As if a higher power knew she needed to get a breath of fresh air, the phone lodged in her purse began ringing.
“If you’ll excuse me,” she said to the group as she accepted the call and stepped into the shop.
“Hello?” she said to the caller with the unknown number.
“Is this River Matthews?”
“It is.”
“I’m sorry, Ms. Matthews. This Tasha with the Carson Assisted Living Facility. I was calling to tell you that your grandmother has suffered a stroke and has been transferred to Asheville General.”
“I’m sorry, what? She had a stroke? How long ago? I’ve been trying to call all day!”
“I’m sorry, miss. I called you the moment the ambulance arrived for transport. As far as the missed calls this morning, I can’t say.”
River tried to calm down. Something deep inside her knew something was wrong all day. She should have done something more, like visit her grandmother, instead of meeting up with a bunch of women she barely knew.
“Th-thank you for the call. I’ll make my way toward the hospital.”
River ended the call, and without a second thought, started to make her way outside the shop until she remembered that she had brought Dylan to the get-together. She rushed back into the room and quietly explained to Dylan that she needed to go to the hospital. Poppy overheard and offered to give Dylan a ride back to the bed and breakfast.
In the car, River tried to reach Ridge but the call went to voicemail where she asked for him to call her immediately. Her heart was lodged in her chest the entire drive and she almost didn’t recall the journey until she arrived at the hospital.
She rushed inside and asked the nurse at the guest services desk where to find her grandmother and the woman directed her to the emergency room waiting area. River wasn’t sure how long she waited, but the sun had begun to set when a doctor finally came through the double doors and called out for her. He described the severity of her grandmother's stroke and the complications that may arise as time progresses. The doctor made sure to add that the nurses at the facility had acted quickly which was going to help her grandmother recover. River listened intently but wasn’t sure how the stroke would affect Sue’s dementia, and when she inquired, the doctor said they would have to wait and see.
An hour later, River sat quietly in the room where her grandmother laid in the bed, looking lifeless though her chest moved with shallow breaths. Glancing at her phone, River noticed that Ridge hadn’t returned her call, though she did have a few messages from Amy, Poppy, and Dylan. She answered them all with a standard statement of her grandmother being stable.
She called Ridge one more time, only to hear the phone ring endlessly on her end. River had almost given up hope until the door to the room opened and the man in question stepped inside.
“Ridge? What are you. . .how did you. . .?
“I’m so sorry. I would have been here sooner, but I needed to find someone to watch Delilah. What can I do? What do you need?”
Through the entire journey River hadn’t shed a tear, but the moment his questions rolled off his tongue, the tears built up in her eyes, threatening to spill over.
“I don’t know,” she said, choking on a sob. “I don’t know.”
Chapter Fourteen
Things had changed since Ridge showed up at the hospital to comfort River two weeks ago. Though her grandmother had recovered well enough to return to the assisted living facility, River had kept her distance from him.
She continued to watch Delilah during the nights and spent time in his bed; she was propelling herself farther and farther away with each passing day. And Ridge didn’t know why. He knew she had been upset that he hadn’t answered her calls, but she didn’t seem appeased to learn that he had left his mobile phone at home when he went out with Grady that day.
He didn’t know how to make things better between them.
And to make matters worse, Penny's letters had been nonexistent since Grady and Dylan had left Carson. Preston had pulled back on searching for Ridge's ex-wife without any more letters and nothing out of place on the security footage.
After his shower, Ridge stepped into the kitchen to find River standing at the counter, cutting up some vegetables for a salad. It reminded him of their moment in the kitchen two weeks ago.
“Anything I can help with?” he asked as he sidled up behind her, placing his hands on top of hers as she held a cucumber and a knife. He eased them out of her hands slowly.
“No, I have everything done. The lasagna you put in will be done in about fifteen minutes.”
“Good,” he said, tugging on one of her arms until she spun around to face him. “That g
ives me just enough time to do this.” Ridge gathered her hands behind her back as he leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers. These were the moments when he could feel her let go. Her body simply reacted to his in the same way his responded to hers. They had a chemical attraction that neither of them could deny. It was animalistic and he hungered for it.
“Ridge,” she whispered against his mouth as she rocked her hips against his. These were the nights he hated the most—the nights where he was leaving her ready and wanting.