A/N: Back to the eighties in this chapter...
Lizzylillyrose, thank you for prereading and listening to me rant and rage about life.
Ginginlee & SparklingTwilight – thank you for your fabulous beta job!
Stephanie Meyer owns Twilight, Deana Carter owns the song, Strawberry Wine.
I own a frisky panda...
O.o
His laugh was contagious. "So am I to rely on inanimate objects to be my only friends while I'm here?"
He paused for a second as he began to walk, ushering me to join him. "I'm sure I can find a human friend for you, too. That's if you want me to, of course."
"How would this said human friend compare to my panda?"
His blue eyes matched the brightness of the southern sky at mid day, blazing with intensity while remaining pure and unmarked. "I think you're the only one who can make that decision."
"Who am I going to compare him to?"
Edward laughed again and shoved his hands into the pockets of his light blue torn jeans. "I suppose…you can use me…to compare him to. I can be a pretty good friend."
I smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I guess I can agree to that."
OoO
Chapter 3: 1987
"Are you sure you don't want me to carry that for you?" he asked, obviously laughing at my expense. I couldn't blame him, though; I was trudging around with a stuffed animal that was as large as I was.
"Oh, I got it…were just bonding, that's all." I shrugged my shoulders and winked at Edward.
"Man, I can't help but be jealous of the little guy now…he's really getting to know you." He motioned down to where the panda's face was shoved down in my chest.
We both laughed out loud, and I chided, "You're such a perv."
He took the oversized animal. "A perv, maybe, but I also got to protect the lady from frisky pandas." He shifted the animal to one arm and carried it beside him. "So what do you want to do next? We kinda spent a while on the game, sorry," he said guiltily.
"Don't be sorry – I love my new friend here…and you're okay, too," I joked, nudging him with my arm a little.
"So the sarcasm must be a northern thing, huh?"
"Hey! Don't knock the north…you southerners are just sensitive."
"Sensitive? I just think that you don't know the true affect of the southern charm," he spoke, emphasizing his thick drawl as he turned to look at me, his eyes boring into mine. There was a moment there, when the two of us had stopped walking, and he just looked at me with a smirk on his face before he stepped back and laughed it off. I followed his lead and laughed too, though mine was a little forced.
"Southern charm, you say?"
"Yes, indeed, miss. A lady shall always go first," he motioned for me to take a step ahead of him, "doors shall always be held open," he scurried in front of me and pretended to open a door, and then bowed a little when I walked through his make-shift door, "and most importantly, a true southern gentleman, shall always escort the lady home."
I looked at him a bit strangely. "Escort me home?"
"It's dark, Bella. If I let you go off into that dreary, haunted night, all I will do is worry that I'll never see you again." I couldn't tell if he was joking or being completely serious.
"I just rode my bike here…"
He smiled. "Don't worry about it…my friend has his car. We can give you a ride."
"I was always taught not to go home with strangers, you know, even if I do have a frisky panda to protect me from big, strong, southern gentlemen."
He laughed and slung his arm around me while he searched the area for his buddies. "I'm not going to hurt you, Bella. Besides, how do you expect to get the panda home on your bike?"
"Um…" I mumbled, unsure myself. "If I can find a payphone, I can call my uncle to come pick me up."
"So you're staying with your uncle?" It didn't really seem like a question, though…more like he was just trying to make conversation.
"Yeah, my mom's older brother…just for the summer while she travels around the country with her boyfriend. Coming here seemed like the lesser of two evils," I added jokingly.
"Whoa, now…you would rather come to Clayton, North Carolina…where we specialize in drag races and skinny dippin' in the river, than traveling the country with your mom? You could have seen the world, and you chose to come here?" he asked in legitimate disbelief.
"You specialize in skinny dipping?" I retorted.
"After everything I just said, you stick with the gettin' nekkid part." He laughed and shook his head. "I think you'll fit in with us just fine, here, Bella."
He laughed and I smiled as we found his group of friends standing next to one of the many lemonade stands.
"Hey, y'all," he greeted, his arm gently falling from my shoulder as he motioned with his hand to the group. "This is Bella. Bella, this is…well, everyone."
There was a combined slur of hellos…the boys looked either indifferent or genuinely interested, as most of the girls eyed me up and down. Typical.
"Hey," I responded. "What's going on?" I asked, trying to make conversation.
"Whoa, got an accent there, don't ya, darlin'?" one of the boys laughed.
I smiled and kicked the dirt around my feet. "Yeah, I'm from Cleveland."
"Oh nice…I'm Riley." He reached out his hand for me to shake, which I took gently, stuffing my other hand into my front jean pocket.
"Yo, Ri, can we give Bella a lift home? She just rode her bike," Edward quickly added before wrapping his arm around me again.
"Sure, that's no problem. Y'all ready to leave soon? I got work early in the mornin' for the old man."
"Ready whenever you are," Edward confirmed.
"We were thinking about heading out to the river later this week, Edward. Do you want to come?" a blonde, disgustingly-skinny girl asked, batting her lashes a few too many times.
