Stephanie Meyer owns all things Twilight. I am just playing with the characters. :)
Chapter 7
I went to my closet to find something suitable to wear to a grand opening of a tattoo shop. I was happy when I found out that Edward wasn't dressing up. I was most comfortable is my Levi's and tee shirts. I looked around and found a pair of dark blue button fly, boot cut jeans. I laid those on the bed as I looked for a shirt that would go with them. I flipped through the racks and found a red, short sleeved, button up that I really liked. After putting the shirt on the bed with the jeans I went and took a quick shower and washed my hair. I quickly shaved and rinsed off before pulling on pair of red lace boy short underwear and a red lace bra. I admit, I normally don't wear lace but I thought that I would splurge today. "I mean who knows who might get a peek at them?" I thought to myself with a little smirk.
Suddenly I heard Edward 's voice cut across my thoughts "a peek at what Bella?" I felt the blush immediately rise across my face as I thought back to him "I'm not telling, Edward!" I couldn't believe that he had heard that. I knew that we could hear each other's thoughts, but it was hard to remember that sometimes because it was so new to me.
Walking back into the bedroom, I grabbed my jeans and shirt and put them on. The jeans were a little snug, but not terribly tight. The blouse fit well also. I finished buttoning up the majority of the buttons quickly. I couldn't stand it buttoned up all the way, so I left the top three buttons undone. I moved to the closet and got my boots out and slid them on. Looking down at myself, I figured that I was as ready as I was going to get.
I went back into the bathroom to comb my hair. It didn't take long to finish up there because I left it hanging down my back in gentle waves. I'd grabbed a hair band to take with me in case I needed it later. After brushing my teeth and putting on a touch of lipstick I was ready to go.
Delilah and Samson were sprawled out in the floor by my bed when I came back out of the bathroom.
"Come on guys, it's time to go!" I told them.
I went through the house and made sure that I had everything that I thought that I might need for the night. I got a gallon sized zip bag and put some of Delilah's food in it. Then, I packed a couple of bowls for the food and water. I grabbed another pack of smokes from the freezer and put them into my backpack, along with my MacBook and power cord for it. I went and packed Gracie a couple changes of clothes because you never know when an accident might happen. I also packed her pajamas and her sleeping bag. I figured that if she got too tired, then she could cuddle up with Samson and Delilah again and go to sleep. Casting a quick look around the room, I saw her portable DVD player and grabbed that along with a few of her favorite movies. I don't know how many times she had watched Ice Age, Happy Feet and The Lion King and still hadn't gotten tired of them. I also made sure that I grabbed her art set and drawing pad. As I stuffed the last of the items into her bag I hoped that I had enough things to keep her occupied tonight. I walked out of her room, looking around one last time, and I turned on the lamp that was on the end table near the couch. I led the dogs from the house and made my way over to the truck. After loading the bags and dogs and getting them situated, I climbed up into the truck. I lit up a cigarette as I started down the drive.
It didn't take long to reach the shop and as I pulled up Edward was coming out the door. He walked over and opened my door for me. He leaned in and gave me a quick kiss before grabbing my hand to help me out. Reaching back, he opened the door and let the dogs get out. Samson and Delilah walked over to the door of the shop and waited for us to get there.
"So, how does it look?" I asked him before he opened the door.
"It's great. I'm really happy with the color that the walls turned out after they dried." he said as he opened the door.
He ushered us in and I looked around to see for myself. It really looked great. The black furniture stood out nicely against the red walls. I looked up and saw that he had started to hang the flash on the walls. He looked at me questioningly to see what I thought about it.
"It looks so good Edward. It's like I had pictured it. How many more sheets of flash do you have to hang?" I asked as I turned to face him.
"I'm almost done actually. I've just got a few more. After we get the table in I can put my photo albums out and I'll be finished." he said.
"Well, come on then, let's go get it." I told him while I pulled on his hand to get him moving towards the door.
