Wild Horses

by

Miracle1901

~Bella~

Sitting on the pasture fence and looking out over my land was something that always took my
breath away. The rolling hills, the mountains, the tall green grass that swayed when the wind
blew… it was all amazingly beautiful, but what made it so much more amazing were the
horses that grazed on the grass across the land. I was the owner of a thousand acre horse ranch
in Montana, and I had the best job I could ever dream of. I ran the ranch, I trained the horses, I
get to ride and marvel in their beauty all day, every day.

I watched my daughter perched next to me and saw the same loving wonder flit across her
face as well. I got pregnant with her when I was eighteen years old, and she is by far the best
thing that had ever happened to me. Her father and I never married, but had been together for
the entire ten years of her life. She always watched the horses like they were most amazing
thing she had ever seen and she would sit for hours, probably the entire night, watching them.

“You ready to help me turn the horses in, Lilly?” I asked her, already knowing the answer.

“Yes, but I get to lead Blaze and Ghost!” she said with her head held high and a blissful smile
on her face.

“I don’t know about that, are you sure can manage both of them? You know they are both big
guys,” I teased, knowing full well that she could handle any horse out here just as well as I or
any of the ranch hands could.

“Pfft, I can handle any horse out here!” she exclaimed as if she were reading my mind. She
ran over to the barn and grabbed all the halters and lead ropes and headed back towards me,
handing me three of the halters.

“Alright, kid, you go grab Blaze and Ghost, I’ll grab Cash, Quattro, and Chaos,” I told her,
but she was already walking towards them with a treat in hand so that Ghost didn’t run when
she tried to put the halter on him.

“Easy boy,” she crooned as she slowed her pace when she got closer to the massive grey
horse. “That’s a good boy,” she sighed as she slipped the lead rope around his long slender
neck so that he would stay put.

Like an expert, she eased the halter over his nose, and I’ll be damned if the horse that hates
affection and runs from everyone didn’t drop his head so she could reach up to fasten it
behind his ears. Blaze was easy for her because he didn’t care where you took him, as long as
he got to eat his grain and hay every day.

“She is a natural with them; I guess she gets that from her mother,” a rich velvet voice said
from behind me, causing me to jump and squeak a bit, which in turn spooked Chaos.

“Shit,” I groaned, knowing it would take me an hour to calm the skittish horse down.

“Sorry Ms. Swan, didn’t mean to scare you. I’ll take care of Chaos,” Edward, one of the ranch
hands, offered.

“It’s alright, I’ll get him. It’s no big deal,” I said, and in reality it was a great excuse to avoid
going back in the house to deal with James, Lilly’s father – if you could even call him that.

Oh, how do I describe Edward Cullen? Words like ‘attractive’, ‘good looking’, ‘cute’…yeah
those didn’t even come close to the magnificence of Edward. He had this crazy, untamable
bronze hair that almost glowed when the sun hit it, and green eyes that were so intense it was
almost like he could see into your soul. Being a ranch hand was hard work, and it got hot
during the day, which meant that Edward took his shirt off. Yeah, I admit that I often looked,
and what woman in their right mind wouldn’t look at a man in a pair of nice fitting jeans?
That’s what I thought: every woman in their right mind would, especially since said man had
a freaking eight pack and that damn V that just begged for you to follow it down with your
hands.

“Ms. Swan?” Edward asked, suddenly making me realize that I was daydreaming about him
and not listening to a word he was saying.

“I’m sorry, what?” I asked, slightly embarrassed. “And how many times to do I have to ask
you to please call me Bella?” I said, smirking at him over my shoulder while I calmed Chaos
down by rubbing his nose.

Edward has been working here for two years and is by far the best help I could ever ask for.

“I asked what time did you want to start working on getting the horse’s shoes squared away?”
he asked with a little grin as he pushed his baseball hat up a bit.

“Oh, I’ll be at the barn around seven, maybe earlier – just come down when you can,” I said
as I finally got Chaos to stand still long enough to put the halter on him.

Edward and the other ranch hand lived in the bunk house that sat about a half mile from the
main house.

“I’ll be there a bit earlier than that so that I can feed and through hay. I’m sure Lilly will be
there bright and early as well.” He laughed as we both watched Lilly lead the two massive
horses towards the barn.

“If she is a bother, just call me and I’ll make sure she stays out of the way.”

“Oh, no not at all; she is a big help. She is about the only one that can keep Ghost there from
tearing the stall apart in the mornings,” Edward said with a little shake of his head.

“You mean a ten year old girl can handle that horse better than your six foot two self?” I
teased as I patted Chaos on the neck.

“Like I said, she is a natural around them, and her and Ghost seem to have a special bond,” he
said with an adoring smile.

Edward reached for the other two lead ropes, and as he grasped them in his large hand he
brushed his fingers against my wrist. I met his intense eyes for a brief moment, causing my
heart to flutter a little.

“Mom!” Lilly shouted, shaking me out of my green-eye induced trance. “Are you coming?”

I smiled at Edward and started walking towards the barn, leading the young horse behind me.

“I’m coming!” I called, shaking my head a little.

I don’t know why, but I had felt a connection with Edward from the moment that he stepped
foot on my property. He was amazing with the horses and equally amazing with Lilly; he
teaches her things in a way that her father never bothered to. I wouldn’t trade her for anything
in the world, but James on the other hand was a different story.

“Hey, Mr. Edward!” she said with a sweet smile. “You going to let me feed in the morning?”

“Sure kid, but you know they like to eat early. And don’t call me Mr. Edward, it makes me
feel old,” he said, ruffling her long chestnut hair as he led the other two horses to their stalls.

“I know, I’ll probably be up before any of you anyway,” Lilly said with a smug smile on her
face. She was right: she was always the first person in the barn every morning and I always
had to drag her back up to the house in the evenings.

We both laughed at her enthusiasm as we locked up the stall doors.

“Come on, Lilly, let’s get back up to the house so I can start dinner,” I said, putting my arm
around her little shoulders and pulling her close to my side.

“OK, see you in the morning, Edward!” Lilly said, waving as we walked out of the barn and
towards the house.

“Bright and early! Ms…um…Bella, see you around,” he said, waving back as he finished
throwing the hay bales into the stalls.

The closer we got to the house, the more tense I became, and I could feel Lilly tense as well
as I had my arm around her shoulders. Not knowing what we were walking into each day was
terrifying: would he be just the lazy piece of shit he had always been or would he be the
raging drunk that haunted my dreams at night? I had been trying to get him out of my house
and off my land for so long, but he started threatening to take Lilly away if I tried, repeatedly
telling me to, and I quote, ‘Stop acting like a stupid bitch’.

“Mom?” Lilly asked in a sad tone, with her brown eyes cast down to the gravel walk way.

“What is it, sweetie?” I asked as I pulled her to a stop and kneeled down so I was eye level
with her.

“Why do you let him stay here? I don’t want him to be my dad, and I don’t want him to hurt
you anymore,” she said softly, and I could hear her sniffle.

I pulled her chin up with my fingers and brushed her hair out of her face. She had tears welled
up in her eyes. How do I answer her questions? She was ten years old – the only thing she

should be worried about in life is what to wear tomorrow, or in her case, which saddle she
wants to use for the day. She shouldn’t have to worry about whether her father was going to
hit her mom or not.

My own tears started to sting my eyes as I pulled her into a tight hug. How on God’s green
earth anyone could not love this child was beyond me. James hardly acknowledged her
presence unless it was to threaten to take her away from me.

“Lilly, I know things are hard right now, but I promise you that I will make it better…I’ll
make this right,” I said, pulling back to look her in the eyes. I meant every word: my daughter
would not grow up to see the things that go on in that house.

“I wish Edward was my dad,” she sighed, looking back towards the barn where he was
locking up for the night.

I didn’t know what to say to that, other than “me too”, but I didn’t think that would be
appropriate to say to a ten year old child. I pulled her into another hug, and we both took a
deep breath and turned to walk towards the house.

When we made it to the door I took another deep breath and turned the knob. As soon as we
walked into the house and I saw the beer cans on the coffee table, I knew that it was going to
be a bad night. I turned to Lilly and kneeled down close to her.

“Listen to me, Lilly. If things get bad tonight, I want you to go out your window and run
straight to the bunk house. Do you hear me?” I said in a whisper.

She nodded and I saw fear in her eyes, but it passed quickly and was replaced by
determination.

“I won’t let him hurt you again, Momma…I love you,” she whispered as she placed her hands
on each side of my face and kissed my cheek.

“I love you too, baby, more than anything,” I said, trying to hold back the tears.

I kissed her on the forehead and stood up in time to see James stumble through the kitchen
door.

“Where the hell is my food?” he shouted, confirming my thoughts about it being a bad night.

“I am about to start cooking now,” I said with my head down as I rushed into the kitchen. I
hated letting him see my fear, but I was trying to avoid any issues while Lilly was in the
room. He just grunted and headed off to the shower.

I cooked dinner with Lilly’s help because she didn’t want to be anywhere near James, and we
were able to get dinner on the table before he got out of the shower. We sat down and began
eating in silence until Lilly spoke again.

“Hey Mom, can I ride Ghost tomorrow on the trails? I know that you are going to be working
a few of the other horses, so I thought I would help you.” She looked at me with pleading
eyes.

“Are you sure you can handle Ghost out on the trails? I mean, he is really big and you know
he likes to run,” I said. I was teasing her, because in all actuality I knew that there wasn’t a
person on the ranch that could ride that horse better than her.

She looked at me with an eyebrow raised as if to say, ‘are you kidding me?’ I had to laugh a
little.

“Of course you can, and you can help me work the others as well,” I said, winking at her.

I kept my attention on Lilly but watched James out of the corner of my eye, trying to gauge
his mood. It quickly became clear that it was shitty…imagine that.

We finished dinner and I told Lilly to go take a shower and get ready for bed since we needed
to be up early in the morning. When she was ready for bed, she came down and kissed me
goodnight and mumbled a quiet goodnight to her father, which he just ignored completely.

Once she was upstairs and I heard her door close I knew what was coming, I could feel it in
the air: the tension that foreshadowed the violence that was to come.

“You should be teaching her something that is worth learning instead of just playing with
those stupid animals all day,” James said in a hard voice as he stalked towards me.

“Horses are my business, James, I make a great living doing what I do and she loves it.
Besides, you don’t seem to have a problem, taking the free ride that you seem to think you
deserve,” I snapped, standing my ground.

I was done having this fight with him and I was done supporting a man that had such a cold
heart. I knew as soon as the words came out of my mouth that I was asking for it, but I was
done caring…I was done with him.

I watched as his eyes went wide at the fact that I spoke to him in that way. His fists balled up
at his sides and his breathing picked up rapidly, and I braced myself for what was to come.

“What makes you think you can talk to me like that, bitch?” he shouted, getting in my face.
He turned and grabbed the glass vase sitting on the table next to him, and threw it against the
wall, shattering it.

“Get away from me, James…you won’t touch me again!” I seethed, not wanting to back down
from him.

He pulled his fist back and swung as hard as he could, hitting me in the eye. I cried out in pain
and fell to the floor. ‘Run, Lilly, just run to the bunk house, baby’, was the only thing I kept
thinking as he continued his beating. He kicked me in the stomach then grabbed a hand full of
my hair and jerked me to my feet.

~Lilly~

I lay in my bed and waited for it to start, for the shouting from my so called dad, and the cries
of my mom. I wished that I was strong enough to make him go away, to make life better for
my mom, but I wasn’t. I closed my eyes as tight as I could as the first shouts came. I knew the
minute that he hit her: I didn’t need to hear her cry, I could hear his hands and feet hitting and
kicking her.

I threw my covers off and shot out of bed, and pulled on my boots before I opened my
window. I tip-toed across the roof to the big tree that was outside my room, and climbed down
a fast as I could. When my feet hit the ground, I ran towards the bunk house; I knew it would
take me a few minutes to get there and I was just hoping that my mom would be okay until I
could get help.

I could see the lights now, just down the hill, and in my haste I tripped over a tree root and
fell. I cut my hands and knees, but I didn’t care, I just had to get there and then Edward could
go help my mom. It was cold and dark outside, and the wind made my cheeks burn when it
blew, but I got up and kept running. I would have screamed for them to help, but I didn’t want
my dad to hurt her anymore than he already had. I could hear music by then, so I moved my
feet faster, just wanting to get there as fast as I could.

I could feel tears on my cheeks and the ones in my eyes made it hard to see, but I just kept
moving. I saw Emmet, the other ranch hand, sitting on the porch. He must have seen me
because he stood up and I heard him say something, but I couldn’t make out what it was. I
figured he must have called Edward, because a moment later he was rushing out to the porch.
When he saw me he started to move towards me, followed closely by Emmet.

I had run so hard and so fast that when I reached them I fell to my knees on the ground, trying
to catch my breath and calm down enough to talk.

“Lilly, what’s wrong?” Edward asked as he kneeled down in front of me and put his hands on
my shoulders.

“My dad is hurting my mom!” I screamed, and grabbed his arms as tight as I could. “Please,
you have to help her… he is going to kill her!” I begged, hoping that they would help.

“Did he hurt you, Lilly?” Emmet asked, also kneeling down next to me and brushing my hair
out of my face.

“No, he only hits her…PLEASE help her!” I couldn’t help but scream the words, because the
longer they stayed here the longer he hit her.

“Lilly you stay in the bunk house and do not come out unless it’s one of us or your mom…
lock the door,” Edward said quickly. He picked me up in his arms and ran towards the small
house.

I nodded when he put me down in a chair and locked the door after they left. I heard the four
wheelers start and take off towards the main house. All I could do was wait and hope they got
to her in time.

~Bella~

He just kept hitting me and soon he took his belt off. I tried to run away, but the blood that
was coming from my nose had made spots on the hard wood floor, causing me to slip. I felt
the leather belt connect with my back over and over again, in a faster repetition than I would
have thought possible. I could feel the skin breaking but I still tried to get away. I heard him
drop the belt and grabbed my hair again, so hard that it was coming out by the roots. This was
by far the worst beating he had ever unleashed, and I knew that he would kill me if he got the
chance. One way or another, tonight would be the last time he put his hands on me.

“Get away from me!” I screamed, fighting against the hold he had on my hair. I kicked him in
the crotch, causing him to let go long enough for me to get to the phone to call the police. I
got 911 dialed before he grabbed me by the throat from behind and slammed me against the
wall.

“Stupid bitch!” he shouted right in my face. “I am going to kill you!”

That’s right, dumbass, keep talking that shit while the cops are listening. That thought caused
an involuntary smile to creep onto my face.

“What are you smiling at, whore?” he seethed, then backhanded me, busting my lip.

I was shocked that he was being so ruthless – usually he only hit me where no one would see
the bruises.

“I want you out of this house and off my land,” I spit at him, scraping his forearm with my
nails.

He tightened his hold around my throat and moved in closer to my face.

I could hear the four wheelers getting closer and I knew that Lilly had done what I asked, and
that help would be here at any second.

“I’m not going anywhere without Lilly. In fact, I think it’s about time for it to just be me and
her.” He laughed as he brought his other hand up to my throat and started squeezing.

I heard heavy footsteps on the porch moving at a fast pace; I just had to hang on for a few
more seconds. My sight grew blurry as he continued to choke me, but my ears worked fine
and I was relieved when I heard the sound of the front door being kicked open.

“Get your hands off of her!” I heard Edward shout.

“Let her go, James!” Emmet shouted at the same time.

Both men ran up and grabbed James by the arms and jerked him off of me. When his hands
released my throat, I gasped for air and fell to the floor. James was still trying to get at me, but
Emmet, being the massive man that he was, was able to wrestle James to the ground and pin
his arms behind his back.

I felt gentle hands on my cheeks, and when I could focus I was met with intense, worry filled
eyes.

“Bella, I think we should get you to the doctor,” Edward said, the same worry heavy in his
voice.

“No, I will be fine,” I insisted, trying not to sob uncontrollably.

I crawled to the phone and grabbed it, putting it to my ear.

“Hello,” I whispered, my voice raspy from being choked.

“Ma’am, are you alright?” the operator asked. “We traced your call, and I sent a police car to
your address. They should be there in just a few minutes.”

“Thank you. I have help with me now so I should be fine until the police get here,” I said,
trying to put some strength in my voice.

“Alright, take care,” she said, then disconnected.

“Edward, where is Lilly?” I said softly as I leaned my hands on the kitchen counter and put
my head down.

“She’s in the bunk house. I told her to stay there until one of us comes back,” Edward said,
reaching up to rub soothing circles on my back.

“Thank you, Edward,” I whispered, still trying to hold the emotions back, not wanting James
to see me cry by his hand; not wanting to give him the satisfaction of knowing that he hurt me
in any way.

“Don’t thank me, Bella; just make sure that this shit doesn’t happen again.” He pulled me
upright so that I was looking into his eyes. “No man should ever put his hands on you like
that.”

“He won’t do it again, I can tell you that,” I said with venom in my voice as I glared at James.

Emmet had him pinned down with no possible chance of moving, so I walked towards him
and kneeled down.

“Get your ass out of my house and do NOT come back. You stay away from me and my
daughter,” I said harshly.

“She is my daughter too and I will see her when I want,” he said with a smug smile playing on
his lips and an evil glint in his ice blue eyes.

“You gave up the right to call her your daughter the first time you hit me, now you stay the
hell away from us.”

I moved away from him, afraid that I would be unable to resist the urge to beat the living shit
out of him if I stayed that close. I could faintly see the lights of the police car coming down
the long drive way. I knew it would take a minute or two for them to get to the house and I
was worried about Lilly.

“Edward, do mind going to wait with Lilly? I know she is scared, but I don’t want her to see
me like this, nor do I want her to have to deal with him.”

“I’ll go make sure she is alright,” he said softly, and turned towards the door to leave.

~Lilly~

It seemed like it took forever before I saw the blue lights from the police car, and soon after I
heard a four wheeler coming closer. I hoped they got there in time because I have never been
as scared of my dad as I was tonight. Something in his eyes when we got home earlier made
me worry about what would happen.

I heard a knock on the door that made me jump before I heard, “Lilly, it’s Edward…open up,
sweetie.”

I ran to the door and unlocked it, opening it as fast as I could to see Edward standing there. I
saw some blood on his shirt and I started to cry.

“Hey, hey…it’s alright. Your mom is fine, she just wanted me to come stay with you until she
takes care of things. It shouldn’t be to long,” Edward said softly, kneeling down and wiping
my tears away.

I threw my arms around his neck and cried on his shoulder, because he was more of a father
to me than my own. He had only been here for two years, but I would give anything for him
to be a dad to me because I knew that he would never hurt my mom or me.

“It’s okay, Lilly, don’t cry,” he whispered.

“Can we sit on the porch and wait for my mom?” I asked as I pulled away from him.

He wiped more tears away. “Of course, come on.” He grabbed my hand and led me to the
rocking chairs on the porch.

We sat there for I don’t know how long until I saw the police car leave with my dad in the
back. I heard the other four wheeler coming closer and I started to get nervous at the thought
of seeing how bad he hurt her.

When Emmet and my mom pulled up I started to get upset again, because my mom had a
black eye, her lip was busted and she had a lot of other bruises on her arms and neck.

“Mom,” I whispered, trying not to cry because I wanted to be strong for her.

“I’m okay baby girl, come here,” she said softly.

I ran to her and hugged her tight, and she wrapped her arms around me and sat on the porch
step with me in her lap. She rubbed my back and played with my hair until I fell asleep in her
arms, finally feeling safe and warm.

~Edward~

Seeing what James had done to Bella made me want to hit something. I was not a violent
man, but seeing the damage he had done to her made me bristle with anger. The only thing
that kept me from killing him with my bare hands was the need to take care of and protect
Bella and Lilly. In the two years I had been working at the ranch I had come to love them
dearly. Lilly was like a bright ray of sunshine that just lit everything up around her, and her
passion for horses was amazing. Bella was the same way, but my feelings for her were much
stronger than they should be.

I knew that she wasn’t happy with the sack of shit that leeched off of her, but she let him stay
because he was Lilly’s father. I would look in her eyes everyday and see the emptiness there
and it caused my heart to ache. There were many times where I just wanted to reach out and
hold her until the light in her eyes sparked back to life.

I sat there and watched Bella hold Lilly until she fell asleep; Bella was staring off into the
darkness of the night with a sad look in her eyes and tears running down her beautiful face.

“Bella,” I whispered, not wanting to wake Lilly up. “Would you like for me to walk you
home?” I asked, moving to sit next to her on the steps of the bunk house.

She met my eyes and nodded.

“Here, let me take her,” I said, reaching for Lilly, knowing that Bella was in pain and
wouldn’t be able to carry her the entire half a mile to the main house.

Bella hesitated for a moment, but then handed Lilly to me. I wrapped my arms around her
small sleeping form and she nestled into my neck. I had never thought of having children, nor
had I given much thought to finding a woman that would own my heart, but Bella most
certainly did, and as for Lilly, I would have given anything to have her as my own daughter.

It may sound crazy to feel this way about a family that didn’t belong to me, but my love for
the two of them was stronger than any other emotion that I had ever felt, it was like I didn’t
have a choice in the matter. We walked in silence to the main house and remained that way
until Lilly was sleeping in her bed and the door was closed. When we went downstairs, Bella
finally broke, letting out gut-wrenching sobs and cries that tore my heart in half.

“I’m so sorry that you had to see that,” she cried, covering her bruised face with her hands as
she sank down on to the couch.

“Bella, you have nothing to apologize for,” I sighed, sitting down next to her. I reached up to
rub her back soothingly, but when my hand made contact with her back she cried out in pain.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, worry heavy in my tone.

“My back, he hit me with his belt,” she whispered, looking down at the floor like she was
ashamed.

The hair on the back of my neck stood up when she said this and I had to take several deep
breaths to calm myself down before I spoke.

“Let me see,” I said, trying to let the false calm ring in my voice, but I don’t think I was very
successful.

“No, its fine,” she said softly, still not meeting my eyes.

“Bella, let me see your back,” I said firmly, leaving no room for argument.

She huffed loudly then turned her back to me and lifted her shirt slowly. This was my fantasy
for so long, Bella taking her clothes off in front of me, but this, this here was a nightmare. Her
beautiful pale skin was marred with gashes and bruises so dark that they were black. It was
obvious he had hit her so hard, as she even had marks on her skin from the stitching of the
belt. It made me sick that a man could do such a thing to a woman and not feel an ounce of
self loathing for it.

I gasped slightly then pulled myself together so that I could clean the wounds.

“Do you have a first aid kit?” I asked, still fighting to remain calm so I didn’t upset her any
further.

“Yeah, it’s in the bathroom under the sink,” she answered softly, emotion still thick in her
voice.

Bella was the strongest woman I had ever met, but something about the events of that night
had broken something inside her. In the past, she held her head high and told you how it was
going to be whether you liked it or not. Now, though, she was withdrawn and almost
defeated-looking, and it broke my heart.

When I returned with the first aid kit, I sat back down and got to work, setting everything up
to clean and dress the cuts on her back. I poured some peroxide on a cotton ball.

“This going to be cold,” I said gently, placing it to the first cut. She gasped and straightened
her back at the sensation of the cold. “Sorry,” I muttered.

“It’s alright, I’m used to it,” she said, shaking her head when she realized just how wrong that
was. No one should ever have to be used to anything like this.

“Bella, this is none of my business, but please tell me that you are not going to let him come
back,” I pleaded as I started cleaning the next gash.

“No, he will never come near me or my daughter again. I have been trying to get rid of him
for so long but he knew what to say to shut me up. All he had to do was threaten to take Lilly
away and I would just cower and take it,” she said, anger strong in her voice.

“He won’t come near her,” I mumbled angrily, not really meaning for Bella to hear me, but
she obviously did because she turned to face me.

“Thank you for looking out for us. You saved us both, because he would have killed me had
you and Emmet not shown up when you did,” she said, meeting my eyes for the first time
since she walked out of the barn before dinner.

“Bella, I am always here for you…for both of you. You guys are the closest thing I have to a
family and I won’t let him or anyone else harm you like this again.” My voice was soft but
she heard the conviction there and knew I was speaking the truth.

She nodded and turned back around so that I could finish cleaning her back. I was at the last
cut and it was the worst by far. It was deep and set just off her left shoulder, and when I put
the cotton ball to it she whimpered because I am sure it hurt like hell. I leaned over and blew
on it softly to ease the sting. When she felt my breath hit her skin she turned her head so that

we were eye to eye. I didn’t know what it was, but something inside my soul shifted and my
entire world was turned upside down. I knew that my feelings for her were strong, but seeing
the look in her eyes made it all that much stronger because there in that moment the emptiness
and despair left her eyes, and was replaced by fire and passion. It took my breath away.

~Bella~

I felt his warm breath on my shoulder as he blew softly so that it didn’t burn so bad. The
stinging of the cut was forgotten when our eyes met. I didn’t know how to describe what
changed but something snapped and everything else disappeared except for him and me. That
connection that I had always felt with Edward suddenly felt like steel cables holding us
together. I struggled to catch my breath and slow my pounding heart, and by the look in his
eyes he felt it as well.

“Edward,” I breathed, unable to make my voice any louder.

“Bella,” he said softly, and hearing my name come from his lips was almost my undoing. His
voice brought me comfort and his entire being brought me a feeling of safety.

I wanted to wrap my arms around him and never let go, I wanted to kiss him with everything I
had inside of me, but I knew that wasn’t an option given what had happened tonight. I took a
deep breath to calm the raging fire that Edward lit inside my soul and closed my eyes.

“Thank you, Edward…for being there for us. I don’t think I will ever be able to say that
enough,” I sighed, looking back at him.

He cleared his throat and shook his head. “I’m always here for you,” he told me with a small,
comforting smile as he brushed a piece of hair behind my ear.

I nodded and returned his smile, then ever so slightly – and hoping to God that he didn’t
notice – I leaned in to his touch.

“Well, I should get back, and you should try to sleep. I can handle the barn tomorrow if you
don’t feel up to it,” he offered, getting up and walking towards the door.

“No, I’ll be there. It always takes my mind off of things. Besides, I told Lilly that she could
help me work the horses tomorrow and that she could ride Ghost on the trails,” I said, leaning
against the door frame after he walked out on the porch.

“Alright then, I guess I will see you both in the morning,” he said, his smile growing wider as
he spoke.

We said our goodbyes and I closed the door, locking it for the first time in, well, ever. The
feeling of safety left with Edward. I changed my clothes and crawled into bed, staring at the
ceiling and thinking about the shit that I have had to deal with throughout the years James
lived here, and suddenly a feeling of relief washed over me. He was gone and I was free to
live my life. I didn’t have to answer to anyone but myself and my daughter. With that freedom
fresh in my mind, I fell into a dreamless sleep.

I woke up to my bed bouncing and giggles from more than one person. I opened one eye and
looked around, and there jumping up and down on my bed was my daughter and my best
friend Alice.

“Stop jumping, you’re going to break my bed,” I groaned, sitting up and feeling the stiffness
that would probably get worse as the day went on. They both stopped jumping and plopped
down next to me.

Lilly hugged me good morning, then said she was going to change for the day and head off to
the barn. Alice stayed there and looked at me with knowing eyes. I never knew how she
always knew when James put his hands on me, considering up until last night he always did it
in inconspicuous places, but every time she would be here bright and early the morning after.

“It was bad this time, huh?” she asked softly, tracing her small finger under my black eye as
tears welled up in her eyes.

“Worst ever, if it hadn’t been for Lilly running off to the bunk house to get Edward and
Emmet he would have killed me,” I said, not beating around the bush because Alice always
knew the truth even when I tried to down play it.

“He will try to come back, you know he will,” she said, anger clouding her blue eyes.

“I won’t let him. I will not let Lilly grow up with that kind of shit going on around her,” I said
with determination.

“So now you are free to get freaky with Edward?” she said with a huge smile on her face as
she wiggled her eye brows.

“Alice! What the hell?” I screeched, blushing like crazy but secretly hoping that was in fact a
possibility.

“HA! I knew it, you want him!” she giggled, pointing at me and swirling her finger around in
a circle.

I didn’t know what to say, so I did what any twenty eight year old woman would do – I
crossed my arms over my chest and refused to look at her all-knowing eyes. She laughed and
shook her head then pulled me out of bed.

“Come on, let me look at you before you get dressed,” she said, motioning for me to turn
around so she could inspect the damage.

This had become our routine after James would hit me: Alice would come over and tend to
any cuts, bruises, busted lips, or sprains that were inflicted the night before. When she un-did
the bandages that Edward had put on the night before she gasped and let out a strangled sob.

“What did he do to you?” she breathed, leaning in to get a better look.

Alice was a nurse at the hospital, so she knew what needed to be done and any time I needed
stitches or whatever the case may be she would take care of it.

“Belt,” was all I could say as the images of his crazed face flashed through my mind.

She was shaking with anger as she examined each of the gashes on my back. When she got to
the one on my shoulder she said it needed stitches. She got what she needed together and got
to work.

“I think that you should take it easy today,” she said as she applied some antibacterial cream
to the rest of the cuts on my back.

“I can’t, I promised Lilly she could help me today and I won’t let her down. I have done that
too many times.”

“I understand, just be careful, alright?” she said with a small smile.

I nodded and got dressed, and then Alice and I had a cup of coffee in the kitchen.

“So, who dressed those wounds last night?” she asked, peeking at me over the rim of her mug.

I coughed to try and hide it when I said that Edward had done it, but the little pixie knows
every damn thing and heard exactly what I said.

She didn’t say anything but she did raise her eyebrows then wink at me as if to say ‘uh-huh, I
know where this is going’.

“Don’t say a word,” I said, fighting like hell to keep the smile off my face.

“What? I didn’t say anything! But you know you have been eyeing him since he came to work
here,” she squealed, and started bouncing on her toes.

“Shut up,” I snapped, hating the fact that she was right as usual.

I knew it must have seemed insane to be having these thoughts about him the morning after
my daughter’s father just beat the shit out of me. But there were never any feeling for James,
not even when we were young. We were just young and stupid and irresponsible. I never
loved him and he never loved me, but somehow he wormed his way into my life and stayed
there until last night. I knew that I still had a lot of healing to do in my mind, but the feeling I
had last night with Edward was like nothing I had ever felt before and I doubt very seriously
that it would be easily ignored.

“Alright, I have to go. Jasper is waiting for me at home and I am exhausted from my shift last
night,” she said, backing up her statement with a huge yawn. She put her mug in the sink and
gave me a gentle hug, and headed for the door.

“Thanks for coming by, Alice. You and Jasper should come riding with us sometime,” I
offered, hoping that I could spend time with my best friend and her husband in peace now that
James was out of the picture.

“Oh, we would love that! Maybe this weekend,” she said with a big smile.

“Alright, be careful going home…love you Al,” I said, waving as she skipped to her car.

“Love you too, see ya this weekend!” she said as she got in and started it up to leave.

I watched her drive away, and when she was gone I pulled on my boots and headed for the
barn. When I got there, Lilly was finishing the feeding and Edward was up in the hay loft
tossing down a bale of hay to give the horses.

“Morning,” I said as I stopped in time to avoid getting squashed by the forty- five pound bale.

“Shit…sorry, are you alright?” he asked as he scaled down the ladder quickly and ran over to
me.

“I’m fine,” I said with a chuckle.

“Sorry I said ‘shit’ in front of Lilly,” he said, looking down at the ground.

“It’s alright, but if she starts saying curse words then I know who to blame,” I said, laughing
at the shocked look on his face.

“You know I’m not a baby, right? I’m not just going to pick up words and repeat them when I
hear them,” Lilly said, giving us a look like we were insane.

We looked from her to each other and back to her again, then busted out in laughter. Emmet
came in at that moment and looked at us with the same ‘have you lost your mind’ look that
Lilly was giving us.

“Did they both fall and knock themselves stupid or something?” Emmet asked Lilly as they
both leaned against the wall and stared at us.

“I wonder that every day,” she sighed, shaking her head and looking down at the ground like
she was embarrassed.

We paused in our laughter and looked at her for a moment, then started laughing again.

“Lilly, how old are you again?” Edward asked through his fits of laughter.

“Ten going on thirty, I think,” I gasped, shaking my head and walking towards her for hug.

She hugged me and started laughing as well. “I love you, Mom,” she said as she pulled away.

“I love you too, baby girl,” I said, reigning in my giggles.

Once we had calmed down, we got out our saddles and everything else we would need for the
day. It amazed me that a girl her size could carry her saddle given that it weighed at least
fifteen pounds. She’s strong and independent and never lets anyone tell her she couldn’t do
something, and for that I was grateful.

“Edward, are you riding with us today?” she asked as she led Ghost out of his stall and tied
him to the rails in the isle so he wouldn’t wander off.

“I don’t know. Am I riding with you guys today, Bella?” he asked, looking at me with hopeful
eyes.

“Sure, all the horses need exercise today so it would be a big help,” I said with a smile,
meeting his green eyes.

Lilly smiled and started brushing her horse and getting him ready to go out on the trails, and
Edward grabbed Quattro and I grabbed Chaos and we all saddled up and headed towards the
trails. It was a beautiful sunny day, and despite the nightmare that was last night I felt myself
relaxing, and for the first time in so many years I didn’t dread how this day would end.

