Tell Me No Lies

by C. Morgan/Chloe Morgan

  “What’s going on?” I asked, concerned that something had happened with Mila.

  “She might have her heart set on Tara becoming her new mom,” he said.

  “And what gave her that idea?”

  “She must have overheard your mother and me. We thought she was in her room, and we were talking about how we liked Tara and how you shouldn’t let her get away.”

  “You really feel that way?”

  “She’s the best thing that’s happened to you since Mila. And you know for me to say that, it means something.”

  I sighed, wishing it were that easy. “She’s got her own life in Las Vegas, Dad. I don’t know if I can just ask her to move here just to date me. She doesn’t have that kind of money, and I have Mila to consider. If I was a single man, it would be different.”

  “How? You’d move her in with you?”

  “Well, yeah.” I didn’t think my parents would go for me having Tara move in unmarried with my daughter.

  “So? What’s the difference?”

  “Mila.”

  “Have you asked her how she feels about Tara? She’s told me and your mother she really likes her. It might not hurt to see what she thinks before you let that one slip away. Hell, just mention it to Tara and see what she thinks. If both Mila and Tara are good with it, then your mother and me will be.”

  “What about my work? I can’t ask her to be a babysitter while I go off. I don’t know. It doesn’t seem fair.”

  “It’s life. If she chooses it, you’re not forcing her. And she wouldn’t have to wait tables. Do you want the woman you love waiting tables in a Las Vegas hotel? Where men like you will be giving her big tips?”

  I grew angrier just hearing him put it that way. “No, I don’t want her to go.” I couldn’t let her go.

  “Talk to your daughter, and then go and stop that girl from leaving. You’re going to be miserable if you don’t.”

  “Thanks,” I said, knowing that if I had his blessing and my mother’s, then I was already one step ahead. Of course, Mila would make the final decision.

  My mother brought her out with her bags, and she still had a frown.

  “Come on, Noodle. Let’s get home.” I had to talk to her in private. I didn’t want my parents to influence our discussion.

  I walked her out to the truck and put her in her seatbelt. She was quiet and remained that way, even when I put on her favorite music for the ride. “What’s the matter, Noodle? You’re quiet.”

  “You’re quiet, too,” she said.

  “Yes, but why are you quiet? Do you have something on your mind?”

  “I want Tara to stay,” she said.

  “Me too. But her home is in Las Vegas, and she wouldn’t have a home here unless she stayed with us.”

  “Then she should stay with us, Daddy. I want her to stay. I want her to be my mom.”

  “You’d have to listen to her, Noodle. And it’s not that easy to just say she can live with us and be a part of our lives.”

  “Why not?”

  “You couldn’t change your mind. If you get upset with her. And besides, I’m not sure she wants to stay, Noodle. It’s a big decision.”

  “Couldn’t you ask her to? She likes you, and she likes me too. She would stay if you asked. I know it.”

  I glanced back at her. Her arms were crossed, and she was pouting. She hadn’t ever looked so upset. Like her little heart was breaking. Mine was breaking too.

  I turned into the next road and made a loop back to the highway. I was going to the Heights, and I was going to ask her to stay.

  I cursed when I saw the traffic backed up on the highway and wondered if I could take the next exit and make it past whatever was going on. Tara didn’t have but another hour in town, and I had to make it to her before she called to go to the airport.

  After ten minutes of slow-moving traffic, I cursed to myself, wishing little ears weren’t in the truck so I could curse out loud. I had to drive responsibly too, and that was probably the only thing keeping me from road rage at that point.

  When I finally made it to the next exit, I drove a little faster than the speed limit to make up for a lost time, and thankfully, I was at the Heights five minutes later.

  “Why are we here, Daddy?”

  “This is where Tara is staying, remember. We’re going to ask her to stay.” And yes, I was hoping she wouldn’t be able to tell both of us no. I had never used Mila as an advantage, but she could still say no.

