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.
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Chapter 16: Not an Easy Ride
Edward POV
As soon as my alarm goes off, I'm wide awake. I take a shower and dress as quick as I can, wanting to get to the center to get breakfast ready for everyone. I walk downstairs and start the coffee so I can have my morning caffeine fix in order for me to fully wake up.
I guess no one else is up yet.
After making my cup, I head to the door but stop short when I hear a quiet, "Good morning." I turn to see Jessica sitting on the couch, watching the news with the volume turned down low, and an energy drink in her hand. She's curled up, with her legs off to the side and hugging the couch pillow, her hair is pulled up into a sloppy ponytail.
"Good morning," I greet her softly. "Not a coffee person, I take it?"
"No way. It takes ten of those to do what one of these can," she laughs as she raises the can and slightly shakes it. "Bella and Sarah are already down at the center. I'll see ya there once grumpy is up and dressed," she tells me. I chuckle softly, as it dawns on me who she is referencing. I guess Cassie can be grumpy in the mornings too.
I walk into the center and immediately jump in to help. Billy and Jacob are setting up folding tables and chairs while Bella and Sarah are getting the serving table ready. With the five of us working together, we get the place set up pretty quickly. Once we sit down to wait for everyone, I notice that Bella isn't wearing her usual jeans and ranch shirt; she's dressed up really nice.
"I didn't know we were suppose to dress in formal attire," I joke with her.
She giggles at me. "Cassie and I are goin' to church after breakfast. Then, we're gonna visit Mr. Brady at the nursing home," she replies with a sad smile. I hate that her friend isn't doing very well. "Y'all get to explore some of the other parts of the ranch with Billy and Sarah. We'll be back after lunch."
Both, Bella's and my attention is instantly redirected towards the door when we hear crying. Bella is up in an instant and makes her way over to the door just as Seth walks in carrying Cassie with Jessica following behind them. Cassie is crying, holding her arms out and searching for her mother. Bella sits down in a chair by the door and Seth carefully puts Cassie in her lap.
"What's wrong, baby?" she asks Cassie, but it is Jessica who answers her.
"I told her no," Jessica says shrugging her shoulders. Just that simple answer must have been enough for Bella to understand the situation.
"So someone woke up grumpy and didn't get their way, I see. The effects of havin' sugar before bed. We knew this would happen," she states matter-of-factly, then looks at Jessica. "Did she take her medicine?"
"Nope, it's in here," Jessica replies handing Bella a Sippy cup.
"Want some breakfast, baby girl?" she asks a now calmer Cassie, changing the subject.
She slips off her mother's lap and comes to sit next to me while Seth sets a plate in front of her. Bella places the Sippy cup next to the plate before she goes to get her own breakfast. Jessica takes the seat on the other side of Cassie in order to help her eat, while Seth makes Jessica's plate, too.
This must be a common ritual for them.
Soon, everyone else starts showing up and making their own plates. When Bella comes back over to the table, I get up to allow Bella to sit next to her daughter, and to make my plate. Once Cassie is done eating, Bella wipes down her daughter's slightly messy face and hands before they get up to leave. Bella stops and whispers something to Billy and then takes Cassie by the hand, slipping out the door.
After everyone is done eating, Billy walks up to a small podium that stands at the front of the center. He clears his throat, getting everyone's attention. "Bella and all the staff of Swan Lakes Ranch, would like to thank you for comin' out this weekend. We hope that you have enjoyed yourself. Please make sure you get all of your belongings from the cabins. We'll have the guys comin' by on carts to help take you to the buses. I wanna remind you one last time to sign up for the summer camps as soon as possible, space is limited and spots will fill up quickly. We'll be holdin' three camps this summer, with only fifteen spaces available for each one. Let me know if you have any questions or need assistance. Thank you."
Once everyone is loaded on the buses with Jacob, Seth, Emily and Leah, we all sit down at a table and relax. Sarah looks at Billy stating, "Jacob wants to take everyone off roadin' on the trails when he gets back. But, Bella said the chores were already behind so she didn't think it was a good idea."
"She's right and he knows it, too. We need to get the barns clean before dinner because tomorrow it's gonna be busy with putting the mares under the lights. Otherwise, we can't start the breedin' process in February. Also, Bella received a call from Dr. Gerandy yesterday about a rescue he's gonna bring in later today. We have to get a quarantine stall ready for that, too," he replies, taking a deep breath. I can tell they are all busy and tired.
