A moment passed. One tick of a clock. Then another. And another.
"Think you'll ever get married?" Duke asked.
Ridge shot him a quelling look. "Why are you asking?"
"Just filling the air."
"Can't say I'm marriage material."
"What about Kaia?"
"What about her?"
"You gonna throw her away same as Vivi?"
Zing. Bam. There it was. Sucker punch.
"I didn't throw Vivi away. You stole her from me."
"Bullshit. That's the sugar teat you use to soothe yourself with. Truth was, you were too busy trying to show me up to give a woman like Vivi the kind of attention she deserved. Stop blaming me for your failings."
"Oh, so that wasn't your bare ass I saw over my girlfriend, in my bed, in my house?"
"Okay, you got me there. I apologize for the circumstances," Duke said. "In hindsight it was crass. But I don't apologize for picking up the diamond you tossed aside as coal."
"Well all right then, that makes it okay." Ridge gripped the edges of the chair, his heart wedged firmly in his throat.
"You're doing it all over again," Duke accused.
"Doing what?" Ridge asked, his mouth so tight the words grated against teeth.
"Running away when you start to feel something."
"Excuse me?" Knees trembling, Ridge shot to his feet. "I've never run away from anything in my life."
Duke threw back his head and let out a donkey guffaw.
"What's so damn funny?" Ridge scowled, balled up his fists, and tucked them into his armpits.
"You!" Duke hooted, slapped both palms against his belly, and heehawed until tears rolled down his cheeks. "That is . . . whew wee . . ." He swiped at the tears. "That is . . . priceless."
"I don't have to listen to this." Ridge pulled his shoulder blades together, felt hot, ugly energy shoot up his spine like a bullet and lodge in the base of his skull.
"Oh, oh. What are you gonna do? Run away again?"
"I didn't run away. I left to make my fortune."
"And spent the next decade hiding out."
"I was not-" Ridge bit down on his tongue. The old man was trying to get his goat and he was allowing it to happen. "Fine. Think what you want. I know the truth."
"Do you?" Duke's laughter vanished. He planted his palms on the table, leaned in.
"I do."
"Whose truth? Yours or the rest of us?"
"And what is your truth, Duke?"
"Was I the best father in the land?" Duke shrugged. "No. But at least I own who I am, and I don't make excuses. You were the one who took off. If you'd stayed and had it out with me things would have been a lot different. I would have put you in charge of the ranch-"
"Is this your way of trying to make amends? If so, you pretty much suck at it."
"I'm saying you ran, so you have no right to come in here and mess with the way I do business. No right to change things to suit you without consulting me. No right to take over when I was down and out."
Ridge dug deep, grabbed hold of his steel self-control, and gripped it tight. "I was just trying to help."
"I don't need your help."
"You've made that clear enough," Ridge said. "I'm outta here."
"That's right. Scoot. Take off. Toodle-loo. Live up to my expectations. 'Cause leaving is what you do best."
After Kaia left her sisters, she'd gone to see Granny Blue. Only her grandmother could truly understand the emotions buffeting her, harsh as a west Texas sandstorm.
"Give Ridge time," Granny Blue said softly. "He's had a hard life. He's not used to being loved."
"He didn't say a word after I told him about the Song of the Soul Mate. He just stared at me as if I'd lost my mind."
"Most people are afraid to let go and trust their inner wisdom. You didn't want to trust it either."
"Until it happened to me." Kaia touched the base of her skull from where the humming emanated. Wished she could kiss Ridge and stir that sweet sound again.
"And you've had your whole life to hear about the legend. To prepare. He's new to this." Granny Blue had patted Kaia's cheek. "Give him time."
"How much time?"
"As long as he needs."
"Weeks? Months?" Kaia paused, gulped. "Years?"
"I can't answer that."
"What if he falls for someone else?"
"Have no fear, little one. The Song of the Soul Mate is never wrong. If you hear the hum when he kisses you, he is yours."