A/N: So, many of you have asked me: did Bella and Edward sleep together? No, they haven't. In this chapter, I do touch on that subject, and it specifies that they are taking it slow. So anyway, on with the story:
BPOV:
I walked into my apartment, ready to crash. I highly doubted that I would make it to Edward's house alive if I tried to drive there. So I sent him a quick text telling him that I wouldn't make it, took a shower, and fell asleep.
The next day, I woke up at ten peacefully refreshed. I had been sleeping a lot later than usual. It was then I realized I had to be at Edward's for eleven.
"Crap." I muttered and I jumped out of bed. I had about twenty minutes to get ready and packed. I grabbed one of my bags and threw in a bunch of random clothes so I could pick tomorrow and clothes for tonight. I threw on a pair of jeans and a tank top to wear today.
As quickly as possible, I made some toast and took it to go on the way to Edward's. By the time I got there, it was already ten fifty.
Edward was sitting on the porch railing, watching Laney play in the front yard. Laney ran up to me once I was out of my car. She started to tug me towards the porch.
"Bewwa! Guess what! Tomorrow is my birfday!"
"I know. And guess what else." I told her.
"What?" She asked.
"I got you a present that I know you're going to love." I told her.
"Weally! Can I open it now? Pweeeeease?" She asked.
I laughed. "You'll have to ask your dad about that." I said.
"Ask me what?" Edward asked.
"Can I open my pweasent from Bewwa?" Laney asked.
"I don't see why not. If it's okay with Bella." Edward said.
I grabbed the small box from my purse. I had seen it the other day, and I knew it had been perfect for her. I immediately bought it without a second thought.
Laney took the small box from my hand and inspected the purple wrapping carefully. She then made her way to the porch swing and sat down. Edward leaned against the porch railing and wrapped his arms around my shoulders from behind, pulling me close to his chest.
Slowly but surely, Laney began opening her present. Her smile became brighter when she saw the navy blue jewelry box. She opened it slowly to reveal an emerald colored guitar pick charm attached to an adjustable black rope-like necklace. On the guitar pick was a raised gold Cameo head.
I had seen it and immediately thought of Edward and Laney's eyes. The emerald green with flecks of gold. The Cameo was the same face shape as the one Edward had gotten me, and the guitar pick was just a plus. I knew Laney would love it. Plus, it was adjustable, so when she got older, she could still wear it.
"Baby, you didn't have to do that. I mean it probably cost... God, Bella."
I turned and looked at him. "Don't worry about the cost." I told him and looked at Laney.
"It's so pwetty!" She cheered and crashed into me, wrapping her arms around my thighs, the highest point she could reach. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."
I crouched down to her level. "Do you want to put it on?" I asked her.
She nodded and handed me the necklace. I put it over her head and around her neck. "Do you want it tight or loose?" I asked her.
"Like yo-uhs (yours) that's on." She said, referring to my choker.
I pulled the necklace to it's tightest point, and that made the charm rest on her collar bone. "That's the shortest its going to go, Lane." I said.
"Okay." She said and turned back around, giving me another hug.
Just then, I could see a Mercedes pulling into Edward's drive way and out stepped Carlisle and Esme. Laney let go of me and ran to her grandparents.
"Bella, thank you. Really." Edward told me.
I turned to him and smiled. "Your welcome, but really Edward. I wanted to get it for her."
Carlisle and Esme walked up the front porch steps.
"Oh, that is pretty, and did you thank Bella?" Esme asked.
Laney nodded.
"The necklace is beautiful, Bella. I may be a little jealous." Esme said and laughed.
"Thank you, Miss Esme." I said as she engulfed me in a hug.
"Hi, Bella. How are you?" Carlisle asked me.
"I'm great." I told him as I hugged him back. This family were just hugging people.
"Well, we'll just be going. Don't want to spoil anything." Esme said and winked at Edward.
Carlisle and Esme gave us another round of hugs as did Laney before they all left. Edward and I still stayed outside on the front porch swing. Pretty soon, I could see Jasper's truck coming down the road.
