Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Intensity

By Mama4Dukes

Chapter 15:

Linda’s POV

Collin had returned to La Push on Monday, and for the past five days, he’s literally been sitting outside of our front door after work begging for entrance. My parents and brothers, who are on my side, have taken in our three kids for the week. At work, I’ve been ignoring both Jake and him because I have no time for the two idiots.

“ Please, Linda! I was wrong. I was so wrong! You were right about everything!”

I ignored his pleas. Each time I thought of Collin, my nerves became rankled. How could he allow Jake to use him like that? Of course, he wasn’t the only one at fault; I was at fault as well. I was so young when Collin imprinted on me-only fourteen. He was already following Jake around like a puppy dog. He had always looked up to him ever since they were kids. Angela immediately took me under her wing and I respected her. I now know why though. She had no friends within the pack. The other imprints, while they weren’t rude to me, paid me no mind. Kyla and Missy, who at one point were my best friends, stopped confiding in me due to my relationship with Angela.

It didn’t take long for Angela to start ordering me around. I was completely under her thumb, and allowed myself to be controlled by her. I changed my personality-trying to behave ladylike. I even married Collin as soon as I turned eighteen under her insistence. I had always wanted to go to college to be an accountant, but Angela told me it wasn’t the way of the pack. She said the job of an imprint was to get married and make puppies so we could have a stronger pack. So, like an idiot, I started having kids when I knew I wasn’t ready. Don’t get me wrong. I love all three of my kids, but I had them too young. I’m fortunate Collin makes enough money to support the five of us comfortably. I work part time in their shop while the older kids are at school as their office manager. I take care of their ledgers since I’ve always been a math whiz-otherwise, Dumb and Dumber wouldn’t be making a profit. They are both miracle workers with engines, but I wonder how they even got through high school math.

Anyway, every single penny I’ve made has gone into a college savings fund for the kids. I refuse to have them roaming around the reservation like a bunch of mindless idiots. All of my big brothers went to college on football scholarships. They are back in La Push now and work in Forks. I have two brothers who own their own successful accounting firm and another who is a teacher and football coach at Fork’s High School. All of them have offered to pay for college for me should I ever want to attend. They were really disappointed when I chose to get married and have kids instead of going to college and they haven’t given up on their dreams to see me make something of myself. I might just take them up on their offer.

I was so distracted that I wasn’t paying attention to what I was doing. The spaghetti noodles I had been cooking boiled over because I didn’t turn the burner heat down. Some of the boiling water splashed on my hands. I yelped in pain. As soon as that happened, the front door was busted down and Collin was by my side.

“Linda! Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, I just wasn’t paying attention to what I was doing, and burnt my hand.”

He walked me over to the sink and ran it under cold water. He wrapped his arms around me and I instantly felt the connection I had been trying so hard to deny the past two weeks.

“Please, Linda. Please talk to me. I was an idiot, a shit, a prick, and everything else you said I was.”

Alright, well, maybe I was a little harsh with my description of him.

Collin continued speaking. “I miss you. I miss the kids. Please. I promise I won’t let Jake and Angela run our lives anymore. I met Bella. She’s really nice. She’s nothing like Angela described. I think you’d like her. Her mouth is just as dirty as yours is.”

“Now, what the fuck does her dirty mouth have to do with her personality?”

“Nothing, but you can swear up a storm in front of her, and she won’t say a thing. And she’s as sweet as pie and can cook like no other, too.”

“Oh good because I suck at cooking if it takes more than five ingredients.”

“You’re not that bad. You’re way better than Rachel Black, and you make great mixed drinks. I like your frozen margaritas and pina coladas.”

“Great, I can have a future as a bartender,” I mumbled sarcastically.

“Please, Linda, I really need to tell you what happened this weekend. Just hear me out and I’ll leave if you want me to. Please?” he begged.

I sighed and motioned him to the dining table. I drained the spaghetti noodles, put out a plate in front of him, and made one for myself. I placed a bowl of pasta sauce in the center so he could help himself.

“Jake is no longer the alpha,” he blurted.

