A/N: Thank you all so much for the sweet reviews and kinds words! I'm posting a little early because I'm going to be out most of the weekend! I hope you enjoy!
I couldn't have done this without the help of my baby sis and pre-reader Catie22866 and my sweet beta Jbugnr.
Stephanie Meyer owns all things Twilight.
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Chapter 2
EPOV
I turned back to the stove and finished cooking the remaining strips of bacon and some sausage links, scooping them off the griddle and plating them. I glanced out the kitchen window to see if I could catch another glimpse of the girl, but she was gone. I noticed that she had hardly touched her food; she'd maybe taken three bites of her French toast. I started to wonder who she might be and didn't really want to ask Alice, but curiosity got the best of me.
"Hey Alice!" I shouted. "Who was that?"
"Who was who?" she asked.
I smirked at her. "You know who I'm talking about… the girl at the bar."
"Oh," she smiled coyly. "That was Isabella Swan, Chief Swan's daughter. Do you remember her?"
"I don't think I ever met her. Did you graduate with her or something?"
"Yes!" she said excitedly, "but I don't think she remembers me," Alice said as she scrunched her nose and pouted.
I shook my head, handed her the plate, and went back to the kitchen. That girl was beautiful.
x-x-x BPOV
When I got home from the grocery store, I decided to do something productive. I mean since I'd been here, I had done nothing but sleep and eat. Based on my earlier assessment of Charlie's fridge, I figured he probably hadn't eaten a home-cooked meal in quite some time, and decided lasagna was in order. Growing up, I had pretty much done all the cooking. Charlie had attempted to cook right after Renee left and well, let's just say he ended up throwing out the skillet and we had pizza that night instead. I actually enjoyed cooking, well baking really. It was one of the few things that could make me relax almost instantaneously. There was something therapeutic about pulling random ingredients together and watching them come together to form little pieces of heaven.
I quickly put the lasagna together and put it in the fridge for later. Not quite satisfied that I'd done enough, I decided it was time to do some baking. I scoured the kitchen for some of the basics and was pleasantly surprised to see that Charlie did in fact have baking powder, vanilla, flour, and some old baking cups. I set the oven to preheat, found the lone muffin pan I bought before I left Forks ages ago, and pulled out some bowls and measuring cups. I quickly whisked together the dry ingredients and then blended the sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla. I couldn't believe I was doing all of this by hand - I definitely needed to get a new kitchen aid.
After all the ingredients were combined, I scooped the batter into the cupcake papers and put them in the oven. As they baked, I quickly blended the powdered sugar, vanilla, butter, and milk using the weakest looking spatula I had ever seen. Charlie seriously needs some new kitchen stuff.
Just as I finished up, the timer went off and I quickly pulled them out of the oven. I smiled. Perfect! Golden and well domed… just as they should be. As I waited for them to cool, I pulled out the lasagna and put it in the oven. Dinner will be ready just in time for Charlie to get home. I looked at the clock and decided to head upstairs to unpack a few things before Charlie came home.
About an hour later, I heard the timer go off. As I walked down the stairs, I was greeted with the delicious smell of tomatoes and cheese. Mmmm I pulled the lasagna from the oven and set it on the stove to cool slightly. I looked over and realized I hadn't even frosted the cupcakes. Oh Shit! He's gonna be pissed.
Just then, I heard the front door open and Charlie walked in. I froze.
"Something smells good Bells," he said as he took off his gun belt and hung it by the door.
"Oh…hi Dad. We're having lasagna. I made some cupcakes too, but they aren't frosted yet. Is that okay?" I asked hesitantly. I'm not sure why I was really concerned; I knew Charlie wouldn't care and he would love it no matter what. I guess maybe I didn't want to be a burden… and… I didn't want to make something he didn't want. Every night for the past couple of years had been like walking on egg shells – would he like what I made? What would he do to me if he didn't? I shuddered a little just thinking about it and felt myself getting anxious.
Charlie grinned, "Absolutely! And cupcakes… I haven't had one of those in years." I breathed a sigh of relief. Of course he doesn't care, you idiot. Charlie isn't… him. "I see you made it to the grocery store; thanks for doing that," he said.
"Yeah, the pickin's were pretty slim around here," I laughed, feeling myself relax.
He shrugged sheepishly, "I guess I don't really eat here much," Charlie defended and then quickly changed the subject. "So it looks like you got some rest. You feel better?" he tentatively asked.
