July

"It sure is pretty out tonight." Bella said.

"It's not as pretty as you."

"That is a cheesy thing to say." Bella replied turning around in his arms.

"It's not all that cheesy if it's true." Jasper said. "And it's just a full moon. We see them every month."

He leaned against the cab of Bella's new truck and pulled Bella back with him. She looked up at him and blushed. They were spending their last night together out by the lake. Jasper was leaving for basic at six am in two days and today –or night—would be their last day to spend along with each other. Jasper smiled down at her and kissed her as wind blew the scent of wild flowers over them.

"I can't believe that you are leaving in two weeks." Bella said after they woke up the next morning.

"I can't believe it either. I wish that I could just stay here with you." He said. "I also wish last night would have lasted longer to but I better get you home before your dad comes to hunt me down with his shot gun."

"My dad would only scare you and you signed a contract and you can't back out now." Bella replied. "I have school starting in a month so I'll have that to keep my mind off things."

"Not off me I hope."

"Of course my mind wouldn't be off you. It would be off being separated from you."

"Come on let's pack up." He said.

Bella jumped down from the tail gate to help Jasper clean up their camp site. Bella packed up what was left of the food and Jasper packed up the cooking equipment and the tent and made sure that the fire was out. He had put the last of their stuff into the bed of the truck and shut the tail gate.

"That's everything." Jasper said. "We should come back when I'm done with basic."

"But I thought you would be shipped out after that?"

"I get a week or two with my family and then I go where ever they have me stationed." He said pulling Bella close and kissing her. "But I think my family will understand if I spent most of that time with you."

Jasper then led her to the passenger side of her truck and opened the door for her. Bella climbed in and pulled the door closed. Jasper walked around to the driver's side and climbed in.

"Put your seat belt on. I don't want to give your dad any reason to kill me."

Bella pulled the seat belt a crossed her and buckled it.

"You put your seat belt on." She replied after she finished.

Jasper rolled his eyes and did as she told him to do. He stuck the key into the ignition and started the truck. He drove the truck away from their spot by the lake with the sun setting in the sky behind them. He grabbed Bella's hand and smiled as he drove her home.

"Sorry we're late chief." Jasper said when the chief came out to greet them. "I wanted to make sure the fire was out."

"That was smart of you." The Chief replied. "Bella you go in the house while Jasper an I put this stuff away in the shed."

"Dad," Bella whined.

"Bella I'll be okay." Jasper told her. "Your dad hasn't scared me away yet."

"Be nice or I'll withhold your vitamin R money for the next month." Bella told him before grabbing her bag and heading for the house.

Jasper and the Chief stayed outside for a few more minutes putting the camping equipment into the shed. They worked quietly. While on the outside Jasper was calm on the inside however he was not. On the inside he was freaking out about what the Chief wanted from him. He had put the last of the equipment into the shed when the Chief grabbed his shoulder. Jasper nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Calm down kid, I ain't going to hurt you." He said.

"I jumped because I didn't hear you coming." Jasper lied.

"Keep on telling yourself that." The Chief said sitting down on the tailgate. "We need to talk."

"Nothing happened last night chief I swear. She slept in tent I slept in the truck bed." Jasper told him.

"I don't really believe that but I'll settle for that you are thinking of my daughter."The chief said as he led Jasper to the backyard where a fire pit stood. There was no fire there it was just a hole surrounded by rocks and filled with partially burned logs and ashes.

Jasper sat down in one of the chairs that surrounded the pit, the chief sat in another. He looked nervous and his palms were sweating so much that he kept rubbing them on his jeans to dry them off. There was a cooler between the two chairs the two men were sitting in. The Chief lifted the lid and pulled out two can's he handed one to Jasper and kept the other for himself.

Jasper took the can and set it down on the cooler.

"You don't like it?" the chief asked.

"I don't drink." Jasper replied.

"Good." The chief said. "I can tell you are calling me Chief in your head so stop and call me Charlie."

"Okay." Jasper replied.

"Look kid I don't hate you." Charlie said. "But I don't like how close you are to my daughter especially when you are leaving in two days."

"If I could take her with me I would. If I could stay I would but I can't do either of those things."

"I know that but I get one word about you fooling around with another girl down there I will break you and ditch your body where it will never be found."

"I get that my dad said the same thing to my sister's husband when they started dating."