This is my first attempt at writing Fanfiction. I figured that I have been reading for the last year, and this story wouldn't leave me alone, so I decided to try it. I hope you enjoy it.

All Characters belong to the wonderful Stephanie Meyer. I just like to play with them a bit. Storyline belongs to Naezee.

"Delilah, come on girl, we gotta go," I shouted from the front yard. She came ambling out of the horse paddock at a nice, lazy pace. She met up with the most important person in my life, my three year old daughter. Alexis Grace was one of the best things that had ever happened to me. She, thankfully, had her dad's blonde hair and big green eyes. I loved that little girl more than I ever thought possible.

I watched as Delilah walked over to Gracie and nudged her gently on the shoulder. Looking at the pair, I still found myself amazed at how loving and gentle Delilah was with Gracie. I watched as Gracie giggled while she reached out and grabbed hold of Delilah's red leather collar and led her over to the truck. Delilah towered over Gracie's small frame while Gracie's blonde curls blew up from her pig tails into her face.

Sometimes, I wished that I had chosen a different breed of dog. You know, one that was a little quicker or a lot smaller, but Delilah is something special. She's an American Mastiff and built of solid muscle. She stands 32 inches tall at the shoulder and weighs 135 pounds. Some people don't understand why I love her so much, but when I was looking for a dog I had run across an article about the American Mastiff and I had fallen in love with the breed. After spending a year on waiting list, I hadn't actually picked Delilah out, truth be told. When I got to the breeder's house and went to see the puppies she chose me instead. She came running up to me and out of all the pups, she wouldn't leave my side. She was great for Gracie and myself.

But, as I was saying, sometimes it's a hassle to get her going. Delilah believes in moving at her own pace and nothing you do or say gets her going any faster, well, unless you happen to be Gracie and you have a cookie for her.

I was already running late. I had several errands to run this morning after dropping Gracie off at preschool, and I felt that there wasn't enough time in the day to accomplish everything I need to do. Normal Tuesday for me though.

"Gracie, where should Delilah and I go first? To see Mr. Newton at the feed store or to pick up her food at the pet store?" I asked her. "I also have to go by to see Dr. Rose for Delilah's checkup today," I reminded myself.

Delilah tilted her head as if to ask me why I thought that she would answer. If I left it up to her, she would go by to see Mr. Newton because he is always slipping her treats. Gracie giggled up at me while she said, "to see Mr. Newton, Momma! Delilah loves him!"

As we walked to the truck I went over my list of things to do in my head. First, I have to drop Gracie off at her preschool and then I have to go to the feed store to get my horse feed. Delilah also has an appointment at the vet for her annual checkup. I also have to make a run to the pet store to get Delilah's special dog food. Once all that was finished I have to get back home and do all the chores around the ranch before it's time to go back and pick Gracie up. So, that brings me back to Delilah.

"Delilah! Come on baby, let's go. In the truck with you!" I said while opening the rear drivers side door. She finally decided to hop into the truck. As she sat in the seat I looked at what a beautiful sight she was. Her brindle coloring really showed up next to the red of the truck.

Man, my truck . . . I love my truck. Its a red 2008 F-250 4x4. It's full sized with plenty of room to haul around Gracie, Delilah, and all my gear for the ranch. After getting Delilah loaded up and Gracie settled into her car seat, we headed into town. I decided to go to the feed store first after dropping Gracie off, because it would take the longest to get done.

I quickly made my way to KidzTown, Gracie's school. I released her from the car seat and gathered her things that she needed to take with her. We walked up to the door with Gracie bouncing along beside me. She loved coming to school and I was so happy about that. I had worried sometimes that she wouldn't have many friends, but since finding KidzTown she had made several friends. I opened the door for her while she chatted away about the fun day she had ahead of her. Her favorite thing was to paint and today was painting day.

"Can I paint when I get home?" she begged me with a slight pout to her lips.

"We'll see Gracie, let's get through the day first, OK?" I asked her.

"OK Momma. I love you!" she said while giving me a big hug.

I squeezed her tightly to me before letting her go and watching her run off to play with her friend Mary. A clearing voice brought me out of my thoughts and I looked over to see her teacher, and one of my best friends, Alice.

"Hey Bella! How are you guys this morning?" Alice asked.

"Oh, same old same old. Trying to get Delilah in gear this morning was like pulling teeth!" I told her with a laugh.

