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10/15/2022


Chapter 25

EPOV


It was two in the morning, and I was on baby duty while Bella got some much-needed sleep. I had gone back to work once we got Avery into a good routine. It took about two weeks to get her settled in with a schedule. It still got messed up now and then, but we easily fell right back into the routine of things.

Avery was now a month old. She had the chubbiest cheeks I've ever seen on a little baby. Her hair was just as wild as my own, but the same color as her mother's. We aren't quite sure what color her eyes were going to be yet. The doctor said it could be any time before she turned six months old or after. Bella wished she had my eye color, but no one can ever have more beautiful eyes than Bella, so I wished that Avery had her mother's eyes, as well.

As I sat in the rocker and looked down at my daughter while she nursed on the bottle of breast milk. A wave of tranquility washed over me every time I looked at her. She gave me peace and made me feel like I had accomplished more in my life than I ever thought I would. I couldn't wait to have more children, but Bella and I decided to wait two or more years before we added to our ever growing family.

My parents had taken up residence at Emmett and Rosalie's, temporarily. They were still living there, but on the weekends, they would go home and take care of what needed to be done. My parents felt bad that they couldn't show us the same amount of attention, but Bella and I understood. They did have two babies, after all. It was easier for us to load Avery up in the car and head to their house for visits instead of the other way around.

David had left a week after Avery was born to take care of things back in Florida. Apparently there was already a buyer for his house. They were offering the asking price, which he couldn't pass up. My Aunt Joan and Uncle John offered a room for him to stay with them until we got moved into our house. David had taken Bella up on her offer to move into our loft. James promised us, one more month, and then we would be moving in. There were some special additions that were taking up a few, well more than a few, extra days to complete. We didn't expect to be moved in until Christmas, but leave it to James and my father to push their abilities beyond what was needed, to get the job done. We weren't complaining, by any means.

"Avery Lou, daddy needs to get back to bed. I'm about to rock myself to sleep, so close those beautiful eyes of yours so we can both get back to bed." I knew she could hear me, but to actually understand me, I wasn't sure. She only looked up at me as she finished off the last half ounce of her bottle.

Once she was finished, I placed the burp cloth over my shoulder and propped her up before I started patting her back. It didn't take long before she let out a burp loud enough to compete with her Uncle Emmett. Both Jacob and Riley were the same way. Rosalie said their diapers...well, let's just say, a skunk would turn the other way if it came in contact with a diaper of one of the Cullen twins. I personally hadn't endured one of their stinky moments and thank goodness for that. Avery's is bad enough.

I settled my little princess back into the crook of my arm and snuggled her close to my body. Bella said she falls asleep much faster if we help nuzzle her nose against our shirts for her to smell us. One of the nurses from the hospital, also suggested, letting her sleep with one of our T-shirts so she could continually have our scent. That worked for the first week or so, but now, nuzzling her nose against us, without suffocating her, seemed to do the job.

Thirty minutes later, I was finally crawling back into bed. It was instinctual for Bella to roll over and wrap her arm around me. Her head always ended up on my chest. I wasn't sure if she knew she was doing it half the time, but I didn't mind. I knew it helped her sleep better.

By seven o'clock, my alarm was sounding for me to get up and head into work. When I rolled over to shut it off, I noticed Bella was already up. She must've gotten up with Avery an hour or so ago, so after a quick shower, I made my way to the kitchen. Bella was in the living room humming to Avery as she rocked her in the rocking chair. Charlie had given Bella and I, an antique rocker that was once his great grandmothers and was used while he was a baby. Charlie said he had kept it in storage and wanted one of his kids to have it when they had their first born.

I walked into the living room, coffee cup in hand, and made my way over to Bella. "Morning, baby. Sleep okay?"

"Yes, thank you for letting me sleep; I needed it. She's been up since five-thirty. Hopefully she'll start sleeping longer if she stays awake more," she said, propping Avery up into the sitting position to talk to her. "Isn't daddy the best for letting mommy sleep?"

I leaned down and placed a kiss on top of Avery's head before pressing my lips to Bella's. "I do what I can to help; it's only fair."

"You're still the best. What time will you be home? I wanna make sure dinner's ready for when you get here." Bella placed Avery up on her shoulder like she was going to burp her and began patting her bottom.

"I should be home by five. I don't have a big load of work to do today. Just normal paperwork and drawing up the plans for next season," I said, easing my hand underneath Bella's hair and rubbing. She sighed as I kneaded my fingers along her shoulders and neck. "How about I give you a full back massage when I get home?"

