Chapter 2
Bella
The sun was just starting to crest over the horizon, filtering in through the kitchen window in soft, golden rays. I smiled to myself as I slid a spatula between the nonstick frying pan and the eggs I was scrambling so they wouldn't stick. It was sort of surreal, being a vampire making a very ordinary breakfast for my very extraordinary daughter,
As Renesmee was growing up, Edward and I had insisted that she maintain a partially human diet because it would make it that much easier for her to fit in with humans, particularly when Grandpa Charlie and Grandma Sue were spending time with her. It was a very short list of food items that she would actually eat, but one of her most preferred foods was eggs, which Edward always teased had been her favorite food since she was in utero. I'd eaten dozens and dozens of eggs on our honeymoon before we'd realized that I had conceived.
As I seasoned the fluffy steaming yellow mounds with a pinch of salt and pepper, I looked over at my shoulder to where Edward was sitting at the kitchen table, perusing the news on his laptop. He must've felt my gaze on him because he looked up at me over the top of his screen. My favorite crooked smile lit up his face as his eyes raked desirously over my apron-clad body.
"It might not be very feminist of me to say this, but domesticity looks good on you, Mrs. Cullen," he purred.
With a hand on my hip (my spatula raised in the other), I arched my eyebrow at him, and with feigned outrage, I lifted my shield and teased, Just how you always wanted me. Barefoot and in the kitchen.
With eyes gleaming wickedly, he dryly replied, "Barefoot is a good start."
My eyes widened in a silent warning. She can hear you.
Edward just smiled and shrugged, unconcerned. He was never one to shy away from being flirtatious and affectionate with me in front of our daughter. He'd said time and time again how it was good for her to see that her parents were still crazy about each other, and I couldn't disagree with him there. But still, there was a line.
We'd had to move around quite a bit in the last few years since Renesmee grew so quickly. We'd hovered around the Pacific Northwest so that we'd never be too far from Charlie, Sue, and also Billy who loved Renesmee just as much as her other two grandpas for the simple reason that she was so important to Jacob. I know I was biased, but it was hard not to love Renesmee.
We'd most recently purchased a place on Vancouver Island, near Henderson Lake. It checked all the Cullen boxes for acceptable residences. Deep woods. Lots of rain. Rich in wildlife. Decidedly less rich in human life. Our living arrangement at this property was similar to what it was in Forks, with Edward, Renesmee, and me living in a cozy in-law unit a short walk away from the rest of the family who lived in the larger main residence.
Just then, Renesmee padded into the kitchen dressed in one of my peasant tops, jean shorts, and her favorite pair of Toms. Her warm brown eyes looked a little tired from the long night before, and her hair was a bit wild from the humidity. She greeted me first with a hug as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes then walked up behind Edward, bent slightly to slip her arms around his neck, and kissed his cheek.
"Morning, Daddy," she chirped, as she hugged his neck, a few locks of her long, unruly auburn hair falling over his shoulder and brushing the keyboard of his laptop. Edward's entire face softened, his chiseled jaw slackened, and his brow puckered in the way that it did whenever Renesmee melted his cold, unbeating heart. He reached up and gently patted her forearm which was still draped across his chest.
I smiled to myself at the tender moment. Renesmee's affection was not insincere, not by a longshot. Renesmee adored her father, even if their relationship had a contentious side to it recently, mostly due to the fact that she was growing up faster than Edward was willing to let go. That said…a mother knew when her daughter was working her father.
"Good morning, sweetheart," he crooned in his most velvety voice. "Did you enjoy your party?" he asked pleasantly as she sank into the chair to the right of where Edward sat at the head of the oblong table.
"It was the best one yet!" she answered with a wide smile. "Thank you again for the camera and the photography equipment, you guys. You always know just what I want," she said sweetly.
"Remember that next time you get mad at me for being in your head," Edward teased, flashing her a playful grin.
"I guess having a mind reader for a father isn't all bad," Renesmee admitted with a shrug. "Just usually," she tacked on wearing an identical smirk, earning a scoff from her father.
