A/N: Ready for Edward? Of course you are-
If you haven't read Eventide by QueenofHearts Madwriter-you really should.
xXkiwicullenXx has a great one that is almost finished. Go read With Or Without You...you won't regret it.
M for language and lemons
Stephanie Meyers owns Twilight
Cullen Rescue Ranch
Chapter 3-Meeting the family
BPOV
I'm not sure how long I stayed in the tub, but I must have dozed off. The water had cooled considerably. Quickly washing my hair and body, I was just getting out when I heard Emmett yelling that it was five-thirty.
"Okay, Em!" I yelled back. "I'll be ready by six."
I wrapped my hair in one of the fluffy towels that were provided and dried myself off with another. I went into the bedroom to find something to wear.
It was a warm and sunny day, so I opted for a couple of tanks to layer and my khaki shorts. After hanging up my wet towels, I dried my hair most of the way and decided that it was good enough. It's not like I'm trying to impress anyone. I slipped into my flip flops and headed out to find my brother.
Emmett was sitting at the island it the kitchen drinking a bottle of water listening to the radio that was on the counter.
"Okay Em, I'm ready," I said, bouncing to a stop in front of him.
"Well, you look like you feel better. Nice bath?" Emmett asked.
"Oh Em, yeah, that bathroom is great. Especially compared to some of the dives we've been staying at. This place is so much better than a motel. Come on, I'm hungry," I said smiling.
"Hell yes, bring on the food."
"Emmett, please remember your manners. They seem like nice people. Try to tone yourself down just a little," I pleaded. My brother is a great guy but he can be a little boisterous at times.
We made our way up to the main house and saw a few picnic tables in the yard on the other side of the house. They were placed under a couple of huge shade trees. I saw Mrs. Cullen coming out of the house with her hands full and ran to her to help.
"Here, let me grab that for you," I offered.
"Oh, thank you, dear. Just set it on that first table," she said, handing me a bowl of some kind of pasta salad. It must have been the last of the food, the table looked awfully full. Good thing, she must have guessed by Em's size that he could eat a lot.
There was a tall good looking blond guy working the grill. Alice was holding a platter for him to put the burgers on. There were a few people sitting at the main picnic table already.
"Everyone, this is Emmett and Bella. They are staying in cabin three for a couple of days," Mrs. Cullen said. "Please, sit," she told us.
All eyes turned to look at us. What beautiful eyes they were, too. They all were really good looking people. Jasper Whitlock, we learned, was the man working the grill. He was what Mrs. Cullen called their barn manager. Apparently, he and Alice were and item. Mrs. Cullen introduced us to the pretty girl sitting at the opposite end of the table.
"Rosalie, meet Emmett and Bella Swan," Mrs. Cullen said. "Emmett, Bella, this is Rosalie, my niece. She is an animal therapist here at the ranch." Rosalie had her blond hair up in a pony tail and was dressed similar to me, a tank and shorts. She gave us a smile and nod as we sat at the opposite end of the table.
"Hi. Welcome," she said smiling warmly.
"These must be our new guests," we heard from someone coming up behind us. As I turned to look, there was another blond man approaching our group. Geez, I thought to myself, did we drop into the Twilight Zone? All these blond, beautiful people.
"This is my husband," Mrs. Cullen told us.
"Hi, I'm Carlisle, welcome," he said.
"It is nice to meet you Mr. Cullen, you all have a beautiful place here," I said.
"Please, we don't stand on formalities here. Call me Carlisle." He had a 1000 watt smile.
"That's right, I'm Esme. Now, lets eat."
As the food was passed around, Alice started asking us questions. "Where are you from? Where are you two headed?"
"Uh, we're just making our way to Washington. We have some relatives out there." Emmett told her. We had decided that the less we actually said about ourselves and our situation, the better. No need to get anyone else involved in our mess.
"What is it that you do here, Alice?" I asked, trying to get the focus off of us.