Edward led me out to the truck and pulled the tailgate down. I stepped to the side to give him room to grab the table. The muscles in his arms contracted and released as he pulled on the table and lifted it. I moved to grab the end so that we could maneuver it better. After a few quick steps we had placed the table in front of the couch. I sat down and watched as Edward went over and got his albums to put out. I picked up the one nearest me and flipped it open to look at it.
"These are really good" I thought.
"I'm glad you like them," he told me.
I jerked my gaze up to meet his as I smiled brightly at him. "You're an amazing artist! Some of these look like pictures and not ink. I don't know how you can do it, but I'm glad that you can. I'm really looking forward to getting a tattoo from you!"
A slow smile lit up his face as he said "Well, I have to admit that I'm looking forward to it too."
"When I figure out what I want, you'll be the first to know." I told him and he let me know that he couldn't wait.
I asked him about some of the flash that was on the walls and he explained that he had ordered them from a supply company that specialized in tattooing. "My original designs are in one of the albums on the table. I can also do a custom piece for someone too. I prefer doing those anyway. It has more meaning, I think, than picking out a random piece of flash off of the wall," he said as he turned to me again.
"I can also design something for you, if you give me some ideas what you may be looking to incorporate into the tat. Just let me know if you want my help or ideas." he offered with a smile.
I have to admit, that I'm glad he offered. I have a vague sense of what I want, but I'm not sure how to pull it all together into a single form.
"Why don't I get some ideas together of some of the things that I would like in it, and then I will give you what I have and maybe you can help me get it into a cohesive design," I told him.
"That'll be fine, I'm glad to help out anyway I can," Edward told me.
Looking over the room again I noticed the counter space in the far left corner that had an appointment book and a cash register set up on it. There was also a new iMac computer set up on the desktop. I could feel my fingers itch to go over and play with it. I had been looking at them online but hadn't had a chance to get to an Apple store to try one out yet.
"You have one of the new iMac desktops! Do you mind if I play with it a little?" I asked as I walked over to look at it. "I've been dying to try one out but haven't had a chance to yet."
"I don't mind at all. Why don't you come on back here and let me show you how to set up appointments in iCalendar. I have the paper copy here for quick notes, but I have iCalendar set up to sync with my iPhone so that I can keep up to date with everything." he said as he walked me behind the counter.
It was a bit of a tight fit to get both of us back there and Edward ended up standing right behind me so that we could both easily see the screen. He walked me through setting up appointments and explained to me about how much time to schedule for each one. Basically, it ended up being an hour and fifteen minutes each for the small designs, two and a half hours for the medium designs and I was to ask him about the large ones because it would all depend on the customer's preference on whether they were going to sit for the whole thing or come in to have it done in multiple sessions. I looked fairly simple to work out. I told him that I would be able to handle it.
We were still standing facing the computer and I felt him move closer to me. Leaning my head back against his chest, I looked up to watch him and saw him move to place a gentle kiss on my neck. I moved my head to give him more room and he trailed soft kisses up and down my neck and shoulder. He finally settled on my earlobe and when he bit down on it with a low moan I felt myself get wet. His hands were slowly traveling up and down my sides with soft touches. I felt his fingertips gently graze the sides of my breasts and let out a whimper of desire while reaching up to grab hold of his hair to keep his mouth near me.
He turned me around and I heard the appointment book hit the floor as he pushed it out of the way. He reached out, grabbing me by the ass, and lifted me up and set me on the counter while his mouth attacked mine. He shoved his hands into my back pockets to pull me against him. I found myself once again wrapping my legs around his waist. I used them to pull him closer to me and when I felt his manhood hit that perfect spot I gasped and moved against him.
This was no tentative brushing of lips together. This was a full on attack of his mouth against mine. Lips molded together, our tongues battled for dominance. I willingly submitted and his tongue raced into my mouth, twisting around mine and pulling it into his own mouth. He suckled on it a bit before pushing his way into my mouth once more. I grabbed his tongue and returned the favor. I could feel the rumble in his chest as he hummed in pleasure while grinding against me.
