CHAPTER NINETEEN
Aiden slid into the back seat of Cole’s rental car, putting his duffle bag with his towel and a change of clothes onto the seat beside him.
“Should I have grabbed lunch at the house?” Aiden asked. “If yes, can we swing through a drive-thru so I can get something to eat? I’m starving.”
“No worries,” Cole assured him. “I picked up a bunch of stuff from the deli, along with some drinks, chips, and treats I had ready for pickup at the store.”
“You’ve planned quite the party, bro,” Aiden said.
Aiden was a bit surprised to see Skylar in the front seat next to Cole. He’d thought that she might decide not to come because he’d be there, too.
He would have liked to think it meant that she was starting to be okay with him being around. However, he wasn’t sure that was the case. It was likely that she was there because going out on the lake was something she’d always enjoyed.
They were the first ones to reach the place where Cole had rented the boat. He and Skylar waited at the car while Cole went to check in with the rental place.
“Are there others coming?” Aiden asked.
“Yeah. Wilder and Lexi, and Kayleigh and Hudson. I think Layla and Amelia might join us, too.”
“And their boyfriends?”
Skylar gave a soft huff of laughter. “Don’t let Blake hear you call them that, or he might ban you from ever seeing Shiloh.”
Aiden grinned. “Well, I definitely don’t want that.”
“Poor girls,” Skylar said. “Their dad keeps pretty tight tabs on them, I think.”
“Isn’t Layla eighteen already?”
“I think her age is irrelevant to Blake. She could be thirty, and he’d still probably be protective of her.”
Aiden didn’t bring up how her parents had felt when they’d first moved past the best friend’s little sister/brother’s best friend relationship they’d had to something more serious. It wasn’t a time he really wanted to revisit.
“Okay, you two, let’s grab the food,” Cole announced as he strode up to them where they stood next to the car. They’d left the confines of the vehicle since it had been getting a little warm.
After grabbing their bags from inside the car, they helped Cole gather up everything in the trunk, then made their way down the dock to where the boat was moored.
“This looks great, Cole,” Skylar said as she climbed onto the boat.
“I thought so from the pictures online.”
Aiden followed Cole on and set his bags down on the bench seat that ringed the area beneath the canopy. Cole took the things Skylar held, so Aiden held out his hand to help her onto the boat.
She hesitated, and Aiden slowly closed his hand and began to lower it. But then Skylar reached out and grasped his arm. Aiden automatically tightened his forearm so that he could support her as she stepped onto the boat.
“Thank you,” Skylar said as she released her grip on him.
“You’re welcome.”
Even with her boot on, she maneuvered around the boat quite well, helping Cole empty the bags onto the small table.
“You remember how to drive something like this?” Aiden asked.
“It’s like riding a bike,” Cole said. “I’m sure.”
Aiden wasn’t so sure that was how it worked, but he figured his friend probably remembered enough that he’d be able to navigate a pontoon. If it was a speedboat, Aiden might have had a different feeling about Cole piloting them around.
It wasn’t long before more people arrived, including Layla and Amelia. When they said that their friends—who happened to be boys—would be joining them, Cole walked with them to the parking lot.
Aiden watched as Cole stood with his arms crossed, his tall form towering over everyone else.
“What’s he doing?” Kayleigh asked as she came to stand beside Aiden.
“I think he wants to see if the one boy’s sister drops him off.”
“A sister?”
“Yeah. He seemed rather…” Skylar looked at Aiden. “Enamored with her?”
“Intrigued for sure,” Aiden said. “She joined us for ice cream following the basketball games yesterday.”
“Is she nice?”
This time, Aiden looked at Skylar. He wasn’t sure why, but he didn’t want to be the one giving an evaluation of the woman.
“She seemed nice,” Skylar said. “A little on the quiet side, but that could just have been because she was hanging out with a bunch of people she didn’t know.”
“Is he going to ask her to join us?”
“Probably, but I don’t think she’ll accept.”
Kayleigh turned to look at Skylar. “Why not?”
“I got the feeling she wasn’t sure what to make of Cole. Or the rest of us, for that matter.”
Aiden watched as Cole strode toward a vehicle that had just pulled to a stop, Amelia at his side. He approached the driver’s door, then lowered himself to a knee. Meanwhile, the lanky boy from the day before got out of the passenger side and greeted Amelia with a smile and a wave.
“It looks like perhaps he’s going to try to charm her into joining us,” Kayleigh remarked.
“Well, if there’s one thing that Cole has aside from the skill to sink a basket from half-court, it’s the ability to charm people,” Aiden remarked.
“We’ll see,” Skylar said. “She didn’t seem to fall under his charm much yesterday.”
