Behind the Flame: An Everyday Heroes World Book (The Everyday Heroes World)

by Renee Harless

  While River waited for the cookies to cool down before plating them, she headed back toward the bedroom that she desperately needed to add some color and life too. That was on her agenda after she delivered the delicious morsels. But first, she wanted to change into something more appealing than oversized sweatpants and a ripped concert T-shirt, even if two of the band members of Exoneration resided in the small town. River would deny to her grave that her favorite band factored into her move to Carson.

  Sifting through her closet, a pale blue sundress caught River’s eyes. It was one of her favorites. She usually wore it on casual dates, but the day was looking to be spectacular after the rainstorm from the night before and River didn’t see any reason why she couldn’t wear it around town.

  The dress slid over her body like a second skin and River instantly felt her body stand straighter than before. The dress's material hugged all of her curves in the right places as she spent far too long analyzing herself in the mirror. Yanking down the makeshift bun from the top of her head, River’s mass of loose curls fell down her back like the waves of the ocean. She took a moment debating on whether to put on a few swipes of mascara but knew that she had procrastinated long enough.

  With a quick spin in front of the full-length mirror, because River loved the way the dress's material swirled around her knees, she reached back into her closet for a pair of gold strappy sandals. She slipped them onto her feet before heading back out to the kitchen, where she pressed the back of her hand against the cookies and found them cooled off enough to plate.

  Her nerves were shot as she crossed the street, the sealed plastic container shaking slightly in her grasp. River didn’t know why she was so nervous; the man was a complete stranger that had jumped to her rescue without being asked. If anything, she should feel elation at the chance to give her thanks to him.

  As she walked across his driveway, she was surprised to see the back of his truck was now empty. The bed had been piled high with items under a tarp when she pulled into her own house the day before, right before the deluge that took place. The truck was new and she felt envious of the cherry red paint, which looked years better than the chipping paint of her Miata. Of course, this only reminded her that she was going to need to look for a new vehicle soon. Her small car could handle Asheville's plowed winter roads, but River was sure that the roads in Carson were going to be a whole other ballgame. Not to mention her old neighbor had been on her for years to upgrade to something more reliable. River mentally added that onto her list of things to do that day.

  River took a deep breath as she ascended the porch stairs. Her palms were beginning to sweat against the plastic container and River worried that she’d drop it before she even had the chance to ring the doorbell. A quick wipe of one hand on her dress, and then the other, River took one last deep breath before raising her hand to press the small button adjacent to the door frame. But before her finger had the chance to trigger the chime, the door opened with a startling whoosh.

  Her lungs seized as a large man stepped over the threshold with a small child resting on his hip.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t see you there,” the man said as the little girl smiled widely at River.

  River’s lips and mouth suddenly grew parched and she had to force her tongue to wet them. “Ugh, it’s my fault. I was getting ready to ring the bell.”

  The man studied her, his narrowed eyes scrutinizing her from head to toe and River felt like she was standing completely exposed to him. His inspection left her feeling unsettled. He was all taut muscles, chiseled chin, and ominous eyes. Eyes that River couldn’t seem to tear herself away from despite the little girl giggling against his shoulder.

  They stared at each other and River felt as if her body was sinking into the elusive quicksand she swore as a kid was going to be a bigger problem than it really was.

  She was frozen at that moment, unable to pull her eyes away from the captivating glare of her neighbor’s. Suddenly she remembered the plastic container in her grasp. Flamboyantly, River shoved the package into his chest while simultaneously taking a step back.

  “Cookies,” River whispered. Unfortunately, she didn’t consider that her foot was already resting on the edge of the porch. Her foot slid downward from the lip of the wood, one arm flailing as she tried to catch herself, but instead of catching the railing, River gripped the tight bicep of her neighbor. He managed to catch her in his arm with his lightning reflexes while holding the package of cookies in his hand and the little girl in his other arm.

  “Wow,” she claimed in a stunned murmur as he righted her back on the porch, her body instantly missing the feel of his arm against her back. “You. . .you moved so fast. Like a superhero.”

  “Whelp, that’s sort of my job. Now that the saving is out of the way, is there something I can help you with? I was on my way out.”

  River felt herself falling into a daze again as his deep masculine voice washed over her like the sun shining down after a rain storm. She noticed his stare was growing impatient as the little girl wiggled to get free.

  “I. . .ugh. . .wanted to thank you for your help. . .from yesterday,” she added as she twisted her fingers nervously in front of her body. River could speak in front of a gathering of children without any sense of nervousness, but this man seemed to bring out this unfamiliar side of her. And she didn’t understand the first thing to do about it.

  “Cookies!” she shouted again abruptly, earning her a garbled giggle from the little girl. “I baked some cookies this morning to thank you, and now that I have, I’m just going to be on my way.” River stepped down from the porch, glancing at her feet with each step so that she didn’t embarrass herself further.

  As she reached the concrete walkway, the man called out from his perch. “You didn’t have to do that, but thank you. I’m sure we will enjoy them after my shift.”

