A Simple Kind of Man

by Dahlia23

Coauthored with Maggieloo402. When Bella, card carrying city girl, is forced to take a trip to the deep south, she finds everything she never wanted. Can Edward, good ol' country boy, be all that she needs?

2. Deer, Fish, and Tea, Oh My!

A/N:

Wow, it's been forever! Maggieloo402 and I fail for not updating sooner. We hope you're still with us-if you are, you'll be happy to know that the next chapter is almost written, so you won't have to wait too long for it.

This story has a play list, and a beautiful banner (made by AlisXGraveXNil)-links are on my profile.

A note about Edward's accent: We've worked really hard to make this as readable as we can-I know if you're not familiar with the accent, it may be hard to read. I'm from Southeastern Kentucky, and Edward's accent is very similar to mine. Also, I've come to realize that I also think with an accent-my internal monologue is pretty Southern. J With that in mind, after a lot of discussion, we decided that Edward will also think with an accent.

Also, huge thanks to DaniaMCullen, PKMarita, and AydenMorgen for all your help.

Deer, Fish, and Tea...Oh My!

EPOV

I watched Bella stand there screechin'-enjoyin' the show she was puttin' on. Her long hair was swingin' behind her, her arms were flailin' around, and it looked like she was havin' an epileptic seizure right there on the porch of my momma's diner.

"Edward, go help the poor dear. She's gonna go into shock ov'r your dang deer."

"Yeah, Momma, I will."

I got up, walked outside, and stood behind Bella. As soon as the door clanged shut, she stopped her bellerin'.

"You," she spat.

"Me, darlin'. How'd ya guess?"

"I could smell you, you stinky bastard. God, you're disgusting!"

"Oh, honey, I love it when you talk all sweet like to me."

She spun and faced me. Her face was blazin', her eyes were wild. Her lips were pursed, and her chest was heavin' like a coon dog that'd just caught its game.

Fuckin' gorgeous.

"You're the most infuriating person I've ever met in my life! And let me guess, this monstrosity belongs to you, right?"

"Monstrosity? Surely you don't mean Oscar?"

"Oscar? Is that what you're calling that dead animal sprawled across the top of that excuse for a truck?"

"It's a deer, Bella. Y'know, from huntin'. Or doncha know what that is, yank?"

"Oh, I know all I need to know about you, Edward. In fact, I know all I need to know about this place and all the stu-"

"Watch your damn mouth. You can insult me all you want, I don't care. Hell, I kinda even like it. But don't ya fuckin' dare talk like you know shit about this place, or anybody in it."

"What? Hit a nerve, did I, Hillbilly? You kill for fun, walk around covered in deer urine, and everyone looks the other way-like that's normal! Well, guess what? There's a whole world outside Millerville, and anyone with common sense would leave this place and never look back. Unfortunately,it looks like there's a shortage of common sense around here."

"BELLA!" her dad interrupted. "We need to leave. NOW."

"Fine, Dad. I think this 'southern air' is getting to me," she said, rolling her eyes at me.

I could tell 'er daddy was gettin' pretty upset, so I decided to help her out.

"Mr. Swan, Bella and I's just havin' a little diff'rnce in opinion."

He coughed lightly. "I heard. In fact, I think all of your mother's customers are enjoying the free show you two are giving them with their meal."

I looked, and sure 'nough, ev'rbody was starin' at the scene we were causin'.

Bella ducked her head-I could see her cheeks turnin' pink from embarrassment.

Damn. Beautiful.

I walked away-it looked like she and her daddy were about to have a little talk and she wouldn't want me to hear it.

"Edward, wait," he called after me.

So much for walkin' away. I stopped a few feet away, to give them some privacy.

I tried to not listen to their conversation, but I couldn't help overhearing.

"Bells, will you wait for me in the car?"

"Dad! I am not a child! You can't just send me to the car so you and the hick can discuss me!"

"Isabella, do you see that bright yellow thing in the sky? Last I checked, the world revolves around it, not you. Now, for your information, Edward here was close to your grandfather-I need to speak to him."

"Dad, I-"

"Please, Bella. I'll be there in a minute."

I kept my head down, pretendin' I hadn't heard their entire conversation. I looked up as I heard the sound of gravel crunchin' and Bella said, "Fucking gravel! Can't these people have normal pavement?"

Chuckling under my breath, I watched her stumble before righting herself and sliding into the car. There was just somethin' about that girl...

Mr. Swan cleared his throat, gettin' my attention.

"I, uh...I'm sorry...you know," he stuttered, nodding toward the car where Bella sat, with her arms crossed over her chest and a scowl etched upon her features.

"No harm, no foul, sir," I smiled.

Mr. Swan grunted, changing the subject. "I've heard a lot about you over the years, son. My dad was always telling me how you took care of him-you know, with me being so far away."

