A/N: Thanks so much for all your wonderful thoughts.
Muse is on a roll. She's flighty, though, so I'm hoping she sticks around for a bit!
Most characters belong to S. Meyer. The rest belong to me. All mistakes are mine.
Chapter 11 – Semi-Private
Edward:
The following morning found me vacillating between curiosity and knowing that respecting Bella's privacy meant proceeding at her pace regardless of my curiosity. Therefore, while I supervised Tristan's teeth-brushing, I sighed and backed Bella's name out of the search engine. I wouldn't do that to her.
Also wildly fluctuating were my emotions. Like a hormonal teenager, I was caught between elation over a semi-kiss the previous evening and concern regarding how the woman I'd kissed had found her way home after work. Part of me acknowledged it was a senseless concern; Bella had been getting herself home after work long before I arrived at Forks. But, the other part of me couldn't help worrying.
Then, there was the part of me that whistled while I helped Tristan dress for camp. My son stared at me, tilting his head curiously as we pulled his camp shirt on.
"Why you do that, Dad?"
"What?" I grinned. "Whistle?"
"Uh-huh."
"Because…because I'm really liking Forks," I said.
"I like Fowkes too," he nodded with the vigor of a three-year-old. Then, as if to prove it, he pursed his mouth and pushed a colossal breath of air through narrowed lips, frowning at the resultant gale-force wind.
"That didn't work," he pouted, and I couldn't help chuckling while concurrently imagining what the woman who'd starred in my dreams all night would think of this scene.
"You have to blow gently and slowly. Watch."
Mid-lesson, my cell phone buzzed. Picturing who it might be admittedly added an extra flair to my whistle, which died on my lips when I snatched up the cell and read the text. For a few seconds, I stared at it while additional texts popped up and while Tristan, propped on the bed, filled his cheeks with air and blew.
"Not working, Dad!"
I ruffled his messy hair. "Come on. Let's finish getting you dressed, and we'll keep trying to whistle." Then, with a sigh, I replied to the texts and set the phone back down.
OOOOO
While Tristan ate a quick breakfast, still practicing his newfound art, I poured myself a coffee and sent Bella a short text.
Hey. How are you this morning?
When I received a FaceTime notification in reply, I simultaneously checked on Tristan and yanked open the sliding glass doors, quietly stepping out into the misty backyard and easing the door closed behind me. If my son heard Bella's voice, there was no way in hell I'd get to hold any semi-private conversation with her.
The screen filled with an image of Bella framed by the lush and damp recreation center. She wore a matching camp tee-shirt to the one Tristan wore, but with a checkered flannel shirt over it.
A broad grin spread across my face. "Lumberella."
Bella threw back her head and laughed. "Morning, City Boy."
"Look at you, already up and out."
"I've gotta set everything up for the kids. Not all of us are on vacation."
"Sorry if I interrupted. I was just…the smallest," I said, pinching together two fingers in front of the screen, "bit worried about you and how you got home last night."
"I had a feeling you might be, which is why I Facetimed, so you could see for yourself that I got home in one piece, as I usually do."
"Okay, good. So, how did you get home?"
"Ty gave me a ride."
"Oh. Good, good." I nodded and raked my hair with my free hand while an uncomfortable sensation welled inside me. But unwilling to surrender to the ridiculousness that marked individuals with low self-esteem, I hid my discomfort.
Not very well hidden, based on Bella's next question.
"What?"
"Nothing. Did you…call him for a ride?"
"No," she grinned wryly. "He was there, and just to clarify, you know that regardless of what Leah likes to yell out, Ty and I are and have only ever been friends, right?"
"I admit to wondering," I grinned in return, then gave into chuckles when Bella rolled her eyes.
"Men."
"Guilty as charged. Sorry. Honestly, I'm just glad you got home safely. Had you not replied to my text, my next step would've been a Facetime call."
She pursed her lips. "So pushy."
"You just Facetimed me," I pointed out, making us both laugh. "Seriously, how are you this morning?"
The joy that infused her features made her already beautiful face almost angelic.
"Good. Edward, I haven't had this many good days in a row in a while!"
"That's great to hear, Bella."
"Where's my sweet pea?"
"He's inside, completely unaware you're on the screen," I stated unapologetically.
"Oh," she pouted. "Well, I guess I'll see him soon."
"I see how it is," I said with mock indignation. "Forgive me for trying to steal a couple of minutes of semi-private conversation with my girlfriend."
She snickered. "Edward, you know I love talking to you."
