Chapter 3 (She Met Them)

Chapter 3 (She Met Them)

BPOV

I spent the rest of my day and, truth be told, most of Saturday in a lust filled haze.  It had been far too long since I had enjoyed the company of a man.  But I just didn’t have time for men and I damn sure wasn’t a slut.  One night stands weren’t my thing.  They make battery operated boyfriends for those needs.  Plus, I had been so burned by my last real boyfriend, that I just hadn’t seen the point in dating much for a while.  Sure, I had my fair share of set ups and first dates, but I never let it go past a second date.  I was living a sort of gypsy life for now, and I had no desire for any kind of long distance relationship.  But I found myself intrigued by Edward.  I wanted to know more like…wait.  Crap!  I don’t even know his last name.  I guess that would be a good place to start.  I supposed I could ask Esme about him, or maybe even Carmen.  I wonder if he has a job other than cutting grass?  Surely he must.  I mean, he looks like he’d be good at a lot of things…like kissing.  It would be nice to be really kissed.  Even a decent kiss had been too long ago, and by the looks of his lips, I had no doubt he could take care of that job for me.  I bet it would be wet, but not sloppy; slow, but not tortuous; sweet but a little dangerous.  Shit!  I have to quit thinking about this.   I don’t even know his damn last name for goodness sake!

Saturday afternoon I decided that I’d take a walk around the property.  All Esme had said was that it went all the way back to the creek.  I also knew that it was about fifteen acres in total.  I left out of the back door.  The sound of old hinges stretching and the slap of the wooden screen door was starting to become one of my favorite sounds; well that, and the crickets.  I thought that they would get on my nerves at first.  But as I lifted my window for the breeze to come in every night, I got used to their rhythmic songs.  I could make almost any sound remind me of music.  Music and my guitar had been my constant companions since I was ten years old.  I was never in one place long enough to keep close friends and, for the same reason, I didn’t have pets.  Hell, I didn’t always have a parent present, but I did always have music.  It’s what keeps me going.  It’s what moves me, but also what grounds me.  Right now however, it was the babbling sound of creek water that was moving me down the worn foot path by the tree line toward the back of the property.  It was easily ninety degrees today and I hoped I could at least dip my toes in the water.

About fifty yards from the creek, the path took a turn to the right between the trees.   I’m all for adventure, but snakes aren’t part of that for me.  So I decided I’d be smart and stay on the well worn path, even though I could already see the creek straight ahead from where I stood.  I looked up as I went past the trees and noticed a small blue house.  It had an open front porch and a set of weathered white rocking chairs.  They looked out of place in front of what looked like a newly renovated house, but they gave it a certain charm.  It was only then that I wondered if maybe I shouldn’t be there; that I might be trespassing.  Esme hadn’t said anything to me about a neighbor.  I was starting to see how hasty I might have been in my deal making, but something about if felt right.  I would be able to find out more about it tomorrow at lunch.

Finding the creek had only taken a few more minutes and it was worth the wandering.  I quickly slipped off my flip flops and gave the creek bank a good once over.   I stepped out onto the pebbled bottom of the creek and the dirt under my feet felt slimy.  It took me a minute to realize it must be clay.  It was a new experience for me to feel that slick “squishiness” between my toes.  But just like so many things about Cotton Creek, I was enjoying each new experience.

-x-X-x-

Sunday came and although I was instructed that I was a guest this time, and that I shouldn’t bring anything, I thought it would be a tragedy not to make use of my awesome new kitchen space.  Esme had said that the whole family would be there, so I decided to celebrate my newfound southerner status and make two Kentucky Derby Pies.  These pies were nothing short of sin in a buttery, crusty pie shell.  Imagine rich, gooey pecan pie with the addition of chocolate chips.  Have mercy.  Oh, and you have to top it with vanilla ice cream to cut the richness.  It’s that good.  There is probably another level of hell for that kind of sin.

I had two words for the house that I now called “The Cullen Estate”.  Old.  Money.  Well, that’s not entirely true.  The two words I was originally thinking were Holy…well you get it.  But, it’s Sunday and I’m trying my best not to be completely inappropriate.  This house was straight out of Gone With the Wind.  It was a white two story mansion, for lack of a better word, that seemed to sprawl from left to right for days.  The windows were trimmed simply with black shutters and it was surrounded by gorgeous landscaping.  There were pine trees, oak trees, crepe myrtles and azaleas in every color.  Hmm…I wonder if Edward takes care of her yard too?  Yeah, I better stop that train of thought before the ice cream melts.

