A/N: I love the PM responses I have gotten since I posted the first chapter. I'm really surprised and thank you.

FYI: I don't know much about real estate. If my timing is off somewhere in my writing, I'll catch it eventually and I'll fix it. Um...not much more to say except...

ENJOY!

3/27/2025


Rear-view Town: Moving Forward

Chapter Two


"Angel, did you call your dad and let him know that we'll be out of town for a couple of days?" Paul was stuffing his carry-on bag with one more pair of underwear and one more pair of sweatpants.

Bella smiled as she thought about her dad and the conversation she had with Marissa. "I sure did," she smiled a mile wide as she stepped over to poke her head around the closet door frame. "He appreciates that I let him know because the last time I left town I only left a note."

Paul glanced up to his wife. "You should've just let that fucker die and we could've avoided your kidnapping." He kept mumbling as he sat on the edge of their bed and slipped his feet into his sneakers. "I'd give anything to go back and be the one who takes his head off."

"Babe," Bella said as she approached him and sat down. "It's all in the past. He's gone." She put her hand on the back of his head and lightly scratched his scalp. It always calms him. "All in the past where it needs to stay."

"I know," he heavily sighed. "I'm sorry. Even with that sick fuck being completely dead and gone, just the slightest thought of him makes my blood pressure rise."

"Just take a deep breath and tie your other shoe so we can go." She reached up with both of her hands to turn his face to hers. "He's not here to hurt us anymore."

Paul closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm just felling overwhelmed right now."

"Why?" Bella asked as she dropped her hands from his face and stood up to stand in front of him. "What's causing you to be overwhelmed? There's nothing really going on is there?"

"Going back to New York for one. I thought I'd never see that place again." He closed his eyes just as his memory took him to the house he had lived in. "I guess it'll bring back all the memories of watching my mom die."

"That's understandable," Bella agreed. "Is there anything else? Maybe something you haven't told me."

Paul's head jerked up to look at her with wide eyes. "Why would you ask me that?"

"I'm not insinuating anything. I just asked. It could be something that you completely forgot about until now."

Paul reached out and pulled his wife to him by her hips. "There's nothing; I promise."

Bella moved back to lean over to kiss her husband. "Good, now let's get on the road. Our flight leaves in three hours."

The drive to the small airport in Port Angeles was filled with idle chit-chat. Paul would tell Bella small stories about him as a kid and Bella did the same. All of her stories were very interesting to Paul because they all included Jake. It was like killing two birds with one stone.

Paul parked their car in the short-term parking and grabbed their bags. Bella checked them in before they sat down. They were on time to say the least. If it wasn't for Bella making Paul hustle along, they would have definitely been late.

"So, I'm a little nervous," Paul admitted. "This is my first time flying that I know of."

Bella patted his hand before taking it into hers. "That's okay. I'll protect you."

Paul chuckled. "I feel so much safer, now."

Bella smiled at her husband. "It'll be a piece of cake. The most we'll be on a plane today is, at most, seven hours. My flight to Italy was about 14 hours. The circulation in my legs was completely gone."

"I hate that for you," Paul replied then squeezed her hand. "I'm sure Italy is beautiful, but most of all, your memory of that place consists of him."

"We can change that. We can go as a family when the babies are older." She twisted in her seat to look at Paul. "Or we could go for a honeymoon. You know, the one we didn't get."

Paul nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good. Maybe somewhere other than Italy, though. Somewhere we can make our own memories."

Bella knew something was eating at him. Every conversation led back to making memories and her dead ex vampire boyfriend. "What's really going on in that head of yours?"

He glanced over at her. "What?" He then looked straight ahead. "Nothing."

"I call bullshit." Bella reached up and turned Paul's face to look at her. "What's eating at you?"

Paul took in a deep breath then released it. "It's stupid."

"Have I ever said anything about you is stupid? Or even the way you think."

"No, can't say that you have. I just feel stupid, okay."

He tried to hang his head, but Bella wouldn't let him. "Don't do that."

Paul wanted to tell her to forget it and wished he didn't let stuff bother him. "I don't know why, but I keep letting that piece of shit sneak back into my head and I think it's because I'm about to introduce you to my past. I've seen all of yours and it's only fair that you see mine, but he keeps getting into my noggin."

Bella's brows rose to her hairline. "Is there something I don't know about? I thought we talked about this before we left the house."

"I just think there's a difference between telling someone about your past and actually seeing it with their own eyes." He shook his head.

"Well," Bella started. "If there isn't anything for me to worry about, then we can call this trip a learning experience." She gave her husband a satisfied smile. "Agree?"

"There's definitely nothing to worry about, so agreed. I guess I'm more curious about what was found at the house. I'm gob smacked that there was more."

