[BamaFan121s]

“Emmett and Rosalie have been to the reservation!?” I felt my jaw drop. I couldn’t fathom Rosalie lowering her own standards and subjecting herself to being caught dead in La Push…figuratively speaking.



“Sure. They’ve been there with Renesmee, dropping her off, picking her up, that sort of thing.”


“Renesmee has been to La Push too?”


Jacob laughed, obviously amused by my shock. “Yep…quite a bit.”


“And has she been…accepted there?”


Jacob grinned widely. “You’ll just have to see for yourself.”


I was thrilled. So many memories I had of La Push, yet they all seemed so out of focus compared to so many of my other memories. It was as if I pictured them all through frosted glass, aware that something was there, but not able to fully make out all the details or fully appreciate them.


“So,” Jacob teased, “does this mean you’re accepting my invitation?”


I looked at Edward eagerly. He looked back at me, seemly to consider his answer for a minute. It was torture. Finally, a smile of his own spread across his face and he pulled me closer to kiss my head, “Yes, we can go to La Push, if that’s what you really want.”


“Oh, Edward!” I slung my arms around him. “Yes, I do, I do, I do. Can we leave right now?” Suddenly, I pictured myself resembling a very eager Alice again.


“Give me just a minute to tell Esme where we’re going.” He raced into the house.


Jacob called Renesmee over and I watched her excited reaction as he shared with her the news that we would be visiting the reservation.


The garage door opened and Edward stepped back out into the driveway to meet us. “Are you three ready?”


“Tell you what, Edward,” Jacob responded, exchanging a sly wink with Renesmee. “We’ll race you two there.” Renesmee covered her mouth to stifle an excited giggle and peered up at Edward, awaiting his reaction.


“Excellent.” A mischievous smile spread across Edward’s face. “We’ll take the Ferrari.”


“Do you want a head start?” Jacob asked, rolling his eyes dramatically. “I’ll be right back.” With that he turned and darted into the woods.


I seized his absence as an opportunity to turn to Edward and complain, “Ugh, the Ferrari?” I groaned. “Can’t we just take your car?”


“Nonsense, Bella,” Edward teased back. “It’s about time I taught you how to drive it…properly that is.” I rolled my eyes as Jacob just had.


At that moment, the brush at the edge of the driveway stirred and a giant wolf emerged from the spot where Jacob had disappeared minutes earlier. The wolf-Jacob walked over to stand beside Renesmee who easily scrambled onto his back. She took a spot between his shoulders and secured herself with two fistfuls of russet colored fur. She looked at us expectantly. The excitement on her face was more than enough to melt any reservations I had about this trip. I returned to my previous elated state and was suddenly eager to get to La Push as fast as possible myself.


I glanced at Edward, quickly and then back to Renesmee and Jacob, who stood waiting. Edward reached over to take my hand. He slowly took a step backwards towards the garage, pulling me with him. “One…” he called out. I saw Renesmee’s smile grow and saw her tighten her grip on Jacob’s fur. Another step backwards and “…two…” Jacob crouch to the ground, prepared to run. Another slow step backwards towards the garage. “THREE!” We spun in unison and raced towards the shiny red car parked in the garage.


I did not see Jacob move, but heard him crashing through the woods, putting distance between us. Within seconds, Edward had started the car and was racing down the twisting driveway that led to the paved road. I had to amit, Edward was a really good driver. A minute later, we hit the pavement, never slowing down.