Tab Bennett and the Inbetween by Jes Young Read Free Book Online Page A

what I believed your mother would have wanted me to do.”
     
    I had no idea if he was right, if he’d raised me as my mother would have. I didn’t know anything about her—nothing true anyway. He had kept her from me my entire life.
     
     “We have very little time to decide what you’ll do next. Your future, the future of your kingdom – I have been making plans…”
     
    I snapped the box closed and pushed it away. “So whether I’m your granddaughter or the queen of Narnia you still get to boss me around and decide everything, huh? Here’s what’s happening in my future; I’m going home to take a bath.”
     
    “I am not finished,” he began but when I raised my hand to silence him, to my surprise, he stopped talking.
     
    “It’s enough for one day, Pop.” The familiar name stuck in my throat. I felt my face flush. “Wait; would you rather I call you something else now that I know? I could call you … Bennett I guess.”
     
     “Of course not.” He looked hurt by the question. “Whether or not we are bound by blood, I will always consider you my beloved granddaughter.” That was as close to a declaration of love as Pop usually got. “If you’re sure,” I said. “I mean, that’s how I feel too.”
     
    Pop really wasn’t the hugging kind, but he did his best, briefly wrapping his arms around me. Then he nodded and straightened his tie. “You may take the princess home now.”
     
    Permission granted. Some things never change.
     
     
     
    *********
     
     
     
    The air between Alex and me was buzzing with questions and doubts and curiosity. Sitting on the sofa with him was like trying to relax in a wasp’s nest. The longer we sat there, the louder the buzzing got.
     
    “Would you like to ask me anything? Anything at all?”
     
    “I should have thousands of questions for you, shouldn’t I? I can’t think of one.” I laughed at the absurdity of that. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
     
    He was sitting just one sofa cushion away, staring at me with those bright blue eyes, that’s what was wrong. I knew there were things I should be concerned about but all I could think about was him. I jumped every time he moved his hand, hoping he was going to touch me. He seemed so calm by comparison, making my excitement more embarrassing.
     
    I forced myself to concentrate until I could focus on something other than the voice in my head that was encouraging me to kiss him. “Tell me about We of the Light. What are they like?”
     
    “If you think about it, you already know. You can look at your family to see the characteristics that mark us as of a kind.”
     
    “Such as?”
     
    “Well for one thing, We are all tall with slim, strong bodies. We mostly have fair hair and blue eyes. Although that’s not always true, obviously. Your hair is very beautiful but such a dark color is almost unheard of amongst our people.”
     
    That’s me, always the rule breaker .
     
    “Our eyes are bigger and brighter and the colors are deeper and less fixed. You’ve probably noticed that intense emotions make the color of the iris appear to swirl. We’re better looking than the humans too and faster than they are. And we walk very quietly, which means we’re good at sneaking up on people.”
     
    The way he was describing us brought a very clear picture to my mind—but not the one he was trying to conjure up. I started laughing so hard I could barely breathe. He smiled but he didn’t get the joke.
     
    “You realize you’ve just described a house cat, right?”
     
    “Elves get very little respect in the human world, but We are very magical beings. You already know that all Elves can lay enchantments and Appear and Disappear whenever they wish. But did you know that Elves can change their appearance at will? That’s how all the members of your household made themselves look like children for years, allowing you to grow up with them even though they were, in fact, already grown. Many