Page 82 of Choosing Skyler

She bites her lip with a worried expression on her face. “It was good.”

How do I tell her that I have to fly all the way back to Virginia to fight for a house that I could buy ten of with the money I just inherited? It’s just a house…Right?

“Brady, what’s wrong? Is it your mom’s estate?” she asks, her voice shaking with tension.

Tension that I’m causing. I need to calm down. I take a breath to steady myself.

“Yeah. Um… I…”I can’t leave her. Maybe she can go with me. We can make a plan and decide what to do together,I think. “…let’s go get lunch and we’ll talk about it,” I say instead, grabbing her hand and pulling her toward the exit.

She pulls her hand from mine and crosses her arms across her chest. She has that stubborn stare glaring right at me before she speaks. “Spit it out, Brady. What’s wrong?”

I know I have to go. It’s notjusta house. It’s my home. It was my mom’s home. It’s where every piece I left of her is.

I look at Skyler and tell her the truth. “I have to go back to Virginia.”

Skyler drops into the chair next to her, dropping her face in her hands.

“You… you’releavingme,” she chokes out around a sob.

She thinks I meant permanently? No way in hell,I think as I sit next to her and take her face in my hands. I raise her face to mine, but she keeps her eyes closed, refusing to look at me.

“Look. At. Me. Skyler,” I say forcefully and sigh in relief when her eyes pop open. “I am NOT leaving you. But I do have to go to Virginia for a hearing on my mom’s estate next week. Can we please talk about this at home?” I beg.

I need to be able to hold her, to figure out what to dotogether,and I can’t do that in the waiting room of her psychiatrist’s office. Thankfully, she nods and stands with me. I wrap my arm around her and walk her to the car.

She’s quiet on the ride home and I’d be worried about her pulling away from me again, but she keeps her hand firmly in mine. She’s not pulling away. She’s brainstorming, trying to think of a solution. Same as me. I don’t want to leave her, even for a couple of days, but Ihaveto go. I want her to come with me, but I don’t want to push her to do that if she’s not ready.

When we get home, I sit down on the couch, and she sits next to me.Nope, not close enough.I pull her into my lap and kiss her softly before pressing my forehead to hers.

“I love you, Beautiful. Ichooseyou. This trip doesn’t change that. I’ll be gone maybe two days. Three at the most,” I tell her.

She nods and listens as I recap the conversation with Ms. Simmons. I tell her everything and chuckle when her eyes widen at the amount of the first life insurance balance. Then, she almost chokes on air when I reveal the value of the Universal policy and investment portfolio. Her excitement dies when I finish with the end of the conversation and my reason for needing to go back to Virginia.

“Oh, Brady. I’m so sorry,” she says, running her hand through my hair. “I love you too and I know you have to do this. I just…” She trails off, biting her lip.

“I know, Beautiful. I don’t want to be away from you, either.” I finish the statement she wouldn’t let herself say.

“Do you think I… Can I come with you?” she asks the question I refused to.

“You want to come with me?” I ask excitedly before I remember everything she’s been through. “Of course, I want you to, but I don’t want to mess up your recovery. You have appointments at the hospital, Monday, and that’s the day of the hearing. Plus flying six hundred miles on a plane to a place you’ve never been. I can’t ask you to do that, Skyler,” I say, letting the disappointment leak into my voice.

“You didn’t ask. I did. I choose you too, Brady. I want to support you the way you’ve supported me. I’ll be okay as long as I’m with you. But if I’ll be a distraction or in the way, I’ll stay here. I don’t want you to be worried about me when you have so much else going on there,” she says, looking down and chewing on her bottom lip.

I lift her face up with my finger under her chin. “I’ll be much more worried if you’re not with me. If you really think you’re up for it, I’d love for you to come with me. But before we plan on that, I want you to talk to Dr. Anderson about it. See what she thinks, okay?”

She nods. “I’ll call and talk with her after lunch. If I’m going to be out of town, I’ll have to call the speech therapist to reschedule my appointment there too.”

“I’m so glad you want to come with me. Even if you change your mind or Dr. Anderson thinks it’s too soon. Just that you offered means so much to me. I love you,” I tell her earnestly.

“I love you, too,” she says, kissing me quickly before jumping off my lap. “Let’s find something to eat for lunch. Then, we can look up flights and plan our trip.”

I chuckle at her excitement as I follow her into the kitchen.

Chapter 30

Skyler

After lunch we searched flights to Virginia Beach for this Sunday. Brady insisted on refundable tickets in case Dr. Anderson doesn’t agree with me going or I change my mind about going with him. I won’t. I can’t imagine letting Brady go without me and deal with this on his own. I’m going with him. I’m choosing Brady this time.

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