Chapter 16 (She Was Asked to Stay)

Chapter 16~(She Was Asked to Stay)




BPOV

Edward had been in Orlando for three days and I was missing him like crazy. I tried to tell my logical self that it was just a five day trip which was really no time at all in the grand scheme of things; but what I didn’t prepare myself for was the utter longing that I felt for him. We had only been together a little over three months but his short absence was already long enough for me to know that I didn’t want to be without him. Edward was so much more to me than what the term ‘boyfriend’ usually meant. Sure I missed his touches that tortured me and his kisses that left me panting; but I also missed the little things. I was missing how he always seemed to be twirling a strand of my hair or tracing the lines of my face when we talked. I missed our intimate whispers in those last dark moments before dawn after we had made love and brushing our teeth together over one sink at night, grinning in the mirror while bumping each other’s hip. I especially missed his teasing.

I did my best not to cry when he had to leave before daylight, but that attempt had been futile. He had to be at the high school by four fifteen on that Monday morning after we had returned from our trip to Huntsville. He needed to meet the bus drivers, help get the kids settled onto their seats and answer any last minute questions that the parents might have had all before five o’clock when they were scheduled to leave. I had never been more grateful for technology than I was over these last few days. The texts that he sent throughout the day really kept me going and lifted my spirits. Some were funny, some were sexy and others were just to say ‘hey’.

I did my best to stay busy so that I wouldn’t concentrate on his being gone so much. For years I never had anyone in my life on a daily basis and now that I did, I quickly discovered that I needed it; needed him. The first day I picked up pizza on my way home from work and then proceeded to clean every square inch of my house. I stayed strong during my bedtime conversation with Edward. He sounded exhausted from such a long day of traveling and while I didn’t want to hang up, I knew that he had an even longer week ahead of him. We were a little sickeningly sweet while saying our goodnights and goodbyes, neither of us wanting to hang up. But it really couldn’t be helped; we were a toothache waiting to happen.

Yesterday was Alice’s first doctor’s appointment with her obstetrician. She was so relieved to find out through the internal ultrasound that there was indeed only one baby this time. I learned that she’d had to go on bed rest for the last six week of her pregnancy with the twins because she started having some early contractions. The doctor told her that he couldn’t guarantee that it wouldn’t happen again because she is so little, but that the chances of that happening were smaller this time.

I had never seen Alice so calm and peaceful as when she was looking at the monitor at her little butter bean baby. Rosalie and I both got a little teary eyed because I think that’s just what you do when you are a woman. Of course when we looked at each other the giggle fits started between us and Alice yelled at us for making her laugh while she needed to pee and had a magic wand in her, and I quote, “cha-cha”. That did not help with the giggles. Actually, it made it worse. She called us ‘hateful heifers’ and made us leave the room, telling us not to come back until we had found some form of chocolate.

The nurses loaded her down with tons of free samples of prenatal vitamins and baby formula, parenting books and a calendar. They gave her a copy of her ultrasound picture and her appointment card to return the next month and then we left to have lunch followed by pedicures. They did an awesome job keeping my mind off of missing my man. I had never been more thankful to have such good friends…such sweet sisters.

I returned home that afternoon to a very sad looking Roscoe waiting for me on my front porch. It was his new home since Edward and I were basically living together these days. It was never anything that we discussed; it just sort of naturally happened. I tried really hard to stick to my weekends-only sleepover rule. Who am I kidding? I knew that it was completely pointless the minute those words came out of my mouth. When temptation comes directly from the devil himself, it’s better to just go along with it and ask for forgiveness later. I had lived alone all of my adult life, never even having had a roommate in college, but with every day that passed, I discovered that I no longer wanted to be alone. I used to thrive in my life of solitude, but now I had found that I wanted to be surrounded by people; these people in particular. I needed their love and support and if I’m honest, even all of their hugs. That’s right…I have become a hugger. Any day now I’m going to be blessing someone’s heart. I can just feel it.

I kneeled down to show Roscoe some love. It made no sense for Edward to say that Roscoe was rotten when he was every bit as spoiled as the dog was. The beautiful bloodhound immediately rolled over so that I could rub his belly. I could tell that he was lonely and in desperate need of attention. He was giving me the eyes, which held just as many super powers as Edward’s pout, making him impossible to resist.