I turned and started digging in one of the drawers looking for a ziplock bag. I really need a piping bag and some tips… "I do actually. It was nice to finally get a good night's sleep."
Charlie laughed, "Um, Bells… it more like a full day's worth."
I jerked my head around, "What? A full day? What is today?" What the hell! I slept a whole day? Good Lord, I don't think I've slept that much in… I don't even know when.
"It's Wednesday."
There was a long pause… "Wow, I guess I was tired, huh?"
Charlie nodded and grabbed a beer from the fridge. I found the ziplock bag, quickly filled it, snipped the corner, and piped simple little swirls on the top of each cupcake.
The kitchen was quiet as I pulled out the plates and utensils and dished out the lasagna. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, but it was silence nonetheless. Just as he sat down at the table, I announced that dinner was ready, and put the plate down in front of him. "Great! I'm starved" Charlie said as he dug into the pile of steaming hot lasagna on his plate. "This…" Charlie sucked in air to cool off the bite he had just stuffed in his mouth "is… good, Bella."
I smiled, "Thanks."
We ate in silence. Neither of us had ever been big talkers, both of us content to sit in silence. I didn't want to open the door for questions, and Charlie probably had no idea what to say to me. When we were both done, I gathered up the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen.
Right before I was about to head upstairs, Charlie said, "Thanks for dinner, Bells. It's good having you home."
"It's good to be home Dad. Night," I said, and walked up the stairs to my room. I quickly changed, crawled into bed, and just laid there unable to fall asleep. I allowed my mind to wander and thought back over the last week and how far I had come, literally and figuratively. I had finally gotten away from him, driven 1500 miles and was now back home, with Charlie, in a town I never thought I'd come back to. As I started drifting off, I wondered what in the hell I was going to do now.
x-x-x
Two weeks later
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I looked out the kitchen window and shook my head. I can't believe I've been here for two weeks already. I had literally done nothing. Well, nothing except clean Charlie's house from top to bottom, unpack my stuff, make dinner, and bake. I spent a lot of time baking, one of the few things that put me totally at ease with the situation I found myself in. I rationalized that all of these treats were to pay Charlie back and to keep him at bay. So far he seemed to be enjoying all of them, as did the rest of the Forks Police Department, all two of them - Jacob Black and Sam Uley. The three of them had managed to devour everything I had made, which was no small feat.
So it was no surprise when Charlie walked in to find me bent over the table putting icing on cupcakes. I had been experimenting with a new cupcake recipe every day for two weeks.
"Smells good in here, Bells."
"Thanks Dad," I chirped distractedly.
Charlie cleared his throat, "So, Bells… I, uh, I was wonderin'… what are your plans now that you're here in Forks?"
I froze, my hand gripping the icing bag, frosting dangling onto one of the cupcakes. God… I knew I wasn't welcome here. What am I going to do? Where am I going to go? I panicked and had no idea what to say. I looked over at my dad; the silence in the room was deafening. I'm sure he could see the anxiety building and I felt myself beginning to withdraw, my shoulders sinking down.
"… not that I have a problem with you here," he quickly added on. "I love having you here. I just… I guess I was wondering why you're here, you know, what brought you here from Phoenix, and where James…," he trailed off as my head jerked up and I looked at him. I could tell that Charlie felt awkward and nervous not knowing what my reaction would be.
"Well…," I whispered, sitting the bag on the counter, "I don't really have a plan, Dad. And as for what brought me here, well, I guess I'm not quite ready to talk about it." I couldn't begin to imagine how I was going to tell Charlie how weak I had been, how I had let some man - my own husband, control my life for six years. How I had been powerless against his control and his fists….
"Well, you know I'm here if you want to talk, whenever you're ready. And as for what to do while you're here, it looks like they're hiring down at The Diner. It's probably not glamorous or anything, but maybe it'll be enough to keep you busy," he paused and then smiled, "because all this baking is starting to make me fat!"
I laughed, "Um... okay, I'll check it out. I'm sure it would be fine."
With that, Charlie walked into the living room, dropped into his recliner and turned on the Mariners game.
x-x-x
The next day I drove by The Diner, and just like Charlie told me, there was a "Waitress Wanted" sign in the window. I drove around the block a couple of times and finally pulled into the parking lot, having no idea why I was so nervous… it's a waitressing job for cryin' out loud. I got out of the car and walked inside, glanced around and noticed that this time, the diner was practically empty. I took a breath and walked up to the counter and looked around for Alice, the peppy little waitress from before, but didn't see her. Instead, a very beautiful and tall blonde woman walked over. She was absolutely striking and had a stunning smile. "Can I help you?" she asked sweetly.
