October 2, 2020
Working at the sawmill again for the last several days proved to be grueling for Edward. It wasn't that the work was hard, no. It was that he felt like a rope was trying to pull him back to the house. He didn't need alcohol anymore but he needed the house, needed the comfort that it brought him to be there. So desperately he just wanted to slam his fist into a wall until he could claim he was injured and had to go home.
Edward sighed.
Only a few weeks of this, Edward. A few weeks and then you can go back and never have to come back here again.
It was entirely unpleasant. Robert was working at the house with Gabriel, Pierce was suspended for two weeks, and it gave Edward the chance to catch up with Oliver, who, truth be told, wasn't very interesting to catch up with. To be fair, Edward wasn't a very exciting person either but just had exciting things keep happening to him.
"Edward!" A woman's voice called out. He looked over to see Rebecca standing in the shop.
Oliver walked over. "What did you do now, Edward?"
Edward chuckled. "I don't know. Maybe Gabriel misses me and wants me back?"
Hesitantly, Edward walked over to Rebecca and followed her back to the little office trailer. It felt like it had been forever ago that he stepped in it for the first time. It was the first time he met Robert and Pierce, as well as Gabriel. In fact, it was even the first place he met Rebecca when she first interviewed him. Despite the memories, he never wanted to be in this office ever again. He wanted to be back in the manor and work their as long as he could.
It brought up the question of where he would be working once his work their was finished. Would Gabriel send him back to the sawmill again? Being here reminded him of all the unhappiness of first living here. It wasn't until the manor that he truly began to feel happy again.
"Coffee?" Rebecca asked, pouring a cup for herself.
"Oh no thank you, Rebecca," Edward smiled. "I have plenty energy as it is."
She smiled back at him and sat in Gabriel's desk, which, actually, more so belonged to her. She was, after all, the person that more directly ran the sawmill. Gabriel was just the boss of it that ran from business to business. It was only because of Rebecca and her... assets, that Gabriel even bothered coming to the sawmill so often. Edward knew he didn't care for the work that went on here. He may have been a great guy but even someone like Gabriel was more interested in the business side, rather than the down and dirty work.
"Go ahead and take a seat," Rebecca said.
He looked at her, feeling hope that he could return to the house but also dread that something worse was happening. Was Gabriel extending his time at the sawmill? It hadn't even been a full week and he had already had enough.
"Heh, am I getting fired or something?" Edward asked.
Rebecca smiled widely. "Of course not, Edward. I and Gabriel would never dream of firing you. I just called you in here to let you know that Gabriel is sorry that he is putting you back here but hopes you understand why he did it."
Edward nodded his head but still found that he wanted to argue.
It's not worth it, Edward.
"Of course. He's the boss and needs to keep his employees under control. I get that," Edward replied.
"Yes, he is the boss and does need to maintain some authority but he also wants to protect you."
"Protect me?" Edward laughed. "I'm like twice his size and over ten years older than him."
"You are but I believe you and your family living with him these past few months and given him a soft side to you. He values you as a friend and wants to maintain your well being."
Edward nodded and smiled. "And I him. But he doesn't need to do anything more for me. He's already given me and my family a new home which has already helped us far greater than he could know."
"Now when I say this, it's between me and you," Rebecca said. "Most of the people that work here, Gabriel doesn't care much for. Sure he gets along with them and them with him but, mostly, he doesn't care much for them. You, however, were an exception. Truthfully and, no offense, I don't understand what made him take such a large interest in you but, even when you first started here, he had his eye on you. If I didn't know better, I'd say you two knew each other long ago and were just beginning to rekindle your friendship."
It was strange how interested Gabriel had taken to Edward. When he first began renovating the house, he chose Edward, of all people, to help him. Sure, Edward is no stranger to working on houses, but there are dozens of men at the sawmill who could do the work Edward does two times, if not three times, faster.
"I don't understand it either, Rebecca, but I am truly grateful to him." Edward paused. "Truly."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOgrn4QbJI7
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"I'm sure he already knows and is just happy to help you. I also wanted to tell you that Gabriel and the other three men at the manor are making swift progress and may be done sooner than expected. So, with that being said, Gabriel will likely let you return to the manor even sooner to help prepare for Halloween."
"Halloween?" Edward chuckled.
"Yes, it's Gabriel's favorite holiday. Well, right after Christmas that is." Rebecca's began smiling through her teeth. "I mean who doesn't love Christmas, after all?"
"I can't think of one," Edward replied. It was Jesus's birthday and a time for family to come together. There were so many great memories that Edward had as a child with his parents and Jordan and even some of the earlier Christmases with Sarah and Isaac. If all went well, this year would be a great new memory.
"You like Christmas too?" Rebecca asked.
Edward chuckled. "Like it? I love Christmas!"
Rebecca's face turned more to a blush. "Well if you and your family are still around at the time, I think we will have a fantastic Christmas. Gabriel puts up a lot of decorations for Halloween but goes all out for Christmas. No expense is spared when it comes to that holiday."
"Well then Gabriel and I are of a like mind. You simply cannot spare any expense for such a fantastic holiday. I trust you will be there?"
"Of course," Rebecca said. "I wouldn't miss the chance to see you."
Edward looked to her to see that she now held a flirtatious smile. "Well, Rebecca, I wouldn't want to miss you either..."
He reached his hand out and grabbed hers. Every thought in his mind told him no, yet, he couldn't resist. A certain aura seemed to seethe into the trailer and he felt himself become hopelessly enthralled with her.
"...maybe even happen under the mistletoe?"
She squeezed his hand and stood up. "Who says we would need a mistletoe?"