~Bella~

Things finally felt right. I was free of James and the ranch was running smoothly. It had been
two weeks since the night that James was arrested and we hadn’t heard a word from him.
Lilly was happy as she helped me every day with the horses and their training. We had a big
event coming up and she was excited because I told her she was ready to ride Ghost. I was
nervous because he was so big and powerful, but I knew that she could handle it.

“Lilly, I want you to run through the course again. When he takes the barrel, lean with him
when he turns; he turns quick so if you aren’t ready you will lose your seat,” I said, patting
her on the leg and going back to my seat on the fence to watch her run the barrels again.

She took a deep breath and patted Ghost on the neck; she looked so small sitting on his back.
He stood at about sixteen hands, which was a bit tall for a barrel horse, but he took to it with
no problems. She calmed him down by leaning forward and whispering something in his ear. I
knew that he was listening because when she spoke he flicked his ear back and stopped
hopping around.

She turned him towards the barrel course and gave him the cue to go, and with that he was off
at full speed. I watched as he neared the first barrel, his lean body turning with grace, and
Lilly did as I told her and leaned with him into the sharp turn. It never got old watching her
ride; it was like she was made to do it. She finished the course, and when she got Ghost
stopped she had a huge smile on her face as she leaned over and wrapped her arms around his
neck telling him ‘good boy’.

“I think she was made for this,” I heard that velvet voice say. I turned to see Edward stepping
up onto the fence next to me.

“Yeah, I think she’s ready,” I said, smiling at him. He winked at me then turned his attention
back to Lilly. “Good run, Lilly!” he shouted.

She smiled as she led Ghost over to us.

“That felt so good!” she said with a smile so big it looked like it would hurt her cheeks. “Can
I do it again?”

“One last run then you need to let him rest,” I said, trying not to laugh when she all but
bounced in her saddle. “Don’t let him think that he is the boss though; he is still young so you
need to pay attention know what he is doing to do before he does it,” I said, knowing that
Ghost was notorious for dumping people who stopped paying attention.

“She has a good chance this year in her age group. She hasn’t stopped talking about it since
you told her she could ride Ghost,” Edward said, swinging a leg over the fence to sit next to
me.

“I know, she is a great rider, but I am a bit nervous about Ghost. He is young and so much
more horse than she has ever competed on,” I said, keeping a close eye on her because she
was starting to lose her focus and I worried that she would fall.

I knew that it was all a part of working with an animal that has a mind of its own, but she is
still my daughter and it hurt me to see her fall.

“She is a tough one. I wouldn’t worry too much – she’s your daughter, remember? She’ll be
fine,” Edward said, also keeping a close eye on Lilly as she got ready to run the course one
last time for the day.

She lined him up and legged him on, rounding the first barrel smoothly, but Ghost stumbled a
little and she lost her right stirrup, so when Ghost came to round the second barrel she lost her
seat and couldn’t hang on through the turn. She tried to right herself but was too far out of the
saddle to sit back up, and I worried that if she didn’t just let go she would end up under his
powerful hooves.

“Let go, Lilly!” Edward and I shouted at the same time.

She finally let go and hit the ground hard. Usually when she fell I don’t make a fuss, because
that is a part of riding and she gets mad at me. I waited because she normally pops right up
and gets back on, but this time she didn’t move. My heart sank to my stomach as Edward and
I both jumped down from the fence and ran to her.

“Emmet, come get Ghost!” Edward shouted towards the barn, and I could hear the worry in
his voice.

When I reached her I dropped to my knees and moved the hair out of her face. Her eyes were
open, but she looked slightly dazed.

“Lilly?” I said, leaning down closer to her face.

“Holy crap, that hurt…” she grunted as she rolled over to her back and tried to catch her
breath.

There is no worse feeling than the ground pushing every ounce of breath out of your body
when you fall off a horse going that freaking fast.

“Are you alright, kid?” Edward asked from her other side. “Does anything hurt?” I could see
the worry in his eyes; he truly did care for her.

“Fine, just knock the wind out of me,” Lilly said, now able to take deep breaths. “Man, that’s
a long way down,” she had a smile on her face, so I knew that all was well and that she would
likely be sore tomorrow, but would otherwise be fine.

“You scared me,” I said, sitting back on my ass as I shook my head.

Ghost, who would normally run after dumping his rider, came trotting over and stuck his huge
head in her face while she was laying on the ground as if to say, ‘What are you doing down
there?’

“Hey boy,” Lilly giggled, reaching up to rub his nose. “It’s not your fault,” she crooned as he
huffed and nudged her shoulder.

“Damn, Lil, you alright?” Emmet huffed as he jogged over and grabbed Ghost’s reins.

“I’m fine, just lost my stirrup. I can take him,” she said, getting up and knocking the dirt off
her backside.

She grabbed the reins and led Ghost off to the barn. I sat there and let out a long sigh, shaking
my head as my heart finally went back to its normal rhythm.

“Told you she was tough,” Edward said, standing up and offering me his hand. I took it and
he pulled me up from the ground. When my hand touched his I felt this crazy spark that shot
through my entire body, and judging by the look on his face, he felt it too.

We stood there staring at each other, unsure of what to say. I got lost in his eyes and could not
look away. He reached up and lightly stroked my cheek with his fingertips, sending a shiver
up my spine.

“Kiss her!” I heard Lilly shout from the top of the hill where she stood with Emmet, both of
them giggling like maniacs.

It sort of ruined the mood and Edward and I both laughed about it.

“Nice timing, kid,” Edward said, shaking his head and looking down at the ground.

“Thanks for that, Lilly!” I shouted to her as I turned towards the barn to get Chaos to get him
ready for the competition as well. I wasn’t mad, just disappointed, because I would have
loved nothing more than for him to kiss me at that moment.

“Hey, Bella?” Edward asked, catching up with me. “This is going to sound crazy, but would
you have dinner with me tonight?” he asked, looking a little nervous.

“That doesn’t sound crazy, Edward; of course, I would love to,” I said with a smile as we
continued to walk.

“Great,” he smiled a breath-taking smile. “Pick you up at six-thirty?” he asked with a raised
eye brow.

“Sure, I’m pretty sure that Alice can keep Lilly,” I said, silently hoping that she could.

We made it to the barn where Lilly was washing down Ghost.

“Lilly what do you think about staying with Alice and Jasper tonight?” I asked, coming up
behind her. Stupid mistake, because when I asked her about staying with Alice she forgot to
let go of the handle that would stop the stream of water coming from the hose, therefore
spraying the shit out of me when she turned around.

“Shit!” I gasped. “Lilly, that is cold!” I said, stopping dead in my tracks, mouth gaping open
and arms stiff at my side.

“Sorry,” she said, trying to sound apologetic, but I could see her trying hard not to smile.

Emmet, on the other hand, was doubled over laughing, having to lean against the wall to stay
upright. I would show him. I grabbed the hose from Lilly and unleashed it on his ass, soaking
him through.

“Bella, that is cold!” he whined. “I’m sorry, I…I didn’t mean to laugh,” he said, holding his
arms up in front of his face and crouching away from the water.

I heard Edward laughing at the scene as he sat behind the desk with his feet propped up on
top. His legs were crossed at the ankle and his hands were behind his head; he looked entirely
too sexy sitting that way, so I looked to Lilly and winked, walking over to her and handing

her the hose. We both held it together and because his head was tossed back in laughter he
didn’t see it coming as we sprayed him down.

He gasped and jerked his legs off the desk, but forgot that he was leaning back in the chair so
he toppled over backwards. I couldn’t help but laugh as I took in the sight of him laughing
hysterically, not bothering to try and sit up. He was still in a seated position in the chair, but
was on his back, looking ridiculous.

“You will both pay for that when you least expect it!” he growled playfully, finally deciding
to get to his feet.

“Bring it on!” Lilly challenged, hands on hips and full of attitude.

“When you least expect it, kid!” he repeated with a crooked grin and a wink.

After we all got our laughter under control, I went to grab Chaos from his stall, and while I
was brushing him I called Alice to see if she could watch Lilly.

“Talk to me!” she chirped when she answered.

“Alice, are you off tonight?” I asked, crossing my fingers that she would say yes.

“Sure am, why?” she said in her always cheerful voice.

I looked around, making sure no one was in ear shot, and told her: “Edward asked me to
dinner tonight and I need you to keep Lilly…for the night,” I said as fast as I could.

There was a long pause and I wondered if she thought that it wasn’t a good idea, but then she
screamed so loud that it made Chaos jump as he heard it through my cell.

“Easy boy, she didn’t mean to scare you,” I crooned, rubbing his neck because he was a
jumpy one and I didn’t want him to freak out and hurt himself, or me.

“Sorry,” she apologized. “So yeah, I’m off. What time should I come get her?”

“He said he’d pick me up at six thirty, so any time before that,” I said as I finished brushing
the horse out, then moved into the tack room to grab my saddle, bridal, reins and work chaps.

“Well I will be there at say…four o’ clock, to make you gorgeous,” she sang, and I swear I
could hear her bouncing.

“Alice, are you bouncing?” I snorted out, shaking my head because I knew she was.

“Yeah, so? I knew this was going to happen,” she cheered, then she shouted to Jasper that
they were keeping Lilly tonight.

“Okay, so I have to go work Chaos now, so I’ll see you soon,” I said with a smile.

“Okay… see ya!” And with that we ended the call and I got Chaos ready for our work out.

~Edward~

I didn’t know what it was about that woman, but she drove me insane in only the best of
ways. I found myself hanging on every word she said, and seeing her work with her daughter
was amazing. I thought my heart would stop when Lilly fell earlier today, and then it really
did stop when I almost kissed Bella. Of course, Lilly and Emmet had to invade our moment
by teasing us, but I couldn’t complain because I wanted the first time I kissed Bella to be the
perfect moment. I still had to plan payback for the water escapades as well, and there would
be payback.

“So Edward…are you ever gonna make a move for Bella?” Emmet asked as he hammered a
nail into the fence post that we were fixing.

“Not that it’s any of your business, but yeah, I’m taking her to dinner tonight,” I said, standing
up and stretching my back out. It was hot as all hell outside in the sun, so I decided that my
shirt had to go and I tossed it across the fence.

“It’s about time, man. It’s been, what, two years you have pining away for her?” he asked,
standing up and taking a sip of water.

“Whatever, man…I’m starving; you ready to eat? We can finish this after lunch,” I said,
shaking my head and turning towards the barn.

When I turned the corner I stopped dead in my tracks at the sight before me. Bella was
bending over in her tight ass ridding jeans, zipping up her chaps. I kept waiting for some kind
of porn music to start playing or something, because my mind immediately went straight to
the gutter.

“Damn, Bells, nice ass!” Emmet said with a laugh as he lifted my jaw up and closed my
mouth before she could turn around. Of course, it didn’t help any when she playfully wiggled
her ass towards us.

“You guys taking a break for lunch?” she asked as she wrapped her hair up in a bun. Maybe it
is just a horse person’s idea of sexy, but seeing Bella standing there in jeans which had dirt
smudges on them from sitting on a dusty saddle, worn chaps from long days of riding, and a
tight tank top that had smudges on it as well from the horses rubbing their faces against her
stomach was doing amazing things to my body.

She still hadn’t turned around as she was finishing getting Chaos ready for his workout, but
when she did, she gasped when she saw me. I smirked a bit, glad that she was having the
same problem I was. There was never any doubt that there was an attraction there between us
because we had caught the other one looking plenty of times in the past, but it was different
now because there was no James, and therefore nothing to stop us from acting on that
attraction.

“Yeah, just gonna grab a quick sandwich then finish up the fence,” Emmet said, elbowing me
to actually speak to her.

“Oh, well take your time; there won’t be any horses in that pasture for a while. We need to let
the grass grow,” she said with a smile, still obviously looking at my shirtless chest.

“Mom, are you ever going to work Chaos?” Lilly asked as she came bounding into the barn.

Bella shook her head then answered Lilly. “Yeah, I’m coming.” With that she turned and led
Chaos out towards the training ring.

“Real smooth, Casanova,” Emmet said, shaking his head and walking towards the office
where the small fridge was.

I watched as she soothed the horse down when he got a bit jumpy at something; she
whispered in his ear and rubbed his neck, then when he was calm, she slung herself up into
the saddle like it was nothing. I decided that I wanted to watch her work Chaos because I
wanted to see how he was doing in training, but really because I just wanted to watch Bella’s
ass move in that saddle.

I ran into the office and threw together a sandwich, then took off towards the ring and perched
myself on top of the fence next to Lilly.

“What’s up, kid?” I asked, taking a bite of my food, eyes never leaving Bella as she warmed
her horse up. “How you feeling after that fall?”

“I’m good,” she said, then giggled.

“What are you laughing at?” I asked, finally looking away from Bella.

“You like my mom.” She said it as statement, not a question, which took me by surprise.

“Guess I didn’t hide it that well, huh?”

“No, but I’m glad you do because she likes you too,” Lilly said with a small smile as she
watched her mom.

“So you wouldn’t mind if I took your mom to dinner tonight then?” I asked, suddenly nervous
and looking down at the ground.

“Really?” she asked, looking at me with wide hopeful eyes. I nodded and smiled. “I don’t
mind…she like Italian food.” She leaned over to me and whispered the last part like she was
telling me a big secret.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said, finishing off my sandwich and smiling at Lilly before turning
my attention back to the beautiful woman in the ring.

~Bella~

“Alice, I am not wearing that,” I huffed when she held up a short strapless dress that she had
somehow managed to sneak in my closet.

“Don’t you want to look hot for your cowboy?” she sang, doing a little shimmy as she
continued to look through my closet.

“Oh my God, Alice, I thought I would die today,” I said, thinking back to when Edward
walked into the barn with no shirt on, his skin tanned from the sun, a sheen of sweat covering
the most amazing body I had ever seen, and that damn V where his sexy-ass stomach met his
hips.

“Why, what happened?” she asked, concerned.

“Edward walked in the barn with no shirt on,” I said, almost salivating at the very thought it.

“Oh damn,” she said, turning around and fanning herself with her hand. She knew exactly
what I was talking about because she had seen him shirtless before.

“I swear, I think he does that shit on purpose,” I said, remembering that way too sexy smirk
he had on his face when I turned around.

“If I had his body, I would never wear clothes,” Alice said with a laugh as she finally pulled
out an outfit that I would be comfortable in.

An hour later, I was dressed in a pair of skinny jeans, a blue blouse that fit me snuggly, yet
was comfortable, and some black heels that I prayed would not be the end of me.

I was nervous when I saw headlights pull up outside, knowing that I was going on the first
real date in over ten years…yeah, I know, it was pathetic.

He knocked on the door, and I was walking to answer it when Lilly charged the door and
swung it open.

“Hey, Edward,” she said with a huge smile.

“Hey kid, is your mom ready?” he asked as he stepped in the door. He handed her a small
bouquet of flowers then he turned towards me and handed me a slightly larger bouquet.

“Thank you so much,” Lilly said, smelling the flowers and smiling up at him.

“Yes, Edward, thank you, they are lovely,” I said, walking towards the kitchen to put them in
water.

“No problem, you look really nice, Bella,” he said, following Lilly and I.

“Why, thank you, I am a miracle worker!” Alice chirped as she came skipping down the
stairs.

“Mrs. Whitlock,” Edward nodded to her. “Nice to see you again.”

“Please call me Alice, and it’s nice to see you as well,” she said, patting him on the arm.
“Lilly, girl, you ready to head out? Jazz has pizza.”

“Yeah, I’m ready,” Lilly said as she put her flowers in the vase with mine. “Bye Mom, have
fun!” she said, hugging me.

“Love you,” I said as she and Alice skipped hand in hand to the door.

“Love you too.” And with that they were gone, leaving me and Edward alone.

“Are you hungry?” he asked softly, appearing as nervous as I was.

“Yeah,” I said with a nod as I walked towards the door.

“A little birdie told me that you like Italian food, so I hope that’s alright,” he said, opening the
door for me.

“Sounds great!” I laughed as I thought of Lilly giving Edward pointers on where to take me
on a date.

When we got out to his truck, he opened the door for me and helped me climb up, behaving
like a complete gentleman. The ride to town was filled with talk of the horses and the
upcoming event; conversation flowed with us, never lulling into uncomfortable silences, and
it continued that way throughout dinner. When the table had been cleared, I watched some
people on the dance floor, couples swaying to the soft, slow music.

“Would you like to dance?” he asked when he noticed where I was looking. He stood up,
offering me his hand.

“Love to,” I said, sliding my hand into his.

He led me out to the dance floor, and then placed one hand on my waist and wrapped his
other hand around mine, bringing it to his chest and resting it over his heart as he pulled me
close to his body. We danced close to one another, just staring into each other’s eyes and
getting lost in the feeling of the closeness.

I couldn’t resist the urge to reach up and brush the hair away from his forehead, then cup his
cheek in my hand. He leaned into my touch, and the feeling of his warmth spread throughout
my entire body.

“Bella,” he breathed, then leaned his head down to me and pressed his lips to mine in a soft
gentle kiss. Getting lost in the feeling, I deepened the kiss, opening my mouth and reveling in
the feeling of his tongue as it met mine.

When we broke the kiss, I immediately missed the feeling of him being that close to me and
knew that the feelings that I had developed for this man over the last two years were more
than just a simple connection. It was a deep kind of love that I never thought I would be lucky
enough to find.

“Two years, Bella,” he sighed, resting his forehead against mine. “Two long years I have been
waiting to do that.” Then he smiled and closed his eyes, pulling me even closer to him.

~Bella~

I woke up earlier than normal on the day of the event because we had tons to do to prepare for
it. Normally, I would have had everything done already, but that week had been filled with
daydreams and drooling over that kiss, although much to my disappointment, we hadn’t had a
repeat encounter due to a certain nosey ten year old, and surprisingly a very nosey ranch hand.
We had borne the brunt of endless teasing about the – as Emmet put it – continuous making of
‘googly eyes’ at each other.

“MOM!” I heard Lilly shout as she snapped her fingers in front of my face.

“What?” I said, shaking myself from my thoughts.

“Were you thinking about Edward again?” she whispered, then giggled.

I rolled my eyes and huffed dramatically, but couldn’t help the smile that crept onto my face.

“Is all your tack in the trailer?” I asked, trying to change the subject.

“Yes, and so are my show clothes,” she said as she bounced on her toes, excited to be getting
down to the barn to get everything loaded so that we could head over to the show grounds.

I laughed at her excitement and then led her out of the house and down to the barn to feed the
horses and finish loading everything. As I came around the corner, I was met with Edward,
his panty-dropping smile, heavenly green eyes, and – thank you, God – a hot cup of coffee.

“Oh my God, you are my hero!” I squealed, my slight embarrassment at my girly actions
lasting only until I breathed in the warm smell of the beverage.

He laughed and hugged me, placing a lingering kiss on my temple, which he had taken to
doing every morning.

“You’re welcome,” he said with a smile and a wink.

“Morning, Edward,” Lilly said sweetly as she walked straight to Ghost’s stall.

“Morning, Lilly,” he replied with a smile.

“Where’s Emmet?” I asked, knowing that we needed to get the horses loaded and get on the
road since we had a two hour drive ahead of us.

“He is primping; he heard that Rosalie Hale is going to be there today,” Edward said, shaking
his head as he sipped his coffee.

We made sure we all had our tack, show clothes, chaps, and finally we loaded the horses.
Edward, Lilly and I loaded up in the truck and Edward pulled up at the bunk house and blew
the horn to get Emmet to hurry up.

Emmet came running out, looking especially dapper this morning as he jumped in the back
seat with Lilly.

“Emmet, are you wearing cologne?” I asked, turning to look at him with a raised eyebrow.

He shrugged but couldn’t help the grin that played on his lips. For years he and Rosalie Hale
had been fooling around, thinking that no one knew, but really, it was quite obvious. We just
let him think we didn’t have a clue.

The drive was filled with laughing at Emmet and Lilly shooting quips back and forth as they
always did, whilst Edward and I talked about how the horses are going to handle today’s
event. Lilly was running barrels in the junior class, I was also running barrels, and Edward
and Emmet were going to compete in the team roping event.

Two hours later, we pulled into the show grounds, got our stall assignments, and began to
unload the horses and tack.

“Momma, I’m nervous,” Lilly said quietly as she sat down beside me.

“You are ready for this, baby girl; you and Ghost are going to do great,” I reassured her,
pulling her close and kissing her head.

She smiled, and then spotted Alice and Jasper walking towards us, effectively distracting her
from her nerves as she ran to them and hugged them tightly.

Alice came and sat down next to me, giving me that all-knowing look of hers.

“What are you looking at me like that for?” I asked, trying to hide the smile that wanted to
spread across my face.

“Oh, no reason,” she said with a smile. “Just thinking about how happy you look.”

I shook my head and looked over towards the ring that Edward and Emmet were warming up
in.

“Don’t try to hide it, Bella, just go with it.” She nudged my arm with her elbow.

“Go with what?” I asked, playing dumb.

“Oh please, Bella, it is so obvious that you guys love each other and now there is nothing
stopping you from being together like you are meant to be.” She didn’t beat around the bush,
and as much as I wanted to disagree with what she said, I couldn’t, because it was true.

“Come on, you can help me tack up Chaos,” I said with a laugh. She knew that she was right
and didn’t need me to confirm it for her.

Lilly and I went through some warm ups, with Edward setting barrels and watching to make
sure the horses were all running right and that there were no problems. Everything went
smoothly, so we put the horses up and decided to grab some food before the event started. We
were all sitting around the stalls eating biscuits that Alice and Jasper brought.

“So, Edward,” Jasper asked with a mischievous grin on his face. “How’s it going, man?”

Edward raised an eyebrow and cracked a smile as his eyes met mine. “Couldn’t be better,” he
said with a wink that made my heart flutter…oh my God, I was such a teenage girl.

Jasper nodded then turned to me. “And Bella, how are you doing?” he asked, causing Alice
and Lilly to giggle, and I could have sworn I even heard Emmet giggle.

I snorted a laugh. “Couldn’t be better,” I replied, returning Edward’s wink as I answered.

Everyone laughed and finished up breakfast, and Lilly, Emmet, Edward and I all went to get
signed in for our events. Once it was time for Lilly to compete, I got Ghost ready while she
changed her clothes. When she was changed, we lead Ghost to the ring and waited for her turn
to go. The competition was stiff but I had no doubt that my girl could do this.

“Alright, Lil, show them what you got!” Emmet said, patting her on the leg.

“Knock ’em dead, Lilly,” Edward told her, then patted Ghost on the neck.

I winked at her and gave her an encouraging nod and smile. “Do your thing, baby girl!”

She smiled, took a deep breath and patted Ghost on the neck, leaning over to whisper in his
ear, “Let’s do this, buddy”

Ghost flicked his ears and pawed at the dirt, eager to run.

“Next up, Lilly Swan!” the announcer said, and we could hear Alice and Jasper cheering her
on.

Lilly took a deep breath and took off on her course. It was a beautiful sight as she let Ghost do
what he does best. She leaned with him in the turns and just let him run. It was smooth and
graceful, and when she finished with a time of just over thirteen seconds she couldn’t stop
smiling. She held the top time, and in the end there wasn’t anyone else that could touch it, and
Lilly walked away with first place.

Emmet and Edward carried her on their shoulders while I led Ghost towards the stalls. I was
walking behind a bit and watching them with a smile when I felt a hand grip my arm tightly. I
knew immediately who it was without having to look…James.

I spun around and met his fierce gaze, and although it was only noon I could already smell the
alcohol on his breath. I saw Alice walking towards us quickly.

“Alice, take Ghost to the stalls and keep Lilly there please,” I said, pleading with her in one
look to not make a scene. She glared at James and then quickly took the reins and led Ghost
away.

“What are you doing here, James?” I asked in a low voice, letting every ounce of anger for the
man seep into it.

“I came to see my daughter ride,” he said with a scoff as his grip tightened on my arm.

“Don’t give me that shit. You could care less for her,” I seethed, trying to jerk my arm out of
his grasp.

He shrugged and pulled my arm, forcing me to follow him out of everyone’s sight. I pulled
against him, trying to get him to let go. I wanted to scream for help, but he moved fast and
had me pinned against the back wall of one of the barns that wasn’t being used...no one was
around.

“Mmm, now I am going to take what is mine,” he grunted as he pressed his weight against
me.

~Edward~

When we put Lilly down, I turned to see Alice leading Ghost towards the stalls with a stressed
look on her face. She walked fast and kept looking behind her, and when she got closer I
could see that her eyes were moist with tears and she was shaking slightly. I walked to her
quickly, knowing that something was wrong.

“Alice,” I said in a low voice. “What’s happened?”

She met my gaze and I knew something wasn’t right.

“Alice,” I said again.

“James,” she mouthed, not wanting Lilly to hear.

Immediately, the hair on the back of my neck stood on end and my fist clenched. Emmet
came up to us at that point, noticing our tense posture.

“What’s going on? Where is Bella?” he asked, looking between us.

“He’s here,” I said in a steely voice.

“Alice, take Ghost to Lilly,” I said, looking towards where I had last seen Bella.

“I’ll keep her here, but hurry, Edward, he is already drunk,” she begged, before she took a
deep breath to calm herself and made her way over to Lilly and Jasper.

Emmet and I ran, looking franticly for any sign of her but seeing nothing. I noticed a couple
of kids looking towards one of the barns that wasn’t being used, so we ran towards them.

“Hey kid, what’s going on?” Emmet asked as we approached them. They look scared and
unsure of what to do, and that told me they had seen something.

“There was a man dragging a lady over there,” one kid said, pointing. “I think he was hurting
her.”

“Go to the announcer’s booth and get security, kid,” Emmet instructed.

We took off in the direction the kid had pointed to at full speed, and the closer we got the
more pissed I became. When we were within a few feet I heard it – a distinct slap.

“Mother fucker!” I swore under my breath as I clenched my fist, ready to give it to him
tenfold.

“James, stop!” I heard Bella cry.

“Fuck you, whore!” James shouted, before we got there was a noise which sounded like
someone was slammed into a wall.

We picked up the pace, and when we rounded the corner and they came into view I could see
that he had grabbed her face and was forcing her to look at him. Bella was a strong woman,
but the look of terror in her eyes made my stomach roll and I saw red. We didn’t slow our
pace when we got to them and Emmet and I both slammed into James as hard as we could, the
three of us rolling to the ground.

“Get the fuck off me!” James shouted as he struggled against our hold on him.

I balled my fist up, and just as I was about to land a right hook to the side of his face when I
heard Bella.

“Edward, don’t!” She was crying as she ran towards us, pulling at my arm.

“He is done hurting you and Lilly!” I shouted, not at all understanding why she would defend
him.

“Yes, he is but he isn’t worth you and Emmet getting trouble,” she said with tears running
down her face. I really wanted to beat the shit out this asshole, but the want to ease her pain
more than anything else outweighed that.

I got up, and maybe I put my knee in his stomach and put my weight into it as I did so, but I
didn’t hit him. I went to her and took her face in my hands gently, looking her over to make
sure that she wasn’t hurt.

“Are you alright?” I asked softly, stroking her cheek with my thumb.

“I’m fine…Lilly didn’t…?” she trailed off at the thought.

“No, she’s with Alice and Jasper,” I said, trying to ease her fears.

The security guards and a police officer came running around the corner at that point.

“What happened here?” the officer asked when they reached us.

“My ex-boyfriend attacked me,” Bella said as she pointed towards where James was still
struggling to get out of Emmet’s massive hold.

Once the officer got the low down on the history of violence from James, he advised Bella to
get a restraining order against him. When they hand-cuffed him and led him away, James
lunged at Bella again.

“This isn’t over, bitch!” he growled, still struggling in a feeble attempt to get at her.

“Shut the hell up!” the officer said as he smacked James hard in the back of the head and
dragged him away.

When he was out of sight, Bella let out a ragged breath and slumped against my chest and hid
her face.

“He won’t touch you again, Bella,” Emmet said as he patted her on the back.

She nodded, took a deep breath and squared her shoulders, then looked up at me and gave me
a small smile.

“I have to go get ready,” she sighed, then rose up on her tip toes and softly pressed her lips
against mine. “Thank you, Edward”

I smiled and nodded, then led her back to the barn where Alice and Jasper were trying to keep
a very upset Lilly calm.

“Momma,” Lilly whimpered, looking Bella over. “He was here, wasn’t he?”

“Yeah, but he is gone now,” Bella said, hugging Lilly close to her.

“Are you OK?” Lilly asked as she pulled back and looked Bella over.

“I’m fine, but I need to go change, so can you brush out Chaos for me?” Bella said as she
brushed Lilly’s hair behind her ear.

“Come on, Lil, I’ll help you get him ready,” I told her and patted her on the back.

Bella gave me a smile and a nod of thanks, and then went to change into her show clothes.
Lilly went and grabbed Chaos from his stall and led him over so we could get him ready to
go.

“Thank you, Edward,” Lilly said as she ran the brush through the horse’s tail.

“I don’t mind helping you out with him, Lil,” I said with a small smile.

“No, I meant for helping my mom. Thank you,” she said, her sad eyes looking at the ground.

I walked over to her and kneeled down in front of her, I lifted her chin with my finger so that I
could see her eyes.

“Lilly, I won’t let anyone hurt your mom again, I promise,” I said softly as I wiped away a big
tear that slipped down her cheek.

Her big eyes that were always so full of life and mischief suddenly looked sad and scared, and
it broke my heart.

“Don’t cry, Lilly, I’ll keep her safe…cross my heart,” I said, making a crisscross motion over
my chest.

She smiled a little, then wrapped her arms around my neck and squeezed tighter than I
thought would be possible for a kid. She didn’t say anything and neither than did I: no words
were needed. She trusted me and I would not let her down because I would do anything for
this little girl and her mother.

I looked up to see Bella standing there watching us with a smile on her face along with Jasper,
Alice, and Emmet. We finished tacking up Chaos and headed down to the ring to watch Bella
compete.

“Easy boy,” Bella crooned as she tried to calm down the young horse as he got overly excited
at the noise and excitement of the show grounds.

The announcer stated that Bella was next, so we all walked towards the fence to watch. Bella
was a beautiful woman in every way, but there was something about seeing her ride that was
just amazing. She guided Chaos around the barrels with such ease and speed that it looked
effortless, and once again the Swans’ walked away with a win.

We were walking back to the stalls so that we could get Chaos squared away and get the
horses that Emmet and I would ride ready to go. Bella went to change, taking Lilly and Alice
with her, so Emmet, Jasper and I worked on the horses.

“Hey Edward,” I heard from behind me, and suddenly my eye started twitching. I groaned as I
recognized the whiny voice of Jessica Stanley.

I turned around and gave her a curt nod. I had no idea why the girl seemed to think I had any
interest in her since I had hardly spoken a full sentence to her, but there she was, flaunting
everything that God gave her right up in my face.

“Jessica,” Emmet and Jasper both greeted her shortly. It was clear that no one wanted this
tramp around.

She shimmied up to my side and tried to wrap her arms around me for a hug, but I jumped
back and accidently kicked the tack box with my boot which scared Quattro. The horse threw
his head back but couldn’t run because of the cross ties, so he started pulling back violently. It
really wouldn’t have been that bad had Jessica not screamed; her screeching was setting him
off.

“Whoa boy…easy,” Emmet was saying in a soothing voice.

Jessica slapped the horse on the neck and shouted, “Stupid animal!”

I was about to lay into her about hitting him when I heard Bella’s irate voice.

“Jessica Stanley, I swear to God, if you don’t run your nasty ass away I am going to beat the
slut out of you!” Bella said. She didn’t need to shout because of the venom that dripped from
her words, even sent a chill up my spine.

“You can’t tell me what to do,” Jessica said with her hands on her hips, flipping her hair over
her shoulder.

Bella scoffed and trudged towards Jessica, and when she stopped she was inches from her
face.

“No, I can’t, but if you ever touch one of my horses, or anything else even remotely close to
me again, I will tear you apart.” There wasn’t much volume in Bella’s voice, but if I was
Jessica I would have turned tail and run.

Jessica’s eyes got wide and her chin quivered a little as she took a step back. She looked
around to all our faces and saw that we were standing behind Bella, all looking like much the
same as her. Jessica huffed and turned on her heel and stomped off.

“Bye Jessica,” Alice sang with a sarcastic little wave.

I think Jessica may have growled but she kept walking. I chuckled and shook my head a little
as I looked at Bella.

“What?” Bella asked with a shrug of her shoulders. “I can’t stand that woman.”

I walked up to Bella and pulled her into my arms then whispered in her ear.

“Woman, I do believe that was the hottest thing I have ever seen.” I kissed her just behind her
ear, causing her to shiver.

She looked up at me with lust in her eyes, but there was also more there then just that. I could
see in her eyes that Bella Swan loved me. Two years I have wanted nothing more than to see
that look in her eyes…nothing would stop me now.

~Edward~

Every second of my days were spent thinking about Bella and how she made me feel. Never
in my life had I wanted to spend every waking moment with a single person, and as strange as
it sounds I knew she was it for me. I suppose it would be more appropriate to say they were it
for me, because Bella and Lilly were a package deal. Kids had never crossed my mind before
because I never thought I would meet that one person that I would want to spend my life with,
but Bella was that person and I loved Lilly as if she were my own. I knew it was crazy to have
those sorts of feelings about someone when we had only just started whatever it is that she
and I were doing, but for two years I had been harboring feelings for her. Those feelings had
grown into a love that most people looked for their whole lives and never got lucky enough to
find.