"Um, yes, I saw the sign in the window and wanted to see if you were still looking for a waitress."
"We are. Have you ever waitressed before?" the lady asked me.
"Yes. I've been waitressing in a restaurant down in Phoenix for the last 3 years. I did pretty much everything there, including baking. I came in early each morning or stayed late each night to create the daily dessert menu. I can make pretty much anything, but my specialty is cupcakes."
The blonde beauty looked at me and didn't really say anything. I was already nervous, and her standing there starting at me with a look I couldn't read wasn't helping. "I am a quick learner and I'm willing to do pretty much anything. I'm not sure if you need someone to make desserts but I could do that as well. I can work pretty much whenever you need me to since I don't really have a family or kids or anything, and I can get some references if you need me to…" God, please make me stop talking; this is just embarrassing and annoying.
In an act of mercy, the lady finally spoke. "I'm Rosalie. I'm the owner, and yes, we're still hiring. What's your name and when could you start?" she asked matter-of-factly, but with a smile.
"Oh sorry, my name is Bella, Bella Swan, and I could start tomorrow or anytime. Whenever you would want me to…" I trailed off, as Rosalie interrupted.
"Fine, tomorrow it is, be here at 10am. The breakfast rush will be over and Alice can get you acquainted with everything."
"Great! I'll be here tomorrow at 10. Um, what should I wear? I asked knowing that Alice couldn't have just chosen to wear that hideous pink uniform of her own volition.
"Yes, let me grab one from the back. What size do you wear?"
I looked around and quietly said, "Size 6."
Rosalie didn't respond as she quickly walked to the back. I couldn't quite get a read on her. I mean she seemed nice enough, had smiled warmly, but she was definitely aloof. Maybe she's one of those people that you have to get to know. I looked around the restaurant and then at the kitchen window secretly hoping to catch a glimpse of the hot cook from yesterday. He was probably the hottest guy I had ever seen. There was something about the way he was watching me a couple of weeks ago that stuck with me. I should have been a little freaked out that I had caught him staring at me so intensely, but then again, I had been staring too. I felt my skin prickle and saw him come into view. He was wearing essentially the same thing he had been wearing the last time I saw him - a t-shirt stretched tight across his shoulders and well muscled arms and chest, and jeans that sat loosely on his hips. He was tall, probably around six feet, and a little on the lanky side, but again, not in an awkward sort of way. He looked my way, quirked an eyebrow and smirked, as he once again caught me checking him out. I felt my face grow hot and I knew it was bright pink. Damn! Could I be any more transparent? I quickly looked away and thankfully at that moment I saw Rosalie walking my way. She handed me a little pink outfit. Oh, you have got to be kidding me? Seriously?
"I'll see you tomorrow at 10am, Bella. Oh… and you'll have to talk to Edward about baking. He sets the special menu each day and handles all the food."
I quickly thanked her and walked out of The Diner. Well… at least I have a job and something to occupy my time. Hopefully this won't be a total disaster…
x-x-x EPOV
As she walked out of The Diner, I couldn't help but smile; this girl was intriguing. She was clearly shy and soft-spoken, and that blush was adorable. I had caught her checking me out two times now, which wasn't really unusual. Girls were always checking me out and I rarely gave it a second thought, but for some reason it was different with her.
I turned back to the kitchen, my kitchen, and started getting ready for the lunch rush. I had been working at The Diner for almost four years, and loved being in here, surrounded by the appliances and the smells. There is something about the cold smoothness of the stainless steel tables and the feel of a knife in my hand that makes me tick. It hadn't always been that way. I actually had very few memories of ever being in the kitchen, let alone doing something on my own. I thought back for a second and a smile crossed my face as I remembered the day I came home from 3rd grade and told my mom I needed to make three dozen cookies for a Halloween party at school the next day. Mom just smiled and said we better get going, and pulled all the ingredients out. We worked for hours to get them all made. She mixed the dough and I rolled and cut them out. Sugar cookies were her specialty – soft, almost cakey, with the best vanilla bean buttercream you have ever tasted. God, I love buttercream. I carried my boxes of cookies into class the next day with pride. The memory was sweet, but thinking about mom left a bitter feeling in my stomach. I shrugged it off and got back to work.
