He chuckled and reached back to squeeze my bottom in his hands. “There won’t ever be a next time. I know how it feels to walk into our room and have you not be there. I never want to f**king feel that again.”

I kissed his forehead, then trailed kisses down the side of his face to meet his lips. “Good,” I said before I sank into a kiss that would get me pushed up against a wall, full of Jax Stone, within minutes.

Marcus and Willow from Because of Low

Willow

Eli was standing on a stool beside me, helping me roll up cookie dough, then pat it flat. His preschool class was having a party tomorrow, and he was assigned to bring the cookies. This was all he had talked about all week. To a three-year-old little boy, cookies were of upmost importance.

“Can we save one for Daddy?” he asked as he rolled the dough more than it actually needed, then pounded it down with his little palm.

“I think he’d love that. Why don’t you give him that one?” I suggested.

Eli beamed up at me. “Okay! I will,” he replied. “But he won’t want to eat it alone. Maybe I should make one for me, too.”

Leave it to my little boy to reason out how he could get a cookie tonight. Grinning, I pretended to think about it. “Okay, I guess that makes sense.”

Marcus was over at Trisha and Rock’s, helping Rock build a basketball court in their backyard. They had said the project would only take a few days. It had taken two weeks so far. Trisha said if they’d stop playing ball themselves, they could finish the court.

I heard the front door open. Eli stopped what he was doing and jumped from his chair, then took off running toward the door for his father. Every day Eli looked more like Marcus. I touched my stomach and wondered if the baby girl in there was going to look like me or have more of her father’s beautiful features. I certainly wouldn’t mind if she did look like him.

“Larissa!” Eli cheered, and I stopped rolling cookie dough and went to wash my hands. If Larissa was here, then something was up. My sister hadn’t called me to tell me my niece was coming over.

“Take Larissa to your room, buddy. Y’all play for a bit while I talk to Mommy,” Marcus told him. That was another major flag. He never sent Eli to play when he hadn’t seen him all day. He normally kept Eli attached to him until we tucked him into bed.

I headed for the hallway just as Marcus appeared in the doorway of the kitchen. His face was etched with concern.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, not even needing to ask if something was wrong. I could tell from his face.

“Tawny’s gone. Her clothes and things are gone. She’s left,” Marcus said, looking at me with pain in his eyes. He didn’t want to have to tell me this. The fact that my sister was the awful woman who had ended his parents’ marriage and was now married to Marcus’s father while they raised their daughter—that was something we had accepted and dealt with.

“What do you mean?” I asked, having a hard time believing my sister had just left her daughter. She was a lot of things, but surely she wasn’t this selfish. She loved Larissa. At least, I thought she did. I knew she at least loved Jefferson Hardy, Larissa and Marcus’s father.

“Dad got a call from Larissa’s school. It was three thirty, and no one had come to get her. Tawny wasn’t answering their calls. Dad said he went and got Larissa and then headed home to see if Tawny had fallen asleep or something. Her car was gone, and so were her things. She’s left them. She’s also had her phone turned off and sold her car for cash. It was found already at a sleazy dealership in Mississippi. Dad’s making phone calls and trying to track her down. He didn’t want Larissa to hear this. She’s asked about her momma twice now.”

I grabbed a chair at the table and sank into it. “Oh God.”

Deep down I had always worried that the happily-ever-after life Tawny had wanted wasn’t going to work for her. I just hadn’t imagined this scenario. I never thought she’d leave her daughter. Without a word.

Marcus pulled out the chair beside me, sat down, and slid his hands over my knees. “I need to tell Mom before someone else does. She needs to hear this from me and not a nosy friend of hers. I don’t want to call her and tell her over the phone. And I need to let Amanda know too.”

“Yes, go tell them. I’ll get the kids in bed. We still have cookies left to make, and then we can read a book. Don’t worry about us. Just call me and keep me updated if your dad hears anything. I’ll think of anyone who might know where to find her and I’ll make some calls once the kids are in bed.”

