Page 104 of Eleven of a Kind

“Oh, okay. That’s understandable.”

We all cheered and congratulated them with hugs and kisses.

“Another Kind wedding. I’m so excited.” Aunt Barb beamed with excitement. “One left, Gabriel.” She smirked at me.

“One step at a time, Aunt Barb.”

“Who is the boy with the shaved head with Riley?” she asked.

“He’s a friend from school, and he has Leukemia.”

“Oh, dear. That’s sad.”

“Way to go, Ma. You can’t judge people like that,” Simon said. “Oh, wait. You’re the queen of judgment.” He grinned.

“Shut up, Simon.” She shook her head and walked away.

“You really shouldn’t tell your kids to shut up, Mom,” Simon shouted.

“Maybe you’re not one of my children, Simon.” She turned around and arched her brow at him. “You know how your father was.”

“Why would she say that?” He looked at Sam. “Sam, why would she say that?”

“I don’t know, bro.” He laughed, and we all laughed with him.

“Dad, Cody is going to go home now.” Riley walked over with him.

“Thanks for having me, Dr. Kind. It was nice to meet your family.”

“Thanks for coming, Cody. You take care of yourself.”

“I’m trying.” A small smile crossed his lips as he and Riley walked away.

It was getting late, and the beach was quiet. The girls went inside Sebastian’s house while we still gathered around the bonfire.

“One more beer before we all head home?” Sam asked.

“You bet.” I grinned.

“I did a thing?” Shaun grinned.

“What thing did you do?” Nathan asked.

“You know that house on the other side of the wood posts from Gabriel?”

“Let me guess, bro. You bought it. Shocker.” Simon grinned.

“You bet your ass I did. The owners called me and said they heard I wanted to buy more property on the beach. They asked if I’d be interested in buying their house before they contacted a realtor.”

“So, you’re going to fix it up and Airbnb it?” Stefan asked.

“Yeah. That’s the plan.” Shaun smiled.

CHAPTER36

ONE MONTH LATER

Gabriel