I walked over to my iPod and flipped through the menu and let the sound of Bono's voice fill the kitchen. I grabbed my sanitizing supplies and quickly wiped down all of the surfaces just like they taught us in culinary school; clean surfaces and instruments were critical to a successfully run kitchen. After sanitizing everything, I looked over the menu. It was mostly the same old diner standbys, but Rosalie had agreed to let me come up with a daily special of my own creation. So today, I decided to go with Dungeness crab cakes, fennel slaw and a red pepper remoulade. It was probably pushing the boundaries a little given The Diner's normal customers, but I really wanted to make this remoulade. I had been playing around with different curries and really wanted to try it out on these crab cakes. I scrawled the daily special out on the chalkboard and hung it up near the kitchen window.
The lunch hour passed uneventfully as people came in for a quick bite. Surprisingly, people really seemed to enjoy the crab cakes and we actually ran out about half way through the lunch service. I was grinning from ear to ear when Rosalie walked into the kitchen.
"Looks like the cakes were a huge hit today, Edward." She smiled at me and flipped her hair.
I nodded quickly and grinned again, "Yeah, it seems so." I kept working and basically ignored Rosalie. She knew that when I was in the kitchen I didn't like to talk much, and I appreciated that she didn't push it. She was my boss, but this was my kitchen. She continued standing there watching me, making small talk with Embry, but eventually just turned around and left.
"Looks like boss-lady's still got a little crush on you Eddie!" Embry snickered.
"Shut up Embry. She's married you idiot. And don't call me Eddie, I hate that," I barked.
"Whatever, she's hot!"
Just then, the doors flew open and Alice marched in, "Who's hot?" she asked.
"No one," I said sharply while shooting Embry a death glare, making it clear to everyone that the conversation was over. Embry just chuckled and started cleaning up his station.
"Sooo…," Alice drawled, "did you hear that Bella Swan is going to be starting here tomorrow? I'm so excited to finally have some help around here. God knows you too don't help with anything."
I just looked at her. "Alice, you do realize that we're in here all day cooking the food you're serving, right?"
Alice just glared at me. "Whatever. I'm excited she's coming and I think she and I are going to be great friends."
I kept working, effectively ignoring her until the kitchen was clean and I was done for the day.
x-x-x BPOV
The next day started out like any other for me. I woke up to the sounds of Charlie getting ready and rolled out of bed to get the coffee started and make him some breakfast. Charlie had repeatedly told me I didn't need to do all of that, but I felt obligated. I mean, I was living in his house, rent free… at 28 years old. God, how pathetic is that?
I quickly got things going and looked at the clock. 7:30. I had plenty of time to shower and get dressed. I wrinkled my nose in disgust just thinking about the god-awful uniform I had to wear as I walked up the stairs. Why the hell was a woman like Rosalie making the waitresses wear these stupid pink monstrosities? Maybe it's for the tips? It's gotta be for the tips.
After my shower, I dried my hair and pulled it into a pony tail high on top of my head. I looked at the outfit hanging on the door and rolled my eyes. Ugh! I pulled it off the hanger, put it on, and glanced at myself in the mirror. Oh, you have got to be kidding! I was horrified to see that not only was this pink monstrosity tight across my chest (purposely so), but it was also short… like really short. The skirt hit mid thigh and I seriously couldn't imagine actually walking into The Diner, or any place for that matter, wearing this. I was really more of a jeans and tee kind of girl; I don't think I'd worn a skirt in the last three years. I can't believe I'm actually going to wear this… to work! As if the uniform wasn't bad enough, I also had to wear little white socks and white canvas shoes. For the love of God, am I in the 1950s? I glanced at the clock and was shocked to realize that most of the morning had flown by. I swiped on a little lip gloss and mascara and was out the door.
I walked into The Diner five minutes early and was greeted by an exuberant Alice.
"Hey Bella! Welcome to The Diner! I'm so glad you're going work here!"
Wow, this girl has a lot of energy.
"Hi Alice, I'm excited too," I feigned excitement, even though I'm sure my tone said otherwise. It wasn't that I wasn't excited, I just wasn't that excited. Am I even making sense? No, you're not… wow, and now I'm talking to and answering my own self. Great!
