Ridge

Long Distance Relationship

I knock on Ash’s office door for our morning meeting, and he calls me in. We do this every day, but today feels different. Everything feels different since I met Allison. The world is a little brighter, and my heart beats a little faster because of her.

“Well, don’t you look happy this morning. I take it things with Allison are going well?”

I can’t help but smile, and I’m not one who smiles often.

“Oh my God, she’s the one, isn’t she? You’re fucking smiling. Do you know I could probably count on one hand how many times I’ve seen you smile in the past five years? And you’ve never smiled like that.”

“Stop. Yes, things are good, great actually. She’s amazing. Thank you for pushing us together.”

“I didn’t have to do much, and Stella was the one with the master plan to send her up with your dinner the other night. So tell me about her.”

“She’s amazing, beautiful, smart, and honest. The chemistry between us is off the charts. She’s perfect. Except for one very important thing—she lives in New York, and I live here.”

I sit in the chair on the other side of Ash’s desk facing him and close my eyes pinching my nose at the bridge. The frustration of trying to figure out what to do about this problem is getting to me.

“Wow, you do have feelings for her, don’t you?”

I lift my head and look at him wearily. “Yes, lots of them… big, giant, powerful feelings that I have no idea what to do with.”

“You don’t have to do anything. Get to know her, keep in touch, travel back and forth to visit each other, Skype, FaceTime. There are a million ways to have a long- distance relationship.”

“That’s just it. I don’t want this to be long distance. I want to see what this can be, and we can’t do that thousands of miles away from each other.”

“What about doing the long-distance thing for a while and then deciding what’s next?”

“You’re right. We don’t have to rush anything. We just met. I mean all of these feelings could be the newness and excitement. Why have we been trying so damn hard to figure out what to do next?”

“You’ve talked about it?”

“Yes. Hell, yes.”

“Y’all are moving fast on this, huh?”

Ash’s face is full of concern. “Too fast?”

“Maybe. Hell, I’m not the one to ask. I fell in love with Stella the first time I laid eyes on her, and I married and knocked her up a couple of months later.”

“I think that just goes to show you know what you want when you see it, and you go after it.”

“Then go after her.”

“I still don’t know what the hell I’m doing but thanks for the pep talk anyway.”

“No problem. If you want, I can tell the plows to do all the neighbors before us, that’ll give you an extra day or two together,” he says with a smile and a wink.

“Thanks, but she has a little brother to get home to. I can’t stall her when she has responsibilities like that.”

“That’s right. She told me she’s raising her brother. How do you feel about that?”

I shrug. “Fine, I guess. Why?”

“I don’t know. I guess I thought you didn’t want kids.”

“He’s hardly a kid. He’s sixteen. Two more years, and he’ll be off to college.”

“What about Allison? She’s a lot younger than you. Does she want kids?”

“I don’t know. I just met her two days ago.”

Ash sits back in his chair and steeples his fingers in front of him the way he does when he’s proven a point. “Okay, I get it. This is going too fast. We need to slow down and get to know each other better before we make drastic plans for the future.”

“Exactly. Well, I’m glad we got that all figured out,” he says with a touch of sarcasm. We haven’t figured anything out.

“Yeah, let’s talk about something I can control like your schedule.”

After our meeting, Ash meets with Allison and her crew in the sunroom to start the photo shoot, and I check in on Stella and Cannon.

“Good morning, Ridge,” she greets me at the door of her office all smiles and happiness. She’s vibrating with joy, and I feel as though she may hug me. I’m not much of a hugger, but if she tried, I wouldn’t stop her.

“Morning,” I say hesitating outside her door until she walks away from me to sit down at her desk. I haven’t known a lot of pregnant women in my life, but of the few I have, she is the most beautiful. Pregnancy suits her well.

“Ridge!” Cannon yells as he runs across the room and barrels into my knees at full force. “Hey there, enthusiastic as usual, I see,” I say, patting him on the head. Ash was right to wonder about me having kids. I’ve never been comfortable around them. I don’t dislike babies and children. I’ve just never had much exposure to them, other than Cannon, and he was a lot to handle until Stella came into our lives and tamed him as much as he can be tamed.

