Chapter 19: High Tide

Thanks to Kapers, my superhero beta. And there are a couple announcements at the bottom of the page for you guys. Oh, and the Fourth of July that is talked about in this chapter is completely real and happens in Forks every summer. I did my research. No biggie :)


And I wonder
If everything could ever feel this real forever
If anything could ever be this good again

Foo Fighters – Everlong

x.x.x

Bella.

I could taste the salt on the breeze that whipped down the crescent-shaped shoreline of beach as I stood ankle deep in the Pacific Ocean. The dark turbulent ocean water was spotted with tall, rocky, tree-studded islands that eventually faded into the mist, where the waters met the cloudy, grey sky in the never-ending horizon beyond. The water crashing against my legs was icy cold and I was almost fighting to stay vertical as the relentless gusts of wind pushed against my body.

Besides, Alice, Jasper, Edward, and myself, the beach was practically deserted. After about a mile and a half hike through the thick, green forest we'd arrived at Third Beach, sliding over slick wet driftwood and stumbling over the rocky shoreline as we raced to the water's edge. It was high tide, so we couldn't go exploring in the tide pools as I had hoped we could, but watching the waves crash against the sea stacks was almost just as fascinating. Water sprayed up in the air with every wave, making it look like the cliffs were spitting the white, foamy water into the sky, like Mother Nature's fountain.

From the corner of my eye I watched Alice and Edward huddled together on a piece of driftwood, laughing as they gazed out into the ocean, their hair blowing against their red, wind burned cheeks. Edward caught my eye and winked, and I felt the smile on my face widen as I winked back and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear and pulled up the hood of my jacket.

I could hear someone entering the water from behind me, and I glanced back to see Jasper picking his way across the shore, cursing under his breath as he made it to my side.

"How in the hell can you stand this?" he asked as he hopped from foot to foot, still swearing and hissing at the cold water. "It's freezing."

I just shrugged, a smile curling on my lips as I watched him doing some kind of jig until finally his skin grew accustomed to the temperature and he was able to stand it without hopping around like a crazy person.

And we stood in silence, breathing in the salty air and staring out into the mist, frigid waters crashing against our knees. I reached out for his hand and slipped mine in his, and pulled down our sleeves to keep our fingers warm. And we stood there quiet, holding hands, and I'd missed this, oh so much.

Ever since Alice's birthday, things around here had changed. I wouldn't say the Jasper and I were drifting apart necessarily, because he still was my best friend and he the only family I had. But everything was shifting, silently and slowly, like the ground we stood on, but at the end of every day the difference was there just the same. Something was happening between all of us, relationships were being reshaped; some solidified some crumbling apart. Things were changing, but not in the way I had ever expected. Take Jasper and Edward, for example. They were, well, they were actually getting along. A couple nights ago, Alice and I had wandered home from work at around two-thirty and found them hanging out in the garage, drunk, and just listening to music and talking. And what I would give to have been a fly on the wall that night. They never used to just hang out. Ever. But I think after everything that's happened, especially at the cabin, everybody's just realized how ridiculous we were being. It was exhausting, keeping up with it all.

I think… maybe we were growing up. And it was weird.

But things weren't all fine and dandy sunshine and rainbows, not yet. Because for as well as things between Edward and Jasper were, they were almost just as bad for Alice and Jasper. I don't know what happened exactly, or how it even happened, but for the past few weeks they had been slowly and quietly drifting apart. There had been no huge fight, no screaming matches, no one event that had changed the way they saw each other…. It had happened so gradually and before our very eyes that it was impossible to know even what was going on. They weren't heartbroken and they didn't hate each other. Hell, most people hadn't noticed. But of course I had. And of course Edward had. But neither of us had any idea what to do.

Jasper and I had talked about it, but he didn't really have an explanation either. It seemed it all began the night of Alice's birthday – they both had wanted some time to process what had happened. He still stayed at their place sometimes, but not as much as he used to. They still talked and laughed, but their smiles faded quickly and they watched each other with a sadness that hadn't been there before. It was heartbreaking – though I think I was more affected by the whole ordeal than Jasper and Alice combined.