"And that's what you have me for," I chimed in, sliding Renesmee's breakfast plate in front of her at the table.
"Thanks, Mom," she told me sincerely with a gentle squeeze of my shoulder as I brushed by her. While Renesmee casually shoveled the hot fluffy eggs into her mouth, I was very briefly stunned by the image of a "Privacy Please" placard hanging from a doorknob, the kind one saw in a hotel hallway. Then, like staring at a reflection in a glassy pond only to throw a rock through the calm surface, the image dissipated as soon as she pulled her hand away.
"For breakfast… and also for keeping dad from snooping around in my head," she answered candidly but not meanly. As she'd gotten older, we'd developed a signal for when she wanted to keep her thoughts to herself, a need I empathized with completely. The "Privacy Please" sign was the signal.
Wordlessly, I pushed my shield around her, something that was effortless to me by now. Edward sighed a little but said nothing. Just as he had always been a bit huffy about not being able to read my mind, he was equally dismayed to be cut off from our daughter's thoughts, but he understood the necessity even if he didn't like it.
"So can we talk about Coachella?" Renesmee asked hesitantly, looking up at Edward. "I saw the look on your face, so I'm guessing Uncle Em and Auntie Rose didn't run it by you first," she correctly supposed.
Edward's eyes narrowed by a tiny degree. He opened his mouth to say something but before he could, Renesmee, sensing the oncoming 'no', rushed into negotiation mode. "What would have to happen in order for you to be comfortable letting me and Jake go to Coachella together?" she asked quickly.
I had to admire her approach. A younger version of myself, if faced with the same predicament, probably would have begged and pleaded, and when the answer was still no, I would've snuck out and gone anyway. What could Charlie do? Ground me when I got back home? Worth it.
And knowing my daughter as well as I did, this might be the thing that ignited the rebellious streak in her, too.
"This is impossible," Edward murmured, briefly squeezing his eyes shut, I'm sure, to shut out the big brown doe eyes–my eyes– looking up at him expectantly. After taking a long, deep breath, he opened his eyes and squarely returned her gaze. "It's impossible to talk about what's age-appropriate when you fly off into a rage whenever anyone so much as mentions your age. Look, honey, I know you don't like to be reminded of this, but–"
"Do I look like a 7-year-old, Dad?" Renesmee haughtily interjected.
"Of course not–"
"Do I act like a 7-year-old?" she asked as a follow-up.
"No," he finally answered in a defeated tone.
"Then it is totally unfair and unreasonable for you to treat me like a 7-year-old!" she argued, her voice raising in volume ever so slightly. The only indication that Edward even noticed her increasingly bratty tone was the eyebrow he raised in her direction, subtly reminding her of her place.
"You don't act like a 7-year-old, usually, '' he tacked on in a pointed tone. "But you lack world experience, Renesmee. What if–" but Edward was cut off by Renesmee's frustrated outcry.
"Then let me gain some!" was her heated retort.
Edward looked to me for help.
Wanting to keep a united front in front of our daughter, I replied silently rather than out loud. It wouldn't do her any good if Edward felt outnumbered or ganged up on.
What could possibly happen with Jake there with her?
Edward gave me a withering look that said it was Jake that he was worried about.
Edward…you gotta give her some freedom. When Charlie would try to boss me around and keep me from seeing you, it didn't work out so well for him, did it? Edward blanched, remembering the many times I blatantly disregarded my father's attempts to control me, often doing the opposite of what he wanted just to spite him. Edward had to tread very carefully and he knew it.
In a slightly biting tone, Edward began, "Since your Aunt and Uncle have no problem with their underage niece traveling internationally with her…her boyfriend," Edward shuddered at the word, "Then they also won't have any problem with chaperoning you both at the hotel when you aren't at the festival. Rosalie can room with you and Emmett can room with Jacob. I hope that's an acceptable arrangement because it's the only concession I'm prepared to make."
"So…I can go?" Renesmee asked, looking between her father and me as if she wasn't sure she was hearing him correctly.
