Chapter 107

EPOV

The sweet, decadent smell of something heavenly filtered through the house; following the aroma to the source, I knew exactly what it was -My Birthday Cake. When I carried Bella to bed the previous night, it was after midnight and although she drunkenly told me her plan to make it, I had my doubts.

It wouldn't have really mattered to me if she'd changed her mind and opted to purchase a cake rather than bake it. But it must have been important to her because less than six short hours later after tucking her in, Bella was seeking permission to leave my bed. Even then, with the best of intentions, I half expected her to use the bathroom, realize the aftermath of self indulging and rejoin me to sleep it off a little longer.

In hind sight, I should have known better; my girl was nothing if not tenacious and once she put her mind to something, there was no stopping her. Still, finding her an hour later, standing over a hot stove, vigorously stirring the contents of a pot, gave me a moment to pause.

There are times when the sight of Bella doing the most mundane daily tasks will completely take my breath away. And although my dick would have said differently, the all consuming power wasn't sexually charged but rather derived from a swell of love so great it my chest constrict. No matter what the circumstances, my girl was always pleasing to the eye in every way a woman is suppose to be. Yet I often found her to be even more extraordinary while she went about performing basic domestic activities.

I'm not a psychologist so I had absolutely no idea why I found it – no – why I found Bella specifically – so damn fucking appealing while she performed ordinary chores. However there she was, standing over the stove, vigorously stirring the contents of a pot, and I couldn't take my eyes off her. Worse was my desire to stay as perfectly still as possible so I could leer without drawing any attention to myself.

As freakishly weird as it may seem, I couldn't help it. There was just something memorizing about the way the movement of her arm caused the rest of her tight little body to shimmy against the covering of her cotton pastel pink pajamas. The motion of her hips keeping time to the country music coming from the docking station brought out every male instinct I had. She was all woman yet with her hair cascading from a loose ponytail swaying between her shoulder blades Bella gave off a childish innocence that I found so very appealing. It was an image I forged into my my mind as one of those special moments I never wanted to forget.

She must have sensed my presence or perhaps it was the unrelenting stare, either way Bella's head shifted in my direction with a questioning look "Why are you just standing there?"

"Admiring the view" I told her while jerking away from the door frame to move toward her.

"Right...." Sarcasm clouding her response "...I must look a mess"

"Actually nâhtötse....you look very delectable"

And just to prove the point I wrapped my arms around her back, tugged her away from the stove and kissed her as soundly as I could at the moment. Realizing the pot was still cooking and not wanting to risk burning – whatever that thick white goop was – I released my hold on her.

“Wow...” Bella smirked up at me with a twinkle of desire “Good Morning”

Her bright smile bringing one of my own “Good Morning yourself...hows your head?”

Swiveling out of my grasp she switched off the burner “Fine thank you”

“Really? I would have thought differently”

Setting the pot on the counter Bella continued stirring the contents while she spoke “I had a bit of a headache”

The admission making me chuckle as I was sure she had more then a bit. While the women held their baby shower, the men all engaged in their own right of passage. Playing a little baseball in between rounds of drinking, laughing and eating. Actually feasting would have been a more accurate description, for every dish the women supplied for the shower, they sent an equal portion along for the men. There was more food there than we knew what to do with and of course there was also plenty of Lahb available too. The older men took great pride in providing the homemade alcohol, each insisting theirs to be the best and requiring conformation with a taste testing.

Over all the day had been enjoyable and I had to admit it was a pleasant distraction from all the bullshit that had been going on. It gave me a chance – if only for a short while – to forget about stalking ex-husband's baby mommas, disgruntled thieving employees, conniving past submissive, unaccounted for estate funds and any other aspect of the fucked up situation that seemed to be closing in on us.

Throughout the hours spent socializing with the men the only energy I exerted on the subject was the small amount of information I shared with Charlie. He had made his desire to be in the know very clear and being Bella's father I felt duty-bound to oblige him. Beside in my estimation he was the most logical person to seek personal information about Phil from.

Of course at my inquiry, both the protective father along with the policeman in him set his curiosity ablaze. So even though I hadn't really gotten a chance to discuss the details with Bella, I had no choice but to give a rundown of my conversation with Eleazar. Keeping it as brief as possible I only divulged what was absolutely necessary.

