All the Lies We Tell

by M. Skye

  “Sweetheart, do you think you can run upstairs and check on Mrs. Kiyoko? See if she wants to show you more pictures of your daddy.”

  “Okay, Mrs. Karen.” Jenna got as far as the foyer when they heard her little voice yell, “Daddy!”

  Janelle rushed around the corner, and the look on Miguel’s face was priceless. He looked down at the little girl and then back at Janelle. Karen rounded the corner, catching everything. “Jenna, sweetheart,” she called out, “how about you let your mommy and daddy talk? They need a minute.”

  Janelle watched as Jenna placed her hand in Karen’s and followed her to the stairs. Once they were out of view, Janelle stepped forward, reaching out to touch him. She knew he was blown away. He had left the party early and missed everything, including her reemergence into their lives. Touching him, she felt him shiver, and he closed his eyes, pulling her hand to his lips. He had yet to speak, and she just studied him, taking in all the changes to his body over the years. He was way more fit than she remembered. His face hadn’t aged a bit. He was still the total package, and when he opened those eyes, those deep brown eyes, she felt her head leaning toward his.

  When their lips touched, she felt like she was home. The kiss was hesitant, and it took him a minute to respond, but when he did, everything that had been bottled up erupted, and he grabbed her, pressing her hard against him. They stayed like this for what seemed like an eternity, and when he pulled back, he ran his hand down her face and placed his hand on the back of her neck.

  “Where did you come from? How are you here? This has to be one of my crazy dreams. I swear there is no way you are standing here and I have a child upstairs. This shit is not funny.”

  “I’m here, Miguel.” She touched him, and he jumped back. “I wanted to see you, to tell you about her, but we had to get things settled, and I wasn’t sure if you wanted this. I know it’s a lot to spring on you, and if you don’t want to know her, I understand. I didn’t tell her about you. Dad did. I was just as shocked as you were that she knew you. I’m sorry—”

  “What’s her name?” he said, cutting her off.

  She was caught off guard by his calm demeanor. He actually seemed almost excited. “Jenna.”

  “She’s five, almost six,” she heard him mumble. “Damn, I’ve missed five years of my baby’s life. I can’t believe I have a kid. Does she know . . . does she know why I wasn’t around?”

  “Honestly, I’m not sure what she knows or what he’s told her about you. Up until about five minutes ago, I had no clue she knew anything. She seemed so happy to see you, so I assume everything he said was good. She was so excited to meet you.”

  “J, I’m nervous. I’ve never done this before. I don’t know how to talk to a kid who’s mine. What do I say to her? What does she like?”

  She smiled at his cute rambling and felt her heart flutter. She thought he would be freaking out, and he was, but it was for a completely different reason. “She’s your daughter, Miguel. She’s gonna love you.”

  Miguel let a smile tug at his lips and caressed her hand. “I can’t believe you’re here. You’re here, and you have my baby. This is crazy, but I’m excited. Can I meet her?”

  Janelle stood silent, swearing that if there had been a gust of wind, it would blow her over. She had anticipated this moment.

  “J?”

  “Of course you can.”

  “I want her to love me. I want to be a big part of her life, J. Yours too.”

  She swore that was the sweetest thing he ever said, and she searched his eyes for sincerity and concluded that he was serious. He had never said anything about being anything more than what they were before, and she wanted to believe him, but her heart had been broken by him once before. She had to be cautious.

  “Jenna is the most important thing in the world to me, Miguel. Just promise me you won’t hurt her.”

  “Janelle, now that I know I have her, nothing in this world means more. I love her already.” She gave him a subtle nod and put her hand in his, and they walked up the stairs.

  At first, she wasn’t sure what room to start with, but Miguel seemed to know exactly where to go. He led her down to a room, and when he opened the door, he saw Jenna with his mother and grandmother and gave Janelle’s hand a light kiss.

  Looking down at their little girl, he leaned to her ear and whispered, “Marry me, J. Let me be her dad, but let me be your husband, too. I need you.”

  She looked at him with tears in her eyes, but before she could answer, Jenna interrupted. “Mommy, Daddy, come sit with us. Mrs. Karen showed me pictures of you when you were young.”