Edward sighed and relented, "You can go…provided you keep your grades up between now and April. No slacking off in class just because you're bored–" but before he could finish reciting the stipulations, Renesmee threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "Oh, thank you, Daddy!" she cried elatedly.
Edward sighed a bit curmudgeonly but returned the hug. "Just don't make me regret this. And don't get arrested!" he moaned, making Renesmee giggle.
"Don't worry, Auntie Alice showed me how to dazzle a police officer," Renesmee admitted as she gently pulled free.
"She what?" Edward blustered, causing Renesmee to grimace and change course. "I promise I won't get arrested." Then, shoving the last bite of her breakfast in her mouth, quickly chewing and swallowing she asked sweetly, "Now may I be excused? Jake and I were planning to spend the day at the lake."
"You know the rules. Be home by 11. There are no 'traffic jams' when your uber is a wolf," Edward pointed out in as stern of a tone as he ever managed with her.
Pushing his buttons the way she always did, she replied "I mean, he could step in a bear trap, like that one time…"
"You mean that time you got home an hour past curfew and Jacob was conveniently completely healed by the time he returned you home?" Edward asked skeptically.
"He's a wolf! He heals quickly!" Renesmee shot back, a touch defensively.
"Eleven," Edward repeated in a firm voice.
"Sure, sure," Renesmee answered offhandedly as she stood from the table, rinsed off her plate, and put it in the dishwasher. "Thanks again, Mom" Renesmee pecked me on the cheek before she ducked out the sliding glass door where a massive russet-colored wolf was waiting for her.
I nodded at my old friend in acknowledgment and Jacob nodded back just as Renesmee made the practiced leap onto his broad, shaggy back. A moment later, they disappeared into the woods just outside our house, leaving me alone with Edward.
As if drawn together by magnetic force, I found myself moving closer to him. Edward shut the laptop and in the same movement, scooted his chair backward to make room for me on his lap. I sat down, enveloping myself in the safety of his arms.
Tracing a pale, graceful fingertip along the hem of my apron, he said in a full pout, "I hate this. It feels wrong. How do I allow it? Especially when I know what sort of underhanded tricks Jacob is capable of. I mean, think of the times he tried to manipulate you into being with him," Edward worried out loud.
I snorted, thinking of how fast she darted out the door the second Jacob got here. "I don't think Renesmee needs to be manipulated. And besides, it's different with her."
Edward frowned, "How do you mean?"
Sighing, I answered, "The imprinting bond means that his first instinct, even ahead of his own self-preservation, is to protect Renesmee. His greatest need is for her to be safe and happy. I don't think he could put his own interests ahead of hers even if he wanted to. If something….happens between them, it will be because she wants it to, and that's all I can really ask for," I shrugged.
Edward heaved a heavy sigh, an anxious sound. "You're right. I know you're right. But still…I hate this. And now…now I have the sudden overwhelming urge to go call your father and apologize to him. Again," he admitted with a little snort, the ghost of a smile tugging at one corner of his mouth.
I laughed lightly, though my father was the furthest thing from my mind as I traced a finger over the collar of Edward's shirt, suddenly having some overwhelming urges of my own.
I looked over at the digital clock on the stove. It was just barely 9 o'clock in the morning. That would give us just fourteen hours until Renesmee returned home. When she went out with Jake, she never came home until she had to.
I could feel Edward's gaze on me then, his eyes narrowing with a growing desire. He seemed to have caught up to my frisky mood. With a devilish grin tugging at the corners of his mouth, and a look of pure need smoldering in his tawny eyes, Edward huskily proposed, "Quickie?"
I was already halfway to the bedroom.
Author's Note: I was so blown away by the response to the last chapter! Thank you for all of the follows and reviews! I missed you all, too! Ok, so, we're going to play a little game of Poll the Audience. Anybody who has read my other fics knows that I'm not a real big fan of fading to black. So if you want me to follow Edward and Bella into their bedroom, reply "bedroom." But if you'd rather I move the plot along, reply "plot."
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