Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, Stephanie Meyers does. However, I do own this plot and storyline. I also own my own original characters.
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Chapter 13: While the Cats Are Away
BPOV
I wake up to kisses and giggles. However, the kisses are wet puppy kisses and the giggles are because my munchkin thinks it's funny.
I reach up and grab Cassie to snuggle and tickle her, but Mac starts growling at me, thinking I'm hurting her, so we have to stop. "Let's get ready to go shopping, baby girl, but I want my birthday love first," I tell my daughter, who's happy to oblige and gives me light kisses on my cheek.
"Go bye?" Cassie asks in her soft, sweet voice, a pout playing on her lips. "Cool?"
"Nope!" I answer in excitement. "You're gonna spend the day with Momma."
She gets off the bed and runs down the hall repeating "no cool, no cool" all the way to her room; Mac slid on the wood floor, trying to keep up with her. Whose puppy is he again?
Once we're both dressed and Mac has been let outside, we join the others in the dining room. As we walk in, a loud "Happy Birthday" greets me.
"Thanks, everyone," I respond in return. "Good morning."
Before I can lead Cassie to her chair, she's in front of Billy chanting "no cool, no cool."
"No school," Billy exclaims dramatically. "If you don't go to school, whatcha gonna do?"
"Op Momma," she whispers to him. "Rents."
"You're taking Momma shopping for presents?" Billy asks, just to keep her talking. "Can I come too?"
"Yeah," she answers with her sweet smile. "Go."
"Well, you better eat then so we can hit the road," he directs her to her chair just as Edward sets two plates in front of us.
"Happy Birthday, beautiful." He whispers before turning to go to his chair to finish his breakfast.
Cassie looks down at her plate and pushes it away with a firm, loud "NO." But before I can jump into action to avoid a meltdown, she's outta her chair and stomping into the kitchen. I just watch to see what's gonna happen since she didn't throw herself on the floor or anything.
She marches her stubborn little ass back into the dining room carrying the ketchup bottle and slams it on the table, glaring at her eggs, as she climbs back into her chair.
I huff out a laugh as I take the ketchup and squeeze it onto the eggs for her, then slide the plate back in front of her. I know I should be reprimanding her for her attitude, but I think I'm in shock that she actually didn't have a meltdown.
I send my own glare at Jessica who's snorting out a laugh. "This is your fault, ya know."
"Whatever," Jessica laughs out. "It's the only way to eat scrambled eggs."
Edward has a look of disgust on his face as he takes in the mess that is now on Cassie's plate.
"You all right, son," Carlisle asks in concern.
"Um, yeah," he answers, shaking his head, still staring at the offending red eggs.
"You'll get used to her food habits in no time," Sarah cuts in, patting Edward's arm in comfort. "She loves her ketchup."
Once we are finished with breakfast, the kitchen is clean in no time. "Who all's goin' with us?" I ask Billy as I'm getting Cassie's bag ready.
"Jake, Seth, Tyler, Eric, and Sam are stayin' here; everyone else is goin'," he responds with a shrug.
"That's what, fifteen people?" I whisper out, not wanting anyone else to hear our conversation. "Do we have enough in the tack budget for the ranch to cover it?"
"We haven't really replaced much this year, but I think you should let them pay for their own stuff," he responds, grabbing my hand so I will look at him. "I know you like takin' care of everyone, and we all love ya for it, but this is somethin' they can buy and be proud to use every day. Remember when you wanted that show saddle and Charlie said you didn't need it?"
"Yeah," I whisper, nodding.
"You saved up your money so you could buy the saddle. He was so proud of you for makin' the effort and workin' hard for somethin' you wanted."
"You're right," I concede with a smile, remembering my first saddle purchase. "So we can take one of the large coaches and fold up the back seat for storage," I state, quickly changing the subject.
Everyone is waiting on us when we walk out of the house, ready to go. Cassie's bouncing around the driveway, but as we walk toward the utility building where the coaches are stored, Edward scoops her up onto his shoulders. She giggles the whole way.
As we're driving to Dallas, I'm lost in my thoughts when Jessica asks, "Bella do you want to stop at Sugarless deLite's while we're here?"
"Yeah." I nod in agreement. "Let's go to the mall and pet store first. Then we can stop there after we leave Dover."
"Gotcha," she confirms before turning back around in her seat next to Leah.
Two hours later, we pull into the mall and Billy turns to us all after parking. "Cassie and I'll be in the play area. It's on the lower level by Dillard's. Meet us there in one hour, got it?"
