Thank you everyone for the reviews this last chapter! I'm glad everyone seemed to like it!
Since Dear Maggie was featured as FotW on The Lemonade Stand, it's up for Fic of the Month. Along with some amazing others. So go vote for your favs please!
http:/ kwiksurveys .com/ online-survey. php?surveyID=LODOFH_a26f809a
Thanks to Stratan for beta'ing, and thanks to stephk0525, twilover76, and LamkinsLou for prereading
Quick note: Edward might've realized that Bella belonged with him and his family (finally), but that doesn't mean he's popping the question in the near future. Or their near future, anyway ;)
Chapter 27
Bella
"Hey, Dad!" I called, opening the front door. "We're here!"
The smell of turkey baking in the oven greeted us as soon as we stepped inside.
"Oh, shit. Charlie's trying to cook." I tore through the house, leaving Edward to stand in the living room on his own.
I skidded to a stop at the threshold, thinking that maybe I was imagining things. Renee and Phil were in the kitchen, chopping celery and onions, while my dad mixed the dry ingredients for cornbread stuffing. Sweet potatoes and green beans boiled in pots on the stove, chicken and dumplings were in a long forgotten Crock-Pot by the sink, and there were pies sitting on the table. Bread rising in a bowl in the corner.
No. Way.
"Mom? Phil?" I whispered.
Renee spun around and smiled. "Surprise, baby!"
"What are you...? What are you uh...?" I couldn't seem to form anything coherent through the grin plastered on my face. "Hi."
And then I was suddenly wrapped up in my mother's arms. She smelled like some kind of floral concoction, most likely something new she'd picked up at the mall in Phoenix, and I was thrown back to a memory. Sitting on the edge of the tub in my mother's bathroom as a child, watching her get ready while surrounded by the many different cosmetic products she always tried. Waiting for her to dust a little eye shadow on my lids and pretend like she was applying lipstick to my tiny lips.
Home.
"I missed you," she murmured. "Christmas was too far away, so I called your dad and intruded on his holiday with you."
Charlie made an opposing grunt beside us. "Don't let her fool you, Bells. I had a conversation with her about you coming with Edward, and your mother booked the next flight out."
"Charlie!" Renee shouted in my ear.
"You didn't," I said, pulling away.
The look on her face told me it all.
"Mom!"
"What?" she said, unable to look at me directly. "I really did miss you."
"Nice excuse," I said dryly.
"Oh, don't be mad." She smoothed out her green sweater and glanced over my shoulder. Her eyes bulged. "Whoa."
I turned around and found Edward standing right where I had just a few seconds before. He was awkward, nervous, fidgeting with his arms and looking absolutely gorgeous in his jeans and rumpled blue t-shirt.
His eyes shifted to mine, dark and unreadable.
I gave him a reassuring smile. "Mom, this is Edward Cullen. Edward, my mom, Renee Dwyer."
"Nice to meet you," he said lowly, his hand coming up to run over the back of his neck.
"Sorry. No one thought to warn me she was coming or else I would have prepped you a little."
Renee jabbed me in the ribs; Charlie simply laughed.
"Phil," I finally said to my step-dad, "you're awfully quiet over there."
"Just trying to stay out of trouble," he chuckled.
My eyes narrowed suspiciously. His attention went back to the celery stalk in his hands.
Hoping that maybe I was reading too much into the situation I asked, "Need us to do anything?"
"The sweet potatoes should be just about done. You could start on the casserole?" Renee replied.
"Sure."
I went across the room and took Edward's hand, dragging him over to the stove with me.
"I thought you said your parents alternated the big holidays every year."
"They do."
"Then..."
"Did you not just hear my dad? I wasn't kidding when I said Renee was overprotective of me. The no sleepovers and parties thing? Just the tip of the iceberg."
"So, Edward, Charlie tells me you're in med school?" Renee started.
"Here goes..." I breathed.
Edward gave me a funny look, and then nodded his confirmation.
"What kind of doctor do you plan to be?"
"Cardiothoracic surgeon," he answered without hesitation. He flashed me a smile.
Renee started to stutter, her eyes dancing between all of us, unsure how to say what it was on her mind.
But I knew my mother well.
"Yes, Mom. He knows," I told her, taking the pot of sweet potatoes over to the sink to dump into the colander and drain.
"Oh, okay." She turned her attention back to the vegetables on the cutting board. "You have family here?"