I noticed the little things about her that no one else did: the way she bit her bottom lip when
she was thinking about something, the way she played with the ends of her hair when she was
content, the way every ounce of stress left her body when she walked into the barn and took a
deep breath, and a million other tiny things that would normally go unnoticed by the average
person. I knew that nothing was going to stop me from making her mine.

I was finishing in the barn for the night, walking through it and checking on the horses one
last time before heading home, when I noticed that one of the horses was lying down. Horses
didn’t lie down that often, so I stopped and opened the stall door, and still the horses didn’t
move…shit. I waved my arms around, trying to evoke some kind of reaction from the animal.
Knowing that the horse was colicing, I grabbed the halter and lead rope and quickly put it on
him, pulling hard and forcing him up to his feet.

If a horse colics and you didn’t get him moving, he would soon die. I always thought it made
no sense because it is really just a stomach ache, but I knew that if they lay down for too long
their weight caused their intestines to twist, leading to a blockage which would kill them. I led
the horse out of the stall and walked him up and down the aisle as I pulled out my cell to call
Bella.

“Hello?” She answered on the second ring, her voice bringing a smile to my face.

“Hey, beautiful.” I smiled wider when I heard her sigh. “Listen, Hollywood is colicing. I’m
walking him now but you should probably come down.”

“Shit, alright, I’m on my way,” she said with worry in her voice.

“I would have called Emmet but he is off with Rosalie,” I said, trying to hide the fact that I
was seriously happy that I would get to spend several hours with Bella without interruption.

“Its fine, I’m glad you called. I’m walking out the door now; I’ll be there in five.” I heard the
door close through the phone.

We said our goodbyes and a couple of minutes later I heard the four-wheeler getting closer to
the barn as she made her approach. I could feel her presence before I saw her beautiful face so
I knew she was there.

“How is he?” she asked as she came closer.

My breathing stopped when I saw what she was wearing – a thin, light blue sun dress with
spaghetti straps. She had flip flops on her feet and her hair was pulled into a sexy messy bun
with stray wisps of hair trailing down her neck. Her body was lean from riding, but still
feminine and beyond sexy as all hell. This was going to be a seriously long night.

I cleared my throat. “He is still walking without wanting to lie down so maybe it will pass.”

She walked slowly, her hips swaying with each step and the thin material glided around
her…fuck, I was glad I un-tucked my shirt because my pants became uncomfortably tight

right then. As if she knew what I was thinking, she raised an eyebrow at me and then
winked…fucking hell, this woman was a little minx.

“Hey boy,” she crooned to Hollywood as she rubbed his nose. “We’ll take care of you.” She
ran her hand down his neck and to his stomach where she felt around.

“Defiantly colic,” she said with furrowed brows. “How does the hay look?” she asked.

“Fine, I didn’t notice any mold or anything,” I said, taking my hat off and scratching my head
as I thought of reasons that may have caused this.

“Keep him moving and I will go get some Banamine,” she said, but when she turned to leave
she stopped, turned towards me and then pressed her lips to mine. “Hi, by the way,” she
breathed, before she turned and moved to the supply room.

My breath left me at once and I shook my head as I kept the horse moving. Hollywood looked
at me and I swear the fucker snorted at me.

“Don’t look at me like that,” I grunted as I readjusted myself in my pants as we walked…it
would be a long night indeed.

It was getting hot, both outside and inside the barn, so I undid a few of the buttons of my shirt
and rolled the sleeves up. I noticed when Bella came out of the supply room that there was a
small sweat bead rolling down her neck, which caused me to drool a bit.

“It’s hot tonight,” she said as she walked towards me, with the medicine-filled syringe in her
hand.

“Yes, it is,” I said, not really talking about the weather.

She smiled at me, and then got ready to give Hollywood the medicine. She cleaned the spot
and felt for the vein in his neck, and with a quick movement she gave him the medicine and
was done before he had the chance to notice. Bella held pressure to his neck and rubbed a
circle with her thumb so it wouldn’t bleed.

“There you go, boy, that should make you feel better,” she said as she patted his neck.

It didn’t escape my mind that I could have easily done what she did. I had planned to do just
that, only calling her to let her know about the situation. I didn’t say that I could do it only
because I was a selfish bastard and wanted to see her.

“I could have done that…” I said, trailing off and looking at the ground, feeling a bit guilty
about her having to come back to the barn so late.

“Oh, it’s no problem. I was actually really lonely and bored as hell,” she said with a shrug as
she took the lead line and started leading the horse, giving me a break.

“Where’s Lilly? Doesn’t she keep you on your toes?” I asked with a laugh, knowing that her
child was indeed a hand full.

“She is staying at Alice and Jasper’s tonight. It’s kind of a tradition,” she said with a loving
smile.

“What kind of tradition?” I asked, just wanting to keep her talking so that I could revel in the
sound of her voice.

“Alice is sort of a fashion addict, and since I want no part of the whole makeover/dress up shit
and Lilly loves it, they spend every Friday night having a slumber party.” She laughed and
shook her head. “It really started out when Alice would have to come get Lilly when James
was being a dick, but now it is just their thing, and I don’t mind the break sometimes, you
know?”

She still looked happy but I could see the sadness in her eyes when she talked about Lilly
having to be near that kind of shit where James was concerned.

“Bella,” I said, really worried how she would take what I was about to ask. “Why did you let
him stay for so long?”

She thought for a moment but she didn’t look offended. “We were so young when we started
dating, if you can even call it that. We were both a bit wild as teenagers and when I was
eighteen I got pregnant. I didn’t want to be alone when I had a baby so I let him stay. He
didn’t start hitting me until Lilly was around three years old.” I saw anger flash across her
eyes. “I have always known he was not what we needed, but he was her father and he wasn’t
always an asshole.”

My brows furrowed in confusion at why she would feel the need to defend him, but I kept
quiet.

“But the more I think about it, the more I can see that he started getting inside my head and
twisting things around so that I felt like I would never be good enough for anyone else. I tried
for so long to get rid of him but he always threatened to take Lilly and disappear, and that
scared me more than his fists so I let him stay.” Her voice was soft and a little sad but she was
still holding strong as she told me her story.

“You know the night Lilly came to get you and Emmet?” she asked.

“Yes,” I answered, remembering that night all too clearly.

“I had this feeling, like something really bad was going to happen. Lilly said something to me
on the way back to the house that night that just made me realize that she was well aware of
what was happening. She asked me why I let him stay, and said that she didn’t want him to be
her dad and she didn’t want him to hurt me anymore.” She swallowed hard and closed her
eyes and I saw a single tear slide down her cheek.

That was all it took for me to move; I walked towards her and cupped her face in my hands,
looking straight into her deep brown eyes.

“He won’t hurt you anymore, Bella, and he will never take Lilly away from you. I won’t let
him,” I said in a low stern voice, because it was true, he would never come anywhere near
them again as long as I was breathing.

She nodded once and gave me a small smile. I couldn’t take it anymore so I leaned down and
kissed her, trying to put every feeling that I had for her into that one kiss. She kissed me back
with the same amount of passion and emotion. In that moment, everything else in the world
disappeared; it was only me and my Bella.

I felt her stumble and then laugh a bit against my lips. I pulled back, trying to figure out what
was so funny, when I noticed that Hollywood was rubbing the side of his face against her
back.

“Does your face itch, Hollywood?” she laughed as she gave me an apologetic smile and
turned to rub his face.

I laughed and shook my head, saying, “Thanks so much, Hollywood, your timing is amazing.”

Bella laughed and put her small hand on my chest, and again met my eyes. Just as I was about
to kiss her again, the horse went to lie down.

“No, come on, boy,” Bella said as we moved to walk him some more until the medication
could work its way through his system.

I took my turn walking him and Bella went to get us some water from the fridge in the office.
When she returned and gave me my water, she moved to the desk and sat down on the desk
top. We continued to talk about nothing in particular, just enjoying being around each other. I
didn’t realize how much time had passed, because although I was listening to every word she

said I could not take my eyes off of her body. Her dress was now resting at her mid thigh, one
of the straps was sliding down her shoulder, and her skin was glistening with a light sheen of
sweat.

“Alright, Hollywood, I think you can go back in your stall now,” she said as she took the
horse towards his stall. Once he was in, she made sure he had water. We would have to stay
for a little while longer to make sure that he was alright. I couldn’t be happier about that,
because that meant that I got Bella to myself.

She was walking in front of me, her hips swaying in a seductive way that was just the way she
moved, the stray hairs that had escaped her bun brushing her shoulders and neck. Everything
about her screamed to my body and I couldn’t take it anymore. I grabbed her wrist and turned
her around; she was shocked at first, but when her eyes met mine something sparked in us
both.

“Bella…” I breathed her name like it was a prayer, and before I could say anything else our
lips met and fire poured from us both.

It was hot and passionate: our mouths molded to each other, my hands rested on her neck and
my thumbs stroked her jaw; her hands rested on my hips, pulling me closer to her as her
thumbs found the skin under my shirt just above my jeans. There was no turning back, no
thinking about what was to come next because we both just knew. I took a step and she
stepped with me, moving us so that her back was against the wall. The small breathy moans
that were coming from her were almost my undoing.

I kissed down her neck and to her shoulder, moving the strap to her dress out of the way with
my nose. I moved my hands across her collar bone and grazed the outside of her breasts,
continuing my path down her glorious body until they rested on hips. She pressed her hips
against mine, creating some much needed friction. She glided her hands up and around my
neck, tangling her fingers into my hair at the nape of my neck; she took my hat off and tossed
to the side before running her nails across my scalp, causing my hips to buck against her. She
moved her hands to the front of my shirt and pulled, not caring about the buttons…hottest
thing ever.

“God, Bella,” I moaned into her neck as she pulled my shirt over my shoulders and off my
body.

“I need you,” she breathed, and her eyes met mine, full of lust and need and love.

~Bella~

Oh my God, his kisses and his touches may just be the death of me. This was it, there was no
stopping it, no wondering if this was right – it was no questions asked, and tonight was the
night that I had been dreaming about since this man walked onto my land.

Seeing him standing here in front of me, shirtless and panting as hard as I was with want and
need raging in his green eyes, was enough to bring me close to the blissful edge. His strong
hands roamed my body: he trailed from my hips down my thigh until his hand rested behind
my knee. I lifted it and wrapped it around him as he moved it back up, taking my dress with it.
His fingers left a trail of fire in their wake, making me moan and writhe against him. When he
reached my hip he stopped and snapped his head up to me with eyes of fire.

“No, you fucking didn’t…” he said with a devious smile on his lips.

Truth was I did, because I was ready for bed when he called, and because it was hotter than
two hells outside I decided to wear something thin to sleep in and didn’t bother with
underwear.

I shrugged with feigned nonchalance, giving him the most innocent smile I could manage
before he kissed me firmly and pushed harder against me. I couldn’t wait anymore, the look in
his eyes sending me way beyond the line of rational thinking. My hands went straight to the
button on his jeans and I made quick work of it, then pushed hastily until they were down to
his knees. I pulled him against me, not caring that we were in the barn, not caring that we
could make the short trip to the house and my bed… I couldn’t wait, and from the way he
growled I guessed that he couldn’t either. His hands were on my hips and he lifted me up,
moving closer to me. I wrapped my legs around him, giving him access to where I needed him
the most. He paused for a brief moment, meeting my eyes, before he closed the distance and
entered me in one swift motion.

It was beyond anything I had ever felt before. Nothing else existed other than him and that
moment. We both gasped at the feeling, my eyes rolling back in my head and my legs
tightening around his waist as his hands gripped my hips tighter. He moved slowly but with
strength. Every touch and movement had power and force with it, but it was so gentle and
loving at the same time. Everything about him radiated love and protectiveness, and for the
first time in my life I felt what love was, I felt what it was like to be protected and wanted.

“Oh God, Edward,” I moaned, fisting his hair in my hands and pulling his face to mine,
kissing him with everything I had inside me.

“So good…so beautiful,” he said softly as his breathing grew heavy.

His scent washed over me, and between that and the absolute pleasure he was bringing me, I
was sent over the edge. I tightened around him, riding out my orgasm and crying his name
into his neck. With three final thrusts he reached his own orgasm. He thrust hard, his head

falling back, lips parted in pleasure as he breathed my name. When we were both calmed
down, our eyes met and we smiled. He pulled me close and held me tight against him for a
long time. Only when his arms and my legs were shaking from our position did he put me
down gently, still holding me close to him and placing soft kisses everywhere he could reach.

“Edward…” I began.

“Bella, I…” he uttered at the same time. We laughed and our eyes met.

“You go first,” I said, running my thumb across his bottom lip.

“This is going to sound insane but I can’t keep it to myself anymore,” he said, looking deep
into my eyes. “I’ve fallen hard for you and I am completely in love with you, Bella. I have
been since the first time I saw you.” He looked slightly embarrassed, but by looking into his
eyes I could see that he meant every word he spoke.

Tears welled in my eyes at his sincerity as I spoke from my heart. “I have loved you since the
first day you walked onto this ranch, Edward. You have my heart.” My voice was barely a
whisper, but I knew he could hear me and that he knew how true my words were.

“Come up to the house with me?” I asked a moment later because I didn’t want to be away
from him; the thought of that was painful.

He nodded and we righted our clothes, checking one last time on Hollywood before we made
our way out to the four-wheeler. He climbed on and started it and then helped me climb on the
back. I held him tightly as we sped towards my home together.

~Bella~

Sleep was something that I never got enough of in the past because I always felt like I had to
sleep with one eye open so I could watch for James. When we got back to the house, Edward
made love to me. It was soft and slow, but just like in the barn he just exuded strength. I felt
safe for the first time in twelve years. He held me in a way that told me nothing would hurt
me with him there. I laid my head on his chest, surrounded by his arms and warmth, and I
slept like the dead; I don’t even think I dreamed.

The next morning, I stretched before I opened my eyes, and when my arm came down to the
other side of the bed it was empty. I opened my eyes and was about to panic or be really
pissed that he just left until the scent of something heavenly caught my nose. I listened closely
and could hear someone in the kitchen, so I got up and pulled on some pajama pants and a
tank top then made my way downstairs. Edward must have been sent directly from heaven,
because he was standing at the stove cooking bacon in nothing but a pair of jeans. He didn’t
even turn around when he reached his hand out to me.

“It smells amazing in here,” I said, taking his hand and letting him pull me to his side.

“Morning, sleep well?” he asked, finally meeting my eyes with that sexy smirk that did all
kinds of wonderful things to my body.

“Yes, for the first time in too many years, I actually slept,” I said with a smile then kissed him
on the chest before I rested my head over his heart.

“Good,” he said, and then he laughed.

“What’s funny?” I asked, looking up at his amused face with a raised brow.

“Oh, nothing.” He laughed harder and shook his head.

I did the womanly thing and pinched the crap out that spot on the back of his upper arm. I
knew that shit hurt like hell and I was damn good at hitting just the right spot to cause the
most pain.

“OH! Shit woman, that hurts!” he winced, twisting away from me and rubbing his arm.

“Well, tell me what is so funny and I won’t have to inflict more pain on to your glorious
body,” I crooned, looking up at him through my lashes.

He laughed and shook his head so I went like I was going to pinch him again so he held up his
hands in surrender, saying, “Okay, just don’t pinch me again.”

I smiled sweetly at him then took the spatula and moved the bacon from the pan to a plate.

“I just think it is interesting that you talk in your sleep,” he said, blatantly trying really hard
not to laugh.

“Oh God, no,” I groaned, dropping my head and covering my face.

“Oh yes, and I’m not talking like mumbling every so often, I mean talking full on sentences
and answering questions when asked,” he said, coming up behind me and wrapping his arms
around my waist.

“You asked me questions?” I squeaked, turning around to face him.

“Mmhm,” he breathed, but before I could enquire further he dropped his lips to mine and
made me forget that I should be embarrassed.

The kiss was heated and was going to progress to some really awesome kitchen sex when I
heard a car door close outside.

“Shit,” I said, snapping my head to the window. “It’s Alice and Lilly.”

I knew that Lilly would be happy to know that Edward would probably be spending a lot
more time here but I really didn’t want her to see him in a pair of jeans, which by that point
were really tight in the front. I had to stop looking at his body because if I didn’t, I was going
to kiss him again and that would not look responsible when my ten year old daughter walked
in the house.

“I’ll go put a shirt on, you finish breakfast,” he said, then smacked me on the ass and took off
upstairs.

A moment later, Alice and Lilly came bounding through the door, giggling and smiling at
each other. Alice stopped short when she saw me and raised her eyebrow, cracking a sly
smile.

“Momma!” Lilly sang as she hugged me tight.

“Hey Lilly, did you have fun?” I asked, leaning down to kiss her forehead.

“Yes, I had a blast,” she laughed. “Hey, can I go to the barn? I want to see Ghost.” She was
looking up at me with her big eyes and I just couldn’t say no.

“Sure,” I said with a nod, and she was off at top speed.

Half a second after the door was closed, Alice turned to me and looked me over from my head
to my toes then back up again.

“You totally did it,” she gasped, pointing at me with her mouth hanging open.

“Did what?” I asked, turning with a shrug towards the coffee pot.

“Oh, don’t you play coy with me, missy, you slept with Edward last night…more than once!”
she shouted, charging after me into the kitchen.

“Alice!” I hissed, turning towards her. “Shut up, he is upstairs…and how did you know?”

“Um, because you are glowing, your hair is a hot mess, and you have that swagger going on
that just screams ‘I got laid!’” she chirped as she hopped up on the kitchen counter.

“I have a swagger?” I asked, leaning against the counter and sipping my coffee.

“Yes, you do,” Edward said from the door way.

I turned and almost fell down when I saw him standing there in his white tee shirt and jeans,
his well-worn baseball hat on his head, and he just looked edible. Alice giggled as she looked
between Edward and me repeatedly.

“Good morning, Alice,” he said, but he never took his eyes off mine.

“Well, I would say it is,” Alice said with an evil laugh. “How are you, Edward?”

“Amazing, absolutely amazing,” he said in this low raspy voice as he moved closer to me,
close enough that I could feel his breath on my skin. He leaned down and ever so lightly
brushed his lips against mine then said “I’m going to go feed the horses then I will be back for
breakfast.”

I shivered and could only nod as he turned to leave for the barn. I stared for a moment at his
retreating form, appreciating the way his jeans hugged his ass and his tee shirt seemed to
highlight every muscle in his back.

“Bella,” I heard Alice say, and I saw her little hand snapping in front of my face. “Damn girl,
you are seriously drooling.” She was laughing at this point.

“Oh, bite me Alice,” I laughed as I moved to put the breakfast in the oven to keep it warm
until he got back.

“Does Edward bite?” Alice asked, right as I was taking a sip of my coffee, which caused me
to choke and inhale it rather than swallow it.

“What the fuck, Alice?” I choked out, trying to clear my throat so I could breathe.

Once I was breathing oxygen and not coffee I spoke before I realized what I was saying.

“He nibbles,” I sighed, remember the way he nipped at my shoulder when we were down in
the barn. Then I realized what I said and gasped.

“Oh relax, when have we ever not told each other everything?” she said as she poured herself
a cup of coffee.

“Alice, he told me he loves me,” I said, and now if was her turn to breathe coffee as she
choked on her own sip.

“What?” she gasped with wide eyes.

“One of the horses coliced last night…basically, to make a long story short, we talked while
we walked him and once he was alright it just sort of happened. Then afterwards he said that
he had loved me since the first time he saw me,” I said, but I sounded really breathy and all
teenager-like when they dream about their Hollywood crush.

“Oh, Bella’s got it bad,” Alice said, twirling her pointer finger in a little circle as she pointed
at me.

“I love him, Alice, like hard-core, life altering, never-want-anyone-else love him,” I
whispered, wondering what I had done to deserve a man like Edward in my life in any
capacity, much less to have him love me.

Alice looked at me for a moment before she set her mug down on the counter and put her
hands on my shoulders.

“Bella, you have spent the majority of your life getting the hell kicked out of you by that
monster, so if anyone deserves to be happy and loved it is you. He does love you, Bella; it’s in
the way he looks at you, the way he talks to you, hell, it’s in the way he breathes when you’re
around. Let him love you, Bella, don’t fight this,” she said, and when she finished she had
tears in her eyes.

I hugged her and could only nod as the truth in what she said really sank in. She held me tight
and when we parted we both laughed a little tearful laugh. We moved into the living room to
wait for Edward and Lilly to return for breakfast.

“Where is Jasper?” I asked, looking out the window.

“He was outside finishing a phone call when we came in, so he probably went with Edward to
the barn,” Alice said as she joined me by the large bay window.

I walked into the kitchen to make sure that breakfast was still warm and not burnt when Alice
called me.

“Bella, hurry, come here and look at this,” she said, waving me towards the window.

When I was by her side again my breath caught in my throat when I saw it. Emmet and Jasper
were walking towards the house laughing, but what touched my heart was the sight of Edward
laughing with them and my daughter perched on his back, laughing like I haven’t seen her
laugh in so many years.

“He loves her too, Bella; I think he would do anything for the two of you,” she said softly,
wrapping an arm around my waist.

I couldn’t say anything as I watched my daughter with him. While her smile had always been
beautiful, there was always a touch of sadness there just under the surface, but now it was
gone, showing only happiness, her eyes were shining bright without a care in the world. She
loved him and he loved her the way a father should love a daughter. I laughed when I saw
Edward pretend to stumble and act like he was going drop her. She squealed so loud that we
heard it in the house; she tightened her arms around his neck and laughed until he stopped and
walked normally. The sound was music to my ears and I had to take a deep breath to stop the
emotions from bubbling up inside me.

Alice and I walked out on the porch to meet them when they reached the house. I greeted
Jasper and Emmet, telling them to make themselves at home, and when Edward put Lilly
down and she ran inside I turned to him.

“You are amazing, do you know that?” I sighed, putting my hand against his heart.

“She is a wonderful little girl,” Edward said as he rested his lips against my forehead.

“She hasn’t laughed like that in so long…thank you,” I whispered, then pulled back to look
into his green eyes. I couldn’t say anything else, and he didn’t have to, because all the care
and love he truly felt showed clearly on his beautiful face.

~Edward~

Waking up that morning with Bella in my arms was the single most amazing moment in my
life. The sex was mind blowing, but this was different: it was deeper than just sex, this was
like a dream come true, as cheesy as that shit sounds, but it was the only way to describe it.

Making breakfast and seeing her come down the stairs in her pajamas was something I could
get used to in about thirty seconds.

When Alice brought Lilly home I told Bella that I was going to feed the horses, but I knew
that Emmet would have already done that; I just wanted an excuse to talk to Lilly. Call me old
fashioned, but I knew that I couldn’t have anything with Bella if Lilly wasn’t comfortable
with it.

When I got to the barn she was standing on a water bucket that was turned upside down in
front of Ghost’s stall.

“Hey Lilly, how are you?” I asked as I walked over to her and ruffled her hair.

She laughed and smoothed her hair out, saying “I’m good,” then she flicked my hat off my
head in payback for messing her hair.

“Hey, can I talk to you for a second?” I asked, bending down to grab my hat.

“Sure,” she said, hopping down off the bucket and smiling at me.

We walked out to the closest fence and both climbed up and took a seat. I wasn’t nervous with
Bella last night, I didn’t get nervous when I rode a very young horse that could possibly kill
me with each buck, so I really didn’t know why right then my stomach felt like it was in my
throat.

She looked up at me, squinting slightly in the sun and asked, “What’s up, Edward?” She gave
me a knowing smile.

“Lilly, I need to ask you something important,” I said, leaning forward a bit and resting my
forearms on my knees.

“Okay,” she said softly, leaning forward and mirroring my position.

I took a deep breath and said the first thing that popped in my mind. “I am in love with your
mom.”

Well shit, I could have been a little more roundabout with that but can’t take it back now.

“I know,” she said with a shrug, like this was old news or something.

I sat up and looked at her with a raised brow, waiting on her to explain.

“Edward, I’m ten, not stupid.” She rolled her eyes. “I know you have loved her for a long
time and I’m happy about that.” She smiled at me then looked down. “She smiles at you,
Edward; she hasn’t smiled like that in a long time. James was a bad man and he hurt her. She
doesn’t think I know about all that but I do,” she said sadly, and looked at me with pleading
eyes.

“Lilly, you know that I would never hurt your mom the way your dad did, right?” I asked,
putting a hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t call him that!” she snapped. “Don’t call him my dad! He might have made me but he
isn’t my dad.” She had tears in her eyes but refused to let them fall.

“I’m sorry, Lilly, I didn’t mean to upset you,” I said softly, hoping she wasn’t pissed at me.

“Don’t worry, you didn’t, but he did when he hurt my mom. I wish he wasn’t my dad…I wish
you were,” she sighed, meeting my eyes. I felt a lump in my throat and couldn’t swallow it
down; I loved this kid like she was my own and she just told me she wished I was her dad.
Tears pricked at my eyes and I cleared my throat.

“I want to marry your mom someday,” I said, and it was the truth. I had kept my feelings for
Bella to myself for too long, and now I didn’t have to anymore…I wanted her to be my wife.

“Really?” she asked with a big smile, and I think she may have bounced a little but I’m not
sure.

“Yes, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I’m not saying it will happen tomorrow or
anything, but eventually I want to. I guess I just wanted to make sure you were alright with
the idea of us before we start a relationship,” I said, smiling a little when I thought of having a
relationship with Bella…the slightest thought about her had me smiling like an idiot.

“Just keep making her smile like she has been and it’s cool with me!” she said as she elbowed
me playfully.

“That won’t be a problem,” I laughed, because I planned to make them both smile and laugh
and be happy every day I breathe.

She nodded and we both hopped down in time to see Jasper and Emmet staring at us from the
door to the barn.

“Come on, Lil, I’m starving, let’s take those two back to the house and eat,” I said.

She laughed and nodded as we made our way towards them.

“Come on, guys, breakfast at the main house!” Lilly announced, and that was all it took for
them to take off towards the house, leaving us in their dust.

I laughed and bent down to her. “Hop on kid, we will beat them back to the house.” She
giggled and jumped on my back.

I took off chasing after Jasper and Emmet, catching them easily; it was a lovely sound to hear
Lilly laugh the way she did it warmed my heart. We all talked and laughed on the walk back
to the house, and when we reached the porch and everyone was inside Bella told me that I was
amazing. The conversation was nothing but whispers but we both felt the shift and the love
we shared.

We joined the rest of them at the table and all sat down, digging into the food. Conversation
flowed easily and the house was filled with laughter and jokes.

“Hey, we should have a big cook-out this weekend… make a bonfire, you know, the whole
nine yards,” Bella said, looking around at the rest of us.

“That sounds like fun; we’re in!” Alice said as Jasper nodded.

“What about you, Emmet, you in?” I asked, looking to him.

“I was supposed to see Rose this weekend…” he said, looking torn.

“Well, bring her along, it will be fun. We can go for a ride Saturday afternoon and then do the
cookout that night,” Bella said as she leaned against my side; I wrapped my arm around her.

“Alright, I’m sure she would go for that,” Emmet said with a nod and a smile.

“Oh, this is going to be so much fun!” Lilly squealed, causing us all to wince at the sheer
pitch and volume of her voice.

“Jeez, Lilly I think every stray dog in the county probably heard that,” Jasper laughed as he
rubbed his ear with his hand.

We all laughed as Lilly threw a piece of bacon at him. We talked about the barbeque and the
ride; we talked about all the horses and upcoming events. Things were wonderful and it was
then that we started a new tradition…breakfast at the main house with everyone.

~Bella~

The week went by filled with more smiles and laughs then I have ever had in my life. Edward
was like a bright light – he just made every part of everything brighter. Lilly stayed with Alice
again for her Friday night slumber party and I expected them back in an hour or so, along with
everyone else for the trail ride and then cook out tonight.

I decided to make pancakes and bacon for breakfast for when they all arrived, but just as I was
about to start cooking I felt strong arms wrap around my waist and soft lips at my ear.

“Do you know how beautiful you are in the mornings?” he whispered seductively in my ear.
Breakfast forgotten, I turned around and wrapped my arms around his neck.

“Do you know how wonderful it is to wake up to your face in the mornings?” I asked with a
loving smile as I ran my fingers through his soft bronze hair.

He smiled brightly at me then leaned down and kissed me senseless. I never knew it was
possible to forget your name from just one kiss until that moment. I moaned into his mouth
and he pulled me closer to him, running his hands from my lower back to my ass. Without
breaking the kiss, he lifted me up and set me on the counter, and I wrapped my legs around
his waist.

“What time is Alice bringing Lilly home?” he asked, breathlessly.

“In an hour.” He smiled and started kissing my neck. “But I have to make breakfast…” The
words died in my throat when he took my shirt off and started kissing his way down my
throat, across both my breast and down to my stomach.

“I’ll help you…but first, I need you,” he said against my skin, making his way down to my
center.

“Oh God…Edward,” I moaned, no longer caring if I got breakfast made in time or not
because I was now in heaven.

He removed my pajama pants then smiled up at me when he saw that I wasn’t wearing
underwear. His eyes darkened as he watched my reaction as his tongue made contact with my
sensitive skin. My eyes rolled back and I gripped the counter top as he worked me to the point
of release. Just as I was about to come, he pulled away and smiled up at me.

“I could kill you right now!” I pouted, but quickly smiled as he unbuttoned his jeans and
moved closer to me.

“I will make it up to you,” he said in a husky, sex-filled voice.

He put his hands on my hips and pulled me to the edge of the counter, and I leaned back
against the cabinet behind me. He entered me torturously slowly, and when I looked at him
and saw him watching himself enter me, I was pushed over the edge and I came hard around
him. He smiled a devious smile and looked at me through his lashes.

“I love to watch you come undone,” he moaned as he moved in and out at a steady pace.

I couldn’t say anything so I just moaned and took in the sight of this glorious man as he
owned my body and my heart. He rested one hand next to my head on the cabinet and the
other hand on the counter next to my hip and he leaned towards me until his lips were next to
my ear.

“I want to spend forever making you feel this good, Bella,” he whispered, then he kissed me
like I had never been kissed before.

“God, Edward…you feel so damn good,” I gasped, and he shifted his hips upwards, making
me come again. I could feel his stomach tighten and I knew that he was close.

He grabbed a handful of my hair and pulled gently until he could reach my neck; he kissed
and nipped the skin there lightly with his teeth.

“Shit, Bella…” he gasped as he came hard inside me, bringing me with him. I don’t think I
had ever really had a true orgasm, but Edward had just given me three in less than an hour.
My God, I was keeping him forever!

Once our breathing had slowed and we were both able to stand up without the support of the
kitchen counter, he kissed me sweetly and smiled against my lips.

“Go shower, I’ll start breakfast,” he said, resting his forehead against mine and looking deep
into my satisfied eyes.

“This hardly seems fair,” I pouted as he pushed me playfully towards the stairs.

“What doesn’t seem fair?” he asked with a confused look on his face.

“I got three and you only got one…that just doesn’t seem fair,” I said, crossing my arms and
leaning against the door frame.

He laughed and moved close to me, resting his hands on my hips and smiling down at me.

“Trust me, woman, it was well worth it to see you like that,” he said, then pressed a light kiss
on the lips and turned me towards the stairs, smacking me on the ass. “Go shower before I
ravage you again.”

I floated through my shower and got ready for the day on a cloud of bliss. When I was done
getting ready, I headed down stairs to a room full of people. Alice and Jasper were sitting at
the kitchen table laughing at what Rosalie said at Emmet’s expense, and Edward was
finishing breakfast at the stove with Lilly by his side, both with huge smiles on their faces.

“Good morning,” I said as I made my way into the kitchen and to the coffee pot.

“Morning, Momma!” Lilly sang, but didn’t leave Edward’s side as he helped her flip a
pancake in the air. She laughed when she managed to do it without dropping it.

Alice and Rosalie were staring at me with a raised brow, and I thought they would go on with
their conversation but I was wrong; they jumped up and ran over to me, grabbed my arm and
pulled me upstairs to my room.

“What the hell are you two doing?” I asked, shaking the coffee off my hand that had sloshed
out during the kidnapping.

“You totally had kitchen sex with him before we got here!” Alice whisper-squealed as she
clapped her hands in excitement.

“What?” was my genius shocked response as my eyebrows shot up into my hair line.

“Oh, don’t play coy, you totally did!” Rose said, putting her hands on her hips as they both
stood there and waited for me to confirm what they already knew.

I looked between the two of them and came to the conclusion that I was not getting out of this
without spilling the details.

“Fine,” I ground out, rolling my eyes and sagging my shoulders. “I had kitchen sex with
Edward before you guys got here.” I tried to act like I was offended by their questioning but
the smile that was plastered on my face shot that to shit.

“OHHH, Bella got some hot cowboy bootie!” Rose sang as she did a little dance in a circle.

“Oh my God…my Bella finally had an orgasm,” Alice said, acting like she was wiping tears
away.