“Say what?” I gasped in absolute shock.

And then he told me everything. He told me how Paul was the Great Protector, and about how Jacob tried to attack two imprints while in wolf form. He told me of the coyotes. Then, he told me about poor Will and the culprits who attacked him. I stood up and started hollering in rage. I was so angry. It took Collin a full hour to calm me down. By then I was whimpering in his arms.

“Collin, Angela was at Leah’s Pampered Chef party bragging up a storm. She said she had to leave to get back to the kids. How the hell did Willy manage to leave?”

“That’s the question of the hour, isn’t it? I’m sure that Child Protective Services are going to be called on them, and you and I have always known Angela has never been mother of the year.”

“It’s true. She has Will babysitting Sarah, Isaac, and Becky almost every day. The poor kid wanted to join the Boy Scouts and she told him that there wasn’t enough time in her schedule to take him there for fuck’s sake. He’s thirteen, Collin! Shouldn’t he be allowed to be a kid?”

“I’ll take care of the Boy Scouts. I’ll mention it to Jacob, I’m sure he’ll take him. If not, I will.”

And this is why I loved Collin so much. He was a good father and a good uncle. Nothing stopped him from being a great example to our kids. I decided enough was enough. I’d let him back into the house so we could work on our differences like mature adults. He seemed to have turned a new leaf after hearing the truth from the new alpha. He also needed to replace the door he had just broke down because I sure as hell wasn’t doing it.

“So, did you really kick the shit out of Jacob?”

“I did, I broke a couple of his ribs.”

“Good. Did anything else happen?”

“Yeah. Um, when I found out about the coyotes, I fainted while in wolf form. I have a new nickname: Fainting Wolf.”

I laughed like a hyena at hearing that and snuggled into his strong arms. I knew we’d conquer whatever crap came our way together at that point-just my Fainting Wolf and me.

Paul’s POV

We were all gathered by the Gila River, waiting for Quil and Old Quil to arrive. I was shocked at the amount of coyotes gathered. Not only was Crispy’s pack here, but so were the fathers, the grandfathers, two great-grandfathers plus their mates. They had also brought their tribal shaman along. She was an older lady around Old Quil’s age.

“Why are you putting shorts on?” Crispy’s grandfather asked him.

“Um, we don’t want to make the women uncomfortable.”

“Oh, we’re not uncomfortable at all,” Rachel quipped. “Feel free to let it all hang loose.”

Mass giggling erupted amongst the younger wolf and coyote wives.

“I’m sure Bella has seen it all in her profession. I don’t see why she would be uncomfortable with the male anatomy,” a middle aged woman said.

“Hello, Dr. Kele-fancy seeing you here.”

“Fancy seeing you here, too. I didn’t put two and two together with your last name. Now when are you going to quit working for Dr. Blanchard and come and work for me?”

“Um, I’ve got first dibs on her, Jill,” Randy said.

“Impossible, I’ve known her since she was a little girl.”

“How do you know Bella, Mom?” Barry asked.

“Oh, she was a frequent visitor in my emergency room when she was a little girl. I’ve never known a more klutzy girl in my life. Now I run into her from time to time at the hospital and I’m still amazed that she’s standing on two feet.”

“You must be Barry’s mother, I’m assuming,” Bella said.

“Yes, I use my maiden name for my profession. Besides, I like the sound of my own last name better. Tell me, Bella, is your mother still a ditz?”

“Absolutely,” Bella replied with certainty.

Charlie and Billy both started chuckling in their seats. Someone had set up seating for Billy so he could rest his back because his wheelchair couldn’t be brought down here.

“I still get first dibs on her, you know,” Randy reiterated with a big pout. Jill just smirked at him.

“Now, why are you women so uncomfortable with the men being in their natural splendor?”

“Oh, it’s not us. It’s the men,” Bella snitched. “They became jealous at us ogling Crispy’s pack.”

“Idiots. They need to take better care of their bodies. Your husband and the young one here are the only two in shape,” she said, pointing to Brady and me. Man, this woman didn’t mince her words at all.

