Sea Breeze 03 - While It Lasts

on a holiday since before Josh passed away. This will be good for all of us.”
    A door slamming and yelling interrupted our conversation. I jumped up and ran out on the porch. Daddy was blocking my view . I couldn’t see who he was yelling at but I knew the car he was standing in front of. It was Cage. What was he doing here?
    “Oh my. What is that boy doing here? Should I call the cops?”
    “ Shhh , no. Don’t call anyone, ” I snapped and turned my attention back to the driveway.
    “I told you not to come back around here , boy. “ Daddy roared.
    “I shouldn’t have left. I want to talk to Eva . You should’ ve never made me leave without talking to her,” Cage replied.
    What?
    “I gave you a choice and you chose your baseball car ee r over her. Ain’t no boy good enough for my girl that would choose anything else over her.”
    Cage s lammed his fist down on his car hood. “ I didn’t choose anything over her. You threatened my life and my education. It was neve r about baseball. Fuck baseball! ”
    “Get in that car and leave. Don’t come back. I’ll call the cops next time and you’ll go to jail. Don’t mess with me. I protect what’s mine.”
    Cage’s eyes shifted and our gazes locked . I didn’t understand what I’d just heard. I didn’t know what had happened between my daddy and Cage. A t the moment I didn’t care. I was getting to look at him again. He was here and I could see him. He didn’t look like a guy who wanted to throw me aside.
    “I love you, Eva Brooks. No matter what you’ve been told or what you think of me. I love you!”
    Everything and everyone melted away. Cage was yelling for everyone to hear that he loved me. Even w ith my daddy breathing down his neck. I couldn’t move. I didn’t know what to do. He had left me. Without saying a word. N ow he was back and he said he loved me. What was the truth? Love didn’t just run off without an explanation. He’d broken my heart.
    Cage turned and to open his car door and climbed inside. Numbly , I watched him pull out and drive away.
    I let him go. Why had I let him go?

Chapter Twenty-Four

    Cage

    Sitting at our table at Live Bay seemed empty. Everything seemed empty. I’d thought going to see Eva and telling her I loved her would do something. Low had got me to believe someone like Eva could love me. She was wrong. Eva had chosen her family over me , again. She always would.
    “Smile, you’re depressing as shit,” Rock grumbled as he slammed a beer down in front of me.
    “Thanks,” I replied.
    “Never thought I’d see you with a broken heart. Out of all of the guys I never thought it’d be you. It’s like I’ve walked into the fucking twilight zone and can’t get out.”
    I grunted and took a long swallow of my beer.
    “ Wanna dance , Cage?”
    I didn’t even try to remember her name. She was one of the mistakes. I had so many. I just shook my head no and took another drink.
    “Sorry honey but he ain’t real good company right now,” Trisha apologized for me.
    “If you change your mind—“ she started
    “I won’t,” I interrupted her.
    She got the hint and walked off. I never even looked at her face. They all looked the same anyway. They all weren’t Eva .
    “You think maybe you could be less scary?” Trisha asked.
    “No.”
    Rock chuckled, “Let it go , babe. He’s nursing a broken heart and you know that boy ain’t ever had one before. It’s a new experience for him.”
    “You may want to warn Krit before they take a break. I don’t want Cage and him getting into it because he can’t keep his mouth shut.”
    I didn’t belong here. I didn’t want to be here. I laid a couple twenties on the table and stood up. “I’m leaving, anyway. I’ve had all the fun I can handle for the night.”
    “I hate for you to be alone. You want me to call Low?”
    Low was the last person I wanted to talk to. She didn’t understand that it wasn’t an easy fix.
    “No. I just want to go home and go to bed. I need to be at the gym in the morning.”
    “Later,” Rock added with a nod and I turned and headed for the door.
    I noticed that Jackdown had stopped playing and the crowd had gone silent. That was odd and unheard of. I paused and looked back at the stage to see what it was I was missing that had quieted the crowd.
    “Hello,” Eva’s voice said over the microphone. What the fuck?
    “I don’t, uh, I don’t normally play in front of people. Actually , I’ve never really played in