A/N: I really had given up on this story, Bella quit talking to me and was refusing to play. Edward didn't want to be a part; it just didn't fit in his daily routine. Then something happened and Bella started talking again. She talked herself into two full chapters. So I am giving this another go. The chapters will be shorter chapters and I will be writing what they tell me to write. I do not have a beta or a pre reader. I am always open if someone would like to explore that with me.

BPOV

When my alarm sounded at 7 AM I slid out of the bed carefully, I didn't want to wake Jasper up if at all possible. We had gone to sharing the large bed in the back of the trailer. Nothing ever happened, Jasper and I both knew what would happen if it did. While Jasper took his fair share of girls he would never put me in a spot that made me become an outcast for not follow the traditions. I knew the rest of the crew would be heading out around this time. We try to travel in a large group that way if anyone has problems someone is there to help them. I had let Felix know yesterday that we would be taking a side trip. We will still get to Oregon in time but we wanted to spend some time in Reno earning some money. Drunken gamblers were an even easier target than careless teenagers at the carnival. Most didn't know how much they had because of so many wins and lost occurring in a quick order. Plus they always chalked up the unexpected loss of money to a poor gambling move. We would have to be very careful though because the casinos didn't like our competitions for their money. The Casinos much preferred the customer to empty their pockets to them rather than me emptying them to me.

I make a quick stop at the closest Starbucks. After ordering both Jasper and I our morning juice I quickly confused the cashier into giving me a $20. Really has no one taught these kids how to handle a till? You never put the money in the draw until the change is made. Also always count it back. When I give you a five you can guarantee if you don't follow those two simple rules I will walk out with at least a $20 bill. With the way today was going we would make it into Reno close to 10 at night. That would give us a good 24 hours to hustle before we needed to be back on the road to make it in time for the fair in Oregon. Just as I was pulling out on hwy 95 that would take me past Vegas and into Reno my phone rang.

"Hey, mom. How's work?" Pride in a job is what is most important. I only hope mom is getting what she needs this summer. Phil is manager but it takes a lot of jobs to feed the crew that work them.

"Work is going well, Phil has a few jobs that need new roofs and a few new driveways. We had to move to Georgia to get some new life. We figure we could do a southern run with an east coast trip. Maybe finish up around Chicago, about the time that you would be traveling through. You know how much you love the parties that happen in southern Chicago. I could call Eleza and see what they have coming up. I am sure someone is marrying, turning of age, of looking for a bride." Chicago gypsies know how to party. I have been to a few in my days of traveling with mom. I am not sure I would be able to get into one without mom, so it would be good to have her pull some strings. Plus it would be perfect for Jasper. Maybe by then I can have him convinced to let me go and to find him a wife to take care of him. Give him a few little Jaspers to pass his knowledge onto. To live the dream, like all of us wanted. He wasn't a non-traditionalist like mom and me. He was ready to marry someone, he just needed to figure out it wasn't me and that there were many gypsies out there that could do exactly what he needed.

"That sounds great mom. Let me know what you come up with."

"So where you off to now?" Mom never paid attention to the itinerary when we traveled. She just followed the group.

"We are headed to a small town in Oregon, supposedly right outside of Portland. We plan to stop in Reno to get some jobs and then to head on up. After that we are headed to some small town in Washington. I overheard Felix say that he is glad to see this stop back on the stops. He said it used to be a regular but Gramps put a stop to it. Felix swears it was a money pot but Gramps argued it wasn't. I really don't care as long as the money comes in."

I waited for a reply for a long time. I could tell mom was still on the phone but she wasn't saying anything, which wasn't like my mom.

"Hey, you okay.."

"Fine, fine… you have fun.." Then she hung up. Mom never hung up without telling me good bye or that she loved me. She must have been distracted by something. I will have to call her out on it later.

Jasper came stumbling out of the back of the trailer shortly after we passed Vegas. He was not a morning person and it would take him some time before he was ready to converse with me. I watched him in the rearview mirror as he scratches himself and then turned into the small closet bathroom. By time he exited there he was looking a little more awake, but I knew better than to talk until he at least had a drink of his coffee.

Jasper sat in the seat next to me and reached over to grab the coffee I had bought him two hours ago. I am sure by now it is cold and gross yet he drinks it down like it is the last drink he will ever be able to have and I was threatening to take it from him.

"You know, you could have heated that up in the microwave before drinking it."

"Oh I know and someday I will have a wife to do that for me and then I won't be drinking cold coffee. Until that happens then I guess it is cold coffee for me." Little did Jasper know that it was when he said things like this I felt a stab in my heart. I know it is my fault he isn't married yet. I know what I may have cost him by not agreeing with the offer. Yet, here he sits acting like it is no big deal that he doesn't have someone to take care of him like he deserves. I hate that he pays for my sins.

"Yea, well we could work on that. Mom called this morning and said that they could probably meet up with us when we hit the Chicago area and get us in the parties. I bet you could find a good little one to take care of you. Someone that know just how you like things and wants to do that for you." I gave him the look that said; please don't say no this time. He will often go to the parties but he never looks. I wonder how long I can live with this guilt until I decide to give in and just let him pay mom. It isn't like there is someone better out there. At least not that I have seen. Most Gypsy men want someone that loves to cook and clean, doesn't argue with them and gives everything to their man. Now while I love to cook and I don't shy away from cleaning, I am looking for love. That thing that tells you no one will ever be better than this person. It happened for my mom, it has to happen for me.

