Swan Lakes Ranch by JRFaab
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, Stephanie Meyers does. I do own this plot and storyline. I own my own original characters and a sweet little Chromebook I just love. All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter 3: The Swan's
EPOV
We wait for my father to speak; nervously eyeing each other. I know that I am unsettled by the questions he has just asked, and based on the looks from the others around the room, they can't figure out where he is going with all of this, either. Not wanting to see the pained and confused looks on my family's faces, I glance out the window, waiting for him to continue, and notice the sunset is starting to line the sky in hues of yellow, orange and pink.
I am brought out of my musings by someone clearing their throat, and I turn instinctually towards my father. We all know that speaking about others makes him uneasy, Dad takes his Hippocratic Oath seriously. Whatever it is, it obviously isn't going to be easy for him to say even knowing that has this girl's permission to do so. It is very uncharacteristic for him to be so hesitant and forlorn. I don't like seeing my father this upset, but I know that what he has to say is important, otherwise he wouldn't have us all meet at his house to chat about the good ol' days for no reason.
Keep an open mind, there has to be a good reason for all of us to be here for this.
As soon as he has everyone's attention, he takes a shaky breath and starts, "Charlie Swan and I went to college together. Charlie was born and raised in Texas; his parents had a ranch and they were well known horse breeders. I had received a scholarship to Texas A&M University. I was working through pre-med courses, where as he was in the Animal Science program. A&M offered major-specific dorms, and since we didn't want any unnecessary distractions and wanted to focus on our classes, we chose to live there. As a result, we saw each other on just about a daily basis.
"I remember one night at the library, I was looking for a specific book and couldn't find it. Charlie offered to help; he went right to the book, since that day he always joked, 'Good thing hospitals aren't set up on the Dewey system, or you'd be lost city boy'," he said with a slight chuckle as he shook his head at the memory.
"You know, I never realized you weren't from here. Where did you grow up Carlisle?" Alice asks, bouncing on the edge of the couch, eager to learn more.
"Oklahoma City, dear. My parents were killed in a house fire when I was seventeen; a senior in high school," he tells her, his voice a little thicker with emotion. "I lived with a friend of my father's until I graduated and then moved to Texas to attend college."
"When most of the school population was out on the weekends at the local bars, Charlie and I found ourselves in the library working through projects and studying for tests. We both had similar mindsets and work ethics, so it was easy to be study partners and we became really good friends. By the end of our freshman year, we were as close as brothers. Charlie invited me to spend the summer with him, working on his family's ranch.
"Since my family had passed on, I didn't have anything to tie me to Oklahoma anymore. So, I spent that summer on the ranch. His parents welcomed me and treated me like another son. I really learned the value of hard manual work.
"So, you worked on a ranch, dad? With boots and jeans?" Emmett asks laughing, trying in his usual fashion to distract others and break the tension. "I mean, do you even own a pair of jeans? I thought your wardrobe was fancy suits, ascots, loafers and golf shirts."
I was starting to feel the closeness return of the family I had left behind. Whenever Tanya and I were visiting or having dinner here, she would always make an excuse to leave soon after. Before I let her unknowingly drive a wedge between me and my family, we use to sit around relaxing and talking; just joking with each other.
"Yes, Emmett, I did," he answers genuinely shaking his head, mumbling something about not owning any ascots. "It was hard work, but also very rewarding, in ways you could never imagine.
"What was it like, dad, working on a real ranch?" Jasper asks, now enthralled as much as his wife. He's always been intrigued by the rugged outdoors.
Of all the times, my mom chose this moment to join in on the conversation. "Oh, your father was very handsome with his tight Wranglers, plaid shirt unbuttoned and well-worn out Stetson hat." A collection of groans makes their way around the room as she reclaims her seat by dad. "He looked good with just a light sheen of sweat and a sun-kissed tan." Dad looks a little pink in the cheeks and smirks embarrassingly at the rest of us. She pats his knee reassuringly.
Dad shakes his head at mom's antics and answers Jasper's question. "They built this horse ranch, literally, from the ground up. I think the land used to belong to Charlie's grandfather. It is a very successful business; ran like any other successful company through blood, sweat and I am sure, tears," he explains. Apparently, after spending so much time there, he thought very highly of these people.
"After spending that summer together, it was an easy decision for us to become roommates for our sophomore year. Our friendship strengthened and never wavered...until the day he died. "Dad takes a deep breath and continues, "He met his wife, Renee, during our senior year. She fit in seamlessly. No matter where we were or what we were doing, it was always the three of us together.
"The summer after graduation, Charlie and Renee married and moved onto the ranch. I was accepted to the medical program at A&M and tried to spend as much time with them as my studies would allow. The short commute between campus to the ranch helped to make it easier.
"Didn't you meet mom in Texas? How'd you meet the woman of your dreams?" Emmett asks swooning jokingly by tilting his head and batting his eyelashes.