Their job seems to never end.
"Let us help," my dad says as we all nod in silent agreement. "We want to be here to help, Billy. This isn't a vacation for us, so put us to work."
"I can help prepare the quarantine stall; I do that all the time for the clinic," Alice says shrugging her shoulders. "Sam already showed me around the rescue barn yesterday, so I know where all the supplies are."
"I have an idea," Sam states. "All of these guys and gals wanna learn about the ranch, right? I mean, the real work that goes on here? So, let's show 'em."
"Whadaya suggest?" Billy asks him with curiosity, obviously open to the idea.
"I'll work in the rescue and stallion barns with Alice and Jasper while Eric, Emmett and Rosalie take the main barn. Tyler, Garrett and Edward can clean the mare barn. So that'll leave Sarah and Esme the activity center to put back in order and Jessica can have some peace to get the office work done," he laughs at her disgruntle pout. "Once the others get back, they can clean the cabins. You and Carlisle gas up and wash all the motorized toys and get the pit moved back," he states shrugging his shoulders. "If we all work together, it'll be done before Bella gets home. Then, if she approves, we can go off roadin' on the trails before dinner."
"Now, that sounds like a plan. Let's get it done then," he says as we all jump up to get to work.
As I follow Garrett and Tyler to the mare barn, they explain that we're moving all the horses to the turnout pen while we clean the whole barn. Hanging next to each stall door is a halter, which I learn is the headstall placed around the horse's head that you can hook a lead rope or tether line to, with the horses stall number on it. We halter and lead the eleven horses outside to the attached pen. Once all the horses are moved, we shovel out the stalls. I'm not afraid of hard work, but even with going to the gym on a regular basis. I know I'm going to be hurting tomorrow. Cleaning stalls is not easy and don't let anyone tell you differently. This is more of a workout than anything that I could ever do at the gym on any day of the week.
As soon as all the stalls are clean, Garrett and I go dump the shavings we piled onto the trailer in a compost heap that they have nestled away on the back pasture. He explains to me that Bella recycles the shavings by cultivating them into the soil when they plow the pastures or gardens for re-planting.
We then go to the hay barn and load the trailer with new shavings and a couple bales of hay. Back at the barn, Tyler is pressure washing the stalls and aisle way. We shovel the new shavings into the dry stalls and fill the racks with hay.
While Tyler checks and cleans the automatic waterers, Garrett shows me how to prepare and measure the feed for each horse. Located inside the feed and tack room are metal bins with numbers on them that coincide with the stall number for each horse. I place one scoop from the numbered bin then one scoop from the oats bin in the numbered feed bucket and place it back in that stall. We do that for each stall without a halter; meaning that stall is occupied.
Once that is done, we lead the horses back into their assigned stalls. They inform me all four of the barns are set up similar except the rescue barn is slightly different. Because of the health concerns associated with those horses, there is a refrigerator in there that holds any medicine a horse might need, along with miscellaneous medical supplies.
We finish up and then take the trailer back to the utility building.
Billy and my dad are standing, back admiring all the clean equipment when we walk in.
"Maybe you can wash my car when we get back to Seattle," I joke easily with my father.
"Smart ass," he rebuts shoving my shoulder playfully. "You should be washing my car, boy."
Since Billy and my dad are also finished, we all walk over to the main barn. Eric, Emmett and Rose have a couple more horses than we did, so they are still in the feeding stage. All of us jump in to help them finish.
We're almost done when Jasper and Alice walk up, arguing, while Sam is laughing into his hands behind them. Alice screeches out, "BECAUSE I CAN, YOU POMPOUS ASS," and then storms off toward the office.
"What in the world did you do to piss off the wife, Jasper?" Emmett asks, while Sam is still laughing.
"I didn't do anything," he declares throwing his hands up in the air. "I just told her that the horse she wants is too big for her, and that she should consider getting something smaller," he says defending himself.
We all jump when we hear a loud throat clearing behind us. The group of us turn to see Bella standing there, with her hands on her hips, glaring at Jasper. Oh boy, he is in for it now. I notice that everyone else is standing behind her, including a fuming Alice.