Charlie relaxed back against the park bench, taking periodic sips from a can of beer while I laid it all out for him. Unlike his daughter, who's eyes were an open window to her soul, he was more like a closed door. The man showed absolutely no reaction as he stoically sat there listening to the newest revelations. Even as I was retelling all that Eleazar had said, it seemed surreal to imagine Caius had any kind of ties with Phil. However stranger things have happened and the old saying "its a small world" sprung to mind along with the "five degrees of separation" theory. Finishing with all I could safety tell while still holding on to my integrity of the trust Bella placed in me, I gave Charlie a long moment to process everything.

When it didn't seem like Charlie was going to respond I got the discussion rolling "Is it in any way possible that Caius is correct about Bella receiving part of an estate that belonged to him?"

"I don't see how...until a little over a week ago when that private investigator told us about him and those two twenty year old girls he has...I've never heard of this Caius person."

Charlie's response wasn't exactly adding to my sense of security, I already figured that was the case. After all had Caius been even the most passing of acquaintances I was fairly positive Bella would have mentioned it. Still for the man to put so much damn effort into actively seeking Bella out, wanting her DNA and going to the lengths he has in order to obtain information, there had to be an underlying connection

Grasping at straws I wondered

"Bella said Phil's mother died in an accident and he was raised by his grandparents...”

“That's right, on his his maternal side”

Charlie didn't seem to be forthcoming so I figured I might as well just ask “Do you know a lot about him?”

Letting out a deep sigh, Charlie seemed almost embarrassed. "I have a full file with his name on it back in my office."

Yes! I was actually hoping he'd say that.

Shifting on the bench to face me he continued "Now mind you... I wasn't just a jealous ex-husband acting like some kind of stupid fool. I'll admit to not exactly being keen on the idea of some other man being around all the time. But that had more to do with my own regrets that I couldn't be there. And it wasn't even about Renee, that shipped had sailed when she made the decision to up and leave me. So if she was ready to move on with another man, then she was perfectly free to do so. My problem was the woman had taken my only daughter with her and Renee wasn't exactly known for her good sense. She was impulsive to the point of being flighty and unobservant and in my opinion way too gullible for her own good. It worried me that she was exposing Bella to a man who I wasn't going to be around to keep an eye on. So I used whatever means I had available to make sure Phil wasn't some kind of weirdo"

There was no reason for Charlie to justify his actions, had I been in his place I'd a done the same thing. "Is it safe for me to assume everything checked out"

“There were no red flags, at least nothing that would have given me reason to worry." Pausing to think, Charlie shook his head "No...For all intensive purposes, on paper, Phillip Dwyer was a fairly descent guy"

I didn't know Bella's father well enough to be sure if his comment "on paper" was a normal phrase of speech or if he had a deeper meaning “Was there something...under the surface?”

“Well, I suppose by today's standards it's not a big deal, but when he was born in sixties, being illegitimate was a stigma...and then of course...”

Charlie's hesitation had me on edge “Bella is mistaken about one thing...or maybe she just never knew...” his heavy sigh irritated me “Phil's mother didn't die in an accident, she took her own life”

“Suicide?” I questioned while Charlie nodded his head “Prescription Drug overdose”

While I took in that piece of information Charlie added more details “She was young, not a teenager but still early twenties or so. She was smart girl too...went to Dartmouth...”

“She did?” I don't know why it shocked me, Bella had said they lived by the college and I suppose it would make sense ...still

“Yeah, she sure did...then she quit to have Phil. A year and a half later she was DOA in a hotel room. The maid had gone in to clean and there she was with an empty pill bottle...she had taken them all, fell asleep and never woke up”

“Wow...” it was all I could say as Charlie solemnly inclined his head before taking another drink and I thought of something else “What about Phil's father? Do you know anything about him”

“No...” he said wiping his mouth with the back of his hand “It's been along time since I've looked at the file but as I recall, there wasn't one listed."

That was the second time I heard of a father not being listed on birth records and at my disbelief Charlie explained "That wasn't unheard of back in the day. Unmarried women always gave their last name to the baby, if they kept the child at all. Lots of times when a girl found herself in trouble, she'd be sent away to have her baby and after delivering she'd be forced by the family to give it up for adoption. It wasn't the father's problem and so his identity wasn't necessary. But I'd be willing to bet it was one of boys from school. More then likely he told her he loved her, got what he wanted from her than when she was pregnant...just moved on to someone else.”

