“She tested for drugs in her system, Fentanyl, without a prescription, and she confessed to selling some of the heroin. Not to mention she’s wanted to child abandonment charges in California.”
“Penny. . .” Ridge whispered with the barest hint of disappointment in his voic
e. River could understand. The woman did the best she could to protect her daughter, but had she not been tangled up with a drug dealer in the first place, none of this would have happened. Of course, River also knew that Penny’s misgivings were the only reason she met Ridge in the first place.
“I’ve made mistakes, Ridge, but I’m going to get better. And, River, I’m sorry that you got tangled up in all of this mess. I’ve watched you with Delilah and she’s lucky to have you in her life. Both of them are.”
Preston didn’t hang around much longer. He tugged Penny up by her arms and escorted her from the room, leaving a shocked Ridge, River, and Joseph.
“That was all. . .unexpected,” Joseph said, mirroring River’s sentiment.
“None of it makes any sense to me. I mean, why not just turn Dominic in from the get-go?” Ridge asked.
“Well, sometimes it’s hard to convince a drug addict that the police could help. And she was scared.,” his uncle responded.
“But the letters? Why not just tell me what’s going on? I could have helped her.”
And River realized that the lack of trust was what hurt Ridge the most. The man with the superhero complex felt useless.
“Paranoia, I suspect. Anyway, I just wanted to drop off your clothes. I’ll see if I can persuade the doctor to come to check you over so he can discharge you sooner rather than later.” Turning to River, Joseph asked, “Are you good to drive him home? He gets pretty grumpy when he’s hurting. Been like that since he was a teenager.”
River chuckled as Ridge denied his uncle's assessment. “I think I can handle it.”
Just as Joseph left the room, a doctor walked in with discharge papers and a prescription for pain medication that Ridge hesitantly took. The doctor explained that he had four bruised ribs and severe smoke inhalation in his lungs that he would need to monitor for the next couple of weeks. Not to mention the large goose egg on the back of his head where he had fallen onto a large rock in his yard when the explosion had happened.
River was given instructions to care for him over the next few weeks and he could only return to work when his primary doctor gave him a clean bill of health, which was met with an unenthusiastic groan from Ridge. The man would go crazy sitting at home, unable to work.
“I’m going to go crazy sitting at home doing nothing.” River stared at him, wondering if he realized what he said. It took only a minute for his eyes to widen and then he squished his face together in distress. “I don’t even have a house to go back to.”
“Well, you can always stay with your aunt and uncle. You know that they would be more than happy to nurse you back to health.”
“That doesn’t sound very pleasant at all.” She had to agree. Ridge wasn’t someone that liked to be babied.
“Or. . .or you could just move in with me.”
“Temporarily?” he asked.
“Permanently?” she replied. River felt immediate embarrassment at her question, like a shy girl speaking with the football team's quarterback. “It’s silly. You can ignore I said that,” she back peddled. “Of course, you should stay with your family. I can’t believe I ever suggested otherwise.”
“I want to stay with you, River.”
Surprised and shocked, she asked, “Why?” River’s heart pounded in her chest, eager to hear his reply.
“Because I love you.”
His words released the dam of waterworks she had tried so desperately to keep at bay the last three days. They were all she wished to hear when he started waking up from his injuries.
“I love you too,” she managed to stutter between her sobs. Ridge tugged her closer with the little strength he could muster. She fell over the side of the bed and he quickly wrapped his arms around her. River was afraid she would hurt him, but he didn’t seem to care.
They stayed in that position for a minute and River could have remained for the rest of her life. There was not a single place that she’d rather be than in his arms.
“Hey,” he whispered into her neck. “Think you can still help fasten my cape?”
She chuckled against him, then leaned over and brushed her lips against his.
“I promise, superhero.”
Epilogue