Chapter 32
Leah just stared at Hailey a moment while he walked away from her. She wasn't sure how to interpret what he'd just said. She still had the baseball in her hand and she was itching to throw it, but this time she didn't. She just watched him ride away and, when she was content that he was gone, she returned to her foraging for berries, nuts, potatoes and whatever else she could find. She didn't tell anyone that she'd run into him when she returned home. Hailey rode back to Forks and returned the horse to the stable before returning inside where a fuming Mitch was waiting for him.
"Damn it, Hailey!" Mitch yelled. "This is not a country club where you can come and go as you please, it's a JOB! You can't just run off to go fishing in the middle of the day!"
"Relax, Uncle Mitch, I was only gone three hours."
"Only three hours? Oh, well pardon me! So long as you don't mind being docked three hours of pay! Hell, I should dock you a day's pay for your little tantrum!"
"Don't do that, Uncle," Hailey said calmly. "And try to calm down. Think of your health."
"Why don't you think of my health," Mitch grumbled and rubbed his face. "You're lucky you're my nephew or I'd never put up with you."
"You're lucky you're my uncle or I wouldn't be here," he said right back, though his expression lacked any venom. His mind was on other things.
"Where's your fishing rod?" Mitch asked suddenly, realizing Hailey's fishing rod was gone.
"A fish got the better of me and I lost it," Hailey said as he placed all his things down.
"You seem to be taking that rather well," Mitch said.
"It's nothing to worry about," Hailey said. "I'll just get a new one. I'll need to get a new one soon."
"It won't be that soon with the 3 hours pay you lost for the day," Mitch grumbled.
"Oh come now, Mitch, don't do that to me."
"Don't 'oh come now' me," Mitch said. "If you don't work, you don't get paid. I don't know how things work in the city but here, you only get paid if you work."
"Fine," Hailey said, again with less ferocity than what Mitch was expecting.
"Did something happen while you were out?"
"No," Hailey lied. "I just think I'll be going fishing a lot more often."
"Well, Hailey, if you wouldn't mind keeping your fishing trips for personal days, it would be most appreciated," Mitch replied with a hint of sarcasm.
"If you say so," Hailey said. He returned to his work without saying another word. But the incident with Leah earlier stuck in his mind and he was frequently distracted.
At the village, Renesmee and some of the other women had already begun sewing simple dresses out of the new material that they'd received. By the end of the day, they'd made dresses for a third of the women in the tribe. Renesmee's family came to visit the next day and, upon seeing the dresses, Esme ran back and brought lace for the women to add if they wanted and other colors of fabrics. Thanks to the additional fabric provided by Esme as well as hers and Rosalie's assistance with sewing, each woman in the tribe had two new dresses by the next afternoon. Leah assisted with the task but was forced to focus almost entirely on her two dresses. Sewing was not her talent and she avoided it whenever possible, but she couldn't get out of it this time.
"They look lovely, Leah," Renesmee said, giving her encouragement when she seemed to be getting frustrated.
"I hate sewing," she mumbled.
"Well, you're doing a wonderful job regardless, isn't she Kyle?" Renesmee asked the little boy at her side, who was on his stomach on a little blanket. Kyle looked at the dress, but immediately wasn't paying attention anymore.
"I see he's amazed," Leah mumbled. Renesmee looked at Leah a moment trying to pin what she was thinking. It wasn't the sewing that was bothering her.
"Is everything alright?" Renesmee asked.
"Yeah," Leah suddenly got defensive. "Why?"
"I don't know, you've just been acting strange since you got back from foraging yesterday. I thought maybe something happened that was bothering you."
"Nothing happened," Leah was quick to say and she returned to her sewing. Rather than push, Renesmee shrugged.
"If you say so," she answered.
Later, Seth tried asking Leah if there was anything bothering her and she gave him the same response. It was much the same for Hailey. He wasn't being as talkative as usual and he always seemed miles away. He did his job well enough, but he just seemed distant. At first, out of pure frustration and relief that it was finally quiet for a change, Mitch did not complain or bring up the matter. However, when two days turned into a week, it was beginning to bother him.
"What's the matter with you?" Mitch asked Hailey when he was closing shop for the day that Saturday.
"What?" Hailey asked.
"You haven't been yourself for days. I know you said nothing happened while you were out fishing the other day, but clearly something happened. Something's making you behave this way."
"Nothing happened, Mitch. I just haven't been feeling well, that's all."
"Fine," Mitch said with a sigh. "If you don't want to tell me, that's fine."
"There's nothing to tell," Hailey said adamantly while putting away some jarred food.
"It's alright, Hailey. If you don't want to talk to me about it, I'll respect that."
"Damn it, Uncle, you and mother!" Hailey said with more vigor than he'd done all week. "I hate it when you two do that."
"Do what? All I said was you don't have to tell me anything."
"You say that, but you're trying to bait me into talking by making me feel bad."
"That does sound like something your mother would do," Mitch joked. "But I assure you I have no such intentions."
"Pferdescheiβe," Hailey swore.
"Hailey, if you must insist on swearing at me, can you at least do it in English so I know what you're saying?"
"No one in this town speaks German," Hailey whined. "Honestly, I have no one to talk to and you wonder why I'm acting the way I do."
"You're acting the way you do because you're homesick," Mitch said. "I get that. What I don't understand is why you've been so quiet lately. I dare say you've even been well behaved. It was refreshing at first, but it's starting to worry me now."
"Never look a gift horse in the mouth, Uncle. Didn't anyone ever tell you that?"
"I'm a merchant, boy. I check every orifice that horse has before accepting it." Hailey scrunched his nose in disgust at the imagery. "Look, Hailey, if you don't want to talk to me, you don't have to. I'm just trying to say I'm worried about you. I'm your uncle, so I'm allowed to be." Mitch started to walk into the kitchen they had in the back of the shop ready to make them dinner. While he worked, Hailey walked in and took a seat at the dinner table. They had barely and bread, so Mitch laid out the bread and got to work boiling the water for the barely, salt close by for once they were done.
"While I was fishing, Miss Jagger caught me," he finally admitted and it instantly caught Mitch's attention.
"Alright," he said after taking a deep breath. "What happened when she caught you?"
"She told me it was there land and I said I didn't see her name on it. She took a stick and spelled Quileute incorrectly in the ground and she looked like she might throw that damned baseball at me again, so we fought over it. She lost her footing at one point and pulled me down with her, so the ball hit us both in the gut. My fishing lure and rod was stolen by a fish, Miss Jagger laughed at me, and I got so irritated with her that I started to approach her. She didn't take kindly to that and she pulled a knife out on me. I warned her that she had a gun, she said she didn't care and….well."
"Oh God damn it Hailey! Did you really bring that up after I specifically told you not to?"
"You know what, yes. I know you said not to, but I did it. And….she looked so upset after I brought it up."
"Of course she did," Mitch said rubbing his face. "It was a traumatic experience."
"Regardless, I apologized, she wouldn't accept my apology and told me that she'd better not catch me fishing there again. I told her she couldn't tell me what to do and I counted on her catching me again." Mitch stared at Hailey a moment a little dumbfounded. A light bulb had gone off in his head, but he was scared to voice his little revelation.
"You like her, don't you?"
"What?" Hailey said in a hard line and a quieted but ruthless tone.
"You heard me the first time, Hailey. You torment that poor girl like a little boy teases a girl he likes in school. I can't believe it didn't dawn on me earlier."
"I don't like her, Uncle," Hailey said defensively. "She's a vicious harpy at best and she's a German woman that doesn't even know her father's language. What makes you think I see anything in that woman?"
"She certainly seems to entertain you," Mitch said.
"Of course she's entertaining. She's the only one in this backwater town with any sort of passion."
"'Passion' is an interesting word to use," Mitch said.
