Rachel
Once Kayden and Jayden left, Kyler pulled me aside to tell me we had to meet with his grandparents to confirm their donation. I wasn't sure why since it seemed a bit unorthodox to me.
The next day, I met Kyler at the center early. We left to head to his grandparent's house. On our way, we stopped at the bakery and bought a dozen donuts.
I carried the donut box to the car. "What's with the donuts?"
"I figured we could have breakfast while we met with my grandparents. There's never a wrong time for donuts."
"True." I placed the box on the backseat before climbing into the front.
Kyler drove to his grandparents' house and pulled into a driveway. I got out, grabbed the box of donuts, and followed him to the front door. He pressed the doorbell a few times.
"Hold your horses! I'm coming!" A voice yelled from inside.
The front door whipped open as a petite woman with white hair greeted us. Before she spoke, she noticed the donut box in my hands. "You may enter since you brought food."
My brows shot up. The woman took the box from my hands and walked away. Then my brows knitted in confusion.
"Don't mind my grammy. She loves food," Kyler said.
"Noted," I replied.
"Ladies first." Kyler held out his arm for me to go first.
I stepped inside as Kyler followed me. An older man appeared as Kyler closed the door behind us.
"Hey, Grandpa. I want you to meet Rachel. We work together at the center," Kyler said.
The older man held out his hand. I took it and shook it.
"Did you bring food?" The man asked.
"Of course. Grammy snatched the box of donuts from our hands," Kyler said.
"We better hurry before Lark eats all the donuts."
We removed our coats, hung them up, and followed Kyler's grandpa to a kitchen table. My eyes widened to find half the box emptied.
"Lark, you need to share," the guy said.
"Mav, it's not my fault if you're slow." The woman shrugged.
"Grab a donut before Larkin eats them all," the man told us.
We took a seat, grabbed a donut, and started to eat.
"So, you came to confirm our donation," Larkin mentioned.
"Yeah," Kyler said.
"Okay. It's confirmed. Now, who did you bring with you?"
"This is Rachel. She's my assistant at the center."
I gave the woman a friendly smile.
"Rachel, these are my grandparents, Larkin and Maverick Harper," Kyler said.
"It's nice to meet you," I said.
"How long have you worked at the center?" Maverick asked me.
"A few weeks. I applied for the job to gain experience for my field study," I said.
"What are you studying?" Larkin asked me.
"Social work. I wanted to help kids since I have a friend that went through the system."
"Social work is a good field to study. How do you like working at the center?" Maverick asked.
"I love it. The kids are great. Plus, I like how we interact with the kids. Most places don't."
"It made us happy when the boys opened the center. If it weren't for my cousin, my brother and I would have landed in foster care."
"What do you mean?"
"My parents died in a plane crash when I was fifteen. My cousin, Micheal, took guardianship of us so we could stay together."
"I'm sorry to hear about your parents. I couldn't imagine losing a parent at a young age."
"Yeah, but it makes you appreciate people more."
I finished my donut and hesitated to take another one.
"Did you want another donut?" Kyler asked me.
"I didn't want to overstep."
"Here." Larkin pushed the donut box toward me. "Have another donut."
"Thank you." I reached in, pulled out a glazed donut, and took a bite.
"You got these donuts from my dad's bakery. I can tell."
I stopped mid-bite and looked at Larkin. "Lex Gray, is your dad?"
Larkin snickered. "No, that marshmallow is my baby brother and fellow quint. Nash Gray was my dad and owned the bakery with my ma, Maggie. They made the best-baked goods and taught Lex their recipes. It's what made their bakery stand out from the others."
"I love that bakery. Everything is so delicious, but it's hard to choose what you want."
Larkin and I talked about her parents' bakery. She reminded me of my grandmother, who had passed away.
*******
Kyler
Watching Rachel interact with my grandparents made my heart swell. She didn't make nasty comments or mutter under her breath about Grammy. That always bothered me with the girls I dated. And trust me. I dated both white and black girls.
"I like you," Grammy told Rachel.
My brows lifted in pleasant surprise.
"You're not like most girls we meet that hang around our grandsons. Some are queen-sized twits."
I lowered my face in my palm.
Rachel giggled. "That's funny. Most grandparents seem reserved. It makes you wonder what they're thinking."
I lowered my hand slightly.