"Yes, sir," is echoed throughout the coach. We unload and get Cassie in her stroller so she and Billy can go play while we shop.
"I'll meet all you ladies in the play area; I got my own shopping to do," Emmett announces playfully in a pitiful southern accent. "Love ya, Rosie."
The rest of the guys follow him as we girls head to find bathing suits. It's so hard to find a bathing suit to fit me because of my size, so I always have to mix and match. I need a ladies top to hold my boobs in, but junior size for the bottoms so the butt doesn't sag.
As I'm in the dressing room trying on the different tops and bottoms, Esme walks in with a couple of suits to try on. "Oh my, you're shaped just like your mother," she states with tears in her eyes. "She always had to shop in the junior department."
"Yeah," I breathe out. "I do too, except for the tops. I got my grandmother's genes there." I laugh, trying to break her from the sadness.
It works and she laughs with a nod. "I like that one. Wait for me; I need an opinion on these. Now that we have a pool, I need a new suit."
Once the ladies and I make our purchases, we head to find Cassie and the boys. It doesn't take us long to find them, we just have to follow the screams and giggles. I whip out my phone to take a few pictures of the sight that is being played out before us. All of the guys, including Carlisle and Billy, are pretending to race the climb-on Jeeps in the children's play area. Emmett and Ben actually look stuck in the Jeep they're fake driving. Rose leans against me to keep from falling over because she's laughing so hard.
I see Edward and Cassie in another Jeep and take a few pictures of them, too. They're having so much fun that I hate to end it, but we gotta get going.
I walk over to talk to Cassie and hopefully avoid a tantrum, "Hey, baby girl. The puppy needs some toys and a bed. Ya wanna go buy him some stuff?"
"Yeah," she answers, trying to get out of the Jeep, so I reach to pick her up. She surprises me when I sit her down on the soft mats by yelling, "Illy boys, go."
I think everyone's in shock by her loud voice, but they start moving quickly when Angela backs her up, "You tell 'em, Cass; come on, silly boys."
My baby girl is about to jump out of her seat as we arrive at the pet store. "Slow down, sweetie. You walkin' or ridin'?" I ask, knowing the store isn't that big and she'll stay close to me.
"I alk," she demands, pushing to get out.
"Whoa," I command in that motherly tone. "You will slow down and stay with me, missy. Got it?"
Instead of answering, she grabs my hand directing me into the store. We get a buggy and she helps push it. However, when she starts throwing everything she likes into the basket, I have to stop her.
"The pup doesn't need all this, baby," I assure her gently. "He's still little so we have to get puppy stuff all right?"
"K," she whispers as I put the stuff back and direct her to the toys.
"Three," I state, holding up three fingers. "You pick out three puppy toys."
It takes us longer than I anticipated, but she's able to help, and that is the important thing. I always try to turn the everyday things into a learning experience for her, hoping one day she'll be able to do it herself.
We pick out everything Mac needs, and Cassie even gets a few things for Dasher, Lleu, and Gracie. She has such a big heart and doesn't want anyone to be left out. As we're standing in line to check out, she sees the treat table where you bag up your own treat and goes ballistic in excitement. This will be a great learning exercise so I hand her a bag and start calling out colors and numbers.
"Baby girl," I call, getting her attention. "Remember, only Luke and Dasher can have those, not the pups, OK?"
"K," she pouts, putting the bag in the basket so we can finally check out. I hand her the gift card and tell her to give it to the lady to pay for our stuff. I'm blown away when the cashier only acknowledges her, telling her "thank you" and handing her the receipt.
"Thanks so much for that," I whisper to her as I grab the bags.
"I have a special little one, too," she explains softly. "They need to be treated just like anyone else."
I'm sure my smile is taking up my entire face as we load the bags and ourselves onto the coach.
"What's that beautiful smile for?" Edward asks softly.
"Cassie shopped and paid for our stuff. The cashier even acknowledged her and helped her with the purchase," I whisper, still smiling.
"As it should be." He nods in agreement.
Dover is an equestrian's paradise, or at least it is for me. But when I look at some of the other's faces as they take in their surroundings, I realize they're out of their element, so I gather them around me.
"If you don't like these saddles, don't buy one. There's another tack shop that sells western saddles on the way home and we can stop there," I explain, hoping to alleviate their concerns. "Let them measure you for the right size saddle. They're really helpful and understanding here."
I let the salespeople help them as I look around. I really don't need anything, but as I stumble into the clearance area, I get Cassie and me a couple pair of riding breeches, shirts, and even a few helmets we can use for the kids who come to the camps.
