"Don't look now," muttered Emmett, "but Rose and Bella are here."

"Are you sure it's them this time?" said Edward, taking a sip of his diet soda. Emmett had already propositioned the wrong tall blonde tonight, much to Edward's amusement as his brother tried to backtrack from an overly familiar greeting.

"One hundred percent," said Emmett, colouring slightly at the memory. "They're standing at the outdoor bar ordering drinks and I can see them both in perfect profile. "Plus," he added, "Bella's coat is a really distinctive blue."

"Okay," said Edward. "What's the plan?"

"The plan?" said Emmett, raising his eyebrows. "Why do I have to be the one with the plan?"

"You're a well known womaniser," said Edward.

"It doesn't mean I've got a plan," muttered Emmett. "In case you haven't noticed Rose doesn't really respond well to my usual moves." Suddenly he breathed in, a sudden rush of air. "Don't look now but they've seen us and they're walking over."

Play it cool, thought Edward to himself, play it cool. The soda was cold but his hand suddenly felt clammy. He dropped it in a nearby bin and surreptitiously wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans.

"Hey there cowboys," said Rose, coming to a stop right in front of them, a large frozen margarita in one hand. "We nearly never recognised you without the cowboy hats."

"Howdy," said Emmett. His hand moved as if he was going to tip his hat but when he realised he wasn't wearing a hat he ran his hands self consciously through his blonde curls instead.

"And no shiny buckle either?" said Rose in a teasing tone, looking flirtatiously down at his blue jeans. "You're lucky we're even giving you the time of day."

"Hi Edward," said Bella, meeting his eyes only briefly over the top of a loud coloured frozen drink.

"Hey," replied Edward. Emmett was already deep in conversation with Rose, leaving them more or less alone.

"I'm sorry….." he began.

"I'm sorry…." Began Bella simultaneously. They both laughed, breaking the ice, but it was Edward who pushed on.

"I'm sorry about last night," he said quickly. "I didn't mean to be presumptious, it just felt right to kiss you. I'm so sorry that I made you uncomfortable."

"Oh Edward," she said. "It's not you, it's me." He looked at her expectantly, somehow feeling that there was more but again he got the feeling that there was an impenetrable corner of her that he wouldn't be able to reach and that the reason for her running last night was locked in with the rest of her secrets. "Can we not talk about it?" she pleaded, taking the straw between her full lips again and taking another drink. "I've had a dreadful day and I just want to relax."

"Of course," replied Edward. They made small talk and watched the band and Edward got them all a second round of drinks. Not long after that Edward turned to say something to Emmett and noticed that he and Rose were kissing. He nudged Bella and cocked his head towards the couple who were locking lips like teenagers after the school prom. Bella rolled her eyes but smiled, clearly pleased for her friend. That, thought Edward, put him a bit of a quandry. He suspected that Emmett would be keen to take Rose back to their motel room tonight. Now, usually he would just sleep in the horse trailer or with one of their friends in the area but now he had Bella to worry about. Would she think he was trying to get her to take him home? Would she be offended if he offered to drop her at the door of the hotel? There was so many questions, and in his eyes, so many ways to mess this up.

"This isn't really my thing," said Bella, apologetically, breaking into his thoughts. She eyed the assembled crowd. A girl in a short skirt was trying to get up from where she had fallen on the ground, flashing her black underwear, much to the amusement of a nearby group of men who were whooping and hollering. Her friend, almost as drunk, was as much hindrance in help in trying to pick her up. A man in a wheelchair sat sleeping, oblivious in the centre of the crowd, a bottle of beer still clutched loosely in his gnarled hands. Further up the street two men seemed to be hell bent on fighting, various friends and bystanders either egging them on or trying to stop them from trading blows. There was a whir and a scream from above as the latest batch of ziplining tourists squealed over their heads.

"Me neither," said Edward, feeling old again. He had an urge to get her alone, to take her somewhere that they could talk. But where? After her reaction last night he was definitely not going to suggest his motel room. The surrounding casinos and restaurants seemed tacky and the bars were definitely no better. "Tell you what," he said, suddenly glad that he had stopped at one beer. "Why don't I take you out to the showground?"

"The showground?" She looked confused. "Oh yes," she said, glancing at the cowboys in the street, "the rodeo." Her interest was clearly piqued. "I've never seen a rodeo. Do you have animals with you?"

"Yes," said Edward, finding that a smile broke out on his face at her. "Bulls and horses."

"I always wanted to learn to ride," side Bella, wistfully. "I love horses."

"Great," replied Edward. He quickly discounted showing her his prize bulls. Another cowboy would appreciate the pedigree and their fierce attitudes but he sensed that Bella would not be impressed. He also discounted taking her see Emmett's horse. Dorcas had propelled Emmett to a win alongside his brother in the team roping but the black gelding had a mean streak and he didn't want Bella to lose a finger, or worse at the hands of the devil horse. "I've just bought a lovely little pony for stud. I was going to check up on him anyway if you want to come along?" He knew that little Angus would be the ideal introduction for somebody who hadn't been around horses.

"Ummm," she hesitated for a moment, clearly not sure what to do. He held his breath as she surveyed the street scene again, her eyes lingering for a moment on Emmett and Rose. Finally she looked at the barely touched slushy cocktail in her hand. Frowning, she slung it into the nearest bin. "Sounds great," she said, with a smile so shy and tentative that he thought his heart might burst, it beat so hard and irregular when he let his breath back out.

"It's so big," she said. He turned his head slightly, a smile playing across his lips. Immediately she clapped her hands over her mouth, her cheeks flushing, realising what she had said. "The truck," she squeaked. "It's a really big truck."

"That it is," he agreed, raising an eyebrow at her as he opened the passenger side door and watched her clamber in. He shut the door behind her, pleased that he had insisted Emmett clear out his rubbish earlier in the day. He got into the drivers seat and sniffed the air surreptitiously. It was fairly clean but there was still the familiar day to day smells of the ranch. Leather, hay and a slight comforting smell of horse. He sniffed again, noticing now that the door was closed her scent again, that delicate floral so faint that he almost thought that his memory was making it up. But then she turned her head and the swoosh of her hair brought a fresh gentle wave. He inhaled it, closing his eyes in pleasure. When he remembered where he was and opened his eyes hers were inches away from his. As well as the dark eyes he suddenly noticed how long the lashes were and the way that she was looking at him from underneath them. He felt an urge to kiss her but the memory of last night was fresh enough in his mind for him to rein himself in.

"Were you….?" She began.

"Smelling your hair?" he grimaced. "I'm afraid so." He grabbed the steering wheel and pushed the button on the dash that caused the engine to leap into life. "I'm not sure if it is your shampoo or perfume but you've got a really distinctive scent that I can't put my finger on."

"Oh," she replied, but the single word was tinged with pleasure at his compliment. "I use an organic shampoo and conditioner made by a local company. Maybe it's that." She pulled a lock of her hair to her own nose and sniffed. "I can't smell anything," she said. "Can you?" She grabbed a fistful of her long dark locks and thrust them towards him. It felt a little weird but he didn't know if he would get another chance to be so close to her so he turned his head toward her, gingerly took her hair into his own hand and breathed it in. His hands noticed how heavy and silky the strands were at the same time that his nose filled with the delicious floral fragrance. He wanted the moment to last as long as possible so he breathed in several times in a row, trying to commit the smell to memory.

"I think that must be it," he said, dropping her hair and switching the gearshaft into Drive with a shaking hand. "Come on," he said in a stronger voice, "let's go."