Finding Truth Behind Legends
by Wizardtho
Kai
Chapter 26:
Jake and Aiden move the furniture from the covered patio to my bedroom porch, then sweep off any debris on the patio. Meanwhile, Dad and I take all of the deconstructed and wrapped railings down to the basement. We place them on the higher shelves before coming back up.
No sooner do I reach the entry, than I hear someone honking a horn. It sounds like my truck, so I look outside, only to smile at the scene. Greg is pulling up in my truck with a big grin on his face, 4 more trucks following behind him. Each one is loaded to the brim with supplies. I tell Dad that it’s about to get busy, then open the front door and point outback. “Greg! Go ahead and take the trucks around, so unloading will be easier. I’ll meet you out on the patio.”
When I reach the covered patio, Greg is just shutting off the ignition to the truck, so I take the chance to peek into the back of all the trucks, then whistle, “Damn, you guys have been busy. Did you get a tally, or do you need me to make one?”
Greg pats me on the shoulder, then says, “We got it all as it was loaded, that way you can just check it off as it comes off the truck, to make sure the count was correct. Each round coming will have a tally sheet for all the trucks in that round. The girls should be coming in a couple of hours to help out. Lily coordinated a feast when Zander stopped at home to tell her today’s agenda, so dinner is one less thing you’ll need to deal with.”
I breathe an audible sigh of relief, “Oh, thank heavens. I’ll have to thank her properly when she gets here.”
I take the sheets of paper he hands me, scan them quickly, then say, “Alright… wait. The washer and dryer were there? And they worked?”
Greg nods with a grin, “Yep. They’re under the tarp. I checked them myself before we cut the power to the place. They both work like new.”
I smile, “Awesome. I guess we can try to snug them back against the house, right there at the corner, as far as we can. That way they aren’t in the way of any cabinets or counters, which will be needed sooner. Let’s see if we can get the tables and chairs into the dining room, and then use them to place any fixtures or breakables on. I’ll have Aiden and Jake move mine into the entry. It’s not like it won’t still get used, with how many are going to be here. I have plenty of tarps, so we can place the long beams and wood lengths on the terrace, on either side of the dining room french doors. Cabinets, counters, sinks and such can be placed on this patio, since it’s covered.”
He nods, “Sounds like a plan. Hey, Chief.”
My Dad nods in reply, then asks, “Where do you need me, Bells?”
Pointing to the ground where he is, I say, “Right where you are. I need you to mark off anything coming into the house. Two of the 5 trucks are just fixtures and things, all of which I’m giving you control over. The 3rd truck and trailer are tables and chairs, which will temporarily take the place of the set in the dining room. Can you call Aiden and Jake to move that into the entry please?”
He nods, then calls inside for the boys to carefully do as I asked. I hear Jake’s reply when Dad finishes speaking, “Sure thing, Bells. On it now.”
Things go pretty smoothly after that, and I oddly enjoy watching Taha unloading supplies with the others. Dad notices my smile, and happens to say softly while Taha is working, “Can’t say I’ve ever seen you this happy, Bells. Even with all this uncertainty, you look happier than I've ever seen you.”
Taha looks up at me, having heard Dad, and my smile grows even more. I don’t even try to look away as I say to my father, “He makes me happy, Dad. There’s never any pressure to be more than I am with him. Flaws and all, he wants me just as I am. When I was in my dream state, I never felt like I was less than him, even though I couldn't figure out how to phase the whole first day. He literally had to scare me into phasing on morning 2. Then over those 9 days, we talked about deeply personal things. Instead of looking down on me when my view differed from his, he welcomed my point of view, even attempted to understand things as I saw them.”
Taha’s eyes shine as a small smile touches his lips, so I finally turn to face my father. He lets out a breath, nods, then says, “It’s all I’ve ever wanted for you, Bells. I’m glad you found each other. Have you talked about the future yet; where you'll live?”
I shake my head, "We've not exactly had the time for a conversation like that since I woke up. If Taha truly wants to return to the Quileute rez, I'll be sad to leave, but we can keep this place as a vacation house."
