“Okay.” He reaches into his pocket and Ridge steps forward, as if he needs to protect me. Cal pulls out a white envelope. “This came to your old address, but they delivered it to mine. I’ve had it for a while now. I wanted to find a job before I came back for you. Wanted you to see I’ve changed.” He sets the envelope on the coffee table. “You’re going to want to read it,” he says, his sad eyes finding mine.
“Good-bye, Cal.”
He stares at me for what seems like eternity, and it’s uncomfortable for everyone. Finally, he says, “Good-bye, Kendall. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry for everything that happened between us.” Then he looks at Ridge. “Take care of her.”
Ridge doesn’t acknowledge him. Cal gets the hint, offering a sad wave before he leaves, the door clicking softly behind him.
“You okay?” Dawn asks.
I nod against Ridge’s chest; he has me crushed to him. He lowers his head to whisper in my ear. “I love you, Kendall.” Those four words pull me out of the sadness Cal brought with him. I meant what I said, that I’m proud of him, but Ridge is my heart.
“How about we order in?” Dawn asks.
“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Ridge agrees.
“Pizza?” Mark suggests. “You girls like the place just down the street, right?”
“Perfect.” Dawn grins at him. “We’ll go pick it up, give these two some time.”
“Thanks,” Ridge says to them.
When they’re gone, he leads me to the couch and pulls me onto his lap. “You good?”
“Yeah. I mean, I’m surprised he showed up after all this time, but I don’t want him. You’re where I want to be.”
“I know that.” He kisses my bare shoulder. “I also know that seeing him again probably brought up a lot of those old memories.”
“Yeah, but I’m good, really. I feel bad for him, I do, but there was never a choice to make, Ridge. I’m in love with you.”
“I know that, but I still love to hear those words fall from your lips.” He kisses my shoulder again. “So, what do you think’s in the envelope?”
“Honestly, I have no idea. I guess I should look.” I stand and walk to the table by the door, grabbing the envelope. It’s addressed to me at my old apartment, but there’s no return contact information. Not sure what I’m going to find, I sit on the opposite end of the couch as Ridge. I see his face fall, but he doesn’t push me. Mr. ‘I need to touch you at all times’ knows I need a minute to see what’s inside.
“It doesn’t have a return address,” I tell him.
“You want me to open it?” he offers.
“No, it’s probably a letter from him, trying to convince me. Honestly, I have no idea what else it could be.”
“Pizza’s here,” Dawn announces, setting the boxes down on the coffee table. “I’ll grab plates and napkins. What do you guys want to drink?” she yells from the kitchen.
I laugh at her, place the letter aside, and help her gather everything we’ll need.
Two large pizzas later, we’re all groaning that we ate too much. It was so good, though.
“So, what was in the envelope?” Dawn asks.
I shrug. “Don’t know, haven’t opened it yet.”
“What are you waiting for?” she asks.
I laugh at her, reach for the envelope, and tear it open.
Kendall,
It’s taken me a while to find you, as adoption papers are sealed pretty tight. I’m your sister, Melissa. We’re twins, not sure if you knew that or not. I was told by the private investigator that I hired that you know you were adopted. I wanted to make sure my contacting you didn’t shatter your world.
Anyway, not sure how much you know about our mother. She was sixteen and gave us up with the hopes of a better life. We were both adopted, but my first adoptive parents didn’t turn out so great. They got messed up with drugs and God only knows what else, and I was placed in foster care. Don’t be sad though. A few years later, I was adopted by an amazing family. I will forever be grateful for everything they did for me. About eight months ago, I lost them. It was tragic and unexpected, and left me once again all alone in the world.
I’ve thought about you a lot over the years, and well, losing my family has me putting myself out there, reaching out to my sister.
I’m actually going to be in your hometown in a few weeks. That’s a story in itself. You see, I had a one-night stand—a first for me—with a guy who lives there. I didn’t stick around after, running off in the middle of the night. Turns out our little rendezvous created a miracle. I’m pregnant, and even though I’m scared as hell to raise this baby on my own, I want him. More than anything, I want him. I’ve gone back and forth about whether or not I should track down the father and tell him, but I figure he has a right to know. So, in a few weeks, I’m making the trip. I’ve written him too, just in case I chicken out. You might know him, since he’s close to our age. His name is Ridge, and he works for Beckett Construction.
If you’re around, I’d love to meet and have lunch. If you would rather not, I get that too. I just wanted to send out that olive branch if you ever decide you’d like to meet me. I hope you’re happy and life is treating you well. I’ve enclosed all my contact information just in case you want to meet up, now or in the future.
Best wishes,
Melissa Knox
I let the letter fall into my lap, tears falling from my eyes and dripping onto the paper. I feel tight arms around me and realize I’m in Ridge’s lap. I was so zoned out from her letter I didn’t even notice.
“Baby, you’re scaring me. Please tell me what’s wrong,” Ridge pleads.
Shit.
Ridge.
Knox.
Melissa.
I jump off his lap, the letter falling to the floor. Ridge grabs it before I can. “Baby, I won’t read it if you tell me what’s wrong. If you don’t, I have to. I have to know what’s causing you to be so upset.” He steps toward me and I take a step back.
“Ridge,” Mark says, cutting him off, placing a hand against his chest.
“Get off me.” His voice is menacing. “I have to hold her,” he tells Mark.
“Give her a minute, man. Just let her process whatever it is she read.”
“Kendall.” His voice cracks. “Baby, tell me what’s wrong so I can fix it.”
Dawn comes to me slowly and wraps her arms around my waist. I hug her back because I need my best friend. My entire world just came crashing down and I’m going to lose him, lose both of them. As soon as he finds out I’m Melissa’s sister, he’s going to be done with me. Won’t he?
“Sweetie, can we read it?” Dawn asks. “Can we read the letter?”
My eyes find Ridge, and although he’s blurry as I try focus through my tears, I can see the anguish on his face. I nod and he sighs with relief.
He plops down on the chair, opens the letter, and begins to read.
Chapter 41
Ridge
My fucking heart is about to beat right out of my chest. Something in that envelope has her emotionally a wreck, and I want to know what the fuck it is. How am I supposed to fix it if I don’t know what it is? I just need to hold her. Once I have her in my arms, I can get her to tell me, I know I can.
When Dawn asked her if we could read it, and she agreed, I returned to my seat. I read it once through and then again, thinking my mind is playing tricks on me.
Is this real life? Have we not been through enough already? Did she know she was adopted? I didn’t know that about her. Is that why she’s so upset? I need to hold her.
“Kendall, baby, can I please hold you?” I ask her. My voice is thick with the emotion I’m fighting back.
She just stares at me, silent tears rolling down her cheeks.
“Please, baby.” My voice cracks again. I don’t take my eyes off her and I’m thankful, because she gives a slight nod. That’s all the encouragement I need before I’m on my feet and wrapping her in my arms. She begins to sob agai
nst my chest, and I can feel my own emotions welling up in my throat. She’s breaking my fucking heart right now and I can’t fix this. I need to fix this for her.
I hear Dawn gasp, and I know she and Mark have just read the letter.
My phone vibrates in my pocket. I assume it’s my parents.’ I dig it out and toss it to Mark. “Check that. If it’s my parents,’ text them and let them know I need them to keep Knox a little longer, and I’ll explain later.” He nods and his fingers begin flying across the screen.
I don’t move, just hold her as close as I can, running my fingers through her hair, continually kissing the top of her head. I’ll stand here in this spot and hold her for as long as it takes.