Huge shout out to my beta A Cullen Wannabe for her awesomeness in spite of a very hectic weekend!

Okay, here's the latest from 1956. I'm having fun using one of my favorite courses as the model for this story and doing all the research on this very interesting time. Also, Edward's past is a 'wink, wink-nod, nod' to one of my favorite shows of all time…you'll see. And now for some golf stuff up front, so you won't be jumping down to the end. When players are referenced during the golf rounds, they are traditionally referred to by their last name only, with the exceptions of amateurs, like Bella, who are referred to as Mr. or in this case, Miss. So you don't get confused, here's the full list of the important characters:

Jacobs – Alec
Logan - Garrett
Miss Swan – Isabella
McCarthy – Emmett
O'Hare – Liam
A. Volturi - Aro
King - Royce
C. Volturi – Caius

I know most of them are easy, but there are a few that I made up names for so I wanted to give you the cheat sheet. Any random last names not above are players who are fabricated simply to fill out the threesomes as we follow them and will have no real affect on the outcome of the rounds. You won't be following their play so much as acknowledging their presence. And finally, scoring goes as followed:

Eagle – 2 under par
Birdie – 1 under par
Par – The score set for the hole
Bogey – One over par
Double Bogey – Two over par (and so forth…)

Thanks again and please leave some love!

Isabella woke up Thursday morning and began the arduous task of getting herself ready for her debut into the world of professional golf. The propriety that comes along with being female, no matter how the younger girls may rebel against it, meant that she was up much earlier than her male competitors as she pinned the sides of her hair back, leaving the rest down. She did this knowing that by the afternoon she would be forced to put her hair into a bun to keep her from looking wild. Doing a minimal amount of makeup, Bella prepared a quick breakfast from the provisions in her small icebox and the pantry that stood near the stove.

As she ate her meal, she looked around the cottage and found herself grateful to be removed from the people who had been so harsh the day before.

Dressing for the heat that was forecasted for the early round, she picked out a warmer top for her afternoon attire. Looking herself over once more, she was startled by the knock at the door, not having remembered any mention of someone coming to meet her this morning. Cracking it slightly, she smiled at the sight of Edward and opened the door wider to greet him. "Good morning, Edward. I hadn't expected to see anyone this early."

Edward's face fell as he began to ramble. "I'm sorry Miss-, Bella, but you had mentioned me escorting you while you were here and I wasn't sure-"

Bella reached out and touched his shoulder, silencing him as she began to speak. "Edward, it's all right. I just thought I might have forgotten something from the rulebook and you were here because I was late for some pre-round event." She looked at the package in his hand and then back at his face, which was still downcast. "What's in the package?"

Edward looked up at her and smiled handing it to her as he spoke. "I wasn't sure how much food you had here, so I thought I'd bring you a loaf of bread and some fruit."

Isabella's face broke into the most brilliant smile that had ever graced her features as she peeked into the package. "Thank you, they did provide me with food, but this was very thoughtful. You didn't have to put yourself out like that, though. Would you come in for a minute while I put them away?"

Edward walked past her and looked around quickly before taking a seat as she placed the fruit in a bowl on the small dining table and then sat the loaf in the pantry. "It was really no problem, my father owns the local grocery store. I simply asked if I could bring you the food and he was happy to allow me to do so. In fact, my parents wanted me to ask you if you'd be interested in joining us for dinner."

Isabella turned to him and smiled. "Is it far? I wouldn't want you to have a long drive home afterwards."

Edward smiled and shook his head. "We live in Pittsford. Technically the golf course in on the border between us and Rochester, but they claim it. Our family grocery store is on Monroe Avenue, which runs along the edge of the Club, and our house is a few blocks past it. It really isn't any trouble and my sister is dying to meet you."

Bella blushed slightly and peered at Edward through her lashes. "Your sister? What could she possibly find interesting about me?"

