Gracie

Chapter 12

Wyatt's POV

I led my Aunt Clarissa into the kitchen and crossed my arms as I stared at her.

"What is your problem this year?" I asked, already knowing that my aunt loved her drama. She held her pearls and gasped as she faked innocence.

"I don't know what your talking about Wyatt. That girl in there is hindering your child. That baby will not learn any social graces if that girl doesn't let her mingle," my aunt defended herself. I rolled my eyes and shifted my weight.

"That girl's name is Skyli, and I happen to like her a lot. That child in there. My daughter's name is Grace. She's five months old. Thanks for asking. I swear to God, if you ruin this dinner, or hurt either one of my girls in any way, shape, or form, I will not hesitate to kick you out of my house and never speak to you again. It's not happening this year, or I swear to God, I will find a way to ruin your life," I said lowly. She looked at me in genuine shock. Normally, my family would entertain my aunt's dramatics, but not this year. I heard Grace start crying. I sighed and took a step away from my aunt.

"She wants her daddy," Skyli yelled. I smiled lightly.

"Coming," I yelled back. I gave my aunt one last warning look before I went to go find my girls. They were in the living room with the rest of my family who must have arrived while I was talking with my Aunt Clarissa. Grace wailed as she reached up for me. I picked her up and kissed her cheek before placing her on my hip.

"What's the matter, princess? Huh? Too many people around?" I baby talked her as I bounced her gently. She laid her head down on my shoulder as her cries muffled. I chuckled and looked at Skyli who was smiling at us.

"I never thought I would see the day where Wyatt would baby talk," my cousin, Cheryl said.

"Baby talk? I never thought I'd see the day where Wyatt had a family of his own," Cheryl's twin sister Clove piped in. They were both about Skyli's age at 18. They were the mischievous ones in the family. They both had dark brown hair and blue eyes. They were identical. I rolled my eyes playfully.

"I never thought I'd see the day where you two would finally get taller," I joked.

"Hey!" they both protested in unison. Aunt Clarissa came in and rolled her eyes.

"Girls, what did I say about talking together. It's creepy," she said as she sat on the couch.

"Sorry mom," they said in unison again. They looked at each other and giggled. Altogether, four of my cousins were here. Cheryl and Clove were two. Then there was Rickett, my older cousin. He was 23 years old and had the same sandy hair and blue eyes at his mother. Then there was Paisley. She was only 12 years old and had dark brown hair and green eyes like her father. They were all my Aunt Clarissa and my Uncle Richard's kids. My Aunt Marble didn't have any kids. Plus, Aunt Marble was only 28 years old.

"Is your name really Marble?" Skyli asked her. My aunt laughed and shook her head.

"Oh, no. My name is actually Marabella, but everyone calls me Marbles for short," she explained. Davis chuckled and stood.

"Well, I'm starving. Is the turkey almost ready?" he asked. Skyli nodded and stood as well.

"It just needs to be carved," she smiled. She came over to me and Grace reached out for her. I pecked Skyli quickly.

"I'll go get her baby food," I offered. Davis rubbed his hands together.

"I will carve the turkey," he said, rushing off to the kitchen. Skyli went and put Grace in her highchair and adjusted the chair for the table. She buckled her in as I handed her the peaches baby food. Grace was already sitting up on her own which was kind of early for only being 5 months but it wasn't an exact science. Gracie flailed her arms and squealed when she saw the bowl and spoon. It was a small padded spoon but Grace seemed to love it. Everyone made their plates, and I made one for Skyli. We all sat at the table and said grace before everyone began eating. Skyli just continued to feed Grace. There was comfortable chatter filing the space. People were talking about old times and stories from when they were little. It was a pleasant time Skyli still hadn't eaten anything before of how slow feeding Grace was, but it didn't look like Skyli minded.

"Do you want me to take over so you can eat?" I asked her. She smiled and shook her head.

"I'm alright," Skyli answered.

"You know, it's rude to feed a baby at a table when you have guests over," Aunt Clarissa said. Skyli smiled at her sarcastically.

"Would you rather I let her starve?" Skyli retorted.

"No, I'm just saying that was poor planning on your part," my aunt replied.

"She wasn't hungry earlier," Skyli said, setting down Grace's spoon out of Grace's reach.

"Scheduling, dear. It probably would've made this turkey taste better too. It's like cotton in my mouth," Aunt Clarissa said, setting down her fork.

"Clarie," my Uncle Richard said in warning. Skyli stood quickly.

"Excuse me," she said softly before she walked away. I glared at my aunt as I stood as well.

"Get out... right now. I warned you. I fucking warned you what would happen if you did this," I seethed from across the table. She huffed and looked at her family.

"It looks like we're not welcome here anymore," she said to them. I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Oh no, you're family is welcome. Just not you," I said. She gasped and grabbed her purse before she left. I looked at Davis.

"Watch Gracie?" I asked. He nodded and moved into Skyli's seat to resume feeding her. I went after Skyli to try and fix this disaster.