"Don't twist the meaning of the word, Uncle," Hailey said. "There's nothing I see in her." Hailey's words were cruel, but the voice behind them were beginning to falter just a bit.
"Is that why you said you'd go fishing more often and you're counting on her catching you?"
"I was taunting her," Hailey said.
"Yes, I've gathered that. So does that mean you were bluffing?"
"No, I wasn't bluffing. I have every right to fish wherever I damn well please. I won't let that foulmouthed little brat tell me what to do. In fact," Hailey stood from the table and got some things before running to the door.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm buying a new fishing rod," Hailey answered.
"At this hour? They're probably already closing."
"If they want my money, they'll open right back up," Hailey said before leaving.
A few weeks later, Leah needed to go into the woods for foraging again. She wore one of her dresses that she'd made herself. The fabric she'd used was a deep purple with short sleeves that she'd made to go just under her knee. It looked mostly like her other dresses except a more vibrant color and it was a little tighter. Though she had hated making it, it had quickly become her favorite dress. She happened upon the spot she'd wandered to last time she'd gone into the woods and while she walked, she heard the same song being whistled from the same spot. She went straight for that same spot and there was Hailey, whistling and fishing.
"I thought I said you weren't allowed to fish here," Leah said harshly.
"I also recall telling you I don't see your name written on it. We've had this argument before, Miss Jagger. No need to repeat it."
"Perhaps we wouldn't need to keep having this discussion if you would just listen to me."
"I do listen to you, Miss Jagger. I just chose not to follow your advice." Hailey turned to look at Leah with a cocky smile. "They're very different things."
"It's a habit that I'll need to correct it looks like," she said as she grabbed an apple she had found.
"Where's your little baseball? Sure that would be a better thing to throw at me than food." Hailey finally looked at her dress and smiled. "You used those fabrics we gave you after all."
"We accepted them. Why wouldn't we use them?"
"I suppose I assumed that if the tribe were as a whole stubborn as you are then we'd sooner see a cat cuddling with a mouse."
"We're not stubborn, Mr. Dauer. We don't trust you," Leah corrected. Hailey did smile at the fact that she did at least say his last name.
"You're stubborn Miss Jagger," Hailey said. "Was there anything else you wanted to argue about?" Hailey pestered.
"I don't want to argue with you. I want you to stop fishing on our lands."
"I've already said I'll fish here if I damn well please, so we may as well move on to the next topic of debate."
"You're such a dick," Leah said, rubbing her face with her hands from sheer frustration. "How does anyone stand being around you is my question."
"I might ask you the same thing," Hailey said with a smirk and causing Leah to start getting red in the face. "Does your face always get redder when you're angry or is that just for me?"
"You're the only one that infuriates me this much," Leah said. Hailey chuckled.
"I feel so special," he said.
"You shouldn't," Leah bit back. "You're a thorn in my side."
"I might say the same about you." Hailey chuckled again and looked back out to the ocean.
"Nowhere near as much as you are to me," Leah said.
"I beg to differ, Miss Jagger. At least you get things out of being a thorn in my side. I don't get much in return except a foul mouth and fish." Leah crossed her arms and stared at the man a moment. Rather than continue this pointless banter, she walked closer until she was right behind him. He glanced her way and before he could ask what she was doing, Leah pressed her foot against his back and kicked him off the side of the bluff. It wasn't more than five feet to the water, so he didn't get injured. Leah laughed when he hit the water and when he eventually came back up. He was coughing and trying to get the water out of his nose. "Verdammt!" he yelled when he came out of the water. "Ich konnte ertrunken!"
"Perhaps now you might refrain from fishing here?" Leah said still laughing and ignoring his yelling. She didn't remember enough of what he was saying anyway. She understood him swearing and that he was referring to himself, but that was it.
"Oh, no," Hailey barked back stubbornly. He grabbed his fishing rod that fell in with him, he would NOT lose another one because of this harpy, and climbed back up the bluff as best he could. Leah was still laughing by the time he got back up, soaking wet. "Very funny, Miss Jagger. Cause a man to nearly drown why don't you?"
"You seemed to swim back just fine," Leah said through her laughter. As she laughed, she wasn't paying attention to Hailey. He put down the fishing rod and grabbed Leah off her feet. She stopped laughing instantly. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" she screamed in his ear. "Put me down, you fucking barbarian!"
"Just giving you a taste of your own medicine, Miss Jagger," Hailey said before he literally tossed Leah over the bluff and into the water. She managed to land safely in the water and didn't get any water in her nose like Hailey had, but that did not make her any less angry when she came to the surface. Now it was Hailey's time to laugh. "How's the water, Miss Jagger?" he said while he laughed just as hard as Leah had.
"You cock-sucking motherfucker!" Leah screamed while she swam to the side of the bluff. Her words got muffled just a little when a wave splashed across her mouth and Hailey kept laughing while she climbed back up.
"You may want to watch your mouth, Miss Jagger. It's not ladylike to swear like that." He sat down from laughing so hard and when he saw Leah return to the top of the bluff soaking wet and glaring at him, he laughed harder.
"Well, it's not gentlemanly to throw a woman over your shoulder and toss her in the water!"
"It's also rather childish to kick someone in the water. Wouldn't you agree?" By now, Hailey was tearing up. He managed to sit up, but he was still chuckling and rubbing loose tears from his eyes.
"Not as childish as refusing to comply with a simple request."
"You're not making a request, Miss Jagger, you're making a demand. A demand which I have respectfully declined."
"Respectful my ass!" Hailey started laughing again but Leah was not having it. "Stop laughing!"
"How can you ask me to stop laughing?" he managed. His sides were beginning to hurt. "You keep this up, Miss Jagger, I may be injured."
"Good!" she said before punching him in the chest, unsure what else to do at this point. Hailey coughed from the impact, but continued to laugh. She threw another punch at him, but this time he grabbed her hand and pulled her to his chest, then wrapped his arms tightly around her so she couldn't move. "Let go of me!"
"Only if you promise to behave," he said as she squirmed.
"Either let me go or I'll make you!"
"Calm down and I'll let you go," he said again. With her arms restricted, she used her foot to kick his legs as best she could. He grunted from the sharp pain but otherwise did not release her. Then she banged the back of her head to his forehead. They both released an audible 'ow' while Hailey finally released Leah so he could rub his now throbbing forehead.
"How's that for 'calming down'?" Leah snapped while she rubbed the back of her head. "You really are hardheaded."
"Likewise," he mumbled. "It was more relaxing when you weren't nagging me about fishing."
"Find a different spot and it might became relaxing again," Leah mumbled. She looked at her fingers that had rubbed her head and found no blood, but she found plenty of water.
"Not a chance, Miss Jagger," Hailey said. "I will continue to fish here as I please."
"Then I shall continue to make it as unpleasant for you as possible!" Leah yelled back.
"Consider your challenge accepted, Miss Jagger," Hailey said, finally smiling though still rubbing his forehead. "We'll see who has the hardest head of all."
"For your sake, it had better be me."
"You might if that head bump was an indicator," he joked.
"Then you may as well give up now."
"I don't think so, Miss Jagger. I never step down from a challenge."
"Well," Leah said as she stood up. She walked to the edge of the bluff and put her feet on his fishing equipment. "Neither do I." Then she kicked all his things off the bluff. He didn't even lunge after it. He refused to give her the satisfaction.
"You can kick my things into the ocean, Miss Jagger. But you will never take my right to fish."
"Asshole," Leah mumbled before walking away in a huff. She grabbed her baskets of foraged foods and walked away feeling both proud of herself, and filled with renewed aggravation at this man.
"I've been fishing here every Sunday, Miss Jagger," Hailey yelled at her while she walked away. She turned to look at him and was stunned by his smile. "And you can't stop me."
"We'll see about that, Mr. Dauer" she finally managed before continuing to walk away.
