Chapter Eighteen: Like a Train on a Track

Edward's POV

August 2015

I couldn't believe that it was time to start school again. The end of third grade and the entire summer flew by. The end of the year was crazy with Caroline's play and the beginning of summer is when people want more music lessons because they have more time.

Plus I had never had to factor in spending time with the woman I loved and her son before.

Despite the craziness, I had never been happier. Emmett and Kate ended up closing on a house fifteen minutes away from Caroline and I. They moved in at the beginning of June and Caroline loved having her baby cousin around. Bella had Alice meet Kate and they became fast, mommy friends. I was pretty certain they were planning Nathan and Lucy's wedding already.

After moving my brother into their new house we spent a lot of June hanging by the pool and having cookouts. Since Brady was out of school the schedule wasn't as strict when it came to being at Bella or Jake's house. Jake ended up joining us multiple times for a cookout and came to the pool a few times. Brady still saw his dad every other week but if he fell asleep after dinner at Bella's house it wasn't a big deal to wake him up.

Over the Fourth of July, we took the kids up to the cabin. They spotted the lake within a few minutes of being there, changed into their suits, and we didn't see them again until the end of the week. It was so nice to be there with Bella again but it was great having the kids with us.

On the actual Fourth, my family came up for a cookout. My parents stayed the night but we didn't have a crib for the baby so my brother ended up going home at the end of the night. But it was great being together as a family. I loved watching Bella with my parents and brother. She got along so easily with them and I could tell mom adored Bella.

She was the first girl I had introduced to my parents since Rosalie back in high school.

I told Bella next year we would have her family join us and she blushed and bit her lip. When I asked if something was wrong all she could say was, "You're planning for next year already." and it wasn't even something I really thought about.

Making plans for the next year with her was just so natural.

It was really hard packing everything up at the end of the week. Being with Bella, and our kids, without any distractions or activities was so nice and needed. Our kids were so busy even without school it was kind of ridiculous. Brady was taking a break from piano for the summer in order to play more baseball and try soccer. I didn't think they even did soccer during the summer but Bella said it was for them to see if they liked it enough to join in the fall.

Caroline had found a drama camp she begged me to sign her up for. It was three times a week for five hours a day. I thought it was a little extreme for a bunch of third, fourth, and fifth graders but she really loved doing it. That took up a lot of our time for five weeks but she enjoyed it and it kept her busy.

As long as our kids weren't couch potatoes we were happy.

When they weren't at their activities, they were begging to go to the pool. We bought them passes and took them as much as we could with our work schedules. Mariah being away made summer more difficult but she had a friend whose summer job fell through and she spent a lot of time with the kids. Brady and Caroline both really liked Abby so I hoped I wouldn't have to choose between babysitters when Mariah got back.

Jake's apartment building also had a pool so Caroline ended up spending a lot of time with Brady when he was at his dad's. It was a little strange at first but Jake was Brady's dad and that's what mattered. I trusted him to take care of Caroline and the babysitter he hired at the beginning of the school year for after school continued working for him over the summer.

Gina was really nice and responsible. I felt comfortable with her looking after my daughter.

As the summer came to a close, I found myself for the first time wishing it could be longer. I loved having Caroline around more but summer as a single parent had its challenges and I was usually relieved when school started because I knew Caroline was going to be busy and taken care of for seven hours each day.

Plus I didn't have to entertain her.

This year was different. This year I had Bella to accompany us on our summer outings. Even when Brady was with Jake, Bella always joined us. It wasn't weird and it never felt forced. Bella even took Caroline to do girly things a few times when Brady was with Jake. Caroline and Bella had developed a tight bond and I was glad Caroline had someone like that in her life. My mom was amazing and she loved Mariah but they were different.

Bella was the closed thing Caroline ever had to a mother.

On the first day of fourth grade, I got up and started the coffee before going into Caroline's room to wake her up. I sat down on her bed and gently shook her until she rolled over and opened her eyes. Rosalie's eyes stared up at me and smiled but I got that small knot in my stomach. I blinked a few times and kissed her forehead.

"Morning, fourth-grader."

She laughed. "Good morning, daddy."

"What would you like for breakfast?"

"Oatmeal!" She sat up in bed. "With strawberries."

"Coming right up," I patted her shoulder and stood up. "You still planning on wearing that dress?"

