Drilled by K.M. Neuhold

Chapter 24

RIDGE

I jiggle my knee nervously, my heart hammering hard and my palms sweating.

“It’s gonna be fine,” Apollo says, pulling one hand off the steering wheel and placing it on my knee.

“What if it’s not?” I ask. “What if they can’t forgive me for what happened with Anna?” A fresh wave of anxiety fills my chest. I can’t stand the thought of his family looking at me with the same dismissive disappointment I got so used to from my own. Worse, what if his family’s disapproval ends up being a dealbreaker? Barely two weeks married and he could end up filing for divorce if I don’t get this right.

“Anna isn’t mad, and my parents won’t be either.”

“What did they say when you told them you were bringing me tonight?” I ask.

He grimaces.

Shit.

“You didn’t tell them?” I guess, bouncing my leg faster. “Pol, what the fuck is wrong with you?”

“I thought the surprise would be fun.” He shrugs. “Anna knows I’m bringing you. It was her suggestion.”

“That’s something at least,” I mutter.

“Relax.” He squeezes my leg and then removes his hand, and I resist the urge to grab it and put it back, but only because he’s driving, not because I’m trying to have any amount of chill. Who needs chill when I have my man?

I grin to myself. It’s been just over two weeks since he showed up at my door and told me he loves me, and things have been going better than I ever imagined. I absently run my thumb over my bare left ring fingers and smile wider. We still need to get around to buying rings, but part of me wanted to wait until after this, after I’m sure it will work out.

He slows the car and pulls into his parents’ driveway, the same house he grew up in, that I spent countless nights and weekends at, wishing I would never have to go home.

“Promise me that even if they hate me, nothing changes between us?” Now that we’re parked, I reach for his hand. He slides his fingers between mine and then brings our joined hands to his lips and kisses my knuckles.

“You’re worrying about nothing.”

“Pol,” I groan, and he chuckles.

“I promise,” he says, and that unravels a small amount of the anxiety all knotted up inside me.

“Okay.” I take a deep breath. “Let’s do this.”

We get out of the car and make our way up the flower-lined walkway. It’s obvious Mama Day has kept herself busy with the landscaping. She always loved her rose bushes, and they’re clearly still thriving.

Before we even reach the door, it flies open. His mom looks exactly the same, just a few years older. She looks at me in shock for a few seconds before a smile breaks over her face.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think I was looking at a ghost right now.”

“Hi, Mama Day,” I say shyly, walking up the few porch steps to the front door, Apollo right behind me.

As soon as I reach the top step, she pulls me into a hug. I sink into it instantly, her arms around me feeling just as much like home as finding my way back to Apollo has. I squeeze her back tightly, not the least bit embarrassed by the few tears that escape from my eyes.

“We missed you around here,” she says, rubbing my back before releasing me.

I pull back and laugh lightly at myself as I brush away the stray tears from my cheeks. “I missed being here.”

She looks over my shoulder at her son, standing right behind me, and narrows her eyes jokingly at him. “And what exactly do you have to say for yourself, not telling me Ridgeway was back in town?”

He snorts. “I brought him here, didn’t I?”

I step out of the way, and Apollo hugs his mom as well.

“It’s good to see you, baby.” She squeezes him the same way she did to me and then ushers us all into the house.

As soon as we step inside, we’re met by a couple of kids running headlong into Apollo.

“Whoa,” he says, catching them as they both giggle-shriek. “Hey, I want the two of you to meet someone important.” He turns them both to face me. “Ridge, this is Kelly and Eric, Anna’s kids. Kids, this is Ridge, my…” He meets my eyes and smiles briefly. “Mine,” he says simply, and I have to admit, I kind of like the ring to that.

We make our way deeper into the house, and I get a hug from Apollo’s dad as well, and an introduction to Peter, Anna’s husband, and finally, an awkward greeting from Anna, who then rolls her eyes and hugs me as well.

“I’m just finishing up a roast if everyone wants to grab drinks and wash up for dinner,” Mama Day says once all of the greetings are out of the way.

“Do you think I could talk to you for just a minute first?” I ask Anna, wanting to get the apology and explanation out of the way as soon as possible.

“Sure.” She tilts her head and leads me through the kitchen and out through the sliding door onto the deck. “I don’t need a big apology or anything. It’s been a long time,” she says as soon as we’re alone, leaning against the wooden railing.

“You might not need one, but you deserve one.” I lean right beside her to avoid the awkwardness of staring at each other while we have this conversation. “You deserved better than what I did to you, and I’m truly sorry. I’ve spent a decade and a half wishing things had gone differently, that I’d realized the truth sooner, that you had turned my ass down when I first asked you out…”

“Oh, please, we both know I was the one chasing you back then.” We both laugh.

“I’m sorry,” I say one more time, just to make sure she hears the sincerity. “I think I just really wanted to be part of the Day family, and I hate that you got hurt in the process.”

