Hello Dears!
I'm so sorry for how long this wait has been. If you've been reading any of my other work, you know I've been slammed. My plan is to work on this this summer and start posting regularly again.
Thank you again for all your patience!
This chapter is unbeta'd.
Chapter Four: Edward
"All right, girls," I said, taking a moment to eye them all. Clara and Jodi were in the back seat, looking at me expectantly. Emma had her head turned out the window, seemingly to ignore me. "I need everyone on their best behavior," I glanced at Jodi. "No pranks," I said sternly. She smiled at me cherubically and I shook my head, shifting my gaze to Emma before I let Jodi's sweet smile crack me. "And no attitude," I said pointedly. Emma glanced at me under her sunglasses and I saw her eyes roll. I shook my head as I navigated us to Bella's house. I was excited about seeing her again. We'd texted off and on this week, and though it was nothing serious, I'd loved being able to have that small amount of communication with her.
We didn't actually live all that far from Bella, and soon enough, we were pulling up to the house. There were cars all down the street, and briefly, I wondered how many people were going to be there. I looked at the girls. "Best behavior," I reminded them. Clara grinned at me from the back seat.
"Okay, daddy!"
I melted under the power of her dimples and we all climbed out of the car. I helped Clara out, but as soon as she was out of the car, she wiggled out of my arms, running eagerly toward the front door. I laughed at her as she reached up for the doorbell. I got to her and picked her up so she could hit the button again. She grinned up at me and I smiled at her, patting the top of her hair.
The door opened, and a tall blond man smiled at us. "Hi, you must be Edward?" he asked, holding out a hand. I stared at him, thrown off. Did Bella have a boyfriend she'd failed to mention?
"I am. These are my girls, Emma, Jodi, and Clara." I said pointing them out. The man nodded.
"I'm Jasper, come on in."
I motioned for the girls to head inside and Jasper stopped me as I came in. "Are those for Bella?"
I looked at him and then down at my hand where I had a bouquet of flowers.
"Oh, yeah. From the girls," I said, clearing my throat. Jasper nodded.
"Bells is around here somewhere. If I see her, I'll send her your way. Come on in though, drinks are in the yard and food is on the grill," he said, motioning into the house. I nodded, looking around me. The house was simply decorated. I knew they were still settling in, but I wondered if the lack of delicate things out on display was because they were still unpacking or if it was more due to the three boys in the house.
I came into the living room and was surprised to see so many people packed into the house and outside on the patio.
"Edward?"
I looked to my left, blinking in surprise. "Mom?" She grinned at me, walking over and pulling me into a tight hug. "What are you doing here?" I asked her.
She pulled back from me. "Oh, well Jasper invited us. What are you doing here?" she asked. I frowned at her. How did she know Jasper? And just who was he?
I shook my head, looked around the room, and frowned when I spotted Emmett outside in the pool. "Em is here too?" I asked.
Mom laughed. "Yes, well, it turns out we have some small circles. Do you know Jasper?" she asked. I looked at her, still confused. I was about to ask her who the hell he was when Bella's voice met my ears.
"Edward, you made it!"
I turned and there she was, her hair swept up into a ponytail and a simple blue sundress over her bathing suit. She looked gorgeous.
I felt a smile tug on my face as I looked at her. "Bella," I sighed her name, and I knew I sounded all whipped, but I didn't care. "These are for you, congratulations again on the move," I said, holding the flowers out to her. Her eyes widened and she smiled brightly.
"Oh, they are so beautiful, thank you," she said, taking them from me. She sniffed them and smiled up at me.
Mom cleared her throat a little and Bella and I both turned to her. "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm so rude. Esme, this is Edward," Bella said, introducing my own mother to me.
Mom laughed. "Oh Sweetheart, I know. Edward is my son."
Bella blinked, shaking her head. "Wait, what?"
I looked at her and nodded. "I'm just as confused as you are," I told her.
Bella looked at mom. "Wait, so Emmett and Edward are your sons?" she asked. Mom nodded and Bella looked back at me, dumbfounded. "No wonder I knew the name Dr. Cullen," she said, shaking her head. "You weren't kidding when you said there were a lot of you," she said looking at me. Mom laughed.
"Wait, hold on. How is the rest of my family here today?" I asked. Bella nodded and motioned for me to follow her as she held up the flowers. Mom nodded, patting my arm as I followed Bella into the kitchen. She pulled a vase out from under the sink and filled it.
"So, I guess my brother works with your father at the university," she said looking at me. I nodded slowly. Dad had stopped practicing medicine and had gone back to start teaching a few years ago. "And my sister-in-law is apparently really good friends with your brother from their own work," she glanced out the window. "I gotta say, when I first saw Emmett, I was skeptical about him being a teacher. But ten minutes in, and I saw he's really just a big teddy bear, isn't he?" she said looking out the window. Emmett was in the pool with what looked like ten kids crawling on top of him, trying to dunk him. I shook my head and looked back at Bella.
