CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Aiden noticed a car parked in front of the house as he pulled into the driveway after work one day and wondered if it was someone visiting his mom. Though she didn’t have a lot of friends in Coeur d’Alene, she still had several in Serenity who came to visit.
Sometimes he felt guilty about having had her move to Coeur d’Alene, rather than him driving an hour or more each way to commute to work. However, his mom had assured him that it was fine. That she needed a little separation from the life she’d shared with his dad in Serenity.
There was a strong possibility that she’d move back to Serenity one day because she’d kept their house there. But for now, Coeur d’Alene would be their home.
Opening the side door, Aiden immediately heard the pitter patter of little feet.
“Uncle Aid!” Willow came running towards him, and Aiden reached out to grab her and swing her into his arms.
He gave her a kiss on her cheek, which she returned to his. “How was your day?”
“Great! A man brought me a new tablet with a pretty cover.”
Aiden frowned. “What?”
He walked out of the kitchen to the living room at the front of the house. There he found his mom speaking to said man.
“Cole?” Aiden bent to set Willow down, then gave Cole a brief but tight hug when he approached Aiden. “What are you doing here, bro?”
Cole shrugged as he put his hands on his hips. “I thought I’d come and get myself tested. Say hi to the fam.”
That surprised Aiden. Cole had come back to Serenity even less than Skylar had over the years. “You’re not dying, are you?”
“Aiden James!” his mom exclaimed.
Cole chuckled as he turned in her direction. “It’s fine, Miss Tracy. I know why he’s asking that.”
“It’s been an age since you showed up.”
“It has, but I think it’s for a good reason.”
“You staying in Serenity?”
“Probably,” he said. “My folks will most likely want me out at the house with them.”
“Most likely,” Aiden agreed.
“You want to go out and grab a bite?” Cole asked. “I plan to head out to Serenity later.”
Aiden glanced at his mom, who waved her hand. “You go on. Willow and I will be just fine. I’ll take care of her for bedtime tonight.”
“Thanks, Mom,” he said, then turned to Cole. “I’m just going to get changed, and we can go.”
It didn’t take him long to swap out his suit for a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, then he jogged back up the stairs to join Cole in the living room.
“Hey, Willow,” he said, moving to where his niece was seated on her favorite little child size recliner. “You didn’t tell me a joke yet. Whatcha got for me?”
Willow’s face lit up. “What do you call cheese that’s not yours?”
Aiden once again made a show of trying to think of the answer. “I give up, what.”
“Nacho cheese!”
As he grinned, Aiden heard Cole chuckle. “That’s a great one, kiddo.”
He held out his hand for a high five, which Willow gave him with great gusto. Cole also held his hand out, and Willow didn’t hesitate to smack his hand, too.
“Let’s take my car,” Aiden said as they walked toward the side door. “What are you in the mood for?”
As Aiden backed out of the driveway, they had a brief discussion before deciding on a nearby steakhouse. Once there, it wasn’t long before they were seated, and as usual, they garnered some female attention.
It was mainly Cole who drew the attention, but occasionally—like that day—the waitress flirted with them equally. Probably hoping that one of them would bite. Aiden didn’t know if Cole would, but he certainly wouldn’t.
He had enough going on in his life at the moment. Getting involved with a woman was nowhere near the top of his current priority list. Truth be told, it wasn’t even on it.
“You didn’t have any other plans now that basketball season is over?” Aiden asked once they’d given their orders. “I wouldn’t think Serenity would be where you’d want to go for a break.”
Cole shrugged. “I thought maybe it was time.”
“Really?” Aiden was still perplexed by his friend’s appearance.
“Yep. I figured that if Skylar could do it, so could I,” he said. “Plus, if she’s around, the attention won’t be solely on me.”
Aiden could understand why Cole felt that way. He probably didn’t want his family asking too many questions about his life.
Not that they were oblivious to what was going on with him. He made the gossip news often enough. Either because he was seen with a woman, so the dating speculations exploded, or something happened with his career.
“I think you might not be in luck with that,” Aiden said. “She’s been here for a little while now, so they’ve probably gotten all the information out of her that they’re going to.”
Cole grimaced. “Perhaps I made a mistake.”
“You haven’t. You’re here to help your niece.”
“Your daughter.”
Aiden shook his head. “I’m trying not to think of her that way.”
“Is it getting any easier?”
He didn’t answer right away, as their server had returned with their drinks and a basket of fresh rolls. When it was just the two of them again, he said, “Maybe. I correct myself all the time about Shiloh being my daughter. It helps that I don’t see her a lot, though I wish that wasn’t the case.”
They talked a bit more about Shiloh, with Aiden sharing what he knew about her current condition. She had gone home, and from what he’d heard, she was doing well. He hoped that meant that his mom and Willow could meet her soon, but he didn’t want to push.
