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 27: Road Trippin'
EPOV
I wake up with my head pounding. This is going to be one of those days. I think to myself before getting up to take a quick shower, dress and pack everything up. With one last glance around the hotel room, I grab my bags and make my way out the door. My father is sitting at the small table drinking coffee and reading the paper. He looks up as I make my way into the room.
"I'm going to the little store downstairs for some aspirin. I'll meet you in the lobby whenever you're ready to go," I tell him as I head for the door.
"What about breakfast, Son?" he questions in concern.
"Not hungry," is my short reply.
"Edward," he starts with disapproval in his voice.
"I'm fine, Dad. No worries," I tell him, walking out the door.
As I'm waiting for the elevator, Ben walks up beside me with both his and Angela's bags. She is trailing behind, messing with her phone. "Morning," he mumbles out.
"Hey, morning," I greet them. "Mind if I ride with you today?"
"Naw, anytime," he replies, yawning. "I'm getting too old for these late nights," he laughs out.
"Don't listen to him, Edward. He was asleep by ten," she jokes, laughing at Ben's disgruntle face.
They walk towards Starbucks while I go to the hotel store near the concierge desk. After getting some aspirin and a bottle of water, I meet back up with them and order a coffee for myself. We head to where Angela has found an empty table, so that they can eat their pastries.
An hour later, the others arrive in the lobby and my father checks us all out. I walk with Ben to their truck as the others follow behind. Once I climb in the backseat, I assume they realize that I'm not going to be riding with any of them.
Ben follows behind my parents to Fallon, as I play with the iPad. I have been looking up recipes, downloading music and movies. This thing is really cool.
An hour later, we are pulling in the drive of a huge ranch. It isn't as big as Swan Lakes, but it's huge, nonetheless.
I get out and slowly stretch my legs. I see a bench next to a pasture with a few horses running around, and decide to check the quality of the camera on my iPad. Sitting and waiting for Alice to take care of whatever and load the horse, I snap a few pictures as the horses frolic and nudge each other. I'm fiddling with the photo editor when my mother sits beside me. She doesn't say anything at first, she's just staring off at the horses in the pasture.
"I love all three of my boys, but I will not stand by and let them hurt each other, whether it be with fists or words. They are wrong, Edward. Don't let them off easy. You worry about what you need right now and let me worry about them," she states in the motherly tone she always uses to sooth us. As she is getting up to leave, she pats my hand and smiles, "Oh, Son? You will eat. Don't make me force feed you."
"Yes, ma'am," I answer, feeling like a little boy at her scolding.
It takes well over an hour for Alice to get all the paperwork in order and load the horse into the trailer. On the way back to the highway, we stop at a feed store but only Jasper, Alice and my dad go in.
Just as we are fixing to leave, Rose jumps in the backseat with me, "I'm riding to Vegas with you."
I don't have the energy to argue with her, so I simply nod and go back to my iPad. We ride quietly just listening to the radio while I look up more recipes. So enthralled with what I'm doing, I don't realize that she is looking over my shoulder until she speaks.
"Ooh, that one looks good. Save it. You should totally make those for everyone. I'll even help," she states, elated. "Wait, what the hell is goat cheese? Can you substitute that?"
"It's cheese made with goat milk instead of cow milk. It's really good. You can't even tell the difference," Angela pipes in.
"Ok...yeah, whatever. Just don't tell me what it is," Rose replies hesitantly.
I finally look up at her asking, "Why are you riding with us, Rose?"
"Does my favorite brother in-law not want me to ride with him?" she answers with a fake pout, holding her hands to her chest like I hurt her feelings.
"I'm alright with it, just asking," I deflect, smirking at her acting skills.
"It's because I haven't gotten to spend any time with you three and my husband is a jackass. I don't want to be around him right now," she answers with a shrug of her shoulders. "I'm too pretty for jail so beating him to a pulp is out of the question."
"Well then, you better be a good sister and help me pick out more recipes," I quip back playfully.
So for the next few hours, Rose, Angela and I pick out recipes that they want me to try. We have about forty saved before Ben puts a stop to our bantering.
"You three need to stop talking about food. I'm starving over here. I'm so hungry my stomach is about to eat a hole in my backbone," he snarks. "Can one of you call and find out when we're stopping to eat."
Rose and I just look at each other before Angela pulls out her phone to call my father.
"Sorry Carlisle, but Ben is starving. Something about stomach eating backbones or something," she laughs out.
"Yeah, that's fine. Nope, not picky at all," she states before hanging up.
"He said that we'll stop in the next town. There's supposed to be a few food places there," she relays to us.