Before the door bell could even finish ringing, the door was snatched open and I was hit with the force of an Esme hug.

“Bella!  I’m gonna beat you!  I told you not to bring anything,” Esme said, pulling me inside of the door.

“Well, I hate showing up empty handed.  My Gran always told me it was tacky,” I said, hoping I hadn’t over stepped.  She led me in to a chef’s dream kitchen, all cherry woods and stainless appliances. 

“Is your Gran from around here?” she quipped.

“Not that I’m aware of, but I’ll have to check.  She was always big on good manners,” I laughed.

“Bella, you should know, flattery will get you everywhere.  Come on in the kitchen.  We were just getting’ in from church.  The others are getting the grandkids changed out of their church clothes.  Now…what is this friendship offering you brought?  Because the second thing you should know about folks from the south is that if you can’t flatter ‘em, feed ‘em!”

“In light of my newfound southern roots, I brought Kentucky Derby pie and ice cream.”  Suddenly I froze as I felt two huge bear like arms wrap around my waist and lift me up and swing me in a circle.

“We haven’t even met, but I’m pretty sure you’re part of the family now and that I love you,” said the loud and boisterous voice that was spinning me around.

“Emmett!  Put her down!  You could at least introduce yourself, you big oaf!  Hey, sorry about him.  I’m Rosalie.  You must be Bella?”

Rosalie was gorgeous.  She had wavy blonde hair that touched just past her shoulders and eyes that were nearly aqua; not blue and not green.  Her skin was lightly golden and flawless and I was pretty sure I hated her a little bit because of it.

“Yes, I’m Bella.  It’s nice to meet you, Rosalie.”  I reached out to shake her hand.  She just laughed it off and reached around my neck for a hug. 

“You may as well know that we aren’t much on hand shakin’ around here.  Best learn to be a hugger.”

“Hugs…got it.”

“The big guy is my husband Emmett.”  Just then she was wrapped around the waist by a little person with a shock of curly blonde hair.  “Ah, there you are.  This little man is mini-Emmett, minus the hair.  Also known as Riley.  Riley, this is the new nurse working with Papa.  Her name is Bella.  Can you tell Miss Bella hi?”

He looked up with is bright blue eyes and gave me the cutest snaggle-toothed grin.  “Hey Miss Bella!  I’m Riley Cullen and I’m six and I just lost my first tooth last week and you know what?  The Tooth Fairy brought me two dollars for it!”

Wow!  That was a mouthful!  “Well hello Riley.  Two dollars for one tooth?  That sounds pretty good.”

“Yes ma’am.  I’m trying to get the others loose because there’s a new Mario game for my Wii that I want to get.  See  ya!” he said, running off before I had the chance to respond.  What a cutie! 

Emmett came walking back in the kitchen with the most precious little girl I had ever seen on his shoulders.

“Hey!  Sorry about earlier.  All I heard was pie and ice cream and I just couldn’t help myself!”  I laughed at his excitement.  He looked like a kid himself.

“No problem.  Rosalie was telling me how I should learn to be a hugger.”

“Daddy down!”

“Oh, sorry princess,” he said, handing her over to Rosalie.  “Bella, this angel girl is Ally.  She’s our baby.”  Ally put her little head on Rosalie’s shoulder and peeked through her precious dark ringlet curls.  She batted her bright blue eyes and gave me a small smile.  I just gave her a little wave with my index finger.  Angel is right!

About that time two more kids came charging through the kitchen with someone yelling behind them.

“You better slow it down or you won’t have legs to walk with for much longer!”  I assumed the voice belonged to the petite dark haired woman strolling in behind them.

“Oh!  Hey, I didn’t realize our guest of honor was here.  I’m so sorry you had to hear that.  They can obviously out run me, but at least they can’t out run my mouth.  Listen to me.  I’m so rude!  I’m Alice Whitlock.  I’m Carlisle and Esme’s niece, but I grew up so close to the boys, I was more like their sister.”

Holy cow!  These folks can talk!  I just looked at her with my eyebrows raised, wondering if she was actually finished.  Once I had a second to fully process everything she said, it hit me.

“Wait…guest of honor?”

“Well sure!  You’re Bella, right?”

“Uh…yes, but why…”

“We’ve been waiting for you.  You are going to be a perfect fit, I just know it!  And I know we are gonna be great friends!  I’m so glad you are finally here!” she squealed and nearly tackled me with a hug of her own.