I was simply astounded at the amount of feeling that filled me. It only took one brush of his lips and I forgot about where I was or what I was doing. Trying to rein myself back in was akin to pulling splinters out from under my nails. It was really that painful for me to let him go. I wanted to remain in his arms forever. Unfortunately, Delilah wasn't as happy with that thought as I was because she barked at us, trying to get our attention.
"Delilah, hush now girl," I told her sternly. She let out a whine so I turned to look at her and noticed that there was a new car in the parking lot.
"Oh, I see, good girl Delilah! Edward, there's someone out there. Looks like you may have your first visitor for the evening!" I told him as I gently pushed on him so that I could get down from the counter. He saw what I was doing and stepped back up between my legs to stop me.
"Bella , I didn't get a chance earlier to tell you how beautiful you are today. I also wanted to thank you for all of your help getting everything ready here. I don't think I would've gotten everything done without you," he told me quietly.
"I'm sure you would have figured something out, but I really am happy to help you." I replied as I looked out the front window again. "But, you really need to let me down off of this counter before whoever is out there comes in here!" I told him as I once again attempted to get down off of the counter.
"Fine then, I'll let you down, but think about this . . . we will be finishing this talk later," he said with a smirk as he lifted me easily down from the counter.
I quickly brushed past him and went around to pick up the appointment book from where it had landed in the floor. As I placed it back on the counter, the front door opened and the first visitor came in. I called Samson and Delilah over and told them to lay in front of the counter. I didn't want them to scare off any potential customer's and this way I could keep an eye on them easily.
Edward greeted the visitor and they settled into talking. There were several more visitors that came in before it was time for me to get Gracie. I walked over to Edward and waited patiently for him to finish what he was saying to the customer he was talking with. Once he finished he turned to me and I let him know that I was going to go get Gracie, but that I was going to leave Delilah here with Samson. He told me that it was fine and that he would see me soon. Before he had a chance to say anything else, there was someone else that walked up wanting to talk to him. I just nodded my head before leaving the shop.
I drove to the school and walked quickly up the steps. I was anxious to get back to the shop with Edward . I was greeted at the door with a chorus of hello's from all of the kids and teachers. It was nice to be greeted like that everyday. I looked over to see Alice staring at me. She hadn't been here this morning when I dropped Gracie off and I could see the questions in her eyes. I decided to go ahead and bite the bullet and walked over to talk to her.
"Hi Alice! How are you today? Did Gracie have a good day?" I asked her, not really expecting to get away with making small talk.
"Um, Bella , you know that I want to talk about the hunk that you and Miss. Gracie were spotted having supper with last night at the diner, right? I mean. . . you really gotta give me something here! Everyone keeps asking me about it because they know that we're friends, but I have nothing to tell!" she told me with a pout.
"Alice! Calm down. The "hunk" you are referring to is Edward Cullen. He's opening the new tattoo shop in town. I ran into him at the pet store the other day and we got to talking . . . and next thing I know, Gracie and I are spending the day with him and his dog Samson. Yeah, I just. . . Alice, I really like him. I mean I really, really like him. He seems to like me just as much and he's great with Gracie and Delilah. Not to mention that Samson is an American Mastiff too! Can you believe that? We have the same kind of dogs?" I told her quickly before lowering my voice to whisper the next part. "We went to eat at the diner last night and Lauren was being her normal bitchy self and he told her off, Alice! I couldn't believe it! It just made me . . . I dunno how to describe it." I said as I finally wound down.
"Bella , I'm so happy that you met someone that you like this much. Just . . . please be careful. I would hate to see you and Gracie get hurt," she replied quietly.
