I glanced up at him and he was fighting a smile, the twinkling of amus.e.m.e.nt in his eyes giving him away. My dad barely glanced at him, looking right back at the television and scratching behind his ear.

"Uhuh."

"Dad," I said more pointedly.

He looked up again. I really regretted not letting Caleb wait outside. Dad was sitting on our couch in the den, his boxers and a white t-shirt, with white socks up to his mid calves, watching the Today Show of all things.

"Oh, yeah. Hi, Calvin, nice to meet you," he muttered and returned to his show.

"Caleb, dad."

"It's fine, Maggie," Caleb a.s.sured me with a squeeze of my fingers. "Nice to meet you too, sir, I won't keep her out too long."

"Mmhmm. Fine."

As we made our way out into the hall, I remembered when my father always used to joke about how when I finally started dating he'd be all mister-shotgun-on-the-porch about it. He sure gave Chad a hard time, though most of it was in jest. It's like an alien took over his body or something. He's not even my dad anymore. And the only reason the house is clean right now, is because I cleaned it before leaving for graduation yesterday. I can't remember a time I've been more embarra.s.sed.

Caleb was apparently tapped into my thoughts again.

"Hey." He b.u.mped my shoulder as we walked. "Don't sweat it. Your dad is apparently going through something. He'll come around one day. You don't ever have to be embarra.s.sed with me, ever about anything."

"Caleb, I barely know you. Why do I feel so...ok with everything? This is all so strange-"

"I know and I'm not gonna rush you to understand everything. But other people don't get to decide who you are to me, not even your parents. Just know, you can't ever say or do anything to make me not want you anymore."

I sighed, wanting to sag in relief, because that's exactly what I always wanted someone to tell me, that they wanted me for me, no matter what.

"Thank you, Caleb."

"You're welcome," he said sincerely. "Do you need to grab anything before we leave for Kyle's?"

"Uh. My phone. It's in my jacket pocket upstairs. Be right back."

I ran up to get it and ran back down. He was waiting at the bottom of the stairs for me with a smile. He didn't take my hand this time, just opened the door for me and we walked slowly, side by side but not touching all six blocks to Kyle's house.

I was thinking and listening. Listening and absorbing his feelings as he worked through what we were about to do. He was scared. Scared that I was not gonna be able to accept what his family would tell me. Scared that I was gonna hate him, blame him and want nothing to do with him for taking my choices for a different life with someone else.

This confused me because yesterday, he seemed so sure that I would take everything fine. Accept it and want it. Now he wasn't so certain. I wondered what I had said or done since then to make him change his mind about me.

We reached Kyle's front yard and I stopped, taking a deep breath. Caleb saw me and came back to stand in front of me.

"I'm a freak, aren't I?" I asked.

"What? Why would you say that?"

"You said this doesn't happen to humans."

"I said it's rare."

"What if they don't like me?" I spouted quickly and shot my gaze to the gra.s.s, my insecurity raring its ugly head.

"What's not to like?" he said sweetly.

"What if they think your imprint made a mistake? What if they think I'm too naive and young? What if they think that you're definitely gonna have your work cut out for you with me? I'm scared of walking through that door and hearing what they might say. I'm n.o.body, mediocre, I'm not special, I'm not rich. I'm boring, I'm shy and I'm only seventeen."

"Maggie-"

"And I'm terrified that the more you get to know me, you'll realize it too."

He put a tentative arm around my lower back and pulled my face up with a finger under my chin making me automatically lean towards him and his warmth. He smiled and it was gorgeous.

"Imprints don't make mistakes, Maggie. All an imprint is, is our souls seeing what's perfectly right for it in someone else. In here," he palmed his chest "I saw something in you that I couldn't live without. I chose you, inside of me, and you chose me. It's not one sided, it only works when both people imprint on the other. You are perfect for me in every way. I don't want to scare you with it all. I mean, you're so young and you don't know me. Yet. But...we will always be drawn together. We'll always crave each other. We'll always be in tune with each other, physically and mentally. There is nothing that can change or break that. And even if there was, I wouldn't want to. Not for the world." His hand moved to my cheek and he caressed it with his thumb. "I've seen you. You can't fake or glimmer what's inside you're mind. And you are sweet and caring and absolutely lovable in that head of yours. I promise you my family will love you. In fact, I'm sure they already do. You're one of us now and they can sense how I feel about you."

"How you feel about me," I repeated and nodded.

"Yes. They all know how it is. How we feel...about each other isn't uncommon. It's normal for you to feel so pulled and drawn to me even though you don't know me, just like I am to you, but worse. It gets better and with all our connections and abilities we'll grow to know each other very quickly."

