Washington kept true to its reputation. Since I drove passed the border of Oregon and Washington the rainfall hadn't let up once. I downshifted once I got off Highway 101, the clutch sticking a little as I did. I knew I was soon going to have to replace the clutch in my 1991 BMW 325. Luckily I was just hired on by the Olympic National Park to work on the Quillayute Needles National Wildlife Refuge as a park ranger. I had gone to school, majoring in zoology, specializing in Marine Biology. I was excited to leave my northern Californian home to move up to the evergreen state of Washington. Though the sky was almost always a gloomy grey, the plants and vegetation of the state were a variety of vibrant colors.
A peeling sign on my way by read "WELCOME TO FORKS" below it, in small letters was: "pop. 3,545". I noted how small the town was compared to my own home city in California with a population of over 150,000. As I drove through the town of Forks, my new home, I noted how lazy the life in this town seemed. It was a Sunday afternoon, and the main street was littered with families here and there. They all seemed to know others walking about somehow, saying "hello" and waving to those they knew. I smiled to myself, I had always liked the idea of small towns, in knowing your neighbors, and living close to friends.
I followed the directions to the short sale house I had just purchased, being right out of college as a twenty-two year old, I had managed to skate by a lifetime of debt with a handful of scholarships and grants. Without financial aid, I knew that there would be no way I could have afforded to buy the house I just did. I only had to take out a small loan to be able to buy the cheap house. The previous owner had died and having no family to give it to, the house was put up for sale, and I had just gotten hired when I saw the house for sale and jumped on it.
A long drive, about twenty minutes outside of Forks, led to the old cabin. My nearest neighbor was about a mile away, thick trees separating us. I pulled up to the house, it had been empty for about six months now, the outside showed signs of wear. It was obvious the previous owner had not been able to keep up on the exterior of the house, shutters on the windows were barely hanging, the deck itself was in terrible condition, and it was amazing that the previous owner didn't die going through it. Just opening the door was hard enough, I had to jiggle the doorknob and throw my shoulder into the wood just to get it open. Inside was musty, everything was definitely old, but for the most part there was a charm to the antique house. Original hard wood flooring ran throughout; and the house seemed to be a museum, with old books, cameras, nic-nacs, and furniture. It took about two hours for me to unload and sort of get my belongings placed in the house. Upstairs there were three smaller bedrooms and a master bedroom that I claimed as my own.
The next morning the first thing I did was open all the windows in the house. I wrapped my sweater tighter around me, Washington was a heck of a lot more colder than northern California. I got showered and dressed in a red wool flannel shirt, with a grey thermal that had two buttons at the collar that were undone, dark washed Levi's, long wool socks, and a pair of hiking boots. I blow dried my long brown hair quickly and put on a little makeup around my green eyes before throwing on my old Levi's Jean Jacket and heading out the door to meet with my new boss at the field office.
Outside the morning dew still clung to the evergreen trees that surrounded my house. The driveway beside the home led to a tin garage behind the house; curious, and with time to spare, I walked down it to the building. With some effort I managed to pull open the doors and a small smile appeared on my face when I saw what was inside. Sitting there was a high sitting, large old four door Woodie, it was black with mahogany wood paneling, there was a rack on top of the old SUV, and the wheels were large, made for off-roading. I opened the door and got into the cab looking for the key, I pulled down the visor, felt around the dashboard, but nothing, then when I opened the glove compartment I found them. I turned them in the ignition and the SUV started up without a problem, though something sounded amiss as it sat running. Not daring to drive it and risk it braking down on me I shut it off and headed to my small white BMW.
Using my GPS and the address the office gave me, I drove down the long freeway with only the evergreen forest on either side of me. I bobbed my head up and down to the radio as I went, then out of the corner of my eye I saw a flash of white. Turning my head I squinted my eyes as I tried looking harder into the thick of the trees. My car swerved as I looked, and I whipped my head facing back toward the road.
Before I knew it I was pulling up to a small portable building. A large man dressed in a ranger's uniform walked out to meet me.