He shuffled his feet and averted his eyes-I could tell he was in no mood for the heart-to-heart we were hedgin' around.

I nodded my head in his direction and said, "He was a good man."

"The best," Mr. Swan agreed. He took a deep breath and looked me in the eye as he held his hand out. "Thank you, Edward. For, well, for everything."

I nodded and took his hand before looking away. I was just as uncomfortable as he was.

"Alright, then," he said, dropping my hand. "I had better run-I've got a lot to do over the next few days."

"Mr. Swan?"

"Call me Charlie, Edward."

"Yes, sir," I smiled. "I've got to take the buck over to the taxidermist, but if it's all right with you, I'll come cut Grandpa Swan's grass."

"That'd be great. I'll see you later." He turned and walked to his car. Bella had softened some-she wasn't scowling, but she still didn't look happy. I gave her my best grin and waved, and she rolled her eyes dramatically and looked away.

BPOV

The car ride to the hotel was completely silent. I knew I had seriously offended Charlie, but I couldn't find it in me to care. He dragged me to this shithole in butt-fuck nowhere and expected me to smile and tell fucking Edward how great his bloody dead deer is? Hardly.

I stole a sideways glance at Charlie and saw that he was smiling out the window as if there was nothing wrong with this God-forsaken town. The observation made me sigh in frustration and deepen my scowl.

I continued to glare out the window as we passed through what I assumed was the center of town. We passed a barber shop with one of those red, white, and blue striped poles spinning outside the door, a family owned pharmacy a little later where I could see people sitting in the window seats drinking tall milkshakes, and too many antique stores to even count.

"This whole damn town is an antique," I muttered under my breath, earning a sharp look from Charlie.

A nervous feeling began settling in my stomach as we passed hotel after hotel without ever stopping. It was a small town-I knew there weren't that many hotels to choose from.

"Are we almost there?" I snapped after we passed the third hotel, which looked more like an oversized crack house, but boasted the words "Betty's Motor Lodge" on a faded sign outside. The shops had become few and far between and a nervous edge was mounting in the pit of my stomach.

"Almost," Charlie replied simply.

I huffed and sat back in my seat, my worry not assuaged by Charlie's short answer. I tried to ignore the turn into a neighborhood a few minutes later, but my worst fears were realized as Charlie stopped the car in front of an old white house on the corner.

It felt like the bottom dropped out of my stomach as I stared at the old house. "What the hell are we doing here?" I shouted as Charlie stepped out of the car.

He gave me an incredulous look. "Get out of the car, Bella."

I got out and stormed around to face Charlie. "I am not staying here," I demanded.

"Yes you are," Charlie replied in a bored tone as he brushed past me and opened the trunk to retrieve our bags.

"Dad, that place is awful. It smells like mothballs and cheap air freshener. I need the internet for work and I know Grandpa Swan didn't have wi-fi."

Charlie just stared at me for a moment. "Bella, this is important. We are his closest family. We have things to take care of here. I'm sorry that my father's death is so terribly inconvenient for you, but that's just the way things are. Get rid of this attitude and come inside. Now." He picked up both of our bags and walked purposefully to the front door of the house.

I scowled after him for a moment, knowing I really had no choice, but not quite ready to admit it yet.

As Charlie stepped into the house, he turned to look at me pointedly and then disappeared into the dark interior of the house, leaving the front door open behind him. It wasn't an invitation.

I pushed away from the car I had been leaning against and started toward the door.

The house was just as bad as I remembered, smelling of the odd combination of mothballs and air freshener. Terrible.

"Your suitcase is in your room," Charlie called from somewhere on the other side of the house.

I didn't respond, but moved down the hallway to the bedroom I had stayed in as a child on the few occasions we had visited.

It looked the same as it always had. Faded pictures decorated the walls and the same flowery bedspread that Grandma Swan had chosen decades ago. Charlie had set my suitcase on the bed, so I unzipped it and began rifling through my things, dividing them into piles to put in the drawers.

After I sorted my clothes, I took my bag of toiletries into the bathroom across the hall to freshen up. My hair was frizzy from the humidity, and my sharp bad mood returned at the sight.

After fixing my hair and reapplying a bit of makeup, I returned to my room. It only took me a moment to realize that there was nothing to do here, and I ended up sitting on the foot of the bed, staring out the window.

A few silent minutes later, there was a loud grunt of a motor, and I rose from the bed to find the source of the noise. As I walked to the window, I noticed a shirtless man in the yard next door bent over a lawn mower, pulling the cord to start it. The engine finally choked to life, and as the man stood to push it across the yard, I immediately recognized him.

Edward.

My stomach did a backflip and I darted away from the window.

When my heart stopped hammering, I decided to chance another look out the window. I moved to the corner of the window and peeked out. He had his back to me now as he pushed the mower in the opposite direction.

