Page 93 of Choosing Skyler

I’m so glad that Skyler came home with me and realizing all the little things that she and my mom have in common. They both love to run around barefoot, finding any reason to make someone smile and apparently, they even read the same type of books. An idea forms in my mind and I know what I want to do, but I have to do itbeforethat hearing tomorrow. I pull out my phone and start searching for shipping companies. When I can’t find one that will pick up on a Sunday, I text Timothy.

“I can’t believe I forgot to show you the basement,” I say as I lead Skyler back through the house to the laundry room.

“Basement?” she says, confused.

“Yeah, not many houses this close to the coast have them, but Mom insisted on finding one when she was house hunting. She wanted me to have my own space when I got older,” I explain.

I open the door at the end of the laundry room and flip the light switch before heading down the stairs. The basement is completely finished. One end has a mini fridge, a sofa with a pull-out bed and my gaming system. There’s a pool table set up in the middle of the space and the other end is used for storage. That’s where I’m headed now. Mom always kept extra boxes down here for donations to shelters and food pantries.

“This is amazing,” Skyler says, looking around my teenage bachelor’s pad.

“Yeah. Devon and I spent a lot of time down here. We could be loud without disturbing Mom while she was working or reading. The whole room is soundproofed,” I tell her, grabbing a stack of boxes.

Skyler giggles. “That’s smart. I know all too well how distracting one of Diva Devon’s meltdowns can be when you’re trying to concentrate.”

I laugh and nod to the cabinet in the corner. “Can you grab the packing tape out of there?”

“What are we doing?” she asks, grabbing the tape and following me back up the stairs.

“We’re packing up Mom’s things. We’ll store them in Timothy’s garage until we can arrange to have them shipped to Thorngrove. I was only planning on packing the rest of my clothes to fly back with us. But if Eric wins in court tomorrow, he’ll empty the house and sell everything off. Even if I can buy it back from him, all of Mom’s things will be long gone. I’ll be buying an empty house.

“I didn’t think about it before because I don’t care about a bunch of romance books. But they were her most valued possessions and if she knew you shared the same taste, I know she’d want you to have them.Iwant you to have them,” I tell her earnestly after setting the boxes down in the middle of the library floor.

“Oh, Brady,” she says, tears welling in her eyes. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Say you’ll help me pack all this stuff up and carry it next door tonight,” I reply, pulling her to me and kissing her forehead.

She nods. “Of course, but only if you promise to help me put them all back ifyouwin in court tomorrow,” she says with a grin.

I nod and we get busy, assembling and packing boxes.

It’s just past midnight when we haul the last boxes next door to Timothy’s open garage. I gave Skyler the brief tour of his house when we went over to open the garage. It has pretty much the same layout as our house, but it’s decorated much differently. Where Mom always preferred the warm family home vibe, Timothy’s taste is more on the sophisticated side. I’ve never been in their basement and as far as I know, neither has Devon. Timothy keeps it locked with a deadbolt.

We place the boxes along the back wall with the others and close the garage. I make sure everything is locked up and we head back to my house. We’re both exhausted after packing up all the books, photos off the walls and the photo albums. I’ll pack Mom’s small jewelry box in Skyler’s carry-on bag and my clothes in the two large duffle bags as planned. There’s nothing else that can’t be replaced if I lose it.

We drag ourselves up the stairs to my room and Skyler heads straight to the bathroom to start running a bath. I follow behind her, shedding clothes as I go. I pull her lavender bubble bath from the bag on the counter and add some to the running water. Once she’s undressed and has her hair pulled up, we climb in and melt into the deep tub full of bubbles.

“Are you nervous about tomorrow?” she asks as she rests back against my chest.

“Not as nervous as I would be without Timothy’s advice. I’m sure I can buy Eric out if he wins in court. I just don’t want him in my home in the meantime if that makes sense,” I tell her.

“It makes perfect sense. I don’t want him in here either. Is it strange that this already feels like home to me?” she asks hesitantly.

“No, Beautiful, it’s not strange. I told you earlier that thisisyour home too. I’m so happy you feel that way. Once this mess is over with and it’s mine legally, we can come stay here anytime you want to. I’d love to take you to the beach. Maybe I’ll even teach you to surf.” I chuckle.

She sits up suddenly and spins around to face me with a huge smile. “I’d love that! I wanted to learn when I was younger, but my parents wouldn’t let me because ‘surfing is for hoodlums, not young ladies’.” she mocks.

I pull her to me and kiss her softly before letting out an exhausted sigh. She turns back around and settles against me again. I feel her breathing slow and I’m pretty sure she’s starting to doze off. I reach over to pull the plug in the drain to let the water out.

“Come on. Let’s get dried off and get some rest. We’ve got a big day tomorrow,” I say, standing and pulling her to her feet.

“M’kay,” she murmurs sleepily.

My bed is smaller than hers, but it doesn’t matter since I sleep wrapped around her anyways. We curl up and I kiss her goodnight. I’m tense as I think about what’s coming tomorrow. Not only the court hearing but facing my “father” for the first time in almost twenty years.

Skyler must notice because her arm that’s wrapped around my waist tightens. “Rest, Brady. I’ve got you,” she whispers and turns her face up to kiss my jaw before snuggling back into me.

I drift off knowing that no matter what happens tomorrow, we’ll be okay as long as we face it together.

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