest, following to where they were more thickly clustered on my shoulders and neck. She traced the thick line around the base of my throat where Maria had ripped my head off; punishment for letting Peter and Char escape.

"Every scar is from a vampire I've killed," I said quietly, hoping I wasn't about to scare her off with my admission. "None of 'em ever got more than one bite in because they didn't live long enough to do it again. I'm a killer and a damn good one. Your Victoria doesn't have a hope in hell in bestin' me."

She shifted closer to bring her other hand to my chest. I couldn't stop the shiver that ran through me at the feeling of the warmth from her skin. But none of that felt better than what she said next.

"I don't know what happened to you, Jasper, but these scars… They're battle scars. They just prove that you're a warrior, a survivor. Whatever kind of person you were then, I don't see him now. You've been nothing but kind to me, and the fact that you want to feed off animals instead of humans tells me you care about people. And that's more than what a lot of humans can say."

I'm certain if I had the ability to cry, I'd have broken down in her arms right then. Instead, I captured her hands in mine and interlaced our fingers together. "That's the kindest thing anyone's ever said to me, darlin'. Thank you."

"I didn't say it to be kind," she insisted. "It's the truth."

I resisted the urge to pull her closer and instead released her hands to tug my shirt back on. When I was decent, she asked, "Do you want to come inside for a bit? Charlie, my dad, won't be home for a while."

"Sure." It'd give me a chance to further familiarize myself with her scent, as well as get a lay of the land, so to speak. I followed her up the stairs to a small room that overlooked the forest behind the house. Her room, given that her scent was strongest here.

It looked very much like a teenage girl's domain; it was small, with blue walls and looked like a bomb had gone off in it. Her bookshelf was literally overflowing to the point she had stacks of books and CDs on top and around it. An ancient looking computer sat on a desk wedged in the corner. Her bed was unmade, the purple comforter hanging half-off it and there was the occasional piece of clothing strewn about the floor.

"I wasn't expecting company," she said sheepishly as she quickly snatched up the clothes on the floor to throw into the hamper by her closet. "I've been so busy with school and work I guess I just -"

"I'm not judgin'." I closed the distance between us and again I was struck by how small she was compared to me. Some primal part of me enjoyed the size difference between us. "Can I help you relax, darlin'?"

"That might be a good idea," she muttered, her cheeks growing pinker as she avoided my eyes. I reached out to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear and projected a comfortable lassitude through the gentle touch. She visibly relaxed and when she swayed toward me, I almost met her halfway to claim her lips in a kiss.

Instead, I guided her to the bed and sat down beside her, close enough for our shoulders to touch but otherwise kept my hands to myself. "Better?"

"Much," she said with a sigh. "I don't know why I'm embarrassed, it's not like I've never had a boy in my room before."

That thought made me grit my teeth but I tamped it down. "What about a man?"

She looked at me through her lashes, before quickly looking away again. "Yeah," she said quietly. "This is a first."

Her admission soothed the beast, and I leaned back on my hands, closing my eyes as I relaxed.

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-three," I replied, without opening my eyes. She huffed with clear irritation, and I grinned before I continued, "But if you want to be technical, one hundred and sixty-six." I opened my eyes to see her reaction and wasn't disappointed.

"You were alive during the Civil War?" she gasped.

"Fought in it, too. I was the youngest Major in the Texas Cavalry for the Confederacy, but my real role was a spy for the Union. I'll tell you about it later someday if you're interested."

She looked like she was about to burst from the questions I swore I could see on her tongue, but she refrained. "The Cullens were all young too when they were changed. Edward and Alice were seventeen, Rosalie was eighteen, while Emmett was twenty-one. Carlisle was twenty-five and Esme was the oldest, she was twenty-six when Carlisle changed her."

"And they thought they could pass as teenagers?" I asked incredulously.

"They did alright," she insisted. "Edward and Alice were juniors like me, while Rose and Emmett were seniors. Nobody really got close enough to them to question it though, so it worked."

I had my doubts but left it alone. Our conversation turned toward other things, learning small things about each other. She told me she wasn't from Forks originally and how she'd come to live here to give her mother the freedom to travel with her new husband. I got the impression Bella had been the adult in that relationship, rather than the child she should have been. She told me about her school and her friends, and I shared some of the more pleasant memories I had of being a nomad. She seemed fascinated by the concept, and I wondered if she would mind traveling for a while once she got past her newborn year.

Eventually though, it was time for me to leave. I was pleased to see she wasn't all that thrilled by my taking off for a while, but I had no intention of going very far. "I'm going to establish a territory tonight," I told her as I stood up. "But I'll be close by if you need me."

"Establish a territory?"

"It means a vampire has claimed the area as their hunting grounds," I explained. "I've got no plans on drainin' anyone here, but it'll warn any other vampires who pass through the area that I'm here."

She nodded in understanding. "I've got a lot to learn about vampires."

"You do," I said with a wink. "But don't worry, darlin'. I'll teach you everythin' there is to know."

I felt her eyes on me as I strode over to her window, and I couldn't help looking back over my shoulder to wink at her before I leapt out into the encroaching night.

A/N: Yes, I know that's not their canon ages, but my story my rules! I'm partial to an older, more mature Jasper.