Page 62 of Eleven of a Kind

“And I can’t believe you want another baby already.” She cocked her head.

“But we agreed on four kids, Charlotte. Tik Tok, time is running out.”

“We never agreed on four kids.” She frowned.

“Sure, we did.” He grinned. “You just don’t remember.”

“Come on, Isabella.” Charlotte took her from Conner. “Let Daddy live in his delusional world all by himself.” She walked away.

“Come on, babe. I love you,” he said as he followed her.

“I love her.” Piper laughed.

“Yeah. She’s great.” I smiled. “Thanks for bringing Riley here.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll be right back,” she said as she walked out of the waiting room.

She seemed off, and I could tell something was bothering her. I followed her out of the waiting room and over to the coffee machine.

“There’s much better coffee on the rooftop. It’s for hospital staff only, but no one will know.” I winked. “Come on.”

I took her up to the rooftop and got her a coffee.

“Thanks, Gabriel.”

“What’s wrong? You seem off.”

She let out a long sigh before taking a sip.

“I went to see my mom after you dropped me off. She lost her job and is six months behind on the mortgage. She asked for my help.”

“Are you going to?” I asked.

“I don’t have a choice. But I told her this was the last time. She can’t hold down a job for shit because of her drinking.”

“Have you tried talking her into getting help?”

“Of course. I’ve spent years trying to help her. She doesn’t want to help herself. There’s nothing more I can do for her. After this, I’m done. It’s all my father’s fault.” She shook her head.

“Any idea why he hasn’t reached out since he left you all those years ago?” I asked her.

“No, and I don’t want to talk about it anymore. We better get back down to the waiting room,” she said.

I could tell she was hurting, and all I wanted to do was hold her and tell her everything would be okay. Shortly after we returned to the waiting room, Sam walked in with a wide smile.

“My son is here. He’s very healthy and weighs a solid eight pounds.”

We all hugged and congratulated him.

“You all can come into the room to meet him in a while,” he said.

“And another generation of the Kind men has been born.” Simon grinned.

“This is amazing,” Piper said.

“What is?”

“Your family and how you’re all here for each other.”

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