Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, but I'm grateful to Stephenie Meyer for her dream/vision. Please don't steal my original work.
Thanks to Adaywithjake, GrrlInterrupted, Jilleynwv, and MusingBella for the horse names! A huge thank you to Donnersun for instructing me in horse etiquette and letting me know horses don't come equipped with engines or keys. I appreciate you all so very much!
"And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity." ~ 1 Corinthians 13:13
BPOV
I was continuing to write to and receive letters from my parents and Gran. I stuck to mostly news for my parents. I told them about Edward, of course, just like I told them about the other townspeople who were important to me. But with Gran, I was totally open and honest. She knew exactly how things were between Edward and me, about his botched proposal, how I'd hoped there would be another one – but more romantic – after we got to know each other better. I was beginning to think Gran had a secret crush on him!
I'd confided to Gran every once in awhile he left me gifts on my teacher's desk before I arrived in the morning – a shiny polished red apple, an orange, a leaf in all its beautiful yellow Autumn glory, a verse of poetry, a small sack of penny candy – and always left a note signed "from your most incorrigible student."
Some mornings were getting much cooler now that winter was arriving. I knew I'd need to leave the boarding house earlier so I could build a fire to warm up the school for the students. When I arrived one morning, smoke was already coming out the chimney. What in the world, I wondered?
I found Edward inside, already stoking the blazing fire in the stove. "Edward," I said as I shed my coat, "I didn't know you'd be here!"
He turned from the stove to look at me. "Good morning, Bella! I wanted to get the school warm for you…and the students, of course. The wood wasn't catching on fire as quickly as it should. I should've been gone by now." He looked a bit uncertain about me catching him in the act of doing something thoughtful.
"I appreciate it, Edward; I truly do. I appreciate everything you do for me – more than you will ever know."
He moved to walk by me and I reached out to touch his forearm in appreciation. In the next moment, he'd swept me up into his arms. My heart was beating a mile a moment. I was enjoying this embrace so much, but I knew students would be arriving soon.
"Edward," I started.
"I know, Bella," he said, "I know. But I just need to hold you for a moment. I'm going crazy. I know you agreed to teach the entire school term, but I didn't realize it would seem like forever."
"Do we need to spend more time together?" I asked.
He pulled back and said, "Yes! In fact, I want to teach you how to ride a horse. My mom has a horse she doesn't ride as often as she'd like and that horse would be perfect for you. Please say yes!"
His enthusiasm was infectious and I agreed.
Later, when Rachel and I were at the general store to buy trousers and cowboy boots for me, my enthusiasm waned. Edward had stated he wanted me to learn to ride a horse the regular way – not side-saddle. I would wear the trousers under my dress without all the petticoats.
Alice was happy to see me when I came by the Cullen home after school one afternoon. "Hi Miss Bella! Edward said you're here to meet the horses and learn to ride!" She was always very careful to call me "Miss Swan" at school, but when it was just us, she'd call me "Miss Bella."
Alice opened the corral gate and beckoned me inside with her. A light brown horse came trotting over to us. Alice gave it an affectionate pat on its muzzle and said, "Miss Bella, meet Butterscotch, our mare." I apparently looked a bit hesitant and she continued, "It's all right. She won't hurt you. I ride her a lot."
I reached out to touch Butterscotch on her mane and she turned her head to look at me. She apparently was satisfied with my touch as she let me continue to pet her and didn't shy away. She was very beautiful and looked very well cared for.
"Bella!" Edward called out as he came walking up. "I see you're getting acquainted with Butterscotch, our quarter horse. Are you ready for your lesson?" He joined Alice and me in the corral and immediately lifted my skirt a bit.
"Edward! What are you doing? That's improper!" I sputtered out, blushing beet red, and smoothed my skirt down.
He wiggled his eyebrows inappropriately and said, "Bella, you told me you'd be wearing trousers and cowboy boots, and I see that you are. You are completely covered. I needed to make sure you were ready for our lesson." He was smiling by the end of his explanation.
"You are incorrigible," I said under my breath.
