Sorry for it being a day late…as they say (not sure who "they are) Life happens…

As always I want to thank my Beta, Yuki Sakura-Chan! She is amazing!

Disclamier: I don't anything! I'm just playing in Stephenie Meyers sandbox for awhile!

"Did he bother you at all?" Ben asked pulling me out of my confused thoughts.

"Who?"

"Cullen," he spat out like a dirty word.

"Edward," I corrected him without thought. But as soon it was out of my mouth I wanted it back in. The last thing I needed was Ben thinking something. Not that there was anything to think, but still.

"He's a Cullen, Bella. That's enough," he said scowling at the road.

"I know that. Sorry."

"So did he?"

"Did he what?" I had completely forgotten what he was asking about now.

"Did he bother you?" he about shouted in exasperation.

"No! He just helped me with my things, that's all," I hope I sounded truthful, not that I was lying or anything. But I really couldn't and wouldn't explain the funny feeling I had in my belly.

"It's best to steer clear of the Cullen's," he said after minute. I felt like I was being reprimanded by Pa.

"I know that, Benny. I ain't stupid. I didn't go looking for him and I didn't ask him for his help!"

"Calm down, sis. I wasn't trying to accuse you of anything, I just got nervous with him so near ya and all that," he mumbled, I knew that he felt bad about getting on me.

"Yeah, well I'll probably never even really see him again," I muttered out. I couldn't explain why the thought of that made my gut twist up all funny.

"You're probably right about that," he said going back to his whittling.

*~*~*BS&CB*~*~*

That crooked smile haunted me for the next week. I couldn't tell you why though. But soon the household chores and helping in the fields caused his face and smile to drift from my mind.

Before I knew it Pa's birthday was upon us. I had found time in the evening to sew the flannel shirt that I had thought of. I had just enough fabric to make it, I was relieved for that.

"Pa is headin' in," Ben said as he rushed in back door, sweat glistening on his brow. We were experiencing a warm snap, it was unusual for Forks. We had more rain then anything else.

"Alright," I said rushing to the broiler to pull out the roast that I had cookin' just for Pa's day. We had a surprise dinner planned for him. "Go get cleaned up."

Once Ben was back outside using the water pump to wash up, I set the table. I carefully pulled out the nice china. It was gift from Great-grandma Swan when Pa and mama had gotten married. We rarely used it, because it was so delicate. A fine bone china, with tiny silver flowers and vines painted on the edges.

"Abby," I called out.

"Yes, sis?" she said coming from the living room. I had set her at the desk earlier to work on her letters.

"Could you get Pa's gifts from inside our wardrobe?"

"Of course." Her little blonde disappeared into our room.

On top of the flannel shirt I made, Ben had finished up the ashtray that he was making him, even rubbing beeswax into the bowl to keep it from burning up. Abby, being only nine, had a harder time finding something to make him. So I had set her down with some scraps from an old flour bag and helped her make a handkerchief with Pa's initials embroidered on it. It turned out really well for her first try. I think I am going to have her start helping me with the simple mending.

"Here he comes," Ben said running back inside, all cleaned up now.

I rushed around the kitchen, placing the biscuits and mashed potatoes onto the table. "I think I've got everything together."

"It smells good in here, Isabella," Pa said as he walked inside shaking the clean water off of his hands. He had already stopped at the water pump to clean up; even though we had tried to be sneaky he must have realized that we had something planned.

"Happy Birthday, Pa," we all said together. Abby squished in between Ben and me.

Pa reached up and rubbed roughly at the back of his neck. His eyes took in the wrapped gifts on the sidebar and the spread on to table.

"You didn't have to do this," he said, his voice thick with emotion.

"We wanted to. Now sit," I motioned for everyone to take a seat. I hurriedly dished up everyone's plates and joined them at the table. We spent the rest of supper talking about how the harvest was going and how the vegetable garden was lookin'. It was probably the best haul we had ever made out of it yet, all the diligent hours that Abby and I had put into it was finally paying off.

"Now that was fine meal," Pa said pushing his empty plate back. "Thank you, Bella."

"You're welcome, Pa. But we're not finished, we have some gifts for you," I said standing up to retrieve the gifts.

