Epilogue
EPOV
"Dad!"
"Your sister sounds rather upset. What do you say we go see what all the fuss is about?" I ask and grin when my son gives me a not-so-toothy, gurgling smile.
At just shy of a year old, there's no doubt that he's the most incredible thing to ever happen to me … outside of his mother and sister of course.
I stand up from the couch, where we've just had a short nap, and hold him with his back against my chest. His little legs kick as we walk, most likely because he thinks he's getting food but it's just as possible that he hears Peyton muttering to herself in the kitchen.
She's not quiet; never has been.
A slam of the refrigerator door makes Sam jump in my arms though like most things, he laughs at Peyton instead of being startled by the noise. A happier baby I'm not sure there has ever been in the history of … well, ever. Seriously, if my boy isn't smiling, I worry. From the moment he made his entrance into the world, eight days early and in the middle of the night, he's always had a smile on his face. Sometimes I wonder what in the world he sees or thinks about … then I wonder if it's just that he knows he's been loved and cherished from the time he was no bigger than a lima bean.
Peyton bangs a glass down on the counter with a huff before she pours some apple juice, mumbling the whole time. I can't help but chuckle when some of it sloshes over the side and splashes on the counter.
She scowls, looking from the spilled liquid to the glass, like it's the glass's fault it can't keep all the juice inside.
"Better stop that. Your face might stay that way … then what will Brody think." I singsong his name, though I'm pretty sure there's a frown on my face, too.
Damn kid. He's like a bad weed, always popping up even when I think we've gotten rid of him.
"Dad." She sighs, rolling her eyes when she turns around.
I will never, ever, as long as I live ever, tire of the way it sounds when she calls me dad, even if like now, she's trying to be annoyed with me. She looks so much like Bella at times it's down right scary, especially when she does that little eyebrow quirk where the middle lifts into a perfect peak. Kind of like she's doing now.
Sam gurgles at her, his little hands reaching for her, while his whole body wriggles in excitement. No one can resist his sweet sounds and his even sweeter face so the scowl on her face is instantly replaced with a smile of her own. Besides me and Bella, there's not another person alive that loves Sam more than his big sister … no matter what Jasper, Rose, or Carlisle think.
Peyton giggles, whatever it is that's bothering her melting away as she walks toward her brother. While Sam might be the happiest baby alive, Peyton's the best big sister in existence.
"Come here, you," she says holding her arms out. She takes him from me and I marvel, for the ten thousand three hundred and twenty-first time how in the hell I ever managed to get so damned lucky.
She walks with him, bouncing him on her hip, talking to him as only a doting big sister can before she takes a seat at the kitchen table. I clean up her mess, then set her juice down in front of her.
"You ready to tell me what has you in such a tizzy this fine Saturday morning? It's not even lunch time, Sprite, and already you're scowling and slamming things." She opens her mouth but I hold up my hand. "But," I say, narrowing my eyes at her, "if this is about a boy, save it until your mother gets home."
"Did you hear that, Sammy? Daddy says no boy talk. You remember that when it's time to talk about girls. Go to Uncle Emmett or Jasper; I'm sure they'll have lots to tell you."
Sam of course presses his little chubby finger into her lips and when she blows a raspberry against it, his happy laugh fills the entire kitchen.
"He most definitely will not be doing any talking of any kind with either of those two fools." I hand Sam one of his toys from the center of the table and watch as it goes immediately into his mouth.
As does everything else he gets his little fingers on.
Peyton sets Sam down on the ground and he's off, teetering on wobbly legs as he takes a few steps and then falls onto his well-padded bottom. Of course he laughs at himself and then proceeds to scoot across the floor. He finds his favorite cupboard, the one that Bella filled just for him and knowing he'll keep himself busy for at least fifteen minutes, I give my daughter my full attention.
The word brings an instant smile to my face though it fades a tiny bit when I see the genuine distress on hers.
"Hey, sweetheart, what's upset you? Do you need to call Mom?" I reach out and take her hand, still so small when it's inside my own.
Our relationship has only strengthened over time, grown deeper, stronger, the older she's gotten. She's still the most incredible person, young, old, and everything in between that I've ever met and I'm blessed to know and love the best of the best, but there's still no one like my daughter, my Sprite.
She's not perfect, no matter how much I like to think she is. As any girl on the cusp of transitioning from little girl status to a moody, hormonal pre-teen she has her moments. Times where she's difficult just to be difficult and times where she feels like the entire world doesn't understand her, most of all her mother and me. Her moments never last long, only enough to remind Bella and me that she's becoming her own person and sometimes she needs to spread her wings a little and fly.
At barely more than eleven since her birthday was just last week, I can already feel those wings stretching and it makes me want to snip them and keep her in a cage no matter how wrong that feeling is.
She's mine as much as I'm hers, as much as I've been ever since that first day on the steps outside of The Breakers. Her name is legally Masen now and a judge in Bangor has told me that I'm legally her father, but she and I have known what we are to each other long before it became official. I think she's been mine as long as she's been Bella's. I just didn't know it then.
I'll never be able to replace Evan as her father. I don't want to.
Who I am though is Dad and I'll take that any day of the week and twice on Sundays.
She takes a drink of her juice even though I know she's not thirsty; one of her tell-tale moves when she's trying to figure out what she wants to say. I watch, knowing the nose scrunch is about to come … and it does … followed by the twist of her mouth … always to the right and not the left. I fear the day she realizes how much of an open book she is, but I'm comforted by the fact that she never feels the need to hide from me.
"Come on, P, spill it."