Twenty minutes later, we pull into some burger hut in the middle of nowhere. "I guess we are eating burgers," Rose says sarcastically.
We climb out and go into the small establishment. The place is actually pretty nice on the inside for being a run-down hut on the side of the road.
"Welcome to Burger Hut, order at the counter and sit anywhere you like," a teenage girl greets.
I walk to the counter and order a burger basket, pay and go sit at a table in the back corner taking my number on a stick with me. One by one, everyone starts to sit around me, pulling tables together so that we all fit.
Ten minutes later, my food arrives. It doesn't look bad. I turn the burger around, inspecting it, shrug my shoulders and take a bite. While chewing, I look up to find that everyone is staring at me.
"What?" I bark out.
"Nothing. I just want to know if it was ok. I've never eaten in a hut before," my father answers with a smirk. "Who else better to ask than an actual chef," he continues with a single shoulder shrug.
"Well, it isn't gourmet turkey with goat cheese," I respond, looking at Rose who flips me off. Ben and Angela just laugh at her sour face.
"I guess you have been researching recipes?" my mother asks with a giggle.
"Yeah, Rose likes the pictures until she reads what's in them," I tell her, smirking at Rose.
"Whatever. It looked good until I saw the word goat," she snarks back.
Their food starts to arrive, so any kind of small talk or conversation is quickly is forgotten. As we sit, letting our food settle, my mother startles me by pointing out the little window. "Look, Edward."
I squint as I look out the glassed opening to see that she's pointing at a little re-sale antique shop across the street. Sitting outside, are some cast iron Dutch ovens. I have been wanting to find some to use in a few of the more rustic recipes I like to make.
"Let's go check it out," I tell her, getting up and leading her to the door with her arm neatly tucked under mine. We walk across the street with the others following.
We start looking at what is on the table that is out front before going in. They have all kinds of stuff and it's everywhere. If you don't know what you're looking for, it can be overwhelming.
"Son, look at these," my father calls to me. As I turn around, he's holding up a stack of cast iron corn stick pans that are in really good shape.
"Wow, Dad, how many are there?" I ask excitedly.
"Um, seven," he responds as he counts them. We turn when we hear a deep voice.
"I have more in the back. They're in just as good shape," an older man says.
"How many more?" I ask, his eyes going wide.
I look to my mother, hoping that she is adding up the numbers in her head. Bella didn't have many muffin pans, and we had to bake a few batches to get enough made for all of the campers.
"I'd say at least twenty, Edward," she answers, then turns to the man. "How much are those cast iron Dutch ovens out front?"
"The bowl kettles are twenty, and the camp pots are ten," he answers.
"We'll take them, along with twenty of these, if you have them," I reply, pointing at the corn stick pans that my father is still holding.
"Um, yeah sure. I will go get them. I have some boxes in the back. Is that ok to stack them in?" he asks, in what I can only assume is shock. He probably doesn't get a lot of customers through here.
"Actually," Jasper interrupts. "Do you have any wooden crates? We have to load them in a horse trailer and we have a long trip. I don't want them to get cracked or anything. If you have some crates I can pad them with hay."
Before I can thank him for the suggestion, Rose is calling me over. "I bet those enchiladas would bake up yummy in this." She is holding a jumbo chef platter. I haven't seen one of these since cooking school. "There's two more, but I'm not sure how to tell if they are in good shape, or not."
I take it from her, turning it over, and see no cracks or peeling. "How much?" I ask, holding it up so the man can see it.
"Five dollars, but I only have the three there," he replies.
"That is too cheap," I whisper to Rose. "These things are at least sixty each."
"Pay him thirty for all three then," she whispers back. "You are getting a good deal on the other stuff as well, right?"
"Yeah, it's all pretty cheap in comparison," I tell her as Emmett runs up with an antique cast iron Belgian waffle maker.
"Really, Emmett? Seriously, it would take forever to make a waffle on that," I tell him, shaking my head.
"Please? Pretty please?" he whines out.
I just shake my head at him as he continues to argue it out with Rose.
After paying the man more than the amount he said was due, we all grab items and start carrying them to the trailer where Jasper has loaded a large wooden crate and is padding it with some of the hay they bought for the horse. As I am helping him stack the pots inside, he starts talking.
"Not only are you my older brother that I look up to, but you're my best friend. I'm a jerk and I let jealousy take over my emotions. I was stressed and instead of talking to you, I turned on you and that's not cool," he remarks quietly.
"Nope, not cool at all, Jazz," I state, still upset with him.
"I know and I apologize. You didn't make me feel inferior. I was making myself feel that way. I really am sorry and I love you man, don't ever forget that," he finishes patting me on the shoulder and jumping down out of the trailer.