  Miguel let Jenna lead him down to the floor, and he gathered her in his arms, kissing the top of her head. “Actually, baby girl, that’s Grandma Karen. She’s my mommy.”

  “Really?” Jenna lit up. “I’ve never had a grandma before.”

  “Well, now you have two.” Miguel smiled. “You have Grandma Karen and Kiyoko, and you have Daddy.” He turned to look at Janelle. “Hopefully I will have you and Mommy too.” He leaned to whisper in her ear, “Are you going to help me with that?”

  “Yes, Daddy!” she squealed. “Just like in my dream.”

  “It’s my dream too, baby. I want you to know I love you, baby girl.”

  “I love you too, Daddy.”

  “Wow.” Mia elbowed Janelle in the side. They looked over to see Asha making her way into the room, and they stood to greet her. The girls all sat down, and the room was quiet until Asha broke the ice. She looked them both over, and they knew she was wondering what they were keeping from her.

  “If you’re discussing my brothers, you can talk in front of me unless it’s about sex,” she laughed. “If it’s that, I don’t want to hear it.”

  “Girl, please,” Janelle sighed. “Sex is the last thing on my mind. I haven’t had sex in a long time. I’m just trying to figure your brother out. Mimi says he’s different, and I can admit when I see him with Jenna, he is the sweetest guy. I just don’t want this to be a fleeting feeling. I’m afraid he’s excited because we’re here and that it will wear off after a while. I don’t want to get my hopes up.”

  “He proposed to you,” Mia blurted and slapped her hand over her mouth when Asha’s eyes widened. “Sorry.”

  “My brother proposed? Wow.”

  “That’s what I said,” Mia laughed.

  “Not funny, you guys. You know how I feel about him. I want to raise our daughter together, but I’m afraid. I don’t want to get too close to him and have him back out again.”

  “J, he has grown so much.” Asha rubbed her hand. “I wouldn’t tell you this if it weren’t true. I had a talk with him before all of this, and he was saying how much he wanted a family, how much he wanted to get married, and how he had missed his chance. He was talking about you.”

  “I hear you, and I get what you both have to say, but I need a little more time.”

  “How long are you going to keep him waiting?” Mia questioned.

  “I don’t know. I guess I’ll know when it feels right.”

  They were still talking when they heard the voices of the guys. They didn’t seem to get distracted until Mia heard the faint sounds of a baby crying. She shook it off until it got louder, and when she looked up to see Tyree holding baby Tristen, she stopped in midsentence and stood, walking over to him quickly. Miguel followed him, holding little Chloe, and Mia was overwhelmed. She wasn’t sure what was going on. When she reached out to touch the tiny baby, he cooed, and she took him from Tyree’s arms.

  “What’s going on, Ty? I thought they wouldn’t let us bring them home until all the issues were settled. They said it could take months.”

  “That would have been true if Richmond hadn’t found Chloe’s mother. He tracked her down, and she signed away any rights to the kids. We’re the only ones putting up a fight for them, and they couldn’t stay in the hospital forever, so Terence pulled some strings. The adoption is still processing, but until then they’re with us.�
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  “Oh, God, Ty. I’m so happy.”

  “Good.” He ran his hand through her hair. “Where is the boy? I want him to meet them.”

  “Ky, baby, come in here,” Mia called out. “Come and meet your new brother and sister.”

  Kyan walked from the back and came up to his mother, looking at the baby in her arms. Tristen was half asleep, but when Kyan touched him, he moved. “He’s so little.” Kyan smiled.

  “You want to hold him?”

  “Can I?” When Mia nodded, Kyan reached his arms out and took the baby. Mia walked him to the couch and helped him get settled. He looked down at the small baby.

  Running her hand over Kyan’s shoulder, she sat down next to him, wanting to get her conversation with him out of the way. “So, how do you feel about the babies? Are you okay with all this? I know it’s more than what you thought it would be.”

  “You wanted them, Mama.”

  “I know, but I want you to be okay with sharing your parents. I promise you, we will still be there for you. Now we just have a bigger family to love.”