Charlie was eying me with enough contempt that I wished Bella's ring would have been ready so I could tell him I had nothing but the best intentions towards his daughter, instead I quickly changed the subject “You said Phil's file was still in your possession...do you think it would be alright for me to see it?”

“I suppose since the man's been dead for nearly twenty years...I could make you a copy and send it to you when I get back”

“To Forks?” I asked dubiously

“Well, I can't very well pull it out of thin air can I?”

From the look I got, one would have thought the man had never heard of a fax machine or perhaps it was more of the idea that I had one in my personal residence that did Charlie in. In either case, there wasn't a chance in hell I was waiting for him to return home. From what I understood, they were planning to stay in the city until the middle of the week. Five or six days was just too long of a wait, I wanted those file immediately. Charlie was sure he couldn't remember anything about Phil's father, then again he had never actively looked for any either.

Giving him my personal fax number along with my cell – because he didn't have it – Charlie agreed to appoint one of his officers the task of sending the contents of Phil's file.

“I'll have him do it tomorrow, and we can go over everything together. Even though the man in question is dead, as an officer of the law, I can't just go around distributing confidential information to civilians. If I'm with you, it can still be considered official business.”
I understood his dilemma and was just glad Charlie had conceded enough to let me be part of the process. Then again maybe it was the other way around and he was the one who was happy to be included. In those few short minutes of speaking with Bella's father, I believed we had both come to a mutual respect for one another. I knew without a doubt Charlie wanted nothing but the best for his daughter and I believed he could sense I did too.

The only other time the gravity of the situation came to mind was when Bella herself brought it up. We were just starting the last inning of our third game when the call came in. From the tone or rather lack of consistent tone in her voice, it was clear Bella was slightly buzzed. I wasn't at all happy with her request to go home and my first response was an emphatic “No”

Like any child who wasn't getting their way, Bella whined a little, pleaded and even used the guise of Seth needing to go out for an excuse. None of it worked, however rather than becoming angry I found the attempt to be amusing. Especially when in the background the all the other women started pleading on her behalf. I was getting the impression Bella was succumbing to peer pressure more then anything else. I did finally relent but only because Sue and Leah – the only two completely sober woman – agreed to drive them directly to the house and Bella assured me she'd text me once they were safely tucked inside.

Much like I was enjoying the testosterone fueled afternoon, it was clear from talking with Bella that she and her friends were flourishing in all the estrogen. They -as my grandmother would have said - were 'letting their hair down' and there was absolutely no harm in that, just so long as she not be reckless. Which in this particular insistent meant she keep her inebriated self within the confines of our highly secured home.

Of course I didn't fully comprehend what six women with a few jars of grain alcohol were capable of doing. I was only recently beginning to get tid-bits on the behaviorism of the female species from my brothers. I remembered Emmett telling me that no subject is taboo to women. They will discuss every aspect of their life with one another and the closer their relationship is, the more personal the information gets. My brothers also warned me that when alcohol is added to the mix, just about anything could happen. Had I taken his words of wisdom I'm to heart perhaps what the six of us men walked into wouldn't have been so surprising.

Bella and Claire returned home with Leah, Kim, Emily and Rachel in tow. The plan was that after the men had disbanded from the park I'd return home with their respective men. As I opened the front door, Seth's looked up from the spot where he was curled up sleeping on the couch. He took in all the familiar faces, kind of shook his head and went back to his nap. It was usual behavior as normally he'd come to me for some kind of greeting. As we neared the kitchen the conversation coming from the women seemed even stranger .

“That doesn't look comfortable Kim” Leah's voice carried over the background music and another female voice I couldn't decipher added. "Yeah, why does his leg have to be raised up like that?”

“Because it does...trust me

“How is he going to hold his leg up that long?”

“You're going to be riding his fucking cock Bella!"

