Chapter 31
Renesmee was elated when she saw Aidetzi born. All matters with Jacob aside, she knew Caevia had wanted a daughter so very badly. She'd lost more daughters than sons in her time and she deserved a little girl, especially one as rambunctious as Aidetzi.
"Should I grab Embry so he can meet his little sister?" Renesmee said when Caevia started feeding Aidetzi.
"If you would," she said offhandedly, still more absorbed in the new baby. Embry Sr. stayed seated behind her and looked at the little girl with the same smile.
Renesmee stepped out of the tent and took a moment to look for little Embry. He and Kevin had woken up hours ago and were wondering around playing with each other. Jacob was 'watching' them, laying against their tent taking a nap. Renesmee went to the boys and stopped their play to let Embry know he had a little sister. She wasn't sure if he fully understood what she'd told him, but he did make a cute little giggle and followed Renesmee back to the tent so he could meet his new little sister. Kevin came along too. When Renesmee dropped the boys off, Embry went right to Caevia to look at the baby. He made little noises and patted the baby's head. Then Caevia told him her name was Aidetzi. Embry took a moment to giggle, then attempted to say the name, but all that came was 'Aidie'. They all laughed while Embry Sr. patted him on the head.
"It looks like Embry gave her a nickname," Renesmee said.
"Nickname?" Embry asked.
"It's usually just a shortening of someone's name and it's usually among friends or family."
"You know how Emmett always calls little Embry Em?" Renesmee asked and Embry nodded. "That's a nickname as well."
"Aidie," he said again. "It's…cute," he finally said when the word in English finally came to him.
"Do you hear that, Embry?" Renesmee said to Embry Jr. "You gave your sister a good name."
"Aidie!" Embry yelled, enjoying the encouragement and attention he was receiving.
"Do you want me to take them back outside?" Renesmee asked.
"No," Caevia said, "they can stay in here." Caevia looked at Embry. "Do you love your little sister, Embry?"
"Aidie!" Embry repeated again while Renesmee stepped back outside. Jacob was still fast asleep against their tent she noticed. She smiled and walked over to him, sitting down in front of him as best she could with her belly in the way. She waited to see if he'd wake up himself. When he didn't, Renesmee gently poked his shoulder until he grumbled and opened his eyes.
"Afternoon, Jacob," Renesmee said. "Where're Kevin and Embry?"
"They're over-" Jacob stopped when he realized they weren't in front of him playing like he remembered and he jumped to his feet. Renesmee giggled and placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Calm down, Jacob, they're with Embry and Caevia. I just couldn't resist teasing you. Speaking of whom, she had the baby."
"Did she?" Jacob said, finally relaxed and started smiling a cocky smile. "So what's his name?" he asked confidently. Renesmee smirked right back.
"HER name is Aidetzi."
"Damn it," he said, losing his confident smile, though it was soon replaced with a reminiscent one. "They named her after Embry's mom?"
"They did," she said. "Little Embry started calling her Aidie."
Jacob chuckled, "That's cute. Is he excited about the new baby?"
"He is," Renesmee nodded. "You should've seen him. He was petting her head and trying to snuggle up to Caevia the whole time."
"Kevin's still with them?"
"Yes, I left him with them. He seemed curious about the baby."
"So long as they don't mind," Jacob said. He started rubbing the back of his head. "God damn it," Jacob said.
"Don't use the Lord's name in vain, Jacob."
"I'll vain the 'Lord' all I want. I really don't want to wear a tux. That thing made me uncomfortable just being shown it."
"Well, Jacob, a bet's a bet."
"How about a different bet, then?"
"You're trying to bet your way out of a bet you just lost? Most would classify that as a gambling problem, Jacob."
"Call it whatever you want, I'm not wearing that tux. We'll place a another bet. If WE have a boy, then I don't have to wear a tux or a suit."
"Oh no, no, no, no, Jacob. If you really want to bet, then I'll play ball with you, but the terms will be altered. If this baby is a boy, I'll let you off the hook and you can just wear the same suit you wore to Kevin's baptism. You lost the opportunity to wear your usual clothes when you lost the first bet. If we have a girl, then you'll wear the tux. And just for trying to back out of the deal, I'll have Alice buy you a top hat and a monocle."
"What the hell is a monocle?" Renesmee reached her hand up to Jacob's face and showed him. "No," he said bluntly. "I don't care if I lose, I'm not wearing that."
"Well, Jacob, I can't just let you off the hook for trying to back out of our bet."
"Anything else," he pleaded. "I'll do anything else but wear that stupid hat and eye glass."
"Are you sure you want to say 'anything' Jacob? I can think of plenty of things that would be cruel compared to the top hat and monocle."
"I'll take cruel over looking ridiculous."
Renesmee took a moment to think of what else they could possibly bet on. She had to admit, the top hat and monocle would be grossly inappropriate, especially for their second child's baptism. The tux would be pushing it enough as it is. Then, she thought of what she could do. It was so cruel that she felt just a bit bad, but then, he did say he'd rather cruel.
"Alright, I know. My mother knows my grandma's recipe for Haggis. It is, without any shred of humor, the most horrendous, vile, gut churning thing to ever be conceived from the Highlands."
"What is it?"
"It's a boiled sheep's stomach that's been filled with the sheep's liver, lungs, and other organs and oatmeal and spices. It smells bad, it tastes bad, and my father called it, and I quote, 'an affront to basic decency'."
"It can't be that bad," Jacob said confidently.
"Oh no, it is that bad. I've had it and while I was unable to…'fully appreciate' it's flavor, it did make me think I was chewing on sweaty rubber. The smell alone made me sick. And just for good measure, you can wash it back with some fine Scottish whiskey."
"What's whiskey?"
"Do you remember the wine my grandparents brought that you and the others tasted?"
"Yeah, that wasn't bad. The red stuff was really nice, actually. It made me feel loopy, though, so I wasn't thrilled with that part."
"Well, imagine that, but it doesn't taste good and it burns really bad going down. If I let my mother know now, she might be able to find a way to obtain the same brand grandpa used to like."
"I'll take that over the tux any day," he said.
"You say that now, Jacob, but you've been warned. You'll wish you'd just stuck with the tux."
"No," he said, "I think I got off easy."
"Well, if that's the way you feel about it, perhaps you'd like to prove it? If we have a girl, you'll have to eat the haggis and drink the whiskey. If you can't then you will wear the tux. I'll go easy on you and just say the tux." Renesmee held out her hand. "Do we have a deal?" Jacob took her hand and shook it.
"Deal," he said before he leaned down and gave her a kiss.
Knowing this would be a tall order, she asked Quil and Claire the next day if she could go with them to her parents' house. Quil tried to suggest otherwise given her condition, but she insisted. She promised Sokajili she would gather herbs along the way if she saw them and set off in the morning with them. When they arrived, her mother was already outside waiting for Claire to arrive. She was surprised to see Renesmee.
"Did you come to listen to Claire play?" Bella asked.
"She said she wants to talk to you," Claire said excitedly. Her accent was still a little heavy, but she was still progressing very well.
"Did she?" Bella asked.
"Yes, it's about that bet Jacob and I had."
"I still say shame on you for that, but go on."
"Well, Caevia had the baby. It's a girl!"
"Oh, that's wonderful!" Bella said. "What's her name?"
"Aidetzi," Renesmee said. "Embry's already nicknamed her Aidie."
"Oh, that's precious," Bella said. "So Jacob has to wear a tux to this new baby's baptism?"
"Actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you about."
"Oh?" She looked at Claire and Quil. "Claire, why don't you and Quil go on inside and you practice a little. I'll come in just as soon as we're done."
"Okay!" Claire said before running into the house with Quil following closely after her. When they were inside, Bella went to the patio swing and patted the spot next to her for Renesmee to sit next to her.
"So how am I involved in this bet?" Bella asked.
"Well, Jacob really doesn't want to wear a tux, so he bet that if WE have a son, then he should be able to dress normally. I told him no and that if our baby is a boy, I'll let him off with just wearing the suit from last time."
"So if it's a girl, he's still wearing the tux?"
"I'd suggested he'd have to wear that, a top hat, and a monocle, just for trying to back out of the bet."
"Oh, honey, don't do that. You don't want him dressed that way for your baby's baptism. It would be inappropriate."
