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Chapter 10 - Cowboys and Chihuahuas

EPOV

"Avada Kedavra!"

As I lifted Masen into the air I caught sight of Bella and a blonde man who had to be James. A shocked look crossed his face and Bella lifted a hand to cover her smile. Masen laughed loudly at his own joke and I could literally feel the floor shaking with Emmett's. I was glad I had a little boy in my hands and his body was hiding my grin, because I was almost positive that insulting my ex's boyfriend by laughing hysterically at what a four-year-old had just screamed at him would not be cool on my part. Fucking Avada Kedavra. Masen was beyond awesome. The fact that he'd just "killed" his mother's boyfriend was the best thing that had happened all day.

"Emmett." Bella's voice was calmed and collected. I set Masen down and he frowned up at me, then sniggered when Emmett popped up from behind the couch, still wearing his cloak.

"Sup?" Emmett shrugged out of his cloak and she cast a pointed glare at him.

"Can you get Masen in the tub for me?" she asked and he nodded. Masen wrapped his arms briefly around my leg and then ran up the stairs, Emmett following closely behind.

I stood awkwardly in the middle of the living room, sheets surrounding me, fake wand in my hand. I dropped the wand and pulled a hand through my hair then stepped toward the couple at the door. Bella watched me with wary eyes as I approached James, mentally assessing his appearance. He was bigger than me, body-wise, but I was taller. He was nice looking, I supposed, with his blue eyes, buzzcut, and a long sleeved oxford tucked into his Gap jeans.

The way he eyed me made me uneasy, like I was encroaching on his territory. Though technically, to him I was. He and Bella were together, he was part of Masen's life. In this scenario, I was the outsider. I took a deep breath and stuck out my hand in an effort to be cordial.

"I'm Edward Cullen," I smiled but he simply stared at my hand with a raised eyebrow. A few uncomfortable seconds passed before I realized he wasn't going to shake it and I let my hand fall idly at my side.

"James, Edward just got in a couple days ago and-" Bella wrapped an arm around his waist in an attempt to ease his anger.

"A couple days? This jerk has been in town a couple of days and what? You forgot to tell me?" James said through his teeth. She dropped her arm and stepped away from him slightly, obviously shocked at his less-than-stellar behavior. I on the other hand, was not.

"Listen, buddy –" I started in an effort to ease the tension, in no way trying to be condescending.

"Don't buddy me, asshole," he snapped and I cast a glance at Bella who was watching him, a disbelieving look on his face. "I can't believe you kept this from me," James turned his piercing glare to Bella. She closed her eyes and massaged her forehead softly.

"Sweetie, I didn't keep anything from you," she said in a placating tone. "I just… Can we talk about this later? I need to get Masen ready for bed." She dropped her hands from her face and sighed. He stared for a long moment then nodded.

"Later, then." He tore his gaze from her and glared at me again. I didn't back down from his stare until he rolled his eyes. "I'll call you," he muttered, kissing her chastely, and I pointedly looked away. It wasn't until the door closed that I looked up. She was leaning against the door, arms folded across her chest, eyes closed again.

"Sorry. I'm sure that's not how you wanted this to go," I mumbled and she smiled slightly.

"No. James is very dramatic, I was hoping to ease him into this... situation," she sighed. "I mentioned once that I wanted to speak with you about Mase… and he lost his shit," she chuckled. "If it weren't so awkward it would be hilarious."

"Why did you?" I asked quietly.

"What?"

"Why did you call? I mean… you could've married James and been a happy little family and never have to worry about me." My voice was muted, the emotions subdued. I watched her face carefully while she thought of her answer.

"You want a beer?" she finally said, and stepped into the kitchen, leaving me alone in the foyer. I found her leaning against the counter with a beer turned up. She swallowed and handed me an ice-cold bottle. I twisted the cap off with the hem of my shirt and tossed it into the trashcan before taking a long swig.

"James asked me to marry him," she blurted out. I tried to gulp down the beer in my mouth, but it had another plans. Half of it spewed out in front of me while I choked the rest down. I put my hand over my chest as I coughed, trying to swallow the remainder of the ice cold liquid and the information she just threw at me. Why the hell did she just tell me that? What the fuck was going on in this alternate dimension I'd arrived in? I had a son and the only girl I'd ever loved was marrying some prick? How did those astronauts get out of that one alternate-dimension episode of the Twilight Zone? Oh wait, they all died. Crap.

"Uhh…" I obviously didn't know what to say.

"Shit," she muttered, biting her lip, and wiped up the spilled beer from the floor. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done it like that."

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised," I sighed as she handed me the rag and I dabbed at what had spilled onto my t-shirt.

"I'm sorry, Edward," she said again. I shook my head and fought back a smile at the fact that she still apologized for everything. It was good to know that some things hadn't changed. She threw the dirty cloth into the sink and fell into one of the kitchen chairs.