Bella chuckled. "Your dictionary has grown."

"I learn from the best." He leaned over and kissed her cheek.

"What would really be surprising is if it were more money. I wouldn't imagine she'd hide money somewhere else in the house." Bella smiled to herself. "It would be cool if it was. We're gonna be bankrupt after all your ideas."

"Oh, stop," Paul said. "You honestly don't know how much money we have, do you?"

Bella gave him a look in wonder. "No, I guess I don't. I just grocery shop and you pay all the other bills."

"Angel." Paul shook his head. "Our bills are nothing. Plus, the money we used for the rec center, I've already gained that back from interest."

Bella really was surprised by that bit of information. She honestly had no idea what kind of money they were living off of and wondered why Paul chose to work. She had asked him once before and he simply said that it keeps him from going insane sometimes; that working on cars was more of a hobby for him than anything, so getting paid to do it was a bonus. That money was used for the food menus at the center or petty cash when it's needed.

"Well, even if it is money, wouldn't she have said something in her letter she left for you?"

Paul took Bella's hand when the intercom overhead called for their flight. "I dunno, maybe. I was surprised she remembered who I was the last few weeks before she died." He shrugged his shoulders as he reached for her carry-on bag along with his. "There were times that I had to keep reminding myself not to take her literally half the time. It's amazing how much a person can change from an illness in the blink of an eye."

It was a short flight from Port Angeles to Seattle. From there they would be flying into Watertown where they will be picking up their rental car. They would be arriving just after four in the afternoon. When the small plane began to taxi, Paul grabbed Bella's hand and closed his eyes. "You ready for this?" Bella asked.

"Not really." He kept his eyes closed as he spoke. "I could shit right now if I had to." He was taking slow, deep breaths to keep from getting too excited. Thankfully he could keep himself under control to keep from phasing while in flight. Other than that, he felt like he was inside a soup can as his body began to vibrate from the movement of the plane. He hoped once they switched planes, he wouldn't be so rattled.

"You get through this without shitting or pissing your pants, we'll talk about the mile high club."

Paul jerked his eyes open and over to his wife. "Is that really a thing?"

She gave him a huge smile. "It is. You should ask Rose and Emmett about it. They've had quite the experience. More than once, I might add."

"I think I'll pass. Thanks for the visual, by the way."

Bella chuckled. "Anytime."

When they boarded the plane in Seattle, Bella was excited because it would be the second time she was experiencing first class seating. She loved it so much the first time that she vowed to always fly that way. When Paul requested first class, she didn't hesitate. He wanted to be as comfortable as possible. Plus, he knew they had better accommodations up front.

As they approached their area, Paul took his assigned seat by the window. They got comfortable and buckled in before Bella pulled their earbuds from her purse. They were going to take advantage of a movie or two during their flight if neither one of them fell asleep.

Paul heard the engines get louder and felt the plane shimmy as it began to pull away from the terminal. His body jerked much like it did on the smaller plane. "We're still on the ground."

"Hardy har har," Paul said sarcastically.

"It's just like the smaller plane."

"It's not," Paul disagreed. "I don't feel like I'm in a sardine can."

Bella thought for a second. "I guess you're right." She smiled and glanced up to see that Paul had his eyes closed. "Once we're up and leveled out, we can watch a movie. I have our earbuds in my purse."

"Sounds good." Paul finally opened his eyes and aimed them out the window as he felt the plane begin to lift from the ground. The vibration from the plane was flowing over his entire body. It felt nothing like the smaller plane did. This feeling was much like when he went cliff diving with the pack.

When the flight got underway, Bella handed Paul his earbuds and reached up to turn the TV on in front of them. They had agreed on one of the new action movies that was available. It wasn't often that they get to watch what they want until after the babies go to bed, but normally, Paul and Bella were passing out not long after they were asleep.

The flight attendant had come around and taken their orders for their breakfast. Bella chose something healthy for them because she was sure they would indulge in piles of delicious fried foods for lunch and dinner.

There wasn't a lot of turbulence as they flew across the United States. As Bella had predicted, Paul fell asleep halfway through the movie and she followed soon after. When her bladder was screaming to be emptied, they were just coming into New York; very close to the end of their flight.

Paul, so accustomed to Bella sleeping next to him, felt when she got up from her seat. He grabbed her hand when she moved to step away. "I have to pee."

"Smooch." Paul smiled up at his wife with his lips puckered and his eyes closed.

Bella leaned over and kissed him before practically sprinting to the restroom. She couldn't remember the last time she felt so good just to relieve herself, and she thanked the plane builders that the first-class bathroom was just a tad bigger than the one in coach.