  A puzzled look fell over her features as she cocked her head to the side. “What do you do?” she asked, remembering his saving comment.

  “I’m a firefighter.”

  “Wow,” she repeated, praise she was certain she would be repeating again sooner rather than later. “Well, I won’t keep you. Ugh. . .stay safe,” she added, not sure what else to say.

  “I’ll try, though today I’m just learning the ropes of the department. I’m sure I’ll see you around. . .” He left the sentence hanging in the air as he waited for her to respond.

  “River,” she said with a practiced smile.

  “Ridge. I’m sure we’ll see you around.”

  “I’m sure. Well. . .bye.”

  “Bye!” the little girl screamed excitedly as she waved her hand back and forth enthusiastically, her brown curls bouncing with every move.

  It took all of River’s strength not to peer over her shoulder as she made her way back to her house across the street. There were very few things in her life that she felt that she had control over and walking away was one of those things. But that definitely didn’t mean that she didn’t add a little extra sway to her hips as she took each step.

  Something about that man, her unreasonably sexy neighbor, and that little girl stayed with her the rest of the afternoon and she couldn’t help but wonder what made them so different from all of the rest. Even the overly confident man from next door had dropped by to welcome her to the neighborhood and she had already forgotten his name. River knew that somehow Ridge had already embedded himself under her skin and she didn’t know why. It could be the cute girl with the cherub cheeks and coy giggle or the man’s green eyes that held secrets River wanted to explore. But as she settled onto her couch that evening, River found herself dazing off into space. Maybe he had made such a solid impression because he had stepped up to help her in the pouring rain without being asked. He was her knight in a soaked hoodie at that moment. And as a woman that was used to giving her all to everyone else, she was having difficulty coming to terms with it. River just hoped that he was able to keep his cape tucked away a w
hile longer, or she could find herself easily infatuated with him.

  Chapter Four

  He wasn’t sure how, but Delilah instinctively knew that Ridge was running behind and in a rush to get out the door. She had thrown her cereal across the kitchen this morning and then proceeded to blow out her diaper the moment Ridge had finally got her dressed. He was lucky that his uncle was the fire chief otherwise, he was looking face first into a reprimand.

  “Come on, sweet pea. We both have a big day today. You’re going to make so many friends,” he coaxed. He wasn’t sure if Delilah would care about being in the local daycare, she had been placed in one when she lived with Penny, but Ridge was afraid that his daughter had become too comfortable being with him twenty-four-seven.

  In response, she threw her pink teddy bear across the room in defiance.

  “Please, baby? Daddy has to go to work.” Ridge wasn’t sure if it was his pleading look or that he retrieved her bear, but Delilah smiled up at him before touching her hand to his cheek. She really was a good little girl and rarely fussed. He just hoped that the transition to Carson wasn’t too hard on her.

  Ridge hadn’t heard anything from California in search of his ex, Penny, and he wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing. Penny was flighty, but abandoning her daughter was far out of the realm of Penny’s nature.

  Finally, Delilah looked content enough that he was able to place her in the gated play area of the living room while he took a quick five-minute shower. The life of a working single-parent was an adjustment Ridge was trying to wrap his head around, but he knew his daughter could easily keep herself occupied for a few extra minutes.

  Grabbing the small video baby monitor, Ridge made his way to the master bathroom, ridding his clothes in his bedroom along the way. As he stepped into the spray, he took a final look at the colored video screen to find Delilah playing with the light-up fire truck his aunt had bought her.

  Ridge couldn’t help but think about the woman from yesterday as the hot water washed over him. She was petite, much smaller than his six-foot-four stature. He pegged her at five-foot-three or so. She had long wavy brown hair that curled just above her waistline. He had never felt something so soft as the strands brushed against his hand when he managed to catch her from falling off the stairs. He wondered if she had been as affected by him as he was by her. She had initially startled him by standing on the opposite side of the door when he had opened it to leave, but then her doe-eyed gaze had stopped his heart with an impact that left him gasping for air. Ridge had been selfishly happy for the distraction of her almost-fall because it allowed him to pull his eyes away from hers.

  River, she had said her name was. He didn’t think the name fit her, but he supposed he really didn’t know her that well.

  When Ridge had returned from a tour of the fire department building, he had indulged in a dinner with the entire Carson family at Angie’s diner, which led to the daycare drop off for today. Poppy and Amy had insisted that Delilah would enjoy her time there since Amy had her own hobbies she focused on during the day. Ridge felt bad assuming that his aunt would have been available for daily care, but he was glad for the alternative. Thankfully his aunt and cousins had promised they would try to help out when he was scheduled for the evenings and nights.

  All he had to do now is head over to the daycare center and make sure it was a good fit for him and Delilah. Ridge was a little overprotective after all.

  Tugging on one of the freshly cleaned Carson Fire shirts, Ridge pulled on a pair of jeans over his boxer briefs and slipped on a pair of socks and sneakers.