She had no idea how immature the women in my pack were, though. They bordered on the ridiculous. They seemed to be behaving themselves today though. I hope.

A minute later, Quil arrived in wolf form with his grandfather on his back. His eyes widened at seeing all of us.

“Quil, what’s going on? You’ve exposed us!”

Quil lowered himself to his stomach to let his grandfather off of him. He phased back to human form, led Old Quil to us, and sat down with us.

“Billy, Charlie, what are you doing here? Who are all these people?”

“Sit down and make yourself comfortable,” Billy told him. “We’ve got a lot to discuss. Paul, the floor is yours.”

God, I’m glad I put my shorts on. This would be embarrassing naked.

“Hello, Sir. We had you fly down here because many changes have taken place within the pack. How much do you remember about the legend of the Great Protector?”

“Those legends are not to be repeated outside of the pack!”

“Well, the legends concern this pack as well. You happen to be sitting besides the Gila River.”

Old Quil’s eyes became big like saucers. “Isabella Swan Lahote! Show me your mark from the Cold One!”

Aw, hell no! He wasn’t going to order my imprint around. She isn’t one of his damn lackeys, and neither am I.

“You will speak to my imprint with respect,” I growled at the old man who looked back at me, not in fear, but with deference.

“I apologize. Isabella, would you please show me your mark from the Cold One and tell me of your experience receiving it?” he asked politely.

Everyone’s eyes were on Bella who gulped before she spoke, “It was during my junior year of high school. I was dating Edward Cullen and he had taken me to watch his family play baseball high up in the Olympic Mountains. Three nomadic vampires approached us. They detected my human blood instantly. One of the men was a tracker who liked to play games. He decided to come after me. The Cullens protected me and ran to Phoenix with me. To make a long story short, the tracker was able to trick me into meeting with him alone by saying he had my mother. He started beating on me because he liked to play with his food. It was just when he bit my wrist when the Cullens came to the rescue. Emmett and Jasper tore him apart and burned him while I was screaming in agony from the venom entering my system. Edward sucked the venom out because he wanted me to remain human. He was able to stop the transformation from happening. After that, I was hospitalized in Phoenix until I returned home to my father’s house in Forks. I dated Edward until September of that same year when he broke up with me in the forest in Forks three days after my eighteenth birthday.”

“And that’s when Sam found you catatonic and frostbitten?”

“Yes,” Bella confirmed.

“Come here and show me the mark from the Cold One, young lady.”

Bella approached him with trepidation and showed her wrist to him. He inspected it with scrutiny, touching it with his fingertips, and shuddering at the feel. The part where her mark was located was always cold and the skin was hard to the touch. He looked up at her and said, “You are a brave young lady.” Then he did something completely unexpected. The old man drew Bella into a hug. “You remind me so much of my Molly. She would be your great aunt once removed. She was Quil’s grandmother.”

“I’m related to Bella?” Quil asked as Bella scurried back to my side. I wrapped my arms around her knowing that the proximity would calm us both down after the harrowing tale she had just told.

“Yes, you are. Your grandmother’s maiden name was Molly Swan. She would be Charlie’s great aunt.”

“Well, shit, you learn new things each and everyday.” Quil nodded his head.

“Watch your language, boy! You are in the presence of ladies!”

“What ladies?”

Rachel slapped the back of his head with her hand and rolled her eyes, “Fucking idiot.”

“How the hell can you call her a lady?” Quil asked.

“I wasn’t talking about your imprint,” Old Quil replied, and then turned to me. “Paul, please tell me how you discovered the existence of our coyote brothers.”

“I lost control and inadvertently phased in front of Crispy, Babs, and Bella. Crispy phased to protect our mates. After that, the secret could no longer remain concealed. Later, Jacob told us about the legend where we would all run as one pack.”

“And have Collin and Jacob accepted you as their alpha?”

“They’ve accepted me as their alpha and Crispy as their beta. Seth has taken on the role of beta in La Push.”

