Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, but I do own a list of excuses as to why I haven't updated in ages.

Mini a/n: thanks to the bestie/beta Little Miss Masen

Every last one, route one, rural hearts got a story to tell
Every grandma, in law, ex girlfriend
Maybe knows it just a little too well
Whether you're late for church or you're stuck in jail
Hey words gonna get around
Everybody dies famous in a small town

Miranda Lambert

[ Alice ]

Two torturous hours after Kitty's friends left, I was sitting on the porch in a pair of sweatpants and a hooded sweatshirt, knees pulled up to my chest. My chin rested on my knees as I stared out into the trees that lined the property. Some cows were making low moo's as they grazed across the open pasture next to the forest.

My meeting with Rosalie Hale did not go well at all. We continued to go head to head and I fought the urge to roll my eyes as she droned on and on about the local Miss Firecracker pageant that would be held on the Fourth of July. If she wasn't such a cocky woman, I'm sure that Rosalie and I could be good friends—she was only one year older than me, but her presence and personality made it seem like she was much older. I felt like I could never measure up to the standards that she had set.

Kitty tried to reassure me that Rosalie would settle down as she warmed up to me—but deep down I knew if anything changed, it would be because Kitty had said something to Susan. I'd only been here a few days, but I already knew that Kitty was a meddler, getting in the middle of everyone's business and trying to make sure everyone was happy.

But I wasn't. This summer was going to be the longest summer ever. I wanted to stay on the farm and let the next couple of weeks pass me by, no matter how long the days might seem. If I couldn't go home, then I wanted to wallow and brood in peace.

I picked up my cell phone that was next to me on the armrest and was shocked that I received signal—as far as I knew, the only place I could get signal was in my bedroom. I quickly dialed Bella's number and waited for her to answer.

"Hello?" she asked quietly.

"Bella?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows.

"Hey Alice."

"Why are you whispering?"

"I'm at the library—hold on, I'll walk outside." I waited for a moment before she came back on the line. "How's the great state of Texas?"

I sighed. "Oh just peachy. Today we had lunch with Kitty's society friends."

"That doesn't sound too bad—were they cheek pinchers or something?"

"No, they were really nice. But one of them brought her daughter, Rosalie."

I heard her make a coughing noise. "Sounds like a bitchy name."

I laughed. "Well her name definitely fits her personality. She was absolutely horrible, Bella! She insulted my clothes, my hair—and then said that she might be willing to take me on as a charity case! The nerve! Alice Brandon is no one's charity!"

"How rude. Was she pretty?"

"Gorgeous. I think that's why I hate her even more. Her family owns an oil company here so she's rich and gorgeous."

She sighed. "Sorry, Alice. Maybe you won't have to see her again."

"Fat chance! She's taking me shopping to show me the 'finer parts' of Amarillo. Kill me now, please."

"I can't kill you—then who would be my best friend? Emmett? I do NOT think so."

We both chuckled—I found myself feeling better already. "I miss you, B. Tell me what's going on in Forks?" I settled back in the chair, dangling my legs over the side.

"Nothing too exciting—the other day Charlie arrested a kid trying to steal from Newton's, Jessica and Lauren came in to the diner the other day talking about some party they went to in Port Angeles. Same old."

"A shoplifter? What would anyone want to steal from Newton's?"

She giggled. "Apparently they were caught stealing some beanies and gloves—Charlie's strutting around here because he thinks he stopped a burglary from happening."

I smiled. "Well, tell the Chief I'm proud of him—he deserves a free dessert or something."

She groaned. "I'm sure they will throw him a parade or something—that's how hard up this town is for reasons to celebrate."

"Well, at least there's something to tell! I'm sure it'll be on the front page of the paper for a whole week! Your dad is a hero, Bella!"

"I'm glad you're not here. You make Charlie's head swell so much it won't fit in the house!"

"I think I'm gonna go into town and send him a postcard," I mused.

"Well, if you see any of those cow skulls, bring one home, will ya? I want to make Emmett jealous."

I laughed. "Will do." I sighed. "I just want to come home. I hate it here. Kitty is nice enough, but I just—I don't belong here." A rogue tear escaped down my cheek and I swiped it away with the back of my hand.

"Alice, listen to me. If you were here, the only difference would be that you'd have your car and you'd have to listen to Emmett's backpacking stories on repeat. Let me tell you, I wish I was in Texas right now."

"You should come visit!" I squealed, sitting up excitedly. "Oh Bella it would be so much fun!"

"I can't—I don't have the money and I can't take time off from the diner. I'll never make enough money for school in the fall if I do that."

I frowned, sitting back in the chair again. "I wish you could."

She sighed. "Me, too. But you hang in there. Go to town or something—I'm sure if you look hard enough, you'll find something you like there."