“Fine. You can come in, but your dad is going to kill me when he gets home you know?” His little eyes became hooded as I scratched behind his droopy ears that were splayed out on the floor of the porch. It must be nice to not a care in the world. I unlocked the door and held open the screen in invitation of my new constant companion. I changed into my pajamas and settled in for the night, waiting for Edward to call. Roscoe joined me on the couch and plopped his big head in my lap. It was becoming a ritual over the last couple of days but it really couldn’t be helped.

“We are a sad lot, Roscoe. It’s only been three days and here we both are, curled up together on the couch watching some classic Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks and having popcorn for supper.” He snorted at me. “You’re not going to tell him are you? You know he’ll never let me live this down, the teasing ass.”

He stretched his limbs and let out a big tongue curling yawn. “You know what I think? I think you need a friend.” He began to snore. “No, I’m serious. Edward and I work every day and he occasionally has to go out of town on school trips. You must get bored hunting by yourself. Since I’ve been here I’ve learned that it’s not right for people to be alone if they don’t have to be. Surely the same thing applies to dogs,” I mused.

Tom Hanks had just suggested to Meg Ryan that they should meet when the phone rang. I didn’t have to look at the caller ID to know who it was.

“Hey Sugar.”

“Do you answer the phone like that for everyone who calls you?”

“Oh, I’m sorry Edward! I didn’t know it was you. I thought I was answering the line for my night time job. You know they pay me extra to call them names like Sexy and Sugar and Superman.”

“That’s alright. I already have a new girlfriend. Did you get the picture I sent you of the two of us?”

“I sure did. Does her boyfriend know how handsy you are?”

“Somehow he missed that little tidbit of information. I think he was across the street taking pictures with some little kids.”

“You know it’s kind of wrong for them to be apart like that,” I said quietly, not talking about Mickey and Minnie anymore.

“I know baby girl, I know.” He cleared his throat. “So what have you been doin’?”

“Well, I’ve had a secret for about a week that I can now officially tell you about.”

“Oh, yeah? What’s that?”

“Alice is pregnant!”

“What? Are you serious? How did you know that and I didn’t?” He sounded amused.

“I went to see her before our trip and when I got there, she had been in the bathroom and she was so sick. Plus Holly said that she hadn’t been feeling like herself for several days, so I just added it up and called her on it. Rose and I went with her to her first doctor’s appointment today because Jasper was busy with the safety program at the elementary school.”

“That’s awesome! I’ll have to give them a call. I can’t believe that gun totin’ goober of a best friend hasn’t even told me yet. When is the baby due?”

“The last week of July…oh, and there is only one. She was freaking out about that, but now she is so excited. I was honored that she asked me to go with her. She told me I had to stay until the baby came,” I laughed.

“I bet.” He was quiet for a few minutes after that. We hadn’t brought up the possibility of me staying at all. I knew it was a conversation that was well overdue, but we had just been having so much fun in the moment and loving each other that it really had become an afterthought.

“I guess that’s something we need to talk about soon, huh?” I asked quietly.

“Yeah, we do, but not on the phone.” I heard a loud knock from his end of the line. “Hang on lovin’. Let me see what these hellions need.”

“Mr. Cullen, Lucy is still really sick and Mrs. James said we needed to come get you because she thinks Lucy needs to go to the E.R. for some fluids or something like that.”

“Okay. Tell her I’ll meet you guys in the lobby in five minutes.” I heard the door click as it closed.

“Hey baby girl, I gotta go. One of the kids has been throwin’ up all day and they need me to go with her and their chaperone to the E.R. I gotta find all of her paperwork and stuff.”

“I understand. I hope she’s okay. I’ll just talk to you sometime tomorrow? I’m supposed to have supper with your mom and dad tomorrow night, so if for some reason you can’t reach me, I’ll be there.”

“Okay, that sounds good. I’m actually really jealous. I can only eat so much park food!” He sighed. “I love you to pieces and I miss you so much it hurts. One more regular day and then the next day I’ll be on my way home to you.”

“I can’t wait and I love you too. Be safe and I’ll talk to you soon. Night, sugar.”