The passenger side door of the truck opened and out came Alice, being pulled by a cute, shaggy haired red puppy.
"Ugh! This stupid dog." She screamed as it pulled her towards the house. It immediately got off of the chain and came bounding towards Edward.
Jasper grabbed a pouting Alice's hand and led her towards the front porch. She glared at the dog that Edward held in his arms. I scratched the fur in between her eyes and she started to lick and play with my hand.
"Aw. She's so cute." I said and pet both of her ears.
"Cute?" Alice shrieked. "That thing is not cute! It's a terror!" The puppy just looked at Alice with a tilted head. Alice huffed again. "Cute." She mumbled under her breath.
Jasper was trying his best not to laugh, but I could tell he was about to. "And you wonder why we can't have a pet." Jasper told Edward.
Edward laughed. "I understand why now."
Alice rolled her eyes. "I swear, all animals have it out against me."
"Okay, Darlin', we believe you." Jasper said and kissed her temple.
Alice rolled her eyes. "By the way, Edward, I brought decorations for tomorrow. So, get your mutt lovin' ass up and help Jasper unload the truck while I tell Bella about my vision."
Edward handed the do to me and went help Jasper unload the truck.
"So what is your vision, oh wise one?" I asked her.
She smiled. "Okay, so, you know how Edward's house is a U and how they have that gated courtyard right in the back before you get to the back yard?
I nodded.
"Well, I want to put a ceiling on that courtyard using what I have."
I looked at Alice like she was insane.
"What? I want to do that thing with the plastic table cloth material? You know? The swoopy thing?" Alice explained.
"Yes, Alice, I know what you are talking about, but do you realize how hard that will be?"
Just then Edward and Jasper both walked up with two rolls each of the plastic table cloth rolls. And I'm talking the huge rolls that are like 200 yards each. Edward had silver, and Jasper had purple. Poor guys.
"In the courtyard." Alice said.
Alice and I followed Edward and Jasper, the puppy staying in my arms. Edward's courtyard was a good size. Probably a few feet larger than his living room. There was landscaping on the right side, and a wrought iron gate closing it off. To the very left was Edward's fire pit, but bricks kept the flames away from the house. In the center was a gazebo. I had never noticed it before, but the two sides that made the house a U shape were just one story high. On top of the sides were balconies.
"Okay, do you need anything else right now?" Edward asked.
Alice shook her head. "Just a ladder."
Edward looked at me. "Do I even want to know?"
I shook my head. Probably not. Edward Jasper left to go get the ladder while Alice looked around.
"Okay, so here's what we are going to do. We'll tie the ends of the cloth to the railing on the balcony and then attach it to the top of the gazebo some kind of way." Alice said. I looked at the gazebo. It looked about nine feet tall, so it should have been tall enough so that people wouldn't have to duck.
"Okay, what about the back? The gate isn't tall enough to do that." I told her.
"Well, I don't think we have to do that part. It'll only be a little part that's not covered, besides, you need some type of light.
Edward and Jasper came back out with the ladder. Alice then explained the plan to them. After that. Both of the guys stayed outside, while Alice and I went on the balconies. I passed through Edward's room, and I was assaulted with the smell of him. Focus, Bella. I continued walking until I got out on to the balcony.
Alice and I began cutting the table cloths to the right length and then tying the ends to the railing. Honestly, I didn't know if it would work, but it did. When we were finished and went back down, there were no empty spaces except for that one triangular space in the back that we couldn't cover. We then started to move onto to the tables and chairs.
Edward moved his barbecue pit to the spot with no cover. We put the long tables where the food would be along the left side of the house. We put the round table for the cake in the gazebo.
We then started to randomly place the eating tables wherever we could fit them. We only needed enough place to fit thirty, so we put five round six tops. Okay, this courtyard was way bigger than I originally thought.
Alice and I began to cover the tables while the guys fooled with the barbecue pit. The food tables we covered with ivory. The eating tables we covered with ivory, but we put another purple square on top, making it look layered.
