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Chapter Twenty

Sunshine

EPOV

It had only been recently that I had been allowed to carry Bella. Being in Forks made me want to carry her more often that I had in the past few decades. There was something about running with Bella through the forest in Forks that took me back to the days of when my carrying her was a necessity, back to when she was still a mortal human. I had not regretted that Bella had changed and I truly didn't miss her being human. It had been heaven and hell together every moment that I had spent with Bella when she was human. It had gotten easier for me after I had went to Italy and had thought I had lost her. I had always wanted her blood, but when I thought I had lost her, I could ignore it just as I did with all the other humans. But going back to our early days together always made me feel very lucky that I had ended up with the existence I have.

We got to the cottage just minutes after we left our parents home. Loving Bella was one of the three most beautiful things I had in my life, our children being the other two. Being immortal together gave us no curfew for which we must go to bed and prepare ourselves for the next day. When the early morning came, the sunshine coming through the windows, we knew we had to get up and prepare for our human day. Bella was putting her clothes on, I could feel her sifting through the drawers, smelling the scents to find her denim. Edward, the weather forecast calls for a lot of sunshine today. No school. "Thanks, Alice," I said aloud.

Bella came into our room, "No school?"

She had gotten use to mine and Alice's communication. Much of the time being a mind reader can be a major annoyance, especially when guys like the Newton boys were around. But being able to communicate with our family without picking up a phone, that was priceless. Bella had even told me on occasion that she had wished she was the mind reader. "School's out for the vampires today. Its going to be a sunny day."

I didn't have to explain, Bella would have figured it out when she realized that the sun was beaming down on our cottage in such a way, and with such strength, that we were sparkling while sitting in the house. Esme had made sure the windows in the main house were fully lined with tint so that if we should have a guest stop by, there wouldn't be any problems with the sparkling skin we possess. Our cottage, she had not done that to. Esme knew Bella would love for our cottage to be as close to original condition as possible, without too many improvements, and she nixed the idea of tinting our windows. Not that it would make a difference as our family, Jacob, and a few of the other wolves were the only ones that knew the location. No humans would ever go that far out into the woods unless they were totally lost anyway.

I strolled over to my Bella. I couldn't explain to her the love I felt for her. I knew that she had thought that I was feeling upset, disappointed last night that she had chosen to ask Jasper to train her before me, but I was also feeling mesmerized. Bella had always mesmerized, as a human and then once she became immortal, and that had not ceased. Watching her fight with Jasper literally blew my mind. She was quite amazing considering she had never actually had to physically fight anyone before. I knew that she was ready both times the Volturi visited, and even as a human she had wanted to help us with the newborns but I was caught unaware how capable she would be a fight. Bella had gotten the best of Jasper several times last night. I was quite proud of the fighter my wife was and I knew that with Jasper's help, she would be magnificent and would hold her own in whatever bout that lay ahead for us.

I brought my arms around Bella. She lifted her shield. Shall we stay inside today? Or would you like to venture out? The scenes of our love from last night played out in her mind. Every time my Bella allowed me to have a glimpse inside her thoughts, my love and the pure joy of her sharing this gift with me would leave me astounded. I had played over in my mind so many times in our early days how I wished I could read her mind, but now, in the way that I could, it seemed so much better than what the possibilities would have been if I had read it from day one. "Love, we can do anything that you choose," I answered. "Being with you in any way makes me happy."

Bella's lip curled upward as she thought. "I would like to visit our meadow," she declared. "I had missed it so much while we were gone. I don't want to waste any opportunity to lay with you in the one place that you had been able to let me see you. And after, I would like to visit my father's home."

I headed toward the door, slow at first, then I called back over my shoulder, "Let's see who gets there first, Mrs. Cullen."

I felt as Bella passed by me and I held back as long as I could. I bounded out the door and through the trees beside her. I could have bounded toward our meadow at my full speed and I would have left her behind, but I preferred to run along side of my wife, making us equal. I reached out and took her hand. It brought me great pleasure to see my wife enjoying herself, being carefree after the days we had just prior had. Her pace slowed and she came to a walk as we reached the meadow. Bella led me to the very place we had laid down in the grass together for the very first time. I had remembered easily where it was, I hadn't thought she would. She placed her head on my shoulder and kissed her forehead. "Bella, you have given me everything."

She ran her fingertips slightly over my chest as she had always done. The electricity between us had not faltered in the slightest over the last seventy years, it had only grew stronger. Bella had always been worried about that before her transformation. I recollected how I should have described to her that all of her senses would be magnified and that the love an immortal feels is more strong than any human emotions. But I would not have been able to tell her that because I hadn't really known. Carlisle had tried to explain it to me, but it was difficult for me to understand as the only emotions that I had ever felt in a romantic sense had only been with Bella. I knew that she would be the only woman I would ever love. "And you, Edward, have always been the one."

I gave her a sly smile. I knew that there had been one point in time that almost rendered her statement untrue, but over the years, I finally realized that the feelings that she felt for Jacob had not been what I had thought. She did love Jacob at one point in time, differently than we all love him now, but it hadn't been the kind of love she and I share. The love she had for Jacob was more of a sisterly love but he had been un-accepting of that and had tried hard to convince her otherwise. Carlisle had said this life chose her and he had been right. She was born in such a time that would correlate with when I would find my mate. Bella and I were born to be with each other. No other explanation could exist. Jacob and I had purely hated one another, came from two clans that hated one another. Bella had brought the peace we needed and had even given birth to the mate of Jacob. That was still a sore subject even after all the years. I had even grew to love him as a son. Rose even tolerated him now. "Ah, Bella, our love has brought so many joys to so many lives. For these, I am quite thankful. For you, I owe a debt. I am not deserving of you."

