After a week, Ridge and Delilah had settled into a nice routine. She enjoyed her days at the daycare, but he took extreme pleasure in the days he would get to spend with her during the week when he worked the night shift.
They had spent his free weekend installing a wooden playground in the backyard and visiting the farmer’s market with what seemed like the rest of the town. He had run into people he hadn’t seen since he was a teenager. His friends had “oohed” and “aahed” over Delilah and she had eaten up the attention.
A few women had tried to slip him their numbers, but he had quickly tossed them into the nearest trashcan. He wasn’t interested in making a love match while walking through a parking lot looking at vegetables. His mind was firmly stuck on the sexy neighbor from across the street. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her since she stepped off his porch a week ago.
Ridge didn’t even want to think about all the vivid dreams he had been having staring River and the delicious cherry pie she had brought for dessert. It took almost all of his willpower to keep from dragging her into the closest room when he saw her at the daycare during the week.
He was trudging into dangerous territory when it came to River. On the one hand, he couldn’t keep her from invading his thoughts, but on the other, his ex had instilled in him that he was a workaholic and would never put anyone before his job.
The next day was the first of his overnight shift and Ridge was worried about the transition for Delilah, but he was certain that they would muscle through it. Ridge peered out the front window across the street to River’s house as he finished fixing dinner. A newer SUV was parked in the driveway beside a small sports car that had seen better days.
He willed her to come out onto the porch just so he could get a glimpse of her, but Delilah demanded his attention instead. Turning away from the vixen across the road, Ridge settled the meal in front of his daughter and helped her spoon the food into her mouth until she had finished each bite.
Their nighttime routine hadn’t changed since the move and he reveled in Delilah’s bath time. It was one of his favorite moments, watching her sheer joy from the bubbles and toys, and he hated missing out on it. Though he knew during the upcoming week, he would have to rely on his family to finish the task for him. His Aunt Amy agreed to watch his daughter for the week and he was considering seeking out overnight care so that Delilah could sleep in her own crib.
Just as he settled Delilah into her crib, Ridge’s work phone dinged on the kitchen counter. He hoped that his daughter would stay asleep, and thankfully she stirred only a little as he tucked the crocheted blanket around her small body.
Ridge quickly checked the message and was alarmed to find a call for volunteers and staff for a four-alarm fire in the next town over due to an apartment fire. There was no time to waste and he sorted through his options mentally before peering through the window. He argued with himself back and forth before quickly snapping the baby monitor onto his pants.
Checking on his daughter once more, Ridge dashed out his front door and hurried across the street, praying that River was home. The surprised woman answered his call with a cell phone pressed to her ear.
“Hey, I’ll call you back,” River said into her phone before ending the call and turning her full attention to a harried Ridge. “Ridge, what can I-” she began, but he quickly interrupted. “I need your help. It’s an emergency.”
“Of course, what can I do?”
“I need to go assist at an apartment fire the next town over. All crew are being called in, and I desperately need you to watch Delilah for me.”
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Ridge sagged in relief as River agreed without hesitation. He knew it wasn’t his place to rely on his neighbor in a moment like this, but time was of the essence. Plus, he knew Delilah was comfortable with River.
“Let me just grab my coat and I’ll follow you over.”
Ridge bounced back and forth on his feet from the porch as he watched her turn off various items in her home then grab her keys and jacket. She was saving his butt and he was grateful, but his anxiety was building by the microsecond.
“Ready.” She smiled up at him as she closed the front door behind her and it was the first time since the call that Ridge felt any sort of relief. She was like a soothing balm to his soul.
Without wavering, he gripped her tiny hand into his and dashed across the street, tugging her along behind him as he made his way back to his house, where his daughter continued to sleep peacefully. Ridge explained that Delilah was asleep and that River was more than welcome to sleep in his bed while he was out, though she adamantly insisted she could sleep on his couch. Unfortunately, he had very little time to argue with her, but he did make sure to pull out a set of spare sheets from the linen closet if she changed her mind.
With a quick kiss to her cheek that left his lips tingling, Ridge drove the forty-five minutes to the next town over to find his uncle Joseph and his other crewmates donning their turnout gear.
The fire was eating away at the building, piece by crumbling piece, to the point that Ridge wasn’t sure they even had plans to fight against the flames, but more or less to contain it.
The fire chiefs worked together to dictate which crew were working in which zone. Children's cries could be heard over the wailing sirens of the multiple engines called into action and fear licked at Ridge for the first time.
He hadn’t been exposed to any other flames since the San Rios fire in California over the summer and the vision of smoldering heat and the deadly inferno froze Ridge in place. He could feel Joseph’s approach, but his tunnel vision was closing in. Ridge had seen the local therapist before he was approved to return to work and he, along with the doctor, was certain he could work past the fear. But now he wasn’t so sure.
His uncle came closer until he blocked Ridge’s view of the inferno, standing directly in his line of sight.
“You okay, son?”
“Sorry, just. . .remembering,” Ridge confessed, though he hated to voice his fear.
“This the first big fire since San Rios?” his uncle asked. The blaze had been all over the national news, so Ridge wasn’t surprised that Joseph could quickly piece it all together.
Sheepishly, Ridge responded, “Yeah. It’s just going to take me a minute. A minute that we certainly don’t have.”
Still fighting against the blackness seeping into his mental picture, Ridge startled when he felt a large hand on his shoulder. That familiar touch brought Ridge back to the moment.