Chapter 2
Renesmee looked at herself in the mirror as the seamstress added lace to a white dress her Aunt Alice had given her for her wedding. The turtle neck of the dress was tight and the sleeves fit like gloves. She found it exceedingly uncomfortable. She realized after she'd left Peter's home with John, gone were the days that she could walk around her own home with her blouse unbuttoned and feeling comfortable. While the seamstress was doing a lovely job on her dress, she'd insisted Caevia stay outside away from her dresses. No matter how much Renesmee argued with the woman, she simply wouldn't allow Caevia in the shop. Were the woman not the only seamstress in town, Renesmee would've refused her business, but the woman was her only option so she told the woman to keep the tailoring quick so Caevia wouldn't be waiting outside for too long.
Her wedding was tomorrow. She'd known Peter for four days and it certainly felt that way. He was so shy and always spoke with John rather than speak with her. She hoped that would change once they were married. She knew Peter was at least fond of her, but they needed to actually talk to each other to have any sort of meaningful relationship. When the dress was finally done, Renesmee smiled kindly and assured it was perfect. She paid the woman for her services and came outside to see Caevia sitting in a corner rather than on the bench chair outside the shop where Renesmee had left her.
"Did someone tell you not to sit on this bench?" Renesmee asked, exasperated.
"Yes," Caevia answered as she stood up from her corner. "Your family was much nicer."
"They just need to get used to you. Once they know you, they'll accept you."
Caevia chuckled darkly, "Oh Renesmee. Sometimes I think you're too innocent of people. Don't let yourself worry too much about it. It may have been a while, but I'm used to people treating me this way."
"I'm not going to put up with it," Renesmee said stubbornly. "You're not a criminal. I'm not going to tolerate everyone treating you like one." Caevia smiled at Renesmee. Any other time, she would hug her reassuringly but doing so would kick up a needless fuss.
"They just need time," Caevia finally said in agreement even if only to help Renesmee calm down and let the matter go. "Let's go back to the lodge. You're getting married tomorrow and you need some rest."
Renesmee finally agreed and the two walked back to the lodge with her dress. When they arrived back at the lodge, the two just went right back to Renesmee's room and played cards together until it was dinner time. Renesmee left Caevia in the room and grabbed some food from downstairs insisting on eating in her room, claiming she was simply so nervous about her wedding the next day that she needed some time to be alone. When she returned to her room, she gave the food to Caevia for her dinner and waited for it to get late enough that Renesmee could sneak out into the woods and hunt some deer. She got back long before it was past midnight and went right to bed when she returned. She woke up to the sun bright in her face. She'd forgotten to close the curtain when she returned and now she was paying for it, not being allowed to get extra sleep. Caevia was also woken up earlier than desired by the bright light entering through the window. Renesmee left the bed, went to the window and closed the curtain before returning to her bed attempting to get more sleep but, alas, it wasn't meant to be. There came a knock at her door from the lodge owner's wife, excitedly announcing it was Renesmee's wedding day. Renesmee groaned and sat up in bed again. Caevia sat up as well from her bed across the room and smiled at her.
"Are you ready to get married?" Caevia asked with a yawn, stretching her arms up.
"I would be after three more hours of sleep," Renesmee joked. The two shared a laugh as they got out of bed.
Renesmee allowed the lodge owner's wife into the room, who'd insisted all the mail order brides allow her to do their hair for their wedding days. It was a bit of a passion of hers evidently. She sat Renesmee down in front of a mirror and proceeded to do her hair up in a French braid. It was rather plain but it would do. Stray hairs framed her face well enough and she was able to wear a small barrette in her hair that her mother had let her borrow. It was also blue, killing two traditional birds with one stone. Her dress was made new and it was also originally her mother's wedding dress, so old and new covered. Caevia braided her own hair while the woman did Renesmee's and she got dressed in a nicer dress Renesmee had chosen for her to wear. She'd already made it clear to everyone that Caevia would be her maid of honor despite the women begging her to reconsider. "It's simply not right to make a slave your maid of honor," they insisted. "Firstly," Renesmee had explained, "She's my servant, not my slave. Secondly, she's a close friend to me regardless of her 'position' and I will elevate her to whatever role I please." The conversation from there had harshly ended, Renesmee refusing to allow any more nonsense on this matter. She wasn't the most popular woman in the lodge after that little display.