Mom met my dad while she was traveling. She was out with Gramps and Nona one summer when she was 17. While Gramps was traditional and he was accepting offers for mom, he waited till she was older. He always said it was because he didn't want to be a grandfather in his 30s. So he waited to release mom to the group to wed till she was much older than the traditional 14-15 year. Mom was working the fortune telling tent as usual. Gramps and Nona pretty much ran the show at this point. They figured it was good for mom to learn the trade since it was most likely what her man would do and this would give her a head start, especially since she was so much older.

Mom said it was love at first sight. My dad, it is all I can call him, since mom refuses to tell me his name, came into the tent with his buddies. Dad's buddy wanted to know if he should ask his high school sweetheart to marry him. Mom took one look at his friend and told him, no that if he did that he would go bald and hate his small town life within 10 years of marrying her. She then looked at my dad and told him that he would suffer a horrible fate if he didn't act on what was on his mind at that exact moment. Little did she know, or maybe she did, he was thinking of asking her out. He asked her how soon she could get off. She closed the tent and they left.

Dad wooed her right, at least that is what mom says. Most boys, and I know this from experience, will just walk you over to the corn dog trailer and order. My dad didn't. He took her to some all-night diner in their small little town and they talked all night. They talked about mom and her travels. Our culture and how it works. They talked about how he had just graduated and that he was going into law enforcement. I can just see how that part of the conversation went. It isn't like we are law breakers, we just don't necessarily follow the letter of the law, and we mostly follow the spirit of the law. If it doesn't feel right then the law must not really mean exactly what it says.

Mom said that my dad tried to do everything right. He even offered Gramps some money to marry my mom. Gramps laughed at him. He told him that no way would my mom want to stay in a small town and be the wife of a police man. She had gypsy blood in her and he had honorable law abiding blood in him. They were crossed lovers that fate was playing with. Gramps denied him, sent him on his way. Mom said my dad came around every day that week and begged her to stay with him. He even offered to leave with her. To give up everything he had or ever wanted just for her. In the end, mom rebelled against Gramps, had one very magical night with my dad, but when it came time to pull up tent and move on, neither my mom nor my dad could fight their blood inside them and set it aside for the other. Mom left with Gramps and Nona and my dad stayed in his town.

I don't think my mom ever told my dad about me. She didn't want to make him chose her because of me. She said they made their choice and that was what it was. She knew that one night cost her so much but in the end she gained me. She said that if he had come after her she would have allowed him to be a part of our family but he never did and therefore it wasn't up to her. That fate really had just played its part and I was what fate wanted her to have. I truly think mom left a part of her heart with my dad. I think that is why she never fought getting married the whole time Gramps was alive. Now I think she is lonely and Phil is just a way to not be lonely. But it works for them.

"Peach, are you going to drive or dream over there?" Jasper pulled me from my thoughts.

"I'm just waiting till we get closer to the north. I am sure you don't want to drive over all those mountain passes. You know that men are way better at controlling their vehicle around the curves than women are. It isn't like driving on this flat land we have out here and back home." Jasper jokes. He knows I would much rather not drive at all.

It was hitting late afternoon at this point and I wasn't sure what we still had in the fridge in the trailer. Eating on the road can be just as adventurist as the road itself. I try to keep our fridge fairly well stock so we can have some good healthy food to eat. Sometime, all we have is gas station food, sometimes it is fast food, and sometimes when money is low it is the carnival food. While everyone loves the corn dogs and funnel cakes, they really are a treat that should be enjoyed once a year. When you have to eat them on a regular basis, it can really take a toll on your body.

"So what were you thinking about for lunch? Do you want to just eat out what we have here and then eat somewhere when we land in Reno? Or do you want to stop here?" I asked Jasper. He needs to have food in him fairly regularly or he can get cranky.

"What we got?"

"I don't know take the wheel I will go check." I start to stand and that really freaks Jasper out.

"WAIT girl what are you thinking. Sit your ass down. I get it you are busy if I want to know I need to go look for myself. You know its things like this that keeps all the good gypsies away." He says over his shoulder as he stares into our fairly empty fridge. I hadn't made a Wal-Mart run in a while. We will most likely park at a Wal-Mart tonight so I should be able to fill it up before we hit the road again.

"Who said a gypsy is what I was waiting for. Maybe I was waiting for a someone with roots, someone that will allow me to settle in one place and have the whole white picket fence."

"Please girl, you need to learn to honor the man, any good honorable gypsy man wouldn't let their women stand out. You are there to help them. Let them provide, be the man. I just don't get you sometimes." Jasper came back to sit down. He had a bag of chips in his hand. Looks like it is a lunch made of snack foods.

I reach over to take a chip and Jasper swats at my hand telling me they aren't for me. He slowly reaches into the bag and pulls out carrots for me. He knows how much I love to munch on vegetables when it is a snack lunch. It keeps me from feeling like crap when we travel so much and can't watch what we are eating closely.

"AWE Jasper, you do love me." I said in a southern belle drawl. Jasper just shook his head and continued to eat his chips.

We pulled into Reno shortly after 10. I had to stop and actually get out and walk around. Jasper went and crashed again in the bunk. I tried to find a Wal-Mart to park at but was having a tough time finding one. I am guessing we are too close to downtown. Hopefully before we pull out tomorrow we will run across one.