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All the King's Horses – Chapter Six

"Rise and shine," Edward whispered before pressing his lips to my forehead, then my lips. He tasted like coffee, warm and sweet against my mouth.

"That's a nice way to be woken up," I mumbled with a smile.

"Good to know I still got it," he chuckled and kissed me again. "Coffee's there for you. Get dressed. We're taking a mental-health day, all three of us."

I opened one eye and peeked up at him, then at the alarm clock.

"You turned off the alarm? I'm going to be late!" I cried as I threw off the covers and scrambled into the bathroom.

"Relax, I called you in. Then I called me in," Edward said as he pulled a t-shirt on. I frowned and made my way back to my side of the bed. I sat and took my coffee off the bedside table and sipped it while my husband tugged clothes out of my dresser.

"Shorts?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"It's fairly warm. Mid-seventies, I think. " He grinned. "Come on, breakfast is ready. We were just waiting for you." Edward slipped out of the bedroom and I quickly dressed in the shirt and shorts he'd tossed onto the bed. I carried my coffee into the kitchen where Caroline quickly greeted me with a hug and a smile.

"Hi, Mama," she said as she grinned widely up at me. I brushed a stray curl away from her face and smiled down at her.

"Come eat, Sweet," Edward directed as he scooped scrambled eggs onto her plate.

"You made a rhyme, Daddy!" Caroline smiled and settled herself at the breakfast table.

"I did. You're so smart." He kissed the top of her head and made my plate for me, then sat down across from our daughter.

"So, where're we going?" I asked after a moment.

"Daddy says it's a surprise." Caroline shrugged. I narrowed my eyes at Edward and he laughed quietly.

"Well, Mama doesn't like surprises, so you should tell me," I tried to convince her.

"Sorry, Mama. I pinky promised. And Daddy gave me five dollars."

"Five dollars, huh? How about I give you ten?" I leaned across the table and waggled my eyebrows at her. She giggled and glanced toward Edward.

"Leah!" Edward chastised as he cleared our plates. "Just be patient."

I sighed dramatically and rested my chin in my hands, trying my best to look sad. Caroline looked pleadingly up at Edward, who simply shook his head.

"Go brush your teeth and we can leave. I don't want your mom to explode from excitement." He ushered her out of the kitchen and turned to glare at me. "Bribery? Really?"

"Hello? Pot? This is Kettle calling," I laughed, and quickly went to him across the kitchen, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him into a kiss. "Thank you."

"What for?" he asked, trying to capture my lips with his again.

I shrugged. "For last night. For whatever today is."

"You needed it. Hell, I needed it. And you aren't supposed to thank me, I'm your husband. It's what I do," he said with a soft smile.

"Fine," I sighed and slipped my hands in the front pockets of his shorts. "I'll just find some other way to say it…or do it."

He groaned low in the back of his throat and I pulled my hands away.

"I'm ready!" Caroline announced herself and I stepped away from Edward, enjoying the frustrated look on his face.

"Lead the way," I said as I gestured in front of me. He rolled his eyes and grabbed a bag off the kitchen counter, then led us out the front door.

It didn't take me long to discover where we were going. There really weren't that many places to go. As soon as we were on the highway headed to La Push I was sure, though. When we were younger, as soon as it was warm enough Edward was at the beach. I smiled and took Edward's hand in mine.

Caroline kept us entertained with her stories about school or singing loudly to every song we heard on the radio. I wasn't sure how she knew some of them and Edward simply laughed so I let the issue go.

We parked at the beach and quickly piled out into the dirt parking lot. As soon as Caroline was out of the car she shed her shoes and took off toward the water, giggling uncontrollably.

"Hey!" Edward yelled as he slipped off his own shoes and followed her. He caught her, just as she launched herself into the waves, a born mermaid, and lifted her into the air.

"Daddy!" she chastised him and tried to push herself away.

"It's too cold, Sweet. And not safe," he explained with a quick kiss to her nose. She sighed and wrapped her arms around his neck. I smiled and quickly made my way to them, carrying the bag Edward had packed. I pulled out the beach blanket and spread it out, then settled myself on it to watch the two of them together.

