Page 26 of Skylar

Aiden pulled his shoulders back to keep them from slumping under the weight of the man’s disappointment and anger. It was all he could do to hold the imposing man’s stare. He could manage disappointment and anger from most people, but there were a few it was harder to stomach it from. Jay Halverson, being one of them.

“Sorry about that, Coach.”

Jay placed a hand on each of his shoulders. “I thought I taught you better than that. And even if I didn’t, Iknowyour dad and mom did.”

Aiden nodded. “They did. And you did too. I just… Well, there’s really no excuse beyond immaturity and selfishness for what I did.”

“It was definitely both of those things,” Jay agreed. “I can’t believe that you didn’t tell Cole. I mean, he knows now, but he was clueless back then.”

Aiden’s stomach sank. It had been stupid of him not to think that someone would let Cole know. He should have told him himself, but he’d been worried that he’d lose his best friend. Cole might have other people he considered his best friend now, but he was still Aiden’s number one.

“Jay, it’s your turn.”

Aiden turned to see Cathy gesturing for Jay to come to where the technician was set up at the table.

“I’ll talk to you more in a minute,” he said.

Whether that was a threat or a promise, Aiden wasn’t sure. But he wasn’t going to run off, even if it was a threat. He knew he deserved everything that Jay dished out to him.

While the man went to do his test, Aiden made his way to where his mom, Cathy, and Skylar stood talking. Skylar was dressed in a pair of black shorts and a white T-shirt with a floral pattern on the front. She wore flat black sandals, and her hair was pulled back in a braid.

The small diamond studs in her ears reminded him of the pair of earrings he’d given her for her birthday one year while they were dating. He wondered what she’d done with them and the other things he’d bought her.

He kind of hoped that she’d thrown them away, because that’s what he’d done with her gifts to him back when he was being immature and selfish.

Her gaze met his for a moment, and his heart skipped a beat. It shocked him enough that he lifted a hand to rub at his chest before he realized what he was doing.

“Hey,” he said, giving her a small smile as he tried to get his heart to behave itself.

Was he having this reaction to her because of their past relationship? Or was there something about her now that resonated with his heart?

“Hi.” She shifted closer to her mom to give him space to join their group.

Cathy greeted him with a smile, and when Willow lifted her arms to him, Aiden picked her up with ease, settling her on his forearm as she hooked her arm around his neck.

He saw that Skylar’s gaze was on Willow, and he was once again left to wonder what was going through her mind. Cathy, however, smiled at Willow, her feelings clear.

Aiden wished they could see Shiloh, but she’d been admitted to the hospital and had had her first treatment earlier that day. He didn’t expect that any of Shiloh’s family would show up at the clinic.

“How did Shiloh do today?” Aiden asked.

Cathy’s smile slid away. “Charli texted me a little while ago and told me that she was feeling quite sick after the treatment.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Aiden said, his heart sinking at the news of his daughter suffering like that.

“It was expected,” Cathy explained. “But it’s still hard to see in reality.”

“Oh, Blake made it after all,” Skylar said, her gaze going to the door.

Aiden turned to see a tall, solidly built man holding the hand of a young boy. There were three other children with him, and he assumed that the dark-haired teen was Layla. The last time he’d seen the girl, she’d been just a few years older than Willow. She might even have been the age that Shiloh was now.

Thinking about that was kind of depressing. Time passed so quickly. And so much had changed since he’d last been surrounded by the Halverson family.

It made him realize just how many years he’d missed of his daughter’s life. Even if he’d only seen her once or twice a year like Skylar had, it would have been something. By his own actions, he’d robbed himself of that.

Of course, if they’d stayed together, it was unlikely that they would have given the baby up for adoption. He would have been in Shiloh’s life all these years.

Blake gazed around the room, and when he saw their group, he headed in their direction, the other kids following him.

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