Coming down to the beach today had been Edward's idea – he had thought maybe a day out and a change of scenery would do everybody good. Emmett and Rose had opted to stay back for some "alone time" – which had made us raise our eyebrows and snicker behind their backs. But word was their date had gone really well and they just wanted to hang out – out of the shop and bar where they usually saw each other. They were so cute, but honestly the last thing I expected was for the two of them to be doing so well and for Alice and Jasper to, well, not.

"You doing okay?" I turned to Jasper.

Jasper turned his head, his gaze falling on mine. The corners of his eyes crinkled up into a half-hearted smile. "Bella, I'm fine. Quit worrying about me so much."

I rolled my eyes, brushing stray hair off my face with my free hand. "Sorry." I watched as his eyes darted to Alice for the briefest of moments before he gazed back to the horizon. He wasn't as fine as he pretended to be – but he'd come to me to talk when he was ready. He always did. At least… he used to. I hoped that hadn't changed, too.

"So I heard Edward talked to you last week." He spoke with his eyes still on the turbulent water.

I shifted uncomfortably as another frigid wave crashed against my knees. Mine and Edward's talk had been over a week ago - and neither of us had brought it back up again. Not that it was something I wanted to spend a lot of time dwelling on - it had been impossibly painful for both of us. And I was more than happy to turn my back on the whole ordeal and forget about it, even though deep down I knew it wasn't the right way to handle these things.

Jasper turned to me and I realized he was awaiting a response. So I cleared my throat and nodded. "Uh, yeah. Did you know about that? About what he had to tell me, I mean."

He nodded slowly. "Alice… she needed someone to talk to about it, a while ago. It was his story to tell you, though."

I honestly wasn't surprised Jasper already knew. From what I gathered, the past few years had been just as hard on Alice as they were on Edward, and it was understandable she would need someone to turn to as well. What I was surprised by was the fact that Jasper didn't sit me down and tell me the story himself, hoping to scare me off Edward for good. Just when I was beginning to believe we really were past all the petty games, I registered a slight resentment in Jasper's voice that gave him away.

"You didn't think I'd forgive him so easily." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Not really," Jasper shrugged. "But it wasn't the forgiveness I expected him to have a hard time earning."

"What then?" I asked, turning to him in confusion.

"Your trust," Jasper said quietly, his eyes meeting mine. "I didn't expect you to trust him so easily."

"Oh."

"Do you? Trust him?"

I blew out a breath. Did I trust him? It wasn't anything I'd actually thought about. Maybe there would always be the slightest glimmer of fear in my mind when it came to Edward – fear that something would happen and we couldn't be together anymore. Fear that either one of this would ruin this in one fell swoop, or that something else, something beyond either of our control would take us apart. But that was a rational fear with any couple, or so I assumed. That fear had been there long before anything bad had ever happened between Edward and I – because after you give your heart to someone, you're more vulnerable than ever before. But now, of course, there was a new fear, the slightest doubt in the back of my mind. Because although Edward had been fighting his addiction for a while, he hadn't been clean for very long. So of course I was concerned about it. But did that mean I didn't trust him? He'd told me he would never hurt me again. Promised never to touch the drugs again. And if I didn't believe him, then I would never feel the way about him that I felt right now, right? And he seemed so sure. That had to stand for something.

"I trust him," I said finally, looking into Jasper's troubled grey eyes as I spoke.

Jasper just smirked at me, an expression that didn't match the doubt on his face, but he didn't say anything else.

"Bella, Jazz! Come here for a second!" I glanced over my shoulder and saw Alice waving Jasper and I over to the log where her and Edward sat. I looked over at Jasper and we shrugged at each other and began stepping carefully through the water to the beach.

Alice grinned at me as we approached and I settled in on the other side of Edward, and Jazz took a seat beside Alice.

I kissed Edward on his scruffy cheek as I sat down. "Hey," I smiled.

"Hey," he said, tugging on the hood of my jacket. "You must be freezing."

"It's not so bad," I shrugged, but when he bent down and hitched my legs over his lap, spinning me so I was sitting sideways and leaning all my weight against him, I didn't complain. Edward rubbed my icy white feet between his palms, emerald eyes sparkling at me.

