Chapter 29
CHAPTER
TWENTY-NINE
Two Months Later
Rain
Right as I’m finishing up the dishes, my phone rings. Quickly, I pick up a towel and dry my hands. When I see his name flash across the screen, my breath catches.
“Ridge!” I yell right before I answer. “Hello.”
“Hi, Rain, it’s Mr. Cohen,” my dad’s lawyer says.
“I have your number saved,” I tell him with a smile in my voice.
He chuckles, and I can imagine him shaking his head. “Yes, of course. I was calling because I have an update for you. Do you have time?”
Ridge walks into the kitchen, frowning.
“Of course, let me put you on speakerphone. Ridge just walked into the room.”
“Perfect.”
I pull the phone away from my ear and hit speaker as I set it down on the counter.
“Go ahead, Mr. Cohen.”
As I mention his name, Ridge’s eyes widen in understanding. He takes a step closer, pulling me to his side.
“Hello, Ridge. Now let’s jump right in. I think you both have been waiting patiently for answers.”
“Please,” Ridge says.
“Well, the police department has closed its investigation into your marriage and found that you two are not guilty of committing fraud. They should never harass you two or me ever again,” he says good-naturedly.
As soon as the words leave Mr. Cohen’s mouth, we both exhale like a weight has lifted off us.
“That’s great,” I tell him.
“About time,” Ridge mutters, making Mr. Cohen chuckle.
“I couldn’t agree more. This was definitely a first for me in almost forty years of practicing.”
“What now?” I bite my lip, waiting for his response.
“Now you two go about your lives without having to look over your shoulders. I’ll be here if you have any questions regarding the estate, but as far as I can tell, you two have things figured out.”
Ridge looks at me and smiles. “We do.”
“Thank you for dealing with all of this when you didn’t have to. I’m sure by now you regret taking my father on as a client,” I joke.
Mr. Cohen laughs. “You couldn’t be further from the truth. I actually have enjoyed getting to know you two, and this entire experience with the police has reminded me why I love the law. Honestly, I should be thanking you.”
“You’re welcome,” Ridge says with a smile.
“All right, call me if you need me. You two have a good day.”
“Bye,” Ridge and I say in unison right as Mr. Cohen hangs up.
Ridge turns me so we are chest to chest.
“It’s over, finally over,” I whisper.
“Well, at least this part of it is.” Reminding me of the detective still out there on the streets.
I sigh. “Would it be asking too much for Hampton to fall off a mountainside or get taken out by an avalanche?”
Ridge smirks. “Knowing our luck, probably.”
“You know what we should do?”
“What?” he asks.
“Celebrate.”
Ridge hums as he leans down, kissing the corner of my jaw. “I like it. What were you thinking? Celebrate naked? With our friends? A quick trip over to Serenity Valley?”
I arch into him and sigh. “Honestly, the options are endless. Why not all of the above?”
“Beauty and brains. How did I get so lucky?”
He pulls back and moves to kiss me on the lips when the doorbell rings.
“Are you expecting anyone?” I ask.
“No, you?”
“No. So it’s safe to ignore it, right?”
Before he can respond, the bell rings again.
“Sounds important. Give me a minute, and then I’ll take you upstairs and ravage you.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Don’t keep me waiting.”
“Never, Viper. Never.”
I head toward the hall as he moves to the door. Only I pause on the steps when I hear a woman’s voice.
“Is Rain here?” the woman asks softly.
“You’re here.” Ridge sounds relieved.
It has me wondering who it could be. I don’t like how happy he sounds that she is here.
“I know I should have called, but I figured if I thought about it anymore, I might have backed out,” the woman says.
Who the fuck is here?
Without thinking about it, I move to Ridge and the mystery guest.
“Who’s here?” I ask.
Ridge steps to the side, and when I see the woman, my breath catches.
She doesn’t need to introduce herself, because I know just by looking at her who she is.
“What are you doing here? How did you know where I lived?” I ask rapidly.
“Can I come in?” she asks with a brittle smile.
Heidi. My aunt. My dad’s one true love. She is here. Right in front of me.
“Of course. Please take a seat. Would you like something to drink?” I ask automatically.
“If you don’t mind, a glass of water would be great,” she says as she steps inside.
“I got it. You two sit,” Ridge says.
He squeezes my shoulder as he passes by, grounding me, just for a second. Something I desperately need.
Heidi and I walk into the living room and sit down across from each other, me on the couch and her in the chair that Dad used to love that I haven’t been able to part with yet.
“This is a nice place. I thought you might have moved into your dad’s place,” she says after a moment.
“We are planning to renovate it, but we aren’t in a hurry. We plan to make it our home when we are done. This was my husband’s before we married.”
She takes a deep breath and looks at me, really looks at me. “You look so much like me. If I didn’t know better, I would think you were mine.”
“Dad said it hurt to look at me sometimes,” I admit.
Horror washes over her face for a split second. “I’m so sorry. He never should have said something like that.”
I shrug. “It’s the truth, but I’m sorry. I have to know. Why are you here? Why now?”
She looks over my shoulder and smiles. “Your husband called me, and I realized it was time.”
My husband called her. Ridge reached out to her.
I feel him come up next to me and sit down.
“Why?” I ask, turning toward him.
“Because I could tell how much their story bothered you. How you felt guilty for something that was never your fault, and I wanted to make it right. Besides, if she loved your dad even half as much as he loved her, she deserved to know that he was gone,” he informs me.
Closure. He wanted to give me closure or a chance at having another relative. At the same time, he was blocking me from the chance of possible rejection.
This man. This crazy, thoughtful man knew to give me something I didn’t even know I wanted, let alone needed.
Just when I thought I couldn’t love him more than I already do, he goes and does something like this.