After Renesmee was dressed and ready, the Lodge owner's wife led her downstairs telling her all about the feast she and the other brides had to look forward to following the wedding. Renesmee and Peter were getting married first, then two other couples would follow them and then they would all return to the lodge for a reception feast. It had been this way on and off since she and Caevia had arrived. The day before was the only day a wedding hadn't been planned. All the brides were downstairs waiting for someone to pick them up and take them to the church. They wouldn't go until all their fiancés had all arrived at the church. Peter was the only one that didn't live in town, at least out of the men that were getting married that day, so Renesmee knew they were all waiting on him. By the time the clock read nine, Reverend Lesley (who'd married his wife two days ago) came to get the ladies. They walked to the church, holding their dresses above the dirt as best they could while the townspeople followed behind eager to see the nuptials for the day. After this, there were only four more couples to get married and their weddings would be tomorrow. The small church at the edge of town was packed to bursting with townspeople, making it hard for Renesmee and the other brides to get into the church. But when they managed to force their way, through the grooms, particularly Peter, were standing up front ready to get married. Each bride was escorted up the line towards the altar and, as Renesmee had demanded, Caevia was close to her side as her maid of honor. When she reached Peter, she noticed he seemed less than thrilled that Renesmee had been serious about Caevia being her maid of honor, but he chose to say nothing: a wise decision on his part. Reverend Lesley moved to his spot before the church and began the ceremonies with Renesmee and Peter.
She noticed, as the Reverend spoke, that Peter seemed very nervous. He looked at her through the whole ceremony, yet she could tell he was uncomfortable and wanted the whole thing to be over with. She had to admit she was of the same mind. Her dress was far too tight and she felt like she couldn't breathe. And through the whole ceremony something was bothering her. She had no idea what could be bothering her though. She kept seeing that reddish brown wolf that had run past the caravan on her way to Olympia. She kept seeing those black, human like eyes that she remembered, but she did her best during the ceremony to push it from her mind. Peter was very nice, a fixer upper yes, but ultimately a nice man. Were there something off about him, Renesmee was sure she would realize it. Yet she couldn't shake the feeling she was making a mistake. Caevia kept her eyes on Renesmee the whole time and noticed she seemed less than thrilled. Yet Renesmee had already decided this was what she wanted, so Caevia left her alone. She could always talk with her later. They could always run if Renesmee was truly not happy and Caevia had no trouble reminding her.
All three ceremonies took about two and a half hours to get through and it all culminated at the lodge for the reception. At the reception, Peter finally took some form of affirmative action and held Renesmee's hand sweetly. It was the first real sign of affection he'd shown her and it left her hopeful. Peter insisted, after spending an hour at the feast, cutting their small cake and having a light lunch (that Renesmee pretended to eat) that it was time for them to get back to the farm. Peter sent Renesmee and Caevia upstairs to gather their things and Caevia took that time to bring up what had clearly been discomfort at the wedding.
"Are you happy?" Caevia asked as she folded a dress. "I want you to answer me honestly. You know we can go back to Chicago if you're not happy. Your family will welcome you back without a word about this."
"I know they would, but it's time I was alone," Renesmee answered. "Peter's a good man. I'm sure given time I'll grow to love him. I'm, at the very least, fond of him."
"Fondness makes a fine friendship, Renesmee, but it doesn't make a marriage. I think you two should've waited a few months to get to know him. Edward could've met him first, then, and given an honest assessment of the man."
"I told you, Caevia; I told all of you: it's time I grow up. I don't need daddy to make life decisions for me. I respect that you're trying to look out for me, but I just need for you to support my decisions."
"I do support you," Caevia said. "I'll trust your judgment."