The cake table we covered in purple with the ivory top and silver table runner.
"Is that it?" I asked once the last table was finished.
Alice shook her head. "I have more."
At that moment, the guys came out with three bags each filled with God knows how much decorating crap. I groaned and rested my forehead on Edward's shoulder.
"Kill me now." I said.
Edward laughed and kissed my forehead. "It's almost over, Baby."
Inside the bags was dishes and cutlery, paper lanterns, and whole lot of other stuff I had no name for. The guys put the lanterns up where Alice told them to, while I put the paper dishes and cutlery on the food table.
That was when I realized something. I was meeting both sides of Edward's family tomorrow. Oh crap. I didn't know if I was ready for that. I hadn't told my dad about him until two weeks ago, and I was already meeting his un-immediate family? Oh God. This was insane.
I felt to hands on my shoulder, and two thumbs press to my pressure point. I giggled loudly, and started to sink down. I looked and saw Edward looking down at me. Once he let go of my neck, I stood back up to full height.
"There's that beautiful smile. What's wrong, Bay?" He asked.
"I'm meeting your family tomorrow." I stated.
"Baby, you already know-," I cut him off.
"No, I mean, I'm meeting your outside-of-immediate-family family tomorrow."
Edward looked at me with a smile. "Bella, is that what you're worried about? You have nothing to worry about. Trust me, if Rosalie likes you, then you're good to go."
Rosalie? Rosalie was so sweet. How could she be proof that his family would like me? Edward must have seen my face because he explained farther.
"Like I said, she likes you, so you don't know the bitch side of her. Let's just say, my other girlfriends weren't so lucky." Edward said. Honestly, I was more hung up on when he said, 'other girlfriends.'
"How many girlfriends have you had exactly?" I asked him.
Edward laughed loudly. "Out the entire context of that sentence, that's what you got out of it. My old girlfriends?" He asked.
"Duh. What did you think I was going to get out of it?"
"Oh I don't know, possibly that meeting my family was nothing to worry about, but hey if you want to know about my old girlfriends, I'll tell you." Edward told me.
I raised an eyebrow. "So?"
"So what?" Edward asked. One look at my face and Edward chuckled. "You realize you look like an angry kitten more than a terrifying monster, right?" He asked.
I smiled sweetly. "I just sent your ex-wife to jail single handedly, do your really want to mess with me?" I asked him.
"Good point. I've had had eleven, including you and Tanya." He said and began to walk out to the main yard.
"Eleven?"
"What?That's not that many, Bella."
"I've had four boyfriends, Edward. Including you. Emmett has only had seven, including your sister!"
Edward opened the gate and led me out of the courtyard in front of him.
"You do realize that half of my girlfriends were not even serious right?" He asked and sat on a huge camouflage ATV that was parked by the house. It was really hard to concentrate when he looked as hot as he did right now.
His black button down was open all the way, showing his abs, and rolled up to his elbows. His jeans were light and worn, holes in the knees, and his feet were bare. His hair was wet from sweat, making it curl over the edges of his black Snap Tools hat.
"Well, I certainly hope that I am in the half that you categorize your serious girlfriends in."
"Of course you are, Baby." Edward said and pulled me to stand in-between his legs. "Let me see, there was Stacy who was my girlfriend in third grade."
Okay, that made me laugh.
"That didn't end well. Then in sixth grade, there was Amelia and Amy- they were sisters."
I laughed again. "Nice, Cullen. Real nice."
Edward continued. "In ninth grade, there was Phoebe. That was for about a year or so. Then in tenth, there was Candy and Lacey. Eleventh was a girl named Amber. And in twelfth, I dated Emily and another Amber. Then you know the rest." He told me.
I looked at him. "And Rosalie? She hated all of them?"
Edward nodded, trying not to laugh. "Every single one, Babe."
"But not me?"
"But not you." Edward said and kissed my lips. "And can I tell you a secret?"