“You are the Great Protector, more powerful than Taha Aki himself. What I would like to know is: why now? And how are we to proceed?”

“I believe I’ve come into power now because the Quileute Nation is in turmoil. No, there is no threat of vampires, but our nation as a whole is in danger of going under.”

“How is that possible? Tony said we’re in the black with everything.”

“Tony Fuller is most likely the primary culprit in the financial mess your reservation is in,” Jeff stated, and then explained what he’s discovered so far in his investigation. “You need to understand that funding, which appears on paper has seemingly disappeared. By all accounts, you should have diabetic treatment programs, sex education programs, at-risk youth programs, and drug treatment programs on your reservation, but none of these are in existence. Your school is in terrible shape, your teachers are grossly underpaid and their licenses hadn’t been updated until the BIA stepped in. You’ve been using the same textbooks for twenty years even though you’ve received funding to replenish them four times during that time period, plus your students are underperforming on standardized testing. And the reason you’re not able to get a full time physician on staff is because you’re offering thirty-seven thousand dollars per annum in salary. And I’m sure you’re aware of the seventy percent unemployment rate.”

“Excuse me, is thirty-seven thousand per year too little for a physician?”

“The physicians in our tribal clinic make upwards of ninety-two thousand dollars a year.”

“Ninety-two thousand? That’s outrageous. Surely that’s overpaying.”

“No, times have changed. Tribal clinics must be competitive with private practices in order to bring qualified physicians in. I have my own practice and I can tell you my physicians are making much more than ninety-two thousand dollars a year. Bella and Babs are nurse practitioners and they make over that amount.”

“But this is Phoenix, not La Push.”

“Susie is a registered nurse at Forks General and makes over seventy thousand dollars a year,” Charlie informed him. “I think it’s time you get with the times old man. Your tribe is being run into the ground.”

“Perhaps it’s time I’m enlightened, and then I can discuss these matters with Tony.”

“No, as tribal chief I’m giving you an order forbidding you to discuss anything disclosed at this meeting with Tony Fuller. If you refuse to do so, I’ll ask the pack to hold you here, and Rachel will cook for you nightly.”

“I can cook for myself and my great-grandchildren. It’s no problem at all. There’s no reason to poison innocent children.” Old Quil smirked at a scowling Rachel, before continuing. “Are you sure about Tony Fuller? He’s the tribal comptroller.”

“Exactly, he has his nose in everyone’s business. Now, let us enlighten you as to why Charlie and I are here,” Billy said. “My grandson, Will, was offered drugs by several seniors at the tribal school: Kurt Fuller, Terrance Johnson, and Mark Cedro. He was beaten to the point where he had to have surgery to repair a ruptured spleen. He ran to Arizona to Paul and Bella because he didn’t feel as if he could turn to anyone on the reservation.”

Old Quil’s eyes widened in shock. “The poor boy. Is he alright?”

“Yes, he is because of Isabella and Dr. Kayani’s quick intervention, but emotionally, I think he’s highly distressed.”

“I’m afraid this has become a case for the Forks Police Department and the Camelback East Police Department because Will crossed state lines, and went to Paul and Bella’s house for help. And no, I’m not going to brush this under the rug, and I won’t tell you anymore about the case,” Charlie informed him.

“The point we’re trying to make is that our children shouldn’t feel unsafe around school grounds or anywhere on the reservation. This isn’t the first time this has happened. Last year, the same three boys roughed up Ryan, Sammy, and your own grandson. Do you see how out-of-control things have gotten? Our children are no longer safe. This is the primary reason why most of the pack left the reservation, and I have to admit I’m glad they did leave.”

“My name is Christian Hodges, Mr. Ateara,” Crispy’s father introduced himself. “On behalf of the Wa-Ya Indian Nation, I’d like to take you on a tour of our reservation. Perhaps seeing a well functioning reservation will be in the best interest for you and your tribe.”

“I’d like that very much. Thank you.”

“We’ll do the tour on Monday when all of the facilities are in operation.”

“I’ll take you, old man,” Charlie offered.