I glance at Sam who has climbed into the cupboard, his little butt up in the air as he pulls literally every plastic mixing bowl and container out and throws them onto the floor in a colored heap of circles, squares, and rectangles. The kid, I swear, is going to be an architect or an engineer when he grows up the way he gets into everything and then stacks them all up.
"You're going to think I'm being stupid," she mumbles, looking down at her juice.
"Hey," I say and then wait until she lifts her chin to look at me. "There's nothing you could ever tell me that will make think you're stupid … unless of course you tell me that Tom Brady is cuter than me."
That makes her smile like I hoped it would. She sighs then says, "Lucy and Brody are both mad at me that I didn't go with Mom to Corea today and now they're telling me that I must not want to be friends anymore since I stayed here so I could go to Emma's house last night instead of getting up early and going with Mom. It's not my fault Emma's sleepover was last night and I wanted to go. She's my friend, too, and all my other new friends were there and now what if I lose my old best friends because I wanted to be here with my new best friends. I hate this." She huffs, sucking in a huge lungful of air, because she has to have run out at least three sentences ago.
Now it's my turn to sigh and fidget. I love Peyton and seeing her get herself all worked up makes my heart ache. Right now her cheeks are flushed, her pupils huge, and she keeps licking her lips with her head tilted to the side as she waits with baited breath for me to impart pearls of wisdom.
Too bad for her I'm still as lost as I was the first time something like this happened. It was also the first time I was "Dad" instead of "Edward". She'd come flying through the front door, it was a day Bella was in Corea working at the restaurant, and she was in tears. After I'd aged about ten years and half my hair had started to turn prematurely … very prematurely … gray, and made sure there were no blood, broken bones, or missing limbs, I took a few deep breaths to calm my racing heart and asked her what was wrong. The fact that she'd just hollered the word Dad playing on a continuous loop in the back of my mind notwithstanding, I listened as she told me some convoluted story of how normally at lunch she sat between Emma and Abby but that day they were acting weird, her word not mine, and they made her sit on the end … at the very end of the table and then spent the whole lunch period not talking to her. A tragedy of epic proportions apparently judging from the way her tears were falling and the way she kept sniffing and rubbing her nose on my shirt.
"Dad, why don't they like me anymore?" she'd asked me, her little chin quivering and the end of her nose as red as Rudolph's. She had her nose buried in my neck and as I wrapped my arms around her the only thing I could think about was the fact she'd just called me Dad. I'd kissed the side of her head, and tried to keep the tears that were burning the corner of my eyes from spilling over, a feat I didn't manage.
"Oh sweetheart," I'd murmured to her, my heart all at once so full and so hurt for my little girl. "I love you if that helps any." I'd comforted Peyton plenty before that day, but never after she'd called me Dad, which in my mind made the fact she was upset the worst thing in the history of the world.
I held her and talked to her, saying whatever came to mind. I'm sure most of it was sugarcoating and full of clichés but she didn't seem to mind. Once I ran out of things to say, she'd leaned back and kissed me squarely on the cheek saying, "You're kinda good at all this Dad stuff, you know that?" Then she told me she loved me and scurried off to her room, leaving me stunned, speechless, and feeling like a million bucks.
God, I remember how helpless I felt then and it's not any different than I feel right now.
She's a little older … but she's all Peyton.
She still has days I'm Edward. I'm okay with that. They're a lot less than they used to be. There are moments when she gets confused and times when she feels guilty for calling me Dad when she knows Evan is her father. I know she loves me and I am Edward to her, but I'm also Dad, and Dad is who she needs right now.
A kiss and a cuddle isn't always the solution, especially in the life of an eleven-year-old.
"Look, P, I know it's hard sometimes when you want to be in Corea, but you want to be here, too. It's one of the things that makes living in Ellsworth not so fun, but you understand why we have to be here, don't you?" I'm not sure why I'm asking, now, after we've been here for the whole school year.
Hell, when the time came to pack up Bella's house and leave it in the very capable hands of Xavier and Seth, Peyton was the first one to climb into the moving truck. Bella hated the thought of selling her house, the place she and Peyton made a home, where Peyton took her first steps, where they had their first Christmas, where the three of us became a family, and I wasn't too happy about it either. Surprisingly it was Seth who approached Bella with the idea of him and Xavier moving in.
Marcus, Riley and his new girlfriend, Kelly, are happy at the boarding house with Esme and Carlisle and Seth had felt like he was finally ready to move in with Xavier. Bella was over the moon about her two friends finally solidifying their commitment to each other and was thrilled to let them stay in her house.
Peyton was sad to leave the only home she'd ever known. She worried about being so far away from her Pop and Nana and her Uncle Emmett and of course she knew she was going to miss her friends, but like the amazing little girl she is, all she could see was a new adventure. It made moving much easier on all of us.
The fact that we'd barely had her bed put together before there was a knock on the door and a gaggle of girls and boys were already asking her to go outside and play didn't hurt either. She seemed perfectly at ease right from the get go, even though her iPad and Bella's laptop got quite the workout from all the time she spent on it checking on Facebook and whatever else she did to keep up with her friends in Corea.
It was an adjustment for all of us, but one both Bella and I felt was necessary. We chose Ellsworth because it was still close enough for Bella to get to The Breakers to help at the restaurant and it was about an hour away from Bangor where I had my office set up. We knew we didn't want to go too far, but staying in Corea just really wasn't an option once we decided I wasn't going to work for Charlie anymore.
Back in Corea, most nights Bella and I spent at home alone with Peyton. She worked with the girls all day, I worked with the guys and by the end of the day, all we wanted to do was be alone. Living in Ellsworth kept us close enough to Corea to spend Sundays at Charlie and Renée's and for the steady stream of visitors we seemed to have even living an hour away.