"I have to talk to you about something," he said. Usually those words were enough to turn my stomach to ice, but the light in his eyes and the smile on the corner of his lips told me this wasn't something to fear.

"All right," I said. "About what?"

"Something I've wanted to tell you for a while. But… I wanted to wait for everything to settle down for a bit before I sprung it on you. Don't be worried or anything, it's nothing bad," he assured me. "But I wanted it to be like this… because I wanted Jasper to hear it from me too."

I quirked an eyebrow and shrugged at Jasper's questioning glance. I had no clue where Edward was going with this. I looked at Alice, but the expression on her face wasn't giving anything away either.

"All right, shoot," I said finally, the anticipation enough to do me in.

"Okay, well…" Edward cupped both my feet in one of his hands and rubbed his jaw line with the back of his fingers of his opposite hand. "I guess there's really no easy way to ease you into this but…" he looked up, his eyes meeting mine. "You were born in Forks, Bella."

At first, I didn't really hear him. Or I didn't process it right away. I just kept watching him rub his jaw, watching the way the back of his knuckles rubbed up and down the stubble, waiting for the next bomb to be dropped. But the way he was watching me, waiting for a reaction, I realized he must have already spilled it. And as I replayed his words in my mind, my mouth fell open and I gaped at him.

I. Was born. In Forks?

"How do you know that?" I asked.

He shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "Well… the night of your show, Alice's mom and dad – Esme and Carlisle – were there." I nodded slowly. Despite how fantastically shit hammered I'd gotten that night, I remembered meeting Edward's sweet aunt and drop-fuck gorgeous uncle right after the show.

"And… Esme recognized you – well, she recognized the guitar first, I think," he smiled. "But she knew your mom. And, um… and your dad." He spoke so quietly I hardly made out the last three words over the howling wind.

"She knew my dad?" The words were hardly a whisper on the wind, but suddenly I felt like my world was spinning. I looked over at Jasper to see how he was taking the news. He looked about as shocked at I felt, and his eyes were on me, a mixture of concern and surprise on his face.

My dad. My dad. She knew my dad. I shot up, sitting up with my back ramrod straight, my eyes searching Edward's, desperate to find an answer or a clue. My dad was here? He couldn't be here… could he? But if he wasn't here, then where the hell was he?

"W-what do you mean she knew my dad? Is he here?" My words were rushed together. I felt the slightest glimmer of hope, that my dad was here, or somewhere. I had family. Real family somewhere out there. Tears fell from my eyes and I knew they weren't only a product of the cool wind blowing against my face.

"He died, Bella. Before you were born," Edward spoke quietly. "I'm so sorry."

"Oh." Just like that. Another blow to the stomach. Another crack in the heart. I felt Alice reach out and squeeze my hand as Edward's arm snaked around my back and I slumped against him. I felt ridiculous mourning for a father that I had never known, or who had never known me.

"But Bella, there's more," Alice said, and I looked up into her wide hazel eyes and she looked just far too excited for this kind of story.

"Great," I laughed sarcastically. And I felt kind of betrayed because Edward told me it wasn't bad… I didn't want there to be tears. I was so fucking sick of the tears.

"We knew you when you were little," she said, sounding rushed, "Edward and me and you… Esme used to babysit you because she's your godmother and your mom was going through a lot and Edward used to visit all the time back then, and you guys knew each other! When you were babies. Isn't that cool?"

I wiped away the tears as I processed her words. "Ummm… what?" I glanced up at Edward. "I knew you when I was a baby?"

Edward gave me my favorite lopsided grin. "Yeah. Esme said we used to hang out together in the crib all the time. And poor Alice would get jealous."

I felt myself smiling, because more than anything I wanted to believe the story was true. Even if it wasn't – just the thought was enough. "Are you guys fucking with me right now?"

"No!" Alice and Edward both exclaimed together and then laughed.

I rubbed my eyes. "And Esme's my godmother? Seriously, you guys."

"She is," Edward squeezed my hand. "And she's been going out of her mind, she's so excited to talk to you. She can sometimes have the energy of her daughter. And the impatience." Edward's eyes sparkled when he glanced at Alice and laughed.