"Why do you do that?" I asked as I sat across from her.

"What?" she replied, her voice weary.

"Apologize for everything, all the time," I said softly and she chuckled quietly.

"Edward Cullen - " she rolled her eyes "-you've known me nearly my entire life."

"And?" I countered.

"And why in the hell are you wondering that now?" Now it was my turn to laugh.

"I guess you're right." I took a sip of my beer that had managed to stay inside the bottle. "We've got ourselves into a pretty fucked-up situation, huh?" I peeled the label idly, feeling her eyes on me.

"Yeah… we sure have," she muttered.

"There's more to the story, right? It's not that he asked you that you want to tell me is it?" I finally looked up at her and she nodded.

"He wants to adopt Masen," she answered, her voice barely audible.

I gripped the bottle in my hand so tightly I was afraid it would shatter. I fought the urge to yell my protests at the thought of another man being a father to my son. The idea had crossed my mind too many times during my time with Masen. I just couldn't fathom a future in which James was the father figure and I was a distant memory. I didn't want him to have someone else's last name, to have someone else tuck him in and read him stories. I knew I had only known Masen a few days in comparison to James, but still. The way we interacted, how well we complimented each other, our personalities? There was no doubt in my mind that I had to be a part of his life as much as I could.

My mind was already working overtime trying to figure out vacation time and holiday breaks he would have off from school. I wondered if Bella would let him come to Australia with me, or if she would make me spend our time together in Washington. To be honest it didn't matter, as long as I got to see him.

I took a deep breath and look up from my shredded Bud Light label. She was sitting with her chin in her hands, still watching me. My voice didn't shake as I said the single word that would hopefully seal my fate with my son.

"No."

She swallowed and nodded, but didn't speak. I tried to read her face, to figure out how she felt about my answer. It had always been so easy to tell what she was thinking, but I couldn't figure her out at the moment. I watched her for a long moment, spinning the beer bottle in her hand and tracing the condensation with her finger. When her eyes finally met mine I could see the understanding in them. It was obvious she knew why I'd said 'no', but I could tell there was a part of her that wanted me to say 'yes' and to leave them behind.

"That's not what you wanted to hear?" I asked softly, and she let out a breath I'm sure she'd been holding since we sat down.

"Honestly?" she asked and I raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure."

"Like I said, things would be easier if you wouldn't have called… "

"That's not what I wanted," she protested, and shook her head fervently. "I would love for James to be a part of Masen's life, to be a father figure to him… but you, Edward, are his father."

"But I don't understand, Bella!" I slammed a fist down on the table, startling both of us. "Why? Why wouldn't you just marry him and forget about me?"

"It's impossible to forget you," she said softly. "I see you in him everyday… and I didn't want him to grow up like you, never knowing who he really was." Her answer stunned me into silence. I had expected her guilt to be the major factor in her decision to contact me, but I should have known it would be something like this. She was protecting Masen from having questions like I did, never really knowing my biological parents. We were quiet for a while until Masen's voice broke through our thoughts.

"Mama?" he asked from the doorway of the kitchen.

"Hey baby," she said, smiling and opened her arms. He ran to her quickly, climbing into her lap and wrapping his arms around her neck.

"Can Edward read me a story?" He looked up at her with sleepy eyes and she turned to me, her expression pleading. She didn't want to continue our conversation with her emotions running so high, and I couldn't blame her. I could probably use some time to chew over her explanation too.

"Sure thing, buddy," I replied. He kissed Bella's cheek sloppily and she laughed.

"Good night, Mama," he called as he ran up the stairs ahead of me. I followed into his room where he had already jumped under the covers, pulling the comforter up to his chin. "I have some books you can pick," he said, and stuck a tiny hand out to point to a small stack on his nightstand. I perused the choices and settled on one about a Chihuahua.

"Is this about a dog?" I held the book up so he could see.

"No!" He fell back against the pillows laughing. "Skippyjon Jones is really a Siamese cat who thinks he's a dog," he explained while he rolled his eyes at me. I was really going to have to introduce him to Alice. After he instructed me on the correct way to read the story (with a Spanish accent and you had to sing the song and clap) I proceeded to read my very first bedtime story to my son: cue the dancing ovaries. I read the story three times before he finally drifted off, his hands folded under his perfect pale cheek. As I closed the book and set it back on his nightstand I noticed the corner of another sticking out from under his pillow. Very gently, I pulled the book out. It was a small photo album; much like the one Bella had shown me at the bar, only the pictures were much, much different.