“Are we going to play in the snow again today? Please, please,” he says with praying hands.

Stella cuts in, “Not today, bud. We have lots of studying to do, and you were going to help me in the baby’s nursery, remember?”

His face lights up like a thousand-watt bulb. “Yes! I get to help decorate the baby’s room!”

I look at Stella and mouth thank you over Cannon’s head. I can’t do another day in the snow. One was enough. At least it’s stopped falling, and the sun is out. The house is positively glowing from the sun reflecting off all of the freshly fallen snow. It’s a drastic contrast to the gloomy gray blanket we’ve been living under since it started. The funny thing is, I hardly noticed. I’ve been walking around on a cloud since Allison and I started talking.

“That’s great, Cannon. You’re excited for your baby brother or sister, aren’t you?”

“I am, I can’t wait to see her. It’s a girl, you know. I’m gonna name her Lydia like Lydia, the pig in the cartoon.”

I have no idea who Lydia the pig is, and I also didn’t know they were having a girl. I thought Ash and Stella were going to wait until the baby was born to find out the sex. I look up at Stella who is shaking her head and smiling.

“He insists it’s a girl. We don’t know.”

“Ah, I see. I’m sure you’ll love him or her no matter what.”

“Yeah, but it’s a girl.”

“Okay, okay, it’s a girl. I believe you,” I say chuckling at his stubbornness. “I just wanted to be sure you didn’t need anything this morning.”

“No, not so far anyway.” She leans forward, as far as her belly will allow, and rests her forearms on her desk. “Ridge, thank you for being so attentive. I know it’s not your job to take care of Cannon and me. This has been a crazy year, and Ash and I appreciate your help more than we can express.”

“It’s nothing. You and Cannon are part of my job as my job is to keep this house and Ash’s life running smooth and safe.”

She sits back taking a deep breath as if the position she was sitting in was suffocating her. “Thank you for that,” she says placing her hands on her round belly.

“Are you all right?”

“Yes, yes, just Braxton Hicks contractions, nothing to worry about.”

Usually, I would leave at this point, but something about Stella’s posture is making me uneasy. “You’re sure? I can stay for a while if you like.”

She waves her hand dismissively. “No, I’m perfectly fine. Go, work, organize, secure the house. I’m good.”

“Okay, I have my phone if you need me, and Ash and Allison are in the sunroom this morning doing the photo shoot.”

“Got it, thanks, now go. I have a test to study for and morning lessons for Cannon.” Cannon is building with Legos in his corner of her office. He groans and rolls his eyes when she mentions lessons. “You stop with the eye rolling, mister. You love your lessons, and you know it.”

“Okay, I’ll leave you to it then.”

Stella waves, and I swear there is the hint of a grimace on her face. I leave her door open half way and go straight to the sunroom to talk to Ash. It would be just like Stella to hide that she’s in labor. She doesn’t like to put anybody out by asking for help, and she’s hell bent on wrapping up her classes before the baby’s born.

In the sunroom, Ash is positioned on a couch reading a newspaper with a crew of twelve people bustling around trying to make him look natural in the most unnatural ways—makeup, clothes that he would never wear, and an actual newspaper. Who reads a newspaper anymore? Not Ash, I can tell you that.

I hang back and wait until Allison is finished with Ash’s current pose and clear my throat to get his attention. “Ash, could I see you for a moment?” He nods and joins me at the door immediately. Allison flashes me a worried look.

“I’m sorry to interrupt.”

“No, it’s fine, what’s wrong?” Ash knows I wouldn’t interrupt if it weren’t important.

“It could be nothing, but when I checked on Stella and Cannon she seemed to be… uncomfortable.”

“Uncomfortable how? She’s nine months pregnant. She’s always uncomfortable.”

“I don’t know the first thing about labor, and as I said I could be way off, but I think she grimaced a couple of times when I was talking to her. She says she has Braxton Hicks contractions. It’s not my place, but since the roads are still unplowed, and she’s so close to her due date, I thought you should know.”