“Now, onto our next order of business,” Christian said. “We shift into our animal forms together to see if we can communicate.”

The shape-shifters all stood and ran to an open area where we wouldn’t harm any humans then phased. As soon as I became a wolf, I was inundated with extra voices in my head.

“ Manny! You told me you ran my truck into a ditch when you were sixteen! You didn’t mention that Barry and you pushed it into the ditch!” Manny’s father yelled.

“ Shit, Barry-you and your fucking mind. Is that the first thing you had to think of?” Manny chastised.

“ I was worried about our dads finding out the truth!”

“ You idiots! Both of you! What the hell were you two doing pushing Gordon’s truck into a ditch?”

“ We were testing our strength, Dad!” Barry replied fearfully.

“ Manny, Barry, I can’t believe you guys took a brand new truck and pushed it into a ditch,” Jared said.

“ I’m sure you guys did stupid things when you were teenagers.”

“ Not really, we were chasing after bloodsuckers when we were teenagers. None of us had a chance to be idiots, and by the time we got rid of them, most of us were on the verge of being parents so we had to buckle down and work.”

“ You know, it’s very interesting how five packs have now combined,” Crispy’s great-grandfather Olsen said. The guy must have been pushing ninety at least.

“ I’m ninety-five,” he replied.

“ And you can still phase?”

“ I phase every week with Roy here, this is the first time I’ve been able to hear my son, my grandson, or my great-grandson though. I do believe we need to discuss this with the two shamans because this is a first for me.”

“ I think it’s safe to say that Paul is alpha and Crispy is beta,” Jeff’s great-grandfather Roy said. “By the way, I’m still young. I’m onl y ninety-two.”

My pack, the wolves, were standing around completely flummoxed at the thought of two ninety-something year old men still phasing. Hell, I was flabbergasted at the thought of the five seventy something year old grandfathers phasing. Gee whiz.

All of a sudden, the twelve older coyotes pledged their allegiance to me, and I felt tied to each and every one of them. They had just acknowledged me as their alpha and, suddenly, I realized that I was now responsible for seventeen coyotes and nine wolves. How on earth did this happen?

“ There is no answer to the question, son,” Roy said. “You can ponder the question your entire life and still come up empty headed. Be grateful that, for whatever reason, someone up there thought you were the most capable of holding us all together.”

“ Maybe, it’ll be good for us to have a bunch of wise old men in the pack,” I thought.

“ Who the hell are you calling old, boy?”

“ Sorry! Phase back!” I ordered quickly. Shit, I didn’t need an ass whooping from a bunch of grandpas and great-grandpas.

We ran back to where everyone else was sitting. I sat and pulled Bella into my arms.

“Well?” Charlie asked.

“We were all able to communicate.”

“Well, of course you were able to. The legend states the Great Protector will befriend a spirit warrior from the land of the Cina Ahuwipi. Together they will form an alliance with the people of the Cina Ahuwipi. They will run together as a pack, and protect their tribes and mates from those that threaten to harm them. The god of the underworld will release the Cina Ahuwipi people from their servitude to be watched over by the spirit god forevermore. The moment this happens, they will be able to feel and speak with each other as one,” Old Quil said.

“Perhaps, you and our shaman, Tolinka Whitefoot, can discuss this further,” Crispy’s father suggested, motioning to a beautiful older woman with striking brown eyes and straight silver hair. She had a kind smile, and a sparkle to her countenance.

“Hello, I’m Quil Ateara the Third.” Old Quil held his hand out to Tolinka Whitefoot. He looked completely googly-eyed and lovestruck. Quil was nudging me from the side staring at me with an incredulous expression on his face. “You have a beautiful name. What does Tolinka mean?”

“A coyote’s flapping ear in Miwok,” she replied flatly.

Huh? Did she say a coyote’s flapping ear? Bella stiffened in my arms and she looked as if she was about to burst out laughing. She was holding onto my arm for dear life and her eyes were as wide as saucers. Rachel was worse; she bit down on Quil’s arm to stifle her laughter causing him to yelp.