"What?"
"You are the smartest, kindest, most beautiful girl I have ever been with." He said and kissed me again, pulling me closer to him.
Edward's phone went off with a text and he read it. "Jasper and Alice are leaving. They said the dog is inside."
I totally had forgotten Alice and Jasper had been here. Oops. Oh well, too late now. I was just going to have to apologize to Alice later. I just forgot about the entire outside world when Edward was with me.
"Wanna go for a ride?" Edward asked.
"On this?" I asked.
Edward nodded.
"Sounds fun." I said. Edward smiled and got on the ATV. He pulled me to sit in front of him instead of behind him. I picked up my feet and rested them on the front of the ATV. Edward pulled a key out of his pocket and started the ATV, he pressed the lever on the handle and we took off towards the woods.
Edward stopped at a trail that looked like it had been made from years of vehicles passing through.
"Ever driven a four-wheeler?" Although, when Edward asked, it sounded like fo-wheeluh. I was beginning to get used to his accent, finally.
I shook my head. "No."
Edward took my hand and put it on the lever. He pressed some type of pedal thing on the foot rest and told me to push in on the lever. I did, and we took off, I quickly took my thumb off.
Edward was laughing. "Ease into it, Baby. This thing can go fricken fast." He said.
"Yeah, well, you could have possibly said that before." I said with a roll of my eyes.
Edward kissed my cheek and rested his right hand on mine, leaving the left one on my hip.
"Now, slow." He said as he gently pressed down on my thumb."
I pressed down gently, and we started to go. After a minute or two, I got used to the pressure I had to put on the lever, so I pressed harder.
"Na ya got it." Another thing that confused me. He said Na to mean no and now. You really had to pay attention to context with him. "There's gonna be a spilt not far up. Take a left." Edward told me.
"And I turn the handle bars for that, right?"
Edward laughed. "Yes. Baby, this is just an oversized, motorized bicycle. It's easy."
"Well, I wasn't a very outdoorsy girl growing up. I'm still not." I told him as I began to turn to the left.
"I can tell." He commented.
"Hey, how do I stop?" I asked.
"The brake."
"Haha. I know that, where is it, you jerk?" I asked him.
"It's the lever on the other side. You know, kinda looks like a brake that's on a bike." He said.
"You know, if I could slap you right now, I totally would."
"Stop when you get to the gate that's a little farther ahead." Edward instructed, laughing.
We got to the gate and I pushed down on the brake and let go of the other lever. I looked around. It was so pretty.
The space that was gated off had an old rusted fence with elegant curls and designs shaped into it. Edward and I walked through the gate. The gate was only visible in the front. The sides and back of the gate was covered by cypress, magnolia, and pecan trees. In the center was one very old looking oak. It was covered with old glass bottles of all colors and sizes. One of the pecan trees had an old rope swing.
"What is this place?" I asked.
Edward looked around. "This is where my granddad always came. He had planted all of the trees for my grandmother and gated it off. He called it their Heaven. The bottles on the oak represent all of regrets my grandfather had and wanted to let go. He let them go right here. I could remember swinging on that swing, watching him drop to his knees and pray. Every Wednesday he came, and offered his morning to God." Edward looked at me. "My grandfather didn't attend church regularly, but he did love his God. This, this right here was his church."
"It's so beautiful, Edward." I told him. "Thank you for showing me this. I know that it must be really important to you."
Edward looked at me and smiled, pulling me towards the rope swing. He picked me up and put me on it, then walked around and pulled me backwards, then pushed me forward.
Edward pushed me on the swing for at least half an hour before we decided to go and see how the puppy was doing. He drove the ATV back, me thumb was actually sore. How freaking messed up was that?
We got back to Edward's house and what I saw made me laugh, but made Edward livid. The puppy was gnawing at his work boots. She had already torn through the cloth and she was working on the steel toe.
"Anh!" Edward yelled.
The puppy looked up and ran up to Edward, pawing at his pants leg.
