Page 116 of Eleven of a Kind

“Carter, this is Dr. Grayson Kind. Grayson, this is Carter—” I paused. “Kind.”

“Kind?” Grayson extended his hand to Carter. “Are you a long lost relative?” He smiled.

“He says he’s our brother.”

“Excuse me? Grayson’s brows arched. “What did you just say?”

“Sit down, bro,” I said to Grayson. “That’s why I needed you to come right over. Carter, why don’t you tell us exactly what you know.”

“Well, when I was first diagnosed with aplastic anemia—”

“Wait, a second. You have aplastic anemia?” Grayson asked.

“Unfortunately, I do. My mother was a waitress at a restaurant in Hawaii when she was younger. She attended university there on a scholarship and was working part-time for extra money. Our dad walked in one day, and they got to talking, and he asked her out. They dated on and off for about three months.”

“Did she know he was a drug addict?” I asked.

“She knew, but she said he was an amazing man when he wasn’t using, and he promised that he’d stop and get clean for her. That was the one thing about her that made her so special. She always tried to help people, even when they didn’t want it or deserved it.”

“Was?” Grayson asked.

“She passed away three years ago from breast cancer.”

“I’m sorry,” I spoke.

“So am I,” Grayson said.

“Me too.” He looked down. “She was a wonderful person and a great mother, even though she lied to me all these years.”

“We can relate to that.” I sighed. “Sorry. Go on with your story.”

“A friend of hers that she worked with at the restaurant told her that our father got a woman pregnant, and she was having twins, and she should stay away from him because he was bad news and didn’t have any plans on sticking around for her or the kids.”

“How did this woman know that?” Grayson asked.

“Apparently, she was your mother’s friend.”

“So, my mother was furious and went to where he was staying at that time to confront him. When she arrived, he was as high as a kite with a syringe next to him. At that moment, she knew she had to stop seeing him. So, she told him it was over and never to contact her again. A couple of weeks later, when she went to North Carolina to visit her best friend, she found out she was pregnant with me. The last thing she wanted to do was go back to Hawaii and tell him, so she never went back. She quit college, moved in with my Auntie Fran, and she helped her out until she could find a job to support us.”

“I don’t understand,” I said. “If she told you all of that, why didn’t you come and try to find us sooner?”

“That’s the problem. As I grew older, she told me that my father died in a car accident right before I was born. The information I gave you, was what my Auntie Fran told me. My mother’s dying wish was that I never found out the truth because she didn’t want me to go looking for my father. But Fran had no choice but to tell me after my diagnosis because she knew I had two siblings out there.”

“If your mother didn’t want you to know the truth, why would she give his last name?” Grayson asked.

“Because her last name is Carter.” He breathed out a laugh. “She told me that she always had a dream as a child that one day she’d marry her prince and have a son named Carter. She loved the name for a boy but didn’t have to worry about the last name being the same. So, she made the decision to fulfill part of her dream and named me Carter, with the last name of Kind, after my father. Excuse me, our father. I hired a private investigator to find him, and that’s how I found you. I had no idea that he actually passed away.”

“Wow.” Grayson placed his hands on his head. “This is incredible.”

“I think I need another scotch,” I said as I walked over to Carter. “Refill?”

“Please,” he said.

“Make mine a double,” Grayson said.

“We’re all getting doubles.” I grinned.

“So, Carter Kind, tell us what you do for a living,” Grayson said.