"So, you don't know my family?" I asked. She looked back at me and shook her head.
"Alice invited everyone today. Well, everyone but you and my parents," she said, shaking her head. "This party sort of got away from me, but well, it's been a blast so far."
I let out a long breath. "Which Dr. Cullen had you crossed paths with?" I asked her. She looked up at me as she settled the flowers on the counter.
"Oh, your sister-in-law, Rosalie? She's our pediatrician."
I ran a hand through my hair, overwhelmed. "This is crazy," I said with a laugh. Bella looked at me and smiled.
"I know, you should have seen everyone's faces when they all showed up. It was this mad house of talking over each other, trying to figure out how different members of the family had ended up being invited separately." Bella rolled her eyes.
I nodded, my hand dropping to my neck. "So, Jasper is your brother?" I asked, sounding hopeful. Bella nodded, looking up at me curiously. I let out the tension I'd been holding with a smile. Thank god.
"Have you met him already?" She asked.
I nodded. "He answered the door."
Bella smiled. "Well, I hope you brought your swimsuit. The pool has been cleaned and heated," she said motioning back out to the yard. I glanced past her into the yard and nodded.
"Is there anything I can do to help? Do you need anything?"
Bella smiled and shook her head. "No, I was just going to check in with my dad to see how the grill is coming along." She shook her head and rolled her eyes. "He brought it over this morning and hasn't let me near it since. It's ridiculous because he knows just about as well as anyone that I'm a great cook."
I laughed at her exasperation and she smiled up at me. "Maybe I can offer him help, you know, man to man," I teased. Bella laughed.
"You can try, let me introduce you." She motioned for me to follow her. I couldn't believe I was meeting her father already. Not that we'd even talked about going on a date or anything. As far as I was aware, Bella thought of me as a friend, but sometimes when she smiled at me or when we texted, it was easy to imagine there might be a touch more there.
On our way outside, we passed by several other people all chatting and talking. There were kids everywhere, some I recognized, but most I did not. The kids seemed to range in ages, and for the life of me, I couldn't track a single one of them.
The man at the barbeque wasn't overly tall, perhaps about 5'10". He had a thick mustache and dark hair, just like Bella's. He had a beer in one hand while he flipped burgers with the other.
"Dad," Bella called, coming up to him. He looked up at her. She had his eyes, though on him they were tougher, less doe-like. "Dad, this is Edward. Edward, this is my dad Charlie." She said waving between us. I held my hand out and he put the spatula down to shake my hand.
"Pleased to meet you, sir," I said, nodding. He nodded back with a grunt. Bella rolled her eyes.
"Dad, Edward has offered to help with the grilling since apparently, I'm not allowed to," she said, shooting him a look. He shifted under his daughter's gaze.
"It's not that Bells," he said, shaking his head. "You know how I am at parties."
Bella rolled her eyes and patted him on the back. "Well, be nice and let Edward help you," she said, winking at me. I smiled at her. "I'm going to go check on the kids."
She left me with her father, and I took a deep breath, turning to him. He looked like he was trying to size me up.
"How do you know Bells?" he asked. I shoved my hands in my pockets.
"We met last week at Bumbershoot," I told him. Charlie frowned.
"That festival?" When I nodded, he shook his head. "And you what, saw her with her kids and thought you'd introduce yourself?"
He was defensive for his daughter, which I more than understood, but he needed to realize that he didn't have anything to worry about. "I was there with my kids and we met on the Ferris wheel. Bella looked terrified and we ended up talking through the ride. The kids got along well, so we hung out for a bit."
Charlie frowned. "Kids? How many do you have?"
I let out a tight breath. "Three girls."
Charlie's eyebrows rose into his hairline. "Three girls?" He repeated. I nodded.
"Yes sir. 14, 10, and 5." I glanced around the yard. Jodi was already in the pool, Emma was nowhere to be found, and Clara was talking to Bella, pointing at the water. I turned back to Charlie.
"That must be quite a handful," he said, shaking his head. "Bella and her brother were tough enough, and those two were probably some of the most well-behaved kids you'd ever meet." I smiled at him. "Tell me, Edward, are you married?"
I blinked in surprise at the blatant question. "No sir. Been divorced nearly five years now."
Charlie nodded, frowning. "Did she leave you or did you leave her?"
I shifted, uncomfortably. "She left us. She, uh, she realized she wasn't cut out for motherhood," I said shrugging one shoulder. I really didn't want to get into it with him. Charlie frowned.
"I'll never understand people who have kids only to walk away from them," he growled. I saw his eyes move over to Bella. I hadn't asked her about her own divorce, assuming there was one. It was a conversation that I figured would be pretty uncomfortable for both of us.