"Come on guys, I want to get to this horse motel before dark," Alice bellows.
As I start to get out of the trailer, I hear Rose growl, "I love you, Emmett, but if you don't get in your mom's car, I will beat you to death. I'm riding with Edward, we are not done torturing Ben."
"Ah, guys. No more weird shit. I might starve to death if you are cooking," Ben whines.
"Load up, everyone. Let's get on the road," Jasper yells out.
For the next three or so hours, we look up and save a variety of recipes. Rose found me this really cool recipe box app that will help me store and organize them all by category. Ben would moan and groan when we would describe something unappetizing, but I could tell that he secretly enjoyed being included in the banter.
As the truck starts to slow, I look up to see Jasper pulling off the highway into a rest stop. We follow and pull up beside my mother's SUV, getting out to see what's going on.
"The Equine Suites is about forty minutes from here. I think it's best if we take the beltway around Vegas. They have a secure place to store the trailer, so I want to make sure there isn't anything inside there that you will need for the next three days," Jasper explains tiredly.
There are mumbles of, "I'm good" and "No", from everyone.
"Ok then. After we unload the horse and store the trailer, we'll all fill up with gas before heading to the resort," he finishes.
Everyone climbs back into the trucks except, this time, Rose decides to ride with Emmett and my parents. It takes us a little more than forty minutes, but soon we are pulling into a pretty nice barn. Ben pulls off to the side as Jasper pulls up to the barn. As we all get out, a few people walk toward the trailer from the barn, meeting up with Jasper and Alice.
"Hi, you must be Charlene? I'm Alice Cullen, it is so nice to meet you," Alice greets the woman, shaking her hand.
"You too, Alice. I know y'all must be tired, so let's get this boy in a stall to eat and rest. Then, I'll have you sign the papers," Charlene replies.
It only takes a few minutes for Alice to unload Smoke and get him settled in a stall while we unload his feed and hay. The man who walked up with Charlene, directs Jasper on where to park the trailer. As we are standing around waiting, Emmett rushes up looking all kinds of flustered. I didn't even know he was missing.
"Son, what did you do?" my father asks with a deep sigh. This cannot be good.
"I didn't mean to. She was crying and I felt bad, so I was just going to let her out for a minute to play. She has been cooped up in that cage all day," he whines out, and I think it clicks with us all at once.
"Please tell me you didn't do...what I think you did, Emmett?" Rose growls out.
"You didn't let Gracie out, did you? Say you didn't let Alice's cat out, Son?" my mother questions.
"Where is she, Emmett? Did she get loose in mom's car?" I ask, thinking we can just catch her and put her back in the crate that Alice is using to transport her.
Just as he is about to answer, Alice and Charlene walk up. Emmett wraps Alice in a hug pinning her arms beside her whispering that he loves her and that she is his favorite sister. It's too bad that Alice can see right through bullshit from a mile away.
"Emmett, what did you break?" Alice asks, wiggling out of his arms.
He rushes out, "I didn't mean to! She was crying! I just wanted to play with her! I left the door open! I'm sorry, so sorry! I will find her, I promise!"
"What the hell are you talking about?" she looks at him in confusion.
As he starts to talk again, "Gracie..."
"YOU DIDN'T? ARE YOU CRAZY?" she screams at him. Oh shit, she is going to kill him. I thought that Gracie was just loose in the truck. It never dawned on me that she could have ran off.
Alice stomps off toward my mother's truck, as Charlene clears her throat, "So, you let her cat out, huh?"
Jasper drives up after unhitching the trailer, getting out just as Emmett cries out, "It was an accident!"
"What was an accident?" he questions, looking at all of us.
"Your dufus brother let your wife's cat out and she ran off," Rose states with annoyance dripping from her voice.
Jasper just shakes his head and walks towards his wife, who is now leaning against my mother's SUV, crying.
"Go get her treats and toys out of the bag, Babe," he directs, giving her a kiss on the cheek and wiping her tears. "I'll find her. You know she isn't going far, she's too spoiled."
Alice walks to the back of the SUV as Jasper turns, just looking at Emmett, and shaking his head in disbelief.
Jasper takes the treat bag and starts rattling it, walking around. A few minutes later we all hear Gracie's sweet meow coming from the direction of a tractor sitting next to the barn. He walks toward her, bending down giving her a treat while picking her up. He hands her to Alice, who loves and kisses her while whispering.
"Oh, she is precious," Charlene comments. "And really tiny. How old is she?"
