I can't sleep and it's technically Wednesday now, so here you go. This one is kind of short compared to the others, so you'll probably get the next one a smidge early.

Y'all were as happy as I expected you'd be when Bella finally quit her dumb job. Time will tell how successful she and Edward are at keeping themselves to themselves now they're living a few houses apart and working together ;)

Chapter Eighteen

Edward

In true form, we have our quietest day of the week on the day we have all our staff in.

Garrett is back after his paternity leave and Kelly returns after her three-day sickness bug, or whatever-the-fuck it was. By four, I've got nothin' to do except twiddle my thumbs. I hate being idle. My mind wanders. That's never a good thing.

"Yo, boss!"

Cocking an eyebrow at New Kid, I fold my arms over my chest. "'Yo?' Where do you think you are, the skate park?"

The two girls he's serving giggle while his cheeks flash red.

Oops, guess I embarrassed him. Never mind.

"Why you gotta bust my chops all the time?"

"Oh, I've gotta hear this," I hear Jones mutter from the hatch before he hurries around to join me behind the bar with an expectant grin on his face.

Pursing my lips, I shake my head. There are a million reasons, but I don't have the energy to list 'em all. I go with the simple explanation. "Honestly? Because you make it so easy."

The girls at table four find this hilarious and crack up. I sort of feel bad for a second until I realize one of them is shooting the kid sympathetic goo-goo eyes.

With a roll of my eyes, I throw a thumb over my shoulder and address Garrett as he returns from the bathroom. "I'll be in my office if you need me."

Looking at the half-empty restaurant, I doubt I'll be needed any time soon, but Garrett agrees and heads over to the family in the window to check everything is okay with their meal. As I round the bar and head down the hall to my office, my eyes can't help but catch on the kid at their table. She's four or five, long red hair in pigtails. A tiny little thing. Her gap-toothed smile makes my chest ache.

Willow always loved having her hair in 'piggies,' as she called them. And just a few days before the accident that stole her from me, she lost her first tooth after falling over in the playground. I almost broke my damn neck tiptoeing into her room and around all her toys once she was asleep, so 'the tooth fairy' could put a dollar under her pillow.

Shaking my head, I tug at my hair and sigh. I'm usually good at repressing my memories. Spilling my guts to Bella has opened the floodgates, it seems.

I'm almost at my office when I hear a voice that stops me in my tracks.

"Hey, Garrett. I know it's against Edward's rules if we're not buying food, but can Arlo use your restroom, please?"

"Sure, Bella. Hey, little guy. How're you doin'?"

"I need to pee," Arlo says frankly—and loudly.

I smile to myself and do an about-turn. Bella's just about to step through the door into the restrooms with Arlo in her arms and the twins trailing behind them, but she pauses for a second to offer me a grin that has my stomach flip-flopping.

Turning to Garrett, I click my tongue. "Always breakin' the rules for the pretty girls, huh?"

He's completely unrepentant, of course. He flashes me a weird look before shaking it off. "Hey, the kid's wearing a Jacksonville Gators hat. We Gator fans have gotta stick together."

"Sorry, excuse me? Please can we have another round of drinks?"

Waving Garrett off, I offer the table beside us a grin. "Of course. What can I get for you?"

By the time I've made a fresh round of drinks, Arlo is done in the restroom. I hear the muffled "Arlo, wait!" seconds before his little body slams into my legs. This has become his usual way of greeting me. Whenever Renee or Charlie or Benjamin, or whoever has got the boys while Bella works, brings them by, Arlo announces their arrival by skidding all over the place, usually careening into me in the process.

Peering down with a rueful smile, I can't help but chuckle. "Hi, buddy. Nice shirt." Today's tee is plain white with a green, sunglass-wearing cactus in the center along with the words 'Can't Touch This.' It matches his green soccer cap. At this point, I'm pretty sure he has a collection of funny shirts. While Bella often dresses Jaxson and Finley in matching outfits, Arlo is rarely without a silly slogan or amusing graphic.

"Hey, Edward."

"Where're your mom and brothers?"

Briefly looking back over his shoulder and catching sight of his pursed-lipped mom winding between tables while Jaxson and Finley talk to the boy at table four, Arlo turns back to me with his bright eyes rammed full of mischief. "She's comin'. Save me, 'kay?"

This kid. "Sure thing."

"Arlo Maxwell Swan, if I have to tell you one more time about running off…"

"I'm sorry, Momma. I was just excited to see Edward."

Bella huffs a long sigh; she looks stressed. I suddenly realize she's in her usual work attire for Vaughn's but loading down with three little backpacks, not to mention her boys.

