Ok – this is going to be a short one. Working our way up to a real "meeting"

SM owns Twilight and characters – I'm only taking them for a ride.

Thanks again to Shiloh and Jasper's Destiny for all of their patience and guidance.

And Caz for her pre-reading. If you get a chance, check out the banner Caz made for the story.

http: (/) della-ridingtherails (dot) (/) ?zx=8f56caabf51cc32f

Riding the Rails

Chapter 20

Holy shit, how am I going to survive this day? Edward thought as he walked toward the table that was loaded with dips and appetizers to deliver his and Alice's contribution to the barbeque. He looked around and saw his traitorous cousin and the cowboy off to the side talking. Emmett, his newest enemy, glared at him from across the way as he lifted a one hundred twenty-pound keg of beer as if it were a paperweight and set it inside a barrel of ice water.

Edward noticed that there were two full sized kegs at the party. Considering that it was a Sunday, and so far there were only the six people in attendance, the first thought that went through his mind was, I hope there are more people attending. As he finished that thought, he heard voices coming from the side of the house. Paul and Sam came around the corner first, and they snickered when they saw the look on Edward's face.

"Hey, guys," he said as he walked toward them. "I didn't know if you two were going to make it today."

"Well, Alice did say something yesterday about the barbeque, and when Bella saw us yesterday, she reminded us as well," Sam replied.

"Wait a minute…" Edward looked around quickly then lowered his voice. "You mean you knew whose house we were at yesterday, and you didn't say anything?" He glanced over to Paul, who had the decency to turn his head away before nodding an affirmative. Edward turned back to Sam for confirmation.

"Uh, yes, we did. We are friends of hers, you know. Why wouldn't we know where she lives?"

Paul snorted. "Yeah, you wouldn't believe all the times we've had to bring her home and put her to bed."

Paul's eyes widened at the strange sound coming from Edward. "Dude, are you growling at me?"

Edward suddenly realized that was exactly what he was doing. "Sorry," he apologized, "there's just something about . . ." He shook his head to clear thoughts of a naked Bella being placed in bed by one of the men in front of him.

"Hey, about time some good guys got here," Emmett snidely commented as he walked over to the group of men with two cups of beer in each hand. He handed one to Paul and the other to Sam. "Glad you guys could make it. Maybe the day won't be a total bust after all." Emmett glared straight at Edward before turning and walking away. The message that Edward was not totally welcome was clear to them all.

"What the fuck was that all about? What did you do?" Sam asked, turning to Edward.

"Why does everyone think I did something?" Edward demanded as he reached over and took the cup of beer out of Paul's hand just as he was about to take a sip.

"Hey, fucker, that was my beer," Paul protested.

Sam inclined his chin toward Paul, indicating that he and Edward needed a few moments of privacy.

"Okay…well…I'll just be over there getting another beer and some snacks. Anyone want anything? No? Good," Paul rambled as he walked away.

Sam turned toward Edward. "Okay, spill. What did you do?" There was a deadly gleam in his eyes.

"What do you mean spill ?" Edward snapped. "What makes you think I did anything?" Everyone's assumption that he was at fault for the earlier events was wearing on him. He had only wanted to meet the woman who controlled his dreams. Was it his fault that he startled her and she fell into the pool?

"Fine!" he huffed. "So, earlier, I may have been partially responsible for Bella falling into the pool, but she took me with her!" he quickly blurted out while he looked at the ground.

Sam doubled over, clutching his stomach. Edward thought that perhaps he had taken ill but was then surprised by Sam's sudden outburst of laughter. "So, you've met the ungraceful swan, I take it?" Sam stuttered out between bouts of snorts and laughter.

Edward stood stock still with his mouth hanging open. "Did you say Swan?" he finally sputtered out.

Sam just looked at him with a confused expression on his face. "Yeah, Swan, as in her last name. Didn't you know that?"

"No, I didn't know her last name was Swan. Why would I?" he asked.

"Well, your cousin is leasing from her. I thought for sure she would have mentioned it," Sam replied.

At that bit of insight, Edward slowly glared in Alice's direction. Oh, Lucy! You got some 'splainin' to do!

While he pinned Alice in his laser beam stare and planned out his interrogation of her, Alice suddenly turned and grinned at him like a Cheshire cat. Why she would have kept the fact that Bella was her landlady was unclear, but he would find out.

"Excuse me, Sam," Edward said in a dark tone as he turned to walk away, "I need to have a little chat with my cousin."

"Oh, shit. Edward," Sam grabbed Edward's forearm, "I didn't mean to cause any problems. I'm sure she had a reason for not telling you." Edward glared down at Sam's hand then up to Sam's face.

Sam quickly released his grip, and his thoughts raced for anything that might help calm Edward down. "Didn't you say that she hadn't met her yet? Maybe she didn't know." He was scrambling for any excuse to protect Alice, even though he knew Edward wouldn't do anything to hurt or truly upset her.

"Oh, I'm sure she knew," Edward replied. "What I want to know is why she didn't tell me." When he turned again to make his way over to where she was seated, he saw the pleading look on her face. Please don't question me here. I'll tell you everything once we're alone, he read in her eyes. He nodded his head and swore he could hear her exhale the breath she seemed to have been holding.

Edward mentally shook off his sour mood and decided to make the most of the day. He turned back to Sam and lightly punched him in the shoulder. "So, Sam, you ready for another beer? I want a chance to make amends with the big guy over there and see if I can salvage the day."

"Um, yeah, about that…" Sam interjected. "You really need to make an impression on Emmett in order for Bella to acknowledge you." Sam's eyes suddenly widened. "Hey, I've got the perfect idea! It will make things so much easier for you in the end."

He suddenly had Edward's full attention.