Chapter 18
Claire
After running some errands, I headed back to Shaun’s house. My stomach was tied in a knot, for I didn’t know how my other brothers would react to the news. I knocked on the door, and Jenni answered, pulling me inside. She looked around to make sure Shaun wasn’t within earshot.
“Grace and I told the other girls,” she whispered. “But don’t worry. They won’t tell the boys.”
“How did they take the news?” I asked.
“They were shocked but are so excited. They’re happy you bought the Aubert’s house.”
“Claire.” Shaun smiled, walked down the stairs, and hugged me. “Listen. I was giving this a lot of thought, and I think you should be the one to tell our brothers.”
“Okay. If you think that’s best,” I said.
“I do.” He smiled. “I’m heading down there now.” He picked up Stella from the floor. “Jenni, bring Claire when you’re ready.”
“We’ll be right behind you, babe,” Jenni said. “Do you need to do a couple of shots before we head down there?” A smirk crossed her lips.
“Yes. Definitely.” I grinned.
She walked over to the bar and grabbed a shot glass and a bottle of tequila.
“Shot number one.” She smiled, handing me the glass.
I threw it down the back of my throat and handed her the glass back.
“Shot number two.”
I downed the second shot and took in a deep breath.
“Let’s go, sis,” she said, picking up Sawyer.
We headed down the beach.
“Claire, what a nice surprise.” Conner grinned. “You haven’t met my daughter, princess, and best friend, Isabella. Isabella, this is our new friend, Claire.”
“Jesus, bro.” Jackson shook his head.
“Hi, Isabella. You are too cute.” I smiled as I took hold of her little hand. “She’s beautiful, Conner.”
“Thank you, Claire.”
“We have a chair right over here.” Simon patted the seat next to his, holding his guitar.
“Do you mind?” I pointed at it.
“You play?” His brows furrowed.
“Yeah.” I smiled as he handed his guitar to me.
“Look at that. She sings and plays the guitar.” Simon grinned.
I strummed a few chords, trying to calm the nerves that filled me as I stared at my family. I didn’t know where to start.
“Why don’t you tell us a little about yourself, Claire,” Shaun said.
“Some of you already know that I just moved here from Connecticut after my mother passed away. After I was born, she met and married a man in Paris. When I was two, we moved to the U.S. When I was ten, I found out through a class science project that Joseph, the man who my mother married, wasn’t my biological father.”
“Shit. How did you discover that?” Nathan asked.
“We were learning about blood types in science. With the type Joseph had, there was no way he could have been my biological father. After asking my mother about it, she told me that when she told my birth father that she was pregnant, he took off and never came back. That’s what I believed up until she passed away.”
“What do you mean?” Sebastian’s brows furrowed.
“She left me a letter telling me who my real father was. His name was placed on my original birth certificate, which she kept locked in her safe all these years. I discovered I had a family I never knew about here in California. That’s the reason I moved here.” I stared at each of my brothers.
“What exactly are you saying?” Sam’s eyes narrowed.
“Henry Kind, your father, is also my father. I’m your sister.”
“Excuse me?” Stefan said.
“What?” Sam shouted.
“Nah, this isn’t true.” Sebastian shook his head. “What’s going on here?”
“Why aren’t the two of you saying anything?” Sam glared at Simon and Shaun.
“Because they fucking already know,” Stefan said. “Don’t you?”
“Oh shit,” Jackson said.
“Everyone needs to calm down,” Simon said.
“Really, bro? Because you’re the one always flying off the handle!” Sebastian snapped.
“I’ve already done that.”
“It’s true,” Shaun said. “Claire is our sister. I have the printout of the DNA test to prove it.” He pulled the printout from his pocket and handed it to Stefan.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I was just in as much shock as you all are.”
“How long have you known about this and failed to share it with us?” Sam snapped at Shaun.
“Only a couple of days,” Shaun said. “We didn’t want to tell you until we received the results. There was no need to get everyone worked up if it weren’t true.”
“Why you? Why did she go to you?” Stefan asked.
“She didn’t. I went to her because of something she did that wasn’t sitting right with me.”
“And what did she do?” Sam glared at me.
“She convinced the Aubert’s to sell her their house. When Raphael called and told me he’d sold, I asked him for Claire’s number, called her, and got her to come into my office. She told me she was our sister the night of the gala.”
“And only because I saw them in one of the hallways arguing. My mind went to a bad place,” Jenni said. “I’m so ashamed of myself.”
“And you should be,” Shaun said.
“Be quiet. I more than made up for it.” A smirk crossed her lips.
“What?” Stefan laughed. “Who the hell would want—oh, I see what you did.” He pointed his finger at me. “You pulled a Shaun.”
“If Shaun wouldn’t have found out about the Aubert’s house, when were you planning on telling us?” Sebastian asked sternly.
“I was trying to find a way,” I said. “I wanted to meet all of you first before I sprung the news on you.”