"Thank you," Renesmee said with appreciation. Having packed the last of her things and changed into a more comfortable dress, she pulled her suitcase off the bed and smiled at Caevia. "Let's go home." Caevia smiled back and followed Renesmee down the stairs with her own suitcase. Renesmee and Peter said their goodbyes to everyone at the reception. She was surprised everyone at the reception seemed alright with her and Peter leaving so early. Peter just said goodbye to everyone, as did Renesmee, and they walked to Peter's cart to go back to the farm. The ride itself was rather quiet and long. About halfway to the house, Renesmee couldn't stand the silence anymore. Her first instinct was to talk to Caevia, but when she turned around, she saw she'd fallen asleep. Evidently, she'd been just as bored with the ride.
"I'm glad no one was upset with us leaving so early," Renesmee said when she was looking at Peter again.
"They wouldn't be," Peter said bashfully. "I don't like large crowds. They make me uncomfortable."
"The church and lodge were really crowded," Renesmee agreed as she started staring at her hands. "Have you always hated large crowds?"
"Yes," Peter said frankly. "You don't mind if we refrain from going to the weddings scheduled tomorrow do you? I've had my fill of parties for a while."
"That's alright," Renesmee answered.
There was silence after that again and Renesmee racked her brain for anything else to talk about. She didn't want to talk about parents. Peter had revealed his parents were dead and she knew he wouldn't want to talk about it anymore. His mother had died years ago and his father had passed away from throat cancer just two years ago. There was no point in discussing a job in town as a nurse for her. Peter and the town doctor had already made that clear as well.
Upon arrival at the house, they drove the cart through the fields, pigs running aside. The noises they made jolted Caevia back to attention from the back of the cart. Peter parked right in front of the house and came around to Renesmee once he was off and helped Renesmee get off. Caevia helped herself and followed the two into the house. When Caevia entered the house behind the couple, Peter looked at her suspiciously, but said nothing. Per Renesmee's instructions, Peter made a bed available for Caevia however it was a collection of blankets in the corner of the kitchen: hardly what Renesmee had in mind. Caevia didn't complain of the matter but Renesmee chose to bring it up at dinner that night when Peter asked Renesmee not to waste good pig on her.
"We need to have a talk about Caevia," Renesmee said after she sat down at the dinner table.
"I agree," Peter answered. "You're far too nice to her."
"Quite the contrary," she said, "I know why you have an aversion to Native Americans, but I would like for you to give Caevia a chance and be nicer to her. She's been a good friend to me since I was a child so I hold her in quite high regard."
"I'll try," Peter said, no longer wanting to argue. It was their wedding night after all and the last thing he wanted to do was argue with his new wife.
"That's all I ask," Renesmee answered, continuing to only pretend to eat her dinner. She'd gotten really good at it so Peter never noticed she did it. There was a moment of silence as dinner continued. Renesmee managed to discard enough of the plate to feel comfortable claiming she was full and finished with her dinner. After she finished, Peter looked at her shyly.
"Did you like it?"
"It was delicious," Renesmee lied.
"I'm glad you think so," Peter smiled. "I try to treat those pigs like family. I firmly believe the better a pig's life and the better they eat, the better they taste."
"I can tell those pigs eat a lot of apples."
"It's not just the apples. Those pigs eat more vegetables than I do." Peter chuckled a little. "That's not a good thing is it?"
"I'd say not. I'm happy to make plenty of vegetables for dinner from now on."
"I would like that. I'm friends with Thomas Hudson further west of here. He has a really big vegetable garden. I can always convince him to give me more vegetables."
"That sounds like a great idea," Renesmee said. Shortly after, Peter finished his dinner.
"You know how to cook pork," he said in a pleased tone. "I dare say it's better than how my father used to cook it." Renesmee noticed Peter seem mildly solemn after that comment, but he quickly swept the feeling under the rug as best he could. "I, um," Peter began rather awkwardly.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm alright," Peter said. "I was planning to go straight to bed." Finally Renesmee realized why he was probably so nervous.
"It has been a busy day," Renesmee encouraged. "I suppose we should go to bed early."