"Huh." I blew out a long breath, resting my head on Edward's shoulder. "This is crazy, right? I can't… I just… I had no idea." I laughed at my own inability to articulate anything.

"It is crazy," Edward agreed, looking down at me with smiling eyes. "But it's kind of cool, right? Being here, in the same place your mom and dad fell in love."

"It is," I agreed, a matching smile creeping on my lips. The same place my mom and dad fell in love… the same place that maybe Edward and I would… again.

The sun broke through the clouds and I tugged down the hood of my jacket, squinting against the sudden brightness and snuggling into Edward's side as he and Alice took turns telling me about what they'd uncovered about my father. What he did, how he died… I listened quietly, still having a difficult time wrapping my head around all of it. But it wasn't doubt and confusion and sadness I felt, but relief after the years and years of wondering and speculating and giving up hope of ever knowing anything about my father. But finally I knew. And finally, it was another thing I could lay to rest.

That evening, after we got home and I brushed the tangles from my hair and changed into some clean, dry clothes, Edward and I went to Esme and Carlisle's – my godparent's –for supper. Edward's aunt and uncle were my godparents. That alone was still incomprehensible.

They were both so sweet and so welcoming, greeting both Edward and I with hugs and kisses on the cheek. They lived in a large house on the outskirts of town, a place that reflected the warmth and friendliness of Edward's aunt and uncle.

"You guys look like you've had a long day outside," Esme laughed when she looked us over, her thumbs brushing over Edward's reddened cheeks as she released him from his hug.

"We went down to Third Beach," Edward told her.

"Did you?" Esme's face lit up. "Was the tide out?"

"No," I said, sticking my bottom lip out in a mock-pout. "I'm making Edward take me back when it is, though. I'd go alone, but I don't trust myself not to break a leg on the hike out there. But I love exploring tide pools."

Esme laughed. "It's amazing how much there is to find beneath the surface of those waters," she agreed. "I have quite the sea-shell collection. And your mother, she was always convincing us to help her find beach glass."

I saw Edward's gaze dart nervously to mine, but I grinned. "She tried to make a bowl once by gluing together pieces of beach glass. Failed miserably, of course."

Esme's laugh was loud and jovial, and I instantly saw how easily her and my mother must have been friends. "That sounds like Renee."

Then, suddenly, Esme's face was serious and she was at my side, hugging me again. "I was devastated when I heard the news, Bella. I'm so sorry, sweetheart. These past few years must have been rough on you."

And I just found myself embracing the hug, unable to find the words to make this easier.

"But I'm glad you found us again, kiddo," she said quietly as she released me. "Even if you had no idea what you were walking into."

"Thanks," I smiled. "And thank you for being so welcoming. You guys have an amazing home. And supper smells awesome."

Esme laughed quietly. "Speaking of which, dinner's on the table." She started leading me through the living room. "And you're welcome here anytime, sweetheart."

I just grinned, and wondered if it would be weird if I just grabbed her and kissed her. If she was anything like Alice… then probably not weird at all. But I wasn't sure how Edward would feel about my full-on affection towards his family members. I giggled quietly to myself, a fucked up incest-filled SNL skit flashing through my head.

"You kids have a pretty big weekend coming up, huh?" Carlisle said as he led us all towards their large dining room off the kitchen.

"We do?" I asked, turning to Edward.

"Fourth of July," Carlisle answered, and honestly, Edward looked just as surprised as me.

"That's this weekend?" he sputtered.

"What's so important about the Fourth of July?" I asked, taking a seat in the chair Edward pulled out for me.

Carlisle and Edward just kind of blinked at me.

"Bella… you do know-"

"Oh, shut up Edward, I know what the Fourth of July is. But, I mean, what's the big deal in Forks? Most small towns just do their fireworks deal and maybe the odd barbeque, and that's it."

Carlisle chuckled, "Well, Forks kind of makes a bigger deal out of than just a fireworks show. We have what's called the Old Fashioned Fourth of July and it runs all weekend. There's a ton of stuff going on, not to mention Quileute Days going on down in La Push. There's a lot happening. You girls will have a very busy weekend." Carlisle raised his eyebrows. The bar. Right. Of course The Whiskey would be extra special busy for the Fourth of July.