I bit my lower lip before replying. "Fine. I'll try. You're a terrible best friend, Bella Swan—you're supposed to be wallowing and begging me to come home," I teased.

I could almost sense her roll her eyes. "I love you, too, Alice."

"I'll talk to you later. I think I'm going to go for a walk and I don't know if I'll get service."

"Alright. Hang in there!"

We hung up and I groaned inwardly. I stood up from the chair, slipping my feet into a pair of flip-flops. I walked off the porch and towards the pasture. I hooked my leg onto one of the wooden fence posts and hoisted myself up. I watched the cows moseying around and let my mind wander. Although Forks was a small town, it had a lot of similarities to Kitty's ranch—there were spans of quiet forest and random animals. If I closed my eyes and listened, I could almost convince myself that I was back at home. Almost.

The moment I closed my eyes, I lost my balance and fell off the fence. I attempted to steady myself but only ended up stepping into a pile of cow poo.

"Ah! I want to go home!" I cried as I stared down at my foot. My shoes were now ruined, and I never wanted to see them again. Tears started falling at a faster pace as I internally cursed my parents for sending me here.

I slipped off the shoe and left it there. I walked over to the small lake and dipped my foot in, trying to shake the, well, shit, off it. I pulled my foot out and stuck it back in when I noticed it was still dirty. After rinsing and repeating several times, my foot was clean and I hopped back towards the house. I sat on the front steps and finished having a good cry. I shook out my hands and stood up.

"You can take the girl out of Forks, but you can't take Forks out of the girl."

It was decided: I was going to rock this town.

**** **

[ Jasper ]

I set my coffee mug down on the bench and rubbed my hand across my face. The air was already warm and I felt my thin t-shirt already beginning to cling to me. I sat down on the small wooden chair and looked up at the sky. Yep, it was gonna be a hot one.

I heard the back door open and shut, the sounds of her feet shuffling toward me.

"Mornin," I called out gruffly, my eyes darting over to her face.

"Sleep well?" she asked.

I closed my eyes and nodded. "Yeah; it was late when I got in—you were already asleep and I didn't want to wake you."

"I know," she whispered.

We didn't speak for a long time, and my heart was beating fast, wondering if she was angry with me.

"I've got to get ready for work, I'll see you tonight at dinner," she said, turning around and going back in the house.

I heard the sadness aching in her voice and sighed loudly, sipping on my cup of caffeine. When I had gotten back into town last night it was still kind of early, but I didn't want to come home and see Liss—instead I called up one of my buddies and met up for a few drinks. By the time I started to feel fuzzy, I headed home and passed out in the guest room.

I knew Liss had probably smelled the alcohol on me, or the scent of stale bar, and I hated lying to her—it wasn't who I was or who my Mama had raised me to be.

So what was the deal?

I ran the lines from the new song I'd been working on over and over in my head, hoping to string them together. I hummed softly as I finished my drink and pulled on my old dusty boots. I stood up and walked into the house, dropping my mug in the sink as I grabbed my keys off the hook. I jingled them lightly against my hand as I walked out to my truck and hopped in. The door groaned a little, needing to be oiled, but the engine purred to life without any hesitance so I was a happy guy.

I turned on my stereo that was shiny and new. Liss had gotten it for me for my birthday almost a year ago and I couldn't have been happier. She always joked that I loved that truck like it was my kid, and she might have actually been right. But I was in denial—and it wasn't in Egypt.

My thumbs tapped rhythmically across the wheel as I listened in on the morning reports of traffic, weather, and celebrity gossip. Nothing really enticed me too much about all the Hollywood glamour; sure, I enjoyed going to the movies and watching television, but I didn't have time to concern myself with the whereabouts of Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears.

I changed the channel to a country station and rolled down my window, letting the fresh air wash over me. There was something calming about the countryside ride towards Miss Brandon's ranch. The scenery always made me feel retrospective and relaxed. I welcomed the morning drives not only because of the serenity, but because of the time I spent just thinking.

I remembered that Miss Brandon said her granddaughter was coming and I smiled at the thought—I generally liked kids, so I was hoping she'd be a fun little one that I could entertain sometimes so Miss Brandon wouldn't have to chase her around all day. One day I'd have some kids of my own, and I was excited to chase them around, take 'em to the lake, and spoil them rotten behind their mother's back.

Up until recently, I'd always thought the mother of my children would be Liss—she was a kind soul, a genuine sweetheart, and she loved me very much. There wasn't a girl better in this town than her, and I was a lucky bastard for being chosen by her. But over the past few weeks I'd felt a distance come between us—it wasn't necessarily a large gap, but it was enough to make me re-think all the plans we'd assumed we'd make in the upcoming future.

I pulled up to the gate at Miss Brandon's and jumped out, opening the gate and driving through. My truck sputtered down the familiar graveled path that I had re-done only a few summers ago with the help of some other gentlemen in town. After Miss Brandon's husband died, she'd needed more help around the place. I offered to help only because she had all but adopted me into her family when I first moved here with Liss.

