Edward and I suddenly drew apart. I gasped. A timid knock was sounding on our bedroom door. “Momma? Daddy?” Nessie’s musical voice was piercing. I looked at the clock. It was only six thirty in the morning. Nessie usually slept ’til eight. We threw on our clothes and Edward opened the door to let her in.
“What did you need, sweetheart?” Edward’s voice was unruffled.
“Jacob wanted to know if I could go cliff diving today.”
I rolled my eyes. Of course he’d want to go back to doing the fun things he and I used to do. But cliff diving? With my baby? Who does he think he is?
Edward’s face turned dark. “I’d rather you not, Nessie. I don’t think it’s the safest sport…”
“Please, oh, please.” She looked up at Edward with the most heart-breaking expression. “I’ll be careful. I promise. We won’t go off the cliff top. Lower down is safer, and Jacob will be right there to help me swim back.”
Edward sighed and Nessie smiled her brilliant smile. She knew she’d won. “Ok. You can go, but please be careful.”
Is there anything he won’t give his daughter? I glared at him, but I wouldn’t argue in front of Nessie. We’d have our discussion later.
She ran back to her room to collect her swimming gear. I turned to Edward and hissed, “How can you let my baby jump off a cliff?”
“Bella. How can you talk like that? Didn’t you like to do things like that as a human?”
I angrily crossed my arms across my chest. “That was different.”
“Really? Why do you think that?”
“She’s my baby.” I wailed.
“Yes, and you were my precious and very fragile Bella. How, exactly, is this different?”
He could see my anger melting away, but I still kept my arms folded. “Hmmmpff. You just let her run you.” I growled.
He smiled and kissed my anger away. I couldn’t think straight when he was kissing me, and he knew it. I sighed. “I guess I am a little over-protective, aren’t I?”
He pulled away and kissed the top of my head. “It’s ok, Bella.” He smiled. “I had my turn. Only you were infinitely more breakable, and I didn’t trust Jacob with you the way I trust him with Nessie. If something happened to her, it would kill him.”
I knew he was telling the truth, but I still didn’t want to think about my baby jumping off a cliff.
I knew she was tougher than I had been. Her skin was almost as hard as my own, but she was still mortal. She might look like a fifteen-year-old and she might be as intelligent as an adult, but she was less than four years old, and she didn’t have the life experience to avoid things that might be harmful.
I sighed. I knew Nessie would be my only child. I just couldn’t bear the thought of her being injured in any way. I adored her with every fiber of my being.
I saw myself standing in Charlie’s shoes. I shuddered. I could relate now to all the anxiety I had caused when I was riding motorcycles and cliff diving. Of course, I had only tried cliff diving once, but still…I could empathize with my dad in ways I never thought possible. I sighed. It was going to be a long day.
I was dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt. Alice never liked my choice of clothes, but I didn’t think we were planning any family pictures. “How would you like to go hunting while Nessie is cliff diving?”
Edward smiled down at me. He was relieved I’d given up on the Nessie battle. “I’d be delighted.”
We stepped out of our room, hand in hand, just as Nessie was coming out of hers. She had a bag slung over her shoulder. Her beautiful bronze ringlets went to her waist. Her face was glowing, and her brown eyes were shining with excitement.
We walked toward the Cullen home and jumped the river. Nessie could navigate the jump as well as we could. As we walked around to the front of the house, we saw Jacob’s Escalade.
He was leaning against it, his bare chest brown and warm in the early morning light. It was going to be a sunny day, a rare event in Forks. When he saw us, he pushed off and met us in a couple of long strides. Wordlessly, he took Nessie’s bag and tossed it onto the grey leather seat behind his own. He opened Nessie’s door and made sure she was safely buckled in before turning to us. “We were planning on having a picnic at the beach. Did you have any particular time you wanted us back?”
Edward responded quickly, “We’re just going hunting. Sometime this evening is fine, but you might want to see if Esme is planning a meal.”
Jacob ran across the porch and into the house to check with Esme. I turned to Nessie. “Make sure you stick with Jacob.”
“I know, Momma.”
“I love you.” I leaned in to give her a hug, then shut the door. “Be safe.”
Nessie rolled her eyes. “I can’t be anything else with Jacob around.”
I smiled. “You’re in good hands. Have fun.”
Edward reached for my hand and we headed back toward the river. We had already jumped the river and were loping toward our hunting grounds when we heard the Escalade pull out. “Edward?”
He glanced over at me, a brow raised in question. “Yes?”
“Do you think our having Nessie and Jacob in different grades is a good idea?”
Edward chuckled. “I think you worry way too much. What could happen to Nessie in Forks High?”
I sighed. “You’re right, of course. I just can’t help but worry. I don’t know how you stayed sane worrying about me.”
He laughed out loud. “I did have my moments of insanity, believe me.”
We both caught the scent of elk and crouched, our hunting instincts taking over.