Sweet Hostage - Chapter Fifteen
A/N: I thought that since I started out this story with a wedding that it would only be fitting to end it with one, as well. The right one.
This is the final chapter of Sweet Hostage. I apologize for the long wait between the last few chapters. This story was started on a whim in protest to the Breaking Dawn movie’s premiere, and the subsequent ending of the saga that left most of us very dissatisfied. I had no idea where I was going with this story and wrote it flying by the seat of my pants the whole way through. For those of you who have followed it from the beginning (and you know who you are), I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Your reviews and comments are what motivated me to finish. Thank you!
Chapter Fifteen
Elated.
She smiled. That was a good one.
Excited. Happy.
She was taking stock of her emotions.
Exhilarated.
She laughed out loud.
These were all a far cry from the feelings running through her body at the first wedding.
She looked over in surprise at Charlie, who laughed along with her slipped giggle. She snorted.
“What?” he asked her.
“You don’t even know what you’re laughing at. You’re more excited than I am,” Bella told her father.
“No, I’m not.” He scowled at her. That just made her laugh harder.
“What’s everyone laughing at?” Billy asked them, wheeling over.
“I don’t know. Does there have to be a reason?” Charlie asked him.
“We’re just happy.” Bella explained.
“Oh. Well, good. I just left Jacob, and he looked like he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.”
Bella and Charlie looked at him, concerned.
“Happy tears,” Billy explained.
“Oh,” they both said at the same time.
Angela, Kim and Emily came down the makeshift aisle of white, purple and pink rose petals tossed onto the sand. Bella looked anxiously up at the sky. They’d better make this quick, no knowing how long the flowers would stay in place before the wind kicked up and blew them away. They’d been lucky so far, it was a warm, mild day.
“You ready?” Angela leaned in and whispered in Bella’s ear as she went by her. “We’re about to start.”
Bella saw a figure come around from behind a rock just a short distance down the beach. There was no mistaking who that tall, handsome man in a dark suit and jacket was. He wore his silky shoulder length hair down; because that was the way she liked it.
She felt her heart skip a beat, and the happy butterflies fluttered in her stomach. She watched Jacob make his way to the back of the folding chairs, where the small audience of guests were seated. He flashed her his smile, the one that was just for her, and the sun seemed to brighten in the sky.
Embry, Quil and Seth stood behind him, waiting for the three girls lined up behind Bella, to escort them to the small white altar set up at the end of the flower-strewn aisle.
“Ready?”
Bella looked up at her father. “Yes, I am,” she told him in a strong, steady voice.
Billy had wheeled himself over the sand and waited underneath the white arched columns where Bella and Jacob would say their vows. It was set up just alongside their old driftwood log. Billy had gotten a certificate online that would allow him to officiate the wedding and marry the two of them. Bella couldn’t help but be proud, not many people were married by a real, live Quileute Indian Chief. Although, she had a feeling that Charlie was a little jealous about it. But he had his own role to play as father of the bride, and that was important too.
Bella and Charlie began the walk down the beach, toward the guests, toward her husband-to-be. When they reached him, Jacob leaned into her father and whispered in his ear while shaking his hand, and taking his daughter from him. “Thank you, Charlie. You know I’ll take good care of her.”
“Oh, I know you will, son. We both know who owns the biggest gun in this town,” Charlie semi-joked.
Bella giggled and took Jacob’s arm. His dark suit set off his black eyes and the white shirt made a beautiful contrast against his coppery complexion.
“Wow,” Bella breathed. “Did anyone ever tell you you’re sort of beautiful?”
“Why, yes! But,” he grinned. “They had hit their head really hard. I’m not sure if they were actually lucid.”
“Hmm, that doesn’t count then,” she teased him.
“Oh.” Jacob feigned disappointment. “Then, no. No one has ever told me that.”
“Well, as a woman of sound mind and body - who hasn’t hit her head in at least a week - let me tell you, you are quite a sight, Mr. Black! I’d even say plain, old beautiful. No sort-of about it.”
“Well, doesn’t that make you the lucky one?” He joked.
“I think so, yes.”
“Nah,” he leaned in, giving her a kiss on the cheek. “I’m the lucky one.”
“Ahem.” Someone in the back row cleared his throat loudly. Paul gave them a look. “Come on Black, you can play kissy-giggle with her later. Let’s get this show on the road.”