“Cool it, Sassy.  You’re gonna scare her and then you’ll have dad to answer to.”  Alice pulled away from me and stuck out her tongue at the voice that made a chill run up my spine.  No.  Absolutely not.  NO WAY!!  I turned around to see none other than my luscious, lickable lawn boy leaning in the kitchen door way.  SO NOT FAIR!!  He stood there with his arms crossed over his chest and his legs crossed at the ankles and his grin all lopsided and his hair all…everywhere.  He was wearing a pale blue dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and flat front khaki pants.  He was sin on a Sunday.  But why was he here?

“Oh shut it, Edward!  You know I get a feeling about things and they happen.”

“Aahh, yes.  Hey, I know…why don’t you open up a fortune teller table at the back of your shop?  It could work. You wouldn’t charge me, right?”

“Hateful!  And rude.  You could at least introduce yourself to our guest.”

Thankfully, the kitchen started filling up.  Emmett bumped Edward out of the doorway and I realized I was still staring.

“Oh hey baby boy!  Have you met Bella?” Esme asked while giving him a hug and kissing his cheek.

“Actually, I met her Friday,” he said, turning and walking around the counter to me.  “Isn’t that right, Bella?” he said, reaching out his hand to me.  Dang it!  Why hasn’t he adopted this ‘no hand shaking-please hug me’ rule?

“Uh, yes, that’s right,” I stuttered, looking into those green eyes while giving him my hand.  He pulled on my hand making me take a step closer to him.  He leaned in and whispered in my ear, “Although, as beautiful as you look today, I think I prefer Friday mornin’s outfit.”  He kissed my scarlet cheek, rubbed his thumb across my knuckles and then stepped away.  I nearly stumbled thanks to the feeling of his breath on my ear and that blasted grin.  God, I know this is your day and all, and as such, I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t let Satan himself roam so freely.  Amen.  I tried my best to recover. 

I just smiled and said, “It’s good to see you again, Edward.  Minus your power tools.”

At that time, Carlisle joined us, bringing with him the grandchildren.

“Hey Bella!  I’m so glad you could make it.”  He leaned in and gave me a hug.  Man, they are a touchy-feely bunch.  I mean, even my boss?  “Please don’t let my family scare you off.  Son, be nice to Bella.  I really need her at the clinic,” he said, cutting his eyes at Edward.  “Come on, it’s time to eat!”

Wait.  Hold the phone.  SON?!  Tell me that is a term of endearment and not an actual relational term.  If so I am so screwed!

“Dad, I swear.  I didn’t know she was home.  I did as you asked and worked around the schedule you gave me.”

Lord have mercy.  His actual son.  I am screwed.  He winked at me as he walked to the dining room table.

“Maybe I should have been a little more forthcoming.  I’m Edward Cullen,” he said with that stupid, sexy smirk.

“Yes, I gathered,” I said giving him a tight lipped smile.  “We can talk about that later.”

-x-X-x-

Esme had a fantastic table.  It was obviously custom made and was so big it had two leaves in the center.  She said she always wanted a full table and that she took the Field of Dreams approach.  “If you build it, they will come.”  Carlisle said as good as she cooks they would come from two counties over.  I loved watching them interact.  Their eyes were always full of something more than love.  It was complete pride and adoration.  We took our places at the table with Esme and Carlisle heading both ends.  Emmett and Rosalie were on one side with me, while Jasper and Alice were on the opposite side with Edward, who was coincidentally across from me.  I’d be fine as long as I didn’t look directly into those green eyes of his. 

After the blessing was asked by Emmett, we began to fill our plates with the massive feast.

“Where are Uncle James and Aunt Caroline, Sassy?” Edward asked Alice.

“They went to the lake house this weekend to check on Pops.  They’ll be back tonight.”

“Why does he call you Sassy?” I asked Alice, confused and still trying to avoid his eyes so that I didn’t melt into my chair.

“Well, like I said earlier, we grew up so closely, that we were more like brothers and sister than cousins.  My mom and Carlisle are brother and sister.  She watched the boys a lot when we were younger and Emmett used to call me “sissy”.  But…”

“Being that she was an only child, she tended to be a little spoiled.  So when Edward came along, she had someone she could boss around,” Emmett said, interrupting Alice with a wink.

“And you’ve heard her talk in her run on sentences and you have already been given advice by her.  She has just always been so opinionated, we started calling her Sassy, and it stuck.”  He laughed.  She punched him in the shoulder, but you could tell she didn’t mean it.  I couldn’t imagine what it was like to have that kind of relationship.  These Cullens were a breath of fresh air and I found myself wanting to huff every one of them. 