I was most surprised at Bella's excitement about leaving. I thought she'd have second thoughts mostly because I was pretty sure Bella had always thought that she'd never leave Corea. Granted Ellsworth wasn't that big of a switch from Corea but the fact that she couldn't run to Rose's house for a quick chat or Xavier couldn't drop in for breakfast every other morning was a little hard for her to get used to, but she has.
But, there were times, like right now, where living in Ellsworth was probably not high up on Peyton's list of most favorite things.
Peyton lets loose a long-suffering sigh, a full body one where her shoulders lift all the way to her ears and it looks she grows six inches she stretches so much. "Yeah, it just sucks sometimes."
I snort and then try to cover it up with a cough. I have to hide my smile behind my hand because Bella will have my ass if she hears Peyton use that word. "Peyton," I try to say sternly, though it comes out more like a chuckle.
She giggles because she knows as well as I do that I let her get away with way more than Bella does … when it comes to most things anyway. Anything having to do with boys though … um, yeah, that's all Bella's territory.
"What time is Mom going to be home?" I know she's totally trying to distract me, and I let her because sometimes things really do just suck and it's okay to say so … though maybe she shouldn't use that word.
I let her change the subject but not before I stand up and kiss the top of her head. "You know by tomorrow Brody and Lucy will be posting all over your wall or whatever it is you do on the Facebook."
She swats at me. "Facebook, Dad, it's just Facebook." She pats Sam on the head who gives her a big gummy smile and then she heads up to her room.
Crisis averted apparently … and I didn't have to do much or maim any young member of the male population … in my head only of course.
Sam stands up on wobbly legs and shuffles toward me, grabbing onto my leg. I swing him up into my arms and he lays his head down on my shoulder. The fifteen minute cat nap we had on the couch not cutting it at all apparently. I pat his back as I walk toward his room.
"Okay, little man, time for a nap for you." I kiss the top of his head, his baby soft hair tickling my nose. His bright green eyes widen as he smiles then they slowly close once I lay him down in his crib. He curls up into a little ball, his favorite position, and I rub a few circles on his back and then pat his bottom before walking out of the room. The pull to sit in the rocking chair and just watch him as he sleeps is strong, so strong, but I have a few files to go over before Bella gets home from Corea.
I glance at him one more time before I partially close the door and head toward the living room. I could work in my office but since I'm the only one down here, I'd rather be comfortable on the couch.
My office, I think with a snort and a shake of my head, whoever would have thought?
Being a full-fledged attorney is a hell of a lot different from working on a lobster boat in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, that's for damn sure. Though to be honest, I'm not sure which work is harder. Both are equally difficult, but different, and both are rewarding, but again, just different. I miss the water. I wasn't sure I would, but I do. I miss the smell, the sound, and I miss working with the guys, Charlie especially.
After I asked Bella to marry me, which is still one of the best nights of my life, we settled into somewhat of a routine. As happy as I was that she said yes, it wasn't like we were in this huge hurry to get married. We took some time to just be … be together, and be a family with Peyton and Brady.
The wedding planning was low key and relaxed, thanks to Bella's insistence that it be such. A few trips to New York City to find dresses for her and the rest of the girls and a trip to Bar Harbor for me and the guys to get fitted for tuxes and that was all she wrote. Invitations went out to the entire town, and to a few others like my P.O., Chet, who was no Wayne, but a nice guy just the same, Bud, and to Bella's grandparents, too. We got married at St. Joseph's Catholic church on a Saturday night, surrounded by candlelight. When she walked down the aisle, proudly on Charlie's arm, and holding Peyton's hand with her other hand, I swear there had never been a moment where I had felt literally like I could fly. Carlisle chuckled beside me, his hand on my shoulder to keep me from sprinting down the aisle to carry both my girls to the altar.
Bella was gorgeous. I always think so, but that night, in that dress, she was beyond description. Her long hair framed her perfect face in soft mahogany waves that positively shimmered in the candlelight, falling over her bare shoulders and down her back. Her diamond engagement ring sparkled, almost as bright as her eyes and certainly as bright as Peyton's. And her eyes, holy hell I can still recall exactly how her eyes looked when Charlie placed her hand in mine, with a smile on his face and a twitch of his mustache when he told me to always take care of his baby. Endless, warm and so full of love and happiness I forgot to breathe.
The ceremony was traditional, complete with a Mass and readings done by Alice, Xavier, and Rose. Our hands never let go of the other's, even when we had to kneel. Our vows were simple but true. We thought about writing our own, but felt like expressing our love for each other was something to share with only each other … not to mention I didn't think there was any way I'd be able to get through saying them in front of so many people without passing out.
When Father McNamara pronounced us husband, wife, and Peyton, the entire church broke out into applause, no one clapping louder than Emmett. The reception that followed at the American Legion Hall was typical for such a small town. Food of all different kinds brought by every person in attendance lined long metal tables covered with white table cloths. There was a DJ we'd hired from Bangor and the wedding cake Bella picked out from her favorite bakery in Ellsworth. It was simple but it was perfect for us. We danced and ate. We listened to Seth, Emmett and Bella's grandfather, Walter, make toasts that made everyone laugh until there were tears running down our faces and then listened as Xavier, Rose, and Charlie made us cry with words spoken from the heart. During the Bride/Father and Groom/Mother dance, I danced with Esme and tried to keep from breaking completely down. When Renée whispered in my ear as we danced and watched Charlie spin Bella around the dance floor, I lost it when she kissed me and told me that from that day forward she and Charlie were now Mom and Dad. I danced with Peyton on my feet, her looking every bit the sprite I believe her to be. I danced with Bella pressed close while she tempted me with way too much skin.