Rachel elbowed Paul, as Bella and Jacob slowly walked across the multi-colored carpet of rose petals, toward the white arch where Billy waited for them. A large circle was outlined in the sand for the two of them to stand in, symbolizing the never-ending circle of life.
Bella had never been affiliated with a church growing up, so she and Jake had decided to choreograph their own ceremony, incorporating a few Indian wedding prayers and traditions in it.
A musky-scented smoke filled the air from a lit bundle of sage - a blessing of purification.
Billy beamed at the two of them before addressing the guests.
“This wedding ceremony is taking place outdoors. With Father Sky as the roof of the most sacred cathedral, and Mother Earth at our feet to hold you and keep you grounded.” Billy’s deep voice began the ceremony. He was used to capturing an audience - all the years of telling legends that were more than mere stories, around a blazing bonfire. He had a way of making everyone take note of the words he said, and latching onto the message behind them.
“But that’s not why this beach in La Push was chosen today. First Beach is where these two not only spent a lot of their time throughout their relationship, but also where they met many years ago, though I doubt either one of them remembers that first time. Let me just tell you, they were not very impressed with each other back then. I won’t embarrass either of them and tell you about the bucket of wet sand my son got dumped on his three-year-old head, after falling on - and ruining - the sand castle that Bella and his sisters had painstakingly built.”
“You just did, Dad.”
“Well, watch your step today, son. If she pours a bucket of sand on your head or makes you cry again, I’m sure you’ll have deserved it.”
Billy coughed as Jacob gave him a half-hearted dirty look, and then went on.
“We are joyfully assembled here today to witness and celebrate the joining of two lives in marriage: Jacob Ephraim Black and Isabella Marie Swan.”
The rest of the ceremony went by in a blur, and Bella was thankful that Jared had agreed to tape it all. The next thing she knew Billy was introducing Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Black to the friends and family gathered. The first person Bella saw when she turned around was Charlie, bouncing out of his seat and applauding. Renee was seated beside him, dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief. Bella hoped they were tears of happiness for Jake and her, and not tears of sadness, as Renee was here alone. She and Phil had separated last year, and the divorce became final just last month.
Bella was proud of her when she wiped her eyes and dutifully jumped up to take some pictures with her and Jacob, Charlie and Billy before they all headed up to the Black’s house for some food.
They were blessed to have a handful of amazing cooks on their guest list. Sue and Emily had volunteered to be in charge of feeding the masses. Not to mention they were the only two accustomed to accommodating the amounts of food it took to fill the stomachs of a pack of wolves. That, as Bella knew, was no small feat.
There was fried chicken that had been prepared earlier that day and the smell of bbq tri-tip roasts greeted them as they came down the driveway. There were four tables already laid out and filled with multiple versions of green salads and potato salads, roasted potatoes, pasta, hot ears of corn, green beans, hot dinner rolls, on and on, every kind of food imaginable. It must have taken them days to prepare it all.
Paul had offered to tend bar, while someone else had set up speakers on the porch and had music going. There were flowers wound up around the ramp and the stair banisters leading to the house, while streamers hung across the whole front of the house.
“Not quite as elaborate as you’ve had before, but pretty nice, right?” Jacob asked her earnestly. Bella knew he always wished he could give her all the material things the Cullens had been able to afford. No matter how much she reassured him that those things had never meant anything to her, she knew he still wished he could afford to lavish her with as much as they had.
“It’s perfect.”
She had warned Jacob beforehand that she did not want to do a traditional first dance in front of everyone. It was bad enough being on display while they said their vows. But she did dance. Albeit only slow dances, where all she had to do was hold onto Jacob and sway back and forth to the rhythm he kept. It got easier as the day wore on, and after three glasses of champagne, it was actually enjoyable!
The drinking, dancing and food held out all through the afternoon and early evening. But once night fell, the wind kicked up and the fog began to roll in. People started leaving, and the few stragglers took the party inside the Black’s house.
The only people still outside were Jacob, Bella and Jared with Kim. Bella watched the two of them as they stared into each other’s eyes and swayed back and forth, even though the music had shut down hours ago.
As if reading her thoughts, Jacob pulled her close. He knelt down, making direct eye contact to get his point across. “The Universe didn’t have to lobotomize me to fall for the right girl.”
“Are you saying you were stupid enough all on your own?”