The two of them laughed as they ran in and out of the waves. Edward pretended the water was chasing him and Caroline cheered when he managed to outrun it. He would lift her into his arms and kiss her before throwing her up into the air. And I watched. I watched and felt my heart swell because it had become so easy to forget what I still had. I laid back and closed my eyes, letting the sun warm my skin and Edward and Caroline's voices fill my head.

I felt more than heard Edward as he lowered himself onto the blanket beside me. He smelled like the sun, water, and our daughter. It was an odd combination, but it made me smile. With a soft sigh, he rested his head next to mine, chin on my shoulder and an arm draped lazily over my waist.

I reached up, my fingers coming in contact with the silky hair over his ear. He hummed and I turned my face to his, eyes still closed, mouth searching. Edward kissed me then, his lips moving slowly with mine. No rush, like we had all the time in the world.

Our eyes met, and the corners of his crinkled with his smile while a memory rushed through me.

"Are you going to college in the fall?" I asked Sam as he refilled my plastic cup with something I knew would be kicking my ass later.

"Nah." He shrugged and took a long drag from a Marlboro I'd watched him dig out of his pocket. I frowned at him. "I'll probably start my own landscaping business or something like that. I wanna make my own hours, you know? Can't do that going to school."

I nodded like I understood and tried to remember why I'd agreed to come out with him. We were on First Beach at a bonfire. It was common knowledge that First Beach was "the spot" to be on the weekends- even kids from Forks knew that. Which was why I wasn't surprised to see Mike and Jessica, Lauren and…Edward. Edward and Mike had graduated together the year before. Mike never went anywhere without Jessica, but Lauren was in my class and was…well-known, in a manner of speaking.

"So, what are you going to do?" Sam's voice snapped me back to reality and I turned to him, remember why I was there. He was tall and handsome and generally interested in me, though I couldn't quite figure out why I wasn't very interested in him. Well, I hadn't really thought about it too much until Edward showed up at school the previous week.

Now I didn't know what to think.

"I've been taking some classes in Port Angeles already. I'm studying art," I explained, letting my eyes travel to the bonfire again where I'd last seen Edward.

"Oh, you're one of those types, huh?" Sam grinned. I sipped my drink and shrugged.

"I like to draw," I told him.

"Maybe you can draw me one day," he teased. I laughed, though it was forced.

I'd only ever drawn one person before: Edward.

Sam slipped his arm around my waist and I become very conscious of the fact that I was only in a bikini top and jean shorts. It was hot and we were at the beach; that was basically the uniform for these kinds of nights. He pulled me close against his side and tilted my face to his with his other hand, and then–

"Hey, Leah." I closed my eyes at the sound of his voice. "Can I talk to you?"

"Crappy timing, Cullen," Sam seethed and pulled his arm from around me.

"Sorry," Edward said, with his eyes on my face. He didn't look sorry at all.

"I'll find you later, Sam," I told him with a gentle pat to his arm. I gestured for Edward to lead us away from the fire. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his khaki shorts as he did. We made it to the edge of the water, a little ways away from the rest of the party. The people were just shadows now, no faces recognizable.

"Are you cold?" Edward asked as I wrapped my arms around myself. We had walked too far away from the fire and I was suddenly regretting my skimpy clothing.

"A little," I admitted.

"Well, you're half-naked, of course you're cold." He narrowed his eyes at me and I resisted the urge to laugh. Edward of all people, telling me what to do!

"I thought you wanted to talk." I turned away from him and strode further down the beach.

"I do!" he called after me. "Here." Edward thrust something in my hand and it took me a moment to realize it was his t-shirt. He stood next to me in a white undershirt that stretched deliciously across his chest.

"Thanks," I muttered and slipped the shirt on. It smelled faintly like laundry detergent and some sort of cologne.

"I'm sorry about last week," Edward blurted out as we walked.

"What about it?" I wrapped my arms around myself again.

