A/N- Thanks as always to my beta, Tanya; my pre reader Chartwilightmom and all my wonderful readers.
Chapter 21
"I help, Bella cook," Edward said, dropping the rabbit carcass in front of Bella. She couldn't call it a bunny in her mind, it made it harder.
Bella let out a breath of relief as she realized none of the blood was coming from Edward. As he came toward her, Bella held out her hand and shook her head.
"Edward, I told you this. We get our food from the store. You can't kill the animals around here."
"Bella no cook?" His eyes rested on hers, full of innocence.
When Bella shook her head, Edward seemed to be a bit relieved, and he tossed the carcass back into the woods.
"It no taste like I know," he said slowly, searching for the words.
"It doesn't taste like you remember?" Bella asked. Edward shook his head and made a face, causing Bella to giggle.
Bella had Edward wait until she could get some wet rags to clean himself off. She hoped this meant Edward's taste for raw meat was slowing dwindling. As she cleaned him, she noticed he looked sad.
"Edward?" she gazed up at him from her crouched position, wiping the last of the dirt and blood off his leg. "What's wrong?"
With a vulnerability Bella had come to love, he looked down, tucking his chin in against his shoulder. "I no help wolves. I no help Bella."
Bella had never really considered how the pack dynamics had worked. While it was obvious the wolves had treated Edward as family, she had never really thought about what his role was. He was nowhere near as fast, and while he could take down small prey, she doubted he could take something as hefty as a deer down to help feed the pack.
And now that he was in her world, the world he was meant to be born into, there was a chance for him to be helpful, but he didn't know how. Bella felt horrible for rejecting his morning offering when she saw the reason behind it. Edward wanted to learn, but he also wanted to work, to contribute to his new pack…her.
Bella noticed the clock and looked apologetic as she rose. "I have to work…get dressed and join me?"
"I come with you?"
Smiling in return, she answered, "You can come."
After getting Edward into some fresh clothes, Bella was running behind. She wondered if it wouldn't have been a better idea to go tend to the chickens on her own first, but as they were running hand-in-hand toward the coop, she knew it was too late for that option.
Snatching the basket from off the wall, Bella bit back any residual fear from the morning before and started digging. The chickens scooted out of the way as she stuck her hand in each nesting bin to retrieve the eggs. Edward watched closely, and when he saw what she was doing, he moved quickly and deftly, pulling eggs out and adding them to the basket. The chickens, however, seemed to remember Edward, and they scattered quickly and noisily as he gathered their eggs. Keeping a close eye on Edward in case he decided to chase again, Bella was surprised by how gentle he was being with them. Maybe after his morning hunt he wasn't as interested in raw meat anymore. Bella could only hope.
When they arrived at the main house, Bella instructed Edward to wait outside while she ran the eggs in. Unfortunately, Rosalie showed up at the door in the middle of Bella's speech.
"Come on in, Bella, and bring your young man," she said.
Edward looked at Rosalie, and then at Bella. He could see the worry in her face; he knew he was the cause of it.
"I wait at home," he said before turning toward the small cottage. He fell to his hands and then remembered himself, erecting himself again and walking toward his home.
Bella watched him, and when she turned back to Rosalie, the older woman had a contemplative look on her face.
"I'm sorry I didn't say anything before," Bella started.
"You haven't said anything now, but come on in; I need to get the eggs cooking."
Bella kicked off her shoes and followed Rosalie into the kitchen. With her hair neatly pinned to her head as it always was, and her apron clean and pressed, Rosalie started cooking, giving Bella a few moments to gather her thoughts.
"Edward is different." And that would be the understatement of the year.
"I can see that, dear. Will you tell me how he is different?" Rosalie made her way to the toaster and put in two slices of bread. Bella didn't know if she was being courteous by not staring her down for this conversation or if she had no idea how bizarre this was going to be.
"Edward lost his parents at a young age. He was almost four when it happened."
Rosalie stopped and turned to Bella, her mouth turning down in the corners. "Such a shame…that can have such an impact on a young man."