"Dammit. I'm gonna have to buy new ones." He said as he crouched down to look at his boot. I crouched beside him and rested and arm on his back.
"I will buy you some for your birthday if you need, Love." I told him, still laughing.
Edward frowned. "But these were just gettin' worn in, Bella. I've been having them for three years." He whined.
"You mean to tell me, these shoes are as old as your daughter, and your mad because the dog chewed them up? I think it was time for new shoes."
Edward shook his head. "I'm telling you, these were just starting to get broken in. Na I'm gonna to have to brake in a brand new pair for the next three years."
I got up and went into the foyer, got the unchewed boot and went back to Edward. "Look at this, Edward. Can you honestly tell me these were just beginning to get worn in?" I asked him.
Edward sat down on the sofa, and I sat down next to him. "Yea. I can. I like to get my money's worth. do you realize how much a good pair of steel toes cost?"
"Yes, I do, Edward, but three years? Come on now, how long do your boots usually last?" I asked him.
"My last pair before these lasted from junior year until right before Laney was born."
"You're kidding me, right?"
He shook his head. "Their actually still in my closet. Guess I'll be havin' to wear those for the next few weeks until I can get some new ones."
The puppy then jumped on the sofa with Edward's boot and hopped into his lap.
"Stupid dog." He muttered.
"Aw. She's just teething. It'll be over soon." I told him and laughed.
"It better be." He said, but still pat the dog on her head.
"What do you think Laney is going to name her?" I asked him.
"I don't know, probably Janey. She likes that name. She wants to name everything she has Janey."
I laughed. "Aw. That's so cute. Laney and Janey. How sweet is that?"
Edward looked at me with narrowed eyes. "Oh yea, it's adorable." He said sarcastically.
At around dinner that night, both Edward and I were outside, next Edward's barbecue pit. He had started a jambalaya (jumble-eye-uh) for tomorrow. We had been there for a few hours.
He had one of his big pots on an iron burner attached to a metal tank. We had set up a small table with Edward's ingredients so he wouldn't have to go back and forth from the kitchen.
I had watched as he added everything he needed to and stirred the contents inside the pot. He looked so focussed. I had learned something living here. The men always did the barbecue and big dishes. I'm serious. It was always the guys who made the jambalyas and barbecue.
"Is jambalaya spicy?" I asked.
"Depends. For the family, yeah. Usually. Why?"
"I was just asking." I said. "Why is yours so dark?" I asked him.
"What are you talking about?" He asked.
"I've never seen a jambalaya that dark."
"Then you've never had a real jambalaya. It's supposed to be brown, and whoever tells you different is tellin' you wrong." He said. He took a spoonful and blew it. "Open."
I opened my mouth and tried the jambalaya that was on the spoon. "Oh my God. This is really good."
"Told ya."
I only rolled my eyes. Cocky SOB.
***~~~SILENCEisKEY~~~***
The next morning, I woke up completely pinned down by Edward. The entire top half of his body was on top of mine, and his arms were wound around my waist. Not to mention one of his legs were also over both of mine. Yeah, I wasn't going anywhere any time soon.
I looked at the clock and saw that it was only seven. My body was just having weird sleep patterns. No question about it. I could tell that Edward wasn't going to get up any time soon, so I ran my fingers through his hair, staring at the ceiling.
I wasn't even deep in thought, I just lay there, waiting for Edwars to wake up. We had stayed up until late, just talking and kissing. I liked that we were going slow and weren't rushing things. Edward didn't pressure me into anything, and I loved that about him. He never made me feel obligated to do anything. I felt safe with him. I knew that I could trust him with my heart. I knew that he would never purposely brake it.
It was nearly eight when Edward began to stir a bit. It was eight fifteen when he opened his eyes and looked up at me. He groaned.
"Time to wake up." I sang.
Edward groaned and snuggled his head farther into my chest. He was such a guy.
"Come on, Grumpy, up." I said and raised his head with both of my hands. It was not an easy task when he was making himself completely dead weight. "Wake up." I said and pulled his hair so he would look at me. "Up."