Peter seemed to relax with Renesmee's reassurance. She asked Caevia if she would take care of the dishes while she and Peter went upstairs. It would be the first time Renesmee saw more of the house than just the kitchen. Caevia had been the one to take Renesmee's things upstairs and put things away for her while she'd gotten dinner ready. She noticed, when they got upstairs, that there were two bedrooms. She imagined Peter would want to keep the other bedroom for children. It was the first time the prospect of children had even crept into her mind and the thought put her off. It wasn't that she didn't like children, quite the opposite but she hadn't put children into the equation of her 'reverse black widow' plan. She had no way of knowing how much like her their children would be. She knew how sex worked and where babies come from, so she would have to find a way to feign infertility.
The bedroom she and Peter would share was to the left of the long hallway across from the guest bathroom. The bed was rather small. It looked like a bed suitable for just one person, but certainly not for a couple to share. She wasn't sure when they would be able to get a bigger bed, but it certainly wouldn't be any time soon. There was a window to the side of the bed, which was pushed against the wall. Renesmee looked at Peter, who was already undressing as if he were really getting ready for bed now in nothing but his long underwear. She asked Peter to help her get out of her wedding dress. She felt his hands shaking as he undid her dress one infuriating button at a time. Under her dress was her slip which was much more comfortable and she finally felt like she could breath. When she was in her slip, Peter gently turned her around to look at him and took her hands in his.
"I'm sorry for being so nervous," Peter said. "I'm not used to people as a whole."
"What made you decide to get married if that's the case?"
"I'm lonely," he admitted sadly. "I have friends, but I hardly see them. I guess I just wanted someone to spend my life with that was more than a friend. Does that sound silly?"
"Not at all," Renesmee said. She went onto her toes and kissed Peter's nose, trying to help him relax. His being so nervous was making her nervous. She'd always imagined that the man she ended up with would be the one to take charge. That only seemed normal to her. So the fact that she had to take charge and get things started was very strange.
After kissing his nose, Peter finally worked up the courage to give Renesmee a real kiss. It felt so strange to her but she just went along with what Peter did. He wasn't doing much though. He was just hugging her while he kissed her. Renesmee wrapped her arms around his neck in the hopes it would make him feel more comfortable. It seemed to help a little. Peter started moving, narrowly avoiding stepping on her feet as he moved them towards the bed. Peter pushed her gently onto the bed and went right on top of her. During every touch and every kiss, Renesmee just stared at the ceiling, moving her hands but staying on his still clothed back. His hands started to travel up her shoulders to the straps of her slip which he pulled down. The straps stopped at her elbows seeing as she didn't bring her arms down to allow them to be pulled down any further. It did, however, leave her breasts bare for his hands to touch when he got around to it.
The entire act felt foreign to Renesmee and she felt really uncomfortable. Peter tried to pleasure her, but each effort only served to make her more uncomfortable almost certainly due entirely to Peter having little more idea how to go about the act as Renesmee did. She knew Penis went in Vagina to have sex but she also knew there were supposed to be interesting ways to actually get to that point. Peter had yet to remove any of his clothes thus far, which made it feel to Renesmee that he was completely disjointed from what they were doing. Then suddenly, while Peter was touching her breasts, she felt him twitch and shake. His crotch was suddenly wet on her long slip dress and, despite not looking at her, she could see a shamed look on Peter's face. As soon as it happened, Peter leaped off her and ran to the bathroom closing the door behind him. Renesmee stared in that direction for a few seconds before she heard the water pump going, so she readjusted her dress and turned over onto her side to look out the window. It gave her a clear view of the lush trees outside the farm limits.
Moments later after she started looking out the window, she also saw, she could swear, the sight of glowing eyes. When she looked closer, she realized it was a wolf. She sat up with a gasp and just as clearly as she saw those glowing wolf's eyes, she clearly saw them disappear. Renesmee rubbed eyes eyes and looked outside again trying to make sure she wasn't seeing things. But when she looked again the eyes were no longer there. She laid back down and continued to look out the window desperately trying to fall asleep. Eventually Peter came out of the bathroom and walked over to the bed, taking the remaining free space. Renesmee noticed the newer smell of clothes. Peter didn't take a hold of her. Instead, he laid on his back staring at the ceiling and simply apologized for what happened. When he made an attempt to explain, Renesmee assured him he didn't need to and told him to go to sleep.