I watched the muscles move under his tanned skin almost as if the sight were mesmerizing. They seemed to move in rhythm with his long strides, skimming his back as he moved across the yard. I found it hard to believe that he was such a horrid man as I watched him. From a distance, he was almost...attractive.

He had been infuriating today in the parking lot of the diner with his dead deer and cocky attitude, but to be honest, I hadn't been much better. I knew my brain to mouth filter went to shit when I lost my temper, and that was the case today as it had been so many times before.

He probably thought I was a stuck-up bitch. I felt my face redden at the realization. Of course he did. I wasn't happy to be here and that was no secret.

My attention focused back on the figure outside the window, and my heart jumped to my throat.

He was now pushing the mower back in this direction, and I realized he had been staring at me as soon as I glanced up. Our eyes met and a peculiar look crossed his face. He recovered quickly and raised a hand from the mower to wave hello, and I immediately felt guilty for being so rude earlier. It had only made it worse that he didn't appear to be angry with me. I raised my hand to wave back, and his handsome face broke into a grin. My heart thumped admonishingly and I knew I couldn't leave it like this. I held up a finger to indicate for him to wait for me, and I hurried out of the room and down the hall to the back yard.

When I stepped out of the house, Edward was standing at the edge of the patio waiting for me.

"Hey," he greeted casually. Even in such a simple word, I could hear the twang of an accent in his voice.

"Hey," I replied. I knew the words that needed to come, but now that I was standing in front of him, they seemed impossible to say. "Um, how is your deer?"

His straight expression burst into a full smile as he laughed, but he stopped quickly when he realized I wasn't laughing along with him. I immediately felt like the biggest damn idiot to ever walk the planet.

How is your deer? Really?

"Sorry, that was stupid," I mumbled. "I don't know what I'm trying to say."

He raised an eyebrow at me and his mouth turned upward into a crooked grin. "It wasn't stupid," he replied. "I've just never had anyone ask me how my dead deer is doing before."

My face burned in a deep blush, but the mention of the dead deer seemed to refocus my attention on why I was here, so I took a deep breath before launching into my apology. "Edward, I was a bitch. About the dead deer, I mean. At the diner. I shouldn't have said that. It's not really my business. It's just... It's different."

He crossed his arms over his chest and his face tilted downward, but he looked up at me. After a long moment, he spoke again. "You wanna come with me tonight to a fry?"

I felt my brow furrow in confusion. "What?"

"A fry-fish fry. We're all going down to the lake this evenin'. You should come."

"To a fish fry?"

He raised his eyebrows at me and nodded slightly in affirmation.

"Um, I don't know," I hedged. "There are a lot of things that need to be done around here before the funeral..."

"If ya want me to forgive ya for earlier, you'll come." A playful smile danced on his lips, and I knew he was kidding, but the guilt from my attitude was eating away at me, so I smiled slightly and agreed.

"I'll go."

The crooked grin on his face turned into a full smile. "I'll getcha around six."

"Okay," I replied, "I'll see you then."

I turned to go back in the house, but Edward spoke again to stop me.

"'N don' worry 'bout earlier. Was my fault too."

I smiled, feeling the weight of the guilt that I had been carrying lift from my shoulders.

"Thank you, Edward," I answered before turning once again and walking back to the house.

I watched from the inside of the door as he went back to the lawn mower and began pushing it again, completing the strip in his own yard and continuing mow through our yard as well.

Back and forth, until both yards were trimmed completely.

As the day wore on, I began to question my decision to go to the fish fry with Edward. At the diner, I would have sworn he was the most despicable man I had ever met, but the guilt from what I had said to him had caused me to forget those feelings.

Once I had a chance to think about it, I began to dread the upcoming evening. I hated fish. I thought I had hated Edward earlier in the day. If it wasn't for our fight, I wouldn't have even considered going with him tonight, but my damn conscience had come knocking and I was stupid enough to let it in.

Fucking Edward. Fucking conscience.

I was angry as hell by the time six o'clock came. I spent half an hour stressing about what to wear, which made me feel like a shit-for-brains teenager going on her first date. I hadn't stressed about what to wear since the ninth grade, but this damn place made me question everything I knew about dressing myself. There was dirt everywhere and half the roads were paved with gravel, which I had learned earlier did not suit my shoe collection. The humidity made clothing stick to your skin, and everything felt stifling, and to top it all off, there was a chance of rain tonight.

My hair, of course, was flying in every direction imaginable, standing out in directions I didn't even know were possible without sticking your finger into an electrical outlet. I had to style my hair in loose waves with half the can of mousse in order to keep it under control. I looked odd when I finished. I hadn't left my hair in waves since eighth grade when Anika Gordon told me it looked like a rat made a nest in my curls.