"Jake's having the pancake breakfast on Sunday morning. I'm surprised he hasn't talked to you about it yet," Edward said, raising an eyebrow.

I shrugged. "Well, it's only Monday. Maybe he was going to talk to us about it tomorrow or something."

"Maybe."

"Carmen and Eleazar are coming down," Esme told us, setting a steaming plate of vegetables on a hot plate in the middle of the table. "It might be the last time we see them before they're grandparents." Esme grinned scandalously.

"Who's…?" I looked to Edward.

"Esme and Carlisle's friends," Edward explained quickly. "You know… Tanya's parents."

"Oh." I didn't know, of course. But I'd heard enough about Tanya to pray that it didn't mean she'd be here. I glanced up quickly at Edward, and he shook his head slightly, as if reading my thoughts. I let out a sigh of relief and began dishing up my plate.

So we sat around the dinner table, laughing in between bites of delicious food as Esme shared stories of young Renee and Charlie. I grinned at the beautiful lady across the table, wondering why in the world my mother would lose touch with such an amazing friend. Esme described my mother as a sister, telling us tales of how they'd gotten themselves into trouble many a time as youngsters, sneaking out late at night and meeting up with the boys down at the baseball field, pouring vodka into their slushies under the tables of the school cafeteria, faking sleepovers at each other's houses to spend a night with Carlisle and Charlie. It was all typical teenage shenanigans, but it was a life my mother would never have spoken of. And I hated that I'd never be able to hear the stories from Renee's mouth.

After we finished our meal and got the kitchen put back together, we sat around in the living room and Esme lugged out a few old photo albums. We all gathered around, giggling at the images of Esme and Renee, twenty-some years younger, sitting next to each other on a twisted piece of driftwood, or barefoot on a sandy beach, or on couches in friends' basements. They were laughing, cheeks red, beers in hand almost every other picture. And Renee with her guitar, never without with her guitar. Halfway through the album, I noticed another common trend – a young man, often sitting off to the side, always looking rather quiet and pensive, but his eyes were on my mother in almost every picture, and a hopeful smile lit up his face. It didn't take me long to realize that this young man was my father.

Charlie Swan. And I smiled as my fingers grazed over his face, searching it for hints of mine.

We handed Esme back what had to be the fourth or fifth large album and she slid that last one across the table to Edward and I. I was surprised when it wasn't Renee and Esme's face I was met with, but Alice's. It was unmistakably her, Baby Alice, with a round, chubby face, wild dark hair and a toothy grin. As I flipped the pages, another baby was introduced. Edward as a newborn, cradled in his mother's arms in some dreary white-walled hospital room. Tears sprang to my eyes and my heart ached as I looked into the beaming face of Elizabeth as she gazed down at her son with a smile that lit up the room. I wiped the tears with the back of my hand before they could fall and quickly flipped the page, knowing that it had to be even harder for Edward to see. And what I was met with on the next page suddenly washed away my tears and brought a smile to my face and did something completely different to my heart.

"It's us," I breathed softly, my fingers dancing over the photo of the two babies, dressed in matching Onesies, lying side by side in a blue playpen on the floor. I grinned as I turned to Edward and kissed him, not caring that his aunt and uncle we right there, averting their eyes uncomfortably. I kissed him because it was all here, the proof before my eyes. I had known Edward long before his first day of high school in Jacksonville. Long before that moment in the hallway, where I'd been walking to class, completely unsuspecting of the gangly boy with the strange reddish hair that would turn around at his locker and bump shoulders with me. I had known him long before long before that innocent bump, that shy smile, long before that moment that changed my life forever.

And that night, when I got back to Edward's, I found a folded up picture in the pocket of my jacket. I smoothed out the crease down the middle and stared down at the happy, smiling couple beaming up at me. Renee in a knee-length white dress, a bouquet lilacs clutched to her chest as she laughed, her face lit up like she'd just won the lottery. Her hand was clutching the arm of Charlie Swan, who was looking slightly uncomfortable in a brown suit and tie, but a smile on his face that melted my heart as he laughed with my mother, his hand covering hers.

