Page 127 of Skylar

“Oh, thanks.”

He opened the passenger door. “Ready to go see Shiloh?”

“I am.”

After she was seated, he closed the door, then strode around the hood of the car to slide behind the wheel. His arm bumped her as he shifted around to get his seatbelt latched.

He drove with a mature assurance now, unlike the reckless overconfidence of his teenage years. He no longer sped through yellow lights, barely making it before they turned red. Instead, he anticipated them, slowing down to stop just as the light changed to red.

It was just one more thing that revealed how he’d grown and matured over the years. He’d left behind the reckless bent he, Cole, and all their friends had seemed to have back then.

She’d found it thrilling then, but she definitely appreciated his approach to driving now better. Arriving safely at the destination was infinitely more important than the thrill of the trip there.

It didn’t take long to get to the hospital, and soon, they were once again stepping onto a busy elevator. Once they reached the correct floor, Aiden stepped out of the elevator, then waited for Skylar to join him.

Shiloh was up and sitting at the table with Charli when they walked in. Skylar’s heart lifted at the sight because it signified how much improved she was.

“Did Mom and Dad tell you the good news?” Charli asked as she hugged Skylar.

“No. I left before they got home.” Skylar bent to hug Shiloh, then turned her attention back to her sister while Aiden entertained the little girl, passing on a joke from Willow.

“Yeah, they didn’t leave that long ago,” Charli said. “They were here when the doctor came around to give us the results of more of the tests.”

“What did they have to say?”

“They said that the tests aren’t showing any signs of relapse,” Charli said. “So she’s still clear.”

“Why was she so sick then?”

“It was a bladder infection that got out of hand. Once the antibiotics kicked in, she started to improve almost right away. Her immune system is still compromised, and it will continue to be that way for a little while, so we just have to be on the lookout for any type of infection so that we can catch it before it gets to where she needs to be hospitalized.”

“How did it get to that point this time?”

Charli glanced at Shiloh, a sad look on her face. “She was experiencing some pain, but she was scared to say anything. She didn’t want to worry us, plus she was worried about what it meant.”

“I don’t blame her,” Skylar said. “I think I’d worry too.”

“Yes. We understand that, but we’ve had a talk with her to let her know that things will be better for her if she tells us right away when she doesn’t feel well. Doing that might not mean a hospital stay if we catch problems soon enough.”

“I imagine that is a good incentive for her.”

Charli smiled. “It definitely is. And the other good news is that we get to go home tomorrow.”

“Oh, that is wonderful news.”

That news also meant that she would need to get her stuff packed up to go back with her parents to Serenity. With Shiloh out of the hospital, there was no reason for her parents to stay in Coeur d’Alene, and that meant that Skylar needed to move home with them since she couldn’t stay with Aiden by herself.

“Did you tell Uncle Aiden the good news?” Charli asked Shiloh.

“I’m going home tomorrow!” Shiloh said with a beaming smile.

It was so good to see her in better spirits and in better health. It was something that Skylar was no longer willing to take for granted.

“That is the best news ever,” Aiden said, lifting his hand for her to smack. “I bet you’re excited to see your brothers and sisters and your dad.”

As Shiloh nodded, Skylar wondered how hard it had been for Aiden to utter that sentence. It had firmly put Shiloh into a family other than his, which she was certain he still struggled with.

“Yes. We both miss Daddy,” Shiloh said. “And I miss my bed.”

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