Ridge
I watch as a thousand emotions fly across my woman’s face, and for a moment, I wait for the anger to hit, only it never does.
A beautiful smile crosses her face. “You know how to keep me on my toes, that’s for sure.”
I can’t help but chuckle. “I try, baby.”
She turns back to her aunt and looks at her.
I watch as the two women study each other, noting the similarities.
Heidi’s hair is a shade lighter than Rain’s chocolate brown hair and cut to her shoulders, where Rain wears hers long.
They both have blue eyes, only Rain’s are lighter.
They have the same build, but Rain is just a little bit taller and more defined.
I’ll never admit it to Rain, but just looking at her aunt is like looking into the future. Now I know exactly what she will look like.
Her aunt clears her throat. “I’m sure you have questions. I’ll try to answer them as best as I can.”
“Why did you leave? Was it because of me?” Rain asks, cutting straight to it.
Heidi shakes her head. “No, it had nothing to do with you and everything to do with my sister.” Pain flashes through her eyes.
“If your dad would have had a one-night stand that resulted in you, I would have gotten over it, accepted it. But my sister…she always saw things as a competition between the two of us. If I had something, she wanted it and would go out of her way to try to take it. It was a toxic situation, and I knew that if I stuck around, you would be dragged into the middle. I knew that wouldn’t be fair to any of us, so I thought it was best to leave. ”
“From what little I know of her, that makes sense,” Rain mutters.
Confusion fills Heidi’s face. “Didn’t she stick around and help raise you?”
Rain scoffs. “No. She took off before my umbilical cord even fell off. Sure, she would pop in and out, but after a few years, Dad told her no more, and she never came back. He raised me by himself.”
Heidi shakes her head and mutters to herself. “Typical Amelia. I should have known. She’s never been responsible a day in her life.”
“I never felt her loss, though. Dad did the best he could, and it was more than enough,” Rain adds.
Heidi smiles softly. “Charles was always great with children. We used to stay up late at night and talk about how we would raise our kids and do things. I hate that you never had a mother figure, but at least you had him.”
I bite my tongue. Sure, Mustang did the best he could, but I bet he would have been better if she were around.
If he wasn’t heartbroken and raising the reason his woman left him.
Sure, he never took it out on Rain, but still, I’m sure it was a daily struggle.
Shit, I don’t think I could have done it if I were in his shoes.
“Did you never reach out to him? After you left?” Rain asks after a minute.
A thoughtful look crosses her aunt’s face. “No, I didn’t, but sometimes I could have sworn I saw him across the room. Or I felt like someone was watching me. Then, when I would go to look, no one was around. It was so strange.”
Rain looks over at me and smiles. Somehow, both of us know that he never fully let her go, and knowing him, he wouldn’t have been able to stay away without getting a glimpse of her from time to time.
“Did you ever marry?” I ask, even though I already know the question.
“No, I tried dating from time to time, but no one stuck. It’s hard when you’ve had everything you want before, and no one else lives up to the expectations you have,” she says thoughtfully. “How long have you two been married?”
“Since right after Dad died,” Rain tells her.
“It’s been a busy year for you,” her aunt muses before the smile fades. “I’m sorry you had to go through that alone. I was with my mother when she passed after having a stroke. I wouldn’t wish that experience on my worst enemy.”
“I wasn’t alone. I had the club. I had Ridge and my girls,” Rain says.
Hearing her mention me makes me puff out my chest. Yeah, I was there, but it’s not like things were good between us then.
Just another sign we’ve come so far.
“Where did you bury him? I would like to pay my respects,” Heidi says.
Rain points to the mantel where his urn sits. “He’s there for now. We haven’t had a chance to spread his ashes yet.”
“Do you have a plan on where to spread them?” her aunt asks, staring at the urn with tears in her eyes.
“We’ve decided to spread some up in Ontario, Canada. It was a bucket list trip for him that he never got to experience. Then the rest we will spread up by a lake in the mountains. Dad used to spend as much time up there as possible,” Rain tells her.
“Dillion, by chance?”
“How did you know?” Rain asks, sounding shocked.
Heidi smiles. “We spent a lot of time up there. Every weekend, we would pack a tent and head up there. That’s where we planned our future.
There used to be a cabin across the lake from where we would go, and we would daydream about the future and how we would buy that home just so we could always see our spot and be close. ”
“He never told me,” Rain says quietly.
“I’m sure there are a lot of things he never told either of us,” Heidi admits.
“I bet you’re right.” Rain smiles. “I wonder if you might want to go on the ride with us. If not to Ontario, at least up to the lake. I think he would have wanted you there.”
Heidi looks like she is about to cry. “Thank you. That would mean the world to me. I never stopped loving him. I let him go so that we both could have a life that didn’t end in tragedy.”
Rain sniffles. “He never stopped loving you either. Actually, I have something for you.”
Rain gets up, heading out of the room. I know where she is going. As soon as Hampton started coming around, she put all the valuables in my safe, including the ring Mustang bought for Heidi.
When Rain comes back, she sits down and hands it over. As Heidi opens it, her eyes widen.
“What is this?” she manages to croak out.
“The ring my father always planned to give you. I know he isn’t here, but he kept that in his drawer my entire life. He would want you to have it now.”
Heidi looks speechless. She reaches out and grabs Rain’s hand, squeezing it. It’s her way of saying thank you.
After a moment, she closes the box and slides it into her purse.
Once again, the conversation shifts, turning lighter. My girl leans into me and rests her head on my shoulder.
I don’t know if these two will keep in touch after today, but at least my girl will have the memory of learning about her dad as a man, and not just a biker, and because of that, it’s worth it. I’d do it all over again, just to see her smile.