Edward barked a laugh and then covered his mouth in an act of contrition. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to laugh at you. My sister is 17 and is completely in awe of the fact that you have broken into the world of golf. She doesn't understand why I waste my time with it, but she's so happy for it this week. She's convinced you're going to take the whole tournament and her 'by the book' brother will finally have done something right…besides bringing his war buddy home to fall in love with her, that is."

"You fought in Korea?" Isabella couldn't believe that the young man before her had seen battle in that war; he seemed too young to have been there.

"I didn't fight. I was drafted in 1951 and assigned to a MASH unit, that's a mobile hospital. I was lucky enough to be made their company clerk. It was a hell of a job for an 18 year old, but I was lucky. The clerk of one of the nearby MASH's and I became good friends. You have to be persuasive, or at the very least charming, to be good at that job, and Jasper and I both were. So when the war ended, he came to stay with us for a while until he could get on his feet. While he was there, he fell for my sister, so he took the money he'd saved as a cop and moved into the apartment over the store, knowing it would help out my father to have the place rented, and also not wanting to do anything that might hurt Alice's reputation. She was only 14 and he'd never tried anything, but you don't want to tempt fate. So after she turned 16 and he'd made his own way, he asked if he could take her out. He proposed on her 17th birthday and she is madder than anything that everyone is insisting she wait until she's 18 to get married. She listens to too much rock n' roll for my taste, and I'm just glad that it's Jasper she fell for, otherwise I'd be playing the 'older brother that survived a war' card with any snot that showed up at the door."

Bella laughed at Edward, recognizing a little of her father in him. "Big brother Cullen, it's a sweet picture, and it is obvious you love your sister very much." She looked at the clock on the wall and then sighed. "We should head off, if we're going to get there in time for me to unwind a bit in the locker room."

Edward stood up and offered to take her garment bag, which she readily gave him. "Just do me two favors and today will go a lot smoother. Don't look at the leaderboard, and try not to listen to the men. I will do my best to keep you focused and well informed, but I can't help you if you let them into your head completely."

Bella nodded and locked up; sticking the key in the bag of toiletries she would be keeping in her locker, mainly to appease Edward. Walking out of the woods, they made the turn onto the path that led to the clubhouse. Handing Bella her things, he let her go inside to prepare as he set out to check in at the caddie yard and see his own competition. He was surprised to see Jacob Black dressed well and leaning against the side of the clubhouse. "Jacob, I didn't' think you secured a loop. Whose bag are you on?"

"I caught King last night; he had a fight with Lonnie and told him to get lost. I was the only one here so he told me to show up if I wanted to make some money. You're really carrying for the woman?"

Edward narrowed his eyes at him. "Yes, I'm caddying for Miss Swan."

Jacob shrunk slightly at his stare. "Don't get me wrong, she can hit a ball, but I'd rather watch her play with my club than the-"

Edward flew forward, but managed to keep his anger in control as his finger came in contact with Jacob's chest. "You watch how you talk about my pro. She's still a lady and a competitor in this tournament and I won't allow you to disrespect her."

Jacob's hands flew up in surrender as Edward backed up and turned towards the exit of the club that led to the first hole, so he could claim Miss Swan's clubs as soon as she emerged.

When that time came, she walked out along with the other five competitors of the first two threesomes. Edward stepped up to take her bag and watched as the other men, Alec Jacobs included, stared in shock as Garrett approached Isabella. "Good luck out there today, Miss Swan."

"You too, Logan. We'll be right behind you."

Emmett McCarthy laughed from his place beside her as he leaned in slightly. "Ready to ruin a good walk?"

"Hopefully more so for some rather than myself, but yes, I'm ready for this day to begin."

McCarthy smiled at her as Jacobs, Logan, and Cole stepped up to the tee box. Edward and Isabella watched as they took decent shots at the dogleg to the right and as Cole took his third shot, McCarthy stepped up to the tee. Taking his driver between his massive hands, he blew the ball clear of the other players and then stood back for a moment before following his caddie to where his ball had landed.