She nodded. "Bella said it was the perfect first day of school outfit."

"Well if Bella says then it must be true."

"Trust me, daddy. Bella knows fashion."

I couldn't help but laugh as I shut her door and went to get our breakfast ready. I prepared her oatmeal and poured her a glass of milk and was just getting a start on packing her lunch when she emerged.

"Yum, thank you."

"You're welcome, kiddo," I smiled as I grabbed the brush and detangler from her hands and started brushing the knots out of her hair. "What do you want?"

"Can you just put it in a ponytail, please?"

"Yes, ma'am," I said as I pulled her hair up into a smooth ponytail. I clipped a matching bow in her hair and when she was finished she went to the bathroom and gave me the thumbs-up of approval. She brushed her teeth which gave me a chance to change into real clothes.

She slid on a bracelet my mother had given her on her first day of Kindergarten and we were on our way. When we pulled up in front of the school, Brady and Bella were already waiting. They were lucky enough to be in the same class again but I'd heard Mrs. Abbott was a little more strict than Miss Harris was. They probably wouldn't get to sit next to each other this year but they still had lunch and recess so they would be fine.

And they also spent most of their free time together.

"Should we get a picture?" Bella suggested, pulling out her phone.

"Mom," Brady complained. Apparently, ten years old was the age they became too cool for their pictures to be taken.

"The longer you whine the longer we wait," Bella reminded him with one eyebrow raised. He sighed dramatically and stood next to Caroline. He didn't smile at first but with a few nudges from Caroline he started laughing and Bella snapped the picture.

I laughed. "Alright, you two. You ready?"

"Yep!" Caroline nodded as she hugged me tightly. "Will you pick me up today?"

"I'll be here at three," I assured her. Even though he was too cool for pictures, Brady wasn't too cool to hug his mom yet. They hugged and then our kids walked away into the school. We made sure they made it inside safely and turned to each other.

"You guys still coming over for dinner?" Bella asked.

"We'll be there around six-thirty. Hopefully, my lesson doesn't go long again."

"Did you tell him you were going to charge him overtime?" Bella laughed.

"I said five bucks every extra minute but that didn't phase him last week," I sighed.

"We'll see you then," She leaned in for a kiss before getting in her car and driving away. I drove back to the store where my newest employee, Robby, was getting everything set up to open. It was weird to not see Felix opening the store but his oldest was starting kindergarten this year so he told me he couldn't be there to open anymore.

"How're you doing?" I asked since this morning was the first time Robby was left alone to get the morning work done before opening. I'd hired him a few weeks ago and Felix had been training him for opening the store for a week but he'd never done it alone before.

"All set, Edward," He told me. "Felix made me this checklist."

I took it from his hands and laughed. "This wasn't Felix."

"He gave it to me."

"Jane made this for him."

"His wife?" I nodded. "Well it's been helpful and I think we're good to go."

I looked around and checked the register and the excel sheet we used to count the money in the morning and in the evening when we closed. Everything looked good and I patted his shoulder. A few minutes later we unlocked the door and turned on the OPEN sign. I prepared for my first lesson while Robby helped an older gentleman look at music books for his grandson.

Felix and I had to rearrange our morning lesson schedule but it worked out well. I got to teach some people I had originally started doing lessons with but with schedules as we grew it was impossible for me to keep all of them. I was back to giving Alec lessons, but he seemed to be actually practicing now.

He had greatly improved since Christmas when he needed to come in at a later time and Felix was the only one available.

At two-thirty, I left the store in order to pick Caroline up. I got to the school a few minutes later and got out to stand with Bella. She seemed agitated but she didn't look to be in the talking mood so I let it go.

She would eventually want to talk.

"They took me off the Murphy project," She whispered. I looked down at her surprised and wondered what happened. Bella had been assigned a giant project for some guys new charity. He was asking for a lot on his website and Bella's boss thought she would be the best for the job and I was sure she was too. Bella had never had this big of a project before and was really excited to see what she was capable of doing.

"Why?"

"They said I wasn't being fast enough," She sighed. "That was Mr. Murphy's words, not Victoria's."

"I'm sorry, Bella."

"I just don't get it," She sighed as I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and kissed her cheek. "Angela had this giant project that she had to travel into the city for and she was able to get it done without the client complaining."

