Page 17 of Skylar

“Not really. I don’t think it will improve her life in any way.”

Aiden didn’t know how to respond to that. He wasn’t going to argue with Skylar that she would add worth to their child’s life.

“So she won’t be there on Friday?”

“No. They recommend she not be around a lot of people right now. They don’t want her to get sick since that could impact her planned treatment.”

“That’s understandable.”

“And no, I haven’t asked about her meeting you yet, so you’ll just have to be patient.”

He knew there were more important things going on at the moment than him meeting his previously unknown daughter. “I understand why that’s necessary, though I’m not usually one for keeping secrets.”

“You’re not a secret to everyone,” Skylar said. “Just her. Everyone else now knows you’re her birth father.”

“They didn’t know that before?”

“Of course not. I wasn’t keen for Cole to find out and tell you. So I made my folks keep it a secret from everyone.”

“I guess I understand that.”

“How did your mom respond to the news?”

“A bit of a mixed bag,” he said.

“What do you mean?”

“She was happy to hear that she has another granddaughter, but less happy with how everything ended between us.”

“You told her the truth?” Skylar sounded a bit skeptical, and he couldn’t blame her for that.

“Yes, I did.”

“Why would you do that? I mean, it doesn’t reflect well on you.”

“I felt it was important she know the truth.” He thought she might comment on that, but she remained silent. “Anyway, she expressed her displeasure and disappointment at how I treated you.”

“I bet that was hard to take,” Skylar said. “You always used to feel bad when you upset your mom.”

“I still do. Honestly, these days, I’d rather not upset anyone, if possible. Though I realize you probably have a hard time believing that.”

“A bit, yes.”

Though he wanted to mention his mom meeting her granddaughter, he decided that that conversation was best left for a later time.

“Your mom doesn’t live here in Serenity anymore?” Skylar asked.

“No, she and Willow are here in Coeur d’Alene with me, but she still has the house there. My dad left her financially secure, so she didn’t have to sell the house to move here. I have an apartment in the basement.”

“Nineteen-year-old you would have absolutely balked at the idea of living with your mom as a twenty-something man, especially in her basement.”

Aiden sighed. “Nineteen-year-old me was wrong about a lot of things.”

After a stretch of silence, Skylar said, “I probably should go.”

“Okay. I guess I’ll see you on Friday.” He was disappointed to end the conversation but didn’t press to continue it. It was enough that they’d talked for that long without any argument.

Once the conversation was over, Aiden tried to focus on his project. But it wasn’t until the other team members showed up for a meeting that he was truly able to put the situation with Skylar and their daughter to the side.

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