Soon, Cole straightened, resting his hand on the roof of the car. He bent and said something more, then stepped back. He stood with his hands on his hips, watching as the car drove off.
“Guess you’re right, Sky,” Aiden said.
Layla’s friend had arrived as well, so the four teens made their way to the dock leading to where the pontoon boat was still tied up. Cole trailed behind them, looking at something on his phone.
“Are we all here?” Skylar asked as Cole stepped onto the pontoon.
He glanced around at the people on the boat, then nodded. “Yep. We can head out.”
“Did Anie not want to join us?”
He shrugged. “She said she had something else to do.”
“My sister doesn’t really like to be around people she doesn’t know well. She mainly stays home.”
“And that’s perfectly fine,” Skylar assured Benjamin with a smile. “There are times I prefer to stay home and away from people, too.”
The teen gave Skylar a small smile. “She’s really great, though.”
Aiden could see the boy was trying to defend his sister, but he didn’t have to do that. Not with this family.
“She seemed very nice when we had ice cream yesterday,” Skylar said. “Maybe someday we’ll get to know her a little better. Especially if you’re hanging around Amelia.”
“She usually just needs to know ahead of time if she’s going to be going out with people,” Benjamin said, then looked at Cole. “If you give her advance notice next time, she might say yes.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Cole said.
With that settled, Aiden helped Cole prepare the boat to leave the marina, and soon they were headed away from the dock.
There was hardly a cloud in the sky, and the sun sparkled off the bright blue water. Though the day was hot, there was a slight breeze which kept it from being oppressively so.
Skylar sat on one of the benches with her legs crossed. Kayleigh and Lexi sat beside her while their husbands stood with Aiden near the pilot’s seat where Cole sat, guiding the boat out into the expanse of the lake.
The teens were clustered near the back of the boat, using their phones to take photos. It was so odd to see the next generation living a part of their lives that Aiden remembered so clearly. It made him feel old.
After a little while, Cole slowed the boat to a stop. They dropped anchor, then sorted out the food, opening the cooler bag that contained everything Cole had ordered from the deli. There was far more food than they’d probably eat, but when Cole did something, he did it big.
Once the food was all set out, Cole turned to Hudson. “Would you say grace for the food?”
Hudson nodded, and everyone bowed their head as he prayed. Though Cole didn’t practice the faith he’d been raised with, he was still respectful of it.
After the prayer, they loaded their plates, then found seats on the long benches. The boat had a Bluetooth speaker system and soon Cole had some music playing.
They weren’t alone on the lake. Given how beautiful a day it was, it was no surprise that there were a variety of watercraft out on the water.
Once they had finished eating, the teens quickly stripped down to their swimsuits and jumped into the water. There were some inflatables which Cole tossed out for the teens to use. The adults didn’t seem to be in any hurry to join them as they continued to sit under the canopy of the pontoon, out of the sun.
“Alright,” Cole said after they’d been talking for a bit. He slapped his thighs, then got to his feet. “I think I’m going to join the kids.”
Aiden stood up, and he was a little surprised when Skylar did, too. She’d loved to swim when they’d been younger, and it seemed that perhaps she still loved it.
Cole took his T-shirt off, then dove off the back of the pontoon. He popped up beyond where the teens were using some of the inflatable tubes. When he splashed them, they shouted and splashed him back.
Skylar came to stand next to Aiden on the platform at the front of the boat, then carefully removed her walking boot. She set it to the side, then grasped the handle of the ladder that could be used to climb up onto the boat from the water.
“It looks very refreshing,” she said.
“Want me to throw you in?” Aiden asked with a grin.
“I think not,” she said, but then she reached out with both hands to shove him.
Without thinking, Aiden grabbed onto her, and they both fell into the water with a mighty splash. As they sank, he wrapped his arms around her and kicked hard to get them to the surface. As soon as they broke through the surface of the water, he let her go, anticipating that she was going to be less than thrilled about what had just happened.
Surprisingly, Skylar was grinning as she used her arms to stay above the water. “Well, I suppose I deserved that.”
“So I don’t have to apologize for pulling you in with me?” Aiden asked as he grabbed one of the large tubes and hooked his arm around it. He moved it closer to Skylar so she could also grab it.
“Well, if I insisted on that, then I’d have to apologize for pushing you.” With one arm hooked around the tube, she leaned back, her feet floating to the surface. “Let’s just call it even.”
Aiden was happy with that. He leaned back in the water, his position mirroring Skylar’s. Contentment swirled inside Aiden, marred only by the uncertainty that lingered over Shiloh’s health.
He looked up at the sky, his gaze taking in the splendor of it. He knew that the God who had created the spectacular beauty surrounding them could heal Shiloh. He could erase the cancer from her body and allow her to gain health and strength once again.