Before Edward could mutter a word, she had thrown him back into his chair and pressed her lips against his. He began ripping the buttons off of her shirt and reaching around, feeling her skin. She bit into his neck and dug her nails deep into his arms. Edward could understand why Gabriel would want such a woman.
He lifted her off of him and shoved the papers and office supplies off of her desk and threw her on top of it, sliding his shirt and throwing it to the side. The windows were still open but nobody would see, unless Oliver happened to walk by.
Edward began kissing around her breasts and worked his way down, listening to her moan. She gripped at his hair and tugged on it lightly.
I'm a loyal man. I'm a married man.
His heart was racing but he paused. He couldn't do this. Edward was committed to Sarah and wouldn't jeopardize everything, even for someone as beautiful as Rebecca.
"I'm sorry," He said, his eyes looking to the ground in shame. "This isn't right. I..."
He looked up to see that Rebecca's face was gone and was bleeding from all sides. "What's wrong with me, Edward? Don't you think I'm pretty?"
"No, no, no," Edward said, backing up to the wall.
The faceless Rebecca stood up and slowly walked towards Edward. "I can be your everything, Edward. Take me."
"No."
"Take me."
"NO!"
Then Edward opened his eyes and saw Rebecca sitting in front of him.
"Of course," Rebecca said. "Gabriel doesn't really see his family, ever since that whole deal with their dad so many years ago. Terrible thing."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7NRK1PEUHS
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"How often does he get to see his daughter?" Edward asked.
Rebecca held her head in her chin and furrowed her brow. "Daughter?"
"Yeah, his daughter Claire. He said that his wife took his daughter."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXhxIgs77gd
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Rebecca's expression turned even more puzzled. "Edward, Gabriel doesn't have a wife or daughter."
"But, he told me they lived in a home in Matthewsville, before she took their kid and left."
Rebecca shook her head. "He's lived in the manor for years, since coming back to Washington. He's never had a wife or daughter. I can assure you that."
Edward remained silent. How many other lies had Gabriel told?
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This time, Sarah was only going to be be getting coffee with Aaron and, hopefully, Aaron would be a bit more talkative. After all, there was no one else to pick up the conversation if he elected to be silent.
She watched as he walked through the door and smiled at her.
"Sarah!" He said enthusiastically.
"Nice to see you again," Sarah said.
Aaron quickly order his coffee and sat in the seat across from Sarah. "Again, sorry for last week. I didn't mean to ignore you or anything its just that..." He paused. "Ahh forget about all of that, it's not important."
"Oh come on Aaron. We're friends. What's been up?"
Aaron's expression turned a bit darker. "Well, as you know, Nancy and I don't get along..."
"Mmm hmm."
"...and so last Tuesday, she called me while I was at work and, well, had quite a lot to say." Aaron's eyes got watery. "She's trying to get Quinton taken away from me."
"What? She can't do that! You haven't done anything wrong!"
Aaron sighed. "When Nancy and I were together, I went out with some buddies one night, got a little too drunk, and got pulled over. Now, that was eight years ago but she's trying to use it as a reason why she should get custody over Quinton." Aaron rubbed the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. "I'm going to fight it as much as I can but... Sarah, I can't lose that boy. He's the only thing I have left."
Sarah reached out and grabbed for his hand. She looked into his eyes. "You won't lose him Aaron. Quinton loves you and I'm sure any court could see how amazing of a father you are to him."
Aaron squeezed her hand. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have told you this. I don't mean to throw all my problems..."
"Aaron... we're friends. I'm always here for you, if you need anything."
"Order for Aaron!"
He smiled at Sarah and stood up to go grab his coffee. Sarah retracted her hand and felt a bit of embarrassment overcome her.
Why did I do that?
Upon sitting back down, Aaron took a sip of coffee before focusing his gaze to Sarah.
"I'd be lucky to ever have someone like you Sarah. You're kind, sweet, funny, and smart and Quinton loves you. He talks about all the things he did with you and he thinks a lot of you."
"Well I love having Quinton around too. He's a great kid."
Aaron reached his hand out but this time Sarah could only look at. "Sarah, I know you're married and have two children but... I... I just really want you to know how much you mean to me and I'm being serious. Before meeting you, it was just Quinton and I and no one else really. Sure, I have another friend that lives here but it seems like I only ever talk to him when he needs something from me. You are something special."
"Aaron... I..."
"Seriously," Aaron said. "I can't thank you enough for always being here for me."
Sarah just smiled. She was unsure how to respond to Aaron. He was just a friend, as he told Jesse multiple times. Sarah had broken Edward's heart already and she wouldn't do it again.
"Do you..." Aaron paused. "Do you maybe want to finish this coffee at my house? I haven't got to show you around it yet."
Sarah looked down at her watch. It had only been ten minutes of being there but she could already feel the urgency of needing to leave. Guilt was beginning to overwhelm her for even showing up.
"I think I need to get going Aaron. My sister is going to be leaving on Sunday and I think we're planning on doing something tonight."
"Of course," Aaron replied. "Of course. Yeah, I... maybe some other time then."
"Yes, we can do some other time," Sarah said packing up her bags. "Thank you for getting some coffee with me and hopefully I'll see you around."
"Of course," Aaron said, the look of disappointment apparent on his face. "Some other time."
Sarah quickly walked out the door, got in her car, and pulled down her mirror. She looked herself in the face and felt a mix of emotions. Guilt and embarrassment were the biggest ones but she also could feel those feelings she's felt before. The feelings she got when she first met Edward, Ethan, and now Aaron. They were just feelings though and she just had to ignore him.
She wouldn't break Edward's heart again.
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