I now sat in one of the creaky, old rockers on the front porch of the house while I waited for Edward to appear. I half expected to be dumped onto the floor at any moment, so I held very still in the chair, not testing its wobbly legs or crooked gliders. I felt the scowl set on my face, but I didn't bother to soften my expression. Maybe if Edward knew I wasn't pleased about going tonight he would let me stay here. I knew it was doubtful as I remembered the way his face lit up when I agreed to go with him.

Speak of the devil. Edward came strolling out of his house, the screen door slamming with a thwack, twirling his car keys around his index finger.

"Hey, San Francisco, you ready to go?" he called across the yard.

I rolled my eyes. Of course he wouldn't have the decency to come over and actually say hello first.

I stood from the old rocker and gingerly stepped off of the porch toward Edward. I noticed his eyes did a quick sweep over my body as I walked toward him, and I suddenly felt nervous and self-conscious.

After going through every article of clothing I had brought, I had finally decided on a pair of skinny Calvin Klein jeans and a designer top that was decorated with tiny sequins that hung loosely from my middle. The outfit was finished by a chunky necklace and black ballet flats that had a beading and lace design over the toe. Casual was not my style.

It did appear to be Edward's though. He was wearing faded jeans with a hole in one of the knees, a faded tee shirt that once had the Alabama football logo on it, and tan work boots scuffed with mud. He topped it off with the same camouflage hat that he had worn earlier, the edges tattered and worn and the dust giving it a faded hue.

He walked toward the truck sitting in his driveway, then stopped to wait for me to reach him.

"Hop in, pretty lady," he invited.

I cocked one eyebrow at him and crossed my arms over my chest.

"This is the same truck you were driving earlier," I stated simply.

"The one 'n only," he replied.

"The one with the dead deer strapped to the top."

"This' the one."

"I'm not getting in there." I shook my head in denial.

"'S fine!" he countered. "I put a tarp o'er the roof so the blood doesn' get'n the truck!"

I rolled my eyes, not considering that any consolation. "Where are the doors?" I asked, surveying the rusty old vehicle with disdain.

He grinned like a little boy who had just eaten a worm. "Emmett's got 'em. He took 'em off last Spring, thinkin' it'd be some great joke-leavin' me without mah truck-but I don' mind. N' fact, I like it better like this. Natural air conditionin', don' have to clean it, and no hassle gettin' in 'n out."

I choked back a laugh. He was serious. He liked his old, beat up, pickup truck with no doors that smelled like it belonged in a landfill somewhere.

"Well, I'm not getting in there," I said. "It's disgusting and it will mess up my hair by the time we get there. We're taking the rental car."

"I ain't takin' no rental car! 'Specially not if you're the one drivin'!"

"Really, Edward? You're going to add chauvinism on top of the list of admirable traits you possess?" I asked sarcastically, turning on my heel to go back inside and get the keys for the rental.

He smirked and crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned back against his truck. "Sugar, do you wanna add being judgemental to the top of your list of admirable traits?" he called after me.

I threw him a dirty look over my shoulder and hurried to get the keys to the car.

I came back out of the house within the minute, the keys to the silver Toyota Charlie had rented in my hand.

"Come on, let's go," I demanded.

I moved toward the car, but when he didn't follow, I turned back. I followed his smirk in the direction of the front porch of the house, where Charlie was standing with a glare on his face.

I knew from the look on his face that I would not be taking the clean, air conditioned Toyota we had rented in Birmingham. After a brief argument, I shoved the keys into his hands and spun on my heel to walk back to Edward's truck.

He was still standing there with that damn grin on his face, like he knew this would happen all along, and it only served to infuriate me more.

"'S not that bad," he said in response to the look I was giving him. "Hang on a secon'."

His outstretched arm stopped me before I could make it to the door of the truck. He leaned into the cab and pulled out a flannel shirt that was surprisingly clean. He unfastened the buttons along the front of the shirt, then spread it out over the seat of the truck.

He turned back to me with a proud smile that made his handsome features dance like a child's. "There. Now you don' have to get them fancy jeans dirty."

I was taken aback by the gesture, and I didn't know whether I wanted to snap at him for making fun of my clothes or to thank him for his thoughtfulness.

I ended up saying nothing, and he gave me a quick wink before circling the truck and gracefully pulling himself up into the cab of the truck. I gingerly followed his lead, trying not to touch the grimy surfaces of the dash or the frame of the truck while I climbed in.

The truck gave an obnoxious jolt and the engine sighed as he put it in gear and began backing out of the driveway. I found a hair tie in my purse and pulled my wavy hair back into a ponytail before the wind could run through it, turning it into an even bigger mess.

As I pulled the elastic tight over my hair, I felt Edward's eyes on me from the driver's seat, and I turned to look back at him, but as soon as our eyes caught, he snapped his attention back to the road.

"Eyes on the road, please," I mumbled uncomfortably.