O'Hare teed up next, hitting a beautiful first shot and clearing the way for the first shot of Miss Swan. She exhaled as she took her club from Edward, doing her best to ignore the camera that was now focused on her at the tee, or the quiet muttering of James Hunt, who was still with the crowd that had hung back to watch her shot. Addressing the ball, she took her first shot and a roar erupted as it flew 165 yards down the fairway, landing squarely in the center of the turn, giving her perfect placement for the approach to the green.

The next few holes progressed for Miss Swan in similar fashion. The first groan of the morning was heard as Logan hit into the rough on 2, earning himself a bogey, but was not outmatched by A. Volturi, whose poor putting on the same hole earned him a five as well. Hearing the players in the group ahead and the groups behind her missing shots bolstered Isabella's confidence, while she still managed to be patient and pay attention to the shot she was about to take.

Making it through the first three holes without breaking par was quite an accomplishment, but the 4th hole set out to break some hearts. Jacobs flew well past the green on his third shot and wasn't able to do better than a seven, earning the first double bogey of the morning. Logan didn't do much better earning a bogey six, as did McCarthy and Miss Swan, leaving O'Hare as the only player in their group to earn a five.

In the groups behind them A. Volturi parred the hole, as did his brother in the following group, with King earning one of the few birdies on the hole.

The course's signature hole, number 5, with its well bunkered, uphill green and a bend that made the thin fairway hard to play, got the best of many of the early players, leaving only King and McCarthy with the distinction of earning par at this hole.

Making the approach to 6, Edward slowed Isabella down to give her a little pep talk. "Shake it off. This is a tough course to get a handle on, but look at Jacobs; he's letting it get to him. Ever since the double bogey, he's not taking the time to set up his shots and he's ignoring his caddie's advice. Hang back on this one a bit, that way you can see the green from your second shot and you don't land yourself in trouble-"

"Shit!" The curse slipped from Jacobs' mouth and caused the threesome behind him to look up in time to see his ball get lost in the rough.

"Like Jacobs' just did." Edward finished his sentence and then hung back with Isabella as McCarthy and O'Hare took their tee shots. McCarthy managed to hit the ball to 160 yards, putting himself in a good lie for his second shot as O'Hare called "fore" thoroughly scaring Jacobs where he was still searching for his ball. Jacobs took his second shot as Miss Swan stepped up to take her first. Listening to Edward's advice, she hit the ball a solid 170 yards, placing herself in an even better position than McCarthy as O'Hare searched for his ball and they set up their second shots. Their second shots landed both McCarthy and Miss Swan on the green and after putts from 15 feet and 20 feet respectively; they walked away with their first birdies of the round while O'Hare recorded his second bogey.

The par five 7th hole was another difficult one with bunkers in the fairway requiring a long shot, or a great deal of luck if you landed in one of the sand traps. Jacobs managed to avoid the bunkers, but missed an easy putt to once again card a bogey. In her own group, O'Hare landed in the bunker and even with a masterful second shot out of bunker, had over 220 yards for his third shot. Walking away with another bogey, there was no consolation in the fact that A. Volturi ignored his brother-in-law Marcus, who was his caddie, and replicated his play of the hole, earning a bogey of his own.

The 8th hole, whose water hazard had intimidated Isabella when she first saw it the previous day, held nothing over her today as she hit the ball calmly with her trademark fairway wood shot onto the back of the green. Learning the lesson of just how severely the front of the green slopes towards the water, she 2-putted the hole, earning the only par in the first four groups.

Approaching the final hole in the front nine, many of the spectators hung back to watch the female hit shots that some of the men who had been professionals in the sports since she was in grade school couldn't make.

Through 9 holes King was in the lead with a score of 1 under par, while Miss Swan and McCarthy were tied at plus 1 and C. Volturi was one behind them at 2 over. There was a three way tie at plus 4 for Logan, A. Volturi and O'Hare with Jacobs rounding out the most followed players with a poor plus 7.

As Miss Swan hit her third shot on 10, she heard the roar that alerted her to King making a birdie on the 9th hole.

Progressing down the back nine, O'Hare was able to make a birdie on 10, McCarthy carded a three on the par 4 11th, and Miss Swan recorded yet another par at 12 as she hit it up onto the green from 60 yards and then tapped it into the hole.