  We pulled up to the front, and I told Mila to get out of her seatbelt by the time I came around to her door.

  I took her hand, and we hurried, but when we finally made it up to her room, I found the cleaning lady there and the room empty. “What is going on?” I said.

  “Can I help you?” she asked.

  “No, it’s okay. I was just looking for my friend.” I took out my phone and tried to call her. I had hoped to show up and surprise her, but I’d been the one surprised.

  The phone rang as I took Mila back to the elevators we had come up on, but no one ever answered. Not even her voicemail.

  “Dammit,” I swore.

  “Daddy!” said Mila. “Nana said that’s a bad word.”

  “You’re right, Noodle. It is. But I don’t think we’re going to get to Tara in time. I think she’s already on her way to the airport.”

  “Dammit,” she mumbled, parroting what I’d said. I couldn’t even get mad at her, and I’d have to have a talk with her about it later, but for now, we had to get back to the registration desk.

  When the elevator opened, I went out to the front desk.

  “Hello, how may I help you, sir?”

  “Can you tell me if Tara Wright already checked out of the luxury suite?”

  “Yes, she and her guest checked out about twenty minutes ago.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief. Twenty minutes wasn’t that long of a head start, and I was hoping if I kept going, I’d be able to catch her.

  “Thanks,” I said to the woman. “Come on, Noodle. We have to catch her.”

  I hurried back out to the truck and put Mila in. I couldn’t break traffic laws with her in the truck, but I could move fast on my feet to make up for it. I buckled her in and went around in a hurry, hoping the traffic had eased up so I could make it to a shortcut.

  I drove out of the lot and headed back to the highway, where thankfully the traffic was moving, and I made the exit I wanted, taking an old dirt road that went to the oilfields as a cut through.

  It shaved some time off of the trip, and soon, I pulled into the airport and drove around to the front. “Look for Tara,” I told Mila, trying to call her again. I found a place to park, not seeing her anywhere on the way, and when no one answered again, I got a sick feeling. “Surely, she isn’t up in the air.

  What if that twenty minutes the woman said was more like half an hour?

  As we walked by the row of windows, a plane took off in the distance. “Look, Daddy!” said Mila, pointing to it.

  “I see Noodle.” I stopped and let out a long breath, knowing I was defeated.

  “No, Daddy! Look!”

  I realized Mila was pointing over my shoulder. When I spun around, there was Tara and Karen standing at the airport coffee shop.

  I felt the strongest sensation of relief in my life, and we hurried over. Karen saw us coming before Tara did.

  She nudged her, and Tara spun around. I didn’t waste any time talking. Still holding Mila, I pulled Tara close and kissed her.

  After the quick peck, she glanced at her friend, who was equally surprised. “How did you know I was here? I was just about to call you.”

  “I tried to call.” I thought she must have been avoiding me.

  “We’ve been here, getting coffee.” She glanced at her phone. “No service. That figures. This phone is cheap.”

  “Stay with us,” I blurted.

  Tara did a double-take. “What?”

  “Stay here with us. We don’t want you to go. Yo
u should stay here with us.”

  Karen smiled and pulled her lips in tight to hide it. She didn’t have anything to say, but she was enjoying the show.

  “I have a life back home, and no money to move here, Zane. Where would I stay?”

  “With us.”

  “Your parents—”

  “Already know. They want you to stay too.” I searched her eyes, and she still looked unsure. “Please, Tara. I love you.”

  Tears filled her eyes as she moved to kiss me again. I put Mila down, and she hugged Tara’s legs as we continued to kiss.

  She pulled away, placing her hand against my cheek, and for the longest moment, I thought she was going to say no. Instead, she looked deep into my eyes. “I love you too.”

  Mila cheered, and Tara pulled away and turned to Karen. “Are you going to be okay going back alone?”

  Karen grinned. Her eyes moved to a man across the room. “I’ll be just fine. I overheard he’s going my way.” She winked at Tara and shook her head.