"No." He whined, his voice heavy with sleep.
"Yes. You have to get up and get ready, because guess what? It's May 9, and it's your daughter's birthday. So, get up cause she's going to be here at ten." I told him.
He looked at the clock. "I have an hour." Edward mumbled and snuggled back to me.
"Yeah, well it takes me a little longer to get ready." I said and tried to get up. It was a futile attempt.
"You're not going anywhere. I can't sleep without something soft under my head." Edward said and once again snuggled into my chest.
"And I wonder what the big white fluffy things in your bed are. Oh yeah, it's a pillow, made specifically for that reason." I told him and managed to lightly knee him in the stomach and push him off of me just enough so I could get up.
"Bel-la." Edward whined.
I smiled and waved as I squatted down to look in my duffel. I looked at my completely random selection and decided on a faded jean skirt, black and white plaid fitted western style shirt, and a black colored camisole.
I went into Edward's bathroom, brushed my teeth and got dressed. I opened the door and put away my clothes from the night and my tooth brush before going back to the bed that Edward was still lying in.
I sat down next to him and held his face in my hands. "Get up, Mister." I told him. Edward shook his head and tried to get a kiss.
That was when the scratching started. I went open the door and in came rushing the wolfhound. She jumped into Edward's bed and began to lick his face.
"Ugh, get off!" He said and pushed the dog to the side and got out of bed.
"Well, I'll just have to that next time you don't want to wake up." I said with a smile and began to roll up the sleeves of my shirt, leaving the bottom untucked, and the top buttons unbuttoned.
Edward went into his closet and came out in jeans, holding a white shirt in his hands.
We finished getting ready and then went downstairs for a small breakfast. Lord knows we would eat enough at lunch. Once we had finished our toast, Esme and Carlisle walked in with Laney.
I elbowed Edward in the ribs and gestured towards the living room where the puppy was. He nodded and went to go get her.
"There's the birthday girl!" I said as she ran to give me hug. "Happy birthday, love."
"Thank you." She said and looked around. Her eyes lit up when they fell on her dad. "Can we keep it? Can we? Can we?" She asked.
"Yes, baby doll." He said and knelt down in front of Laney with the puppy in his arms.
"Is it she?" Laney asked. Edward nodded. "What's her name?"
"She doesn't have one. What do you want to name her?" Edward asked.
Laney smiled. "Um... Biscuit!"
Edward laughed. "You sure?"
Laney nodded. "Like the book you wead!"
"Okay, then her name is Biscuit." He said and handed Biscuit to Laney.
"Can huh middle name be Starwa?"
"Starla?" I asked.
She nodded.
"If you want it to be, Lane Darlin." Edward told her.
"Tell your father thank you, Laney." Esme said.
"Thank you, Daddy." Laney said with a bright smile.
"Your welcome, love." He said and stood up to his full height.
"I'm sorry, dear, I didn't even say hello. How are you?" Esme asked me and gave me a hug.
"I'm good. Did Laney talk all morning?" I asked.
Esme laughed. "She had me and Carlisle up at six this morning."
"Five- thirty, actually." Carlisle said and gave me a hug. "Did Alice out do herself again?"
I made a face, and Carlisle only laughed. "You have no idea." I said.
"She drove us all insane." Edward said and placed a hand on the small of my back.
"Oh, she's a sweetheart. You should all be ashamed of yourselves. She brings the best out of my son." Esme said.
That was when Rosalie and Emmett walked through the kitchen laughing. Emmett stopped dead in his tracks, and I tried my hardest not to laugh. Rosalie went give her parents a hug, and Emmett came to give me one.
"Please tell me their nice." Emmett whispered in my ear."
"They are," I promised him.
"Aw, I love you." He said and hugged me harder, rocking me side to side before letting me go.
"Is this your brother, Bella?" Esme asked.
"He is." I said and looked at Rosalie.
She took a deep breath. "Mom, Daddy, Emmett and I are... Together." Rosalie said.