I turned back with the gifts in hand just in time to see the top of Pa's ears had turned red; he didn't handle affection very well. I sat the packages in front of him.

He slowly opened them, showing each gift the same amount of attention.

"Thank you," he said looking at all three of us. "I am so blessed to have three wonderful children. Your ma would have been proud of how you have all turned out."

It was unusual for Pa to get so wordy, we all knew that he had cared for us deeply, he showed it to us with his hard work and the simple things that he did for us. But he rarely expressed to us in words his feelings.

"We are also blessed to have you," I said softly. Ben and Abby murmured their agreement. "We have something else for you."

I hopped up from my chair and opened the side board to retrieve the corn cake that I had made earlier. I had drizzled the honey on it right before Ben had come in the first time.

I sat the cake in front of him.

"Well, now this is a great treat!" Pa exclaimed.

"Happy Birthday," I didn't know what else to say but that. I swiftly cut everyone a piece. We enjoyed it in silence besides a moan of pleasure here and there. It was very rare that we had such a treat and I was glad that I was able to make it for them.

After supper Pa and Ben retired to the living room to discuss the plans in the field tomorrow. Abby and I set about cleaning up the kitchen and packing up the remaining food into the icebox for lunch tomorrow. That was the nice thing about cooking up such a large dinner; it saved me from having to cook lunch the next day. I wrapped up the remaining corn cake before I shooed Abby out to the privy so that she could do her nightly things.

I watched Abby out the window as she washed up for bed at the water pump, her blonde hair shown brightly in the fading sun. I remember mama's looking just like that. Glistening and swirling around her head, it was moments like these that I missed her the most. I missed the fact that I didn't have a confidant anymore, someone who could help explain why Edward Cullen's crooked grin kept popping up in my mind and his face was haunting my dreams. It was confusing but I had no one to ask what it meant. If anything it made me more annoyed with him, I mean why did he even have to talk to me that day in town?

*~*~*~*~*BS&CB*~*~*~*~*~*

The next week went by quickly and before I knew it Sunday was upon us. I spent the morning rushing around behind Ben and Abby making sure that they looked their best. After I pinned up Abby's hair in her bonnet, I hurried in getting myself ready. I slipped on my soft yellow cotton dress and white lace trimmed bonnet. It was one of my nicer dresses and for some reason I just wanted to look my best.

I heard Mz. Jensen's carriage pull up out front coupled with Ben hollering for me to hurry up I knew that I would have to do. Not that there was much to do besides plait my hair but I could do that in the carriage on the way to church. I clutched my bonnet in my hand as I raced out of the house.

The church was sweltering; the warm front that we were experiencing hadn't faded. Between the grunts of displeasure of the heat and the fanning of random pieces of papers it was almost impossible to hear the pastor preach.

I think Pastor Weber realized that they heat was taking hold of everyone and he announced that the rest of the sermon would be held out on the lawn. Mz. Jensen sent Ben to her wagon to grab an old blanket she kept there. As she spread it out on the ground I heard her mutter that it was very unladylike to sit on the ground without a blanket. I could almost see her looking disdainfully at the woman folk that had not the forethought to do what we were doing.

I really didn't see what the problem was.

I leaned back onto my palms as Pastor Weber's words swirled around me in the fresh air. It was nice to be able to enjoy the sunshine without having to worry about work to be done. But before I knew it, Pastor was finishing up his sermon with the ending prayer. I lowered my head and said my blessings quietly to God. I didn't have much to pray about, but I always made sure to ask God to overlook my family and our farm. We were simple people, with simple needs. I never felt the need to ask for anything that we couldn't or wouldn't use. It seemed that the only real thing to pray for was for health and happiness, and thankfully that was something that we had never lacked.

"Mz. Jensen, do you mind if I went over there with the other boys," Ben asked when the Pastor said amen. I looked over to where he was indicating, noticing that a group of boys had already formed chasing each other around in the big field on the side of the church.

"That would be fine, Benjamin. Your sisters and I will just sit here and enjoy the sunshine that the good lord has blessed us with," Mz. Jensen said as she shuffled her larger frame from one hip to the other.