  “Be careful,” she told her friend. “And tell Ben I’m really sorry.”

  “No, you’re not,” said Karen. “I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.”

  “We’ll come to get her stuff soon,” I said. “You’ll have to come back and see us.”

  “I might do that,” she said. “You take care of my girl.” Karen gave me a wink as they called her flight. “That’s my ride.” She hugged Tara again, and I gave her a minute to say her goodbyes.

  She walked Karen over to the security line with Mila holding her hand the whole time, and my girls returned to me, both smiling ear to ear.

  “Let’s go home,” she said. “If you’re sure. There’s still time to catch the—”

  I pulled her close and kissed her. Mila giggled, but I didn’t let it stop me from showing Tara that I wasn’t letting her go.

  Epilogue

  Tara

  One year later

  Once I had settled into life in North Dakota with Zane and Mila, it was easy to see what I wanted to do with myself. Not only was I still holding out for a proposal and all the joys of marital bliss and motherhood to Mila, but I had also decided to go to art school and was just waiting for my final grades.

  “When can you call and get your scores?” asked Zane, who had been out of bed for the past hour. He had let me sleep in since I was pulling crazy hours with school.

  It had been his idea for me to go, and while I had wanted to get a job, he insisted my helping out with Mila was job enough.

  “I’m going to try and do it now,” I said, sitting up and rubbing my eyes. I took my phone from the bedside table and logged into the online app. “I’m only waiting on two more grades to see if I held on to my average.

  “I’m sure you did,” he said, shutting the bathroom door.

  “Is that Mila in the kitchen?” I asked. I could hear pots and pans and the sound of the microwave.

  Zane opened the door with a toothbrush in his hand. “Yeah, don’t worry about it. She’s fine.”

  I gave him a strange look. “Your daughter is using appliances, and I’m pretty sure I smell bacon frying.”

  “I just checked on her,” he said. “She’s fine.”

  “What are you up to?”

  He took the toothbrush from his mouth and sighed. “Just trust me.”

  I could tell that they had something going on, but I pretended not to notice. I finally got my phone to cooperate and display my scores, and I nearly bounced out of the bed as I read them. “I did it!” I said. “I kept my average.”

  “That’s my girl.”

  I was about to get out of bed when he walked back to the bed and kissed me with his minty mouth. “Don’t get up yet.”

  “What are you going to do to keep me here?” I asked, wagging my brows. I pulled him closer, and he chuckled, but then he pulled away when Mila called him.

  “Don’t move,” he said. “Promise?”

  “I promise.” I could hear the microwave timer going off as he walked away. He must have been helping her. They had something up their sleeve, and from the smell of it, it was breakfast in bed.

  I tried to act surprised when they showed up with a tray. On it was a large bouquet of flowers, a card standing up against its vase, and a plate of eggs, bacon, and toast with fresh strawberries and cream. They had even fixed a glass of my favorite juice.

  “Happy end of the school year,” said Mila, who was finishing up her first year as well.

  “It’s your end of the year as well,” I said. “We should all be celebrating that.”

  “We’ll go out for ice cream later, but this is all for you.”

  “Wow, thanks.”

  “Open the card,” he said, giving me a nudge.

  “Yes, open the card. It’s from both of us, and I drew you a picture.” She seemed just as excited as he did, and I could truly say over the past year, I had grown to love her like my own daughter.

  When I opened the card, the picture was so special, and it was of all of us together by the stream. “Thanks, Mila. It’s so beautiful, and you’re really growing in your talent.” Her art was better than some of the people I went to school with.

  “Thanks. I used my new art set.” She had already moved on to different media and was now exploring pastels.

  “The flowers are pretty too,” I said, leaning in to smell them. “Thank you both so much.” I took a bite of the eggs as we chatted about the grades, and just when I thought the fun was over, Mila gave me a present she pulled up from the end of the bed.