"I know Alice. Thanks for not judging him and me. Why don't you come by open house tonight? I'll be there helping him out. That's why I was late getting here today. We were getting the shop ready. You can meet Edward for yourself. Who knows, you might actually want to get a tattoo now!" I teased her quietly.
"Fine, I'll come over after closing up the center. I doubt that I'll ever want to get a tattoo though," she said as she laughed at me. "So, what's Gracie supposed to do while you're helping out Edward?"
"Well, I brought some movies and coloring books and pajamas and stuff. She should be fine." I said to her.
"How about if she spends the night with me? You know I don't mind and that way she won't have to be bored staying at the shop all night and I can bring her home tomorrow. I've missed our camp overs!" She told me with a smile.
"Tell ya what, how about we see how she's feeling when you get there?" I told her with a shrug. "I'm open to the suggestion though," I said quietly.
"OK, now we have a plan!" she said. "Why don't you go get Gracie and I'll get her things out of her cubby for you."
"Thanks Alice! I really appreciate everything that you do for me!" I told her before moving off to find my daughter.
I pried her away from her friends and let her know that we were going to the shop with Edward . She was very excited to go visit with him and Samson. She gave Alice a hug before we left. We chatted in the truck about her day and she was bouncing in her seat by the time we made it back to the shop. There were several cars in the lot when we pulled in and I hoped that everything was going well.
After parking and getting Gracie out of the truck, I led her over to the door of the shop. We walked in and several people turned to look at us. Some were a little confused to see a child coming in there, but I ignored them. When Gracie spotted Edward , she took off running over to him and crashed into his legs. He looked a little startled from the impact, but kept up his conversation with a customer. He just scooped Gracie up into his arms and she gave him a kiss on the cheek. He returned her kiss before settling her on his hip. When the customer was finished, he turned to look at her. I could see her laughing and then squealing in delight as he tickled her sides lightly. She started to squirm a little so he sat her down and watched as she attacked Samson and Delilah with hugs and kisses. He finally looked over at me behind the counter and sent me a heart melting smile.
I returned his smile while sending him a thought "How are things going? I hope that you don't mind that Gracie just tried to take you out!"
He sent me a thought while walking around the room towards another customer, "Things are going great here and Gracie is fine. I admit it did startle me a little, just because I wasn't expecting it. It's nice that she feels comfortable enough with me to give me a hug like that."
I just smiled at him before helping someone book an appointment for the next week and then I got Gracie settled down in the corner with Samson and Delilah. She was happy to sit leaning against them while she watched the people moving around the room while she was coloring a picture in her coloring book. When she got hungry, I called in an order to the pizza joint in town and had them deliver us a pizza and drinks.
When it arrived, I took her into Edward 's office and set her up at his desk so that she could eat. Edward ate between mingling with potential customer's. I thought it was funny, the way he was running into the room and grabbing a bite of his pizza and a drink before dashing back out to the front of the shop. Gracie and I chatted about her day and what she wanted to do when we finished eating. I let her know that Alice wanted her to spend the night with her tonight and her eyes lit up with delight. She quickly agreed to go with her when she came in to the shop later this evening. Once she finished eating, I set her up with a movie and she snuggled down with Samson with the little portable DVD player in her hands so she could watch it.
The evening was a whirlwind after that. I think that being able to walk in a tattoo shop legitimately brought all of the townspeople out in full force. I had actually booked several appointments for the next week. It averaged around two or three a day. There were also several of the townspeople who kept questioning why Gracie and I were there and why I was helping Edward out. They were pretty obvious in trying to find out if something was going on between us. I was content to stay in the background, not answering their questions about us one way or the other. Edward , on the other hand, let the cat out of the bag when he came up to the desk to check the availability of an appointment slot and absentmindedly pressed a kiss to my lips before going back over to the client.
I saw several people watching him and then looking back at me in contemplation. I could see the rumors flying already and they hadn't even left the shop yet. I knew that Edward and I would be drug through the mud so to speak. Hoping for the best, I turned to the computer in front of me to finish booking the appointments that I hadn't gotten in the computer yet.