The whole night was perfect, even if the sight of Seth fighting Aggie for Bella's bouquet is something I won't ever forget.
We spent a week at Bear Mountain Inn for our honeymoon, only this time I paid. Charlie gave me a week off, but neither one of us wanted to go very far … it's not like we left our room much anyway. Staying in our room gave us plenty of time to talk … in between making love to the point of exhaustion. The question of me adopting Peyton was one of the three things we spent the most time discussing. The next one being when to have a baby … as soon as possible was my two cents … and the other was whether or not to keep working for Charlie.
Adopting Peyton was a no-brainer. As far as I was concerned she was already mine; she'd been mine from the very first moment I saw her. We'd already made preliminary inquiries anyway, as soon as we'd gotten engaged. I needed to have a valid driver's license in Maine, which I already had. Bella and I needed to have a permanent residence for at least six months, which we did. Bella would need to give her consent, which she obviously was going to do. I worried there might be at least a tiny bit of hesitation on her part, but there wasn't any. She'd said goodbye to Evan a long time ago, even though she carried the guilt of his death around for a really long time. We decided to present Peyton with the papers at Christmas and then as a family, we'd go file the papers with the court after the first of the year. The whole process was liable to take about six months to finalize, but I knew, as did Bella, that it was all window dressing in the first place. Peyton was mine - there wasn't any other way around it.
The question of whether or not to keep working for Charlie was a bit harder to answer. I loved my job. I loved the water and the camaraderie I had with Emmett, Jasper, and especially Charlie. I loved the smell of the sea water, the lurch and tilt of the boat as it forged through the waves, the pull and ache of my muscles at the end of a productive day. Of course there were days I'd dreaded getting out of bed, days where getting back to the docks couldn't come soon enough. Days when Emmett drove me crazy with his mood swings, days when nothing I did was good enough for Charlie, days when Jasper's gaze never left me as he nit picked over every single thing I did. Days when not even Bella's fingers could ease the aches and pains that were bone deep. There were times when I'd miss something of Peyton's, a program at school, the Spelling Bee, or parent/teacher conferences, and I'd feel like it was a moment I'd never get back. It was different for Charlie and Emmett, even Jasper. Charlie and Emmett were made to be on the water and Jasper had made it his second home, and while I loved it, I didn't love it enough to give up being with Bella and Peyton. My accident and then the mess with Aleksei had taught me and Bella that life could change in the blink of an eye. I would always be grateful to Charlie for giving me a job, a chance at a new life, but I knew once I went back after my accident it would only be a matter of time until I needed to do something else.
When Bella told me she was pregnant, after a few false alarms, I knew it was time. The thought of anything happening to me and leaving Bella alone with Peyton and our baby freaked me out so badly I had more sleepless nights than I could count. We told everyone she was pregnant in October, once she got past the first eight weeks. The first words out of Charlie's mouth weren't 'congratulations, Edward', they were "I'm going to miss you on the boat, son." From there, it only seemed logical to use the knowledge I'd gained in prison and sit for the Bar Exam in Maine. It was only offered twice a year so January was my first opportunity to take it, and once I found out I'd passed, things moved quick from there. I found a job with a small firm in Bangor, we decided to move to Ellsworth, we found a house and we moved … after Sam was born of course. There was no way I was taking Bella away from her family during that time.
Once he was born and we got settled into our new house, things were so perfect I often found myself marveling if it was all real. The life I have, the happiness and love and sense of peace is so opposite what my life was like before Corea that it's hard sometimes to reconcile being in prison for seven long years to being happily married to the love of my life and having the two most amazing kids in the world.
I sigh, grabbing a file off the coffee table and make some notes on the case I have to work on next week, thinking once again that life sure does have the strangest way of working out like you least expect it.
~~~~OOO~~~~OOO~~~~~
"Who's that?" I ask Sam with wide eyes when I hear the front door open a few hours later. We're sitting in the kitchen, and I'm trying, in vain from all appearances, to get him to eat his dinner. "You better eat this, buddy, or else Mommy's going to think I can't handle being home with you by myself."
He giggles and starts bouncing in his highchair. Like his daddy, just knowing Bella's in the general vicinity is enough to get our hearts racing and put a smile on our faces.
"There are my boys," she says cheerily once she walks in the kitchen, her voice happy and light.
God, but I love her.
"Did you have a good day with Daddy?" she coos at Sam, nuzzling his neck amidst his squeals and wiggles. She artfully dodges the mashed up spaghetti he tries to feed her like only a mom can do. She kisses the top of his head once more, then mine, on her way to the stove where the spaghetti sauce still simmers.
I can't cook much, but even I can manage spaghetti, garlic bread, and salad. She pours us each a glass of wine from the bottle I left on the counter to breathe. Once she sets them on the table in front of us, my arms are around her waist and my hands are planted firmly on her still very tight, and very fine ass.
"Kiss me. I haven't seen you all day and I haven't had a kiss in hours and hours." I smirk when I tip my head back to look at her.
"Well, we can't have that now, can we?" She leans down, her eyes so sparkly and the flecks of gold in the deep brown more pronounced than normal.
A good sign for me because number one that means she's happy and number two that means sexy, fun times for us both once Sam goes to bed.
Fuck yes.