Lunch was a loud, heart-warming affair.  There was never a lull in conversation.  I was glad that questions directed to me were kept pretty basic for now.  I could only deal with so much attention.
“So Bella, how did you end up in Cotton Creek?  Carlisle said he doesn’t really get travel nurses our way; that they usually go for the larger hospitals in Birmingham, Huntsville and Mobile,” Rosalie asked me.

Oh great.  How do you tell your boss over Sunday lunch that you wound up here because you got drunk and played darts?  Easy.  You don’t.  You lie like crazy and pray they buy it!  During my inner musings, I noticed all eyes were now on me.  Especially a pair of green ones.  Awesome.

“Well, I had never worked in this area of the country and I had just spent a bitter winter in New England and the one before that in Denver.  That wasn’t something I really wanted to repeat so quickly, so I thought I’d give the south a try.  Plus, I’ve been from one big city to the next over the last three years and it was just time for a change I guess.”

Everyone nodded and seemed to accept that, except maybe for Alice.  She slightly narrowed her eyes a bit and studied me with a smile.  Why do I get the feeling she is going to get the whole truth out of me, so help her God?  Wanting to get back out of the spotlight, I decided to try to find out about everyone else instead.

“How about you, Rosalie?  What do you do?” I directed back to her.

“I own the day care center across from the hospital.  You know, Mama Bear’s Day School?  We don’t have enough room at the hospital for a day care center, so we bought the building across the street.  We open early enough that hospital employees can drop their kids off and still make it to work in time.   We also give employee discounts.  There was such a need that we thought that it would be a good business.  It’s worked out great!  We even have a waiting list.”  Emmett looked at her with so much pride that I thought he was going to burst.

“Oh, yeah!  I know the place.  That sounds great, what you are able to do for the hospital employees.  I’ve worked in a lot of hospitals that offered the in-house day care programs and it was a fantastic option for their employees.  What’s it like being with all of those kids all day?”

“We have kids ranging in age from two months to twelve years, so it’s never boring.  I love it!  But our whole family is pretty kid oriented.  Emmett teaches and coaches football at the high school.”

“Damn straight!!  County champs for the last three years runnin’!”  Then he started to do some kind of dog cheer.

“Emmett, not at the table, son,“ Esme said rolling her eyes.

“You’ll have to excuse my brother.  He lacks both a filter and a volume button,“ Edward grinned, looking directly at me through his lashes.

“Nobody asked you, Music Man.  You’re just jealous because I get quality male bonding time, plus a side line show of the cheerleaders,” Emmett said.  Then I heard a smack to the back of Emmett’s head.  “Ow!  Dang it Rosie, could you quit doing that?”  She just smirked and kept on eating.

Edward looked at me and mouthed “See what I mean?” over his tea glass.  I was curious if making me read his lips was part of his evil plan to “disintegrate Bella’s panties “ or if he just really didn’t know that it made me unable to breathe.  I also wondered if it was good manners to reach across the table and lick him.  Probably not.

Shaking my head a little, I asked “What about you, Alice?  Edward mentioned a store?”

“Yeah!  I own a kids’ consignment boutique down on the square called Belles and Beaus.  I opened it after Brandon and Mary Beth were born.  Those were the two wild ones you saw running through earlier.  Kids clothes are expensive, especially the cute ones and it’s worse when you are buying for two at a time.  My friends and I were driving to Birmingham to find consignment stores and the big sales all the time and it came to be a hassle.  It seemed like a need in our area, so we decided to take a risk closer to home.  At first it was my friends and I doing consignment sales together from my house.  Then it grew into what it is now.  I’m a shopaholic anyway, so this helps me scratch the itch a little bit,” she giggled.

This Cullen Clan and their completely selfless way of life just baffled me.  They see needs of other people and meet them just because it seems like a good thing to do.  Even I had already been the beneficiary of their benevolence.  I don’t think I have even been around such generosity and love and I found myself feeling a little overwhelmed.

Lunch continued much the same way until we were all so stuffed with food and conversation that we practically rolled from the table afterward.  For now, pie would have to wait.
I offered to help the women clean up afterwards, but Esme would hear nothing of it, effectively shooing me out of the kitchen.  The dads had gone to put the kids down for afternoon naps and Carlisle had retired to his office to catch up on paperwork.  I tried not to wonder where Edward was.  That thought process could be dangerous.  But I still found myself wanting to know more about him. 