“Three actually, and that was just this morning!” I said as I twirled towards the bed and
flopped down rather gracelessly. They both gasped and launched onto the bed, lying down on
either side of me.

“Bella, you love him, don’t you?” Alice asked as she turned her head to look at me.

“Yes, very much,” I sighed with a small smile playing on my lips.

“Emmet told me that Edward has had a thing for you since he first started here,” Rose said as
she patted my hand and giggled.

“You guys are gonna make pretty babies,” Alice said with a snigger.

I sat straight up with a gasp as my heart slammed against my ribs.

“What’s wrong?” they both asked as they sat up and placed a hand on my back.

“I am so fucking stupid!” I gasped out, smacking my hand to my forehead as I shook my
head.

“Bella, what is it?” Rose asked at the same time Alice gasped and put a hand on her chest.

“You didn’t use protection, did you?” Alice asked with wide eyes.

“No. Oh my God, I must be the stupidest person ever!” I said, still shaking my head in
disbelief.

“Okay, Bella, it’s going to be fine. Breathe,” Rose said as she rubbed my back. “You are
probably not pregnant…and even if you were, Edward would be there for you.”

I nodded and tried to calm down. I went over everything in my head, from how many days it
had been since my period to what it would mean if it did happen. What came to mind made
me smile as thoughts of a future with Edward flowed through my head.

“See, everything will be fine; just don’t stress about it. In a few weeks if you don’t get your
period, I will bring you a test,” Alice said with a small knowing smile.

“Momma, breakfast is ready!” Lilly said as she bounded through the door and leaped onto my
lap from the middle of the room.

“Great, I’m starving,” I said as I hugged Lilly and then tickled her mercilessly. She squealed
and laughed and tried to get out of my grasp.

“Stop, Momma!” She was laughing so hard that she wasn’t making any noise other than the
occasional squeak.

“What’s with all the racket in here?” Edward asked with a small laugh from the door as he
leaned against the frame. “If you’re done with your gossip, the food is ready.”

“Edward!” Lilly sang, then ran to him and jumped towards him. He caught her and slung her
over his shoulder, winked at me then turned to head down stairs.

My heart fluttered and my smile was so big it was painful; Alice and Rose both sighed and
leaned against me, resting their heads against mine.

“She loves him, you know?” Alice said as she stood up, pulling me up with her.

“I know, he is so good with her. He teaches her things and just spends time with her. As crazy
as it sounds, he is more of a father to her than James ever was,” I said as I tried not to get
choked up at the thought of how wonderful Edward really was.

“She told me last night that she wants you to marry him so he can be her dad,” Alice said with
a smile as she led Rose and me out of the bedroom.

I smiled at that comment and went downstairs to join the others, still floating on my Edward-
induced cloud. We all sat down at the table and dug into breakfast.

“So who are you going to ride today, Lilly?” Emmet asked as he stole a piece of bacon off her
plate.

“Um duh…Ghost,” she said, rolling her eyes. “And stop stealing my food; you ate like three
plates already!” We all laughed as she smacked his hand away.

Once breakfast was finished and the dishes were done we all headed towards the barn. Alice
jumped on Jasper’s back, Rose threw her arm around Emmet’s waist, and Lilly and I held
each of Edward’s hands. We all got the horses ready to go and started out on the trails,
laughing and joking with each other.

“So are we going to the lake?” Jasper asked, winking at Alice.

“Oh yeah, that sounds perfect, it’s suppose to be hot as hell today,” Rose said.

“I’m up for it!” I said, already feeling the sweat starting to bead up on my skin and it was only
ten A.M. I’m really glad that we all packed some shorts in case it was nice enough to swim.

We rode for about an hour and a half before we made it to the lake that sat in the middle of
my property. We unsaddled the horses and let them roam around since they couldn’t go far
due to the fence that surrounded the lake. Emmet dove straight in the water, saying that he
might die if he didn’t cool off soon. Rose, Alice and I sat in the shade on the log that rested
there as Lilly went to get on the swing that hung over the water. Edward and Jasper got the
saddles squared away in the shade then stripped down to their shorts and headed for the water.

“Oh good God!” Rose gasped as she looked at the sight of the all the guys wearing nothing
but board shorts, her mouth hanging open.

“You know, most women would get pissed if another woman gawked at her man, but what
can I say, Jasper is just too damn hot to keep the sight to myself,” Alice sighed as she stared
dreamily at Jasper’s naked torso.

I have to give it to her, Jasper was a gorgeous man; his board shorts hung low on his hips,
accentuating that V. His abs rippled as he came up from under the water and shook his hair
out. Water rolled down his chest and the muscles in his arms flexed as he pushed his hair out
of his face. Alice sighed and rested her chin on her hand, tilting her head to the side as she
watched him.

Rose had the same reaction when Emmet walked out of the water and to the dock to dive
again. Where Jasper was lean and fit, Emmet was hulking with muscles that rolled over ever
part of him. His short curly hair dripped water down his chest and when he smiled at her and
flashed his dimples she fell off the log, not even trying to cover it up. He laughed and winked
at her as he walked by.

When I saw Edward push Lilly on the swing out over the water, I took a moment to pay
respect to his body. He was tanned from hours of working in the sun, his stomach was toned
to the point that he didn’t even have to flex for his muscles to show, the long strong muscles
in his arms flexed as he pushed her. He smiled and laughed as she squealed when she let go
and flew out over the water and caused an Emmet-sized splash when she hit the water.

“It must be illegal to be as hot as they are,” Rose said as her eyes shot from each of them back
over to us.

“I know, I really think that Edward might be staying at the house tonight and Lilly will be
going to bed early,” I sighed as I leaned back against the tree behind me.

They both laughed and shook their heads, but then their eyes went wide as they looked
towards the lake. I followed their gaze and realized that all the guys were stalking towards us
with devious grins on their faces. We got up and started running when we realized what they
were about to do.

“Oh come on, ladies, don’t be scared!” Jasper called to us through his laughter.

“Yeah, we just wanted a kiss and a hug,” Emmet sang in his innocent ‘I-am-up-to-no-good’
voice.

They chased us and caught up easily as Emmet scooped Rose up in his arms, causing her to
scream and laugh. Jasper picked Alice up cave-man style, which made her smack his ass
trying to get him to put her down, with no success. Edward grabbed me around the waist and
took off running towards the water, ignoring my struggles to escape. The three of them ran
straight into the water and pushed us under.

When I came up for air I laughed and threw my arms around his neck, hugging him close.
Then, just when he thought he was in the clear, I reached down and pinched the shit out that
spot on the back of his arm as hard as I could.

“SHIT!” he yelped as he jerked away from my attack. “Woman, you have got to stop doing
that!” he laughed while rubbing the back of his arm.

“Emmet, you are DEAD!” Rose screeched then smacked him in the junk, causing him to fall
forward into the water holding his package for dear life.

“Lilly, close your ears honey,” Alice said. Lilly covered her ears while she laughed
hysterically at all of us. “Jasper, dear, you are so not getting any later!” she said sweetly as
she reached down under the water and cupped his crotch. Jasper’s eyes got wide and his
eyebrows shot up on his forehead, causing us all to laugh.

“Momma,” Lilly said softly, her voice off. When I looked at her I knew exactly what was
about to happen. Her eyes were unfocused and she was gripping the tree limb next to her so
tight that her little knuckles were white. Since Lilly was three she has had seizures, and
although they were few and far between they scared the shit out of me each and every time.

“Alice,” I shouted as started running towards Lilly as fast as I could go, given I was in the
water. I reached her just in time as she slumped back towards the ground. I caught her head
before it hit the ground; Alice was right behind me and helped me move her away from
anything that would hurt her.

Her small body went rigid and her head jerked to the side, her toes pointed and her hands and
arms drew up close to her chest. All I could do was hold her head in my lap so she didn’t hit it

on anything. Jasper grabbed the saddle pads and put them under her elbows so she didn’t bang
them on the ground.

~Edward~

When I saw Lilly slump into her mother’s lap, my stomach dropped. I knew that she had
seizures but had never seen it happen until now. It was quite possibly the scariest thing I have
ever witnessed.

“Is there anything I can do?” I asked Bella, who held her daughter gently until she stopped
seizing.

“Talk to her, touch her arm, tell her it’s alright,” she said, never taking her eyes off of Lilly.

I reached out and placed my hand on Lilly’s arm, noticing how rigid her muscles were. I
looked up and saw that her jaw was clenched so tight that it looked like it might break.

“Come on, Lilly…it’s almost over,” Bella said softly as she stroked Lilly’s hair out of her
face.

Bella was holding it together but I could see the toll it was taking in her eyes. I could see that
she was used to seeing this but that it didn’t make it any less scary for her.

“Come on kiddo, come on back,” I said softly, trying not to let the fear of what I was seeing
creep into my voice.

She finally started to relax and her arms fell limp to her sides; the whole thing lasted about
two minutes but it felt like hours.

“Lilly, can you hear me?” Alice asked as she checked her pulse and looked at her pupils.

Lilly didn’t say anything for a few minutes, and when she did finally make some noise it
didn’t make sense.

“Is she alright?” I asked, not understanding why she was just slurring her words.

“She will come around, it just takes a little while, she’s just confused,” Bella said as she
kissed Lilly’s forehead. When I looked at her, I noticed a tear roll down her face.

“Momma?” Lilly finally asked in a soft weak voice. She looked up at Bella then around at the
rest of us. She turned her head into Bella and started crying when she realized what happened.

“It’s alright, Lilly, don’t cry,” Bella said softly as she stroked Lilly’s hair.

“Was it a bad one?” Lilly asked as she looked up at her mom with sad eyes.

“No baby,” Bella said, shaking her head slightly as she kissed Lilly’s head again.

I stood back giving her some room to get her bearings. When I was at Emmet’s side I asked,
“That wasn’t a bad one?”

He shook his head. “No man, that was a cake walk compared to some of the ones she has
had.” He had worked for Bella for five years so it would make sense that he would have seen
her have a seizure at least once. I looked back over towards Lilly and Bella to see Lilly sitting
up slowly.

“Open your mouth,” Bella said, putting her hands on either side of Lilly’s face. Lilly opened
her mouth and Bella looked then grimaced.

“You got it good, baby girl,”

“It doesn’t hurt,” Lilly said as she spit out a mouth full of blood.

“Why is she bleeding?” Rose asked, sounding concerned at the sight of the blood.

“When I have one I bite my tongue,” Lilly said with a sad and slightly embarrassed smile. Her
brows furrowed then she leaned in and whispered something to Bella.

“It’s alright baby, you can just wear your jeans on the way back,” Bella said quietly as she
tried to soothe whatever worry Lilly had.

Bella took Lilly over behind a tree so she could change as Alice walked over to us. “What is
Lilly so worried about?” I asked softly.

“When a person has a seizure sometimes they lose function of their bladder; Lilly was
embarrassed that someone would notice. It’s not easy for a girl her age to have to go through
that,” Alice said with a sympathetic look in her eyes.

We put our jeans on and Emmet, Jasper and I saddled the horses back up while Alice and
Rose went to help Bella with Lilly. Once they came back out, Lilly looked tired and Bella
looked worried.

“What’s wrong?” I asked as I walked up and put my arms around her waist.

“I’m scared for her to ride back; sometimes she has more than one and if that happens while
she is riding she could get really hurt,” Bella said as she turned into my embrace and wrapped
her arms around my waist.

At that moment, Lilly came over and tapped Bella on the arm. “What’s up, Lilly?” she asked,
turning and kneeling down to Lilly’s level.

Lilly pulled her close and whispered in her ear; Bella smiled and shrugged then said “Ask
him,” as she looked at me.

“Edward, my mom freaks out after I have a seizure so is it alright if I ride with you?” she
asked, rolling her eyes and shrugging her shoulders.

“She could ride with me but I don’t think Chaos would tolerate that too well,” Bella said,
looking unsure of what I would say.

“I don’t mind at all,” I smiled, ruffling Lilly’s hair and winking at Bella.

By the time we all got ready to head back, Lilly looked exhausted so I hopped up in the saddle
and Emmet scooped her up and handed her to me. Once she was settled in my arms she was
out like a light.

“Thank you for doing that,” Bella said as she rode next to me and gave me a small smile.

“So how often does she have them?” I asked as I shifted her slightly so she would be more
comfortable.

“She hasn’t had one in months, I don’t know what brings them on, I just know that it scares
the shit out of me every time,” she said, looking at her daughter with concern.

“I don’t think I have ever been more scared, Bella. I know we just started all this but you and
her are the closest thing I have to a family...I love you both,” I said softly, looking down at
Lilly then into Bella’s eyes.

“We love you too,” Lilly said with a small smile as she looked between both of us. I smiled
back at her – I hadn’t realized she was awake.

“Yes we do…very much,” Bella said softly meeting my eyes.

~Bella~

Once we got the horses taken care of and back in there stalls the guys went to start the grill for
the steaks. I wanted to cancel the whole thing but Lilly insisted that she was fine and wanted
to have the cook out so I gave in. The girls and I went to the house to grab the food that I put
in the coolers last night. We were going to cook out in one of the pastures between the bunk
house and the main house as we took the four-wheelers and headed down to meet the guys,
Alice and Rose on one and Lilly and me on the other.

The guys started cooking and Alice and Rose handed them all a beer; I stood in front of
Edward with his arms around my waist as we all stood there laughing and joking with each
other. A moment later, I saw headlights pulling down the drive way, and when the truck came
into view I wanted to vomit…it was James.

“Alice, Rose, take Lilly to the bunk house please,” I said, pushing Lilly towards the girls
gently.

“Momma, please don’t go up there,” Lilly cried, pulling on my arm trying to get me to come
with her.

“Lilly, you go with Alice and Rose, I won’t let him hurt her…I promise,” Edward said,
kneeling down to her level and wiping away her tears.

She nodded and went like she was told. Edward jumped on the four-wheeler and I got on
behind him and held on tight. Emmet and Jasper took the other one and followed us up to the
main house. When we got to the house, James charged down the stairs, and before anyone
could react he grabbed my throat and threw me to the ground.

He hit me hard in the side of the head and then jerked me up and slammed me down, causing
me to hit my head on a rock. Everything was fuzzy, but I was awake enough to see Edward
and Jasper pull him off me and then Emmet punching him in the face.

“Bella, are you alright?” Edward asked as he came to my side while Emmet held on to James.

“Fine, just a little dizzy,” I said, sitting up and holding my head where it had been hit. When I
pulled my hand down from the wound, I saw that it was covered in blood.

“You motherfucker!” Edward roared, then charged at James, taking them both to the ground.
Edward began to hit James in the face over and over again.

“Emmet, Jasper, pull him off! Edward, please stop!” I screamed, begging the guys to do
something.

Emmet pulled Edward off James and continued to tug him far enough away that he couldn’t
reach him again. Jasper, who had called 911 on the way up, took the opportunity to kick the
shit out of James, landing his boot right in his stomach as hard as he could.

“I have been waiting years to do that, you sick fucker!” Jasper seethed.

The police came and took James away, this time for good considering he broke the restraining
order. Edward helped me clean up my head quickly so that I could go check on Lilly.

“She is going to kick my ass,” Edward said, shaking his head.

“What are you talking about?” I said, confused by his comment.

“Lilly – I promised her I wouldn’t let him hurt you and I failed,” he said, looking down at the
ground and fisting his hair in his hands.

“Edward, she will be fine, and he can’t come back anymore. Besides, if it weren’t for you,
there wouldn’t be anything for him to hurt,” I said, reminding him of the night he stopped
James as I rubbed his back softly.

He nodded then kissed me lightly before we made our way outside and to the bunk house.
Lilly was sitting on the couch crying into Alice’s shoulder while Rose rubbed her back.

“Momma,” Lilly cried when she saw me. She ran to me and hugged me tightly.

“It’s alright, baby, he’s gone,” I said, kissing her on the forehead. I held her close until she
calmed down then Edward and I took her home so she could rest. Once she was in bed and
asleep, Alice stitched up my head while Edward held my hand. When Alice left, Edward
carried me upstairs and held me until I fell asleep. I didn’t have nightmares as I slept in the
safest place I knew…Edward’s arms.

~Edward~

Sleeping with Bella in my arms was something that I never thought I would have, and now
that I did I wanted it forever. We didn’t make love the previous night because she was upset
about what happened with James, so I just held her until she fell asleep. I opened my eyes and
squinted against the sunlight that peeked through the widows. When we fell asleep we had
what felt like all the room in the world to move around in with the huge bed, but right then it
felt crowded and I couldn’t figure out why there was so much distance between Bella and
me. I looked over at her lying on her side, facing me deep in sleep. I reached over to brush
the hair away from her face but stopped when a hand came up and smacked me right in the
face.

“What the hell?” I groaned, trying to figure out what the hell had just happened.

I looked down and noticed that there was a small mound between Bella and me, so I lifted the
covers and laughed at what I saw. Lilly was curled up against Bella but facing me; her
chestnut hair was the same morning mess that Bella’s was. The resemblance between the two
of them was uncanny. I sat for a long time just watching them both sleep; looking at them
made me realize that I wanted this life more than anything. My love for Bella was growing
stronger every second of every day and the love I had for Lilly was what I imagined it would
feel like if she was my own.

“Morning Edward,” Lilly whispered, breaking me from my thoughts. I had been so lost in
them I hadn’t even noticed her wake up. “I had a bad dream last night,” she explained,
looking down with sadness in her eyes.

“Want to go cook your mom some breakfast and talk about it?” I asked quietly, not wanting to
wake Bella up.

Lilly nodded and I moved to get up, and then helped her down so we didn’t disturb Bella. I
threw on some jeans and a shirt while she ran off to her room to get dressed. I went to the
kitchen and starting pulling pots and pans for omelets and bacon. When I was pulling the eggs
out of the fridge, Lilly came down and hopped up on the counter.

“So, you want to tell me about that dream?” I asked, motioning for her to come help me crack
the eggs into the bowl.

“It was about him,” she sighed as she moved to my side and helped.

“Who, you’re…James?” I asked, remembering that she didn’t like for anyone to call him her
father.

“Yeah,” she said, looking up at me with such sad eyes.

“What happened?” I asked, giving her a gentle smile as I handed her the whisk so she could
beat the eggs and I could start cutting up the stuff to go in them.

She shrugged. “He was hitting my mom like he always does, but this one was different… he
was hitting me too.” I could hear the quiver in her small voice and it broke my heart.

“Lilly, did James ever hit you or hurt you in any way?” I asked, praying that she would say
no.

“He grabbed my arm pretty hard a couple of times but he never hit me like he did my mom.
She doesn’t know about that; he would always call me stupid or other things like that when
she wasn’t around…” I looked down and noticed her shaking a little bit, and when she looked
up at me I saw her big tears forming in her eyes.

“I don’t understand why he is so mean; he always said mean things to my mom and me. What
did we do so wrong?” she asked as her voice shook. “Was I bad or not good enough or
something?”

My heart broke into a million pieces at her words. No child should ever be made feel that
way, but especially not my Lilly. I kneeled down to her level and turned her to face me so she
was looking into my eyes, which were stinging as I tried to keep my own tears from welling
up.

“Lilly, listen to me,” I said firmly, taking her tiny hands in mine. “You didn’t do anything
wrong, James is just a bad person. You are not stupid and you are more than good enough. It’s
no one’s fault other than James’.” I had to fight really hard to keep my emotions in check. I
wanted to make her feel better but at the same time I wanted to rip James apart for even
thinking of touching Lilly.

“Does that mean that I’m going to be a bad person because he is my…dad?” she asked,
looking down at her bare feet.

I lifted her chin up so she was looking at me again and said “Lilly, you are one of the best
people I know. Don’t ever let anyone tell you any different and please don’t worry about
James. I promise that I will keep you both safe.”

She smiled at me then wrapped her arms around my neck. “I love you, Edward,” she said, and
it made my heart swell with joy.

“I love you too, kiddo.” I hugged her back, and when I looked up I noticed that Bella was
standing in the doorway with a smile on her face and moisture in her eyes. I smiled up at her
and winked.

When I pulled back from the massive Lilly-hug, she ran over to her mom and jumped up into
her arms. I smiled at the sight of them hugging but I didn’t miss the slight grimace Bella made
when Lilly collided with her body…she was obviously really sore from the fight with James
last night.

“Momma, you were supposed to stay in bed! We were making you breakfast,” Lilly said with
a laugh as Bella tickled her sides.

“Well, why don’t we all make breakfast together instead?” Bella said with a smile as she
looked between Lilly and me.

“Well, I don’t know if your mom can keep up with my mad omelet skills, but I guess she can
try,” I joked, looking at Lilly and Bella.

“Oh, is that right?” Bella asked with raised eyebrows and that look she gave right before she
inflicted the pinch of death.

“No, please don’t pinch me again,” I said in mock terror as I held up my hands in surrender.

She laughed and shook her head as she put Lilly down. They moved over to the stove and the
three of us cooked breakfast together. I was happier than I had ever been and if I was being
honest with myself, I wanted this all the time. I wanted to wake up every day to Bella’s
beautiful face and I wanted to cook breakfast with Lilly for Bella every morning for the rest of
my life.

Once breakfast was ready we all sat down at the table and dug in, laughing and talking about
the horses and the event that was coming up in three weeks – it was five hours away and Lilly
was excited for her first major event.

“Momma, can I talk to you about something?” Lilly asked softly, suddenly looking a little
unsure of what she wanted to say.

“Of course, baby, what’s wrong?” Bella asked as she brushed Lilly’s hair out of her face.

“I’ll leave you two alone,” I said softly as I moved to get up from the table.

“No, I want you to stay,” Lilly said with a pleading look in her young eyes. I nodded and sat
back down.

“What’s on your mind, Lil?” Bella asked softly, taking Lilly’s hand in hers.

“I don’t want James to be my dad,” she said frankly, looking into Bella’s eyes.

“Lilly, you don’t have to see him ever again if you don’t want to…” Bella began, but Lilly
interrupted her.

“NO! I mean, I really don’t want him to be my dad. I don’t know if there is anything you can
do but if you can I want you to. Momma, I don’t want to have anything to do with him…ever.
I know I’m just a kid but I know what I want and I want you to make it so he isn’t my dad
anymore.” Lilly was firm in what she was saying; I could see the tears in her eyes but she
never let them fall.

Bella took a deep breath and looked at me like she didn’t know what to say. I wasn’t much
help because I really didn’t know how to respond to that either.

“Are you sure, Lilly?” Bella asked, looking back at her daughter.

“Yes, I don’t love him at all. He is a mean man and I don’t want anything to do with him,”
Lilly said with confidence.

Bella sighed then nodded. “Alright, I will see what we have to do, but Lilly, I want you to be
absolutely sure this is what you want.”

Lilly nodded and smiled, looking like she had just had the weight of the world lifted off her
small shoulders as she took her plate to the sink.

“Can I go to the barn?”

“Sure baby, we will be down there shortly,” Bella said, smiling at her daughter as she
bounced out the door and took off towards the barn.

Once the door was closed, Bella turned to me and sighed. “How the hell did she grow up so
damn fast?”

“Are you alright?” I asked, worried that she was upset for some reason.

“I’m fine, and honestly part of me is elated that she doesn’t want him to be a part of her life,
but the other part of me knows that he is going to put up a hell of a fight about this.”

“He won’t hurt you, Bella…either one of you,” I ground out, sounding harsher than I meant
to, but that fuck wouldn’t touch either of them again as long as I was living.

“I would take a thousand beatings from his hands if it meant she didn’t have to have him in
her life,” she said as a brief look of panic flashed in her eyes. Her words made my stomach
twist at the thought of him putting his hands on her again…it wasn’t going to happen.

“He can’t come here anymore, Bella; he broke the restraining order last night, and now he
will be locked up until he goes to court.”

“I know, I just want Lilly to be able to live a normal, happy life. I don’t want her to have to
hear the things that he will say when this goes to court, and it will go to court because there is
no way he would sign away his parental rights,” Bella said with a disgusted look in her eyes.

“Why? It’s not like he actually cares about Lilly.”

“Because she is the only thing he can use to threaten me. He knows losing her is my worst
fear and he uses that in his favor.”

“Jesus Bella,” I said, shaking my head and trying to wrap my brain around how someone
could be so evil to use their own child as leverage. “If you present the evidence that shows
what kind of a person James truly is, there isn’t a judge in the world that wouldn’t order in
your favor,” I said, pulling her into my lap.

“You’re right. I wouldn’t be able to deal with any of this if it wasn’t for you,” she said,
leaning down to kiss my lips softly.

“Mm, I do what I can, but if you keep moving your hips like that we won’t be making it to the
barn anytime soon.” I laughed as I thrust my hips up into her to prove my point.

She laughed. “You are an evil, evil man, Edward Cullen,” she said, kissing me again with
more passion. I knew that we couldn’t go at it right now but I could tease her relentlessly. I
ran my hands up her shirt and skimmed her breasts with my thumb, earning a hum from her.

“Bella,” I moaned, trying with everything I had in me to gain some restraint. I took a deep
breath and reined in my hormones. “We have so much work to do today…we gotta go!” I said
the last part really fast then picked her up and set her on the ground, placing my hands on her
shoulders but leaving a space between us.

“Ah, Edward, you are a tease!” she said with a devious smile as she stroked her fingers along
the back of my arms, then with a sweet smile and innocent eyes she pinched the shit out of
me.

“Damn it, woman!” I said loudly as I laughed and rubbed vigorously on what I was sure
would be a permanent bruise form all the pinching.

She laughed, but when she noticed the look in my eyes she squealed and ran for the door. I
chased her halfway to the barn before I caught her quick ass, and when I did I grabbed her
around the waist and spun her around, both of us laughing loudly. When I put her down she
looked up into my eyes with such love and devotion I thought my heart might explode.

“I love you, Edward,” she said softly as she traced her fingers across my cheek.

“I love you too, beautiful…you’re my Bella.” I kissed every inch of her face, making her
laugh and hug me close to her.

“I have to tell you something, but promise me you won’t get mad.” She was suddenly serious,
and looked worried when she spoke.

“I could never be mad at you, Bella.”

“Edward, we didn’t use protection,” she said, looking down at the ground.

I knew immediately what she meant, and a slight surge of panic ran through me, but it was
gone as fast as it came.

“Bella, whatever happens, we will get through it together.” And I meant it. Although it would
be way sooner than I planned, I knew I wanted a family with Bella, and if she was pregnant I
would be elated.

“You mean that?” she asked, smiling at me looking relieved.

“Of course. This isn’t some random relationship, Bella. I want it all with you, and even if that
happens now rather than later, I would still be thrilled.”

She nodded and kissed me with a passion that should be illegal. Thoughts of having a baby
with Bella made my heart soar.

~Bella~

Two and a half weeks past in a blur of training horses and preparing for the state
championship, but at that moment I couldn’t think about any of that. Edward and Lilly were at
the barn and I was pacing back and forth in my bedroom, waiting for Alice to get here.

“Bella,” Alice called from the living room.

“Up here,” I shouted, thankful that she was finally here.

“I got it, you can calm down now,” she laughed as she bounced into the bedroom.

“Oh, thank God,” I sighed, grabbing the test and high-tailing it into the bathroom to pee on
the stick.

I placed it on the counter and went back into the bedroom to wait with Alice.

“So, would it be a good thing or a bad thing?” she asked as she stepped in front of me to stop
my pacing.

I thought about that for a moment and realized how wonderful it really would be.

“It would be a very good thing,” I said, smiling at the thought.

“Well, that’s good, because it’s time to see the results.”

We walked back in to the bathroom and both looked down at the stick. We sighed and she
hugged me before we both started walking out of the house towards the barn. When we got
there, Alice took Lilly for a walk so that I could talk to Edward.

“Hey beautiful,” he said with a breath-taking smile as he hugged me close and kissed my lips.
I returned his kiss, but he could tell I was distracted.

“What’s wrong, baby?” he asked as he took in my expression.

“I took a test this morning,” I said, taking a deep breath.

He knew what I meant. He took a breath as well and nodded his head. “And?”

“It was negative,” I said, feeling sad, because if I was honest I wanted it to be positive. I
looked into his eyes and saw the same reaction.

“I see,” he said softly, looking down at the ground. “Well, I guess it just wasn’t the right
time.”

I had to swallow hard to keep from tearing up when I saw how disappointed he really was.

“Edward, I want it all with you. I don’t want to waste anymore time…I want you to move into
the house with me and Lilly,” I said, knowing that I could ask this without any doubt. It may
have seemed fast to some people, but our love for each other was undeniable and there was no
reason to waste time.

“Really, are you sure?” he asked with hope in his eyes.

“I have never been surer about anything, Edward. I love you, Lilly loves you; I talked to her
about it and I think I might have permanent hearing damage from the squeal that came out of
that child.” We both laughed loudly at that. I really wish he could have seen the way she
bounced in her seat when I asked her for her opinion.

“Yes, I want that very much. I don’t have much, Bella; I can’t give you fancy things, but I just
know that I love you and I want a long and happy life with you and Lilly.” His voice had a
thickness to it, like he was holding back his emotions.

“I don’t need fancy things, Edward, I just need you…only you,” I told him, putting my hands
to his face and letting my own happy tears fall.

He wiped my tears with his thumbs and kissed me lovingly. When we broke apart, we looked
into each other’s eyes and started laughing with pure joy. At that moment, Alice and Lilly
came back into the barn, and Lilly obviously knew why we were laughing because she let out
a squeal that could rival Alice’s.

She ran over to us and launched herself into us, and we both caught her and pulled her close.

“Are you happy, Lilly?” I asked, looking into her eyes and not being able to help the smile
that spread across my face at the joy in her eyes.

“Are you kidding me?” she laughed. “I can’t wait!” She was literally bouncing while we held
her; we had to put her down because someone was going to get hurt when she was this
excited.

“Alice, I swear she is related to you,” I teased as I looked over, seeing her bouncing as well as
Lilly joined her. It was quite amusing to watch them jumping around together.

“If you don’t mind, I would like to make this a fast move…as in tonight,” Edward whispered
in my ear in a seductive tone that caused me to need to rub my thighs together.

“Absolutely,” I moaned, trying really hard to keep my eyes from rolling into the back of my
head as he kissed my neck.

“Oh, come on you two, get a freaking room!” Emmet boomed as he led the horse he was
working with back into the barn.

“Actually, Emmet, we don’t have to, because Edward will be moving in with Lilly and me,” I
said, watching him closely to gauge his reaction.

He looked between Edward and me several times before he laughed loudly. “Awesome, more
room for me and Rosie to…”

“EMMET!” Edward, Alice and I all shouted at the same time, stopping his comment before
he scarred and corrupted my daughter’s mind for life.

“I was going to say ‘hang out’; we just hang out together, jeez,” Emmet said, shaking his head
as he began to un-tack the horse.

We all laughed at his lame cover up, and Lilly was none the wiser as she shrugged it off and
went to grab Ghost for practice.

~Edward~

I was all moved into the main house with Bella and Lilly and things were perfect. Every
morning I would wake up with Lilly and we would cook breakfast together, then a little while
later Bella would come down and join us at the table. I had been living with them for a week
and it was time to go to the state championship; it was Friday and that night Lilly was going
to Alice and Jasper’s before leaving the morning after. I loved Lilly with all my heart but I
was excited for her to go to Alice’s because that meant that Bella and I would have time to
ourselves before we would be in a hotel room with Lilly for a four days.

When I walked into the barn I stopped dead in my tracks; Bella was bent over cleaning
Chaos’ hooves. Her jeans fit her like a glove, her ass was tight and perfect and I really wanted
to ground myself against her, which I would have had it not been for Lilly standing there.

“Edward!” Lilly cheered as she saw me standing in the door drooling over the sight of Bella’s
ass.

“Hey, Lil,” I said with a smile. It really did make me happy that Lilly always seemed happy to
see me; she was excited even though it had only been about thirty minutes since she and Bella
had come down, so it made me smile that she was excited for me to be here.

Bella stood up and turned around with a smile on her face and winked at me; when she turned
back around she put a bit more effort into bending over and swayed her hips ever so slightly. I
had to laugh to cover up the moan the wanted to come out from deep within me.

Lilly ran off to grab Ghost from the pasture, leaving only Bella and me in the barn. I walked
up behind her and wrapped my arms around her small waist. She jumped slightly but then,
being the tease she is, she wiggled her hips against me and half-laughed, half-groaned.

“You are in so much trouble tonight,” I moaned, kissing her neck and biting her ear lobe
lightly.

“Mm, I can’t wait,” she said softly as she turned in my arms and wrapped her arms around my
neck and kissed me.

“God, you drive me crazy,” I sighed, nuzzling my nose into her neck.

“Momma, hurry up we need to practice. Stop playing kissy-face with Edward and tack up!”
Lilly ordered as she led Ghost into the aisle way and tied him up. We both laughed and shook
our heads at her words.

“What are you going to do, Edward?” Bella asked as she finished getting her horse ready.

“I thought I would set barrels and then watch your ass in that saddle.” I whispered the last part
so Lilly didn’t hear it.

Bella let out this snort kind of laugh, and had it been anyone else doing that it would have
been ridiculous, but on her it was cute as hell. She shook her head and gave me a little shove
before going back to finish tacking up Chaos.