She tilts her head to rest it against my shoulder. “You were always part of the family, and I forgive you.”

A heavy weight I hadn’t realized I’d been carrying all these years eases off my shoulders, and I breathe properly for the first time in as long as I can remember. “Thank you. And thank you for easing Apollo’s guilt about things. He wasn’t going to let himself love me without your approval.”

“It’s my pleasure,” she assures me. “Don’t hurt him though, okay? Because that’s something I won’t be able to forgive.”

“No worries there. I’m in this wholeheartedly.”

“Good.”

I put an arm around her shoulders and give her a side hug, the two of us lingering a few more minutes so she can tell me all about how happy she is with Peter and her kids, and how glad she is that things worked out the way they did.

APOLLO

There’s obvious relief written all over Ridge’s body language when he and Anna come back inside. He saunters over to me, grabs my face in both hands, and presses a smacking kiss to my lips.

“Now, isn’t that a nice sight,” my mom sighs happily. “I always knew the two of you had something special, I just didn’t know it was going to turn out to be romantic. I’m glad for both of your sakes that it did though.”

“Why’s that?” Ridge asks with amusement as I pull out his chair and then take the seat next to him.

“No one was ever able to compete with what the two of you had,” she explains.

“Amen to that,” Anna agrees, winking when I scowl at her.

We all dig into dinner, chatter flowing easily as if Ridge has been here every month for the past fifteen years. His knee bumps against mine under the table, the two of us trading sappy looks in between bursts of conversation.

After dinner, I help my mom clean up while Ridge plays with Anna’s kids. It all feels so domestic, so…right. It’s absolutely perfect.

“It’s nice to see you in love,” my mom says, kissing me on the cheek as I stand in the entrance to the living room, watching Ridge play horsey for Gigi.

“I was always in love with him,” I admit.

“I know. And it’s good to see the two of you happy now.”

“Yeah,” I agree. “I just wish we hadn’t taken so long to find our way back to each other.”

“Sometimes a long journey makes it that much sweeter.”

Ridge catches me watching him, smiling and giving an exaggerated whinny while Gigi laughs and claps on his back. My heart flutters.

That’s my husband.

We stay a few hours, enjoying time with the family. When we head back out to the car, he sneaks up and slips his hand into my pocket.

“Can I help you with something?” I ask, arching an eyebrow.

“Nope, I’ve got it.” He smirks, yanking my keys out and pulling open the driver’s side door to get in. “Come on, I’m driving home. I have a quick detour planned.”

“All right.” I’m up for whatever he has in mind, so I make my way around the car and slip into the passenger side.

He puts on some music and then pulls out of the driveway. He refuses to give me any hints about where we’re going, singing louder every time I try to ask until I just give up and enjoy the ride.

We head out of town and down a number of back roads that I don’t bother to keep track of. Eventually, Ridge pulls into a hidden driveway until he eases to a stop in front of a house that has seen much better days.

“Where are we?” I ask.

He grins and gets out of the car without giving me an answer. With a sigh, I follow suit, getting out and climbing onto the hood of the car right next to him, the headlights illuminating the empty house that looks seconds from falling down and the overgrown field surrounding it.

“What are we looking at right now?” I try again.

“My house,” he says, reaching over and grabbing my hand, turning his head to grin at me. “Our house if you want.”

“Uh, not to burst your bubble or anything, but this place might fall down if we look at it too hard.”

He chuckles. “I’m counting on it.”

“I’m not following.”

“I put in an offer for next to nothing, and it was accepted. I’m thinking I’ll tear the place down and build a new house. Of course an extra pair of hands would go a long way.”

“Hm.” I look again, this time seeing the possibilities in it. “Okay, so we tear this heap down and build something new. Then what?”

“Then we live here.” He shrugs.

“Just the two of us and our six cats, huh?” Damn, that actually sounds really nice.

“Obviously. They’ll be great at keeping field mice out.”

“I imagine we’ll need that out here,” I agree.

“So what do you say?” Ridge asks.

“To the cats?” I tease.

“To all of it. A house together…forever together.”

I lean over, meeting his eyes as I press my forehead against his. “I’m pretty sure I already promised you that, but if you need to hear it again…yes. Yes to the cats, yes to the house, yes to forever. Yes.”

He smiles even wider, putting a hand on the back of my neck and nuzzling his nose against mine. “I love you, Pol.”

“I love you.”

We kiss, rough and sweet somehow all at once, which is the perfect description of the two of us. His tongue slides over mine, the two of us nipping at each other’s lips between softer kisses.

“Should we get back?” he asks when we eventually break the kiss.

“Not yet.” I settle back, keeping his hand clutched in mine and looking at the house again. “Let’s stay a little longer. Why don’t you tell me what you’re picturing for our house?”

Ridge does just that, making himself comfortable with his head on my shoulder and describing every detail of the house he wants to build.

I can’t wait to get started on it.