She'd felt very strange in that moment when she saw him smile. She'd seen him look angry and she'd even seen him laugh at her expense. But that was the first time she'd seen him just smile. It was a genuine smile, too. The more she thought about it, the more aggravated it made her and she refused to think of it ever again. She couldn't seem to accomplish that task, though. Hailey was particularly pleased. Sure, he'd lost most of his fishing equipment thanks to that little brat, but if he was being honest, it was the most fun he'd had in over a year. It seemed Leah was the only entertainment he'd had since coming to Forks and he was determined to continue with that entertainment if only for the sake of his own sanity. He returned back to Forks with his fishing rod, no fish, and no other equipment, but he couldn't break the smile from his face. When he came into the shop, Mitch was polishing a few glasses that he had on display in the shop and nearly dropped one when he saw Hailey.
"You're in a good mood for once," Mitch said. "Anything interesting happen while you were gone?"
"That little brat kicked all my fishing equipment into the water when she caught me fishing in that spot again."
"And this is funny?" Mitch said with a raised eyebrow. "And why on earth are you all wet?"
"She kicked me in the water, too," Hailey said. He started chuckling. "I taught her a lesson, though. I grabbed her and tossed her in the water right back. She wasn't too happy. She started yelling at me and tried punching me when she got back up the bluff. I grabbed her to make her stop hitting me and then she hit her head against mine." Hailey rubbed the spot. "It feels like I have a bruise."
"You do have a bruise," Mitch said. "Perhaps next time I should join you fishing. You shouldn't be alone with her un-chaperoned."
"Pardon?" Hailey said, trying to sound mean, but he was still laughing. "She keeps bothering me when I'm fishing, sure, but I can take care of myself. I don't need you to babysit me."
"I said chaperone, not babysit," Mitch said. "Someone needs to keep you from playing slap and tickle." Hailey stopped laughing and finally became serious.
"There's no danger of that, Mitch. I'd sooner shoot her."
"Not from the way you're talking about that little escapade. In fact, Hailey, I think I was right: you like her."
"There's nothing to like, Mitch. She's a nuisance, bullheaded, foulmouthed and has nothing going for her but spiritedness."
"It's that spiritedness that seems to have your attention from what I can tell. In fact, I recall you'd originally called it 'passion'," Mitch continued to tease.
"You're going crazy in your old age," Hailey said.
"I may be old, boy, but I've had my own little escapades back in my day and I know when a boy is smitten."
"Smitten?" Hailey growled a little. "Reviled is more like it."
"Mhm," Mitch grunted as he finished cleaning another glass. "Let's just keep this one from your mother. I doubt she'd be too pleased if she found out you were playing handsy with an Indian."
"Stop saying that, Uncle. There's nothing going on. I find her to be obnoxious and infuriating."
"Yes, and that's why you've been going there every Sunday," Mitch said sarcastically. "Pardon my misinterpretation. Never mind that the last two times you've gone, you came back in a sour mood because you didn't see her and this time you're magically walking on clouds."
"You're insane," Hailey said as he walked up the stairs of the shop to be alone. He made a mental note to get a few new things tomorrow from the shop. He wouldn't completely replenish his fishing gear, but he'd at least get some bait with which to fish and a crate to keep his catch in. He didn't realize when he stepped into his room that he was smiling a little and he ended up in his bed content as could be.
Leah returned to the village with her food, again making absolutely no mention of seeing Hailey. She made a note to make sure to go again the following week to make sure he didn't return. He couldn't very well fish without any of his things now could he? When she returned, she saw a couple of the kids playing with things that looked eerily familiar. She saw a red box that the children had opened and now they were playing with some lines that had decorated wooden fish and hooks on them. Upon seeing that, Leah went running and began confiscating all the lures.
"Don't play with these!" Leah yelled. "These are sharp," she pointed at the ends of the lures where the hooks were. "One wrong move and these will hurt you."
"But we saw them wash this way," one little girl said. "We wondered what was in the box and they all looked like little fish!" the little girl said with excitement.
"Well, don't play with these anymore," Leah repeated as she took all the lures from the children and put them back in the box. She hadn't expected all of Hailey's things to wash right back up to shore and at their tribe no less. She brought everything back to her tent and hid it somewhere where Seth would not find it.
"What are you doing?" Seth asked, suddenly behind her, and Leah jumped.
"Damn it, Seth, you scared me," she said.
"Sorry," he said. "What did you take from the kids?"
"Something they shouldn't be playing with," she said. Then she stood up, having successfully hidden the box, and stepped out of the tent.
"What's been going on with you?" Seth said. "You've been acting stranger than usual."
"Nothing's going on, Seth. By the way, I found a lot of blackberries, so we'll be eating those after dinner."
"You won't hear me complaining," Seth smiled and walked away, leaving Leah alone.
A few days passed and Renesmee's family came to visit the tribe. Bella played with her grandkids, helped practice with Claire, and spoke with Sara, who by now was speaking quite good English. She was still practicing, but she was beginning to get very good at it. While they had dinner, Jacob took a moment to sit next to Edward, who already knew his concerns the moment Jacob sat down.
"It has to do with that Hailey Dauer boy," Edward said once Jacob was sitting.
"Hailey Dauer? You mean the Meat Monger's new right hand man?"
"His nephew, yes," Edward said. "Apparently, she's caught Hailey fishing somewhere on your lands and she's been trying to reprimand him for it. What's resulted both times was childish bickering. Essentially what you've seen them do when they're here." Jacob raised an eyebrow in Leah's direction. She wasn't paying attention. She was eating her dinner looking distracted. She didn't look upset or sad, angry, anything. She just looked like she was thinking really hard.
"I don't know if this question is allowed, so I'll just ask you," Jacob said.
"She likes him," Edward said bluntly. "She's refusing to admit it at the moment. She's been spending the last few days trying to think of everything that annoys her about him. He smiled at her in a way he'd never done before and it's sent her for a little bit of a whirlwind."
"You don't say," Jacob said. "Should any of us be worried?"
"Aside from being vulgar, Mr. Dauer is pretty harmless," Edward said. "If I'm being honest, I think the two of them fit."
"Why do you say that?"
"Hailey and Leah are both very strong personalities. They both mutually need someone that will stand up to them. Hailey and Leah match each other in that with flying colors. I would argue if either of them were with someone more tame, they'd be miserable."
"I don't suppose you'd know what the junior meat monger would be thinking would you?" Edward chuckled a little and sighed.
"We've been into town, yes, and he likes her too. He's at the same point as Leah. He likes her but he's refusing to acknowledge it. At the very least, he's refusing to acknowledge it in front of his Uncle. Mitch has basically figured it out from what I've heard in his mind." Jacob looked back at Leah, a little concerned. He knew for a fact his mother might not be too keen on this. Sure, she'd embraced Renesmee, but that was different. Renesmee was his imprint. He knew the memory of her sister would not allow her to take this without a fit.
"Should we let them be?" Jacob asked.
"That depends," Edward said. "I would argue let them be. But then you're people aren't very particular about refraining from sex as far as I understand it."
"It's not sex we're worried about," Jacob said.
"I know it's not, Jacob. If Hailey or Leah want anything more out of this relationship, William will need to be alright with it, correct?"
"And that won't be likely," Jacob said. "He tolerated my loving Renesmee because she's my imprint. Leah doesn't have that to fall back on."
"So Hailey will need to make a damned good impression from now on." Jacob laughed. "Exactly," Edward replied.
"Father hasn't spoken much of Hailey but what little he did say, he finds the man to be childish and unlikable."
"Not a very good start," Edward said. "You're of a similar mind are you not?"
"For the most part," Jacob said. "I know that if mother found out about this, she'd be scared of Leah leaving and risking what happened to my aunt."
"Understandable, but that fear is ultimately unnecessary. What happened with your aunt and her husband was tragic, but Hugo had demons that he never dealt with and when he drank, it just made things worse. There's no fear of that with Hailey. At worst, he's homesick and being a brat about it."
