Page 78 of Fourteen of a Kind

“No, Graham. You’re not,” Nathan said. “Once you get Ella involved in something, she doesn’t give up unless she’s deeply hurt.”

“Well, she did. She uninvited me to Riley’s wedding, and I took it as a sign that things were over. So, I told her it was best that we didn’t see each other anymore.”

“Is that what you really want?” Nathan asked.

“Yes. No. I don’t know.” I sighed. “I’m not used to this.”

“Not used to what?” Christian asked.

“This whole family thing. I lost my parents at a young age and was sent to New York to live with my aunt. It was just her, my uncle, and me. They both worked long hours, and I spent a lot of time alone. I don’t understand why you two need to get involved.”

“Well.” Christian sighed, leaning back in his chair. “It’s what we Kinds do.”

“Especially if we see something going wrong when we know it should be right,” Nathan said.

“We care, Dr. Malone,” Christian said.

“If we didn’t, we wouldn’t be having this talk with you,” Nathan said.

“Did you do this with her ex?” I asked.

“We didn’t give that loser a chance,” Christian said. “I kicked his ass right out of this hospital.”

“We never liked him from day one,” Nathan spoke. “But we like you and know you’re hiding something about your past from Ella. You don’t have to tell us. But if you want to be with her, you have to talk to her. Life is hard enough, Graham. Keeping something locked up inside you only makes life that much harder.”

“I know I have issues, and yes, I do have PTSD. My doctor back in New York diagnosed me. But I can’t talk about it. I promised my aunt—just forget it. Are we finished here?”

“Yeah. Go on,” Christian said.

I stood up from my chair and headed toward the door.

“You want to know something about PTSD? Try being kidnapped as a baby and finding out you have a twin brother and another brother in the world. Now, there’s some serious PTSD. I would never have gotten through it without my wife and family.”

I lowered my head for a second and then left his office. Dr. Ashley stopped me when I stepped off the elevator to the peds unit.

“What did Dr. Kind want to see you for?” she asked.

“He was just asking me about my surgery with Dr. Kind. He wanted to tell me that I’m a very skilled surgeon.”

“Well, he’s right. He’s a great man and doctor. You should feel honored.” She placed her hand on my shoulder.

Once my shift ended, I went home, poured a scotch, and took it out on the terrace. As I stared at the city, I thought about Ella. I hurt her, and that was the last thing I wanted to do. I thought about Christian and Nathan and how they stepped in. Fuck. It was none of their business. But I respected them for trying to help. The demons they spoke of—their own. Nathan was right. Life is much harder living the lie I’ve been since my father died. Fuck it. I grabbed my keys, climbed into my Jeep, and headed to Ella’s.

When I pulled into the driveway and walked to the door, I heard music and laughter coming from the beach and saw the roaring bonfire. I returned to my Jeep, grabbed the door handle, and stopped. No. I had to do this.

“Graham?” I heard Ella’s voice.

Turning around, she was heading toward me with Lily.

“What are you doing here?” she asked. “Lily, I’ll see you down at the beach.”

“Okay. Hey, Graham.”

“Hey, Lily.”

“I have no idea why you’re here, and I don’t care. Leave.”

“I need a favor.”

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