I open my mouth to say just that, but before I can say anything, her mouth is on mine. Warm and soft, tasting fruity like the wine, and so fucking perfect. Her tongue moves slowly in and out of my mouth and it's about all I can do not to pull her onto my lap and show her just how good she tastes and feels. My fingers press into her ass and her hands find their way into my hair. My top lip is in between both of hers and when I feel her teeth bite down just hard enough to sting, I groan.
There's never anything wrong with a little pain, especially not when my tongue is inside her mouth.
Sam slaps the tray of his highchair causing us both to chuckle. The vibration pretty much shoots straight to my dick, a fact of which Bella only acknowledges with a quirk of an eyebrow and a saucy shake of her ass as she turns from me to our son.
I stand up and very much enjoy the sharp intake of her breath when I press my hips against hers. I lean forward and place an open-mouthed kiss right on the spot that never fails to make her tilt her head to the side or causes her teeth to bite on her bottom lip. "I can't wait to have you all to myself later. I hope you didn't work too hard today," I whisper.
"You're so going to pay for that later," she says after she takes a deep breath. I love the way I can get her worked up with just a kiss and by rubbing myself against her.
"Bring it, baby," I taunt and take a huge drink of my wine.
I sit back in my chair and watch her as she talks to Sam and tells him all about the goings on in Corea. And, like his daddy, he soaks up every word and every smile as if they were laced with magical powers or iced in chocolate.
I try to subtly adjust myself because I'm still hard from kissing her moments ago, a move she catches out of the corner of her eye, but thankfully lets go with only a snort. I really can't fucking wait until later.
Not gonna lie, those first few months after he was born are still pretty much a blur, too many sleepless nights that have run together to remember much about that time. Of course there are as many of those nights that are my own fault rather than Sam not sleeping through the night.
I love Peyton as much as if she was my own. When she hurts, I hurt, when she's happy, I feel it deep inside my soul and all the way down to the tips of my toes, but after watching Sam come into this world, all wrinkly and pink and perfect, there were nights, there still are, when I'm still so awed by the fact that he's here, that he's mine, that all I can do is stare at him in wonder. Every little grunt and squeak, every wrinkle in his forehead while he sleeps, every smile that lights up his face is a moment, just a breath of time that will never come again and I find myself not wanting to miss any of them, no matter how small.
When Bella told me she was pregnant, I didn't know there were any better words in the English language besides I and love and you, but I was wrong. Marrying Bella was the best thing I'd ever done, up until the words "We're going to have a baby" rolled off her tongue and sent me skyrocketing to the moon and back.
"So how is Rose feeling?" I ask when Sam's gurgling sounds bring me back to the present.
Bella takes Sam out of his highchair and sets him loose. Brady has joined the party and is sniffing around the floor hoping that he can find a few pieces of food dropped by his second favorite human.
Sam and Brady have a conversation, one that only the two of them understand, and she turns around to face me, smiling like the expectant aunt she is.
"She's huge!" I sputter, shocked at her very true but very blunt statement, choking on a sip of my third, or maybe it's my fourth glass of wine. "And moody, God is she ever moody. Was I ever that way?" she asks and I bite my tongue. I might be just shy of feeling nice and relaxed, but even I'm not stupid enough to answer that question honestly. Not if I want sexy, fun time later … and I really want sexy, fun time later.
To say that the family is excited about the impending arrival of Rose's baby is like asking Charlie if opening day of baseball season is his favorite day of the year. Emmett is so beside himself, he's bought two of everything he can find in blue and pink. Rose refuses to find out the sex of the baby, a fact that is driving everyone but her absolutely insane, but she just sits there, with a raised eyebrow and her hair tossed over her shoulder enjoying everyone's anxiousness. She's healthy and happy, about to pop any day now, and is quite enjoying being the center of attention … at least according to Alice and Emmett.
I snort and Bella smirks, her eyes shining with the laugh she wants to let free, but she just huffs then playfully scowls at me over her own glass of wine. She knows perfectly well there were days I thought I'd have to send her to her mother's when she was pregnant her mood swings were so bad. She put Mariah Carey to shame on more than one occasion, but I wouldn't trade one single minute of the time she was pregnant. She knocked me on my ass the first time I saw her. The next time I saw her when I ran after her out of The Breakers I thought I'd never seen anyone hotter. The first time I saw her completely naked, I wanted to cry she was so perfect. Waking next to her, deliciously sleep rumpled and warm, I wanted to take a picture and sleep with it beneath my pillow for the rest of all time. Dressed in white, there had never been anyone that could compare, but the first time I saw the tiniest of baby bumps, I'd come undone. To know that my baby, our baby, was growing inside of her altered me in such a way that I could honestly feel it as it happened.
The first doctor appointment, when Sam's heartbeat thrummed in the air, I felt it inside of me. When we got the first sonogram pictures, I didn't sleep all night, I just held them in my hand and stared at them, wondering what our baby would look like, who it would take after … if there would be anything to remind me of grandparents – my grandfather's crooked smile or the little bump my grandmother had on her nose. I wondered if he or she would have Bella's eyes or Peyton's heart, or maybe even my unruly hair.
Waiting for him to be born seemed to take forever, but then it was over in the blink of an eye and we were welcoming Samuel Thomas Masen into the world and into our wonderful, crazy lives.
The sun has set. The kitchen, my favorite room in the house, is cozy and bathed in the soft light of dusk. The windows that form a wall between inside and the world beyond reflect back and in them I see my family, complete now that Peyton has come downstairs and has her arm laid across Bella's shoulders.
I am, without a doubt, the luckiest damn bastard on the planet.
I listen with a slight smile on my face as Peyton recounts her turmoil from earlier and am quite pleased with myself when Bella's advice matches my own. It gives me faith that I might just know a thing or two about this dad business.
