A/N: So here's the deal. This here chapter is unbeta'ed, and I apologize for that. I had to put my cat down very suddenly yesterday and I could use things that make me happy. Not a lot makes me happier than fic feedback and this chapter was written. So, there you have it.

To those of you who are reading Lost Half whom I promised an update, I still intend to update it today. I'm trying to get through it.

Thank you so much for your response and support to this little fic of mine. MWAH.

Incidentally, I found chickabiddy when I was looking through old west slang. I thought it was adorable, too. And it doesn't get the squiggly red underline!

The day James and Felix attacked his wife, Edward made a decision right then and there he needed to get her as far away from them as quick as possible.

Seeing as they were headed to where some actual paying work might be, James was none too pleased when Edward announced he was taking a sabbatical long enough to see Bella to safety.

"I don't know why you got yer back up over some silly little whore," James sneered, and Edward had to resist the urge to punch him. Again. "Hell, you ain't even gone near her since that first night. I figured you was done with her." He scoffed. "She couldn't be that good of a lay if you won't touch her."

"You don't need me for this job," Edward countered, speaking loud to cut off whatever vile thing would next come out of James's mouth. "Felix's friend Demetri was looking for work. Take him on this run, and I'll catch up with you on the next."

James argued, but Edward wouldn't be swayed. Anyway, it was good to put some distance between himself and the other two men. He was still too furious, rage still churning in his gut when he thought of Bella caught up between them.

Though why he'd expected anything different, he didn't know. The women that'd had cause to wander with them before were always of a certain sort. James had a harpy he was particularly fond of named Vicky who'd come with them more than once. She was a hellion - wild and completely crazy, truth be told. Wanton.

How could they not see that Bella was different? She wasn't like them. She was young and pure and...

Well, he was being a hypocrite wasn't he?

And yet she looked on him so trusting, not fighting when he told her they were leaving.

"I'm gonna get you someplace safe, chickabiddy," he promised as they rode off. "You won't ever have to see them again. Hell, if it pleases you, you never have to see me either."

He didn't really understand why she looked so stricken at the last.

~0~

Edward couldn't recall that he'd ever shared a horse with someone for more than a few minutes. Every now and again, he'd give some little rascal who'd wandered out too far a ride into town. When he was knee high to a grasshopper, he recalled riding with his brother while their father led the placid mare by the reins.

So it was strange how quick he got used to Bella's arms around his waist, her cheek resting against his shoulder blades, and her soft, lilting voice telling tales in his ear.

Typically speaking, when he was riding, his thoughts got all snarled up inside his head. With Bella, his thoughts were tangled up in her: her stories, her life. Alone one night after she'd drifted off to sleep, he considered how though he'd often ridden alongside James and the others, he'd always felt alone. With Bella, not so much.

She had a curiousness to her that was sweet. Oh, she tried minding her business, true enough, but he could see the questions in her eyes. Sometimes she tried to be sneaky about it. Once, he caught on the way she slipped her hand into his holster as they rode, fingering the butt of his revolver. She blushed when they stopped for a bit and he handed her the thing, teasing that if she wanted to see it so much, she need only ask.

Ask she did, wondering at the make and model. Edward was so enamoured, he ended up showing her how to shoot the thing, standing behind her with his hands at her waist so the kickback wouldn't send her sprawling on her pretty rear end.

"I'll get you one of your own, if you'd like. Maybe a pistol a little more fit for a lady," he promised.

He'd rope her the moon if he thought it would make her feel better, even begin to make up for what he'd put her through so far.

Often, he found himself charmed not by her wiles like so many of the women he'd known, but by the naive innocence that belied a quiet strength.

One night, he watched her across the fire. It was fast becoming his new favorite pastime: watching her. She was putting on a brave face to be sure, but he saw the way her eyes darted about as she listened to the sounds of the creatures that roamed at night. She was frightened but trying hard not to show it. She sat with her legs drawn up, her arms tight around them, tense as a cowboy trying to keep on a bucking steer.

"Come here," he murmured quietly, holding an arm out.

It was right adorable how her brows quirked up, uncertainty flitting across her features for only a moment before she scrambled the few feet the stretched between them. She ducked her head against his chest, and he felt the tension leave her shoulders after a tick or two.

How odd that she seemed to feel safer in his arms. For a moment, the idea filled his chest and it felt like he was flying. How good it would be were it true, that his arms could be her refuge.

