Chapter 11
Wednesday morning, Bella stood on her porch with her arms wrapped around her torso and grimaced. "Edward, I don't think Bo can make it."
Edward grinned at her as he walked to the bed of his truck and dropped the tailgate. "I thought of the good old boy," he said and pulled out a ramp.
"Perfect," she said and opened the screen door, and a flurry of canine activity brushed past her legs.
After the dogs sniffed the perimeter of the truck, Edward called "Hup." Jangles jumped into the bed, but Bo hesitated and looked at Edward with concern. "Aww, that's all right, boy." He patted the ramp and said, "Hup." Bo took a tentative step onto the ramp, but after seeing Jangles waiting for him at the top, quickly followed Edward's hand into the bed.
Bella was rubbing ears and praising the dogs as Edward opened the passenger's door for her. Her eyes narrowed when he called "Hup,"and she smacked his arm as she climbed into the truck.
At the open-air market, Edward helped Bella carry trays, boxes, and baskets to her table. "So you do this every Wednesday?" he asked.
"Yes, and every other Saturday. In the summer, every Saturday," Bella said as she followed him with two trays of baked goods.
He took them from her and placed them next to the canned jellies. "That's amazing. So Sue offers things from her diner and you, what?"
In the spring, summer, and fall, I offer things from my garden. In the winter, it's more crafts and canned things like jams and jellies or pickles and krauts," she said with a shrug.
"Wow, I'm impressed."
She looked down as she worked, "Well, last year I paid for my new water heater. This year I'm hoping to build a greenhouse and maybe a gazebo down by the property line."
He kissed her and noticed that she didn't shy away from public affection as she did in school, so he kissed her again.
People began trickling by to talk and pet the dogs. Everyone was interested in the handsome young man helping Bella so attentively. Edward worked hard to impress, to be an asset to Bella. He noticed that the old-timers didn't ask who he was. They shook his hand, made small talk, and in the end seemed to want to give Edward a chance.
Around eleven-thirty, they began packing up. Bo snored under the table while Bella packed the jars of jams and Edward packed the jars of pickles. "What will you do with the leftover baked goods?"
Bella looked at the half dozen bear claws and stray donuts and shrugged. I give them to Mr. Uley for his hogs.
Edward grinned. "Would you mind if I take them back to work for my hog?"
Bella laughed. "Sure, Emmett is welcome to them."
She picked up two baskets, and he followed her with the canned goods. "Who's Mr. Uley?"
She swung the baskets into the bed of the truck before saying, "Ah, he's just the sweetest old gentleman. He shared a property line with Grandma most of their lives. He was so glad when I moved in and started fixing things up. His property sits right on the state road and its fifteen acres with a pond." She sighed. "He's not doing well. Sam, his son, is working hard to keep things going for his dad, but what with his department of transportation job and the farm, it's been hard on him. It's sad, we used to trim the blackberry brambles on the property line together, but this year I hired Seth Clearwater to help me cut them back. I still took the blackberry jam over to Mr. Uley. I gave my share to Sam and his family, and I paid Seth. He's saving for a car.
Edward loaded the dogs in the back before sliding in next to her and starting the engine. "So, you live off of what you make and sell?"
Well, yes, there's no mortgage, and I live simply, so there's really only property taxes and living expenses. The rest I put back into my garden and orchard."
"Would you like to expand?"
"Well, I want to grow more year-round. I have a lot of fanciful dreams, and each year I do a little more, but I don't know how much more I can do by myself." She looked down at her hands in her lap and watched his masculine hand cover hers.
"I love the life you've built, Bella. It's beautiful and giving, and I want to be a part of it, and I want you to be a part of mine," he said and lifted her hand to his lips.
She pressed their joined hands to her cheek and said, "I'd like that very much."
~o0o~
Bella felt like she was walking into an ambush as Edward held the door for her at Sue's diner. Holding Edward's hand, she walked past the former cheerleaders from Forks High with Rosalie Hale-McCarty holding court.
Edward wanted to keep going, but Bella did something that she would never have done in the Forks High cafeteria. She stopped in front of the table and spoke, "Hey, Lauren, Emily, Jess, Victoria—Rose."
Lauren Mallory spoke up first, "Hi Bella. Hi Edward. It's nice to see you out together."
Edward stood behind Bella as she said, "Yeah, we just came from the open-air market. I have some Christmas Jelly left if any of you would like some."
Lauren said, "I'd love some. Erin and I love it. Bradley likes your apple butter."
Bella smiled, "I don't have any apple butter with me, but I have some at home, and I'll bring them over for him Friday. Would that work?"
Lauren smiled, "He'll be thrilled, and I'll be baking biscuits on Saturday for him, thanks."