I looked up from setting the barrels up and saw Alice and Jasper getting out of their truck.
Lilly and Bella came out of the barn to say hello and then got on their horses and made their
way to the ring to practice. Ghost was always so good with Lilly; the horse was young and
when someone else rode him he was a hand full to say the least, but with Lilly he was usually
docile and gentle. Today he seemed keyed up for some reason, but Lilly didn’t let him get
away with anything. It was almost like he could sense something was wrong…very strange.

They made their way down to the ring and did some warm ups so the horses wouldn’t get
hurt; Ghost was still acting up a bit but his behavior was nothing that would get Lilly hurt.

Alice took a place on the fence and Jasper came to help me finish making sure the barrels
were in the right place. Once that was done I tossed the stop watch to Alice so she could keep
track of how fast my girls were running. Things were going well; both horses were on top of
their game and making great times.

It was Lilly’s turn to go, but as she was about to set off I noticed she shook her head as if
trying to clear it. Bella saw this as well.

“Lilly, are you alright?” she asked, riding up next to her daughter.

“I’m fine, Mom…just a little worn out,” Lilly said, giving Bella a small, but unsure, smile.

Lilly moved Ghost to the gate and then when she was ready she gave him the go. Ghost didn’t
take off immediately like he normally does, so Lilly gave him a harsher cue and he started the
course. They took the first and second turn beautifully, but when they were on their way to the
third and last turn something happened.

Lilly slumped forward and I knew immediately what was happening – Lilly was having a
seizure. Ghost was at top speed, so when Lilly’s arms locked into an unnatural position she
jerked the reigns, causing Ghost’s head to be pulled to the right harshly, making him loose his
footing. Ghost stumbled and tried right himself but he was too far off balance.

“Oh God!” I heard Bella scream, right as Ghost rolled head-first in a sort of somersault.

It was the worst nightmare of anyone who rides horses, for the horse you’re on to roll over on
top of you. You’re talking about two thousand pounds possibly rolling over you…that would
crush you. I was already running towards them by the time Ghost even started falling.
Somehow he managed to avoid crushing Lilly’s body with his; if he had it would have killed
her.

I saw Lilly hit the ground, and from the way she landed I knew from the second she hit the
ground that she was hurt badly. She landed flat on her back but her hips and legs twisted in a
sickening way and I swear I heard the most disgusting pop I have ever heard.

I knew that everyone else was running and shouting things as well but I couldn’t hear
anything but Bella’s screams for her daughter to be alright. Normally Bella was the picture of
calm during one of Lilly’s seizures, but this was different: Lilly was hurt really badly and
Bella knew it and was beside herself.

Jasper was looking over a very frightened Ghost; Alice was right behind me as we flew to
Lilly’s side. Emmet had heard Bella scream so he ran down and was trying to console her,
simultaneously trying to keep Chaos under control. Hearing Bella sob like that broke my
heart, but my focus right then was on getting to Lilly. She was still seizing and I was close

enough that with every jerk of her little body I could hear the bones that were broken cracking
and grinding against each other.

“Emmet, keep her there!” I shouted, not wanting Bella to have to hear what I was.

I saw Jasper on the phone and knew that he was calling an ambulance. Finally, I made it to
Lilly’s side and put her head in my lap. I didn’t realize until then that that I had tears
streaming down my face. Alice went into nurse mode, ignoring her own tears and trying to
figure out what Lilly’s condition was. After what seemed like an eternity Lilly finally stopped
seizing, only to let out a blood-curdling scream of pain once she was coherent enough to
realize that her small body was broken.

“It’s alright, Lilly, I’ve got you,” I cried, brushing her hair away from her face. The huge tears
that were streaming out of her eyes hurt me in ways that I couldn’t even describe.

She looked up at me with a pained expression, and in a strangled voice said “Make it stop
hurting, Daddy.”

I didn’t think it was possible for a person’s heart to break and swell at the same time, but mine
did. Emmet had let Bella go and she was there next to me in time to hear Lilly’s words.

“I’ve got you, baby girl,” I crooned, leaning down to kiss her forehead.

“Lilly, baby, hang on, alright? The ambulance is coming,” Bella said as she grabbed my free
hand, the one that wasn’t stroking Lilly’s hair, and squeezed it tightly.

“Lilly, how do you feel?” Alice asked as she checked her pulse.

“Dizzy,” Lilly sighed.

When Alice put the slightest pressure on Lilly’s pelvis she screamed out in pain.

“Shit,” Alice said under her breath, and a worried expression washed over her face.

“What is it, Alice?” I asked, slightly harsher than I meant to.

“Her pelvis is broken…badly.” Alice’s normally chipper voice was laced with sadness and
fear.

I looked down at Lilly and noticed how pale she was. She was clammy and had a cold sheen
of sweat on her face. I would have thought that since it was ninety degrees outside that she
would have been warm, but her skin felt cold. At that moment all the tension that Lilly held
from the pain left her body and she went limp as her eyes rolled back in her head.

“Alice!” Bella shouted.

“I need something to splint her pelvis with…she’s bleed internally!” Alice shouted.

From behind us, Emmet snatched his shirt off and threw it to Alice.

“She gonna be alright?” he asked worriedly.

“She has to be,” I said softly, more to myself than anyone else.

“Emmet, Jasper, I need your help,” Alice ordered as she got ready to do whatever it was she
was going to do.

“What do you need us to do?” Jasper asked as both he and Emmet kneeled down next to
Lilly’s too-still form.

I wanted to scream for the ambulance to hurry up, but knew it would be a wasted effort
considering we were in such a rural area.

“I need you to help roll her so I can get the shirt under her for the splint,” Alice said quickly,
then showed them where to place their hands.

“Edward, don’t let go of her head. When you are ready count to three, then Em and Jasper
will roll her at your mark,” she told me. “We have to roll her at the same time so nothing
moves out of line.”

Lilly was coming back around now and was starting to cry again.

“Lilly, we have to move you, baby, just let us do it, alright?” Alice said gently as she rubbed
Lilly’s arm. Lilly nodded but looked up at me with terrified eyes.

I counted and we turned her as gently as we could, but it clearly wasn’t gentle enough because
Lilly cried out in pain. Alice worked at warp speed and we were able to get Lilly onto her
back again.

“Alright, Lilly, I have to tie the splint.” Alice looked at Lilly with apologetic eyes as she
spoke her next words. “Honey, this is going to hurt but I’ll make it as quick as I can.”

“Bella, Edward, I need you to hold her still so she doesn’t move too much,” Alice continued
with sad eyes and a tear-filled voice.

Alice took a deep breath and grabbed the ends of Emmet’s shirt and tied it once, then said
“Take a deep breath.” She was looking at Lilly but I think we all took a deep breath with her.

Bella and I held onto Lilly and then Alice tightened the shirt around Lilly’s pelvis. The
scream that came from Lilly was so painful to hear that I sobbed and tears poured. Lilly
grabbed my shoulder, digging her nails into my shirt. She gripped Bella’s arm so tight that
both of their skin turned white under the pressure.

“Momma, Daddy…please, it hurts so bad!” Lilly screamed, causing Bella and me to cry with
her.

“We’ve got you, baby, just hold on,” Bella sobbed as she stroked Lilly’s face.

I didn’t know what to do so I kissed her forehead again and whispered “I love you, beautiful
girl.”

She calmed down slightly and a little of the color returned to her cheeks. Finally, after what
seemed like an eternity, the ambulance pulled up and got a report of the incident and the
injuries from Alice. They said that she needed to get to the hospital faster than they could get
her there by driving so they called the helicopter to transport her. It took us forty-five minutes
to get to the hospital. Emmet drove as neither Bella nor I were able to. I held Bella in the back
seat as tightly as I could, trying to comfort her as she did the same for me.

“I didn’t know what you say when she called me that,” I breathed into her hair.

“You did exactly what a dad would do…Edward, you may as well be her dad. You’ve shown
her more love than her real dad and… you could be her dad…if that’s what you want,” she
whispered.

I didn’t even have to think about my answer.

“I do, Bella; I want that more than anything,” I said with confidence, because it was the truth.

Things between us seemed like they were moving at high speed, but to be honest it really
wasn’t. For two years I had been in love with this woman and now I had her. I would have

married her right then if it were possible. The fact that she said I could help her raise Lilly as
her father meant more to me than I can possibly describe.

I knew that I would adopt Lilly as soon as I could because, surprisingly, James had signed the
papers giving up his parental rights with no argument. Despite this, I still couldn’t shake the
feeling that he would cause a problem in some way.

“We’re here,” Emmet said from the front seat as he quickly pulled into a parking spot. We all
jumped out and ran as fast as we could into the ER doors. I saw the helicopter on the roof so I
knew Lilly was already here.

“Where is Lilly Swan?” Bella asked in a frantic voice to the nurse behind the counter.

“I can only let family back there,” the nurse said in a kind voice.

Bella looked at me then told the nurse “We’re her parents.”

The nurse nodded and let Bella and I back to a room that said ‘Trauma’ on the door. When we
walked in there were people working frantically on Lilly. There were IV’s attached to her
hands, a neck brace around her neck, and she was strapped down to a hard plastic board. She
was crying and calling for us, and seeing her small hands reaching for us broke my heart and
all I wanted to do was hold her and take all her pain away. We went to her – Bella on one side
of the bed and me on the other – and we both held one of her hands.

“We’re here, baby,” Bella said softly as she smiled down at Lilly and kissed her cheek.

“Ms. Swan?” a doctor asked Bella. “I’m Dr. Marcus.” He placed a gentle hand on Bella’s
shoulder.

“Is she going to be alright?” Bella asked, never taking her eyes off Lilly.

“She needs surgery to repair her pelvis, but the bleeding was stopped by the splint that Mrs.
Whitlock applied. Your daughter is very lucky that she was there,” Dr. Marcus said as he
looked down at Lilly’s chart.

“Can you tell me about her medical history?”

“She has epilepsy, but other than that she is a healthy girl,” Bella answered the doctor.

“How often does she have seizures?”

“They aren’t regular; sometimes she goes months without having them and sometimes she has
one every couple of weeks.”

“Alright, I think I have everything I need. If I can get you to come with me to sign the consent
forms then we will take her into surgery.”

“I don’t want to leave her,” Bella said, looking at me in a panic.

“I’ll stay with her…go,” I told her, trying to reassure her that Lilly wouldn’t be alone.

Bella sighed then nodded, kissing Lilly on the cheek before she followed the doctor out of the
room. It was quiet now as the nurses left to get everything ready for Lilly to go to surgery.

“Lilly,” I asked softly as I wiped a tear away from her face. “Are you in pain?”

“They gave me medicine when I was on the helicopter,” she said. “It hurts a bit but not as
bad. I’m scared,” she cried, and as her eyes met mine and I felt my heart break. I knew that
although we didn’t share the same DNA, she was my daughter.

“Don’t be scared, they will give you medicine to make you sleep, and when you wake up it
will all be over,” I told her as I rubbed her fingers with my thumb. She hesitated for a moment
before she spoke next.

“Are you mad at me ’cause I called you my dad?” she whispered, and more tears welled in her
eyes.

“No, beautiful girl,” I said as I leaned down and rested my elbows on the bed next to her. I
held one of her hands and with my free hand brushed her hair away from her face. “I want to
be that for you…if you want me to, that is.”

“You are my dad,” she said with a small smile, then grimaced in pain.

“What is it?” I asked, panic ripping though me.

“My head hurts…this board is hard.” Due to the way she was strapped down, she couldn’t
move her head, only her eyes and arms.

“They will take you off of it soon,” I said softly as I kissed her cheek.

Bella walked back in at that point and went to Lilly’s other side, taking her hand again.

“They are going to fix you up now, Lilly,” Bella said. “You be strong, and when you wake up
we’ll be there, okay?”

“Okay, Momma,” Lilly said, but I could hear the tears thick in her voice.

“I love you, baby…so much,” Bella whispered against Lilly’s forehead.

“I love you too, Momma,” Lilly said as she patted Bella’s cheek. Lilly looked at me with a
small tired smile. “I love you…Dad,” she whispered, and she gave me a small smile.

“I love you too,” I said, and the words felt like they were stuck in my throat.

They took Lilly away and the hospital staff took us all to the surgery waiting room, where we
would wait for the next five hours. Rosalie showed up about thirty minutes after we got into
the waiting room.

“Bella,” Rosalie said as she rushed into the room. “Is she alright?” Rosalie had tears in her
eyes; she and Lilly had gotten close over the last month or so as Rose had been spending more
and more time at the ranch.

“She’s in surgery now,” Bella said as she hugged Rose tightly.

“What happened?”

“We were practicing for the state and she was in the middle of a course when she had a
seizure. I don’t know how Ghost didn’t crush her when he rolled but he didn’t. It was almost
like he knew she was going to have one because he was acting strange all day,” Bella said as
both women sat down.

“She broke her pelvis when she fell and because she was still seizing and the movement
caused a lot of bleeding. Alice was able to splint it and stop the bleeding, and now they are
working to repair the damage.” Bella looked tired as she leaned into my shoulder.

Alice had been relatively quiet since they took Lilly away on the helicopter and I wondered
what was wrong. As if reading my mind, Jasper asked “What’s wrong, Ali?”

She started sobbing as she turned into Jasper’s chest. Bella got up and went straight to her
best friend’s side.

“What’s wrong, Alice?” Bella asked as she rubbed Alice’s back.

“I hurt her,” Alice sobbed. “I will never forget how she sounded when I tightened that
splint…that scream will haunt me forever.”

“Alice, you did what you had to do!” Bella said a bit louder than we all expected. Alice
looked at her with a shocked expression. “You saved my child’s life!” Bella was sobbing now
as well. “Do you understand that she would have died had it not been for you?”

Alice shifted and turned towards Bella and hugged her tightly, both women crying hard.

“I just love her so much, Bella…I can’t stand her being in pain,” Alice whispered through her
tears.

“I know, Alice,” Bella said. “Thank you…I owe you my life.”

Five hours later, Bella had fallen asleep with her head in my lap as I stroked her hair, resting
my head back against the wall. The door opened and Dr. Marcus walked in looking tired.

“Bella, wake up, baby,” I said softly, shaking her shoulder gently. She woke with a start and
stood straight up as she looked at the doctor for answers.

“How is she?” I asked as I stood up and put my hands on Bella’s shoulders.

“She did very well. She’s in recovery and will be moved to a room in a few minutes. We were
able to repair the bones and damage done to the blood vessels and I’m confident that she
won’t have any problems in the future. It’s going to be a long recovery but she will be able to
ride again eventually,” Dr. Marcus said with a chuckle. “That was the first thing she asked
when she woke up; we all had a good laugh about that.”

“Can we see her?” Bella asked, practically bouncing where she stood.

“Yes, she should be in her room by now. Come on, I’ll take you,” the doctor said. His words
received an excited hug from Bella.

We reached Lilly’s room at the same time she did, and when she saw us she reached for us.
We hugged her gently and kissed her face. Lilly was groggy but she seemed more like her old
self as the nurse hooked up her IV’s and adjusted the bed so Lilly was comfortable.

Emmet kissed her forehead and the sight made me laugh, because she looked so tiny next to
his large form.

“You hurry up and get better, alright?” he said softly. “I’ll see ya tomorrow.”

“Emmet,” Lilly asked as she grabbed his arm to stop him from leaving. “Is Ghost alright?”
She had big tears in her eyes.

“He’s a little sore from the fall but he’s fine,” Rose answered for him, as she had gone by the
ranch to tend to the horses before coming to the hospital.

Lilly sighed in relief and nodded her thanks to them both. “You take care. We’ll be back in
the morning,” Rose said, kissing Lilly’s cheek.

They left and Alice and Jasper said their goodbyes next.

“Love you, Lilly Bear,” Jasper said as he ruffled her hair.

“Love you too Jazzy.”

Alice looked unsure as she approached the bed.

“Are you mad at me?” Alice asked Lilly, looking down at the ground.

“Why would I be mad?” Lilly asked as she grabbed Alice’s hand.

“Because I hurt you,” Alice cried as she wiped a tear away with her free hand.

“Ali, you helped me…I’m not mad. I love you,” Lilly said with a little giggle as she pulled
Alice closer to the bed and down for a hug.

“I love you too, silly girl,” Alice sighed, seeming relieved by Lilly’s words.

Once everyone was gone, save Bella and me, Lilly started hurting, so the nurse brought her
some pain medication and she was knocked out in a matter of minutes. Bella fell asleep with
her head resting next to Lilly’s. Lilly’s hand was resting on the side of Bella’s face with a
strand of hair wrapped around her small fingers. I watched them sleep and fell more in love
with them both, if that were possible. I will never figure out how I went from being a lonely
ranch hand to a live-in boyfriend to the woman I love and father to the sweetest ten year old in

the span of two years. As far as I was concerned, that was a mystery that could stay a mystery
because I didn’t care how it happened, I was only thankful that it did.

~Bella~

I sat there watching Lilly sleep for ages. She looked so small lying there in that bed next to
Edward. She had woken up in pain the previous night and the only one that could calm her
down was Edward. He lay down next to her after she got her medication and hummed to her
until she fell asleep in his arms. Whenever I thought back to the day it happened and
remembered the sight of my daughter crashing to the ground under Ghost, the tears instantly
fill my eyes.

When Edward told Emmet to keep me away when he got to her I thought she was dead – why
else would he not want me to see her? I understood why he did what he did after he told me
about the sounds of her bones cracking during the seizure, and I was glad; I don’t think I
would have been able to handle hearing that.

When I finally got to her she was screaming, begging Edward to make it stop hurting. She
called him ‘daddy’. My breath caught in my throat when I heard her say that; I thought I
would faint because I had never heard my child say that word. Never in her ten years of life
had she called James Dad, Daddy, or anything remotely close to it; it was always him, or
he…I don’t think she ever even called him James.

Hearing her call Edward that just cemented the fact that he and I were meant to be together. I
didn’t think I would ever be able to describe how freeing it felt to not have to hide your true
feelings for someone. I had loved him from the first step he took onto my ranch and I had to
hide it all that time in fear that James would see it and try to start some shit.

I decided that I would run down to the cafeteria to grab some breakfast for Edward and me, so
we could eat together when Lilly’s tray was brought in. I leaned down and kissed Lilly’s
forehead then gave Edward a kiss on the cheek. He stirred and opened his beautiful green eyes
and smiled at me as he tightened his arms protectively around Lilly’s sleeping form.

“I’m going to grab some breakfast, I’ll be right back,” I whispered so I wouldn’t wake her up.

“Okay baby, I love you,” he said softly and kissed me on the lips.

“Take care of her,” I told him as I brushed her hair out of her face.

He nodded and smiled down at her with such love and adoration that it made my heart swell.
This was the kind of family she deserved… it was what she has always deserved. I smiled at
them both and left the room, making my way down to the cafeteria. I got our food, paid and
started back up to Lilly’s room. I suddenly had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach and the
closer the elevator got to Lilly’s floor the worse it got. When the elevator doors opened I
could see the entire length of the hall. I saw a man walking closer to Lilly’s room and that
sick feeling in my stomach made me gag when I realized it was James.

Why was he here? What did he want? He signed the papers giving up his parental rights to her
so what business did he have here? I could tell by the way he stumbled forwards that he was
drunk and that made my feet move as fast as they could.

I passed the nurses’ station and told them in a rush, “Call security and the police; that man
isn’t allowed anywhere near us and he is heading for my daughters room.”

The nurse instantly got on the phone and did as I asked while the male nurse came around the
desk to walk with me. My entire body was shaking as we ran towards Lilly’s room as fast as
we could. When we made it to the door, I heard the scream of my daughter.

“Stop it!” she cried.

We burst through the door and the sight was nauseating: James was in his drunken haze and
was trying to get Edward off the bed. The jerking that James was causing was jostling Lilly
around, making her scream out in pain. Edward was trying to keep himself between James
and Lilly so he couldn’t get to her.

“James, stop it! You’re hurting Lilly!” I screamed at him as I tried to get to her.

“Daddy…please,” Lilly sobbed as she grasped Edward’s arm.

I was finally able to get to her, giving Edward the ability to put some distance between James
and Lilly.

“It’s alright, baby girl, he won’t hurt either of you,” Edward told Lilly, but never took his now
fierce and furious eyes off of James.

“What the fuck are you callin her ‘baby girl’ for?” James slurred as he pushed Edward hard in
the chest.

“James, you need to leave. There is no reason for you to be here!” Edward snapped as he
again put himself between us and James.

“I can do whatever the fuck I want! I’m her father and I came to get what’s mine,” James
sneered as he tried to move towards us.

“You are not my dad!” Lilly screamed as tears fell down her cheeks. “You may have made
me but you were never my father. I want you to leave and never come around here again.”

“I am your father you little b-” I think James was about to call Lilly a “bitch” but he never got
the chance because Edward punched him in the face then grabbed him by the throat and had
him against the wall.

“NO,” Lilly screamed again as Edward pulled his fist back again. “Daddy, don’t hit him, he
isn’t worth it!”

James looked between Lilly and Edward like he was confused. Edward had a smug smirk on
his face as he leaned in closer to James’ face and said in a low menacing tone, “I may not
have created her but she is my daughter in every way that matters and if you ever come near
either of them again I swear on all that is holy that it will be the day you take you last breath.”

At that moment the police and security came rushing in; Edward shoved James to them.

“Get this piece of shit away from my family,” Edward snapped as he moved back over to
Lilly and me.

“This ain’t over!” James seethed as he struggled against the officers hold on him.

“Yes it is. You broke a restraining order, and judging by the look of agony on that poor little
girl’s face I’d say you physically assaulted a minor. Now are you going to stop fighting or do

I need to tack on intent to do bodily harm as well?” the officer asked as he slammed James
against the wall and put hand cuffs on him.

Once James was removed from the hospital and taken to jail, the doctor came rushing in to
check on Lilly. Apparently, due to the struggle with James and all the rough movements he
caused, there was a need to take her back to surgery to repair the damage. Because of that it
looked like more charges would be added to the rather long list that James had acquired with
his little visit.

I was frantic when they took her to surgery as I clung to Edward and sobbed.

“I’m so sorry, Bella, I should have moved away from the bed when he came in,” Edward
whispered, and when I looked up he had tears running down his face. He looked like the guilt
would just consume him.

“Edward,” I said sharply as I grabbed his face and forced him to look at me. “You did what
you had to do to keep him away from her. This isn’t your fault. You protected her, you didn’t
hurt her,” I wiped the tears away then pulled him to me tightly.

“What happened? Where is Lilly?” I heard Alice ask from the door in a frantic voice.

“James was here. Edward was trying to keep him away from her but James was pulling at
Edward and the commotion caused more damage to her pelvis…she had to go back to
surgery,” I said, exhaustion washing over me.

“What?” Jasper shouted as he pulled a hysterical Alice into his embrace.

“I’m sure that with all the charges he racked up today that he will be in jail for a long time,”
Edward said as he pulled me into his chest and started running his fingers through my hair.
The soft and gentle motion caused me to fall asleep in minutes.

~O~O~O~

Lilly had been home from the hospital for about three months and was recovering nicely. She
still wasn’t able to ride but spent every waking moment she could in the barn with the horses.
She still had pain but it was manageable, and anyway, she was as tough as they came. The
relationship between her and Edward was closer than ever and she still called him ‘dad’ or
when she really wants something, ‘daddy’… it was never ‘Edward’. He truly was her father,
regardless of genetics, and he loved every second of it.

He also loved being my husband…yup, you heard me right. After Lilly was released she
basically told us that we just needed to get married because she wanted her parents to husband
and wife. I was shocked to say the least but when I thought about it I knew that it was what I
wanted. So did he apparently, because once Lilly was able to move around on her own we had
a small wedding down by the lake. It was at sunset and was my dream come true. Our vows
were traditional; they said all we needed to say. Neither one of us had any family other than
Alice, Jasper, Emmet, and Rose, and of course Lilly, so it was just the group of us and a
preacher.

He and I started using protection after the pregnancy scare a few months before, so imagine
my surprise when my period didn’t come that month. Once again I was pacing my living
room waiting for Alice and Rose to get here with tests. Yes, that was plural because
apparently none of us had gotten a visit from Mother Nature…freaking flighty bitch that one
is.

Finally, I heard them pull up and had the door open, foot tapping impatiently as they made
their way to the door.

“Could you move any slower?” I snapped, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Yes, but do you really want me to?” Rose said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes at me.

Finally they made their slow asses in the house and we all made our way to a separate
bathroom to pee on the stick. I was glad that Edward and Lilly were in town at her doctor’s
appointment because I was a nervous wreck and I needed the time alone; it was helpful
because I didn’t have to act normal when I knew I would have failed miserably.

Once I had finished, I walked back downstairs and met Alice and Rose in the living room; we
all sat down on the couch and placed the test in front of us on the coffee table to wait the five
minutes.

“So who is freaking the hell out right now?” Alice asked as her little leg started to bounce
rapidly up and down.

Rose and I both raised our hands at the same time.

“Is it time yet?” Rose asked then bit down on her bottom lip.

I looked at my watch and saw that it was indeed time to look. I took a deep breath to calm
myself and gave them a nod.

“One, two, three,” I counted and we all grabbed our respective test and looked at the results.

I think that our hands all went to our mouths and we all three sucked in a sharp breath at the
same exact moment.

“Positive,” we all breathed at the same time, and I could hear the emotion in all our voices.

There was a second where I could have heard a pin drop it was so silent, and then we all
started squealing and jumping up and down and hugging like mad.

“Oh my God, Jasper is going to pass the hell out!” Alice said with a giggle as she wiped a tear
off her cheek.

“Emmet is going to go into shock… hell, he might not be able to speak for days,” Rose
laughed.

I was quite shocked when she told me she was late because I knew that she was on the pill,
but apparently the antibiotics she had to take for strep throat weakened her birth control pills.

Alice and Jasper had been trying to have a baby for some time now so I guess it was fate that
we all got pregnant around the same time.

“Edward’s going to bawl like a baby,” I sighed as I remembered how he got all choked up
when we talked about having kids one day.

His eyes got all watery and his voice was thick when he said he couldn’t wait to start trying.
We were going to start trying in about a year or so, but I guess God had other plans for us.

“Shit,” Rose hissed as she looked out the window. “Edward and Lilly are back!”

“Oh my God…here, put the test back in the bag then shove it in the trash, I will distract
them!” Alice said as she sprang to the front door and glided out to the truck.

“We can tell them at the cook-out tonight; that way we can all see their reactions,” I told Rose
as she followed behind me into the kitchen.

“Oh yes, that’s a great idea!” she said with a giggle.

We tried to act nonchalant as we started pulling things out to prepare for our get-together
tonight.

“Well?” I heard from behind me, along with the sound of a tapping foot on the tile
floor…Lilly.

I turned around to see Alice and Lilly standing there; Alice was, as always, bouncing, and
Lilly was tapping her foot on the floor.

Lilly knew that we were taking the test today because when I suspected I might be pregnant I
wanted to talk with her to make sure she would be alright, but I had nothing to worry about;
she squealed and clapped wildly when I told her it was possible.

I walked to her and hugged her tightly then asked, “How was the doctor…big sister?”

Her foot stopped tapping and she was frozen for a moment until the bouncing started and she
hugged me half to death.

“Ohmygodohmygodohmygod!” she laughed, and when I pulled back I noticed that she had
tears in her eyes. “I’m going to be a big sister?”

“Yes you are!” I whispered, unable to speak any louder.

“Not only a big sister, Lilly,” Alice said putting her arm around Lilly.

“Huh?” Lilly asked with raised brows.

Alice leaned in and whispered something in Lilly’s ear; when she finished she was looking
between Alice and Rose with wide eyes.

“For real?” she sighed.

“For real!” Rose said with a laugh as she moved in to hug Lilly.

“For real what?” Edward asked as he came in the front door, effectively making me a puddle
of goo on the floor.

“Oh nothing, just girl talk,” Alice said as she moved over to the fridge to take out the rest of
the food we needed to prepare.

“Uh-huh,” Edward said with an arched eyebrow as he moved in to give me a kiss hello.

“Hey wife,” he crooned. “I missed you.”

I sighed a really pathetic girly sigh like I did every time he walked into a room and then
planted a big kiss on his lips.

“Hey husband, I missed you too!” I said, with so much enthusiasm that I was sure he would
be able to see right through me.

He raised his fingers of his left hand to my cheek and stroked softly; the light flickered off his
platinum wedding ring and the sight of it made my heart sing.

“Oh gag!” Alice said as she started pushing Edward out the door. “Go help Jasper and Emmet
set the grill up before you two make me vomit.”

He laughed but did as he was told and made his way outside to the four-wheelers.

“So, Lil, what did the doctor say?” I asked as I started chopping up some onions that would
go on the burgers later.

“He said that I can start riding again but to take it slow; no running or barrels yet,” she said
with a smile.

“That’s wonderful, babe! We should ride tomorrow, you know, just around the ring to see
how it feels,” I told her. I was relieved that he gave her the okay to ride, even if it was just a
little at a time because I was really starting to get concerned about her. She seemed so sad all
the time since the accident so it was a relief to see her smile like that.

“Can you ride?” she asked quietly then looked over her shoulder sneakily. “You know,
being…” she trailed off and motioned with her hands at my stomach.

I snorted a laugh at that one. “Baby girl, I rode until I was six months pregnant with you and
never had a problem!”

We all laughed when Rose said, “That explains Lilly’s need to always be around the horses, I
guess!”

We finished with the veggies and pressing out the hamburger patties; we loaded the cooler
with water, sodas and beer…not that we would be drinking any of that tonight but the guys
might need them after we told them they were all about to become dads. We loaded up the
golf cart that we got for Lilly so that she could go to the barn back when it still hurt her to bad
to walk, and headed to the field that we were cooking out in.

When we pulled up, Edward, Emmet and Jasper were all playing horse shoes, laughing and
joking with each other. Lilly stopped the golf cart and headed straight over to where Edward
was. I took a moment to appreciate the gloriousness of my husband… God, I loved the way
that sounded. He stood there in all his six foot two glory wearing a pair of blue jeans that
made his ass look phenomenal: they were worn in the seat and between the knees from riding
everyday and that just made them look more mouth-watering. He wore a grey t-shirt under a
blue button down that was now unbuttoned…I think there was drool running down my chin
but I wouldn’t admit to it.

“Bella,” Rose said as she snapped her fingers in front of my face. “You’re married to the man
for God’s sake, you get to see him every day.” She was laughing as she pushed me towards
the back of the cart to help unload the coolers.

I looked back at him and noticed that he was helping Lilly toss the horse shoe; he looked up at
me and winked giving me that panty-dropping crooked smile that was the reason I was now
knocked up.

“Hey, we’ll get that!” Emmet called as he and Jasper jogged up to the cart and took the
coolers from us.

“Thanks,” We all said then moved over to the chairs that were set up and plopped down.

Edward gave me a kiss on the top of the head as he went to go help Emmet and Jasper unload.
Lilly came and sat on my lap then whispered in my ear.

“So, when should we tell them?” she asked with a giggle.

Rose and Alice leaned forward and we made a little huddle, speaking in hushed voices.

“Alright, the plan is this,” Alice said with her game face on. “We are going to tell them after
we eat, that way the chance of any of them passing out will be reduced. We should also wait
until they’ve had a couple of beers, you know, to help relax them.”

“I say that we pull them close and whisper it in their ears at the same time,” Rose said with a
sincerely happy smile on her face.

“Lilly,” I asked softly. “I think you should tell Edward.”

Her head turned towards me with a huge smile on her little face. “Are you serious?”

“Yes, just wait for Alice to give the sign then tell him that you’re going to be a big sister or
something along those lines,” I told her and had to laugh when she threw her arms around my
neck.

“What are you ladies talking about over here?” Jasper said as he started rubbing Alice’s
shoulders.

“Nothing,” we all sang at the same time, which probably sounded really believable.

He looked at each of us with a suspicious look on his face; fucking Jasper and all his
perceptiveness.

“EDWARD…EMMET!” he yelled loudly as he started pointing at all of us. “The girls are up
to something and from the looks of it, it’s big,”

Edward and Emmet came sauntering over with smug smiles on their faces. Shit, now the plan
was shot to shit because they weren’t going to stop until we told them.

“Soooo, I guess now is as good a time as any,” I said, looking towards Alice and Rose, who
both nodded. I gave Lilly a wink and she moved over to Edward’s side.

When Alice gave her a nod Lilly pulled Edward down to her level and whispered in his ear at
the same time as Alice and Rose whispered to their men. Once the girls pulled away from the
guys we waited.

Edward’s eyes were huge, and I was seriously afraid they might fall out of his head. He stood
there unmoving for a moment, still bent down to Lilly’s level. She even waved her hand in
front of his face but received no reaction other than the look of absolute shock that was still
on his face. A minute later his eyes softened and he looked at me.

“Really?” he breathed, and I nodded with a smile.

He laughed and scooped Lilly up, still being careful with her, and ran over to me. He put Lilly
down then placed both hands on my cheeks. Tears filled my eyes when I saw one happy little
tear roll down his face.

“I love you so much baby,” he whispered, then crashed his lips to mine.

When we parted he was smiling that breathtaking smile then he leaned down and kissed my
stomach. He hugged Lilly then threw his arm around me as he led us over to the other two
couples.