With my hands full, I turn to find Billy standing there shaking his head at me, "Did you get anything for yourself, birthday girl?"
"Yep." I smirk at him. "The helmets are on clearance, and with the summer camps coming up, I wanna make sure we have plenty in different sizes."
"Good idea," he agrees, walking over and looking through the stuff. "Holy hell! They have forty dollar riding gloves for three bucks, and look at these halters." I'm the one shaking my head now. Billy loves to shop for the ranch and the kids.
"Get 'em," I command. "We always need halters. Oh, look." Before I can continue we hear a voice behind us.
"Can I help, y'all?" the salesman asks, as he looks at Billy and I digging through the shelves and stacking what we want on the floor behind us. Poor guy probably thinks we're just making a mess.
"Yes, sir," I reply. "If you don't mind startin' to carry this stuff to the front, we'll have more in a minute." I point at the pile on the floor.
His eyes go wide. "Yes, ma'am. I'll be right back."
Billy and I continue to pile up cooler blankets, stable sheets, leads, halters, a few more children's helmets, and even a couple of adult ones. Everything we find is needed, and you can't beat the prices.
Cassie and Sarah even join us on the floor. Cassie finds some books and since she loves for me to read to her, she sneaks them into the pile. Sarah finds a saddle and calls Angela over to show it to her.
"It's under your price range and in your size," Sarah tells her. "Do you want to try it?"
"Yeah," she whispers. "Thanks. I'm so used to sticking to my budget; it's embedded in my brain," she laughs out in embarrassment.
"Hey," I call to her gently. "There's nothing wrong with that. You do what you're comfortable with. But if you do decide on that saddle, don't get the accessories; I have plenty at the ranch from my showin' days."
She and Sarah take the saddle over to the fitting area where a sales lady helps her try it out. By the smile on her face, I can tell she loves it. I notice Ben watching her with pure love in his eyes.
Emmett walks over and looks down at us on the floor. "Are you getting all of this?"
"Yep," I confirm. "Wanna help a lady up? I need to take the rest to the front."
He pulls me from the floor then starts grabbing what he can carry and walks it over to the checkout.
"You find anything?" I ask.
"Nope, don't need anything," he states with a smirk. "Jake sold me his old saddle and tack that I've been using. I'm good."
Two hours later, we're loading everything into the coach. All of a sudden, I'm dizzy and sweaty. I have to grab the side of the bus to keep myself from falling. Before I pass out though, Edward is scooping me up and carrying me onto the coach.
"Bella," he calls, getting me to focus on his face. "What do you need?"
I just shake my head because words are not coming to me.
"Dad," Edward calls out and Carlisle is right there, grabbing my wrist. "Is she gonna be all right? She almost passed out." The fear in Edward's voice brought me back to reality. I wanted to comfort him, tell him I was going to be all right.
"Get her some water," Carlisle demands. "You need to eat, sweetheart. Your sugar probably dropped."
Jessica hands him a candy bar and a bottle of water as he sits me up in the seat.
"The medicine can make your sugar levels irregular. Did you feel it come on or did it just hit you suddenly?"
"Suddenly," I whisper out as tears gather in my eyes.
"Hey," he speaks gently, calming me. "We'll get it regulated soon. We should have been watching the time and made sure to eat lunch. Remember, you need to eat every few hours, even if it's just a snack."
"There's a seafood place up the road she likes," I hear Billy tell him. "We can be there in a few minutes."
Carlisle sits next to me the entire ride to the restaurant, checking my pulse. I'm feeling better by the time we sit down to order, but I can tell the others are still worried.
"Hey," I call, getting their attention. "I'm feeling better. Plus, it's my birthday, so I'm allowed to be a little dramatic," I state, which earns me a few chuckles.
They all sigh in relief when our food arrives and I dig in because I'm feeling famished, now that I have actual food in front of me.
We stop at Sugarless deLite after lunch, but only Jessica, Sarah, and Edward go in. I'm lying across one of the bench seats with Cassie snuggled next to me as she takes a nap.
I'm shaken awake when the bus stops and I hear the doors open. Sitting up, I notice we're at the Horseman's Supply store. Billy tells me to go back to sleep as he follows the others off the bus. I notice that Sarah stays on with us as I doze back off, only waking a little when they load back on and the bus starts moving again.
The next time I wake up, I'm in my bed at home and the sun is setting. I get up and walk down the hall, seeing Edward coming toward me. "Hey, beautiful. I was just coming to check on you. Dinner's ready."