“You be careful, too. Night baby girl.”

I hung up and threw my phone on the opposite end of the couch, barely missing Roscoe’s tail. I didn’t need Edward to ask me to stay, but was it so wrong that I really wanted him to? It wouldn’t change my mind one way or the other and I knew that we had already promised each other forever, but I guess I was just a girl and I wanted to hear the words, damn it!

I looked down at my lazy lap dog that was almost as long as the couch and shook my head at his ignorant bliss. “Come on, sad Sally…let’s go. You’ve only got two more nights to steal his spot in the bed before you’re back downstairs on your own pillow.”

I didn’t know if Roscoe wanted to be close to me or if he was wallowing in Edward’s left over scent, but either way, neither of us had to be completely alone while our favorite man was so noticeably gone.

-x-X-x-

“Well hey, Sweets! Get your little self in here. Supper’s almost ready!” Esme said while drawing me in for one of her super strength hugs.

“It smells fantastic! What are you making?”

“Roast, carrots, potatoes and honey butter biscuits.”

“Bless you! I’ve been eating take out and frozen meals this week. It hasn’t been a pretty sight.”

“Not my problem. You know I said you could come over any time.”

“I know, but I’ve just been trying to keep myself busy. I didn’t realize I’d miss him this much.”

“He kinda grows on ya, doesn’t he? Good thing, though, because there were plenty of days that I really wanted to give him and Emmett away when they were little. You know I showed up on my Mama’s door step one day with an overnight bag for each of them and just looked at her and said ‘take them’? It’s always been a blessin’ to have family that lives close by.” Esme always knew when I needed a good laugh and that story definitely supplied me with one. I could just imagine her as a young mom with two mischievous boys who had pushed her to her limit.

“Somebody has cooked my favorite meal tonight,” Carlisle said as he walked into the kitchen. He crossed the room and wrapped Esme in his arms. “How was your day?” he murmured into her ear. I felt like I should look away from such an intimate moment, but I had grown accustomed to their outward displays of affection. Their son was the same way after all.

“It was good. Go wash up. We’ll be pourin’ the tea and getting everything on the table.” Carlisle hurried out of the room and was back again by the time the table was set. He said a prayer for the food and we began filling our plates.

“Well Bella, I guess I shouldn’t ask you how work is going since I’m there every day,” he chuckled. He almost seemed a little nervous which was extremely uncharacteristic for him. We have had patients to code while receiving their treatment before and when he was paged he strolled into the unit like it was something that happened all the time.

“But you like working there, right? Everything is going well?” I swallowed and used my napkin to wipe my mouth.

“Um, yes sir. Everything has been great.” I looked over at Esme curiously. She sighed when I caught her eye.

“Just spit it out, hon. Quit beatin’ around the bush. Bella is a grown up, you know,” she said, rolling her eyes.

Carlisle put down his fork and cleared his throat. “You’re right.” He turned to me and gave me his undivided attention. Shit! This looks serious!

“Bella, I have made it no secret that I have enjoyed havin’ you work with me. You are a hard worker and are completely dedicated to our patients and their care. The truth is that I wish I had about fifteen of you. Your work history at the dialysis centers in the bigger cities and your organizational and leadership skills have made you an invaluable asset.”

I could feel the heat rise in my cheeks due to his words of praise. Carlisle was very accomplished in his field and I was completely honored that he would feel that way about me. “Thank you, Doc. That is extremely kind of you. I just try to show up and do my very best, that’s all,” I said, shrugging a shoulder and looking down at my plate, feeling slightly embarrassed.

“I know, and you do give your very best. It shows in how well you get along with the staff, how much the patients love you and in your willingness to go above and beyond what is asked of you. That’s why I want to ask you to consider staying.”

I gasped as my eyes snapped up to meet his and then felt my spine hit the back of the chair. I hadn’t been expecting that at all.

“You want me to what?”

“I want you to consider staying in Cotton Creek. It’s only a matter of months before the new Dialysis Center is up and runnin’…and I want you to be one of the charge nurses there. You could do that through your travel nurse contract or…you could make it something more permanent and work directly for me.”

I was stunned and completely speechless.