"Babe, you'll never guess what Mom told me today!" Bella exclaims, startling Sam and making him laugh.
I try not to look smug. The smile on her face is about to go bye-bye … I only hope my sexy, fun times don't as well because I already know what she's about to say. I've known for a while, but I was sworn to secrecy. Keeping a secret from Bella is damned near impossible, but after being threatened in the most horrible of ways, I made sure to keep my mouth shut.
She narrows her eyes at me when I shift in my chair and swallow the rest of my wine in one big gulp. "You already know," she snips and levels me with a withering stare.
Since she already knows that I know I nod and then sheepishly say, "I'm sorry, Bella. Your dad made me promise not to tell you. It was something he wanted to tell you himself. Please don't be mad at me." She snaps her head in Sam's direction, her frown changing to a smile as he squeals when Brady presses his nose against his cheek. I reach out and hook my pinky with hers and tug until she looks at me, all traces of hurt feelings gone, thank goodness.
"What do you think?"
"I'm so happy for him and Mom, and really for Emmett, too. I know Em's wanted to be in charge of the boat for a long time and now he's going to get his chance."
I nod, agreeing completely and silently I give myself a pat on the back. I had a long talk with Charlie when we spent last Sunday at his house for a barbeque. He asked me what I thought about him retiring, or semi-retiring as he qualified, and after picking my jaw up from the ground, I told him that Emmett was more than capable of running things and it was time for him to enjoy his life and his wife. He glared at me and I'll admit, my dick shriveled as did my balls under his intense stare until his mustache twitched and he laughed, slapping me on the back. The fact that he knocked the breath clean out of me was definitely not an accident, but I knew he wasn't pissed at me.
"Emmett will be a great captain and now with Marcus and Riley working on the boat with them, I think Charlie can relax." I take another sip of my wine and sigh, staring at Bella. "You're so beautiful," I whisper.
She gasps and I can't help but smile at her when she stares at me. "What? It's true," I say and then stand up, taking our glasses to the sink. I can feel her eyes on my back as I rinse them out and then set them on the counter to dry. I guess thinking about things today has me feeling kind of sentimental, needy … I want my wife.
We do the things we do every night, eat in between playing with Sam and talking to Peyton, then it's bath time for Sam and reading time for Peyton. Like a well-oiled machine the night passes by full of smiles and kisses to the tips of noses, and tickles to tummies that cause the sweetest giggles … unless Bella and Peyton decide like they frequently do that it's my turn to be attacked by the tickle monster. Soon, way sooner than I'll ever be ready for it, Peyton will be too old for cuddles while we read about wizards and magic and golden snitches so I make sure to enjoy every moment with her now.
"Okay, Sprite, your eyelids are drooping and we've got a big day tomorrow," I say softly, closing the book and setting it on the nightstand.
Oh yes, tomorrow. Alice and Jasper are coming to Ellsworth to spend the day with us and bringing their new baby … though it has four legs and not two. Jasper had sweet talked Alice into getting him a puppy shortly after Bella and I had gotten engaged. He was nuts about the thing, like totally head over heels and over his head in love with his baby girl. Jasper loved Brady, almost as much as Peyton did, but he wanted a dog a bit bigger. He talked to Lisa who had a friend in Bangor that bred Alaskan Malamutes and her dog had just had puppies. Peyton and I … and Brady … went with Jasper and Alice one Sunday to look at the puppies and when Jasper saw them he was a goner. Within five minutes he was the proud owner of a gorgeous black and white, bright blue-eyed puppy named Sadie. Up until a few weeks ago, I never thought Jasper would want any other dog besides Sadie, but when Lisa called and informed him that someone had given her a two-month-old Siberian Husky they could no longer take care of, and she couldn't either, Jasper was the first person she thought to call. It took him even less time to fall in love with Cooper than it did with Sadie. So now, Jasper and Alice were a family of four … but I know it won't be long until the ratio of humans to dogs is three to two. Alice is ready and there is no doubt that Jasper has had plenty of practice with the puppies … and Sam to know he is, too.
About damn time, if you ask me.
I lean down and kiss Peyton on the forehead. "Night, sweetheart. Love you," I whisper and kiss the tip of her nose.
"Love you, Dad. Night," she answers back sleepily, and snuggles down into her pillows. By the time I turn off her light and shut the door, her soft, even breaths fill the room.
The shower is running when I get to our room and I smile. Bella in the shower means lots of warm citrusy-smelling skin for me to enjoy when she comes to bed … and I definitely plan on doing just that. I change my clothes, donning a pair of loose sleep pants and nothing else; it's not like I'll need my clothes for long anyway. I head for the bathroom, needing to brush my teeth, though a sneak peek at a wet, naked Bella is a treat I won't mind at all.
I wipe some of the fog off the mirror - if I'm gonna look, I damn well want to see as much as I can. God bless the inventor of glass shower doors is all I'm saying. She's so gorgeous and if you didn't know she was the mother of two kids, I swear you'd never be able to tell. Her stomach is nearly as flat as it was pre-Sam and though her hips are slightly wider than before, her ass still looks fucking spectacular, especially in a pair of tiny, white shorts. Her breasts are still perfect, and still fit in my hands like they were made specifically just for me.
"You plan on standing there all night?" she asks as she tips her hair back. I watch the white bubbles cascade down through the hair that looks almost black from the water, feeling my dick harden in my pants.
"No. I plan on you hurrying the hell up and coming to bed. I want you naked and beneath me as soon as fucking possible," I tell her and shamelessly palm my growing, hardening erection.
Her eyes widen and even through the blurry glass I can see her breath quicken.