He chuckled lightly and began turning the dial on the radio, flipping through the numerous static channels until he settled on the worst noise I had ever heard. Steel guitars echoed through the speakers while a male voice crooned unintelligibly. He smiled and adjusted the volume so that the sound filled the cab over the noise of the wind through the open space.

I stared at him, my mouth gaping. "This is what we're going to listen to?"

He turned to me with mock hurt in his expression. "This here's Conway Twitty, darlin'! It's classic!"

"It's obnoxious," I countered.

He rolled his eyes before turning down the radio. "Well if you don' wanna listen to the radio, you gotta tell me somethin' 'bout yerself."

"I'm from San Francisco. I work for a fashion magazine."

He puckered his lips and whistled softly, raising one of his eyebrows at me. "A fashion magazine, huh? Go figure. Which 'un you work for?"

"Vouge. I work as the Fashion News Director."

"You shittin' me?" he asked.

"Am I what?"

He shook his head in dismissal, then restated his question. "Are ya really?"

I smiled slightly, still proud of my new position. "I just got promoted. It was a big step."

"Well congratulations," he said admirably, turning his attention back to the road ahead.

After a few more minutes, I saw the glint of the evening sun off of the water of a lake up ahead, and I knew we must be almost there. There were cars lined up all along the edge of the gravel road, and Edward pulled into place beside the last one before shifting the car into park and hopping out. I slid out, careful to keep the shirt between me and the filthy seat of the car.

I heard the sound of a band playing over loudspeakers as soon as the overwhelming noise of the truck stopped, and I automatically cringed from the noise. I felt an arm hook around my back, and glanced up to realize Edward was smiling down at me, his eyes dancing with inaudible laughter again. I cringed away from his arm slightly, but allowed him to lead me toward the noise of the band and the mass of voices coming from the other side of the trees ahead.

Evening was just starting to fall on the wide area next to the lake, but there was still enough light reflecting off the lake to observe the scene as we walked past the tree line. Blankets were spread across the grass, dotted with families, couples, and groups of friends. There was a pavilion off to the right where people were gathered around tables hosting the dishes of food, and there was a platform next to the pavilion where a band was setting up and a guitarist was picking the strings of his guitar. The land seemed to roll down to the water, where the shore was scattered with rocks of all different shapes and colors, and people were fishing from a short pier. There were old men with fishing hats on and young children in overalls, all with long poles dipped into the rippling water, and as I watched I saw a young boy squeal in delight as he pulled his pole back out of the water. The water dipped and swirled, dancing in the last rays of light before the sun disappeared below the mountains on the other side of the water.

I felt Edward's arm nudge my back again and my eyes left the scene in front of me as if I were snapping out of a trance.

"'S pretty ain't it?" he asked, looking out over the lake in front of us.

"I guess," I replied quickly. I wanted to find something to distract my attention, but being in an unfamiliar place left me nothing to do but take a few steps forward and pretend to find interest in the guitarist on stage.

He smiled that lopsided smile that showed a glimpse of perfect white teeth beneath. "C'mon," Edward urged, placing his hand on my back and leading me toward the stage.

I shrugged away from his hand and scowled at him. I may have agreed to come here with him, but that was no invitation to touch me. As far as I was concerned, he was still the man who reeked of deer piss. No tanned muscles and perfect smile could erase that downfall.

I followed him to the foot of the stage where he swung himself up to sit on the platform and yell at the man tuning the guitar.

"Hey, Jas!" he called.

The man looked up suddenly and found Edward sitting on the edge of the stage, and a smile grew on his face.

"Hey, Edward! I didn' expect to see ya here after what all's happened!"

Edward shrugged and allowed Jasper to pull him up to stand on the stage. "Nah, man, I cain't just do nothin'. I brought Swan's gran'daughter with me t'night."

He motioned to where I was still standing at the foot of the platform, and I pretended to be interested in something else rather than just standing there staring at them. As I looked out at the water again, I heard them both jump down from the stage beside me.

"This here's Bella Swan, Swan's grandaughter," Edward waved between the guitarist and me. "Bella, this' Jasper, good friend of mine."

"Hi Jasper, it's nice to meet you," I replied.

Jasper opened his mouth to return the greeting, but Edward cut him off.

"So you do know how to give a proper greetin'!" he exclaimed. He nudged Jasper and muttered, "You should'a seen the greetin' I got. She's madder'n a wet hen."

My mouth popped open in shock, and I glared at Edward. "And you were so polite!" I argued sarcastically.

"Cain't say I didn' try, darlin'," Edward shrugged. I sighed heavily and turned to learn against the stage, looking out at the water rather than at Edward and his friend.

They continued speaking, but I ignored their conversation for the most part, sending disgusted looks their way when I heard the conversation turn to me or the dead deer.