Her head dropped back, looking at me. "I would love you even more than I do now."

"Are you sure that's possible? That's what you said last time," I said, teasingly.

"I feel like I don't love you enough." I knew what she was talking about. She wanted to have sex, but we couldn't. She still had two weeks to go before her checkup. We had come close a few times before I put a stop to it, plus, she was still bleeding some. She practically begged, telling me that we could just take a shower. Not that I'm complaining, but I thought once Avery was born, she'd lose her sexual appetite. Boy was I wrong. We settled on her sucking me off and me stimulating her clit through her panties.

I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers. "You love me enough to love the whole world ten times over. You have more than enough love to give."

"That I do, but I just wish..." she trailed off before speaking again. "Never mind." She looked up at me. "Um...later today, I'm taking Avery over to the gym with me while I do a little working out. Jasper's coming long so he can spend a little time with her and watch her for me."

I looked at her quizzically. "You sure about that? How much has Jasper been around kids before, especially babies?"

"He'll do fine. He needs the practice anyway. I'm sure by the time November rolls around, Alice'll be knocked up, so him watching Avery, will give him that practice," she said, smiling. "Plus, if I time it right, she'll sleep the entire time."

"Okay, I gotta get going. Call if you need anything." I leaned down and pressed my lips firmly to hers. "I love you."

"Love you, too." She pulled my face back to her after I kissed Avery, pressing her lips to mine. "Please drive safe."

I nodded. "I will. Love you."

"I love you, too." I smiled because we kept on and on with the 'I love yous,' until I was closing the door to leave.

I was sitting at my desk going over the strategy guide from last season. There were quite a few plays that we'd be using, considering they had led us to the playoffs. Anything to get us there again, this year, was definitely reusable.

All the players, on the team, had been by my desk to check out the pictures that graced it. There were pictures of Bella and me on our wedding day, our honeymoon and now, I had one with us as a family, with Avery. They immediately went to the newest addition. It was amazing watching all the big burly guys gushing over how adorable and cute Avery is.

"Hey, coach, your old man's here," my assistant coach, Dennis, said as he poked his head inside my office.

"Send him in." I wasn't sure why my dad was here. I hadn't talked to him in a few days, but that conversation was all about the house.

My dad stepped through my door with David following. "What're you two old men out doing?"

"Watch who you're calling old man," my dad said as he took a seat in front of my desk. "I'm sure David could say the same."

David shook his head. "Oh, no, I'm old. No offense here," he said, waving his hand.

I chuckled at him. "What can I do for ya, then?"

"We came by to see if you had some time for lunch. I've got something I want you to see," he explained, glancing up at me.

"Sure, I'm free now. Is this something Bella would want to see?"

Dad nodded his head. "Oh, she'll get to see it, but I wanted you to see it first and get your approval on a couple of things."

I stood from my desk and grabbed my keys. As we walked out, I let Dennis know I was heading out for lunch and wasn't sure what time I would get back.

"I'll just follow you so I can head back here when we're done." I opened the door to my Denali and climbed in. Dad pushed my door shut. "We eating first?"

He shook his head. "No, we'll go afterward."

"Okay."

As I followed Dad and David, just outside the city, I realized he was heading toward our new house. James had said a couple of more weeks, so I wasn't sure what my dad wanted me to see. He knew I trusted his work with my life.

I smiled as we approached the new house. On the outside, everything looked completed. All the landscaping was done, and the shrubbery was put in with the cobblestone walk-way leading up to the front porch. There was a wraparound porch and I could see the bench swing that I wanted to surprise Bella with. She had hinted, on more than one occasion, that she wanted one, so now, she was finally getting one.

"What're we doing here?" I asked, climbing out of my truck and walking over to where my dad stood next to the garage door.

"Well, son, let's go take a look and you let me know," he said, suspiciously.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "What's going on?"

Dad and David shook their heads and began to walk toward the front door. I found it odd that there weren't any work trucks or any other construction vehicles around. I guess I'd have to keep walking and find out.

As we approached the door, Dad pulled a set of keys from his pocket and handed them to me. "All yours."

"What?"

"It's all yours; we're done. Two weeks ahead of our initial schedule." He patted me on the shoulder and gestured for me to open the door. "Open it."

I, nervously, unlocked the door and pushed it open. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. All the furniture we picked out was in place with all the paintings and pictures lining the walls. I felt like one of those people on 'Extreme Home Makeover'. As I looked around, I knew everything was just the way we imagined it would be. I even spotted a few pictures matched together in the front foyer of Avery. They had to be Alice's touch.