"Indeed," he replied, laughing. Then he whistled and another horse came running out from their barn. If I thought Butterscotch seemed like a large horse beside me, Edward's horse was huge. "Bella, I'd like you to meet Bear, my Belgian." He was grey with a whitish grey tail and mane – an absolutely beautiful horse. I tentatively reached out to stroke his muzzle and he responded by turning my direction and leaning into my touch. Like owner, like horse, I imagine.
The Cullen's other horses, Biscuit and Bandit, came out to join the other two in the corral. Edward saddled up Butterscotch and Bear in record time and then I knew it was time for my lesson – how to get on the horse. When I watched men do this very thing, it looked effortless. I imagined that would not be the case with me.
Edward came up beside me near Butterscotch and said, "Bella, breathe. It will be ok. They're just horses. First, we'll work on getting on."
Edward instructed me on how my left foot needed to go into the stirrup as I held onto the horn with both hands and swung my body up onto the saddle. This took a couple of tries as at first I thought someone could see up my skirt, but then I realized I had trousers on. He was very patient with me, not laughing at any of my misguided attempts. He wanted me to feel comfortable with what I was doing; and thank goodness, so did Butterscotch.
When I finally made it so I was seated on top of the horse, I was excited I actually did it by myself. Edward was thrilled as well. He got on Bear and then demonstrated how to make the horse go forward – by either saying "walk on" and squeezing or kicking gently with his legs and making a kissing noise. I did the same with Butterscotch and she moved forward immediately. I was smiling ecstatically. We walked around the corral for a bit.
Then Edward demonstrated how to get Bear to stop. He pulled on the reins gently and leaned back in the saddle a bit. I did the same and Butterscotch responded. He explained I could also say a gentle "Whoa" if needed.
After that, Edward showed me how to get off Butterscotch. I think getting down required a bit more coordination than getting up, but I seemed to manage.
Edward had me attempt all my lessons several more times by myself before he was satisfied I could do it on my own. I felt confident I knew the basics of riding a horse – as long as Edward was there with me.
Then Alice climbed up on Butterscotch and Edward held out his hand for me to join him on Bear. There was no way I could reach the stirrup on Bear's saddle, so I had to rely completely on Edward's strength in his arms. There wasn't a lot of room in the saddle, but I seemed to fit perfectly right in front of him. From this distance, I could see Bear's height was a lot further off the ground than Butterscotch's.
"We'll take you home now," Edward's voice was low in my ear and I had no choice but to lean back against his broad chest.
The ride to the boarding house was incredibly short. He got off Bear and then reached up to place his hands gently around my waist to help me down.
Once I was properly on the ground, Edward asked, "On Saturday, would you like to go for a horseback ride to see Washoe Valley? We'll take along Ben and Angela Cheney so we'll be properly chaperoned."
I blushed and responded, "Yes. That would be lovely. What time shall I expect you?"
"Around nine thirty, ma'am," he said and tipped his hat. Then he put his foot back in the stirrup of Bear's saddle, swung his body surely over Bear's frame and settled onto the horse's back. He gave me a wink, then turned his horse and was headed back down the street with Alice and Butterscotch in tow.
My heart was pounding in my chest like thundering horse hooves. Bella, get a hold of yourself! I truly was becoming hopeless when it came to Edward.
When I came up the boarding house steps and was just about to enter the front door, James Smith was sitting in one of the rocking chairs on the porch. I hadn't seen him in the gathering dusk. "Good evening, Miss Swan," he said.
"Oh, Mr. Smith, I didn't see you there. Good evening to you," I replied.
"Are you having a pleasant evening?" he asked.
"Yes, it's quite nice. I was just coming in for dinner," I explained.
He said, "So I see. Is Sheriff Cullen your beau, Miss Swan?"
I didn't like where this conversation was leading. "As I'm sure you're aware, Mr. Smith, the school teacher in this town is to remain unmarried during her tenure."
"Are you seeing him?" he questioned, angrily.
"I don't see that is any of your concern, Mr. Smith," I concluded, and opened the screen door, letting it bang shut behind me and closing the heavy front door as soon as I was inside. Infuriating man!