But was that God’s plan for their little girl?
Aiden looked across the tube and saw that Skylar had closed her eyes as she floated there. He thought of the years he’d wasted by not approaching her to admit that he’d been so wrong in how he’d treated her and to apologize. But he’d been too much of a coward.
He hated to admit it, but it was only because of Shiloh’s cancer diagnosis that he was back in their lives. Without that, he wouldn’t even know that he had a daughter. Nor would he have Skylar in his life once again.
Had God used Shiloh to bring him back to this family? But more than that, had He used Shiloh’s illness to bring Aiden fully back to Himself?
Whatever the reason, Aiden wanted healing for his daughter. He might never be able to play the role of father in Shiloh’s life, but forever in his heart, she would be little girl.
Please, God, let the treatment have worked for Shiloh. She’s such a strong little girl. Precious beyond words. Please heal her.
“Are you okay?”
Skylar’s soft question had Aiden blinking away the moisture that had suddenly swelled in his eyes. As he felt a tear slip down his cheek, he lifted his hand to splash his himself.
Dragging a hand down his face to wipe away the tears and the lake water, Aiden shifted to rest his chin on the edge of the tube while he wrapped his arms around it from underneath it.
“I’m fine.”
Skylar shifted so she was in the same position as him, facing him directly. “You didn’t look fine.”
Aiden glanced around, noting that they weren’t too close to others, then said, “I’m just thinking about Shiloh.”
“She’s doing fine,” Skylar said. “Charli said that even though she still has some residue effects from the chemo, she’s doing better each day.”
Aiden nodded. “It’s just so hard to see her like that and not be able to do anything to help her.”
“Yeah. It’s a very helpless feeling.”
“I’m just very grateful that Charli is letting us have a relationship with her. I know my mom has been so happy to welcome another member of the family after having lost two. And Willow loves her already.”
“Charli and Blake are better people than I am,” Skylar said. “I’m not sure I would have been as welcoming.”
“Yeah. Me either, to be honest.”
They drifted quietly for a few minutes, then Aiden said, “Do you know when you’re leaving yet?”
Aiden didn’t want her to leave. Now that he had her back in his life, he didn’t want her to go back to Vegas. However, he understood why she might find it difficult to stay in Serenity. She’d already stayed longer than he’d thought she might. Of course, the main reason was probably her inability to work because of her foot.
Skylar took her time answering. “I don’t know. Probably in a week or so. I see Gareth tomorrow, so we’ll see what he says. Once I can wear my work shoes again, I’ll have to get back to my job. I doubt that they’d hold my position for much longer.”
“Too bad you couldn’t get a similar job flying out of Coeur d’Alene,” Aiden said, trying not to add on that he really wished that could be.
“Yeah. Unfortunately, that’s not really a possibility for me.”
“Have you ever considered another type of job?”
“Sure. I’ve thought about what I might do if this didn’t work out. But so far it has, so I haven’t really given much thought to it.”
“I wish I could move back to Serenity,” Aiden mused. “But there’s no company here for me to work at, and I don’t really want to drive an hour every morning to get to work.”
“You could start one,” Skylar said. “Your plan was always to start your own business.”
“Our plan,” he reminded her. “We were going to open that company together.”
Skylar’s expression saddened, and her gaze went distant, as if recalling all the moments they’d spent talking about that future. “Yeah. Guess that wasn’t what life had for us.”
It hurt him that his actions had derailed the future she’d planned for herself. Because of everything, she’d abandoned her schooling and moved in a completely different direction.
“Are you happy at your job?” If she was, that would help to ease the guilt he carried over what he’d done to mess up her life.
However, the long pause before she answered caused his guilt to increase.
“It’s not a bad job, and I’ve had the opportunity to visit places I might not have otherwise. So I enjoy that, but sometimes I feel like I’m missing something that satisfies the creative side of me.”
“Do you have any hobbies that help with that?”
“Not really. These days, if I want an outlet for my creativity, it usually comes in the form of coloring in an adult coloring book.”
“My mom has a couple of those,” Aiden said. “We use them when Willow wants us to color with her.”
“You color in them too?”
Aiden shrugged. “Yep. It’s not something I ever thought I’d do, but it’s pretty hard to say no to my mom or to Willow. I’ve become pretty good at staying in the lines.”
Skylar laughed. “You should have learned that in kindergarten.”
“Guess I’m a late bloomer.”
All of a sudden, Cole shot up through the hole in the tube, startling them. Skylar let out a shriek, then reached out to shove Cole’s shoulder.
“You’re going to give us a heart attack.”