The first one was a familiar one of four young children, arms linked around each other's shoulders, identical gap-toothed grins plastered on their faces. My own eight-year-old face smiled up at me between Alice and Emmett's, Bella on the other side of Alice. The book was full of pictures similar to the first, mostly the four of us together through the years. Every few pages there would be one of Bella and me or of her and Emmett and Alice. The last picture was from the two of us after the girls' high school graduation. Her mortarboard was nearly falling off her head, a huge smile on her face, and my lips pressed firmly to her cheek. I traced our faces in the pictures, wondering, not why she let him have a book filled with pictures of me, but if Masen knew more than he was letting on.

"Hey," Emmett said quietly. I quickly put the album back where it was and turned to him standing in the door. "He out?" he asked and I nodded. Emmett stepped out into the hallway and motioned for me to follow him. I brushed Masen's hair off his forehead and kissed him softly before meeting Emmett. He reached behind and closed Masen's door halfway so a sliver of light still entering the room.

"You want to grab a drink?" My hulking figure of a former best friend looked at his feet as he asked me.

"Uh… yeah," I shrugged nonchalantly, while my insides were dancing the conga.

"Okay," he smiled when he finally looked at me, "I'll follow you to Port Angeles?"

"Sure," I nodded, "I'll just tell Bella goodbye…" I trailed off as I went down the stairs, trying to figure out what his motives were. Bella was still in the same position in the kitchen that I'd left her in, though there were two more empty beer bottles in front of her. The sound of my footsteps caused her to look up.

"Is he asleep?" Bella asked and I nodded. She cleared the table, throwing the bottles in the trash and then came to stand in front of me. "Thank you for today," she said softly. I nodded again though I felt that I should have been thanking her for getting to spend time with Masen. A small smiled crossed her face as she reached up to softly tuck a wild lock of hair behind my ear, then kissed my cheek softly. She let her hand drop and stepped around me without a backward glance. I stood in the doorway, shocked at her physical contact until Emmett clapped me on the shoulder.

"Ready?" His voice startled me.

"Um, yeah," I shook my head, trying to clear the fog that had just been brought upon by Bella's kiss. He handed me my coat and called his goodbye before closing the door and grinning at me. I couldn't help but smile back, hoping that this would be a good night.

~*~

Emmett followed me to my hotel, then drove to a little dive bar on the outskirts of Port Angeles called Puzzles. We took a high-top table and ordered beers, and I couldn't help but feel awkward the whole time. The last time Emmett and I had drinks together was… I couldn't even remember. He took a long pull from his beer and looked at me.

"Today was fun. I think the kid likes you," he said, a hint of a smile on his face. I just nodded, ecstatic at the thought of Masen 'liking' me. "Of course… that will all be shot to hell when you leave again."

"I know," I sighed.

"So… you will leave?"

"I have to. My job, my home… everything is there," I tried to explain, though it only made him angry.

"No, asshole. Everything is here," he said, shaking his head.

"You know what I meant, Em," I said sadly. "I can't just quit my job and move back. Besides, it's not like Bella even wants me to come back. She wants to marry James and have her perfect little family." Now I was angry, remembering the conversation she and I had just had.

"Fuck them," Emmett spat, surprising me, "it's not about them. It's about the kid. James is not the father he needs and… and you deserve to be in his life."

"You really don't like James, do you?" I asked, trying to hold back my grin. He rolled his eyes. "I don't like anyone who's fucking my sister," he retorted and I cringed. "You of all people should know that." Then it was my turn to roll my eyes. "But no, I don't like him. He's shady. He asked her to marry him and didn't even give her an engagement ring."

"No ring?" I asked and he shook his head.

"Nope. Doesn't believe in 'em." Emmett took another long swig of his beer. "But like I said before… she seems happy, so I don't say anything. Masen doesn't like him, that's obvious."

"Yeah, I got that when he killed him this afternoon," I grinned and he laughed.

"She just wants someone to love him, so if you stick around…" He trailed off, his brown eyes, so like hers, burning into mine.

"I don't know what to do," I said and took a long drink, the alcohol already putting me at ease. "I've worked really hard to get where I am at my firm… but at the same I want to be around him all the time."

"Then move back, dude!" Emmett cried.

"And what?" I asked, incredulous. "Watch her marry someone else and see the kid on the weekends? I'd rather stay in Australia and see him during the summer or holidays than have to suffer through seeing her and – " I cut myself off, suddenly aware that I had said too much concerning Bella. And he knew.

"You love her. You totally still fucking love her," he accused me and I couldn't make my mouth form a response. Thankfully, my savior came just in time, in the form of a tall blond in a button-up plaid shirt, tucked into his jeans, a pair of gray snakeskin cowboy boots, and a large belt buckle with a 'W' engraved on it.

"I think this can reunion can only be celebrated properly with a shot of whiskey," the blond drawled in a deep Texan accent, placing three glasses on our table. Emmett laughed and I just stared at the man who had just released all the tension from between the two of us with a glass of amber liquid.