“By the way, Rose and Alice are pregnant as well,” I whispered to him, causing him to laugh.

“Is that why Emmet is as white as a ghost and has yet to put the beer to his mouth? It’s still in
the same place it was right when you told us.”

Sure enough, Emmet was standing stock still with the beer bottle half way to his mouth and
his color was slightly pale. Rose was laughing so hard I thought she was going to pass out –
her face was beet red and she had tears rolling down her face.

Alice and Jasper had walked up beside us at this point and I noticed they both looked like they
had been crying happy tears.

“Congrats man,” Edward said, clapping Jasper on the back as we all stood there and watched
the Emmet statue, waiting for the news to actually process in his mind.

“Same to you,” Jasper said with a laugh. “So how exactly are we supposed to survive for nine
months with three pregnant women running around here?”

“I have no idea,” Edward said, taking a sip of his beer.

He and Jasper both got a smack on the back of the head for those comments.

About that time, it was as if a light flicked on in Emmet’s eyes; he finally took a sip of his
beer then arched an eyebrow and looked at Rose.

“Wait, what?” he said. “I don’t…how the…what?” We all busted out laughing, actually
having to lean over and put our hands on our knees to stay upright when we saw the look on
his face.

Lilly huffed and stomped over to him, putting her hands on her hips and looking up at him
like he was insane. Then she had to laugh as well because really he just looked confused.

“Come on, Emmet, I think you should sit down,” Lilly laughed as she grabbed his huge hand
and led him to the chairs.

When he was seated – still looking like he was lost, I might add – Lilly put her hands on his
shoulders and said slowly, “Rose is gonna have your baby. Momma is gonna have Edward’s
baby, and Alice is gonna have Jasper’s baby. Nod if you understand.”

Edward choked on his beer when she said the last part and when Emmet shook his head no
and Lilly dropped her head in defeat Edward and Jasper gave up trying to stand and just fell
down on the ground laughing.

Rose was still laughing so hard that she actually looked like she was going to pee in her pants
because she was leaning over with knees clenched together.

Finally Alice pulled herself together enough to go over and try to pull Emmet out of his
shock.

“Okay Emmet, let’s try this,” she said as she sat down next to him and took his hand in hers.
“Alright, you remember when Rose had strep, right?” He nodded slowly. “Well, the
antibiotics that she was taking made her other pills not work.” I could tell she was trying to
keep it G rated for Lilly sake.

Finally the color returned to his face and shot out of his chair.

“WHAT?” He was pacing now. “They should put a warning on that shit or something,” he
ranted as he continued to pace.

Rose had pulled calmed down enough now to try and talk to Emmet without laughing
hysterically.

“Baby,” she said sweetly as she put her hands on his cheeks. “Do you love me?”

“Of course,” he answered, putting his hands on her hips and pulling her closer to him.

“Are we eventually going to get married?” she asked, not because she was rushing him but
because she was trying to prove a point. He nodded and pulled her a little closer to him again.

“So, this shouldn’t be that big a deal then,” she shrugged and gave him a gentle smile. “We
just got a little out of order, that’s all.”

Emmet’s face softened and I could literally see the happiness wash over him. He pulled her up
into his arms, so high her feet come off the ground, and spun her around. When he put her
down they both had tears in their eyes as he kissed her sweetly on the lips.

“Oh my God…I’m gonna be a dad,” he breathed, then laughed as he turned them towards us.
“I’m gonna be a dad!” he shouted to the sky for all to hear.

“We all are,” Edward said, his voice light and happy as he came and wrapped his strong arms
around my waist and kissed my shoulder.

We all laughed and hugged one another then we cooked the food and ate, all talking about
what the future would be like with three new babies around. It was light and fun and it was
like we were one big happy family.

Jasper and Alice had been talking for a while now about selling their house so Edward and I
offered them the other house that sat on what was now our property. They decided that it
would be a wonderful thing to do and that the house was plenty big enough for them to start
their family in. They would be moving to the ranch in a month’s time. Emmet wanted Rose to
move in with him and asked if I would mind if she moved in the bunk house, and I told him
that I had no issues and that it would be wonderful.

Once we finished eating, Lilly asked Edward to play the guitar; she loved it when he sang to
her and he, of course, couldn’t resist her sweet smile.

He pulled out the guitar and started strumming, then his beautiful voice rang out as he sang to
her the sweetest song I have ever heard…My Little Girl by Tim McGraw.

Gotta hold on easy as I let you go
Gonna tell you how much I love you

Though you think you already know
I remember I thought you looked like an angel wrapped in pink so soft and warm
You've had me wrapped around your finger since the day you were born

You beautiful baby from the outside in
Chase your dreams but always know the road that'll lead you home again
Go on, take on this whole world
But to me you know you'll always be, my little girl

When you were in trouble that crooked little smile could melt my heart of stone
Now look at you, I've turned around and you've almost grown
Sometimes you're asleep I whisper "I Love You" in the moonlight at your door
As I walk away, I hear you say, "Daddy Love You More"

Your beautiful baby from the outside in
Chase your dreams but always know the road that'll lead you home again
Go on, take on this whole world
But to me you know you'll always be, my little girl

Someday, some boy will come and ask me for your hand
But I won't say "yes" to him unless I know, he's the half
That makes you whole, he has a poet's soul, and the heart of a man's man
I know he'll say that he's in love
But between you and me
He won't be good enough

Your beautiful baby from the outside in
Chase your dreams but always know the road that'll lead you home again
Go on, take on this whole world
But to me you know you'll always be, my little girl

I sat there and watched my husband sing those words to my daughter – our daughter – and I
couldn’t hold back the tears that started falling. The love that showed in his eyes for her was
unconditional and it made my heart soar to hear the words that would forever be true, because
she was his little girl.

When he finished the song I looked around at my makeshift family and noticed that they too
had tears in their eyes. Lilly hugged Edward like her life depended on it.

“I love you daddy,” she whispered.

Edward’s chin quivered as he hugged her back in a fatherly embrace.

“I love you too, baby girl.” His words were a whisper but they rang loudly with the truth they
held.

~Edward~

My life was about as perfect as I ever dreamed it would be. Never in a million years would I
have thought that when I took the job working on the ranch that I would meet the woman that
would become my wife. I never thought that I would meet the little girl that would become

my daughter, and I most certainly didn’t think that said wife would be carrying my child.
However, that is what happened and to say that I was happy would be a vast understatement;
there were no words for how full my heart was.

When Lilly told me that she was going to be a big sister I was shocked – after Bella took that
first test months ago we started using protection so it was indeed a surprise. I couldn’t be
happier though; my life had come full circle since we got rid of James. I never thought that
the vile man that is James would ever do anything decent but I was wrong. Somehow he
managed to send me a letter from jail, and as I sat there reading it for the third time I had to
wonder what his motives were.

Edward,

I threw away everything because I was a stupid man. I don’t have any excuses other
than that…stupidity. I had everything – a beautiful woman, an amazing daughter, pretty much
everything any man could ever hope to have. It wasn’t enough for me though; I don’t know
why but I was never content. Bella and Lilly deserve everything that I wasn’t smart enough to
give them. That’s where you come in. Love them like your life depended on it, heal the wounds
that my stupidity, anger, and drunken rages inflicted on Bella. Treat Lilly like that gift from
God that she truly is. Be the father that I should have been. I hear that you two got married
and are having a baby; it’s a small town and news travels fast. Congrats, don’t take it for
granted like I did. I will never bother you or what is rightfully your family again. I don’t do
very many good things so trust me when I say that I have caused enough pain and heartache
for them. It’s up to you now to make my wrongs right. Thank you for saving them, thank you
for making them happy. I think reality hit me and I realized how much of a fuck up I truly am
when my daughter called you ‘daddy’. That woke me up, and as much as it hurt to hear that,
I’m glad it happened because now I can walk away and not worry about them suffering
because of the damage I caused. I won’t ask you to tell them how sorry I truly am because I
don’t think they would believe me – hell, you probably don’t believe me, but that’s alright. I
will show them how truly sorry I am by leaving town when I get out and never bothering them
again.

James

I didn’t really know what to think when I got that letter. Part of me didn’t believe him, but
another part of me wanted to see the good that seemed to be lurking in him under all the rage
and alcohol. I decided that I would toss the letter but still do what he asked of me. They didn’t
need to read it; they didn’t need to have anymore contact with him unless it was what they
wanted.

I had known about the baby for a couple of weeks now and I don’t think I had stopped smiling
since the moment I found out. Bella was starting to feel the effects of being pregnant now as
she got sick this morning, and that wasn’t the only thing. Her other symptoms included things
such as uncontrollable crying, eating nonstop, mood swings…for the love of God, the damn
mood swings. She went from hugging me one moment to smacking me in the back of the
head the next. I swear, I was just waiting for her head to start spinning around or something.

“Hey Edward,” Jasper said as he walked into the barn and handed me a beer, Emmet right
behind him.

“What’s up guys?” I asked as I took a long drink of the ice cold Miller Light.

“The women are in a mood,” Emmet said with a slightly frightened look on his face.

It was too damn funny to see Emmet, as huge as he was, cowering in fear of Rose.

“Ahh, who pissed them off this time? I can clam innocent because I was up here feeding the
horses like a good husband!” I said with a smile while I tipped my beer to them.

I choked a little bit when they pointed to each other and said “He did it!”

I raised an eyebrow at them and shook my head, knowing it was probably both of them. It was
insane how scary a pregnant woman could be, and to have three of them was a nightmare.

“Alice told me that my face was pissing her off,” Jasper said. He shook his head then took
down half his beer in one gulp.

I had to bite back an all out laugh at that because apparently sweet little Alice was not so
sweet when the hormones took hold of her.

“Go ahead and laugh, but Bella said that you left your boots in the middle of the floor again. I
think she put some blankets on the couch for you,” Jasper said with a huff.

I stopped laughing, thinking there was no way I left my boots on the floor because I learned
that lesson…like really fast. I had discovered that I could make her mood improve though –
all I had to do was give her what she calls my ‘stupid sexy smirk’ and everything would be
fine.

“She said that ‘stupid sexy smirk’” Emmet continued, making air quotes, “won’t work this
time either.” He leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on the desk.

“Fuuuck,” I moaned. There went that plan.

They both laughed really hard at me for that and I had no choice but to laugh with them.

“So, Emmet, how have you managed to piss Rose off to the point of you needing to come to
the barn to escape?” I asked, finishing off my much needed beer.

“Um, today it was just by breathing. Apparently it was too loud.” He shrugged and shook his
head, letting out a little snort of a laugh.

We all laughed some more and talked about ways to make it up to our women. Flowers were
out for Emmet because apparently floral smells made Rose nauseous. Candy was out for
Jasper because sugar made Alice evil, and she really didn’t need the extra energy. I didn’t
really know what to do for Bella because her moods were all over the place. Sex usually made
it better because the only thing that is more out of whack than her moods is the fact that being
pregnant has made her insatiable…win for me.

“DADDY!” Lilly called as she came running into the barn with a worried look on her sweet
face.

“What is it, Lilly?” I said, jumping out of my chair and going to meet her, thinking that
something was wrong.

She was out of breath as we reached each other. “Momma said that if you don’t get your butt
back to the house she is going to divorce you.”

“Well I don’t think she will divorce me, but maybe we should head back just in case.” I had to
laugh at the worried look she had on her face.

“You should be afraid, Dad…very afraid,” she said in a very serious tone as she put her hands
on her hips. Her position made her look just like her mother when she was pissed off.

“You’ll protect me though, right?” I asked, pulling her to my side and hugging her.

“Pfft, I love you Dad, but I’m not stupid enough to face her when she is in one of her moods.”

Jasper and Emmet were both in hysterics at that moment, both holding their stomachs and
slapping their knees.

“Hey, I wouldn’t laugh if I were you!” I said, pointing at them with a raised brow.

“Yeah, Aunt Alice said that if you don’t get back to the main house that you would be in a
very dry spell for a long time…whatever that means.” Lilly looked confused as she said this.

Emmet and I, on the other hand, knew exactly what that meant and were practically on the
floor we were laughing so hard. Jasper looked genuinely freaked out and moved towards the
door faster than I had ever seen him move.

“What’s that mean anyway?” she asked.

“Nothing, baby,” I told her, shaking my head. There was no way my ten year old daughter
was going to know that Alice threatened to cut Jasper off…if it were up to me she would
never know what sex was.

“Is Rose still mad at me, Lilly?” Emmet asked as he made his way with us towards the barn
doors so we could all head to the house for dinner.

“I can’t really repeat what she said because I would get in trouble,” Lilly said with a giggle
and a shrug.

Emmet groaned and hunched his shoulders. Even though it was hard dealing with a moody,
emotionally charged pregnant wife, I can honestly say that I wouldn’t have changed it for the
world. I mean, this wouldn’t last forever, right?

When we reached the main house I could hear the ladies laughing because the front door was
open. Because the weather was cooling off and it was that perfect temperature outside, we
liked to leave the windows and doors open so we could enjoy the fresh air.

Lilly got my attention when she yelped out in what I could only imagine as pain and grabbed
her hip.

“Lilly?” I asked worriedly, kneeling down to her level instantly. Although her injuries were
healed she still had some pain because of it.

“I’m fine, I guess I rode to long today or something.” She was trying to be strong but I could
tell by the slight quiver in her voice that she was really hurting.

“No riding tomorrow,” I said as I scooped her up and carried her for the remainder of the way
across the yard.

“But Dad,” she whined, giving me that look that could melt anyone’s heart.

“No, don’t ‘but Dad’ me, you need to rest Lilly and it’s not like the horses are going
anywhere,” I told her. I was trying not to sound like an ass but I knew that she was pushing
herself too hard and she needed to cool it.

“Dad, I have to be ready for the competition, it’s in like two weeks!” she said, trying to make
it sound logical.

“You, my dear, are ready, and as for Ghost I’ll work him tomorrow. But you are not riding,” I
told her sternly so that she would stop trying to convince me.

“Fine.” She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, turning her head and looking towards
the house so she wasn’t looking at me, probably because she knew she would laugh if she
did…I was good like that because the kid could never stay mad at me.

When we made it to the door, Emmet held it open for me so I could carry Lilly inside. I knew
that she would want to be around all of us so I carried her to the kitchen and set her down on
the bar stool. Then I handed her a bottle of water and the pain medication she took when her
hips hurt really bad.

“Lilly?” Bella said with concern in her voice when she saw me hand her the medication.

“Its fine, Mom,” Lilly told her, still not looking at me; it was starting to get kind of funny
because when I would move into her line of sight she would turn her head and fight like hell
not to smile.

“Ah, let me guess: you rode too long today and Daddy told you that you couldn’t ride
tomorrow,” Bella said with a small laugh, “and you refuse to look at him because then you
can’t stay mad at him?”

“Pretty much,” Lilly said with a shrug.

“Don’t worry, baby, I can’t stay mad at him for long either…he’s kinda has that effect on
people,” Bella mock-whispered then winked at me.

I couldn’t help it, I had to fist pump the air and mouth ‘scoooore’ because honestly I was
really worried that she was going too pissed off at me all night.

Bella laughed along with everyone else, except Lilly because she didn’t see my antics because
she still wasn’t looking at me. I had to fix that shit, like, right then. I kissed Bella on the head
then the lips quickly and moved like I was going to walk into the living room. Then I quickly
darted in front of Lilly and wrapped my arms around her shoulders, peppering her face and
head relentlessly with little pecks.

“Pleeeease…don’t….be mad…at me!” I whined in a cheesy voice, pecking her cheeks and
forehead between my words.

She resisted at first but then gave up and started giggling like crazy until she hugged me back
and told me she wasn’t mad at me anymore.

Dinner was great as always. It had become a thing that we would rotate dinner every other
night at each other’s houses since we all lived on the ranch, spending the remaining nights at
home and just enjoying each other’s company. That night, we all hung out, just talking. I
helped Lilly with her homework, Jasper and Emmet played Guitar Hero, the ladies talked
about being pregnant and how excited they were to add to the family.

By the time everyone left it was late, and Lilly had fallen asleep with her head in Bella’s lap. I
carefully picked her up and carried her to her room, putting her in bed and tucking her in.
Bella and I kissed her forehead and headed off to our room.

“Baby?” I asked as I rubbed her shoulders while she soaked in the bath that I ran for her.

“Yeah?” she sighed in a breathy voice that made my cock spring to life in about half a second.

“I love you so much, and I’m sorry for leaving my boots in the floor,” I whispered in her ear
as I ran my tongue along the shell of her ear.

“Mmm, pretty sure you were forgiven once you kissed me when you got back from the
barn…but you can so keep doing that,” she moaned as I kissed and nipped at her neck. She
reached behind her and threaded her fingers through my hair, causing me to moan really
loudly.

I kissed her neck and shoulders with vigor, somehow managing to get my clothes off at the
same time. I wasn’t sure how I did it, but I decided that it wasn’t really the time to try and
figure it out. I was thankful that we had a huge claw foot tub because there was room for two
in it and I was getting in there with her right then.

I slid into the tub behind her then pulled her to my chest so I could continue to kiss her bare
skin. There was a lot of moaning and some definite grinding on her part. I just had to sit there
and enjoy the feeling of her body against mine.

“I want you so bad, Edward,” she said breathlessly as she slid her hand between our bodies
and stroked my length.

“I’m right here…do with me as you will,” I moaned as she continued to work my cock at the
same pace I was touching her center.

I thought she would turn around and face me but she shocked the shit out of me by lifting up
her hips and plunging down onto me in a reverse cowgirl position. I wasn’t complaining
though because I was able to thrust so deep inside of her.

“Oh fuck, Bella,” I moaned as she rocked her hips in tune with my thrusts. “You’re so tight.”

She leaned her head back on my shoulder and started nibbling and sucking on my earlobe.
Every time I would pull out she would clench her muscles around me, making her core
impossibly tighter.

“You’re gonna make me come so fast if you keep that up,” I warned as I bit her shoulder
lightly and palmed her breasts.

We moved together in a steady rhythm, each thrust and roll of the hips bringing us closer to
ecstasy.

“Oh my God Edward…you feel so damn good,” she groaned as she sped up her pace, edging
closer to her release.

I moved my right hand down to where we were joined and worked her clit; my touch sent her
over the edge almost as soon as my hand made contact. When she started to come and clench
that much tighter around me I couldn’t hold back any more and with three more hard, deep
thrusts I spilled into her beautiful body. Once our breathing was somewhat back to normal
and the water had cooled, we got out and I dried her off, carrying her to our bed afterwards. I
placed her gently down on her side of the bed and kissed her lips, her cheeks, and her
forehead, then I leaned down and kissed her stomach. It was still flat, but the skin was tighter
there and it was hard. I couldn’t wait for her to start showing because I knew that the sight of
my child growing in her womb would be enough to stop my heart. I lay down and held her in
my arms as we both fell into a deep sleep.

~Bella~

When I woke up I started my normal routine which proceeded as follows: stare at Edward
while he slept, get up and stand in front of the toilet until my stomach decided if it’s going
keep the food in there or if it’s going to go on strike. After the decision was made, grab a
shower and head to the kitchen where I smell everything to decide what I can cook that won’t
make me completely ill at the sight or smell of it. Usually it was eggs and bacon, but
sometimes it was ‘sorry guys, you’re on your own for breakfast’.

The day had started well; I hadn’t vomited this morning…yet. Edward gave me some really
awesome sex the previous night, and the weather was supposed to be hot enough to require
Edward to take his shirt off while working. Apparently Alice and Rose thought the same thing
about their men because they came into the house with sunglasses perched on top of their
heads and a cooler full of water.

“What’s all that, ladies?” I asked, eyeing the cooler and the large tote bag that Alice was
carrying.

“Duh,” Alice said, rolling her eyes. “It’s going to be hot today, and we all know that hot
weather equals boys with no shirts on while working on the fences.” She shook her head at
me like I was crazy.

“Ha,” I laughed. “I was just thinking the same exact thing. I swear, these hormones are
insane,” I said, laughing while I started breakfast.

“So, Jasper is going to help with the fence today?” I asked Alice.

“Yeah, he finished all the vet checks on the horses yesterday and none of them are due for
shots or anything until next week so he thought he would help out,” she told me with a shrug.
I smiled, thinking how convenient it was to have my vet live on my property. We talked a bit
more about the wonders of six pack abs, tanned sweaty bodies and other things until Lilly
came downstairs ready for school.

“What are you guys talking about?” she asked as she hopped up on the chair next to Rose.

“Oh nothing, baby girl,” Rose said with a giggle as she kissed Lilly on the head.

“Uh huh,” Lilly said as she laughed then hugged Alice and Rose.

“Um, excuse me but I gave birth to you, so I think that entitles me to a hug before anyone
else,” I said with mock irritation.

Lilly rolled her eyes but got up and hugged me tightly.

“You ready for school?” I asked as I fixed her a plate.

“Yeah, I’ll be glad when we get out,” she said with a huff as she dug into her breakfast.

“You just got started and you’re already ready for the year to be over?” Alice asked while
devouring her food.

“Yeah, I mean, I like school and all but I hate being away from the horses.”

“Definitely your kid,” I heard Edward say from the doorway.

I turned to face him and had to stare for a moment at the God-like man that was my husband.
He was dressed in a pair of blue jeans that hugged his glorious body like a glove; they weren’t
too tight, but tight enough to show off his wonderfully grope-worthy ass. He wore a grey t-
shirt that showed off his toned upper body. I was a drooling mess when I finally stopped
staring long enough to hug and kiss him good morning.

When I turned back to make his plate I noticed that Rose and Alice were looking at him in an
appreciative manner as well.

“HEY!” I shouted with a laugh, pointing a spatula at them.

They both jumped and said “what?” at the same time, looking like they were busted.

Edward laughed and took his plate to eat, sitting down next to Lilly. Seeing the two of them
together warmed my heart. I was shocked that it didn’t take longer for the adoption to go
through, but since James signed away his parental rights there wasn’t anything to hold up the
process. Now we were a big happy family and we all shared the same last name of Cullen.

Jasper and Emmet both showed up for breakfast and then Edward and the guys took Lilly to
school while Alice, Rose and I all went to the barn and fed and watered the horses. When they
got back it was show time. The plan was for us to clean the stalls which wouldn’t take but an
hour or so, before we would sneak down to the field where they were fixing the fence and
enjoy the show.

We packed a lunch in the cooler and grabbed the bag that held the blanket and camera…yeah,
we were so documenting the wonders that were our men. You would have thought that we
were three kids going to Disneyland or something, given how excited we were. However, the
simple fact was that we were all pregnant, and with that came a massive amount of hormones
that did wonderful and terrible things to our bodies…at this moment, they were wonderful.

We made it to the hill that would be our gawking spot and set up camp. Rose handed out the
water, Alice handed out the sandwiches, and I got the chips and paper plates out. The guys
unfortunately still had their shirts on, but I could tell that they were sweaty and hot so I
figured it wouldn’t be to long before they started stripping down.

“Oh, here we go!” Rose squealed and clapped her hands.

We laughed and sat back, watching the show. Emmet was first to lose his shirt. He took it off
in one quick movement, causing his massive muscles to flex with the movement. He draped
the shirt over the fence after he used it to wipe the sweat off his face and chest, then he leaned
against it and propped his foot on the bottom rung. I thought Rose was going to have an
orgasm just looking at him. It must be said that he was very easy on the eyes. Rose was
fanning herself, which caused us to laugh.

“Shut the hell up!” she laughed. “You two are about to stop laughing right about…now,” she
said, then pointed towards the guys.

When Alice and I looked over, Jasper and Edward were both taking off their shirts. All the
talking, laughing, or anything else that didn’t involve drooling and possible orgasms stopped
for us at that moment.

Jasper, with his lean build, was laughing at something Emmet said and it caused his stomach
muscles to flex with every laugh. His jeans hug low on his hips which caused Alice to make
the strange moan-slash-choking sound. He was tanned from the sun which made his skin
glow; his hair was a slightly lighter blond color than during the cold months due to the
sunlight. His smile was kind and his blue eyes sparkled when he laughed. Alice was breathing
really hard and I think she actually wiped her lip to check for drool.

Edward…oh my God. Edward had reached over his head and grabbed the back of his shirt to
pull it off. I wasn’t exactly sure why that particular way of taking off a shirt was so fucking
hot but it caused me to have to rub my thighs together. When he got the shirt off his chest and
stomach flexed, making his lean muscles ripple and glisten as the sun reflected off his sweat.
He also wiped the sweat off his face and chest then tucked the shirt into his back pocket.

“Oh my fuuuck,” I moaned, then had to bite my bottom lip to make sure that I didn’t make
any more embarrassing sounds.

“I think I just died a little,” Rose said with a sigh. “There is no way it can be legal for there to
be one man that is that damn hot, much less three,”

“I know, it’s like…I don’t know what it’s like but I’m not complaining,” Alice laughed as she
popped a chip in her mouth.

“Oh, no they are not,” I said as I watched each of them take a new bottle of water and pour it
over their head and neck.

Edward reached up and ran his hand through his wet hair which of course caused his bicep to
flex and the other muscles in his arms to ripple and roll with the movement. I wanted to lick
the water that ran down his chest and stomach towards the waist band of his jeans.

I think we all let out really loud groan and actually started crawling towards them before we
realized what we were doing. I noticed that the guys were laughing hysterically at something
but I didn’t know what it was until Emmet shouted over to us.

“Enjoying the show ladies?” He grinned at us and flexed his freaking pecks.

Jasper was laughing and flexed his biceps, blowing a kiss to Alice.

Freaking Edward was flexing his arms and abs which caused me to fall over, like literally
knocked me over from the sheer gloriousness that he was.

Once we got our wits back, it was on, and the girls and I gave each other a look then got up
and sauntered over to our men. We put that extra sway in our hips and dropped our heads so
we were sort of looking at them through our lashes…you know the look, the one that will
bring a man to his knees.

It worked because suddenly their laughter stopped and they all swallowed hard and took a
stumbling step towards us. When I was face to face with Edward I put my hands just above
his waist band then slid my hands up his stomach, loving the way the muscles contracted
under my touch. I continued slowly up to his chest, making sure that I went over his nipples
before I wound my hands around his neck and into his hair. I pulled roughly and ran my
tongue up his neck and to his ear.

“That wasn’t nice, baby…you shouldn’t tease your pregnant wife,” I whispered seductively,
and when he was about to kiss the shit out of me I turned and walked away along with Alice
and Rose.

I don’t know what they did or said to their their men but it had the same affect on them as
what I did had on Edward – panting, mouths agape, and hard…not that I was looking at
anyone but Edward, but you get my drift.

“Payback is a bitch baby,” I crooned over my shoulder as we strutted back up the hill and to
the barn.

~Bella~

Oh my freaking God! I never remembered feeling this insane when I was pregnant with Lilly.
I was six and a half months pregnant and to say that I was huge would be a massive
understatement. I cried almost every day because nothing fit like it was supposed to; it was
summer time again so I was fucking hot all the time. I really felt sorry for Edward because he
bore the brunt of my psycho pregnancy hormones; he took it in stride though and continued to
be the perfect husband.

Which is why he was sitting next to me on the couch trying to get me to stop sobbing. Today
was Lilly’s birthday party and there was going to be 10 and 11 year olds all over the place
today. I should have been happy because my baby was turning 11 but all I was able to do was
cry.

“I’m fat…and ugly…and my baby is growing up so fast…” I couldn’t finish because I was
sobbing so hard. I was all tears and I may have flopped back on the couch in a very Lilly-like
moment in my rant but I’m not sure.

“Bella, you are absolutely the most beautiful woman on earth. There is nothing more beautiful
than seeing you grow with our child,” he crooned as he rubbed his perfect hand over my fat
stomach.

That made me cry harder because he was perfection and I was a slouch. “I’m not beautiful,” I
wailed. “I’m disgusting…you’re beautiful and perfect and I just don’t want to be pregnant
anymore!”

He chuckled and pulled me into his arms. “You’re almost done baby, you can do this…you’re
the strongest person I know. And don’t ever say your anything but beautiful again,” he said as
he lifted my chin to make me look at him.

When my eyes met his green ones my breathing hitched; he was breath taking and he did
amazing things to my body.

“Go get ready, Alice just called and said she would be here in thirty minutes,” he said with a
blinding smile as he kissed my lips then my belly.

I was grateful that she was coming over because she was always making sure that what I wore
was comfortable as well as cute. I grabbed a quick shower, loving the way the hot water
soothed the sore muscles in my back. I was so happy that I was having a baby with Edward
and I would gladly have ten more, but being pregnant was hard with the hormones and the
sore muscles. The way it totally took over every part of me was overwhelming but I wouldn’t
change it for anything because this little one growing inside me was a combination of the best
parts of Edward and me.

“Hey, Preggo!” Alice sang from my room. “Hurry up, t-minus one hour before the pre-teens
take over the ranch!”

I laughed as I got out and threw my robe on; usually I put a towel around me but since the
little monster had gotten so big it was pointless.

“Oh my God, Bella!” Alice shrieked.

“What?” I asked, looking down at myself and wondering what she was going on about.

“Bella, you’re like bigger than you were yesterday,” she said as she put her hand on my
stomach and smiled. “I bet it’s a boy.”

See, if someone else had said that shit about me being big I would have eaten them for lunch,
but since Alice was shorter than I was and a good bit bigger I wouldn’t bitch too much.

“Speak for yourself, heifer…I don’t see how you are even standing upright,” I laughed as I
rubbed her belly as well.

“I thought you guys were gonna find out the sex of the baby,” she said as she waddled off to
my closet.

“Well, we were, but apparently he or she is shy because it always has its legs closed.” I
laughed, thinking of what Edward said that day. “Edward said that if it was a girl that he
hoped that she kept doing that.”

“Oh Lord…that’s just too funny,” she laughed, coming out with an arm full of clothes. “I
wonder how he is going to react when he sees Lilly’s new admirer.”

We both had a laugh about that because there was a new kid at school that apparently had a
crush on Lilly. His name was Seth and he and his family just happened to move into Alice and
Jasper’s old place.

“Hey bitches, come help me up these damn stairs…I’m stuck!” we heard Rose shout from
living room.

We laughed as we both waddled to the stairs to see her huffing and puffing after only going
up two steps. She was just as beautiful pregnant as she always was but she had had the worst
time as far as side effects went.

“Rose, what the hell is that?” Alice asked as she pointed to the round doughnut looking thing
that Rose had her arm through.

“That, my dear tiny friend, is a doughnut,” she said with a grunt as we each grabbed a hand
and pulled her up the stairs. “I have to sit on it because apparently hemorrhoids are a part of
being pregnant.”

“Oh God, that’s just gross,” Alice said, wrinkling her nose and shaking her head.

“You poor thing…I’m so glad I don’t have that problem this time,” I said, remembering all
too well what she was going through as I had the same issues when I was pregnant with Lilly.

We finally got to the top of the stairs and we were all huffing, trying to catch our breath. I
didn’t care that I only had on my bra and underwear as we all three flopped down on the bed
in exhaustion.

“Tell me why being pregnant is supposed to be such a blessing again?” Rose said as she
rubbed her swollen stomach. Alice and I just laughed at her.

“We finally came up with a name,” she said with a smile. Rose and Emmet were having a girl
and they had been arguing about what to name the little princess since they found out two
months ago.

“Oh yeah!” Alice and I both said in unison as we tried to turn to look at her. “Tell us what it
is,” I said as I lightly scratched my nails over her stomach.

“Oh God,” she groaned as she closed her eyes. “You know, if Emmet weren’t so great in bed I
would totally do you right now…that feels so good.”

I couldn’t help but laugh because I knew exactly what she was talking about; when you are as
pregnant as we are the skin on your stomach itches like crazy so when someone scratches it
like that, they became your hero.

“I would totally do you too but I don’t think Edward would appreciate that so much,” I
laughed. “Although he is a man, so who knows, maybe he wouldn’t care.”

“Anyway,” Alice laughed as she shook her head at our banter. “What are you going to name
her?”

“Gracie Lynn McCarthy,” she said with a huge smile.

“That’s beautiful, Rose,” Alice said with a sigh and a small smile on her face.

“It really is,” I said, smiling up at the ceiling. “If we don’t get up I’m going to fall asleep.” I
yawned, knowing that I didn’t have the time to sleep right now since the kids would be
arriving for Lilly’s party in less than an hour.

Rose tried to get up but couldn’t; she rolled over only to flop backwards, she kicked her legs
to give her momentum but that didn’t work either.

“Motherfucker, I will be so glad to not be a beast anymore!” she grunted as she finally gave
up trying to get up on her own. “One of you bitch’s is going to have to help me up.”

Alice and I laughed until we found that we were in the same situation. Alice looked ridiculous
as she rolled back and forth, trying to get some momentum all to no avail.

We all looked at each other for a brief moment before all three of us shouted “Help!” several
times. Lilly came bursting through the door with a frantic look on her face until she took in
the sight before her, and she then fell to the floor laughing so hard.

“Not funny, Lilly,” Rose said as she tried to fight the smile that was trying to form on her
face.

“Go get Edward,” I said, giving up on trying not to laugh at the three beached whales that we
were. “Make sure the other guys don’t come in because I don’t have any clothes on.”