"My parents and two brothers," he replied.
"All boys, huh?"
"All boys," Edward affirmed.
"Bella, how come they're not here?" Renee asked me.
"Uh..."
"They had to work, Mrs. Dwyer."
She frowned. Whether it was from Edward's formality or the fact that none of his family would be here, I couldn't tell.
"What does your family do?"
"My dad has a practice located inside the hospital. Mom's an architect. My brother, Emmett, owns a garage in town and my other brother, Jasper, is in his last year of med school."
She blinked. "Strong gene pool."
Edward's expression darkened. "We're adopted."
Renee was completely oblivious to Edward's change in mood. "Oh, really? That's nice." she asked. "How old were you all?"
"Edward, could you get in that cabinet and pull out the sage?" Charlie interjected. He had absolutely no idea how bad Edward's past was, but he knew enough to divert my mother's questioning. "We need sage, right, Bella?"
I absolutely loved my dad.
"Yeah."
Edward cleared his throat and did as requested, coming right back to my side when he'd given Charlie the jar of spice.
"That wasn't so bad, I guess."
"Maybe," I said under my breath. "I'm not so sure yet."
"What?"
I dumped the sweet potatoes in the mixer and turned it on, watching my mother as she cooked. She was chewing at her lip and sneaking looks over at Edward, her brow furrowing in thought each time she did. Her movements got more pronounced and aggravated as she moved through the kitchen. I wasn't sure what had been discussed beforehand, but the strange knot in my stomach didn't make me feel too keen on the situation.
She plopped a bag of red potatoes down and started peeling them. She was going to turn on us, and fast.
"Five, four, three, two..."
She spun around, her eyes only on Edward, and blurted out, "Charlie told me you snuck in my daughter's room and stayed the night with her when she lived her."
I groaned. Loudly.
"Which is the reason you were able to call an ambulance so quickly when he had his heart attack."
Bent over and put my forehead on the edge of the counter, barely resisting the urge to stomp my foot.
"And why he isn't sitting with a shotgun in his lap after you broke her heart."
I could feel Edward tense beside me, his feet shuffling minutely toward the door.
"You told her?" I almost shrieked at Charlie.
"She asked if it was new. I told her 'not exactly'. You can guess what happened from there." I could feel his eyes on me. "She's your mom. You should tell her what's going on, Bella."
I merely groaned again and straightened up. He wasn't just referring to the fact that Edward and I had any kind of romantic history. He was referring to Maggie, and everything that had spiraled from there.
"Care to explain?" Renee asked Edward, her brow arching, knife in hand.
God, it was like some slasher film in here. Crazed mom attacks the boy daughter loses her virginity to.
"Seriously? Put the knife down, Mom."
She obliged, but was still waiting for Edward's answer.
"I... had a rough childhood," he managed, "and took it out on your daughter."
Renee's eyes flashed in panic.
"Not like that," I hurried. "What kind of person do you take me for?"
Charlie snorted. "Told you, Renee."
She gave my dad a sour look, and then turned her focus to me. "I don't think he's good for you. In fact, I know he's not."
"He is good for me," I replied angrily. "You have no idea."
"Whose fault is that?" she retorted.
I huffed, pressing my lips together so I didn't tell her everything. I was going to have to be very thoughtful in my explanation.
And I was too pissed off from her words to do so then.
"Why exactly do you think he's not good for me?"
"Because, Bella, you would never do something so careless if you were still back in Phoenix."
"Nothing happened."
"Oh?"
I could feel my face flame up. "Not then, anyway."
Charlie dropped the pan he'd just taken out of the cabinet; it skid across the floor with a clatter.
Renee was just... frozen.
"Sorry, Dad."
He let out a breath and closed his eyes, almost as if he regretted having to ask his next question. Which I was sure he did. "You two are safe?"
"Yeah. No unexpected grandkids are on their way; I promise."
Edward choked beside me.
"What?"
He shook his head once and looked away.
"Renee, talk about something else, please. I told you the circumstances with these two were different."
"Charlie-"
"Renee," he said sharply. Mom instantly stopped her argument. It was very rare that Charlie Swan spoke that way. "She's happy. They're happy. Don't ruin Thanksgiving dinner for her."
"Fine," she sniffed and turned back to the potatoes sitting on the counter.
But dinner was ruined.