Before giving me a chance to breathe, Alice launched into a full-scale tutorial about the restaurant. "Okay, so the breakfast rush just got finished and we're shifting gears, and getting ready for lunch. That usually starts around 11:15 or 11:30 and goes until 1, give or take a little," Alice said with a smile. I nodded. "So let me give you a quick tour of the place. This main section is obviously the dining portion. We have ten booths, six stand alone tables, and ten barstools at the bar. During the rush times, this place is really packed; you saw what it was like when you came in a couple of weeks ago - that's pretty much the norm." Again, I nodded taking it all in. "The bathrooms are in the back right corner, and the kitchen is back here."
Alice led me into the kitchen. "Over against the far wall is the stockroom and fridge/freezer. "This is the back entry," she said pointing to a big black door. "You can park in the back and come in this way if you want; that's what we all do. The dumpsters are also out back so you'll use this door for that as well." Alice looked over at me, smiled and grabbed a hold of my elbow and excitedly said, "Hey guys! This is Bella. And this," she pointed, "is Embry and Edward."
They were already looking at us waiting for Alice to finish talking. A smile immediately found its way onto Embry's face as he enthusiastically welcomed me, "Welcome B… can I call you that?" he asked without waiting for an answer. "Glad to have you here! It'll be nice to listen to someone besides Alice drone on about the customers." He winked at Alice as she glared at him.
I smiled and said hey. I looked over at Edward and was greeted with a small lazy smile. I would have thought more of the smile – which was sexy, but his eyes completely caught me off guard. They were the most beautiful shade of green I had ever seen, deep emerald, with some candy apple green and gold flecks. They were peculiar and stunning at the same time. Wow. I noticed Van Morrison playing in the background and that he was once again in his standard "uniform" of jeans and this time a well fitting, white t-shirt. He was also wearing a white apron around his waist, tied the way all the professionals did – strings wrapped around his waist twice with the knot in the front. There was nothing special about it, but it just did something for me. An apron, Bella? Really?
"Hey," he said with a smirk. I smiled, blushed, and quickly looked away, mumbling "hey" right back. Could I be any more obvious and awkward? For the love!
Alice finished giving me the tour and then handed me a little white apron, a pad of paper, and a pen. She explained the menu, which was pretty straightforward. I looked over and saw the chalkboard that had, "Daily Special" scribbled across the top.
"What's that?" I asked pointing to the board.
"Oh, that's the daily special. Edward makes something new and unique each day. He likes to try out stuff that he… well he tries to use stuff from the local markets. When it's out, it's out," she explained. I nodded in understanding, knowing there was more there but not pushing it.
The lunch rush passed quickly as I worked at a steady, sometimes frenzied pace, managing to make it through the lunch rush unscathed. The customers seemed nice enough and the tips were pretty decent. Maybe I should thank Rosalie after all.
The rest of the day was uneventful. I filled salt and pepper shakers, wiped down tables, mopped the floor, refilled toilet paper dispensers, and by 4:30 I was wiped out. My feet and legs were already hurting and I knew it would be worse later that night, but I sucked it up and grabbed a quick drink before heading out.
"Great job today, Bella!" Alice said excitedly. "I'll see you tomorrow, right? After work tomorrow, do you want to hang out?"
I nodded and said, "Yep, I'll be here." I paused, trying to figure out whether or not I actually wanted to hang out with Alice. "Um, sure. What did you want to do?"
"Well, I need to get a mani… you want to go? This place destroys my nails."
A manicure? "Well, I guess, sure. I've never had one before."
She looked stunned. "You've never had a mani before? How is that even possible?"
I just stood there. I had no idea what to say and started to feel really embarrassed. I really didn't want to explain that I had no real reason to get one before I left for college, was too poor as a student for such luxuries, and he thought they were a waste of money. "I just… "
"Bella! I'm kidding. I'm so excited that I get to be your first!"
I left out a nervous breath and laughed. "Ok, yeah, let's go. After work tomorrow?"
"Bring some clothes to change into. You don't want to go wearing these," she said rolling her eyes and waving her hand up and down her pink outfit.
I laughed, "Sounds good. See you tomorrow, Alice."
I turned to walk out but had the strangest feeling that someone was watching me. I hated that sensation; it reminded me of my life for the last six years. I glanced over my shoulder and noticed Edward watching me intently. I met his gaze and we stared at each other for a minute before he turned back to the kitchen with that damn smirk on his face again.
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If you're looking for a couple of newer stories, these two are great!
Second Chances by leannelrh http:/www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/s/5670956/1/Second_Chances
Can't Control It by jbugnr
http:/www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/s/5670955/1/Cant_Control_It