And on the back was written Charlie and Renee, March 1, 1987. It was only six months before I was born. And I wanted to laugh because it was so classically Renee to get married six months before she was due.

I wiped the tears off the old photo and propped it up on Edward's nightstand on my side of the bed before I crawled under the covers and quickly slipped into a deep sleep, dreaming happy dreams of my mother and Charlie Swan and of two new-born babies, laying side-by-side, without the slightest clue at everything the world was about to throw at them.

x.x.x

Edward.

"Hey, Bella, you got a second?"

She was ignoring me. She was ignoring me because I was annoying her. And she was busy and, well, annoyed – and it was cute. I was grinning as I leaned over the bar and tugged on the rag hanging from the back pocket of her jeans. Her tight, dark jeans. Mmmm. So hot.

"Bella?" The rag fell free and I flicked my wrist, smacking her lightly on the ass with the tip.

"Ugh! Edward! Piss off," she growled, swatting around blindly behind her as she pulled her pen from her mouth and went back to scratching away on the pad of paper before her.

I stifled a laugh. It was a good thing she had her back to me, otherwise she'd probably turn around and smack me. Well, she'd probably smack me regardless. Her and Alice had been swamped all evening, and I was bored as fuck, sitting around with Rose while she waited for Emmett to shower and head over to The Whiskey. Plus, Bella was adorable when she was trying to be mad at me.

"Bella, just a second?" I tried to make my voice sound less teasing and more pleading.

She didn't even reply this time, just shook her head, her hair whipping around her neck and falling down her back.

"But it's reeeeeeally important, Bells."

"What the fuck?" I tried to wipe the smirk off my face when she whipped around, her eyes narrowed at me. "You don't call me Bells."

I shrugged, licking my lips. "Just trying it out. Got your attention, didn't it?"

She sighed, running her hand through her hair, her foot tapping impatiently on the tile floor. "Whatever. What to you need?"

"Just… you look really hot tonight."

"My God," she rolled her eyes and went stomping off across the bar, "How fucking old are you, Edward?"

"Twenty-two almost twenty-three!" I called after her. She gave me the finger. And I collapsed back in my chair, laughing.

"You're such a jerk."

I flipped the bird over in Rose's direction and took a pull of my beer, my gaze still on Bella across the bar.

"You should know by now not to mess with these ladies while they're working. I still have no idea why in the hell that girl puts up with you," Rose muttered, shaking her head.

"Maybe for the same reason Emmett puts up with you."

"What? She's certifiable?"

I laughed, pretending to consider it for a minute. "Maybe."

I heard a throat clear, and Rose and I glanced up to see Emmett towering over the table. "Hey, I'm only crazy for you, baby," he said as he sat down, stretching back in his chair and grinning at Rose.

Rose rolled her eyes. "You're such a goddamn suck up."

"Hey, I gotta be. Otherwise you just yell at me."

Rose made a face and harrumphed, and Emmett made a face back at her. I laughed at the exchange. Rose pretending to be mad at Emmett was like Bella pretending to me mad at me – they were both transparent as hell.

"It's fucking madness in here," Emmett said, looking around the packed bar.

"It's Moonlight Madness," I said, then doubled over laughing at my own joke. Rose and Emmett just quirked an eyebrow and stared at me.

"Dude… what the fuck? That's not even funny."

"I thought it was," I muttered, leaning back and crossing my arms over my chest.

"Whatever." Rose rolled her eyes. "When do we get to get out of here? Aren't Embry and Quil taking over for the girls?"

I shrugged, then pulled out my phone and checked the time. "I dunno, but it's like nine-thirty, so they better hurry their asses up or we're going to miss everything."

"And what? Miss the stinky hayride and the kitschy crafts?"

"Oh, Rose. It's not that bad."

Rose narrowed her eyes at me. "Who are you and what have you done with Edward?"