Jacob shrugged and dropped the matter from there. If anyone would know whether Hailey was dangerous or not, it was Edward. And if he said there's was nothing to worry about, then he would trust his judgment. Jacob didn't say anything to Leah and, when Quil and Embry found out over patrol, he instructed that they were to keep quiet about the matter as well.
"What do you think your mother and father will say?" Quil asked.
"I can't imagine your father would be happy," Embry said. "He wasn't too keen on Renesmee at first, and she was your imprint."
"He wasn't as upset about her being a pale face so much as he was upset that I'd kidnapped her. Unless Hailey kidnaps Leah, there's nothing to worry about from that point. And Edward said he's not a risk the way her father was."
"How can he know that?" Quil asked. "He may have read Meat Monger 2's mind, but he never got into Leah's father's head."
"Evidently, Leah's father had experienced a lot of terrible things as a child that he never dealt with and when he drank it 'woke a sleeping giant' I believe is the way Edward worded it."
"That doesn't necessarily mean that Hailey will be any better. He certainly isn't very nice, that much isn't debatable."
"It's not," Jacob agreed. "Edward suggested we wait and see what happens."
"Are you planning to follow Leah next time she meets him?" Jacob thought long and hard about it. In all frankness, that was technically Seth's responsibility since he was the brother. But then, Jacob could be stealthy and would be best prepared to step in should anything happen.
"I'll follow her this time and see how it goes," Jacob finally said. "Leah's capable of taking care of herself, but better safe than sorry."
"Do you think this will become a frequent thing?" Embry asked.
"I don't know. We'll have to wait and see."
Leah kept a mental note of the days and when it was Sunday again, she got her baskets together and went into the woods to forage. She made sure to bring the baseball this time. Keeping a reasonable distance, Jacob followed behind her, making a point to ensure she would not hear him. She'd throw a fit if she knew he was following her. Eventually, she reached the little bluff that Hailey promised he'd be fishing at and all he had was a fishing rod and a can of worms. Leah scrunched her nose when she saw the worms still squirming. It was all the more gross that the can had dirt in it and Hailey poured a tiny bit of fresh water into the can as well.
"So kicking your things into the ocean didn't stop you did it?" Leah said meanly.
"I promised it wouldn't," Hailey replied stubbornly. He looked around at Leah and had that smile she'd seen before. It took her off guard. He noticed the baseball in her basket and laughed. "I see you came armed this time."
"Indeed I did," Leah said, returning to her usual composure and taking out the ball. "And this arm is loaded."
"It's only one shot too," Hailey challenged. "Are you sure you want to risk wasting it?"
"I'll take my chances," she said. Hailey started laughing again and scooted a little to the right on the bluff, making some room.
"How about you relax for a change and sit down? Maybe some fishing will do you a bit of good."
"I don't fish," Leah said.
"Ah yes, I suppose it's strictly a man's craft."
"No," Leah said. "I can fish, I just don't like to fish, least of all with you. There's a difference."
"It's just as well," Hailey said. "I only have the one fishing rod anyway. But perhaps we could talk of other things. You must admit, this little squabble over me fishing on your lands has gotten quite old."
"Squabble?" Leah said offended. "Is that what you call ignoring someone's request?"
"Demand," Hailey correct. "That I respectfully decline."
"Respectful my ass-" Leah began to say and Hailey said with her in unison until he ultimately finished the sentence for her.
"Yes, yes, Miss Jagger, you've said that before. Now sit down and enjoy the day for a change."
"I would have no trouble enjoying my day if you didn't keep popping up."
"I must remind you that, prior to you catching me a few weeks ago, you've not caught me fishing here once before that. It's only after you've caught me once that you've begun to pester me."
"Because the offense had finally been brought to my attention!" Leah barked.
Back in the trees, well out of site, Jacob couldn't help but start laughing. He had to force himself to be quiet, but he simply couldn't help himself. The two of them were becoming comical. She used to bicker like this with him and Seth when they were little, but Seth had tired of it quickly and Jacob stopped taking it the moment he was bigger than her. Rachael and Rebecca never put up much with her argumentativeness either. His mother would entertain her, but never for long. From what Jacob could tell, Leah was just happy to have someone to talk to that was willing to engage with her in some pointless bickering. Perhaps Edward had been right: if she were with someone more tame, she'd be miserable. She needs someone that will be on her level in a way that no one else has been. Jacob noticed Leah raise her arm to throw the ball, but Hailey stepped forward to grab it. Jacob stayed in the trees, but he braced himself to step in at a moment's notice.
"Get off me!" Leah yelled when Hailey grabbed the ball and, ultimately, caused the two of them to fall down again.
"Don't complain, Miss Jagger," Hailey said. "At least this time, we didn't get sucker punched by the ball." Finally free, Leah threw the ball at Hailey's chest. It was less than a foot of distance between them, so it didn't wind up hurting at all. Hailey just kept his eyes closed to breath a moment and finally started laughing. "You stubborn broad," Hailey said through his laugh. Leah stared at him meanly, if only out of pure principle, but eventually the laughing became contagious and she started laughing too.
Jacob finally relaxed when he saw the two of them start laughing together. If he was being honest, he'd never seen Leah appear so genuinely happy. Not that she would admit it, almost certainly. She'd deny it until the day she died. But the two of them laughed well over two minutes both at the overall situation and Leah throwing the ball. When the laughing finally died down, Hailey was the first to speak.
"You're the only one that seems to make me laugh in this backwater town."
"No one said you had to stay," Leah bit back, though, frankly, she was still smiling and recovering from her laughter. Hailey looked at her a moment before he answered, just enjoying a genuine smile. She really was very pretty when she was being nice.
"It was my mother that insisted I come here," he finally said. "I had worked in Port Angeles for a bank. I made good money, was able to live comfortably. The world was my oyster. But one day, mom told me Mitch complained of needing help and, seeing as Mitch doesn't have anyone here, she said I needed to come down here and help him."
"Why couldn't someone else in Forks help him?"
"No one wanted to," Hailey said frankly. "No one in town wants to deal with your people."
"The feeling's mutual," Leah said bitterly, no longer smiling. "Besides, he only visits once a year. That's hardly anything worth worrying about."
"For most, once a year is once too many," Hailey said. "And if they have to deal with you, then I can see why. You're stubborn as a mule."
"Likewise," Leah said, not realizing she'd smiled again. "It's not me you should be worried about, though. The worst I can do is throw a ball at you." Hailey laughed.
"You've got a mean curveball, that's for sure."
"Better my mean curveball than Jacob's wrath. I've seen him strangle the meat monger."
"Yes, so Mitch has said," Hailey said. "I'm not scared of that brute, though."
"You need to learn to be," Leah said.
"I won't be scared of him in protest," Hailey replied. Leah finally smiled and laughed a little again. Jacob laughed a little as well, making sure they still didn't hear him.
"It's your funeral," Leah said. Hailey chuckled and looked in the basket Leah had. There wasn't more than a few berries in one and a lone potato in the other.
"Bring food next time," Hailey said. "I'm starving."
"You should've brought your own food," Leah said.
"I would have, but someone kicked my fishing box off the side of the fucking bluff," Hailey said, raising his voice a little.
"Christ," Leah said. "If I'd known you were going to complain about it, I would've brought it with me."
"What?" Hailey said.
"Your box washed up on our shore and I grabbed it for you. I took back all the hooks from the kids, but I can't promise everything's in there."
"Make sure you bring that next time too," Hailey said as he stood. He went to the edge of the bluff and picked up his fishing rod. "But anyway," Hailey said, returning to their previous topic of conversation, "When mother ordered me to come here to work for Uncle Mitch, I had to quit my job, drop everything, and move here. I road along with some merchants that were coming this way because mother didn't want me traveling alone, what with this being Indian country, and I got here Spring of last year."