When the bell rang over the door, I looked up to see Alice walking in. When Gracie spotted her, she took off running to her and gave her a hug. Alice scooped Gracie up into her arms and settled her on her hip before walking over to the counter to talk to me.
"Hey Bella , how's it going tonight? I see that most of the town seems to be coming in and out of here. I had to wait for a parking space for the first time in forever!" she told me with a laugh.
"We are doing great Alice! Thanks for coming. Oh, I talked to Gracie and she is very excited to be able to spend the night with you tonight. It's a good thing that I packed her a couple of sets of clothes and her pajamas to bring with me tonight." I said.
"That's great! Gracie, would you like to introduce me to Delilah's friend here?" She said as she put Gracie down on the floor.
Gracie was so cute when she called Samson over to her. "Samson, this is Alice. Alice this is Samson." She said before giving Samson a hug and a kiss on his nose.
Alice pet Samson and then Delilah came over to get her own lovin' form Alice. After a few minutes of pets and scratches, I led Alice over to meet Edward .
"Edward , I am bringing over a friend to introduce you to. She is Gracie's teacher and my best friend." I told him in a thought.
"That's fine, Baby." He thought back to me before I got to him.
"Edward , do you have a minute?" I inquired politely because he was still talking to a customer.
"Sure thing, just give me a minute to finish up here?" he asked me and when I nodded he turned back to the man he was discussing a tattoo with.
It only took another few minutes for him to finish up and he turned to me with a smile.
"What can I do for you?" He asked me.
"Edward , I would like you to meet Alice Brandon. She's Gracie's teacher at school and she is my best friend." I told him.
He held his hand out to her while telling her that he was pleased to meet her. I watched as she looked him over before accepting his handshake.
"It's nice to meet you, too. Bella has told me so much about you in the last few days. Not to mention Gracie bending my ear at school about the awesome Samson," She told him before sliding a quick glance in my direction.
I could feel the blush spreading across my face when Edward looked over at me with an arched eyebrow.
"Oh, really? Well, I hope it was all good things that she told you." he told her.
"Yep, it was all good. No worries there," she told him with a grin while she looked at me.
We talked a little while before Edward had to go back to making his rounds around the shop, talking to everyone. He told her goodbye and that he hoped to see her again later. When he walked off Alice turned to me with one of the biggest smiles on her face. She pulled my by the hand over to a corner and started talking a mile a minute.
"OH. MY. GOD! Bella he is so hot! I'm so happy for you sweetie! Don't think I didn't notice the looks flying between the two of you. I swear it's a wonder y'all aren't smoldering from all the heat that you can feel between you. Does he have a brother? A cousin? Hell, just an acquaintance who looks like him? If so, sign me up!" she rambled.
I couldn't help but to laugh at her rant. She was so funny. I promised to find out if he had a brother or anything. We talked a bit more before she had to go. Alice helped me gather Gracie's stuff together. I was about to lead Gracie out the front door of the shop when she pulled on my hand and told me that she wanted to tell Edward bye and goodnight. I turned and led her over to where he was standing talking to Evie Turner. She looked at Gracie and I before excusing herself and walking over to look at some of the designs on the wall. I sent Edward a thought to let him know what Gracie wanted and watched as he kneeled down in front of her.
"Hey Gracie, what can I do for you, sweetie?" he asked her quietly.
"G'nite Edward. I'm goin' home with Ms. Alice." she told him softly before she reached out and wrapped her little arms around his neck.
Once again I felt my heart swell when I looked at this big man with his arms wrapped gently around my little girl. Edward looked up at me and winked before he gently kissed her cheek and told her goodnight. When she was finished, I led her and Alice out to get Gracie's car seat out of my truck and moved it over to Alice's car. Once I was finished, I gave Gracie a big hug and told her to behave herself for Alice. She promised to be good and then I got her all strapped in the car.