Edward simply shrugged and looked at me. "That's sounds fun, what do you say, Bella?"
The girl scoffed and rolled her eyes, and I shrugged along with Edward. "Um, sure. I don't really have any concrete plans while I'm here."
"And how long are you here for, exactly?" the same girl asked, with evident annoyance in her tone.
"All summer," I responded with a bit of snark and a wink. Everyone, besides her, laughed.
"Alright, Ri, you ready, bro?" Edward asked, and Riley nodded. We said our goodbyes to the group and walked away, Edward still holding onto the frisky panda.
"Ed, you still got work tomorrow?" Riley asked as he fit my bike into the trunk of his wooden-sided station wagon. Edward opened the door for me to sit shotgun as he climbed in the backseat.
"Uh, yeah," he said tentatively, and quickly changed the subject. "You going down to the river with everyone on Friday?"
"Duh, man," Riley answered while he got situated in the driver's seat, inserting the key and starting the ignition. "So, Bella, where you stayin'?"
"Um, Charlie Swan's house?" I said in more of a question than a statement. "But, really, I have no idea how to get there from here."
Riley laughed. "Not a problem, honey, I know where Mr. Swan lives."
"You do?"
"It's a really small town, Bella," Edward added. "Everybody kind of knows everybody."
"Well then…" I trailed off and focused my eyes out the open window.
O.o
I climbed up the stairs of Uncle Charlie's porch, after saying my goodbyes and thanks to Edward and Riley, with the frisky panda in hand. I noticed the lights were off so I tried my best to make as little noise as possible. My coordination, however, had other plans as I tripped over the small step leading into the house, and literally tumbled through the doorway. I laid, face first, on the hardwood floor, as Charlie ran out of his room in a panic.
"Who's in my house?" he shouted, shotgun in hand.
"Charlie! Charlie!" I exclaimed. "It's just me!" I stood up and brushed my knees off.
"Bella? What are you doing making all this ruckus out here? It's late!"
"Gah, I know, I'm sorry – I was trying to be quiet, but I tripped, and fell…and well, you know. Sorry," I added bashfully.
Charlie had lowered the gun and rubbed his tired eyes. "It's alright, baby. Get on up to bed now, we have a full day ahead of us tomorrow."
"We do?" I asked curiously.
"I need some help out back with the horses. You'd be willing to help me out, right, darlin'?"
I smiled. "Of course."
"Good girl…now go on upstairs, and try not to get yourself shot anymore tonight, ya hear?"
"Got it." I laughed, picked up my panda, and hurried up to my bedroom. Once inside, I shut the squeaky white door and went to the side wall to pry open my window. I could hear the horses from their stables, and I tried to remember what their manes felt like under my touch. It had been ages since I had ridden Charlie's horses. Of course, then, I had been too young to ride on my own. Charlie would have always been behind me, holding onto me tight with one arm as the other held onto the reigns.
I changed out of my cutoff jean shorts and white tank top, and I took a quick shower before bed. I woke up the next morning to what sounded like a beat up old car that was in serious need of a new exhaust pipe. I groaned out loud and rolled over when I realized the sun had begun to rise. I kicked my sticky sheets off of me like a petulant child and cursed the reason for being up this early.
"Bella!" I heard Charlie call from the bottom of the steps. He couldn't seriously have expected me to be up at whatever ungodly hour it was, could he? "Bells?" he called again, followed by the loud sound of his footsteps climbing up the stairs. A few knocks at the door followed his bellowing. "Bella, honey, it's time to get up."
"Ugh," I cried in recognition. He gently opened up the door and peaked his head through.
"I got coffee waitin' downstairs. Wear somethin' comfortable."
"Got it," I mumbled, rolling back over, facing away from the door for a few more seconds before finally climbing out of bed. I stomped my feet on the wooden floorboards for good measure. When I had agreed to help Uncle Charlie out, I had no idea it would be at…I checked the clock…six thirty a.m.!
I strode over to my wardrobe and pulled out the first pair of shorts I could find. I slipped the jean material over my legs and tried hard to adjust my eyes to the rising sunlight. Charlie had said to dress comfortable, so I pulled over a plaid short sleeve button up and pulled my chestnut long hair into a tight ponytail. I didn't even bother with any makeup, knowing full well that I would had sweat it all off, anyway. I put on the only pair of boots I owned, which were not attractive in the slightest, by the way, and made my way groggily down the steps.
Uncle Charlie was waiting in his small kitchen, reading the newspaper at his table, and eating scrambled eggs for breakfast. "There are more eggs in the skillet. Eat 'em up."
I headed towards the food with a simple nod of thanks and scooped out a plateful, grabbing a cup of blissful caffeine before sitting down across from him. We ate in silence, the only noise coming from Charlie as he turned the pages.
"You have fun last night?" he eventually asked as I took my last sip of coffee.
"Yeah," I responded, getting up to clean our dishes.