"Edward was impacted by it, in many ways. Their family was camping and there was a bear attack. His mother was killed almost instantly. His father made it out with some injuries, and Edward was lost."
"Heavens," Rosalie said, her full attention on Bella and a spatula still in her hand. "For how long?"
"Until about a couple months ago," Bella said slowly, but as soon as the words registered, Rosalie dropped the utensil and gasped. She looked out the window, almost like she expected to see Allen Funt with his candid camera waiting to say, "Gotcha!"
Emmett chose that moment to enter the room. "Rosie, the eggs," he said, startled at the smoke rising from them. His voice clearly catching her off guard, she jumped before making her way to the frying pan and pushing it off the burner.
And so for the next hour, breakfast was ignored, the chores were forgotten, and many 'oh dears' were spoken as the McCartys listened to Edward's story. When Bella was finished, she could see so many questions sitting on the faces of both Emmett and Rosalie, and she was pretty sure the answer to most of them was 'I don't know.'
"Bella, I think you might be in over your head," Emmett said abruptly.
"I know," she replied softly. "I just, I don't know what to do. If they take him away and force him to live in the city, well…I think he'd be miserable."
"Well then we will have to find a way to make sure that doesn't happen, but Bella he needs to see a doctor. There is no way you can teach him everything he needs to survive in this new world."
"I don't even know where to begin." Bella sighed. While it felt good to have finally shared her secret, she could no longer ignore the problems facing her. The overwhelming feeling returned, but this time she was determined to beat it.
"I can make some calls," Emmett offered. "The first thing we need to do is get him documentation, and for that we're going to need to prove who he is."
Bella looked at him hesitantly. "Do you think there is a way to deal with this and keep Edward out of the news?"
Emmett looked at Rosalie and then back to Bella. "I doubt it, but if we keep Edward here on the farm they won't be able to get to him. The story will die down in a couple weeks and then we can start getting him educated. But one step at a time."
Bella looked at Emmett and her gratefulness shone through. "Thank you." She stood up from the table and said, "I guess I better get to those cows."
Just as she reached the door, Emmett called out, "Bella, would it be all right if I spent some time with Edward?"
Bella rolled this idea around in her head, she wasn't sure if Edward would be comfortable along with the burly man, but Emmett had an obvious kindness to him, and Edward was a good judge of character.
"I don't see the harm in trying," she said.
Already losing an hour of their morning, Emmett didn't seek Edward out that day, but the thing that surprised Bella was Edward didn't come find her either. It was late in the afternoon by the time she made her way back to the cottage. She was hungry and hot from the sun.
Heading straight for the kitchen, Bella was surprised to find Edward sitting hunched over something at the table. She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge before leaning over his shoulder to see what he was working on. Bella was shocked when she saw he was working on the letter tracing books she had bought for him, and not just working, but mastering.
He had traced the dotted lines and now he was working free hand and doing a stellar job.
"I learn."
"I see that," Bella responded with a smile.
"I stay with Bella?"
Bella squatted down next to Edward's chair and placed a hand on his knee. "Yes, you're staying with me."
Edward let out a breath, and when he put the pen down, Bella could see the color return to his fingers after having gripped it so tight. He had sensed something wrong earlier and Bella knew he'd be fretting about it all day.
"Come here," she said, and took his hand, standing up and pulling him out of the chair. She snaked her arms around his waist and rested her cheek against his chest. Edward was quick to take her into his embrace.
"You teach me something?" he asked, still holding on to her.
"Haven't you done enough today?" Bella responded, thinking of how far he had gotten in the notebook, mastering up to the letter P.
"Please?" He pulled back enough to look down at her, and his eyes were so earnest she knew she couldn't deny him.
Bella's stomach took the opportunity to growl and then she had the perfect idea of what to teach him. Taking the ingredients out of the fridge, Bella placed them on the counter.
"Cheese grater," Bella said, pulling the metal triangle out and handing it to Edward. "This part is sharp, like a knife." Her finger hovered over the tiny holes.