"Thanks for doing this Alice. I really appreciate it," I told her.
"Your welcome Bella . I hope that you have a great night. I'll be by in the morning with Gracie. Say around ten?" she asked me.
"That sounds great Alice. I'll see you guys then. Call me if you need me, OK?" I told her as she got into her car.
"I'll do that. Good night Bella . Tell Edward I said goodbye, OK?" she said as she buckled her seatbelt.
"I'll let him know," I told her as I stepped back from the car.
I watched her pull out of the parking lot and head down the street towards her house before I went back into the shop. I sent the thought to Edward about Alice telling him bye and he smiled over at me in return and I went back over to the counter to do some paperwork.
Finishing up the last entry, I felt this weird feeling come over me. Slowly, I moved my eyes up to try to see who or what it was without drawing attention to the fact that I had noticed. Looking around the room I noticed none other than Lauren over in a corner staring daggers in me. If looks could kill, I would have been six feet under by now. She would look at me with the daggers and then look over to where ever Edward happened to be standing at the time and give him a come-hither look. I smirked to myself because I knew that he didn't like her at all.
I decided to see if Edward noticed his fan and thought to him "hey baby, did you notice your biggest fan over in the front corner staring daggers at me? I wonder what crawled up her ass tonight?"
I saw him stand a little straighter and look over at me and then over to where Lauren was standing. She saw him look her way and took that as in invitation to go over and talk to him. He tried to keep the scowl off of his face when she looked up at him but he didn't quite succeed when she placed her hand on his arm and started rubbing on it.
His thought came through loud and clear as moved his arm from under her hand. "Damn it Bella ! Get your ass over here. If this girl doesn't get her hands off of me I may end up in jail for removing them forcefully from me." This was immediately followed by "baby, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you! Can you please just come over here. Oh, by the way, I plan on introducing you as my girlfriend. Is that okay with you?"
I couldn't help but have a smile on my face as I wondered through the few people left, to get to Edward . When I got there, I slipped my arms around his waist from behind and linked my fingers together over his hard stomach. He slipped his fingers between mine and pulled me around to his side while wrapping me up in his arms. I sent him a thought that it was okay for him to let her know that I'm his girlfriend and he smiled down at me.
"Lauren, I think you know my girlfriend, Bella ." he said to her.
I couldn't help but give her a smug grin because I knew that she was mad as hell right now. I had seen the way she had been looking him over, like he was a steak and she hadn't eaten in a month of Sundays.
She looked me over from head to toe with an arrogant smile on her face. "Yeah, Bella and I know each other. I'm a little surprised that she conned you into going out with her. I mean, she is a bit overweight and she has a kid and all. I'm sure you could have anyone that you wanted, you really don't have to settle for her ya know?" She told him while trying to do the seductress bit.
To say that I was pissed off at her would be an understatement in the extreme. I felt my face turn red from all the anger I was holding back. I felt Edward 's arms tighten around me as he caught my thoughts about maiming the whore. Gasping in surprise, I suddenly found myself behind him as he stood up for me quite forcefully.
"Lauren, You can't see the good in others for all of the negativity that you have. You are a sad excuse for a human being. If you can't talk to Bella any better than that, then you need to remove yourself from my shop and DO NOT come back in here!" he told her.
I thought it was kinda funny, because I had ended up trying to hold him back. We had changed places trying to calm the other down. I quickly stepped in front of him and pressed my hands against his chest while pushing gently against him.
"Baby! Look at me! Just leave it alone. She is so not worth this. We still have people here looking around and you really don't want for them to spread any stories around town, right?" I asked him quickly. I was trying to get his mind off of the skank that stood behind me.
After he gave me a terse nod I turned to Lauren and said "You need to leave, now! You're not welcome here any longer."
"Fine, I'll leave, but know this, I could've had him anytime that I wanted him! I just don't think he's my type!" She said and then turned on her heel and stomped out the door.