Dad shakes his head at his oldest son, "I met your mother my last year of medical school." He turns and gently caresses mom's cheek. "We met at the Aggie Bonfire just before Thanksgiving break. Since neither of us left campus over the holiday, we spent it getting to know each other.
"How romantic; college sweethearts," Alice chimes in.
"I knew instantly that she was the one for me. We dated throughout med school, when we could, since she was on another A&M campus. When she told me she was coming back to Washington after graduation, I applied here for my internship and was accepted," he finished taking a drink of water and sitting back.
"Charlie and I always stayed in touch though; he and Renee were running the ranch and your mother and I tried to visit them when we could.
"So Charlie and Renee took over the ranch from his parents?" Rose questions.
"They did. Marcus and Marie still helped out, but they were traveling so often to horse shows and such that they handed the reins over to Charlie," he answers. "They were actually killed in a car accident driving home from a horse show up north.
"Marcus hit some black ice and the car went over an embankment. This happened just around the time that your mother and I had gotten married. We ended up going to Texas for the funeral and stayed the rest of the week to visit and catch up," he says with sadness in his voice. "A year later Emmett was born and I was elbow deep into my rotations at the hospital. We didn't get to visit much after that."
"Renee found out she was expecting around the same time we found out that your mother was pregnant with Edward. However, it wasn't an easy pregnancy for Renee," he states solemnly looking towards my mother, once again, the timber of his voice was shaky.
"She had a difficult time becoming pregnant, and once she did, she was placed on bed rest. They found out later that her endometriosis was so severe that it would keep her from having any more children. They were both devastated, but eventually accepted that Bella would be their only child and loved her dearly. We didn't hesitate when they asked us to be Bella's godparents. We reciprocated that honor by asking Charlie and Renee to be Emmett's and Edward's and two years later; Jasper's.
"It's kinda sad I never got to meet my godparents," Jasper comments. "So who's older, Edward or Bella?"
"Bella is by only a little more than a month. Her birthday is in May," my mother cuts in to answer. I notice her shift and lean into my father's side more for support, twisting the tissue she is still holding around her fingers nervously. Her unshed tears threaten to spill over.
"When Bella turned ten, Renee passed away suddenly at the ranch. She was working with one of the newer horses, and she just collapsed. They rushed her to the nearest hospital, but it was too late to save her. The doctors explained that she died instantly of a brain aneurysm. Naturally, Charlie and Bella were devastated," he continues as my mother cries softly.
"Oh damn! To lose a parent is devastating; but for a little girl to lose her mother at that age is just crushing," Rose interjects with her voice full of sorrow.
"It was, but I think the ranch actually saved them both. Bella loved helping on the ranch and it brought her and Charlie closer; even more so as she grew up. She was a natural at it, and enjoyed working with her dad.
"So when she was trying to decide on which college to go to and what to major in, it didn't take long for her to figure it out. She followed in her father's footsteps and went to A&M, graduating with her Bachelors in Education and her Masters in Animal Science."
"That's quite the accomplishment, two degrees," I blurt out in awe.
Dad nods his head in agreement and continues. "You see, when Bella was preparing her final projects, she decided to combine them. She developed a program using horses to help teach children with learning disabilities. It was proven very successful and she decided she wanted to implement it on the ranch; creating a learning facility. When she presented it to Charlie and her professors, they were all ecstatic with the idea and had their full support.
"She actually started her first charity then. She wanted to see if she could do it on her own so she created a charity to raise money to help develop the program, even though her father would have backed her financially for the whole thing. She is very driven," my mother tells us with pride.
"That is really awesome; I have read a lot about horses being used in therapy for the disabled," Alice informs us. "A lot of people believe that because a horse is such a large species that they are incapable of being a therapeutic animal. When in reality, they can be just as effective as dogs."
I see my dad nod in agreement and continues, "So they started a horse therapy program for physically and developmentally challenged children and adults in the area. Schools and hospitals all around Texas, and even some of the surrounding states, refer students and patients there; it really helps them. Bella has developed and tailored all the programs they use on the ranch herself," he stated with pride in his voice.
"She should be proud; that is an extraordinary accomplishment," Rose comments. "I would love to be involved with a program like that. Many of the people I work with are so tied to "traditional means" of therapy that they won't even consider programs of that nature."
"I know what you mean," chimes in Alice. "They encourage you to think outside-the-box, but the moment you do, they begin to criticize you." She shakes her head in frustration. "When in reality, they are just jealous of your ideas, and are afraid that you would look better than they do."
Emmett nods in affirmation, "Tell me about it! It's like that in every profession. People are so eager to claw their way to the top, which they don't care about who they hurt in the process."
My father smiles at the comradely between the family, "Charlie was very proud of her with everything that she has accomplished. She worked really hard to incorporate everything that she felt would be best for everyone, the workers at the ranch, but above all, the kids and adults that would attend the camps."
He closes his eyes and chuckles at a memory, "I remember this one time, he called me all in an uproar," he chuckles again. "Bella had ran off with her college roommate's brother, to Vegas nonetheless, and gotten married. This was just after she completed her undergrad," he starts, looking at mom. "Do you remember that, Es?" She nods in return with a genuine smile on her face and dad directs his attention back to us.