"You got home pretty late last night…"
"Um, yeah, sorry about that. Do I, um, you know, have a curfew here, or something?" I broached hesitantly. He didn't say anything the night before about being home at a certain time. Honestly, I hadn't thought much of it.
Charlie scratched his head. "Well…um, I'm not sure. I never really had a kid before to know what to do here… Do you have one with your mother?"
"Have you met my mother?"
He laughed. "Well, darlin', I guess if you don't have one with her then you don't have one here. Just don't break my trust," he warned seriously.
I smiled. "Wouldn't think of it, Uncle Charlie."
"Good, good," he said nodding, folding up his read paper and placing it down on the table. "You ready to get to work?" he asked.
"Sure thing," I agreed, feeling much better as the caffeine made its way through my system. "So, what exactly are we doing today?"
"Stables need cleaning, horses need fed, and you, my dear sweet niece, need to learn how to ride."
"Ride? You're going to teach me how to ride?"
He paused. "Well, not me, exactly."
We made our way out of the house and down the steps out the back door. The sun was shining bright in the sky, and I almost tripped over myself when I saw the blue truck sitting in the yard. The guy I saw out the window!
"Who'll be teaching me, then?" I asked as we almost reached the stables, a hopeful tone laced through my words. I was itching to know who the guy was I saw the day I had arrived.
"A young man who works for me during the summer. Nice fellow."
"Young man? How old is he?" I asked, maybe a little too enthusiastically.
"Eighteen. Going off to college in the fall. He's a bright boy, that one."
"What's his name?"
By this time we had reached the barn and I could see the back of this man Charlie was talking about.
"Edward Masen," Charlie answered, and Edward turned his head at the mention of his name.
I, however, stopped dead in my tracks. Edward saw me and his stupid little smirk rose on his lips. He straightened up and turned around to face us fully.
"Mornin', Mr. Swan," he greeted.
"Edward, this is my niece, Bella. You are not to touch her, flirt with her, or make any kind of move on her, whatsoever. She'll be here all summer, and, boy, I will end you if you so even harm a hair on her head," Charlie said more seriously than I had ever heard him speak before. My eyes widened and blush colored my entire face. "Bella, this here is Edward. He'll be teaching you to ride a horse. How does that sound?" he turned to me and asked with a pleasant smile on his face.
"Uh," I mumbled, glancing at Edward who looked almost as horrified by Charlie's words. "Sounds…great?" I shrugged.
"Wait a second…" Edward said confused. "You want me to teach her how to ride a horse?"
"Did I stutter?" Charlie relayed.
"No, um, no, sir."
"Okay, then. First, though, we got chores to do." Charlie clapped his hands together before striding off to the wall of the barn and grabbing two shovels. "Alright, folks, here you go." He handed Edward and I a shovel and then went and took one for himself. "The horses don't shit in the potty, so get to work!"
Edward looked at me and laughed, most likely from my shocked expression. "Shoveling manure, wonderful," I huffed.
"Oh, how I love the early morning sarcasm," Edward laughed and walked into one of the empty stalls. I stood in my spot, not knowing what to do. "You coming, Bella?" he asked. "The faster we get this done, the faster I can teach you how to ride like a true cowgirl," he added with a wink. I rolled my eyes and walked on in, trying not to dry heave at the smell.
Charlie left us to go work in another stall, and so it was just Edward and I, shoveling away in silence. Charlie didn't know that Edward and I had met the night before, but I had wondered why Edward didn't tell me he knew my uncle.
"I guess it's a smaller town than I thought," I added a while into our work.
"I said that last night, didn't I?" he joked.
"Why didn't you tell me you knew Charlie?"
He simply laughed. "It never came up."
"Never came up? You dropped me off here! You could have said something then!"
He stopped what he was doing and looked at me seriously. "Are you really mad at me, Bella? I thought we had fun last night," he said with a hint of sadness.
I sighed and tucked my fallen hair behind my ears. "I just have a thing about people being honest," I answered, maybe a bit too harshly.
He frowned and nodded. "Sorry – I should have told you."
"Yes, you should have," I said a bit lighter.
"So, if were going with the complete honesty thing here, I guess I should also tell you that I didn't come up to you last night completely out of the blue."
"What?" I asked. "What do you mean?"
"I recognized you."
"Recognized me? How? From where?"
He smiled sheepishly again, and I could see the humor in his eyes. "You look really good in a bikini top," he answered before laughing.
"I don't get it…" I said, still confused.
"Outside…yesterday…you were out by the tree. You fell asleep?"
"Ugh!" I moaned. "You saw me? I knew whoever drove that blue truck got a good little show."
He laughed loudly. "Good little show, indeed."
"You're so gross," I chided.
He winked and got back to work, and I knew right then that it was going to be a very long summer.
o.O
End Notes: Next chapter will be back in 2010 – Will Bella and Firefighterward get to catch up?
I'm almost finished writing my first WIP, Family Ties and Guarding Hearts. It's nothing like this fic, but once that is done, updates for this will come much quicker.
Thanks for reading – please review!