Tell Them Lies (Three Little Words Book 3) Read Online Free

onto the curved entrance to one of the district library branches, he had to pull down his visor to shield his eyes. The brightness of the sun, still in the sky at this point of the day, reflected off the rectangular windows that were spread evenly throughout the clay colored brick building. A few cars dotted the parking lot, but it wasn't busy by any stretch.
    "So, is quilting class going to be canceled if you're the only one that shows up?"
    "Oh, zip it. We're a little early still. It doesn't start until six-thirty."
    "You should be nicer to me; someone will accuse you of adult child neglect."
    With one thin hand, she patted his cheek a little harder than was necessary. "You'll get over it."
    Once he stepped out of the car, he winced at how the wind had picked up, making it seem much colder than it actually was. He slammed his door shut quickly so it didn't cut into the car and make his mom cold. He shivered once, just one manly shake though, when he admitted to himself he should have worn a coat over his white long-sleeve thermal.
    After helping his mom from the car, he jogged ahead to open the heavy glass and steel doors. The entryway to the library was silent, with brick colored tile crisscrossed along the floor to the next set of doors, which led into the main area of the building. He could see a large, curving checkout desk, and several displays holding brightly colored hardcovers. A child skipped around one tall bookshelf and plopped down into a small white chair at a vivid red table.
    He was about to pull open the next door when his mom tugged on his arm, leading him down a hallway he hadn't seen. There were about four classrooms; the first doorway on the right was clearly for children, with the primary colored decorations and impossibly small bean bags littering the floor. From the opened door just a bit further down the hall, he could hear a soft, muffled voice speaking and the shuffling of papers.
    Stepping back when they reached the room she'd pulled him towards, Kieran stepped aside to let her go in front of him. But then once he'd cleared the door, he glanced past the empty chairs at the empty tables, to the woman standing at the back of the room.
    The. Woman.
    Her bright blonde hair was pulled back into another ponytail, this one sitting lower on her head, and since she was in profile to him, he could see how the slightly curled ends touched just to the middle of her shoulder blades. And there was something light blue covering the rest of her, he just didn't move his eyes down far enough to figure out what.
    "It's her." His voice came out hushed, damn near worshipful. And idiotic. It was idiotic, because his mom looked up when he said it, then turned her head to where he couldn't stop staring. Like an idiot.
    And because he was an idiot, he said nothing when a giant ass smile lit her face.
    "Her? Really?"
    "Uhhh-huh." Oh God, please strike him down. Was it really lying if he simply made some unintelligible sounds? He was dead. She was gonna kill him. And he didn't even know which 'she' he was referring to.
    She turned, the she that still looked like a freaking vision, and her eyes slowly moved to where they were standing frozen just inside the classroom.
    "Mom, why don't you sit down? I'll uhh, I'll bring her over here."
    Oh shit, oh damn, oh hell, what was he going to do?
    But did she listen? Noooooo. Because then she would be a nice, agreeable mom. Oh no, she let go of his arm and started marching right across the room.
    "Are you kidding, honey? I need to meet this girl."

Chapter Three
    S o , what the hell was he supposed to do?
    Shove his mother over so that he could distract her? Yeah. Probably not. He really wished he knew what her name was, because she recognized him, no doubt about that. She also looked confused. And that was most likely because his wisp of a mom was barreling down on her.
    But Kieran? He was faster. So he all but cut her off, taking the remainder of the room in a few long strides,