"I agree. So I made a different suggestion. I told him that if we have a girl, his punishment would be he had to eat grandma's Haggis and wash it down with the Scottish whiskey grandpa used to like." Bella raised an eyebrow at Renesmee and sighed.
"Firstly, my dear, your grandmother made Haggis quite well. Second of all, while I didn't care much for daddy's whiskey, it was hardly worse than dressing inappropriately for a baptism." Renesmee put her hand on her mother's as if giving her terrible news.
"Mother, it's alright to say grandma's Haggis was vile. You know, daddy called it-"
"'An affront to basic decency,' I know," Bella said. "Your father also said grandpa's favorite whiskey smelled of burnt wood and tar and claimed the old currency of the Scottish was 'sheep and threats.' For the record, the old currency was the 'Pound Scots'. Not that your father would know that growing up in Southern England!" Bella said the last part just a little louder to tease Edward and they overheard him start laughing. "And he wonders why Scots don't care for the English."
"Either way, if we have a daughter, he has to eat Haggis and drink whiskey and if he fails, he has to wear the tux."
"So you want me to buy all the things I'll need for Haggis on the half chance you'll have a girl?"
"Yes," Renesmee said.
"And who will eat the Haggis if you have a boy? We certainly won't."
"You can bring it to the welcoming ceremony the baby will have. Maybe a few people will be insane and like it." Bella rolled her eyes and sighed.
"You're too much like your father sometimes, Renesmee."
Renesmee hugged Bella saying thank you while Bella just patted Renesmee's elbow in a fit of irritation. Renesmee spent the rest of the day with her family and returned with Quil and Claire later that day. She went straight to her tent to rest after returning. Upon reflection, walking 20 miles when 6 months pregnant was not the best idea she'd ever had. The request for Haggis aside, Renesmee's family continued preparations for when the baby was born. As before, Embry and Caevia would be the godparents and would be traveling to Hoquiam with the Cullens shortly after the baby was born. Edward wrote a letter to Father McKay to advise to expect them and, as well as confirming they were welcome back for the baptism, he kindly wrote, "your daughter and husband have certainly wasted no time bringing more of God's children into his kingdom".
All arrangements with the church were ready, the inn they'd stayed at before knew to expect them, and all that was left was for Renesmee to have the baby. After Aidie was born, Embry and Kevin started spending more of their time with Caevia. They were curious about the new baby and wanted to play with her. Caevia would allow it to a point, but was quick to stop the play if Embry and Kevin got too grabby or rough. Embry had moved out of the crib to make room for Aidie and was no sleeping on a little blanket on the ground next to her. Most of the time it was fine, but sometimes Aidie would cry in the night, wake up Embry, and he'd either start crying or run to Caevia and hide his head in her chest trying to escape from the noise. For the first few months after Aidie was born, Caevia didn't get very much sleep. She would nap constantly and unless she was needed to feed little Embry or Aidie, Embry or Jacob were given responsibility of keeping an eye on the children. Thought, at times, they proved unequal to the task seeing as they often fell asleep when looking after them. Thankfully, Sara or the other women of the tribe were usually able to keep the children out of trouble in their stead.
"You look exhausted," Renesmee said nervously one day while she and Sokajili were in Caevia's tent giving her a checkup to see how she was coming along. She'd had Aidie about 2 months prior by this point and she should by Sokajili's estimation be mostly back to normal.
"I am exhausted," she said. "I didn't realize having two babies so close together would be so troublesome. Be fair warned, Renesmee. You won't be sleeping well for a while. One is already established and wants the immediate attention he's been getting, and the other NEEDS immediate attention because she's a baby so the older one starts to get fussy and needier." Caevia sighed heavily. "I think I'll tell Embry we're waiting a while before we have more. I don't think I can handle another pregnancy right now."
"That's an excellent idea," Renesmee said. "Two back to back pregnancies is pushing it as it is. A third might kill you. Not literally, but…well, you know what I mean."
"Believe me I do," she said. "Embry and I will just have to be more careful this time around."
Renesmee agreed with Caevia that would be the best thing to do and hand a moment where she shuddered a little at what was to come. Perhaps she might be lucky and Kevin and the new baby wouldn't be quite so difficult, but she wasn't keeping her fingers crossed. The rest of the time until November seemed to fly by. Kevin and Embry were beginning to talk more and more with each passing day. Since they were learning both languages, they would use words from English and words from Quileute, mixing them together in weird ways that sometimes made them hard to understand, but they were learning. By the time it was November, it was cooling down, the leaves were changing, and Renesmee was ready to have the baby. She felt enormous and her feet and back hurt quite often. These days, she was usually sitting or lying down.
The month of November continued without a sign that she would be going into labor. While Kevin had been relatively on time, this child seemed determined to be late. When it came to be Thanksgiving, the Cullens invited the tribe to their home for a large feast to celebrate. It was Sokajili, however, that suggested everything be held at the tribe, given Renesmee's condition. They all agreed this would be best and that Thursday of Thanksgiving, the Cullens arrived at the tribe with bread, potatoes, soups, vegetables and plenty of fruit desserts while the Quileute prepared plenty of potato cakes and a single deer. Knowing their fondness for potatoes, Esme even introduced them to sweet potatoes for them to make into cakes. The first cake made that was tried became an instant favorite. It was insisted there be plenty of sweet potatoes and Esme was happy to ensure this was oblige.
"How are you feeling?" Caevia asked Renesmee after all the food was served and everyone was sitting to eat.
"Normal," Renesmee said. "At most, the baby's been moving around a lot more than usual."
"That's a good thing," Caevia said. "I'm sure the baby will be here soon."
"You haven't felt sick have you?" Jacob stepped in after taking a bite of a sweet potato cake.
"No, I haven't."
With that reassurance, Jacob offered Renesmee some of his food, but she refused, saying it didn't taste good today. Making an exception to their usual rule given the holiday, the Cullens stayed at the tribe well into the night. Quil, Embry and Jacob left for patrol shortly after sunset as usual but Jacob stayed close to the tribe. Part of it was due to the treaty agreement, but it was mostly because he just wanted to keep an eye on Renesmee. He could always run to a trouble spot with a moment's notice should he be needed anyway. Caevia went to bed the moment Aidetzi and Embry started getting fussy while Renesmee stayed outside to be with her family. She fell asleep on Edward's shoulder several times. Eventually, Renesmee just walked to her tent desperate to get some sleep, so her family said their goodbyes and went home. Renesmee fell asleep the moment she rested her head against the blanket and did not awake until she began feeling pain. The jolt instantly woke her up, though she smiled regardless. She took a moment to stand up and go outside so she could walk around. She took a few deep breaths but was startled when Jacob suddenly appeared, not bothering to get dressed.
"Are you alright?"
"I think I'm finally in labor. My water should break soon."
"Do you want me to get Sokajili?"
"Not yet," Renesmee said. "It's too soon to get him. I just need to walk around a little. You can go back on patrol."
"I'd rather stay here if it's all the same to you," Jacob smiled and closed the distance between them so he could wrap his arm around her back to help support her.
"If you insist," Renesmee smiled back. Jacob helped her move around for most of the morning. They walked back and forth together, Jacob gently swaying her when she felt a contraction, but her water didn't break. By the time the sun was up, Renesmee was having contractions on occasion, but that was it.
"This is taking longer than last time," Jacob said when people started coming out of their tents for the day and there was still no further progress.
"This child is stubborn," Renesmee said. "He's a lot like you," she managed to tease. Jacob laughed and stopped their walking to give her a break. He also kneeled down put his hand on her belly to feel. The baby was kicking a little, but nothing out of the ordinary.
"Do you think he doesn't know he's supposed to come out?"
"That may very well be," Renesmee joked. At that moment, she overheard Kevin begin to cry and she sighed. "Can you help me back inside? I'm sure he's hungry."
"We can just give him a potato cake can't we? You've been giving him solid food."
"Solid food with his milk," Renesmee corrected. "It's too soon to stop altogether."
"Hold on," Jacob said, standing back up and helping Renesmee back into their tent. Jacob cleaned Kevin for her first then brought Kevin to her so she could feed him. While Renesmee breastfed Kevin, Jacob went outside to get a left over sweet potato cake for him to have as well. Before going back, Jacob went to Caevia, who'd already come outside with Embry and Aidetzi, to ask for a favor. "Renesmee's in labor."