The next morning when Renesmee woke up, Peter was already out of bed getting dressed for the day's work. As if nothing had happened the night before (or attempting to appear as though nothing had happened the night before), Peter walked over to the bed when he realized she was awake and gave her a sweet kiss. They met again downstairs while Peter was eating a few apples for breakfast and Caevia was sitting on her small pile of sheets waiting for any instructions of what to do should he want her to do anything. For the most part, Peter just ignored Caevia. After eating three apples and taking a few with him to snack on while he worked, he left the house saying a kind goodbye to Renesmee and got started with tending to the pigs.
"So," Caevia said when they were alone, standing up from her pile of blankets, "did you enjoy your first night as a married woman?"
"Nothing really happened," Renesmee admitted after scratching her head and taking a deep breath. "We started to, but I guess he finished too soon."
"Ah," was all Caevia said.
"He seems to be taking it well at least."
"Give it time," Caevia said. "It'll creep up to the surface soon enough. I say be patient and go along with anything he says for a while. The less his feathers are ruffled, the sooner he'll feel better about his compromised manhood."
"He doesn't strike me as the type that would allow such a thing to bother him so much."
"Men are men, Renesmee. I've known many in my life and they've come in many shapes and sizes but there has always been one thing they all have in common: don't ever bring sexual inadequacy to the forefront. Men can't stand to have their penises criticized."
"I never criticized him," Renesmee said defensively.
"Good, keep it that way." Caevia walked closer. "Now that we've discussed that, did you get a chance to talk to Peter about being on call as a nurse for the town doctor?"
"I did at the reception yesterday, but Dr. Taylor overheard me speaking with Peter about the matter and said he was in no need of any help from any nurses."
"Why didn't you say something to me earlier?"
"I had other things on my mind," Renesmee said. "I'd just gotten married." Renesmee took a deep breath and rubbed her face. "I don't think Peter was too keen on the idea of me going into town every day anyway. I think he wants me home."
"Keep you barefoot and pregnant, eh," Caevia said. "Assuming he can keep it up long enough to get it in."
"Caevia!" Renesmee snapped, but Caevia just shrugged.
"He's mean to me, I'll be mean to him: behind his back of course." Caevia would've remained unapologetic about the comment, but Renesmee looked like she was about to cry. For the first time since leaving Chicago, Caevia went to Renesmee and hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry," she said, "I didn't mean to upset you."
"No," Renesmee said through her tears. "It's not your fault."
"If you want to leave-"
"Stop saying that," Renesmee interrupted. "It's just one night. It doesn't mean that'll be the rest of our marriage."
"How long do you plan to stay with him?" Caevia asked, noticing she didn't say 'life'. She'd figured she wouldn't stay with Peter his whole life. He'd notice the lack of aging if she did, but Renesmee never actually explained her plan to Caevia outside of wanting independence.
"I don't know. As long as I can without him noticing I'm not aging. I wasn't even planning to start a family if I'm honest."
"Good thing he's a minute man, then," Caevia attempted to joke. Though she didn't want to, Renesmee did laugh. Caevia brushed away the tears from Renesmee's face and smiled. "There we go, that's what I was looking for. And hey, if you two do end up having kids one day, we'll just take him or her with us."
"No," Renesmee shook her head. "That's not fair to Peter or a child we would have together. I think Peter wants children one day. It would be cruel to have a child with him only to take it away without a word."
"Yeah," Caevia answered solemnly. "It would be." Caevia sighed a little. "I suppose I of all people should realize that."
"Don't think about that," Renesmee encouraged. "It only upsets you. Let's get some cleaning done around the house. I can't imagine the house is very clean."
"Sure," Caevia answered. It took a while to find the necessary items to use for cleaning, but once they did, the two worked to get the house as clean as possible for most of the morning.
