SUMMERY: Bella married Jacob but the marriage didn't go well. They split and now Bella is on her own. Everything seems black until she meets charming Edward Cullen. He's drawn to her, wanting to explore her multicolored world but comes to find out she's harboring dark secrets. The image shatters and he sees she's not good, but broken. Will he be able to save her or will she stay lost to herself.

There were two important songs for this story. Almost Lover by A Fine Frenzy helped me develop Jacob's character but he won't be in this story much, it's a BXE story. Good and Broken by Miley Cyrus installed the idea of this story in my mind. All I can say to defend myself is, hey I babysit kids that love Hannah Montana, I like A Fine Frenzy's music. Go on and read, I'm pretty sure you'll like it. ;D

CHAPTER ONE
Until Tomorrow

What was I going to do now? The divorce was finalized but I had no idea what to do now, no inkling how to be a free woman. I don't believe I was ever a free woman. Even before my marriage, I'd been owned by my father, stepfather. My real father had died when I was a little girl so my stepfather had owned me till I'd married to the man he chose. I'd tried to convince myself I'd be happy with Jacob Black. Fat lot of good that did for me, I'd been just short of miserable.

He was only interested in tying deals with my father so he married me. He'd treated me good but I wasn't happy and he wasn't satisfied with having only one woman. He constantly had several affairs on the sidelines while we were married. He said he cared for me but he couldn't seem to stop his affairs. To make up for them, he just showered me with gifts; expensive jewelry, elegant dinners, beautiful clothes. I knew he didn't really love me and I never blamed myself but I did resent the fact that I never did anything about everything I whined about. We cared for each other in a friendly way, that was probably why we were so unhappy. I suppose I finally let Rose convince me I had to get away. I took it to the extreme but finally did something about my whining. I filed for a divorce.

Jacob was a little shocked at first but we agreed it was for the best. He wasn't too sad about it and we made the divorce quick and easy. Our belongings were determined, I got part of our money, everything was figured out. His parting words were sweet ones, I was glad we could end our relationship in a good way.

"Ours was a hopeless dream, we weren't right for each other. I'll treasure our time together, it wasn't for nothing. I don't ever want to see you unhappy, I'm not walking out of your life, I'm just stepping to the side. Be happy, Bella, make your life what you want it to be. You're not owned, you could never be possessed, give your heart to the person you love, the person who gets past all your defenses and steals it. I'll be seeing you soon."

His words made me question myself. Every time I talked to Rosalie I came away with a question. She always gave me an answer but it made me wonder about different things. I suppose it was for the best, having people tell me what to do wouldn't help my current situation. For a couple weeks now I'd been living with Rosalie, trying to find a job but I needed one that didn't completely remind me of my time with Jacob or my father. I'd gotten a general education, not really knowing what to do the rest of my life, I still didn't know. It wasn't until my Junior year of college that I found something I enjoyed doing. I'd been misplaced and put into one of the cooking classes usually for the culinary majors. I enjoyed the class too much to let it go. I'd taken it the rest of college. My senior year I talked to the director and she managed to put me into the necessary classes for me to graduate with a general degree and a small one in the culinary arts. Jacob always enjoyed the deserts I prepared but we never said anything major about it. It was always Rosalie who said I should put up a small bakery. I knew my baking could please some people but it wasn't good enough to earn a living with. Like everything else, I abandoned the thought. It became another unrealistic dream in my closet.

Now trying to find a job I couldn't seem to get one. I wasn't going to apply as a chef in some restaurant and I wasn't going to get a desk job. I couldn't settle on anything. Rosalie tried to help me but she just kept pointing out restaurants that needed chefs, I kept saying no. Feeling dejected after yet another useless day of job hunting, this time way out of town, I stopped at a small café. It had good business and was really quaint. I sat myself at the bar and ordered myself some coffee.

I never should have let Rose talk me into such a false sense of hopefulness. I'd gotten really dressed up for job hunting out of town, a casual dress paired with flats and my hair pulled halfway back. Only Rosalie could help me look simple, casual, and professional at the same time. I let my short hair loose, taking a sip of my coffee, and leaning back slightly. Another sip and I let my shoulders slump, I was really tired of job hunting, I needed to settle for something.

