Lies in Love (29 page)

She
finally stood up from the bike, waiting for Landon to join her. When
he’d taken the helmet from her head and placed it on his
mirror, he took her hand and led her inside. “Landon, please
tell me why we’re here.”

He
smiled, but didn’t say a word. They headed straight for the
service counter and Landon gave his name for pickup. The clerk
disappeared behind swinging doors and returned with a box in his
hands. “It just came in this morning.”

Landon
used his keys to cut the tape on the box and pushed it in front of
Talia. “Check it out.”

She
stared resolutely at Landon.

“Come
on, Petal.” He used the name hoping to persuade her. He was
pleased when she finally lifted the flaps and peeked inside.

“Landon,”
she gasped. She reached inside and pulled the cellophane-covered
half-helmet out. She ripped the plastic free and stared in awe. “It’s
beautiful.”

He
had ordered the helmet after the cooler nightmare, selecting the
custom paint job just for her. A blue rose was beautifully painted on
either side. Beneath it lay a single petal with razor edges, giving a
sense of strength beyond the petals still attached above it. It was
the most nerve-wracking part of the whole ordeal, symbolizing the
strength he saw in his
Petal
.
He’d hoped she would love it since he’d designed it just
for her. “I wanted something that fit who you were, but it had
to have just the right amount of bad ass.” He grinned when she
looked up at him.

“It’s
perfect. I love it.” She kissed him on the cheek and held the
helmet close to her. “Just the right amount of bad ass.”

Landon
beamed with pride as he waved at the clerk. “Thanks, man.”

Talia
was glowing all the way back to Landon’s bike. She still
clutched the helmet tightly in her arms while Landon led her out with
his arm wrapped around her. “I can’t believe you bought
me a helmet.”

“It
seemed like a good idea, since you’ve taken ownership of mine.”

When
they were outside, Talia took one more look at the helmet before
strapping it on. With it secure, a brilliant smile spread clear
across her face.

“You
really like it, don’t you?”

“I
really do.”

Landon
breathed a sigh of relief and took Talia on to their next
destination.

Green
grassy fields passed by as Landon neared the surprise destination.
It’d been years since he’d been back and he struggled to
find the location, navigating through miles of new development. He’d
hoped the city hadn’t expanded this far north, but the
outskirts of the Dallas suburbs were fast becoming one large
continuation of the booming city. When his old wrought-iron fence
came into view, he slowed his bike, taking a deep breath as he neared
the main gate.

“Where
are we?” It was the first question Talia had asked since they
left the bike shop.

Landon
didn’t say anything as he stopped the bike several yards from
the entrance. “Hop off.”

Talia
harrumphed when Landon didn’t answer her question, but she did
as he asked.

He
tucked the bike behind a tree, where it was hidden from passersby.
“Come on.” He took her hand and walked to the front gate,
stopping at the security keypad.

“Landon,
what’s going on?”

Optimistically,
he typed in his old security code, remembering how flighty his
ex-step-mother was, and delighted when the gate swung open. “Come
on,” he said again when Talia stood frozen outside the gate. He
tugged her hand and pulled her inside before it started to swing
closed again. Once just inside the gate, it closed behind them and
Talia froze, refusing to move any farther.

“I’m
not taking another step until you tell me what we’re doing.”

“I
wanted to show you this.” Landon gestured to the surrounding
pasture and the buildings in the distance.

“What
is this?”

“This
is Bar H Ranch. This is where I grew up.” Landon watched as
Talia stared at him, astonished. “I haven’t been here in
nearly twelve years.”

“What?
Why not?” Talia’s eyes shot open.

Landon
hesitated to answer, afraid of what Talia’s reaction would be.
“Technically, the house doesn’t belong to my family
anymore.”

“What
do you mean,
technically
?”
She pulled away from him anxiously.

“The
house belonged to my father until his divorce. My dad was so
distraught during the proceedings, he allowed his ex-wife to take
everything, including his soul.” Landon waited for her
response, hoping she didn’t want to turn and run.

“His
ex-wife? And she knows we’re here?”

Landon
shook his head grimly. “I haven’t talked to her in years,
but I know she’s been out of the country. She travels overseas
frequently since she has every last dime my father worked for.”

Talia
glanced at him momentarily before stating, “I’m not sure
about this.”

He
gently took her hand in his, staring fervently into her eyes.
“Please, Talia. This is as much for you as it is for me. You’ll
understand soon enough if you can just do this with me.”

She
softly whispered, “Okay,” and they began to walk along
the fence line.

They
moved along in silence as Landon tried to decide where to start. He
decided to let the words come freely and began his story. “My
father bought this ranch as a wedding gift for my mother. He had just
made his first million in the oil company and shortly after the sale
of the property was finalized they began building my mother’s
dream home. Every single detail of the house was to my mother’s
exact specifications. She absolutely loved it here.” Landon
avoided looking at the plantation-style home where he grew up,
holding tight to Talia’s hand as he spoke. He wanted her to
know his story, every bit, but it wasn’t an easy story to tell.
He hadn’t talked to anyone about his life before he became an
escort. This was a major step for him.

He
continued, seeing she was hanging on every word. “Over time,
they built a barn and bought horses for my mother. She loved to ride,
but she came from a poor family so she never had the money to own a
horse of her own. My dad worked effortlessly to give my mother
everything she wanted.” As they came to the edge of the
property, Talia stopped him to remove her ballet flats then they
continued on. “She used to drag me out of bed at the crack of
dawn on Saturdays to go for a ride. I was the only one of us kids
that would actually join her on her trail rides.”

“How
many siblings do you have?” Talia was staring contently at him,
obviously taking in every word.

