All things Twilight belong to Stephenie Meyer: I just like to play with her characters.

No copyright infringement is intended.

HUGE thanks to my betas darcysmom and twimom817 and my pre-readers EdwardsMyObsession1971 and GillianAubrey – without these ladies, this wouldn't be worth reading.


Learning to Live


Chapter Four


I closed the door behind me, and I was relieved for an escape from Alice's questions. I stared at myself in the mirror trying to see what she saw in my eyes. Boring brown eyes stared back at me, and all I saw was the same brown eyes I'd seen in the mirror for thirty-two years. The sadness I carried was in my heart, and I knew that the steady beating of it would never betray me.

I took care of business and washed my hands. I splashed some water on my face and decided it was time to face the music. When I stepped out of the bathroom, Alice was nowhere to be found. She wasn't waiting to pounce on me as soon as I stepped out. I made my way into the living room to find Esme straightening up.

"Bella … are you heading out, sweetheart?"

"Yeah, I think I should get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day."

"It definitely sounds like you have your work cut out for you. I'm so glad that you were able to come. You're more than welcome to join us anytime."

"Thank you, Esme. Your hospitality has been more than I could hope for."

"You're quite welcome, sweetheart. It was lovely having you."

"Please tell Carlisle I said goodbye and thank him as well. Please tell Emmett that I will see him tomorrow."

"Will do. Have a good night and drive safe."

Carlisle and Emmett had left after dinner ended. Carlisle wanted to show Emmett something in one of their sheds on the far end of their property. Emmett promised that he would be over to the house bright and early in the morning.

The drive back to my motel room was quiet. I couldn't get the photo of the handsome, elusive, Edward Cullen out of my head. He was so good looking and looked like he was the typical all-American guy. Emmett was about six foot four, and Carlisle had to have been at least six feet tall, so I figured that Edward was tall. His hair color came from Esme, although Edward's appeared to have more red in it.

As I crawled into bed that night and closed my eyes, Edward's smile was the focus of my dreams.

The next morning, I stopped at Java Stop on Main Street and headed out to my new house. Emmett's truck was already in the drive when I pulled in, and all I could do was shake my head. He was almost as anxious to get started on my projects as Esme was to see the house.

"Mornin' Bella!" Emmett hollered from the roof.

"What in the world are you doing up there?" I hollered back.

"I'm checking your roof. I know that the realtors had someone look at it, but that's different from doing it myself."

"You're a jack of all trades, aren't you?" I asked, as Emmett climbed down the ladder.

"I do a bit of everything yes, but there are things that I do better than others."

"Okay. Well, come on in and take a look around before your mom gets here."

I unlocked the door and led him inside.

"Jesus, Bella. My mom is going to have a field day with this," Emmett chuckled as he looked around the kitchen.

"The floors aren't in horrible shape."

"No, I don't think so either. There are a few spots though that I think the boards will need replaced. Come on in here and let me show you."

I showed him the spots in front of the fireplace where I thought the boards needed replaced. Emmett agreed and assured me that it would be an easy fix. I led him into what I wanted to turn into a family room and showed him where I wanted the fireplace to go, and he agreed that it would add character to the room.

"It's on the outer wall, so that's a good thing. Jake, he's my masonry guy – he'll have a blast with this. He does fantastic work – he did the fireplace in the great room at my parent's house and he's going to do the fireplace at the house I'm building for Rosie and me.

"You're building her a house? That's so sweet."

"I don't know about that," he laughed. "She's so picky, she'll never get what she wants I'm building it for her."

"Do you think I'm crazy for buying this old house, when I could have had a new one built?"

"No. You'll never find a house with as much character as this one has. A house with history is far more interesting than one that has nothing at all."

I nodded, wondering if that applied to people too.

"Okay, girlie. Show me the upstairs and what you want to have done with it."

I led Emmett up the stairs and showed him the bedroom that I wanted to make into the master suite first. Then I showed him the bedroom with the lead in to the walk in attic in it. "I think we can definitely do something with this. There is plenty of room to make a nice sized master suite and still have two smaller bedrooms and a bathroom. What are you going to do for storage though?"

"Eventually, I want to build a garage out back. I'll need the storage and I'll want a place to park my truck in the winter."

"That sounds like a plan. I definitely think that your idea is doable, Bella. What are you going to do with the room off the kitchen?"

"I was thinking about opening it up and making it a breakfast nook. Maybe putting in a couple of windows and giving the kitchen some more light."

"Damn, Bella, why didn't you become an interior designer?"

"I know what I like, Emmett, and whenever I picture things, I envision what they would look like through the lens of a camera. I'm doing that with this house. Only I'm picturing what I can do to make it better."

"Fair enough. Umm, Bella … you do know that some of these renos you want to make can be kind of pricey …."

"I know Emmett, and I'm not worried about that. Don't get me wrong – I want the job done right with the most price effective materials, but I am aware that the cost won't come cheap."

Wasn't that the truth? Cost was something I knew about only too well.

As we were coming back down the stairs, I heard Esme and Alice's voices in the kitchen.

"Bella? Emmett?"

"We're here, Ma. Keep your pants on." Emmett chuckled as we stepped down into the kitchen.

"Good morning, sweethearts," Esme said, hugging us both.

"Bella, this house is truly fantastic. There is a lot that you can do with it."

"I know. Good bones and all that."

We laughed, and I led Alice and Esme on the same tour of the house that I'd given Emmett. Esme took notes as we went along, and Alice put in her two cents whenever she thought there was something Esme and I were missing. I loved some of the ideas that Esme had for the house. I wanted to keep with the traditional styling of the house. Esme suggested primitive décor and once she explained it, I fell in love with the idea.

"Some call it early American, but like most things, it's evolved over the years. I think that style would look fantastic in this house, Bella."

"I agree, Esme. I appreciate your input. I'd love for you to help me with this project."

"Oh, Bella. I'd be honored. You're such a sweet girl, honey, and I know you're going to have your hands full with this place. It would be my pleasure to help you."

I was so glad that Esme agreed to help me. Since spending the afternoon chatting with the Cullens the day before, I felt at ease being around them. They welcomed me into their home no questions asked – only taking Alice and Rose's word.

"So where do we start?"

"Well, I think we should see how soon Emmett can get a crew in here to clear out the flooring, so we can see what all of the wood looks like. In the meantime, I want to take some measurements and work on the bedrooms and bathrooms upstairs. It will take me a couple days to get something drawn up, but at least it's a start."

It's definitely a start.


A/N: I know, I know ... no Edward yet, but he will make an appearance ... SOON. Thank you for all your lovely reviews and for taking the time to read. See you next Monday!