When they landed in Watertown, they headed straight to the rental car terminal. Since it was only Bella and Paul, the Malibu they ended up with was perfect. It was newer than the one he had worked on earlier in the week. He even considered buying one, but Bella put a stop to that thought really quick. They didn't need to add to the three vehicles they already had. "I was just complimenting this beautiful piece of machinery."

"I'll agree," Bella nodded. "It is nice. Definitely not a family car, though."

"Not a family of our size, anyway," Paul said with his eyes trained on the road he thought he would never see again. "Are we done having kids?" He asked out of nowhere as soon as the thought crossed his mind.

Bella made a weird noise and turned to face her husband. "You're asking me that why pray tell?"

Paul shrugged. "It just popped into my head. I mean, we were talking about family cars and all."

"Oh," Bella thought then made sure her mind was closed so Paul wouldn't know what she was thinking. Yes, for five seconds she thought of having another baby, but she was afraid she'd get pregnant with multiples, again. Three was enough, but another little boy wouldn't hurt.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Paul spotted the sign saying they were 12 miles away from Chaumont.

"Nothing," Bella replied truthfully. "I'm just getting anxious about seeing your childhood home and the places you used to hang out at."

Paul was quiet for a minute as he realized Bella had completely dodged his baby question before thinking about showing Bella his old hang out under the bridge. The very bridge he lost his virginity under; the very bridge he drank his first beer, smoked weed for the first time, but most of all, where he had phased for the very first time and killed his very first vampire.

"Angel?" He glanced over to her watching the trees whip by.

"Yeah." Bella was mesmerized by the greenery, much like Washington's, as they drove through the streets of upstate New York.

"You sure you wanna see all the places where I used to hang with my friends?" He kept his eyes on the road as he waited for her answer.

Bella turned to look at Paul. "Of course. You know and have seen everything there is about me, so yeah, I wanna see everything you're willing to show me."

Paul nodded and smiled. "Okay." That made Paul happy to hear. They were soulmates and every new thing they learned about one another was priceless.

"You know where the bed and breakfast is, right?" Bella was flipping through the papers she had printed out after she made the reservation.

Paul nodded. "Unless there's a new one, then yes."

"Good. We can check in as soon as we get there then we can get a late lunch or an early dinner."

"Sounds good to me; I'm starving." He began to think about food as soon as the word lunch hit his ears.

The bed and breakfast looked exactly the same as the last time Paul had seen it. He didn't expect too much had changed since he left, but he's been proven wrong before.

The house was very large. Two stories with a wrap around porch. There was a history plaque perched on a pedestal just as you reach the top of the stairs. Bella glanced over it before she rang the doorbell. The house was nearly as old as the town which was established in 1874. Chaumont was technically a village which Bella thought was interesting. She wondered what made Paul's mom choose to settle there.

"Mr. & Mrs. Lahote?" An older woman, maybe in her early 70's, answered the door.

"That's us," Bella replied with a huge smile then extended her hand. "I'm Bella and this is..."

"Paul. Yes, I know Paul." The lady smiled then extended her hand to Bella then to Paul. "It's good to see you all grown up."

"Mrs. Meyer? Wow, it's good to see you, too." Paul returned her handshake. "I didn't know you lived here."

"Well, you were a little preoccupied quite a bit when you were younger." She smiled then waved them inside. "Come on in so we can get you two checked in."

They followed her into the foyer where a desk with a computer sat. It was obviously Mrs. Meyer's work area. "Have you always lived here?" Paul asked her.

Mrs. Meyer nodded. "I sure have. Your mom used to work for me in the afternoon after she left the police station."

Paul tried to remember his mom talk about her job. He knew she worked at the police station and that's it. "I didn't know," Paul admitted. "I thought she just worked at the station."

"She's missed a lot around here," Mrs. Meyer says. "Chief Westin dedicated a bench to her out front of the station in the Spring. You should stop by and see it; it's beautiful."

"We will," Bella said assuredly. "He plans on giving me a tour while we're here."

They shared smiles as Mrs. Meyer handed Bella a pen and the invoice. "We're still stuck in the olden days. I like a hard copy and digital when the internet is working."

"That's okay. I don't mind." Bella signed the paper and handed it back. "Do you need my credit card now? Or we can pay you in cash if you prefer?"

"Whatever is easiest. Either way is fine. I have your card information from your reservation."

"That's right." Bella pushed the straps of her purse back up over her shoulder before looking around. "Actually, is there a restroom near by?"

Mrs. Meyer pointed down the hallway. "Your room has an en suite. I put you in the master suite."