But he couldn't let himself believe in tall tales. She trusted well enough he could protect her from the howling coyotes and whatever else might be lurking, but it didn't change the circumstances.

Edward sighed. "It's a right fine life I've provided you with so far, ain't it?" She blinked up at him, her eyes wide and a little confused, as though she didn't know what to say. "Don't you worry, honey. Where I'm taking you, there'll be four walls and a bed to call your own."

He didn't know how much he wanted to see her pretty smile until she looked down at her hands, obviously upset.

"Ah, hell. What'd I say now?" he muttered.

"It's nothing," she dismissed quickly.

"Bella." The word was a combination of a groan and a growl. Two fingers under her chin, he tilted her head up so he could look her in the eyes. "You're always asking what might please me? Well, it'd please me to know what you're thinking. You're so locked up in that head of yours."

"Oh, I'm not either," Bella argued, her tone exasperated. She seemed surprised at her own little outburst and looked at him sheepishly. "I'm always carrying on about myself, my life. I've told you every little about me."

"Not everything," he countered lightly. "I know you got no reason to believe me, but you've got nothing to fear. You can tell me what's on your mind, whatever it is."

She didn't speak at first but reached her hand up, tentatively laying her palm against his chest, playing with his buttons. "Are you sending me away because I'm not pleasing to you?"

Edward sucked in a breath.

It'd taken some time before she understood that Edward didn't intend to stay with her once they got where they were going. It seemed to him this should be a comfort to her, but the beguiling girl didn't seem to be taking it that way.

"Is that what you're worried about? That I didn't enjoy myself?" He laughed, the sound raw because she had no idea, no idea at all what she did to him.

Like when he'd taught her to shoot, how he couldn't help but notice the way her body fit just right, tucked up against his.

Or when they were riding and he longed to feel her arms around him, feel her clinging to his back without so many clothes between them.

Or when they laid out under the stars with so much space between them and he found himself imagining what it might be like to have her in his arms right then.

Truth be told, he was all twisted up about her but wife or no, he had no right. No right at all.

"Honey," he said gently, hesitantly brushing the pads of his fingers down her cheek. "You're plenty pleasing. Too much so for your own good or mine."

It was bashful, the way she looked up at him then, and she surprised him yet again by giving his lips a little peck. "Please, I know I'm not so experienced, but I can learn." She kissed him again, winding her hands about his neck.

He caught her hands quickly and brought them down between them, breathing harder than he wanted as he shifted a little to put a bit of space between them. "Whoa, now. Hold on." Closing his eyes tight, he took a deep breath, trying to catch his wildly wandering thoughts so he could know the right thing to do. "You don't want to this, Bella."

"I want to be a good wife. If you'll only let me-"

"Little darlin', there ain't nothing wrong with you, understand?" he said firmly, cupping her cheek with his palm, looking her right in the eye. "You weren't given no choice in the matter, and that ain't right. Not at all. It wasn't right of me, and it wasn't right of that preacher to give away what wasn't his to give."

"Isn't that what you're doing though?" she challenged, her voice strong though her eyes were brimming with tears that about broke his heart.

"What?"

"Who is this man you're taking me to? You're not giving me a choice either, 'cause if you were, I'd choose you. I want to be yours, not someone else's, no matter how kind you say he is." Her voice wavered and she turned away from him, the little gasps of her breath telling him she was trying desperately to keep from crying. "I don't want to be someone's whore when I am your wife."

Edward stared, his mouth agape. "Oh, no. No, no. It ain't like that." He laughed because he had to, the thought was so ridiculous. Even if she thought him capable of such a thing, the man he was taking her to was so far away from that kind of man it was crazy. "Carlisle's not like me, not even the littlest bit. He's my big brother, and he's been in love with the same woman since he was younger than you are now. He'd never think to think on you like that."

He sighed, dropping his hands back to his side as he stared out at the fire. "Not that I blame you for believing I'd do such a thing. It's not my intention to give you to some stranger to have at his will." He shuddered, the thought making his fists clench. "You got to know by now I have no idea what I'm doing with you, chickabiddy, but I'm trying. I'm trying to do the right thing by you. I don't know what else to do.

"Carlisle - he's good. Like you. He'll take care of you. He's got a big house out on a ranch, two cute little kids." He turned to her, smiling gently. "He can keep you safe."

Her brow was furrowed but she'd gotten a handle on her tears again. "And you? Where will you be?" she asked softly, shy again.