"Is she?" Caevia said. "Did you need me to look after Kevin?"
"If it's not too much." Jacob looked at Embry and smiled. "You can keep Kevin busy right?"
"Play?" Embry said with a smile.
"Yes, you and Kevin can play." Embry jumped up and down and started running for Jacob's tent to go get Kevin. Jacob chased after him and managed to catch him, lifting Embry up on his shoulder, belly facing up, his feet forward and gently shook him making Embry laugh. "Let me bring Kevin to you, Em," Jacob said. "I'll let you down if you promise to be good. Do you promise?"
"Play!"
"Not until you promise to be good," Jacob said as he started to tickle Embry's feet.
"Good, good!" Embry said, laughing while Jacob tickled his feet.
"Good," Jacob said before finally putting Embry down. "You wait with your mom and I'll come bring Kevin."
"Okay, wait." Embry said before going back to Caevia. Jacob went back to his tent with the cake and saw that Kevin was still breastfeeding.
"I see he's hungry this morning," Jacob joked.
"He had a tiring day," Renesmee said, patting Kevin's head. "Oh, good, you brought one of the sweet potatoes. He really liked those."
"I know, he kept taking mine," Jacob chuckled. He sat down next to them and waited for Kevin to finally let go. Renesmee patted on his back to expel the bubbles. "Kevin," Jacob said once Kevin finally let go of Renesmee. "Why don't you go outside and play with Embry? He might share more potato cakes with you."
"Okay!" Kevin said, grabbing the cake from Jacob's hand and running outside to play with Embry. When Kevin was gone, Renesmee looked up at Jacob appreciatively.
"Thank you," she said.
"You're doing enough right now," Jacob said. "Caevia said she'll keep an eye on him for a while. Any change?"
"Not really," Renesmee said. "Can you sit behind me for a while?" Jacob smiled and came to her, sitting behind her and holding her close, letting her grip his arm tightly whenever there was a contraction.
Another 2 hours went by and her water still did not break. It was beginning to infuriate her. Jacob insisted on getting Sokajili and left her side to fetch his uncle, but as Jacob left the tent, Sokajili was already coming by.
"I've brought some herbs to help her calm down. Has her water broken?"
"No," Jacob said. "I think something's wrong."
"There's no need for concern just yet. When did she start feeling pain?"
"It was after the moon was at its highest."
"Alright," Sokajili nodded. "If her water doesn't break, then I will need to do it for her, but I'll only do it if I absolutely have to. It's never good to force labor along." Sokajili walked past Jacob and let himself into the tent. "Jacob tells me you're water still hasn't broken?"
"Yes," Renesmee said. "Any recommendations?"
"Come up to your knees a moment," Sokajili instructed and Renesmee did so. Then Sokajili told her to bring one foot up so she was in a kneeling stance. When she did, she felt a sharp pain and she cried before returning her knee to the ground. "Hurt too much?"
"Far too much," Renesmee said. "Can I walk around outside?"
"Yes, go ahead. I'll get the herbs burning for you." Renesmee went back outside where Jacob was still waiting and started walking around trying to make her water break.
"Is there anything you want me to do?" Jacob asked.
"Just stay close to me. My back hurts so badly this time around. I feel like I'm going to fall." Jacob hurried to her side and kept a gentle, but firm hold of Renesmee ensuring that she was secure. While they walked back and forth, Sokajili got the herbs ready and stepped out and left the door closed.
"If your water doesn't break by midday, come get me," Sokajili instructed before walking away. Suddenly, Kevin and Embry came running with Embry Sr. chasing after them. In Kevin's hand, he held a large geoduck was was nearly as big as him.
"Mommy, mommy, look!" Kevin yelled, showing off the geoduck. "I catch, I catch!" he yelled proudly. Then Renesmee's mind filled with the memory of Kevin and Embry wrestling over the geoduck until Kevin pulled it out first. It was his last memory before running to her to show off his achievement.
"That's wonderful, honey," Renesmee said, trying not to wince as another contraction happened. "Why don't you let Uncle Embry show you how to prepare it?"
"Yes," Embry Sr. said, taking the crustacean out of Kevin's hand and putting pressure on the shell so it wouldn't die. "I'll show you how to cook it." Embry managed to get the children to follow him back to the shoreline where some pots were that already had boiling water. Renesmee took a deep breath and rubbed her head.
"This was a lot easier last time," Renesmee said. Jacob helped Renesmee keep walking around and she kept feeling periods of contractions. After another hour, she was beginning to fear she might be undergoing false labor. The mere thought made her shutter. The sun reached its highest point in the sky when her family came to the village. Jacob told Embry to go get them, being unwilling to leave Renesmee's side himself.
"Your water still hasn't broken?" Bella asked when she reached her, having heard most of the story from Embry.
"No," Renesmee whimpered. "I don't know why."
"Go inside, let me take a look," Carlisle said, escorting Renesmee into the tent.
"Sokajili said to get him if her water didn't break by afternoon," Edward said. Carlisle said nothing while he checked Renesmee, seeing how much if at all she was dilated. She wasn't as far along as she was by this point with Kevin.
"You're late," Carlisle said, "but since you went into labor, it might not be right to break your water. I agree with Sokajili that we wait. I saw give it two more hours."
"Oh no," Renesmee grumbled.
"Trust me, Renesmee; you don't want us to break your water for you. Doing it yourself is always best."
"I know," Renesmee said, but she still whimpered. "Should I just walk around more?"
"Yes, walk around some more. It should help," Carlisle said.
"It hasn't yet," Jacob mumbled, but helped Renesmee back to her feet and outside so she could walk around some more. Eventually, Sokajili came back and was surprised there was still no progress.
"Still nothing?" he said when he was close. Renesmee shook her head. "Did you already examine her?" Sokajili asked Carlisle, forgetting a moment there was a language barrier. Carlisle looked at Renesmee and Jacob to translate.
"He asked if you've examined me."
"Then, yes I have. Let him know you were showing signs of progress when I looked, but you weren't very far along. The cervix is still thinning."
"Carlisle did examine me when he arrived. He says I'm showing signs of progress and thinning but that I wasn't as far along as desired."
"I'm in agreement." Sokajili turned to go back to his tent. "I'll be right back so we can break your water."
"He said he's going to break it for me," Renesmee said to Carlisle. She kept walking around, aggravated at this point. But then, as Sokajili returned with the tools he'd need, Renesmee felt her water finally break. And with that, she felt a wave of pain and cried a little.
"Oh," Sokajili said. "You go inside. I need to put these back," he said before walking away again.
Jacob helped Renesmee get inside and took a spot right behind her. After her water finally broke, it seemed a floodgate had opened figuratively and literally. By the time Sokajili returned, Renesmee had dilated twice what she'd been previously and seemed to be only an hour from giving birth at most. Sokajili remained in the tent with Renesmee for the remainder of the time and, just over an hour after her water finally broke, Renesmee was ready to start pushing. And with everyone's encouragement, the baby was born in a push and Renesmee felt the greatest sense of relief.
"It's a boy," Sokajili announced to them proudly, taking a moment to clean the baby up and place him in a blanket before handing him to Renesmee. He immediately started reaching for Renesmee's chest, so she undid her dress so he could start feeding.
This baby was so different from Kevin. His skin was just barely tan and his hair was a dark brown. When he opened his eyes, they were black. But he looked so much like Renesmee. He had her nose, her ears, her cheeks and the shape of her eyes. His dark brown hair was soft, like rubbing satin and now that he was feeding, he was content as could be.
"He looks a lot like you," Jacob said.
"He really does," Renesmee agreed. "He has your eyes, though."
"In color at least," Jacob said.
"What shall his name be?" Sokajili asked and Renesmee knew in an instant.
"Kyle," she said. "Don't you think he looks like a Kyle?" she asked Jacob.
"It suits him," Jacob smiled. "And I do believe this means I don't have to wear a tux to his baptism." They shared a gentle laugh.
"You got off easy," Renesmee joked.
"That also means I have everything ready to make Haggis and no one required to eat it," Bella said, though she was smiling.