  “I know that. I know you’ve been sad because you wanted a new baby, and now you have two. I wanted to be a big brother, and now I am. It’s kind of cool.”

  “I’m glad you’re happy, baby. I just wanted to make sure.”

  “Well, it’s kind of late for that, but maybe they can help me out with something.”

  “Something like what?”

  “Maybe now that you have actual babies, I can get you to stop calling me that,” he laughed. “I’m ten, Mama.”

  “Fat chance. You’re my first, and no matter how old you get, you’re always my baby. Get used to it.”

  While Mia and Kyan cooed over the baby, Janelle walked over to Miguel and touched little Chloe. She was wide awake, clinging to his finger as he talked to her. He looked so at home with the baby in his arms that she couldn’t help but smile. “I think she likes you.”

  “Yeah,” Miguel said without looking up from the baby. “I kind of like her too. She’s adorable. I just hate that I missed this with Jen.”

  “I’m sorry. I know you missed a lot and I really feel bad. But we couldn’t be here.”

  He stepped forward. “J, I don’t blame you. I know you had a hard decision to make, but you made the right one. I wasn’t right back then, and I did a lot to hurt you, but I’m glad you had her. You’ve done an incredible job. I can’t thank you enough.”

  “Miguel, having her was the best thing to happen in my life. I wouldn’t trade one minute. I just wish she could have had us both. Seeing you like this, I know that you’re not the same man I knew before. God, Miguel, I love you. I’m in love with you.”

  “I love you, J.” He had never said it before, and it felt good to finally hear. She wasn’t really sure what to say or do.

  “I thought about you all the time. Looking at our daughter made me miss you so much.”

  “I didn’t know how to handle losing you. I was pretty ridiculous for a while.”

  “I know.” She smiled. “It’s okay that you had your little whore stage. I just hope it’s out of your system because your daughter and I might need a place to crash. You know, Rick’s place is awesome, but it’s missing something.”

  “What’s that?”

  “You.”

  “Me?” He grinned.

  “I’ve lived without you for six years, and now that you know you want us, I want it too.”

  “I love you and Jenna so much. She’s perfect. She’s the best thing I ever did. I promise you I won’t screw this up.”

  “We’re gonna screw up sometimes, but at least we will have each other to pick up the pieces.”

  “So, my proposal, have you thought it over?”

  “I have.”

  “And?”

  “I can’t make that kind of decision right now. We have to figure out if we’re the same two people who fell in love. You have this trumped-up image of me, and maybe I’m not the same woman you remember.”

  “You’re so much better than I remember, J. We were so young then, and I was a mess, but being with you these past few weeks has shown me that I could love you forever. I’ve spent a lot of time trying to find someone half as good as you, and now that I have the real thing, I’m not letting that go.” Leaning in, she latched her lips on his, and they kissed for a few seconds before she pulled back. “What was that for?”

  “I just love you, that’s all. If you’re serious and you want to try this thing out, then I’m all in. But I want you to be sure about all this.”

  After walking over and placing Chloe in Tyree’s arms, he came back, fishing around in his pocket. When he pulled out a fresh set of keys, she looked at him curiously. “Here.” He reached them to her. “They’re yours.”

  “What is this for?”

  “Our house. I was going to ask you and Jenna to move in before you mentioned it. I think it should be the next step for us.”

  Giving Miguel a shy grin, Janelle wrapped her arms around him. “In that case, yes. We will move in, and we’ll see where it goes.”

  With a silly grin on his face, Miguel tugged her hand to his lips and kissed it. “I’m not trying to be funny, but I need a little something from you.” As he roamed his eyes over her body, she knew what he was hinting at and gripped his hand tighter.

  “Okay.” She smiled. “I can agree to that, but you have to promise me something.”

  “Anything,” he agreed before she even got her request out.

  “I don’t want this to change us because I think we’re in a pretty good place.”

  Giving her a light kiss, he ran his hands down to grip her hips. “The only thing this will change is your mind. After I show you what really loving me is all about, I know you’re going to marry me. You’re not gonna want another woman getting all this good action.”

  Swatting at him playfully, she looked into his eyes and saw her future. Whether she admitted it out loud or not, she had already accepted the minute she saw him walk through the door. The thought of getting back to him was what had kept her sane over the years.