He stared down at his boots, more ashamed now than he had ever been of who he was. "I'm going to do like any husband should, I suppose. I'm going to provide." He took a deep breath, his heart heavy. "And you... You should have good things, Bella. Maybe I can give you that much. You think on that, on what you really want. Maybe I can even get you a train ticket and a chance to start your life somewhere far away from me. I don't know. I'll just..." He shook his head, feeling foolish. "I'll do what's right by you. I swear it. I swear."

~0~

Carlisle and Esme Cullen had a beautiful home.

It was, as Edward promised, a large ranch house surrounded by acres of land. They ran the ranch mostly on their own, with the help of just a couple of hands. Though he was a rancher by trade, Edward had explained that Carlisle also served as doctor to the extended community having apprenticed under a doctor for many years.

It still chilled Bella when she remembered the way Edward's eyes had glazed over when he talked about it - one of the few things he'd let loose about his past. "He's smart, my brother. That's how he got away. He run off with Doc Gerandy, and what could Pa say? He was learning an honest trade, even if it weren't the path Pa wanted for him. Then it was just me."

Now she sat in an airy kitchen across from Esme, a lovely woman with caramel colored hair and kind eyes. They were both cradling cups of tea and trying to pretend like they couldn't hear every blessed word their husbands were saying, well, shouting, at each other. Carlisle and Edward were outside but the window was open and their voices were quite clear.

"I'm trying to do the right thing here. Ain't right how I come by her, but it's my responsibility to protect her, right? I can't do that out there. Riding the range ain't no place for a woman. She deserves better."

"She does, and like it or not, you're beholden to her. Your place is here now. You got yourself a wife, and now you want to abandon her?" Carlisle challenged, sounding exasperated.

"Come on, now. That's not what's happening. I'm not trying to foist her off on you and hightail it out of here. I already told you, I want to give her a good life."

There were a few heavy moments of silence between the brothers before one of them sighed - Carlisle, Bella thought.

"Edward, when are you going to stop running?" The man sounded as heartbroken as Bella felt. "You know if I could change what happened-"

"Don't start. Just don't." Edward's voice a growl - dangerous and dark.

"You have every reason to stay, especially now. Don't you see you been handed a gift by God?"

"Oh, you're going to go there, are you? You know where you can stick your God. I've heard enough to last a lifetime from the honest men of the lord. First Pa, and then you know that priest who gave away an innocent girl to an asshole like me without a second thought? Yeah. He's got an illegitimate daughter up at that orphanage." He scoffed. "So talk to me about God's gifts. I'm certainly no gift to her, and she's better off without me."

Bella pushed back from the table, not wanting to hear any more. She ignored the ache in her thighs - they'd been so long in the saddle it was sometimes hard to walk - as she bustled outside the front door. She kept walking until she caught herself on a fence of a corral, and then her shoulders hunched a bit.

She'd cried more in the last week of her life than she had in all the years before it, even when her parents died.

One would think being an unwanted child in a sea of unwanted children, she'd be used to the feeling by now.

Bella jumped when she felt a hand against her back and turned slightly to see Esme had followed her out. She sniffled and wiped at her eyes hurriedly. "I'm fine. I don't mean to be so weepy."

"Oh, sweetie. You poor thing. You weep all you want." The woman drew her into a hug. Bella stiffened at first but then melted. Hugs were good. "You've been through so much, you deserve a good cry."

"I just... I don't want to be trouble for no one." Bella's voice shook as she spoke.

"You're no trouble, sugar. No trouble at all. You got family now, and we're going to take care of you, okay?" The older woman gently wiped away her tears and rubbed her back while Bella calmed down a bit.

"I love Edward like he was my own brother by blood," Esme said after a moment. "Or even my son, seeing how I wish I could guide him true. Edward... he's a lost soul wandering in the dark, but he's a good man."

Bella took a deep breath and nodded. "I know he is," she said and meant it.

Esme tilted her head, looking on her with curiosity. She smiled widely. "My goodness. Carlisle is right, I believe. You're a gift, sugar, by God or otherwise."

Before Bella could comment to this, the sound of whooping and hollering distracted both women. Bella looked up, a little amused to see two boys - mayhap around eight or nine - approaching the house at a run. There was one with long dirty blond hair and the other with curly dark hair. The blond boy held a tiny dark haired girl on his back. She was hardly more than a baby.

