Your Eyes Don't Lie

by Branton, Rachel

  “Not yet. I’ll let you know.”

  “I’ve got the money.” Her voice was so low he almost didn’t understand, but when he did, he felt angry all over again. “I’ll go to your work tomorrow to give it to you,” she added. “Would that be okay?”

  “No, hang onto it for a bit.” What else could he say? He didn’t want to tell her he was trying to stall in an effort to find out more about who was behind the blackmail. Absolutely no way was he going to put fifty thousand dollars on a windshield. No, the blackmailers would have to come and get it from him personally. He’d insist on that at the very least. If they refused, he’d threaten to bring in the police. Hopefully, they wouldn’t call his bluff.

  “Okay, let me know when. I have to go. Love you, son.” The line went dead.

  Harrison drove to Makay’s, and his worry returned tenfold. Her car was in the parking lot, so that meant she was probably home. He ran up the stairs, his nose stinging at the fetid smell inside the stairwell. How does she stand to live here? Shame washed over him at the thought. He had no right to even think that way. She was doing well by Nate and that was the important thing.

  He rang her bell, but there was no answer, and the only sound inside was Snoop growling and pawing at the door. Harrison was heading back to the stairs when Nate came running up them, stopping when he spied Harrison.

  “Hey!” he said. “You’re here! I was hoping to see you. Makay said I’d probably be in bed if you came over. Janice is coming to tend me, but I’ll be asleep so I won’t know.”

  “Where is your sister?”

  He shrugged and waved a key toward the stairs. “Down there. I’m going to see Snoop. I have to tell him all about the backyard!” With that, he ran down the hallway toward the apartment.

  Harrison grinned. Nothing like the one-sided world of a child. Descending the stairs, he saw Makay in the first floor hallway talking to an older, spot-faced lady with quarterback shoulders. Janice, he presumed. Makay held several bags of groceries and two backpacks, one with a white cartoon cat on it that was probably Nate’s, and a black one he’d seen her use before in lieu of a purse, the one with the furry, blue monster keychain attached. Janice also had a grocery bag in one hand while her free arm cuddled a ginger-colored cat.

  “I’ll get you the rest later,” Makay was saying.

  “Thanks, dear,” said the old woman. “And don’t worry about tonight. You just concentrate on learning that stuff. You don’t want to end up here forever like Ted and me.”

  “It wouldn’t be so bad if everyone cleaned up after their animals.” Makay reached out to pet the cat. “Like we do.”

  “Don’t I know it. But I have to confess, if it weren’t for all that carpet stuff you find on sale, my place wouldn’t smell nearly so nice.”

  Makay looked over at that moment and saw Harrison. He hoped he wasn’t imagining the way her face brightened. So beautiful, he thought.

  Almost at once, another emotion filled her face, but it was one he couldn’t decipher and that made him uneasy. Well, there was only one thing to do. He lifted the bags of takeout. “I brought dinner, if you haven’t eaten.”

  To his surprise, she laughed. “We haven’t eaten, and if that’s Chinese food, you’re going to be Nate’s favorite person in the whole world. That is, unless you forgot the fortune cookies. He has every fortune he’s ever opened.”

  There she was, his Makay, shining through whatever undecipherable emotion had filled her earlier. Harrison laughed. “Guess I’m really going to be the favorite because I got two for him. Or three if he takes mine.”

  Makay said something to Janice and moved toward him. He watched her greedily, taking in every line of her body. Fire rushed through him. Had anyone in the world ever felt this way about a woman? Everything about her fascinated him. It made him want to write songs or poetry, and he had no talent in either.

  As they climbed the stairs, Makay wrinkled her nose. “It really does smell here. Sorry about that.”

  “Next time we can eat at my place.” He grimaced before the words were even out of his mouth. “Wait, that didn’t come out right. I’d like to have you over, though. I do owe you a dinner.”

  “Isn’t this it?”

  “Nope. It was a homemade dinner we were betting on. If I’d beaten you at pool yesterday, that’s what I would have expected.”

  “Well, that would have been easy enough. You love ramen noodles.”

