My phone made a noise and startled me. I must have fallen asleep. Knowing it could only be Jolie had me alert in a second, "Hello?"

"Hey, Ash! Sorry, we just got home. Do you still want to come by for a little while?"

"Of course, if it's not too late for you?"

"It's not! Mom's going to bed soon, though. I'll wait for you on the porch so we can talk without bothering her."

"Great, I'll be there in a few minutes."

"OK. Bye!"

When I got to her house, Jolie was on the porch waiting. She smiled, and I could feel the same joyful enthusiasm I was experiencing emanating from her. I sat on the step below her so she wouldn't have to look up at me and leaned over to kiss her cheek.

"I've wanted to see you all day."

"You have?" She blushed.

"I have," reaching over I took a loose curl from behind her ear and smoothly slid it between my fingers to straighten it. When I got to the bottom, it sprung back, making me smile, "You have the most beautiful hair."

She took my hand and smiled, "Thank you."

"I'd like you to meet the friends I live with. Do you want to?"

"Yeah, I do. I was starting to think you didn't want them to meet me. I don't even know where you live."

I shook my head, "That's not it at all; you're amazing. They can be a lot, though; I didn't want them to scare you off."

She chuckled, "Don't worry, I don't scare easily."

"Good. Would you like to go to storytime at the library tomorrow then?"

Her eyebrows pulled down in confusion, but she was grinning, "Storytime? Like for little kids?"

"Yes, that's it. Fawn, the one whose home I'm living in, she's the children's librarian. I thought it might be fun to see her at work, and then we could go back to my house for a while if that's alright?"

She smiled, "OK! I haven't been to storytime since I was little."

I put my arm around her shoulders, and she scooted down next to me to lean into my side. I ran my hand down her arm, and she jumped and flinched away from my touch.

"Did I hurt you?" I pulled away to look at her face.

She shook her head, "No, I'm fine." Turning her arm, she looked at the back of it. "I think I have a little bruise. It's OK."

"Let me see," I took her arm gently and turned it toward the light. The bruise was huge, "This looks bad! I think your elbow is swollen."

She pulled her arm back with a smile and covered it with her sleeve, "Nah, it's not. I'm sure it'll be fine by tomorrow. I just bumped it earlier."

I could feel that there was something she wasn't telling me, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, really, I'm fine. Don't worry."

"OK." She was nervous, and I was sure she was holding something back. What could she be hiding about a bruise? And how did she hurt herself that way shopping? Then I remembered, "Didn't you get hurt the last time you and your mother went shopping?"

"No, I don't think so."

My stomach sank. That was a lie; she'd never lied to me before. "I'm sure I remember you hurt your ankle. You even had it wrapped for a couple of days at school."

Her face turned red; she was embarrassed to be caught in her deception. "Oh yeah, I forgot. I just turned my ankle," she laughed, "I guess I'm pretty clumsy."

She wasn't clumsy. Except for the first time I saw her in the parking lot at school, she had a graceful way of moving, like a dancer. "People don't usually get injured like this when they're shopping, do they?"

As soon as I said shopping, I could feel her unease spike. That was the lie. What could she and her mom have been doing that left her with bruises? I didn't like it, but I'd let it go for now. She'd tell me when she was ready.

Taking a deep breath, she said, "So what should I wear tomorrow? Should I dress up?"

She wanted to change the subject, so I let her, "You don't need to wear anything special to meet my friends. You're always beautiful; just be comfortable."

"OK," she smiled and felt relieved.

She'd been worried I'd ask more questions. At least I knew she didn't like lying to me. "It's getting late. I'll let you get ready to sleep. Storytime is at two. Will you meet me at the library?"

"Sure."

I stood and drew her close for a hug, being careful of her arm, and kissed the top of her head. "Great, I'll see you then."

She turned to go in, and I waited to leave until she waved goodbye at the door. I walked until I got to the woods and then I ran, really ran. The speed felt good.

When I could see the lights from our house shining through the trees, I jumped, grabbing a branch and swinging myself high into the limbs, landing lightly. I wasn't ready to go home or talk to any of them.

I didn't like that Jolie lied to me, but she'd never done it before. I was sure she had a good reason. I just wasn't used to being lied to. If a fae didn't want to tell the truth about something, we'd avoid the question or get creative with the answer.

Lying was crass. Being deceptive without actually telling an untruth, that was an art form many of us took pride in. Personally, if I couldn't tell the truth, I'd rather not speak.

Sitting with my back against the tree trunk, I stretched one leg out on the limb in front of me and let the other hang down. It was peaceful outside at night without the noise of so many cars and people to break the silence.

The next morning, I caught Fawn on her way out the door.

"I hope you don't mind, but I invited Jolie to go to storytime with me today. I want her to meet you all, and I thought she might enjoy hearing you. I've loved your stories since I was a child."

Tilting her head back and looking at me through slitted eyes, she said, "You're trying to flatter me. Why? Do you think I would be unkind to your friend?"