“Oh hell, Carlisle. You’ve scared the poor thing to death. I swear you Cullen men know nothin’ about subtlety.”

“You’re the one who told me to just get on with it, Es! Bella…are you okay? I didn’t really think you’d be all that surprised by my asking.”

I blinked and shook my head, bringing myself back into the conversation. “No, I’m fine, Doc. I just…well…that is an amazing and gracious offer! I wasn’t expecting it and I just…I need to think about it. I wasn’t going to make a decision one way or the other until after the first of the year and Edward and I haven’t even had a chance to talk things over yet.”

He nodded and gave me a warm smile. “I understand. We still have plenty of time, but I’d love to get your input on a few things regardless of the decision you make. Just think about it for now and let me know after you have had the chance to discuss it with my son, okay? No pressure. I just wanted you to know how I felt, that’s all.” He reached over and squeezed my hand and Esme gave me a reassuring smile before they returned their attention back to their supper. First Alice had asked me to stay and now Doc had as well. Only one more to go, right?

-x-X-x-

I was sitting inside my truck waiting very impatiently for the busses to return. Edward told me that I didn’t need to bother with meeting him there since he would be helping the kids gather their bags and waiting for their parents to pick them up. Clearly he was insane if he thought I was going to wait a minute longer than I absolutely had to in order to see him.

Watching those silver chartered busses pull into the parking lot on that cold December night was one of the best sights I had ever seen. That was until I saw Edward step off of the first bus after I had to wait for a hoard of kids unload before him. He was gloriously travel worn in his faded jeans and long sleeved t-shirt. His dirty penny colored hair had gotten longer in the colder months and I could tell that he had spent some quality time running his hands through it. He had just managed to get his fleece pulled over his head when I called out his name and began running straight for him. His surprised green eyes met mine and a huge smile stretched across his face. I jumped into his outstretched arms, wrapping my arms and legs around him. No cliché had ever felt so good.

He placed my feet back on the ground and led me by the hand to the side of the bus where no one else was standing. He backed me up against the side of it and crushed his lips against mine. He had one of his fingers curled around my belt loop and the other cupped around the back of my neck. His kiss was warm and wet; sometimes tender and other times impatient. I moaned into his mouth from the desire I had to just devour him. I could only hope that he wasn’t completely exhausted when we got home. I needed him in every way like I had never needed him before. Our hungry kisses that had been filled with longing finally slowed to languid lips that tasted of home. Edward leaned his forehead against mine, occasionally nuzzling my nose with his.

“Gah, that sucked ass!”

He pulled away slightly and looked into my eyes. “Well, if you’ll just let me get you home, I can probably do a better job than that, baby girl. I just didn’t want to give the kids a reason to call Jasper and have him arrest me for public indecency. I learned my lesson the first time on that one,” he said as the corner of his mouth began to turn up, giving me his crooked grin.

I smacked his chest. I had missed his teasing and Lord help me his lips. “I didn’t mean that, you ass. I meant being away from you sucked. I missed you too much,” I pouted.

“I know. It really did. I missed you somethin’ fierce.” He gave me another kiss on my pouty lips before taking my hand and leading me back around to the other side of the bus where the kids were busy unloading their bags and greeting their waiting parents.

Edward never let go of my hand as everyone thanked him for the trip and the opportunity, saying goodbye and wishing him a good weekend until they all returned to school on Monday for their last week before the Christmas break.

He kissed my temple and began to lead me towards his truck. “Let’s go. I do believe we have some lovin’ to make up for,” he growled against my ear.

If I were driving I would have left him in my dust after hearing those words, but we left my truck in the parking lot, not wanting to be apart for one more minute. We unloaded his bags and were greeted at the front door by a very excited Roscoe. I thought he was going to knock Edward over when he jumped up on his hind legs to greet him. It was very cute; almost like he was giving Edward a welcome home hug of his own.

-x-X-x-

The weeks leading up to Christmas were a flurry of activity. There was a candlelight service at church where all of the children ages two and up sang Christmas carols for the adults. Edward had been practicing with the kids for an hour before Sunday night services during the month of November. They were all absolutely precious dressed in varying patterns and shades of reds and greens. A few moms had to come rescue their little ones who had begun to cry once they saw the crowd, but otherwise everything went smoothly. Each child sang as loudly as their little voices would allow them to and I knew that even angels surely couldn’t have sounded as sweet.