"Are you working tonight?" It's not Wednesday or Thursday, her usual late shifts. I'd know. I look forward to our time spent driving home. Since we made nice, she's back to riding home with me after she gets off work. She's usually off on a Friday though, and the last shift of her notice period is next Monday.

"Yeah, Jane called in sick and Aro is out of town. Which would be fine if it weren't such late notice and I had a chance to get a sitter for these crazy kiddos."

Proudly, Arlo tells me, "I'm a crazy kiddo."

Ruffling his hair with a smile, I admit that I don't doubt it. Looking back at Bella with a frown, I can see she's worrying her lip to death with her teeth. Over the last couple of weeks, I've gotten quite attached to those lips. Yesterday and the day before, after driving Bella home from work, we made use of the boys' ability to sleep through anything and I let her use me as an outlet for all of her frustration after working with Jane.

We've managed a few chaste kisses here and there—when I stopped in on Tuesday to drop off some Burger Co. tees ready for her first official shift next week; when she came to find me in my office between finishing her shift at Vaughn's on Tuesday and picking the boys up from swim school with Everly; and earlier today, when I drove past her dragging out the trash can for collection day and couldn't resist pulling up to hear her voice, just for a few moments, before I headed to therapy with Kendra. When she visited on Tuesday we had lunch in my office and she invented a new burger with a bunch of Italian-themed ingredients, declaring it her new favorite. The noises she made while eating it led to me mauling her over my desk.

I'm addicted. My mind swims with thoughts of her whenever I'm not keeping it busy.

"What about Charlie and Rae? Can they not watch them?"

"They're out of town, at that—"

"Funeral," we both say at the same time, and I remember Charlie mentioning it last week. "It's in Illinois, right?"

"Yep, so I'm pretty much in the shit. If I don't work, there's no-one to open the store and I wouldn't put it past Jane to make sure I lose the last month's money despite me working my notice period, but I can't take the boys with me."

My mind spins a mile a minute. There's only one option, really.

"What about if they hang out here, with me? It's right next door, and I can give you all a ride home when you're done."

I'm starting to get to know the woman Bella has become, so I know this is the time she'd usually thank me before turning down my offer, but she's desperate.

She doesn't need this job. Her parents would gladly support her and the boys for as long as she'd let them. However, I know she really wants to work and pay her own way. The defeat and gratefulness battle for power in her gray gaze as her shoulders rise and fall with her deep breath.

"Are you sure?" Arlo has wandered off to find his polaroid on the wall with Garrett, so Bella murmurs, "I love them, but they're kind of a handful. You've seen them in action."

How hard can it be?

"We'll be fine, trust me. We can hang out in my office, maybe walk down to the beach for a bit. It's not like we're short-staffed."

The restaurant is starting to fill up a little, and we've had a party of nine call to reserve a table for seven p.m., but we've got a full house staff-wise and they'll be more than able to manage without me. I can occupy the boys and get some paperwork done that I've been putting off. Win-win.

"If you're sure…" she smiles slightly. "I don't really have a choice, to be honest. I'll get a jump on the cleaning so I can be done earlier. Everything they might need is in these bags."

For small backpacks, the bags Bella hands me are anything but light.

"And Arlo's getting really good at asking to use the bathroom but you have to remind him sometimes. Oh, and they've eaten dinner but they might get cranky later if they're tired, so you can give them a snack if you want to. But don't feel like you have to—"

Snorting, I set the bags on the bar and gently take Bella's shoulders in my hands. "Bella, we'll be fine. Say 'bye' to your boys and get goin'."

Watching Bella pepper her sons' faces with kisses and demand hugs before she goes has my chest tightening even as I admit that they're adorable as hell together. That adoration between parent and child, it's second to none.

I miss it.

And I'm a touch jealous that she doesn't plant one on me, too.

"Be good for Edward, okay? I'm right next door so he can tell me if you misbehave."

Garrett and I both laugh as, in tandem, Arlo, Jaxson, and Finley draw crosses over their hearts and solemnly tell her they'll be good.

The mischievous as hell smiles on their faces say otherwise, but really, how wild can three little boys be?

~ oOo ~

By the time Bella double-taps on the office door before letting herself in, I've realized the error of my thoughts.

Fuckin' hell, these kids are something.

Her eyes widen when she spots her youngest sprawled across my chest, but soften as she finds Jaxson and Finley curled around each other on one of the bucket chairs on the other side of my desk. I wonder what she's thinking as my gaze moves around the room. It looks like a tornado hit. There are scribbled-on pieces of paper strewn all over as well as the crayons Garrett brought in from out front. The remains of their snacks consist of just some wrappers and an apple, which Finley flat-out refused to eat.