A. Volturi made a birdie at the par five 13th and his brother followed with a birdie on 14, as did Jacobs, who saw his only birdie for the round on that hole.

From the tee at 15, the uphill hole which played nearly 30 yards longer than it was and had many places that landing your ball there would be considered jail, proved daunting.

Miss Swan couldn't reach the green in regulation, but managed to make a six footer to save bogey 5. The entire threesome ahead of her had bogeyed as well, as did her own, with A. Volturi making par before King landed himself in the bunker to earn a bogey. Meanwhile, C. Volturi drove his ball wildly left into the deep rough, making it back to the fairway on his next shot, only to miss the green and double bogey the hole.

Nerves got the better of Miss Swan as she tried to miss the bunker that guards the front of the 16th green, but then lipped out a 10 foot putt to card a bogey and go to +3 for the round so far. The men used their increased strength to bypass the front bunker as Jacobs, Logan and A. Volturi hit their shots out of the back bunker to make their pars, with O'Hare McCarthy and King all earned their pars after two-putting their shots. Once again, C. Volturi's anger flared as he missed his 8 foot putt to sink to +4 overall.

Coming up to 17, Edward once again pulled Isabella aside to consult with her. "Bella, you're still in this, it is early and you have another twenty holes to play today. Forget everything else and just play these last two holes like you did when we were alone on the course yesterday."

Nodding, she addressed the ball and glanced at Edward, who smiled before she hit a solid shot at the uphill par 3 that led to her making her third shot and claiming par.

At the final hole, the first group to start the morning cleared the final hole with pars, leaving Jacobs with a first round score of +7 while Logan sat at +5.

The second group played well as O'Hare and McCarthy were the only ones to birdie it out of the early groups as McCarthy hit past the hole, but watched as his shot rolled back and he made his 12 foot putt to finish the first round with an even par of 71. O'Hare made a 74, leaving himself within striking distance of his first US major win. Miss Swan posted a par, leaving her at +3 as well, with the other names posting similar scores. Coming off the course at +1, King was satisfied to be within one of the lead, while A. Volturi also recorded a +3 with his brother one shot behind him at +4.

Walking back to the clubhouse from the 18th green was a short distance. Isabella ducked in to clean up before going to lunch and then meeting up with Edward before the afternoon round began. Isabella took off her shoes and left them at the attendant's room window for Laurent to clean, as he knew she only had the one pair to play in and then showered, making sure not to get her hair wet.

Getting out, she fixed her hair into a bun she had perfected after seeing Audrey Hepburn wearing one. She did her makeup, slipping into a pair of heels, and heading for the mixed grille for lunch.

Walking over to grille, she noticed that it had been opened up into one large space to accommodate the number of players, but as she was about to enter, a waiter at the grille stopped her. "I'm sorry miss, you aren't allowed in here today."

"But this is the mixed grille side and the entire grille was reserved for players and I'm a player in the Open." Bella pleaded, but it was a voice from the smoke filled room that answered her.

"It was reserved for the male players in the Open, you may have found a way into the tournament, but you won't make a mockery of our clubhouse. Why don't you eat at the hotel?" Royce King sneered at her, taking another puff of his cigar.

"The hotel I wasn't good enough to stay in?" Isabella fought the traitor tears that threatened to expose just how deep the hurt went.

"King, it's a sandwich and some soup, she can eat at our table if you're worried about where she may sit." Garrett Logan commented, but Royce wouldn't budge.

"Fine, have your grille; I'll make other arrangements for the remainder of my time here." Isabella turned and vanished before Emmett and Garrett were able to follow her.

"Just because this is a gentlemen's game, doesn't mean that playing it makes you one." Emmett growled as he walked past the men who had done nothing to stand up for their fellow competitor.

"I don't know why you care so much, she won't even be here come tomorrow." Alec quipped, but Garrett spun on him.

