Miss Independent
Chapter 1
"Fear"

I can count on one hand the number of times I've experienced genuine fear. It wasn't a pleasant feeling, anyone could tell you that. The increased heart rate, the panicked thoughts, and the trembling of involuntarily shivers that just make you want to vomit definitely weren't things that anyone enjoys. Yet, as much as I hated to admit it, I was afraid and that was exactly how I was feeling.

'I can't believe that I lost her. How could I lose her? I told her to stay there that I would be right back, but when I turned around she was nowhere in sight,' I was panicking, big time. It sickened me that I would lose my daughter. My only daughter… 'Oh I must be a terrible mother,' I told myself as I ran down the street in desperate search.

'Where is she?' I looked around worriedly as I searched the beach, my eyes scanning for the familiar blonde head of hair that was my daughter's. 'I can't believe I lost her in this godforsaken place. '

I tried to remember the name of this town I had wandered to completely unintentionally. It was something like La Rush. I didn't think that was right, but my brain is too frazzled to really care at the moment. I had gotten lost, quite literally. 'Damn my horrible sense of direction.' It was then that I saw the familiar blonde curls that belonged to my daughter. 'Oh thank God,' I breathed with relief.

"Mia!" I shouted not wasting any time gripping her in a tight hug. I pulled back briefly looked over her face, "Where did you go? I told you to wait. Why did you run off? I was so worried; you scared me half to death."

She only stared at me disinterested only being somewhat apologetic. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to see the ocean," she explained with that childlike innocence. I knew that she really didn't comprehend the emotional stress that she had just put me through and I knew it was no use trying to explain to her why I was so worried. It was a parent thing, something I myself didn't learn until I actually became a parent. Anything could have happened to her. She could have been kidnapped, eaten by bears, or scouted to be in a super-secret government operation to train children into spies… Okay the last one was very unlikely I'll admit that, but she still scared me half to death.

A cough sound above us. I hadn't even realized there was someone standing next to my daughter. I was so caught up in my panic and worry. I looked up into a pair of warm chocolate eyes pausing only a second before I had composed myself. "Oh thank you for finding her Mr…" I said standing up brushing some of the sand off of my knees.

"Paul," he told me.

"Right, thank you Paul," I smiled politely. He nodded in acknowledgement. I studied Paul curiously. He had the strangest expression on his face a few seconds ago one mixed with shock and disbelief before he slipped on a mask of indifference. I noted that he was much taller than me standing at least a half a foot taller than my proud height of five feet eight inches. He was obviously of Native American descendent as if the black hair and russet skin wasn't a tip off.

"It wasn't any trouble," he assured me a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, "your sister already knew the way back. I was just more or less accompanying her."

I looked down at Mia. "Oh, she's not my sister. She's my daughter," I clarified with a laugh. It was true many people mistook her for my younger sister. It was the age difference. With me being only twenty-four and her only being eight it was a pretty common mistake.

Paul seemed a little surprised by the revelation. He quickly masked his reaction however, opting for a more neutral approach. "She looks a lot like you," he remarked.

I noticed that he seemed a little uncomfortable with conversation, but of course the idiot that I was just made things more awkward. "Not really, she takes more after her father," I winced as those words left my mouth. Paul didn't respond to that. "Anyways it was nice meeting you, I have to get going," I smiled again and looked down a Mia, "come on Mia let's go."

"I didn't catch your name," Paul said when he realized I was leaving.

"Oh right of course," I made a face, I was completely spacing today, "Emelia." I held out my hand and he shook it.

Mia waved at Paul with a smile as I took her hand and led her back to the car. "Bye Paul," she called in cheery voice. I heard him chuckle and wave back.

"Bye Mia, Emelia," he said. I turned and gave him a fleeting glance.

I didn't realize I was smiling until I had gotten back to the car with Mia. She slid into the backseat of my 2004 Toyota Camry and shut the door behind her while buckling her seatbelt. I drove silently finally knowing where I was going. Mia was staring out the window watching the lush green pines flitter past the windows.

