CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
The house was quiet when Skylar left her room the next morning. It wasn’t a complete surprise since she knew Aiden had planned to go to work, and her parents were going to run back to Serenity to deal with a few things before coming back later that afternoon.
Provided they were given the go ahead to visit Shiloh, the plan was to go once Aiden was off work. Her parents hoped to go to the hospital at some point, too.
Even though she’d woken up later, she still had several hours to fill until someone arrived back at the house. Thankfully, she had lots to do.
Something she was going to have to think about sooner rather than later was a job. She had some savings, but she didn’t think it would last too long, given that she still had to get all her stuff moved from Vegas.
She had yet to tell anyone she’d quit her job, though she wasn’t sure why she was keeping it to herself. Aiden had already expressed that he thought she should stay in the area. And her parents wouldn’t be upset at all that she’d quit, hoping, no doubt, that that meant she’d move back to Serenity. Which, at the moment, appeared to be where she’d end up.
However, she had considered whether staying in Coeur d’Alene might be more beneficial. If Shiloh had lengthy hospital stays, Skylar would prefer to be nearby to visit her frequently. Yet, when Shiloh was not hospitalized, Skylar could still head to Serenity to visit her once or twice a week.
Skylar didn’t necessarily think it was a good idea for her and Aiden to see Shiloh on a daily basis. Though they were her birth parents, Skylar felt like it was best they not be involved in her day-to-day life. Being in Coeur d’Alene would mean she was close enough to see Shiloh regularly, but far enough away that it wouldn’t feel like they were encroaching on Charli and Blake as they parented Shiloh.
And her consideration of setting up her next home in Coeur d’Alene had nothing to do with it being where Aiden also lived. It really didn’t.
She still didn’t know what she was going to do about him asking her out on a date. Was it something he was really serious about? Or was he using it to gauge if she’d truly forgiven him?
Her heart had feelings for Aiden, but her mind wasn't entirely convinced about rekindling their relationship. At least, not just yet.
She’d asked for time, but she didn’t know how much time she should take. Aiden hadn’t pressed her for what she meant by time , which she appreciated, but she didn’t feel like she could stretch this out for too long. It wouldn’t be fair to him.
Looking through the fridge and the cupboards in the kitchen, Skylar was able to find plenty of food options for breakfast. She ended up choosing to have some granola and yogurt and a cup of coffee.
As she sat at the dining room table, Skylar hesitated a moment before bowing her head and praying. After giving thanks for the food, she also prayed for Shiloh, Charli, and Blake, along with the medical team involved in Shiloh’s care.
While she ate her breakfast, her thoughts drifted to her conversation with Aiden about God healing Shiloh. Everything she’d said to him was a true accounting of the pain and fear she had that although God could heal Shiloh, He wouldn’t. Would she be able to accept that?
It was amazing how Aiden had grown in his faith, despite the deaths of his dad and his sister and what was now going on with Shiloh. He hadn’t let those events keep him from trusting God. She could definitely learn something from him.
After cleaning up her breakfast dishes, Skylar got her laptop out and did some research on job opportunities around the area. She included both Coeur d’Alene and Serenity, since she wasn’t opposed to working and living in either place, though at the moment, she was leaning more toward Coeur d’Alene.
She didn’t know exactly what she was looking for, but she figured that with her experience, a job in the hospitality industry was most likely.
Unfortunately, there weren’t a lot of jobs that interested her. She did make note of the couple of possibilities she’d found, but she didn’t fill out any applications. She didn’t really want to be distracted by interviews or starting a new job until they knew what was going on with Shiloh.
With nothing else to do, she settled down on the couch with her phone to do some reading. She had a couple of books on the go and wanted to finish at least one of them.
Shortly after lunch, her mom called to tell her that Charli had let them know that Shiloh would be okay for visitors later. Skylar was thrilled to hear that, and immediately texted Aiden to let him know.
Aiden: Wonderful news! I’m going to try to get off a little early. Hope to be home shortly after four.
Okay. Would you mind if we went to a Build-a-bear store to get something for Shiloh before we go visit her?
Aiden: I don’t mind at all. We can go as soon as I get home.
Skylar sent him back a thumbs up. She was trying to keep their interactions as normal as possible, and so far, he was also on board with that.
With still some time before Aiden would be home, Skylar went for a walk around the neighborhood, just for some exercise. Unfortunately, it left her a little sweaty, so she ended up taking a shower, then she got ready for the visit with Shiloh.
A little before four, Aiden texted that he was just leaving the office. Skylar made sure she had everything, with her shoes and purse waiting near the doorway.