"Well, baby. I think you've lost your appeal!" I told him with a laugh.
He turned me to him and brushed his mouth across mine and then pressed his lips firmly to mine. Slowly he pulled back and asked me, "have I lost my appeal to you?"
"Not in the least. In fact you have gained appeal just now. Thank you for standing up for me. I think that she didn't expect that. No one else has done that for me, while I've lived here. I've been on my own with stuff like that, ya know?" I told him.
"Well, baby, you have me now and I plan on being here to help you out when ever you need me!" he said with a smile.
Smiling up at him, I reached out and wrapped my arms around his neck and burrowed my nose in his neck. Taking in a deep breath of his scent, I just stood there enjoyed the feeling of him wrapped around me.
A throat clearing near us brought me out of my stupor. I pulled back out of his arms and looked over to see Norman Atwater from the local Bright Star Convenience Station.
"I'm sorry to interrupt guys, but I wanted to know about booking a time for a tattoo. I hope that's okay?" he wanted to know.
I moved away from Edward , and told him that that was fine and left him there with Edward to talk out his design as I went back over to the counter. It didn't take long before Mr. Atwater came over to book his appointment.
"Hey Bella , How's it going? Mr. Cullen said to tell you that I'll need a four hour slot." he told me.
"Sure thing Mr. Atwater. What day and time were you thinking of coming in?" I asked him.
"Um, well, I'm off next Thursday. Could we do it then? Maybe around four that evening?" he asked.
"Sure thing. I've got you down for next Thursday, at four o'clock, for a four hour slot. Thanks for coming in!" I told him.
"Thanks Bella ." he said and then turned to leave. He stopped half way and turned back to me "oh, and Bella , I'm glad that you've found somebody. We were starting to get a little concerned about you. Well, Hope you have a nice evening!" he said as he turned once more to the door and left.
I couldn't decide if I wanted to take offense at his comment or to take it as a compliment. On one hand, I didn't like the people in town talking about me and my love life, or lack there of; but on the other hand, it kinda made me feel good that he was happy for us. I decided to just put it out of my mind for the time being and think about it later.
Edward was talking to the last patron so I began to go around and straighten up the albums and then moved back to the computer. Since I didn't have anything else to do, I went online and pulled up my e-mail to see if I had gotten any new mail in the last few hours. There was one from my mother, asking me when Gracie and I were coming home for a visit, how we were doing, was I ready to move back closer to the family, ect. I hit reply and told her that I wasn't sure when we would be coming home to visit, we were doing great, and that no I was NOT moving back home.
Home for me was Rocksprings, Texas. It was a smallish city that had a population of around 1,000 people. I had been born and raised there and that town gossip mill was so much worse than it was here. I didn't mind going home for a visit every now and then, but since I had just been home at Easter, it was too soon to be contemplating a visit now. I had plans, that I hadn't let my parents know about, to go for a visit around Labor Day. That was still a couple of months away though. Soon enough for me. It was a long drive with Gracie and Delilah, and it's not that I really minded it, but it could get tiring after so many hours behind the wheel. I would try to find somewhere to stop off for the night but finding somewhere that would accept Delilah was hard to come by. I managed somehow though.
I had just hit the send button when I felt Edward standing next to me. I looked up and noticed that the last customer had left and we were all alone.
"Hey you! How do you think things went?" I asked him, smiling.
"Well, we have appointments booked for the next couple of weeks, so I think it went well. Most people were more open minded than I thought they would be. It was a little surprising, but I'm not going to question anything!" he said with a laugh.
"Yeah, I don't blame you a bit. Mama always told me not to look a gift horse in the mouth. I wasn't really sure what that meant, but I knew not to question Mama to hard!" I told him laughingly.
A/N There will probably be a lemon in the next chapter. Thank you to all of the people who have reviewed and added my story to their favorites and alerts. Y'all are so great!