I only laughed and shook my head. It was July second and the official kick off to Forks' grand Old Fashioned Fourth of July. Tonight was Moonlight Madness (heh), down on Main Street with an outdoor market and food and raffles and all kinds of weird shit. The bar had been open all afternoon with a steady steam of customers filing in, so the girls were stressed and busy. Which was why Quil and Embry were taking over for a few hours so Alice and Bella could get out and relax and enjoy some of the festivities. And, by the looks of things, they needed it.

"Hey," I said, slapping the table and demanding both of their attention. I turned to Rose. "Are you and Jake taking cars through the parade again this year or what?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "Doubt it. Jake's been working on a car for the demolition derby."

"He's actually going to do it this year?" I laughed.

"Apparently." Rose sounded uninterested, like she wouldn't believe it until she saw it. But every year, Jake talked about that shit. The demolition derby was Sunday afternoon, the fourth, and every year Jake talked about entering in that shit. Maybe this would be the year he would finally follow through.

"I think Jasper and Emmett are talking about entering the Mustang in the parade though, so we'll have some one representing," Rose said, pumping her fist in the air unenthusiastically and glancing over at Emmett who nodded to confirm that this was the plan.

"It'll be ready in time?" I asked.

"Putting the finishing touches on it tomorrow," Emmett said proudly. "And damn, that car is gonna look soooo hot."

"Wow." I blew out a breath. "What the hell are you gonna do now, man?" I asked, "Live off your sugar momma?"

Emmett grinned slyly. "Maybe."

Rose reached over and decked him in the shoulder and I choked back my laughter as I finished my last sip of beer. Ah, true love.

Quil and Embry finally showed up a few minutes later, half plastered and reeking of mini-doughnuts and horse manure. I wondered if it really was a good idea to leave them in charge of the bar, especially when it was this busy, but hell it had been all Jake's idea. He could clean up any mess they created. So the girls shrugged into their jackets and joined Rose and Emmett and I to go join the madness down on Main Street.

The second Bella stepped out of the bar she visibly relaxed. She laced her fingers with mine, squeezing my hand gently. I looked down at her, watching her shoulders slack with the released tension with every step we took away from The Whiskey. I wished so much in that moment that she could be doing something she loved here, instead of trying to make ends meet serving booze in a stinky bar. I released her hand and threw my arm over her shoulder, pulling her into my side.

"Hey, sorry for snapping on you," she frowned as she looked up at me, her bottom lip between her teeth.

"Shut up," I laughed, "I kind of deserved it. You're just way too damn adorable when you're pissed off."

She smiled. "Want to make it up to me?"

I raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "How?"

"You'll see," she grinned, then darted out from under my arm, over to Alice who was a ways ahead of us. She grabbed Alice's arm and whispered something in her ear, and they both glanced back at me, laughing, before taking off running full tilt back to the parking lot of the bar. I watched curiously as they stopped at Alice's car and went digging around in the backseat, and then rolled my eyes when Bella came waltzing back to me with a cowboy hat in her hands. I didn't say a word, just ducked down and let her place it on my head. Once she had it adjusted and seemed pacified, she wound her arm around my waist and we continued on our walk downtown. Emmett made whipping noises from behind us, and I held up my hand, flipping him off.

Jasper joined the group in our prearranged meeting spot by Mrs. Gerty's table of oven mitts, available in every pattern and color imaginable. I watched as Alice excitedly picked out a new pair with an American flag design and soon after we all took off in separate directions.

We played games, and Bella kicked my ass at a ring toss, earning herself a prize of a brown stuffed horse, which she proudly presented to me. I laughed as Bella tried on gaudy, homemade bead necklaces, some that were so long they hung down to her bellybutton. I bought her a leather, beaded headband made by a sweet Quileute lady and she pulled it over the crown of her head and I snagged a feather off one of the tables and stuck it between the headband and her hair, laughing because we were now Cowboys and Indians. I called her Sequoiah for the rest of the night, and she called me John Reid, which I didn't really understand until later. We shared apple pie and she bought us both sno-cones, and we kissed the corners of each other's mouths just to taste the different flavors. When we finished, her lips and teeth her stained blue and without a doubt mine were the deep red of my cherry sno-cone.

