Chapter 24 - Charlie

I'd been surprised when Bella had called and invited me down for lunch. I mean, sure, we got together fairly often. But the even bigger surprise had been when Bella told me that Jared's parents were there. I'm sure that there was a bigger story to it…just like I was sure that she or Jared would tell me at a later time, but by the sound of Bella's voice she needed me down there. I really hoped that Jared's parents were bring nice to her. Bella said that they were planning to grill out but that she'd have to run to the store to grab something so I offered to stop on my way down. That made her happy. I don't think that she really wanted to leave the house.

Stopping at the store in Forks, I grabbed some steaks and some chicken just in case Jared's parents didn't eat steak, plus I knew that Jared would eat whatever was left. After grabbing what I needed, I headed to check out and then down to the Rez.

Pulling into Bella and Jared's driveway, I could see Jared and I assumed his Dad standing in the yard by the grill. I grabbed the bags out of the front passenger seat and made my way over. "Hey Jared." I said, greeting them.

"Charlie." Jared said. He took the bags from me. "You think you got enough?" He asked, laughing.

"With the way you eat? Probably not." I said, laughing.

"Charlie, this is my Dad, Nathan Cameron." Jared said introducing me to his father.

I held my hand out and he shook it. "Nice to meet you. Charlie Swan." I said.

"Pleasure to meet you Chief Swan. Your daughter is immensely proud of you." Nathan told me.

I couldn't help but smile. "Just as I am proud of her." I said.

Jared started taking the meat out of the grocery bags. He sat everything on the side of the grill. "I'm gonna go grab some seasoning. Bella will kill me if I don't." Jared said, turning and making his way inside the house.

"That's an amazing kid you've got." I said. Nathan looked at me in bewilderment. "Bella's boyfriend that she had before Jared…he was a bit, possessive. I worried for her. I thought that she was gonna be stuck in that relationship. But then she broke up with him. When she met Jared, I was skeptical at first. But the more time I've spent with them, the more that I've watched them as a couple. She takes care of him. He takes care of her. They take care of each other. I've never seen anything like it." I told him.

Nathan nodded, understanding. "I've watched them today. She anticipates what he needs, just as he does her. And it's not just him that she takes care of…it's everyone around her." Nathan said.

"That's Bells for you. She's always been like that. Her mother likes to say that Bella has an old soul…that she was never a kid. She was born an adult." I said.

Nathan smiled. "Maybe that's why she and Jared are so good together. He's always been responsible but sometimes he can be a bit childish. They seem to balance each other perfectly." Nathan said, right as Jared came back outside with Bella right behind him.

She came bouncing down the steps. Lucky she didn't trip. "Hey Bells." I said, as she walked over and hugged me.

"Hi Dad. Thanks for coming." She said.

"Of course. I got steak and chicken." I told her.

"Perfect." She said, smiling at me.

When the five of us sat down at the kitchen table, Jared's mom (Ellen, I learned) was the first to speak. "This is a lot of food. Surely we won't eat all of it." She said.

I winked at Jared. "It's okay, Ellen. I've seen your son eat. I'm sure though, knowing my daughter that if there's anything left that she'll take a plate over to her godfather." I said, trying to reassure her.

Ellen gave me a small smile. "That would be Chief Black, correct?" Ellen asked.

"Yeah. Billy Black, Harry Clearwater and I all grew up together. The three of us were best friends. When Bella was born, I knew that I needed to name someone as her godfather. Her mother is flighty, and because of my job, I wanted to make sure that someone would be there to take care of Bella if anything happened." I told them as we all started to fix our plates.

"That makes sense. Your job can be quite dangerous." Nathan said.

"It can be. But thankfully, since I became Chief, I've built the department up so that most of the time, my deputies can handle things. But when I am needed, I take extra care so that Bella can worry a little less." I said.

"I always worry Dad. Jared tells me that I worry too much." Bella said.

"That is true Bells." I said and we all laughed.

Conversation through dinner seemed to flow easily. After dinner, Bella had fixed coffee for us and she'd brought out a coffee cake that she'd made the day before. Once we'd eaten that, Jared's parents said their goodbyes and headed out. Jared had walked them out while Bella poured us another cup of coffee, when I decided to question her. "Now, you wanna tell me the real reason for their visit?" I asked her.

She sat down and sighed. "There's a girl trying to cause problems for me and Jared. We think that she's the one that called Jared's parents and convinced them to visit." She told me.

"Should I be worried? Do you think that she'd try and hurt you?" I asked her.

She started to shake her head but then she shrugged. "I want to believe that she wouldn't but I'm not sure." She said.

"What can I do?" I asked her.

She sighed again and then looked at me with a straight face. "Would it be possible for you to do a background check on her family? I want to know what we're up against. I mean, obviously their human…so it's not like the pack can do anything. Uncle Quil is trying everything he can think of but unless she vandalizes property or she physically hurts one of us…there's nothing that the council can do." She told me.

I nodded. Jared came back in and sat down. I reached across the table and grabbed Bella's hand. I gently squeezed it. "I'll see what I can do. I might have to involve Billy if I can't find anything. I might have better luck going through the tribal records." I told her.

"Just…Just see what you can do, Dad." She said.

I nodded. "I will." I told her. I finished my cup of coffee before I stood up. "I'm gonna head home. I'll let you know what I find out." I told her before I kissed the top of her head.

"Drive safe, Dad." Bella said.

"Always." I said. I nodded to Jared to follow me out. When we got out to the driveway, I turned to look at Jared. "Do you think this girl is dangerous?" I asked him.

"I wanna say no, but here lately…she's been stalkerish. She cornered Bella at Joy's store; Paul said that he's seen Kim following Bella around the Rez; she's shown up here; called my parents…she's not the same girl that I used to know. I've made it clear to her that I don't have feelings for her. That I love Bella. That I'm not leaving Bella. I've made it clear that I'm trying to build a life with Bella." He told me.

I nodded. "It's good that you've made that clear to her. What I'm worried about is that she might personally target Bella. Might be a good idea for the two of you to get out of town for a bit." I told him.

"I'll talk to Sam about it. Just let us know what you find out." Jared said.

"I will." I said, before I pulled him into a hug. "Take care of her and yourself." I said.

"Always do." Jared said, before I climbed in my cruiser and headed home. I'd have to see what I could find out at the station first but then I was gonna talk to Billy. Maybe I needed to build a profile on this girl.