A few long minutes later, a small, dark-haired girl came toward where we were standing. I couldn't tell if she was skipping, floating, or running-or a combination of the three. Her clothes were...eccentric, to say the least. Her tight black pants wouldn't have been so terrible if they weren't riddled with hot pink duct tape down both legs and covering the two back pockets. Her shirt looked like a BeDazzler had thrown up on it, and she had a headband in her hair that had hot pink feathers flying from it in every direction.

"Jas!" she squealed, jumping into his arms.

I watched as she wrapped her thin arms around his neck and he leaned down to kiss her.

"Guess that's our cue to leave 'em alone," Edward muttered, turning to me as if he were attempting to joke.

I nodded, but before we could walk away, the small woman broke her embrace with Edward's friend and stopped us.

"Wait, you cain't leave!" she squealed. "I just ha' to say a proper hello to Jasper." She peeked at the blond man from beneath her lashes in a flirtatious look.

"Aren't you goin' to introduce me to your friend, Edward?" she asked.

Edward rubbed the back of his tanned neck awkwardly, as if the situation bothered him, before giving a brief introduction. "Alice, this' Bella Swan, Mr. Swan's gran'daughter. Bella, that's Alice, Jasper's girlfriend."

A broad smile covered Alice's face as she stuck out her hand for me to shake. As she pumped my hand vigorously, she looked me up and down.

"I love your clothes," she commented before letting go of my hand. "And those shoes!" she gasped.

I had never heard the word "shoes" pronounced with so many syllables, but I took the compliment graciously. "Thank you, they were actually given to me by a designer I did a piece on last spring."

"A designer?" Alice questioned. "What do ya do? Where're ya from? How d' ya know designers? Oh mah God, what did ya say yer name was?"

I must not have disguised my shock at the deluge of questions very well, because Edward responded quickly.

"Cool it, Ali! Good Lord, I tol' you, her name's Bella Swan. She's from—"

Alice's high pitched squeal cut Edward's sentence short, and she fumbled with a bag that I hadn't noticed thrown over her shoulder. She came up a moment later with a copy of Vogue magazine, practically slapping my face with it as she started bouncing slightly.

"You write for Vogue!" she squealed. "I cain't believe this!"

To say I was shocked would have been an understatement. It wasn't entirely rare that someone recognized my name, especially since my promotion, but that was usually in the fashion circles of San Francisco—not the backwoods of hicktown Alabama.

"I gotta go get Rose," Alice panted, out of breath from all the bouncing and squealing she had been doing.

As she ran away, Edward turned to look at me with a look of shock painted on his handsome face.

"Did I miss somethin'?" Jasper said.

Edward looked at me the same way, and I felt like someone had switched a spotlight onto me under their questioning stares. I shrugged shyly before saying anything.

"I write for Vogue magazine in San Francisco—it's a fashion magazine. I'm actually an editor now." There was an awkward silence while the men processed what I had said—probably trying to figure out what I was talking about—while I searched for something else to say. "Um, does Alice like fashion?"

Jasper grunted a laugh. "Yeah, I guess she follows it about as well as somebody can in this town."

I tried to contain my laugh—that explained the unique wardrobe choice. At least she tried, right? I only had to take a quick glance at Edward to be reminded of how bad it could be.

It didn't take Alice long to come scurrying back toward our small gathering beside the stage, dragging a tall blonde woman by the hand.

She came to a quick stop in front of me and looked between me and the other woman. "See!" she exclaimed.

The blonde's mouth popped open and she just stared at me.

"Bella Swan! What are you doing here?" she finally exclaimed.

"I, um, my grandfather died," I murmured.

Her hands flew to cover her mouth, as if she hadn't realized the question might have been hurtful. If I had really known the man, it may have been.

I felt Edward wince beside me, and I stole a glance at him. He was glaring at the blonde.

"Rosalie, 's tha' really necessary?" he shot at her.

"I didn' know!" she squeaked. "I'm sorry, Edward!"

He rolled his eyes before turning to me. "You hungry?"

"No, that's okay," I replied, smiling at Rosalie so that she would know there were no hard feelings. "I love meeting people who actually know who I am."

The three of us girls laughed together, and Rosalie looked relieved that she hadn't offended me.

"So," Alice began slowly, "Do ya min' tellin' me who the designer was that gave you them shoes?"

"It was actually Manolo Blahnik. We did a piece on his spring collection a few months ago and he admired my take on his style. He let me pick something from the collection as a thank you."

Alice and Rosalie were both staring at me with wide eyes and broad smiles as I spoke, as if my world were endlessly fascinating to them. To me, it was stressful and hectic. I enjoyed telling them about the designer and our interview, and they asked endless questions. I thought they were going to lose it when I referred to the designer as "Manny", a nickname I had begun using in my extensive time working with him. I told them that he was a genuinely nice guy, and he even had a sense of humor when you teased him.

