Chapter 11 – Pushed

The day was going great. Emmett's visit left us all in a good mood. Even Edward was wearing a grin, and it seemed to get wider every time our eyes met…mine did, too.

We had just slipped into the back room for some "lunch," when his phone rang. He set me on the floor, and we begrudgingly parted, so he could answer it. I righted my shirt and fixed his hair, while listening in on his conversation. They needed his help at his mother's house again. It was something to do with his Grandpa Jerry. I hated sending him in there alone, but I knew he wouldn't turn them down. I was tempted to go with him, but he didn't know how long it would be, and I had a customer coming in thirty minutes.

"Can't it wait?" I begged. I didn't trust that evil side of his family.

"They can't move him when he gets stuck. Mom's just not strong enough," he frowned.

I ran my hand over his beautiful biceps. I knew exactly how strong he was, because he could hold me up and pressed against a wall for an indefinite amount of time without even flinching. I kissed him again for good measure and struggled to pull away. "Hurry back." I hated that I sounded so needy.

He gave my hand a quick squeeze, as he slipped out the door. "I will."

I watched him leave and shook my head. I had a bad feeling, and I hated that he had gone to his mother's house alone. Something was up. I just knew it.

Not long after he had left, Alice came stomping into our little shop, hands on her hips, eyes on fire. If she thought I wouldn't throw her out on her ear, she was sorely mistaken. "You're sticking your nose where is doesn't belong," she accused.

I smirked at her. "My nose is exactly where it's supposed to be. You need to leave, now," I answered coolly.

"This is family business, it's none of your concern, and the way you treated my mother was-"

"The way she deserved," I cut her off.

"Hey, now, ladies," Jasper stepped into the mess.

Alice smiled widely at him, batting her eyelashes and patting her hair. "Jasper, it's so nice to see you. Do you have any siblings?"

"Actually, I do have a brother and a sister."

"So, you understand how it's not good for an outsider to get into your family's bus-"

"You were stealing the silver from Edward, STEALING, there are no family issues here, other than you being a thief," I spat.

She gasped, appalled. "Well, I never!" she huffed.

"Only because I stopped you. We still haven't checked eBay for any other items you may have stolen from Edward's house to sell."

"You're taking his stuff?" Jasper looked confused and disappointed.

"It's my grandmother's-"

"No, it's Edward's. She left it all to Edward. Eddie's wife, Elizabeth, left Edward everything, because he spent all his time taking care of her and his family, like he still does," I glared at Alice.

"Why are you taking his stuff?" Jasper asked, looking upset.

"It's…he…I…well, he's doesn't need it," she scrambled for words.

"That's not for you to decide," I growled, stepping up to her. She took a step back and looked over at Jasper, probably hoping he'd step in and save her, but he was a huge fan of Edward and mine, there was no way he'd ever take her side in this mess. He shook his head at her and turned away.

"Jasper?" she whimpered.

"Goodbye, Alice," he sounded so sad. She burst into tears and ran out of the shop. I didn't like that she didn't head to the parking lot, though. I turned to Jasper and grabbed his arm. "Can you watch the shop? I need to check on Eddie. I don't like Alice showing up like she did. I have a gut feeling that she was here as a distraction."

He glanced at the back door and nodded for me to go, so I took off running. I burst straight in through the back door of Edward's house, not even bothering to knock. My stomach flipped, when I heard what was going on. "It's not yours or hers to sell!" Eddie was fighting with someone, most likely Esme.

"Let go!" I heard her snap.

"You're not taking them! You get out of here. Edward may not want to call the police, but I sure as hell will!"

"You're a stubborn old fool. Let go of it now!" Esme shouted, and just as I rounded the corner, she shoved Eddie back, yanking the case of silverware out of his hands, knocking him over. I darted behind him just in time to catch him and steadied him on his feet.

Esme was trying to get a better grip on the case she'd just won in the tug-a-war, but I wasn't letting her have her prize. Once I knew Eddie was stable, I slammed that bitch against the wall. "What the hell are you doing here? You have some nerve to come back here to steal Edward's stuff and attack his grandfather!" I ripped the case out of her hands and shoved her hard toward the door, causing her to stumble and almost fall. "Get out! I will call the cops if you come in here again, I don't give a damn whether Edward wants to or not. You two need to be put in your place!"

I saw her glance at the silver serving trays that were once again in the entryway.

"Don't even think about it!" I grabbed her shoulders and shoved her hard toward the door again. "You touch Eddie again, and I'm gonna do more than shove you." I opened the door and used my foot to shove her out of it and down the porch. She landed on her hands and knees on the grass. Just as I suspected, Alice was standing by her car, watching the scene unfold wide-eyed. "If you ever come back here again trying pull this shit, I'm not holding back, and Edward will hear about what you did to Eddie!" I snarled and slammed the door.

I snatched up the silver and stormed into the kitchen. I was going to strangle those bitch if they stepped foot in this house again. I heard Eddie speaking from the other room. "Hey, Edward, your little lady came to play Wonder Woman. I'm guessing you were called away, while the she-devils tried to infiltrate the Fortress of Solitude…Bella looks like she could use a minute of your time to help settle her down. She really lost it, when Esme nearly knocked me over…No, Bella was able to keep me from falling-" It sounded like Edward had cut him off. I couldn't hear what he was saying, but it was obvious that he was saying it very loudly.

