Disclaimer: I only own Jonathan, Marie, and the horses. All the other characters are Stephanie Meyer's creations.
Chapter 5 – Horseback Riding (Bella's POV)
Several weeks later…
Knock, knock. "Come in," I called. The door opened.
"Miss Swan?" I looked up from my book to find Jonathan in the doorway. "A letter from a Mr. Edward Masen just arrived for you." He handed me a letter bearing my name on the front, written in Edward's clear, elegant script.
"Thank you, Jonathan," I said.
"You're welcome Miss Swan," he said before leaving my room. Once he had left, I proceeded to open the letter and read it.
Dear Isabella, he wrote. I hope this letter finds you in good health. It has been a long time since we last saw each other and I would like that to change. Therefore, I would like to invite you and your family to come riding with me and my family tomorrow. Please let me know soon if you plan to join us. Sincerely, Edward. I smiled. Riding with Edward! I could not imagine anything that sounded more fun. Then I remembered that the invitation was to my parents, as well as myself, and that I needed to confirm with them before sending a reply to Edward. I stood up and went to find my parents.
I found them in the library, reading. Still holding the letter in my hand, I approached my parents. "Hello mother, father," I greeted them.
"Bella, darling," my mother cooed. Her eyes fell on the letter in my hand. "Whatever is that piece of paper, my dear?"
"It's a letter from my friend, Edward Masen. He's invited us to go horseback riding with his family tomorrow," I replied, holding out the letter so my parents could read it for themselves.
"That sounds lovely." My mother turned to my father. "What do you think, dear?"
My father turned to me. "Who is this Edward Masen?"
I sighed. "He's a friend, father. We met at the Cullens' party a few weeks ago. Carlisle and Esme introduced us."
My father nodded. "Bella, you had best go send a letter back telling Edward that we will meet them at his house at three o'clock."
I smiled broadly. "Thank you mother and father," I cooed before racing up to my room. Sitting down at my desk, I grabbed a pen and paper and began to write. Dear Edward, I wrote. Your letter found me doing fine. It has been too long since we last saw each other and I was happy to see your invitation. My family and I would like to accept your invitation. We will meet you at your house at three o'clock tomorrow afternoon. Sincerely, Isabella. When I finished writing, I went downstairs and bade one of the messenger boys to deliver my letter to Edward. An hour later, the messenger boy returned with a response from Edward. I eagerly opened it and began to read.
Dear Isabella, he wrote. I'm glad my letter found you in good spirits. I'm even happier to know that you agree with me that it has been far too long since we last saw each other. And I'm thrilled to hear that your family will be joining mine to go riding tomorrow. I look forward to seeing you. Until tomorrow, Isabella. Sincerely, Edward.
The next day…
As our carriage pulled up in front of Edward's house, I smiled. I was thrilled that we were going riding with his family. Ever since the party, I had desperately wanted to see him again. We alighted from the carriage and made our way towards the front door.
"Isabella!" I heard someone call my name. I turned and saw Edward making his way towards us followed by two people I assumed were his parents. When Edward and his parents reached us, Edward caught my hand and brought it to his lips. "It's a pleasure to see you again Isabella," he said, kissing my fingertips. Once again, the spark shot up my arm and I saw in his eyes that he felt it too.
"It's a pleasure to see you again as well, Edward," I said. "Mother, father, I would like you to meet Edward Masen. Edward, I'd like you to meet my parents."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Swan," Edward said, shaking hands with my parents.
"It's nice to meet you too, Edward," my mother replied. My father nodded.
"Now allow me to introduce you to my parents, Isabella. Mother, father, I'd like you to meet Isabella Swan and her parents. Isabella, Mr. and Mrs. Swan, I'd like you to meet my parents." I shook hands with Edward's parents.
"It's nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Masen," my father said. "I'm Charlie, and this is my wife, Renee." (A/N: I know that in the series Charlie and Renee are divorced, but for the purpose of my story, they're not.)
