“Hell was what you’ve been through, something only a few of us here tonight have experienced. I don’t expect you to jump right in, and I had zero plans for it either.” Ridge felt his eyes widen in surprise. He didn’t understand what his uncle was implying. Fighting fires was all he knew; it was all he was good at. “Don’t look so alarmed. It takes easing back into it, believe me. Otherwise, you’ll crash and burn. I have you working with team six, monitoring the in and out counts until we get all of the occupants out of the building. We’re in the process of searching each room now, but the fire is beginning to get out of control, as you can see.”
“Yes, sir,” Ridge replied, quickly moving into position with firefighters he didn’t know, but at the same time, he recognized the familiar understanding between them.
Quickly he was made abreast of the situation, currently four in and four out, and they were counting down the seconds until the recent crew reemerged.
From above, Ridge heard the crackling of wood burning through and breaking, shattering against the weight of the flames. Instinctively Ridge shouted at the team of the pending collapse at the same time four crew members exited the building. As the teams scattered farther away from the blaze, the upper corner of the building caved into itself, sending flames and smoke billowing up into the dark night sky.
He knew that time was shrinking by the second and the teams had done all that they could to manage the flames while trying to clear out the building. Cries licked at his consciousness as he turned to watch the residents huddled together while paramedics checked them over. But a small boy hovered behind his mother’s leg and Ridge’s chest ached at fear for the little child. Yes, he was safe, but Ridge knew personally how the trauma could last a lifetime. It was something he hoped his daughter would never have to experience.
“Two in!” was shouted out over the crowd and Ridge turned his attention back to the building that wouldn’t hold much longer.
He was in for a long night and had no idea how he would repay River.
***
Despite the tiredness that had fallen over River, she was glued to the television. The local news station was covering the blaze in the town over and River had been anxiously watching as each flame flickered in the night sky.
The building itself was a lost cause, displacing so many families and residents in the fire’s wake. Around midnight she had seen a man that looked similar to Ridge in stance and determination staring up at the building when the corner of the upper floor collapsed. Ridge had pulled his team back out of disaster’s way just before the edge crumbled. River’s lungs had frozen in fear and it took breathing techniques she learned as a child to bring her back from the tunnel vision.
At some point, the news station had turned into muffled noise as she laid her head on the arm of the couch. River’s eyes felt heavy, and so did her heart. The muscle was heavy in worry for the man working extra hours to save others' lives; she just prayed he made it home in one piece for his daughter.
Peeking at the monitor screen, River smiled as she saw Delilah tightly gripping the pink teddy bear in her arms while sprawled out in her crib. She really was a darling child and River was already falling in love with the little girl.
River smiled as Delilah’s full lips puckered in her sleep and moved as if she was sucking on a pacifier. The last thing she remembered is wondering how she was going to guard her heart against this small family that was quickly working their way into her life. She had no power against either of them and she didn’t know why. Her head continued to reprimand her for opening herself up for more hurt while her heart eagerly sought out their love and affection. River supposed that made her no different than the young girl tucked away in bed – a child’s heart readily wanting any and all fondness that someone would give. She was a sucker for it. River was certain years with a therapist could dissect the reason why she craved love after being so easily dismissed by her parents and past boyfriends, then, in a cruel twist of fate, the only people that had ever returned her love had been taken from her.
River felt the tear slip from the corner of her eye as she thought of her grandmother. The woman gave her devotion to River so freely and just when she may need her most, Sue could barely recall who she was. She was pitying herself and her outcome and she knew it.
At some point, River must have fallen asleep on the couch because she was startled awake when sunlight was streaming through the window. River looked around the room, at first wondering where she was, then she remembered the night before and that she was at Ridge’s house.
River glanced over to the baby monitor and breathed a sigh of relief when she found that Delilah was still sleeping peacefully. The television was now blank, though River didn’t recall turning it off during the night.
Reaching into her back pocket, River found her phone and glanced at the time on the screen - 6:30 a.m. She needed to get up and ready for work, but she hadn’t heard anything from Ridge. Of course, it would probably have been better had they exchanged phone numbers.
Sitting up, River stretches her arms high in the air as she stands from the couch. She moved to the kitchen for a glass of water in hopes to rid her mouth of the dry sensation against her tongue.
Just as she brought the glass to her lips, River startled when a voice sounded from behind her.
“Oh, you’re up.”
River turned quickly, sloshing the water over the edge of the glass and down her white shirt.
“Ridge!” she exclaimed as the cold water seeped through the cotton material down to her bare skin. But she felt nothing but overwhelming heat as Ridge stood before her, water dripping down his chest down to a white towel wrapped around his hips. His damp hair was pushed back away from his face and River wondered what it would feel like to run her fingers through the soaked strands.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to alarm you.”
Reaching for the dishtowel on the counter, River began tapping the material against her chest in hopes of soaking up some of the excess water from her drink.
“That’s okay. It was my own fault. I didn’t hear you come home.”
“I’ve been home for only about ten minutes. Decided I probably needed a shower.”
River knew that Ridge had to be in decent shape for his career choice, but she had completely underestimated the number of muscles that cascaded down his body. Ripple after ripple of hard, taut lines led down to a patch of dark hair trailing from his navel to below the towel.
She noticed the towel twitch from the corner of her eye as she continued to dry off her shirt and Ridge quickly excused himself to change.
She wasn’t sure what had come over her, but she needed to remember that not only was he her neighbor, but he was also one of her parents. Professionalism was vital to her and she wouldn’t let a moment of lapsed judgment change that. Sure, he was built like a marbled god, but she had willpower. Or at least, she thought that she did.
In record time, he re-emerged from the hall into the kitchen just as River finished drinking her glass of water. Her white shirt was now see-through and she was grateful that she had worn a tank top underneath, despite being braless.