Author Note: Welcome to all new readers! This story has more alerts now than Oh Brother, which was my first break-out story.

Thanks again to moosals for pre-reading. Stephenie Meyer owns all characters.

Chapter 15 – My Antarctica

On a Friday morning in late February, I'm awakened by an early text message announcing that Forks schools will be closed today due to inclement weather. I race to the window, staring outside at snow! OK, so it's not like it's a lot of snow, but it's a lot for Forks.

I spend the morning doing a few things around the house, taking advantage of the extra day off. By the time I've finished lunch, the snow seems to have stopped, so I decide to go out and brush off my truck, just to get it over with.

After putting on my heaviest coat, a hat and gloves, I step outside on the porch, surprised to see Edward and Masen out in their front yard. Edward is dressed in a wool coat that just about covers his backside, while Masen is in a full body snowsuit like Randy in A Christmas Story.

"Hi boys!" I call, waving as I carefully make my way down the steps. "What are you two doing?"

"We're building a snowman," Edward answers. "Do you want to help?"

"Sure," I smile. Masen is so cute, rolling a small ball of snow across the yard, just like his daddy. Or at least trying to, since he falls over every so often.

I begin rolling my own ball of snow in my front yard. After Edward declares that his is probably large enough for the base, he helps carry my ball over to be the middle piece. Masen's isn't large enough yet for the head, so Edward helps him out until he pronounces it perfect.

"Do you have anything for his face?" Edward asks. "I'll find some sticks for the arms."

"Let me check!"

I know I have a package of carrots in my fridge, so I take one of those first. The best I can find for the eyes, mouth and buttons are a handful of Oreos. I grab an old scarf from the top of my closet as the final accessory, then head back outside.

Edward laughs when I hand him the Oreos, scraping out little holes in the snow so they won't fall out. After tying the scarf around his neck, our snowman is complete.

"Wow, that looks great!" I exclaim. I can't remember the last time I made a snowman. I need to remember to grab my phone later and take a picture of our handiwork.

"Snow!" Masen yells.

"That's right, buddy! It's a snowman."

"Do you like snow, Masen?" I ask, smiling. He's so cute with his cheeks pink from the cold.

"He seems to love it. He was standing in front of the window watching it fall all morning."

Hearing that, an idea suddenly pops into my head. "Would you two like to go sledding?"

"Sledding?"

"Yeah, there's this one hill just north of town where we'd always go on snowy days," I explain.

"I don't have a sled," Edward chuckles.

"I do," I smile proudly. "Or rather, it's still in my dad's shed."

"What are we waiting for then?"

While Edward gets Masen situated in his car seat, I run back inside for my keys, first so I can lock up the house and then so I can unlock Dad's storage shed.

After climbing into the passenger seat, I give Edward directions to my dad's house. His cruiser isn't parked out front, so he's probably at the station. I open the shed, poking around until I find my old sled leaning up against the wall. Edward opens the back of the SUV so I can set it in the trunk before hopping back in.

"Just follow the 101 north out of town and I'll tell you where to turn."

"Got it, boss," he smiles.

In just a few minutes, we're pulling off into a small area where cars can park. Several other families are here, so I wasn't the only one to have the idea to go sledding. While Edward gets Masen out of his car seat, I pull the sled from the trunk, then line it up on the top of the hill.

"That's a pretty big hill," Edward notes, looking like a worried father as he holds his son close.

"It's long, but it's not that steep, I promise. Watch, I'll go down first."

I sit on the sled, hold on to the strap, then look up at Edward for a push to send me on my way.

"Wheee!" I feel like a kid again as I fly down the hill, laughing the entire trip. Of course, reaching the bottom means going back up, but over the years a series of makeshift stone steps were laid to make that easier.

"Your turn!" I set the sled down next to where Edward is standing. "I saw another small child down there buttoned into his mom's coat. Maybe you could do that with Masen," I suggest.

"Good idea," he agrees, reaching for his buttons. He sits on the sled, arranging Masen in front of his body, then manages to button the bottom two — enough to hold him in.

"Ready, Mase? One… two… threeeee…"

And he's off down the hill! I jump and clap, watching them slide to the bottom.

"How'd he do?" I ask breathlessly once they've made their way back to the top of the hill. Masen is still inside Edward's coat, anchored by his hand underneath.

"Great," Edward smiles widely. "He was laughing most of the way, not scared at all. Looks like I'm gonna have a daredevil on my hands."

We spend the next hour or so taking turns going down the hill — sometimes Masen rides with me — until we're cold and exhausted from all of the trips back up.

"That was a lot of fun, thanks, Bella," Edward smiles as we get back in his SUV for the drive home. "My legs might feel it tomorrow though."

"I'm so glad you have fun! It's probably the only time all winter we'll have enough snow to go sledding."

Back home, I leave the sled on my front porch and invite Edward and Masen inside for some hot chocolate. I boil the water the old-fashioned way on the stove while they pop in at home to get Masen's diaper changed. When they cone back, I point them toward the kitchen table to have a seat.

"Here you go, boys!" I announce, setting one mug in front of Edward. "I figured Masen could drink from your mug." I take my seat at the table next to him, blowing on the steaming hot drink before taking a sip.

"Mmmm… this is good, Bella. And lots of marshmallows!"

"It's just a package mix," I admit. "Hey, would you like to stay for dinner? I'd picked up all of the ingredients to make chili when I was at the Thriftway yesterday. I was planning on making it Sunday, but we could do it now."