Some of the businesses located around the downtown square sold reserved seats for the annual town Christmas parade. It was the biggest event of the season in Cotton Creek, giving everyone a reason to come out and support the community. There were beauty queens, bands and cheerleaders, floats, fire trucks, booster clubs, and even Santa himself. Us girls were not about to miss sitting on the front row in order to see our men after winning the bet against them in the touch football game, so Esme and Caroline purchased seats in advance for the whole family, minus Edward, Emmett and Jasper of course. They each had to participate; Edward walking along side the band, Emmett riding on the fire truck that always carried the varsity football team, and Jasper riding on horseback as this year’s Grand Marshall.

We were settled in with our mittens and hot chocolates when the parade began. The Shriners began the parade in what seemed to be a crowd favorite, riding tiny little go-carts around and around in circles and figure eights while wearing their signature red fez hats topped with gold tassels.

They were followed by Jasper, our elfin Grand Marshall on horseback. He never appeared bothered by the laughs and cat calls that he received all along the parade route, his wife’s two fingered whistle being the loudest of all. Instead he just nodded and bowed out his chest while he smiled and waved to his admirers. He looked more fitting to be on one of the floats with the beauty queens, he was so proud.

It wasn’t long until we heard the unmistakable sound of trumpets and drums as the band rounded the corner playing Jolly Ole Saint Nicholas. Edward’s costume was tamer than Jaspers had been in that his pants weren’t tights. He did, however, have a jingle bell hanging from the tip of his little elf hat, both of his pointy shoes and every tip of the jagged edges of his tunic. I was surprised we didn’t hear him coming before we heard the band. He tried not to laugh while he was in front of us, but eventually gave up trying and even jumped up and clicked his heels. Show off!

Emmett was never one to be outdone. The boys from the football team were dispersed all along the ladder and the sides of the fire truck with some even walking so that they could give out candy to the little kids. Their fearless leader and coach was the crowning glory. He was dancing in the cherry picker bucket that was attached to the end of the ladder. He was giving it everything he had, old school style with the cabbage patch and the sprinkler. I bet if he had more room he would have done the ‘Carlton’. I thought Esme and Rose were going to crawl under their chairs in embarrassment. Alice and I laughed until we cried and had stomach aches. All three of those boys were surely insane, but they were nothing but pure joy.

-x-X-x-

“Merry Christmas my angel baby girl,” Edward whispered into my ear. I was lying on my stomach and I giggled at my sexy Sugar who was hovering over me, doing his best to kiss and nuzzle me awake. He had learned that mornings weren’t my favorite, but he made them oh so much better. I had never reacted badly to his wake up tactics. Of course they usually involved some kind of sweet loving, so who was I to complain? I am a very lucky girl.

“What time is it?” I mumbled into my pillow.

“Time to get up and open presents.” I could feel him grinning as he kissed his way across my back.

I raised my head to look at the alarm clock and groaned when I saw the neon green numbers.

“Really, Edward? It’s eight o’ clock!” I rolled over and looked into very excited and very green eyes that were already twinkling like the lights on our tree. He looked like a little boy and I was completely right about the grin. It was all crooked and cute and I wanted to kiss him because of it; morning breath and all.

“What? I let you sleep in. Besides, I’ve already been up for a while.” The grin turned into the super pout. I narrowed my eyes at him, knowing that I had already lost. Damn him!

“These gifts better be good and you better have my Diet Dr. Pepper ice cold when I make it downstairs.” I wasn’t a fan of coffee and preferred to have my caffeine in the form of soda in the mornings. It was a habit I had started in college and had just never given up.

“I did one better than that. Breakfast is already in the oven and will be ready in twenty minutes.”

It wasn’t until then that I realized that he did in fact have his pajama pants on. That made me want to pout. “What are you making me?”

“A Cullen family tradition. We call them cheese claws. Nana used to make them every Christmas mornin’ and I got Mama to give me the recipe the other day. The only way I know to describe them is that they are kinda like what most people know as sausage balls, but they’re more biscuity. You’ll like them, I promise.”