"Most don't have a brain, so I don't have to wonder." Grammy shrugged.
Grandpa ate his donut in silence.
"So, you mentioned Lex is your quint?" Rachel asked.
"Yes. There are five of us: Lyric, me, Lake, Luna, and Lex. My ma had issues when she had us, so she couldn't have any more kids. My folks were good with having only us."
"It must have been nice to have siblings. I didn't have any while growing up. My parents were lucky to have me."
I glanced at Rachel and noticed the change in her mood. Was that sadness I sensed?
"Why?" Leave it to Grammy to dig into someone's personal business. The woman has no boundaries.
"My mom kept miscarrying until she and my dad visited a specialist. When she got pregnant with me, the doctor diagnosed her as a high risked pregnancy. It didn't matter because I came early anyway," Rachel said.
"You were a preemie."
Rachel nodded in response. "After my mom had me, my parents didn't want to risk another pregnancy loss and disappointment. Plus, I spent time in the hospital after my birth."
"It makes you grateful when you get a chance to have a family. Mav and I know better than anyone."
My ears perked up. "What do you mean?"
"Well, we tried to have a family and suffered a few miscarriages until we had Markus. I was so happy about having a baby that the family thought I lost my damn mind."
Grandpa snickered.
"I didn't even care if your grandpa named the baby. He was our miracle baby. I remember going to Uncle Nix and asking him why God hated us so much."
Grandpa's smile laughter faded as his smile disappeared.
"I asked Uncle Nix if God was punishing me for how I treated people."
"What did Uncle Nixon say?" I asked.
"Uncle Nix told me God wasn't punishing me. He was waiting for the right time for us to have a family. The timing wasn't right. Then he said he would pray for us. Even my dad said it would happen. But I had my doubts. It sucks not to give your husband a child when he did nothing wrong."
"Lark, you did nothing wrong either." Grandpa wrapped his hand around Grammy's and cradled it. "We just had to wait a little longer for our family."
Grammy looked at Grandpa and smiled. "You never gave up on me even when I wanted to give up myself."
"Nope, because you deserve to have someone love you." Grandpa looked at Grammy in adoration.
"Well, Gramps is amazing. He gave my pops a loving home," I mentioned.
My grandparents smiled at me.
******
Rachel
Listening to Kyler's grandparents' talk made me smile. You could see how much they adored each other. And they were so cute together. I could see where Kyler got his compassion.
"We need to head back before the kids arrive." Kyler stood up from the table.
I followed suit.
"Thanks for the donuts and visit, booboo." Larkin hugged Kyler.
Maverick hugged him, too.
Then Larkin hugged me, surprising me. "It was good to meet you, Rachel."
I returned her hug. "It was nice to meet you, too. Thanks for welcoming me into your home."
"Anytime, dear." Larkin gave me a warm smile when she released me. "Now, if Demarco would stop hiding, it would be great."
"Who's Demarco?" I asked.
"Demarco is Uncle Jayden's oldest boy," Kyler said.
"You need to check on your cousin, Kyler. I worry about him," Larkin said.
"I will."
"Good, and tell Demarco to visit me."
Kyler nodded.
We said our goodbyes and walked to the car. When we reached the car, I stopped. "Sofie mentioned Melody likes a guy named Demarco."
"Who's Melody?"
"Melody attends high school with Sofie and a youth group at the church."
"That must be the same youth group Odin attended while sneaking around with Sofie."
Rachel giggled. "Oh, you have no idea. Do you know that crazy bish hummed the Mission Impossible theme song when we bought a spy camera?"
"Wait. You bought a spy camera?" Kyler leaned on the car's rooftop and cocked his head at me.
I rolled my eyes. "Yes. Sofie wanted to spy on Ricardo so he wouldn't report to her dad about Odin."
"I can see why. Odin got into a fight with Sofie's dad on the night her dad got arrested."
"Yeah, it was bad. Sofie's dad hated me."
"Why?"
"Her dad thought I was beneath her." I shrugged.
"You know that's not true, right?"
"Oh, I know. Daddy dearest is an asshole."
Kyler chuckled as I grinned. We climbed into the car and headed to the center. I wasn't sure why we had to confirm the donation with Kyler's grandparents. We didn't talk much about the center. We more or less talked about our families. Strange.