"You two are different."

"And she had two kids at home and a husband," She kept going. "I have a ten-year-old who can be a little bit self-sufficient and he's with his dad half the time."

I shrugged. "This guy's obviously a jerk. That was your main project and I know how hard you were working."

"Just not hard enough."

"Who'd they give the project to?"

She sighed. "Maria."

"Really?" Maria was kind of new, but she was young and didn't have any kids. "Isn't she kind of inexperienced for this dudes crazy, uptight standards?"

"I think so, but she's able to stay at the office crazy late to do the work."

"That shouldn't mean as much as it does."

"Victoria doesn't think Mr. Murphy cares about how good his website works or how efficient it is. He just wants it done and out in the world."

The bell rang loudly and kids started pouring out of the school. We searched the crowd for our kids and Bella relaxed a bunch when she saw Brady. We hugged both of our kids and they immediately started telling us about their days.

Brady shoved the soccer information in Bella's face and Caroline informed me the high school drama club was doing a workshop for elementary school kids in September that she wanted to do. Bella and I looked at each other and laughed. If we thought things would calm down with school starting we were very wrong.

"Hey, we'll talk later," I assured her as the kids got into our cars. She nodded and I kissed her forehead before getting into the car. We drove home and since the only thing Caroline had to do for school was read for thirty minutes, I let her hang out in the store.

After teaching my final lesson, I decided to close the store early that night.

After closing everything up, Caroline and I headed over to Bella's house. We were originally going to invite everyone but we decided to have an end of summer barbecue on Saturday instead. Tonight it was just the four of us and when we got to the house something already smelled amazing.

"It smells incredible," I whispered as I leaned in for a kiss.

"Yuck," Brady made a disgusted face and I was tempted to kiss her again but decided not to cause any problems. I handed Bella the chicken I'd been marinating for twelve hours and went outside to prepare the grill. When everything was ready, Brady came outside with me to watch me grill while the girls stayed inside finishing up the potatoes and asparagus.

"How was the first day?" I asked Brady and he shrugged. "You okay?"

He nodded, but I could tell something was up. "Tyler and Jared were giving me a hard time today."

"What about?"

"Caroline," He bit his lip. "They kept saying I was in love with her and that we were going to get married one day."

I rolled my eyes.

"And she's just my friend. I don't love Caroline," he said as he kicked a pretend rock. "It would be like marrying my sister."

"I know, bud."

"But they were teasing her about it too. And she asked them to stop but they didn't."

Huh. Caroline didn't mention that and I was wondering if Brady had told Bella about this.

"Look, you and Caroline are best friends."

"She's like my sister," He repeated.

I smiled. "Exactly. Just don't pay attention to them. If they want to act like that then just ignore them."

"They are kind of the bullies in the class," He sighed. "They weren't in our class last year."

"Maybe they're jealous."

"Jealous?" He laughed.

I smiled. "Maybe they're jealous Caroline wants to hang out with you and be your friend."

"Why would they be jealous about that?"

"Maybe they want to be her friend."

"She would be their friend. They don't have to be mean to us to get her to be their friend."

He was right. Caroline always saw the good in people and if they asked to sit with her at lunch or play with her at recess, she would do it. She liked everyone unless they gave her a reason not to.

I shrugged. "What can I say? Boys are strange."

"Hey!" He yelled and playfully punched my arm. The backdoor opened and the girls came outside with the other food and I put the chicken on a serving plate.

We enjoyed the night together but since it was a school night, we had to leave after we were done eating. I could tell the kids were bummed but they had just spent all summer together, they would be fine.

When we got home I could tell Caroline was exhausted. We kept pretty well to a normal sleep schedule over the summer but school definitely tuckered her out. I told her to change into her PJ's and we could watch an episode of Master Chef Junior before going to bed.

When the episode was over, Caroline was practically asleep. I picked her up and carried her to her bedroom. I gently laid her down in bed and kissed her forehead as I pulled her blankets up to cover her.

"Love you, sweetie."

"I love you, daddy," She whispered as she cuddled her teddy bear and rolled over onto her side.

The first few weeks of school flew by. The beginning of this year was so much better for Caroline then any start of the year at her old school. Thurgood was such a good fit for her and for myself. Bella managed to convince me to be part of the PTA and it was then I realized I couldn't say no to this woman.

