Bella still couldn't believe what Emmett had done for her. She had wanted a horse of her own ever since she had started riding lessons, but her father had never indulged her thinking that she would always outgrow her love of riding when she found a husband and had a family. Little did he know that she would end up living out west with Emmett where riding was a necessity rather than a hobby of the upper crust of society.
As she rode she would lift one of her hands off the reins every now and then to simply reach out and run her fingers through Eclipse's mane or pat the mare's neck. She really thought her heart was going to burst with joy at riding her own horse. And, it was a fine, beautiful horse at that. As she rode she could tell that Eclipse was a well trained animal. She responded eagerly to each tug of the reins or to the pressure of Bella's heels in her side.
When she finally drew her attention away from the mount she looked over her shoulder at Edward, who was riding right behind her, with a big smile.
Edward had been watching her as she rode towards the homestead ahead of him, just memorizing how beautiful and happy she looked. She looked so graceful sitting up in the saddle, her long mahogany hair falling in loose curls down to her back to her slender waist, the breeze stirring the ends softly along with the hem of her split skirt. And, then when she turned and he saw her smile, well, it just plain stole his breath away. The smile seemed to light up her whole face and there was a glittering twinkle to her chocolate brown eyes.
Taking the reins into one hand she reached up and brushed a stray lock of hair away from the pale skin of her face and she stopped Eclipse, waiting for him to come up beside her. When he stopped right next to her she leaned over in the saddle and her lips broke into a gentle smile. He leaned towards her as well and caught her smile before she kissed him softly.
It was as if she were putting all the joy she felt in that moment into the kiss. It wasn't just the joy that was generated from her present, but also the joy she felt because of him and what was growing between them. It was a kiss that promised so much of what was to come. As their lips tugged at each other's then parted as they tasted one another he let his own bliss show through and he felt a tightening in his chest as his hand moved to rest on the side of her face and neck.
As the kiss continued, it changed, as he put all the love he felt for her into it. She moaned in response and kissed him back in kind, her hand coming up to rest over his as he continued to hold her close.
When she was the one that finally broke the kiss they were both breathless and smiling. He let his eyes lock with hers for a moment and whispered, "Follow me?"
She placed one more gentle kiss on his lips and whispered back, "Anywhere."
With that he pulled back, straightening up in his saddle, and he winked at her before he said, "See if you can keep up."
With that he dug his heels into Chester's side and urged the horse into a full run. Bella's laughter drifted towards him and it didn't take long before she caught up, only half a length behind so he could lead the way to where they were going.
It wasn't long before Edward started to tug on the reins a bit, slowing Chester down to a steady trot and Bella did the same with Eclipse. When they came up to an old large tree he stopped his mount and tethered it to one of the lower branches and smiled as he saw Bella do the same. The diameter of the tree was wide enough that when he took her hand and led her to the base of the tree they had to take a few steps.
Once at the base of the tree he let go of her hand and squatted down between the roots of the tree. As he began to rummage around under a group of knotty roots she crouched down next to him and looked at him curiously. He only smiled at her a bit and said nothing as he rooted around and then when he pulled an old, faded tobacco tin from its hiding place she gave him a curious look.
"Have a seat," he said as he sat back onto the ground between the tree roots. Looking behind her she moved to do same, folding her legs under her.
He had a bit of trouble opening the tin's lid, and when he did she couldn't help but crane her neck a bit to peer inside curiously as his long, graceful fingers reached in to pull out a small carved toy horse that had obviously been gnawed on by a child's tiny teeth. When he handed her the toy horse she looked at it curiously and turned the toy over in her hands, running her fingers against the smooth, worn surface. As she looked at the underside of the toy horse's belly she saw the name Edward carved underneath and she looked up at him with wide eyes.
"It was mine when I was a tyke. My pa carved it for me when he was out on the range," Edward said in a hoarse voice. He cleared his throat and pulled out a handkerchief that was wrapped around a something and he opened the cloth to reveal two daguerreotypes. He handed her the first one and she couldn't help but smile at the image of what was obviously Edward as a toddler, holding the same toy horse that was now resting on her lap.
His full head of hair had been just as wild then as it was now and he even had the same crooked smile. For just a moment she allowed herself to wonder if this was what their children would look like and she quickly brushed that idea away even as she blushed at the thought.
"You were quite a handsome fellow even then," she said as she looked up at him with a smile.
He smiled back at her a bit and handed her the second picture. In this one she saw a young couple in what appeared to be their wedding attire. The man bore a striking resemblance to Edward, though the photograph showed that he had had blonde hair. She imagined that the woman's hair color was more like Edward's and he seemed to have the same eyes that she did.
"Those are my parents," he said roughly and cleared his throat, "Edward Masen, Sr. and Elizabeth Masen." He pointed to the trunk of the tree to a scar in the bark where someone had carved a heart and the letters E + E inside. "Pa carved that for my momma when they were just seventeen."
She let her gaze wander back towards him and saw the way his eyes were filled with moisture. Reaching out she rested her hand on his cheek as he reached up to run his thumb over his lower lid, wiping away at a stray tear and he made a joke.
"Well, I didn't want you to wander out here, find it and think that Emmett and I had something going on."
She tried to smile at that, but instead she whispered, "How'd it end up out here on this tree, Edward?"
He took a shaky breath and looked down at the ground for a moment before he looked at her. "This used to be my family's land, Bella. The Big E and Mallory's Bar None..all of it. It used to be mine."