The words were one thing but put together with the scene that greeted us, they took on a whole new meaning. Rihanna's song, 'Rude Boy' coming through the docking station must have been just loud enough to disguise our arrival because none of the girls seemed to notice our prescience. Emily, Claire and Bella stood behind a seated Leah, the four of them riveted to the other two women on the floor. And I have to admit it held not only my attention but the rest of the men who with me as well. Then again who in their right mind would have thought we'd walk in to find Rachel laying supine on the kitchen floor, with one knee bent and the other leg stretched out towards the ceiling

"But i guess in your case it'd be Edward's pretty penis" Kim coo'd in a mocking tone from where she knelt with one knee between Rachel's thighs with the other straddling her hip and grinding their crotches together.

With my mouth dropped opened in shock, it took me a moment to realize I was witnessing some kind of female instructional bonding rite. All I could do was continue to watch as Kim grasped a hold of Rachel's outstretched leg, tucked t under her neck, raised higher on her knees and made a sawing motion with her hips as she finished her statement "Girl if you work that pretty little penis of his good enough, his leg could fucking fall off before he puts it down"

It all happened at once, Emery murmured "that's the truth", Bella announced loudly " it might be pretty ...but it's not little" and Kim looked past her audience to see the six of us standing there.

In the instant she realized they were no longer alone, Kim made a quick motion to get up but Rachel held her hips "Wait bitch...I didn't get off yet"

Rachel's laughter was drown out by Emily, who wasn't aware we were home either as she snickered sarcastically "what do you care, you'd just fake it anyway"

"Rach, let go" Kim became insistent as she tried to dislodge the woman's hands while her head inclined in our direction.

Seeing us standing there gaping at them, Rachel released the hold she had on her friend, leaned up on her elbows and started to giggle uncontrollably. Her reaction caused the others to turn around and four new pair of eyes stared at us in surprise.

Bella was the first to break the trance as she broke out in a bright smile and sprinted to me. I had one point two seconds to brace myself for the impact as she jumped up, throwing her arms around my neck and encircling my waist with her legs before crushing her lips to mine.

"You're back" the glee in Bella's voice making me chuckle "I am...and you're drunk"

Looking me square in the eye Bella shook her head as she drew out the denial "nooooooooo"

Raising my eyes in disbelief to call her on it "I think your fibbing"

"Bella's not lying Edward..." Coming to her sisters defense Leah was interrupted by Rachel "Hell no...she past drunk an hour ago"

The strange happenings of the evening only continued to culminate, for reasons beyond anything I could come up with, the women would just arbitrarily shout out random words. The first time it happened, Claire was just sitting there in front of the fire pit staring into the flames when she yelled "Dynamite!"

To which Leah replied "Dangerous!" causing all the women to burst out in a fit of hysteria.

Throughout the night while the twelve of us sat around the fire pit, one of the girls would arbitrarily shout out things like dignified, decorated and dedicated. Each word bringing about a round of laughter or some issuance of disgust.

Realizing the game consisted of random "D" words, Emery and Paul attempted to play along by adding decrepit and defeated. But the one that got the most reaction was Paul's 'deflated.' The girls roared with laughter and although I was dying to know what was going on, I figured it best to let the women have their fun. And since I didn't want to make an ass out of myself, I also kept every "D" word I could think of to myself.

Sometime later in the evening after a small bout of eating, several pitchers of downed Lahb punch and I couldn't even begin to count how many passes of the stuff straight from the jar, Bella was snuggled in my lap. Her head tuck in to the nook of my neck in a way that made me think she had fallen asleep , when Kim abruptly jumped to her feet and started yelling "I got it! I got it

Bella's head snapped up just as Kim triumphantly shouted “Designer! It's designer! Oh My God! That's it!”

She was so happy with herself Kim became animated as she demonstrated with her hands.”with a tiny little bow tie”

The girls all laughed themselves to tears as Kim wiggled her fingers as if making a bow before pinching her thumb and forefinger together “and a little bitty cummerbund..he'd be all dressed up for the evening...ask him Bella...ask him”

Bella wiped the tears from her eyes as she shook her head “No...no way”

“Come on... I have to know” Kim pleaded but Bella who was taking her last and final sip from the jar was not budging as she handed the jar to me and answered “No way Jose...you just ask him all by yourself.”

Her words were so slurred I could barely understand them and I wasn't at all surprised when Bella kind of sighed and tucked her head back into my neck. Passing the jar to Sam I tightened the hold I had on my girl. It was while Bella was passed out on me I learned what the women had been doing all night. They were trying to figure out why Riley was so amused with Bella calling him Double D. In their inebriated minds they came to the conclusion one of the D's stood for Dick, and they were searching for the appropriate adjective.

