A/N:

Beta is Lindz26. Pre-reader is DiamondHeart78, who is filling in for MichelleMMarie while she gets married.

CHAPTER ELEVEN
*Treat You Nice*

"You sure you'll be okay?" Alice asked as she slowed the car to a stop outside the cabin.

"I'll be more than okay," I replied, unbuckling my seatbelt.

When Edward had asked me to come home last night, I said yes, of course. I wanted to be with him again. And now that something had fundamentally shifted between us…romantically…I wanted to be here even more.

She chuckled. "Well, alright, then," she said, and pulled me into a hug. "You know where to find me."

I got out of the car and waved to her as she drove off, leaving me standing in front of the porch. With a happy sigh, I approached the door. Although I debated with myself whether to knock, I still went ahead and turned the knob. To my surprise, it was unlocked, which made me smile. He was expecting me.

My eyes scanned the empty living room and landed on the kitchen table, where a few daisies were perched in a glass of water. I smiled to myself and walked to it. They'd been freshly picked, the delicate aroma still emanating from them. My fingers ghosted over the petals, feeling like all this was just a dream.

A floorboard creaked somewhere behind me, and I momentarily closed my eyes in contentment. He was there; I knew he was. I didn't turn around, feeling oddly comfortable that he was most likely staring at me.

"Are you trying to get in my good graces?" I asked playfully.

Footsteps came toward me, and suddenly, two arms wrapped around the middle of my stomach. I could feel his scratchy beard on my ear, causing me to sink back into him. His musky scent made me tingle.

"And treat you nice," he replied, his minty, warm breath fanning across my cheek.

I smiled heartily. "Don't treat me too nice. I like a little friction." I turned in his arms and drank him in. His hair was wet, and he looked a little tired, but goodness…he was an attractive man. I wondered briefly if he knew. Or cared. Probably not.

The corners of his mouth turned up slightly, most likely in amusement at my roaming eyes. I wrapped my arms around his neck and molded my body against his. Those serious eyes of his bore into me, reeling me in. He bent his head, and our lips met gently.

The kiss was slow and sweet, taking our time in this precious moment. My fingers rubbed against the prickly hairs on his jaw, while his arms wrapped tighter around me, hugging me to him. He nipped at my bottom lip, taking it into his mouth and sending an arousing shockwave throughout my body.

God, this was all so new and exciting. It made me wonder if I'd ever had this before. I stopped my mouth's movements, my thoughts suddenly running away with me. What if I had that now, with someone else, and I didn't even know it?

Edward pulled back, no doubt wondering why I stopped kissing him. "You okay?" he questioned, a crease lining his forehead.

I nodded with a weak smile. "Yeah, just a little overwhelmed," I embellished, not wanting him to know my worries. I just needed to focus on him for now. He was my current life, and whatever things I'd remember from my other life, I would handle when the time came.

A little nudge at my ankle caused me to look down. I was surprised to see not only Sadie, but Tucker, too. I was happy to see both of them. They'd become an important part of my life, along with their owner.

"Hey, Sadie," I greeted, and squatted down to scratch her head. However, before I could pet her, Tucker stepped in the way, brazenly commandeering my attention. I was taken aback at this change, considering most of the time, he wanted to bite my limbs off. Slowly, I brought my hand to his back and pet his fur for the first time. "Oh my God…he's letting me pet him."

"Guess he missed you, too," Edward said, causing a goofy smile to erupt on my face. He held out his hand to me, and I took it, allowing him to help me stand up straight. "Hungry?"

"I had breakfast with Alice and Jasper, so I'm okay."

He scratched the back of his neck, looking uncharacteristically insecure. "Did you like it with them?"

"They're a nice couple, and the tavern is attached to their house, so it was convenient going to work," I answered, and noted his sudden silence. Though I did like staying with Alice, I much preferred being with Edward, and I gathered I needed to assure him of that. My arms found their way around his neck. "But I missed you every day."

He offered no smile; however, there was an added brightness to his eyes that showed me I'd made a difference with my words. "Did you have any problems?" he asked.

"What sort of problems?"

He lifted an eyebrow. "The kind of problems I warned you about."

"Oh," I uttered. "Well, I did have a couple guys try to make moves, but they got the message once I told them to back off."

He let out a subdued sigh. "Right."

"Most of them are nice, so don't worry."

"As long as you're working there, I'll worry," he admitted, his hands lazily caressing my lower back.

There was a scratching at the front door and a whimper, which both came from Tucker. It was like he was trying to claw his way out of the cabin.

"Alright, alright. I hear you," Edward grumbled, extracting his arms from around me and going to the door. As soon as he opened it, Tucker bolted out, followed by Sadie. Edward grabbed his shotgun and regarded me almost shyly. "Do you want to come?"

A small smile crept across my lips.