"I think Paul likes you mom."

Her words were sudden and completely out of the blue it took me off guard. "Why would you think that?" I asked my eyes darting to look in the review mirror.

Mia stared back at me with a thoughtful expression. Her emerald green eyes, much like my own, were serious and above all perceptive. "You didn't see when he first saw you. It was like those old cartoons from the 60's with butterflies or hearts floating around his head. He like stopped what he was doing and completely froze… and you were just… and he…," she tried explaining to me, but it seemed like she wasn't doing it very well and gave up. "He just looked at you differently," she sighed not know what else to say.

I was quite gazing out at the highway that stretched in front of the car. "I think you watch too much cartoons," I remarked sarcastically. Mia just rolled her eyes muttering something under her breath before she went back to staring out the window. I continued to dwell on what she had just told me.

The strange thing was I kind of believed her. Even I noticed something different about that man on the beach. He was looking at me like he'd never seen me before. Okay he had never seen me before, but it was more than that. It was like I was water and he had been lost in the desert for forty years. I really couldn't explain it either, I realized. There was this connection between us, it was beyond rationalization.

It only took about fifteen minutes before I pulled up into the dirt driveway of our new home. A small humble 2 bedroom, 2 bath, Victorian with a wraparound porch. There was already a U-Haul truck parked out to the side under a large pine. "Looks like Cassie beat us here," I said turning off the car.

Mia slipped out of the car and ran to Cassie who was waiting on the porch. I followed popping the trunk and pulling out a box. Cassie was my best friend and has been since we both were little girls. She was my partner in crime, my confidant and the person who cooked for me because let's face it I couldn't cook to save my life. She was practically my sister, although the two of us looked nothing alike. She was your petite, porcelain skinned, china doll with deep blue eyes and blonde hair that was a straight as straight could be, while I was the athletic, tall tanned tomboy with emerald green eyes and light sandy brown hair that was a disarray of messy curls. I wouldn't have been able to raise Mia like I have if it wasn't for her. So when she got a job in Washington and asked to come work with her of course I jumped at the chance. There was nothing waiting for me back east, just my two controlling parents who I'd spend as little time with as possible.

"Did you both get lost?" Cassie laughed already knowing the answer.

"Took a couple wrong turns," I replied, "You know me and my horrible sense of direction. I can't tell left from right." Cassie took the box from my arms I felt the need to protest, but she silenced me with a look. "Gosh it's gorgeous here," I sighed looking around in awe. It really was stunning. I've always loved the color green and here the color green was everywhere and as vivid as it could be.

"Yeah it is, if you can get past the lack of sun and constant rain," she set the box down on the porch.

"I've had enough sun for a life time," I retorted unlocking the door to the house, "maybe I'll get as pale as you."

Cassie scoffed, "Doubt it." Mia ran past me to scope out the house, both me and Cassie laughed at the excited squeal she made when she found her room. Cassie set the box down on the dark hardwood floor in the entryway and looked around the rest of the house. "I have to say I really like this house," she nodded approvingly walking into the living room, "Would you mind if I moved in with you two?"

I laughed at the joke, "Please, I'd love to have you living here. My own personal chef, what could be better?"

"On second thought maybe I won't move in," she joked back, "you're kind of a slob and we both know that you'd pawn off all the chores on me."

"Hey," I cried indignant, "I'm only a slob on the days that have the letters 'T' and 'U' in them."

"Which is like half the week," Cassie pointed out.

I looked around the room we were standing in, appraisingly. The large windows allowed for a lot of natural light to be casted on the dark wood floorboards and crème colored walls. There was a gray and white stone fire place with a dark wood mantle where I could put some pictures that I had stashed away in boxes. On the wall closest to the fire place was a series of built-in bookshelves that Mia could fill with her many books that she constantly was reading. All in all, the house was perfect for the two of us.