"That sounds great, a hot bowl of chili on a cold day… Tired, Mase?" he chuckles as the toddler leans back against his dad's chest, closing his eyes.

"I think all the fun wore him out."

"Good, maybe he can take a nap and stay out of our hair while we make dinner," he says, ruffling his son's blond hair.

Once we've finished our hot chocolate, Edward lays his sleeping son on the couch, and I pull my crocheted afghan off the back to cover him.

Back in the kitchen, I hand Edward an onion, a knife and the cutting board, while I start opening the cans of tomato sauce. Since he's now an expert on browning meat — thanks to my lesson when we made lasagna two weeks ago — I let him cook up the pork sausage and the ground beef while I get the rest of the chili together.

"And now for the secret ingredient… dark chocolate!" I pull out two squares of chocolate, breaking them into smaller pieces and adding them to the pot.

"What on earth does that do?" Edward laughs.

"Supposedly it cuts down on some of the heat from the chili powder without sacrificing the flavor," I explain as I stir. "Now we just need to let it simmer for a while, so that all of the flavors meld together. Do you think you could make this on your own?"

"I think so," he agrees. "I'd just need the recipe to know the correct amounts for all the different seasonings you put in there."

"Do you want to go home and grab Masen's high chair? And his dinner?" I add. "Or should we let him try some chili?"

"He can try a bit, but it'll probably be too spicy for him."

"It's not that spicy," I assure him. I'm not a huge fan of spicy food myself.

"You put half a bottle of chili powder in there!"

"That's what the chocolate is for, silly," I tease him, bumping his hip with mine. He smiles at me, and I can't help smiling back. I could really get used to this friendship thing.

One week later, I head out to happy hour at the local Mexican place — they actually have pretty good margaritas — with several of my colleagues to celebrate third grade teacher Jessica Stanley's birthday. With not a whole lot to do in Forks, several of the teachers do this nearly every Friday night, but there's only so much togetherness I can tolerate with some of my coworkers.

Even Angela comes along with us, though of course she can't drink. She still likes chips and salsa though. News travels fast in Forks, so everyone already knew that she's pregnant. However, since each grade in Forks Elementary has its own lunch period, not everyone had seen her since she started showing. To her great embarrassment, she almost gets more attention than the birthday girl.

The few of us without significant others decide to hang around and have dinner once the happy hour drink prices are gone. I may also be a tad bit too tipsy to drive.

"So what's the deal with your hot neighbor?" Jessica asks as we're finishing up our meals. Everyone at the table turns to stare at me, and I can feel my face heating up from the attention.

"What do you mean?"

"You know my sister works at the Thriftway? She says he's, like, a huge hit when he and that adorable toddler shop there."

"A hit how?" I giggle. Maybe it's the alcohol, but I'm having more trouble following her than usual.

"I mean, he gets the attention of every red-blooded female in the store. She says women are always hitting on him, but he doesn't seem at all interested in any of them. I've heard he's single, so what's his deal? Forks women aren't good enough for him? He's got a kid, so I doubt he's gay."

My eyes widen. Other women regularly hit on Edward? He hasn't said a thing about that. I mean, since we're friends and all, I would think he might bring it up, if it's something that bothers him. Or maybe he doesn't even notice?

Jessica doesn't seem to know that Edward is a widower — or at least I would think she'd be more sensitive if she did. She's the biggest gossip in Forks though, so I can't tell her too much.

"He just lost his wife last summer, Jess."

"Lost his wife? What do you mean?"

"I mean she passed away."

"Oh!" she exclaims. "I assumed he was divorced."

"I think we all did," I admit. "But no. Edward isn't at all ready for a new relationship with anyone."

"Pffttt… half the women who hit on him aren't interested in a 'relationship' either," she relates, complete with air quotes. "You'd think he'd get tired of his own hand, you know? Or maybe he's got a regular fuck buddy. If he doesn't, I'll volunteer for the job!"

"Jess!"

"Are you holding out on me, Swan?" she sounds exactly like a teacher trying to get one of her students to 'fess up.

"No!" I roll my eyes. "Edward is a friend, but that's it. He's not over his late wife. He isn't interested in even a physical relationship."

"And just how do you know that?" she narrows her eyes.

And… I'm saved by the beep of an incoming text message, quickly followed by another.

Where are you? – E

Sorry I don't mean to act like I own you.

Before I can type out a reply, he texts again.

If you're busy I understand but could you come by on your way home?

Maybe I'm reading too much into things, but Edward sounds almost desperate to see me. I hope nothing's wrong, but I don't want to get into it via text message.

I'm just finishing up dinner with some colleagues. I'll stop by.

"Jess, sorry, but I need to get going." I reach into my purse for my wallet, pulling out enough to cover my portion of the bill.

"And you're skipping dessert? Got a hot date?" she asks with an evil grin.

"Hardly." I'm not going to give her any gossip fodder if I can help it.

"You know I could read the EC on top of your screen. I know you were your texting your hot neighbor that you claim isn't interested in a relationship."

"We're friends, Jess. He needs to talk to me about something," I reply vaguely, since I actually have no idea what he wants.

"Mmm-hmm. And you're rushing off to see him."

Standing up, I toss my napkin at her, sticking out my tongue.

A/N: Bella's snow day was real. I downloaded the Forks school calendar and it was marked on there, so I decided to write it into the story. Coincidental timing as I just made chili this weekend for a chili cook-off at work on Tuesday. Wish me luck!

So Bella has learned that other women in Forks are also interested in Edward! But what do you think he wants? Teaser if you can guess! There is a very subtle hint in the chapter.

Next update on Thursday.