Page 103 of Eleven of a Kind

I inhaled a deep breath as I saw this boy, who stood about six feet tall with his head shaved, walking toward us.

“No. Oh, hell no,” I whispered to Piper.

“Dad, this is Cody. Cody, this is my dad, Dr. Gabriel Kind.”

“Hey, Dr. Kind.” He extended his hand. “It’s nice to meet you. My mom is a patient of yours.”

“She is?” I shook his hand.

“Yeah. Gina Corelli.”

“You’re Gina’s son?” My heart broke for this kid. “It’s nice to meet you finally, Cody. Go grab a plate and some food.”

“Thanks, Dr. Kind.”

“Come on, Cody.” Riley grabbed hold of his hand.

“What happened here?” Simon asked. “What’s with the nice guy act? He’s preying on your daughter?”

“He has Leukemia,” I said. “His mother is a patient of mine, and she told me about him.”

“Oh shit,” Simon said. “You know, Gabriel, you should really tell me these things before I go off and get my gun to scare these boys.”

“I didn’t know!”

“That poor boy.” Piper placed her hand on my back. “Now, don’t you feel bad for judging because his head is shaved?” She cocked her head.

“Yes, I do.” I sat down and sighed.

“Sorry, we’re late.” Aunt Barb smiled as she walked over. “We were seeing a play downtown, and traffic was horrible getting back.”

“Don’t worry, Mom. We weren’t worried or anything, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Simon said.

“Ha, you’re funny,” Piper said.

“Thank you, Piper.” Simon grinned.

“Don’t encourage him, babe.” I smiled.

After we ate, Grayson ran home to grab Ava’s ring.

“Everyone gather around the bonfire, and we’ll play a little music,” Grayson said when he returned.

I grabbed my guitar and slowly strummed the song, Can’t Help Falling in Love. Grayson took Ava’s hand and stood her up from her seat.

“Ava, I love you more than anything else in this world. You know that, right?”

“Yeah, Grayson. I know. I love you too.”

He pulled the ring box from his pocket, got down on one knee, and flipped open the lid.

“You’re my one and only for life, babe. Ava, will you marry me?”

“Oh, Grayson! Yes! Yes, I’ll marry you.” Tears streamed from her eyes.

“What the fuck?” Jackson asked. “Why was that so short and sweet?”

“He was afraid the others would try to come out while he was proposing,” I said.

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