When Aiden walked through the door, Skylar’s heart skipped a beat. He greeted her with a warm smile that made her want to throw caution to the wind.
“Ready to go?” he asked.
“Yep.” She slipped her feet into her shoes and grabbed her purse. “All set.”
Aiden smiled. “Let’s go get a bear.”
He stepped out of the house and held the door for her, waiting until she’d joined him on the porch before locking up.
“So where are we going to build this bear?” Aiden asked when they were in the car.
“Unfortunately, they don’t have the exact store I was wanting to go to here, but there is another place that does something similar.”
“I think I know where that is,” Aiden said when she gave him the name and address of the store.
It ended up being in an older part of town where some houses had been converted into stores. Most were high end boutiques and cafes. The stuffed animal store was sandwiched between a pastry shop and an antique shop.
“This looks interesting,” Aiden said as they walked up the sidewalk to the small house.
It was a story and a half with a wide front porch. The front of the house was made up of two large bay windows that gleamed in the sunlight.
A soft bell chimed as Aiden opened the door, and almost immediately, a young woman wearing a flowy sundress appeared. She smiled when she saw them.
“Welcome to The Snuggle Studio, where every hug is custom made,” she said as she approached them. “My name is Elena. How can I help you?”
“We’d like a stuffed animal for a little girl who is in the hospital with cancer,” Skylar told her.
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that about her.” The woman’s expression turned sympathetic. “Sadly, you’re not the first to come for a snuggly for someone who is sick, and you probably won’t be the last. Why don’t we start over here?”
Elena walked toward one side of the large open area. After exchanging a glance, Skylar and Aiden followed her.
“We have a variety of animals you can custom make.” Elena gestured to a display that was set up in front of the bay window.
Heavy damask curtains hung draped to each side of the window, and in front of it was an elevated platform which held a bunch of different stuffed animals at a tea party.
Smiling, Skylar reached out to grab Aiden’s arm. “This is amazing.”
“It certainly is,” he said. “How are we going to decide?”
“I don’t know.” Skylar pulled him forward with her to more closely inspect the different choices of animals.
“I’m kind of a basic guy and think a bear would be fine,” Aiden said as he pointed to one that was clothed in an old-fashioned dress and bonnet.
“Well, Shiloh already has unicorns, right?” Skylar said. “You brought her a couple from your mom and Willow.”
“Yep.”
“Charli said she’s a big fan of dogs.” Skylar turned to Elena. “Could we get her a dog dressed as an ice skater?”
“Certainly.”
“Are we able to take this with us today?” Aiden asked.
“Yes. You just have to choose the color of dog and the skating outfit you want, and I will assemble it for you. We can also put an insert in it if you want to record something.”
“Oh, that would be nice, but we’ll have to figure out what we want to say.”
“Well, while you discuss that, let me bring out our dog options and our selection of clothes for an ice skater.”
“Should we sing a song?” Aiden asked when Elena had left them.
“What song?”
“Maybe Jesus Loves Me? ”
Skylar hummed it quickly, then nodded. “I think that would be really nice.”
“I’ll just have you come over to this other side,” Elena said, leading them to a room that was set up much more like a working area.
On a large table, she’d laid out an assortment of unstuffed dogs, as well as some skater outfits.
“I really like this white one,” Aiden said. “It’s unique, and it will match the unicorns.”
“Plus, it’s white like snow, so it goes with the ice skater theme.”
“So white?” Elena asked. Skylar looked at Aiden, then they both nodded. “Now, on to the outfit choices. These are the ice skater options. I’ve also pulled a couple of our ballerina ones because they could also work for this. I’ll let you look them over while I fill this little girl with fluff. Did you want to record a message?”
“Yes. We’d like to sing a song.”
Elena smiled as she turned to pick up a small white box. She showed them how to record the song and how to play it back. “If you’re not happy with it, you can record as many times as you like. It replaces the previous recording each time.”
“Okay. Thank you,” Aiden said as he took it from her.
“I’ll leave you to do that while I fill the dog.”
“Let’s do the song first,” Skylar said once Elena had gone into a small room at the back of the space. It had a large glass window, so she could still see them, but she probably couldn’t hear them.
“Are you sure you remember it?” Aiden asked.
Skylar crossed her arms. “You’re older than me, so I think that question applies more to you than me.”
Aiden grinned as he lifted the small white box, then motioned for her to come closer. “We’ll need to be close to this or it’ll sound like I’m singing a solo.”
“Let’s rehearse first so we don’t have to do a bunch of run-throughs.”