Cole grinned as he leaned back against the tube, hooking his arms around it. “What’s happening?”
“You mean aside from you so rudely interrupting us?” Skylar asked.
“Well, yes. Aside from that. What are we chatting about?”
“Our jobs,” Aiden said as he treaded water.
“Oh really? That sounds rather boring.”
“It’s not our fault that we don’t have an exciting career like you do,” Skylar told him. “Us lowly peasants sometimes have to work in dull jobs in order to pay the bills.”
“You know I’d hire all of you,” Cole said. “I’ve already made an offer to Aiden.”
“I don’t want to work for you,” Skylar said. “You bossed me around for too many years when I didn’t have a choice. No way am I going to willingly give you that position in my life.”
Cole grinned at her. “I’d be a fantastic boss.”
“Well, I’m not about to find out,” Skylar said. “Given the way you’re tossing around job offers, I hope you have a good financial advisor.”
“I do. And I give everything to Jay so that he can look over all of it. He’s better at numbers than I ever was.”
“How much longer are you going to play?” Skylar asked.
A shadow crossed Cole’s face. “I’m not sure. Maybe until my body has reached its limit. I have a year left on my current contract, so we’ll see what happens after that.”
“The team would be foolish to not re-sign you,” Aiden said. “You’re their top performing player.”
Cole shrugged, making the tube shift with the movement. “You just never know where life will lead. Things happen that can change the trajectory of our lives.”
Aiden gave a huff of laughter. “You’re kind of preaching to the choir here, bro.”
Cole grinned and nodded. “I suppose that’s true.”
“What’s your interest in Annie?” Skylar asked, voicing the question that had been in Aiden’s mind.
“I don’t know.” Water splashed beyond the circle of the tube as Cole kicked his feet. “There was just something about her.”
“But you don’t know anything about her.”
“I know.”
“Also, she’s very, very different from the women you usually date.” Skylar shifted on her side of the tube so she was higher up on it and stared right at her brother. “Are you trying to tell me this is a love at first sight situation?”
“I’m not sure about love,” Cole said. “But there’s… interest.”
Aiden had to admit that he was slightly confused by his friend. Everything he’d seen from Cole since he’d shown up in Serenity had been slightly… off. He had no idea what it meant, but maybe it was time to have a serious conversation with the man.
“Well, it looks like you’ve chosen to get interested in someone who might give you a run for your money.”
“We’ll see.”
“Cole!” Layla’s voice carried across the water to them. “Can you pull us on the tubes?”
Cole slid under the water and popped up a few feet away. “I suppose I could. Let’s get it rigged up. It’s not going to be like getting pulled by a speedboat, though.”
“That’s okay. We don’t want to go too fast.”
“And you have to wear life jackets.”
“We will.”
The teens swam toward the boat, and they followed, with Cole and Aiden pulling the tube while Skylar hung on. When they got there, they climbed the ladder to get onto the platform.
“Need a hand, sis?” Cole said when Skylar approached the ladder.
“Maybe.”
“Come over here.” He motioned to a part of the platform away from the ladder. “Help me out, Aid.”
When Aiden joined them, they bent over and each took hold of one of Skylar’s arms. On the count of three, they straightened, pulling Skylar up out of the water onto the platform.
She grinned as she balanced on her good foot. “Thanks. I appreciate the hand up.”
The joy on her face in that moment, combined with the beauty he’d always seen in her, made Aiden’s heart trip over itself.
As a teen, he would have been more interested in how she looked in her swimsuit than the joy on her face. However, he’d since learned that focusing strictly on outward beauty led him down a path he shouldn’t go with someone who wasn’t his wife.
Of course, Skylar was a beautiful woman. After they’d broken up, he’d never been able to date a woman with dark hair and eyes without comparing her to Skylar. Comparing and finding them lacking in some way.
“Here’s your towel, Sky,” Kayleigh said as she came over with it.
“Thanks.”
Skylar bent to dry off her leg before putting her walking boot back on. She then tied the towel around her waist and moved out of the way of the others, who were busy putting on life jackets, while Cole hooked the tubes up to the ropes that had been provided by the rental company.
Aiden was drawn to follow her to the bench seat where she settled, but instead, he stayed to help Cole get everything ready for the teens. Then, as the boat began to move, he stayed at the back so that he could keep an eye on the four who were on the tubes.
It struck him like a punch to the gut that this was what he’d thrown away. He and Skylar could have had more days like this. He could have gone to sit with her, putting his arm around her like Hudson had done with Kayleigh.
He could have had everything, but he’d thrown it all away because he hadn’t accepted that he’d found the person he could spend the rest of his life with as a teenager. And now he had to live with a persistent ache of that loss and the realization that he might have been wrong.