Until the End (Sea Breeze #9)(52)

“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.