Page 109 of Skylar

“Like maybe our genetics don’t mix well, and somehow that triggered her cancer.”

“I don’t think so,” Aiden said, though he honestly hadn’t given it any thought. “This isn’t like a genetic disease.”

“But there are some types of cancers that are genetic,” Skylar said. “Like breast cancer.”

“Some variations of that, perhaps, but there are plenty of cancers that aren’t tied to anything.”

“Anything but bad luck?”

Aiden shrugged. “Something like that, I suppose. I don’t think you should try to take the blame for Shiloh’s diagnosis when no one is looking to blame anyone for it. Sometimes these things just happen.”

“I guess I just want to know how or why she ended up with this.”

“You and a lot of people who have loved ones diagnosed with cancer,” Aiden said. “I remember reading on social media about a family who had a set of identical twin daughters and one was diagnosed with cancer as a pre-teen, but the other one wasn’t. If it was something present in their identical genetics, both of them would have been diagnosed.”

“It’s just not fair.”

“There’s so much in life that isn’t fair,” Aiden reminded her. “Heart attacks aren’t fair, and neither are boating accidents.”

Skylar looked up at him and nodded. “Yeah. Those aren’t fair either.”

“You need to just accept that this has happened to our Shiloh and focus forward on how we can help her and Charli and Blake through it.”

“You seem better able to cope with this than I am,” Skylar said. “I’m struggling.”

“If I’m coping better, it’s no doubt somewhat attributed to what I’ve already gone through. I’ve learned that if I can survive the loss of a loved one—two loved ones, actually—I can survive this difficult journey with Shiloh. I’m not going to grieve her loss while she’s still alive. I still have faith that, if her cancer has returned, God will use the transplant to heal her. Don’t lose hope, Sky.”

“I’m trying not to,” she said, crossing her arms as she stared straight ahead. “But I just feel so helpless. And then I see that Charli and Blake feel the same way, and I’m left wondering whodoesn’tfeel that way about this situation.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Aiden slipped his arm around Skylar’s shoulders. He waited for her to pull away, but she didn’t.

“God isn’t helpless in this situation, and I believe He is guiding the doctors and those involved in Shiloh’s care.”

“I never would have thought you’d be the one trusting God like this.”

Aiden chuckled but didn’t move his arm, and she didn’t move away from him either.

“I know, but you know you can also trust God. No one has a monopoly on Him.”

She nodded. “I’m trying, but it’s a real challenge. It’s not that I don’t have faith that God could heal Shiloh.”

“What is it then?” When Skylar didn’t answer right away, Aiden glanced down at her. “What is it you struggle with?”

“God could have saved your dad and Bethany. He could have prevented Shiloh from getting sick in the first place. So while I know that He can heal Shiloh, I also know that sometimes He chooses not to heal. Not to protect from death.”

Aiden gazed down at the sidewalk they were slowly walking along. “Yeah. It’s true that sometimes He chooses not to do what we think is best.”

“And it scares me to think that might happen with Shiloh,” she said, her voice tremulous. “I don’t want to lose her even more than I already have.”

Aiden rested his cheek briefly on the top of her head. “We’ll just make the most of every moment we have with her and pray that we’ll have a lifetime of moments ahead of us.”

“Everything okay?”

Aiden looked up to find Skylar’s parents standing on the sidewalk, watching them. Skylar stiffened and took a step away from him. Aiden let his arm drop from her shoulders.

“Just talking about whether God will heal Shiloh or not,” Skylar said.

“Definitely a weighty topic,” her dad replied. “We can discuss it more inside, if you’d like.”

---