A/N: I don't own this. We all know who does.

This story has flashbacks. That's how we're finding out about Bella and Edward's backstory, their lives before Jane died. Hope this doesn't confuse anyone. If the chunk of words are in italics, it's a flashback. :)

Thanks to goldentemptress, BellaEdwardlover1991, and bugsmama07 for pre-reading this. :)

Thanks to MariahajilE for keeping me in line and fixing my brain spewings. :)

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Chapter Two

The house was quiet for the first time in weeks. Looking around the kitchen, I saw all the leftover casserole dishes, the bags of salad, the plates of cookies... all food brought over in an effort to comfort us and make things easier on me. Heidi had put away most of the perishable items, but there was so much more that was left. We'd never eat it all. I knew Edward and Emily could probably use some of it. By now, they'd most likely run out of all the things brought to their house a couple of weeks ago.

It was still strange to see our house - my house - without Alec in it. The sun had set, so the windows were dark, and I closed my eyes and tried to remember what we would have been doing at that time of the day. Mckenna would have been squealing in the bathtub as Alec splashed her and tried to get shampoo in her hair. It seemed to me like it was getting so long, all soft and the lightest blonde-brown with her baby curls still in it. I dreaded the day I'd have to cut it and they'd be gone, a symbol of her toddler days that would vanish with the snip of the scissor blades. Just like Alec had vanished from her life. From our lives.

Collin would no doubt have been sitting in the family room, playing whatever video game had captured his interest that week. He'd be yelling for Alec to finish with Kenna so that he could join him before bedtime. That was their favorite thing to do together when they couldn't be outside throwing a ball around. Collin thought his dad walked on water, and Alec thought likewise of his son. They were so alike, their personalities so in tune to each other. It would kind of be like he was still here with us, as long as I had my Collin with me.

I would probably be baking something in the kitchen, so the kids would have dessert before bed. Or maybe making my way through Alec's work schedules, setting up which crew had to be at what place for the upcoming week. Later in the evening, after the kids had gone to bed, Alec would be teasing me, tickling and touching me, all in an effort to get me worked up so that he could kiss me and grope me and pull me into our bedroom. He would leave me breathless as his hands ghosted over my skin, his lips leaving wet, sloppy kisses all over my body. He would drive me crazy with want and need before he'd finally whisper he loved me and then make us one.

I closed my eyes, and I could see it like it was yesterday.

"Happy birthday, baby," Alec whispered in my ear. "I know it wasn't as exciting as last year, but I think it was good."

I giggled. "It was perfect. Thank you. Besides, you really can't top a twenty-first birthday in a strip club."

He laughed out loud, his whiskery cheek scratching against my shoulder. "I wanted to kill Paul for planning that. But then watching you get that lap dance... I don't think I've ever been so turned on in my life."

My hands raked through his hair, holding his head against my breasts. "It was fun, and I was drunk. Don't worry about it. But don't think it's ever happening again."

He moaned as he made his way down my naked body, pushing me deeper into the couch we were lying on. "Thanks for letting Jane bring her new boyfriend tonight. He seems like a real stick-in-the-mud."

I smiled. "He laughed a few times. What are you talking about? He was nice, and she likes him."

"Yeah, okay. Do you know him or something? He kept looking at you," he said before pushing my thighs apart and kissing along my hip bone.

"No, never seen him before. Oh, yeah. Right there. You really wanna talk about Edward right now?" I asked with a sigh and a moan.

"Right now ,all I want is to talk to these lips right here. And maybe kiss 'em a little."

A deep moan escaped my throat as his tongue flicked over my wet, slick clit. "Oh, baby. You do say the sweetest things..."

After he licked me until I thought I'd burst, he worked his way back up my body and kissed me as he buried his cock inside of me. When we were both spent and lying in a sweaty heap on my sofa, his fingers tracing up and down my torso, he cleared his throat and then looked at me.

"Marry me, Bella."

"What?" I asked as I turned my head a little to meet his gaze.

"Marry me. Make me the happiest man in the world. Be mine forever. I'm already yours."

I smiled, then brushed my fingers against his cheek.

"Yes, I'll marry you."

My hand flew to my neck as I pushed back a new rounds of sobs. It was never going to happen again. I was never going to feel that way again. Never have someone hold me and tell me that he loved me. Never feel someone's lips on my neck as his hands wandered up and down my body. Never be skin to skin, all sweaty and hot as he pushed himself inside of me. Never see the look of hunger and desire in a man's eyes as I stripped my clothes from my body. Never... Never again.

"Hey, Bella. Mckenna's asking for-" Edward said as he walked around the corner and into the kitchen where I stood. Turning away, I tried to wipe the tears from my cheeks and clear my throat. "Bella?" he softly whispered from behind me.

"Sorry. What?" I managed to ask.

"Mckenna's asking for a story before bed. You want me to do it?"

I shook my head. "No, I'll get it. Thanks, though."

"Of course."

"Hey, um, you and Emily want any of this food? We're never gonna eat it all before it goes bad. Will you please take some of it home tonight?" I asked him as I turned to look at him.

His shirt was wet, a result of Mckenna's nightly bedtime routine. He'd offered to bathe her after Emily asked if she could help me with it. His eyes were heavy and dark, tired. I knew that look. I felt the same way.

"Are you sure? I've still got some stuff frozen in the freezer."

"Yeah, please. I hate to throw it away, you know? People were nice enough to bring it over, and I just hate to waste it. I think I'll have the kids take a couple of these cakes to the neighbors' tomorrow. I can't really freeze those." Looking around at all the kindness that had materialized in my kitchen over the past few days, my mind started to wander back to some of the things I'd baked for Alec in the past.

"Bella? Kenna's story..." Edward quietly reminded me, pulling me back to reality.

"Yeah, sorry. I keep getting distracted."

He laughed just a bit. "I know. I do, too."

I smiled at him, letting my arm reach out and take hold of his forearm. "Thank you, Edward. For everything. I really appreciate all the help."

"It's no problem, Bella. You know I'll do whatever I can to make things easier on you. Plus, it's distracting me from other things, too."

"I know, but still... Thanks."

He smiled, and I leaned my head against his shoulder, pausing for a moment before I walked out of the room and toward my waiting daughter.

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A/N: I know. Lemony stuff not with Edward. Sorry. She was married to Alec for like eight years, with him for about ten or eleven. She loved him. It's good. It shows she was happy and in a healthy relationship and that maybe - someday - she can get there again... :)