Page 1 of One Unexpected Gift

CHAPTER ONE

Skylar smiled down at the love of her life and braced herself for the barrage of questions and layers of guilt her best friends were bound to dump on her. She deserved what was coming. She hadn’t been fair to them these past months.

Part shame, part confusion, part jealousy. All of which were unnecessary, she knew. Her friends didn’t judge, wouldn’t judge, yet she had avoided them out of pure selfishness. She avoided their texts, their emails, their calls even though she was happy they found true love with their husbands.

She hadn’t seen them since July when she was eight months pregnant. They asked—begged, really—to come to the military base in Virginia to help her with the final weeks of pregnancy and to see Gabriella when she was born.

Taking the coward’s way, she told them she wasn’t up to visitors. In truth, she needed time to acclimate to being a mother.

Gabriella cooed from her car seat. The lap-sized teal and pink quilt Gina had sent made her daughter look like a little baby princess. She was Sky’s world. Three weeks ago she met her daughter for the first time, and now she couldn’t imagine life without her.

“Ready to meet your aunties, sweet angel?”

Sky unclipped the car seat from the base and lifted it out of the backseat of her Nissan. Brooke and Drew’s lake house was gorgeous. A stunning log cabin with a million-dollar view and only a quick walk through the woods to the summer camp she and her best friends—her sisters—owned together.

Since she was the only one still on active duty in the Army, she contributed from afar by managing their website and doing the behind the scenes work such as online marketing and fundraising.

Brooke served twelve years before leaving, while Gina and Charlie’s service were cut short from injuries.

Gabby stirred and Sky rocked her in the car seat in an attempt to keep her asleep. Pressure mounted in her heavy breasts. Gabby would need to eat soon. But first, she needed to meet her aunties. Hefting the diaper bag over her shoulder, she closed the car door with her hip and carried her daughter to Brooke’s front door.

She rang the doorbell and her heart raced with unnecessary nervous energy. Mostly out of guilt for shutting her sisters out.

“Holy shit. It’s Skylar!” Brooke yelled over her shoulder, to Charlie and Gina, most likely.

Her voice woke Gabby, who started crying.

“Oh, crap. Sky, I’m so sorry.” She opened the door wider and ushered Sky inside. “Why didn’t you tell us you were coming?”

“Skylar!” Gina rushed up and engulfed her in a hug. “And this is the beautiful Gabriella.” She dropped to her knees and straightened the quilt.

“I can’t believe you’re here.” Charlie squeezed her tight, a sniff escaping her before she broke free to join Gina on the floor to soothe Gabby.

“We’ve been waiting for you to FaceTime. You’re such a brat.” Brooke teased and bit her lip, holding back her emotional tears, no doubt. “Come here.” She wrapped her arms around Sky. “We’ve missed you, Sky. So much. I’m glad you’re here.”

“I’m sorry for—”

“No. Absolutely not.” Brooke took a step back but held onto Sky’s shoulders. “You don’t owe us any explanations. We can’t imagine what it’s been like for you these past few months, and we’d be lying if we said we weren’t upset we couldn’t be there to see our niece be born, but we understand.”

“How? Why?” Sky blinked back her tears. She didn’t even understand why she shut them out. They were the only family she had besides Derek. He’d come down with Karen when Gabby was born, and last week Sky came up and stayed with them in their small one-bedroom condo in Bangor.

While she loved Derek like a father, he was a newlywed and recently retired. Having the girl he took under his wing after her parents died nearly fifteen years ago and her newborn crash at their small place wasn’t fair to them.

“Because we love you,” Charlie said, still kneeling. “Can we unbuckle her? A war is going to break out in Brooke’s living room if we don’t get to hold her soon.”

“Sure. It’s almost time for her to feed again anyway.”

“How long are you here for?” Gina asked, her attention on Charlie as she took Gabby out of the car seat.

“I have eight weeks left on my maternity leave.”

“You’ll stay here. You can have the entire downstairs.”

“That’s kind of you but babies cry all the time. I wouldn’t want to disturb Drew.”

“Please. When he’s writing he tunes the world out. He’ll be leaving for a book tour in a few weeks anyway so it’s not a problem. Really.”

Brooke would be gone during the day teaching. Sky didn’t feel right staying home alone with Drew. He was amazing and the sweetest man she’d ever met, but she didn’t want to infringe on his privacy.

---