Page 11 of Eleven of a Kind

“There. Are you happy now?” I asked as we walked out of the store with her phone in her hand.

“Yeah. Thanks, Dad.” She smiled.

Every time she called me that, a part of me cringed. I never saw myself being a father, especially a single father. I was happy being a bachelor and casually seeing a variety of women. My entire life was turned upside down, and I didn’t know what to do.

When we arrived home, Riley ran up to her room and shut the door. After changing into more comfortable clothes, I lightly knocked on her door.

“Come in.”

“What are you doing in here?” I asked.

“On my phone.” She held it up.

“Doing what?”

“Texting my friends back in Georgia.” Her brows furrowed.

I heard the doorbell ring.

“Are you expecting someone?” Riley asked.

“No.” I furrowed my brows and shut her door.

Walking down the stairs, I reached the front door and opened it to find an older man and woman standing on my porch with two police officers.

“Can I help you?”

“Are you Dr. Gabriel Kind?” the man asked.

“Yes.”

“Is Riley here with you?” the woman asked sternly.

“And you are?” I narrowed my eyes at them.

“We’re her grandparents, and you’re harboring a runaway. You’re in a lot of trouble, Dr. Kind,” the woman spoke authoritatively.

“Dr. Kind, do you know that Riley ran away from her home in Hawaii?” the male officer asked.

“Yes, I do know that.”

“May we come in?” the female officer asked.

I moved out of the way and gestured for them to step inside.

“You need to hand Riley over to her grandparents,” the male officer spoke.

“Riley isn’t going anywhere. She’s my daughter and staying with me,” I sternly spoke.

“Dad?” Riley walked down the stairs. “How did you find me?” she asked her grandparents.

“Your phone.” Her grandmother pulled it from her purse and held it up. “We saw all your text messages to your friends and your search history. It wasn’t hard to find you.”

The sliding door opened, and Simon walked in.

“Carl, Rosie, what are you two doing here?” He walked over.

“Hey, Detective Kind. Your cousin is facing misdemeanor charges for harboring an underaged runaway,” Rosie spoke.

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