We met up with Rose, Emmett, Alice and Jasper at ten forty-five to hop on the last hayride of the night. Bella squealed and when I tossed her up on the wagon and the driver standing at the front with the reigns in his hands turned around and glared at us. The horses stomped their hooves impatiently and snorted loudly, their heads tossing back and forth and their matching blonde manes flying about. I flashed the driver a wide red-toothed smile, and he turned back around, grumbling to himself. And as soon as the wagon started moving, Bella called out, "Hi-yo, Silver! Away!" and I realized that by calling me John Reid she meant The Lone Ranger, I swear I've never laughed harder in my life.

We rode on the bumpy wagon down the streets of Forks, through Tillicum Park, past the spot where Bella face-planted and scraped her knees those few weeks ago and around the arena where the demolition derby would be held on Sunday. We all huddled together and Emmett passed around a flask of gin, earning us stern looks from parents aboard the ride, but their kids were too hopped up on sugar rocks and cotton candy to notice.

The Moonlight Madness closed down at eleven, and we all wandered back to the bar where we drank until last call. I drove us home, Bella was all giggly and buzzed, and we raced to the front door through a sprinkling late-night rain shower. Before Bella crawled into my bed, she set her feather down on the nightstand next to an old picture on her side of the bed and rolled into my arms, giggling as she ran her fingers through my hair, which had been flattened at the top from the cowboy hat.

I kissed her neck as she laughed at my hair, and I pulled her shirt over her head and rolled her on top of me. Her headband fell to the floor with her shirt, and her dark hair hung in her face, and as I ran my hands up her sides, palming her breasts and kissing her ear, her laughter quickly turned into quiet moans. Frantic hands undressed us quickly, because there were too many clothes between us and we were feeling too much and were too buzzed for it to be any other way.

I slid my fingers between us, pumping in and out of her, unable to tear my gaze away from her face of ecstasy. She leaned down and nipped at my ear and my entire body shuddered when I felt her hot breath so close. Her hips moved against my hand, and when it was too much, and she was too wet, and I was too hard, I rolled us over plunged into her. My body hunched over her and I let out a shaky breath, because still, that first time I entered her... there were just no fucking words. I supported myself with one arm on the headboard, and my free hand brushed against her inner thigh. I ran my hand down to her knee and lifted it up, hitching it over my shoulder, and her other leg quickly followed suit. She let out a cry, her head thrown back, her body clenching and her legs tightening around me, pulling me closer. My head dropped and I stared into her face as I pushed in deeper. Over and over, in and out.

Just when I knew we were both so close, I felt her hands on my chest, pushing me back. Without a word, she rolled us over and then she rode me, her thighs around my waist, her hands raking at the skin of my chest, desperate to hold on to something. Her head fell back when I gripped her waist and lifted her up, thrusting my hips in and out as she bounced up and down.

And I'd been with enough women to know that, my God, I was one lucky son of a bitch.

She collapsed on top of me when she came, and I followed her, her shudders pulling everything from my body and more. And we laid there in silence for a few moments, our hearts pounding furiously against each other's chests, my fingers tips running lightly up and down the smooth skin of her back. And just when we were about to drift off sleep, her legs still wrapped around me, I sat up, pulling her with me. She blinked at me in confusion as I hauled us both into the bathroom and started the shower. I didn't even wait for it to warm up, just climbed into cold spray of the water and pulled her in with me. She shrieked with laughter as our naked bodies collided under the chilly water, but somehow we found a way to warm each other up before the water did, just like I knew we would.

x.x.x


Whew... ahem. So on Tuesday, April 20 Mac214 is hosting a read-along for I Run to You. If you guys want to participate or spread the word, or just find out what the heck it is, you can find more information at: theficbridge (dot) blogspot (dot) com/

I'm going to try SO hard to have a new chapter for you guys to make the occasion.

And the amazing don't_run started a thread on Twilighted for IR2Y :D you can find it at: www (dot) twilighted (dot)net/forum/viewtopic (dot) php?f=44&t=9295

Stop by, chat, discuss the chapter, spam me with pics of Rob or Jensen Ackles, whatever (LMHW, I'm looking at you bb ;)