“That is… That’s hilarious! It makes sense doesn’t it? You must have been named by an ancestor preceding you, who knew you would learn of the coyote pack eventually. But it’s a beautiful sounding name-just don’t tell anyone what it means.” None of us had ever seen Old Quil this at ease. This was his true personality, and I now knew where Quil got his forthright personality. It was from his grandfather.

“Your honesty is refreshing. Most people don’t say anything out of fear of insulting me. They think I’ll lash out at them and perform a shamanistic curse on them. It was my father who named me.”

“When did he pass on?”

“He’s playing poker with his friends at his house, and fleecing them for everything they have. He’s actually a more powerful shaman than I am.”

“Oh, okay.”

“I believe we have some research to do.” Tolinka turned to me. “You need to go home and see the reservation with your own eyes.”

“To La Push?”

“Yes, and take your mate with you. She will help you see things through her eyes. She’s very insightful.”

“I am?” Bella asked.

“Of course, you are. You guessed Jacob was a wolf simply from hearing one legend, which you were told before you knew vampires existed,” Billy said.

“True.”

“Anything else?” I asked.

“No, but we will consult with the spirits to try to get some answers. Worse comes to worst, we’ll have my father assist,” Tolinka said.

“Exactly how old is your father?”

“Eighty-six, he’s as sharp as ever though.”

---

The meeting broke up and we all headed our separate ways. I took Charlie and Billy out to dinner at Morton’s with Bella and me. We weren’t cooking this evening, and I needed red meat to keep me going.

We were waiting on our dinners to be served when Billy said, “Paul, you do realize that you are now a tribal elder since you are alpha, don’t you?”

“Come again?”

“You heard me, the only reason why I didn’t give Jacob the responsibility is because I felt he wasn’t responsible enough. Eventually, you will most likely be chief.”

“Pardon me?” I don’t want to be chief. This guy has lost all of his marbles.

“Paul, you’ve proven yourself to be capable and responsible. Look at the life that you’ve built for yourself. You did it all out of nothing. You had nothing, but a drunk mother and a drug-addicted, criminal father to call your own, and you were able to overcome all of your adversities and prove yourself worthy. This is why you’re alpha. This is why you will be chief.”

“I can’t move back to La Push, Billy.”

“And who said you had to? Times are changing. Don’t you have meetings using the computer? What are they called? Video conferencing or something?”

“Yeah.”

“Paul, you’re the only one capable enough to lead La Push out of it’s slump.”

What about Quil or Seth?”

“No, Quil and Seth will be elders eventually but you are the only one who will be chief. Don’t worry, I have to die first,and with Bells and Dr. Kayani keeping an eye on me, I’m not going anywhere anytime soon, but I need to start grooming you.”

“What about Jacob?”

“Since you refuse to punish him for his actions against Bella and Kim, I’ve decided he will not be awarded the Black seat on the council. That honor will go to one of my grandchildren, most likely William because Number Six will eventually take Quil’s seat.”

“And Rachel?”

“Too much of a conflict of interest. We can’t have both Quil and Rachel as elders.”

“Can I think about it?”

“Hell, no! Man up, son!” Charlie ordered. “You know damn well that what Billy is saying is right. Without you, the tribe will go under. You can handle this. And you will! I have faith in you.”

Aw, man! Charlie was taking his firm but caring father tone with me. I can never say no to him.

I simply nodded my head. “How do we proceed? At least with the elder part, I’m not going to give you an answer regarding the tribal chief part.”

“Obviously we wait until the Fuller mess is taken care of, but from that point on you’ll be listed as an elder. When you come to La Push to visit, I’m going to start showing you the ropes though.”

“Bella, what do you think?”

“I don’t think that you can refuse the responsibility, Paul. Billy’s right, you are the only one who can pull the Quileute Nation out of their slump. When we eventually have a baby, you want him to be proud of his tribe.”

Our steaks were brought out to us right then. Charlie and Billy both dug in appreciatively.

“Man, I wish we had steakhouses like this in Forks,” Charlie commented.