"So what do you think?" Cassie asked after I had finished my inspection.

"If I had known moving over two-thousand miles away from my parents felt so liberating I would have done it a long time ago," I remarked.

"Did you even tell your parents you were moving?" Cassie was staring at me seriously. I knew that she thought I probably didn't tell them. The joke was on her however because as a matter of fact I did tell my parents I was moving and it wasn't even the day I was going to leave. That's a milestone for me. It's hard to believe, I know. Usually I don't tell my parent's things until they are actually happening, like right at that moment.

"I called them a week before I was going to move," my tone was offended, but in truth I wasn't offended by Cassie's question mostly because I had actually considered not telling them at all. Just letting them find out when my mother left a message on my phone with some big 'emergency' that would force me to make contact out of family obligation. "Anyways enough about them," I began changing the subject, "tell me about the Inn. You've been working there for a year now Head Chef that's quite an accomplishment."

Cassie blushed slightly under my praise. "I love the job. My kitchen staff is amazing, one of the best I've ever had and now that my best friend is going to be executive manager my life has gotten even better," she had such a happy look on her face. It just made me happier with my decision to move to Forks, Washington. "Oh you'll love working there too. The owner Christy is just the most amazing person, she like a second mom. It's a shame she doesn't come in as much as she used to, but I'm sure you'll get to meet her eventually. The only downside is Steven," she made a face at the name; "Oh I can't stand him. He's just so… I don't know… obnoxious, rude, aloof, the list goes on and on—"

I stayed silent letting Cassie vent her problems to me. She had always talked more than I did. I was fine with it, most of the time. It gave me something to do. Both of us started unloading furniture and boxes placing them in their designated rooms. Mia went about unpacking her books and arranging them just so on the shelves, she had a system; a system that I could never understand.

After moving all the furniture into the house we went about unpacking the important boxes, dishes, clothes, towels, canned food, etc. Cassie and I were in the kitchen unpacking the dishes when the conversation went to the man on the beach and my little freak out.

"So tell me more about this stranger on the beach," Cassie ordered none too politely. I had told her off how Mia had run off when I stopped to ask for directions and the man on the beach, Paul. Our whole encounter had been brief, extremely brief I've only said like two sentences to the guy.

"There's not much more to tell," I told her unpacking a box of dishes, "He found Mia and was taking her back to the car. I didn't really talk to him that much."

"Yeah but you said he looked at you funny," Cassie said. She was pressing me for gossip.

"I don't know what to tell you. He probably wasn't even looking at me, I didn't even see it. It was Mia who noticed," I replied unwrapping the paper from the glass plates, then stacking them on the counter in the kitchen.

"Which just proves that he was looking at you," she pointed out, "Mia is the most perceptive person I've ever met, if she says he was looking at you he definitely was."

I let out a tired sigh. This conversation was starting to give me headache. "Can we just drop this," I pleaded, "That is the last thing I need in my life right now. I just need to focus on Mia; she's all that matters, not some guy whose last name I don't even know."

Cassie's expression changed to one of understanding, "Okay, it's dropped. I won't bring it up again. I promise."

"Thank you," I breathed.

Mia walked into the kitchen then lightening the tension in the room. "Mom where is the box of my clothes?" She asked me looking around.

"Have you looked in the living room?" She nodded. "Then it might still be in the trunk of the car," I pointed to the table, "you can take the keys and get it out if you want." She nodded and took the keys off the table.

Cassie waited for the door to close before she started up a new conversation, "Have you talked to him?"

I knew instantly to who she was referring too. Alec Peterson, aka my high school love, aka Mia's father, aka the man my parents wanted me to marry. "No not recently. He called a couple months ago to talk to Mia. We haven't really spoken since the great schism between our families and we were almost forced to marry."

"He should visit more, or at least call. It's not right that Mia has to grow up without knowing her father," Cassie muttered incensed. She had never been particularly fond of Mia's father… I just keep referring to him as that. It's like I don't even utter his name anymore, he's just Mia's father to me, or not even that because a father would help you raise your child not run away. Not that I blame him for running away, or at least I don't blame him anymore, I understand now.