Bella nodded and turned to follow Edward to the booth when Emily Uley spoke up, "Bella, I'd love some of your Christmas Jelly. It's the one with the cranberries, right?"
Bella nodded and said, "Let me know when you're ready to go, and I'll run out to Edward's truck to get you a few jars." She turned from Lauren and Emily's friendly faces to the apathy of Victoria Hunter and the stone faced Jessica Newton and Rose. "W-well, enjoy your lunches. Sue makes a mean chicken pot pie."
Edward hooked Bella's arm into his with her hand resting on his bicep and nodded, "Ladies."
Bella blew out a breath at the booth as Edward slid in next to her. "You okay?" he said as he brushed her hair back from her cheek.
She smiled and leaned into his hand. Yeah, I think there's a part of us that is always in high school."
Edward nodded, "Yeah, well, Lauren and Emily are nice."
"Oh, Lauren has had such a time. Eric Yorkie had a scholarship to U-Dub, broke up with her after graduation, and never looked back. She kept their twins and raised them by herself. She's a great mom."
"Wow."
Bella tucked her hair behind her ear, "Yeah, and Emily is Sam Uley's wife. They have three kids. She's sweet. I didn't get to know them until I moved into the house."
"Tell you what, I'll run out to the truck and bring in their jelly while you order our drinks," Edward said with a kiss.
"Okay, thanks, they're the red ones with the green ribbons," she said.
Edward found the jellies quickly and grabbed four jars. When he turned around, Jessica Newton was standing by the door. Edward sighed and walked toward the door. "Jessica," he said.
"She's not the sweet little girl you left, Edward."
Edward froze in his tracks. "What?"
She smiled now that she had his attention. "Mike and Bella were quite the item. He dumped her and married me, but now that we're divorcing, he'd love nothing better than to have a second chance with her."
Edward opened the door. Jessica sent one more shot over the bow before he could get away. "Call me. I've always had a thing for you."
Edward shook his head and walked past her. He placed the jelly jars on the table for Emily and Lauren, and Victoria caught his sleeve as he turned to leave. "Edward, I really don't give a shit about the drama of this town, but I'm pretty sure I know what Jessica was spouting out there. Don't listen. Bella's a good person. Jessica …" Victoria shrugged, "… Jessica's whatever."
"Thanks, Vickie," Edward said and patted the hand on his sleeve before adding, "You ladies, have a nice lunch."
Edward watched Rose come out of the ladies' room with a target for the back booth where Bella sat, but Edward intercepted her. "What was your plan, Rose? Challenge Bella to a fight off of school grounds?" He snorted and pushed past her.
Once seated, Edward turned to Bella. "Mike Newton?"
Bella put down her iced tea. "What?"
He leaned in and lowered his voice, "You were with Mike Newton? For how long?"
She dropped her head before quickly looking over her shoulder, only to see Jessica and Rose grinning. Bella turned back around and took a deep, cleansing breath. "Edward, may we please exchange past histories at a time when we don't have a pack of hyenas watching."
Edward glanced over his shoulder and nodded. "I'm sorry, baby. I got blindsided and reacted."
"Thank you," she said and thought for a moment. "Let's get our food to go, and we can talk while we eat."
He lifted his hand to draw Angela to the table and said, "Sounds good."
~o0o~
"First, Mike and I were never an item or couple or whatever. We went on three dates, two with Jasper and Alice. Second, it was five years ago. Mike and Jess have been married for four. He's always had someone on the side, so I think Jess thinks I must have been one of his side dishes," Bella said as she pinched a chunk of potato salad and slipped it between her lips.
As she licked her fingers, Edward's eyes glazed over, and Bella grinned knowingly.
Edward grinned back. "So what happened on that third date, the one where you went out alone?"
Her eyebrows lifted. "Not that it's any of your business, but it was the first date. Mike was really smarmy, so I asked Alice to double date with us."
Relief washed over Edward, and although he knew he was being unfair, he really couldn't help himself. "So, did you have anyone serious?"
She hesitated, weighing how vulnerable to allow herself to be, and finally said, "No."
He swallowed thickly, "I'm sorry, and I'm not."
She looked at him, reading him, weighing his words, his intent, and sighed. "Okay, so—what about you? What was your sex life like on those long Alaskan winters?"
His turn to sit in the hot seat found him squirming. "I-I, well, there was a bit of time just out of high school where I tried. I went on dates, kisses, first base stuff, but I compared every girl to you and found them wanting, so I finally gave up."
She nodded and placed her plate on the wicker coffee table in front of the porch swing. "So no one serious for you?"
He pulled her to drape across his chest and pushed the swing as she lifted her legs onto the seat. "Yes, Bella, you—I'm very serious about you."
She nodded and swallowed, "I'm sorry," she grinned, "and I'm not."
They shared a knowing moment, each lost in the other until their lips melded together.