Page 10 of Rescued Dreams
When they’d moved here, the twins had replaced his black-and-white highway print on the wall in the hallway with a vintageCasablancamovie poster. Six months ago it had been replaced with a poster forTrek of the Osprey,a sci-fi show he’d watched as a kid, which they called “vintage” and insisted on watching over and over when all three of them were home.
“Hi.” Ella burrowed under his arm and squeezed his middle. Slightly smaller than Maddison, she had the same hairstyle but wore a floral top and a pair of skinny jeans. Aside from their sense of style and Ella’s more introverted personality, the girls were mirror images. Most people couldn’t tell them apart.
He put his arm around Ella. “Good day?”
She shrugged, still holding his middle with her slender arms. He rubbed a hand across her shoulders. “Maddie, how do you know what Josh’s car smells like?”
Even though her back was to him, he knew she winced. Ella let out a little giggle. Maddie twisted around. “Did I say Josh? I meant…uh…we went to the library. That’s how I know what his car smells like. We studied. At the library.” She shot wide eyes in Ella’s direction.
“That’s where I do all my studying,” Ridge said. “At thelibrary.”
Ella laughed aloud, and it was about the best sound Ridge had ever heard. Up there on his top five favorite things, along with Christmas carol services sung by a children’s choir, a hot dog at a ball field, and Amelia’s smile.
Ella disconnected from the hug and went over to slump on their cushy sectional. The one they’d made him spend two hours picking out because they had to sit oneverycouch in the entire store. Twice. And okay, it had been worth it. Not that he’d admit as much to them.
“I guess I should pay more attention to that tracking app. See where you’re going.” He watched Ella curl up with a calculus textbook and her math notebook, sliding the pencil out from behind her ear.
“Right now I’m in the kitchen, doing what you told me to do.”
“Is Josh still a thing?” He’d learned Maddie switched out flavors of the month like an ice-cream shop, but he’d rather she just have a lot of friends so he wasn’t worrying about her getting hot and heavy with some guy while he had an overnight shift at the firehouse.
Maddie shrugged. “Ella didn’t like him.”
Despite their differences, the girls’ instincts were sacrosanct for decision-making. If one had a vibe, it was law. Thankfully, when their mom had remarried eighteen months ago and their stepdad Gary didn’t want to be tied down with kids, they’d had the feeling Ridge would be great to live with. So the twins called a family meeting and announced their plan to have Ridge adopt them.
Gary had been thrilled.
Considering Ridge never would’ve left the girls in the lurch, he hadn’t even given it time so he could think it over. He’d said yes immediately, and they’d been living with him as their guardian since.
At the time, Ridge had been in a one-bedroom apartment on the rough side of town, saving for a down payment on a house. He’d taken that money and put a deposit on this place. The girls got the main bedroom upstairs because it was bigger—and had two sinks in the bathroom. He had a small room he used a few days a week, and the third room was an office with a pullout couch.
Maddie put a full plate of food in the microwave, then took the container of salad and two packets of plasticware and went to sit by her sister on the couch. Ridge got the breadsticks and ate two on the way to the shower.
He rinsed off, set his clothes in the washer, and headed back to the kitchen in sweatpants and a T-shirt. While he’d been in the bathroom, he’d received an email from Chief Macon James, asking him to come in early next shift. He responded, acknowledging the request, and set his phone on the breakfast bar.
“I made you a plate. It’s in the microwave.” Ella didn’t look up from her math.
Maddie nudged her.
Ella looked at her sister, then at Ridge.
“Whatever it is, let me eat first. I’m starving.” He went to the microwave and pulled out the hot plate of sausage pasta. His stomach growled. Ridge went to the armchair. He ate one bite, then said, “Okay, hit me with whatever it is.”
Ella smiled.
“Okay, well.” Maddie shifted on the couch, curling her legs up so her knees were almost in her sister’s lap. “We’ve been talking about Benson, Washington.”
“About you getting a job there,” Ella said.
“And we don’t want to move.”
“We wanna stay here.”
Both of them stared at him.
Ridge said, “There aren’t any open lieutenant spots in Last Chance County.”
“We’re in our senior year. We shouldn’t leave before graduation,” Ella said. “It would be too much of an interruption to move mid-year.”