Bella positioned Edward by the counter and gave him a small bowl. Holding his hand in hers, she taught him how to slide the cheese down and produce the shavings. Next she showed him how to measure out the cream cheese and the butter. She mixed them in a bowl and the Edward spread the mixture onto the bread.
Edward had already been taught the stove was hot, like fire. He had kept away from it, but now it was time to show him safety as opposed to avoidance. She gave him the spatula and let him man the sandwiches, and when he was done, he had a big smile and two slightly charred grilled cheese sandwiches.
Bella ate hers like it was the best thing she had ever tasted, and it nearly was because of the pride Edward showed in his accomplishment. It was then she realized she hadn't been challenging Edward enough, she had just been taking care of him, and that wasn't what he wanted. He wanted to be useful.
Bella knew she was on the right track but that night, when Edward took her with such passion and assertion she knew she had woken the man in him. And while most men wouldn't feel as though they provided by cooking some grilled cheese sandwiches, Edward felt he had been useful, that he could contribute to Bella. As she laid panting and staring at the ceiling that night, she vowed she'd find a way every day to make him feel that way.
The next morning, Bella was surprised to see Emmett in the chicken coop waiting for her. She glanced back to Edward, gaging on how he was feeling about the large man surprising them.
"Good morning, Bella," he said, and then nodded toward Edward, "Edward."
"Good morning," Bella said, and Edward kept by her side.
"Edward would you like to come with me this morning?" he asked.
Edward looked to Bella for translation; there were too many words he didn't understand in that sentence.
"You go with Emmett?" Bella said, smiling warmly in hopes Edward would take him up on his offer.
"I come back? To Bella?" Bella nodded and Edward studied Emmett for a moment before nodding his head.
Bella watched the two of them head off behind the barn, and while she was a little nervous for Edward, she trusted the McCartys. They had been kind and understanding and she knew they would think about what was best for Edward, just like she tried to.
Gathering the eggs was becoming easier and easier every day. The chickens were used to her and they moved without much fuss from her exploring hands. With a full basket, Bella headed to the main house to drop them off. Rosalie was smiling and humming as Bella entered the kitchen.
"Would you like to stay for breakfast this morning?" she asked, grabbing a couple of eggs out of the basket and cracking them into the pan. "I have a feeling the boys won't be in for a bit."
"Do you…do you know what they're doing?" Bella asked, feeling like maybe it wasn't her place to ask.
"I think Emmett was taking Edward out to the wood shack."
Bella's eyes opened wide. "You don't think he'll give Edward an axe do you?"
Rosalie spun, her eyes filled with amusement. "I guess he will. Edward is a grown man, Bella. He may have grown up in the woods, but he is intelligent. She walked over to Bella and patted her arm. "Besides, if you don't let a man be a man, they won't stick around for long." When Bella didn't look any more comfortable at the thought, Rosalie added, "Emmett is there, he's not going to let Edward chop off his own leg. Or anything else you may need."
Bella's mouth dropped open as Rosalie winked. Then the two of them started giggling.
~BS~
Just as they were cleaning the last breakfast dish, Edward and Emmett trotted in.
"Figures," Rosalie mumbled under her breath.
Bella went to Edward immediately, looking for any signs of distress, but instead he looked happy, his eyes crinkling with his smile. She couldn't help but smile back.
"I'm going to milk the cows, you come?" she asked.
Edward looked torn for a moment, his head darting back and forth between Emmett and Bella.
"I go Emmett, sex fence."
The two women's eyebrows nearly left their faces and Emmett coughed at the word mix up. "Fix the fence, Edward. We're going to fix the fence."
"Fix fence," Edward repeated, unaware at the meaning of his blunder, "With Emmett."
"Okay," Bella said softly, going to Edward and raising up to kiss him. He leaned down and met her, but kept the lip lock chaste all on his own.
Even though Bella left the house first, leaving Emmett and Edward to have breakfast, she couldn't help but feel like she had kissed her man goodbye before he left for work. The look on his face was filled with pride and purpose. Bella couldn't help the extra skip in her step as she made her way to the barn.