Not surprisingly, they both remembered the song. Singing with Aiden reminded Skylar of the times they’d stood side by side to sing in worship services or with the youth group. Aiden had a nice voice, and hers wasn’t bad either.
It took a couple of tries before they were certain enough that they wouldn’t be messing it up. They sang the first verse and the chorus, then ended the recording with them both saying they loved her.
“I think that’s perfect,” Aiden said. “What do you think?”
“It’s good. I hope she likes it.”
“I think she’s going to love it. I’m going to need to come back and get one for Willow.”
“Yeah. I would have loved one of these when I was younger.”
They turned their attention to the outfits, and after a brief discussion, they settled on a light blue tutu style skater outfit and a pair of silver skates.
When Elena returned, she carried the dog, which had gained even more cuteness now that it was filled out. “Everything ready to go?”
Skylar told her which outfit they wanted, then Aiden gave her the box. Working quickly, Elena inserted the box into the back of the dog, then showed them how it operated and how to change the battery and the message. Next, she put the outfit on the dog, then handed it to Skylar.
“This exceeds my expectations,” Skylar said. “This has been so much fun.”
Elena smiled. “I’m glad you’ve enjoyed it.”
Over the next few minutes, Elena rang up the purchase—which came to a bit of an eye watering total—but Aiden didn’t blink an eye as he handed over his credit card to pay. Skylar had intended to pay half, but she wasn’t going to fight about it in front of Elena.
Aiden had added a special carrier as well, so that when Shiloh left the hospital, she had something to carry her in. Once the dog was all ready to go, they thanked Elena and left the store.
“That was an excellent idea,” Aiden said as he pulled away from the curb to drive them to the hospital. “I think she’s going to be thrilled with it.”
“I think so too,” Skylar said. “And I’ll pay you for half of it when we get back to your house.”
“I’d tell you you don’t have to do that, but I’m not in the mood for an argument,” he said.
“I appreciate that. Since it was my idea, if only one person was going to pay, it should be me.”
“Halfsies is fine,” Aiden told her.
Skylar had been braced for an argument, so it was kind of nice to not have that happen.
When they got to the hospital, Aiden parked, then they crossed the parking lot together to reach the entrance. It was bustling inside, and when they reached the elevator, there were several people already waiting.
The bell above the elevator doors dinged as the elevator arrived. When the doors slid open, a bunch of people filed out of the car.
Aiden rested his hand on Skylar’s back and guided her into the elevator. As more people joined them, they shuffled to the side of the car, and Aiden stood close to her, keeping himself between her and the others in the elevator.
Skylar held the carrier containing the dog tightly in her hands. She couldn’t wait to see what Shiloh thought of it.
“This is our floor,” Aiden said, then led Skylar from the elevator.
When she and Aiden found Shiloh’s room, Charli greeted them with a smile. “Hey, you two.”
Getting up from the chair she’d been sitting in beside Shiloh’s bed, Charli came to give them each a hug. She had an open book in one of her hands.
“Hi, Auntie Sky.” Shiloh gave a little wave. “Hi, Uncle Aiden.”
They approached the bed where Shiloh sat, her face wreathed in a smile. Skylar looked over at Charli and said, “Can we hug her?”
“Yep. Go right ahead,” Charli said, waving towards the little girl.
Skylar set her bag on the chair, then bent to give Shiloh a hug. Though she wanted to hold her forever, she let go of Shiloh so that Aiden could hug her.
When he straightened, they exchanged a look, and Aiden nodded.
“We have someone else who would love a hug from you,” Skylar said as she brought the carrier over to Shiloh.
“What’s this?” Charli asked as she leaned close to Shiloh on the opposite side of the bed.
Skylar helped her hold the carrier so Shiloh could reach in and pull out the ice skating dog.
“Oh, wow!” Shiloh’s eyes went wide. “A white dog, Momma. Look!”
“There’s something special about this puppy,” Skylar said, then showed her how to press the dog to play the recording they’d made.
Shiloh and Charli listened as the song played, a little tinny sounding, but Skylar thought their voices were recognizable enough.
“Is that the two of you?” Charli asked as she straightened at the end of the song.
“It sure is.”
“That’s amazing,” Charli said with a grin.
“Since we can’t always see you, we wanted you to have something that would remind you that we love you. If you hug the dog, it’s like you’re hugging us.”
Shiloh wrapped her arms around the neck of the dog. “What’s her name?”
“She’s waiting for you to give her one.”
Charli picked up the carrier and looked at it more closely. “You got this at The Snuggle Studio?”
Skylar nodded. “We went there before coming here.”
“They are… not cheap.”