“Sounds delicious! We’re staying in our pajamas until we’re due at your parents’ house, right?”

“Well,” he drawled as he stuck his finger inside the top edge of the sheet that was wrapped around me and peeked at my very naked chest. “You probably need to put some on first baby girl.” He then traced my nipple with the same finger before letting the sheet fall back into place.

“Devil. I thought you loved me,” I pouted.

“The mornin’ is young. Besides, I’ve been wantin’ to break in that kitchen for a while now.”

I got dressed after a rather heated round of Yule-tide tonsil hockey and rode on Edward’s back downstairs where he had the lights on the tree already lit and a holiday fire already crackling. He dumped me over the arm of the couch, promising to return with my breakfast.

He brought back a plate piled high with what he called cheese claws, a butter knife and a jar of jelly. He had my Diet Dr. Pepper tucked under his arm and was doing his best not to spill his mug of coffee in the other hand.

“You could have just asked for some help, you know,” I said as I jumped up to help him.

“That would defeat the purpose of showing off my mad skills.”

“You’re weird.”

“So I’ve been told,” he said while slathering grape jelly all over the top of a cheese claw. “Dig in before they get cold.”

I took a huge bite and was in sausage-cheese-biscuit heaven. “Mmmm…sooo good!”

He narrowed his eyes at me before mumbling what sounded like ‘Jezebel’ around his chewed food. Such a boy!

Suddenly he jumped up and ran towards the back door saying, “I can’t wait anymore!” He slammed the door behind him, leaving me completely confused for the next ten minutes. I was getting antsy when he walked back in house.

“I’m sorry baby girl, but I have been so excited about this. I’m sure it’s rude, but I have to give you your first gift. I love it so much I nearly wanna keep it for myself. Are you ready?” He was nearly bouncing he was so excited. I just smiled at him in amusement and nodded.

He walked back into the kitchen where he must have left it and when he came back around the corner, he was carrying a dog crate.

“Shut. UP!!”

“What do you think? Isn’t she gorgeous?”

“She’s mine?”

“Every red hair of her.” Edward had gotten me a red bloodhound puppy!

“Get her out of there! I want to hold her.” He handed her to me and she was warm and snuggly, which meant that he must have been keeping her at his house. About that time I heard Roscoe begin to whine at the back door. Edward went to let him in while I snuggled with my very own baby girl. There is nothing quite like puppy breath. She was licking me all over my face when Roscoe sat in front of me at my feet. “Look Roscoe! We got you a friend! We were just talking about that, weren’t we?” What is it about dogs and babies that make you want to talk in a weird voice?

“See, this is why I got you your own dog. Ever since my trip to Orlando, it’s like you brainwashed my dog. Man’s best friend my ass! He follows you around like you bathed in bacon.”

“Maybe I just treat him better.”

“Maybe you rurned him by lettin’ him sleep in our bed.” There was no point in trying to avoid looking guilty.

“I missed you…I love you sugar!” I said, at least trying to act innocent. He rolled his eyes at me.

“Yeah, yeah. So did I do good?”

“The best!” I leaned over and gave him a very appreciative kiss.

“Well, what do you wanna name her?”

“Oh…umm…,” I thought, tapping my chin. Then suddenly the perfect name came to me. They were going to be brother and sister after all. “How about we call her LuLu?”

The poor man looked at me like I had roped the moon and told the stars where to sit. The man and his Dukes of Hazzard.

“I think that’s a perfect name for her. Anything else would just be wrong.” I rolled my eyes at his silliness. Then it was my turn.

“Me next! I hope you like it. If not, I can send it back.”

“Whatever…just give it!” he said with a gleaming smile. There’s my greedy six year old. I walked over to the tree and lugged the large rectangular box over to where he sat on the couch and was snuggling both rotten pups.

He tore open the paper and laughed at the fact that I’d had to duck tape a couple of boxes together to make one large one. But I had to or he would have known immediately what he was getting.

“Baby girl…what have you done?” he asked in awe, taking the guitar case out of the makeshift box.