Marcus nodded and slipped his hand into my hair, then pulled my head to him so he could claim my mouth in a kiss. “I love you,” he told me, then kissed me harder.

I enjoyed the taste of my husband but pulled back after a few seconds because he wasn’t letting up. “You need to go,” I reminded him.

He nodded. “Yeah. I’ll hurry. Tell Eli I promise to make it up to him tomorrow. I’ll keep him home from preschool and he can go to work with me.”

I laughed and shook my head. “Tomorrow is party day, and he’s taking the cookies.”

Marcus grinned. “Okay then, movie night tomorrow night,” he said.

“Much better,” I agreed.

He kissed me one more time, quickly. “God, you’re sexy as hell. It’s hard to come home to this and then run off again.”

“Hurry back,” I told him, then slapped his tight ass.

He winked at me, then headed for the door. I waited until it closed behind him to go check on the kids. I wanted to hug Larissa close to me and let her know I loved her. She needed some extra love right now. Tawny wasn’t the best mom, but she did love Larissa. Her father wasn’t the most affectionate man in the world, though.

Eli’s little head turned when I walked into the room. He had Larissa helping him put together his newest Lego set.

“Where’s Daddy?” he asked, looking perplexed. He had thought Marcus would be the one to come get them.

“He had to run to Grana’s. He’ll be back soon,” I assured him. Then I turned my attention to Larissa. “Hey, princess, got some hugs for me?” I asked Tawny’s Mini-Me.

“Hey Lowlow,” she said as she stood up. She ran over to me and threw herself into my arms. She held on extra tight and I squeezed back. She was six now, and she knew something was wrong. “I love you bunches,” I told her.

“I love you more bunches,” she said, and my heart broke a little more. How could Tawny leave her? More than once in my life I had hated my sister. This was one of those times.

“We’re making cookies. You want to help Eli and me finish them up?” I asked her. She pulled back and nodded excitedly.

“YAY!” Eli cheered, and ran from the room back toward the kitchen.

Larissa giggled, and I stood up. Her little hand reached up and slipped into mine. Her little grasp was tight, and I held on to her just as tightly as we followed Eli back into the kitchen.

Marcus

When I pulled into my mother’s driveway, my father’s truck was already there. What was he doing? The jackass comes running to my mom for help when his current wife leaves him? Dammit!

I jumped out of my truck and slammed the door before stalking up to the house. I didn’t knock. I just opened the door and walked inside. I could hear their voices from the living room, so I headed that way. My dad better have had a f**king good reason for coming over here. And when I say good reason, it better be because Tawny’s sorry ass was here hiding in the garage. If that wasn’t the reason, then he was getting my fist in his face.

My mother didn’t need this bullshit.

“I thought she said it was fine. She was good with the divorce,” I heard my mother say. I stopped walking.

“I heard the door. Wait,” my dad demanded, before appearing in the hallway. Our gazes locked.

“I need an explanation. Now,” I commanded.

Dad let out a sigh and ran his hand through his short hair. “I shoulda figured you would be coming over here.”

“That ain’t an answer, Dad,” I snapped.

Mother stepped out into the hall, saw me, and sighed. “Hello, honey. Come on in and sit down, you two. Might as well tell him everything, Jeff,” she said as if this was all normal.

Nothing about my parents talking calmly in the same house was normal. He had ripped my mother’s life apart and sent Amanda into a depression when he’d gotten Tawny pregnant and run off with her. Now, four years later, he’s hanging out in the house I grew up in like this was totally okay. It wasn’t f**king okay.

“Fine,” he replied, and turned to follow my mother back into the living room.

I watched as my dad did exactly as my mother said.

Beyond confused, I went into the living room.

“Sit down, Marcus,” my mother said, pointing to the sofa across from the one she and my father had sat down on.

