~ Forks, Washington - July 24, 2004 ~

I had spent the past few days familiarizing myself with Forks. Actually that is not true, because it would only take a vampire about ten minutes to know the way around here. It would be more accurate to say that I was familiarizing myself with the borderline that separates the Quileute's territory from the area my family would now be responsible for. Throughout all of the surrounding woods, I wasn't able to detect any sign or scent of the tribe's spirit warriors. After we left in the 1930s, Carlisle had wondered what would become of the two tribesmen that had phased into wolves. We weren't sure if the Quileutes always had shape shifters, or if it was our presence that caused them to change. The one thing I was happy to see was the large size of the deer population. My family was always careful not to over hunt an area, but it was nice to know we would not have to go far should a bloodlust emergency occur.

While I was away on my latest borderline run and hunt, the Port Angeles lumber yard I had visited the previous day, delivered a load of building materials I purchased for the cottage renovation. When I arrived back, neat stacks and piles of lumber, drywall, and other carpentry necessities greeted me. Moving it all back to the cottage would not take long, however I had to take it slow and make several trips because I was expecting the moving company to arrive with my personal items from Chicago, as well as my Aston Martin.

Just after my second trip to the cottage, I heard the sound of tires on our private road. From the sound of the vehicle and the faint tenor of the thoughts, I knew it had to be Chief Swan coming to check up on me…as promised. I knew I had a minute or two before he arrived at the house, so I grabbed the stack of drywall sheets and darted back to the cabin. I didn't want to explain to the Chief how I expected to get over a thousand pounds of dry wall through the trail that lead to the cottage.

By the time the cruiser had pulled to a stop, I had made another quick trip. All that was left was a couple big boxes of nails and some drywall finishing supplies.

"Hello, Edward." The Chief greeted me. He was dressed out of uniform, but his thoughts told me he never really went off duty. He was a dedicated law enforcement officer through to the bone.

"Hello, Chief Swan." I dusted off my hand before we shook.

"I just wanted to see how you were settling in here." I nodded my head while the Chief looked at the remaining building supplies on the driveway. "Looks like you have a bit of project happening. Anything I can help with." The Chief was sincere in his offer, but he was also curious to see how I had been living on my own. His experience with the local teenagers did not paint a picture of responsibility.

"I'm in the process of working on the cottage here on the property. If you don't mind, I would appreciate your help taking this stuff back."

"Sure thing." He replied.

I reached down and picked everything except for a box of drywall tape.

Chief Swan's eye's widened at the load I managed with too much ease. "Damn, this kid is strong. He grabbed all of that like it was nothing." He thought before lifting the remaining box from the ground.

"It's down this way." I motioned to the path leading into the woods. We walked in relative silence except for me pointing out the river and noting the direction we needed to go at a couple of forks in the path.

The Chief's mind was focused on the river and the possible sites he could fish from. My mind was focused on the Chief. Ever since I met him three days prior, I had been trying to figure out why he seemed familiar. I had never been in this region during his lifetime. I knew it wasn't from my family's memories because that would be obvious. It was something else. It bothered me that with a flawless vampire memory I couldn't place why I felt like I had met him before.

Once we reached the cottage, Chief Swan broke the silence. "Wow! I never knew this was back here. It's like stepping back in time. Almost like the fairytale cottages in my daughter's stories."

I stopped suddenly as I saw the image of Chief Swan's daughter in his mind. He was remembering her as a little girl lying in bed, while he read from a large illustrated book of fairytales. What shocked me was the girl herself. She looked exactly like my singer…Bella. In the Chief's thoughts he changed the name of the princess.

"Then Princess Isabella…" The Chief read aloud.

"No, Daddy! Call her Princess Bella! It sounds prettier." Little Bella admonished her father.

"You're right sweetheart, it does sound prettier…beautiful really, just like you." The Chief chuckled and kissed his daughter's forehead before he continued with the story.

I suddenly knew why Chief Sawn was familiar. I had seen a younger version of him, sans the mustache, in Bella's mother's thoughts the night I first came across them outside the dance studio. I struggled with how he could be here. I struggled with how and why I was here with the father of my singer.

Did Alice know this before I was told to go out? Of course she did! The entire family most likely knew except for me.

Was Forks chosen so I would meet him? No. Esme has wanted to move here for over twenty years. Carlisle purchased this property nineteen years ago and the family has waited for the right time to move back to the region.

Was my singer here? No. I would have picked her scent all over the Chief and when I was in town.

Chief Swan pulled me from my deliberation. "Edward...You alright, son. You like you have just seen a ghost." It wasn't often that a vampire lost his focus, but I could see from the Chief's thoughts that I looked as stunned as I felt.

I shook my to clear away my thoughts and regain my focus.

"I'm sorry. I was just lost in thought about something. You said you had a daughter, how old is she?" I asked. I was determined to probe the Chief's thoughts for information.

However, the Chief did not like my question. He jumped to the conclusion that I asked because I wanted to see if she was old enough to date. The Chief did not like to think about his daughter dating. The Bella he now pictured in his thoughts was a teenager…a beautiful teenager, with gorgeous chestnut hair and expressive brown eyes. My singer was all grown up. I suddenly disliked the idea of her dating as well. My need to protect her was reignited by that single thought.

"Why do you ask?" The Chief asked in return. I decided I wouldn't press the issue at this time. I found out all I needed to know from his thoughts…at least for the time being.

"I'm sorry. It was rude for me to ask about your family." I replied, hoping to change the subject. The Chief was relieved at my response. He didn't really trust me. He wanted to, but his police training wouldn't yet allow it. After I earned his trust, I would be able to learn more. "Come on, let me show you around the cottage."