"Bella, you know I love you and Gracie like family, but I still don't see what you see in having a horse for a dog!" she joked with me.

"Alice! I can't believe you would say something like that!" I said, hand on my chest, while pretending to be offended.

Alice just laughed at my affronted airs. "I'll see you this afternoon Bella. Oh, when are you going to bring Delilah in for a visit again? You know the kids love her to death! I hope you do know I was just teasing you earlier, right? I love Delilah, too!" She rambled on as she bounced in place.

"I'll see if I can get here in time this afternoon, if not maybe in the morning?" I questioned her.

"That'll be fine, either one," she told me with a smile.

I walked over and gave Gracie a hug and kiss again before telling her and her friend goodbye before I left the preschool.

I realized the time and hauled my ass to the truck as quickly as I could. I pulled a cigarette out of my pack and lit up before pulling out of the center's parking lot and making my way to Newton's Feed.

Newton's Feed is a family owned business that has been around town for the last 35 years. There is an old plank board porch that teems with sacks of feed, lawn mowers and other gardening needs for our small town. Rocking chairs sit on each side of the old double doors. There are always patrons rocking in them while passing time with the latest news about all our neighbors in this sleepy little town called Rico. As Delilah and I entered the store Mr. Newton, the owner, called out from the back as he labored tirelessly piling sacks of feed in a corner.

"Be right with ya!" he yelled.

"It's just me and Delilah, Mr. Newton" I called. Talking to old Mr. Newton was always a treat. He was full of great stories about the old days and how things used to be here in Rico.

"Hey there Bella! What can I get for you today? Where's that little girl of yours? You know I like seeing her!" he inquired.

"Gracie's at school this morning. She enjoys coming in to see you too!" I told him with a smile. "I need 10 sacks of sweet feed for the horses, Mr. Newton," I replied.

"Just pull on 'round back then, and I'll have the boys load it for ya," he told me with a smile.

Just then, I noticed Mr. Newton sneaking Delilah a treat.

"Mr. Newton, what've I told you 'bout that?" I teased him with a smile as I walked up to the counter to pay.

"Well now, Bella, how can a man resist that sweet face of hers?" he asked me smugly, knowing that I was also a sucker for that mug of hers.

I laughed at him and agreed wholeheartedly, shaking my head as I paid my bill. Calling to Delilah, we left the store and got in the truck to pull around back. I got out and stood to the side to watch the boys load the feed while I smoked a cigarette.

One of the guys, Eric Yorkie, walked over to where I was leaning against the back of the store smoking a Marlboro Light 100. "Hey Bella, you hear about that new tattoo parlor that just opened across town?" he asked between drags on his cigarette. I was a little surprised to hear about a tattoo parlor here because our fair town only had 2,132 people in it. Eric continued to give me all the juicy news about this new shop, called Skin Deep, and the owner, whose name was Edward Cullen.

"Ms. Bella, you wouldn't believe what this guy looks like! He has this crazy brownish red long hair and his arms have tattoos all over them! I just cant believe someone like that would move here. What is this town coming to? You better watch yourself if you run into him. It's hard to tell what he might do to anybody. I did hear that he moved here from North Carolina. Maybe he was run out of town and had to move here." He rambled on, spewing all his word vomit to anyone who would listen to him. And of course, I was kind of a captive audience since the guys were loading MY feed!

"Eric, you can't judge a man by his looks!" I retorted angrily. "You should know better than that!"

Eric just looked at me with a frown in his mud brown eyes and didn't reply. He knew by now not to push my buttons about judging people. I was determined to not judge this unknown man based on looks and gossip alone. I had gotten my fair share of people judging me when I first moved here a few years ago. They couldn't believe that I was a single mom, living alone with my baby girl. She was only six months old when I came here.

Some people think that I'm a little off my rocker anyway because I choose to have neon pink hair. Now, don't get me wrong. It's not all pink! Just the under side of my hair. Really, it's not all that noticeable unless I pull my long brown hair up into a pony tail or clip, and that's not very often.

What the lovely townspeople don't realize is that I have my own tattoos. I've been drawn to tattoos since I was a teen and I have a rather large phoenix on my back, a butterfly over my left breast and a dragon going up my right thigh. I just never wear anything but jeans and tee shirts around town so they don't see them.