Before I knew it, it was the weekend before Bella's thirtieth birthday and I was kind of freaking out. I hadn't celebrated a birthday with a woman I loved since Rosalie. Tanya and I broke up a few months before her birthday and the other women I dated never got serious.

"Would you calm down?" Emmett laughed as I tried to find a place to take her to dinner. Her mom was throwing her a surprise party at her house after dinner but I still wanted what I did for her to be memorable.

"It's a big deal."

"Your thirtieth birthday wasn't a big deal," He pointed out.

"I didn't want it to be."

I never made a big deal out of my birthday. When I was a kid, I just wanted to hang out with a few friends and eat cake. After Caroline was born, I just wanted a relaxed day with my family. And cake. I always wanted birthday cake.

"And Bella does?"

I sighed and looked up from my computer. "It's not about how old she's going to be."

"Then what's it about?"

"This is the first birthday for her that we're together. It could determine the rest of our relationship?"

"What?"

I looked back at my computer. "If I mess this up then she'll expect me to be mediocre when it comes to her birthday or Christmas."

"Edward, you're reading way too much into this."

"I'm just not used to this."

"What? Being a normal person?" He asked. "Or having someone you know have a birthday."

I bit my lip. "I'm not used to being in love with someone when they celebrate their birthday."

"Bella loves you, dude. You could be the worst gift giver or the worst planner but she wouldn't care," He said. "She just wants to be with you."

I nodded. "You're right."

"She likes Chinese food right?"

"Yeah."

"Kate and I went to this really great place for dinner with some co-workers about a month ago. Try Xi'an Noodles," He told me. "Really good food and good service. And it's a good price."

I typed it into the computer and it looked like a place Bella would enjoy. Casual but good food was her favorite kind of place to eat. And it wasn't somewhere where we'd already gone so that would be a nice change of pace.

"Thanks," I whispered and Emmett touched my shoulder. He was so good with talking me off that ledge and I was really glad they were living closer now.

The next week I showed up at Bella's house at five thirty to be at the restaurant by six so we could get to her mom's house early enough. She had been in kind of a sour mood the entire week because Jake wouldn't budge and let her have Brady for her birthday.

Jake, Brady, and Caroline would all be at her mom's house for the party and I was sworn to secrecy.

"You good?"

"I let him have Brady on his birthday," She sighed as she locked the door.

"Wasn't Brady already with Jake on his birthday?"

She glared at me. "You get the point."

"Hey," I grabbed her hand and kissed her cheek. "I know you're upset but don't let him ruin our night. You'll see Brady tomorrow and we'll do dinner with the four of us."

"I know," She nodded. "It's just the first birthday I've had without him."

"But now," I leaned in closer. "We can go home and I can fuck you anywhere you want."

She gulped. "Anywhere?"

"Anywhere," I promised because after the party Brady was going back with Jake and Caroline was staying with Emmett.

Bella's mood perked up by the time we got to the restaurant and she was excited to try the food. I told her to order anything she wanted and once we placed our orders I excused myself to use the restroom in order to get her gift form the car.

When I got back she smiled up at me and I suddenly felt very nervous. I sat back down and she could tell something was up because she smirked at me.

"You okay?"

I nodded, took a deep breath, and handed her the small package. "Happy birthday, Bella."

"Edward," She whispered as she took the present. She carefully unwrapped it and her eyes widened when she saw the small, black box. She opened it and covered her mouth with her hand. "This is beautiful."

"You really like it?" I asked nervously as she carefully pulled the necklace out of the box. She looked up at me with tears in her eyes.

"You really are a good listener," She laughed. "Will you help me put it on?"

I nodded and stood up. I took the necklace and clasped it around her neck. She told me months ago that when she was in high school her mother bought her a necklace with a sapphire in it for her birthday. During one of the moves after having Brady she lost the necklace and was upset for weeks.

She'd been wanting one for years since losing it but didn't have the heart to tell her mother because she didn't want to make it a big thing.

"Of course I listen," I kissed the top of her head.

She looked down at the necklace again and smiled. "It's perfect. Thank you so much."

"I love you, Bella. You deserve so much more."

"I don't need more," She winked and reached out to grab my hand. "And I love you too."