  Back out in the living room, Ridge watched quietly as Delilah mimicked the sound of the fire engine’s siren squalling. A smile emerged on his lips as he remembered the way he had been enthralled with the noise as a little boy.

  “Are you ready to go?” Ridge asked her as he approached the gated area. Delilah looked up at him with sparkles in her eyes and held out the bright red truck.

  “Dada.” She pointed at the little man behind the steering wheel and immense pride flushed over him.

  “Yep, that looks just like Dada,” he told her as he knelt down and gently rubbed his hand over her hair. She quickly put the truck down and raised her arms to be picked up, the teddy bear grasped firmly in her left hand. He wasn’t sure if she should bring it to the daycare, but she could at least bring it in the truck.

  The drive to the center took him through the surprisingly busy downtown of Carson. People waved at him as he drove down the street and he wondered if they knew who was in the truck or if they were just polite.

  Pulling into the parking lot for the daycare, Ridge was surprised at the facility's size, which to his eye looked brand new. Once he parked his truck, the nervousness of leaving Delilah took over. Ridge’s hesitancy grew ten-fold. The last couple of weeks had been spent with his daughter, more than he had spent in the first few months of her life, and Ridge wasn’t sure he was ready for the separation. But to his surprise, his cousin’s wife opened the door to the main entrance and waved in his direction. She seemed to have been expecting his arrival.

  Ridge extracted himself, Delilah, and her diaper bag out of the truck with great care and headed toward the red head with a large smile on her face.

  “Welcome!” she exclaimed as they approached and Delilah cooed with an equal amount of excitement at seeing someone she recognized.

  Engrained in manners, Ridge leaned down and kissed her cheek in greeting, chuckling as a blush grew across her pale cheeks.

  “Follow me,” she gestured and they followed her into the building. They were immediately assaulted with screams, but not ones in terror. “It’s breakfast time for most of the kids and today they get to decorate their pancakes.”

  “Ah, makes total sense,” Ridge said as he continued to follow her down the hallway away from the loud shrieks.

  “This is where she’ll stay if you want to let her get familiar and I can give you the rest of the tour.”

  “Sure,” he said as he stepped inside the brightly painted room where a plump woman sat in a rocking chair with a tiny infant, feeding it a bottle while a boy of college-age sat on the floor with a few other children toddling around.

  “This is Ms. Sally and Mr. Tate. We have one dedicated teacher in each room and then an assistant that rotates around. I’ll work on introducing you to the rest of the staff after we fill out some paperwork.”

  “Sounds good,” Ridge said as he squatted down and set Delilah on her feet. His nerves were getting the better of him, but he wanted to put on a brave face for his daughter, who at the moment, seemed enthralled by the other children.

  “Ms. Sally,” Poppy began, “this is Ridge Connelly and his daughter Delilah. They just moved here to Carson.”

  “Well, it’s lovely to have you. I’d come over and welcome your little one, but this one just started her bottle,” Ms. Sally explained as she continued to rock in the wooden chair that looked older than Ridge. “Are you any relation to Joseph or Amy Connelly?”

  “They’re my aunt and uncle. I used to visit during the summers.”

  “Well, welcome back.”

  Ridge watched as the instructor began speaking with Delilah, asking her name and her favorite color. His daughter didn’t respond, but instead, she gripped his arm and tucked her head against his shoulder.

  A little boy toddled over with a green bear in his grip toward them. Ridge watched in fascination as the boy sat back and held out the bear to Delilah in welcome, wondering how his daughter would react. She glanced up at Ridge, her soft brown eyes asking if it was okay. At his nod, she released her grip on his arm and joined the little boy, smiling as she took his proffered toy.

  Ridge continued to sit by quietly, watching his daughter interact with the boy and then joining Trevor and the other children in the class. He startled as a hand landed on his shoulder and he turned to find Poppy crouching down beside him.

  “Want to step out and see how she does?” Poppy
whispered. Ridge nodded and stood, slowly backing out of the room so that his daughter wouldn’t notice.

  Together they stood at the two-way mirror, allowing those out in the hallway to see into the room and Ridge had to force back a sigh as Delilah continued playing alongside her new classmates.

  “She’s going to do great, Ridge.”

  “Yeah. I’m not so sure about me, though.”

  “Don’t worry. You’ll get there.”

  Together they watched for a few more minutes until Poppy led him back to her office to fill out the entrance paperwork. It was a lot more cumbersome than he had initially planned and he ended up having to text his uncle that he was stuck at the daycare for a while. Luckily, Joseph understood, especially since he had six known-grown children of his own.

  After filling out more information than he had when he and Penny divorced, Ridge followed Poppy around the facility to see how they functioned and what the curriculum consisted of for each age. She made sure to introduce him to each worker as if they were a member of her family, which was one of the things he liked most about his cousin’s wife.

  As they were inspecting the indoor play area and jungle gym and voice called out from around the corner and Ridge watched as Poppy turned around in glee.

  “Oh, I am so glad that you’re here!” she exclaimed to the newcomer. “I have someone I want you to meet.”