Mia Ross - Circle of Family

Emily was hollering his name, and he yelled for her to run out to the barn to spring his dog. They came back into view with Tucker barking excitedly as he ran circles around them and begged for attention from Kyle, then Emily, then Kyle again.

“Whew,” Ridge commented as he dropped into a chair at the table. “Is it always like that around here?”

Marianne smiled as she opened the fridge and poured them both some lemonade. “With the wedding, they’re a little more wound up than usual. Now that school’s out, things should calm down a little. I’m a teacher, so I’ll be off with them all summer. Lots of their friends end up here, which makes it fun.”

He chuckled. “I’ll bet.”

Of course, she wasn’t entirely certain she still had a job. Her teaching position was a one-year contract filling in for Kathy Walsh, who’d been on leave recovering from back surgery. Kathy would return in the fall, and Marianne was waiting anxiously to find out if Harland Elementary had a spot for her. If not, she had to find one somewhere else. With budget cuts and declining enrollment throughout the area, that wouldn’t be easy.

Pushing the worry from her mind, she set their glasses on the table and plopped down across from Ridge. Slipping off her grass-stained pink satin shoes, she crossed her feet on another chair and took a long swallow of the first thing she’d actually tasted all day. “Mmm.”

“Your kids are fantastic, Marianne,” Ridge said. “Emily could charm a statue, and Kyle’s something else.”

Like the proud mother she was, she smiled at the praise. “Yeah, he is. I don’t know what Emily and I would do without him.”

Emily’s dress was still sitting on the counter where Kyle had thrown it. Marianne had just gotten comfortable, but she knew if she didn’t get it soaking, the punch stain would never come out. Reluctantly, she stood and crossed the kitchen to get the stain remover from its handy place on the ledge over the sink. With two active kids, she used it frequently.

“Just so you know,” Ridge continued, “Matt said I could keep Betsy here and use his bike if I need it.”

Rubbing the remover into the delicate fabric, she chuckled at her big brother’s forgetfulness. “Of course he did.”

“I know she’s not your usual houseguest. I can rent some hangar space at the airstrip if that works better.”

“It’s not a problem. We have plenty of room.”

While she rinsed the fabric in cold water, Marianne tried to keep her expression neutral. A grin slowly spread across Ridge’s tanned face, and she knew she hadn’t quite managed it.

“You don’t like chaos, do you?”

“Not really,” she admitted.

“Funny how Matt never mentioned that.”

“It must have slipped his mind.” Like telling her his best man would drive her completely bonkers the minute she met him.

Chuckling again, Ridge shook his head. “Caty’s really gotten to him, hasn’t she?”

The way he phrased it, it sounded romantic and sweet, even a little exciting. But Marianne couldn’t muster more than a faint hum of agreement as she applied more stain remover to Emily’s dress.

“You’re not happy about them getting married?” Ridge asked, clearly—and understandably—perplexed.

“I’m very happy.”

“But?”

Hoping to steer him away from the uncomfortable subject, she decided to keep it vague. Setting the dress in the sink, she turned to face him while she wiped her hands on a towel. “Things don’t always work out the way we want them to.”

“That’s true. I’m divorced myself.”

He said it matter-of-factly, as if it weren’t a big deal. Divorce was against everything she believed in, a broken promise to God. Five years later, she still hadn’t come to terms with her failed marriage.

“You look upset,” Ridge sympathized.

Completely forgetting her manners, she shot back, “And you don’t. Why is that?”

He shrugged. “Sometimes things don’t work out. My wife wanted a different life, and I let her go find it. We’re both happier now,” he added, as if that made everything okay.

Appalled by his casual attitude, Marianne glared at him. “The vows are ‘until death do us part,’ not ‘until things don’t work out.’”

Ridge studied her for a few seconds, compassion etching his features. “I’m guessing your ex is the one who left. Could you have stopped him?”

“Yes,” she retorted immediately, even though she knew it wasn’t true. She’d come home to find Peter’s wedding ring on the counter wrapped around a note that read I want a divorce—Peter.

Ridge slowly shook his head. “You don’t really believe that, do you?”

His perceptiveness was more than a little unnerving. She’d never met a man so adept at reading people, and she didn’t know what to think.

Eager to end their pointless conversation, she said, “I don’t mean to seem rude, but the kids are waiting for me.”

“I wouldn’t mind a dunk myself. Mind if I come along?”

“Not at all.”

Cocking his head, he grinned at her. “You’re just being polite, aren’t you?”

Caught in the half lie, she smiled. Ridge’s open, forthright manner made her want to strangle him one minute and laugh the next. “I was, but now I mean it. You’re welcome to come with me,” she added as she headed out the side door.

When they saw her on the side steps, Kyle and Emily raced down the dock and dove into the pond. His feathery tail going a mile a minute, Tucker anxiously waited on the bank, watching the kids. Once he was satisfied they were ready, the black Lab barreled down the dock like a furry jet and launched himself into the water.

The cool grass felt heavenly on her tired feet, and Marianne walked down the dock and settled on the end to dangle them in the water. Ridge stretched out beside her, but gave her plenty of space. After their far-too-personal chat, she appreciated the gesture.

“Watch me, Mommy!” Emily called out, dog-paddling toward the opposite bank for all she was worth.

“Great job,” Marianne said. “All that practice is really paying off.”

“I want Kyle to toss me, but he won’t.”

“Next year, Emmy,” he promised. “You hafta be seven for that.”

And able to swim back to the surface, Marianne added silently. Still, she was grateful to Kyle for handling his little sister so deftly. Emily adored him, and she wanted to do what he did. Sometimes they had to hold her back because she refused to accept that she couldn’t keep up with him. Marianne always got an argument or, at the very least, a first-class pout. Kyle managed to slide bad news past his little sister with a diplomatic flair that would come in handy at the United Nations.

After a while, Tucker climbed from the pond and shook out his fur. Ridge greeted him, and the dog flopped onto his back in a less-than-subtle pose. Laughing, Ridge rubbed the lab’s wet belly.

Since he hadn’t spoken to her, Marianne decided it was up to her to start a more pleasant discussion. She decided to go with something less emotional than weddings and divorces. “So, tell me about your date.”

He laughed at her joke. “Betsy’s a 1941 Stearman. Grandpa towed it home with most of the parts missing or in boxes. We spent the better part of five years putting her back together.”

“You and your granddad built that airplane?”

* * *

They both turned at the sound of Kyle’s voice. Elbows braced on the dock, his hazel eyes were round with admiration. He’d been following Ridge around like a puppy all day, and Ridge was surprised to find he liked the attention. It’s not that he didn’t like kids, he just never gave them much thought. This bright, curious boy had definitely impressed him.