Bella gave my arm a slight tap. We lay in our meadow, wrapped in one another's arms, loving one another. The sun beamed down on us, leaving us to sparkle. "Bella, Bella…" is all I could muster out of my lips.

"What is it love?" she asked. She brushed her lips softly against mine and then lay back to take in what little of the sunlight that remained. "Yes?"

A light chuckle left my throat. "I was just thinking, you always said when you were a human that I dazzled you, well, darling, you are dazzling me now. My precious love, you are so magnificently beautiful." I twirled her hair between my fingertips. "I had not ever imagined being able to lay with you like this here. I know Alice had saw you as one of us, but I had wanted to protect you."

Bella rolled onto one side, propping her head up on her hand as she flexed her elbow to do so. "And how do you feel about it now? After more than seventy years with me? Would you have preferred that I stay human and you be laying here with a wrinkled old lady?" Her giggle escaped her voice. She knew my answer.

"Of course I prefer this. And let's face it, you wouldn't be laying in this meadow at that age. You would have broken if I ran with you."

Bella stood up and offered her hand to me. I took her hand and stood beside her. She kissed my nose and giggled again. "I think we should get going. The sun is down now and we wont have to worry about scaring the good residents of Forks with you dazzling, sparkling self."

I nodded and we bounded off toward her old home. It took just a few minutes and we were inside what had once been her home, the home were I wasn't allowed inside the front door at one point in time. Bella walked toward the kitchen and I heard her mutter. I ran to her side. "She has been here. Not inside the house, but I can smell that damned immortal!"

The smell of the unknown immortal flooded my nostrils as I began to sniff. I opened the back door, inspecting it before doing so. The scent was all around the backyard. I watched as Bella jumped upward, inspecting the windows as I had. "I can smell her too. The scent is hours old, Bella. She is gone from here. Lets go inside and check the upstairs. Just to see if she had come inside."

Bella and I ran up the stairs but the immortal's scent was nowhere. "I don't understand why she would come here. Nobody lives here and there shouldn't be any immortal around that would know that there are ties between me and this house."

I saw the panic in Bella's gestures, in her voice. "Bella, she probably traced your scent here."

Bella began to shake her head no. "That isn't it, Edward. Remember, Rose and Emmett said she doesn't understand her instincts. She wouldn't know that I have a scent. She didn't recognize that Rosalie had a scent. She attacked Rose like Rose was a human. They scared her. You saw Rosalie's memory. Do you really believe that?"

I knew Bella was right. The immortal wouldn't know to follow Bella's scent. She didn't register that other immortals have a unique scent to our kind. I had tried hard to pick up any thoughts from the mind of this immortal but it is hard for me to find the thoughts of those I have not met. "Yes, love, you are right. Perhaps she was passing by."

"But we've all discussed it. She probably has never left the forest." Bella was persistent. She believed this immortal was sent for her. "Why would she come here?"

I thought for a moment for an explanation that would not only satisfy Bella, but would also make more sense of what the immortal woman was doing in the vicinity. "Love, this home isn't far from the forest, its just barely beyond. I would think since Emmett and Rosalie had fought with her, she has ran. She has come out of there, looking for refuge. Probably trying to find an empty house she could go into and hide. I'm sure she recognizes the sparkling effect she has and knows she cant be out too much. I don't think it has anything much to do with you personally, Bella." I began to focus my attention. "I'm going to try to tap out as far as I can and see if I can recognize her mind. I've tried but its difficult when I've never met or been around another. Its easier to find immortals, their thoughts are more clear and she hasn't been gone too awful long from here."

Bella nodded instead of speaking, so as not to interrupt my concentration. I put all of my energy into concentrating. I could hear many of thoughts around me. The lights are on in the old Swan house. I hear the great granddaughter of the old police chief has the house now. Bella's neighbors definitely paid attention to the home. I could hear the football game on the television four houses down. How will I tell my parents that I am pregnant? I cant be pregnant . I am a junior in high school. The poor Johnson girl…she was in tears at her news of motherhood. And then finally, I wont let anyone push me out of my forest. I will go back. I must find a place to hide tonight. But I will go back. And I will make that blonde one pay for hitting me. Who are they? They looked familiar. How could it be? They are like me? "Bella, I heard her thoughts. She plans to go back to the forest."

Bella sighed as she sat down on the edge of her old bed. "At least we know."

I touched her face, turning it so that she would look at me. "She's upset with Rosalie. She wants to avenge Rosalie. And she had a thought, 'they looked familiar'. I would think she is referring to Rose and Emmett. Maybe sometime over our travels over the years, we have been near her, or Rose and Em have been. I don't know. She's out of my range now. I need to warn the others."

Bella sat there, thinking deeply of the news I had just given to her. "Could you please call the others?" She sat quietly for a few moments more. "I would like to stay here tonight."

I answered her and opened my phone. "Carlisle, I've read her thoughts. Just briefly. She plans to return to the forest. We need to be prepared. We need to talk strategy."