Meanwhile outside the house, Jacob and Quil stalked around outside under the cover of the woods. They'd been there for three days now, waiting for the opportune time to strike but it simply wasn't coming up. Jacob had expected to leave, get his imprint, and run back to the tribe in a matter of a day at most but this pale faced man was making that plan rather troublesome. Jacob had no intention of taking the man with him. The thought of just killing the man crossed Jacob's mind, but Quil immediately turned it down. There would be enough of a panic once the townspeople realized one of their own had been kidnapped. Killing one of their own would make the matter worse and exacerbate what would undoubtedly turn into a witch hunt. Jacob came to the decision that they were better off waiting until his imprint was alone so they could sneak her away without anyone knowing who'd taken her. Yet there was also the problem of what to do with the other woman with his imprint. She was clearly a Native American, so Quil suggested they take her with them too. There was no way she was happy being stuck with pale faces that saw her as an inferior. She would certainly be happier with them and she'd be readily accepted. Considering her history, Leah might see the woman as a friend right away. Accepting his imprint, on the other hand, might be harder for the tribe to do given the track record they had with pale faces thus far. They would accept her eventually, though. Jacob would make sure of that.
Jacob and Quil watched the house all day, keeping a close eye on the pale faced man. The two wished they could grab one of the pigs and dig in, but the beasts were far too noisy. If they attacked one, it would rouse the house. They settled for Jacob staying by the house while Quil ran off to look for a dear to bring for the two to share. They managed to ensure that the pale faced man didn't see or notice them as they stalked the back of the house. Out of pure boredom, Quil suggested that they take a bunch of apples with them. They were kidnapping, why not add thievery to the list? Jacob growled at Quil when the thought crossed his mind.
Back in the house, Renesmee and Caevia managed to get the whole house clean. With that done, there really wasn't anything left to do except cook. Renesmee helped herself to the large collection of recipes stored away in a cabinet. The handwriting wasn't fantastic and there were several spelling errors throughout the recipes, but each recipe had small notes on them. "Charles loves this," would be written next to one recipe while others would have "Peter loves this" or "Peter and Charles love this". Almost all the recipes revolved entirely around apples. She found one recipe that was favored according to the notes for Apple Butter and another for Apple Pie jam and of course Apple Pie.
"Let's go outside and harvest a bunch more apples. I feel like trying these recipes." Caevia wandered over and looked at the recipes Renesmee pointed at.
"Do we have everything we'll need?" Renesmee looked around the kitchen and realized it was rather barren of necessities for sweet food. She hadn't realized it last night since she was just making pork, but now it was obvious just how ill-equipped the kitchen was save for all the appropriate pots and pans.
"I'll get some money and we'll go shopping."
Renesmee grabbed some money of her own from her bag and went with Caevia to the horse that was in his stable. Renesmee let Peter know she'd be doing some shopping and they'd be back before nightfall. On horse, the trip to town took about twenty five minutes or so and when they arrived, Renesmee asked around where she could get spices and gelatin. Everyone suggested the general store and the pharmacy, so that's where they went. Just to avoid argument, Renesmee asked Caevia to wait outside with the horse while she got the ingredients. She made sure to buy plenty of spices and sugar and gelatin. On the way to town, she had a thought that maybe she could make a large quantity of apple butter and jams to sell in town. It would give her something to do seasonally at the very least. Thankfully it was the height to the fall season and the apples were glowing like weeds. Renesmee and Caevia got back to the farm before the sun set. Peter was still outside working when she returned and she knew he was probably hungry. Caevia put the spices away while Renesmee got dinner ready.
"I was thinking," Renesmee said once she and Peter sat down for dinner, "that I might make some apple pie jam and apple butter and apple pie. I found some recipes in the cupboard and they look delicious."
"They're my mother's recipes," Peter said. "I can't remember the last time I had those things."
"Would it make you happy if I made those for you?"
"I might cry," Peter answered with a smile. "I take it that's what you went to town for?"