I smirked when I realized Edward was listening to what the girls and I were talking about, even though he was pretending to be engrossed in the music the band was now playing behind us.

"You know anything about Manolo Blahnik, Edward?" I teased.

"I don't know who that is!" he cried in defense.

I rolled my eyes playfully and laughed at him as his tanned face took on a pink tint. Rosalie and Alice noticed and began teasing him mercilessly while I continued to giggle at his discomfort.

"Um, so, you ready to go get some food, Bella?" he asked when the teasing calmed.

"Sure," I replied, feeling a grumble in my stomach that reminded me of the lunch I had barely eaten at the diner. Hopefully there was something partially edible here.

Edward began leading me toward the pavilion on the far side of the area, and I turned back to Alice and Rosalie.

"Have you eaten? You're welcome to come with us."

They both responded with smiles and nods and soon the four of us were weaving through picnic blankets and lawn chairs toward the pavilion that housed the food.

"Where's yer dumbass boyfriend?" Edward called over his shoulder to Rosalie as we neared the tables sprawled with food.

She reached up and smacked the back of his head and glared at him, but responded anyway. "He's comin'. He's workin' out at the park this afternoon."

Edward just nodded.

As we neared the pavilion, a horrible stench hit my nose, and I automatically stepped back, nearly crushing Alice behind me.

"Bella!" Alice squeaked. "Is everything alright?"

All three of them turned to look at me, and I couldn't help the horrible look on my face. The smell was incredible-like something dead. Something that had died a few days ago, and had been festering in the hot southern sun.

Edward, of course, was the first to start laughing at me.

"'S the fish," he said between fits of laughter. "It smells bad, 'n she ain't never smelled it before."

Soon, the girls joined him in laughing, while I was still struggling to breathe through the overpowering stench.

"'S just the fish, Bella," Alice said in an attempt to be soothing. "Don' worry-it tastes nothing like it smells."

I barked a laugh at that. If it tasted anything like it smelled, it would kill us all.

"Come on, Bella, we'll fin' somethin' you'll like," Edward said, motioning toward the tables covered with various dishes-half of which I couldn't identify.

Alice and Rosalie just laughed as they picked up plates at the end of the table and began taking spoon-fulls of the dishes from the tables. Edward went in front of me and picked up two plates from the table and followed the two girls down one side of the table. I watched as he heaped one of the plates with almost every dish available, while carefully considering the dishes he chose for the second plate. I recognized two different kinds of biscuits on the second plate, a too-large piece of fried chicken, green beans with a gravy sauce, some kind of corn goo that I was unsure about, and a pasta salad that I was happy to see.

As we reached the end of the table, I realized the stench had been coming from several heaping plates of fried fish.

"Which 'un you want?" Edward asked, looking from me to the fish.

I surveyed the fish with wide, confused eyes and I shrugged my shoulders.

"I'm not sure I want any of those..." I said hesitantly.

He laughed and tipped a crooked grin in my direction. "Bella, its a fish fry, you gotta at leas' try somethin'."

I scrunched my brow as I inspected the fish, finally pointing to one of the smaller pieces. He forked it off the plate and dropped it onto the second plate in his hands, right in the middle of the rest of the dishes that had already been placed.

"Edward!" I screeched as I watched the fish drop.

He jumped and turned toward me quickly. "What! What's wrong?"

"You put the fish on top of everything else!"

He raised an eyebrow at me. "And?"

"It's all touching!" I whined.

He started to laugh, but quickly stopped when he realized that I was not joking. "I'm sorry," he quickly apologized. "What's wrong with that, sweethear'?"

My face twisted in disgust, and I snatched my plate out of his hands and used the fork I had picked up to scrape the fish away from the rest of the dishes, then worked to ensure a space between each of the side items.

He watched me while I worked, and I could see an amused smile playing on his lips.

"What?" I snapped as I finished dividing the food.

"What're ya doin'?"

I glared up at him. "What does it look like?"

"Looks like you's gotta prob'm with yer food."

"We'll see about that," I determined, inspecting the food on my plate again. "I just don't want the different foods to touch."

He let out a deep, throaty laughter that had his entire face turned up in amusement. "'S all goin' to the same place, darlin'!"

I rolled my eyes at him; I heard the same thing every time someone noticed my eating habits-minus the southern twang. "But it's the way it tastes getting there that matters," I quipped, turning toward the table that ran horizontal to the ones draped with food where the drinks were lined up.

I looked over the different Coca-Cola products and finally decided on one of the tall glasses of iced tea that were lined up at the end of the table. A hot summer evening like this called for something more thirst-quenching than the sugary carbonated mess of a soda.

I picked up my drink and turned to Edward, who was giving me an odd look as he glanced between my tea and my face. He didn't say anything, and I followed him once he picked a glass of tea for himself out to the place in the grass where Alice and Rosalie had spread a blanket and sat with their plates.