"Me either," I said, shaking my head. "My girls are my world."
Charlie looked back at me, appraisingly. "How old are you, son?"
"Thirty-five."
Charlie frowned. "Had those girls' kind of young, didn't you?"
I nodded. "College. I've been blessed to have a family that could help support me and look out for the girls while I got through med school."
Charlie sipped his beer. "Nothing more important than family," he mused. I nodded in agreement. He looked me over once more before nodding. "Why don't you grab a beer," he said motioning to the cooler beside him. "I'm guarding them against any sticky-fingered teens that might think about getting up to no good." He tapped the cooler with his foot, and I laughed. I went and pulled out a beer, cracking it open.
"I'm glad you're on top of it."
Charlie and I stood and talked for a while. He told me about how he'd been the police chief in Forks until he'd retired a couple of years ago and moved to Seattle with his wife, Renée. Knowing he'd been a cop had made certain elements of his personality much clearer. He was tough, and no-nonsense, and he cut right to the point. I liked him a lot.
"Daddy!" I felt Clara's little hands tug at my shorts and I looked down at her, smiling.
"Hey, baby," I picked her up. "Sweetheart, this is Miss Bella's dad, Mr. Charlie. Can you say hi to him?" I asked. Clara smiled shyly at him, and I saw his mustache twitch a little.
"Hi Mr. Charlie," she said softly. He grinned at her.
"It's nice to meet you, sweet girl," he said, softening. She smiled fully at him and Charlie grinned.
"Daddy, can I go swimming? Miss Bella said she'd take me, please!" she begged, smacking my cheeks in her tiny hands. I laughed and kissed her nose.
"Alright, princess. But make sure you've got your floaties on," I said firmly. She wiggled out of my arms, rushing back across the yard. Charlie let out a breath.
"That is one gorgeous little girl you've got there," he said looking at me. I nodded.
"God help me when she knows how to wield those dimples," I said, shaking my head. Charlie laughed.
"I had to send Bella to her mother for things around age seven. That girl was the cutest kid and she knew it. She could crack me like no one else could," he said shaking his head. I laughed.
"All my girls know what looks to give me to crack me. I'm powerless about it," I said sipping my beer. Charlie chuckled and turned back to the grill. I watched as Clara made her way to Bella and Luke. Bella grinned and helped the kids into their floaties before taking their hands and helping them into the shallow end of the pool. On the deeper side, Emmett still had a riotous game of Marco Polo going with the kids. I still hadn't seen Emma, but then again, none of the teenagers were around and I figured they were off, hiding or hanging out on their own.
"Bella's always been a natural caregiver," Charlie said, turning and glancing at the pool. I looked at him. "Since she was little, she was always looking out for people. You should have seen that girl tuck her toys in at night. The process took nearly forty minutes. It was harder to get her to finish that up than it was to put her to bed."
I chuckled, looking back at her in the pool. Luke and Clara were cracking up with her as they bobbed around together in the shallow end. "I've never seen my girls take to someone so quickly," I said, shaking my head. "I mean," I glanced at Charlie. "I don't introduce them to a lot of people in my life, but still. They just adore her."
Charlie looked me over and when I looked at him, he shook his head, his mustache twitching as he turned back to the grill.
I took a little sip of my beer, feeling a little embarrassed about spilling that to Bella's dad.
Thankfully, Jasper came over then, clapping Charlie on the shoulder. "Hey dad, how is the food coming?" he asked.
Charlie motioned to a pile of finished food under some tinfoil. "That's ready to go if people are hungry," he said. Jasper nodded, taking the platter and moving it across the patio to where tables were set up. Jasper looked nothing like Bella or her father, though maybe he had a similar build to Charlie, but Jasper was taller. I wondered briefly if he might be adopted.
Charlie looked at me again. "So, Edward, what do you do for fun?"
I looked up at him. "Not much," I said, shaking my head. "Between work and the girls, I don't have a lot of downtimes."
Charlie nodded. "You fish?"
I shrugged one shoulder. "I used to, as a kid. I haven't in years though. My girls aren't fans of it." Emma hated fishing, Jodi couldn't sit still long enough to stick it out, and Clara was so tender-hearted that even the mention of fishing made her cry.
Charlie nodded. "Well, maybe you could come out with me and the boys sometime. I've been wanting to take them out for a while, but I think all three of them at the same time might be a bit much for me to handle," he said chuckling. I smiled at him. I couldn't tell if he was trying to set me up with Bella and her kids, or merely giving me his blessing on trying to pursue something. Either way, I'd take the offer.
"That sounds great, Charlie. I'd love to join you guys."
Charlie smiled at me and shifted the rest of the food to another platter. I set my beer down, picking up the platter and covering it with foil. "Come on, son," Charlie said, clapping my shoulder. "Let's let everyone know it's time to eat."