He grinned. “Yep.”
It was something Bella hardly thought about anymore, but every great once in a while, it would sneak up on her, making her anxious. What if…? Then she’d pull herself together and assure herself if it hadn’t happened yet, it wasn’t going to happen. After all, Embry, Seth and Leah never imprinted. Just that brief window of time all those years ago when Sam, Jared, Paul and Quil had been struck like lightening with their imprints. Then nothing. Like a plague that comes in and grabs as many victims as it can before disappearing, leaving the rest of the ones untouched forever looking over their shoulders.
“Bells, I’m twenty-four. No one has imprinted in eight years. Don’t even think about it.” He kissed her as incentive to forget.
“Jacob?” She asked him, coming up for air. “If I ask you to do something for me, would you do it?”
“Aw Bells, of course I will.” He hated to see her worried. “What did you have in mind, Mrs. Black?” He smiled, trying to lighten the mood slightly.
She looked up at him with her big chocolate-brown eyes. “Get me the hell out of here.”
He threw his head back and laughed as she broke into a huge grin.
“Not again!” He pulled her closer. “Any second requests?”
“Yeah,” she giggled. “Remember that second thing I asked you for last time?”
“No questions asked?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Don’t tell me you’ve got condoms in those shoes.”
“No.” She shook her head. “No condoms. We’re married now. I think we should live dangerously.”
“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s get out of here.” He took her hand and they ran up the porch together, giggling. They hurriedly went inside and said goodbye and thank-you to their guests. There were presents lined up against the living room wall; they would come back sometime tomorrow and open them.
They had finally saved up enough money to put a down payment on a house. It was on the coast of Sekiu, about half an hour drive from Forks. Far enough away to leave the past and all bad memories behind yet close enough to remind them where it all started and what was important.
They had hoped to be able to spend their wedding night in their new house, but they couldn’t move in till the next month, which was only four days away. They had been staying with Billy the last two weeks, but had rented a hotel room for the remainder of their wait. The down payment had used up any vestige of honeymoon money, but they didn’t really care. A honeymoon was about them being together, it didn’t matter where they were.
Seth told them that Harry had left his family some land in Mount Rainier, and there was a small shack there in the mountains beside a lake that they could use any time they wanted. But there was too much to do with the new move, so they would take Seth up on his offer after they were settled into their new home.
Jacob threw a couple of suitcases into the trunk of his newest fixer-upper: a 69 Mustang Mach 1. The Rabbit was now retired and covered like a corpse on a stretcher on its way to the morgue, in the garage.
Jake hopped into the driver’s seat, and Bella saw a nostalgic look pass over his features. “Remember when we snuck into a room at the Seattle Hilton? Man, we were ballsy.”
“We were desperate!” she snorted. “No ID’s, no money… and me, afraid to go home,” she added softly.
“You weren’t afraid.” He took her hand. “You just wanted to seduce me before you went back and faced the music.”
“Yeah,” she admitted, guiltlessly. “That too.”
“What a crazy time,” he murmured. “But I’ll never forget it.”
“Me either. But Jacob?”
“Hmm?”
“Please don’t break in anywhere tonight. We have reservations.”
“I don’t know,” he told her pulling up the driveway, before rolling onto the road. “Maybe you’ll see some cute stuff hanging on a clothesline along the way. We could pull a ‘tug-and-run’. A new sweater for me, maybe a cute little dress for you. Or no, a nice men’s shirt for you. A button-up, collared men’s shirt, I don’t care what color… although I do like you in blue. Blue looks nice on you. Yep, definitely a guy’s dress shirt for you, and nothing else.”
He reached over and put his warm hand on her thigh.
She giggled. It was amazing the clarity that came with age. At eighteen, she’d thought she knew everything. Luckily, she’d realized her mistakes and averted the consequences before it was too late. She was wise enough to know, that at twenty-six, she still didn’t know anything, but it was a pretty safe bet, that if she had Jacob Black by her side, they could figure the important things out, together.
Not that they wouldn’t make mistakes or wish they could have done things differently sometimes, but alive and together, there would be no regrets.
And who could ask for more than that?
~~``Sweet Hostage``~~
A/N: Yes, another author’s note! Did any of you notice the reference to Intoxicating with the mention of the shack in the mountains? I just wanted to make sure you were paying attention. Hehe Thank you all again for reading my story.