"Thanks," I whisper. "I have a headache and need to take my medicine."
"Come to the kitchen. I made you some tea, and you can take your medicine before we eat," he directs, grabbing my hand and leading us the rest of the way to the kitchen.
Once I swallow the pills and eat dinner, I'm feeling much better and rested. I notice Edward sits close to me, concern still showing in his gorgeous eyes. We're sitting around the dining room, talking, when something bites my foot. "What the hell!" I screech, yanking up my feet back and look under the table.
Mac is laying under the table, looking at me like I just stole his favorite toy. "You bit me? Do you need a puppy time-out?" I ask him as Cassie giggles next to me, stunned that he tried to take my toe off with those sharp puppy teeth.
"You need to give him his toys, baby girl, before he gets into more trouble than he can handle," I growl at her playfully as she jumps up and runs down the hall. She comes back a few minutes later with his toys and drops them under the table.
"I think it's time to start having puppy training classes 'round here." Alice sighs dramatically, making everyone laugh. "I think I'll start that tomorrow morning so you better have your terrors there."
My dreams that night brought me joy, but it wasn't a nameless, faceless man this time. They were full of love and family with Edward by my side, loving Cassie and I.
The days leading up to our girl's weekend are busy. Alice works with the pups, Luke included, every morning after the chores are done. I would sit in the office, either doing paperwork or researching horses for sale on the internet. Plus, we have a couple of colts and fillies well into their training that I decide to post for sale on our website.
"Hey, Bella," Jessica calls from her desk across the office. "You know Tilly has produced five foals; Billy just weaned her last one."
"Yeah," I reply, still looking at the computer. I'm uploading some pictures of one of her foals who's ready to be sold.
"I think she'd be perfect for Angela or Rose," she states and my head pops up. "Better than selling her to someone who doesn't know what she's capable of. She's one of our best therapy horses, too."
"I think we're gonna need another barn," I blurt out. "I'm not gonna have room to bring in new stock to keep the breeding program going. I need a barn for horses in training or mares with foals."
"OK," Jessica concedes. "You have the building budget that has barely been touched this year, besides the few projects that Jasper has done. He's so budget conscience he hasn't even made a dent in what we projected."
"We could build a new mare barn," I think out loud, "with foaling stalls. We can keep all the breeding stock in one barn. Then turn the old mare barn into a stock barn for the weaned foals and training horses."
"That sounds like a perfect idea." Jessica and I both jump at the sound of Billy's voice. "Sorry, ladies, I didn't mean to startle you."
"Just trying to figure out the barn situation and the building budget," I answer, waving off his apology.
"I'd say forty stalls with ten or fifteen foaling stalls," he offers as input. "Add a couple of birthing stalls even. Actually, I'd suggest you build an equestrian courtyard facility. Move the office and all the therapy and personal horses there, and use these other barns for the breeding and training programs."
"Jasper will have to have someone come in and build it," I begin, thinking out loud. "He'll oversee the project, of course. Then we could do improvements on the current barns as we move the stock out of them." I look at Billy and Jessica, who are both smiling.
"Can you set up a meeting with Jasper for Monday? I wanna think about this over the weekend before we present this to him. I need budget numbers for what we have available and ideas from Jake and Alice for what they need to work with."
"You got it, boss," Jessica answers with a smirk. "There's that take charge and make it happen friend I was talkin' 'bout."
Thursday night, I'm in my room packing for our flight tomorrow while Cassie plays on the floor with Mac and Lleu, who keep dragging her dolls off. Edward comes in and sits on the bench at the end of my bed, watching the showdown between Cassie and the pups, who have finally pushed her over the edge. He laughs at the battle taking place as she tries to get them to stay in Mac's bed and away from her toys.
"I'm gonna miss you, ya know?" Edward says quietly.
"I'm gonna miss ya, too. But you have those three to take care of," I say, nodding my head toward the pow-wow on the floor. "Take Cassie swimmin' or ridin'," I suggest. "Just don't go buying any more horses without me."
"Yeah," he sighs. "That's what Sarah said. The guys are going to Crossroad's tomorrow night," he smirks, looking over at me.
"You better stay outta trouble, all of ya," I demand. "I know how those boys can get."
"Yeah, yeah," he pouts as he rises to leave. "Just take care of yourself and hurry back."
"Hey," I call softly, "I'll be back Sunday night; no worries."
"I'll always worry." I hear faintly as he walks out the door.