“Bella, you could have told me that getting pregnant was going to make me a cripple at the
age of 29,” Alice laughed. “I can’t even get up without help; I pee every five minutes…and
don’t even get me started on pooping.”

“GAH…Alice, please spare me that tidbit of information!” Rose said as she put her hands
over her ears.

I, on the other hand, was dying I was laughing so hard and I’m pretty sure that if Edward
didn’t get his ass up here soon I was going to pee all over the bed.

“Oh God, Lilly, hurry baby…I have to pee so bad,” I wailed as I crossed my legs as tight as I
could get them.

Lilly was still laughing so hard that she wasn’t making any noise as she stumbled out of the
room and I could see the tears that were streaming down her face from her laughter.

~Edward~

I was getting the grill ready in the front yard with Emmet and Jasper; we were talking about
all the things that we were going through in regards to having pregnant wives and in Emmet’s
case fiancé.

“I swear, dude, I might go insane if this pregnancy thing last much longer,” Emmet groaned.

“What happened now?” Jasper laughed, but had a knowing look in his eyes.

“The doctor gave her this doughnut thing to sit on…apparently she has hemorrhoids.” He
grimaced, as did Jasper and I. “Anyway, she started hitting me with it when we got in the car,
saying stuff like ‘you did this to me’ and ‘I will never forgive you for this’. I don’t think I’m
ever going to get laid again after this.” He sighed as he ran his hands over his face then
flopped down in the lawn chair with a huff.

“Don’t worry man, once that baby comes she will forget all about the hardships of
pregnancy,” Jasper said with a small smile.

“Oh, you just kiss my ass, Jasper…you have been the lucky one,” I laughed as I took the seat
next to Emmet.

“Don’t get me started on the woes of Alice and being pregnant…you would not believe how
many times a day Alice has to pee,” Jasper said as he looked out into space with a look of
disbelief.

“I know how you feel, man, I really do. We just have to hold out for a couple more months,” I
said, trying to shake off the thoughts of a pissed off pregnant Bella. Who knew that someone
as wonderful and loving as her could be such a hurricane when she was pissed?

I jumped a little when the screen door burst open; I turned to see Lilly standing there with
tears running down her face. Her shoulders were shaking and until I rushed to her and could
clearly see her face I thought she was crying. I was wrong because when I got to her I saw
that she was laughing so hard that she was turning purple in the face.

“Lilly, what’s going on baby?” I said, laughing at her laughing.

“Mom…Rose…Alice…stuck!” She couldn’t even get a full sentence out, she was in such
hysterics. “Mom…has…to…pee,”

“Lilly, what are you talking about?” I asked, trying to understand what the hell she was saying
through her laughter.

She couldn’t get anything else out so she just pulled me by the arm into the house and to the
stairs. When we got to the bedroom door I saw what she was laughing at and I couldn’t help
but join in.

There on the bed were Rose, Alice and my beautiful pregnant wife; however I couldn’t see
their heads, all I could see were their legs and stomachs. They were flailing around, trying like

hell to get up; there were arms and legs flying everywhere and every few seconds one of them
would stop and huff or grunt.

I was laughing so hard that I had to lean over and put my hands on my knees. I knew I would
probably catch hell for laughing at them like this but I couldn’t help it, it was just too much.
Suddenly I heard Jasper and Emmet start laughing as well. I usually would have had a
problem with them seeing this as Bella had no clothes on but I really couldn’t stop laughing
long enough to tell them to get out.

“Stop laughing at us, you assholes!” Rose shrieked. “Emmet, I swear to God if you don’t
come help me up…” She didn’t have to finish that sentence and although he was still laughing
really hard he moved to help her up.

“Emmet, you better not be looking at my wife’s goods!” I said through my laugher as Jasper
and I moved to the bed to help our wives up.

“Thanks, Lilly, I thought I told you to make sure only Edward came,” Bella laughed as she
tried to cover herself up with the blanket. I say try because she couldn’t get the blanket out
from under Alice.

“Sorry Mom, but I was laughing too hard to do much more than drag him up here,” Lilly
apologized as she wiped the tears off her face. She crawled up on the bed and rubbed each of
the monster bellies before she scurried off to finish getting ready for her party.

Rose was now on her feet and she and Emmet were moving towards the door.

“Rose, don’t forget this!” Bella said as she tossed the doughnut towards them. I lost it again
when it landed around Emmet’s neck.

“Score!” Bella and Alice shouted at the same time, causing Jasper and I fall over laughing. It
didn’t help looking at Emmet trying to control his breathing. He closed his eyes and dropped
his head, not bothering to take the doughnut from around his neck; he just shook his head and
led Rose from the room while she laughed.

“Edward, please get me out of this bed before I pee on myself,” Bella begged as she once
again tried to roll herself off the bed.

I grabbed her hands and pulled her up, giving a ‘humph’ as I pulled her the rest of the way off
the bed.

“Very funny!” she said as she smacked me on the shoulder and waddled off to the bathroom;
she didn’t even bother closing the door before she relieved herself.

“Okay, I think that’s my cue,” Jasper said as he took off out of the room, leaving a flailing
Alice stranded on the bed.

“Jackass!” she shouted and flipped him the bird.

“Up you go,” I said, helping her up and off the bed.

“Thank you, Edward,” she said with a grateful smile.

“No problem, Shorty,” I said, ruffling her hair.

She grabbed my hand and squeezed it. “No Edward, thank you for making her happy, for
loving them both the right way,” she said with a watery smile.

“I couldn’t love them anymore if I tried…they are my whole world,” I told her with a smile.

We both laughed when we heard Bella let out a very loud moan followed by the flushing of
the toilet.

“I’m a little jealous that I’m not the only one that can make you make that noise,” I laughed as
she came out of the bathroom with a look of pure bliss on her face.

“Normally I would tell you that nothing can make me feel as good as you do, baby…but that
was amazing,” she sighed as she moved to get dressed.

I laughed and kissed the top of her head then I left her to finish getting ready since I could
hear cars coming down the driveway.

Twenty minutes later, she and Alice came down the stairs and greeted our guests. We all
laughed and watch Lilly loving the fact that she was the center of attention. She was the bell
of the ball all decked out in her jeans and tank top; most eleven year old girls would be
worried about dressing up in dresses and what shoes to wear. Not my Lilly, she was all about
jeans, t-shirts, and her riding boots that were covered in dirt and so broken in that you would
think that they might bust at the seams.

I couldn’t complain though because she was an eleven year old version of Bella and there was
absolutely nothing wrong with that. I did, however, have a problem with the boy that was
following her around like a lost puppy.

“Baby, who the hell is that following Lilly around?” I asked, puffing my chest out a bit
hoping that I was coming off as intimidating.

“That’s Seth, he and his family just moved into Alice and Jasper’s old place, he goes to school
with Lilly…I think he has a crush,” she told me as she smiled at the sight of my Lilly as she
giggled at something the boy said to her.

“Apparently he isn’t the only one,” Rose said as she walked up to us and watching Lilly as
well.

“What!? Oh, hell no!” I grunted as I moved to go drag the shit head boy away from my
daughter.

“Easy there, tiger,” Bella laughed as she grabbed my arm and stopped me. “He’s harmless.”

“Are you kidding me? What is he, like sixteen?” I grunted as I took in his tall form.

“Oh come on, Edward, he is only eleven, he’s just tall for his age,” Alice said as she laughed
at the expression on my face.

“Whatever.” I admit I was pouting because it was obvious that my little girl was no longer
interested in dolls and toys but had moved on to boys.

“Is this what I have to look forward too?” Emmet asked, sounding a little defeated as he and
Jasper both had the same look on their faces as I did. They were just as protective of her as I
was.

“You sure do,” Bella sang as she and the girls got the food ready for everyone to eat.

I know that she was only eleven and that I didn’t have to worry about dating – or God forbid,
anything else boy related – for several more years, but it was hard to admit that she was
growing up. I realized that I was wishing that I had been there for her entire life. I was
envious of James for being there and pissed off at the same time because he didn’t appreciate
or even give a shit about anything to do with her.

“Come on kids, let’s eat,” Bella shouted and waved them all over.

They all came running over and immediately started devouring the hamburgers and hotdogs.
Lilly was laughing with her friends and I nearly fell off my chair when Seth pulled her chair
out for her.

“See, Dad, he is a gentleman.” Bella whispered into my ear from her chair next to me.

“Uh huh,” I mumbled as I gave him the evil eye.

“Shit,” Bella gasped suddenly, and when I looked at her she was holding her stomach.

“Bella,” I said, getting up to get closer to her. “Baby, what’s wrong?”

She took a deep breath but looked like she was thinking about something or trying to figure
something out in her head, and it was freaking me out.

“Bella, you have to talk to me,” I begged, kneeling down in front of her and placing my hands
on her stomach. It was really hard and her face still showed that she was in pain.

“I don’t know…it hurts,” she said in a worried tone. “I think that was a contraction.”

“Alice,” I called as panic tore through me. “Come here quick.”

She made her way to us and her smile faded quickly as she took in the pained look on Bella’s
face.

“How do you feel girl?” Alice asked, trying to stay positive, but I could see the worry in her
eyes.

“I feel like shit,” Bella groaned as she again winced in pain. “I think I should go to the
hospital.”

“Alice, can you stay with the kids?” I asked as I helped Bella up. She swayed when she was
on her feet then all the sudden she fell into my arms as she passed out.

“Jesus, Alice what the hell is happening?” I shouted as I eased Bella to the ground and rested
her head in my lap.

“I don’t know but we need to get her to the hospital…now,” Alice cried as tears started
pouring down her face. Rose and Emmet rushed over when they saw Bella go down; Lilly ran
over in a panic and was crying.

“Momma, please wake up!” It broke my heart to see her grab her mother’s face and beg her to
wake up.

“Lilly,” a male voice said softly as a tanned hand rested on her shoulder.

Lilly turned and curled into the arms of Seth and cried for her mom. I couldn’t really be mad
at the kid for touching my daughter because she seemed to calm down a little when he hugged
her.

“I’ll call an ambulance,” Emmet said as he reached for his cell phone.

“No, get her in the truck, it will be faster if we drive her,” Alice instructed us as she checked
Bella’s pulse and went into full nurse mode.

“Emmet, Jasper, help me,” I said urgently as I grabbed her under her arms and they both lifted
her up on either side. I could have carried her myself but I didn’t want to jostle her around so I
asked them for their help.

When we were half way to the truck Bella opened her eyes. “Edward, something is wrong,”
she groaned as a tear streamed down her face.

I could feel the panic and emotion bubbling up to the surface as I took in the fear in her face.

“You guys go ahead, I’ll take care of the kids,” a woman said kindly. Judging by her tanned
skin and jet black hair she was Seth’s mother.

“Thank you, ma’am,” I said as we put Bella into the back seat of the truck.

“I’m Sue Clearwater…I’ll bring Lilly to the hospital just as soon as I get the others on their
way. Don’t worry, just take care of your wife.” She was a kind woman and I trusted her to
take care of Lilly.

I nodded gratefully as I pulled Bella into my arms. Lilly ran to the truck and kissed us both.

“You take care of my mom,” she said, looking directly into my eyes. “I love you guys,” she
sniffled. She kissed us again and ran back to the arms of Seth and his mother.

Jasper drove, Alice sat with Bella and me in the back seat while Rose and Emmet sat in the
front. The ride was intense and no one spoke, but everyone kept shooting Bella worried
glances. She had three more contractions before we made it to the hospital and again when
she tried to stand up she passed out for a second time. My hair was standing on end as I ran
my hands through it for the hundredth time.

“She’s going to be fine,” Rose said as the medical staff rushed Bella away from me. I didn’t
know if she was trying to reassure me or herself but I had to keep telling myself that she was
right.

I paced around the waiting room, waiting for some kind of news on what was going on with
my wife and unborn baby for what seemed like forever. When I was on my twenty-seventh
round of stalking past the exit doors, I saw a very frantic Lilly come running in, followed by
Seth and his mother.

“Daddy,” she cried as she ran to me with tears running down her face. She jumped into my
arms and I hugged her with everything I had in me, trying to comfort us both.

“Is she alright?” Lilly asked, never letting her grip around my neck loosen.

“I don’t know yet, baby girl, I haven’t heard anything yet,” I told her softly as I rubbed her
back trying to calm her down.

“Thank you for bringing her down, Mrs. Clearwater,” I said, nodding to her with a sad half-
smile.

“Not a problem, and please, call me Sue,” she said softly as she put her hands on her son’s
shoulders. “This is Seth.”

“Hi, Seth,” I said. I would have shaken his hand and given him the “what are your intentions
with my daughter” speech, but Lilly was still clinging to me and the doctor came out and
called my name.

“Yes,” I said as I picked Lilly up and rushed over to the doctor. “Is she alright?”

“She will be fine. We were able to stop her contractions with medication. Her blood pressure
was really high and when we tested her urine it was positive for protein which is a sign of pre-
eclampsia. I don’t see any reason to keep her here any longer than one night but she will need
bed rest when she goes home,” he told me, and chuckled at the sigh of relief that whooshed
out of my lungs.

“Can we see her?” Lilly asked softly as she finally loosened the death grip she had on my
neck.

“Of course, she is already in her room so you can all go in,” he told us with a smile.

“Come on, get your asses moving!” Rose said as she waddled past Lilly and I and barged
through the doors, not waiting on a single one of us.

“You heard her, Daddy…get your as…butt moving,” Lilly said, looking a bit embarrassed
about her almost-slip.

“You hang out with Rose entirely too much,” I told her with a laugh as we raced down the
hall to see Bella.

When we got into the room, Lilly practically dove onto the bed and into her mother’s arms.

“You scared me, Momma,” Lilly said as she buried her face in Bella’s neck.

“I’m sorry, baby, I’m alright now,” Bella told her softly as she soothed Lilly’s back.

The look she gave me over Lilly’s head told me that she was just as freaked out as I was.

“Feeling better?” I asked, kissing her on the forehead then on the lips as I sat down on the
edge of the bed.

“Much better, although I’m not so excited about bed rest,” she pouted.

“Tough, I don’t foresee you having to do anything but use the bathroom on your own until the
doctor clears you,” Alice said in her ‘don’t argue with me or I will skin you’ voice as she put
her hands on her hips.

“Yes ma’am,” Bella laughed she gave a mock salute.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when we were all sure that she was alright. The doctor said
that the baby’s heartbeat was strong, and judging from the loud swishing sound that was
echoing through the room he was right.

I looked at Bella and noticed that she had a mischievous grin on her face as she looked at me.

“What’s with the look?” I asked with a smile, loving the fact that she was back to her old self.

She pulled me close and when she whispered in my ear. Her words brought instant tears to my
eyes, the happiest tears I could imagine, and I couldn’t stop them from falling when she
spoke.

“It’s a boy.”

~Edward~

It is damn July outside; when I was working at the barn or throughout the property I would
sweat my ass off. However when I came inside I had to get every blanket, coat and anything
else you can think of that may provide some kind or warmth. Bella stays hot…all the time;
she stays in little shorts and tank tops because anything more makes her feel like she is on
fire. I swear the woman would walk around naked if it weren’t for the constant company
throughout the day and the fact that Lilly is there.

I loved my wife and I loved the fact that we were blessed enough to have this child but I
couldn’t say that I would miss the pregnancy thing. I knew for a fact that Emmett and Jasper
agreed with me on this one. It was a beautiful thing to watch my wife’s belly grow with my
child, but dealing with the ever-changing hormones and the insane mood swings was
exhausting.

“Daddy,” Lilly whispered when she entered the kitchen.

When I turned around I choked on my coffee because she had on sweat pants over her jeans, a
pullover hoodie with a zipper sweater over that and a beanie on her head. I really couldn’t
laugh too hard because I had on my thickest hoodie as well.

“What’s up, baby girl?” I asked her once I stopped coughing and laughing.

“How much longer is Momma going to be pregnant?” she whined with a shiver.

“Two more months, Lilly…two more months.” It sounded like forever given how hard the
pregnancy had been but in reality it would be here before we knew it.

“Daddy…I can’t do this for two more months, I’m going to get frost bite!” she gasped as she
shoved her hands into the pocket of her hoddie.

“Oh you’re not going to get frost bite. We have to be tough for Momma because as hard as it
is for us it’s ten times harder for her,” I told her, then kissed her forehead.

We cooked breakfast and ate before Lilly took off to the barn so she could help Emmett feed
and turn the horses out; Jasper had to do all his vet stuff so she wanted to help with that as
well. Once they were all fed, Emmett and I were going to go to the south side of the property
to repair any damaged fences. As hot as it was going to be today I was kind of looking
forward to not shivering because today was Alice and Rose’s day to stay here with Bella
given she is still on bed rest.

After Lilly ran off to the barn, shedding the layers that were too hot for July, Emmett, Rose,
Jasper, and Alice walked in.

“Lilly, can you start feeding the horses while I get Rose situated?” Emmett called to Lilly.

“Sure Em,” Lilly sang as she ran past.

Rose was dressed in normal summer clothes, as was Alice, because they stayed hot as well,
maybe not to the degree that Bella does but they stayed hot none the less. Jasper just shivered
as he walked in and shook my head.

“Damn, man, how can you stand to stay in here with it being this cold?” he asked, rubbing his
hands together for friction.

“Lots and lots of layers, man,” I said with a laugh as Emmett walked in shaking his head.

“Dude, you can totally see your breath,” he said, then blew out an exaggerated breath, proving
he was right as we could see his breath just slightly.

It took a minute for the monstrosity of a hat he was wearing to register in my brain; it was a
huge flannel print hat with fur on the inside and those silly looking ear flaps.

“Emmett, it’s bad enough you where that thing in the winter time but honestly you’re going to
be here for like five minutes…you don’t need it, plus it’s freaking ugly as sin!” Rose huffed
as she walked back into the living room.

I didn’t really think anything about it when she ran through the door and didn’t even speak.
Alice did the same – apparently their babies are sitting right on top of their bladders.

“I’m sorry, Rose, but I really think that my ears may freeze and fall off it’s so damn cold in
here,” Emmett whined as he tossed the hat onto the couch.

He kissed Rose and left to go help Lilly feed the horses and get things organized for Jasper
and his vet checks.

“You good, Ali?” Jasper asked his wife as he kissed her lips before leaving.

“I’m good...we are going to hang out and plan the baby showers!” Alice squealed as she
hugged Jasper goodbye.

“Edward,” I heard Bella call from upstairs. I could tell from the tone of her voice she was
frustrated, not with me but with the need to be in bed all the time. She was so used to being
independent that it drove her mad to have to depend on others to help her.

I ran up the stairs to find her coming out of the bathroom; she was wearing a sports bra and
boy short panties. Her belly was huge and looked like it got bigger overnight. I could tell she
was uncomfortable so I went to her and held her in my arms.

“Edward, I love you so much, but please don’t touch me…I’m fucking burning up!” She did
give me an apologetic look that took some of the sting out of her words.

“Sorry, baby…Alice and Rose are here; do you need anything before I head to the barn?” I
asked.

“No, I’m good…you going to the south side today?” she asked as she grabbed a sun dress
from the closet.

“Yeah, so if you need anything call the barn because Jasper will be there all day.” I was
worried about her so it made me unhappy about having to be clear across the property from
her.

“I’ll be fine, Edward,” she said with a kind smile. I could still see the irritation there in the
back of her mind but it was all completely understandable.

I kissed her goodbye then made my way to the barn. When I walked outside I thought I would
pass out from the temperature difference.

~Bella~

It was fucking hot, my feet were swollen, my damn back hurt like a bitch and this little boy I
swear was trying to kill me. Okay, not literally, but this pregnancy was really rough and I
thanked God every day that it was almost over. It would all be worth it to hold mine and
Edward’s beautiful baby boy.

“Hey Bells,” Alice called from the stairs. “Do you wanna come down here today or us to
come up there?”

I needed to get out of the bedroom otherwise I was going to go insane.

“I’m coming!” I called as I made my way to the door.

Five minutes later I was waddling around my living room picking up the odds and ends that
build up.

“Sit your ass down!” Rose screeched as she grabbed the shoes out of my hand that I had
picked up.

“What? I was just picking up Lilly’s shoes that she can’t seem to remember to put away,” I
said with a huff.

“I don’t care, you are not supposed to be doing that so sit your ass down and plan the
showers.” Rose was one of the kindest people I knew but she could be a major bossy bitch
when she wanted to be.

I did as I was told because frankly I was winded just walking down the stairs. I honestly
didn’t think I was going to make it to term because my body had reached its limits as far as
tolerance goes.

“So, I was thinking that since it’s really only our little group that we would really just have a
barbeque instead of a shower. We could invite Sue Clearwater and her boy as well as Rose’s
parents,” Alice said as she took my swollen feet into her lap and started rubbing.

“Sounds good to me,” I moaned, because really she had me from the first time her thumb ran
over the arch of my foot. At that point I would have done anything she asked me to.

The day progressed with us talking about babies and things pertaining to them until Rose
made a funny face then proceeded to curse like nobody’s business.

“Rose, what’s wrong?” I asked, noticing that she was holding her stomach.

“I need Emmett!” she wailed as she doubled over in pain. It was then that I noticed the puddle
of water at her feet.

Mother fucker, Rose was in labor.

“Shit!” Alice said as she rushed over to Rose. “Just breathe, Rose, we will get him!”

I got up and made my way to the door; I looked at the clock and knew that Edward and
Emmett would be back from the south side by now so I rushed to the golf cart and took off.
When I got there I wasted no time running though the doors.

“Bella,” Edward said worriedly as he rushed to me. “What’s the matter, baby?” His strong
hands fluttered around my stomach before he finally rested them on my face. It was when I
felt his thumbs wipe away tears that I realized I was crying.

“It’s Rose…her water broke!” I gasped as I clung to Edward, trying to steady myself as a
wave of dizziness washed over me.

“Emmett!” Edward shouted as he steadied me against him; he never took his bright green eyes
off mine so I was able to watch the worry wash over him.

“What’s up…?” Emmett, always so jovial, trailed of when he caught sight of the two of us.
“What’s wrong?”

“It’s Rose…her water broke…she is in a lot of pain,” I said, feeling a little dizzier with all
that was happening. This wasn’t bad like when I had to go to the hospital but I could tell that
they put me on bed rest for a reason as my surroundings spun faster and faster.

“Oh my God!” Emmett cried as his gentle blue eyes filled with tears.

“Go…take the four wheeler! We will all meet you back at the house in a minute,” Jasper said
as he had heard the news that Rose was in labor, albeit early labor but labor none the less.

Emmet took off like a bat out of hell and Edward and I went to follow him when my legs
became wobbly.

“Bella, baby, are you alright?” Edward asked as he stopped me from slinking to the ground.

“I’m just so dizzy…I’m alright though,” I reassured him because I knew that I was fine I just
went from zero to ninety too quickly considering I hadn’t been active in like three weeks.

Edward picked me up like I was a feather and rushed me out to the golf cart. I saw Lilly ride
up on Ghost at that moment and when she saw Edward carrying me she kicked him into a run.

“Momma!?” She was frantic because from where she was all she could see was me who
wasn’t supposed to be out of the bed being carried by her very worried looking father.

“She’s alright, Lilly…come on, I’ll help you un-tack Ghost! It seems we are making a trip to
the hospital,” Jasper said as he led her into the barn.

“But why is Daddy carrying her…why can’t she walk?” she cried as she slid out of the saddle.

“Momma just got a little dizzy, that’s all… Rose is in labor so you need to hurry up and get
the horse squared away!” Edward told her as he placed me in the golf cart and made sure I
was steady enough to sit up right on my own.

He took off towards the house, knowing that Jasper would look after Lilly and make sure she
got back to the house without hurting herself in a rush. We were also glad he was there
because Lilly’s seizures had gotten more frequent. The doctors told us that it happened
sometimes and that nothing was showing up on her scans so we should just deal with them the
way we always had.

When we got back to the house I could hear Rose screaming and cursing up a storm. We
rushed in, Edward making sure that I was steady on my feet. When we were through the door
I was so thankful that Alice was there because Rose wasn’t going to make it to the hospital. If
we called 911 it would take them at least forty-five minutes to get here plus it’s a thirty
minute drive to the hospital.

“Rose, honey, I really need you to breathe…I need to check you because I don’t think there is
enough time to get you to the hospital,” Alice said as she led Rose to the couch.

Emmett looked frantic and unsure what to do so he just stroked Rose’s arm and back while he
crooned words of love and encouragement into her ear. Rose took deep breaths and did as she
was told having to stop half way to the couch to get through her contraction.

“Emmett, hold her hand and help her out of her shorts,” Alice said to Emmett as she looked to
me with a worried expression.

“Come on Edward, let’s go get some towels and old sheets…let’s give them some privacy.”

Edward nodded and led me upstairs to retrieve what I knew we would need for her to deliver
her baby. Usually women that have never had kids before took hours, sometimes days, to
deliver; Rose however was apparently going to be the exception.

Once we had towels and blankets we headed back towards the living room.

“Can we come back in now?” Edward called, not wanting to make Rose uncomfortable seeing
as she was most likely naked from the waist down.

We were given the all clear and made our way back in.

“She is seven centimeters dilated…Rose, are you sure you haven’t had any pain up until
now?” Alice asked in shock as she grabbed the towels and moved to the guest bedroom that
was on the main level.

Emmett still hadn’t said anything other than comforting words to Rose but I could see the fear
in his eyes and the tremor in his hands.

Jasper and Lilly came through the door at that moment looking frantic and worried as it was
still too soon for any of us to deliver.

“My back has been hurting for the last couple of days but I didn’t think anything about it,”
Rose whimpered as another contraction slammed into her.

Edward moved to help Emmett get Rose up and into the guest room; she shuffled and had to
stop twice as more contractions rocked her tall form. I could tell she was moving super fast
because the closer you got to pushing the harder it was to do anything other than bare down
during a contraction. When she would say something and a contraction would hit she would
grunt and hold her breath.

“Momma,” Lilly whispered. “I’m scared,” she said softly as she watched Rose struggle to
make the twenty feet to the extra bedroom.

“Don’t be scared, baby…Rose is tough, she can do this. She might scream but it’s normal
when a woman has a baby,” I told her as I held her close to me.

Jasper was helping Alice set up what she could in the makeshift delivery room. We had dialed
911 and as expected it was going to be nearly an hour before they got here.

“Oh God…it hurts so bad!” Rose screamed as she gripped Emmett and Edward’s hand as a
contraction hit her just before she lay down on the bed.

Emmett had to hold the sheet that was wrapped around her waist so she wouldn’t give us all a
show.

“I know it hurts Rose, but you have to breathe…when you feel like you can lay down, I will
check you again,” Alice said calmly as she rubbed Rose’s arm.

Edward was rubbing her other arm and Emmett was placing small comforting kisses on her
cheek.

Rose finally lay down on the bed; Alice placed the sheet so that we could all stay in the room
but not see all of what God gave Rose. Alice checked Rose and when she did she got a smile
on her face at what she felt.

“It’s time to push, Rose…are you ready to bring your daughter into the world?” Alice was a
pro at this type of thing as she had been a nurse since we graduated college.

“Oh my God, Rose,” Emmett cried as he grasped her hand and placed his forehead against the
side of Rose’s. Both had tears running down their faces as they held hands and prepared to
meet their daughter.

“I’m scared,” Rose whimpered as her watery eyes met Emmett’s.

Lilly moved to Rose and put her small hand on the side of Rose’s face. “You can do this
Rosie…I love you, you can do this.” Lilly was choked up as were the rest of us.

I don’t think I could have been more proud of my daughter than in that moment. Lilly kissed
Rose and Emmett on the cheeks then moved back over to my side. Edward clapped Emmett
on the back and kissed Rose on the forehead and moved to us as well. Jasper stepped back to
give Alice room to work but stayed close in case she needed help.

He may just be a vet but I doubted delivering a baby is much different no matter what species
you are so he would be of some help should something go wrong.

“Okay Rose, on the next contraction I want you to take a deep breath, put your chin to your
chest and push like hell,” Alice said calmly as she patted Rose on the knee.

On the next contraction Rose sucked in a breath and did as Alice instructed. She pushed so
hard that her beautiful face turned purple.

“Good…you’re doing so good Rose, I can see the head!” Alice cheered.

“I love you baby,” Emmett said in a husky, tear-filled voice as he helped Rose push by
holding her leg and supporting her back.

“I…love…you…too!” she grunted as she gave one more push before falling back against the
pillows.

She was exhausted but luckily for her she was moving along really fast.

“Rest for a minute then with one or two more pushes like that your daughter will be
here…Gracie will be here!” Alice sang as she grabbed the towels and blanket that Jasper
handed her.

“I can’t do this!” Rose cried as she hid her face in Emmett’s neck. “I can’t do this, I’m too
tired.” Her voice was sad and exhausted as the tears ran down her face.

“You can do this, Rosie…you’re the strongest woman I know. Come on, bring Gracie out so
she can meet her family,” Emmett encouraged as he helped sit her up a bit so she could push.

“You got this Rose…one more push and she will be in your arms,” Alice cheered as she
readied herself to catch the baby when she came out.

Rose squared her shoulders and took Emmett’s hand; she took in a deep breath and pushed
like she had never pushed before. She let out a gut wrenching scream that scared us all
because it sounded like something was wrong.

That scream was followed by the sweet sound of a baby’s cry. The room waited with baited
breath for Alice to give a thumbs up that all was well. Finally she asked, “Daddy, do you want
to cut the cord?”

Emmett cried and laughed at the same time as he took the scissors that Alice cleaned with
alcohol and cut the cord. He took the tiny bundle of towels and placed it on Rose’s chest. We
all got a look at her and she was beautiful.

She had a ton of blonde hair and these big gentle blue eyes that just captured your soul. She
was peace and love all wrapped up in a tiny little body.

“Oh my God,” Rose cried as she held the baby to her chest and kissed the puff of blonde hair.

“She looks like Rose!” Lilly sang as she inched closer to her trying to see the baby but not
crowd Rose and Emmett.

“Thank God for that!” Edward and Jasper laughed at the same time. Each of them hugged
Emmett as he cried happy tears for his new daughter.

We finally heard the sirens as they pulled onto the property; I was really glad that things went
smoothly because that could have been really scary had something happened to the baby or
Rose. I watched Rose, Emmett and their new daughter exchange looks of love and devotion;
my pregnancy may be hell but this right here makes it all worth it in the end.

~Bella~

It was hot and I was sick of it. I had tried to get my doctor to induce my labor but he
wouldn’t. Poor Edward was a champ though because he dealt with all my bullshit with his
head held high. I loved that man so much it hurt sometimes. Lilly was so excited to have a
baby brother or sister that she bounced around the ranch like the energizer bunny.

Rose, Emmett and Gracie were back at home and doing well; I think Rose may have been the
only woman on the planet that could almost be the size she was before she got pregnant. She
was almost immediately wearing most all of her clothes that she used to wear…bitch!

Rose was a God-send because she stayed with Alice and I while the guys and Lilly worked
the ranch. She not only tended to her newborn baby and kept her own house clean but she
helped Alice I with ours as well…the woman was a machine.

At eight and a half months pregnant I was done; I was done with the heat and done with being
so pregnant that I couldn’t stand up without grabbing something so I didn’t topple over. I was
just done with it all. I couldn’t even make love to my husband because I was so big that I
couldn’t find a comfortable position. He was ever so patient but I could tell that he was just as
done as I was. We were so excited to have the baby, but we just couldn’t handle much more
of the pregnancy thing.

“Alice, are you crazy!” Rose screeched, breaking me from my thought.

“What? You did it!” Alice said as she rubbed her hand over her swollen stomach. She was
absolutely glowing. Out of all three of us she was the one that had the flawless pregnancy;
minimal morning sickness, very little weight gain, and no problems what so ever.

“I didn’t have a choice…you do!” Rose said as she fed Gracie her bottle. She had tried to
breast feed but with Gracie needing the extra time in the hospital it just didn’t work out.

“What are you two carrying on about?” I whined as I once again tried to find a comfortable
position. It wasn’t happening so I finally gave up and stood up so I could pace, or maybe go
stuff more food in my mouth.

“Alice has decided to have a natural child birth,” Rose scoffed, shaking her head as she
checked to see how much Gracie had eaten.

“Crazy bitch!” I laughed, knowing that she would give it a good try but would most likely be
begging for the drugs before it was over.

They both laughed at my antics as I waddled into the kitchen. Once at the refrigerator, I was
deciding between watermelon and a turkey sandwich when suddenly I felt like my stomach
was being ripped open from the inside. I gasped and rubbed my belly, thinking that maybe I

moved wrong or something seeing as though I went to the doctor two days ago and he said it
would still be a little while longer.

I shrugged it off and decided on watermelon; I wanted to go to the barn and see Edward and
Lilly so I headed into the living room with a piece of watermelon hanging out of my mouth
and another in each hand.

“Bella, I know you have better manners than that,” Alice sighed as she took in my rather rude
appearance. I didn’t have it in me to care what I looked like in that moment because I felt like
shit and I may or may not have had a contraction. I was going to do what I wanted to do
today, no arguments allowed from anyone.

I snorted out a laugh as I headed for the front door; I did manage to finish the piece of fruit in
my mouth before I reached the door.