I couldn't deny that and I definitely felt something for him. Especially right now with his arm around me, tentative, fighting with himself because he wants to touch me more but also wants to make sure I'm ok with it too. His concern for me was extremely endearing.

"This is all so strange," I said breathlessly.

"Just wait," he leaned in to whisper in my ear. "It'll only get stranger." He chuckled and the vibrations gave me goose b.u.mps. "Come on," he pulled back to look at me. "If you're ready, let's go on in so everyone will stop staring out the window."

I didn't dare turn to look but I shifted my eyes that way and sure enough, there were more faces than I could count, all packed in and peeking out of the curtains. I felt my cheeks blaze red as I groaned and he chuckled again.

"Don't worry about them. I promise. Look at me." I did but slowly. "They will love you. Don't let them overwhelm you, ok? Everything will be fine. Ready?"

"No." I did turn then. I looked at them. They were all smiling, watching us. A little girl waved frantically to me. I waved back and she jumped up and down and even though I couldn't hear her I could tell she was squealing. I took a deep breath and smiled. "Let's go but, be prepared to answer about a million questions."

"I'm counting on it."

We made our way to the door and before he could even reach the handle the door was s.n.a.t.c.hed open and I was enveloped in a hug by a large woman with gray and brown hair who smelled like Freesia. She swayed me side to side and all I could do was let her.

I heard Caleb behind me, along with a lot of other chatter.

"Gran, come on. She's freaked out enough as it is."

"Oh, hush, Caleb. Let me have my fun." She pulled back to look at me. "My, my, you are a pretty little thing, aren't you?"

"Am I?" I asked lamely and everyone giggled and cackled.

"Well course you are! Look at those freckles. And these cheek bones," she mused and ran a cool finger down one to accentuate.

"Thanks," I said, double lame.

"Gran, please," Caleb pulled my arm to make her release me and she did. I couldn't help but latch onto his arm and try to keep my eyes up to look around the room with confidence instead of looking like a trapped rabbit. I didn't want them to feel like they were bothering me. I could do this but...there were at least twenty people in there. "Alright, can you all give her some breathing room, please? Jeez, guys."

"Why don't you bring her in the living room, Caleb," a pretty pet.i.te woman with brown hair that matched Caleb's said. She was very well dressed in gray slacks and a white b.u.t.ton blouse. She walked right up to me and smiled. "h.e.l.lo, Maggie. I'm Caleb's mother, Rachel, and you must call me that. None of that Mrs. Jacobson stuff."

"Ok, nice to meet you."

"No, sweetie, it's nice to meet you." She squinted and leaned closer. "What happened to your head?"

"I did that, mom. Remember? I fell on her after she pulled me back," Caleb explained and looked at me sideways, a little guiltily.

"Oh, yes, how stupid of me to have forgotten." She hugged me too, tightly and I heard her voice straining to get her words out. "You saved my boy. It's hard to think that if you hadn't been there, my boy wouldn't be here."

"It was nothing, really. Just good timing," I insisted into her shoulder.

"You don't honestly believe that anymore do you? After what happened I would think you'd be a big believer in destiny."

"Mom. Jeez," Caleb breathed out in protest.

"Go ahead," she waved us toward the living room. "I'll bring you something to drink. Tea?"

"Sure. Thanks," I answered and heard her high heels clicking on the tile as she scampered away through the throng of onlookers.

Caleb took my hand, smiled at me shyly and nodded for me to follow him into the living room, as instructed, as everyone stared but had warm smiles and parted the way for us. I felt like a specimen in a Petri dish, but a welcome one. Caleb hadn't been exaggerating. They were all thrilled I was there and it was plainly written all over their faces.

He brought me to a plush brown couch in the middle of the room. The room was bright and yellow with pictures everywhere of brown haired people. I sat down and he sat close beside me but not touching. It was so quiet, like everyone was waiting for something to happen. I decided I'd show Caleb I wasn't some shy silly girl. I could handle his family.

"I've always loved this house. From the outside anyway," I said loud enough for most to hear and some chuckled.

"Well, I'm glad you like it," a deep voice answered back. A tall dark haired man stepped forward and took the club chair in front of us. I saw him glance at the black handprint on my arm, frown, and then look back to my face. "This was my wife's parents' house."

"You must be Mr. Jacobson," I stated and jolted a little when everyone laughed.

"Sweetheart, we're all Mr. Jacobson."

I blushed and looked up at Caleb from under my lashes. He was smiling and shaking his head...and he was glowing with happiness. It took my breath away. I continued to look at him. He had a little dimple in one cheek that I hadn't noticed before and it made me ache to look at it and not touch it.

