Midnight Sun (The Twilight Saga #5) - Stephenie Meyer Page 0,219

pulled him up short. She knows! She knows? How? And how could she…? She couldn’t. She can’t know the whole truth. The revulsion that colored his thoughts made my teeth grind again.

“That’s true,” he finally conceded. “You seem… well informed about the Cullens. More informed than I expected.”

“Maybe even better informed than you are?”

What could they have told her that would make her so defensive of them? Not the truth. Some romantic fairy tale, no doubt. Well, obviously she won’t be convinced by anything I have to say.

“Maybe.” He was annoyed to have to agree with her. “Is Charlie as well informed?”

He watched her expression get more evasive. “Charlie likes the Cullens a lot.”

Charlie doesn’t know anything.

“It’s not my business,” Billy said. “But it may be Charlie’s.”

Bella’s gaze dissected his expression for a long moment.

The girl looks like a lawyer.

“Though it would be my business, again, whether or not I think that it’s Charlie’s business, right?” she asked. It didn’t really sound like a question.

Again, they locked eyes.

Finally, Billy sighed.

Charlie wouldn’t believe me anyway. I can’t alienate him again. I need to be able to keep watch on this situation.

“Yes, I guess that’s your business, too.”

Bella sighed and her posture relaxed. “Thanks, Billy,” she said, her voice softer now.

“Just think about what you’re doing, Bella,” Billy urged.

Her answer was too quick. “Okay.”

Another thought caught my attention. I’d paid little notice to Jacob’s fruitless search, too focused on Billy and Bella’s standoff. But now he realized—

Oh man, I’m a moron. He wanted me out of the way.

Full of dismay over how his father might be embarrassing him, and with a measure of guilty fear that Bella might have told on him about the treaty breaking, Jacob slammed the trunk and loped toward the front door.

Billy heard the trunk and knew his time was up. He made his final plea.

“What I meant to say was… don’t do what you’re doing.”

Bella didn’t answer, but her expression was gentler now. Billy had a faint moment of hope that she was listening to him.

Jacob banged the front door open. Billy glanced over his shoulder, so I couldn’t see Bella’s reaction.

“There’s no picture anywhere in that car,” Jacob grumbled loudly.

“Hmm. I guess I left it at home,” Billy said.

“Great,” his son retorted with heavy sarcasm.

“Well, Bella, tell Charlie…” Billy waited for a beat before continuing. “That we stopped by, I mean.”

“I will,” she replied, voice sour again.

Jacob was surprised. “Are we leaving already?”

“Charlie’s gonna be out late,” Billy explained, already wheeling himself toward the door.

What was even the point of coming up? Jacob complained internally. Old man is getting senile. “Oh. Well, I guess I’ll see you later, then, Bella.”

“Sure,” Bella said.

“Take care,” Billy added in a warning voice.

Bella didn’t answer.

Jacob helped his father over the threshold and down the one step of the porch. Bella followed them to the door. She glanced toward the empty truck, then waved once toward Jacob and shut the door while Jacob was still loading his father into the car.

Though I would have liked to join Bella and talk over what had just happened, I knew my job wasn’t done yet. I heard her stamping up the stairs as I dropped from the tree and cut through the woods behind her house.

It was much more difficult to follow the Blacks in the daytime while on foot. I couldn’t very well pace them along the highway. I ducked in and out of the thicker knots of forest, listening for the thoughts of anyone close enough to see me. I beat them to the La Push turnoff, and chanced a full-tilt sprint across the rainy highway while the only visible car was headed in the other direction. Once I was on the west side of the road, there was plenty of cover. I waited for the old Ford to appear, then ran parallel to them through the dark trees.

The two weren’t talking. I wondered if I had missed any earlier recriminations from Jacob. The boy’s head was busy replaying the kiss again, and he was concluding morosely that Bella had been very into it.

Billy’s mind was caught up in a memory. I was surprised that I remembered this, too. From a different angle.

It was over two and a half years ago. My family had been in Denali at the time, just a short courtesy visit on our way from one semipermanent home to the next. Groundwork for the move back to Washington had included one unique chore. Carlisle already had his job