Women?

Who would have figured that they would put so much effort into something so utterly ridiculous? Once I had found out what their little game consisted of, I was even more gratified in keeping words like delicious and deluxe to myself. For the most part the women never would have remembered my calling Riley's dick distinguished but I knew damn well the men would have.

“By the way, thanks for cleaning up last night” Bella's words of gratitude brought me back.

“There wasn't that much”

When I was sure there was no way Bella was going to revive enough to continue the evening, I had carried her to bed. Upon my return the rest of our guest had already cleaned up most of the evidence and Quil was loading the dishwasher.

“What time did they leave?” Bella wondered as she dumped the white glop of mush into the mixing bowl.

“Around one...what is that stuff?” As far as I knew she was making a cake.

Bella looked at me like I had birds flying out of ears “It's the frosting”

I must have still looked unsure because she rolled her eyes “This is the milk and flour mixture that makes the frosting thicken”

“OH?”

What the hell did I know about making a cake?

“And that's going to be sweet?”

“Of course, once the sugar and butter gets added...it will be great”

“If you say so nahtose”

“I say so” she smiled and turned the beaters on before taking in my appearance “Are you going running?”

“Yeah, if I'm going to eat as much as I did yesterday and you're going to feed me cake on top of it, I better go running or else I'm get all squishy”

“Can't have that” she said with a devilish grin as she stepped towards me “cause I like you ...hard”

The little growl she made on the last word caused one of my own and I would have kissed her again except Quil came in followed by an unhappy woman.

"It's not even seven-thirty in the morning” Claire whined as she squinted aginats the bright sun shining in through the patio doors.

“Right and we have to leave in two hours so...”

Quil didn't get a chance to finish his sentence before Claire complained “But I don't want any breakfast”

“Well I do”

“Why can't we just go out...”

Quil's voice became stern “Claire, if you want to party with the big boys then you have to man up like one. I'm going to go for a run with Edward and when we get back, I expect breakfast to be ready”

He sounded good, the only thing missing was 'do I make myself clear?' and of course I never would have put up with the deep disgruntled sigh Claire made, however she did answer him with a resolved “Yes sir”

He had a lot to learn but it would come with time and training. I had assumed Quil was going to take my advise about contacting Aro however he had another idea in mind. I had brought Seth with us on the run, he kept right up with our pace and only needed to stop for a pee break once we were on the way home. That was when Quil took the opportunity to bring up the subject.

"I've looked over those papers you gave me and disgust them with Claire.”

“And? What did she say” The formal training was designed for the expansion of the Dominant's skills however if there was a submissive involved it was preferred that they at times accompany them to the lessons. It gave the couple a chance to interact with the trainer so he could see the progress being made along with suggestions on what needed to be worked on. It wasn't exactly mandatory for the submissive but it was recommended for the best possible outcome.

"She's...” his pause had my full attention as we started walking out of the park “...well, Claire isn't exactly sure she would be comfortable in front a stranger...you know...acting submissive”

“First off, she is not going to be acting at all. She either is submissive or she isn't”

“This is her idea Edward”

That didn't surprise me, from the very first utterance of their involvement into a Head of Household lifestyle, I had gotten the impression Claire had initiated it.

“And what do you want? Because if you're not totally...”

“No...” Quil cut me off and we had to stop for once again for the dog “...I didn't mean it like that, like I'm some unwilling participant, because that's not true. It's just Claire...well...look, this is what broke us up the first time.”

Taking the plastic bag I had brought out of my pocket I waited for Seth to finish and for Quil to get his thoughts together. “Look ever since I could remember my mom and her mom...” he sighed “...they just kind of assumed we would be together...and I loved her...god I loved her...” he stared deep into my eyes so I would know “...I never stopped ...loving her. But I was just a kid and Claire was so...”