A tall man appeared next to me on the bar and ordered. His stance was casual, his clothes were ordinary, what made me notice him was that he towered over me maybe over a foot and dark cowboy hat perched on his head. He turned to me, his smile easy, his eyes tired but kind.

"Howdy."

I smiled. "Hello."

"Long day, huh?" I gave him a curious look. "You seemed tired." Oh.

"Yeah it kind of was."

"Hard day at work?" His smile as empathetic.

"No," It was his turn to be curious. "Long say of job hunting." Small talk in a café was nice.

"Really?" But not for long. "What sort of job you looking for?"

"Anything really." I wasn't sure where this was going. The interested tone in his voice made something go off in my head.

"What would you say if I told you I might have a job for you?" The coffee came, sparing me my response, or so I thought.

"I've got to go," I pushed my mug away. "Enjoy your coffee." I stood but his voice stopped me.

"You didn't answer my question." I turned. "What would you say?" His hat made the light throw shadows across half his face. His nice face looked a bit demonic.

"Look you seem... okay but I'm not interested in taking a job from some random man I met at a café." He chuckled.

"That's good, I suppose," He moved his left hand into my line of vision, my eyes fell onto the band around his finger. "I'm not some guy trying to accost you, I'm happily married." He smiled at the this point. "I'm asking a serious question. I have some family who's looking for a cook and house cleaner, housekeeper really, I thought maybe you'd be interested."

I was more than a little suspicious. "How do I know you're not lying to me? Words aren't worth the breath they need to be made unless you can back them up." This time he laughed.

"Smart woman, my wife would like you." He pulled out a small phone and started punching in numbers. "Here, talk to my wife yourself, just let me make sure the position hasn't been suddenly filled." He spoke quickly into the phone, hearing a one-sided conversation didn't help much on my conflict on whether to trust this man. The small item was thrust to me," She wants to talk to you." He had a relaxed grin on his face.

"Hello?" I didn't know honestly what to expect.

"Hello, dear, I hope my husband didn't give you too much a scare," The voice was nice, really sweet. "We go over a lot to the Sonora so he's just as anxious as they are to get a good cook. Canned food day after day is not pleasing to the stomach. You can trust him, if he acts out, tell me, I'll set him straight," I chuckled. "If you really are interested tell my husband, he'll bring you down here, there really is no need to be uncertain."

Assuring the lady I would, I passed the phone to her husband. He teased her about talking my ear off. So if he could be so sweet to the lady on the phone and if she could talk about smacking him silly I supposed I could trust that he was being genuine. The job offer couldn't come at a better time, now there were only two things I needed to figure out. First was where was the job, the second was how would I tell Rosalie? There was only one way to find out.

"Where does your family live?"

"Central Oregon."

Oh, my goodness. I would not be able to do this. How would I get to Oregon then back to Oregon then back to Washington every day? "I'm afraid I can't take the job. I live in Forks, Washington. There is just no possible way I could travel to Central Oregon everyday." I was staring to feel the loss of something that almost was.

"Yes you can," he said. "Private quarters are included in this lovely deal." Wait. What did the man even do at the Sonora?

"What do you do, Mr.?"

"I'm part owner of a horse ranch," That would explain the denim and cowboy hat.

"I'll have to think about it, I have people I have to contact if I do decide to take you up on your kind offer." What was I doing? Rose would flip when I told her I as actually thinking about hot-footing it over to Oregon to work on a horse ranch. Yet knowing her, she'd most likely encourage me to 'change my scenery,' delighted I'm even considering throwing in the cloudy days for clear blue sky's.

"No problem," he said pulling over a napkin and pen, scribbling something. "I'll be here in Portland 'till tomorrow afternoon, this is my mobile number. Call if you decide to go." He handed me the napkin. "I hope to hear from you, Ms.?"