“No, you did the right thing, thank you. Stella’s stubborn. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s trying to hold off telling me until she’s got her homework done and the photo shoot is over.”

“I agree that’s why I’m here. I can call and find out how long until the roads are cleared if you want.”

“Yes, and see about getting the chopper ready. We might have to fly out or fly her doctor in depending on how long she’s been hiding this from me. Damn it, why didn’t I notice?”

“I could have read the situation wrong. You should go talk to her and see for yourself.”

“Okay, will you tell Allison I’ll be right back?”

“Sure.”

Ash hurries out, and Allison’s eyes go big and round as she approaches me.

“What’s going on? We’ve only done one pose.”

“It might be nothing. He said to tell you he’d be right back.”

She shifts her big camera from one hand to the other. “What might be nothing?”

“Stella’s having Braxton Hicks contractions. He’s checking to make sure she’s not actually in labor.”

“Oh no, now? But, we can’t get out, where will she deliver?”

“We don’t even know if it’s labor. I could be way off base. I’ve never seen a woman in labor before.”

“You spend a lot of time with her. If you think she’s in pain, she probably is. I don’t think labor is that hard to spot.” No sooner do those words leave her lips when we hear Stella scream.

Both of us sprint through the house to find Stella on the floor next to her desk in a puddle of water panting through a real contraction. Cannon is standing next to his dad, who is kneeling at her side, frowning, and gripping Ash’s shoulder.

“That’s no Braxton Hicks contraction. Her water broke, she’s having the baby,” Allison says quietly to me.

Ash looks up panic stricken. “I don’t think we have time for a doctor. She says she needs to push.”

“I’ll call her doctor and put her on the speaker to help you.” I cross the room to her desk and dial the OB’s phone number I’ve had memorized for months. “Allison, grab her a pillow and ask Olivia for a garbage bag to put under her and some blankets.”

“Which one is Olivia?”

“Petite blonde. She should be in the kitchen.”

A receptionist answers the phone. “I need you to get Dr. Jamison on the phone immediately, it’s an emergency.”

“If it’s an emergency, sir, you need to hang up and call 911 right away.”

“This is Ashton Pride’s personal assistant, and his wife is in labor about to deliver her baby on the floor of her office. The ranch is snowed in. No ambulance can make it in. Put the doctor on the phone now.”

“Hold just a moment, please.”

Stella is panting and blowing, Allison is tucking a pillow under her head, and Ash is taking her pants off. This is happening. I motion to Allison to take Cannon with her to the kitchen to find Olivia. On their way out, several members of her crew meet her at the door asking if everything is all right. She doesn’t stop to explain but waves to follow her.

Someone picks up the phone line. “This is Dr. Jamison, can I help you?”

“Yes, Stella Pride is in labor at home, and we need your help to deliver the baby, there isn’t time to get her to a hospital. I’m putting you on speaker.” I press the speaker button, and the doctor begins asking Ash questions. He only answers one before Stella grabs his arm digging her nails into his flesh and screams, “It’s coming!”

Ash is paralyzed with fear, and since there is no one else around, I take a deep breath, round the desk, and kneel down between her legs. I’m nervous as hell, but I can listen and comprehend the physician’s orders, which is a lot more than Ash can do right now.

Stella looks at me with wild eyes and says in a demonic voice, “Get it out of me.”

Allison is at my side shoving the bag under Stella’s hips and laying a blanket on top of her. Dr. Jamison asks, “Can you see the baby’s head.”

“Yes.”

“Good, good. Now can you tell if the baby is facing the floor or the ceiling?”

The floor or the ceiling—hell, I don’t know. All I see is a lot of bloody black hair.

“The floor,” Allison answers, and I tilt my head to the side trying to figure out how she knows this.

“Good, all right. Stella, when you feel the urge to push, take a deep breath and bear down like you’re having a bowel movement, okay? Push as hard as you can while I count to ten.”

