The rest of us ate leftovers upstairs in the kitchen. We were all vegged out in front of the TV in the living room napping and watching some pregnancy show on the Discovery Channel, From Conception to Birth or something like that. It was interesting as hell, but when the birth part came? Lexi cried and Dash looked like he was about to puke. Both reactions seemed on point. I was happy to just lie on the couch with B in my arms, since her sister and Smith were still out with Landry. I loved that my friends were taking the time to get to know my daughter. I was just about to fall asleep when the doorbell rang.
Luke hopped up. “I’ll get it. No use in you disgusting couples breaking apart.”
I was more than happy to let him deal with whoever was at the door. I didn’t want to move until I absolutely had to.
“Jacks? Get over here!”
I could hear the panic in Luke’s normally calm and soft voice. I shot up off the couch, a million horrible scenarios running through my head in the fifteen seconds it took me to make it to the front of the house. Luke was standing stiff with his arms crossed over his chest and his feet planted. “What’s going on? What’s wrong?”
He moved to the side, making room for me. There was a woman standing there; she was thin and she looked vaguely familiar. “Can we help you?” Was she a groupie? A stalker? Had people finally noticed we were in Florida?
“You sure the hell can. Where’s my daughter?”
Landry’s mom. Holy fucking shit. I could see it now, the slight resemblance was mostly in build and skin tone. I didn’t know what I wanted to scream at her first. “Where the hell do you get off showing up at our door? How did you even find us?!”
She pushed her long hair out of her face. “It’s not hard to find a house full of famous rock stars, Jacks.”
“Why are you here?” I was shaking, seconds away from losing control. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt this angry…or scared.
“I wanted to see my daughter.” She looked at the ground. “I missed her.”
“You missed her?! Are you fucking kidding me?! You abandoned her!” I went to shut the door, but she stopped me.
“Where is she?!”
I swallowed. “She’s safe. Which is something she never was with you.”
She narrowed her hollow eyes. “Like an asshole like you would know the first thing about how to treat a girl. Let alone a child.”
Her words hit me hard; she’d unknowingly hit me where it hurt. “You need to leave. Now. Before I call the police. If you want to talk to Landry, you need to contact the state. Believe me, they’re just dying to know why you abandoned your child.”
She shifted on her feet, clearly uncomfortable at the mention of social workers and the police. “She’s mine.”
I could feel Bryan walk up behind me. Her hand on my back gave me strength. “No, she’s not. Not anymore. You want her back? Be prepared for the fight of your life.” I slammed the door in her face. I was trembling. I was terrified and pissed off and yet at the same time I felt almost bad for the woman standing on our porch. At one time she had been pretty, but clearly life hadn’t been kind to her. And I couldn’t help but wonder if it all started with me. I could feel everyone’s eyes on me, but I wasn’t ready to look at them yet. I turned and headed into the kitchen, grabbing my cell phone and calling Diane, the social worker. Her voicemail picked up. “Diane, it’s Jacks Cole. Landry’s mom was just here looking for her. I sent her away, so I’m guessing she’ll be contacting you soon. I’m calling my lawyers next.”
Chapter Eighteen
Bryan
Landry’s mom showing up had shaken us all to the core. Diane had called back, telling Jacks to get all his ducks in a row so to speak. He needed to make sure that all the social worker checks would scream “healthy, stable environment.” We couldn’t give her mom any ammo to use against us. No one spoke a word about the encounter with Landry. Jacks didn’t want it brought up anywhere around her. He instructed us all to act like it had never happened if she was in the house. She didn’t need to know, not yet. She was so happy here, she was letting her guard down and learning to relax. Knowing her mom was back would only terrify her. Jacks had taken her and Dagger down to the beach so I could fill Dylan and Smith in on everything. I’d never really pictured myself as a parent, never really gave it much thought. But after spending this time with Landry, I was finally starting to understand. I would do absolutely anything and everything to make sure that little girl was safe and happy. I would go to the ends of the earth for her.
“Honey! We’re home!”
I closed the tile catalogue I’d been looking at when I heard Jacks and Landry come through the door. “How was the beach?” Jacks came in, smiling, and pulled me close for a hug. Kissing the top of my head before heading to the kitchen.
Landry trailed in behind him, still in her damp swimsuit and miniature aviators that matched Jacks’s large ones. “It was great! We saw a stingray!”
“You did?! That’s so cool!” I put my hand on top of her head and turned her in the direction of the stairs. “You need to change out of that wet suit and jump in the bath to get all the sand and sunscreen off you.” Before they’d left the house I’d slathered Landry in SPF 50. She had more of an olive skin tone, but that sun reflecting off the water could make anyone burn.