“No, Mom, I think I’ll stand,” I replied, shoving my hands into my pockets and staring at my parents like they were aliens. Which was how they were currently acting.

“Jeff, you start,” Mother said, and leaned back, crossing her legs. She was completely composed.

“Tawny and I were getting a divorce. She had . . .” He stopped and looked at my mother, who nodded for him to continue. Then he turned his attention back to me. “She had found out I was coming here the nights I got home late. I admitted to her that she was a mistake I had made during a hard time in my marriage. I wasn’t in love with her. Larissa was the only reason we were together.” Dad held up his hands and shrugged like this was okay. “She took it well. She said she hated being married and trying to live up to the expectations set by your mother. Not that she ever came close. She wanted out too. She agreed to joint custody of Larissa. She was thrilled over it, although she tried to hide it. I had the paperwork drawn up and everything was going smoothly. Until she found out yesterday that the prenup she had signed said that if we have joint custody of Larissa, she will not get child support. I will take care of all Larissa’s needs, but I won’t give Tawny money. It also states that she doesn’t get anything—no money at all from me. I told her that I would leave her the house in Mobile because I wanted Larissa to have a safe home when she was with her mother. Tawny screamed that she needed more than that and didn’t want to be stuck in that house in Mobile.” When he stopped, my mother reached over and wrapped one of her perfectly manicured hands around his. As if this were some insane dream, my father opened his palm and threaded his fingers through my mother’s. What the f**k?

I pointed at him, then at my mother. “Are you saying . . . that you’ve been here like BEEN here?” I asked, my voice raised.

Mother looked almost guilty, and my father squeezed her hand. “Yes, Marcus. That’s what I mean. I’ve been in love with your mother for the largest portion of my life. When work stress got to me and I was working more than I was at home, I made a mistake that would have destroyed most families. But your mother was there for you kids. She kept the three of you together and helped you heal.”

I stared at my mother. “And you’re just . . . letting him back in?” I asked, remembering the days I had held her while she cried and I swore I would hate my father for the rest of my life.

“I didn’t let him in easily, if that’s what you’re thinking. He worked for it for a while. But I love your father. A small portion of what happened was my fault too. I had neglected his needs and put my organizations above him. I’m not giving him an excuse, because what he did wasn’t excusable, and I swore I’d never forgive him. But I have found that when you love someone, you can forgive just about anything. Eventually.”

This time I sat down. I needed a minute.

“This isn’t how we wanted you or Amanda to find out. We were going to go through with the divorce and slowly ease you both into having family dinners where I attended. We intended to be careful with your emotions and let you accept it over time. However, Tawny decided to run off, so everything changed.”

“So you’re still married to her?” I asked, looking at my parents’ hands still joined.

“No. She left the signed divorce papers on the kitchen table with a note that she couldn’t take Larissa. And that was it. Nothing else.”

Shit. How was the woman I adored more than life related to this heartless bitch? It was a question I had asked myself more than once over the years.

“Larissa is going to come stay here. With us,” my mother said, snapping me out of my thoughts.

“What?” I asked, again thrown into shock.

Mother tilted her head and leveled her eyes at me. “You know I love that child. Once I got over everything, I started letting Amanda bring Larissa around. I’ve grown attached. She needs a mother right now, and I intend to give her the love she needs. If Amanda is okay with it, I’m going to turn her room into Larissa’s. My hope is Tawny will grow up and come back to be a part of her daughter’s life. But until that day comes, I will be this little girl’s mother. She laughs like my own baby girl did once, and when she smiles she looks just like the daughter-in-law I love dearly. She even has Willow’s mannerisms. And then I see your father in her too. Nothing about that little girl isn’t lovable.”

Larissa was charming. But my mother was willing take her in? And love her? Holy shit, the woman really was a saint. I’d always put my mother on a pedestal, but now I saw that she deserved it. Shaking my head, I stood up. I needed to go home and talk to Low. She would help me deal with all this.