“Three days. But you needed that time to heal. Everything looks good. I’ll be back in a little bit with something for you to eat.”
River had remained silent as the nurse checked his vitals, but he wanted nothing more than to hear her speak. Her voice was his own personal serenade.
Visions of River lying on the ground as he drove the fire engine into the neighborhood would forever haunt him. At that moment, he thought his entire world had ended. But she had sat up. She had unfurled her body from the protective cocoon around Delilah. He remembered rushing from the vehicle before it had stopped entirely and ran to her side, his lungs squeezing tightly as her face tried to mask its pain.
Ridge didn’t know what he would have done if he had lost her or his daughter. Unmitigated fury swarmed through him and he unknowingly tightened his grip on River’s hand.
“Are you in pain?” she asked quickly, her eyes assessing him from head to toe. “Let me call the nurse back.”
“No. no, I’m fine. I was just remembering something.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
“Okay. Well, I called Preston, who is on his way, and your uncle should be here shortly. He’s been coming every morning with a change of clothes for me.”
His eyes widened in surprise at her revelation. “Wait, you haven’t left?”
She needed rest. Her eyes were heavy with sleep, her hair a bit mussed, and her neck and face were covered in bruises, though she was still breathtakingly beautiful to him.
“You need to rest, River.”
He was so completely lost, staring into her pain-filled eyes that neither of them heard the door to his room open.
“She hasn’t left your side since they brought you in. She even made them complete her assessments in here. She’s lucky her injuries weren’t any worse.”
“I don’t think any of us are very lucky,” Ridge replied more harshly than he intended. Thinking about River being in pain was too much for him. He never wanted to see a single hair harmed on her head.
“I know, son.” His uncle handed River a plastic bag filled with clothes and then sat another bag on the table against the wall. “I figured they’d probably let you out today, so I brought some clothes you had at River’s place.”
“Thanks. How’s Delilah?”
“Good. Asking for your day and night, as to be expected.”
“That’s good. I’m ready to get back home.”
Silence fell in the room until only the sounds of the monitors echoed in the small space. His uncle’s eyes continued to trail over to River’s as they communicated non-verbally.
“What’s going on?” Ridge demanded when the quiet became too much.
“Nothing,” River said at the same time Joseph asked, “Son, what do you remember?”
He wasn’t sure what he was remembering or what was a dream. He knew he had rushed to River’s side instead of fighting the blaze engulfing his house. Ridge had made the split-second decision to rescue her instead of his home. Because he loved her more than he had ever loved another woman besides his daughter, and witnessing her using her own body to protect his most precious possession was almost more than he could take.
After making sure that she was safe, he only saw flashes of images, nothing concrete.
“I don’t remember much. Just bits and pieces.”
His uncle nodded his head while River tried to pull her hand away from his, but he held firm, not letting her escape. He needed her close.
“Anyone going to enlighten me?” Neither party seemed inclined to divulge any more information, which angered Ridge more than he expected.
“Tell me what the fuck is going on!” he shouted, alarms pinging in the room at his outburst.
The door to the room opened and Ridge expected to find a nurse rushing to his bedside. Instead, he found himself shocked speechless.
“I think I can probably answer that.”