"You must be Charlotte Harrison, right on time!" The man had a deep voice that came out of his mouth that was surrounded by a large beard.
"That'd be me sir" I said shaking his hand.
"Call me Pete," He said, "Come with me and I will get you a uniform and fill you in what's going on around here."
Over the next few hours Pete informed me about the refuge - Quillayute Needles National Wildlife Refuge consisted of a portion of 870 islands, rocks, and reefs extending for more than 100 miles along Washington's coast - and showed me some of the islands where 14 different species of seabirds nested throughout the year. The sun was setting as we got back to the office and I headed to my car, done with my first day of work. Pete commented on my car, "You might need a better vehicle than that if you want to make it through some of the back roads here."
"I just discovered an old Woodie SUV today that was left behind by the previous owner of my house, but it sounds weird when I start it up, so I'm going to have to find someone to look at it." I informed him.
"The best auto shop is the La Push Auto Body, Jacob Black owns it, tell them Big Pete sent ya and they'll treat you right." He offered
"Thanks for the reference, I will check them out" I told him getting into my car.
"I'll see you on Wednesday!" He called
"See you!"
The great thing about working for the National Park was that it was part time and yet I got paid like I was working full time back home; plus with the added bonus of full benefits and tenure, I had managed to find a life-long career in the time other people my age were enjoying their 20's or starting graduate school.
The drive home felt a lot shorter than the drive there, and in no time I was in my pajamas sitting on the back patio enjoying a cup of hot chocolate and reading a new novel I had picked up at a small bookstore in Portland on the drive up here. I had just gotten to the seventh chapter when I felt my eyes drooping and decided to turn in for the night.
The next morning I got up to a freezing house, "Crap," I said aloud to myself, I had forgotten to close my windows yesterday. I did notice however that the house didn't smell musty anymore.
I decided after a light breakfast that I was going to head over to the auto shop on the rez Pete told me about and get that old Woodie in my garage checked out. I got ready as usual, putting on a black and white quarter sleeved shirt, and black ankle cropped pants with a small heeled boot. I grabbed my vintage Chanel bag I got from my grandmother, and my neutral colored draped lapel blazer that buttoned up at the elbows, a gold cuff and rings adorned my wrist and fingers. Thinking all of the sudden of the old black wide brimmed fedora I got at a flea market on the way here, I went over to the boxes against the wall and found it in the second one I opened, it fit snugly on my head. Finally ready, I headed out to the garage where the SUV sat. It started up just the same as it had the day before, something amiss as it ran. I gingerly shifted it into first gear and drove it out of the garage and down the drive, my BMW sat on one side, leaving enough room for me to get by in the SUV.
The sun was out today, and I had to put on my old Clubmaster Ray-Bans to see clearly as I got onto the freeway headed to La Push. The SUV managed to get up to around 60 miles per hour easily enough, but the motor still sounded off. Pulling onto the reservation, I downshifted to slow my speed. Looking around I could tell it was a small community, the houses looked similar in structure, but all had individual character. It wasn't hard to find the auto shop, it sat by itself with a few cars outside it with big painted letters across the top of the building saying: "LA PUSH AUTO SHOP".
I pulled into one of the parking spaces and hopped out of the cab. I walked into the small front office of the shop where a clearly bored teen was flipping through a magazine, his head propped up by his hand. He was clearly at least six foot tall, with broad shoulders and bronze skin, he was very big for a boy his age. He clearly didn't hear me, so I awkwardly cleared my throat once. His head snapped up in surprise, "Oh! Sorry! I didn't hear you come in!" He apologized.
"No worries," I said taking a look around the office, there were posters of old cars and hot rods all over the walls, "I was referred here by Big Pete? He's my new boss"
"Big Pete! Yeah we know all about him here, he's the awesome ranger just down the way! My name is Seth, what can I help you with?" He asked
"I just moved into town, and I bought a house that came with that old Woodie," I pointed out the front window where the car sat.