Saturday dawned bright and beautiful and I was able to have a leisurely breakfast with Rachel and Eli before going back up to my room to finish dressing for the day. That meant I'd be exchanging my petticoats for trousers underneath my khaki colored skirt and leather button-up boots for cowboy boots. The plain white buttoned blouse would remain. I took a tweed jacket with me as it was chilly this morning.
Once I was back downstairs, Rachel provided me with a basket filled with lunch ingredients for all of us to share along with apples for the horses. Edward arrived then with the horses and I met him outside. I gingerly fed the apples to the horses and gave them an affectionate pat on the nose.
Edward watched me and said, "So, the horses get a treat and affection and I get nothing?" I looked at him then and he had his bottom lip stuck out a bit and I could swear he was pouting.
I ran my hand along his jaw, noticing he hadn't shaved this morning, and said, "I'm sorry I'm all out of apples. This will have to do."
He grabbed my hand gently as I was placing it back by my side and kissed the back of it. "That will do just fine, Bella," he said quietly, smiling. A bit louder, he continued, "Let's go pick up Angela and Ben and be on our way."
The ride was nice as we took our time going west out of town. It was fun spending time with Ben and Angela. They had set up house in a small home in town and loved married life. They seemed to have an ongoing playful disagreement about Angela continuing to work, but it sounded as though she would continue to do so until she was in the family way.
We rode until Edward decided we should stop. Apparently everyone else knew where we were going except for me. He swung his foot out of one stirrup and swiftly dismounted Bear to the ground. There was no way I'd be that graceful. Edward walked over to Butterscotch and carefully removed one of my boots from the stirrup and then walked around to the other side of the gentle horse and removed my other boot from the other stirrup. Then he grasped me around the waist and carefully set me on the ground.
Then I attempted to walk. Was I going to remain bow-legged for the remainder of my life? My dress didn't seem to flare out in a strange way on the sides when I walked, but it was definitely an interesting feeling. Now Edward was beckoning me onward. He wanted me to walk over to the side of a cliff? Was he crazy?
I joined Edward, Angela and Ben near the tree line. Edward held my hand with one hand and pointed with his other to a vista in the distance that was beautifully green and lush. "See that area down there?" I nodded wordlessly, not believing that something so beautiful could be part of this desert landscape. "That's Washoe Valley – where our ranch is located. Of course, you can't see it from here, but it's there."
He could've said so many things, like, "The ranch I'm buying is down there," or "That's my ranch down there," but he didn't. He could've taken total ownership of it, but he was still leaving that door open for me. He knew the obligation I had to the town and just how long it would last.
If I'd never come to Virginia City, I never would've met Edward. I never would've felt for anyone like I did for him. I did love my students and my job. We would get to know each other better through this wait. It was worth the wait – for both Edward and me.
We enjoyed our picnic lunch with the Cheney's. They were wonderful chaperones – around our age but not totally intrusive. It was perfect. They were a great younger couple to get to know.
At school, the roles for the Nativity play had been cast. Emmett and Rosalie were our Joseph and Mary. Alice would be our angel announcing the birth of baby Jesus. Jasper would be the head shepherd. The rest of the children filled in as other human parts. No one would be cast as sheep or camels. Jessica Stanley, one of Rachel's helpers, would be assisting with sewing costumes for the group. She'd been seeing Mike Newton on the side, but told me she wouldn't let that interfere with the costume making.
Author's Notes:
Let me clarify a few things:
Edward would love to propose to Bella again – the sooner, the better. However, back in the "wild West" in the 1800's, couples didn't have year-long engagements like we have today. Couples agreed to marry and were actually married within a couple of days or a week. He knows she has to remain unmarried throughout the school term.
The actual population of Virginia City, Nevada, in 1870 was 7,048 people. I didn't choose to write that large of a town as I thought a smaller town was a bit more romantic. Since the population in the year 1860 was only 2,345, I can contribute that to the silver mining boomtown it was. My inspiration in writing a smaller, close-knit community was the television program, "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman." If you've never seen this program, you should put it on your Netflix account or obtain it from your library. The unresolved sexual tension between Dr. Mike and Sully (as portrayed by Jane Seymour and Joe Lando) is off the charts.
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