Chasing Flame

Prologue

She'd never given much thought to how she would die, but she'd never given much thought to how she would live either. "Dad, I know this seems like too much too soon, but trust me it isn't." Charlie Swan senior was sitting across from his eldest daughter in his living room, staring down the considerably large male beside his baby girl.

"You're not pregnant." It wasn't a question. The Forks Chief of Police knew his daughter well enough to know she wouldn't risk having her significant other within range of her father's gun. "Dad," Charlotte breathed in exasperation. Straightening up, she continues. "I may or may not have proposed to Paul, and he may or may not have accepted." The young woman was nervous. Charlie loved his daughters, but the Swan's have a terrible track record in regards to marriage. "Char," Chief Swan sighed, "I know the two of you will make great life partners. It's your life, Baby Girl, I can't make decisions for you any more." Charlotte was shocked by his reaction. Where was the casual but stern father from her childhood? "Dad?" She asked in confusion, eyes beginning to blur with tears. "Besides, the two of you are more suited to marriage than your mother and I ever were. We loved each other, sure, but we didn't understand one another."

"Dad."

"Charlotte, it's true. I've seen the two of you, the way you talk, the way you interact. It's an incredible sight, really. I've never seen any two people more in tune with one another. You can have a full conversation through looks and facial expressions alone." Charlie paused to look at the disbelief on the faces of the young couple before continuing.

"You grab something for yourself from the fridge and whatever Paul was about to get up to grab as well. You have an almost bone deep awareness of one another. I'm surprised it took the two of you so long to get together. I'm so proud of the young woman you've become, sweetheart." He smiled fondly as a single tear slipped silently down Charlotte's face.

The smile soon melted as the older man turned his attention to the overlarge twenty year old sitting beside his darling daughter. "But Paul, on the off chance that you might need extra incentive not to harm my daughter in any way, just remember that I have a gun and I know where you live." At that, Charlie senior let a grin split his face, matching the one his daughter now sported. Chief Swan extended his hand to the cinnamon skinned hot head. Paul accepted the hand, shaking it firmly, though his face betrayed his unease at the turn of conversation. "Welcome to the family, son."