"Aunt Wose! Wook at Biscuit!" Laney said as she held her puppy up. It was almost bigger than her already. Laney turned to look at Emmett and smiled. "Hey."
"Hey, lil bit." Emmett said.
"Wait, Rose Love, you said that you weren't with anyone right now." Esme said.
"Well, we weren't together then." Rosalie said.
"Did you introduce them, Bella?" I knew I wasn't in trouble, Esme was just genuinely curious.
"Um... Not purposely. We kind of just ran into each other at the mall." I answered.
Alice walked in and said her hellos before telling Edward to help Jasper with the cake. That was when I began to wonder how big that cake actually was.
The boys walked in with a three tiered cake covered with purple and silver fondant. Holy shit. I know I never had a cake that big for my third birthday. Laney was a lot more spoiled than I had originally thought.
Behind the boys were two girls who looked like sisters. They looked me up and down and eyed the hand I was running through Laney's hair.
And so the family meeting begin.
EPOV:
I returned from putting up the cake and saw my cousins, Amanda and Kassi talking with a very overwhelmed looking Bella. Oh shit. I walked behind her and rested a hand on the small of Bella's back.
"How are y'all doing?" I asked them.
"Great." Amanda said and looked at Bella then to me again. "We didn't know you were seeing someone."
"Well, I was going to introduce you all to Bella today." I answered her.
Of course the only two I was worried about introducing to Bella would be the first ones to walk through the door. Jesus, I couldn't catch a damn break.
"Bewwa! Come outside! I wanna show you somethin." Laney said.
I had never been so thankful Laney had begun talking. I needed a word with my dearest cousins. Stuck up snobs. Worried about Laney my ass. They had been on Team Tanya from day one.
Kassi looked as the walked away and then to me. "How long have you been together?"
"Two months." I answered her.
"And when did you introduce her to Laney?" Amanda asked.
"I actually took Laney on our first date if you must know." I said.
"Edward, really? Don't you think that maybe Laney is growing too fond of her?" Kassi asked.
"No, I don't. Bella are a lot more serious than you may think. You both know I love you both like sisters, but Bella and I are a packaged deal now. So you have a problem with that, then you can leave." I said and walked outside towards the grill where Jasper was getting the meat ready.
"How was he terrible twosome?"
I rolled my eyes.
"Don't let it get to you, man. Kassi wore black to my wedding, and Amanda wore a white dress. Look at Alice and I now." He said.
"I know, but it aggravates me."
Jasper shrugged. "Look at it this way. When Rosalie hates them, the rest of the family hates them too except for those two. And vice versa. So, the rest of the family will love Bella just like Rosalie."
We were able to get most of the food cooked and the jambalaya warmed before Laney came up to us.
"Thank you, *Paran." Laney said.
"For what, Lane Darlin?" He asked.
She kicked up her leg to show a boot different from her normal white ones. This pair was a brown toe, black leg with purple and pink stitching.
"You're welcome, Darlin." Jasper said and knelt down to give her a hug before Laney ran away back towards Bella and Alice.
"Thank God you got her some new ones. She never let's me buy her any and throws a fit every time I try." I said.
"Well, Alice was getting tired of seeing her in white after labor day." Jasper said.
I laughed. "Figures."
"Edward, Jasper! Take a break. Laney's coming to open some of her presents." Alice called.
We walked away from the grill, and I saw that most of my Dad's family had gotten here, so Laney would be able to open a good many of her presents.
I walked over to Bella and wrapped an arm around her waist.
"You okay?" I asked.
She looked up at me and smiled. "Yeah. But your family is starting to stare, so you may want to get to the introductions, Mr. Cullen."
So, I did. And Jasper was right. My family did fall in love with Bella the moment they met her. She seemed to be a little more at ease as she met more of them. After about fifteen minutes, Laney sat on the grass in front of the gazebo and started to open her presents. Biscuit was sitting at her feet.