"I'll be waiting," I tell her, holding her gaze for a few moments before I smirk and then turn to leave.
She takes her time … or it seems that way. I can feel myself drifting off to sleep, muscles totally relaxed and my eyes are closed. I hear her move around in the bathroom, hear the water run while she brushes her teeth. I melt even more against the headboard, sagging into the pillows behind me. I smell her before I hear her. I slowly open my eyes to find her crawling across the bed toward me, eyes already dark and with her bottom lip already between her teeth.
Immediately my arms reach for her and I drag her to me. "That took fucking forever," my words muffled against the column of her neck where my lips and tongue are already making up for lost time. "Christ, you taste good."
She hums and her fingers slide into my hair, pulling me closer. As if I mind that. I roll us so that she's beneath me like I wanted, though she's still wearing far too many clothes and yes, barely there panties and a tank top so thin I can see each little pebble of skin that surrounds her already peaked nipples count as too many clothes.
I make quick work of removing both, though I do take time to linger on my favorite spots. The spot just inside her hip bone where her skin is so soft, so thin that just the barest pressure from my teeth makes her squirm and whimper. I always love that. I move from there, up, over her stomach, nibbling, licking higher, higher until I swirl my tongue around first one nipple then the other. With my mouth covering one, my fingers tug and roll the other.
"God I love the way you feel under me," I whisper against the side of her breast, flattening my tongue to paint her skin.
She arches her back and I nudge her knees wider with my own settling right where I want to be. "Edward, ah … mmmm." She moans when I rub my straining cock against her already wet pussy. "Get up here; come kiss me," she urges pulling on my arms.
Never, ever one to deny my wife anything, especially when it's me, I comply. I let my fingers ghost over her body, starting with her calf, then up along her thigh. I make sure to spread my fingers wide so that my thumb touches, but just barely, her very sensitive clit. I want to leave my thumb where it is because there's little I love more than to feel her slick and hot for me … because of me.
"Edward." She moans again. She lets her legs fall open more and her hands are everywhere. My arms, over my shoulders, in the center of my back, on my ass, grasping, pulling to get me where she wants me.
As much as I want to give her what she wants, and Jesus do I ever, I haven't seen her all day, or had my hands on her so I take my time, slithering up her body achingly, deliciously slow … so, so slow. The tips of my fingers trail up her side, over her rib cage. Her skin is still warm and smells like fucking heaven but I can feel the goosebumps that my gentle touch cause to break out everywhere. Her nipples are hard against my chest and I purposely hover above her just far enough so that I'm barely touching her, but it's enough to make her bite her lip and for her eyes to burn hot and bright.
I fucking love that, making her so hot, driving her crazy until with just the slightest of touches, or licks, or thrusts she's completely undone.
"You said something about wanting me to kiss you. You still want that?" I smirk at her and then lean down to brush my lips across her collarbone and then up the side of her neck. I start on the right side of her body because I have a specific destination in mind for my mouth. My tongue curls around her earlobe and then goes higher to one of my most favorite spots. I rub the pretty amethyst stud that now adorns Bella's ear. Not that the little silver ball stopped driving me insane or anything, but I wanted something different, unique for her. I found a set of earrings in the most pure, perfect color of purple I could ever imagine and when I saw them, I knew I had to have them. "Still love the way it feels when I wrap my tongue around this," I rasp.
My hips rock against her, and I smile against her ear when I feel her hands then her feet pushing my pants down my legs. I lift just enough so that I can shimmy them down and kick them off. Now that we're both naked I kiss my way back down and over so I can give my girl what she so sweetly asked for.
"Hi." I smile when my mouth is just above hers, a hair's breadth separating our lips.
She rolls her beautiful brown eyes at me and then quirks that one eyebrow in the way that will never, ever get old. "Are you going to kiss me now? And here I thought you were so anxious to have me naked and beneath you," she teases.
"Oh, believe me, baby, you are exactly where I want you." I frame her head with my hands, letting my fingers slide between the silky strands of her hair. My thumbs brush across the apples of her cheeks and as much as I need to be inside of her, I need to be with her, like this, even more.
I lower my mouth over hers, done with the teasing and ready to get to the loving. Soft, slow, I press my tongue in her mouth, savoring the spicy cinnamon of her toothpaste and the simple taste of just her. Our tongues twist and dip. My hips roll forward, the tip of my cock grazing her entrance. Her hands wrap around and run up and down my back, her knees press against my side.
"Oh … yeah." She moans when I rub against her clit, sliding smooth as silk through the slick wet of her folds.
"Yeah?" I ask then cover her mouth with mine again. My tongue plunges, once, twice, a third time, my cock finding its way home, mimicking my tongue. Effortlessly, we find the perfect rhythm that only comes from being so in tune with each other.
She tips her head backward, stretching her neck in the most tantalizing of ways. I can't ever resist that much skin offered to me and I don't this time, either. Sucking, biting, licking, then kissing, I keep my mouth attached to her neck until she's a panting mess underneath me.
"Faster?"
She nods, heels digging into my ass, fingernails, scraping down my back.
I shift my hips just so, moving my knees forward to give me the leverage I need. "Harder?" I ask as I thrust deep inside of her.
"God, oh, yes!" Her eyes are dark brown pools of love and want and as I move even faster, the pace steady and my strokes long, I feel myself get even harder inside of her.
I'm close, and I know she is, too. "You almost there?"
The muscles deep inside of her clench tightly and I chuckle. "Good girl." I lean down, taking a nipple into my mouth and suck on it. I feel her muscles tense again, and I know with just the right prompt, I can make her fall apart. My hand dips between her legs and I circle her clit with my index finger. "Better?" I ask, probably a rhetorical question, but I ask anyway.