"I'll still do that," Jacob said. Edward chuckled.
"That would be a very bad decision, Jacob," Edward said. "She bought her father's favorite brand of Whiskey too. That means you'll have to drink some of that."
"Seeing as my mother-in-law went through all the trouble, I think it's only right to follow through. Honestly, how bad could it be?"
"You'll find out," Emmett said with a laugh.
While Renesmee worked to push out the placenta, Jacob took Kyle after he finished his first meal and took him outside to present to everyone with his father. Everyone cheered and it was agreed they would have a celebration the next day, allowing time for Rebecca, Rachael and their husbands and children to come to the festivities. Wanting to stay with Renesmee this time, William went with Carlisle and Esme to the Hou tribe to retrieve the rest of the family a little later that day. Embry agreed to go with to act as translator. His English had progressed enough that he could be of use. When Kyle was announced, Kevin and Embry came running to see the new baby.
"Are you excited, Kevin?" Renesmee asked. "You have a little brother. His name is Kyle."
"Kyle," Kevin said. Then he started touching Kyle's cheek and then his hair. Renesmee kept her hand close just to make sure Kevin didn't accidently squeeze too tight. "Baby!" Kevin said.
"Yes, he's your baby brother. Can you say 'baby brother'?"
"Baby brother!" Kevin cheered. "Can we play?"
"He's a little young to play with just yet, Kevin. Give him some time and you and Embry and Aidetzi can all play together."
The boys continued to remain fascinated by the new addition and that night, Kevin and Kyle shared a little basket crib and both slept all the way through the night. Given how sweet and good-tempered Kyle was being thus far, she couldn't believe the same child was so difficult to deliver. The next day, Renesmee and Jacob went to her family's house so Kyle could try on his baptismal gown. Her family already wrote and sent a letter to Father McKay advising they would arrive soon for a baptism next Sunday baring incident. Hopefully he received the letter before then. By the time they arrived, Renesmee smelled a strange, herby smell that she would never forget a day in her life.
"Mother's preparing the Haggis," Renesmee said. "It smells like it's almost done."
"Good," Jacob joked. "I'm hungry anyway. It doesn't smell so bad."
"If you say so," Renesmee said as they entered the house. Alice and Rosalie leaped to them to whisk Kyle upstairs to try on his little baptismal gown and coat while Rosalie took Kevin upstairs with them to fit him for the little suit and hat he'd be wearing for the occasion. Little Embry and Aidetzi would have to be fitted later.
"How're you feeling?" Jasper asked when they arrived.
"I feel fine," Renesmee said. "Much better than yesterday."
"I can imagine," Embry joked. "I can't believe that little guy took so long. He just didn't want to come out, did he?"
"No, but he came out eventually. I think he's accepted it now," Renesmee laughed. "He's much sweeter to care for than he was to deliver."
"Are there plans for another?" Jasper asked.
"Not for a while," Renesmee jumped in. "I would prefer for Kyle to be a year before we think about having another baby. I would prefer to stop at three."
"Three's a good number," Jacob agreed. "Maybe we'll have a girl next time."
"We'll just have to wait and see, I guess," Jasper said. Alice and Rosalie returned downstairs with Kyle and Kevin, both dressed in their suit and baptismal gown. Kyle's gown was very similar to the one Kevin had warn, though his was not so much a gown as it was a white tux without tails. It was all the same white, cream, and hints of gold. Kevin's suit was a tweed pant and jacket with a white shirt and cream vest underneath. And his hat was the same little brown and gold tweed as the suit and he wore tiny black dress shoes. He seemed less than impressed, but Renesmee was beside herself.
"Kevin," she said, taking him from Rosalie's arms. "You look so handsome!"
"I don't like it," Kevin complained. "It tight," he said.
"I know how you feel, boy," Jacob said somberly. "Just remember, it could be worse."
"And Kyle," Renesmee said, ignoring Jacob. "He looks so cute!"
"He looks the way Kevin did," Jacob agreed. He looked at Kevin and smiled sympathetically. "You want to get that off now?"
"Yes!" Kevin said, pushing out of Jacob's arms until he was on the floor and he started pulling articles of clothing off. He got off the hat and his jacket before Rosalie stopped him and promised they'd get him back in his usual clothes upstairs.
"Jacob," Bella said after Rosalie and Alice took the children back upstairs. "The Haggis is ready if you're hungry."
"I did mention I was when we arrived." Jacob walked to the kitchen and Edward, Emmett and Jasper just chuckled. They all went to the kitchen with, not wanting to miss a thing.
"Glad to hear it," Bella said. "Now, like I said, this is my mother's recipe and she always made it the best. And daddy always washed it down with this." Bella pulled out a bottle of whiskey. It was a green bottle with the liquid inside appearing brown against it. The label was a lighter brown with red lettering that was a little harder to see. What he could read was 'Oude Whiskey'. "It was my father's favorite and it was a pain for him to get since leaving Scotland. He used to guard this stuff jealously. I think I snuck a taste once when I was younger and I learned the hard way not to take daddy's whiskey without permission."
"I would think the taste alone would deter you," Edward joked.
"Hush," Bella said. Bella placed a towel on the table and removed the Haggis from the oven, not bothering with any oven mitts. The smell became stronger and Jacob couldn't decide whether or not it was pleasant. On the one hand, there were spices he'd never smelled before that were appealing. On the other hand, it was cooked organs that never had a pleasant smell. The look was also strange. It was browned from being in the oven and was ovular with the exception of the ends being tied with cooking string. "What are your first impressions?" Bella asked.
"Mixed," Jacob answered honestly and everyone laughed. Bella poured him a glass of the Whiskey adding a little ice and handing it to him. He could smell it the moment she opened the bottle. "That smells a lot more potent than the other stuff," Jacob winced.
"It is," Bella said bluntly. Then she made up a plate with the Haggis, provided Jacob with a fork and knife, and placed everything before him. Seeing it on the plate, it looked far less appetizing.
"He's hesitating now," Edward chuckled.
"What is this?" Jacob asked, poking at a grain.
"It's oats," Bella said. "It's part of the stuffing."
"Ah," Jacob said. He had another opportunity to smell the dish and, now that it was opened so to speak, the smell was all the less appealing. Eventually, he took a deep breath and tried to cut a piece. It was difficult to cut the stomach part. Eventually he lost his patience with it and just forked out a portion of the organ oat filling and put it in his mouth. The grain was mushy and the meat…like chewing on rubber. There were hints of the spices that were pleasant, but the taste of the lungs, liver and heart overpowered it and were difficult to chew.
"He doesn't like it," Edward laughed.
"Don't put words in his mouth, Edward," Bella said. Jacob balled his fist and placed it in front of his mouth. He couldn't believe he was still chewing. Eventually, he finally got it down and winced.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Jacob finally managed. "It's so delicious that…..I can't think about it without breaking into tears of joy," he said, trying to add some legitimacy to why he was tearing up just a little. "In fact, I'm going to take another bite." Bella knew Jacob was just appeasing her, but she appreciated the gesture anyway. After another three minutes of chewing, Jacob finally took the glass of whiskey. "What is it your people say?"
"Cheers," Renesmee said.
"Cheers," he said before taking a much larger gulp than would be considered healthy and the sting and strange feel of the whiskey on his tongue took him by surprise and he started coughing. "Oh," he eventually managed. "It tastes like the fireplace smells," he said and they all just laughed as Jacob began to tear up again with renewed vigor.
"I thought he had to do this if they had a girl," Rosalie said, having finally come back downstairs with Alice and the boys.
"He was confident that the Haggis wasn't that bad and he didn't want Bella to have gone through all the trouble of making it for nothing, so he agreed to eat it anyway," Edward said.
"You win the bet and you squander it?" Rosalie said. "No one could accuse you of being a wise man."
"Better a good son-in-law than a wise man," Jacob said before taking another bite that he very nearly gagged on.
"Good answer," Bella said with a smile.