My family all pulled up chairs and sat around her. I sat on the ground next to her. I had all but nearly forced Bella to sit on the other side of me. Laney was the perfect hostess, thanking everyone for all her presents. I think most of them were still surprised she had finally started talking.
"What's next, Darlin?" I asked her.
"Memaw's and Papa's." She answered and started to rip through the wrapping off of the huge box. "It's taped." She said.
I got up and knelt in front of the box, ripping the box with my pocket knife. When I was done, Laney opened the box and cheered. "Bubble wrap!"
Everyone laughed.
"There's something else in there, Lane Darlin." Carlisle said, still laughing.
Laney pulled the bubble wrap out of the box, and tried to lift whatever was inside. She looked at me and I took out what was inside. It was an old fashioned red and white tricycle.
I looked at my parents. "Where did y'all find one?" I asked.
"A lot of Internet searching." My dad answered.
Laney looked excited enough. I think it was one of her favorite present so far, right up there with biscuit.
"I get a bike?" She asked excitedly.
I nodded. "Yeah, Lane Darlin. You do."
"Can I wide it?"
I laughed. "Open your other presents first." I told her.
She nodded and sat back down next to her puppy. I sat down next to Bella and inspected the bike.
Laney went to her other presents. She opened each one, never more excited for one more than the other. She then got to my sister's. She opened the box and inside was a black leather strap bracelet with the same emerald green cameo guitar pick in the center. She and Bella had coordinated.
"It don't show." Laney complained as she put it over her gloves.
"Well, that's because you don't wear the gloves, Lane." Rosalie said and winked at me.
Laney nodded and pulled off her gloves and then got Rosalie to clip the bracelet in the back. I was glad that Laney was getting a little less bold with her style. I mean white boots and black gloves? Yeah, even I knew something was wrong with that.
"Bewwa's brudder (brother)." Laney announced.
Bella looked just as surprised as I was. Emmett really hadn't needed to that, but it was nice that he did. Something told me that Emmett and his sister were more alike than anyone knew.
Laney took it out of the plain paper bag to show a box shaped like a book. On the top was a painting of the Eiffel Tower. In the background was music manuscript of Moonlight Sonata.
I could see that he and Bella were sharing some type of moment. From the corner of my eye, I could see Bella with tears in her eyes and blow Emmett a kiss. He smiled at her.
"Open the box, lil bit." Emmett said.
Laney opened the box and lifted a small brown leather journal. She opened it, and it was a story book with pages designed to look old. There were pictures of what looked like fairies and mermaids and anything else a girl Laney's age would like. The words seemed to be written in old calligraphy.
"It's pwetty!" She said and gave Emmett a hug.
Once Laney had finished opening her presents, everyone went eat. By the time we finished eating, it was already almost sundown. Laney was exhausted.
At around six, we went to cut the cake, but Laney had another idea in mind. She clung to me, and refused to sit down to take a picture and blow out the candles.
"Lane Darlin, your Aunt Ali worked so hard on this." I told her.
That got her to sit in the chair, but she kept her head down. On picture number five, I managed to get her to crack a smile, but she still had her head down. On about try number ten she picked her head up and blew out the candles. Everyone got a piece of cake, but I went inside a put Laney to sleep on the sofa.
Everyone left the house at around six thirty, including my immediate family. Bella walked inside just as the last person walked out. She threw away a few plates and cups and was about to walk outside again until I stopped her.
"Just leave it for now, Babe. I'll get it tomorrow. All that has to come in really is the rest of the food and presents." I told her. So, we went outside and brought everything that had to be inside in. We finished around seven. I brought Laney up to her room.
I was just thankful that for the first time in a long time, I had day that I didn't have to worry about my daughter being away from me. I was able to enjoy myself and be who I always wanted to be: my daughter's hero.
A/N: *(PARAN- pah-ranh: cajun term for godfather)*
aw. So sweet. Tell me if you think so! Come on, keep it up! REVIEW! Next chapter should be up Sunday or Monday… if you review! Mwahahaha! Love yall!