Taha kisses my shoulder as his arms wrap around me from behind, then he says into my neck, "My place has been here for many years now, little coyote. You just started building a life in this house, and you found your coyote here. Though I'm grateful the Quileute tribe didn't shun me, our place is now here with the coyotes, in your family home. The wolves have a very capable alpha, and if they ever need anything, Sam knows he can call on us."
I quickly turn in his arms, cup his face, and ask hopefully, “Really?”
He gently presses his lips to mine, then kisses the palms of my hands before taking them in his, “Really, Isabella. We’ll probably make regular trips out to Washington, at least at first, but this is where I want to build a life with you.”
Taha has just declared himself in front of my father. He said it plain and clear. He plans to build a life with me… together… here in my home. If Dad had any doubts before now, Taha has made his intentions pretty damn clear.
My heart nearly explodes in my chest as I let out a breath and try to play it cool. “Alright then. If you’re sure, here is where our family roots will be grounded.”
I can hear Dad clearing his throat, but it’s Greg that says, “Alright, you two. Hate to be the one to break up mushy time, but we really need to get back so the next round can head over.”
Taha kisses my lips quickly, grins, then slaps Greg on the back as he goes to finish unloading with the guys.
I turn to Dad, but he’s already marking off things going into the house again. The only signs that he even heard our talk are his watery eyes and large grin.
The day goes on, and supplies keep coming until around sunset, with the promise of more tomorrow. Lily and the girls show up about 30 minutes before that, loaded down with 2 carloads of food. I gasp as I go to greet them out front, then usher them into the kitchen through the laundry room.
Lily places a huge crockpot on the island, then takes off a backpack, placing it on the washer. Holding onto the bottom of her sundress is the cutest little boy I think I’ve ever seen, a lidded cup with a straw in his hand. He smiles up at me, and Lily says, “Can you say hi to Miss Bella? I have to go get all of the stuff we made from the car, so can you tell Miss Bella what we made for dinner?”
Right away, the little boy says hi, tells me his name is Kai, and holds my hand. “Aren’t you a handsome little man, Kai. Why don’t you tell me all about what you made with Mommy today.”
As we talk, Lily and the girls make several more trips. He’s sitting on the island, telling me about how much he loves carrots when Lily comes back in the final time, so she laughs, “Did you tell Miss Bella what we did with those carrots?”
Kai’s eyes get huge, then he whispers, “Momma put ‘em in the bat-... batter up.”
I try to hide my laugh behind my hand, then ask, “You’re telling me she took all your carrots and put them into a cake?!”
His eyes are still wide, but he looks at Lily, then at me, before finally saying as his little arms fold over his chest, “Momma said we had more, but I looked. I didn’t see ‘em. Are carrots good in cake?”
I rub my tummy at the hungry sounds coming from it, which makes him laugh, then promise, “Carrot cake is so yummy. Do you want to help me get everything set up? We’re going to use the sideboards in the dining room for hot foods, and the big round table in the entry for all the cold stuff.”
Kai nods, so I set him on the floor before going to the laundry room. I grab a tablecloth from the shelf, then look at Kai, who is holding his hands out. From the dining room, I hear Lily asking, “Bella? Are all the items on the tables here accounted for?”
I hand Kai the table cloth and pick him up, then head in Lily’s direction, “Yeah. It was all counted as it was brought in. Why?”
She grins, “We can place everything in the bins I used to haul everything over in. That way, they can be placed somewhere safe, and nothing will fall off the table and break. Plus, we can test out how well this new setup will work for an actual meal with a full house.”
It isn’t long before Lily and the girls take over gently packing the items on the table. Kai is the perfect helper to have while dressing the round table. When we finish, he sees his daddy’s truck pull into the yard, so I whisper as I pick him up, “Let’s go out back and meet him, shall we?”
The little boy’s grin can’t be contained at the thought of seeing his daddy, and it makes my heart melt to think one day… maybe... my future with Taha will look very similar to this.