Just to prove how good a son-in-law Jacob was, he ate the entire Haggis over the rest of the day. His body hated him for it, but it was worth it. The whiskey, on the other hand, was just far more than he could stand. He drank near half the bottle while eating the Haggis and by the end of the day, he felt so sick he couldn't move. He didn't go on patrol that night and in the morning, his head pounded as if being hit over and over with a stick. Kevin asked what was wrong with him and just said that he was suffering a hangover for being a good son-in-law. He didn't throw up, though. He was determined not to and he wouldn't allow himself to. Sokajili came to check up on Jacob, but he was not familiar with the symptoms of a hangover and only filled his tent with herbs meant to alleviate headaches, sore muscles and upset stomachs. It helped a little. After that, Edward wasn't sure whether to call the man brave, stupid, stubborn, or all three. Either way, he'd made Bella's day, so it didn't matter.
He felt a little better by the time it was Kyle's welcoming party that night, but he did continue to be rather grumpy and not terribly social through the whole party. He stayed home from patrol that night as well, desperately needing to sleep off the remainder of his unusual ailment. Finally, but the next day, he was much better. He made a note that he would never drink whiskey again as long as he lived. He recounted the experience to his sisters, brother-in-laws and nieces and nephews when he was finally feeling better and Paul joked that Renesmee's mother may have been trying to poison him.
A few days after Kyle was born, the family packed up and left for Hoquiam for the baptism. With four small children, the trip was a little more tiring. The boys were bored and would sometimes complain. They would both try to sleep, but the moment Aidetzi or Kyle began to cry, it would wake them and make them begin to cry as well. They stopped far more frequently this trip. When they finally arrived and stopped at the inn where they'd stayed before, Ms. Paisley was as sweet as before, but hurried to get them all to bed the moment she saw how tired Renesmee and Caevia were. She couldn't begin to imagine how difficult it must have been to travel with two babies and two toddlers. They used the next day to do nothing but relax. Jasper and Emmett looked after Kevin and little Embry while their parents got as much sleep as possible. Kevin and Embry behaved most of the time until they wanted their milk and then they would get fussy. Jasper and Emmett made a point that the boys were to only ask in the morning and at night that day. Otherwise, they were to eat solid food, if only to let their mothers rest.
They felt much better by the time it was Sunday when the baptism was scheduled. Father McKay received the updated letter just two days after the Cullen family arrived, but since they'd arrived, he'd had time to make preparations for the coming Sunday. The Sunday morning of Kyle's baptism, they all got dressed for the occasion. Aidetzi was in a little pink dress that Esme had made her and Embry Jr. was in a little suit just like the one Kevin wore. He was equally unimpressed with the garment. Jacob and Embry wore the same suits they wore last year as well. Since the service would be held at noon again after morning mass, Mr. Locksley invited the family to his bakery for coffee and breakfast. Mr. Locksley welcomed them and provided a seat near the back where the larger tables were.
"I couldn't believe it when Father McKay told me you would be coming down again for another baptism," he said when they were all seated. "It seemed as though you were all just here."
"Technically, they were," Cory said when he brought out some muffins. He looked at Kevin and Embry, who both looked very displeased with their state of dress. "I know exactly how you feel, kids," Cory said.
"And they both grew so much," Mr. Locksley said. "You two got so big since the last time I saw you. To think you both had babies at the same time again," he said to Caevia and Renesmee.
"Indeed," Renesmee said. "She was already pregnant again by the time we came here with Kevin for his baptism."
"Were you?" Mr. Locksley said. "You're not pregnant again already are you?"
"Oh God, no," Caevia said with a smile. "I'd like us to wait a little while before we have more."
"So you are planning to have more?" Cory asked.
"We'd like five," Embry said.
"Why that number specifically?" Cory asked.
"It's a long story," Caevia said. "I fear it's a less than pleasant story and I'm afraid I would prefer to not speak about it."
"No worries," Cory said, holding his hands up. "So that's two down and three to go."
"Yes," Embry said.
"You have three, right?" Jacob asked.
"Yes, three. Jojo, my youngest, is turning six this year."
"I thought his name was Joseph," Jacob asked.
"It is. He just likes to call himself Jojo. It just stuck."
"And this new addition is Kyle right?" Mr. Locksley asked.
"Yes, he's Kyle," Renesmee smiled.
"And what about your new baby?"
"She's Aidetzi," Caevia said.
"Her name Aidie," little Embry said as if to correct his mother. Mr. Locksley chuckled.
"Well, that's a precious little name," Mr. Locksley said. "And she looks so cute in her little dress." Caevia smiled and looked down at her. She was sound asleep, just the same as Kyle.
"She's complaining about it less, that much is certain," Caevia joked as she rubbed Embry's head. Embry just grumbled.
"Well, you both look very handsome," Mr. Locksley said. "So do these two play together often?"
"They're a regular Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn," Jasper joked.
"Less mischievous, I hope," Mr. Locksley laughed.
"Worse," Edward said. "Much worse."
They all laughed and spoke more about children until it was finally noon and they could leave for the church. Before they left, Cory invited Jacob to his tribe for dinner that night. Curious, Jacob agreed they would arrive before sunset. Father McKay was ready for them when they arrived and performed the ceremony just as he had before with Kevin. Embry and Caevia stepped up as godparents and the ceremony lasted roughly an hour and a half. When they returned to the inn, the Cullens agreed they would stay behind while Jacob, Embry, Renesmee and Caevia took the children with them to Cory's tribe for dinner. They burrowed the cart and followed the directions Cory had provided. It took them nearly an hour to get to the reservation and Cory was not there when they arrived.
Jacob was surprised when he saw it. There were homes scattered about that looked similar to what they had in town. Some appeared to still live in teepees but most were in tiny little homes. The women were mostly wearing dresses common in town and some of the men were in pale pace pants while others wore more traditional clothes. Most were wearing heavier coats that were not of traditional make. It was night and day compared to their tribe. Everyone looked their way curiously as they approached and eventually, an older man supported by a younger man walked forward.
"Good afternoon," the older man asked. "Might I ask who you all are?"
"I'm Jacob. Cory had invited us here for dinner tonight."
"Oh," the older man said, "yes, he'd mentioned all of you. You're the Quileutes are you not?"
"Yes," Jacob said. "I'm our Chief's son. My wife Renesmee and I brought our sons here both times to have them baptized."
"You were the one married to a white woman, correct?" the old man asked.
"Yes," he said. "This is Embry and Caevia," he pointed accordingly. "They're our children's godparents."
"Yes, Cory had mentioned that. Well, if he invited you, than you're welcome. I'm Lexhiazu. I'm the chief of this village."
"Is Cory your son?" Embry asked.
"Oh, no, he's not my son. I fear I did not have sons," Lexhiazu smiled. "I had two daughters before my wife passed."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Jacob said.
"Please,"Lexhiazu said. "Step down and introduce yourselves and get comfortable. Cory should be back soon."
They all stepped down as Lexhiazu had asked and started looking around more. A woman came forward and introduced herself as Lisa, Cory's wife. She cooed over the babies and introduced her children in return, who were far older. Jacob asked about the state of the tribe, surprised by the homes and the apparent shift from their usual traditions to a more pale faced aesthetic.
"These homes are actually quite a recent addition," Lisa said. "These clothes we usually get as donations from the Catholic church. The homes started being built about 10 years ago. Mr. Locksley has friends that taught us carpentry in their style and we just adopted it. They're certainly handy in the winter."
"Why do some live in teepees?" Embry asked.
"Some of us are very old fashioned," Lisa said. "Some prefer to stick with our old ways while others like the newer style of living. Cory and I live in a house. We were able to give our children a nice big room to share, so they don't have to share a bed in a limited space. Our chief still lives in a tent, but he's a very simple man. Both his daughters are grown and have been with their husbands for at least 20 years now. Those of us with the talent for this craft have offered to build him a little house, but he always refuses. He's a simple man with simple needs."
"Is your husband the only one that works in town?" Renesmee asked.
"Oh, no, not at all. Cory is just the only one that works for Mr. Locksley. Most of the men that work are employed at the docks as either fisherman or butchers."
"I see you have a far better relationship with your pale faces," Jacob said.
"We started with a trading agreement of some nature and after Mr. Locksley's family befriended us, charges started being made. They donated clothes to us, showed us how to build homes in their fashion and the relationship continued to improve. I'm not going to say everyone in Hoquiam likes us. Plenty still see us as inferior, but the general consensus is that we are trustworthy and a lot of that is thanks to Mr. Locksley's parents."