"So, so good," she pants.
"Come on, Bella, let go. You're right there. I can feel it." I need her to come so badly. I want it, the way she looks at me until she can't keep her eyes open any longer, the way her breath catches when I touch that one place deep inside of her … the way her fingers wrap around my biceps and squeeze.
I kiss her once more, knowing her body as well as my own, and that she's seconds from exploding. With one last long, smooth thrust inside of her I still and feel her walls clench and flutter around me as she comes, chanting, "Yes … oh yes, yes!"
I follow right behind in a powerful burst, hard enough to make me see stars behind my eyelids.
"You really did miss me today." Bella giggles once we've both caught our breath.
I kiss her forehead and roll off her and reach for the tissues on the nightstand. I clean myself up the best I can and then turn my head to look at her. "You have no idea how much I miss you when you're not here. Sam and I had fun though, and after Peyton calmed down I got a lot of work done."
She goes into the bathroom and does her own cleaning up and then slips beneath the covers and cuddles next to me and lays her head on my chest. "I missed you, too. I love seeing everyone, but I'd rather be here with you guys."
Her hand runs back and forth over my chest for a bit until it slows as does her breathing. "I love you," she mumbles, almost dead to the world in only a few minutes.
I'm just about to fall asleep when I hear Sam whine from his room. "Love you," I whisper against the side of Bella's head and slip out of bed. I pull my pants on and go to my boy. When I walk in his room, he's laying on his back, looking up just waiting to see which one of his parents is going to come keep him company until he decides to go back to sleep.
"What's the matter, little man, bad dream?" I ask softly as I scoop him up and hold him close.
Yes, I'm totally a sucker for my son, and I'm not too proud to admit it either. We walk for a few minutes in the dark, the silvery white glow of the moon casting long shadows along the floor and up the walls. I kiss the side of his head over and over until I feel him snuggle into his favorite spot right beneath my chin. Not wanting to let him go, I sit down in the rocking chair in the corner.
"One of these days, Sam, I might just leave you in your bed," I whisper and he grunts, pulling his knees up and he lifts his head. He looks at me, all sleepy and sweet and baby boy. "Yeah, yeah, I know, it'll never happen." He yawns and as much as I know I should put him back in bed, I don't. We rock, there's not one sound save for his muffled breath against my chest and the soft creak of the chair as I move up and down.
I look around his room and my gaze stops on the newest picture on his wall. It's of the four of us from Peyton's birthday party a little more than a week ago. We're sitting on the beach, on 'our' log. I'm holding Sam on my lap, Bella's hand is on his back and Peyton is standing behind us with her arms wrapped around each of our shoulders and her cheek pressed up against Bella's. We look happy, like the picture perfect family … which we really are. Right next to that picture is one of the whole family taken at Easter, including all the dogs and even Aggie, Riley, Marcus, and Kelly.
I think about family, the one I had and the one I have, half of which aren't even connected to each other at all except by want and love. I miss my parents, I'll never forget nor stop loving my grandparents, but the people in my life now, the ones that embraced me with open arms and gave me a second chance to be the person, the man I was always meant to be are all the family I'll ever need.
My eyes sweep back to the right and land on the picture Renée took at the hospital right after Sam was born of the four of us - Peyton and me wrapped around Bella and Sam. My heart swells, filling my chest with everything I felt that day. Awe, pride, fear, happiness, love … my God so much love. I still can't believe it didn't just lift up the hospital room and carry us all away.
There next to Sam's bed is my very favorite picture of me and Peyton. It's the same one that graces every room in the house, Charlie and Renée's house as well as everyone else's, Bella's house in Corea and is even behind the register at The Breakers. It was taken on the day we finalized Peyton's adoption in Bangor and looking at it even years later still brings tears to my eyes and lump in my throat the size of a grapefruit.
We were walking down the steps in front of the courthouse and she was behind me, holding my hand. She pulled me to a stop and I was a few steps below her. The most radiant smile I've ever seen on her spread across her face and she let out the most adorable, though high-pitched squeal of absolute and complete joy before she jumped from the step and into my arms. The finalized papers were still clutched in her hand and I spun her around and around, both of us laughing and looking like there was no one else in the world except for the two of us. Bella had snapped the picture just as Peyton leaned forward and kissed me with puckered lips. The love we have for each other radiates from the picture and not once have I ever been able to look at it without smiling or without remembering how happy we were that day.
Bella's the love of my life, my wife, best friend, partner and the best thing that has ever happened to me. She's my everything, every hope and dream I've ever had, even the ones I had when I was too scared to fall asleep at night. Sam's my light. He's the little piece of me, of my Masen family that will carry on for at least another generation.
And then there's Peyton … my heart. I love Bella and Sam, madly, passionately, fiercely … but there's a piece of my heart that will always and only be hers. My daughter, my Sprite. Whoever would have thought that way back when, standing on those steps of The Breakers, that little wisp of a thing would be the first person to love me for me and change me irrevocably just from a tug on a hand and a declaration that we'd be best friends.
Sam coughs in his sleep, and my arms wrap protectively around him. "You are the luckiest little one in the whole wide world, Sam, did you know that? You have the best mommy and big sister there could ever be and I hope one day you'll say I'm the best daddy, too," I whisper.
"You already are," Bella's sleepy, soft voice says from the doorway. She holds her hand out. "Come on, Daddy, let him sleep and come back to bed. I miss my husband."
I don't need to be asked twice.
~~The End~~
~~~~OOO~~~~OOO~~~~~
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