I wandered out to the back porch.  It stretched most of the length of the house.  There were rocking chairs, gliders and of course a swing at the end.  I had grown to love the one at the other house so much that I was naturally drawn to rest there.  I sat down low in the swing so I could rest my head and throw my hair over the back so that it wouldn’t stick to my neck in the heat of the unrelenting Alabama summer.  I gave myself a little push, and closed my eyes, indulging in the feeling of the breeze that the ceiling fans were circulating.  The warmth of it combined with my full belly and the rhythm of the swing had me nearly asleep in minutes.  That is until I felt the sway of the swing stutter and the weight of it shift.  I didn’t even have to open my eyes to know who it was. 

Edward.

The air had changed around me the moment he sat down and I couldn’t help the smile that pulled at the side of my mouth.  I bit my lip trying to hide it.

“Good day for a nap,” he said lazily.

I turned my head to the side and spared him a glance out of one eye and said “I don’t usually sleep with someone I just met.”

He chuckled and put one arm across the back of the swing.  “Yeah, you just give them a peep show instead?”

I blushed to my toes, I’m sure, at the memory of my barely there pjs.  “Watch it, Cullen.”

“Oh, I tried to watch it.  You just didn’t stay long enough to finish the show.”

I giggled and kicked at his foot.  Gah, he smelled good.

“Yeah, yeah.  What I don’t understand is why you didn’t just tell me your last name was Cullen?” 

I looked over at him and he had changed his position so that he had one knee bent up on the swing so that he was facing me.  Good night he is beautiful.  Being this close to him and actually trying to have a conversation was borderline torture.

“Honestly?  I already knew who you were.  My mom and dad had let me know they were renting out Nana’s place and asked me to be sure it was ready.  I just didn’t want you to feel weird that I was “the boss’ son”.  You’re new here.  I just assumed it would already be a little uncomfortable to have a man you didn’t know working around the house.  I don’t know…I was just trying to be polite.  Stay out of your way…whatever.”

“Edward, that makes absolutely no sense!”  I laughed.  He didn’t realize that I knew he was full of it.  He was trying to be cute by not telling me.  Like he needed to try.  I decided to change the subject.

“So what’s with your nickname?  Music man?”

“Oh, that?  It’s not as interesting as it may sound.” 

It was then that I started to feel a tingling in my scalp.  I slid my eyes over to the arm Edward had along the back of the swing and realized he was twirling the ends of a small lock of my hair around and around his fingers.  The strange thing is that he didn’t seem to realize he was doing it, but I sure did.  That small motion was sweet, but almost seemed intimate.  I would have never stopped him, it felt that good.

He was looking out over the back yard while he started to explain.  “First of all, I’m the music and band teacher at the high school.  So there’s that,” he said with a shrug.  “But the nickname came from the kids at church.  Around here, most churches have people like “the gum man”.  He’s the little old man who always has gum and gives it to all the kids after Sunday school,” he said, now looking over with a crooked grin.  “We also have the “memory verse man”.  He gives the kids candy after saying their memory verses every week.”  He let out a huge laugh after that.  “Even Emmett still tries to memorize some so that he can get those atomic fire balls.”  He shook his head a little at the thought.  “And that leaves me.  I’m the main song leader and in charge of the song services at church.  So that’s why I’m “the music man.”  The tips of his ears turned a little red.  I was thinking I needed to go back to church.  I had never wanted to kiss someone so much for just plain cuteness.

He’s obviously gorgeous, with his clothes on or half off.  He loves kids, has a little ink that I swear I’m going to find out more about.  He’s helpful, loves his family, and Lord help me, he’s “the Music Man.”  I had no idea how I was going to make it out of here alive…or at least with dry panties.
I was doing my best not to move because I didn’t want him to stop playing with my hair, but it was then that Esme brought us both a bowl with pie and ice cream.  I waited with bated breath to see what he thought, not knowing why I cared.  He closed his eyes, and I nearly jumped on him watching that jaw chewing slowly.  He just shook his head for a few minutes and looked over at me.  After he swallowed he said “Good thing it’s Sunday because that was a religious experience.”
I just giggled and tucked into my own bowl, enjoying the laughter and casual conversation that the rest of the afternoon brought.

Later as I was saying my goodbyes and trading numbers with Alice and Rosalie, I remembered my morning walk and thought I’d ask the girls about the house I saw.

“Hey, I was walking down to the creek this morning and I saw this blue house on the path, just past the tree line.  I was afraid I was trespassing and I didn’t want to be rude.  Esme never mentioned it, so I just wanted to be sure…do you know who lives there?”

Alice and Rosalie turned to look at each other raising knowing eyebrows.  Alice just giggled and I thought she said something like “figures”, but I couldn’t be sure.  Rosalie looked at me and said “Oh girl, you are SO in trouble.  That’s Edward’s house.”

What the…?  Like I said…so screwed.