"Edward this is Jasper Whitlock, one of my deputies," Emmett explained and I stared between the two of them. "I asked him to come out tonight, in case it turned dirty," he said and I shrugged and gestured to the empty stool between us.

"Drink up, bitches," Jasper pushed the shots toward us and held out his own. We clinked our glasses together and downed the shots simultaneously.

"Keep these coming, would you, darlin'?" Jasper waved his glass to a waitress passing by. She flashed him a smile and nodded before walking away. "So," he turned to me, "you're Bella's soulmate, huh? Wicked. She's a cool girl." He took a swig from Emmett's beer and I stared.

"What?" I was thoroughly confused as to why he just called me that and even more so as to why he knew anything about me at all.

"What?" He echoed my question then understanding dawned on his unrealistically good looking face. "Oh, Emmett tells me everything. Yeah, I know all about everything. Don't worry though, friend, I'm unbiased," he assured me, and grabbed Emmett's beer again, but Emmett wrapped a large hand around his wrist.

"Chill, Whitlock. And get your own damn beer," he groused, and Jasper rolled his eyes and motioned for the waitress to bring us another round of beers, which she delivered with three more shots.

"I just tell it like it is, Papa Bear," Jasper said as he drank his shot and chased it with his beer.

"That's the problem," Emmett chuckled and I couldn't help but laugh. Having Jasper around proved to be refreshing after riding an emotional rollercoaster the past few days.

It was weird hanging out with 'just the guys' too. The only "guy" I had in Australia was EJ. Every once in a while I would go out with some of the guys in my department, but it wasn't very often that happened. And I had never found anyone I could talk to like Emmett, but I guess you can't replace a best friend you'd had since you were two.

Jasper turned out to be extremely sociable, having nearly all the waitresses in the bar checking on us every few minutes and giving us free shots and beers. Needless to say, I was pretty drunk when, on a trip to the bathroom, I finally noticed that there was a mechanical bull in the back corner of the bar.

"Hey cowboy," I said over the redheaded waitress who had both of her arms wrapped around Jasper's slim body. "You gonna ride that bull?" I asked and he laughed and shook his head.

"That's all you, buddy," he explained.

"Sorry, dude. I don't have on the right shoes," I looked down from my Docs to his boots and he smirked.

"I guess you don't," he replied. I don't remember anything that happened after that.

~*~

I don't know who decided construction at such an early hour was a great idea but I wanted to fucking punch them. That is, until I realized that the drilling and pounding was happening inside my own head, not from outside my hotel room. I tried to open my eyes, but I was pretty sure someone had glued them shut. Sweet Jeebus, it was cold! Where the fuck was I? When I finally did get around to opening my eyes most of my questions were answered.

I groaned loudly as I extracted myself from the bathtub in my hotel room, wishing someone had at least given me a towel to cover up with and wondering where the fuck my clothes were (or how I ended up in just my boxers). I was a little surprised to see Emmett sitting on one of the beds in my room, flipping through my old, battered copy of The Count of Monte Cristo.

"This is pretty interesting," he waved the book while his eyes raked up and down my body. "Nice boots, by the way," he chuckled and went back to the book. I look, bewildered, down at my feet and saw that I was wearing Jasper's snakeskin boots. I ran my hand through my hair and then collapsed on the other bed, pulling the comforter from the side of the bed and throwing it over me, not bothering to take off the boots. Besides, I kind of liked them.

"It's a classic tale of betrayal," I answered, though my voice was muffled by the pillow.

"Hmm…" I heard him say. I drifted in and out, listening to the pages turning softly until the door banged open and Jasper's voice filled the room.

"Breakfast, anyone?" he called. I didn't lift my head, too content in my warm cocoon of blanket and pillow to be bothered with food. Also, I was pretty sure I'd puke.

"Ed? Coffee?" he asked and I managed to extract one hand to flip him off. He chuckled and I sat up, throwing the blanket off me. "So that's where my shoes went," he murmured, nodding towards my feet, and I looked down at his, which were shod in my Docs. "They look good, we'll switch later. Whoa! You can read, Chief?" he exclaimed in mock-surprise at the book in Emmett's hand. I stood up in an effort to put actual pants on, but found it hard to get out of bed.

"What the hell?!" I cried. "Why does my whole fucking body hurt?" I looked from the two of them, but they simply stared at me, wide-eyed.

"Do you not remember?" Jasper asked, a hint of a smile on his lips.

"Not really," I replied with a shake of my head. Ow. Emmett laughed loudly and I buried my face back into the pillow. "What happened?" I asked, turning my face to the side so I could see them.

"Well," Jasper began, "there was this mechanical bull…"

A/N: Thanks as always to my loverly beta Becca Graymoor for making these words so much better, and of course to my life-twin Messynachos. Who's going to a midnight show tomorrow?? We are!! Hope everyone has a great time, can't wait to hear from you!

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