“Where are you going?” Rose asked with a raised brow. I sighed, thinking how I would be
really glad not to have to be babysat anymore.

“To the barn; I wanna see Edward and Lilly…I’m bored,” I shrugged, opening the door and
almost gagging when the wave of heat hit me. I almost changed my mind until the thought of
Edward shirtless crossed my mind…that shit is so worth it!

“Have fun…it’s too damn hot for me,” Alice said with a yawn as she settled in on the couch.

I decided to walk the short distance because I hadn’t really been able to do much lately so the
exercise would be nice. I kept to the tree line because it provided a nice shade; as long as the
sun wasn’t beating down on me I could survive the heat. About half way to the barn another
pain ripped though me. This one was worse than the first one; this one didn’t stop and it
literally felt like the baby was going to claw its way through me. I grabbed the nearest tree as
my knees threatened to give out. They did, and as I sank down to the ground I started to feel
extremely dizzy. I couldn’t focus on anything as the pain got worse; everything started to
flash in and out of focus. I was able to scream for help as I wrapped my arms around my
stomach and prayed for it all to be alright.

~Edward~

Any day now I could meet my son or daughter; Lilly would have her sibling and our family
would be complete. I had a sinking feeling that I just couldn’t shake, I tried to think of
positive things but there was something in the pit of my stomach that wouldn’t go away.

“Hey kids,” I said as Lilly and Seth came into the barn after turning some of the horses out. I
didn’t want to admit it but I really liked Seth. I wouldn’t ever forget the day that Lilly had a
seizure and Seth was the only other person around. He talked her through it and did

everything any one of us adults would have done. I had a feeling Seth was going to be around
for a long time.

“Hey Dad!” Lilly sang with a giggle. She was always so happy when he was around.

“Hey Mr. Cullen,” Seth said politely, adding a little wave and smile. The kid was always so
well mannered and kind. I guess if Lilly was going to have a first crush on a boy it was good
that it was Seth.

“Dad, we’re going to the house for lunch, you want anything?” Lilly asked with a smile that I
couldn’t help copy because the girl was just infectious.

“No, I’m good, I’ll be up in just a little while,” I told her, ruffling her hair. That earned me a
groan and a roll of the eyes.

They ran off towards the house joking and teasing each other. I thought I heard someone
yelling but it was so muffled that I put it off as normal ranch sounds. I made my way into the
office to file some paper work before I headed to the house for lunch.

“You ready for that baby?” Emmett asked. I hadn’t realized that he was even in there so when
he spoke it made me jump.

“You have no idea,” I said, laughing as I filed the papers and plopped down on the couch.

He was about to say something when the office door flew open, revealing a frantic-looking
Seth.

“Seth, what’s wrong?” I asked, panic settling deep in my gut as I took in the tears that started
streaming down his face.

“It’s your wife,” he said in a winded tone. “Me and Lilly found her about half way to the
house…you gotta come quick, something’s wrong.”

I swallowed hard as I shot off the couch; Emmet copied my actions and together we followed
behind Seth. Emmett and I were running at full speed and Seth kept pace with us with little
difficulty. When we reached the top of the hill I could see Lilly sitting on the ground with
Bella’s head in her lap. Bella was curled into ball and the closer we got, the louder her
screams got.

“Bella!” I shouted, wishing that I could just reach her already. Somehow Jasper appeared; I
assumed he was working one of the horses and happened to ride past. He said something to

Lilly with a very serious look on his face. Lilly shook her head no but whatever he said next
got her moving towards the house.

Emmett and I finally reached her in time to notice the blood coming from between her legs.
My heart sank immediately thinking that I was going to lose one or both of them. Bella’s eyes
met mine; they were filled with fear and panic. The eye contact only lasted a second before
she started convulsing. Her body contorted and shook violently as Jasper desperately tried to
keep her head from smashing into the rocks that littered the ground around them.

“Emmett, go get the truck,” I shouted as I tried to keep my wits about me. It was really hard to
do that considering my pregnant wife was bleeding and having a seizure right there in front of
me. There was no time to wait on an ambulance; like Rose’s labor it would take entirely too
long to get here. Emmett took off towards the truck; I looked towards the house to see Rose,
Alice and Lilly getting into the golf cart. Rose cradled Gracie to her chest and kept the other
arm around Lilly. They reached us quickly and Alice, although extremely pregnant, somehow
managed to get down on the ground and check on Bella. She had stopped seizing by this point
but she was very pale and had yet to regain consciousness.

“Alice, what’s going on?” I asked through my tears, never taking my eyes off of Bella.

“I don’t know, Edward, but we need to get her to the hospital now,” she said as she felt
around Bella’s stomach. She checked her pulse and did all the things a nurse does. Emmett
came to a screeching stop in the truck and got out to help me with Bella.

The truck wasn’t big enough for everyone so Rose said she would take Lilly and Seth in her
car so that she would have the car seat for Gracie. Bella was still unconscious as Emmett and I
loaded her into the backseat of the truck. I placed her head in my lap and kept my eyes on her
pale face the entire way to the hospital. Tears poured down my face as I tried to fight the sobs
that were fighting to break through.

Emmett got us to the hospital in record time but I feared it was too late. She was bleeding, and
although it wasn’t a lot, it did get worse on the way. Jasper had called ahead to let them know
what the situation was so when we came screaming up to the ER doors they were waiting for
us. I don’t know how they got her out of the truck or how I got into the waiting room because
everything seemed to just fade into time.

“Daddy!” Lilly cried as she ran through the doors. It was like going back in time to her
birthday when Bella had passed out. She ran to me and wrapped her arms around my neck
tightly. I hugged her back but I couldn’t hear anything anyone was saying so I just held her
tightly. I guess you could say I was in a state of shock I don’t know. What I did know was this
wasn’t the way I envisioned my child coming into this world.

“Cullen,” called a voice from the door. I looked that direction and saw a nurse standing there.
I stood up, sitting Lilly on the chair next to Seth. I walked as fast as I could although it felt
like I had cement caked on my feet.

“Come with me please,” she said in a soft voice. It sounded sad and nervous which caused my
heart to sink.

“Are my wife and baby alright?” I begged as she led me down the hall. All I wanted was for
this woman to tell me they were alive.

“The doctor will speak with you sir,” she said as she motioned towards the door of a room. I
walked in and immediately ran to the bedside. Bella was lying there with tubes, wires and IVs
all over her. She looked so frail and lifeless lying there with her huge belly protruding.

“Mr. Cullen,” a man’s voice said from the doorway. I turned to see the doctor standing there.

“Doctor, please tell me she is going to be alright,” I sobbed the words as the stress of this
entire day caught up with me.

“We need to get her to surgery. The baby needs to come out in order to stop the bleeding.
Once we get the baby out hopefully her condition will improve,” he said as he made some
notes on a chart.

“Do whatever you have to do to save them both,” I told him, then kissed Bella’s small hand.
She wasn’t conscious, and from the look of the monitor her heart was beating slower than it
should.

“Sign here…it’s a consent form. I can’t let you be in there because it’s an emergency but I’ll
make sure you’re kept informed of everything that happens. As soon as your baby comes out
I’ll have a nurse bring him or her out to you.” When he spoke he exuded confidence like he
was sure he could save them both. For the sake of my sanity and that of everyone out in the
waiting room he better be able to do just that.

I signed the form and kissed Bella’s forehead before they rushed her off. It seemed like it had
taken forever but in reality it had only been ten minutes since they pulled Bella out of the
truck. They took her away in a flurry of rushing nurses and doctors all yelling out orders on
how to get Bella stable.

When I walked back out into the waiting room I was met with question after question. I felt
like I was being pulled in different directions.

“She’s in surgery they said they would let me know when the baby is born and how Bella
does after the get the baby out,” I sighed as I sat down and pulled Lilly into my arms.

Sometime during the time I was with Bella Sue had arrived and was comforting Seth. The
time went by with nothing said between any of us, the only sound being the coos and cries of
Gracie. I longed to hear the cries of my own child. I had wanted to be there with Bella when
she delivered; I had wanted to hold her hand and help her push. I had even wanted to endure
the abuse she would give when the pain got to be too much for her to handle.

About the time my patience ran out with waiting and not knowing what was happening, I saw
a nurse come through the door.

“Mr. Cullen, there’s someone that wants to meet you,” she said with a smile. I jumped up and
ran to her as another nurse pushed the basinet through the door. I looked down at the
squirming baby to see a ton of bronze hair on the tiny little head.

“It’s a boy,” Alice cried, and until she said that I hadn’t even noticed the blue blanket that he
was wrapped in. He took my breath away because he had to be the most beautiful thing I had
ever laid eyes on.

“My son,” I whispered as I reached down and touched the soft silky hair that covered his
head. “Is he alright?” I asked, hoping like hell that they were both going to be alright.

“He’s fine, his breathing is a little lazy but we are going to help him with that in the NICU,”
the nurse said with smile.

“Where’s my wife?” I asked worriedly.

“She is in recovery,”

“Is she alright?” Rose asked with a hint of an attitude. It was clear that she was sick of the
beating around the bush; we all were, she just beat us to the punch.

“She isn’t awake yet. There were some issues in surgery but the doctor will come out shortly
and talk to you. You can come with your son to the NICU if you like,” she said with a
sympathetic smile.

I nodded and took Lilly’s hand, leading her in the direction the nurses were taking the baby. I
was so happy that my son was happy and healthy but the meeting was darkened by the fact
that Bella was still having issues. When we got to the nursery, they unwrapped him and I took
a moment to look him over. He was long and lean; his fingers and toes were long and skinny

just like mine. I had seen my own baby pictures and I had to say that my son was the spitting
image of me. I could see hints of Bella in him but for the most part he was all me.

“Daddy,” Lilly whispered. “Can I hold him?”

She had big tears welled up in her eyes as she gazed lovingly at her little brother.

“Sure you can, sweetheart,” the nurse said kindly when I nodded my approval.

I helped Lilly wash her hands when she was sitting down in one of the rocking chairs. I
scooped up my son and kissed his forehead. I melted when he wrapped his little fingers
around my index finger. I kissed his head again then gently placed him in Lilly’s arms. The
tears streamed down both our faces as we looked at the newest Cullen member.

“He looks like you, Daddy, but he feels like Momma,” she said with a small smile.

“What do you mean he feels like Momma?” I asked, slightly confused as to how a 7 pound
baby felt like Bella.

“I can always feel Momma. When she’s in the room or just around me at all I can always feel
her. Mostly it’s her love…there’s not anything that feels better than my Momma’s love…he
feels like that.”

I looked at my daughter in shock trying to figure out how she got so smart. What eleven year
old says something like that? More tears streamed down my face as I took in the sight of her
holding him. I took a picture with my cell phone and saved it as the background.

“Mr. Cullen,” came a voice from behind me. When I turned around the doctor was standing
there in sweat soaked scrubs. I couldn’t read his face; it didn’t show me relief or sorrow, it
was just a straight face.

“I have news on your wife.” His voice was soft and full of compassion but still he gave away
nothing.

Edward

The nurse told me she would watch Lilly and the baby so I followed the doctor into the
hallway.

“How’s Bella?” I asked, trying to keep my emotions under control.

“She’ll make a full recovery,” she said, and I sighed in relief. “She lost a lot of blood but we
got it under control. We were able to stop the bleeding without having to do a hysterectomy
so having children won’t be a problem.”

“Thank you so much,” I told him, shaking his hand. “Can I see her?” I knew I sounded like I
was begging but not being able to see her was like trying to breathe without the use of my
lungs.

“She’s in recovery,” he said with a knowing smile. “Follow me.”

I followed him down the hall and into a room. I didn’t see anything except Bella lying there.
She looked a little pale but much better than she had a few hours ago.

“Edward,” she cried, reaching for me. “Is the baby alright?” she asked with tears rolling
down her cheeks.

I rushed to her, grasping her hand firmly in mine. I kissed her forehead, her cheeks, and
finally her lips.

“We have a son,” I laughed and cried at the same time. “He’s so beautiful.”

“I want to see him,” she whispered as she buried her face in my neck.

“As soon as we get you to your room, we’ll bring him up,” a nurse said as she checked Bella’s
IVs.

A few moments later we were taken to Bella’s hospital room. She tried to get up but was in
too much pain from the surgery. When the nurse offered her pain medication she refused
until she was able to see Lilly and the baby.

“Knock, knock,” Lilly sang from the door. We both turned towards the sound of her sweet
voice and laughed when we saw her pushing the basinet carrying her baby brother. The nurse
was hot on her heels.

“She wouldn’t let me push him over here,” the nurse laughed. “She has been taking her big
sister duties very seriously.” We all laughed at that. “He’s fine so I will leave you to meet
your son, Mrs. Cullen.” With that she left the room with a smile.

Bella was practically bouncing in her haste to hold the baby so I quickly gathered him up and
placed him in her waiting arms. She cradled him to her chest then smelled his hair. The small
whimpers he was letting out ceased when she help him close.

“Hey there, little one, I’m so glad you’re finally here,” she whispered. He looked up at her
and it was like I could see the love for his mother in his eyes.

“What’s his name?” Jasper asked from the doorway as all our friends made their entrance.

Bella and I looked at each other already knowing what we would name him. We had decided
on a name for either a boy or a girl.

“Masen Anthony Cullen,” we both said at the same time.

They all smiled and congratulated us on our newest edition. After about an hour Rose and
Emmet decided to take Gracie home so she could rest and Emmet could check on the horses.
After they left Alice seemed to be on edge, unable to sit still. She would sit then get up and
pace then sit back down.

“Oh,” she gasped and grabbed her stomach. Her brows furrowed and she bit her lip. When
she looked down at her feet we all followed her gaze to see that her water had broken.

“Oh my God,” Bella laughed as she tried to sit up and help her friend. She was in pain so she
gave up and settled back into the bed.

“Alice,” Jasper said then swallowed hard. The panic flowing off of him was comical because
he was the one that always just exuded calm and laid back.

His hands fluttered around her like he was afraid he was going to hurt her or something.

“Jasper,” Alice said between breaths. “I need you to breathe.” Once he had calmed down a
little she continued with a smile, “I’m having this baby so I think you should go get a nurse.”

He looked at her then to me then to Bella like he was trying to comprehend what Alice had
just said to him.

“Jasper,” I laughed, knowing exactly what he was going through. “Come on, I’ll help you,” I
put my arm around his trembling shoulders and led him out of the room. Alice sat down on
the edge of the bed while Bella rubbed her back with her free hand.

We hurried to the nurses’ station. “My wife…baby…help,” he choked the words out,
receiving strange worried looks from the nurses.

“His wife Alice just went into labor,” I clarified.

Bella’s nurse was there and immediately followed us to her room. Alice was in the midst of
having a contraction when we entered. She was leaning over with her hands on her knees
breathing in and out deeply.

“They are coming really fast,” Bella said in a worried tone as she held Masen in one arm and
tried to comfort Alice with the other hand.

“Hey Alice…how far apart are they?” The nurse asked as she moved to kneel in front of her.

“Five minutes,” she grunted as she continued to fight through the pain she was in.

By that time there were two more nurses in the room; they put Alice in a wheelchair and
pushed her to a separate room. Jasper just stood there staring at the door his wife just left
through.

“I…I can’t do this,” he gasped as he fisted his hands in his hair. With eyes wide and full of
tears that hadn’t fallen yet, he looked at me.

“Yes you can,” Bella told him firmly. He turned and looked at her. “Alice needs you…go
and meet your child.”

Jasper took a ragged breath then raced out of the room behind Alice. I smiled and moved to
sit with Bella and Masen on the bed.

“I can’t believe she’s having their baby today,” Bella sighed as she kissed our son’s forehead.

“Oh that would be so cool if Masen and Alice’s baby have the same birthday!” Lilly squealed
as she joined us on the bed.

It was cramped with all of us on the bed but I would change it for the world. The stress of the
day caught up with us and sleep took us all. Lilly was on Bella’s left side, her head resting on
her mother’s shoulder. I was on my side on Bella’s right side, my head resting on top of
Bella’s. Masen slept comfortably on her chest.

When Masen woke up ready to eat, I moved Lilly to the small couch so Bella would have
room to nurse him. I didn’t think seeing her breast feed our son would be such an experience
but I was wrong; the tears that welled in my eyes were proof of that. I watched in awe as she
positioned him; he latched on with no problems and ate happily.

About an hour later Rose and Emmett came back to visit and wait with us for news on Alice.
It had been about five hours since her water broke so we were hoping to hear something soon.

“Edward, go see what’s going on,” Bella begged. She was worried about her friend.

I nodded and left the room. I didn’t know what room Alice was in but the scream gave it
away. When I was outside the door I heard more screaming but it wasn’t coming from Alice
this time. I peeked in the door to see Alice grasping a handful of Jasper’s hair.

“You did this to me!” she wailed as she yanked on his hair.

“I’m sorry…Alice…please,” he grunted as he tried to get her to let go.

“It’s time to push,” the nurse said as she got the tools ready for the delivery.

“No,” Alice shouted. “I need drugs!” She was shaking her head violently.

I felt bad for her because I could tell she was in tremendous pain.

“Jasper,” I said, wanting to let him know I was there. Alice let go of his hair and he made his
escape.

“Edward,” he whimpered, running to me and throwing his arms around my waist. “She’s
going to kill me…please don’t make me go back over there,” he begged.

I hugged him back but pulled away and grasped his shoulders. “You can do this Jasper.
That’s your wife…she is having your baby. Be there for her,” I told him, hoping I could he
could handle this.

He let out a small sob then nodded his head. “I’ll come with news when I have it.” He smiled
at me then went back to his wife’s side placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. “You can do
this baby…I’m right here.”

They shared a look that only two people deeply in love could share. I knew that look well as
it was the same look Bella and I shared every day. I left them to share this experience
together. Once I was back in the room the questions started.

“Is she alright?” Bella asked.

“What’s going on?” Rose asked as she shifted Gracie from one arm to the other.

“She’s in a lot of pain. She’s about to start pushing.” I told them all as I took Masen so I
could change his diaper.

Hours later, at 11:57 PM, Jasper came back to our room pushing a basinet.

“Hey everyone,” he whispered, not wanting to scare anyone. “I have someone I want you all
to meet.”

We all wiped the sleep from our eyes and sat up to meet the newest member of our little
makeshift family.

“Meet Jackson Michael Whitlock,” He held up the tiny boy for us all to see.

He was an even mix of both Jasper and Alice. He had her dark hair and eyes, and his nose
and mouth. The love pouring off of Jasper was palpable as he looked at his son like the proud
papa he was. Congratulations were passed around but it was quick because he didn’t want to
keep the baby from Alice for long.

The days passed quickly and before we knew it we were on our way home. Rose and Emmett
had decorated the long drive with blue ribbons and sighs welcoming home the boys.

We celebrated the arrival of Masen and Jackson as well as Gracie with a cook out. It was an
amazing experience as we held the babies and talked about what kind of men they would turn
out to be. Gracie was the little princess of the night as she smiled and cooed at everyone.
Lilly was in heaven as she held each of the babies.

Once everyone was exhausted, which was pretty early, we all separated to our homes to rest
for the night. Or so we thought; Masen cried every hour on the hour. We tried everything,
changing diapers, feeding him, burping him…nothing worked. Finally Bella decided to mix
her breast milk with some of the formula the hospital had given us. An hour later Masen slept
like a rock.

“My milk hasn’t come in yet so he isn’t satisfied,” Bella yawned as she placed him in his
crib. “I wasn’t able to nurse Lilly either.” She seemed a little sad about it when she spoke.

“It’s alright Bella,” I whispered against her hair as we settled back into the bed.

“I know, it would just be nice to breast feed him. I’m alright with it as long as he is healthy.”
Five minutes later she was fast asleep and I followed right behind her.

Five years later

Bella

I couldn’t believe my son was turning five today. I looked out at rolling landscape as I sat on
the porch. Jackson and Masen were playing in the yard and Edward and the other guys were
tending to the grill. Rose and Alice sat on each side of me. I sighed when I saw Lilly and
Seth sitting on the fence together watching the horses.

Her head was resting on his broad shoulder, his arm thrown over her shoulder. He said
something to her that I didn’t hear but the sound of her delicate laugh warmed my heart.
Their relationship had gone from childhood friends to true love. She was sixteen now and he
was the light in her eyes.

“Should I start planning the wedding now?” Alice laughed as she pointed to the two of them.

“If it was anyone but Seth I would be freaking out right now,” I said with a smile, knowing I
could trust her life to Seth.

“He’s a good kid,” Rose said with a smile and a nod. “If he wasn’t, do you honestly think
Edward, Jasper and Emmett would let him get away with that?” she laughed as we all looked
to see him kiss her sweetly.

“Seth!” Edward yelled seeing the same thing we were.

“Sorry sir,” Seth called, but never took his eyes off Lilly’s smiling face.

A moment later they jumped down. Seth held onto Lilly’s waist and helped her down. Once
her feet were firmly on the ground he turned towards us while Lilly jumped on his back. She
laughed loudly as he ran around the yard.

Edward came to sit on the steps in front of me. The look on his face told me he was thinking
the same thing I was. Our little girl wasn’t so little anymore.

“Tell me again that I can trust him,” he sighed as he watched them with a mixture of love and
sheer terror in his eyes.

“He loves her like you love me,” I told him as tears welled in my eyes. If my daughter was
loved be a man like I was by Edward then she would never be happier.

“Then I can breathe,” he said. He kissed my lips and went to play horseshoes with Jasper and
Emmett.

“Momma,” Gracie asked Rose. “When can I kiss a boy like Aunt Lilly kissed Unkie Seth?”

Emmett dropped his horseshoe and nearly broke his neck he snapped it towards us so fast.
His mouth was gaping and I think he may have wheezed.

“Not for a very long time, little miss…a very long time,” Rose said as she straightened
Gracie’s ponytail. She seemed fine with the answer and took off to play with Jackson and
Masen.

I laughed as I watched Edward and Jasper try and comfort a very worked-up Emmett. At one
point he had to sit down and put his head between his knees to keep from passing out. Our
lives were as perfect as they could get. We had our issues like anyone else but for the most
part we were all happy as we could be.

As the day progressed we celebrated the boys’ fifth birthday. They squealed and jumped for
joy when we revealed that they each now had a horse of their own. They had started riding as
soon as they could walk so at five they were pretty experienced at it. Gracie got her own
horse as well two and a half months ago when she turned five so it was only fair. Seeing as
though we all still lived on the ranch together the kids spent nearly all their time together we
had to make things fair with them. ‘But Jackson got to’ or ‘Masen has one’ was the standing
argument they all had when one of them had something the other one didn’t.

Seth

“Hey Lilly,” Bella called.

“Yeah Momma?” Lilly answered, then laughed as she watched all three of the kids fight for
Bella’s attention.

“Could you and Seth go get the cake…please?” she asked as she tried to get the little monsters
under control.

Lilly agreed and together we went into the house. I watched as she took the massive cake
from the fridge. When she shook her head a little I rushed and grabbed the cake from her,
setting it on the counter. I grabbed her just as her knees buckled, easing her to the floor as
gently as I could; I had known her for a long time so I knew the signs of an oncoming seizure.

“Come on, Lilly,” I breathed in her ear as she stiffened so hard I thought she was going to
break something. I held her small frame in my arms, hating every single jerk of her body. I
brushed the hair from her face; seeing her eyes roll back in her head was hard to watch.

I hated the way her hands folded in so hard it made her wrists pop. I hated the way her feet
flexed so profoundly it made them look deformed. I hated the way every time she had a
seizure she would lose control of her bladder. I hated the embarrassment this caused her
because I loved her so much.

“It’s almost over, baby,” I said, placing a soft kiss to her forehead. Her body felt like granite
in my arms as the seizure ran its course. “You got this, Lilly…you’re so strong,” I said
against her clammy skin, fighting the emotions that blasted through me every time she had a
seizure.

After the longest two minutes ever she finally started to come out of it. Slowly her body
relaxed and her eyes started to focus on me.

“Seth,” she whispered once she was able to use her voice. “It was bad wasn’t it?” she asked,
her voice quivering with emotion.

“No,” I lied, because it was the worst one she’d had in nearly two years. “It wasn’t that bad.”

“You’re lying,” she said weakly, trying to sound demanding. “Help me up so I can go change
please.” She blushed as she noticed she had wet her pants. When she tried to push away from
me I cupped her beautiful face in my hands.

“Don’t hide from me,” I said firmly as I met her eyes. “I love you…everything about you.”

Her eyes widened as she realized how serious I really was. I was going to marry this girl as
soon as we were old enough. She knew this so it always baffled me when she seemed
surprised when I said ‘I love you’.

“I love you too, Seth…so much,” she whispered. A single tear rolled down her cheek as she
spoke.

“Go get cleaned up. I’ll take the cake outside,” I told her, then kissed her cheek before she
left the room. I quickly cleaned up the spot where Lilly had the seizure. It was gross but I
would do it a million times for her. Once my hands were washed I carried the cake outside,
preparing myself to answer questions as to why it took so long.

“Thanks Seth,” Edward said as he took the cake to the large table. “Where’s Lilly?” I
practically grew up around this man but every time he looked at me or asked me something
about Lilly my stomach twisted with nerves.

“She’s changing,” I said quietly so the kids wouldn’t hear me. Everyone knew that when
Lilly had to change clothes in the middle of the day it meant one thing. Even the five year
olds knew this.

His head snapped in my direction and worry flashed in his eyes.

“It was bad but she came out of it fast…about two minutes,” I told him, knowing he would
want to know. He looked like he wanted to be mad about not getting one of them but
understanding got the better of him.

“Thank you Seth,” he said then shook my hand.

“I love her, sir. I will always take care of her.” I met his eyes with mine when I spoke so he
would know I was serious. I may only be sixteen but I knew deep down I would always be
with her. He couldn’t say anything so he just swallowed hard and nodded his head.

“Bella,” he called. “Lilly had a seizure,” he told her once she was close to his side.

She looked at me with concern in her eyes. “She’s changing,” I told her, nodding my head
towards the house. She squeezed my hand as she passed me by on her way to check on Lilly.

Three years later

Edward

My life seemed to fly by at warp speed. It seemed like only yesterday I told saved Bella from
the hands of James. Now, we had a nineteen year old daughter and an eight year old son. Our
life was the picture of perfection. If I could only get the sinking feeling out of my gut that had
settled when the words ‘I need to talk to you’ came out of Lilly’s mouth.

I looked at the way she sat on the couch. I watched the way Seth’s hands flexed and un-
flexed as he sat beside her. I knew the two of them would always be together so the diamond
ring on her left hand wasn’t a surprise to me. I thought they were too young when he asked

me for her hand a month ago, but because they were responsible I gladly gave him my
blessing.

However, something about the nervous tension in the air had me reeling as to what was going
on. It was a blessing to watch her grow up into such a beautiful woman. To watch her fall in
love was torture because she was my baby girl. She may not have my blood but she was
without a doubt my daughter.

“Momma,” Lilly said in a tight voice. “Daddy,” she got choked up when she looked at me.

I looked to my right and saw Bella wringing her hands together. To my left Sue seemed as on
edge as Bella and I were.

“What’s going on?” I asked, unable to keep my tone in control. I was freaking out at what
could be going on with them. Were they breaking up? Was something wrong with one of
them? The questions raced through my mind a million miles an hour.

Again I looked around the room to see Jasper and Alice as well as Emmett and Rose on the
edge of their seats. Lilly said because they were all family that she wanted them there as well.

“Will someone please tell me what is going on?” Bella snapped, finally having enough of
beating around the bush.

Lilly swallowed hard then met all our waiting eyes. “We want to get married in a month.”
She said it so quickly that it took me a moment to comprehend what she said.

“What…why?” Alice asked as she moved to sit next to Lilly who had started to cry softly.

Seth wrapped his arm around her and whispered something in her ear to which she nodded. I
looked over at Bella and noticed the look of shock on her face. I was expecting something
really bad so the news of them wanting to get married so quickly wasn’t the worst of what I
was expecting to hear. Now I just needed to know why the sudden need to rush into this…

“WHAT!?” I roared when realization finally hit me. I was up and pacing in the blink of an
eye.

“You’re pregnant,” Bella whispered still staring at the ground in total shock.

I don’t know what Emmett was saying because my mind wouldn’t focus on anything. I saw
Rose push Emmett out the door. Jasper crossed his arms over his chest shaking his head as he
glared daggers at Seth. Sue wiped a tear away but said nothing.

“Lilly, I thought you were being careful,” Alice said in a soft voice.

“You knew they were…” I couldn’t even say the word out loud. She was my little girl…I
couldn’t handle her being old enough to have…GAH, now words wouldn’t even form in my
mind.

Bella still hadn’t said anything. When I saw her cover her face and start sobbing I pushed my
anger down and went to her.

“I’m sorry,” Lilly whispered as she kneeled down in front of Bella. “I’m sorry you’re sad, but
I’m not sorry I’m having this baby.” She spoke firmly as she pried her mother’s hands away
from her face.

“You’re so young Lilly,” Bella cried, finally speaking for the first time. “You don’t know
how hard it’s going to be.” Bella framed Lilly’s face in her hands when she spoke.

“I do know,” Lilly said with a small smile. “But I turned out just fine. I have the best example
of what a young mother is supposed to be.” They were now both crying.

I needed some air so I got up and walked outside. It was cold out but I was too worked up to
grab my coat. A few moments later I heard the door open then felt someone standing next to
me.

“I love her,” Seth said reverently.

I wasn’t so much mad as I was shocked. I knew deep down he would take care of her because
I had watched him do it for years. It was just a hard thing to accept that my baby was having
a baby.

“I know you do,” I said, finally feeling able to speak in a rational tone to him. “Take care of
her.” Tears welled in my eyes as I thought about having to let him take over. He would be
the one to cook breakfast with her. He would be there for her when she had a seizure. He
would hold her hand when she didn’t feel good.

“I would die for her.” When I turned my head I saw nothing but truth in his eyes.

The month went by in a flurry of wedding plans and adapting to the fact Bella and I would be
grandparents in seven short months. Bella took a little while to come around to that fact. Her
reasoning was understandable. As someone who got pregnant at age eighteen she wanted
more for her daughter. However, the more time she had to get used to the idea the more
excited she got.

When I walked into the bedroom my breath caught in my throat. Lilly was standing there in
the same dress Bella wore when we got married. The sight of my daughter in a wedding dress
wasn’t something I would never forget. Her hair was pulled up into a simple bun with little
strands of hair flowing down her back. She turned and looked at me with such love that it
nearly stopped my heart.

“Hey,” I choked out because I wasn’t ready for this. “You ready?”

She smiled softly at me then walked over and straightened my tie.

“Thank you.” She stopped and swallowed hard. “Thank you for saving us.”

“I didn’t save you, I just loved you both,” I told her as I dabbed the tears away from her
cheeks.

“Yes,” she smiled. “You saved us because you loved us. If it wasn’t for you James would
most likely still be here. You saved us because your love for us was stronger than he was.”

“You, Masen and your mother are my entire world I wouldn’t be a whole person if you all
weren’t in it.” I was fighting a losing battle against my emotions.

“Don’t cry, Daddy,” she said as tears filled her happy eyes. “I will always be your little girl.”

With the reminder of the night I sang that song to her I lost it. Tears poured from my eyes
and loud choking sobs left my chest. I wasn’t ready for this.

She hugged me until I was somewhat calm then she spoke again.

“Are you ready to give me away?” she asked as she looped her arm with mine and led me to
the door.

“Never,” I told her but followed her anyway.

The guests were gathered around the front yard awaiting her arrival. I looked at all of them
seeing the same look in all their eyes… I’m not ready for this.

Lilly squeezed my hand as the music morphed into the wedding march.

“I’m not ready for this,” I gasped gripping her hand like it was my life line.

“No, but I am,” she whispered, and when I looked into her eyes I saw that she was indeed
ready for this. My little girl was all grown up and although I would always feel that she was
too young to be a mom she was her mother’s daughter and could handle anything.

When we reached the arch where Seth waited I took a good look at him. He looked at her the
way I looked at Bella…like she was the air and the blood in his veins. She was his
everything. Only when it was time for me to put her hand in his did he take his eyes off Lilly.

“I’m trusting you with my life,” I told him, meeting his eyes and pleading with him silently to
guard it with his. He nodded his head and shook my hand. It wasn’t the hand shake of a
nineteen year old kid but the shake of a man who would keep to his word.

“I’ll protect it with every breath, sir,” he said, meaning every single word he spoke.

When I placed her hand in his I felt like a piece of my heart was missing. I kissed her cheek
and told her I loved her before I went and sat down with my wife.

“He’d better take care of her,” I muttered, because I still wasn’t ready to let her go.

Bella grasped my hand in hers and spoke softly so she wouldn’t interrupt the ceremony.

“He loves her like you love me,” she said, repeating the words she told me three years ago.

I settled a little in my seat and watched my little girl marry Seth. She wouldn’t be Lilly May
Cullen anymore. After this day she would forever be Lilly May Clearwater. I was alright
with that because with the knowledge that even if he loved her half as much as I loved Bella
then she would be treated like gold. Knowing the boy who showed up at her eleventh
birthday party was now the man who had my respect was enough. I still wasn’t ready for this
but I would let her go, knowing she was in the best hands next to my own.