Edward acted strange the entire time, shifting and avoiding my eyes while we ate. Renee was quiet, still obviously angry with me for not confiding in her.
And Charlie and Phil were busy trying to keep out of it, shoveling food into their mouths so they didn't have to speak to any of us.
Unable to take much more awkwardness, I dropped my fork to the plate with a sigh. "I came to Forks to find Edward, Mom."
Her eyes snapped to mine, wide and confused. "You what?"
"I..." I rubbed my hands over my face. "I don't even know where to begin."
"The beginning, baby," Edward murmured.
I nodded, grateful he'd said something at all. "After my surgery, I started wondering where the heart came from. Who she was."
"They said you might," Renee stated.
Phil put his hand on her arm to stop her interruption.
"It was more than that, though. I... It was like an obsession. I'd wake up thinking of a song I'd never heard or listen to someone playing the piano and get this weird feeling in my chest."
"They said that could happen too."
Phil's grip tightened.
"What?" she asked. "I'm just commenting."
"I know." I took a calming breath. "It got bad. Really bad. I was desperate for it to stop one day and had dad look her up."
I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for Renee's outburst.
And found nothing but silence.
I opened one eye and was met with her utterly lost expression.
I think that was possibly worse. Because it reinforced my fear that she wouldn't understand any of it.
"I even met her parents."
"You..." Renee trailed off and glanced over at Charlie. "You knew? You encouraged it?"
"I didn't encourage it," Charlie explained. "But I didn't discourage it either. She needed something, Renee. She needed something neither of us could give her."
"Let me guess: she found it?" Renee snapped back.
"I think she did," he answered evenly.
I started talking again to keep things from getting too heated between my parents. They rarely fought, but when they did...
Yikes.
"Her parents gave me a lot of information about her, and I loved having a way to get to know the girl who gave me... Well, who gave me my life back, really. But there was still something missing. Some nagging thing that wouldn't let go of me.
"And then I came across something. Maggie - my donor - had a brother. They'd both been adopted-"
The look of horror on my mother's face stopped me in my tracks.
"Please," I begged. "Don't look at me like that."
"He's the brother," she said robotically.
"Yes," I whispered, deciding to glaze over the details. "I didn't come here to fall in love. I came here... I wanted him to know he had a sister and that she had an amazing life while she was alive, and that she gave me a chance. I wanted- I don't know, actually."
"And you do? Love him?" she asked carefully.
"Yes," I repeated, just as softly as the first time. "I guess it explains Dad's comment from earlier. I mean, you can imagine how bad things were when Edward first found out."
She laughed once, and I smiled, the tension dissipating some with her reaction.
"Just don't be upset. Things were weird, and I know how you are."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"You wouldn't have let me go. Well, not that you could have stopped me - I was eighteen - but you would have tried."
"To protect you."
"But I didn't need protecting. I... Mom, I'm afraid that if I'd told you what was going on with me, you would have managed to talk me out of it. And then I wouldn't have this."
"What's this, exactly?"
"Edward, his family. New friends. School. I love it here. And I probably would have loved Arizona State too, but this... I can't imagine choosing something else for me."
"You're twenty, Bella. You don't know what you want."
"I won't regret coming here, if that's what you're getting at."
She sighed. "God, you're so stubborn."
"I get it from Dad."
Charlie gave me a scathing look.
I smiled sweetly at him.
"So can we move on now? I'll answer all the questions you want later. I just want to enjoy this weekend, though. Okay?"
"Yeah, all right. I think I can do that," she agreed.
"Thank you."
xx
Lying in Edward's bed later, I noticed he was still distant. The heat from his body radiated into mine, but his hands weren't roaming like they usually did.
Something was horribly wrong with this picture. I felt like we were almost at the beginning again in the way that he craved nearness to me, yet was too locked away in his past to be able to freely touch me.
"Where are you?" I breathed.
He looked at me, torn, and dragged a hand through his hair. "You know we'll never have kids, right?"
I gazed at him with a scowl, wondering why he thought such a thing.
Unless...
"Is what I said to Charlie bothering you?"
"No, I- Fuck, a little."
"Why?"
"We've never had this conversation. And we should. Before it's too late."
"Edward, nowhere does it say that a transplant patient can't have a baby, if that's what you're thinking. It's frowned upon, yeah, but there are cases-"
"No, that's not it," he said hoarsely. "But you'd consider putting yourself through that?"