"Swan." it was automatic now. I didn't have to think before I responded. I'd stopped being Mrs. Black long ago, I was now Ms. Swan, Bella Swan, not Isabella Dwyer or Bella Black. I was Bella Swan, who was about to take a job in Central Oregon, miles and miles away from all the jumbled memories that Forks, Washington held.

.,.

Rosalie was already sitting on the couch in front of the television by the time I got home. No sooner had I opened the door, she attacked. We were as different as could be, often our ideas clashed, we were constantly in a battle for control. WE could fight over anything and everything but we could never stay mad at each other very long. For some reason we remained best friends, our ongoing battle of the whits only added to our friendship.

"How did it go?" she inquired eagerly. "Did you find a job? What happened? Tell me?"

"I found a job," she knew I was keeping something from her. "It seems really nice, employers are really easy to get along with," at least the man I'd met at the café was. "I'm going to change." I walked into our shared bedroom only barely registering she was following.

"Go on, Bella. You can't just say all that and leave me hanging on to basically useless information."

Slipping into my sleeping attire, I turned to Rose. "The catch," I said, "is that the job is in Central Oregon."

She was silent for a while. "This job would be good for you. I hear it's pretty over there, you'd best write and call me, you hear?" I smiled and hugged her.

"You mean you don't have anything against me going? Most likely I won't be able to come back before Christmas time."

"I suppose I'll be counting the days," she gave me a smile that didn't quite reach her grey eyes.

"You mean it?" I was a little sad at the prospect of leaving her.

"Of course, Bella. You're my best friend and I know we've been inseparable since grade school but this is your chance. I'm not about to stop you, we both know you need to make your life away from all of this. Forks hold nothing for your future."

I pulled her into another embrace, she squeezed me back fiercely. "I'll call every chance I get."

"You'd better call the moment you get there. By the way, what it the job you found?" Now would not be the best time to tell her about my having gotten the job in a café bt a strange gentleman. She'd clobber me and tie me to a chair until I agreed to whatever she had in mind.

"House keeper and cook for a ranch. My guess is I'll be serving a family."

"That's nice," her eyebrows drew together. "When are you leaving?" Oh, goodness, I still needed to call him and accept the job. He left tomorrow afternoon and I still hadn't called.

"I'm not entirely sure. I didn't even fully agree, I said I'd call him if I decided to take him up on the job. I didn't want to agree to anything until I knew you were okay with everything. I'm guessing I should call him now."

"Yes," Rosalie urged me, "go on, call him. Ask him when you'll be leaving. We need to get everything ready for your departure."

I pulled out the napkin, grabbed the phone and dialed. It rang a couple times before I heard someone on the other end.

"I'm sorry to call so late," I said into the phone. "It's Ms. Swan," recognition rilled the voice that answered. "If you're still offering, I'd like to take the job."

"Great," he said, even sounding a little relieved. "I was hoping you would. As you understand I must leave tomorrow, I'm only in town for business and then I'm gone. You wouldn't have problems finding the valley itself, the ranch would be hard for you to place. I hope I'm not being pushy when I say it would be best if you left with me tomorrow. You could follow in your car if you wished. I'll be carrying a loaded horse trailer, that won't be too hard to spot or follow. It's nearly the weekend so you'll have a chance to meet everyone before they leave for the weekend. You'll have that time to familiarize yourself with everything and get settled, does that sound good?"

The man was good. He gave me all the information I wanted plus more without me having to ask for it. "That'll be fine. Where would you like me to meet you?"

"The café would be fine. As soon as we're set we'll leave." Thanking him, I hung up. Giving Rose the footnotes, she immediately started worrying we wouldn't have enough time to get everything set.

Calming her as much as I could we started packing, placing most of my belongings into the suitcase. After a sad goodnight we went to bed. In the morning, tears were shed that weren't the night before, quick hugs and parting words were spoken. I set off, hoping this would not turn out to be another one of my broken dreams.

Hi. As you noticed, I didn't divulge who the mysterious man Bella was talking to was or the wife. Whoever guesses correctly gets to have next chapter dedicated to them. Your options are: Carlisle, Emmett, Jasper, Edward; Now for the girls: Jessica, Alice, Esme, Angela. Go guess.