The dogs were never too far ahead as Edward and I walked through the woods side by side. I lost track of the amount of times he looked sideways at me. I was sure he would've run into a tree with how distracted he seemed by my presence. I paid little attention to him as my thoughts waged a war.

I wondered what I was to him—what we were to each other. I couldn't really classify him as a lover, nor could I label him as a boyfriend, since the term seemed so trivial. And he definitely wasn't a friend, considering he was much more than that to me. More than anything, he felt like a companion—a romantic companion. Was that describing him accurately? What did he think of me as?

He stopped in the middle of a small clearing and reached in his pocket, pulling out two bright yellow ear plugs. "Brought these for you," he said, and offered them to me. "If you're not used to the noise, it can be hard on your hearing."

I secured them in my ears and watched as he removed three shotgun shells from the leg pocket of his cargo pants. He inserted the ammo expertly and aimed the weapon somewhere near the tops of the trees, concentrating hard. He hadn't fired a shot yet, appearing to be sussing things out.

Suddenly, his arm came out, and he swiftly moved me back a bit. He fired a deafening shot that rang through my ears. The ear plugs hadn't blocked out the sound, more than just muffled it a bit.

Nothing happened. That is, I didn't think he actually shot anything, or had missed. Edward's pink lips were suddenly moving. I stared at them in a daze before I realized he'd spoken to me.

"What?" I asked loudly, my voice sounding far away.

He pulled one of my earplugs out, a hint of a smile on his face. "Do you want to give it a go?" he repeated, but it didn't really seem like he was asking.

My eyes went wide, and I shook my head fervently. "No, uh…no," I replied nervously. Me…with a gun. That was a definite mistake. I'd probably hurt someone…namely myself.

"Don't be scared of it," he said, and positioned my hands in the appropriate spots on the shotgun. I let him, liking the feel of his rough hands on me. "This is a 12-gauge. Very powerful. Good for hunting. Tighten your grip, Petal."

I did as he said, holding onto the shotgun more firmly.

He rested the end of this massive thing against the front of my shoulder. "Legs apart," he ordered, and so I did.

"I think you enjoy bossing me around."

He glanced at my face only briefly before going back to observing my stance. I was pretty sure I looked ridiculous. "This is serious," he spoke sternly.

"Yes, very serious," I teased, and noticed he hadn't cracked a smile. "Why am I being schooled?"

"It's important to know how to shoot." His eyes found mine. "I just want you to be prepared."

"For what?"

"Just in case, for some reason, I'm not around and something happens."

My brow wrinkled. "No one even comes to this part of the woods."

He looked away. "You don't know that."

What did that mean?

"Look," he continued before I could speak, "just do this, okay? It'll put my mind at ease." His eyes were looking directly into mine, showing the importance of this lesson. "Alright?"

I nodded silently.

"Tighten your grip again," he ordered.

I hadn't realized my hands had gone slack. "Now what?"

He went through and gave me a rundown of what everything was, how to use it all, and the correct technique to loading a gun. I was super glad for the existence of a safety. I'd be using that a lot.

I had trouble simply holding the shotgun. It was heavy, as well as awkward to handle. To someone like Edward, however, it was practically made for him. He was much taller than me and more built, so it was most likely nothing for him to carry.

At some stage, he had confidence enough in me to test out shooting. My very first shot was an experience. The gun was so powerful, I was knocked back a good few steps, but God…it was exhilarating. My second shot, I knew what to expect, so the turnout was much better.

Edward stood right by me, guiding me, instructing me. It impressed me how much he knew about shooting. I couldn't deny…I was a little turned on by it. Maybe not just a little.

"We'll do some target practice tomorrow," he said as we made our way back to the cabin.

"I'm not shooting any animals. You can forget about that," I voiced haughtily. I would never stop him from shooting innocent wildlife, but I certainly wouldn't participate in it.

"I never said you'd shoot animals. But just so you know, I don't hunt just for the thrill of it. When I worked, I ruined a lot of people's lives. I treated my employees like crap if they didn't do things the way I wanted, and I see that now. When I left, I needed some way to show myself I wasn't a bad person. I guess hunting is my way of giving back. I don't just donate what I shoot. I give the food bank perishables, produce, whatever I can get. I try to put my money to good use when I can, since it's just sitting around, gathering dust."

"I'm sorry," I said remorsefully. "I didn't realize that's why you did it.

He stole a glance at me. "It's fine. Anyway, I've got some stuff below the house we can use as a target."

"There's a below the house?" I inquired, surprised. Though, I did notice a sloping latch door around the side of the cabin. "What's down there?"

"Just extra stuff I don't need from when I moved here. I've been meaning to get rid of most of it," he said, and stopped to let me step onto the porch ahead of him. "Do me a favor and don't use the gun without me around."

"I thought the entire point of the lesson was to teach me to use it just in case you weren't around."