"Man, lucky you!" He exclaimed
I laughed at his boyish excitement, "Yeah, but when I start it, it sounds like there is something wrong with the motor." I explained, "I don't know, I'm no car expert, but I can usually tell how a car feels when driving it, and this one is off."
"I get you," he nodded in understanding, "Let me go get Jacob, he's the owner, he can take a look at it."
I nodded and walked back outside to my car, a minute later Seth walked out of the garage with an even larger man who was wiping his hands off on a towel.
"I'm Jacob," the man introduced himself once they got up to me, holding his hand out.
"Charlotte," I shook his hand, "But you can call me Charlie."
"What can I help you with today?" He inquired, throwing the towel over a broad shoulder.
"I was wondering if you could take a look at my car here," I motioned over my shoulder, "I just came into possession of it and it sounds off when I start it up."
"Ok, pop the hood and I will take a look at it." He walked around to the front of the Woodie, "Man, you know what you have here right?" He looked back at me just as I opened the driver's door.
I gave him a blank look, "A really nice old Woodie?" I offered meekly.
His laugh was loud and booming, "This is a 1954 International R-140 4X4 Woodie!" he said excited.
I looked at him strangely, "...Cool?" I said trying to find the lever to pop the hood.
He shook his head with a smile, "There aren't a lot of these around anymore; very hard to find."
"Huh" was all I said finally finding the lever and pulling it, the hood gave a loud thump and popped open.
"How did you get this?" He asked pushing it fully open
I got back out of the car and joined him and Seth at the front of it, leaning against it I told him, "I bought the old log cabin down the freeway on a short sale, and when I finally moved up here - I'm from California - I found the house full of antiques and in the garage was this SUV."
"Old man Carl's old place?" He asked
"Carl Jenkins? Yeah." I said
"I never knew he was keeping this beauty locked away in that tin shed. The man was mostly a hermit, he never went into town except to go to the grocery store, and never socialized with everyone."
"Interesting," I murmured, "Well he left me a house full of wonderful items," I laughed lightly, "It's like living in a museum."
"Ah ha!" Jacob exclaimed, "There's just something wrong with the starter, an easy fix," He informed proud he found the problem.
"How long do you think it will take to fix it?" I asked, "I'm going to need this car for my job."
"Oh yeah, Seth told me about how Big Pete was your boss. So you're the new ranger around here. We heard there was going to be a new one after the last one moved up north." Jacob said, "Well I think we have the part we need for this fix, so I can probably have it ready by tomorrow morning, I'll make it the priority in the shop because you're Pete's friend."
"Awesome!" I said, "I don't care about cost, I just need it as soon as possible."
"Alright, no problem, just leave the keys with me and I will get started on it, do you have a way back?"
"Uhhh...I didn't think about that, shoot" I said stupidly.
Jacob laughed at me, "No worries, Seth can give you a lift back to your place."
"Are you sure that's ok?" I asked unsure.
"It's alright!" Seth said brightly smiling at me, "Come on! I'll give you the grand tour of this place!" He wrapped an arm around me pulling me away.
I laughed as I tossed Jacob the keys and let Seth pull me towards his own truck.
For the rest of the day Seth acted as my tour guide, showing me around the reservation, First Beach, and some of the best hiking trails trough the forest. He came to a stop in front of my house just as the sun was setting, and all of the sudden he told me seriously, "Charlotte, there is one thing," he began, looking unsure, "Don't go wondering in the woods at night, ok? There are wolves in the woods here, I don't want you to get hurt."
I looked at him softly, "Don't worry Seth, I'm from California, we do have forests there, but ours are full of bears and mountain lions, I won't go wondering after dark." I assured him.
He smiled at me and said, "Goodnight Charlotte"
"Goodnight Seth"
This is another Twilight fanfic of mine, so if you are interested in a Paul/OC fic please check out my other one! I have more written so I will post the next chapter soon! Please review/fav/follow! Thank you!
A/N: This is more of a fluff-ier story, so there wont really be love triangle's or the main character turning out to be a vampire or supernatural being. Maybe another story, but I just kind of felt that Embry deserved some uncomplicated love.