She may have been sayin' that she was going to be enjoying the sunshine but mostly she was wanting to gossip with the other woman. On nice days like this the men folk took to smoking tobacco and talking about how the fields work was going, so it left time for the woman to talk about all the going ons in town.

Abby settled herself on my side, tucking my skirt around her. She was such a shy little girl; it didn't help having no mama to watch out for her. She only ever had me and I'm not the most social person to speak of. Before long we had a group of woman huddled around our blanket, first they took to gossiping about Emmett Cullen's new wife. He hadn't brought her properly into town, but Mrs. Hillshaw said that she saw a pretty blonde woman on the back of his horse one day when they crossed across the road in front of them.

She said that the girl looked too proper to be married to a Cullen; her blonde hair was twisted up on her head and tucked securely in a high fashion hat. She was even wearing a dress made from satin and lace. Not the usual cotton or old flour cloth dresses that were the norm around here. No one had such a need for fancy dress when you spent the day tilling in the garden and hanging clothes on the line, a dress like that wouldn't ruined in a days time.

Maybe she didn't do much house work? Though from hearing the stories about the Cullen's homestead you would have thought that she had her work cut out for her. Oh well, It's not going to do me any good thinking about her work when I have my own to dwell on.

Soon the chatter turned from the Cullen's to the upcoming church fundraiser. The church was in desperate need of a new roof and new windows, but the community of Forks was not a rich one and the only way to get the money or supplies needed was with donations of some sort. So the woman folk decided that a carnival fundraiser would be just the thing. Booths would be set up to sell baked and jarred goods, there would a fresh fruit stand and someone selling lemonade. Plus there would be games for the kids to join in on, sack races and jump rope.

"Hello Isabella," a sweet voice said from my side. I turned in its direction and noticed my close friend.

"Good day, Mary Alice," I said smiling at my raven haired friend. She grimaced slightly at the use of her full name, she despised the name Mary and liked to go by Alice, but it was not proper for me to address her that way in public.

"You look lovely today," she said with a smile. "The sun has added a nice color to your cheeks."

Mary Alice and I have been friends since we were very young. Her mother, Lydia Brandon, was my mother's best friend. There 'twas not a week that went by that we didn't see them, well until mama passed. It was as hard for Mrs. Brandon as it was for us. She wasn't as jovial as she once was. Alice was a dainty girl, her head barely reaching my shoulder. But what she didn't have in height she made up in spirit. She was always rambling on about something. Lately it has been about the man she was going to marry. She hadn't been called upon by anyone yet, but that didn't stop her from dreaming about the day it would happen.

For the most part I just let her ramble away, while I lost myself in my own thoughts and what it would be like when I had a male caller.

"Thank you, Mary Alice," I spoke her name again just to get to her. She was so fun to poke at. "Your hair looks lovely today."

Her waist long black hair was pinned up in loops and curls on her head. Very fashionable and very Alice.

"Are you attending the church carnival?" She asked plucking a blade of grass from the ground.

"Did they decide on a date?" I asked as I watched her twirl the blade in her fingertips.

"Two Saturdays from now."

"Saturday? Why not Sunday?" I tried to keep the whine out of my voice. Saturday was not going to work for me; Pa would never let me run off to a church function on day that he needed us all out in the fields. I almost wanted to stamp my foot in frustration.

"Perhaps your Pa will see the good in your going."

"That will never happen. He expects us to all work in the fields on Saturdays, a church function will not come before that," I explained in a huff.

"That's too bad," Alice smirked. Her eyes held some sort of secret.

"What is that look for?" I asked cockin' my brow at her.

"Oh, I just heard a little gossip this morning, that's all," the smile spread wider on her face.

"What sort of Gossip?" I asked leaning forward. For one second I thought she was going to bring up Edward Cullen, but I dismissed that as quickly as I thought it. Alice had no idea that I had spoke to him in town and she wouldn't be talkin' to anyone that he spoke to either.

"Oh, just that a certain boy was going to ask to escort you to the fair. That's all," she leaned back onto her palms with a triumphant smile on her face.

"What?" I about screeched but quickly lowered my voice when I noticed that the other woman folk looked our way. I didn't want to be a part of their gossip. "Who?" I asked in a lower voice once everyone's attention was turned back to their own topics.