"Do you plan to return to the city?"
"I'd like to," Hailey said, "but I know I won't. I'm really the only man in the family Uncle Mitch has that can take over things when he's gone. And besides, I wouldn't be able to get work in the city at my old job no matter how much I wanted to."
"I thought Mitch had children," Leah said, trying hard to remember. She remembered a woman that had been his wife, but that was years ago. She remembered the woman had died, but she was very young when that happened.
"He has my cousin Clarice, but that's it. And she's married and lives with her husband in Port Angeles. I never really see them except when it's Christmas. That used to be the only time I would see Mitch either."
"So your whole family lives in Port Angeles?"
"Most of us," Hailey said. "Once my grandpa retired, he moved to Mississippi. Or was it South Carolina?" Hailey thought a moment, but then waved his hand dismissively. "It's not important. I'm actually curious about your family."
"Mine? Why?"
"Because from the sound of things, you've had quite a colorful history."
"That's a mild way to put it," Leah said somberly.
"Mitch only told me what happened with your father. He didn't tell me much more than that."
"There's not much else to tell," Leah said.
"What about where your father was from? Was he born in Germany?"
"Yes," Leah nodded. "Nuremburg."
"My father was born in Berlin. He's a first generation immigrant too. I think he was 11 when he came to America. He wound up on this part of the country because grandpa heard of a gold rush that was making people rich. When father was old enough, he moved up here and met my mother. I've actually never met my dad's father. I know he still lives in California."
"I don't know how daddy wound up here of all places, but he did," Leah said.
"No exciting story?"
"Not about how he got here," Leah said. "Mom would tell us only little things. Apparently, daddy just wanted to be as far away from Germany as possible. Then they met while he was out hunting and the two of them fell in love. All the good it did them," Leah grimaced.
"Why did your father want to be so far from home?"
"I don't know," Leah said. "I don't want to talk about this anymore."
"Alright," Hailey shrugged. "You have a little brother do you not?"
"Seth."
"Ah yes, that was the name. Mitch said when you'd all last lived in Forks, he was about six or something."
"Correct," Leah answered.
"Do you prefer living with the tribe or did you prefer town?"
"I hated Forks," Leah said. "Everyone treated my mother differently than everyone else. They treated us differently too. When I came here, everyone accepted me and Seth and treated us as equals."
"Who took you in?"
"My aunt Sara," Leah said. "That's Jacob's mother. Jacob is my cousin."
"It's a good family to belong to I would imagine. That explains why you're such a brat. You're a little princess," Hailey chuckled.
"And what's your excuse?" Leah said meanly.
"Homesickness," he said. "Though I must say this place is starting to grow on me. Though I can't quite say why."
"I couldn't either," Leah said. She stayed in her spot away from the bluff and Hailey was becoming annoyed with it.
"Come to the edge of the bluff. The view isn't half bad."
"I see it every day," Leah said. "It's nothing special."
"Still, it doesn't hurt to look." Hailey and Leah looked at each other and Hailey smiled that particular smile again. Leah eventually gave in and moved to the edge of the bluff to sit next to him. "See? This is nice."
"Perhaps," Leah said. The two of them sat in silence for a while just staring into the ocean. At points, Hailey would feel a fish bite onto the lure and he'd try to pull, but he never managed to make one of them stick. "This really isn't the best spot to catch fish."
"Where is the best spot?"
"I'm not telling you," Leah smiled.
"Why not?"
"Because I'm trying to get rid of you."
"You're doing an outstanding job of that Miss Jagger," Hailey teased and Leah laughed under her breath. "Leah?"
"What?"
"How about I teach you German?" Leah looked at him strangely.
"Why? What need would I have for that?"
"Well, back home, I could speak to my father, I could speak to my sister, and I could speak to a small handful of people in the community in German and it kept my language skills sharp. Here, I have no one to talk to. You're the only one that has a background in the language. You know the foundation, you just need to learn the words."
"No, Mr. Dauer," Leah said. "I don't see the need to learn German when it'll strictly be to keep you amused."
"Don't you ever miss it? I'm sure your father must have taught you German."
"He taught us some," Leah said. "But I would hardly call it fluent. And it's been so long, I don't think it safe to even call it a 'foundation'."
"You underestimate how much you remember," Hailey said. "We can start now if you like."
"You don't need to teach me German, Mr. Dauer." Leah stood from the bluff and went to grab her baskets.
"Where are you going?"
"I think I've scolded you enough for one day," Leah said. "Though I think I should probably do one more thing." Leah walked back over to Hailey and when she was close enough, she picked up the container with the worms and dumped it into the ocean. "I think you've been taught a lesson enough for one day."
"I think perhaps I need more scolding," Hailey said hopefully.
"No," Leah said. "I trust I've made my point. If I catch you here again, Mr. Dauer, I will have to take harsher measures." Hailey laughed and crossed his arms as if to challenge her.
"I look forward to it, Miss Jagger."
Hailey waved goodbye to Leah and Leah returned the gesture and even smiled. The moment Leah was walking away, Jacob moved as fast as he could to make sure he returned to the village first. He managed to arrive home ten minutes before Leah and was welcomed home by Kevin, who ran over to Jacob and hugged his leg. Renesmee walked over with Kyle in her arms and smiled at him.
"Where'd you run off to?" Renesmee asked. Instead of answering, Jacob looked at Kevin.
"Kevin, why don't you and Embry go play? Mommy and I need some time alone."
"Okay," Kevin said before running over to Embry, who was still at the water, and continuing their play with a few other kids.
"Can Caevia take Kyle for a minute?"
"Sure," Renesmee said. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, I just would rather keep this matter between as few people as possible."
"Alright," Renesmee said before going over to Caevia and asking her to keep an eye on Kyle for a moment. Caevia agreed and placed Kyle next to Aidetzi, who was sound asleep. Caevia encouraged Kyle to take a nap as well. Renesmee and Jacob went to their tent together and when they were inside, Jacob closed the little door behind him. "So what's going on?"
"You know how Leah's been acting weird lately?"
"Yeah," Renesmee nodded.
"I found out why. The long and short of it is Leah caught Hailey fishing on our lands and they've been meeting at that bluff every so often ever since." Jacob waited for a reaction from Renesmee, but she didn't seem too surprised. "You don't look surprised."
"I am a little," Renesmee said. "So you followed her to the bluff?"
"I did," Jacob nodded.
"Did anything happen?"
"Not really," Jacob said. "The argued for a few minutes, but then she threw the baseball at his chest and they started laughing. After that, the whole thing was pretty pleasant between them. They talked to each other like normal people and Mr. Dauer offered to teach her German."
"Did he? That sounds exciting."
"She said no," Jacob said.
"Besides the pack, am I the only one you've told about this?"
"I spoke to your dad about it a little. He's the one that told me what Leah was up to in the first place. I told the pack to keep this to themselves. I'd like you to do the same for the time being."
"I'll keep quiet," Renesmee said.
"I just want to keep an eye on the situation for the time being. I know mother and father won't be thrilled about this."
"They like me well enough, don't they?"
"You and I are different, Renesmee. The problem father had with us was me kidnapping you and being a vampire when he found out about it. With Leah, she's basically doing exactly what her mother did. She's seeing a white man in secret. It's natural that mother especially would have a knee jerk reaction to that."
"I see your point," Renesmee said. "Do you plan on telling them eventually?"
"Eventually," Jacob said. "I was planning to wait until I'm confident this is alright and have talked to Leah about this. I don't want to go behind her back about it."
"You're right, that wouldn't be the right thing to do. Do you think Mr. Dauer makes her happy?"
"She'd sooner kiss you than admit it, but yes, I think he does."
"That sounds about right," Renesmee smiled. Jacob smiled back at her and walked over to hug and kiss her.
"I don't know about you, but it sounds infuriating."