"I shouldn't have just shown up like that, I guess."

"Oh. It's fine," I muttered.

"No, it freaked you out and I'm sorry." He caught my elbow and turned me toward him.

"It didn't…" I trailed off and tried to tear myself from his gaze. "I can't do this right now, Edward."

"Then when are we going to do it, Leah?" his grip tightened on my elbow and he took a step toward me.

"I just– I don't even know what it is you want to talk about." I finally managed to tear my arm away and watched as he stuck his hands in his pockets again.

"You. Me. Specifically– us," Edward replied with a hint of a smile. I had to look away from his earnest green eyes.

"Us?" I practically squeaked. "What about us? There's an us?"

"There's just…something, Leah. You have to feel it. It's always been there," he whispered so softly I could hardly hear him over the waves behind us.

"Teddy, please," I whispered back and closed my eyes.

"See? That right there. You're the only one that calls me Teddy."

"I only do it to annoy you," I teased weakly.

"I know." He grinned. "If anyone else were to do it I'd knock them on their ass."

"A nickname doesn't mean anything, Edward." I accentuated his name and he rolled his eyes.

"Fine, then. Tell me about landscapes."

I froze. "What are you talking about?"

"Landscapes? Really?" Edward raised an eyebrow at me and I could feel my face heat up.

"How do you know about that?" I managed to ask.

Edward shrugged. "It's not important."

"Edward!" I shoved him and he laughed lightly.

"Your sister told me," he admitted.

"Shit," I groaned and buried my face in my hands. "Shit, this is so embarrassing."

"It's not," Edward said softly as he pried my hands away from my face. "If I could draw or write or sing or anything like that…it would all be about you."

"Shut up."

"No." His face was close to mine, I could feel his breath on my skin. I watched as his tongue darted out and wet his lips, the very ones that I'd dreamed about kissing for years.

No, there wasn't something between us. There was everything between us. Everything that was known and unknown. There were things that we were both too afraid to find, but too stupid to care about at the moment. And he knew it, too.

"Kiss me. Kiss me and tell me it doesn't mean anything and I'll drop it. I'll never mention it to you again," he said as he dropped my hands and cupped my face, his fingertips gently moving into the hair at the back of my neck.

Edward didn't give me a chance to respond. Before I knew it his lips were pressed to mine, soft and warm, tinged with alcohol and salt from the air. I gasped a little when his hand wrapped around the back of my neck and his tongue parted my lips. The heat of his body pressed against mine and something inside me broke and I knew I'd never kiss anyone else.

"Tell me," Edward said as he pulled away and pressed his forehead to mine.

"I– I…"

"Tell me, Leah," he said a little louder and I slipped my arms around his waist.

"I can't," I replied as I buried my face in his chest.

"Oh, thank God," Edward sighed with relief and I laughed softly. He kissed the top of my head and tightened his arms around me. "You had me going there for a minute, Dishwater."

I rested my chin on his chest and stared up at him, smiling. It felt good to be there with him, though I had no idea what it meant just yet. I shifted my head so my cheek was pressed against his chest and I could feel his heartbeat. We stayed like that for a long moment, neither of us talking. His arms were tight around me and his chin rested on top of my head.

"Want to go back to the party?" Edward said after a moment as he jerked his head in the direction we'd come from. I shook my head and leaned up to kiss him again, because it had suddenly become my favorite thing to do.

"I'm pretty happy right here." I shrugged and he grinned.

"Yeah, me too."

"Are you snuggling without me?" Caroline cried from the foot of the blanket. Edward laughed and shifted away from me to let her lay between us.

"Sorry," I whispered and kissed her head once she'd situated herself.

I lifted myself up as Edward slipped his arm under my head and pulled us closer to him. It was another one of those perfect moments: the kind that we'd committed to memory, vivid as home videos, but had forgotten because it hurt too much to think about it. About him.

This new moment was different, though. It wasn't plagued with the memory of what we'd lost, or sadness for what we couldn't have again. For the first time in a long while, it was exactly the opposite.