"Needy?” I asked and he nodded in agreement “Yeah...she needs a firm hand. Even when she was young, she would always ask me 'what should I do?' I was a fucking a kid, what did I know what to tell her to do. Then she wouldn't do stuff, she'd let homework go or her chores and then get in trouble from her mom but what she really wanted was for me to upset with her. And she'd be grounded so she couldn't come down to LaPush so I would be upset yet I didn't realize she was looking to me for direction. When I finally figured it out...all I could think was, I wasn't her father and I didn't want to be. Then when we were graduating from high school and she started talking about going to college and how I was going to keep her in line...it freaked me out. How was I suppose to keep her in line, when I didn't even know if I could handle my own shit. And it scared the hell out of me and I went about it the wrong way by going out with other girls. And if fucking killed me to see the pain I caused her...worse was hearing how she was living her life in Los Angles. She went hog wild and there was no body there to help her put the breaks on. Anyway It took a lot of talking for us to get back together, and it's true about how Bella's book opened my eyes. For the first time I saw Claire for who and what she is and I realized she not only craves boundaries, rules and consequences, she needs them.”

I understood better then anyone what he was saying, to a submissive the comfort they receive from living within the framework of a Dominants control is the greatest security they can have.

Tossing the bag of Seth's mess into the recetical we started walking again while he continued “There was no way I would have wanted to take on that responsibily when I was just a kid myself. But now, I can be that man she needs me to be. I can set boundries and rules for her to abide by ...”

Stopping at the interscetuion to wait for the red light to change I asked “And deliever the consequences? Because sure as I'm standing her, no matter how much Claire may want this life, she is going to test those boundies and test your resolve. That is what you need to be prepared for.”

“And the training will help me with that?”

“Absolutly” I said as we started across the road to walk up Bella's street

“Ok, I get that but...well, why do I need to go to your uncle for that? I mean ...”

Cutting him off I added “You can go anywhere you want, I only suggested Aro because he's the best I know”

“What about you?”

His question had me abruptly stopping on the sidewalk “Me? You're asking me ti train you?”

“Yes, Claire and I spoke about it. She would be more comfortable with you and Bella then with strangers. You have enough experience to give me the training I need and it would be a whole lot easier for us to conoranate our schedules”

I was still kind of shocked “I've never trained a Dominant...”

I've never even trained a submissive from scratch before either – until Bella – I told myself.

“I trust you” Quil siad with convition “Claire trust you, she knows you're stern yet fair and reasonable with Bella”

I scoffed “And how does she know that?”

“She deduced it from Bella's diary”

“Her diary?” in my stunned mind the word was lost on me

“Yeah Bella let Claire read it.”

It finally dawned on me he was talking about Bella's journal, Seth pulling on the leash had us walking again and I wondered “When did she read it?”

“Yesterday morning, Claire told me about the food chart, how you kept track of Bella's eating...” giving me a sidewards glance Quil added “... and I noticed... she eats now.”

Giving him a nod of agreement I thought about the struggle Bella gave me in getting to the point where she knew I wasn't playing around. It took a drastic measure on my part but it had worked and Quil was corrected Bella was eating.

“Claire also said you set up a sleeping and exercise regiment that Bella has to follow. That's something Claire could benefit from. She said Bella had wrote about the punishment where you wrote on her foot, but she didn't tell me why.”

Quil's pause let me know he was hoping I'd fill him in and I did “Bella had turned off her phone”

The day came back to me just as we walked past Bella's house and another memory was triggered in my mind. Much like this day, I had been out on an early morning run with the dog and on the way home we went up Bella's street. Only that day instead of a blue Audi parked at the curb, there was a white utility van in it's place. At the time I had assumed someone was having work done on their home, however all of a sudden I was beginning to wonder. It was only a few days later Bella had discovered Seth's missing collar. A collar very similar to the one Jessica Stanley was contracted to plant in my home.

Could that van have been Newton's?

It seemed ridiculous since I was sure he drove around in an older black Honda or something equally as trite. Yet another conversation came to mind, one I had with Vinney. He was questioning the need for utility vans and wondered why they didn't have windows. I explained that was to keep people from seeing inside and that the vans were used to transport equipment from one job to another. All of a sudden I began to wonder if the van wouldn't come in handy to haul cases of beer and alcohol from a distributor to an illegal after hours club.

Could that white van I saw nearly two months ago been Newton's? Was that asshole sitting in the back with Karen, watching Bella's house, just waiting for the right moment to strike?

“Hey just who I wanted to see” I was so lost in my own thoughts I hadn't seen Charlie coming down the walkway.