"Do you really want to know? I thought no boys around here interested you," she simpered. One thing you have to know about Alice is that she liked to drag out everything for her pleasure. Thankfully I knew how to play her game.

"They don't," I lied through my teeth. It's not that I would say that I was interested in Edward, but there was something there. Something that I needed to forget about because it would do no good dwelling on it. "So I guess you can keep it to yourself."

I made a show of leaning back onto to my palms and turning my face to the sun. I sat that way with my eyes closed for about two beats before Alice snatched my arm and pulled me back up.

"Fine, I'll tell you," she huffed. Her cheeks red with aggravation. "Michael Newton."

"Michael Newton?" I asked in surprise. Michael is the son of the most prosperous ranch around. The Newton's about owned Forks. Surely he wouldn't be interested in me.

"Yes, Michael Newton," she hissed out. "I heard his mama talkin' to Mrs. Stanley about how Michael has always had a likin' towards you and that if you were agreeable he wanted to start courting you."

"No," I said in horror. Literal horror. Michael may have come from a good family, but he wasn't what I wanted in life. I had no problem being a rancher's wife or that of a farmer either. There wasn't much of choice around here. But Michael was too soft for me. His father was known for not even working in his own fields and pastures. He hired men on so that he could sit on his porch all day drinkin' spirits and spittin' tobacco. His belly hung over his birches and his shirt sleeves were always soaked with sweat. So if he had any hand in raisin' Michael, then I knew what my future looked like.

"You don't approve?" she asked with a smile. Alice already knew how I felt, we had discussed all the available bachelors in this area and we had both agreed that Michael, while good lookin' in an average way, was not either of our first choice.

Before I had a chance to say anything further to her, I heard a throat clear from behind me.

"Miss Swan, could I please have a word with you?" I looked back to see Michael standing there in his Sundays best, with his hat clenched tightly in his fingers. His blonde hair was slicked back on his head with oil.

"What for?" I asked. It came out a lot ruder then I had intended. His ears turned pink with embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, Michael. That came out wrong, I just need to ask Mz. Jensen for permission," I said plastering a fake smile on my face.

"That's fine, Deary. You go on and have a word with Mr. Newton," Mz. Jensen's voice said from the side of me. I turned to look at her and realized that all the woman's eyes were on us. Most were smiling, their eyes holding the knowledge of what was happening. It was Mrs. Newton's face that stood out the most to me, instead of a look of disapproval she was lookin' at us both with a wide smile on her face.

"Let me help you up, Miss Swan," Michael's voice brought me back to him. He stuck out a hand to assist me.

"Thank you," I murmured in embarrassment, I hated the fact that all the woman's eyes were on me. I didn't want or need this attention.

Once he had helped me to my feet, I dusted off my skirt quickly.

"Just don't go too far," Mz. Jensen said with a wide smile on her face.

"Of course not, Ma'am," Michael said, giving a bow in her direction before offering me his arm. I had never seen anyone bow at someone else before.

Once we were a few feet away, hopefully out of earshot, Michael stopped and turned towards me.

"Miss Swan," He started nervously.

"Please call me Isabella," I interrupted him. This conversation was going to be painful enough without having to deal with him callin' me Miss Swan left and right.

"Of course," he said clearing his throat. "Isabella, I was hopin' that I could escort you to the church fair on two Saturdays from now." "It is kind of you to ask, Michael," I said. "But I would need my Pa's permission for such a thing."

It was the truth, I would need Pa's permission to go anywhere with a boy, even if I already knew that he would say no. I don't think Pa was ready for me to leave the household to him. Maybe in a few years when Abby was old enough to handle it for him.

"Of course," he exclaimed loudly. "I'm sorry for not doing this properly. Would it be alright if I called upon you tomorrow afternoon?"

I wanted to sputter! I thought that bringing Pa up would be enough to stop his intentions, but I was wrong. I would have to let him meet Pa; there was no way that I could tell him no now. He thought the only reason that I hadn't said yes was because I of Pa.

Now how was I going to get out of this?

Sooooo….what did you think?