"I'd never thought of it before," I confessed.
He was thoughtful for a while. "Bella, I'm sorry, but we can't have kids. Ever, in any capacity. With my family's history and everything, it's not an option."
I stared at him, my jaw hanging loose as two words and the implications of them rang through my head.
Any capacity.
"You think you'd be a bad parent?"
He shrugged. "I'd rather not take the chance."
I wanted to pull my hair out in frustration. "This is your argument over everything," I said gently. "Any kind of challenge that might test your integrity, you do this with."
He went rigid beside me, his nostrils flaring with his anger. I'd really pissed him off with that. "What the fuck, Bella?"
"Don't get defensive with me," I sighed. "You know I'm right. You try to run away from everything with this whole my-mom-fucked-me-up excuse before you finally cave and make something good come out of it."
"I'm not running away," he seethed. "Why are we even arguing over this? You just fucking said you don't want them either."
"No, I said I'd never thought about it," I protested. "Not that I never wanted it. There's a huge difference."
"So you want them."
"Not right now." He huffed in frustration at me. "But I can't tell you how I'll feel ten years from now. No one can."
"God... Damn it, Bella. I don't understand what you want from me."
"I don't want anything from you. I'm just telling you what I think."
"Which is?" he asked flatly.
"I think you're scared. Scared of those genetics and making the same mistakes they did, of not being able to teach a child how to overcome things like that. Except you're not them; you're not even close to being like them."
He clenched his jaw, his eyes alight with fire. But he kept silent, choosing to process it all instead.
"What if I fail?" he finally asked. "What if in five years, ten years - whatever - we decide to do it, and I... I can't hack it. I perpetuate the cycle. I can't do that to someone else."
"Edward, why are you so convinced that you'll be so horrible at it?"
"Bella, I'm me," he retorted. "I'm never going to be some average guy."
My blood boiled with that. He was right; he would never be some average guy.
But it wasn't in the way he perceived it.
"When are you going to stop living the life that bitch created and start living your own?"
Pain seeped into his face; I'd struck a nerve. "I don't know. I thought I had been."
"Using her and your biological family as an excuse all the time is not living your own life. You are your own person. You're my person. And my Edward tends to use whatever's eating at him to improve on himself. To make himself worthy, because he doesn't understand that he already is."
"Bella, this isn't just some... This is fucking huge."
"I know," I conceded. "So let's not make this into a decision we have to make now. We're... I'm a freshman in college, for crying out loud. My biggest concern is keeping my GPA up and making sure my boyfriend gets through med school and into some amazing program at some equally amazing hospital somewhere."
"Somewhere?"
"Anywhere. If I'm not done with school yet, I'll transfer my credits and follow you wherever you want to go."
"But you told your mom that you love it here."
"I love you more."
"You'd give all of it up for me?" he asked incredulously.
"I wouldn't be giving anything up. Just rearranging things a little," I reasoned.
He let out a disbelieving breath and stared off at the wall. I watched the movie, knowing he'd retreated into his head again to think about everything we'd just talked about.
Didn't mean that I was any less patient to hear what he had to said afterwards, though.
The credits were rolling when he finally came back to me. His eyes were gleaming with some unnamed emotion, and I wanted to throw my arms around him, feeling this ache to be closer to him for some reason.
"I think I'd do it for you," he said thickly.
A jolt of adrenaline went through me as I registered what it meant, what he would willingly give me if I wanted it.
And maybe with him, I realized, I would.
But I asked, just to be sure, "Have a family?"
He nodded. "If it made you happy, I... I'd try. God fucking help that kid, I'd try."
Nut.
Clank.
Bolt.
Clank.
Washer.
Clink.
Nut.
Clank.
Bolt.
Shit. Missed.
Bolt...
Wait, what the hell is this?
xx
"Where does this go?"
Edward glanced up from the section of my truck he was working on and shrugged. "Not a fucking clue."
"But..." I glanced around and frowned at the thousands of nuts, bolts, and washers that surrounded me. This piece of metal fit none of the above.
I started to drop it into the bucket of washers beside me but hesitated. Edward was screwing with me.
I sighed, "Edward... It looks like some kind of bracket."
"That's because it is," he answered.
I turned it over in my hands. "So how long were you going to just let me sit here and try to figure it out?"
He shrugged again. "No idea."
"You're an asshole, you know that?"
