Thank you all for the kind words. Since I already had plans to post this chapter tonight I didn't send out teasers but as I head back to work tomorrow evening teasers will be rewarded for each review but it may take me a few days to get you a good teaser because I am just now starting on Chapter 8.
Chapter 7
Between the four adults that were there we eventually talked Lucy into going to the hospital to get checked out. Lucy wanted to ride with me since it was my mom we were going to see so Bella transferred Sierra's car seat over into the backseat of my truck while Jasper and Alice took Landon and Beth back home. I called my mom on the way to the hospital so she could meet us outside because that is the only way that Lucy calmed down enough to get in the truck. "Hi son." My mom said through the speakers of my truck.
"Hi, Ma. Are you still at the hospital?" I asked her because I knew she didn't work full days on the weekends, just going in for a few hours to help out.
"Just barely because I have to get dinner on soon." She said and I heard voices in the background telling her to have a good day.
I glanced nervously to Bella who was chewing on her bottom lip before looking back at Lucy. I glanced in my rearview mirror and caught the big tears spilling down the scared little girls cheeks. "Is there any way you can stay for a bit longer? I have a very scared and special little girl with me that took a tumble at the park and needs to be checked out."
"How bad is it?" She asked.
Taking a deep breath I looked at Bella and nodded for her to explain the injuries since I hadn't seen for myself. "She hit her head on the metal bar causing a bump and she also fell hard on her wrist and can't seem to move it without it hurting really badly." Bella explained nervously.
"Okay, well I will meet you guys at the ER entrance. Has the child been a patient here at Pratt Memorial before?" My mom asked.
"Yes ma'am. Her name is Lucy Swan, she is seven years old." Bella said with a nervous tremble to her voice.
There was a silent pause on the phone for a pregnant moment. "Okay, I will meet you at the entrance doors." Then a click notifying me that my mom had hung up.
"Well, bye to you too mom." I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes towards Bella causing her to giggle lightly.
"Thank you for doing this, Edward. I'm sure you have much more important or interesting things to do on a Sunday afternoon than this." She said wringing her hands together before glancing in the backseat where Sierra was sipping on her sippy cup sleepily and Lucy was watching the road go pass.
I shook my head. "It's fine, Bella. No it's not an ideal way to spend a Sunday evening but I am with an amazing woman and two pretty fantastic little girls." I told her as I reached over taking her hand in mine before bringing them to my lips for a gentle kiss. "This is your life, Bella, and I am fine with that."
"You are way too sweet and kind for somebody like me." Bella said softly.
After an exhausting two hours, a few minor meltdowns, an invitation to dinner, and a bright green cast we were on our way back to Bella's house. Within ten minutes of the almost hour long trip to Bella's house from the main city of San Antonio both girls fell asleep in the backseat. "They are conked out cold." Bella said quietly as she reached back to take the small cup of grapes from Sierra before it fell in the floor.
"I never knew one little child could make so much racket." I told Bella thinking back to the tantrum Sierra had thrown when Bella didn't get her what she wanted out of the snack machine while we waited on Lucy and my Mom.
Bella chuckled. "Oh that was just a mild one. At least she didn't throw herself in the floor and start kicking and thrashing around like she has done a few times in the past."
"Wow." Shaking my head I turned my hand over on the middle seat wiggling my fingers to let her know I wanted hers there. "You know you want to." I teased her a bit with a more exaggerated wiggle of my fingers.
The electricity I felt when our palms slid together sent tingles up my spine and caused me to close my fingers over Bella's. "What is that?" She whispered looking at our hands strangely.
"I don't know but I've never felt it with anybody else before." I whispered back to her as I squeezed her hand gently before relaxing our hands on the top of the seat that we had folded down. We kept our hands clasped loosely together the entire drive and I had to admit that it was nice. "Have you given any thought to my mom's invitation?" I asked her as I shifted the truck into park, not killing the engine just yet.
Bella leaned over the seat resting her weight on her elbows until we were less than two inches apart. "Maybe next time, lover boy." She whispered before shocking the living shit out of me by placing a barely there kiss to my stunned lips and lowering herself back down into her seat as if nothing out of the ordinary was going on.
With a smile on her face she hopped out of the truck opening the back door which woke Sierra and Lucy up from their short naps. When Lucy complained of her head and arm hurting I understood why she had turned down my mom's dinner invitation. The kids were tired and cranky from a morning at the park and a few hours spent in the hospital. After unloading the kids and Sierra's car seat from the back of my truck Jasper and I left with me promising to be back in the morning around 9 or so because I had to make a trip to the lumber mill first.
"Well that was an interesting first date, huh?" Jasper teased as we hit the highway heading towards our hideaways in the woods.
With a huge smile on my face I turned to face one of my two best friends. "It was perfect. There was nothing fake or put on about that amazing woman. This is the real her and I am enamored by her." I admitted without a hint of reluctance or worry in my voice.
"Really?" Jasper asked, apparently surprised by my comments.
I nodded. "Yep, how did things go with Alice?" I asked changing the subject onto his blossoming relationship instead of mine. It worked because he talked about him and Alice for the entire 25 minute ride to his house. And another 10 minutes while I sat in his driveway.
Once I was at home I hopped in the shower to wash off the sweat from the park and just the ickiness from the hospital so that I could head to my parent's house for dinner tonight. I cut dinner short because my mom would not shut up about Bella, Lucy, and Sierra and frankly it was getting on my nerves. For crying out loud, we hadn't even been on a real date yet! The park and hospital did NOT count.
I frowned a little bit when I didn't see Bella's car or Alice's in the driveway as I backed in so I could have easier access to the lumber in the bed. Since it appeared nobody was home I got right to work with framing the new porch out since I had gotten all the old ripped out and cleaned up last week. It didn't take long for my shirt to become soaked with sweat since it was late March in Texas where it truly never got that cold so I tugged it off over my head tucking it into my back pocket.
"Well isn't that a sight to see, lover boy." Bella said from behind me as the whirring of the skill saw stopped.
Nearly dropping the board and the saw in my surprise I whirled around to see her standing beside my truck in some indecently short shorts and a baggy t-shirt with her hair tossed up in a knot on top of her head and flip-flops on her feet. "When did you get back?" I asked sitting the saw down beside my feet and propping the board against the saw horse so my hands were free.
"A few minutes ago but I wanted to enjoy the view while I could." She said cocking her head to the side.
Smiling at her I tugged my t-shirt out of my back pocket wiping my hands, face, arms, and chest to get the sawdust off of me. "I kind of like my view too." I told her as I took a few steps towards her.
"Yeah but you've seen me half naked while I have only ever saw you fully clothed." She said with a huge smile on her face. "Until now." She said pointing to the jeans that hung low on my hips clearly displaying my toned stomach, chest, and the waistband of my boxer briefs.
I just smiled broadly at her. "While the half-naked view of you isn't bad at all, I think I prefer this one over that one." I motioned to her current outfit, her natural outfit, her mothering outfit.
"Is that so?" She asked quietly.
Nodding I took a very small step towards her as I tucked my shirt back into my pocket. "Where's Sierra?" I asked her softly as I noticed the little girl wasn't making racket or within Bella's reach.
"Daycare. Other kids are all at school. Why?" She asked coyly cocking her head to the side.
Taking a few more steps towards her I smiled cockily at her. "Because there is something I have practically been dying to try." I told her firmly.
"Oh?" She cocked her head to the other side raising her eyebrow in curiosity.
I nodded and took the final step that brought us so close that barely an inch separated us. "'Oh' is right." I told her as I snaked an arm around her waist tugging her into my chest, sealing my lips to hers. Firmly.