"Yes," Renesmee said. "I'll start in the morning tomorrow. I noticed you have two huge pots, so I'll be able to do all three things tomorrow."
"I can't wait," Peter said. "The house will smell amazing."
"I was also thinking," Renesmee continued, "that since we have so many apples and I'll be making so much, I might be able to sell some bottles of jam and apple butter." Peter chuckled.
"It'll give John one more thing to demand of me." Renesmee smiled back and continued to pretend to eat her dinner. "I don't know how many jars that recipe makes, but I do know we have plenty of mason jars."
"I know, I checked. If these turn out really good, I'll buy more then." Renesmee wasn't certain if the night before was still bothering Peter, but if it was, he certainly wasn't showing it. After dinner, Renesmee took Caevia outside with her to gather as many apples as she could fit in the baskets so they would be ready for her in the morning.
That night when she came to bed, Peter made no attempt to be intimate, but he did hold her in bed for a while. In the morning when Renesmee woke up, Peter had already gone outside to start working so Renesmee went straight downstairs after putting on her most comfortable dress and only wore a pair of socks. Caevia and Renesmee started the day with peeling the skin off the apples and keeping them in a bucket of water so they wouldn't brown. Renesmee followed the recipes to a tee and making both apple pie jam and apple butter took her all day. By the time the jam and butter were done and put in their mason jars, she simply didn't have the energy to make a pie on top of all that. Caevia didn't stay awake for dinner. After everything was jarred, she went right to bed in her pile of blankets. Renesmee did the same thing and went right to bed after she finished everything.
Jacob and Quil were, of course, outside through the whole day. They'd wondered what Jacob's imprint had been up to when she was collecting so many apples. The next morning, both wolves were awoken by the smell of apples baking.
Whatever that is, Quil said mid-day when the smell of sugar, cinnamon and apples were wafting in the air, we're taking some.
That I'll agree to taking, Jacob responded.
When Renesmee woke up the next morning and came downstairs in her same comfortable dress and socks, she saw Peter smearing apple butter on one slice of bread and apple pie jam on another slice of bread. When he turned around and looked at Renesmee, he held the piece of bread up in the air as if to toast.
"This is excellent," Peter said.
"I'm glad you enjoyed all that." Peter walked over with the bread and handed it to Renesmee so she would try it. She took a bite and made an approving sound, claiming she thought it was delicious. It was a shame, but it really only tasted like mud to her. "It really is good. I'm rather pleased if I do say so myself."
"Believe me so am I. I never thought I would eat these things ever again. You've certainly made a happy husband of me." Renesmee smiled and accepted a kiss from Peter.
"I'll make a pie today. I'm sorry I didn't get to it yesterday."
"It's alright, I understand. I look forward to it," Peter finished his bread. "If you're alright with it, I'll take a jar of apple butter and jam to John today. If he really likes it, he'll want to sell it in his store. I might be able to convince him to buy the butter and jam for ten cents a jar. He can sell it for fifteen cents a jar and everyone can be happy."
"I'm happy with that arrangement," Renesmee said. "Are you going right now?"
"I need to do a few things around the farm before I do. I'll probably leave around high noon. I'll be back by dinner though."
"Tell John I said hi."
Peter gave Renesmee one more kiss before going outside to do some work around the farm. Caevia was still asleep when Renesmee started the dough for the pie, but she was awake after Renesmee put the dough on ice to rest. Caevia helped with the rest of the pie making process and by the time the pie was in the oven, Peter came in earlier than expected and grabbed a jar of jam and butter to take to John's shop. Peter kissed Renesmee again and walked out letting her know he'd be back soon.
"Did he like the jam and butter we slaved over yesterday?"
"He loved it," Renesmee said proudly. "He said he might be able to get John to agree to sell the jam and butter for us."
"You mean we'll have to do that again?" Caevia whined. "Please tell me you're joking."
"No, Caevia, I'm not joking. Don't worry, we'll get used to it in no time at all."
"You must be out of your mind," Caevia sighed and rubbed her face. "Next you'll tell me we're opening a cinnamon bun shop when apples are out of season."