“Did you hear that?” I ask, and Stella nods squeezing her eyes shut tight. She takes a deep breath as the doctor instructed. Allison and Ash help her sit up a little, and she pushes until the doctor reaches ten. She flops down onto the pillow panting and looking more miserable than a human being should look.

“The head looked like it came out a lot more that time,” I inform the doctor.

“All right, that means she’s close, just a few more pushes, Stella. You’re doing great.” I’m concentrating on the infant’s head so hard that I don’t notice Cannon standing next to me. He must have come back with Allison and Olivia.

“You gonna get Lydia outta there, Ridge?” he asks, and I glance over at him. He’s just standing there all calm and blasé holding a fuzzy pink blanket like he wants me to hurry up and hand over his baby sister.

“We’re trying,” I tell him, and Stella announces she’s ready to push again. She repeats this process three more times before the baby is born. I listen to the doctor tell me to clear the nasal passages and mouth with a blanket as best as we can and put the baby on Stella’s chest. The rest is a big fat blur.

Ash and Stella are crying. Cannon is bouncing on the balls of his feet welcoming his baby sister, Lydia, who is indeed a girl. And Allison is looking at me with her mouth hanging open and tears in her eyes.

“You just… I can’t believe… Ridge, you delivered a baby,” she says reverently.

I sit back on my ass with my knees bent and my bloody hands hanging down between them. “Stella did, not me.”

“But you helped,” she says wrapping her arms around my neck and rewarding me with a kiss.

“Ridge, thank you, man. I froze. I don’t know what we would have done if you hadn’t been here.”

“Just trying to keep things running smoothly like always,” I joke. Delivering babies is not in my job description, and I pray I’ll never have to do it again.

“How did this happen so fast? I thought first babies were supposed to take a long time,” Allison asks.

“I started having contractions yesterday, but I didn’t believe that they were real. I didn’t want to be one of those women who cries wolf.”

“No, you wanted to be one of those women who cries ‘Ash, the baby’s coming!’” Ash scolds playfully.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think it would happen like that. Thank you, Ridge. Sorry if we scared you.”

“You’re welcome. Next time how about we rent a hotel room near the hospital two weeks before your due date?”

“Next time? I don’t ever want to do that again.”

“Can I hold her? I got her blankie,” Cannon asks.

“Not just yet, buddy. We have to do a few things and clean her up. How about you go with Ridge and help him call for the helicopter.

“Helicopter? Yes!” he yells, and baby Lydia responds with a squawk.

Everyone smiles. That baby girl will be able to sleep through a hurricane soon enough living with Cannon.

Outside the office, Cannon races to the stairs, and Allison and I stop in the kitchen so I can wash up.

“I think you need to change your clothes, too,” Allison says pointing at my bloody shirt and slacks. “I need to get the helicopter here first. They need to go to the hospital.” She nods, and I feel her staring at me. When my hands have been scrubbed clean three times, I dry them, and we make our way upstairs to my office where Cannon is sitting in my chair behind my desk waiting.

“Hey, Cannon, why don’t we go and get Stella’s suitcase while Ridge calls for the helicopter.”

“Okay, can I ride in the helicopter, too?” he asks getting out of my chair and looking up at me with hopeful eyes. “I’ll have to ask your dad. Allison, her suitcase is in the coat closet in the foyer along with Ash’s.”

“Sure, come on let’s go,” she says to Cannon reaching for his hand. I make the call and sit down at my desk. I can feel the adrenaline leaving my body, and I’m exhausted. I delivered a baby, what the hell?

Leaning my head back against the cool leather of my chair, I call Ash and tell him the helicopter will be here in twenty minutes to take them to the hospital. “Oh, and Ash, Cannon is asking if he’s going with you. What do you want me to tell him?”

“What’s the pilot say?”

“He says it’s fine. The four of you won’t exceed the weight limit.”

“Great, tell him yes then. Crap, he’s going to need a bag packed, though.”

“Already done, it’s in his bedroom. Stella did it last week.”

“Awesome, you two have it all covered, don’t you?”

“We aim to please, boss.”