"I know you would," Renesmee teased. Jacob kissed Renesmee again and started kissing along her jaw and down her neck.
"You know," Jacob said, taking the opportunity to start pulling her dress up above her legs. "Since we were able to get some time to ourselves, why don't we take advantage of it?"
Renesmee didn't respond. She instead wrapped her arms around Jacob's neck and started kissing his jaw. He wasted no time and pulled away to left Renesmee's dress the rest of the way over her head and gingerly lowered her onto their bed so that he was on top. Jacob kissed every inch of her and pleasured her most sensitive spot at her core moving two fingers inside her until she was writhing and her walls crushed around his fingers. He licked his way back up her body until his lips were at her neck. He was slipped inside her, causing them both to moan when suddenly a little pat came at the door.
"Mommy! Mommy, come outside! Uncle said he wants you," Kevin said from outside, referring to Sokajili. Renesmee and Jacob both went stiff for a moment.
"Sure, Kevin, just give mommy a few minutes, okay?"
"Uncle said important," Kevin said.
"Well, Uncle can wait," Jacob said, raising his voice just a little more than he would've liked. "We'll be out in a minute, Kevin. Let Uncle know."
"Okay!" Kevin said before finally going away. How Jacob didn't instantly lose his erection, he wasn't quite sure. He just hoped Renesmee hadn't fizzled out.
"You still alright?" Jacob asked and Renesmee nodded.
"Yeah, I'm alright." She lifted her head to kiss Jacob and hugged him. "Keep going," she finally said and Jacob continued with his thrusts. He kept moving until Renesmee had reached a second climax and then reached his own. The two of them kissed and hugged for a moment but, regrettably, Renesmee had to pull away. "I'd better get back outside."
"You know," Jacob joked while he got dressed as well, "No one ever tells you these things when you have kids. No one ever tells you they will interrupted you."
"No, I can't say this ever came up with my parents," Renesmee laughed. When she was dressed, she walked over to Jacob and gave him a kiss. "I'll keep quiet about what you told me. I know you'll do the right thing, Jacob."
"Eventually," he said before giving Renesmee another kiss and letting her leave the tent.
When Leah returned, no one said a word about her early foraging trip and, as usual, she said nothing about what happened. She was unaware of Jacob's snooping as well, so as far as she knew, no one knew about her and Hailey meeting. She ended up going to hers and Seth's tent to relax a moment, but it was also to check on the box she'd recovered and secreted away. She pulled it out of the ground under her blanket to look inside. There really wasn't much in there. Just a few hooks and a replacement line.
As Leah rummaged through the box, she also found a little note. It has droplets of water marks that hard fallen on it, but the writing was still legible and had not been overly damaged thanks to the strong box. It was entirely in German, so Leah couldn't understand any of it. The handwriting was sloppy to say the least. The only thing that made it understandable was that it was in print and not cursive. Based on the way this was written, she imagined the man couldn't write in cursive to save his life. She placed the note back in the box and closed it tightly before putting it in the ground. Later that night when she and Seth were in bed, Leah couldn't sleep very well. It was as if the little box dug into the ground under her blanket was burning a hole at her side and it was making her anxious.
Bright and earlier, before anyone was up and before the pack had returned, Leah slipped out of her tent, the strongbox in hand, and started walking to Forks. She knew it would take her a while to get there anyway. As Leah was walking, Jacob noticed her in the distance.
"Where's she going?" Quil asked when Jacob saw her.
"I don't know," Jacob said. "You guys go back. I'll follow her. If Renesmee asks where I am, just let her know I'm keeping an eye on Leah."
They agreed and began the run back to the village while Jacob, again keeping a reasonable distance so as not to be seen, followed Leah remaining in his wolf form. The walk at a normal pace was a long one and Leah had to stop a handful of times to relax. She realized she should have eaten something before she left and brought some food with her. This was going to be a long trip back.
"He'd better appreciate this," Leah mumbled to herself as she took a moment to rest of the third time.
At best, it was a four hour walk. It was quickly turning into five. Leah couldn't remember her last time walking to Forks being nearly this difficult. Perhaps it helped that, last time she'd walked, it was with Renesmee and Caevia in tow and she had her blind conviction to be rid of them pushing her through. There was no such motivation this time around. By the time Leah finally got to Forks, it was probably close to midday or just before. When Leah arrived, she was embarrassed to realize she couldn't for the life of her remember where Mitch's shop actually was. The last time she was in Forks was when she and Jacob had been sneaking around looking for things Renesmee needed to save Claire and her brother. She wasn't certain if Mitch's shop was one of the places they'd robbed. She stepped further into town while Jacob came closer but remained out of site. She looked around trying to remember where his shop was. So many things had changed since she was a little girl. The roads were a little different than she remembered. Some of the shops looked different and there were more houses than she remembered.
"Miss Leah Jagger?" someone suddenly said, taking Leah out of her concentration. She didn't recognize the woman that spoke to her, but she was an older woman. "Goodness gracious, Leah, is that you?"
"I'm sorry, have we met?" Leah said, a little standoffish.
"Of course we have, dear. It's Phyllis Marshal! My husband and I run the grocery store your mother shopped at. Why, I remember when you were just a little one."
"I'm sorry, my memory is foggy," Leah said, trying to be polite. "Would you be able to tell me where the Meat-" Leah stopped herself and used his correct name. "Mitch. Would you know where his shop is?"
"Why you're standing right next to it, silly." Leah turned to look at her right and, lo and behold, there was the General Store sign she remembered. "Listen, Leah, I want you to know that, no matter what, we understand. We may have been upset with you at first but we, well I, have come to realize that what happened was not your fault. It was wrong of us to judge you so harshly when you were trying to defend yourself and your little brother. Please, tell me you two are doing alright. I know it must be so difficult living among your mother's people. Tell me, is it awful?"
"Mrs. Marshal, correct?" Leah interrupted.
"Yes, dear."
"I'm very sorry to cut you short, but I need to return something to Mr. Dauer. He lost this while fishing."
"Oh, that's very sweet of you, dear! Yes, of course, I'm sorry to talk your ear off so. You go right ahead Miss Jagger."
"Thank you," Leah said before she ran to the General Store, desperate to get away from Mrs. Marshal. Leah wracked her brain and she couldn't remember her at all. She didn't want to waste her time with the woman. When Leah stepped into the shop, there was no one behind the counter or in immediate site. She had heard a bell ring at the door when she entered, so she waited for someone to appear. She was expecting Mitch to be the first to come out, but it was Hailey that came out instead. He came through a door behind the counter and he looked a little surprised to see her.
"What are you doing here?" he asked. It wasn't rudely, it was surprised. It was the only reason Leah did not begin to yell at him.
"I brought your box back," she said, placing it on the counter. "Now you don't have to go to the bluff to get it. I trust you no longer have a need to go there." Hailey examined the box and was relieved to see it was just as he'd left it. He opened it to check if there was anything missing but, save for one or two hooks, everything was there. He looked at his little note and laughed.
"It's a good thing I don't need this anymore," Hailey said, holding the note up.
"What is that?"
"It's directions to that bluff. When I'd found it, I really liked it so I made sure to right down how I'd gotten there. Don't worry, it's in German so no one could follow them."
"I noticed," Leah said.
"Did you?"
"It isn't great, but I do know how to read. I know the difference between English and German, thank you very much."
"Can you read German?"
"Not a lick," Leah said.
"Another thing I'll have to teach you, then," Hailey said with a confident grin. "Don't worry, dad left me all his books, so I have plenty of books in German. Most of them are fairy tales, but I have a collection by Die Brüder Grimm that should keep anyone entertained. They're a collection of fairytales from all over Europe."
"I already said you don't have to teach me German," Leah said. "I have no need for it and being able to amuse you is not reason enough for me to learn."
"And I never agreed to your refusal, Frӓulein Jagger," Hailey said. "Do you know what Frӓulein means?"