He was wearing jeans and a yellow polo shirt today. It was a nice fit, hugging him and I bit my lip as my eyes met his and my heart jumped. He actually blushed, as he felt what I felt, which was pretty hilarious.

He rubbed his chin and smiled crookedly at me which made me smile. I turned back to see everyone else grinning at us, which made me blush again. I ducked my head and let my hair curtain my face.

"Ok. Here you go." Rachel handed me and Caleb a gla.s.s of sweet tea and sat on the loveseat near us. "Now, Maggie," she leaned forward on her knees with her elbows. "Tell us about yourself."

"Mom, that's not why I brought her here," Caleb rescued me. "First, she needs to hear the history of our kind. She needs to understand what's going on. Where's dad?"

"He'll be here shortly. He had an errand to run, but while we wait, I don't see why it would hurt to ask Maggie some questions."

"Mom, why don't we let her talk to grandma instead?" He turned to me. "Grandma is the only other living member of our clan who was human."

I gasped inwardly and looked up searching for her. I forgot he had mentioned that there were others. I felt desperate to talk to her. To find out if what my body was telling me was real.

I saw her, moving forward and she sat in the only empty chair left in front of us. She pulled a silver oval locket out of her dress, on a long chain around her neck, opened it and thrust it forward for me to see. She too glanced at my arm, the handprint, before settling her gaze on me.

I took the locket gently and saw the black and white picture of a man, a handsome man who looked shockingly like Caleb. I glanced between the two several times. Caleb's grandma chuckled.

"Yes. Caleb does look an awful lot like my Raymond did. He is his grandfather and you can call me Gran, everyone does."

I nodded and she went on, pulling the locket from my grasp and looking at it longingly before replacing it.

"So, I met Raymond at a buffet." She cackled. "I was with my parents, eating on a Sat.u.r.day night out at our first buffet in town. We never ate out and it was such a treat. We both reached for a roll at the same time. Our fingers touched and that was it," she said and smiled sadly.

"So, it's the touch that triggers this...whatever it is?"

"Imprinting, yes, touch is what triggers it. Now granted, I felt some attraction to Raymond before that, as I'm sure you did, but after that it was impossible to stay away. I was human too, so it made it doubly worse. Humans aren't prepared for the changes that occur. We aren't knowledgeable and understanding of what's going on. We have a most difficult time. His parents of course knew but my human parents did not. We were both twenty two. I was in college and so was he, in another city. My parents thought I was smitten and silly and made us leave right then, forbidding us to ever see each other. We were separated for a week before he was able to find me, get to me and sneak past my parents to make it back to me."

I remembered this morning. The strange flu like feelings and aches I had and how Caleb took them all away with one touch this morning. I looked up curiously and she nodded.

"Yeah, think about what you went through this morning but everyday, all day, non stop for a week." I hugged myself while she shook her head. "My parents thought I was crazy, that I'd have some kind of breakdown and were thinking about having me put into an inst.i.tution."

"Wow."

"So, you see why we are all so concerned for you two, especially you, dear. You are human. You have human parents who will not understand your need to be with Caleb, among other things. Plus you are so very young and not yet legal, the youngest I've ever heard of being imprinted in all the clans. I am worried about causing problems between you and your family."

"Well," I started. "I graduated already."

"Yes. Kyle told us. Skipped a grade?"

"Yes, ma'am, but even if I hadn't, my parents won't cause any problems, so you don't have to worry about that."

"What do you mean, child?" she said with a scowl.

I felt so uncomfortable. I did not want to hash out my sad sob story in front of these twenty or so people, all with their waiting eyes. Them, wanting the dirt and story of the life of the strange girl who had been thrust into their lives. I did not want their sympathy. I licked my lips nervously.

Then I felt a hand on mine and it all went away, like wind blowing fog to clear the air. I only felt calm and warm when I looked up into those blue eyes. He was rescuing me again, with a little encouraging smile to boot. So I told her.

"My mom left last summer. It's just been me and my dad and he's depressed and a little...bitter. I barely see him. I don't have any other family except one adopted brother who lives in New York. No grandparents. No uncles or aunts. No cousins. Just us."

I waited for the onslaught of 'ahhs' and 'you poor things' but they didn't come. His grandmother just nodded.

"That's hard. But if nothing else it'll make this a lot easier on you. Do you have a plan for college or anything yet?"

"Um, no. No yet," I said and picked at the fabric of my jeans.

"Well, we'll talk about that later." She glanced meaningfully at Rachel and Mr. Jacobson, the one I'd talked to, and then back to me.

"Um, what do you mean it'll make it easier on me?"

"Well, honey, to be blunt, you can't live without Caleb!"

Five.