"Interesting," Jacob said. "I assume things weren't bad by the time you were born?"
"By the time I was born, the Locksleys had already become firm friends and things were only improving. My parents remember when things were bad, though. The townspeople were scared of us and didn't like us. They would try cheating us or give us inferior products and it led to a lot of tension. Is that how things are for your people I take it?"
"Basically," Jacob said.
"I must ask," Lisa said, looking at Renesmee. "How did the two of you end up together? I'm sure Cory told you about Sgt. Lovejoy turning the tribe upside down looking for you."
"Yes, I've been told," Renesmee said.
"Don't place the blame on her," Jacob said suddenly.
"I wasn't, don't worry," Lisa said. "I'd assumed that coming all this way looking for you was silly given we're so far from Olympia, but hearing you ended up with the Quileutes, I was pretty shocked."
"How do your people know of the Quileutes?" Renesmee asked.
"Tales from travelers," Lisa said. "There are stories of hundreds of years ago when people came that called themselves Quileutes that kidnapped some of our people and took them south. They claimed their people had power of the spirit and could separate themselves from their bodies."
"Quileutes that came here?" Jacob raised an eyebrow.
"That's how the stories go," Lisa said. "According to the elders, they were a people from up north that were banished by their chief for wrong doings of a relative. Does that sound familiar?" Jacob thought a moment.
"There is a story of our old chief Taha Aki. It's said there was a tribesman that was jealous and wished to be chief himself, so he tricked Taha Aki. He asked him to become a spirit with him and by the time Taha Aki realized Utlapa's plan, Utlapa took over Taha Aki's body and sliced the throat of his own. He took over claiming to be Taha Aki and all the real Taha Aki could do was watched. Utlapa took many wives in the guise of being Taha Aki and the people became distressed. Desperate to save his people, Taha Aki asked a wolf if he could use his body and the wolf agreed. Taha Aki returned to the village as a wolf and tried to warn his people. He was able to make a member of the tribe become a spirit with him, but Utlapa murdered the man before he could tell the people what had happened to their chief and that the man in his body was a fraud. In rage, Taha Aki returned to the body of the wolf and the wolf could not contain his anger. The wolf turned into a human and instantly, everyone knew this man was their true chief. Utlapa in Taha Aki's old body was executed and I've heard tales that Utlapa's new wives and his brothers and their wives and all their children were exiled. No one knows what happened to them."
"Quite a story," Lisa said. "Perhaps there is truth to those stories." Lisa looked at Renesmee again. "But back to my other question. How did you come to be with the Quileute?"
"Caevia and I were originally kidnapped by bandits," Renesmee said. "From there, we just got traded around from tribe to tribe until we came to be with the Quileutes."
"We'd heard the Quileutes used to have white slaves. Is there any truth to that?"
"We used to," Jacob nodded. "It was before I was born. As the story goes, they were people that came to our shores from unknown lands and tried to claim our land as their own. We enslaved them and destroyed their ships and forced them to work. After settlers started coming our way, they forced us to relinquish them and made us agree that we would not keep white slaves anymore."
"They didn't make slaves of us," Renesmee was quick to say. "They accepted Caevia right away, but it took a little longer for everyone to accept me. I think Jacob loved me from the start, though," Renesmee said knowingly and Jacob smiled back.
Cory returned home within the hour while dinner was already getting prepared. All three of his children greeted him when he returned and he gave Lisa a kiss before joining the group. All their children played together during dinner. Cory's two girls were especially good with Kevin and Embry. They were used to little boys and Jojo was just relieved to have other boys to play with.
"How long have you worked for Mr. Locksley?" Jacob asked Cory when they were all settled down.
"Since I was fifteen," Cory said. "Since so many of my friends were working Mr. Locksley offered to teach me how to bake and work for him."
"How old are you now?"
"29," Cory said. "Lisa and I got married when we were 17. How old are you if you don't mind my asking."
"If my math serves me right, I'm 21," Jacob said. "I was told I was born in 1884 and it was in the fall. Actually," Jacob took a moment to think. "I might actually be 22."
"It's of no relevance," Cory said. "I was only curious. So did Sgt. Lovejoy ever find her?"
"Haven't you heard?" Jacob said. "He'd gone missing. He found Renesmee and took her back to Olympia. Then he came back to try and arrest me for assault against an officer, or so I heard, and he just went missing."
"Missing?" Cory said skeptically, raising an eyebrow. "Might you have something to do with that?"
"Why no," Jacob lied. "I'd made a trip back to Olympia to get my wife back. I'd only heard about this once I returned with her family and the townspeople were asking what happened to him. I haven't the slightest idea."
"A-huh," Cory said with a small smile. "If you say so." Jacob laughed a little too. "Well, whatever happened, that son of a bitch got what he deserved. Tearing up our village looking for your wife: he had no grounds."
"I will apologize for the trouble this has caused," Jacob said. "But it wasn't Renesmee's fault."
"I know," Cory said. "She was abducted, no more no less. At least, that's what we keep being told."
"And that's the story we're sticking with," Jacob said. Cory looked at Jacob strangely, was silent a moment, and then became bolder.
"So you did take her," Cory said. "How did you come to know of her? Why did you take her?" Jacob didn't immediately answer, but when he did, he did so after a long deep breath.
"My pack was chasing a cold one and I saw her. Renesmee was right to say I loved her from the start. I loved her the moment I saw her."
"Your pack?" Cory said, and then he smiled a little. "So it is true that you people become wolves."
"Not all of us," Jacob said. "Just the descendants of our tribal leader, Taha Aki. He was the one that banished Utlapa's family and, if what your wife tells us is true, saw that they continued south."
"That was how we first heard of the Quileute tribe, yes," Cory said. "It's a remarkable gift," he spoke again.
By the end of the night, Jacob and Cory had become friends. He hadn't told Cory everything, but he was more open with him than he would've been with any other outsider. Cory swore he'd not repeat a word of their conversations to anyone and they left on good terms. While they were in Hoquiam, Edward obtained a birth certificate for Kyle, Renesmee and Jacob signed it, and Kyle, like his brother, became a legal citizen of the US. They returned to their tribe before the first snow fell and life went on through winter and spring. Renesmee and Caevia made good on their word and were both very careful not to become pregnant again so soon. It made raising the two children they each already had much easier. By spring, Kevin and Embry both were completely weaned so that Aidetzi and Kyle could both not worry about sharing. Both boys were also more independent thanks to that and they were still always playing together. There was never a moment that someone wasn't watching them, so they never got into a great deal of trouble.
Eventually, it was summer again, meaning it was salmon season. Jacob and several others went to their usual spot and caught as many fish as they could, making sure to set 4 large ones aside for the meat monger. If he wanted more like last time, he would have to offer more in return. As if by clock work, Mitch arrived a week later with his nephew Hailey in tow. Leah noticed them approach and scrunched her nose. She looked for Seth, who was playing ball with the other children, Embry and Kevin included.
"I need your ball," Leah said.
"What? Why?" Seth asked.
"The ghoul is here and I want to make sure I'm armed."
"Leah, I'm not giving you my ball again. If you hate the man so much, than just ignore him. Can you leave us alone and let us play, please," Seth said. He didn't give her a change to answer and returned right back to playing with the other children. Leah's face twitched in aggravation, but she ultimately let the matter go and returned right back to her previous task.
Jacob, noticing their arrival, went to Mitch with the four salmon ready. As usual, Mitch had 30lbs of beef in the back of the cart ready to be traded. Jacob looked at Hailey a moment and realized he wasn't paying attention to Jacob. He appeared to be looking around.
"Good morning, Jacob," Mitch said when Jacob was close.
"We have four salmon for you as usual," Jacob said.
"Were we not clear last year when we told you we needed more?" Hailey said, suddenly paying attention.
"Unless you have other means of compensating us for additional fish, than the current agreement still stands," Jacob said in a harsh tone.
"Hailey does indeed speak true," Mitch stepped in, "which is why I did bring something else if you're interested."
"And what might that be?" Jacob asked.
"Fabric that the tailor couldn't use," Mitch said. "She'd made some dresses and had so much left over that I thought we might be able to trade it. It would give your women more versatility when making clothes."