“This is bullshit!” Sebastian stood from his chair.
“Sit down, Sebastian, and shut up!” Barb shouted as she walked over to us. “It is not this girls fault. You will not speak to her that way. This is all on your father, again.”
“You know, Mom?” Stefan said.
“Yes, I know. I’ve known for twenty-nine years.”
“Jesus Christ, Mom.” Sam shook his head. “You told us?—”
“I know what I told you, Samuel. Your father brainwashed that woman’s mother. She showed up on my doorstep looking for Henry after he left Paris. She had no idea he was married and had children. That man thought he was safe screwing another woman behind my back in another country. After we talked, and she sobbed, I paid her to leave town and never speak about Henry or the child.”
“You what?!” Sebastian shouted and then looked at Simon.
“I already had it out with her. Now, it’s all your turn,” Simon said.
“I did what I had to in order to protect the four of you. It was right after Claire’s mother visited me that I filed for divorce. As I told Simon, I wasn’t going to sit around anymore and wait for the next woman to knock on my door, telling me she fucked my husband and got pregnant. That man humiliated me enough over the years.”
“You shouldn’t have married him in the first place after you found out about Shaun,” Stefan said.
“What did you want me to do, Stefan? I was pregnant with quadruplets at a young age. I’m sorry, Claire, for threatening you like I did.”
“You threatened her, Mom?” Sam said.
“She sure did,” Simon said.
“It’s okay, Barb. I totally get where you were coming from.”
“I’ve said my piece, and I must return to Curtis. But before I go, I promise you that she and Shaun were the only two I knew about. If there are more of your father’s children in the world, I don’t know about it. You have my word. If you want to take out your frustrations, then I suggest you do it to your father at his grave and not your sister.” She turned and walked away.
“Damn,” Stefan said.
“I’m sorry, Claire.” Sebastian stood up, held out his arms, and walked over to me. I stood and hugged him. “This is just a complete shock. It really shouldn’t be, but it is.”
“It’s okay. I understand.”
Sam walked over and hugged me. “Welcome to the family. You’re one of us, and you belong here.”
“My turn,” Stefan said. “I can’t believe we have another sister. One we can actually talk to about shit.” He hugged me tight. “Welcome to the family and Kind Beach.”
“Thank you, Stefan.”
“I can’t believe, Mom.” Sebastian shook his head.
“Really? Sit and think about it. Are you really shocked, bro?” Simon asked. “That woman has been keeping secrets since before we were born.”
“Dad was a real piece of shit,” Sam said.
“You’re just figuring that out now?” Shaun chuckled.
“Wait a minute,” Stefan said. “You are fixing up the Aubert’s house, right?”
“Yes.” I laughed. “I have big plans that I was going to share with my brothers if you’re interested in helping me out.”
“You bet we are.” Sam smiled. “No sister of ours is living in a home like that.”
“I think this calls for a celebration,” Carter said. “Another Kind child has emerged from the shadows and joined our family.” He held up his beer bottle.
“Did you know about this, babe?” Sam asked Julia.
“No. Oh, my God. I’m just as shocked as you all are,” she lied.
Sam narrowed his eyes at her. “We’ll talk more about this later.”
“Alex?” Stefan asked.
“No way, babe. I had no idea. Wow. I can’t believe Jenni and Grace kept this to themselves. That was very rude of you two,” Alex said. “I thought we had a girl code.”
“And Barbie strikes again. Gotta love that crazy bitch.” Ava clapped her hands and laughed.
“Hey, Kate.” Simon grinned.
I stared at Ava momentarily as her voice and demeanor suddenly changed.
“Claire, I’d like you to meet Kate,” Grayson said. “I’m not sure why she’s out. Why are you?” He stared at her.
“Are you kidding, Kind? This was too good to miss.” She laughed.
“I’m confused.” I furrowed my brows.
“Now that you’re a part of the family, you should know that my wife Ava has?—”
“It’s okay, Kind. I’ll explain. I’m Kate, one of Ava’s alters. We have a condition called dissociative identity disorder. Have you ever heard of it?”
“I have. I learned about it in my psych class in college. It’s nice to meet you, Kate.”
“Ava’s mother was a piece of shit, so we formed to protect Ava from that horrible woman. It’s nice to meet you, too. Welcome to the family. If you’re ever in trouble, call me.”
“Thanks, Kate. I will.” I smiled.
“Come on, girls. Let’s take the kids and go back to my house, and then the guys can get to know their sister,” Jenni said.
Lily walked over and hugged me. “Welcome to the family, Aunt Claire.”
“Thank you, Lily.”
“Welcome to the family,” Ella hugged me. “You’re going to love living here with us.”
“Hey, Ella?” Conner said. “I’m curious. Did you know?”
“Yes.” She grinned. “I knew the night I met her at Four Kinds. I know a Kind when I see one. You all should know that by now.” She ran to catch up with Lily and Riley.