We met at the local Baptist church on a Sunday. She came right up to us before the service as we quietly tried to find a seat. She gave us a large smile and welcomed us into the town and the church. I offered her my hand to shake but she refused.

"Oh, come on and give an old lady a hug—I don't bite…hard," she'd joked as I stood up and was pulled into her embrace.

Yes, Miss Brandon was definitely a character around these parts—she knew everything about everyone, but she was smart in what she let slip out into public gossip. She'd lived in this town nearly her whole life and everyone within a 50 mile radius of the town knew who Catherine Brandon was by now.

She'd hired me on to work for her only because she said she didn't feel right about workin' me for free. I tried to assure her that I would work for her down-home Southern cooking but she wouldn't hear of it. In the end, Miss Brandon paid me for my work and often fed me or sent food home with me.

I turned off the truck and opened the door, sliding out onto the dirt. My boots kicked at some gravel as I walked toward the back of the truck and popped a few water bottles into the cooler. I wiped my hands on my jeans and threw on my trusty cowboy hat. The poor thing looked worse for wear, being bleached out by the sun, but it was my favorite and I refused to let it go.

I made my way towards the stable and began my morning routine of letting the horses out, shoveling hay, mucking some of the dirtier stalls and checking on the rest of the animals. The routine of the job was comforting, allowing my mind to wander as I hummed some of my favorite songs.

After a few hours of miscellaneous tasks, I set towards the house to say good morning to Miss Brandon and see if she needed anything specific done or coming up that I would need to order supplies for. I stopped by my truck and wiped my face off with a small towel. It may have only been ten or so in the morning but it was already going to be a scorcher.

The screen door creaked open—it'd been making that noise for years but I could never bring myself to fix it. Whenever Miss Brandon would tell me stories about her husband she always joked about the door. I figured I'd leave it as a reminder of the good times they shared together.

I looked up and saw someone I didn't recognize—she was most likely in her teens, short with dark hair. Her hand formed a shield over her eyes as she peered out at me. I stood there for a moment trying to figure out who she was before taking a few steps forward.

"Hello?" I called out as I made my way towards her.

She stepped off the porch and began to walk straight at me, a confused look on her face. "Hi?" she asked.

I smiled at her and nodded my head. "I'm Jasper Whitlock, ma'am. I work for Miss Brandon here," I said politely.

She nodded, returning my smile. "My name is M—aaary Aliiiice!" she cried loudly as her foot slipped on a rock and fell butt first into a mud puddle on the front lawn.

I tried to hold back a laugh but could barely contain myself. A small laugh escaped me and she glared up at me, huffing. I held out my hand and she took it, pulling herself up from the ground. She was covered in mud from her waist down and I had to close my eyes momentarily to keep my cool.

"W-w-what did you say your name was?" I choked out.

She fisted her hands on her hips. "Oh, go right on ahead and laugh it up! Yes, I fell in the mud, okay? It happens—it happens a lot around here!"

I was holding onto my side by this point and staring off into the woods, willing my eyes not to water.

"I'm Mary Alice, but I go by Alice," she supplied.

I looked back at her. "You're Miss Brandon's granddaughter?"

"You look surprised," she noted.

I nodded. "I thought you were six or seven years old."

"I'm a sophomore in college; I'm just short for my age."

I shook my head. "No, that's not what I meant—I meant that I thought you were going to be six years old—Miss Brandon talked about you like you were a kid! I didn't mean any disrespect."

She groaned and stared down at her feet. "It's alright—I'm just defensive."

The porch door creaked again and I heard Miss Brandon's voice. "Mary Alice, what on God's green Earth have you done? You're all covered in mud!"

"I fell," she explained.

She looked over at me and smirked. "Well, now that you've said good morning to Jasper, come in and clean yourself off and help me get started on lunch, will you, please?"

Alice looked back at me, daring me not to laugh again.

I put my hands up in surrender and took a step back. I could hear Miss Brandon chuckling from the stairs.

She turned and started walking towards the house. The backside of her was even more covered in mud than the front, and a small chuckle escaped my lips. She turned around and pointed at me, and I turned my face blank.

After she trekked into the house, Miss Brandon turned to me and smiled. "She's a firecracker, that one. I think she gets it from me."

I laughed and nodded my hat at her. "Good morning, Miss Brandon," I said politely.

She smiled. "Oh yes, Jasper. Good morning indeed."

******

A/N: Well, readers, there you have it—the big meet up. Is it how you thought it would be?

I have a ton of excuses as to why the updates are few and far between but you don't wanna hear 'em, right? Check my author profile if you do.

Reviews are the only way I'll know what you're thinking since Edward's too stingy to share his abilities with me.