"Oh, I am an animal therapist like Rosalie. We help the rescued animals get to a place where they can trust humans again." she explained. "We really do it all here. My dad and brother are vets, Rose and I do the therapy, and Jazz runs the barns. He makes sure that all the other needs of the rescued animals are met.
Just as there was a lull in the conversation, I heard a vehicle come racing up the driveway, crunching to a hard stop. I turned to look and everything kind of stood still. This gorgeous man jumped out of a Chevy 4x4 and headed our way. He was tall and nicely built. His coppery mop of hair seemed to match his mood, wild and a little out of control.
"Alice, so help me, that was the last fucking blind date you will ever set me up on! What a complete waste of time!" he all but yelled.
"Edward, we have guests!" Esme scolded.
He looked around, his eyes falling on Emmett and myself. He smiled at us sheepishly.
"Pardon, me. I apologize. I didn't realize we had guests. Alice, may I please speak to you over here?" he was pointing to over by the grill.
Emmett and I just eyed our food while we heard the rest of what Edward had to say to his sister. Apparently, he thought they were far enough away.
"Alice, that was the last time. That girl only wanted to know my bank balance. What did you see in her to think I'd be interested? I realize you think it is your mission in life to find me someone, but just back the hell off," Edward hissed at Alice.
"Alright, alright. I'm sorry. I thought she seemed nice. I just want you to be happy, Edward. I won't do that to you anymore," Alice said, hugging her brother.
"Okay you two, come join us. We're going to have to get back to the barns soon," Carlisle said.
After they sat down, the conversation seemed to pick back up. Mostly the others talked about the things they had to do after eating. Edward sat down on the opposite side of the table from me and Em. He looked at us like he wanted to say something. I caught his eyes on mine and blushed, looking at my plate.
"So, again, I apologize. My sister has been trying to set me up since the beginning of spring, today was the last straw." he paused. "Umm, yeah, I'm Edward," he said extending a hand towards Emmett.
"Emmett and Isabella Swan," Em said smiling and grabbing Edwards hand.
They shook hands saying hello to each other.
"So, are you two on your honeymoon?" The whole table shook due to everyone's laughter.
"Um, no. We are brother and sister," I responded, blushing again, of course.
"Oh, uh, yeah, sorry. I guess I just assumed.." Edward stammered.
"Well you know what they say about assuming things." I put my hand out to him.
"Hi, you can call me Bella." He seemed to take my hand rather quickly. His hand was warm and I felt a little tingly sensation.
"Hello Bella, it is a pleasure to meet you." He said with a tight smile, quickly looking away.
Wow, maybe his coolness is the reason why he was single. Good luck with that, Alice, I thought to myself.
We had finished eating and were just talking about nothing in general when Carlisle spoke up.
"Emmett, Bella, it was a pleasure to meet you. I have some things I need to attend to, but I hope to see you a little later at the bonfire." He smiled then left for one of the barns.
"Oh, that's a great idea! We're having a bonfire tonight and you guys just have to come!" Alice squealed.
Emmett and I looked at each other and shrugged our shoulders.
"Sure. Um…when? Where? " I asked her.
"We'll start setting up in an hour or so. You can hang around here, if you want, or just come back then." Jasper answered.
"Esme, why don't I help you get this cleaned up?" I said already gathering dishes.
"Oh, there's no need. You're a guest." She admonished.
"I insist." She gave me a look of defeat and smiled.
"Alright. Thank you, Bella."
"Emmett, Bella, it was nice meeting you. I imagine I'll be seeing you later." Edward said to us as he walked away.
Gah! was all I could think. He was… amazing? Gorgeous? Beautiful? I couldn't pick one. I shook my head trying to clear it. I had never reacted like this to someone I'd just met. Hell, I'd never reacted to anyone like this ever.
Emmett went to hang out with Jasper while I continued helping get dinner cleaned up. When we finished, we filled up two coolers with beer, soda and water, we pulled them out to the fire pit.
A/N: Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think.