"Let me see these fabrics and I'll be the judge of that," Jacob said. Mitch stepped down and walked around, Jacob following.
Hailey, having stopped paying attention to them, was entirely focused on one thing and one thing only: Leah. He'd finally spotted her and hadn't taken his eyes off her. When Jacob and Mitch started to walk around the cart, he stood up, giving himself a good view, and pulled out the baseball he'd secreted in his pant pocket before he and Mitch had left. He had quite the bone to pick with the harsh, mean spirited Miss Jagger and he was none too happy that she'd had the last laugh last time. He'd rectify that mistake promptly. So once he was confident in his aim and with Leah's back to him, he threw the ball as hard as he could and waited for the ball to hit the small of her back, just as it had when he'd first thrown the ball right back at her. She squealed from the pain, grabbing Jacob's and Mitch's sudden attention as well as everyone else's, and Hailey began to laugh.
"You should learn not to turn your back on me, Miss Jagger!" he yelled with his hands cupped around his mouth to make his taunt that much louder. The crazed, beet red look she had made him laugh that much harder. He sat back down on the cart as he laughed while Mitch made quick to repair this as best he could.
"I swear to you," Mitch said, "I was not aware that he'd brought that."
"Don't worry about it," Jacob finally said. "Leah can take care of herself. Just don't be surprised if you leave here without a nephew."
"What is she going to do? Throw the ball at me again?" Hailey taunted while keeping his full attention on Leah. He'd learned the hard way not to turn his back on her and he wouldn't make the same mistake a third time.
Jacob just ignored Hailey and returned to examining the material. Decided he wasn't quite the authority on the matter, he went to fetch Renesmee to ask her if the fabrics were of any worth. While he stepped away, Mitch went to the front of the cart and grabbed Hailey's arm, forcing him to look at him.
"Are you insane?" Mitch asked harshly. "This playground nonsense has to stop! Do you understand me?"
"She started it," Hailey said, still smiling. "Besides, I-" he was suddenly interrupted when the same baseball he'd thrown hit him directly in the chest, causing him to cough, lose his breath and nearly fall backwards into the cart.
"You should've kept paying attention Dogger!" Leah yelled right back, crossing her arms with a wicked smirk and not taking her eyes off him. Now Hailey was mad. He stepped down from the cart and took the ball and was suddenly stopped by Mitch.
"Damn it, boy, that's enough!"
"Don't 'boy' me, Uncle. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to put this squaw back in her place." Hailey ripped his arm from Mitch and started walking towards Leah. She didn't falter the whole time he walked over to her. "You know, Miss Jagger," Hailey said when they were finally face to face. "That wasn't very nice of you."
"Bite me," Leah said in a snarky tone and still wearing a shit eater. "You brought the damn thing here and you threw it first. I was just defending myself."
"Oh no, Miss Jagger, you threw the ball first. If anyone is acting in self-defense, it's most certainly me."
"Oh fuck you, you entitled prick," Leah said. "I was happy to ignore you this visit."
"And what fun would that be?" Hailey said and smiled.
"Hailey," Mitch suddenly interrupted. Hailey accidently dropped the ball when he heard his name and Leah rushed to grab it, as did Hailey when he realized his mistake. Leah caught it first and, as she came back up suddenly, she hit his chin with her head. Both of them yelled in pain.
"Fuck, woman, watch what you're doing!"
"You watch what you're doing you sad sack of shit!"
"Damn it, Hailey, leave Leah alone and come back to the cart. We still haven't finished trading."
"I can't do that, Mitch," Hailey said, still grinding his teeth and rubbing his chin. "If I turn my back, this bitch will throw the ball at me again. That last time was your fault."
"Don't blame the Meat Monger for you being a shit, city boy," Leah snapped back.
"For fuck sake," Jacob said, walking over with Renesmee by his side and with Kyle in her arms no less.
"Jacob," Renesmee said sternly, "please don't swear in front of the baby."
"Sorry Renesmee," Jacob said before immediately continuing with Leah and Hailey, "and if the two of you are done flirting, can we please finish the business we started?"
"Flirting?!" Leah and Hailey both said in horrified unison.
"Yes, please," Mitch said eagerly. "As I was telling your husband," Mitch immediately proceeded, "I brought some lovely fabrics for the women to use for clothing in exchange for more salmon. I believe he said he wanted you to take a look at them to verify their quality?"
"I'd be happy to," Renesmee said as they all started walking back to the cart.
"Hailey, that means you too," Mitch said before Hailey grimaced and followed.
As he walked away, he kept an eye firmly planted on Leah, determined not to be caught off guard again. She was still boiling from the 'flirting' accusation. Hailey was stunned too to say the least and extremely annoyed. Leah kept rotating the ball with her fingers, itching to throw the ball at a moment's notice. When she looked like she was prepared to actually throw it, Hailey returned his full attention to her.
"I swear to God, woman, if you throw that ball at me one more time-"
"You'll what?" Leah snapped back challengingly. Hailey didn't respond as he realized he wasn't sure what he'd do. Rather than be caught in a bluff, he scrunched his nose.
"Don't test me or you'll find out," he said.
"Test you, Dogger?" Leah mocked.
"It's Dauer!" Hailey yelled. "Sheiße, hartnäckige Hündin," he swore in an exacerbated tone.
"You watch what you call me, Dogger," Leah said. "Renesmee what happened last time when you called me fotze."
"Dauer," Hailey said sharply. Leah just smirked meanly at him and held the ball up near her face, taunting him. He still didn't turn his back on her and kept an eye on her while he continued to walk away. Even when he returned to the cart, he made a point to get back in the front where he could keep an eye on her.
Renesmee, having examined the fabric, agreed that it would definitely be useful for them to have and Jacob agreed to give them two more fish. Mitch, once more, apologized adamantly for Hailey's behavior and promised it would most certainly never happen again. It was only when Mitch drove the cart out of the village and out of Leah's range that he finally allowed himself to take his eyes off her.
"I am not taking you with me on these ventures again," Mitch said.
"You mean you're going to come here alone next time?" Hailey said. "I don't think so. It's not safe to go to those savages alone."
"Frankly, Hailey, I'd probably be safer if I didn't bring you. All you do is pester poor Leah."
"Poor Leah?! She threw the ball at me first. She's the antagonizer here, not me. She's a fowl mouthed, cocky little bitch is what she is. And if she thinks I'm going to let her intimidate me because she shot her daddy in the face, she's got another thing coming."
"Don't you dare bring that up," Mitch said. "Damn it, I should've never told you about that."
"It's not exactly a secret in town," Hailey said. "What kind of 'townsman' would I be if I didn't know about Miss Jagger getting away with murder?" he said sarcastically. "I'm sure someone else would've told me eventually if you hadn't."
"That girl acted in self defense and you would do well to never bring that up in front of her! Her father was a good man, but I knew him when he was drunk and when he was drunk, he was a monster. That poor girl had no other choice and you will respect that."
"Respect my ass," Hailey said. "I'll show her respect when she learns how to behave like a woman and not some entitled little brat that thinks she's better than me."
"You're being just as much a brat as she, Hailey, and at 28, it simply does not become you," Mitch said. "Honestly, my sister raised you better than to be so condescending ruthless."
"She also raised me to take charge and follow my dreams and look where I am now: stuck in the middle of nowhere when I'd had a perfectly good job at a bank in Port Angeles because mother guilted me. I made a fuck load more money doing that and was damned happier for it. Now, the only entertainment I get here is when I'm fishing or 'pestering poor Leah' as you put it."
"Entertainment?" Mitch said. "You call throwing a ball and profanities back and forth entertainment?"
"It's certainly more interesting than anything else that happens around here," Hailey said.
"Well I'm sorry if a quiet town simply isn't up to snuff for you," Mitch said, rubbing his face. The two of them were silent the rest of the ride back to the shop. The moment they returned, Hailey ran inside to grab his lure and other fishing supplies. When he stepped out and grabbed the horse Mitch just released from the cart, he looked at Hailey in aggravation. "Just where in the hell do you think you're going?"
"Fishing," Hailey said before getting on the horse and running off without another word.