  Wrapping her arms around his neck and breathing him in, she let out a joyous laugh. “Take me home?”

  “Home?”

  “Yes, to our home. I want to lock myself in with you, and I don’t want to come out until the sun rises tomorrow. See if Jenna can stay the night here.”

  “Already covered.” He smiled. “I asked Terence on the way here, and he said it was cool. I wanted tonight to just be you and me.”

  “Well, you got me. Let’s go.”

  “Let’s.” He grinned, running his hand down her face.

  Tyree grinned after watching his brother and Janelle make their speedy exit. “Looks like things are picking back up there.”

  “Yeah. I guess I got my answer.” Mia beamed.

  “About what?”

  “They’re getting married. He proposed.”

  “Miguel, my brother? Miguel proposed to someone?”

  “Not just someone, baby. The one. She’s the one for him.”

  “Yeah, she’s the one who can rein his crazy ass in.”

  “You’re silly.” Mia pushed his head away in time to look up and see Johnathan standing in front of her. “Hey, baby boy, what’s going on?”

  “Mama call Daddy silly too. Wut dat?”

  “Um . . .” Mia looked around the room, and they all laughed. “You guys are no help,” she hissed.

  “You have to start getting ready for questions like this, kitten. We have three little ones to answer to now.”

  “Three? Those two are going to be a while,” Asha pointed out.

  “It should be way more than three,” Kyan quipped. “They’re always—”

  “Kyan,” Tyree interjected.

  “What, Dad? You are. Everyone jokes about it.”

  “They do?” Mia scanned the room and looked at Terence and Asha acting like they weren’t listening.

  “Well, son, I love you
r mama so much I can’t help it. She’s beautiful.”

  “Dad, that’s gross.”

  “Son, it’s life. How do you think you got here?”

  “I try not to think about it,” he laughed, standing up with Tristen. “Come on, little brother, let’s get out of here before Mama and Daddy corrupt you before you can talk.” He looked over at Chloe and shrugged his shoulders. “I’m sorry, little sis, I only have two hands. I’ll come back for you.”

  Tyree looked to Mia and then back at Chloe. “Kitten, our son is crazy, but I’m glad he loves them already.”

  “Things are really working out, huh?”

  “Just like I promised you they would. I told you, I got this, baby.”

  “That you do.” She grinned, pulling his head to hers. “You always take care of me.”

  “I always will.”

  Chapter Thirty

  Mia and Tyree had finally gotten the kids home, and while putting them to bed, she leaned over, looking down into their cribs. While she did this, Tyree stood back, watching her for a second, in awe of the woman he loved. Staring at her, he couldn’t believe they were in this place. Any other time, he would be freaked out by the situation, but with everything that happened, all the obstacles they overcame, he was just happy. It was special, she was special, and now they were going to have three children to love. He had never felt more blessed.

  Wrapping his arms around her small frame, he placed a light kiss on her neck, causing her to turn around in his arms. When her arms found refuge around his neck, he leaned in to claim a sweet kiss. Feeling her pulse racing, he scooped her into his arms and wrapped her legs around his waist.

  Exploring her mouth, being careful not to drop her, he walked to their room and placed her on the bed. He had never been more ready for her, but before he could fully enjoy her, he had to shrug this feeling he had. His paternal instincts had kicked in, and he needed to be sure everything was fine. After excusing himself and creeping quietly down the hall, he walked toward the nursery and heard the cooing of baby Chloe. He stopped suddenly when he heard Kyan’s voice and leaned against the wall.

  “It’s okay, little sis. I’m here. I know we don’t know each other well, but we’re going to be good friends, and you’re going to love being with Mama and Dad. They’re crazy and sometimes gross, but they are the best parents. I didn’t always live with both of them, and it was a pretty rough time, but you don’t have to worry about that. Now they’re back together, and I don’t think they will ever break up again. They figured out what Aunt Asha said everyone always knew, that they’re crazy about each other. One day when you’re older, we’ll talk about so many things. I can’t wait. Just know that we’re lucky, little sis. Our mom and dad are amazing.”