“I wish your wife would cook something other than fish,” Billy added.

“Yeah, but then she’ll tell us we can’t fish anymore,” Charlie pointed out. “So, when are you kids coming home?”

“Um, we haven’t exactly discussed that yet. I’m flying to DC next week.”

“What about over Thanksgiving or Christmas?”

“Um, sure.”

“Great, you let me know when and I’ll tell Susie.”

“It’ll most likely be over Thanksgiving, Dad,” Bella said. “Paul and I were toying with the idea of going to London over Christmas.”

We were? Bella gave me a warning look. “Yeah, that’s right. If all goes well in Washington, we’re going to London over Christmas.”

“Now what exactly are you doing in Washington, DC?” Billy inquired.

“I need final approval from the Senate Finance Committee for the highway restoration project.”

“So, you’re meeting with senators?”

“Yes. I’ve done it once before, but since the project has expanded to include several other states, I need to meet with them again for approval.”

“I’m telling you, Paul, ten years ago, I could have never pictured you meeting with senators. I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks, Billy.”

“You’re welcome. You’ve worked hard and your achievements are well deserved.”

Dad confirmed Billy’s words with a wink.

It meant a lot to me to hear that, especially coming from Billy. He doesn’t give praises too easily.

One week later…

Bella’s POV

“So, why are we at the mall on a Sunday afternoon?” I asked Kim and Emily.

“I told you, Sammy and Ryan are here meeting girls. Girls! They’re only high school freshmen!” Emily spat.

“Are you telling me we’re here to spy on Sammy and Ryan?” Babs asked.

“Yes.”

“Well, why the hell did you let them go if you didn’t approve of them meeting up with girls?”

“We didn’t want to seem like prudes,” Kim commented. “Oh my God! There they are. Hide!”

We dove into a store and watched them. They were in a group of six girls and five boys. I doubted there was any nefarious activity going on. By the looks of it, it seemed as if the boys were following the girls.

“Hello, ladies! Please tell me you four beauties are here to sign up,” a voice called from behind us.

“For what?” Kim asked.

“You’re in the Armed Forces recruiting office.”

“Oh, no, we’re sorry. My son is out with… girls.” Kim shuddered after saying the last word.

“How old is your son because you look too young and beautiful to have a son old enough to be out with girls.”

Kim blushed. “He’s fourteen. He’s a freshman in high school.”

“Well here, take this brochure. The guard is a great way to pay for college. Are you sure you don’t want to sign up?”

“No, I have six kids.”

The recruiter’s eyes bulged out. “You sure are beautiful for someone with six kids.”

“Oh, well…” Kim started getting all giddy at the compliment.

“Now, what are your names?”

“I’m Kim, this is Emily, Bella, and Babs.”

“Well, nice to meet you. I’m Ryder.”

“Oh, I love ‘R’ names,” Kim gushed. She was clearly infatuated with the guy. Well, he was kind of toned and good-looking.

“How much is that t-shirt?” Babs asked noticing the cool Army shirt on the wall.

“Oh, that’s an incentive. We give it away to kids who walk in here and give us fifty or more push-ups.”

“That’s all we have to do?”

“Yeah, can you handle it?”

Babs and I looked at each other, shrugged, then hit the floor and started doing push-ups. The recruiter started counting off.

When we hit fifty, another recruiter walked out of the office and said, “Keep going, I’ll give you both Marine Corps t-shirts if you hit a hundred.”

Neither of us stopped. Babs was my workout buddy. One more guy came out. “The winner gets a Navy sweatshirt and an Air Force hat as well.”

Now the two of us were competing and neither of us were on the verge of stopping. My arms were burning, I had sweat running down my forehead, but there was no way I was going to lose. I kept my mind on the prize and kept pushing through the pain. Babs finally called it quits at two hundred seventy-eight. I kept going until I hit an even three hundred.”

“You bitch!” Babs chuckled.

“Damn! I’ve never seen women as crazy as the two of you before. Are you sure you don’t want to sign up with one of us? We could use women like you to defend the country.”

