Hiya!

Hehe. My apologies for the shortness of this chapter... I promise I"ll clean it up some, sooner or later!! As it is, I'm lucky that I got this much up... hopefully I'll be able to find more time to write this summer!

Chapter Twenty-Nine

It was a bit of an awkward moment when my father walked into the grocery store, just in time to see me initiating a kiss with Edward. Fortunately Charlie only coughed discreetly, eliciting a low chuckle from Edward. I glared up at him: "You can carry the groceries."

"Anything for you," he responded, biting back a low laugh.

"You've got that right," I responded mockingly, crinkling my nose at him. I couldn't help it: having him so near me and in an obviously good mood lifted my spirits considerably. Come to think of it, that was probably the only reason that Charlie let him even come to the house. It certainly served my purposes.

We followed my father outside to my truck, Edward with every last grocery bag in one hand while the other arm was occupied in being wrapped around my waist. Sometimes he just had to show off: I couldn't really blame him. After all, what was the point in having a thousand super-human qualities and no use for them? The fact that he trusted me enough to let me see them, to show that part of his life to me, was amazing and made my heart thrill: he trusted me. Not only did he love me, he trusted me. That was more than Romeo and Juliet had ever had, and all that I needed. Everything else would work, I told myself, so long as we had our love and our trust.

He guided my gently to the cruiser, obviously loathe to let me remain in the rain a moment longer than necessary. I smiled to myself, vowing not to tell him about all the times that I had played in the rain, both as a child and more recently. Knowing him, he might just give me a lecture on the risk of being struck by lightning. While sitting alone in the cruiser and watching Charlie and Edward attempt to unlock the truck I amused myself with what he might say in such a theoretical lecture. Something about lightning being drawn to magnets—and I was already a lodestone for trouble. As odd as it was, I had begun to appreciate my penchant for finding danger: it kept Edward close, closer than Charlie knew.

By the look on his face, Charlie was far too close to Edward at the moment—I hardly ever saw that scowl. Apparently, Edward had bypassed the usual maneuvers that a cop like Charlie would have used—to me, they seemed to be nothing more than jiggling the interior mechanisms of the car with a bunch of convoluted wiring—and somehow popped the door open. Oh, if looks could kill… I'd have to remember to remind Edward to be a little less "helpful" later. After all, Charlie still had his pride. Even with that in mind, it was hard not to laugh as Charlie slumped into the driver's seat of the cruiser, his face matching the dark thunderclouds in the sky above. His eyes found mine as he grumbled, "You're in an awfully good mood all of a sudden."

"Well, I guess I just like rainy days," I answered, smiling to myself. Oh, how I loved rainy days… they always meant that Edward was there, after all.

"Quite a change from Phoenix, isn't it?"

"You could say that. A good change. A great one, even. Life here in Forks isn't anything that I ever could have imagined it to be." And nothing at all like you think it is, Charlie. I only wish that I could tell you… To have your blessing when I make the decision to end my human life…

The lights on the dashboard flickered to life as the key turned in the socket and the engine hummed to life. Behind us, my old truck sputtered and coughed to life, the headlights gleaming in the mirror. For a moment, silence filled the space between us, my father and I. And then, hesitatingly, he glanced at me, his face soft now.

"I'm glad Bella. Hearing that… it makes me happier than you could know."

I smiled, a hint of an expression that matched the look on his face. He reached out one hand, smoothing my hair back from my face. And then, with a smirk on his face, he fluffed it recklessly, turning my hair into a rat's nest.

I grinned anyways.

Dads. They must all be at least partially insane…