When I first moved to Rico, I was also judged because I was overweight. I didn't fit the image that most of the townspeople had in their minds of what a young, single, female should look like or live like. I'm a size 14. Not extremely big, but big enough to get talked about and offered weight loss advise from all of the nosy "well meaning" judgmental women town-folks who I suspect wear girdles and other restraining devices to appear smaller than they actually are! I made peace with my body during my teen years and I'm happy with who I am. I think I look OK after giving birth, too. So here I stand, proudly, at 5'4", with long, wavy, brown and pink hair in a pair of faded Levi's, green v-neck tee-shirt that hugs my ample breasts, and my faded, scuffed up, brown work boots on.

I looked Eric straight in the eyes and he just looked away muttering about men with long hair, tattoos and loose morals. I'd had enough of his close-minded attitude so I scowled at him and said my goodbye's to the rest of the boys. I stomped off and climbed up into the truck with Delilah and left.

Once we arrived at the pet store Delilah was more than happy to hop out of the truck. She knows there are friendly people here. People who weren't afraid of her enormous size. People with treats and belly scratches for her. People who wholeheartedly accept her for who and what she is. We walked in to the welcoming hellos from the employees. I retrieved a cart from the front and led Delilah over to the food section.

As we turned the corner of the aisle my eyes landed on the most beautiful sight. There, standing in front of us was a gorgeous fawn American Mastiff. I was very surprised because I hadn't run into a single one since I had gotten Delilah 2 years ago. I looked him over and noticed that he was at least 3 inches higher than Delilah at the shoulder, making him close to 35 inches tall and his fur was so fawn as to almost appear silver.

The next thing my eyes took in was the absolutely gorgeous man who was holding his leash. He was at least a foot taller then me, making him taller than any of the other men around this town. His rugged good looks and brilliant smile gave new meaning to the term, Greek God! My breath caught in my chest as I slowly looked up into his warm green eyes. He had a firm jawline with a hint of a five o'clock shadow that was sexy as hell and his hair, OH. MY. GOSH! I have this thing for guys with well kept long hair and his was stunning. It was this amazing bronze color and it was flowing loose down his back and tucked behind his ears.

I just knew this had to be none other than Edward Cullen based on the description that Eric had just given me at the feed store. I cleared my throat nervously, because he was slowly looking over Delilah and I with the same intensity that I was looking over him and his dog.

"Hi, I'm Edward Cullen. I've just moved into town," he said. "I can't help but notice what a beautiful dog you have there. She wouldn't happen to be an American Mastiff, would she?"

"Thanks!" I stammered "My name is Bella. Bella Swan and yes she is," I replied.

Edward flashed his gorgeous smile and shyly introduced his dog. "This is Samson." He had no sooner spoken Samson's name when I started laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes. He looked at me as if I was mentally challenged and totally deranged. I quickly let him know why I found Samson's name so funny.

"Mr. Cullen, I'm sorry! Really! I didn't mean to laugh like that. It's just. . . let me introduce you to my dog. I would like you to meet Delilah!"

At this point he started laughing along with me as he held out his hand in a friendly gesture. As I extended my hand to shake his, I couldn't help but notice all of the ink he had on his arms. As I looked a bit closer I could see a small tattoo of a Celtic cross on his well developed, muscular arms that connected to his very wide shoulders that were attached to his well defined chest. I reached out and took his hand and felt like I had been shocked, like the shock you get from static electricity or something. I quickly pulled my hand back looking at it and then looked up into his eyes and noticed that the amazing green ranged from a brilliant emerald green to a darker jade color. He was looking at me also and had a befuddled look on his face, like he was contemplating something.

"Did you feel that?" he questioned softly.

"You mean the shocky buzzing thing? Nope, didn't feel a thing," I said laughing softly. I took a deep breath and looked up into his eyes. "Yeah, I felt it," I replied, my voice getting shaky.

We stood there, in the middle of the dog food section, our dogs taking up all the space in the aisle while we stared at each other from the corner of our eyes, trying to process what had just happened.

Finally he looked me in the eyes once more and said, "Please, Ms. Swan, call me Edward."

I smiled at him in reply. "I'll call you Edward as long as you drop the Ms. Swan bit and call me Bella. I would also love to meet Samson if I may," I told him as I stole one more look at him.

