Page 24 of Skylar

Aiden could see the toll that had taken on her in the haunted expression in her eyes. “Are you going to try to keep your distance even after she knows who you are?”

“That would be my preference, but I doubt that I’ll be able to.”

“Are you going to be in Serenity for awhile?”

“I’m not sure. At the moment, I have another week off, with the option of taking more, if needed.”

“So I’ll see you again?”

Aiden wasn’t sure why he’d said that. He was probably the last person she wanted to see again.

“Probably.” Naturally, she didn’t sound enthused by the idea. “We’ll see how things go.”

Aiden understood that the family was dealing with more than his desire to get to know his daughter. They had a fight on their hands.

“I’d better go,” Skylar said as she turned toward the door.

They joined the others in the waiting room, then the five of them left the building. After saying goodbye to the Halversons, Aiden and Dennis walked to where he’d parked earlier.

“Everything else okay?” Dennis asked once they were at his car. The man had been a family friend, and he’d done his best to take care of them legally and more since Aiden’s dad had passed away.

“Yep. Things are going fine.”

“Well, keep me posted about this situation,” Dennis said. “And give my regards to your mom.”

“I will.” After shaking the man’s hand, Aiden got into his car and left the parking lot.

Rather than head home, he went to the park near Harrison Slough, not far from downtown Coeur d’Alene. He needed to have a few minutes to process everything.

After taking off his suit coat, Aiden headed for a bench near the sand. The water sparkled in the sunlight, making him wish he’d grabbed his sunglasses.

Given it was the middle of a workday afternoon, the area wasn’t very busy. Willow loved coming to the beach, so maybe he’d bring her on the weekend and give his mom a few hours to herself.

Letting out a long exhale, Aiden leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his thighs. He let his head fall forward and stared at the ground between his feet.

“Missing you a whole lot today, Dad,” he murmured. “I hope I’m doing the right thing, and that you’d be proud of me.”

Even as he said the words, Aiden knew that he wouldn’t be proud of Aiden’s behavior with Skylar back when they’d been dating. His parents had been very disappointed when thingshadn’t worked out between them. His dad had asked him what he’d done, but Aiden had brushed it off as a mutual decision, made because a long distance relationship was too hard to maintain.

His parents had met in high school and, by all accounts, had been happily married up until the day of his dad’s death. They wouldn’t have understood Aiden’s need to see if there was life beyond Serenity. Beyond Skylar.

Yeah. They would have been very disappointed at the time if they’d known the truth. Looking back at his actions, Aiden was disappointed in himself.

His current life would probably be a whole lot different had he made better decisions in the past. But there was no going back. Only moving forward and doing what he could for Skylar now. Which included getting tested.

It was nearly five by the time he pulled into the parking lot behind the clinic. There were a few cars there, but he suspected others would come once it was past five.

He and his mom got out, then he helped Willow out of the car seat in the back. They each took one of her hands and walked along the sidewalk that ran beside the building to the front.

Though he felt nervous about seeing more of Skylar’s family, he tried his best to keep his nervousness hidden, especially from his mom and Willow. As they reached the front door, he pulled it open and allowed them to precede him into the building.

The small group of people standing at the reception desk turned as they walked in.

“Aiden?”

While he didn’t know them all, he did recognize Janessa. “Hi, Janessa.”

“Come to get your blood drawn for the testing?”

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