Bella shakes her head with a barely-stifled grin when her gaze returns to me and Arlo. He's in the pajamas I found in his backpack when I went looking for dry clothes after he spilled juice all down himself. I've swapped my Burger Co. tee for a spare I had in a drawer, his drool seeping through the fabric over my chest. The juice debacle robbed us both. I thought taking them to have a run along the shore was a great idea until I realized that salty sea air and the fading evening sunshine was making them more hyper than tired.

"C'mon, Edward!"

Chuckling, I scoop Arlo's flip-flops out of the sand and tuck them into the pocket of my cargo shorts, hurrying it up so I can somewhat keep up with him and his brothers. As soon as we hit the sand, they took off.

There are a fair amount of people still out enjoying the fading evening sun, so I'm careful to keep a close eye on Jaxson, Finley, and Arlo as they splash in the shallow waves and eventually persuade me to join them.

Ankle-deep in the ocean with the sun on my back and the boys giggling their butts off when a stray wave soaks my shorts, I can't help but feel like I'm in way over my head with this family. They're a bunch of sweethearts.

"Did you have fun?"

I'm about to say 'hell no,' then I acknowledge the tired but amused smile on my face and the warmth in my chest as Arlo shifts against me, his little arms tightening around my neck. Jaxson lets out a quiet snore and Finley somehow sleeps through it, even though his twin basically breathed it directly into his ear.

The boys took up all my attention, but we had a blast. I didn't get any work done and the restaurant was hopping, so they probably could have done with an extra set of hands, but still…

"I did, actually. They're a riot."

Bella's laughter is soft, but it makes my smile widen. "You're not kidding. I hope they were okay? I meant to run over and check, but we had a big delivery."

"They were fine, Bella, don't worry. They ate everythin' except the apple," I tell her, nodding at the unblemished fruit on the corner of my desk. My smile widens when she nods and knowingly says 'Finley.' "And we demolished some fries and shakes."

The relief that blankets her is immediate and obvious; I'm glad I offered to help her out. She looks shattered and overwhelmed. I know she has another shift at Vaughn's before she's free, but I can't wait for her to be done at that place. I also can't help but feel guilty for dragging this out so long. If I'd worked through my issues sooner, she could have been out of there and happy working here weeks ago. It just took me a while to sort through my thoughts and figure my shit out. "I hope you don't mind, but I left them with Garrett for a few and used my spare keys to get their seats from your mom and dad's."

Frowning, she toys with the thin silver chain around her neck. "Their seats?" Her slightly glazed eyes and ensuing yawn tell me she's not completely with it, tiredness catching up with her.

With a faint smile, I nod, wincing when the chair squeaks under me. Arlo snores before sighing and snuggling into my neck. "For the car…"

"Oh! I didn't even think...thank you."

"Momma?" Finley mumbles, carefully sitting up. His bleary-eyed blinks are adorable.

"I'm here, kiddo."

"I need to go potty."

As Bella gently shakes Jaxson awake to check if he needs the restroom, too, I tell her, "I'll lock everything up and meet you out front."

"Okay. Do you want me to…?"

My arm reflexively tightens around Arlo as she motions to take him. "We're good, I'm good."

Her lips curl up. "I see that," she murmurs before leading Jaxson and Finley to the restrooms. By the time I've one-handedly double-checked all the doors and switches, she and the boys are out front. I folded Arlo's, uh, drawings—the kid's cute, but he's no artist—and put them in his backpack with his empty lunchbox.

"All set?"

Bella just nods before heading to the Jeep to buckle in Jaxson and Finley. While I wait, I swallow down the lump in my throat and rub Arlo's back with my free hand as he fidgets and whines in his sleep. The moon above is bright, reflecting off the windshield of the car beside mine. As I gaze at my reflection I can't help but wonder over the content smile on my face. Whenever I look in the mirror these days, on a good day, I'm looking at my own scowl. This smile is unfamiliar, like an old, ill-fitting suit I only pull out for special occasions.

Rather than hand him over, I carefully sit Arlo in his seat before stepping away to let Bella buckle him in. Closing the door loudly enough that I wince, expecting the boys to jolt awake, Bella laughs and reminds me that they sleep like the dead.

Unbidden, scenarios where Bella might have used this to her advantage pop into my head. I don't like the lead ball that drops into the pit of my stomach when I consider that I'm probably not the first to have thought it was handy that they sleep so well while I ravage their momma.

A long, loud yawn makes Bella's eyes water and pulls me out of my ridiculous thoughts. Smiling, I start up the engine and steer us toward home. Now they live on the same street as me, it's just a short, five-minute drive. The balmy air wafts Bella's perfume at me. I know I sure don't smell as good as she does after a whole shift.

A little conscious of the fact that I've been in a hot kitchen this afternoon as well as running around with the boys, I roll my window down a little more.

"So. Wild weekend for you and the boys?"