  “I guess that’s why I couldn’t get up?”

  Zane smiled. “You almost blew it,” he said.

  “I feel like it’s my birthday,” I said.

  I opened the box and found a spa package for Mila and me and another one that I could go to solo when I needed a break from it all. Not that I could see myself ever wanting one. Living with them had been great, and while Zane and I had tossed around getting married and joked with his mother about eloping in Las Vegas, that was as far as that conversation had gone.

  I felt a little slighted when I pulled out a new blouse and a pair of earrings. “You’re spoiling me,” I said. It wasn’t that I wanted more, but I would have been happy with a simple plastic ring from the bubble gum machine and a proposal.

  “I haven’t even begun to spoil you,” said Zane. He sat on the edge of the bed, took a piece of my bacon, and offered it to me. I ate from his hand, and Mila rolled her eyes.

  “She’s not a baby, Daddy,” she said.

  “Why don’t you go and see if there is something else in the kitchen?”

  Mila took off, giggling the entire time.

  “Thanks for this, Zane. It’s really sweet.”

  “Well, you’ve been such a good sport, especially when I was gone on that last job. I know it’s not easy taking on so much responsibility, but I’m glad you’re here with us. I wanted to show you how much I love and appreciate you.”

  I took the diamond earrings from the box. “These are so pretty.”

  “Well, I knew you didn’t want anything too flashy, but the salesman said they’d go with everything.”

  So would an engagement ring.

  All of a sudden, Mila yelled for her father again. “Daddy! I need your help!”

  He glanced at me. “Stay put?”

  “I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to finish my breakfast.” I took the juice and moved it to the bedside table, and I did the same with my flowers. I ate a couple of bites of my breakfast, and even though it had gotten cold, it was the best breakfast ever.

  Finally, they came back into the room, and while Mila walked with her hands over her head, I could tell that Zane had the most weight from the huge box.

  I sat up a little higher in bed. “What on earth?” Zane was barely able to hold the big box, and he winced, struggling.

  “You got it, Noodle?” he asked.

  “Zane, be careful!”

  He stepped away, and Mila held the
large box all on her own. I nearly screamed, but they both laughed.

  “We tricked you,” she said. “It’s not heavy at all.”

  “Still be careful. You made my heart jump.”

  “Sorry, baby.” Zane came and knelt down by the bed. He moved my tray aside, and Mila placed the box on the bed in front of me. “Go ahead. Open it.”

  I wondered what kind of trick they were playing as I unwrapped the bright red and white polka dotted paper.

  But inside of that box was another box, and this one had striped paper. “What in the world?” I said as Mila giggled. “How many are there?”

  “I’m not telling,” said Zane. He stayed right there with me and knelt by the bed as I went through three more big boxes, each barely smaller than the last. The room was a mess of paper, and Mila ran around, wadding it all up in a big ball.

  “You’re teasing me,” I said. “There’s not anything in here is there?”

  “No, there’s something in there. I promise you. Would I lie?”

  “No, but you’d prank me,” I said. “You and your little miniature.”

  He laughed. “You love us,” he said.

  “You know I do.” I was never more in love with anyone as I was the two of them. I just wanted it to be forever.

  I continued to unwrap, and as the packages got smaller, Mila began to help me. “You’re not going fast enough,” she said.

  “My hands are getting dry from all of this paper, and I’m pretty sure I’ve got a papercut.”

  Together, we had the box down to the size of a brick. Zane laughed as we both gave out. “I think my parents overdid the wrapping,” he said.

  “You mean you didn’t do this?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “It’s from me, but they helped.”

  “Oh, they’ve helped, all right.” I ripped off more paper, which they had taken the special care to alternate just to keep it colorful. I felt like I was drowning in it by the time I was to the smallest one.

  “If there’s another box in here, I’m going to cry,” I said. I could tell it was a ring box once the paper was removed.

  “Open it,” he said, putting his hand on my leg.