As they ate their steaks, they talked about what had been happening with Cole and his team. He had one more year on his current contract and seemed confident that he’d be offered another one, given his performance over the past few years. He’d only gotten better and better, and his team had gone to the playoffs every year he’d been with them.
Aiden hadn’t realized how much he’d missed hanging out with Cole. Though Devon was a good friend, Cole was more than that. More like a brother than a friend. They knew everything about each other. Well, almost everything. He’d never shared with Cole that Skylar had told him she was pregnant.
It dawned on him then that there might be things Cole hadn’t told him since they’d gone in different directions in their lives. However, even if Cole did keep some things to himself, it didn’t seem to affect the ease Aiden felt when they were together, and their conversation flowed like it always had.
It was too bad that he probably wouldn’t get to hang out with him much if he was only going to be there for a few days, during which Aiden had to work.
When they finally left the restaurant, it was close to nine. The sun had set, casting the evening in shadows.
“So you plan to head out to Serenity tonight?”
Cole shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Yeah. I guess so.”
“If you want to crash at my place, you’re welcome to,” Aiden said. “As long as you don’t mind sleeping on the couch.”
“How big is the couch?” Cole asked, then waved his hand. “Doesn’t matter. I’ll sleep on it.”
Aiden wondered why Cole had even come to Idaho if he didn’t really want to go to Serenity. But rather than ask him, Aiden said, “It’s a pretty good size, and I’ve napped on it plenty of times.”
When they reached the house, Cole detoured to his car to grab a suitcase and a duffle bag.
Aiden sent Cole downstairs while he went to check in with his mom. The upstairs was already dark, which meant Willow was in bed, and his mom was in her room.
He rapped lightly on her door, and when she called for him to come in, he opened the door just enough to stick his head in. “We’re home, and Cole is going to stay the night and bunk down on my couch.”
“Okay, sweetheart,” his mom said with a smile. She was seated in an overstuffed rocker-recliner, a tablet in her hands. “It was so nice to see him. And he brought such lovely gifts.”
“What did he bring you?” he asked, opening the door a bit more to lean against the doorjamb.
“A brand new tablet with a pen,” she said, holding up the tablet in her hand. “And a gift card for me to buy apps I might like.”
“Well, that was sweet of him.”
“I thought so,” she agreed. “Though Cole should know he never has to worry that I’ll turn him away if he shows up empty-handed.”
“I’m sure he knows that, Mom. He just likes to buy things for those he cares for.”
“In return, I shall cook him a breakfast that I know he’ll like.”
Aiden grinned as he straightened from the doorjamb. “I’m sure he’ll enjoy every bite.”
He crossed the room to kiss her cheek, then said goodnight before leaving her to her tablet and the quiet of her room. On the way back downstairs, he stopped by the hall closet to grab some bedding and a pillow for Cole to use.
When he walked into his apartment, he found Cole stretched out on the couch. He grinned at Aiden. “Looks like it will do.”
Aiden tossed the bedding on top of him. “I told you it would.”
Wrapping his arms around the pillow and blanket, Cole sat up and swung his feet to the floor. “Appreciate you giving me a place to crash for tonight.”
“You’re welcome to stay as long as you want,” Aiden told him as he dropped into his recliner.
“I might take you up on that,” Cole said. “Do you want to come out to Serenity with me tomorrow?”
“Unfortunately, I have to work for a living.”
Cole chuckled. “Maybe I should hire you.”
“To do what?” Aiden asked. “If you were a pro golfer, I could caddy for you. But not much I can do for a pro basketball player.”
“You could design me a house.”
“Sure. I could do that,” Aiden agreed. “Where are we building said house?”
“Not sure yet.”
“You could probably find some land around here.” Now that Aiden had resigned himself to living in the area for the foreseeable future, he wouldn’t mind if his best friend ended up back in the area, too.
Cole didn’t immediately shoot down his suggestion, but he didn’t jump at it either. He sat forward and reached for his suitcase. “I brought you something that could help with your designing.”
“You didn’t have to bring anything for me, bro,” Aiden said. “Or for my mom or Willow.”
“I know.” Cole unzipped the suitcase and flipped the lid open. “But I like to buy stuff for you guys.”
Cole had always been very generous, but sometimes it made Aiden uncomfortable. He never wanted his friend to think they expected anything from him. They weren’t poor. However, he and his mom were both frugal in their day-to-day lives.
“Here you go.” Cole held out a flat box.
Aiden hesitated, then took it from him, feeling its heft. “Seriously, bro. You didn’t have to get me anything.”
“I know.” Cole shrugged as he sank back into the couch. “I just wanted to.”
Aiden set the box on the coffee table and opened it, staring in shock at the expensive laptop it revealed.