“Whatever the cost, it was worth it,” Aiden said. “Don’t even think about it.”
“Well, that was really nice of you guys. Thank you.”
“Thank you!” Shiloh said, echoing her mom.
“What are you going to name her?” Charli asked as she sat down on the chair beside the bed.
“I don’t know yet.” Shiloh held the dog and made her dance a little, despite the canula still in her arm. “Maybe I’ll see if I dream of a name tonight.”
“That’s a good idea,” Charli said as she ran her fingers over the fur on the dog’s head.
“Can we play a game?” Shiloh asked. “Maybe Uno? ”
Charli went to the table and picked up the game. “How about you play with Uncle Aiden first, while I talk to Auntie Sky for a few minutes? Okay?”
“Yep.”
With a glance at Aiden and Shiloh, Skylar followed Charli over to the small table and chairs on the far side of the room. She took the seat opposite her sister, but angled herself so she could still see the pair at the bed.
“I’m surprised that you came,” Charli said, keeping her voice low. “Especially since we didn’t know for sure how sick she was.”
“Of course I’d come,” Skylar said. “Now that she knows who I am, I feel even more drawn to be here during times like this.”
“It would be easier if you lived here.”
Skylar debated for a moment, then said, “Well, I will be soon.”
Charli’s eyes widened. “What? You’re going to move back?”
“It seems likely,” Skylar said. “I couldn’t get the time off to come since I’ve taken so much time off already. So I quit.”
“Oh, Sky.” Charli reached out and put her hand on Skylar’s arm. “I’m sorry you had to do that.”
Skylar shrugged. “I’m surprisingly okay with it. I just need to figure out where to live and try to find a job.”
“You wouldn’t want to live in Serenity?”
“I’m not sure. My job prospects are probably better here.”
“That’s true,” Charli said. “Have you talked to Kayleigh about this? There might be something out at the resort.”
“I haven’t yet. I don’t want to impose on her just because we’re sisters.”
“What’s family if we can’t make use of those connections?”
Skylar chuckled. “Nepotism at its finest.”
Charli leaned forward. “How are things with you and Aiden?”
“They’re okay.”
“Is there any chance of a romantic relationship between you two again?”
And wasn’t that the question of the hour? “I don’t know. Aiden wants that, but I’m not sure.”
“Oooh. Has he said that?”
Skylar wasn’t sure she wanted to tell Charli about what had gone on with Aiden over the past day, but she was going to find out one way or another. And she’d already told her she’d quit her job, so in for a penny, in for a pound.
Keeping her voice low, Skylar said, “He asked me out on a date.”
“And you said no?” Charli asked with a frown.
“No. I haven’t said no… yet.”
“Don’t say no, Sky. Give it a chance.”
“I know that things worked out for you and Blake, but our situation is a bit different.”
“What do you mean?”
“From what you’ve said, Blake didn’t reject you because he thought he could do better than you. He ended your relationship because he thought he couldn’t give you the life he wanted to. You don’t have words he spoke emblazoned on your mind. Hurtful words.”
“That’s true, but Aiden seems different now. And he must be regretful for what he’s done if he wants to try again.”
“I’m not sure that my story will be the same as your story,” Skylar said, though the words brought an ache to her heart. “I’m not sure I’m strong enough to try again.”
“Maybe don’t look at it as trying again,” Charli said. “You’re both different people now. Look at Aiden as the man he is now. Is there an attraction still there for you to him?”
Skylar glanced over at Aiden to see him laughing at something Shiloh had said. Oh, there was a lot that was appealing about who Aiden was now. His caring attitude toward his mom, Willow, and Shiloh was amazing. Even the way he took care of her.
But was it enough to offset the horrible memories?
She wasn’t sure about that.
“What have you got to lose?” Charli asked.
“The friendship we’ve settled into,” Skylar said. “We’re getting along, and I think it’s benefitted how we interact with each other and Shiloh. I don’t want to risk losing that.”
“I think that if it doesn’t work out, you two would still be able to figure out how to co-exist with each other.”
Skylar wished she shared Charli’s confidence. “I’m still thinking about it.”
Charli looked over at Aiden and Shiloh. “Don’t wait so long that you lose out completely.”
“If he’s truly serious about wanting a relationship with me, then he’ll wait until I can figure out how I feel.”
Charli’s dark brown gaze met Skylar’s. “But he won’t wait forever.”
Skylar knew that was true, and when the thought of him giving up on her and moving on with someone else caused pain in her heart, Skylar knew that this wasn’t about if she had feelings for him. She clearly did.
But were they strong enough to give her the ability to forgive and let go of the past?