"Nah," Bella laughs, tilting her head to face me. "We're actually going to a shelter in Jacksonville to pick out a dog tomorrow."

"Oh, nice," I chuckle. "I bet the boys are stoked."

"I haven't—yawn, excuse me—told them yet. They'd have driven me mad if I told them when I made the appointment last week."

Humming, I lose myself in thought and only chance a glance at her when we pull up outside her house. My lips curl up when I realize she's asleep. Rolling to a stop, I can't help but take a longer look. My stomach seizes up. She's so peaceful, so beautiful. I doubt I look as relaxed when asleep as she does. Her long eyelashes are fanned over the apples of her cheeks, her face tilted toward me.

A heavy sigh rushes from my lungs. I don't want to wake her. She's obviously exhausted, but it doesn't look comfortable for her neck to be sleeping the way she is.

Reaching across the console without conscious thought, I thumb her cheek and revel in the softness of her skin. I can't help but remember that she's this soft everywhere. Just the memory of my hands on her body last night has my dick paying attention.

"Bella," I whisper. "We're at your house."

"Hmm? Oh, crap, I'm sorry." Releasing a long yawn that makes her gray eyes water, Bella shoots up in her seat and palms her flushed cheeks. "I didn't mean to fall asleep."

"It's okay, you were tired." Fighting a smile, I quip, "The snoring was a bit much, though."

The horror in her wide eyes is enough to make me grin and ruin the ruse. Her face splits in a smile as she shakes her head. "Nice try, Edward. I don't snore."

"Sure you don't." Looking at the house, I jerk a thumb at the backseat and unfasten my belt. "I'll give you a hand carrying the boys in."

Between us, we manage to take all three boys in one trip—Bella scoops Arlo from his seat while I grab Jaxson and Finley. Following her up the path and into the house, I feel the familiar stirrings of wistfulness, quickly followed by an emotion I find even more disturbing. Jealousy worms its way through my veins like a serpent, as unwelcome as it is surprising. My eyes remain on Bella's back all the way down the hall as I head into Jaxson and Finley's room and she turns into Arlo's. She's worked hard on it this week, the walls now a pale gray and decorated with colorful artwork. There's a huge toy chest in one corner and beanbags in another, the boys' beds neatly made even though we're about to mess them up.

Juggling the boys without waking them is easier than I would have thought. However, I quickly feel like I'm intruding when Bella joins me to kiss each of her sons' foreheads and wish them a night of sweet dreams, so I step out into the hall before realizing she'll need her car seats back.

She's just reaching the doorway when I step back inside with all three. Bleary-eyed and yawning so wide my grandma would have said she's in danger of turning her head inside out, she's adorable. The hole in my chest aches as I gaze at her, knowing tonight I'll be returning home. She's too tired to try my luck, and to be honest, I could use the space.

"Oh, I forgot about those. Let me…"

Clicking my tongue, I set them all on the floor by the new console table. "They're heavy, I've got it."

"Thank you." Blowing out a breath that displaces her hair, Bella smiles sleepily. "Really, thank you for helping me out today. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it."

As if I'm not uncomfortable enough receiving thanks, she winds her arms around my waist and gives me a quick, warm hug I immediately return. Her small body molds to my taller frame and I'm hit with the sudden conundrum of not wanting to release her.

Steeling myself, I force my arms to unwind and take a step backward. "All right. I'm gonna head out."

"You can stay, if you want?"

"I think it's better if I head back to my place."

"Okay." Thankfully, she doesn't seem offended by my need for space. She walks me out, hugging herself on the front step as her eyes follow me down the path to my Jeep. Turning as I climb in, I return her little wave with a teasing salute and watch to make sure she goes back inside before I pull away.

When I get home, my silent house feels emptier than ever, the closed door down the hall from my bedroom tantalizingly close, but I'm not in the right frame of mind to deal with things. Closing myself in my bedroom with a heavy sigh, I tell myself it's just the long day weighing me down even though I'm well-aware it's the ever-present, self-inflicted loneliness.

My posting schedule will be a little wonky over the next two weeks or so. Today is my last day off until the day before Christmas Eve, and until then I'll be doing 2am starts. You'll definitely still get your updates, but they may not be at the same times/the same days as usual. I'll try to keep to the schedule as much as possible.

As always, huge thanks to my wonderful team of ladies who call me on my bull and point out when I'm being too liberal with my 'it's fiction' excuse. annaharding, LizziePaige, ThatSoAlex, Anakinsmom, and LadyLoonie, I love you all dearly.

And I love each and every one of you who reads, reviews, and recommends this little tale of mine. Come friend me on Facebook - Ciara Shayee Hill - to chit chat with me and see the visuals I create to go with each chapter.