Back at the village, Leah let her arm down, but kept holding the ball, once Mitch and Hailey were out of site. Renesmee carried all the new material to some of the ladies and let them look through it. There was plenty for every woman to have a new, but extremely simple, dress and she was eager to let everyone pick what they liked. Sara walked over with her arms crossed and, when Leah noticed, she crossed her arms right back.
"So what was that all about?" Sara asked.
"He threw the ball at me again and walked over here when I threw it back. It's the same story as last time. Only this time, his chin hit my head," Leah said angrily, rubbing the spot on her head where the impact had occurred.
"It just seems like childish bickering from what I can tell."
"He's insufferable," Leah said.
"Yes, I know. You've been saying that since last year."
"Well, it's as true now as it was then," Leah said. "And frankly, I hope he rotes."
Leah ended the conversation and returned to her previous task before she'd been so rudely interrupted by Hailey's childish antics. About an hour later, she grabbed a basket and went into the woods the gather potatoes and any other root vegetables and edible greens she could find. If she found berries, she gathered those in a separate basket. Her foraging brought her further from the village until she started to hear whistling. She didn't know the song that was being whistled. It seemed to be a song that was being created and the whistler went along. She followed the whistling until she found who it was and her blood boiled. It was Hailey Dauer. As quietly as she could, Leah walked out of the brush and began to approach Hailey. Before he could realize she was there, she spoke.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Leah said in a harsh tone. Hailey jumped and then looked just as aggravated.
"Get off my back, woman, I'm just fishing."
"On our lands," Leah said.
"I don't see your name written anywhere in the ground." They stared at each other a moment, Leah turning red. When he looked at her, he realized watching her skin turn redder than normal was slightly adorable. "You're red enough as it is, Miss Jagger. Don't get yourself all angry and make it worse."
"You want a name?" Leah said before grabbing a stick to write Quileute in the ground. Then she realized she didn't know how to spell it correctly, so she spelled it as best as she could: Qwilet. "There," she said. "It's written in the ground. Now get out."
"You spelled it wrong you dumb broad," he said as meanly as possible, though he realized he was starting to chuckle. "If you spell it incorrectly, it doesn't count."
"How would you know how to spell our tribal name to begin with?" Leah asked. "It's a word of our making and if I say it's spelled a certain way, then it's spelled a certain way and I say this is how it's spelled."
"Doesn't matter what you say," Hailey said. "I've seen that spelled correctly and that isn't it." By now, he was laughing completely. "I shudder to think how shit your spelling was in German when you can't even manage English. Or was that never taught to you either?"
"That's none of your business, toad. Now get off our lands or I'll run and get Jacob and the others. I'm sure they wouldn't mind personally escorting you off the grounds."
"I'm far enough away from your little dirt patch that I'm sure no one will mind that I'm here. You've certainly never caught me before."
"Before?" Leah shrieked. "You've been fishing on our lands before?"
"Since I got here," Hailey said. "Now if you'll excuse me, Miss Jagger, I'd like to return to relaxing." Hailey turned back around and looked out onto the ocean before him.
In truth, he rarely ever caught any fish in this spot. If one wanted deep sea fish, one had to take a boat into the deep sea. This was his favorite way to relax. Leah turned and looked at her basket and realized she still had the baseball from earlier. So she went to grab it when Hailey noticed. He dropped his fishing rod and ran to Leah to try and grab the ball. Leah retracted the ball to her chest so it would be out of his range, but he kept trying to reach for it. They both yelled profanities at each other and mutually traded insults while they fought over the ball. Leah managed to get her back to Hailey so he could no longer see the ball in her hand, so he attempted to reach around her, taking her to his chest in the effort. Hailey did manage to turn Leah around and tried to grab the ball again. The sudden turn made Leah lose her balance and she fell to the ground. Hailey took that opportunity to grab a hold of the ball, but Leah held tight and wouldn't release it, causing him to come down too. He landed right on top of Leah with full force and when he landed on her, he knocked the wind right out of her. The ball she held hit right in her stomach and for a moment she felt like she might throw up from the sheer force. Having been right in the gut with the ball as well, Hailey was of a similar state. The two of them took a moment to recover from being mutually sucker punched in the gut with the ball when they both realized their compromising position. Leah hurried to scoot away with a bark of discontentment.
"Get off me!" she said as she got out from under Hailey. Hailey, on the other hand, was not the least bit concerned about it given he was still recovering from being punched too close to his family jewels for comfort.
"Calm down, woman," Hailey said, taking deep breaths to ease the pain away. "All I did was fall on you."
"You'd best take care to not fall on me again!"
"Dually noted," Hailey said, glaring at Leah. Leah took a moment to recover as well once she said her two cents and when Hailey looked up at her, she looked like she was in just as much pain as he was. She took the same deep breaths to ease the pain away and her face finally seemed to relax just a little. Hailey just stared at her a moment. It was the first time the woman wasn't frowning at him or smirking meanly. "You're actually quite pretty when you're not being a little bitch," he said and, instantly, the calm look went away and she looked angry again.
"Fuck you," was all she said before trying to stand. Suddenly, they both heard a strange noise and looked where it came from. It was the sound of Hailey's rod being taken out into the ocean by whatever fish had grabbed the bait.
"Nein!" he yelled before he got up and lunged for the rod. He landed on his still aching belly, hitting the ground and his fishing equipment all while missing the rod and losing it. The site made Leah laugh.
"Looks like you can't fish anymore," Leah said. "I guess you'll have to leave after all."
"Damn it, Leah, this is your fault! I just got that fishing rod! Now I've lost a good fish on top of that thanks to you!"
"Well, you shouldn't have been fishing here to begin with."
"I'll fish here all I want and there's not a damn thing you can do about it." Hailey cleaned up his remaining fishing equipment, all while grumbling in German.
"You can't very well fish without a fishing rod, Dogger."
"It's Dauer!" Hailey yelled. Then he threw his equipment back onto the ground and approached Leah with a cruel look of determination on her face. It suddenly had Leah panicking and she started backing away. "My last name is Dauer, you cantankerous little brat! And if you know what's good for you, you'll address me properly as I've been addressing you!"
"Don't you come any closer!" Leah said, suddenly pulling out a knife she had in his belt and nearly cutting Hailey's cheek. He managed to avoid in and held his hands up defensively. It didn't make him any less angry, though.
"You do realize I have a gun, right?" Hailey said. "It'll take more than a knife to stop me."
"Not if you can't get to it in time," Leah threatened.
"Ah yes, I'd need to make sure I shoot before you, right? God forbid I get shot point blank." Leah just stared at him a moment. She wasn't sure if was angry that he'd brought it up or shocked that he even knew about it. The look on her face wasn't what Hailey was expecting. He was expecting her to throw a fit like she would normally do. But this was a woman trying to look angry while also trying not to cry. She started lowering the knife and began staring at the ground.
"You're an asshole," she said before she turned to grab her baskets. He hadn't thought he'd feel bad for going so low, but he did. So he reached for Leah, specifically the hand that still held the knife, and made her look at him.
"You're right, that was wrong of me. I'm sorry."
"Don't bother with an apology. It's not worth much coming from you."
"It was below the belt and I spoke out of line. Even if you made me lose my fishing rod, I shouldn't have brought up your father."
"Let go of me," Leah demanded and Hailey released her. She really looked like she might cry. "You don't know a fucking thing Dauer."
"I know enough," he said. "If Uncle Mitch says you acted in self defense, then I'll trust his judgment-"
"I'd just watched my daddy strangle my mother to death!" Leah screamed, making Hailey take a step back. "Don't you presume to pass judgment on me. It was either kill him or let him kill me and Seth. I did the right thing in the moment and I don't need you acting like you know everything!" The two stared at each other a moment until Hailey approached her again. She didn't hold up the knife this time, but her tone was just as harsh. "Stay away from me," she said.
"At least accept my apology for going below the belt. Hell, maybe you could even apologize for making me lose my new fishing rod."
"Fuck you," Leah scoffed. "Now got off our lands or I'll make you." Hailey kept looking at her a moment until he finally went to grab his things.
"I'll leave this time, but I can promise you this won't be the last time I come here to fish. You can count on that."
"Then I'll demand you leave again," Leah snapped back.
"You know what, Miss Jagger," Hailey said as he approached her one more time. When he was just close enough, he whispered, "I'm counting on it," and walked away to go to his horse.