“Figured you could make good use of that. I ran into some big wig architect and asked him what the best laptop was for someone in his profession. He gave me the info, and there you go.”
“Thanks so much, Cole,” Aiden said. “I really appreciate this.”
“You don’t have one like it already?”
Aiden gave a huff of laughter. “No. I certainly don’t.”
“Hope you can put it to good use.”
“I’m sure I can,” Aiden assured him. “This is really great.”
He didn’t bother to unpack the laptop right then, figuring he’d tackle setting it up another night.
“Have you had much luck with Skylar?” Cole asked as he propped his feet on the coffee table.
“I suppose that depends on your definition of luck.” Aiden also propped his feet on the coffee table. It would drive his mom batty, but he’d chosen a style of furniture that would stand up to such use. “She’s agreed that it would be best if we got along, but I don’t think she wants us to be friends.”
“She can be stubborn,” Cole pointed out.
“Or maybe she’s just trying to protect herself from someone who has hurt her in the past.”
“Yeah. Maybe that too.”
“I think it’s a given that’s why she doesn’t want a friendship,” Aiden said. “And I’m not sure anything will change her mind.”
“Are you going to try?”
“No. I mean, I’m not going to keep bugging her about being friends. I will treat her better than I did before, because that’s the right thing to do.”
“How do you feel about her?” Cole asked.
Aiden narrowed his gaze at his friend. “I don’t hate her or anything, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“It’s not.” Cole crossed his arms as he slumped further back into the couch. “I just remember thinking when the two of you started dating that you’d be the real deal. In it until the end.”
“You didn’t feel that way at first,” Aiden pointed out.
“True. But you were the one that convinced me that it was serious. You said your parents had been childhood sweethearts, and it had worked out for them. I just came to accept that in addition to being my best friend, one day you’d be my brother-in-law.”
“Life doesn’t always work out the way we think it’s going to.”
Aiden felt that was a bit of an understatement when it came to his life. At no point had he thought he’d lose both his dad and his sister while still in his twenties.
“That doesn’t mean that you can’t have a second chance at something if the opportunity presents itself.”
“But it hasn’t,” Aiden said. “That would mean that both Skylar and I were interested in trying again. And unless she’s been telling you something different, that is definitely not the case.”
“But would you be if she was interested?”
Aiden didn’t have an answer for that. He’d changed. She’d changed. Their current circumstances were challenging.
It would take determination and commitment on both their sides to make something work, and nothing she’d said or done had hinted that she was inclined to make that sort of commitment to a friendship, let alone something more serious.
“I think I’ve learned that you shouldn’t close the door on any possibilities in life,” Aiden said slowly. “However, in this situation, I just don’t see how that could work, given Skylar’s rightful anger with me over how things played out in the past.”
There was a part of Aiden that wanted to say that if it was God’s will, it would work out. But while he knew that Cole would understand what he meant, he probably wouldn’t agree with that approach.
“I wish I’d asked more questions about the situation when the two of you broke up,” Cole said. “Maybe you’d be in a different position now.”
Aiden shook his head. “I think Charli and Blake have been better parents than Skylar and I would have been if we’d tried to make things work back then.”
“What do you mean?”
“She told me she was pregnant after we’d been broken up for almost two months. It had been a nasty break up, and by that point, I’m sad to say, I’d already been with a couple of other girls. I’d definitely moved on, and if people would have tried to force us together because of the baby, we would have really struggled. I don’t think that would have been a good environment for Shiloh. Or Skylar, for that matter.”
“I suppose that’s true.”
The reality that Aiden would admit to no one was that he was still drawn to Skylar. He didn’t know if that was just because he knew that she was the mother of his child, or if he was being drawn in by the memory he had of their relationship before it ended.
Maybe he’d feel differently if he’d been the one hurt in the breakup. Which was undoubtedly why Skylar held no fondness for him.
“You need to just steer clear of this topic with Skylar,” Aiden cautioned. “We’re both dealing with a lot right now, given Shiloh’s situation.”
“I understand that,” Cole said. “But while I might not pester Skylar about a relationship with you, I’ll definitely encourage her to consider a friendship.”
The last thing Aiden wanted was for Skylar to become annoyed with him. More than she already was. But at the same time, he couldn’t control what Cole did. Aiden just hoped that Skylar didn’t think he’d put her brother up to it.
Although maybe she wouldn’t believe that he could actually be interested in rekindling anything, given the way he’d dumped her. It was a very complicated situation all around, and thinking about it too much exhausted him.
They stayed up later than Aiden normally did, but he didn’t regret taking the time to chat with his friend in a way that they hadn’t had the opportunity to in quite a while.
Aiden thought Cole might be back on their doorstep in a day or two, but he kind of hoped he was wrong. Selfishly, he wanted Cole to be okay with spending more time with his family because a successful visit now would mean he’d come back to Serenity more.