“Sorry, we’re both nurses,” Babs said.

“We can use nurses in the military. There’s a bonus if you sign up to go to a combat zone. Well, here, since you both did so well, we’re giving you both the whole shebang, but you get an Army water bottle as well.”

“Aw, thanks guys,” I said.

Ryder gave Kim and Emily both Army t-shirts just for looking pretty.

“Thank you, come and see us anytime. That was more excitement than we’ve ever had in a single day.”

We waved goodbye and left the office. Kim and Emily were staring at us with aghast expressions on their faces.

“I can’t believe that you guys did pushups for t-shirts!” Emily said.

“Hey, they were cute and they were free. Besides, you two scored t-shirts just for standing there and looking pretty. We had to earn ours.”

“Oh my God. The Marine recruiter put his name, cell phone number, and a note that says, ‘Call me’ on his business card.” Babs was staring at the card with a stunned expression on her face.

“Well, you are a pretty lady, and the Marine was hot.”

“Do you really think so? I thought the Air Force recruiter was gorgeous,” Emily said.

“Nah uh, it’s the Army guy all the way. He said I was hot.”

“Oh, he liked you, Kim. He couldn’t take his eyes off of you the whole time. You’ve still got the goods!” I exclaimed.

“We all do ladies. We also have insanely jealous mates,” Babs reminded us.

“Yeah, we’d better get rid of these business cards.”

“I need something to drink,” Babs said. She stopped at a smoothie stand and got each of us a smoothie infused with protein. She and I needed it, especially after our impromptu workout. We sat and enjoyed them for a bit before we walked through the mall again, perusing the stores. We were in American Eagle when suddenly, the boys walked in with their posse.

“Mom!” Sammy spat horrified at Emily.

“Oh, hi honey, Aunty Kim, Aunty Bella, Aunty Babs and I were just shopping.

“Which one is Aunty Bella?” a boy asked, his eyes wildly searching amongst us.

Suddenly, five boys, all of whom were bringing out their best moves, surrounded me.

“I’m Greg.”

“Ah, I have your picture. Thank you.”

Another boy walked up to Babs. “What’s your name, sweetheart?”

“I’m Babs and I’m at least twice your age.”

“It’s okay, I’m not afraid of older women.”

Right. I really didn’t want to have to deal with these horny teens.

“Okay, Sammy, here’s sixty dollars-why don’t you take your friends to get some lunch on me.”

“Really, Aunty Bella?”

“Yes, really. Now go. Your mother, aunties, and I are having some girl time.”

“Cool! Thanks!” Sammy and Ryan both gave me big hugs. Then the other three boys did the same.

I saw them all hightailing it to the food court.

“Well, we’re done here now. Seeing Babs and you seems to have made them forget about those girls.”

“Huh? You’re right.” I noticed all of the girls had been abandoned and were going in a different direction.

“You know what’s funny? The boys got all excited and forgot about the female sex at the mention of food,” Kim laughed. “They’re just like their fathers.”

“Speaking of which, thank you for treating them to lunch, Bella,” Emily stated, graciously. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“Yes, thank you,” Kim added.

“Oh, it was no problem. You’re welcome.”

We walked by the food court and the five boys were all eating huge lunches completely oblivious to any girls around them.

Around six pm, we headed home. Paul was in Washington and wasn’t due back until tomorrow night. I missed him like crazy. He’s been gone since Thursday and it was the longest I’d been apart from him. Billy and my father had started making their way home on Friday, taking Will with them. They were driving the Escalade home, and taking the scenic route. William cried like crazy when he had to leave, he wanted to stay in Phoenix with Kim and Jared. They even called Jacob and Angela and offered to take Will in, but they declined the invitation. Even Billy was encouraging Jacob to let Will stay in Phoenix, but apparently Angela had put her foot down.

I decided to hit the sack around nine pm so I could feel refreshed in the morning. It had been a ridiculous couple of weeks and I truly needed the rest. As soon as I got under the covers, my eyes closed on their own, and I nodded off into dreamland.