“Skyler is such a pretty name,” she muttered, reaching out to touch my hair.
I jumped back, my eyebrows creasing in the middle.
She held up her small hands. “I’m sorry.”
“My bio dad dies, and what? You decide to give me up?” My tone was harsher than I intended.
Tears glistened in her eyes. “It’s not like that.”
“Then what?” I dropped the brassiness in my voice.
She fidgeted with her hands, clearly not knowing what to do with them. “I can see you’re not ready to listen. When you are, you can give me a call. Mr. Dyson has my number.” She gave me one last long look, then left.
My mind spun, and I just stood there, not knowing how to get past the fact that I’d just met my birth mom or that my bio dad was dead. The latter was messing with my head. Everyone around me died.
Ripples of water ruffled the shore’s edge. Maybe dipping my toes in the cool Atlantic would give me some clarity or temper my tender emotions. I kicked off my Vans when Colton’s husky voice floated on the breeze.
“Skyler, wait.” He jogged over. “What happened?”
I wiggled my toes beneath the soft sand. “Nothing really, except I learned my bio dad is dead.” I couldn’t understand why that bothered me.
“I’m sorry.” He cocooned me in his arms.
“It seems people keep dying around me.”
He rubbed my back. “This might make you laugh. Grady thought for a hot second you and he were brother and sister.”
“I guess we both had the same thought.”
He laughed. “Really?”
I started for the ocean’s edge. “They were high school friends. I got the feeling they had a thing back then.”
Colton followed. “Grady said it would’ve made sense if you were related because you two are so much alike.”
“I wouldn’t go that far, but I guess we do argue like sister and brother.”
A wave broke, slithering toward us.
I dipped my toes in the water. “Ashley seems nice enough. But I guess she won’t be any help with my guardian situation if we need her.”
The water slid over Colton’s Nikes. “Well, if you end up moving, I might have to kidnap you,” he teased, looking out at the vast Atlantic.
I forced a smile. “I would let you.” I knew I would run if I had to, but Nan and my aunt would work things out. I had to believe that.
“Aside from your bio dad, did she tell you why she gave you up?” Colton asked.
“No. She said I wasn’t ready to listen. She’s right. She seems like she has a lot of money and a good life. For some reason, that rubbed me the wrong way. I wish my dad were alive. I mean, my adoptive dad. I miss him so much. He would know what to do and say.”
He turned to face me. “You will, too, baby. I’m proud of you.”
“I love you, Colton.”
“Baby doll, I can’t begin to tell you how important you are to me. I love you hard. You are the calm in my storm. So let me be yours.”
I stood on my tiptoes and brushed my lips over his.
My problems began to vanish when he deepened the kiss. Before long, my mind was clear, and my heart was full of nothing but pure, sweet love.
39
The Southern mansion was something plucked out of Better Homes and Gardens magazine. Wide, rounded pillars stretched to reach the high ceiling, expensive art adorned the walls, thick fabric curtains gave the rooms a lived-in feeling, and the furniture reminded me of a different era.
Mr. Robert Wilson, attorney at law, had eccentric taste and an office on the first floor of his home.
I bounced my knee as I listened to the tap, tap, tap of the keys echoing in the large foyer-turned-waiting-room. A pretty brunette was hard at work at her glass-top desk.
Nan gripped my leg. “What has you so nervous? I told you, Mr. Wilson said we would work things out.”
Five days had passed since I’d learned the updated trust documents had never made their way to Mr. Wilson.
“Is Aunt Clara coming?” The lawyer had returned from his trip only the day prior to discuss who would be my guardian. He’d mentioned to Nan how important it was for Aunt Clara to be at the meeting.
She’d decided to stay in town for the funeral and had been very accommodating in assuring us she would help however she could.
“She’ll be here,” Nan reassured me. “What’s got you on edge?”
I bit a nail. “I’m worried about Colton.” The rehab facility where his dad was a patient had given the green light for family to visit. Colton had debated about whether to go or not. He had a football game that night and didn’t want to miss it, but he couldn’t let his mom down. More than that, if he wanted to build any kind of relationship with his dad, he had to show his support. Still, Colton wasn’t sure how he and his dad would get along now that Mr. Caldwell wasn’t drinking.
“Are you sure it’s just Colton?” Nan asked. “You haven’t been yourself since you met your birth mom.”
I couldn’t decide if I was ready to hear why she’d given me up, her excuses or, for that matter, whether I was ready to welcome her into my life as if nothing had happened.
I had advice flying at me from everyone. Georgia, Nan, and Mia insisted that I listen to Ashley. But my emotions were too raw.
The only people who weren’t trying to tell me what I should do were Colton and Grady. I didn’t expect Grady to give me counsel. He had, however, told me that his dad had a thing for Ashley. I could see that. She was pretty. His dad was handsome.
“I’ll be fine. I just want to get through the funeral. Then I’ll
