Page 52 of Skylar

It had been a couple of days since she and Aiden had babysat Shiloh for Charli and Blake, which had left her with a lot of emotions that she wasn’t sure how to handle.

Seeing Shiloh in that hospital bed, looking so frail, had cemented in her the need to stay in Serenity. It felt like it was important for her to stay close by.

It was getting easier to be around Shiloh. The confusion of emotions when it came to her—and Aiden—was still there, but the longer she was around them and Charli and Blake, things were slowly gaining clarity.

Well, the clarity came more regarding the situation with Shiloh, Charli and Blake. There was little clarity regarding Aiden and how she felt about him and what had happened.

It seemed that the more she was around Aiden, the more confused she became. That was not what she wanted. During the years since their disastrous breakup, her feelings and emotions concerning Aiden had always been very clear.

She hated him for what he’d done to her. The breakup and his reaction to the pregnancy. But now that she’d spent some time with him, that clarity had devolved into confusion.

Though she told herself that she still hated Aiden for what he’d done, it wasn’t as easy to hate him when she was around him. Like the exchange they had outside the hospital the other night.

His offer to get her car had been thoughtful, but it was his mention of when she’d last been on crutches and how he’d helped her that had made it difficult to ignore the good moments in their past. Which is what she’d tried to do for the past nine years.

There had been no point in thinking about the good times. They weren’t together anymore, and that wasn’t going to change. Sticking with anger and hate had been easy.

Now, however, it was much harder.

Being around him was hard enough, but having him treat her well and bring up fun memories from the past made it even harder. She wasn’t sure how to deal with him as a mature man instead of the younger version of him who’d treated her so callously.

He seemed to be very different from the person who had dumped her, and she really struggled with that. It would have been so much easier if he’d been willing to do the blood test but had no interest in Shiloh. Easier for her, but she was coming to understand it wouldn’t have been good for Shiloh.

She’d not just gained an uncle, along with the knowledge of who he truly was, she’d also gained another grandmother and cousin. It was selfish of Skylar to wish that away, just so things would have been easier for her.

She needed to stop thinking about just herself. To stop being selfish.

Skylar sighed, wishing she could escape the conflicted feelings. But she had a feeling that even if she went back to her apartment in Las Vegas, they would follow her there.

Her phone rang, interrupting her thoughts. She reached out and picked it up from where it sat on the small table beside her chair. Also there, was a tall frosty glass of sweetly tart lemonade that her mom had made earlier.

Seeing Cole’s name on the screen, Skylar frowned. She’d already heard from him once a couple of days earlier, so she wasn’t sure why he’d be phoning again.

“Hey, Cole,” she said when she answered the phone.

“How’re you doing, sis?”

“I’m okay. Just sitting on the back deck, enjoying the nice weather.”

“Sounds nice.”

“It’s not bad. At least it’s not as hot as Vegas.”

“Are you planning to stick around Serenity for awhile?”

“Probably until my ankle has healed enough for me to go back to work.”

“I’m surprised you’re willing to stay there,” Cole said. “Considering Aiden is living around there now.”

Skylar didn’t need to be reminded of that. “Have you spoken to him?”

“Yes. A couple of times.”

She doubted that he would tell her what they talked about. But despite everything she’d told him about what had happenedin the past with her and Aiden, she was pretty sure that they’d continue to be best friends.

They had been friends for most of their lives, so it stood to reason that they would continue to be best friends. Even when they were teens, Skylar had realized that if Cole had to choose between her or Aiden, he’d most likely pick his best friend.

It was one of the reasons she’d never told him about what had happened.

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