When we were finished eating, I texted her mom to tell her we were done. A few seconds later, Bella's phone buzzed.

"Who's that?" I asked as she pulled it out of her purse.

"Mom," She answered the phone and I did my best to play cool. "Yeah, we just finished eating. Right now?" She looked at me. "Yeah, we can stop by for a bit I guess. Okay, bye."

"Are we making a detour?"

"Just a quick one," She said and leaned in close. "But then I demand to be taken home and fucked in the room of my choice."

The hair on the back of my neck stood up and I contemplated just abandoning the party and going home.

I calmed myself down though and headed to her moms house. When we got there she looked a bit confused since there were a bunch of cars but I said a neighbor was probably having a party.

"Why is it dark?" She asked as we rang the doorbell. "She knew we were coming over."

I shrugged and waited for the door to open. "Happy birthday, kiddo," Renee greeted when she opened the door.

"Thanks, mom. Look what Edward gave me," She excitedly pointed to the necklace.

"You have good taste, boy."

I laughed. "I tried."

"Mom, what's going on?" Bella asked as we shuffled towards the living room. "Why is it so dark?"

"Well…"Renee smiled as the lights turned on and everyone jumped out and yelled surprise.

"What?" Bella laughed as Brady and Caroline ran up to hug her. She looked around and found Jake and pointed at him. "You! I thought I was going to have to be super mad at you for a long time!"

"Hey, your mom made me promise to not say anything," He walked up and hugged her. "I didn't want to make you mad, especially not on your birthday."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

Bella made the rounds and was incredibly surprised when she saw my parents. "You guys drove out here just for my birthday?"

"Bella, you're family now," Mom said as she hugged her. "And it's a very big birthday."

"Thanks for coming," Bella whispered and I took my turn hugging my parents since they'd been with Emmett since arriving this morning.

After she said hello to everyone, Caroline got everyone ready for the game she'd planned. It was a game we'd played at Brady's party so it was more for kids but everyone was a really good sport and had a good time. After the game it was time for cake and Caroline proudly announced she'd helped Renee bake it and Brady was happy to report he was the official cake taster when they were figuring out what to make.

"Happy birthday dear, Bella! Happy birthday to you!" Everyone sang before she blew out the candles. The room cheered before my mom and Renee took the cake into the kitchen to be cut. While that was happening people started giving their gifts to Bella.

My parents got her a Spa gift certificate for her and a friend to be pampered. Kate and Emmett got her a few books she'd been dying to read and there were a few more generic presents before Brady handed her a box.

"It's from me and dad," He announced happily. She carefully unwrapped the box. She smiled at the Booklovers Journal they'd gotten her as well as the personal library kit.

"This is perfect, thanks." She hugged Brady and Jake.

Jasper came up to me and nudged my side. "You're a good guy."

"Thanks?" I came out as a question since it was super random.

"I just mean a lot of guys might not be comfortable with their relationship," He pointed to Bella and Jake who were standing with Brady looking through the journal.

I shrugged. "I trust her."

"I wouldn't trust him."

"Even if I didn't trust him, I trust her and that's what matters," I said. "Plus she's been incredibly patient and understanding when it comes to Rosalie."

"I'm not trying to stir the pot," He assured me. "I was just making an observation."

"It's the therapist in you."

He chuckled. "I guess. But, you are a good guy. A really good guy."

"Thanks, Jasper."

"I don't think I've ever seen my little sister this happy before. So...thank you."

"For?"

"For taking such good care of my sister and my nephew."

I looked up at them again and smiled. "I love them."

"I know," He clapped my back and went back to Alice. That might have been the weirdest conversation I'd had with Jasper but I decided not to read too much into it. I walked over to Bella who raised her eyebrows at me but I shook my head.

I was pretty sure Jasper was kind of buzzed and it wasn't a big deal.

After a few hours it was time for the party to end. Brady and Caroline were practically asleep and Alice was too. We said goodbye to everyone and headed back to the house.

We were barely out of the car when she grabbed me and pulled me close to her. I kissed her passionately as she pushed me against the car. I was pretty sure someone was about to drive by and see and I didn't want to give people a show. Without breaking the kiss, I maneuvered us in the house.

"Happy birthday, Bella," I whispered as I pushed her into the front door and I kissed her neck.