"It means woman."
"No, that's just frau or it could mean Misses. Frӓulein means miss but not girl. That's mӓdchen, but you're off to a good start. Sir would be Herr while man is mann. That's actually a common German last name in the US if you can believe it. Boy is junge. Keep in mind that some of those words have a dotted letter. I'm sure there's a grammatical term for them, but if I'm being frank, I don't know what it is. It doesn't really matter just so long as you know when to use them and when not. That will became easy once you know the difference in sounds."
"Really, Mr. Dauer, you don't have to teach me German."
"Nein, Frӓulein Jagger. Sie Deutsch lernen oder ich werde sterben unterrict," he said with determination. Leah smiled a little but otherwise said nothing. "We'll have to start with the basics before I start running my mouth of course. Accent will be the hardest thing, I suspect."
"I just came to return your box. Since you have that, there's no need for you to go to the bluff."
"There's plenty of reason, Miss Jagger. It never hurts to know another language. Not many people can say they speak three."
"I only speak two."
"Well, once you learn German, that'll make it three." Leah sighed and rubbed her face in awe of his blind determination.
"I don't know how you think I'll be able to practice," she finally said. "It's not as if I can practice with Seth."
"Sure you can. Everything I teach you, you can then teach him. You learn best when teaching anyway, or so they say."
"I'm not going to waste our time teaching Seth German. Besides, teaching him would mean telling him I've been meeting you."
"They don't already know? Where do they think you're running off to every week?"
"They think I'm foraging and I'd like to keep it that way. You can't honestly tell me your uncle knows you've been meeting me."
"No, he knows." Leah went wide eyed, and then groaned, rubbing her face. "Don't worry yourself, Miss Jagger. He knows it's only for you to pester and annoy me."
"And yet you want to teach me German," Leah said.
"Of course. Bickering in two languages is more fun." She tried not to, but she smiled and even laughed a bit.
"You're such an asshole," she said.
"You mean arschloch," Hailey corrected. Leah laughed a little more and Hailey stepped closer. "Go ahead and repeat that, Miss Jagger."
"You're such an arschloch," Leah repeated.
"Now say it properly: Sie sind ein arschloch." Leah didn't repeat immediately, so Hailey said it again. "Sie sind ein arschloch."
"Sie sind ein arschloch," Leah finally repeated.
"Good," Hailey said. "We need to work on your accent a little, but you're doing good."
"What's wrong with my accent?" Leah asked defensively.
"You're not quite enunciating the right parts. It's a little soft. German is powerful and it demands firmness and confidence when you speak."
"Well, I'm not very confident."
"Not yet," Hailey smiled confidently.
"Where's your Uncle?" Leah asked, wanting to change the subject.
"He went to the post office I think. Wednesday is usually his errand day. He'll probably do some grocery shopping after that."
"If you're the only one at the shop, then I shouldn't keep you."
"Keep me all you want," Hailey said. "It doesn't usually pick up until lunch and during the afternoon. That's when all the housewives do their shopping."
"No, really, I've returned your box, so I should go. I trust that since this has been returned you won't be showing up at the bluff again."
"You know I still will," he said. "You might as well get accustomed to it."
"If you insist, then I'll just have to keep reprimanding you for it. If I catch you again, I'll bring Jacob and have him personally escort you back. Is that what you want?"
"It's the funniest thing, Miss Jagger. I recall you saying you'd do that the first time you ever caught me. Or was it the second? Either way, you've made that threat and it's still come up empty. I'm not intimidated by empty threats." Hailey was smiling at Leah and she was smiling back. She may have thought she was being threatening, but she was wearing the sweetest smile. Hailey couldn't help but stare.
"I assure you the next time will not be," Leah said. Hailey chuckled and Leah had to join in. Hailey took a moment to look at her face closely. She had an Indian's complexion, yet she clearly had her father's features. She had a straight nose that was slender and had a harsher point and she had very modest cheekbones compared to the others. They were a little higher than what Hailey would see on the average white woman, however. And she had a strong jaw with a slender pointed chin and deep brown eyes. Her lips were very full as well. Aside from her eyes, those lips were what caught most of his attention.
"You look a lot like your father," Hailey said suddenly. Leah was taken off guard by the remark and stopped smiling just a little.
"How would you know that?"
"You just look German. Not completely, but you have those features. It's mostly your nose, though." Leah put her hand on her nose in response and started rubbing it, mildly self-conscious. She remembered when Renesmee had mocked her about her pale faced traits. At that time, it had enraged her. Now, however, it wasn't rage she felt. She couldn't quite seem to muster that emotion.
"I wish I looked more like my mother," Leah said. "I remember my mother was very pretty. She and my aunt look a lot alike."
"You have her black hair and tan skin," Hailey said. "I think what you have suits you."
"Are you complimenting me?" Leah asked dumbfounded. She was trying to be sarcastic and mean, but it just wasn't coming out that way.
"If you'll permit me, Frӓulein." The two of them stared at each other a moment in silence. Leah had seen Hailey many times, but she never really looked at him. He had brown hair, just like her father. He had brown eyes too. He was pale as anyone else in this town. He looked nothing like his uncle. He had a bigger nose with the slightest bit of a hump at the top. He had thick eyebrows and long lashes. She noticed he had the smallest bit of a dimple in his chin and when he smiled, she realized he had dimples on his cheeks too. Suddenly, Hailey started walking around the counter so he was standing right in front of her. "Du bist sehr schön Frӓulein Jagger."
"I didn't understand most of that," Leah said, but never stepped back.
"Du wirst," Hailey said.
"Did you say I will?" Leah asked.
"That's exactly what I said," Hailey smiled proudly. Then he started to bring his face closer to hers. She wasn't sure if she was shocked, upset, or anything. She couldn't make herself express anything. All she could do was stay still as she saw him bring himself closer to her. Her eyelids seemed to become heavier the closer he got. It seemed as though he were moving very slowly, though whether he actually was or not she wasn't sure. When her eyes closed, she felt the slightest breath of his lips on hers, but were then immediately taken away when they heard footsteps outside that were coming into the shop.
"Hailey!" the owner of those steps called out, still not having opened the door. "Come out here and help me with the food!" Finally, Mitch stepped inside with some paper bags and was stunned when he saw Leah. "Miss Jagger? What are you doing here?"
"I came to bring back Mr. Dauer's strongbox," Leah finally managed.
"I thought you kicked that into the ocean."
"I did," Leah said, "but it washed up at our shoreline so I retrieved it and brought it back."
"And she came all this way to return in just so I wouldn't fish at that bluff anymore," Hailey said. He made his voice as teasing as possible, though Mitch immediately noticed the boy's conviction wasn't quite there as it usually was. "She's stubborn as a mule I tell you. Can't get the word 'no' through her head."
"You mean you walked all the way here all by yourself?!" Mitch said.
"No need to yell, Uncle," Hailey said. "She got here fine."
"I don't care, you should know better than to travel here on foot by yourself. Hailey, I expect you to give her a ride home."
"No," Leah was quick to say. "I can walk home myself, it's fine. I would like something to eat before I leave though. I admit I forgot to eat breakfast before I left."
"And you didn't eat?" Mitch said and sighed heavily. "Jesus, Miss Jagger. You're lucky you made it here at all. I have some fresh bread that you can have."
"Thank you," Leah said.
"Hailey, get your ass outside and help me bring in the groceries. Give Miss Jagger one of the loaves of bread while you're at it."
Without a word, Hailey walked past Leah, who was still a little stiff from what almost happened, and went outside to help bring in the food. After all the food was brought in, Hailey handed Leah one of the loaves of bread for her to eat and a big glass of water. Mitch remained in the kitchen while Hailey stayed up from with Leah while she ate the bread he gave her.
"We can just ride the horse," Hailey said. "I'll have you home in less than an hour."