"Of course not. I guess I'm just nervous."

She smiled, "Well, there's no reason to be nervous about her meeting me."

"Thank you, Fawn."

She patted my arm, "I guess I'll see you around two o'clock then."

Tate came down the stairs just as she was closing the door. "I take it that Jolie agreed to come?"

"She did. I'm going to meet her at the library so she can be introduced to Fawn first. You'll be here this afternoon, won't you?"

"I have nothing planned after my hike. I'll be here. I'm still not sure that this is a good idea, though."

"It'll be fine. Her friends have been very kind to me. I just want her to get to know my friends too, especially you. You're my only family."

"Fine, I'll be good," he sighed.

I patted him on the shoulder and gave him a big smile, "Thank you."

When I got to the library twenty minutes early, I was surprised to see Jolie was already there sitting in her car. I walked over and tapped on the window, making her jump before she looked at me and laughed.

Opening her door, she said, "You scared the crap out of me!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. You're here early," I smiled as she got out and straightened her clothes.

"I know. I was worried I was going to be late. I don't know how that was going to happen when I only live ten minutes from here." She was still running her hands down her already straight shirt; she was very nervous.

I stepped closer and took her hands in mine, "You look beautiful. What's wrong?"

She took a deep breath, "What if they don't like me?"

"Of course, they'll like you. I'm more worried about you liking them," I chuckled.

She looked up at me with her warm brown eyes, and thoughts of my friends disappeared. I moved toward her, and she stretched up on her toes to bring her lips to mine. With my arm around her waist, I held her against me as her hands moved to the back of my neck and into my hair.

Before we knew it, we weren't early any more; we were late.

Sneaking into the back of the children's area, we took our seats against the wall just in time for Fawn to set a book aside and say, "How about we make our own story now?"

The kids erupted in cheers, and Fawn smiled, "Great! Now you know I need your help, so everyone pay attention, and if you have something to add, raise your hand high."

Smiling, Fawn began her story and pointed at the first child, who then called out, "A cat," and a cat was easily added. She went on like that, pointing at the kids as they raised their hands, and she flawlessly added their element to the story.

By the end, she'd told a beautiful tale of love and family, with mermaids, unicorns, a witch, and a fire truck. Ending with the words, "So no matter how someone looks, it's what's on the inside that counts."

Everyone in the room clapped, the kids, parents, and Jolie. She turned to me, "That was amazing! How did she do that?!"

Smiling, I stood and brought her up with me. "She has a gift for storytelling, doesn't she?"

"Yeah, she does. That was awesome!"

Laughing, I gave her a hug, "I'm glad you liked it."

Fawn walked over with a grin, "Hi! You must be Jolie, it's so nice to meet you," she reached out to shake Jolie's hand, and I could feel her relax. Fawn always radiated kindness, and I was grateful.

"It's nice to meet you too. That was so cool!" Jolie was beaming at her, "I've never seen anyone tell a story like that! No wonder the kids all love you!"

Fawn smiled, "Well, thank you very much. I'm glad you had fun."

"We did. That was as good as I remembered from when I was small," I gave her a quick hug. "We're going to head to the house now. Maybe we'll see you later."

Fawn waved to us as she turned toward a child calling for her near the craft table.

We walked toward Jolie's car. Unfortunately, I wasn't going to be able to get out of riding with her. I would much rather walk than ride in one of those contraptions.

I opened her door for her before walking around to the other side to get in. I gave Jolie directions as we went, and when we got to the house, the car was barely stopped when I hopped out. Taking a deep breath, I walked around the other side to open her door.

She had just finished collecting her things, "Wow, you jumped out fast. Is my driving that bad?"

Laughing, I said, "No, I guess I'm just excited for you to meet my friend." I smiled and took her hand as we walked toward the front door. "He's more like my brother, and you've actually already met him." At her confused look I went on, "I probably should have told you, but I didn't want him to..."

The door flew open in front of us and Tate was leaning against the door frame. "You didn't want him to what?" He gave me a smirk and winked at Jolie.

I felt her confusion, and then she laughed, "Hi Tate! Why didn't you guys tell me that you know each other?"

I shook my head, "I should have told you when I realized you were going on one of his hikes, but I didn't want him to look at you like this the whole time." I pointed my thumb toward a grinning Tate, who still hadn't taken his eyes off of her.

He laughed, "Well, come on in. There's no hiding her from me now."

Jolie walked in front of me and said, "I was going to go with Clara this morning to hike with you, but Ash asked me to go to storytime. Did you see her?"

Tate leaned toward her with his eyebrows raised, "Are you saying that you chose a children's storytime over hiking with me?"

Laughing she said, "Yeah, but it had more to do with the company than the story." She hooked her arm through mine and it was all I could do not to kiss her right there.

A feeling of disapproval washed over me, and I turned to see Dahlia coming down the stairs glaring at us. As soon as Jolie saw the look on her face, I felt her mood change from happy to nervous.