I was feeling not worn out, but like I’d had enough. I reached for Edward’s hand. His absence had been too long. “How’d you like to go for a run?”
He lifted my hand to his lips. “I’d like that.”
Jasper was loading the generators into Emmett’s jeep. Their presence was no longer needed in Charlie’s home and neither was his.
Carlisle loaded into his Mercedes. It wouldn’t take him long to get back to his beloved Esme.
I guessed that Rose would be a semi-permanent part of Leah’s family for a while. Emmett would be suffering with the competition from the baby, but he’d survive.
The forest’s edge met Charlie’s lawn. We walked to the forest and then started to run. As we ran, I decided to try my new shielding ability on Edward. There weren’t any other minds close for him to read, but I wondered if I could tell if my shield was wrapping around him instead of just protecting me. I concentrated a moment. My physical movement didn’t affect my concentration. I could feel his warm spark inside my shield and smiled.
We ran into a small herd of elk and I watched Edward hunt, his sinuous grace a fascination. My golden eyes told the story of my recent meal, so he didn’t ask why I wasn’t joining him. When he finished, I laughingly challenged, “Beat ya home.”
He laughed. “I don’t think so.”
We raced through the trees, the forest flying beneath our feet. I stopped short at our cottage. He was a millimeter behind me. “I won.” I laughed exultantly.
He swept me off my feet and carried me into our cottage. We had some lost time that needed replacing. As he set me down in our bedroom, I decided I’d better let him know about our expected visitors. We didn’t really have all day. “The Denali clan is coming for a visit today.”
He looked puzzled. “Why are they coming?”
I didn’t want to tell him about the experiment I was planning with Kate. “Eleazer wants to talk to Carlisle about his research.”
“Hmmm. I didn’t think Eleazer cared that much.”
I was tracing Edward’s face with my fingertips. “He’s a little more interested since Esme explained what it could possibly mean.”
“I see.” Then he bent to move his lips against mine. That effectively ended my efforts to converse.