"So, ya told your wife, who works with horses on a daily basis, that she was too little to handle a horse who is fifteen hands tall? Is that correct?" she demands with a smirk. Jasper's only response is the nod of his head, eyes open wide. "How tall do ya think I am Jasper?"
"Um, five-two?" he squeaks out questioning. "Alice is five-four and you're a little shorter than her."
"Correct, I'm five-two," she rolls her eyes answering. "Ya think I can handle a horse fifteen hands tall?" she shoots back.
"Probably?" he retorts getting defensive. "But, you deal with unstable horses all the time. You're trained to handle them."
"That's true, but so is she," she states heatedly. "My personal horse is in the stall next to ya and he's seventeen hands tall."
"Damn," Jasper whispers.
"I know you're just lookin' out for your wife, but don't ever discourage someone from doin' somethin' outta fear," she tells him, her tone softening. "You'll miss out on so much. I know from experience that life is way too short to miss out on."
"You're right," he agrees his eyes reflecting the same sadness as Bella's. "I'd never want Alice to miss out on anything."
"Now go apologize to your wife," she smirks at him. His shoulders sag in relief as he goes to walk over to Alice. "Oh, and Jasper, you're a good husband," she says smiling at him, her eyes sad.
"Ok, so I hear all the chores are done and y'all wanna go off roadin'? Well, have at it. I'll be at the house preparing dinner, which will be ready at four. Have fun!" she tells us before walking off with Cassie and Sarah.
"I'm going to head to the house with your mother, but you all need to wash those XUVs before you put them up. Billy and I busted our asses getting them clean," my dad instructs, as they follow Bella back to the house.
"You heard the man," Billy states before leaving too.
After they're gone, Jacob turns to us. "Ok, there's fifteen of us so we will need four drivers. Rose and Emmett can ride with me and Leah, Seth and Jessica can take Sam and Emily. Edward, why don'cha go with Eric, Garrett and Kate and Jasper and Alice can ride with Tyler. We're goin' on the river road trails and only have a few hours since we gotta wash these so lets go."
Mud, I have never been covered in so much mud before. This is fun as all get out, but I cannot see my skin. Emmett is screaming so loud you can hear him over everyone else. Eric let Garrett and I drive some, too. Once you get the hang of it, it's pretty cool.
We make it back to the utility building and wash down the XUVs. They show us where the outdoor showers are. We all walk back to the house soaking wet and freezing. Everyone who is staying at the main house is quiet as church mice trying to sneak upstairs to get cleaned up since we're late for dinner. We stop dead in our tracks as my father comes out of his room.
"You better get your butts cleaned up fast and get down stairs in time for dinner," he says before walking off.
I hurry through my shower and get dressed. We're rushing down the stairs when everyone else comes in the front door right at four o'clock.
"Well, I hope y'all had fun. Dinner is on the table; don't let it get cold," my mother demands walking into the dining room, shaking her head.
There are trays of lasagna on each table with salad and garlic bread. I notice that Cassie has a plate of spaghetti in front of her already and Bella is helping her eat. I take a seat next to her and start filling my plate. Once everyone is situated, Billy says grace.
"Did you make the noodles for her, or buy them?" I ask Bella.
"I mak'em. I use rice and potato flour and freeze it in batches so she can have them whenever she wants," she explains to me. "They last 'bout a month in the freezer."
"I'll have to try that. Does she not like lasagna?" I inquire since Cassie is the only one with spaghetti.
"It's not her favorite, unless I make veggie lasagna with white sauce," Bella replies glancing lovingly at her daughter. She amazes me with all the things that she does for her daughter.
We eat quietly; everyone worn out from the weekend.
When we're all finished with dinner, Jessica takes Cassie to get her bathed and ready for bed, while Leah, Emily and Kate start cleaning up. We are just sitting around the table, talking about the weekend, when Bella clears her throat.
"So, was it everything you thought it would be?" she inquires with a small smile, glancing at everyone around the table.
"Better than what I expected!" Rose blurts out in excitement. "I had the best time with the kids. The chores didn't even bother me. I love being around the horses, which is something I haven't really ever had the opportunity to do before."
"I think horses are just overgrown kids," Bella explains. "They just want respect and attention."
