“Hey, can you all keep an eye on him for a little while? We’re going to take a walk.”
Reagan and Dawn must have clued the guys in, because they didn’t bat an eye when all six of them assured Ridge that little man was in good hands. He nods his thanks, grabs a throw blanket from the back of the couch, and leads me through the dining room to the patio door.
“Watch your step,” he warns as we make our way down the deck steps.
“Steep,” I say, holding onto his hand for dear life. The dew has set in, making them slippery.
“Yeah, something I’ll need to change for the little guy. Probably add another level to the deck or something.”
“You have time for those things later.” He worries so much.
“Yeah,” he agrees, pulling me into his chest and wrapping his arm around me.
“Wow, this is really nice.”
“Thanks. It’s part of why I bought the place. I wanted some acreage, and the guys and I like to fish and have a few beers. Makes it a hell of a lot easier when you can walk home after.”
“I bet.”
The silence of the night takes over, but it’s not uncomfortable. It’s actually nice, enjoyable even. When we finally reach the pond, Ridge leads me down the dock until we reach the gazebo that sits at the end.
He takes a seat on the built-in bench and pulls me onto his lap. Grabbing the blanket, he wraps it around me. “Better?” he asks.
“Yes.”
He buries his face in my neck and just holds me tight. I don’t speak, not sure what I’m about to hear.
“I’ve not exactly been excited to share this with you. Not that I’m ashamed, but I didn’t want you to think differently of me.”
I don’t say anything, just lean my head against his shoulder and wait for him to continue.
“Little under a year ago, the guys and I had a job out of town. It was a good gig; we would stay there through the week and drive home on the weekends. We started to frequent this local bar. It was basically a hole in the wall.” He laughs. “Anyway, it was the perfect place to grab some dinner and a cold beer after a long day.”
I’m hanging on to every word, waiting for the part that he wasn’t thrilled about telling me to fall from his lips.
“Anyway, our last night in town, we settled in for a few beers. That’s where I met her—Melissa, Knox’s mom.”
He pauses, collecting his thoughts. I remain still.
“She was beautiful and drinking alone. She seemed sad, so when I went to the bar and got us all another round, I invited her to sit with us.” He clears his throat. “She was easy to be around. One thing led to another, and she invited me back to her room.”
I feel him stiffen at his own words. Lifting my head, I place a tender kiss against his neck then snuggle back into my spot, resting against his shoulder once more.
He tightens his hold on me. “We used protection, of that I’m sure. Melissa even confirmed it in her letter.”
“Letter?” I finally break my silence.
“Yeah. See, she slipped out of her own room in the middle of the night. When I woke up the next day, she was gone.”
My mind races with where I think this is going, and my heart aches for him.
Fuck! I hate telling this story, but she needs to hear it. I need her to understand that I’m not some insensitive asshole who’s moving on like nothing happened to the love of his life. I just hate to think of how she’ll see me after this. When she knows that my one-night stand resulted in my son.
“Yeah, so the night I stopped to help Dawn with her flat tire, I also drove up on an accident. A car had slid over the embankment. The driver was trapped, so I called for help and stayed with her until they arrived. Once they had her freed from the car, something in my gut told me I needed her to be okay. I followed the ambulance to the hospital. Of course, they couldn’t and wouldn’t tell me anything—hell, I didn’t even know her name. That is until my cell phone rang.”
“Who was it?” she asks in a quiet voice.
“The hospital.” I close my eyes and remember that day, just a month ago. The call that rocked me to my core and changed my life forever.
“The hospital?” she asks, confused.
“Yeah, they were calling me to let me know that I was listed as the next of kin to a Melissa Knox, and that she was in the hospital.”
“Knox,” she whispers.
“I wracked my brain for a Melissa Knox, but the only Melissa I could come up with was the one from that bar several months before. I was already in the emergency room, so I told them I would be right there. I had them take me to see her and it was her, the girl from the accident.”
“Oh, Ridge.”
I hold onto her. It was just last month, but it feels as though a lifetime has passed since then.
“They found a letter with my name on it in her belongings. It basically said that I was the father and that she was on her way to see me. That if she chickened out, she would mail the letter because she thought I deserved to know that I was going to be a father.”
“I’m so sorry,” she says, grabbing my hand and holding it to her chest.
“They had to deliver him while she was still in a coma. A paternity test was done so I could be listed on the birth certificate.”
“Did she . . . Was it the delivery?” she asks, her voice fill of emotion.
“No. She actually woke up, got to hold him. I even took a few pictures. She was really tired, so I told her to get some rest, that I would take Knox back to the nursery.”