Your Eyes Don't Lie by Rachel Branton Page B

remember Snoop, and he wants to see him.”
    Tessa laughed. “Snoop can run outside to his heart’s content.” She hesitated. “I mean, if that’s okay with Makay. She might have too much homework.”
    Picturing a long night reading her textbooks or following Lenny around in her car suddenly made Makay want to weep. She couldn’t even remember what it was like to go dancing, to be a woman instead of a single “mom” struggling to get an education and pay the bills. She wanted to dance, to talk, to laugh like those little girls in the park yesterday.
    “Okay,” she said, rolling her eyes. “You win. I’ll go with you tonight, and Nate and Snoop can go to Lily’s and play with Jonny.” To Nate she added, “Just make sure we remember to feed him or Lily will have a problem on her hands.”
    “Yippee!” Nate punched a fist in the air. “I can go, I can go!”
    “Hey, what’s up, Nate?” a little girl called from down the sidewalk.
    Nate waved. “My mom’s taking me to my friend’s house. There’s a horse there, and we’re making cookies!”
    “Cool! I love making cookies.” The girl waved and climbed inside her mother’s car.
    Makay stared after the little girl. Had Nate just referred to her as his mother? Tessa’s curious glance testified that he had, but she didn’t comment, and Makay took her cue from her friend to not make a big deal of it.
    “Great,” Tessa said, exchanging a high five with Nate. “I’ll see you guys by seven, okay? I have a table already reserved at the Q Lounge, but their buffet is only until eight.”
    “Wait.” Makay was already having second thoughts. “Nate’s usually in bed about eight.”
    “Not when we watch movies,” Nate protested.
    “Well, Jonny’s probably going to bed about then.”
    “It’s the weekend,” Tessa said. “He lives in a house full of teenage girls. No one goes to bed early. Sleeping late, yes, but never going to bed early. Kid after my own heart.” Her eyes slid back to Nate. “Hey, I know, why don’t you plan to sleep over? That way it won’t matter what time we get home. Jonny will be thrilled.”
    The last time she’d been out with Tessa, Makay had left everyone at the club at twelve thirty because she’d been worried about Nate, who was being watched by old Janice at her apartment. Well, worried about Nate and also ready to drop dead from exhaustion. Not everyone was like Tessa, who was a zombie in the mornings but came alive at night. “I don’t know,” she hedged.
    “Pleeeease,” begged Nate. There he went again with the eyes. That child was going to be a heartbreaker one of these days. Makay understood exactly why Tessa had come to the school to ask her in person in front of Nate instead of calling. She either had control issues or she was a really good friend.
    Makay ignored the sting of tears behind her eyes. “Okay.”
    Tessa grinned. “See you tonight then. Don’t eat before you come because I’m buying, remember, and they have great barbecue.” With a wave, she headed toward her car, which was parked across the street.
    “Well,” Makay said. “Guess we’d better get home.”
    Nate threw himself at her, hugging her tightly. “This is the best day ever. Thanks!”
    She really needed to let him get out more. “How was school?” she asked as she went around and opened the car door for him.
    “Awesome. I like school. My teacher’s nice. Can we have the top down?”
    “Sure.” Makay started the engine and began retracting the top before saying casually, “So, was that one of your friends you talked to just now?”
    “Yeah. She’s really nice and not silly like the other girls.” He hesitated a moment before adding more softly, “Is it okay that I said you were my mom? It’s just . . . well, I know you’re my sister, but you do everything a mom does and sometimes, well, I just feel weird, you know, like I’m different ’cuz I don’t have a mom and all the other kids do. Or most of