A smile pulled at his lips as he refocused on my Chevy's fender, running his hand over the sanded down metal. "I should have this side done tonight."
"Why are you doing this, anyway?"
"What, fixing up your truck?" he returned.
"Yeah. Fixing up my truck."
"To..." He lifted his hand, like he was going to run it through his hair, but changed his mind at the last second.
It fell to his side.
"I don't know. Why are you doing this?" he asked, motioning to all the scrap around me.
"I want to spend time with you."
"So you separate all of Emmett's shit to do so? Aren't you, uh, I don't know, bored?"
"Very."
"That's..." He looked slightly confused by my admission. "Flattering?"
I snorted with laughter. "Well, I guess it could be thought of like that. But really, that comment just makes you an idiot."
He flipped me off. "Thanks."
"Yep. Any time..." And then I tried something new, "babe."
His eyes flashed with the endearment. "I wonder if I'll ever get used to that."
"What?"
"Having someone to call me that. Makes me feel like my heart is lodged in my fucking throat."
"You don't like it?" I asked, feeling stupid. This was exactly why I'd never thought to call him anything other than his name. His reactions were still sometimes so unreliable.
Case in point: the entire day yesterday.
"No." My stomach dropped further. "I love it. I just... never thought I'd hear something like it, that's all."
I scrambled up off the floor and stepped over the junk surrounding me to get to him. I put my hand on his hip and stared up at him. "Well... I can always call you something else."
One side of his lips lifted with a smile. "Like what?"
"Hmm," I thought about it, "you call me 'baby', so that one's a no-go."
"Doesn't have to be."
So he liked it.
I tried it out. "Baby... I think you should take a break."
His arms worked themselves around me, covered in whatever product he'd been using on my truck earlier.
"What for?"
I pushed my body against his in silent answer, gauging his response, wondering if the last time we'd had sex was actually the last time for a while. Or if he was finally over his hesitance to be with me.
"Mmm," he hummed, his eyes growing heavy.
Heat flooded through me with that one sound's promise.
"You like me calling you that?" I questioned, gazing up at him.
"I think I'd like anything you call me. To an extent, obviously."
"So something like honey would work? Dear? Sweetheart? Sexy cardio doc?"
"Not a cardio doc yet, Bella. Besides, the correct term would be god. Surgeons are cocky sons of bitches."
I giggled. "You're not cocky."
"On some things I am. Right now, it's mainly over what I can do to you."
"Oh?"
He smirked and dropped his head so that his lips were centimeters away from mine.
His grip tightened, holding me to him as he dipped me back.
"Dude, no. There's no sex in my garage," Emmett said as he opened the back door.
"Fucking son of a bitch cockblocker," Edward growled. "Like you haven't had sex with Rosalie in here on numerous occasions."
I glanced over at Emmett and saw him actually think about that. "So would you like us to turn around and pretend we didn't interrupt you? I'm sure the mood hasn't passed or anything."
Rosalie came up and smacked him on the shoulder. "Don't be an ass, Em."
He scowled, but it was gone in seconds, replaced by his usual, happy smile. "What'cha got goin' on here?"
"He's making my truck pretty," I answered, twisting out of Edward's arms.
The way his face fell was adorable.
Emmett walked over to the truck and examined the fender Edward had spent all morning repairing. "Looks fucking good, bro. But what's going on with all my shit while you're doing this?"
"I'm sorting it out," I replied.
His eyes snapped to the piles of metal I'd been working on. "Sorting it out," he repeated slowly. "Holy shit, you're organizing!"
I laughed, "Yeah."
"What the hell for?"
"Edward was busy working on my truck, so I thought I'd make myself useful..." I trailed off, suddenly unsure of myself.
Maybe I wasn't supposed to touch anything in the garage. I'd never thought to ask before.
"Emmett, I-"
"Rosie, why haven't you done that?"
Rosalie's eyebrow quirked; her eyes found mine and narrowed. "What?"
Emmett pointed to everything on the floor. "That. Organizing. Why haven't you done that?"
"Because I spend my time doing other things in here. Like fixing the broken pieces of shit you can't."
"I'm sorry," I mouthed, trying not to giggle.
"You're a bitch," she whispered back.
And then we burst into laughter.
Emmett glanced between us, finally catching on. "Aw, come on, you know I didn't mean it like that."
"Still said it," she answered and walked off into the staff lounge.