"You really don't have to. I'll be much better this time after eating something."
"Mitch won't let me not take you, so get used to it Miss Jagger."
Leah leered at Hailey, and he just smiled that cocky smile at her. Neither of them said a word about what almost happened and Leah ran into the kitchen to finish her food when she heard people begin to go up the steps into the store. Mitch and Hailey let her close the door and, as far as anyone that came in knew, Leah wasn't there. Half way through the baguette she was given, she stopped eating it and finished off her glass of water. Hailey came to the back with Leah as soon as the first round of afternoon customers left and sat down next to her.
"You done with that already?" he asked.
"I'm full," she said, pushing it to the side.
"Well, take it with you and save it for later."
"No, you can keep the rest," Leah said. "I don't want everyone seeing me with it. I'll have a hell enough time explaining where I was without that in tow."
"They'll know once I drop you off."
"Not if you drop me off before we reach the village," Leah said. Hailey just shrugged.
"So long as you're not arguing with me about taking you home," he said. "Are you sure you don't want to stay and relax for a while? It seems silly for you to come all this way just to drop off a box."
"That is all I came here for," Leah said. "What would you even do? Sit back here with me and talk while your uncle runs the front of the store?"
"We could continue your lesson," Hailey suggested.
"No, I need to get back. Just let me know where it's clear and we'll get leaving." Hailey said and left the room. When Leah was alone, she stared at the bread a moment and then started eating more of it. She polished off the baguette by the time Hailey returned.
"The horse is ready whenever you are," he said.
"I'm ready now," Leah replied and stood from the table. He led her to a back door that was in the kitchen and they walked out together to the horse he'd prepared.
He used a little block to get onto the horse first and when Leah had one foot on the block, Hailey reached down and helped her onto the horse without a word. When she was secure on the saddle behind him, Hailey brought the horse to a gallop and started riding into the woods down the trail they usually went down whenever it was time to go to the reservation for fish. Jacob, still keeping his distance, followed closely behind them, still keeping an eye on Leah. Though he'd not seen anything, he did overhear what they spoke about and they certainly weren't as vocal as usual.
"We should stick with meeting at the bluff," Hailey finally said. "It's too far away for you to just walk to the shop."
"I only came to return the box," Leah said.
"So you said," Hailey replied. "We can always go there together from time to time so long as I have the horse. Walking is just out of the question. It's too far."
"There's no need for me to go back to the shop, Mr. Dauer. I don't know why you're worrying about it so much."
Hailey didn't answer and kept his eyes forward. Leah kept her hands locked on loose parts of his shirt to stay stable on the horse while Hailey, keeping the reigns secure in one hand, actually brought the hand he'd just freed to Leah's knee. The touch was gentle and his thumb moved back and forth in a strangely reassuring manner. Leah decided to ignore it. When they reached a point when they were less than a mile from the tribe, Leah made Hailey stop so she could get off. When he stopped the horse, Hailey got off himself.
"You didn't need to get down," Leah said. "And thank you for the bread and the ride home."
"Are you really thanking me, Miss Jagger?" Hailey teased.
"If you'll permit me, Herr Dauer." Hailey grinned and walked a little closer to her, pleased that she'd reciprocated his playfulness from earlier. In that moment, earlier popped into his mind.
"We were having a little discussion before Mitch interrupted us," he said.
"Were we?" Leah asked.
"Yes, we were," he said back and closed the distance between them again like he'd done before. "It was quite a serious discussion actually."
"My German traits are hardly serious I would think," Leah replied, getting a little nervous.
"That's not what I was referring to," Hailey said before he did what he'd been about to do at the shop and planted a kiss firmly on Leah's lips. Just as before, Leah couldn't muster any negative response. Instead, she closed her eyes and let him kiss her. She was shocked to find his lips felt nice. He tasted of cigarettes and it was off-putting, but everything else was nice. Eventually he pulled his lips away from their chaste kiss and smiled at her. "It was a pleasure seeing you again, Fräulein," he said. "I look forward to seeing you at the bluff Sunday."
"I already told you if I catch you there, I'll bring Jacob to escort you home," Leah was able to manage, but any threat she tried to put forth was lost by her lightheadedness.
"I wouldn't expect any less." Hailey smiled one last time at Leah before getting back onto his horse. Only then did Jacob run back to the tribe to ensure he returned home before Leah. Hailey didn't leave until Leah started walking home. At one point, she even turned around and waved goodbye to him. Hailey returned the gesture and only turned the horse when Leah had turned her back.
When Jacob returned, everyone stared, surprised that he'd returned home so late. It had also spread that Leah wasn't there and everyone was worried. Sara came to Jacob and asked him where he'd been and if he'd seen Leah. Jacob just explained that Leah had found Meat Monger 2's strong box and had gone to town to return it and, upon noticing she was doing that, he followed her. He didn't say any more or less and let Sara know that nothing happened. He did not mention a kiss or a long conversation. He did mention that Hailey rode her home, but, again, left out any further detail than that. By the time Leah arrived, Sara went right to her, concerned and wanting to ensure she was okay.
"Jacob said you went into town to return something to the second Meat Monger. Are you alright? They didn't hurt you did they?" Sara asked and Leah went wide eyed and wracked her brain for an excuse.
"Yes," Leah eventually managed. "I found it and the shore when the kids were playing with it, saw a note inside it and realized it belonged to the Meat Monger's nephew, so I brought it back. We wouldn't want them thinking we're thieves or anything."
"So you walked there the whole way? Jacob saw you go. He should have helped you."
"No," Leah spoke up, having not realized Jacob was following her to begin with. It had her blood boiling. "I needed the walk anyway. And Hailey was kind enough to give me a ride home." The words that came out of Leah's mouth shocked even her, but she went with it and stepped away from Sara. Just relieved Leah was alright, she went ahead and dropped the matter, only saying that she needed to not try to go into town by herself anymore. Leah agreed she wouldn't and the conversation ended there. Instead, Leah went right to Jacob. She had a bone to pick with him.
"Can I talk to you?" Leah said when she approached Jacob.
"No one knew before now," Jacob was quick to say. "I only followed you the last time you'd gone to the bluff and this time because I saw you leaving as I was coming home."
"So help me God, Jacob, if you've mentioned this to anyone-"
"The pack knows, but that would go without saying. And Renesmee knows, but she's not told anyone."
"And how do you know that?" Leah bit back.
"Because I asked her not to," Jacob said defensively. "Look, Leah, I won't tell mom and dad any more than what happened today. All I told her was you went to return the damn box and Hailey was ordered to take you home. That's all she knows."
"Don't follow me again," Leah said sternly. "I'm a grown woman, I don't need you looking after me like I'm a child."
"Fine," Jacob said with a shrug. "If you trust him, then I'll leave you be."
"I don't trust him. What makes you think I trust him?"
"I don't know," Jacob shrugged. "Just a hunch," he replied sarcastically before ending the conversation and going to Renesmee's side so Leah wouldn't try to argue further.
When Hailey returned to the shop, he got the horse settled in the stable and removed the saddle so the horse could get comfortable again. He didn't return into the shop right away. Instead, he stayed behind a moment and thought about Leah. She was something else. In the time he'd been here, she was the only person of any interest. At first, he found her annoyingly amusing. Then, he started to like her a little and enjoyed their banter and bickering. He'd even admit that he liked when they were just throwing a baseball at each other trying to outdo the other. It wasn't until those little fishing trips where they would meet that it started becoming really apparent that there was more to Miss Leah Jagger than met the eye. And after today, he knew just how special she really was. He just couldn't believe she'd walked all this way to return a stupid box. Just an excuse to see him. He was flattered. The kiss they'd shared: the one they almost shared and the one they did share. It'd had him weak in the knees. He could swear he still felt her full lips against his and the thought had him burning.
"Well shit," Hailey said, looking at the horse. "I think I love her."