"That's only for an emergency," he replied. "But don't try anything bold if I'm nearby. Got it?"

I rolled my eyes. "What do you think I'm going to do—take it, gallop into the woods, and shoot at everything in sight?"

He sighed and opened the door. "Don't mouth at me."

"I'm not!" I exclaimed, walking in ahead of him. "I promise not to touch your shotgun unless it's an absolute emergency."

After closing the door, he hung up the gun. "Good."

I rested on the couch as I watched him stack wood into the fireplace. "So, when am I getting a lesson on how to clean it?"

"You don't need to know that."

"But I'd like to."

"It's a big process and too much to explain."

"Yes, and you have no time at all to teach me," I spoke sarcastically.

He shot me a glare over his shoulder and went back to stacking wood. "I'm the only one that cleans my gun."

"You and your rules," I muttered. "I'd be good at it, you know."

"Just like you are at cooking?"

My eyes seared into the back of his head. "Hey, I'm a good cook."

He snorted.

"You ate what I made last week," I brought up. He was such a liar. I saw him eat every bit of that omelet.

He shrugged. "I didn't want to offend you."

"Oh, come on," I said, and distinctly heard a small chuckle from him, which made me laugh. "You're a jerk. My cooking isn't that bad."

We continued bickering for a good while. But that was us.

Us. I liked the sound of that.

X-X-X-X

"You're going to let me drive the truck?"

"Yep."

"Where's Edward and what have you done with him?" I inquired in shock as I stared at the truck keys he was holding out to me. It was time to go to work, and I was just going to walk, but he had other ideas.

"Do you want them or not?"

Uh, yes, please. But before I could grab them, he pulled back his hand, keeping the keys out of reach.

"You know how to drive, right?" he asked suspiciously.

I groaned. "Yes, of course I do. Gas is on the right and brake is on the left."

"Hmm," he hummed in thought, and folded his arms across his chest. "How do you know that?"

"Edward, come on," I whined. "I'm going to be late." I really didn't have time for figuring out why I knew things I knew. "Fine. I'll just walk." I took only two steps toward the door when I was pulled back by the arm.

"Not so fast," he said, and his warm lips were suddenly pressed firmly against mine.

I inhaled through my nose, taken by surprise, and closed my eyes. Unfortunately, since I'd gotten back, we hadn't taken up marathon kissing. It was still so new, and I was hesitant about taking the initiative. He certainly didn't seem hesitant now, though.

He pecked my lips a couple times, lingering on the last one, before pulling back slightly and leaving me in a tizzy.

"Wow," I breathed, staring into his striking eyes. "What was I doing before?"

His line of sight flittered down to my lips. "This," he spoke softly, and brought his mouth to mine again. How could he do that and make me forget everything? Did he forget everything, too, or was it just me? It probably was just me.

Our mouths moved sensually against each other's. This was a different sort of kiss to the one before. While the first caught me off guard, this one turned me to jelly. It made my body hum and throb in all the right places.

I pulled back, reluctantly detaching my lips. "Seriously, what was I doing?"

The intensity of how he was gazing at me had my breaths coming out short. Cold, metal keys were suddenly placed in my palm.

"Is Alice a strict boss?" he inquired.

"No, why?"

He leaned into my ear and whispered, "'Cause you're late."

My eyes went wide. "Crap!" I made a dash for the door, throwing a quick goodbye to Sadie and Tucker over my shoulder. Once I pulled open the door, I stopped and looked back at Edward, who had a smug look on his face. "Don't sleep on the couch tonight."

That quickly erased his cocky expression.

And I was gone.

X-X-X-X

"That's a good spot, right"? Alice asked me.

"Looks good to me," I answered.

Alice had bought Mike Newton's old television set, since he'd been promoted at his job and decided to upgrade his entertainment system. She chose to put it on the back counter in the bar area so the guys could watch sports.

"You think they'll be able to see?" I questioned. "The TV's kinda small."

"As long as they got somethin' to stare at, they're fine," she replied, and picked up the remote. "Alright. I'm gonna put some new batteries in here. Why don't you plug it in and see if the reception's any good."

She disappeared into the back, while I plugged the cord into the socket. I turned on the TV manually and flipped through the slightly fuzzy channels. I randomly stopped on one that had a commercial for Alberstons Grocery Store.

Within ten seconds, the commercial finished and was replaced with an attractive African-American woman sitting at a news desk.

"Good evening," the anchorwoman started with a serious expression. "The search for the heiress of Cullen International Hotels continues on."

A still-photograph materialized of a sophisticatedly dressed brunette with a bright but guarded smile. I gasped loudly and took a step back in shock.

That was me.