"I have to admit that I was scared to death at first. Once I realized that these kids just want to have a good time and learn something new, it was all good," Jasper tells her with a proud smile. "I do have a few suggestions for that fishing dock though."
"Good, suggestions for improvement are always welcome," Bella replies, her smile growing.
"It was a true experience. One that I am grateful I had the chance to do, once more," my dad says with so much emotion in his voice. "I am so thankful. I remember the chores from back in the day, but getting to work with the children outside of a hospital; just amazing."
"Well, I had the best time. I enjoyed having the opportunity to prepare the food that so many people enjoyed," I explain gesturing excitingly with my hands. "And, the kids were awesome. I know, without a doubt, that I'll be feeling the effects of cleaning those barns tomorrow, but that just means I had a good workout and didn't even have to go to the gym."
She smiles at me, "The food was awesome. Oh, and there's a gym at the bunkhouse, by the way.
"Esme, Alice, Emmett," she calls cautiously. "Any thought?"
"It was the bomb!" Emmett exclaims, his face about to break from his smile. "Meeting Heidi, the kids, the people, the chores, riding those cool XUVs, the whole thing. This is the life."
She just laughs at him, shaking her head.
"Well, I've never seen such a well-organized business in all my years," my mother states with tears in her eyes and a smile on her face. "Everyone just came together to get the job done without any drama. It's like one big family with the same goal. You can't ask for a better atmosphere. And those precious babies, I just want to hug and kiss them all."
"We are a big family," Bella replies with a small smile. "My daddy always told me that blood doesn't make a family; love does." She looks to my father who just nods at her.
"I just want to be around those horses all day, every day," Alice says with so much excitement. "The kids are simply the best to work with. I love seeing their faces light up when they ride. My gosh, I just wanted to squeeze them all. Oh, and the way, the barn's set-up is so, perfect."
"Years of trial and error, Alice," she replies.
"While y'all were playing in the mud," Bella starts smirking at our wide eyes. "Yeah, I saw y'all sneak in later than what ya should have been, all wet and dirty." Glancing around the table, I see small smirks on the faces of Emmett and Jasper. "Anyways, Carlisle and Esme told me a little bit of what's going on back in Seattle. If this is really somethin' you want, then I have an offer for ya'," Bella prefaces, regaining our undivided attention. "Y'all need to understand that every day here is different. Is this wha'cha really wanna do? Are you ready to leave your life in Seattle and come join our family here?" she asks us looking around the table at our bobbing heads.
There's a "Hell, yes!" "Awesome!" "How soon can we move?" "Thank You"! "We are so grateful, sweetheart" and my "Perfect." While Billy, Sarah and Bella just smile at all of us.
"Alright then," she drawls out. "This is my offer. Everyone will get a salary, health insurance and boarding here in the main house. There's a few of ya I want to get other things, but we can discuss those in a bit. I know ya need to settle your affairs in Seattle. So, would a month give y'all enough time?" she asks.
"That would be perfect, dear," my father tells her. "I cannot tell you how thankful we are."
"We're thankful, too. This'll help us out as well, and then maybe we can help others in return," Billy states with so much passion.
"I know we have other things y'all wanna discuss, but I need ya to sign these non-disclosure agreements for me first. This is more for our protection, and the kids'
since ya know information about them and also how we do things round here," she tells us while Sarah slides a form to each of us. I read over it and sign at the bottom, handing it back to her, as does everyone else.
"Now, lets talk incentives," she announces clapping her hands together in excitement. "You're allowed one stall each for boarding, at no charge. It's not required to have your own horse, of course, but that is just somethin' we offer to everyone. We all take a vacation once a year. That's a requirement. This is something that we do to ensure that no one gets burnt out. Everyone's required to volunteer some of their time with the charities I have established. We'll discuss this in more detail once you're here and settled. Billy, can you think of anything I'm missin'?" she asks, looking at him.
"No strangers are allowed on the ranch; partying and datin' are done in town. We have fun out here with just us and the few outsiders as we call'em. There's too much at risk to allow just anyone to hang out here. We all clean up after ourselves, which ya already do. The rest is learn as you go type of things," he finishes with a wave of his hand toward Bella.
"Does anyone else have any questions?" she asks, looking around the table.
"Seems we're good, dear," my mother answers.
"Well then, welcome to Swan Lakes Ranch!" Bella exclaims.