After leaving the dealership, Edythe and I headed to her house. There were still a couple of hours until Alice said we could play ball, but I saw no reason to head home. I called Charlie and told him I would be eating with the Cullen's tonight and playing a game of baseball in the evening. I didn't plan on being out too late so not to worry.
When we got to the house, we found out that Bella and Edward had just left. Rosalie was at the TV flipping through channels faster than I could register them. She looked frustrated and full of a nervous energy. Edythe distracted her with talk of the barn find earlier in the day. She got very excited when Edythe described the relative condition of the car, declaring that it wouldn't take much to fix it up from the sounds of it.
The two women talked about it while Edythe started to cook a couple of thick-cut ribeye steaks, and Rosalie sat on the counter, going over ideas for the repair. Emmett walked over to me. "So, you're going to try and play tonight?"
I smiled, "Definitely, I am looking forward to it. Though I am not sure how I will stack up to your guy's reflexes. Edythe described to me how you guys set up and play, so all I can do is try my best."
"You could always run the bases in your tiger form, if nothing else." He said with a smile.
I laughed, "I would have to bring a suitcase for clothes or play naked. Not to mention that Bella has no idea about my shifting abilities. That would be a hell of a way for her to find out."
Emmett shook his head. "You should tell her. A family with secrets is a family in trouble."
"I do plan to tell her, but...I wanted to understand this world before dragging her into it, you know. Learn what I had to do to keep her safe, well as safe as she will let me anyway."
The two were interrupted by Edward coming in the front door, soaking wet. Looked like the rain was coming down in sheets.
Emmett looked to his brother, "Thought you were bringing Bella back for the game?"
Edward sighed, "Billy Black was at her house, he was looking to warn Charlie about us."
I whistled, "That's not good. It's possible the tribe may be pushing to see if you guys would act if they broke the treaty. They have multiple Wolf Warriors now, so it could be they are calling your bluff."
Edward shook his head, "No, I saw what Black was thinking. He thought I was fooling Bella, and he was willing to be punished for breaking the treaty to save his friend's daughter. Luckily, Bella gave him enough knowledge to make him aware she knew our nature and wasn't being forced. She may not have been very convincing about Charlie knowing as well. But Black is letting it be for now."
A shout came from upstairs, "Edward, I can hear you dripping all over my clean floors. Get changed and clean up your mess."
Edward looked down at the puddle of water he had made, "Yes, mother." He raised his voice in acknowledgement, then in a softer voice, "I knew I should have come in through the garage."
"Well, I kept you here talking, so I'll get the mess if you wanna go get changed."
Edward smiled in thanks, "I need to give Bella time to have dinner with Charlie, before picking her up. We will meet you all at the clearing, that is if I can borrow your Jeep, Emmett."
Emmett looked thoughtful, "No problem with that, but I was up in that area last night, and you will have to park the Jeep about a mile short of the clearing. It's too wet even for the Jeep. Bella, good with you running her the rest of the way?"
I heard him say, "I will get her there." As I moved off to get a mop to clean up the mess.
As I was putting the mop away, Edythe called me to the table for dinner. While I was eating, I saw Alice and Jasper come downstairs from their room. They were dressed in a combination of white baseball pants and button-up white and black jersey tops, along with ball caps.
"That's a lot of white clothing for playing ball in the mud."
Alice smiled at me, "Most of the rain missed the clearing, so it will be relatively dry. The trip there will be muddy, but we won't be in a hurry."
Jasper had an amused look on his face, "And as far as clothing goes. You gave your own set waiting for you in Edythe's room. Courtesy of my little hummingbird here." He wrapped his arm around the shoulders of Alice as he finished.
I opened my mouth to start arguing about the clothes I had on being just fine, but Alice gave me a look, and I just knew it would be a wasted effort. So instead, I took a large cut of my steak and shoved it in my open mouth.
Alice just nodded imperiously at me and led Jasper to the living room.
After I had finished my food, I picked up my plate and went to the kitchen and started to run the sink to wash my plate and the pans that Edythe used to cook with. Before I could get too far into it, though, Esme appeared in the kitchen.
"Just leave the dishes, Thomas. I can clean up. No reason for you to do it."
I smiled at the woman, "But you said to treat this house as a second home. If I do that, then I need to do my share right. Or do you still consider me a guest?"
I knew I had her there, I wasn't willing to accept the double standards. If I was going to feel comfortable there, I had to do my share, especially when the dishes were only dirty because of me.
She frowned a bit, and part of me wondered if this was because of the times she was raised in. Men in her era didn't do household chores in the kitchen. That was supposed to be women's work.
"Fine, you got me there. But scoot over, you wash, I will dry." Esme went for a middle ground.
It didn't take long, and to be honest, I worked slowly just to drag the time out. Esme was asking about my house, and we talked about my thoughts on it. She said flat out that I would not be hiring some random contractors to do the work on it. She wasn't bossy or rude about it, but she had a way of making me afraid to disappoint her by not agreeing with her simple requests. This vampire had the mom role down to an art.
An hour and a bit later saw me running through the woods with the whole Cullen family minus Edward. I was in my tiger form, so I would have no trouble keeping up, Edythe was carrying my backpack, Jasper was carrying a couple of bats, and Alice was juggling three baseballs as she ran. Finally, Carlisle had a bag that carried the bases for the game.
True to Alice's word, the clearing appeared to be dry, even with the heavy clouds floating overhead. I grabbed my backpack and ran into the woods to get dressed, wanting to be back with the group before Bella and Edward arrived. I rejoined the group and placed an arm around Edythe's waist and tuned in to what was being discussed.
Rosalie was talking to Jasper, "You guys bugged me until I agreed to come, so I get to choose the teams. Esme, are you going to play your usual role as catcher/referee?"
Esme smiled, "Are you lot going to promise to not cheat, and behave in front of Thomas and Bella?"
Rosalie didn't hesitate, "So Esme is the catcher, I am taking Jasper, Emmett, and Carlisle. Alice, you get Edward, Edythe, and Thomas."
Carlisle took two bases and headed to what would be third base. Esme tossed a base to me and said, "Take this to where you figure first base should be. Just keep going until I tell you to stop. It will be about 70 yards."
I grabbed the bag and started to run in the direction she pointed. But my head was reeling, 70 yards just to get to first base? What's that all about? God, I hope I don't make a fool out of myself.
"That's good, Thomas." Esme called out. I dropped the bag and looked around. This was one huge baseball diamond. I was going to have to get one hell of a hit to get to this bag before anyone else.
Running back to the group, we all paused and turned our heads towards the incoming trail. The sound of a man's laughter had come from that area. I recognized it as Edward and assumed he and Bella were close. Finally, it's time to play ball.