“Well, until today, I didn’t know much more about you than you lived across the street. Plus, you already helped me once. I’m already indebted to you.”
“Are you?” he inquired and River noticed his voice had dropped down an octave. Her skin flushed at the realization of what she had implied. And the smallest bit of her wondered if he would act on it.
As he placed two large plates on a small table in the corner of the kitchen, Ridge peered over his shoulder and asked if she could bring the small suction cup bowl of noodles for Delilah. River eagerly grabbed the bowl and made her way over to the table, setting the dish in front of the high chair.
“Can I get you a glass of wine? I think my cousins left a few bottles of red.”
“Sure, whatever you have sounds great. Thank you. Mind if I scoop up your little one?” she asked, not wanting to push her luck by assuming it was okay.
“Yeah, thanks.”
Delilah easily went into River’s arms and she couldn’t help but inhale the sweet baby scent. It was one of her favorite smells in the world over any perfume high-end retailers tried to market. The darling girl nuzzled her head into River’s neck in greeting before pulling back and grinning widely, showing off two bottom teeth peeking through her gums.
“Aren’t you just the most darling thing?” River asked the toddler, not expecting an answer.
“She knows it too. She’s not so darling at three in the morning when she’s teething,” Ridge pointed out as River settled the infant in the high chair.
“I am sure you’re exaggerating. I bet she’s just as lovely.”
Instead of answering, Ridge laughed loudly, which in turn caused Delilah to giggle. He settled in his chair and a familiar ache lodged in River’s chest at the image of a small family. This small family. One she had long since tossed aside the hope for. It wasn’t in the cards; she knew it and every partner she’d had in the past made it very clear as well.
“Can I get you anything else?” Ridge asked as he stared at her from across the table. That was when she realized that she must have been grimacing at her inner thoughts.
“Oh, no. Everything looks great. I was just thinking about all the things I need to do.” Prying her gaze away from his, River focused on the little girl shoveling spaghetti into her mouth as quickly as possible and losing the majority of it back onto the tray. “Seems like she is enjoying the dinner.”
“It’s her favorite. Or at least that’s what her mother always said.”
“What happened to her mother?” River asked as she ate a hearty forkful of noodles. Ridge’s stare dropped down to his plate at her question and she knew she had overstepped a boundary. Swallowing quickly, River added, “I’m sorry, you don’t need to answer that.”
“No, it’s fine. I’ve already told the story a few times anyway. I don’t know why it still gets to me. Anyway, her mother and I divorced right after Delilah was born. We weren’t really compatible. But about two weeks or so ago, I found Delilah on my front step with a note and signed papers relinquishing her maternal rights.”
“What? She just left her daughter all alone?”
“I suspect she was watching close by, but yeah, essentially. I was living in Sunnyville, California, at the time, but I spent many summers here with my uncle when my parents would drop me off with my uncle and aunt. So, I packed up and moved us here.”
“I just. . .that sounds like a story you’d hear on the news. Have you heard anything from her mother?”
“Not yet. I do have police in California and here in Carson searching for her, even if just for peace of mind. But something seems fishy to me. I wasn’t fond of the men she had started hanging around with.”
River watched Ridge closely as he spoke, noticing that he seemed to weigh the words he used. She had to wonder if there was more to the story than what he made it seem. Delilah was such a darling little girl; River couldn’t imagine willingly walking away from someone so special.
“Well, I’m sorry that has happened to Delilah and to you.”
“I appreciate it. I think we’re managing pretty well. Don’t you, little lady?” He asked, swerving the attention toward his daughter, who politely smeared sauce all over her cheeks.
River and Ridge both laughed at her antics, which only caused the toddler to repeat the action. “She is adorable, Ridge.”
“Thanks. What about you? How long have you been here?”
River delved as deep into the story as she was comfortable, disclosing a bit about her life in Asheville and how her grandmother’s deteriorating health was the prompt for the move. But she left out how her home life growing up had been lacking in love and affection until her parents dropped her off on her grandparent’s doorstep without a backward glance.
Ridge asked how her grandmother was doing and River thought hard about her answer. Sue had seemed to have more good days since moving to the Carson facility, but she was limited on visitation while she continued to adjust to her new surroundings. River missed her fiercely and wished that she could travel back to the time when she and her Grandma Sue could work out in the yard together in the spring without a care in the world.
“Ready for that pie?”
The question startled River and she stared at Ridge wondering what he was referring to. Until it dawned on her that he was talking about the dessert she had brought over.
“Oh! Yes, please. Would you like me to warm it up in the oven?”