“I didn’t see one in your collection even though you had an amp, so I tried to pick out something you’d like,” I said hesitantly. Truthfully, I didn’t really know squat about electric guitars, but this was one I could afford and it was supposed to be excellent quality. It was a Gibson Les Paul Epiphone LP-100 in ebony and even I knew that you couldn’t go wrong with anything that was a Gibson.

The look on Edward’s face as he held that guitar and lightly strummed told me everything that I needed to know. I had also ‘done good’.

“Lovin’, this is fantastic! Thank you so much! I actually sold my electric guitar before I left Nashville and have just never bought another one. Now I’m gonna have to plug her up and let you watch me rock it out!” Dear Lord, what was I thinking? First the acoustic guitar, then those freakin’ drums that I still cannot get out of my head and now this? I have never been so glad that I didn’t get him that keyboard. I wouldn’t be able to handle the whole finger-flexing forearm combination.

We lazily opened a few other odd and end gifts that we had gotten each other. He was very excited that I had found him some Alabama guitar picks and an Alabama t-shirt that said ‘I Hate Orange’. He knew what happened at Alice’s house all those weeks ago and he never let me live it down. I laughed at the t-shirts that he bought for me. One said ‘Feel safe at night, Sleep with a nurse’ and the other said ‘Gimme Some Sugar Baby’ and had a picture of a cup of coffee and a sugar jar on it.

“There is one more under that tree for you. Why don’t you go see what Santa left?”

“Don’t you mean Santa’s elf?”

“Not funny.”

I took my time sliding the paper off of the square box, torturing him on purpose. When I lifted the lid, all the air left my lungs. That very ordinary box held the most extraordinary bracelet I had ever seen.

“It’s called an infinity bracelet, see? It’s a bunch of infinity symbols linked together.” He took the silver and diamond encrusted bracelet and slid it over my hand and onto my wrist where he twirled it around and around. The lights in the room caught the surface of every diamond, sending shimmering sparkles of light onto our shirts and in our laps. “That symbol means ‘without bound or without end’. For you and me, I think it means both. Our love will grow so big and so full that it will know no boundaries and I’m certain that it will never end. I love you, Bella…to infinity and beyond.”

I began to laugh hysterically. “Okay…how long have you been sitting on that one?”

“Two weeks,” he said proudly.

He was insanely sweet and equally cheesy, but damn it I loved him!

“Thank you, sugar,” I said as I leaned over to kiss him. “I love you to infinity and beyond, too.”

There was only one gift left under the tree and I was thankful that Edward had just lightened the mood because I was anxious about giving it to him. I wanted to give him something so that he would hopefully understand the choice I was making concerning my future…our future here in Cotton Creek. I knew that the decision had been made long before anyone had ever asked me to stay, and although Edward and I still hadn’t had that specific conversation, I felt like this would answer any lingering questions that didn’t really need to be asked anymore.

“You are very hard to shop for, but this is something that I hope you’ll love. I put a lot of thought into it…so…yeah…just open it before die of nervousness.”

He chuckled before taking the small velvet bag out of the slightly larger gift bag. Nestled inside was a silver dog tag necklace that had a cross and the inscription ‘my heart, my home, my more’ on the front. I’m not sure how many times he must have read it while rubbing his thumb back and forth over the words. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly before he finally blinked and looked up at me. His brilliant green eyes were full of unspoken emotion.

“Bella?” he choked. Hot tears were making silvery tracks down my face as I began to try to explain his gift.

“You took a chance on me when I was still lost and asked me to be your best friend. You encouraged me to lay my heart and history on the line when we both knew that it was no longer enough to be friends and that we both wanted more. The one thing I haven’t truly had in my life is somewhere to belong. Edward, you have given me your heart through our friendship, you’ve given me your body in asking me to be more, and it’s in your soul that I have finally found my home.”

One lone tear fell from his eye before he kissed me so hard and so passionately that he caused us to fall back on the couch. He lavished my face and neck with kisses that were so full of emotion it made me dizzy.

He pulled back and held my face between his hands as he looked back and forth between my eyes.

“Thank you so much. No gift has ever been better than this one.”

I smiled at the honesty that showed in his eyes as he spoke those words. “You’re welcome. Merry Christmas, Sugar.”

He kissed my lips gently one more time. “Merry Christmas baby girl.”