Bella sighed in relief. "Thank you so much." Paul followed her down the hall to the room they would be staying in. "Can you get a pair of my leggings out of my bag for me. I don't want to look like a complete bum." Without even caring that the door was open to the bathroom, she pushed her sweatpants down as soon as she reached the toilet and moaned as soon as she began to pee. "Hey, can you call the real estate lady and let her know we're here?"

"I'll call her at the diner. I need food now or I'm phasing just to go fetch a bear."

Bella laughed at her husband. "You're so dramatic."

"Have you forgotten that I'm a growing boy and I have a very high metabolism?" He grabbed her around the waist as soon as she was done washing her hands and held her against him. "I hope the bed doesn't squeak." He wanted to take her right then and there, but his stomach growled so loud that it made Bella laugh out loud. "Proof that I'm starving."

"You have gone longer than a few hours without eating. I'm surprised you're not withered away into nothing." She kissed his chin.

Paul reached down and slipped his hand between her legs. "I've gone longer without this." He knew how to get her going if he really wanted in her pants in that very moment.

"We both have." Bella stepped back. "Let's go get food. I'm hungry, too."

Mrs. Meyer was sitting at the computer as they came from their room. They gave her a small wave before they headed out and got into their rental car.

Paul drove them to the diner where he liked to cause trouble. His first stop was to the owners as he entered so he could profusely apologize to them for the mayhem he caused. He planned to leave a very large tip for them in the jar by the register. They hugged him and expressed that there were no hard feelings.

The Lahote's were seated at a table in the corner and sat close to each other. There wasn't a whole lot of choices for food, but Paul already knew what he wanted. Bella, on the other hand, was craving red meat and decided to get a double cheeseburger. She was so used to sharing with the babies that she was going to take advantage of the whole burger to herself.

Once their orders were placed, Bella pulled her phone out to video all Cora so they could talk to the babies. "Hey, ma," Paul said. "You ready to run for the hills, yet?"

"I'm okay, right now. Your sisters have been great help. We were getting ready to go see the quads."

"Dada! Daddy!" The babies heard Paul's voice and came running with their aunts following behind them.

"Mommy's here, too," Paul angled the phone so they could be seen together. "You three being good for grandma?"

You could hear mommy then daddy between their gibberish conversation. They were talking over each other as they tried to get as close to the phone as possible.

Two tables over, unbeknownst to Paul, Sarah sat with her friend Cassie. They had noticed Paul when he entered. Both had admired how good he looked as he walked over to the owners of the diner. Sarah chose not to say anything to him when she noticed he was with someone. A very beautiful brunette.

As Sarah and Cassie eavesdropped on their phone conversation, they learned that Paul was now a father and the girl with him was the mother to his kid. "You think they're married?" Cassie asked.

"I don't know. I didn't look for rings." Sarah refused to look over her shoulder at him. "Can you see anything?"

Cassie moved her chair just enough to get a good view of Bella's left hand. "She has a rock the size of Texas and a wedding band, too." Cassie watched Sarah as she processed the information. "You okay?"

"Yeah, sure." Sarah lied. "Why should it bother me?" Paul was never far from Sarah's mind every day, and no one knew how she truly felt. Even after not seeing him for over a year. Since the day Paul broke up with her years before and after their son died inside her stomach, she had hoped and prayed to any power that would listen, that Paul would come back to her. He may have been out of sight since he left, but she still felt deep love for him. Her heart raced at the sight of him, and she wanted more than anything to run and wrap her arms around him.

"I don't know. Maybe because you just found out that he's married and from what we can hear them saying, they have a kid." Cassie took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm your best friend and you may not talk about Paul much anymore, but I know you. There's not a day that goes by that you don't think about him or look at that picture you have of him in your wallet." Cassie scooted closer to Sarah. "You two were going to have a kid together. Seeing him married to someone else with a kid, has to be eating at you."

"Can we please not talk about this here?" Sarah heard Paul call someone mom then something about sisters. That was news to her considering his mom died and he was an only child. "What did he just say?"

Cassie rolled her eyes. "I'm not listening, and you shouldn't be either."

Sarah leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. "Whatever." She then tried to hear what else was being said between her ex and his new wife.

"Where did Creed go?" Paul asked. "Malia, Ember, go get your brother." Bella chuckled as she watched the two identical girls go hunt down their brother.

"They're having a good time. They probably won't have a problem until it's bedtime and if we have to, we'll take them to your house so they can sleep in their own beds."

"Thanks mom," Bella said. "We'll call back later. Paul needs to call the Realtor to let her know we're here."

"Ooop," Cora said and giggled as all three babies plowed into the side of her legs. "You three say see you later alligator to mommy and daddy."

They mumbled the words the best they could before Paul said, "After while you little crocodiles. We love you and be good for your aunties and grandma."

Just as Bella ended the call, the waitress brought their food.


Thank you!

RTB