  He grinned. “No way. Ramen noodles isn’t cooking. And I plan to practice my shooting so I’ll beat you the next time we play pool.” Privately, he admitted he could never be that good, not unless he practiced every day for the next year. But he had time to catch up to her level, right? “I do know how to cook, believe it or not. And there’s a swimming pool at the apartment building. Nate will like that.”

  Makay nodded but didn’t speak. Again there was something odd in her expression. Was it because he’d mentioned “next time” or had it been the mention of a swimming pool? He wanted to dump all their bags, take her into his arms, and tell her how much he’d been thinking about her and how much he wanted to make her happy, but that seemed rather dramatic. Later, he told himself.

  Once they were in the apartment, the dog went crazy, and Makay once more locked him on the balcony. “It’ll be great once he can go outside all the time,” Nate said, peering inside the takeout bags as he stood on tiptoe near the counter.

  “Why don’t we eat in the living room?” Makay rubbed her left wrist as though it pained her. “Around the coffee table. There’s not much room at the counter unless someone sits by the stove.”

  That’s right, they didn’t have a table or space for an extra body. “Good idea.” He picked up the bags and began moving in that direction. “But what’s this Nate said about Snoop going outside all the time?”

  “At a friend’s house,” Makay said from the kitchen. “We’re thinking about moving. It would be a temporary place, though. Well, just as much as any apartment is.”

  “Oh.” For some reason the statement made him uneasy, as though he was the last to be let in on an important secret. But it wasn’t as if she needed his permission to move, and he would definitely prefer to see her and Nate living in a better place.

  Harrison set the food on the coffee table’s scratched surface. The manila folder was missing today, and he found himself wondering about it. He and Nate had accidentally knocked it off the coffee table on Saturday night, and one of the papers had slipped out—something about a hospital and a baby’s birth. He’d had to stifle his curiosity to pry. Fortunately, Nate had attracted his attention, and he’d forgotten about it until now.

  Makay set down three plates and the silverware she’d brought from the kitchen. “Do you use chopsticks? Because I can’t.”

  “Me either. Love the food; hate the chopsticks.” He opened the cartons. “Take whatever you want. I got a variety.”

  “I want one with cashews!” Nate said. “Did you get fortune cookies?” His grin widened when Harrison put three in his hands.

  They ate for a few minutes in silence. Harrison tried to catch Makay’s eyes, but she stared at her plate, looking as if she were a million miles away. Finally, she stood and crossed to the backpack she’d left on the counter and pulled out a notebook with a manila folder sticking out. She opened the notebook, took something from inside, and put the notebook back, taking the time to zip up the backpack. The blue monster keychain swung madly with the movement.

  “I found something today. I went and visited a friend of your grandmother’s. Her name’s Audrey. I’m sorry for going without you, but I had the time and I was in the area.”

  “That’s okay. Did you learn anything?”

  She took several steps toward him, crossing from the kitchen into the living room, her brow creasing. “I—well, she said your mother cried like her heart was breaking when she decided to go through with the adoption.” Makay’s voice wobbled a bit. “That she didn’t know if she could live without her b
aby.”

  Harrison didn’t know what to make of that. He shook his head. “I had no idea.” His mother had never said anything about her feelings for the baby. “Wow. That makes me feel a lot better. It really does.”

  As she knelt next to the coffee table kitty-corner from him, Makay’s eyes were wide and empty, reminding him of when she’d been sick and dazed. The reaction was puzzling. She was close enough that he could smell her scent—a mixture of whatever shampoo she used and her own unique fragrance that made him want to move closer. Whatever she’d taken from the backpack was out of his sight, obscured by the table.

  “Audrey also said your mother was a sweet kid who trusted the wrong people,” she said, her voice without inflection. “You might want to go see Audrey. I’ve written down her information for you and also the name of the woman who managed your mother’s apartment building, though I haven’t talked to her yet. Audrey gave me this.” She handed him the item from her backpack—a photograph.