"See what you made me do?" Emmett demanded, annoyed with me.
"Hey," I smiled, "you're the idiot who opened his mouth. Not me."
He waved me off. "So... Dinner with the chief. How'd that one go?" he asked Edward.
Edward glanced over at me. "Fine, I guess. Her mom and step-dad were there too."
His loud laughter rang throughout the garage. "You did okay with all the parents? I find that hard to believe."
"Shut up, dick. It's not like I haven't talked to the chief or anything."
"But that was before. Before there was the label of the boyfriend."
"Emmett, are you trying to freak him out or something?" I questioned.
Emmett grinned. "Is it working?"
"Go the fuck away," Edward muttered.
Like that was happening.
"Don't listen to him. Charlie likes you." I didn't bother mentioning Renee. I had no idea where he stood with her.
"I think it's more like he tolerates me because it makes you happy," Edward shot back.
"Well, be prepared for some toleration, then," Emmett said with a low whistle. His eyes were glued to the front window. "Cause Charlie Swan's cruiser just pulled in the parking lot."
"Shit," Edward hissed.
"Bet you're glad Rosie and I got here when we did, huh?" Emmett joked.
Edward and I both just glared at him.
He rolled his eyes. "Going in the back now..."
Charlie came through the front door of the shop fully dressed in uniform. He glanced around and ran his fingers over his mustache at the sight of my truck sitting in the back half sanded and bonded with Edward's arms showing all the evidence of his work on it.
"I wondered where it went," he said simply.
"What are you doing here?"
"Just took your mom and Phil back to Port Angeles."
I think I might've gasped to myself. "But I thought they weren't leaving until tomorrow."
He shrugged a shoulder. "You two gave her a lot to think about."
Guilt twisted at my insides. "She acted like everything was okay... This is why I didn't want to tell her in the first place."
Charlie shook his head. "It wasn't Edward or how you two got together or anything else you keep to yourselves. She's wondering why you felt you couldn't tell her any of it."
If it were possible, I felt even worse. "How?"
"She still sees you as a clumsy twelve-year old. The one who needed her mother to patch her up all of the time. You grew up on us, Bella," he said gruffly. "Now you don't need her like that. She just needs to figure out how to let you go, is all."
I tried to continue the conversation, but Charlie ignored my questions and went over to my truck. He ran his hand over the smooth surface and nodded once.
"Looks good, son. You planning to do the whole thing for her?"
The look on Edward's face was comical. "Uh..." He shook himself clear of whatever he was thinking. "Yes, sir. As I can. Med school doesn't give me much time, though."
"Just don't run yourself down trying to do it all. I understand you've got a lot going on up there," he said meaningfully.
Edward took in my dumbfounded expression, and then focused on my dad again, a little smirk twisting at his lips. "Have you been checking up on me, Chief?"
"Guilty as charged," Charlie said casually.
"Should've known," Edward muttered.
"What am I missing here?"
Charlie grinned, obviously pleased with my lack of intelligence.
And then I thought back to the conditions Charlie had for Edward and huffed.
Charlie went to clasp his hand on Edward's shoulder, only to think twice and awkwardly pull it back. "You'll do, kid."
Edward shoved his hands in his pocket, his cheeks mottling with the compliment. "Thank you."
"Well, gang, I've got to go. I've got the night shift tonight." He jerked his head toward the door. "Walk me out?"
After exchanging a glance with Edward, I mutely followed.
"I was thinking I might go run up to Olympia and get a bed for your old room."
I blinked. "What?"
"A queen, if I can get one to fit."
"Why?"
He glanced off at the road. "You staying at the Cullen's... As much as I like them, I want you to be able to stay with me when you visit too. There might be a day that you want to come home alone, and..."
"Dad?"
He gave me a sad smile. "I got to see you grow up this summer. Doesn't make it any easier for me than it is for Renee, though."
"I'm sorry," I whispered. "Really. I'll try to make it home more."
He nodded once and cleared his throat. "Okay, come by the station tomorrow morning before you leave?"
"We will."
He opened the car door and went to get inside, and I hurried to stop him. "How'd you know that Edward didn't like to be touched?"
"Anyone with two eyes and a brain can see how twitchy he gets when people get too close."
Or maybe it was just that a cop with a reason to watch him so intently could.
He hopped in the car, dismissing me – and any other question I thought to ask - in his rush. "See you in the morning, Bell."