Page 12 of Saving You

Wandering down the pasta aisle, Ridge eyed several boxes. He was attempting to get Ina to eat more than the six foods she was currently obsessed with, but it was starting to feel like a failing task. He spoke to her doctor about it, but he insisted it was Ina trying to have control in a world full of chaos—or something a little less poetic and more psychological.

It made sense.

Ina already lived in a world that wasn’t built for her. She had friends and family who all spoke her language to varying degrees, and she went to a school that was made for kids like her. But she was starting to reach the age where she realized she wasn’t like most people walking the streets.

Ridge noticed how excited she’d get whenever they’d see people signing. Half the time, she damn near yanked his arm out of the socket trying to pull him across the mall or the parkso she could talk to them, but those moments were very few and very far between.

And not everyone was friendly. The last time had been some college kids who seemed extra irritated that some small child was signing at them, and it took Ridge a moment to realize they were ASL students, not Deaf. Ina didn’t quite get it, and she was still too young to read the room, so she threw a tantrum when he pulled her away.

It was one of the least pleasant afternoons he’d had with her in a while.

So, yeah, as long as she was still getting most of her nutrition, he was going to let her live on the damn dino nuggets for a little while longer. He grabbed a couple of boxes of cheap spaghetti for her butter noodle moods—and some pasta for himself—then turned the corner and came to a halt when he saw a pair of familiar faces.

One of whom he hadn’t been expecting to see for a while.

“Ridge!” Gage detached from his dad’s cart and hurried over, slamming into him. Ridge cough-laughed from the force of the hug. Gage was even stronger than the last time he’d been by to visit. “What are you doing here?”

Ridge frowned at his cart. “Uh?”

“Sorry, terrible question,” Gage said in a rush. Ridge took a moment to look at him properly. He looked tired. He had deep, dark circles under his eyes, and he was thinner in the cheeks than he’d been the last time he was in town. “I’m a little out of it.”

“Bad schedule or something else?”

“My sleeping schedule has been really shitty,” Gage said. Adele made a noise of protest as he pushed the cart closer, and Gage rolled his eyes. “I’m a fully grown adult now with a real job who pays my own rent. I can say shitty when something’s shitty.”

“And I’m a fully grown dad who is responsible for your upbringing, and I will scold you when I want to scold you,” Adele said, giving Gage a little shove. He smiled at Ridge and laughed when he saw the contents of his cart. “Still on her nuggets kick.”

“Oh man, I miss my bestie and our dino nuggets together,” Gage said. “She’s not here?”

“She’s at a school thing with Rex and Frey,” Ridge said. “He’s bringing her by later if y’all want to stop by.”

Gage looked sad. “I promised Lucas I’d game with him tonight. But I’ll be around.”

Ridge lifted a brow. “Will you?”

“Long story, but yeah,” Gage said. There was something in his voice that told Ridge not to ask right now. “Dad and I are going apartment hunting next week.”

“Whatever happened, I’m sorry, but I’m glad to have you back. Ina’s gonna freak,” Ridge told him.

Gage brightened, and it was always a wonder to see how much he cared about the kids in their little family. Ridge didn’t want to assume anything about him, but he knew Gage was going to make an amazing father one day if that’s what he truly wanted.

“Sweet.” He turned to his dad. “I’m gonna go grab a couple bottles of iced coffee before I forget. Catch you soon?” he added to Ridge.

“You bet.” When Gage ran off, Ridge sagged over the handle of his cart. “Dad meeting soon?”

Adele smiled at him, looking a little sad and worn himself. “I think we could both use it.”

“Shit went sideways, didn’t it?”

Adele glanced to the side, his shoulders hunched up closer to his ears with stress. “You could say that. You?”

“Nothing new.” Well, the Oz thing was new, but he didn’t want to spill Oz’s business to someone outside of his little circle. Frey was one thing. Frey knew him better than anyone else. “Hey, you get an invite to Grady’s daughter’s birthday bash?”

Adele nodded. “Yeah. He pretty much asked the whole station. A couple of the guys have kids young enough, so they’re going. I thought about it, but then this shit with Gage…” He trailed off. “You taking Ina?”

Ridge shook his head. “Oz said it was probably better if I didn’t. They’re not real great with ASL.”

Adele pulled a face. “I heard something like that. Fucked-up, isn’t it?”

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