"Do you?" All pretense of irritation was suddenly gone because how could one woman's simple words make my feet feel like they were leaving terra firma?
"Yeah. I feel like you and I can…talk…for hours and hours about anything. I haven't felt like that in a long time."
Our gazes held through the phone screen.
"We're going to have to find this boy a babysitter."
Bella erupted into peals of laughter. "How would he feel about that? And how would you feel about it?"
"I honestly don't know how he'd feel about it. As for me…" I sighed. "Bella, I've never been the type to trust people outside of my immediate family to watch Tristan. I suppose it's…part of being a single parent."
"That's understandable," she said softly, nodding.
"But it's strange."
"What's strange?"
"Well," I sighed, "in the relatively short time I've been here, I've felt…a connection growing to a few people here. A trust forming."
"I felt a lot like that when Charlie brought me back from San Francisco." Our gazes held silently once again. At that moment, I saw Tristan look up and spot me, then tug on his high chair's harness.
"Anyway, Leah and Rose are calling me over," Bella said.
"Yeah, and Tristan's trying to escape the confines of his high chair."
She laughed. "Go take care of him. Can't wait to see you guys in a few."
"Bella…" I swallowed, "I'll see you in a short while."
OOOOO
A short while later, after dropping off Tristan at camp and spending less than a handful of non-private minutes with Bella, I typed in the address Emmett gave me into the truck's GPS and left the Rec behind.
'So, what are your plans this morning?' Bella had quickly asked while I handed Tristan over to her care at camp drop-off.
I'd shrugged, then teased her. 'Searching for a babysitter.'
She'd chuckled, her cheeks slightly flushed. 'Not for tomorrow. We promised it would be the three of us tomorrow.'
'Not for tomorrow,' I'd replied with a smile. Then, without conscious thought, I'd leaned in and brushed my lips against her smooth, warm forehead, pulling back slowly when I realized what I'd done and her potential embarrassment.
Instead, she'd offered me a tender smile. 'I'll see you later, Edward.'
And though I'd held it in at the time, now in the privacy of the truck, I laughed at the shocked expressions on a couple of the waiting moms.
'Jane, did you see that shit?'
'Hell yeah, I did, Bree. Damn, that girl is lucky!'
Alice called while I made my way to the Sol Duc River, but I allowed the call to go to voice mail, knowing that there'd be hell to pay for all the times I'd sent my sister to voicemail over the past few days. A half-hour later, I arrived at where I was to meet the Chief and his deputy. As I approached the gravelly makeshift parking spot, canopied by a forest of giant evergreens, both Emmett and the Chief simultaneously stepped out of the cruiser in uniform. The former also sported an amused grin while the latter wore an inscrutable expression. I recalled this early morning's texts from Emmett.
Ed, the Chief wants to move up our fishing trip to this morning after we drop off the kids at camp. Something about Sunday's weather. I'll text you the address.
Also, I heard about last night's backyard dinner. Man, I wish I would've been there.
Also, also, better brush up on your swimming skills before you get there.
Just busting your balls!
I think.
I swear I'm just busting your balls!
"Ed, you made it," Emmett chuckled, "all the way out here to the middle of nowhere. Surrounded by inanimate trees and by animals who can't communicate. Where anything could happen, and no one would ever be the wiser." Emmett pressed his lips together to stifle his apparent delight.
I smirked at the asshole then cleared my throat. "Hey, Chief, we had this fishing trip planned for Sunday, so I hadn't gotten around to buying my fishing gear at the Outfitters yet. I'm kind of unprepared."
"Mm," the Chief grunted as he strolled to the cruiser's trunk. A wayward ray of sunlight caught the handle of his holstered gun as he popped open the hatch. "Supposed to rain hard on Sunday. Scares the fish. 'Sides, we travel prepared in these parts." I watched him yank out a large duffle bag, and for a couple of seconds, my heart may have stopped. When he zipped open the bag and proceeded to pull out a hoard of fishing gear, I exhaled through narrowed lips and looked over at Emmett, who appeared to be ready to piss himself with laughter.
"We certainly do travel prepared. And if you search around hard enough in this here cruiser's trunk, you may even find some police gear," he said before he went ahead and burst out laughing.
Once all gear was handed out, the Chief slapped me on the back – and I silently gave him the benefit of the doubt that he hadn't meant to do so as if he were going for a knockout.
"Ready, son?" he grinned now, mustache twitching.
"As ready as I'll ever be."
A/N: Thoughts?
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"See" you soon!