"Look, Ma!" the larger, dark haired boy exclaimed brightly as he ran up to Esme. "I caught a rabbit for supper. It's a right big one, too." He held up his prize with a wide grin, so similar to the one Edward war sometimes when she told him an amusing story.

Chuckling, Esme ruffled his hair. "Well, that's good, Em. But where are your manners. Can't you see we have a guest?"

The boy looked at her then, his expression curious. He tipped his hat. "Howdy, Miss. I reckon this hare is big enough to feed everyone, so don't you worry about that."

Bella had to laugh.

"This is your Aunt Bella," Esme said softly.

"Aunt? I have an aunt?" Emmett's voice was the very opposite of his mother's.

"She's your Uncle Edward's wife."

"No foolin'?" Again Emmett grinned and he promptly threw his arm around Bella's waist. "Unc got hitched without us. And you're mighty pretty too." He waggled his eyebrows at her, smiling winningly.

Bella blushed and laughed again. "Well thank you. You're mighty handsome yourself."

"She's got good eyes, Ma."

Esme rolled her eyes. "Lord have mercy," she muttered under her breath. "Anyway. This right here is my baby girl, my Alice," she said, taking the dark haired little girl from the blond boy's arms.

Alice's eyes were green - again, just like Edward. She stared at Bella with the same deep expression, like she was trying to see through to her very soul.

"Alice, will you say hello to your Aunt Bella?" Esme prompted.

The little girl's lips turned up in a grin and she pitched forward, her arms wide. Used to the children at the orphanage, Bella reached up automatically, taking the girl in her arms. Alice hugged her tight. "Hi hi, B'la!"

"Hi hi yourself," Bella said with a smile.

"And this young man here is Jasper Whitlock. The Whitlocks are our closest neighbors," Esme said, rounding out the introductions. "They live out yonder a stretch."

Jasper, hands on his hips, nodded politely. "Ma'am."

"Come on in the house. Emmett, you think you and Jasper can manage to skin that rabbit without your Pa's help?"

"I reckon so. Come on, Jasper."

The boys ran off and Esme shook her head fondly before she turned back to Bella. "Come on, sugar. Let's get you settled, okay? I'll show you to your room."

~0~

Edward stayed in her room that night but slept on the floor as he had when they stayed in the inn. He seemed withdrawn even more than usual and didn't look her in the eyes all evening.

Bella just didn't know what to do, what she was supposed to do. She didn't want him to leave, but she'd already said as much and he dismissed her. She wanted him in her bed, if only for the assurance that he wasn't intending to cast her off like a pair of overalls that didn't fit.

She wished she was wiser in the ways of women. Perhaps if she could seduce him, he would stay, or at least he would not leave her behind.

But the sun rose and she watched from the bed as he dressed. He rubbed the back of his head, looking around as if he was missing something.

Bella got out of bed, fetching his vest from where it had fallen behind the dresser the night before. She held it out to him, and their eyes met briefly as he reached out to take it.

"Don't look at me like that," he pleaded. "You gotta see it's better for you here than with me. After James-"

Bella closed her eyes quickly, shaken even at the mention of his name, and cut him off. "You don't like those men."

"Pardon?"

"Those men you were with. You don't like them."

"Well, not really," he agreed slowly. "There's not much to like."

"So why are you going back to them?"

He looked away from her, straightening the cuffs of his shirt . "They done right by me when no one else could," he finally said. "Besides, what else am I to do? I gotta provide for you somehow, and there's money to be had out there." He turned back at her attempting a smile that was half hearted at best. "You like it here, don't you?"

"You're right. Your brother and his wife are very kind," she allowed.

Edward nodded, palming his hat and tilting his head down as he put it on. He paused for a moment like this, scuffing his boots against the wood floor. He looked up slowly and drew his fingers down her cheek, his eyes sad. "Don't know how much it's worth after all I done to you but... I'm sorry, chickabiddy. I am."

Bella didn't answer. Her cheek felt hot where he'd touched and she didn't know how to put words to what she felt. She was sorry about a lot of things. She was sorry she couldn't hold him here. She was sorry for the things he'd obviously suffered. She was sorry he was struggling and felt obligated to pay for a bride he'd obviously never wanted.

But she wasn't sorry it had been him.

When he rode off, she watched from the window until his silhouette was a dot on the horizon.

A/N: Oh, dear, oh dear.

Thank you to GinnyW and barburella

And thanks again to all of you. Mwah.