Chapter 4

Carlisle sat in his office listening to the rain. For the last half hour he had been searching for houses in the northeast corner of the country. Between Esme's nonchalant desire for a house by the water, and Edward's constant teasing regarding her thoughts, Carlisle narrowed his searches to try finding a spot that might turn out to be the perfect setting for his wife.

The lights were dim and after taking a long shower he felt relaxed. No one had come to interrupt the welcomed time he had to himself; though if someone had he wouldn't particularly mind. Esme took Marshall out for a walk with Alexandra, and the three of them planned to accompany Alice and Nicole on hunt. Most of the others were quietly keeping to themselves.

Caleb and Delilah were over at William and Maddy's house, where Emmett had also wandered off to. Edward, Bella and Charlie were their cottage while Michael and Jasper were engaged in a card game.

Rosalie was curling Mackenzie's hair and the two of them were laughing together and discussing some of the cover stories in the latest edition of People magazine.

Many of the houses Carlisle was looking at were ocean-side and out in the open. He was having a difficult time finding one that would maintain their secrecy. On the same note, he kept referring back to homes that could possibly be restored for one of the other couples in their family. It had been some time since Esme had had the pleasure of making a beautiful, brand new home out of something that seemed impossible.

Give me something, he thought to himself, scrolling through the available listings on the William Raveis website.

Carlisle shook his head as each home had something or other that made him cross it off the list; close neighbors, no yard, too much exposure, etc. His eyes landed on one at the bottom of the screen that read: Quiet Lake House - Private and Quaint.

He clicked the link, feeling intrigued by the one-liner that roped him in. Quiet; private; quaint.

"Let me see," he said quietly to himself, beginning to read the full description. Carlisle moved his lips slightly as he read, pleased by the short synopsis of the house. He then clicked on the photo section and began to analyze the physical part of the place.

The kitchen was large and updated with a big island and a country theme. The windows above the sink provided a beautiful view of a massive lake, as did the French doors that opened from the attached dining area.

The living room followed the country look, complete with hardwood floors and a big, beautiful fireplace. There was a porch that decorated the front of the house and around the sides. On all sides of the place were trees protecting the property and a long, unpaved dirt driveway lead up to an unattached four car garage. The location was almost completely in the shade when the leaves were in full bloom.

Carlisle found himself overly pleased with the house. He continued his search of the property, as the next picture virtually lead him up an elegant, old stairwell that had been properly kept up. A railing showed off the beginning of a hallway that lead to four bedrooms and two bathrooms, all of which were of decent size. The pictures cut away to another two bedrooms that were on the first floor, as well as another bathroom.

He smiled to himself and took down the email address at the bottom of the page, saving the page in the favorites section on the computer. Carlisle then logged into his email account and sent the agent he had contacted a few days earlier a message regarding his interest in the property.

Carlisle sent out the email and then returned back to the site he was on originally, going through the photos a second time. He couldn't find a single thing wrong with the house and the value he had taken in having some quiet time to himself quickly faded. While he contemplated asking for Rosalie's opinion, he really wanted Esme to take a look at the place first. For whatever reason, he had a feeling she would love it, and he hoped he was right.

For the next hour he kept himself busy surfing the website for other potential options, and skimming through books he hadn't read in a while that peaked his interest. When the front door finally opened, releasing the laughs from Esme, Alex, Alice and Nicole, he smiled to himself.

"I had so much fun," Alex's voiced echoed through the house. She and Esme both laughed at something they had apparently been talking about prior to coming home. "We should do another girl's trip... and Marshall."

"Yeah, Marshall's not a girl," Nicole said, "But we could always paint his nails for fun."

Esme and Alice both shared a laugh.

"Can I take him?" Nicole asked her.

"Sure," Esme said.

Carlisle contemplated calling her up to see the house he had found, but allowed the four of them to continue having their fun until Esme made her way up the stairs. She quietly rounded into the office, where he sat unable to hold back a smile upon seeing her glowing expression from a day out with their daughter.

"What are you doing?" she asked, slinking over toward the desk where he sat.

"Just browsing..." He raised his eyebrows and smiled as she rounded to the side where he sat, leaning down to kiss him once. "Did you have a good time?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

Esme nodded, "Yeah. It was a good day. Marshall was getting a kick out of the leaves, for whatever reason. He was laughing up a storm."

Carlisle grinned. "Good."

"You seem happy," she pointed out.

He shrugged and adjusted the collar of his shirt. "I've been search for homes by the water and I may have found a place. I wanted to show you."

Esme grinned, "It doesn't have to be by the water."

Carlisle pulled her toward him gently and she found herself comfortably on his lap. He pointed toward the screen. "Click there."

She giggled and did as he asked, keeping a smile on her face as she clicked though the pictures. "Oh my gosh," she said, "This is... this is beautiful."

"You like it?"

"I love it, wow." She shook her head, "Oh the fireplace! It's a big, old country house. Whoever redecorated as the years went by did a great job."

"I figure you can put your own special touches on the place," he told her.

Esme shook her head, "Maybe just a few little things, but nothing major." Her eyes lit up, "What a gorgeous front porch... and it wraps around."

Carlisle laughed as she continued her online journey of the home. A few minutes later she rose from his lap and looked at him with a smile and her hands on her hips.

"So?" he asked.

"This is the best house we've seen so far."

He nodded, "I agree."

"It's private, it's on that beautiful lake, the area is wooded..."

"I sent the agent an email."

Esme smiled, "Do you like it?"

"Yeah," Carlisle said right away. "Yeah, I think it could work out perfectly for us."

She sighed, "We should get everyone to check it out and then go take a look."

He nodded in agreement, "We should."

The two of them shared a moment or two of silent eye contact until Carlisle let a smile slowly spread across his face again.

Esme leaned down and kissed him. "Thank you for searching for me."

"You're welcome."

She pulled him into a soft hug and ran a hand up and down his back. As she pulled away, the collar of his shirt adjusted and made his scar visible where he had been bitten centuries before. Esme knew that Carlisle was purposely careful to keep the mark hidden as often as possible, hence the type of attire he preferred to wear.

She gently ran her fingers across his neck and reached in slightly down the top of his shirt. Esme then gently kissed down the same area, feeling him shudder slightly as she did both.

Carlisle looked at her, seeing the sympathy in his wife's eyes for him. She was the only one he ever opened up to about the anxiety that still loomed over the night he was changed, and the earliest part of his immortal life. The scar was a reminder of the trauma and the loneliness, and Esme knew he wore high collared shirts quite often because of that.

He let out a breath through his nose, knowing she was replacing those painful memories with ones of her own. Carlisle let a hand drift to the side of her face and Esme brought her lips back to his several times in a row.

She unbuttoned the top button of his shirt and pushed the collar to the side, keeping his neck more exposed than it typically was. "You have all of us forever, don't forget,' she reminded him.

Carlisle smiled, "I know."

Esme kissed him again, then gently decorated the side of his face and his hair with her hand. "Want to show the kids the house?"

He nodded, prompting another smile from his wife before she wandered off to gather whoever was in the immediate area.