"Um, about a year now. She was dumped at the vet office I use to work for when she was a few weeks old. I nursed her with a bottle and she's been mine ever since. Her name is Grace because she survived by the Grace of God. We call her Gracie," Alice explains with pride.
"You know, even pet friendly hotels don't usually allow cats. Where are y'all staying?" Charlene inquires.
"We know. I called everywhere, but all the pet friendly ones only take dogs. So, I am going to sneak her in," Alice answers shyly. "I don't feel comfortable leaving her at a border I don't know. We're staying at Silverton because it's close to here and I can come check on the horse every day."
"Leave her here then. You can check on her along with Smoke. She'll be inside the house or in the office with me. I'd really hate for her to be left in a hotel room every day, or for you to get caught," Charlene advises, addressing us all.
We turn to look at Alice, it's her call. I know she is already frustrated because she couldn't find a hotel that allowed cats, but we weren't going to make Alice board Gracie at a place we didn't know, either.
"Um, can I see where she would be staying? Are there other animals living in the house?" she questions in concern.
"Yeah sure. Come with me. I do have two tiny dogs, but I think that they would be more scared of Gracie," Charlene laughs out. "Delilah's a teacup poodle that recently had puppies. I sold them all except one. The poor thing. He was born with a cyst on one eye. Even though the vet removed it, he couldn't restore his sight. So, he's blind in that eye. I can't sell him, so I'm keeping him until I find the right home for him," she explains, leading us into her home.
We walk in to this rustic home, the smell of pine catching me off guard. Before we can step fully into the living room, this little fur ball runs up barking at us. She is so adorable, but my focus is on the smaller, little brown puppy that is peeking around the corner of the brown leather sofa. I instantly walk toward it.
"Oh, little man, you are so precious," I whisper, picking him up as he starts growling. "So brave."
I turn to see my whole family just staring at me, but Charlene has a look of pure happiness on her face. She walks over and starts petting him while he is still in my arms.
"He's blind in his right eye," she speaks softly. "He has learned to get around, but still bumps into things occasionally. When they removed the cyst, they had to take the nerves out too. But he is so playful and full of life. He doesn't let his disability get him down."
"How much do you want for him?" I ask, as I hear my family gasp.
"He isn't for sale..." she starts.
"Edward, ma'am," I introduce.
"He isn't for sale, Edward. I want to give him to a good home where he will be completely loved and cared for," she explains. "Where do y'all live?"
"Um, we're actually moving. We just left Washington and are headed to Texas. We're going to work on Swan Lakes Ranch for Bella," my mother clarifies, cutting in.
"Oh my! That's wonderful. Bella is such an amazing person. I met her at a horse show once and we have remained friends ever since," she exclaims. "And her daughter, Cassie; so sweet. She and Cassie actually stayed with me last year when they were here for the AQHA Show."
"Her father was my best friend," my father joins the conversation. "We went to college together and now we're going to help her on the ranch."
"Do you want to give him a home Edward?" she asks, turning to me.
"I just feel like we need each other. We have both been through hell and are coming out on the other side stronger," I tell her genuinely.
"Ok, if you're serious, then you can have him. I'll get all his medical papers and stuff together for when y'all pickup Gracie and Smoke. I can write out a list of things you need to know about him and there is a Petco right up the road on Blue Diamond. You are gonna need all kinds of stuff to travel to Texas with him, but I will make you a list for that, too," she explains.
"I want him to be a part of my family. Thank you so much," I tell her, elated. "I know I have to leave you here for a few more days little man, but I will come with Alice every day to check on you and we can play," I whisper to him. "What's his name?" I ask, looking at Charlene.
"I haven't really named him. I just call him baby most if the time so it's your choice what his name is," Charlene remarks.
"Well I think your name will be Lleu," I affirm.
"Lleu? Why that name son?" my father explores.
"It's Welsh; meaning to overcome. Lleu overcame the curse bestowed upon him," I explain with a shrug of my shoulder.
"Very fitting, Edward. Welcome to our crazy family, Lleu," Rose interjects, taking him from me and kissing his nose. "You just got yourself an awesome Aunt Rose little man."
Hating to leave them behind, Alice and I both are wearing pouts all the way to the trucks.
"You two need to stop sulking. If it wasn't for me letting Gracie out, you wouldn't have found little man. See, I am the best uncle ever," Emmett bellows, earning a smack from Rose.
We load back up and follow Jasper to the gas station to fill up and then to Silverton Hotel and Casino, where we'll be staying for the next three nights. The bonus about staying at the Silverton is that it's only ten minutes from where we are boarding the horse. I'm so ready to check-in, eat and go to bed.