He smiled in agreement and called Samson over to us. I knelt down in front of him and held my hand out for him to smell before trying to pet him. Samson is such a gentleman. He gently licked my hand and nudged it to get me to pet him. I laughed as I reach up to scratch behind his big floppy ears. He leaned into me so hard that I suddenly found myself flat on my ass in the floor. I could feel myself turning pink in embarrassment. I shyly looked up at Edward through my eyelashes to see his reaction.

"Here Bella, let me help you up," he said as he reached down for my hand and pulled me effortlessly back up to my feet. I looked up into his eyes while feeling that shock once again as it went up my arm and moved on to the rest of my body. It felt as though there was an electrical buzz running through me, almost like my skin was humming.

Standing this close, I could feel the heat radiating off of his big body. There were only a few inches separating us now and I could clearly see the dark stubble on his face.

"I'm so sorry," he said. "Samson is well . . . Samson. He really means no harm."

I was about to tell him that it was no problem, when I felt a sudden push on my legs from behind me and I fell against his chest. He quickly grabbed my waist so that I wouldn't fall, and my hands automatically grabbed hold of his arms. I looked back and saw Delilah leaning on me trying to get closer to Samson.

I laughed quietly and said, "Looks like Delilah would like to meet Samson, too."

We moved over to the side so that our canine friends could meet. It was like Samson and Delilah had known each other forever. They were nuzzling one another and their tails were wagging. I called Delilah over so that Edward can meet her. He gave her a good scratching before she went back over to Samson.

"You'll have to bring her by my shop sometime so that they can visit again," he kindly offered.

"Oh, I wouldn't want us to be a bother. I'm sure that you have lots to do," I replied quietly.

He looked me straight in the eyes and repeated his offer. It was at this point that I realized that this man could make me or break me. Just by giving me that look, I felt a longing to be closer to him. To get to know him better. To find out what made him tick and what the reasons were behind all of his tattoos. I finally agreed to come by soon and he gave me directions to his shop. He told me it was called Skin Deep and that it was the new tattoo place in town. I didn't tell him that I had heard the gossip about his shop already.

I kept getting lost in his green eyes and mesmerized by the way his bronze hair would move in the slight breeze that would come down the aisle. My fingers itched to reach out and touch it and see if it felt as soft as it looked. Up close I could see the natural highlights that were running through it. Because he's so big and tall, he made me feel small beside him.

"Here's my card. Please, feel free to come by and check out the shop, and bring Delilah with you. I always bring Samson to work with me and sometimes he gets lonely for company," he told me.

"I'll keep that in mind the next time we have to make a run into town," I told him.

As I stood there for a moment, wondering what to say to him, I glanced down at my watch and realized that if I didn't leave in the next ten minutes I would be late getting Delilah to the vet.

I turned to Edward and said "Well, Edward, it's been really great meeting you and Samson, but I have to run before I'm late for Delilah's appointment at the vet. I just need to grab a couple bags of Delilah's food first."

I turned to grab two of the fifty pound bags of dog food, but Edward stepped up quickly saying, "Let me get that for you." He gave me a crooked smile and noted that it was the same kind of dog food Samson eats and that's why he was here at the store today, too. It had really surprised him that the small store actually had it in stock. I explained to him that I had them keep it stocked for Delilah. As he was loading the dog food for me, the fog in my head finally cleared enough for me to get some kind of handle on my mental faculties. I really should thank him or something.

"Thank you for your help with the food," I replied breathlessly as I watched his muscles rippling fluidly beneath his snug white tee shirt.

"It's the least I can do for a fellow AM lover," he replied with a crooked smile.

We said our goodbye's and I promised to bring Delilah by his shop sometime to visit. We then had to pry Samson and Delilah apart as they were reluctant to separate. As I made my way to the checkout, I couldn't help but to think about the man that I had just met. He was the best looking man that I had ever laid my eyes on. He was also very friendly and just seemed like a nice guy. To look at him, and go by appearance only, you would think the opposite, with his tattooed arms, long hair, and firm jaw he had all the looks of a bad-ass!

As Delilah and I were walking up to the counter to pay I looked back over my shoulder. He was following us with his warm, green gaze. I wasn't sure how to take that. I waved to him as I made my way out of the store and he sent me a wave in return.

So, What's the verdict? Should I keep going or leave it? Let me know what you think. Thanks again for reading!