"It's not a bad idea," Renesmee teased. "I can ask mom to give me grandma's recipe."
"You're on your own," Caevia threw her arms up. "Start your own cinnamon bun bakery if you want, but you're on your own."
Renesmee laughed and hugged Caevia to reassure her that she was only joking. Perhaps when it was around the holidays, she would make cinnamon buns, but she had no intention of opening a shop for it.
Outside, Jacob and Quil noticed the pale faced man get his cart ready and they became eager. They didn't need him to be gone too long, only long enough to grab Jacob's imprint and run. It felt like it took forever for the pale faced man to get apples in his cart and start driving away. The horse moved so slowly. Jacob almost wanted to roar so it would spook the horse and make it run, but he stayed quiet as they watched the cart move further and further away from the farm. Even when they couldn't see the cart anymore, Jacob and Quil stayed in the woods. They needed to be sure that he was far away enough that he wouldn't hear anything. They could smell more apples cooking from the house as the pale faced man drove his cart away and as the two continued to wait, the smell got stronger as whatever had been cooking was placed on the windowsill to cool.
Are you ready? Quil asked after the pastry was placed on the windowsill.
I'm more than ready. Let's grab them and run. Don't waste time taking anything else, just grab the women and run.
Jacob and Quil shifted back into human form and put their pants on before sneaking through the backyard as stealthily as possible. Avoiding the pigs, Jacob and Quil went right to the side of the house to ensure they were out of the range of site of the house's window. They made their way to the front of the house and crept up the stairs making a point not to make a sound. Every time the wood beneath them creaked, they stopped in their tracks to listen for any indication the women's conversation shifted tone. The first creak was completely ignored since the women continued to talk even after the sound. The second one made once Jacob and Quil were at the top of the patio stairs, there was a moment of silence, so the two stayed still until the conversation finally continued. Jacob continued to crouch and moved the rest of the way towards the door and stood only when he was close enough. Jacob looked at Quil and silently ordered him to be ready. After that, Jacob took a deep breath and kicked down the door.
The loud noise shocked Renesmee and Caevia. They both screamed at the sudden intrusion and Renesmee began to reach for a knife. But the tallest man got to her first and lifted her over his shoulder. He yelled something in a language she'd never heard at the other man, who grabbed Caevia and a jar of each apple item she'd made the day before, and they made a mad dash for the woods from which they came. Renesmee was shocked when she heard Caevia begin yelling at the men in her own native language and the men seemed to understand her.
"You're Quileute?" Quil asked of the woman when she yelled at them to put them down.
"I speak Tistihlal! Put us down and let us go!" Caevia started punching Quil's back, but he ignored it and soldiered on.
Renesmee couldn't understand anything they were saying, but she kept hitting the back of the man that was carrying her. When that wasn't working, she painstakingly looked for something to bite. She pushed and maneuvered and eventually was able to reach the other side of his neck. She bit down as hard as she could and the last thing she heard was a yell before she and the man holding her fell to the ground and she hit her head, making her lose consciousness.
"Renesmee!" Caevia yelled when she saw they'd fallen. She tried pushing herself off Quil, but he wouldn't loosen his hold on her. Jacob panicked and brought his ear to her chest. When her heart was beating strong, he released a breath he'd been holding.
"Is she alright?" Quil asked as Jacob lifted his imprint into his arms, able to cradle her since she wasn't fighting anymore.
"She's alright. We need to keep running."
"Let us go," Caevia persisted. "Let us go and we won't tell anyone about this. Take a few pigs if you want. Take some apples, take whatever you want, just let us go."
"We don't want your pigs or apples," Jacob said. He looked at Renesmee and was mesmerized by her. Her sleeping face looked so relaxed and she really was beautiful. "I'm here for this woman. Quil, keep running," Jacob ordered and started running as well.
Caevia continued to scream at them as they all ran through the woods, making sure to run part of the way through some water so any dogs wouldn't be able to track them later. It was done, Jacob had his imprint in his arms on his way back to the tribe. He wasn't sure what he'd do from this point. He'd have time to figure that out later.