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Chapter 18: The Ride-Along

December 17, Friday

Forks, Washington

Edward

"Mrs. C., you've outdone yourself once again," I say around a mouthful of creamy scrambled eggs, savoring each morsel. I've spent the last two mornings waking up to homemade breakfasts rivaling those served in heaven itself, and I'm enjoying every last bite and committing it to memory before I head back to Seattle.

"Oh, stop. Cooking for you boys is the real treat." Esme smiles as she busies herself around the kitchen.

Home-cooked meals are few and far between for me, as they always have been. It wasn't until Emmett came around and introduced me to his family that I knew such wonders even existed, and Mrs. Cullen never disappoints. Instead, she's usually refilling my plate the second she finds it remotely light, and always sends me home with Tupperware full of leftovers to last me for days. I'm already looking forward to coming home from work each night this week and chowing down on whatever meal of Esme Cullen's I can get my hands on.

Speaking of work, I wipe my mouth on a napkin and head over to the sink, rinsing my plate before loading it into the dishwasher. Satisfied this breakfast will hold me over until I arrive later in the afternoon in Seattle, I look towards the door at my luggage. Slumped on the floor, as if it somehow knows we're headed back to work after a few days off, sits one duffel bag and an extra bag full of the leftover Tupperware from Esme. It's not hard to leave this time, knowing I'll be back for a few days around Christmas.

This is the closest I've ever felt to belonging to a family, and parting from them all for an extended period of time never gets easier.

Even though this time, I won't be parting from them all.

At least not for another four hours.

Yes, Bella Swan, my once Christmas nemesis, needs a ride back to Seattle since her car decided to call it quits in the bar parking lot. Emmett and I had headed over there yesterday, and one look under the hood had Emmett shaking his head in disappointment.

"I'll need a day or two to fix this," he had said. "It's an easy fix, but I need some time to get the parts and get it up and running."

"I need to get back home to Seattle by tomorrow," Bella had said yesterday, panic rising in her voice.

"Edward's heading back there tomorrow," Emmett had smiled, looking over at me with a smugness I wanted to punch off his face. "I'm sure he has room in that tank of his for you to hitch a ride."

And that is how almost twenty-four hours later, Bella and I find ourselves hopping into the front seat of my van.

Just the two of us.

"Well, Captain, it looks like this ship is yare," she says, settling into the passenger seat.

"Sorry," I reply with a small chuckle. "I haven't had time to brush up on my boat lingo."

The size of my van, or boat as we all refer to it, has now become a running joke among us all.

"Hm, not a seaman then?"

"Not since this morning in the shower," I answer casually, reaching forward to adjust the volume coming from the speakers.

"Just you and your one-man crew?" Bella retorts, and it makes me laugh again, knowing she doesn't shy away from conversation that may be considered offensive or an overshare.

"Just me and my First Mate," I say, wiggling my right hand at her. She laughs. "How do you know so much about ship life?"

She snorts. "My dad. He has a little, fifteen-foot rowboat that is basically his permanent residence when he's not working. It's the only place he gets chatty, though he only talks about nautical terms."

"And you used to go out there with him?"

"Yeah, when I was still too young to be able to use PMS as an excuse."

"PMS will always be a legitimate excuse for anything. He should have just waved the white flag and ran in the other direction."

"Sounds like you have a lot of experience waving the white flag with PMS. Do you have a sister?"

"Maybe. Not that I know of," I answer, merging onto the interstate with ease. "My parents left when I was a kid, so who knows."

"I'm sorry," she says quietly. "My mom left when I was little. I had Dad, though. Do you know where they are now?"

"Not a damn clue. It's better that way, actually. I could never go back and forth between them and the Cullens and not question pretty much everything about my childhood. It would be almost impossible to walk around and not be bitter every day of my life."

"The Cullens really are almost too good to be true," she sighs. "They've been looking out for me most of my life. Esme is an absolute angel."

"Wasn't sure they existed until she came around," I add, glancing over at her in the passenger seat. "Have you known them long?"

She nods. "Jasper, Alice, and I were all in the same class growing up. We've known each other since diapers. Emmett is basically an older brother to all of us."

"I'm surprised we haven't met before," I reply. "Emmett and I met in college, and I've been here a few times. I guess since I travel for a living, our paths never crossed until now."

"Well, I rarely get the chance to go back home. My life is pretty hectic in Seattle, being a pediatric ER nurse."

"I should have known you work with kids in some capacity, considering the way you almost took me out with that fucking Baby Yoda."

She grins. "What do you do?"

"I'm in advertising," I answer, deciding to keep it simple, so I don't bore her to death in the front seat of my boat. "I consult with potential clients around the country to convince them we're the best ones for the job."

"Sounds important. Do you like it?"

"I did at first. Traveling and getting to see all the places as a kid I thought I'd never see? It was like the job was made for me." I smile at the thought, remembering those early days of life on the road laid out in front of me. "But now, I'm just so fucking tired all the time. I think I'm getting old."

"Sounds like you might just need the magic of Christmas to revive you for the coming year."

I look over at her then, curled up comfortably in my seat like a little snowball, and I wonder if she has a little extra Christmas magic to share with me.

We think she will definitely share some magic with him! Possibly other things as well :)

Tomorrow, share with us your favorite Christmas miracle!