Sea Breeze 02 - Because of Low

for what she called debt she owed me and left.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out the check and handed it to Cage.
    “Holy Mother.”
    “Look who wrote me the check Cage. Not the amount.”
    He lifted his blue eyes to me, “Low, baby, I’m so sorry. She just keeps fucking your life up.”
    “I knew he had family problems and I knew he hated his dad and he was worried about his mother. But God, Cage I’d have never in a million years have guessed this.”
    Cage reached over and grasped my hand in his, “I’m here. You got me. You know that.”
    I knew that. But it wasn’t my losing Cage I was worried about.
    “I need to talk to her, him, both of them. I need to go see Tawny and Jefferson, Marcus’s dad. I have to find a way to tell Marcus and not lose him. I can’t lose him Cage.”
    Cage cranked up the car, “Buckle up and type their address into my GPS.” I quickly did as I was told then lay my head back on the seat, closed my eyes and prayed I’d find a way to make this okay.

    It was dark when we pulled up to the large two story brick home inside the gated golf course community that my sister and niece now lived. Cage pulled into their driveway and I sat staring up at the home in front of me. Lights were on in almost every room in the house. They were here. It was time to find some answers. To understand what had happened. I just needed some way to keep Marcus. I glanced down at my phone again. Marcus hadn’t texted me since his last text two hours ago telling me his mother was doing fine. He hadn’t explained what happened. I thought I’d heard his sister say something about calling 911 but apparently that hadn’t happened. Amanda must’ve overreacted. If his mother had gone to the hospital he’d have told me. He’d have wanted me there.
    “Come on. Let’s go do this,” Cage said opening my car door. I’d been so lost in thought I hadn’t even noticed he’d gotten out of the car. I stood up and we walked to the front double doors together. Seeing those two large double doors reminded me of the other house this man owned. The one where he’d raised Amanda and Marcus. The one he’d abandoned.
    I reached out and pressed the doorbell then waited.
    Jefferson Hardy opened the door. A surprised expression lit his eyes as he stood back .
    “Willow, please come in. Larissa was just talking about you.”
    He remembered my name.
    I stepped inside and Cage was right behind me.
    “Who is it?” Tawny asked as she appeared at the top of the large elegant wooden staircase. She froze and her gaze shifted from me to Cage and back.
    “Low what’re you doing here?”
    She was annoyed. Good. I was devastated.
    “I need to talk to you,” I turned to look back at Jefferson, “and him.”
    Jefferson and Tawny exchanged looks while I waited.
    “Okay, well Tawny why don’t you get Larissa and come on down here. She’ll be thrilled to see Willow.” This man was playing house so easily. As if he hadn’t just abandoned another family. The one he’d had for more years than Tawny had been alive.
    “Follow me,” Jefferson said smiling at me and then turned to lead us down a hallway and then into a large living room already furnished with several large leather chairs big enough for two and a huge sectional sofa. The largest flatscreen I’d ever seen hung on the wall and a gas fire crackled in the fire place. Wasn’t this just cozy.
    “Can I offer you something to drink?” Jefferson asked.
    I shook my head.
    “No,” was Cage’s only reply. I felt like he was my silent bodyguard. It helped knowing he was here.
    “My Lowlow,” Larissa squealed in obvious delight when Tawny walked into the room carrying Larissa on her hip. Her hair was damp from a bath and she was in a pair of pajamas I’d never seen before. They looked soft, frilly and expensive. Seeing Larissa in something so nice just added to the mass of emotions swirling around inside me. I wanted the best for Larissa. I wanted her to have a daddy who loved her and was there for her. But what about the other little girl this man had. The teenage one who was falling apart from his betrayal. I wanted to scream in frustration.
    Tawny put Larissa down and she ran to me her arms up in the air. I bent down and picked her up and nuzzled her sweet neck. She smelled so good. Like a baby should smell. A healthy, loved baby.
    “Hey my favorite princess,” I whispered in her ear.
    “Lowlow,” she smiled up at me.
    “I missed you,” I