We got comfortable on the blanket-well, as comfortable as one can be sitting on the ground-and I began poking at the unidentified foods on my plate.

I hated to look like a dumbass, but I had a serious rule about never eating mystery food. I learned my lesson after I had dined with a Asian designer in San Francisco and unintentionally ordered Frog Sashimi. That was an experience I never wished to relive.

"Edward," I whispered, leaning close to him so Alice and Rosalie wouldn't overhear, "What is all this?"

His lips pulled back into a smile as he looked from me to my plate. I expected a snide comment, but I was pleasantly surprised. "That's corn puddin'," he said, pointed to the pale goo on my plate, fried chicken, green beans 'n fat back with butter, macaroni salad, butter biscuit, and a hush puppy."

I glared at the dishes he had identified before picking up my fork and sampling a small bite of the macaroni salad. It only took a moment for the taste to register in my mouth. OhmyGod. Mayonnaise. Someone had put mayonnaise on pasta. The macaroni salad tasted like dog food, and I forced myself to swallow the barely-chewed food as quickly as possible, reaching for my iced tea to wash the taste away.

As soon as I took the first swallow of the tea, I realized it was not simply iced tea. There was sugar in this tea. Lots of it.

I forced myself to swallow the startling flavor, and as I set the glass down, I realized Edward, Alice, and Rosalie were all howling with laughter.

"What?" I shouted, giving them all equal scowls.

"Well, honey, the fact that ya didn' like the macaroni salad was 'nough to get us all 'riled up, but then ya tried to down it with the sweet tea! Ya must not have known it was sweet!" Alice laughed.

"Sweet tea?" I asked incredulously. "Who does that?"

"You don' like it?" Edward asked, shocked.

I smirked. Between the dog food taste in my mouth from the food and the shock of the flavor of the tea, I hadn't really been able to determine my preference.

The three of them stared at me as I took another sip of the sweet tea. I let the flavor sit in my mouth for a moment while I thought about it, and then swallowed.

"It's a little strong, but I like it," I declared, causing their faces to light up like I had just announced a cure for cancer. "It'd be good with vodka."

The small group around me sat silently in thought for a moment before Rosalie commented.

"Vodka?" She questioned, a smile growing over her ruby red lips. "Cain't say I ever thought of that 'fore." She and Alice exchanged nods while Edward just shook his head.

The girls and Edward began eating, and I began pushing the food around my plate after it seemed we had all decided to try sweet tea and vodka at some point. We listened Jasper's band and commented on various things around us for a few minutes, until a burly man in camo came loping toward our blanket.

I recognized him from the diner earlier in the day, but we had never been introduced.

"Edward!" he crowed as he flopped down on the blanket next to Rosalie. "It's yer Yankee gal!"

All four sets of eyes turned to glare at him, Edward's most of all. "Shut the fuck up, Emmett! Ya think I don' know who's sittin' here b'side me?"

The man shrugged and turned to me. "I'm Emmett," he announced, sticking out one meaty hand for me to shake. I couldn't find it in me to give him a cheerful smile after his rude comment about me, the "Yankee girl", but I shook his hand anyway.

"Bella," I replied simply. He shook my hand vigorously, oblivious to my attitude.

When he let go of my hand, he threw his large arm around Rosalie and gave her a noisy kiss on the cheek.

"Gawd Em, don' be such 'n ass," Alice admonished, rolling her eyes. "Tha's Bella Swan."

Emmett leaned forward so that he could look past Rosalie at Alice. "I know who she is. She's Swan's gran'daughter. Here fer... well," he stole a glance at Edward, "yah know."

"No, you dumbass! She writes for Vogue," Alice snapped.

"N' I care cuz..." Emmett trailed off, then as an aside to me, "No offence, Bella, I jus' don' pay 'tention to fashion."

"None taken," I mumbled, suddenly very uncomfortable with this conversation.

"Yeh wanna go somewhere else?" Edward whispered, leaning toward me and glancing around our group as if he knew they were bothering me.

I nodded, standing quickly and waving at the girls. "I'll see you later," I said politely with a smile.

Edward placed his hand on my back as he took the styrofoam plate from my hands and took it to one of the industrial sized garbage cans lining the perimeter of the area.

I watched him as he walked toward the can, and gave him a small smile as he turned back in my direction.

There was something different about Edward Cullen-something that went beyond the thick accent. When he wasn't covered in dirt and deer piss, I actually didn't mind being around him. He had a kind way about him that was unexpected, but pleasant, even if it was somewhat unfamiliar. He was genuine-a trait that seemed hard to come by these days. His authenticity helped helped me feel relaxed around him. I suppose that is what drove me to agree to spend time with him alone.

As he approached me and once again placed his hand gently on my back, I obliged to his direction and followed him down to toward the lake.

E/N: Reviewers get a teaser for the next chapter. :)