I drive my Tahoe, with all of us girls, to the airport. Two flights and eight hours later, we're landing in Boston and are making our way to the rental car area. We only brought carry-ons to save time, and it's only a thirty minute drive to the inn. I love this place and have been here several times. It's nestled in the New England woodlands, a sanctuary of sorts for me.
We check-in and set-up our spa services for the next day before heading to our adjoining rooms. I call down to the restaurant and make dinner reservations for our large group before we all freshen up.
As we sit around the table drinking wine and waiting for our food, Jessica breaks the silence. "So, did ya tell Edward you're gonna accept his date invitation?"
This gets everyone's attention, and I feel their heated stares on me. "I did."
"So that's where the pep in his step came from this week," Rose comments with a smile. "I'm happy for you both."
"Yeah, me too," Alice cuts in with a small smile. "For a while there, we thought that he was gonna swear off women forever."
"Can you blame him?" I ask with a little more venom than I intended. "Sorry, I just can't stand people like them."
"Hey," Rose sighs. "We understand. They almost succeeded in destroying our family and took Angie's little boy. I wanna wish the wrath of Hell down on them, but we can't live with hate. They'll have to answer for their sins."
"How are you and Ben doing Angela?" I ask, knowing this is a touchy subject for her.
"Better since moving here," she answers with a watery smile. "We discussed having a baby. Cole always wanted a little brother or sister, and even though he isn't here, he'd still be their big brother."
"Oh, Ang," I whisper, wiping the tears away. "That'd be such a blessing."
"That's why we didn't decorate our extra room," she explains with a small smile. "It would be perfect for a nursery."
"Note to self," Leah pops off, breaking all the tension. "If ya hear rockin' don't go a knockin'."
"Damn, Leah." Rose busts out laughing. "Have you been hanging out with my husband? I thought only Emmett said shit like that."
"You haven't been round Jake and Seth when they get rowdy," I state, shaking my head. "Those boys are shameless."
We enjoy a wonderful dinner and one too many bottles of wine before giggling our way to our rooms. We hang out in Angela's and my room for a little while, just having girl talk before falling asleep.
The next morning, we meet for breakfast before our spa appointments. Angela and I are waiting downstairs for the others when Alice and Rose sit down, looking irritated or pissed; I can't determine which.
When Leah, Jessica, and Emily arrive, I guess Angela has had enough. "Who pissed you two off?"
"Did you talk to Ben this morning?" Rose rebuts. "Because you'd be pissed, too, if you did."
"Nope," Angela answers. "But if he's in trouble, you better tell me what happened."
"Not Ben," Alice sighs, shooting a quick glance at me. "Edward."
"What do you mean by Edward?" I ask, getting irritated along with them.
"It's a long story, but Jane Aro showed up at Crossroad's last night," Rose explains to Angela, who looks like she's gonna pop a vein. "He was kinda drunk and almost hit her. She threatened him again, and now Carlisle is having him file a restraining order against her."
"She followed us?" Angela asks in shock, but before Rose can answer, I interrupt.
"Who the hell is Jane Aro?" I demand. "And what do you mean she threatened him again?"
The three of them go on to tell us the whole story of her being Tanya's friend and approaching Edward in Vegas. When he refused her advances, she threatened him. Apparently, she followed them all the way to Texas and is going to make his life miserable.
Not if I have anything to say about it, I think to myself. The bitch obviously hasn't met a true country girl yet. We take care of our family.
I try to put it out of my mind for now, sending Edward a "thinking of you" text before my massage.
Four hours of total bliss and I feel like a puddle of goo. I'm in a daze when I walk into the dressing rooms to change. I guess I'm the last to arrive because the others are just sitting in the chairs with their eyes closed and heads laid back.
"I'm declaring my love for Alyssa's hands," Emily states softly as the others giggle. "What? I'm gonna have to teach Sam to rub me like that."
"I think Sam already rubs you good," Leah comments. "Knocked you up in the process."
"Whatever, bitch," Emily replies playfully. "Just don't give your godchild your sense of humor."
"Sure, sure," Leah responds. "I'll teach my goddaughter everything I know."
Once we're all changed, we head outside to take a nature walk before our wine tasting dinner. The conversations are outrageous, full of TMI and funny as hell. Emily and Angela bond over their careers. Emily even offers to help her get her hours and loan her the books for the state exam. Rose and Leah are discussing their husbands' antics.
I just take it all in. This is my family. It has grown and I love it. But it's time to move on with my life. I'm gonna open my heart and hope like hell it's doesn't get broken again. I can hear my daddy's voice in my head, 'If you want it, it's worth fighting for."
I want to be in love; I want it all.
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