Chapter Music: Gotta Have You by The Weepies
A/N: Thank you to miztrezboo and annanabanana for all that they do.
LINK TO CHAPTER UNDER THE COMMENTS BAR
:: Edward ::
"Stop fussing, woman."
"Lie still and this wouldn't take as long, old man." The teasing bickering between my grandpa and Carmen filtered through to the kitchen as I paced in front of the table.
"How long does he have, Doc?" I asked, lacing my fingers behind the back of my head, and bracing myself as best I could.
"Edward," he began, and I shook my head at his tone. I didn't need soft and gentle.
"Just tell me like it is."
"Not long. I can't be exact. A few weeks, maybe less."
I stopped my pacing and tugged at my hair, a dull ache rising in my chest as a muffled groan vibrated through my throat. I needed more time; I wasn't ready yet.
"I've adjusted his medication again," Doc Garrett continued, speaking through my haze, "and he'll be comfortable. Your grandfather won't be in any pain."
Silence fell over the kitchen long enough for me to hear Carmen reading Tom Sawyer in the sunroom, and I sank down on to one of the chairs at the kitchen table. Aro hadn't been able to get out of bed for the last two days; he was too weak to move. Doc Garrett had agreed that keeping him at home was better than hospitalizing him at this stage, so we had moved him into his favorite room in the house. Aro had always felt closer to my grandma there.
"Don't change anything else, Edward. It's important that he keeps to his normal routine," the doc advised. I nodded numbly, unable to absorb what he was saying. I knew he'd spoken to Carmen earlier; she already knew everything we needed to know.
In just a few short weeks, my only surviving family would be gone. I'd be the last of the Masen line, and while I knew I wouldn't be alone, I would feel my grandpa's absence.
There was a wistful irony to be found in the fact that although he'd not really been here—not as I remembered him anyway—for a while now, I could still find comfort in his physical presence. The scolding tone he took with Carmen, his carefree laughter, and even the smile that appeared at whatever he was reliving in his mind. My grandpa's appreciation of life's simplicities—the warmth of the sun on his face, a stray butterfly entering through a window, the adventures of Tom and Huck—reminded me that Doc Garrett was right.
Aro was comfortable, and despite my own heartache, he was still somewhat happy.
"We'll be fine," I assured him. "Thanks for all you've done."
"You've got my number if you need me. Anytime, day or night." With a final nod, he slipped from the kitchen and left me to my thoughts.
~oOo~
It had been three days since I'd seen Bella, and although I'd spent almost every moment with Aro, I realized I was starting to miss her. Standing over my workbench, with the sun against my back, I was reminded of the week Bella and I had spent out on the Miller's ranch fixing their barn. I enjoyed my job; being my own boss, and working by myself had its perks, but spending the week with Bella had been something else.
I could have had the work finished in three days, if I'd been there on my own, but after Bella's minor accident on our first day, three days had turned into six and a half. She was a distraction, I couldn't deny it. I hadn't known what to tell Emmett when he had quizzed me in the diner almost two weeks ago, but if he asked me again now, I'd be able to tell him exactly what I wanted. I knew Bella wasn't ready, that I couldn't rush her, but if something was meant to happen for us, I could wait.
I rubbed harder at the wood under my hands, smoothing the finish and enhancing the grain. I'd been at it all morning, enjoying the breeze as it blew up off the river and through the surrounding trees. Stopping to measure another length of wood, the distinct sound of Alice's old Jetta broke through the stillness. I watched as she pulled up behind my truck and climbed out carefully with her hands full.
"Hey, Ally," I called, wiping my arm across my brow. "Whatcha got for me?"
"Rose sends her love," she said, smiling and raising the deep dish in offering when she reached the porch steps. I pulled off my worn work gloves and tried to take the cobbler from Alice but she dismissed my attempts—with her elbow—and walked past me, heading for the kitchen. Within minutes she rejoined me, empty handed, and sat down on the top step.
"The house is comin' along nicely."
"Yeah. There's not much left to do now. Just a few windows to replace around back, and the rest of the porch to finish," I said, gesturing to the wood I'd been working on since the sun had risen. I was running it along the south wall of the house and had a little under half left to do. "That said, I think the plumbin' needs checked again, too. There's a leak in the kitchen…" I trailed off, wondering how much longer I'd be living in the old house anyway.
"Well, I think you've done a great job, Eddie. When I think back to what it used to look like—" Alice stopped suddenly, deep in thought as her fingers traced the spindles of the railing running up the steps.
She was right; the house had been in ruins. I'd had to strip most of it out and rebuild a lot of it. New walls on the north and east sides, new flooring throughout, and I'd replaced a third of the roofing too. The pipes had seemed okay, although in hindsight, I should have ripped them out when I had the chance. The work had taken over four years—between paying jobs—but I'd done it myself. This small house, on the west side of the Masen estate, was mine.
"A really great job. You should be so proud," Alice continued.
I smiled in appreciation and sat down on the step below her, stretching my legs out toward the overgrown grass. The front of the house opened up into a large clearing, dotted with trees, before sloping off down to the river. I watched as the wind toyed with the dandelion clocks growing there in abundance, not strong enough to pull the heads free and scatter the seeds.
"So what's been keepin' you outta town anyway?" she asked. Alice never liked to sit in silence for too long.
"Aro's gettin' worse," I replied, turning around to look at her and squinting as the sunlight cast through the tops of the trees. "Doc says it won't be much longer now."
"Oh, honey. I'm so sorry." Alice reached out and wrapped her arms around my shoulders, hugging me awkwardly from behind. We sat like that for over ten minutes, just breathing and thinking, before I pulled away.
"I'm gettin' a beer. You want anything?"