"Did you venture a glance at the leaderboard on your way in? She stands four strokes ahead of you after that atrocious showing. You showed your age on that course while Miss Swan, who is only a year older than you, showed a grace well beyond her years. She managed to impress Emmett here, as well as O'Hare, both of whom watched her play a fine round. Perhaps you should think on that before you run your mouth right out of this tournament." With that final outburst, Emmett and Garrett both left and went to lunch at the hotel.

Meanwhile, Isabella ran to the locker room and knocked on Laurent's window. By the time he had come in from the men's locker room, Bella was reduced to tears at the embarrassment that her search for a meal had caused her. After pleading with Laurent to find Edward and bring him into the locker room, which he refused to do because of the club rules, he instead brought her into his room and went off in search of her caddie.

Finding Edward outside, he asked him for help with something and quickly escorted him to the door to his room between the locker rooms. "The men's locker room is closed until one hour before the start of the second round to give me time to clean it, so you'll have plenty of privacy. After I bring her lunch, you won't hear from me unless you need anything."

Laurent walked away and into the men's locker room as Edward stared at the door. Opening it slowly, he saw Isabella's slumped posture as she cried into her hands. Crossing the room quickly, he knelt in front of her and pulled her forearms, exposing her tear soaked face. "What happened?"

"It's stupid, I know that…but I thought that I was included…" Bella started crying again and Edward pulled her into his arms as he stood up.

"What, Bella? I'm lost here."

She caught her breath and with the exception of a few sniffles, had regained control of herself as she began to speak. "They opened up the divider in the grille, making it one large room, and it was closed except for players so I went there for lunch and-"

"They turned you away?" The anger in his voice was well masked as he thought of the ungentlemanly manner that they had treated her.

"It was worse than that. They were so cruel about trying to put me in my place. Logan and McCarthy were the only ones who stood up for me, offering to let me eat with them, but no one else budged."

Edward hugged her tighter, chancing a whiff of the strawberry essence she had left on his coat the previous evening. "Bella, they're scared of you. You're playing much better than they expected. Hell, you're playing better that most of them. They're just trying to throw you off your game; the key is not to let them." Edward thought for a minute before continuing. "I'm glad that Laurent came and got me. I'd hate to think what another hour of self doubt would have done to your second round. You have to maintain this afternoon. You're already well above the cutline, so we just have to find a groove and set yourself up for tomorrow."

"They say the rain's supposed to be bad tomorrow, it may push it into Saturday."

Edward smiled at the return of the Bella he had come to know over the past 24 hours. "Then we'll keep this going into the weekend, when is your train home?"

"Sunday, I wanted to make sure the golf would be completed so they wouldn't have to fight to switch me to a later train in case I made the cut."

Laurent arrived with Isabella's sandwich and Edward sat with her, talking strategy for the upcoming round while she ate. As she watched him talk excitedly about the shots she had made, she realized just how closely he had been watching her. She blushed in realization that, at least for her, this was beginning to grow into something far more than a caddie/player relationship and she was dreading the thought of Sunday.

Okay all here is some of the golf stuff mentioned above. Any hole is divided into several surfaces:

The fairway - the shorter grass that covers a large portion of the hole.
The rough - the taller grass that is harder to hit out of.
The green – the very well manicured grass where the hole is.
Bunker – or a sand trap, it is a hazard that is dug into the ground and filled with sand.
Water Hazard – just like it sounds, it's a body of water that is in the field of play. Hitting the ball into a water hazard costs you a stroke.

Other terms mentioned are:

Dogleg – any bend in the fairway. (Usually described with the direction of the bend.)
Address – the act of taking your stance at the ball.
Card – a term for the score recorded, referencing the score card it would be written on.
In Regulation – hitting the ball to the green within two shots of the par, 1 for a par 3, 2 for a par 4 and 3 for a par 5.
Lip out – to have the ball run along the outer rim of the cup and then continue to roll out.

Also, you only yell "fore" as a warning if your shot may hit someone.

Last, if you are ever looking for pictures from this story to help explain it, the post of it on twcs has the pictures on the bottom of each chapter.