“I
have two, a brother named Dawson and a sister, Celia.”

“Are
you close?”

Landon
wondered why they’d rarely discussed family before. He realized
he knew so little about Talia’s parents and he had no idea if
Talia had any other siblings aside from Sara. “My brother and I
are very close. In fact, my apartment belongs to him.”

“What
about your sister?”

“We
had a falling out about six years ago and I haven’t spoken to
her since. She doesn’t agree with my lifestyle.” Landon
immediately kicked himself for that last statement.

“Your
lifestyle?”

“Let’s
just say, she’s very reserved. She thinks everyone should be
married by the time they are twenty-five and have two point three
kids. I don’t fit into her cookie-cutter existence.” It
was a vague stretch on
his
truth, but it was what Celia had always wanted for her family.

“That’s
ridiculous. You are your own person. She can’t expect you to be
exactly like her. Besides, not everyone meets that certain someone by
the time they are twenty-five.”

“And
not everyone wants to get married.”

“You
don’t want to get married?” Talia stopped in her tracks,
pulling at Landon’s hand and turning him to look at her.

“Honestly,
I don’t know. I used to think I’d never get married, but
I’m not so sure now. My opinion seems to be changing.”

Talia
cocked an eyebrow. “Why?”

Landon
smirked at her. He was surprised she didn’t know his change of
heart was all because of her. “Because my life is different
now. I’m not who I used to be.”

Talia
furrowed her brow, eyeing him.

“Come
on, I want to show you the barn.”

Talia
took Landon’s hand and fell in step with him again.

“When
I was a kid, I used to hide up in the hayloft to get away from my
sister. She was such a bossy little thing. You never would have known
she was a year younger than me.”

Talia
giggled, resting her head on his shoulder.

The
door to the barn was open just enough for a person to easily step
inside and when Landon and Talia entered, the smell of moldy hay
assaulted them. They both quickly covered their noses and Landon
pulled her back outside. “I guess that wasn’t such a good
idea.” They laughed, and Landon decided to take Talia around to
the back of the property. He’d tried to avoid looking at his
childhood home, but it was growing harder as they made their way
closer to the house. “My mother was so amazing. She loved the
sound of all of us kids running around the house, laughing and having
a good time. Friday nights, we would all get to invite one friend
over and the house could get pretty noisy, but my mother loved it.
She would spend the entire night cooking for everyone making these
amazing feasts fit for a holiday dinner and when we were done eating,
she’d begin baking cookies and brownies. We never went hungry
when she was around. It’s a miracle I wasn’t overweight.”

Landon
stared straight ahead, knowing he was passing his old bedroom window
as they walked by the side of the house. “I remember this one
Friday. My sister brought over her best friend, Melanie. I had such a
crush on that girl.” He stopped to take in Talia’s
reaction, but she was still fixated on him, smiling. “I was
maybe ten or eleven and I chased Melanie around the house, pulling
her pigtails and calling her
Punky
Brewster
.
Celia was ready to kill me, but my mom just laughed at all of it. She
loved watching us just be kids. She never wanted us to grow up too
fast.” He took a deep breath, realizing how quickly he did grow
up when everything changed.

After
a moment of silence, he continued. “When I was twelve, my mom
got sick. My brother was a senior in high school, so he had a better
grip on things, but Celia and I were lost. Our mother had been an
integral part of our lives. She helped us with our homework, made our
lunches; she even ironed our clothes every morning before we went to
school, whether they were wrinkled or not. And when we had a problem,
without us saying a word, she knew and she was always there with
words of wisdom to get us through it. All of that stopped when she
got sick. She was constantly tired. She didn’t have the energy
for the things we’d grown accustomed to. Celia and I looked to
my father to fill her shoes, but he just didn’t have the time.
When my mom got sick, my dad devoted hours to tirelessly searching
for a doctor who could make her better.” Landon was struggling
to keep it together as he began to recall how his family fell apart.

Talia’s
hand slipped up his arm, caressing his bicep.

“My
mom had stage four ovarian cancer that had metastasized before they
even knew anything was wrong. There was nothing the doctors could do,
but my dad couldn’t bear the thought of living without her, so
he searched day and night for someone to save her. At one point, he
even turned to holistic remedies and healing ceremonies. My mother
hated all of the treatments and medicines, but she tolerated all of
it for my dad. She understood he was desperate to keep her around,
but I think deep down she knew she wouldn’t make it and she
just wanted to honor his wishes during the time she had left here on
earth. With Mom in and out of treatment facilities and Dad constantly
searching for an answer, my brother was left to raise us during our
formative years while my parents dealt with my mother’s last
days.”

Landon
looked off at the backyard as they neared. He refused to look at the
house. It was the hardest part of coming back here, but he needed
this time to tell Talia who he was and what made him who he is now.
As they turned the corner, walking onto the back lawn, he could see
the dilapidated tree house still sitting in the dying oak tree. It
was a mockery of everything his father shared with the ex-wife. He
laughed in disgust, leading Talia around the back of the house. “I
can’t believe she left it here.” He walked over to the
tree, placing his hand on the carving in the trunk.

Talia
gasped from behind him. “It’s the oak tree.” She
stepped to his side, staring at the carving in silence.

He
knew she’d put it together. This was the tree that was now
tattooed on his arm for eternity. “After my mom died, this was
the only place I still felt her. I couldn’t find her in the
kitchen or her bedroom, or even in her library. This was it, for me.
This was the only place I could still sense her in me.” Landon
stared at the tree, remembering one of the last heart-to-hearts he’d
had with his mother before she fell ill. He’d been up in his
tree house crying over losing his first real girlfriend and his
mother came in to console him. She explained the trouble with love
and how it is a double-edged sword.