"Some lemonade if you have it?" she asked as I stood up.
"Sure. I'll be right back."
The smell of peaches was starting to filter through the house, and my stomach ached for a slice of Rose's cobbler. Settling for the beer, I grabbed a bottle from the fridge and poured Alice's drink before heading back out onto the porch.
"So what've I missed?" I asked, sitting back down and handing Alice her glass.
"Honestly? Just the same as always. Mom and daddy have decided to say in Florida longer than they originally planned, so of course, Emmett's in his element at the diner. Rose is workin' on lesson plans for when school starts back up again, and I've been boxin' up stock at the store ready for the new deliveries at the end of the month."
That was one of the things I loved about Masen; most people were content with their lives. They were happy to just go about their business without any of the drama that people like Jacob Black and his big-city-girlfriend seemed to need.
"And how's Bella doin'?" I asked, trying to sound casual as I took a pull from my beer.
Alice laughed softly. "She's still a little tender, but her bruisin's fadin' nicely. You should've known better than to have her up on the roof, Edward," Alice scolded playfully, clucking her tongue at me.
"You can't make me feel any worse than I already do, Ally. So stop teasin' me."
"Fine, but only 'cause I hate to see a grown man pout." She laughed again and finished her lemonade, leaving her glass on the porch and standing up.
"You leavin' already? You barely got here."
"I need to get to the bar. Jasper's gettin' all worked up over the fall dance this year. He's still gotta find a band, make up flyers, make sure the bar's staffed, and make sure he orders any extra decorations and props. He hates most of it, but the town loves it. What can he do?" Alice laughed as she spoke, and shrugged her shoulders while she walked back to her car. "Try not to be a stranger, Eddie. You still need to eat," she called over her shoulder before she climbed into her car and backed out through the trees.
I took Alice's empty glass back into the house and finished my beer on the way, helping myself to a second from the fridge. Finally giving into the smell of cobbler on the sideboard, I cut myself a large piece, sat at my kitchen table and ate. Soon after, I was back out on the porch cutting the wood I'd been measuring before Alice had arrived.
It was easy to lose track of time when I was working, and it wasn't until the sound of startled birds deserting branches echoed through the air that I realized the sun had started to dip in the sky. The wind had picked up since the early afternoon, rustling the leaves overhead but still unable to disturb the dandelions in the clearing.
Deciding to call it a day, I began packing up my tools, putting them away in the toolbox on my truck and stacking the wood alongside the house. It was then that I saw her.
On the edge of the clearing, down near the slope of the river and wandering out through the trees was Bella.
I wanted to call out to her, to let her know I was there and to ask how she was, but I couldn't find my voice. If I'd had any doubt about what I wanted over the last few days, it was gone now.
Her skin was flushed with a light sheen of sweat, and her boots were dusty, while the smallest hint of her shorts peeked out from under the strapless top she wore. As she walked through the long grass, Bella took off her hat, letting the hair she'd gather up in it fall free around her shoulders.
I lowered myself onto the porch steps, watching as Bella lifted her head to the sky. The wind circled again, catching her by surprise, and she let out a small shriek, the sound echoing off the trees. The breeze lifted Bella's hair and sent it twisting around her face, and as a gust blew from the other direction, this time rippling the fabric of her top, she laughed easily.
With her arms stretched out at her sides, Bella turned in slow circles, enjoying the cool, early evening air. Without warning, the wind changed again and this time blew hard, lifting the heads off the dandelions and scattering clouds of white seeds through the clearing. As if in slow motion, I watched the seeds almost dance in the air, twirling in a counter-clockwise direction before lifting higher still, or floating back to the grass.
Bella's laughter pulled my attention back to her, and it was only then that I saw she was covered in them. Dozens of the little white tufts were stuck in her hair, but her laughter continued.
I couldn't remember a time when I'd seen her like this—so happy and carefree. Even when we'd been on the Miller's Ranch it was like she was holding something back, like she was unsure of something. But the more time we spent together, the harder it was for me to remember little Baby Bell, the girl I'd teased in school with paint in her hair, frogs in her locker, and snakes in her book bag.
Stepping off the porch, I walked slowly across the grass toward her, not even trying to fight the smile on my face.
"Hey, Bella," I said quietly, trying not to startle her.
"Edward!" She stopped spinning suddenly and a smile spread across her face. I was glad that she seemed pleased to see me too. "What are you doing down here?"
"I live here," I replied, gesturing to the house behind me, though she must have known she was on Masen property.
Her forehead puckered in confusion. "You don't live up in the main house?"
"I have a room up there, but this is mine." Bella's cheeks flushed as she muttered something I didn't hear, but that wasn't what concerned me. "Bella, where's your dad's truck?"
"Back at the house, why?"
"How long've you been out in the sun today?"
"I left after a late breakfast and just walked most of the day..." She shrugged and bit her lip for a minute. "Maybe four hours or so."
I looked at the small canteen she had clipped to her waist and rolled my eyes. "You're sunburned, and you're probably dehydrated, if that's all you've had to drink," I said, pointing at the flask.
Bella tilted her head and twisted her shoulders so that she could get a better look at her skin. Her arms and shoulders were pink and bright, in fact the only part of her that didn't seem touched by the sun was her face, and that had to be down to the hat she'd been wearing as she entered the clearing.
"I just wanted to get out of the house…go for a walk," she whispered, realizing her mistake.
"Come on," I said, wrapping my arm low around her waist, so as to avoid touching her skin, and steering her toward the house. "Let's get you into a cool bath. I'm sure I'll have something inside to fix you up."
A/N: The next update will be an outtake for A Slice of Hope and will show you what happened at the Miller's ranch. Thanks for your patience and for still reading .
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