AN: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, so to her I say thanks for letting me borrow them.

First off, I apologize that this is a short chapter. If you read Summer Interlude, you are probably use to long chapters, which is what this piece would have been if it were part of a longer work. Originally, this was one long work, but I decided to divide it out for those who like to read shorter pieces, especially when reading them on a computer scene. The next chapter, I hope should be out by Wednesday; I'm doing some fine tuning and adding a little to it. I hope you enjoy Emmett's shopping trip, and a personal thanks to those of you who have written reviews

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Shopping for Bella

I spent that evening and the next two days trying to devise a plan to share with Emmett. I needed to find a time when I could go over to their house, and I wanted Charlie to agree to my going over. I had to go over there sometime when Edward wouldn't be home, and the only times he wasn't home was when he was with me or when he went hunting. If Edward wasn't home, I could ask Charlie about going to the Cullen's on the pretense of studying with Alice for a Calculus test, but it would help even more if Charlie would go fishing one Saturday. Since my return from Italy, and Edward's return into my life, Charlie had been staying closer to home; if only someone from work would invite him fishing, it would make my outing a lot easier to plan.

Events fell into line one week later when one of his fellow officers invited Charlie to go fishing with him, and then Edward mentioned he would be gone that same Saturday to hunt with Jasper and Rosalie. That combination surprised me, but I began to wonder if Emmett had something to do with the arrangements. Charlie informed me of his fishing trip on Monday, and later that same evening, Edward told me about going hunting. As soon as I heard, I decided I'd call Emmett from work Tuesday after school. I became excited about the prospects of riding my bike again.

On Tuesday, I had no need to call Emmett because he walked into the store right after I arrived at work. He ignored me and walked over to Mike. I was curious about his need to buy any kind of camping equipment, so I careful maneuvered near enough to eavesdrop without being conspicuous, or so I thought.

"Can I help you find anything?" That was Mike's habitual questions to all perspective customers, although the look on his face wasn't friendly.

"Yes, I'm looking for some safety equipment for my sister. She's taken up motorcycle riding and I'd like to make sure she doesn't get injured." After Mike turned away to lead him to the helmets, a wide smile spread across Emmett's face as he quickly looked at me.

"I would suggest you start by buying a good helmet. It helps if the size is correct." Mike commented dryly.

"Bella, could you come here a moment?" Emmett asked while motioning me over by wriggling his finger and then said to Mike, "Her and my sister are about the same size."

I hoped Mike wouldn't realize I was the one Emmett was buying the helmet for. I had discovered after moving to Forks that gossip flew fast around small towns . The last thing I needed was for Charlie to hear about Emmett buying me a helmet.

Emmett asked me to try on a number of helmets, and he finally chose one with blue highlights in it. I had to admit it fit and looked nice.

After choosing the helmet, Emmett asked, "Now, do you have any elbow and knee pads? I want her to be well protected." He chuckled as he briefly looked at me out of the corner of his eye, and I glared at him before turning to attend to another customer.

In retrospect, I shouldn't have been offended; he was only looking out for my safety. Emmett was serious about my protection; I don't know if it was due to his great concern for my safety or his. I decided to ignore him the rest of the time he was in the store, so I wasn't sure what other safety equipment he had purchased, but just before he left the store, he stopped and whispered softly, "I think this Saturday will work out nicely." Then he winked and left.

After I finished with my customer, Mike walked over and commented, "He sure is concerned about his sister riding a motorcycle. Maybe he should just tell her that they aren't safe and get his dad to stop her before she gets hurt."

I smiled at Mike; he didn't realize I was the one Emmett had made the purchases for, and for that I was very grateful. "I think she'll do fine. I happen to know his sister already has some knowledge about how to ride a motorcycle." I then walked off to the storeroom with a wide grin of pleasure on my face because I was going to ride my bike again.

Through the rest of my time at work, I pondered Emmett's involvement in arranging for our outing on Saturday. It was obvious he already knew both Edward and Charlie were occupied that Saturday, but I couldn't figure out how he could have arranged for Charlie to go fishing, although it now made sense why Edward was going hunting with Jasper and Rosalie.