"Business mogul, Carlisle Cullen" -a light haired, middle-aged man speaking to reporters appeared in place of the photograph, standing next to a stone-faced blonde beauty— "and father of Isabella, spoke this afternoon with our team about a potential lead through a private search party he's funding. Also, his other daughter, Rosalie McCarty, finally spoke out about how her sister's disappearance has affected her. All that and more at the top of the hour, here, on Eyewitness News."

I blinked a few times before I could think properly. Isabella. That was my real name. I was on the news. An heiress. Me. A picture of myself, that I never remembered taking, had aired on a news broadcast for everyone to see.

And that man...I'd gained a memory not too long ago with him in it. He was my father? He was looking for me and was funding a private search party. I didn't even know the guy.

The woman next to him was apparently my sister, though I knew I'd never seen her in my life. I swallowed thickly, realizing I remembered something new. A moment that didn't seem too long ago. She'd come to see me for whatever reason and spoke words that had left an impression.

Clear, blue eyes pierced into me, swirling with anger and hate. Her blonde hair was tied up in a messy, loose bun. "One day, karma's going to kick you in the ass, and I only wish I can be the one to serve it up to you nice and fresh," she seethed venomously.

Sister or no, those weren't words of someone who liked me. Her words terrified me for some reason. And I had a feeling they scared me when she'd said them, as well.

"Petal, you got it workin'?" I heard Alice call out from the back, jarring me out of my thoughts.

Feeling as if I was about to be caught red-handed, I quickly shut off the TV and frantically searched for something, anything, to make sure she didn't see what I saw. A flash of silver caught my eye, and I did something so calculating that I wasn't sure who I was at that moment.

Alice came back into the bar. "Finally found some batteries," she said, and pointed the remote controller at the television. She pressed the power button several times then frowned. "Don't tell me this ain't workin'." The manual power button on the TV didn't work for her, either. "Ya kiddin' me. Come on!"

"Maybe it's broken," I offered, scratching the back of my neck in a poor attempt at hiding my guilt.

"I thought you said it worked."

"I never said that."

"But I heard a woman's voice and music."

I shrugged, not knowing how to answer her without offering an unrealistic lie.

Her brow furrowed for a moment before she set down the remote. "Guess there's no TV tonight. I'll get Newton to bring his bamboozlin' self in here tomorrow mornin' so he can fix this piece of junk," she grumbled.

Inwardly, I breathed a sigh of relief knowing she didn't know what I knew. Soon, my mind would be occupied, but I knew later, nothing would be able to keep me from facing my true identity.

X-X-X-X

It was close to two in the morning when I slipped inside the cabin, exhausted from my busy night. The lights in the house were off, but even in the dark, I could see that Edward wasn't on the couch…which meant he'd done what I'd requested of him earlier.

The bedroom door was wide open, allowing me to enter the room undetected. He was asleep, his body resting on the left side of the bed. I watched him for a few minutes, listening to his heavy breaths, marveling at his serene face. In his slumber, there was nothing bothering him, and I felt envious of him for that, because right now, it was as if I was going to explode.

It didn't take long to shed my clothes and put on my pajamas. I tiptoed around the dogs that were sleeping on the ground by the foot of the bed. As I sunk into the mattress next to Edward, my erratic brain replayed the memories I'd gained back. There weren't many, but they were enough.

I had a family—a sister and a father. A sister who hated my guts, and a father who was looking for me. I was living this whole other life, while people were out there searching for me. And the thing was…a small part of me didn't want them to find me.

Edward suddenly flipped over and moved closer to where I lay. I froze, unsure if he was awake, seeing as his eyes were still closed.

"You're back," he mumbled, resting his head on my pillow. A heavy arm circled around me, pulling me into warmth. Our faces were nearly touching, and I could feel his breath on my mouth. "Missed you."

I closed my eyes briefly, relishing in being wanted by him. "I missed you, too," I replied, sighing contentedly. God, I missed him so much. I'd needed the comfort of his arms all day. "Did you have a good night?"

"Lousy," he muttered sleepily, his hand rubbing my back in slow circles. "Could only think of you."

I snorted softly. "Thinking of me was lousy?"

"Mmm," he groaned, "you know what I mean."

I smiled. "No, I don't. Care to enlighten me?"

"I care to sleep. Goodnight, Petal."

I rubbed my hand over his cheek once before tucking it in between our chests. "I'll see you tomorrow," I whispered.

He had the tiniest smile as he fell asleep again. He was happy. I made him happy.

I'd lied to myself when I'd come to the conclusion that a small part of me didn't want my family to find me. In reality, it was all of me. Whatever life I had before was over.

Staring into Edward's face, I knew he was my life now. Sadie and Tucker were my life now. This cabin, these woods, the tavern—they were all my life now. Isabella was no more. I was Petal. That was the way I was going to keep it. And I would get my way.

A/N:

It's been nearly 3 weeks since Petal was found by Edward, just in case you were wondering.