“Don’t call me that, Ridge. You’re my friend, and after today, you’re my best friend in the world. And the only friend who will ever see that much of my wife.”

“Agreed.”

Downstairs, Allison is in the foyer with Cannon who is telling three housekeepers and two groundskeepers about his baby sister’s birth. Allison sees me and wanders over.

“I’ve never seen a kid that excited about having a little sister.”

“Me either. How are they doing?”

“Good, I just checked on them.”

“The chopper will be here soon. We should go watch for it.”

“Where is it going to land?”

“Ash has a helipad on the roof.”

She swats at me. “Stop it, no way.”

“I’m not kidding. He uses it a lot. Silversage is in the middle of nowhere. If there’s an emergency, it’s the fastest way in or out. He probably wouldn’t mind arranging to have you and your crew flown to the airport so you can get home sooner. I don’t think he’s going to have time to finish the photo shoot for a while now that the baby’s here.”

Her face hardens, and she stares at me crossing her arms over her chest. “Ridge Noble, are you trying to get rid of me?”

“Hell, no. But you have responsibilities at home, and if you can’t do what you came to do, then I thought you’d want to get back.”

“You’re probably right. I hate the thought of leaving you. I don’t suppose you’ve come up with a plan for us, have you?”

“No, I had a couple of things to do, you know, reports, meetings, delivering a baby.” She smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “I did speak to Ash about it, though, before all the excitement.”

“Really? What did he say?”

“He suggested the long-distance route until we know each other better.”

She swallows hard and steps forward to kiss me but stops when she catches sight of my bloody clothes. “I think he’s right about that. You should change out of those clothes.” The abrupt change of subject doesn’t go unnoticed.

“As soon as they’re on their way to the hospital, I will.”

An hour later, I’m in the shower, and even though I invited her to join me, Allison is sitting on top of my vanity with her legs crossed under her. She’s been quiet since I mentioned having the chopper take her to the airport. I didn’t mean to upset her, and now I’m not sure what to do to fix it.

I hear a click that sounds like a camera and turn around to find Allison aiming her big lens in my direction. “What are you doing?”

“Taking your picture, so I don’t forget what you look like naked.” She continues to snap photos. Every picture she takes makes me more nervous. The damage she could do with those pictures could be devastating.

The paranoid part of me who was dragged through the dirt by the press wants to rip the camera from her hands and smash it on the floor. The other part wants to trust this woman and give her a hundred pictures of myself, so she will never forget me.

“Do you think you’ll forget what I look like?” I ask.

“Not entirely, and it depends on how often I see you, but yes, it’s possible.”

“I will never forget a single part of you.” I hear her hop down off the vanity and walk toward the shower still clicking away taking shot after shot of my backside. She stops and places her hand on the outside of the glass wall separating us. I put mine against hers on the inside. “Do you feel it? Please tell me it’s not all in my head, Ridge. Whatever this is between us is special. It’s not just physical, although that part happens to be spectacular. The energy around us is… it’s big. And I don’t know what to do with all these feelings and emotions. It’s too much too soon.” Her voice cracks, and I can’t stand having this glass between us.

I drop my hand and open the shower door. Without a word, I point at the bench next to the shower, and she puts her camera down. Dripping wet, I undress her slowly kissing every part of her skin as it’s being exposed and lead her back into the shower with me.

With her face in my hands, I kiss her softly. “Maybe all those feelings and emotions are telling you something. Maybe too much too soon means ‘destiny’ or ‘meant to be?’ I’ve never felt quite like this before, either, but I think we should try to figure it out together. And if that means a long-distance relationship, so be it. It’s only distance. I can fly to see you, you can come to see me, we can talk on the phone, and we will be fine. That’s why I wasn’t concerned about sending you home early on the helicopter. I’m not trying to get rid of you. I just don’t want to keep you from your life. Before you go, we will sit down and schedule out times to visit and call so we have a plan.”

She wraps her arms around my neck and presses her cheek against my chest. “Thank you.”

“Anything for you, angel,” I say kissing the top of her head. She has no idea the lengths I’ll go to for the people I care about, but she’s about to find out.