"Okay, first things first. I have something to show you through here." Dad gestured towards the kitchen. "It was entirely James' idea, but a great idea, all the same."

We walked through the kitchen and came to a door. Dad pushed it opened which led into the garage. It was a four car garage that already had a car parked in it. "Whose car is that?"

"Mine." I heard from the other end of the garage. "Welcome home, Edward. Does my sister know you're here?"

I walked up to James and pulled him into an iron clad hug. "I can't believe you pulled this off. She's gonna freak."

"I know. I think I've gotten better with my acting skills. We knew all along that we'd get the house done way before you two expected us to. We wanted it all to be a surprise and told you it was going to go a lot longer than normal." James looked over my shoulder. "David, it's good to see you."

"You, too, James. Thanks for letting me tag along. There isn't much for an old man like me to do around here," David said, reaching around me to shake James' hand. "I guess I need to join some old folks community or something."

We all laughed. "Well, c'mon. I did something specifically for you. Bella has her own place upstairs, but this..." He motioned through the door where he was standing. "...is for you. I'm gonna have to make sure I build myself one when we get moved out here. I didn't think about it until after I came up with the idea for you."

It didn't dawn on me right away what he just said. Bella had wanted James and Vicky to move out here since they had first started getting close to each other. Once Avery was born, that was all she wanted. She talked to Vicky and Maddie on a daily basis and they Skyped as much as possible. "Did you just say...?"

"Yeah, next month. Vick has to take her bar exam then we'll be packing up and on our way out here. And little did anyone know, we had a house built as well. All thanks to my sister," he said, smiling widely then motioned toward my dad. "Carlisle had a crew working on it around the clock, much like he did with your house. And, I sold my company in Florida. I'll be teaming up with your dad as a designer. You know blueprints and the whole mumbo jumbo?"

I did know. Just from what I saw of our house, I knew he was the best at what he did. With him working with my dad, I also knew, those two would be in high demand. "Wow, Bella's not gonna believe any of this. She's gonna flip out. That's all she talks about. 'I wish James and Vick would move here. It would be so much better if James and Vick lived here. I could see Maddie anytime I want." I chuckled at myself trying to mimic Bella's voice.

"If Bella knew you were trying to mock her, you wouldn't have a leg to stand on," David said, shaking his head at me.

"Shh...She doesn't have to know," my dad said before laughing.

James ushered us into a room that would be any man's dream. "This...is all for you. It's your home away from home. Hideaway, just for you."

I looked around the room which looked to be about a thirty- by-thirty, room. It was all set up with a desk, a couch, two recliners, a huge seventy-inch LCD flat-screen TV that was mounted to the wall. There were video game systems on a shelving unit, below it. Then I spotted a door to the left of the room. "What's in there?"

"Your very own bathroom; magazines included." James said. We all laughed, knowing what it was like to try and take a peaceful shit. Although, since I've been with Bella, she wasn't so bad about knocking on the door halfway through relieving myself. We were lucky to have more than one bathroom and the only reason she'd knock, is to let me know that dinner was ready.

I was in awe over the whole thing. "I love it, but I won't use it to get away from my girls."

"You say that now," my dad said. "If I had one of these back when you boys were little, I would had lived in here." He chuckled to himself. "And when it's that time of the month, and she does nothing but bitch about this and that, you'll be glad you have this room."

"Dad, not every woman's like mom when it comes to that," I said, walking over to the small fridge that was situated next to the couch and was being used as a stand for a lamp. James then showed me a few more things in my Man-cave, before we all made our way back into the house and looked around. I couldn't believe we decided to have a six bedroom, five and half bath, house built. Our half bath was off the front entryway for guests.

I shook my head once we were done with the tour. "I can't believe it's done. Bella's gonna love it all. Especially Avery's room and her very own little private room like mine. It's perfect where it is off the balcony. I like how she can enter from inside the house or outside."

"Well, I figured, once she starts writing her own book, she'd have all the privacy she needed."

"I don't know about that. She hadn't mentioned anything about writing in a while," I said, as we entered the kitchen that was big enough to make Paula Deen jealous.

I was beyond excited about the house being done, so I called Dennis and told him I wouldn't be returning to work. Something had come up and I needed to take care of it immediately. I couldn't wait to get home and tell Bella to start packing her bags. Her face was going to be worth a thousand... no, a million words, when I tell her we're moving.


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