  He stared at it for a moment before recognition flooded him. “Hey, that’s me on my second birthday. With my mother and grandmother. I’ve seen a picture like this in my mother’s photo album. But who’s the man? I don’t know him.”

  “Apparently he’s your sister’s father. Or the most likely candidate.”

  “Who is he?”

  Makay looked away, but not before he caught a flare of an emotion he couldn’t name. “She didn’t know.”

  “Oh, that’s too bad.” He sighed. “Though I suppose it wouldn’t matter. It’d only be one more person for my sister to blackmail. If it is her, I mean.”

  Makay’s wide gaze swung to him. “You sound like you hate her.”

  “No. Not really. I just—I hate to see my mother in this position. I mean, on one level I was angry at her, but she’s right that she went through hell and did the best she could at the time. This Audrey’s story verifies that her decision wasn’t made lightly. I’ve been thinking about it a lot. Assuming it is my sister behind the blackmailing, my mother could have aborted her or kept her in a life of poverty, but instead she gave the girl life and a chance at more. My mother did what she could do, whether or not I agree with the choices she’s making now, and this is how that child repays her? You’ve got to admit—it reeks. I much prefer to think that it’s not her but someone else looking to take advantage of us.”

  Makay arose silently, taking her plate to the kitchen. Harrison couldn’t see her face, but the emotion wafting from her seemed to fill up all the space in both rooms.

  Nate looked at him and shrugged, taking another bite of cashew chicken. “She’s been acting a little weird today,” he whispered.

  Harrison jumped to his feet and followed Makay. “Is something wrong?” He reached her as she set her plate in the sink and turned toward him.

  “I never looked at it that way,” she said softly. “That the gift of life should be enough. I guess I always thought birth parents should feel something more, if not love then maybe an obligation. I didn’t think about it from your mother’s perspective. Or someone like her.”

  He took a step forward and she stepped back, her movement halted by the edge of the sink. “Me either,” he said. “I told you I was hoping to meet my father. I thought he’d be excited to know how I turned out. But even if he’d lived, maybe that wouldn’t be important to him. He made his choices regarding me and my mother a long time ago.”

  “But life does change, and there are stories of people who want to find the children they placed for adoption. They say it fills a hole in their lives.” Makay’s face radiated pain that told him more clearly than anything she’d ever said about her hope for a possible meeting with her birth parents, or at least her birth mother. Maybe her feelings would have been different if her formative years hadn’t been so difficult, if she’d had her needs met. He’d been lucky in that respect. His mother had given him all the love he could ever want, and Eli had taken care of him physically.

  Harrison’s arms went around her, but she didn’t melt into him as she usually did. “Don’t,” she said softly.

  He looked behind him, but he couldn’t see Nate from this part of the tiny kitchen, only the side of the coffee table where Makay had been kneeling. “Why?” he asked, pinning her between his body and the sink. “I’ve been waiting all day to do this.” His lips met hers, gently probing. She didn’t struggle, but neither did she kiss him back. Her dark eyes looked frightened. Yet why would she be afraid of him? His lips wandered from hers, kissing her cheek, her ear, and trailing down to her neck. Still, she stood rigidly. Her eyes were closed, her lips parted. He wandered back up to her lips.

  “Harrison,” she whispered, her voice hoarse.

  His lips found her moist ones, and this time her arms went around his neck and she responded, pressing herself against him. He moaned, or was that her? “I’ve missed you,” he said against her lips. He deepened the kiss. She didn’t reply to his words, but she didn’t need to. Everything was there in her touch.

  At last she broke away, her chest heaving. His own breath and heartbeat sounded loud in his ears. “Nate,” she said.

  “Oh, right. Sorry.” He hadn’t meant to so completely lose himself. At least not with Nate so nearby in the adjoining room. He wanted her to trust him, wanted to show that he respected her role as Nate’s caregiver. Yet he had to admit to more than a little satisfaction. Her attraction to him was obvious, whatever reluctance she felt, and that made his heart soar.

  He took her hand and together they returned to the living room where Nate was reading a book. “I think we should open our fortune cookies,” Nate said, his eyes glistening. “And I hope my fortune says I’m going to be lucky in love.”