While I was still trying to put the pieces of my memory together, Quil said hello while my feet unconsciously carried me towards Bella's father “Charlie, I know your on a mini-vacation but do you think it'd be possible to check on a vehicle registration?”

“Ummm...” he blinked a few times as he took in my expression “...I could call Mark and have him look it up.” taking a notepad out of the front pocket of his flannel shirt he slid the eyeglasses from the top of his head onto the bridge of his nose “Do you have a plate number?”

Shit! Of course he would need that

“No, is it possible to just check if a certain kind of vehicle is registered to a person?”

Charlie became serious “What's the name?”

I gave him Newton's but then a thought occurred to me 'if the police were looking for him surely they would tracked down every vehicle he owned.' With that idea in mind I recalled his partner in crime. “Could you also check out Ben Cheney...I have the correct spelling at home.”

The name of Newton's accomplish had Charlie asking “That's the one who's running the speak easy with this other bozo”

At my nod his eyes narrowed over the top of the black frames before flipping back through a few pages in the little notebook “Benjamin Chaney...” he spelled it out. “...and what kind of car am I supposedly looking for, and why?”

“See if either of them have a white utility van”

“Will do. Now...” replacing the notebook and moving the glasses back up to perch on his head Charlie got to his point “About Bella's car. Billy's lady friend Loretta is going to be arriving later tonight. With her in the garage and my truck taking up the driveway, there won't be a place for her to park. So I want to bring Bella's car back to your house.”

The whole reason for keeping Bella's car away was the idea of 'out of sight, out of mind.' I hadn't wanted the temptation to drive to be so convenient. Although after what had happened throughout the past week along with the gravity of the situation, I didn't consider that to be a problem any longer.

I couldn't see any reason why Loretta didn't just park on the street however in the name of keeping the peace I agreed “That's fine, I can drive it home now if you'd like”

"No, I have a set of keys so I'll drive it over when we come later on. Her car's easier for Billy to get in and out of then my truck”

Charlie was the second person to tell me they had copies of Bella's keys. The day Jacob retrieved the car from downtown with his tow truck he had made mention of not only one set but several that he had in his possession. His reasoning was because Bella had a habit of losing hers, and I wondered just how many copies there were. That was something I was going to need to address with Bella.

“You going to let her drive the car?” Quil asked as we started to make our way back home.

“Not anytime soon” Until all this stuff was behind us, I would be sticking to my guns about Bella being out and about by herself.

"Won't she try to drive if her car is right there?"

"I can assure you, there would be dire consequences for that choice"

"See..." Quil's tone was almost beseeching "...had anyone else answered that question with the same response, I would automatically be thinking abuse. With you, I know without a doubt Bella will be thoroughly punished without any actual harm being inflicted. Which is why I really hope you'll consider training me.”

We were back to that subject.

“I wouldn't require as much attention because Claire and I are not going full Dom and sub. I only need basics so wouldn't it be a really good starting point for you too. You could kind of use us as a Guinea pigs”

From Quil's laughter he must have thought that last statement was funny, I on the other hand was horrified. “First of all, if I agree to this I certainly wouldn't be treating it like an experiment and I'd expect nothing but the same from the two of you. Secondly your assumption that all you're going to need is the basics couldn't be further from the truth. Formal training is a sort of contract made between mentor and protege, it's not something to be entered into lightly. We are talking at the very minium of at least a six month commitment”

Watching that settle into Quil's mind I went on “Because there is no such thing as ...only anything. Whether you train with Aro or me, it wouldn't matter, the same essential skills are skills are utilized by any Dominant. It is the responsibility of the trainer to make sure that those techniques are drilled into the trainees head until they become second nature. When I say six months, I mean weekly instructions which I can only assume you are not planning on making a three hour trip every weekend.”

Breaking into my little speech Quil shook his head “No. I was thinking of making the drive once a month or so.”

“That's not going to be enough...”

Quil was ready with a plan “I knew we'd need to get together so I was thinking we could have video conference, like on Skype or something along those lines.”

The thought of the satisfaction Bella would gain from that act of exhibitionism had me smiling and then I reminded Quil of one detail “Well, then there is the third consideration and it's actually the most important. So off the record, I suppose you can think of it as your first lesson.”

At Quil's befuddled expression I told him “I can't do anything without Bella's consent”