"It's nice to meet you both," Edward's dad said. "I'm Edward Sr. and this is my wife, Elizabeth."
"So shall we head out to ride?" Elizabeth asked.
"Sure," my mother answered. Everyone else nodded. We got into our respective carriages and set out. Fifteen minutes later, the carriages stopped, and we alighted. We found ourselves in a large field that stretched for miles. Six horses were waiting for us, three black and three white. Immediately, Edward walked over and took the reins of two of the horses, one black, one white, and led them towards me.
"These are my horses, Snowflake and Thunder," Edward said as he reached me. Hesitantly, I reached out a hand and stroked the white horse's neck. Snowflake's head twisted towards me. "I think she likes you," Edward told me. "Here, hold out your hand so she can get to know you better." Hesitantly, I held out my hand in front of Snowflake. She responded by nuzzling her nose into my hand. Edward smiled. "Yeah, she likes you."
I smiled. "Which horse am I riding?" I asked.
"Well, since Snowflake likes you, why don't you ride her?" Edward suggested. I nodded and proceeded to climb into the saddle. Edward climbed onto Thunder and together we turned to face our parents. All four of them were sitting on the remaining horses waiting for us.
"Are you two ready?" Edward Sr. asked us. We nodded. Edward Sr. started off, followed by Elizabeth and my parents with me and Edward in the rear. We rode for an hour or two in this little cluster talking and enjoying the countryside. After a while, Edward turned to me.
"Would you care to race, Isabella?" Edward asked me, his eyes sparkling.
"If our parents are fine with us racing, I would love to," I answered.
"Mother, father, is it okay if Isabella and I race to the lake?" Edward asked.
Elizabeth glanced at my parents and her husband, who nodded in approval. "Of course, dears," she said. Edward and I maneuvered our horses to the front of the group.
"Ready?" Edward said. I nodded. "On your marks, get set, GO!" We shot off into the distance, heading for the lake about a mile away. Our horses bounced underneath us as we raced, faster and faster. It was a very close race. Edward and I stayed neck-in-neck most of the way. At the very end, Thunder got a sudden burst of speed and Edward pulled ahead to win.
When I reached the lake, Edward had already dismounted and Thunder was drinking water. I rode up beside him and stopped. Edward reached out and helped me down. As my feet hit the ground, I tripped. I thought for sure I was going to fall until I felt arms wrap around my waist. Edward. Of course. He helped me straighten up, never letting go of my waist. I looked up at him to find him looking down at me, smiling. I blushed, smiling back up at him. His green eyes locked onto my brown ones. We stood like that, his arms around my waist, gazing into each others eyes, until the sounds of hoof beats reached our ears. Our parents. Edward let go of my waist and grabbed Snowflake's reins, leading her to the lake to get a drink. He returned to the group and helped our parents get off their horses and lead them to the water. We spent a half hour resting beside this lake before remounting and riding back to where we had began and returning to Edward's house. My parents bade Edward and his parents goodbye before getting into our carriage. I bade Edward Sr. and Elizabeth goodbye, before turning to Edward.
"Thank you for inviting us, Edward," I said. "I had a lot of fun."
"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, Isabella," Edward replied with a smile. "Will I see you again soon?"
"I can only hope so," I said softly.
Edward laughed and lifted my hand to his lips to kiss my fingertips. "Until next time, Isabella."
"Goodbye Edward." With that, I joined my parents in the carriage and returned home.
So sweet. And now, my dear readers, I have some bad news. I am starting a summer program this Sunday that lasts for three weeks. During this time, I will not have access to either a computer or the internet. So I won't be able to type up more chapters and update my story. However, I will have access to a pencil and a notebook which means that I can write my story in the notebook and type it up and update when I get back. So, if you can just be pacient with me for a few weeks, it'll be worth your while.
As always, reviews are not mandatory, but appreciated.
xoxoxoxoxo, TwilightTeen212