  Makay’s laugh was unexpected. “Is this about that little girl at school?”

  Nate shrugged. “She is kind of cute. Everybody says so. But if I get one like that, I’m going to give it to you.”

  “Oh,” Makay said, her smile fading. “I see.”

  Harrison bent down next to Nate. “She doesn’t need luck, buddy. She’s got me.”

  A heartbeat passed without a response, and then Nate threw an arm around Harrison’s shoulder. “Good,” he said. “Just don’t kiss her in front of me.”

  Harrison felt a catch in his throat. “I can’t promise,” he said, his eyes going to Makay, “but maybe we can make some sort of deal if you get a fortune about getting a dog to like you.”

  “Oh, that’s easy. You don’t need a fortune. You just have to get him used to you.” With that, Nate flew to the balcony door and let Snoop in. Harrison wondered if the animal was going to tear him to shreds.

  “He’s all bark,” Makay said, rescuing the remaining food. She handed Harrison a piece of meat. “But this might help.”

  It did—for all of five seconds, but maybe that was sufficient for this session. Makay grabbed Snoop’s collar and pulled him to her side. “Hush now.” She tapped his nose. The dog’s bark fell silent, but a growl rumbled in his throat as he stared murderously at Harrison.

  “It says riches are just around the corner,” Nate yelled, staring down at the paper he’d removed from a fortune cookie. His voice sounded loud now that Snoop wasn’t acting like he was going to kill Harrison.

  “Great.” Makay’s smile didn’t reach her eyes.

  “What about the others?” Harrison asked. “Anything about dogs?”

  Nate shook his head. “I’m going to open one a day, so you’ll have to wait.”

  “I see.” Harrison looked at Makay, who opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something but closed it without voicing any thoughts. She seemed to be waiting for him to speak, but what he wanted to do was to kiss her senseless and that hardly seemed appropriate.

  “So, should we go see the landlady you mentioned?” he asked.

  Makay shook her head. “I have to study tonight. I didn’t do enough at the library today.”

  “My fault since you were doing my research. Anyway, we can go another time. Or I can go a
lone. You’ve already done more than enough talking to my grandmother’s friend. It helped me understand my mother a little better.”

  “So what are you going to do about the blackmail?” At her side, Snoop sat down, no longer growling. Nate slipped the dog a piece of his fortune cookie; Snoop gulped it down instantly and sniffed for more.

  “A lot depends upon what she—or they—say in their response. I stopped by on the way home, and there wasn’t a note. I wonder if they’ll wait until they’re sure I’m not around like they obviously did last night.”

  Makay’s eyes dropped to the photo he’d placed on the coffee table. “When is your birthday anyway?” She stood stiffly, as though every part of her awaited his response.

  “February.”

  “So your sister would have been born later that year. Maybe in August?” Makay’s voice sounded odd.

  “You mean the baby my mother—”

  “Yes.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know. But I can see where you’re going with this. I’ll need those details to verify that this person is who she says she is.” He frowned and added, “Whatever happens, I think I should meet her before I hand over fifty thousand dollars.”

  “That’s probably best.” Makay’s voice was so soft he wasn’t sure of the words. And was it his imagination or was she a little pale? Mentally, he derided himself. Here she was just getting over being sick and he had to force his problems on her. And try to get in a few kisses. He really needed to be more considerate if he had any hope of . . . of what?

  Of getting her to fall in love with me.

  He reached in his pocket for his car keys. “Much as I want to stay, I’ll get out of your hair now. I know you have studying to do.”

  “First she has to get me to bed,” Nate said from his place beside Snoop. “Before she leaves.”

  That’s right. The old lady from downstairs was babysitting. Makay must be going to a study group, though she didn’t seem in a hurry to volunteer information. Could it be she had a date? No, he wouldn’t believe that. He was about to offer to stay tonight to watch Nate instead of the old lady, but he felt he’d already put enough pressure on her. Besides, he wanted to try to catch whoever was placing those notes on his mother’s car.