Page 60 of Skylar

“I can only imagine how that’s been,” Hudson said. “Losing a parent is terribly difficult, and then losing a sibling on top of that must have been crushing.”

It sounded like Hudson might have lost a parent at one time, though Aiden didn’t know his history. “It hasn’t been easy, that’s for sure.”

“Excuse me, everyone,” Lee said loudly as he clapped his hands. “Let’s gather around to pray, then we can dig in.”

Aiden stepped closer to the others and closed his eyes. When the prayer was finished, the kids had help to fill their plates first, then the adults gathered around the food-laden table.

Glancing around, Aiden noticed that Skylar was hanging back, probably because holding a plate while being on crutches wasn’t very doable.

“Here you go, Aiden,” Janessa said as she held out a paper plate for him.

He almost asked for a second one so that he could help Skylar get her food. However, a glance in her direction showed that her mom was with her, holding a couple of plates.

As Aiden waited for the others to get their food, he pondered why he felt such a strong urge to help Skylar. Was he wanting to prove to her that he was a different man than he’d been back when they broke up? Or was he just falling back to how he’d treated her before he’d lost his mind and dumped her?

Back then, when she’d been on crutches, he’d helped her get her food, so he supposed it was natural that his inclinations would go in that direction.

Aiden watched Skylar as she pointed to different foods, which her mom then placed on her plate. As the crowd thinned, he moved closer to the table and chose from the array of foods set out.

When he looked around to see where Skylar was seated, Aiden realized that maybe there was another reason for his desire to help Skylar. It wasn’t exactly upsetting to come to that realization. At least not for him.

He had a feeling that Skylar wouldn’t feel the same way.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

After her mom had set her plate on the picnic table, Skylar maneuvered herself onto the bench, then propped the crutches up on the end of the table. Janessa, Will, Jay and Misha were also seated there and greeted her with smiles.

“Hey, Aiden,” Jay called out. “Come sit here.”

Skylar frowned at her brother as Aiden headed over and put his plate down on the table next to Jay.

“I’m going to get a drink,” he said. “Anyone else need one?”

Janessa nudged Skylar’s arm. “You don’t have a drink.”

“Want me to grab you one, Skylar?” Aiden asked.

“Uh, sure.”

After she told him her preference, he gave her a nod, then headed toward the large cooler that held cans of soda packed in ice.

“Stop scowling,” Janessa said. “Your face is gonna stay that way.”

“From what I’ve seen, that’s already happened,” Wilder commented drily.

Skylar rolled her eyes at her brother while Lexi elbowed him. “That’s not a nice thing to say to your sister.”

“You know that teasing my siblings is how I express my love for them,” Wilder told his wife.

“You could just say you love us, like a normal person would,” Janessa told him.

“But where’s the fun in that?”

“Here you go, Sky,” Aiden said as he approached her.

She looked up at him as she wrapped her hand around the can he held out to her, the condensation on its smooth surface chilling her fingers. “Thank you.”

A quick smile crossed his face as he said, “You’re welcome.”

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