Page 128 of Skylar

“I miss my bed too,” Charli said, pressing her hands to her lower back. “It will be good to be back home.”

Skylar waited to feel regret that she’d essentially turfed her career over an infection. However, it didn’t come. She was relieved that Shiloh was doing so much better, but she was also happy with her decision to return to Idaho.

Although, if she didn’t find a job, she might feel differently.

“I’m going to go call Blake while you two are here to keep Shiloh company,” Charli said as she picked up her phone from the table. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

“So, what are you doing here?” Aiden asked as he gestured to the table.

“I was coloring while Momma read a story to me.”

“Oh, we’ve done that before,” Aiden said. “Do you want me to read while you color with Skylar?”

Shiloh shook her head. “Auntie Sky reads better than you.”

“Better than me?” Aiden pressed a hand to his chest. “What’s wrong with my reading?”

Shiloh giggled. “Nothing. Auntie Sky is just better at voices and stuff.”

“Okay. I’ll accept that.”

Shiloh turned to pull out another book from a bag that sat on the windowsill next to the table. “Here’s a coloring book for you.”

Aiden took it, and while he flipped through the pages, Shiloh picked up the book that was laying splayed on the table and handed it to Skylar. “This is the book Momma was reading.”

Skylar took the book, noting that this one seemed to be about a girl and her horse. She’d never been a horse person herself, but it seemed that her daughter—niece—might be.

“Okay,” Skylar said as she settled into a seat beside the table. “You color. I’ll read.”

The brief visits that she and Aiden had with Shiloh were soothing for the ache of giving her up that still lingered all these years later. And probably would still linger until the day Skylar died. Because regardless of how much time she spent withShiloh, it would never be as much as she would have had with her had she never given her up.

But glancing up and seeing father and daughter—the man she loved and their child—brought with it a sense of calm and peace. Somehow, even without really trying, she’d found a way to accept that she’d never be a mom to the child she’d given birth to.

That development gave her hope that perhaps she could reconcile herself with the past she and Aiden had and leave the negative emotions there.

She might not be able to have Shiloh in her life in the way she would have been if circumstances had been different, but maybe she could have Aiden.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Aiden slid behind the wheel, then turned to Skylar. “Want to grab some dinner? Or is there some at home?”

“I think Mom and Dad were going out to dinner with some friends, so we should probably stop somewhere unless we want to cook a meal after we get home.”

“Dinner out it is,” he said with a laugh. “Up for some Italian?”

“Sure. Sounds good.”

There was a restaurant that he’d found about a year ago, and he and his mom really enjoyed it. Even Willow liked to go there and order off their children’s menu.

“I’m glad to see Shiloh so improved,” Aiden said. “I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to seeing her sick.”

“Me, either. I suppose it’s exacerbated by the fact that when she gets sick, she getssick.”

“Yeah. No simple colds for her.”

They continued to chat about Shiloh, which then segued into a conversation about Charli and Blake’s other kids, until he pulled to a stop in the small parking lot next to the restaurant. The lot was nearly full, so he wasn’t surprised when there was a bit of a wait for a table.

“Must be a good place,” Skylar murmured as they stepped into the small corner by the hostess stand, out of the way of other diners. “Smells delicious.”

---