"I'm alright. Like I said, she caught me and saved me from breaking a hip. You know, once one goes, the rest of your body is quick to follow. No, no, I'm fine, Son, just come home and console your girl."

He hung up the phone and made his way over to me. "Need a drink?" he asked, pulling out a bottle of liquor.

"I can't. I have to get back to work soon," I reminded him.

"You're an amazing woman, Bella. Edward and I are lucky to have you in our family." He held up a shot glass in toast, before he chugged it.

The front door slammed, and hurried steps announced Edward's arrival. He pulled me into his arms, squeezing me tightly and then kissed the top of my head. He reached out a hand to Eddie, who squeezed his. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. At worst, I'll have a little bruising-"

"BRUISING?" Edward shouted. "I thought she just bumped you?"

"No, she shoved him and ripped the silverware case away from him. He was tumbling over, when I darted across the room. A second longer and we both would've been a tangled mess on the floor."

"Your girl has some fast feet," Eddie said and chugged another shot.

"Gramps, you're not supposed to be drinking. Where did you get that?"

He shrugged. "I go in for my dialysis in less than an hour. It won't even get past my stomach, and then I'll be in the clear."

"What the…?" Edward growled, but stopped himself. He grabbed the mostly full bottle and dumped it down the sink. Eddie looked past him and winked at me.

"I'm going to take you down for your treatment now," Edward huffed at his grandfather. He turned to me, kissing me softly, letting out a sigh of relief. "Thank you so much for being here. If something had happened to him…" he choked up a little and then smiled at me again. "Thank you."

I kissed him a little deeper. Just his presence made my whole body relax. The anger I'd felt had seeped out of me the moment he touched me. "I've got a massage client due, so I need to get going. Come find me after you get home."

Eddie pulled me into a hug. "Thank you, again."

"What's family for?" I shrugged.

Edward's face lit up when I said that. It was Eddie who had called me family first, though, and I loved it. I truly felt like they were my family.

I put on some soft classical music during the massage to help me settle down. I needed to feel calm, if I was going to help someone else relax. I knew I was doing a good job, when the person started snoring. I always felt like that was sort of an achievement. I gently woke them when their time was up, and they gave me a lazy grin and thanked me.

I had just finished checking them out, when Jasper came up behind me. He shifted nervously, as I closed the cash register and scheduled another appointment for my client. Once she was gone, Jasper grabbed my arm. "You need to come with me."

He ushered me into the back room, where his laptop was set up. "Why's this down here?" He really didn't have free time to play on his computer.

"Because I want to show you something," he said and logged in. He had an eBay page open to a store called Wonderland. I thought it was a silly name, until Jasper pointed to a profile picture of the seller. "I looked up Alice Cullen. I was sure there was some sort of misunderstanding going on. I thought I'd do a little research and found this," he pointed to the recently sold items that were listed next to things currently up for auction.

The two silver platters were sold for $800, and the silverware went for $1000. That wasn't surprising, given the age and quality of them. What was surprising, though, were the items still listed for sale.

"You said that Edward's grandma left him everything, is that her?" Jasper asked, pointing to a picture of an older woman at what looked to be a Christmas party. She was wearing a ruby jewelry set, authentic rubies, if you went by the seller's description.

I was too furious to speak.

"There's more." He clicked on another item. If there was any doubt, it was gone now. There was a picture of the older woman and Eddie at what looked to be some sort of anniversary party. She was wearing a diamond jewelry set, and that was the next item up for sale at Alice's Wonderland store. "It's her, isn't it? It has to be, because that looks a whole hell of a lot like Eddie."

I grabbed his computer and bid $50,000 on both pieces. Jasper just about had a heart attack. "Don't worry; you won't be paying, because she won't be delivering the goods."

"There's a pearl set, too," he pointed to another little link. It looked like a Mother's Day picture, and it made me sick, that not only did Alice want to steal from her brother, but she was using old family photos to sell family heirlooms. I put a bid of $50,000 on the pearls as well and went to the front desk. I had to calm down, if I was going to come up with a plan.

I had two more appointments that afternoon and decided to call and cancel them. I rescheduled them with a huge discount, so they wouldn't be too upset about it all.

I looked around our little shop and was surprised it was so quiet. "Where did Rose and Tanya go?"

"They went up to get ready for your brother-in-law," Laurant informed me.

"He's not my brother-in-law yet," I corrected.

"Please, girl, I'm sure you're married in an alternate dimension somewhere. All the same, they're getting ready for your brother-in-law, and Angela is getting ready for a date with some math geek with hot glasses. Jessica, however, is coming out with me and my husband."

I wasn't sure what the heck they were going to be doing, but I knew I didn't want to ask. "Jasper, can you lock up?" I asked, as I grabbed my purse.

"Yeah, go take care of that mess," he said, running weary hands through his hair. I gave the men hugs and took off out the back door. I had to find a way to stop Alice. I just hoped I wasn't too late for the jewelry. That would be a mess, and I'd insist that Edward involve the police if that was the case.