Page 99 of Fourteen of a Kind

“It never ends with my Uncle Henry. Even from the grave and after all these years, he’s still creating chaos in this family.”

“Grandma Barb can never know about this, Dad,” I said. “Her state is fragile, and who knows what this would do to her.”

“But she and Henry were divorced when he fooled around with Darlene. It doesn’t affect her.”

“It doesn’t matter. It’s the fact that the boys have another brother they didn’t know about. It could set off a domino effect. It’s just best to say he’s a good friend of Nora’s.”

“If you say so, sweetheart.” He walked over and kissed my forehead. “I need to go home and tell your mother what’s going on. Night, Graham.”

“Night, Nathan. So, babe.” He gripped my hips. “Do we invite your new cousin to the wedding?”

“I suppose we should since he’s family,” I said, chewing my bottom lip.

The sliding door opened again, and Claire walked in.

“Where is he? Where is this supposed new brother?”

“Your other brothers went back to his hotel room to view the proof,” I said.

“Assholes. Why didn’t they come get me?”

“They probably want to be sure before bringing you into it.”

“Nora loves him already,” she said. “I thought I was the last.”

“I guess the biggest lesson learned here is that another Kind can pop up at any given time. At this point, it should be expected.” I laughed.

“I can honestly say I’m happy I never met that sperm donor,” Claire said.

One Week Later

Today was my bachelorette party and Graham’s bachelor party. We both wanted to keep it with family, so we decided to take the boats out for the day. The girls and I would be on one boat, and the guys would be on the other. We’d sail our separate ways and meet up later.

Graham pulled up to the marina, and we climbed out. He gripped my hand tightly while we walked down to the boats.

“Say farewell to your bride-to-be!” Willow shouted from the boat. “Ella, come on! Get up here.”

I turned to Graham, reached up, and kissed his lips. “I’ll miss you.”

“Not as much as I’ll miss you.” His thumb swept over my lip.

“Dr. Malone, you two can celebrate later. Let’s get these parties started.” My Uncle Conner walked by and patted Graham’s back.

“The guys are calling, babe. I’ll see you later. I love you.” His warm lips met mine.

“I love you too.” I smiled as I climbed on the boat.

“Jesus. I never thought you two would break your lips away from each other,” Willow said.

“You just wait until you meet the man of your dreams.” I pointed at her.

“No bride would be complete without this.” My mom grinned as she put a white sash around me that read: Bride. “Or this.” She placed a tiara on my head.

We spent the day eating, drinking, dancing, and laughing.

“How do you think Grady is doing?” Alex asked. “I’m sure the guys are breaking him in on the Kind family ways.”

“I bet he’s having a great time.” I smiled.

---