Chapter 17
Claire
After Nick left for work, I sent a text to Shaun.
“Are you home?”
“Yeah. Did the results come back?”
“Yes. I’m heading over now.”
“I’ll see you soon.”
Knocking on the door, Shaun answered. When I stepped inside, I saw Simon sitting at the table.
“Well?” Shaun asked.
“Do you have a printer?”
“Yes. In my office. Why?”
His printer popped up on my phone, and I printed the email. He went into his office and walked back out, reading the results.
“Spill it, bro,” Simon said.
“She is definitely our half-sister,” Shaun said. “Henry is her biological father.” He handed Simon the results.
Shaun wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into an embrace. “I’m sorry. Not because we’re your family but because of how you found out. I’ve been there, so I know.”
Simon stood from his seat and hugged me. “Welcome to the family, sis. I can’t even believe this.” He broke our embrace, placed his hands on his hips, and paced around the kitchen. “That man—I swear to God.”
“It doesn’t matter, bro. Let it go. We can’t keep this a secret any longer. We have to tell the rest of the family tonight,” Shaun said.
The sliding door opened, and Barb stepped inside. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw me.
“Mom, what are you doing here?” Simon asked.
“I do not need to explain that to you, son. This isn’t your home, is it?” Her brow arched. “What is she doing here?”
“Hello, Barb.” I smiled.
“Our sister came over to show us the DNA results that prove Dad is her father,” Simon said.
“So, I suppose you’ll be telling the rest of the family soon?” she asked.
“Damn right,” Simon said.
“We plan on telling everyone tonight,” Shaun spoke.
“Very well. I’ll talk to you boys another time.” Barb turned toward the sliding door.
“Mom, why did you come to Shaun’s house?”
“Never mind.” She walked out.
Simon glanced at me. “Don’t mind her. We’ll protect you.” A smirk crossed his lips.
“She hates me,” I said.
“She hated me too at first,” Shaun spoke. “But she warmed up over time, and we’re close now.”
“It’s not that she hates you,” Simon said. “You’re just another reminder of what our father did to her. As I said, we’ll protect you.” He winked.
“We’re meeting down at the beach around five o’clock,” Shaun said. “Meet us there, and we’ll tell the rest of the family.”
Thanks, Shaun.”
“I guess it’s good you bought the Aubert’s house,” Simon grinned. “Now, we can extend Kind Beach. We’ll have Stefan and his crew remove the wood posts between Carter’s house and the Aubert’s and put them on the other side of the house.
“I need to talk to Sam and Stefan about the redesign,” I said.
“You can later.” Shaun smiled, hooking his arm around me.
“Where’s Jenni?” I asked.
“She took the twins down to Julia’s,” Shaun said.
“Can I ask you two something?”
“Sure,” Simon said.
“What was he like?”
“Our father?” Shaun asked.
“Yeah.”
“He was a cheating bastard. That’s who he was, and that’s all you need to know,” Simon said. “He took secrets to his grave that shook us all, including Shaun.”
“That’s all in the past,” Shaun said. “We’ve moved forward, and so will you.” A smile crossed his lips.
“By the way, what’s going on with you and Nick?” Simon asked.
“We’re friends.”
“Could have fooled me from what I saw last night at the brewhouse.” He smirked.
“He is a friend, and that’s all he can be.”
“Oh, boy.” Shaun sighed.
Simon hooked his arm around me and pulled me into him. “See, here’s the thing, sis. You’re a Kind, and the one thing you need to know about this family is that we know everyone’s business. There isn’t one piece of information that is sacred in this family. I got you.” His grip around me tightened.
“What are you talking about?” I laughed.
“You’ll find out soon enough.” He kissed the side of my head. “Shit, I can’t believe we have two sisters. I’m already taking care of one, and now another.”
“I don’t need to be taken care of, Simon.” I looked at him.
“Yes, you do. You just don’t know it yet.”
“When are you going to tell Nick about us?” Shaun asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Let me give you a piece of advice. You better do it soon. Take it from experience. It’ll blow up in your face if you don’t.”
Nick
I was standing at the nurses’ station when Christian walked over.
“How did the surgery go?” I asked.
“It went well. Mr. Dansworth is going to be okay.” He smiled.
“Good. Sorry, you had to be called in on your day off,” I said.
“The life of a doctor, right?” A smirk crossed his lips.
“You know it.”
“We’re having a bonfire later. Why don’t you join us?” he asked as we walked down the hall.
“As much as I’d love to, Dr. Gray asked if I could cover part of his shift. I won’t even be getting off until eleven p.m.”
“Next time, then.” He patted my back. “How’s Claire?”
“She’s good,” I smiled. “I’m falling in love with her, Christian. After what Katrina did, I thought I’d never be able to trust another woman again, but with Claire, I do.”
“She’s a great woman. You know how I know that?”
“How?” The corners of my mouth curved upward.
“Charleigh and the girls already love her and are picky who they let into their circle. You picked a good one, my man.” He winked. “I’m heading home. Try not to work too hard.”
“I’ll try.” I chuckled. “See you later, Christian.”
My phone rang, and when I pulled it from my pocket, I saw my mother was calling. Sighing, I answered it.
“Hello.”
“Nick, it’s your mother.”
“I know, Mom. How are you?”
“I’m well. It’s been a while. How’s Los Angeles?”
“L.A. is good. I really like it here.”
“Do you have any plans to visit us anytime soon?”
“It’s hard to say, Mom. I’m working crazy hours in the ER right now. My pager just went off. I have to run. I’ll call you soon.”
“Please make sure you do. We miss you, Nick.”
“I will, Mom. Bye.”
I ended the call and shook my head. Moving out of Seattle and away from them was the best thing I’d ever done. Pulling up Claire’s number, I decided to call her.
“Why hello there, Dr. Nick.”
“Hello, beautiful. How’s your day going?”
“It’s going well. I’m out running some errands.”
“That sounds fun. I was hoping to see you tonight, but one of the doctors asked if I could cover part of his shift until eleven.”
“You can always come right to my place after,” she said.
“I have to be back at the hospital by eight a.m.”
“Then I’ll set my alarm and make sure you get up.”
I chuckled. “You’ve convinced me. I’ll see you later, Claire.”
I ended the call with a smile and placed my phone in my pocket. I wanted to do something special and spend some uninterrupted time with her. I had next weekend off. Maybe I could convince her to take a little trip with me—a trip where I would ask her to be my girlfriend.