We pull into the self-parking garage of the hotel and start to unload our luggage. My father clears his throat, getting our attention. "We'll check-in and then take everything to our rooms. We'll eat at Johnny Rockets and I'll discuss the plans for our stay here."
So after checking in and finding our rooms, which luckily are all on the same floor, we decide to meet in my parent's room after getting settled. My room is awesome. It has a clean, crisp design with an outdoor feel. Huge flat screen TV and connection for my iPhone and iPad. The bathroom is granite and mosaic tile in different shades of browns and creams. That is where I'm headed, I think to myself as I eye the multi-head shower. Oh God, it has rain flow heads. Yep, this is awesome.
Thirty minutes later, I'm lying on the couch in my parent's room, waiting on the others. My mother sits beside me on the edge, making me open my eyes. "I'm so proud of you and I love you very much," she whispers.
"I love you too, but what brought this on?" I question.
"Just because." She states simply, shrugging her shoulders. "And, for making me a Meme once again, if only to fur-babies." she laughs, patting my face.
"He is pretty awesome and we need each other. I hope Bella doesn't mind," I mention, thinking I should have asked her first.
"I don't think you have to worry about that. That girl loves animals and once she sees him you might have a fight on your hands," she giggles.
"Nope, he's my buddy," I demand, winking at her and making her laugh. "I wonder if they make little doggie shirts that say 'Daddy's Little Man' on them?"
"They do, check this out!" Alice interrupts shoving her iPad in my face. On the screen are these cute little dog shirts with different saying on them. I didn't even hear her and my brother come in. Emmett and Rose walk in as I sit up, taking the iPad from her.
"Come on guys, you can look at that later. I'm starving over here," Emmett whines.
We head downstairs, following my dad to the restaurant. We are seated immediately and I glance around hardly seeing any other customers. I guess it's pretty late.
Alice and Rose sit on either side of me and we continue looking at all the pet apparel and accessories they have. I'm gonna have to cash in my man card.
"Ok guys," my dad starts, interrupting our shopping. "Bella has graciously expensed this trip for us. So, I want to make sure you are conscientious of that. Please don't charge anything unnecessary to your rooms. If you need something, just let your mother or I know. That includes you and Angela," he states, looking at Ben.
"Tomorrow, before breakfast, Alice and Edward can go check on the animals, but we need to meet in the lobby by ten. Ladies, I believe you will have, pretty much, the whole afternoon at the spa. Guys, we have a tee time and lunch set up for us. Then, tomorrow night we are having dinner and going to a show together. Saturday is all yours to do as you please. Jasper has mentioned that he wants to be on the road by ten Sunday morning. Any questions?"
"What show are we going to and do we need to dress up?" Rose asks.
"We thought everyone would enjoy Tournament of Kings. It's a dinner and show in one," he explains. "There really isn't a dress code. Is everyone ok with that?"
"Yeah, it sounds fun," Ben answers while we all nod in agreement.
"I have an idea for Saturday," Angela announces, a little unsure.
"What's that, Sweetheart?" my father acknowledges.
"We could all pick one thing we want to see or do on the strip and enjoy them together," she answers, still unsure of our response. "It's just, I never really had a family growing up and I like hanging out with you guys. I feel safer with everyone together," she answers, looking at Ben.
"Angela had a rough childhood, and doesn't like going off by herself very often," he explains, wrapping his arm around the back of her chair.
"Actually, I like that idea," Emmett asserts winking at her. "I mean, some things I want to do, Rose doesn't. So, this way we will all be together."
"I like it, too," my mother announces. "So, we can all pick something and map it out. Edward, if you don't mind me borrowing your iPad, I can make a list. Then tomorrow while y'all are golfing I can put an agenda together."
"Sure, Mom. No problem." I tell her just as our food arrives and we all begin eating.
"Oh shit! Edward, look at this one," Rose blurts out, showing me the screen. There is a little white shirt with 'Daddy's Boy' on it and it's perfect.
"That's perfect!" I laugh out. "I have to get that for him."
"Let me see, Rose," my mother insists. "That is precious. Can you send the picture to my phone? There are these little shops that will make that for you, and a lot cheaper, too. You won't have to wait for it to be shipped and he can wear it to Texas."
"That would be cool! You could have a few made and it will keep him clean on the trip since we have to stop at rest areas. You don't always know what condition they're in," Alice points out. "I like the 'Daddy's Little Cowboy' one."
"Make sure you get him a collar, and have a tag made at the pet store with his name and your number on it, too," Jasper adds. "He is gonna be so spoiled."
"Yes, he is," my father adds with a smirk.
Yeah, he'll be spoiled alright and not just by me either.
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