"He thought she was throwing all of her hard work out the window. You see, Mike was in the military, and was stationed in Virginia. He assumed that since they had gotten married, she was going to move there with him. He was beyond pissed," he said with a laugh. "A couple of days later, after he was able to settle down, he called me back, and told me that Mike was a good guy, and that he was just upset about the hasty fashion of the wedding," he relayed empathetically. "He thought he was losing his little girl. She was all that he had left after Renee passed."
There is something that just bothers me about hearing this. I'm not sure what it is that unnerves me, but I don't like it. I don't know anything outside of what my dad has said about her, but I feel as if I know her already.
My mom breaks me from my musings and continues my dad story for a bit, "Bella and Mike rented a little two bedroom apartment in town. Which, was perfect because he was constantly serving overseas and Bella would still be close to the ranch and Charlie if she needed anything as Mike wasn't able to come home on leave as often as they would have liked. Also, Mike's sister moved in with her so she wasn't alone. Jessica had just graduated and wanted to stay close to Bella since they had no family left of their own.
"Once they were married a few years, they started trying for a family of their own," mom became quiet, and I notice that she slips her hand into his for support. I could tell the rest was going to be hard for them to tell.
"When Mike and Bella had no success in conceiving naturally, they went to a doctor and discovered that Bella had endometriosis, just like Renee. There was a very slim chance that she could ever have children. Charlie was understandably upset and called me to make sure what Bella's doctor had told them was true. I referred them to a specialist, and Bella had to have a few surgeries. After she healed, they tried again, but she miscarried," he continues.
"Damn, that poor girl. Hasn't she been through enough hell," Alice says with sadness in her voice.
"Apparently not," I hear my mother whisper as sadness fills her voice and my head shoots up to look at her.
"Are you kidding me?" I ask her incredulously.
"Just let me continue, Edward," my dad continues.
"Mike and Bella went through IVF Treatments. That alone, can be stressful, but then Mike had to leave again after the New Year. Once they found out that they had a viable egg implanted, Bella was put on bed rest immediately. Mike and Charlie both were worried about Bella being in the apartment by herself while Jessica was at work, so they moved her onto the ranch.
"Jessica had decided to move also and help out by taking on some of Bella's responsibilities to ensure that Bella wasn't stressed. When Bella was halfway through her pregnancy, she went in for a routine checkup. They found out she had Intrauterine Growth Retardation, and spent the rest of her pregnancy at the medical center."
A collective gasp resonates in the room, and I feel my blood run cold.
This poor girl just wanted a child and she had to suffer so much.
"Oh my! That is not good for her, or the baby," Rose states shaking her head knowingly.
"No, Rose. It isn't. I am sure you have dealt with the aftermath of this before?" he asks her.
"Yes, unfortunately. One of my students when I first started teaching was a child born from IUGR," Rose says quietly with tears in her eyes. "The problems can be endless."
"I understand, and have had a few patients myself suffer from the effects," he responds to her.
"However, before Mike's approval for leave came through, his unit was hit by a roadside bomb and he was killed. Because of her condition and the high risk to both her and the baby she wasn't even able to attend the funeral.
"Holy Shit, that's fucked up," Emmett bellows. "Sorry mom, but that is all kinds of messed up."
"Between the sudden news of her husband's death and the baby's health, the stress proved to be too much. Her body went into preterm labor at twenty-nine weeks and the doctors had to perform an emergency C-section.
"How sad; I know a baby's survival rate at that age is good but having IUGR can complicate matters," a flabbergasted Rose interjects with teary eyes as Emmett wraps his arms around her in comfort. I didn't have a complete understanding of what they were talking about but it sounds pretty scary.
"It is, Bella's daughter was extremely premature, weighing just shy of two pounds. Because Cassandra was born so early, Bella wasn't allowed to see her daughter right away.
Unbelievable, I think to myself. Aren't most babies like eight or nine pounds?
"That is really tiny!" Emmett exclaims. "Did her daughter even live? I think my hand weighs more than she did."
"She did, she's six years old now. Cassie is strong and has overcome every obstacle in order to survive and is still battling through many medical issues; she will her whole life. Bella raises her and runs the ranch on her own," he stated in a voice laced with pride.
"So let me get this straight, "Emmett starts. "This Bella girl has a kid with a bunch of medical problems and she runs a ranch for kids with a bunch of medical problems? And she does this with just a handful of people to help her, and she is what? Edward's age?" Emmett asks in a tactless fashion as Rose tisks in disapproval.
"Yes, Emmett, Bella owns the ranch and only has a few people she really trusts helping her out. She is very guarded, which I can't blame her. She doesn't let people in very easily," my father answers.
"Well Dad; that sounds like you had an amazing friend, who had an equally amazing daughter. But how does that help us with our current blackballed status?" Emmett questions as we all nod our heads seemingly with the same amount of curiosity going through our minds.