We were just kids when Mia was born, not even seventeen years old. I would have run away if I could, but I didn't have the willpower to leave Mia. I couldn't leave Mia. The day she was born she became the center of my world and there was no chance in hell I would just leave. Alec was lucky in a way he got away, I didn't. He got to have a future and I, as my mother often put it, had mine destroyed. No I don't blame him the slightest because I don't regret what had happened in the past. Without Mia I would be as unhappy as I was living with my parents, she was my way out of that life, out of that world and I wouldn't change one single thing.

"He tries," I sighed.

Cassie stared at me incuriously. "How can you just stand there and defend him?"

"Simple, I don't hold on to regrets. The things that happened have led me to where I am now," I paused looking around the kitchen, "I wouldn't be standing in the kitchen of my new house with my best friend who I'm going to be working with starting tomorrow. My life is pretty great right now, why would I want to change it?"

She sighed, "Whatever happened to my fiery, rebellious best friend who got into fist fights? I miss her. She wouldn't be so forgiving. That girl would have gotten in the car and drove to wherever that good-for-nothing lump on a log was, kick his ass and order him to see his kid."

I laughed, "You can't force someone to be a parent, they either are or they aren't. Besides that girl that you knew, she had a kid. That changes a person. I've had to put away my boxing gloves and face reality."

"I still say you should kick his ass," Cassie grumbled making me laugh. She really hated him.

"I don't think that would be a gratifying as you kicking his ass," laughed, "Admit it we both know that that's the real issue here. You want to beat him up more than I do."

"So you do want to beat him up," Cassie exclaimed happily.

"I didn't say that—"

"But you implied it," she reasoned.

I wasn't having this conversation anymore. "I'm going to order pizza," I stated grabbing my cell phone and walking out of the room.

"You're only leaving the room because you know I'm right and you can't argue," she called out.

"I can't hear you I'm in the other room," I called back theatrically.

"I know you can hear me. You just don't want to admit that I'm right," Cassie's voice retorted from the kitchen.

"Do you want cheese or pepperoni?" I asked ignoring the matter at hand. Cassie tended to be very stubborn when it came to things like this. I often just chose to ignore her.

"You're avoiding the subject," she pointed out.

I held the phone to my ear after dialing the number. It only took about two rings before someone answered. Cassie was still was saying something about how I hated to lose and that's why I wouldn't say she was right. "Cassie I'm on the phone put a moratorium on you rant for a second," I hissed.

The poor guy on the other end of the conversation waited patiently for me to continue. "Hi, do you guys do delivery?"

"Yes."

"Great. So I need a medium cheese pizza, a medium pepperoni, and a box of those breadstick things with the cheese," I said looking through my purse for my credit card.

"Is that all?"

"Yes," I answered before I gave my address and card number. I hung up the phone seconds later looking at Cassie who was standing in the arch way of the living room. "Okay the pizzas ordered you can continue with your rant," I told her.

"I don't see the point. Clearly I can't talk any sense into you," she commented rolling her eyes, "I guess there's no use in wasting my breath when you're going to defend that man to your grave."

I shook my head, "I'm not defending him; I just understand why he did what he did. He's still an ass."

Cassie laughed at the last part of what I had said. "At least we agree on that. I'm going to go help Mia with that box," she left the room after that was said leaving me alone with my thoughts. I looked around at the living room again a small smile coming to my face.

Things were going to be different here I could feel it. I wouldn't have to be afraid of being alone. I had Cassie and Mia. They were all that I needed and tomorrow I would start my job as executive manager at an Inn where my best friend was head chef. Everything was good, I'm happy. Yet a tiny part of me still feels like something is missing.

Author's Note:

This fic takes place about 6 to seven years after the last book. I love reviews so if you like this chapter please review.