Chapter 14
CHAPTER 14
E lla
I was up early the following morning. Grabbing my surfboard, I met my dad, uncles, and cousins down at the beach.
“Morning, sweetheart.”
“Hi, Dad.” I kissed his cheek.
“Excuse me.” My Uncle Conner pointed to his cheek.
“Morning, Uncle Conner.” I kissed his cheek. “Morning, Uncle Christian.” I kissed his cheek. “Where’s Uncle Jackson?”
“Probably still sleeping,” Uncle Conner said. “He got called in last night for an emergency and didn’t get home until four a.m.”
“Here comes Sebastian and Noah,” my dad said.
“Hey, cousin.” Noah and I fist-bumped.
“Morning.” I smiled, putting my board in the water.
“Where’s Nicholas?” Noah asked.
“Dad, where’s Nicholas?”
“Sleeping. He was up all night talking to some girl.” He shook his head.
I laughed as I paddled out. We surfed for about an hour and then took our boards out of the water.
“Time to set up things for the barbecue,” Sam said. “Julia has a list of things for me to do.”
“So does Alex,” Stefan said.
“Come on, son. We need to start prepping the food,” Sebastian said.
After showering and cleaning up, it was twelve-thirty. My phone pinged, and when I looked at it, I saw a text from Graham.
“I’m early. Is it okay to come in?”
“Yes, of course.” I smiled as I replied.
I opened the front door as he stepped onto the porch, holding a bouquet of mixed flowers.
“Hi.” I grinned.
“Hi. These are for you.”
“They’re beautiful, Graham. Thank you. You didn’t have to buy me flowers.”
“There was a flower vendor set up by my apartment building, and when I saw the flowers, they had your name written all over them.” A smile crossed his lips, and my belly wildly fluttered.
I brought the flowers to the kitchen, took out a vase, filled it with water, and arranged them.
“There.” I smiled as I set the vase in the middle of the island.
“They look great there.” Graham smiled.
The sliding door opened, and my brother walked in.
“Hey, Graham. Do you play volleyball?”
“I do,” Graham said.
“Excellent. You can be on my team when we play.”
The sliding door opened again, and Grandma Barb stepped in. She stopped when she saw Graham standing there.
“Henry?” She stared at him.
Nicholas and I looked at each other.
“Grandma, this is Dr. Graham Malone,” I said. “Graham, this is my Grandma Barb.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Barb.” Graham smiled.
“Dr. Malone, I apologize. It’s just—never mind. It’s a pleasure to meet you. What kind of doctor are you?”
“Pediatrics. I’m in the fellowship program at Cedars for pediatric surgery.”
“You’re a good man.” She smiled, patting his chest. “Much better than that last fool my granddaughter dated.”
“Grandma,” I said.
“I apologize. Anyway, I just stopped by—I can’t remember why.” She laughed. “I’ll see you two outside. Come on, Nicholas. Let’s leave these two alone.” She hooked her arm around his.
After they left, I looked at Graham. “I’m so sorry about that.”
“Don’t be. She seems really nice.” He smiled.
I opened the refrigerator, grabbed a six-pack of beer, and handed it to him.
“Can you hold this while I grab my guitar case?”
“Of course.” A handsome smile crossed his lips.
We walked out the sliding door and over to where my family gathered. When we approached Stefan’s house, all eyes were on us.
“Mom, this is Dr. Graham Malone. Graham, my mom, Sofia.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Kind.” Graham extended his hand.
“I’m a hugger.” She hugged him. “It’s nice to meet you, Graham. You can call me Sofia.”
“Dr. Malone.” My dad and Simon walked over.
“Dr. Kind, it’s nice to see you again.”
“Detective Simon Kind.” Simon extended his hand.
“It’s nice to meet you, detective.” Graham shook his hand.
“Come on, Graham. I’ll introduce you to the rest of the family.”
“You have one big family,” he said.
“I know.” I laughed. “Are you overwhelmed?”
“Not at all.” He took hold of my hand. “Everyone seems great.”
“Ella, I need you.” Lily and Adrien walked over.
“Excuse me for a moment,” I said to Graham.
“When should I announce that I’m pregnant? During dinner, after dinner, never?”
“Lily, relax.” I gripped her shoulders.
“My mom will be happy, but I’m worried about my dad.”
“Your dad will be so happy after the shock wears off. Do it right after dinner. We don’t want to risk anyone choking on their food.” I smirked.
“Right. After dinner, it is. By the way. Dr. Graham Malone is very hot.” She grinned.
“Isn’t he?” I smiled.
After a couple of volleyball games, it was time for dinner. We all gathered around the large table that was set up and enjoyed the food Sebastian and the rest of the family prepared. I couldn’t stop thinking about my Grandma Barb and how she called Graham Henry. Something wasn’t right with her, and I wondered if I was the only one who noticed.
Lily looked at me as she stood from her seat. I gave her a small nod and smiled.
“Can I have everyone’s attention?” she said.
Silence filled the air.
“I’m pregnant,” she blurted out.
I glanced at Alex, who placed her hand over her mouth. Everyone looked at Stefan.
“Excuse me?” he said.
“You’re going to be a grandpa, Daddy.” Lily nervously smiled.
Everyone shouted and clapped, and the family congratulated Lily and Adrien with many hugs and kisses. Stefan walked over, grabbed her, and held her tight.
“I can’t believe I’m going to be a grandpa,” he said.
Shaun tapped his knife against his beer bottle to get everyone’s attention.
“Congratulations to Lily and Adrien. Here’s to the first grandchild of the Kind family.” He grinned, holding up his bottle. “Life is family, and family is life.”
“Cheers!” We all shouted.
Alex and Stefan took Lily and Adrien back to their house to talk privately.
“I can’t believe my first grandchild is going to be a mother,” Grandma Barb walked over with a smile. “Curtis and I were just talking about how it’s been forever since there’s been a baby in the family.”
“Yeah, Grandma. It has been.” I smiled.
“Ella, can I speak with you for a moment?” my grandpa asked.
“Of course. I’ll be right back.” I placed my hand on Graham’s arm.
My grandpa and I took a walk down to the shoreline.
“I didn’t want to mention anything to the boys yet, but I think something is wrong with your grandmother,” Curtis said. “We were shopping the other day, and she wanted to drive. On our way home, she drove to our old house and pulled into the driveway. I asked her what she was doing, and she looked at me like she didn’t understand my question. I told her we didn’t live there anymore and needed to leave before the owners called the police. It took me ten minutes to explain to her that we used to live at the house many years ago, but we moved. And that’s not the only thing. Sometimes, she’ll call me Henry. The other day, I went golfing with a few of my friends. Barb called and ranted and raved about how I was out cheating on her. I had to leave the golf course and go home.”
“I’ve noticed some things, too,” I sighed. “She said a few things while we were in New York, and when she came over earlier, she looked at Graham and called him Henry.”
“I’m really worried about her, Ella.”
“So am I, Grandpa. I’ll talk to Sam, Stefan, Sebastian, Simon, Shaun, and Uncle Jackson.”
“Thank you, sweetheart.”