May, Part II
The end of the month saw Katie unburdening her nephew RJ of the shopping bags he'd toted into her house.
"What's all this for?"
"Can't tell you. It's all part of The Plan." The capital letters were implied.
"Oh, right. The Plan." Katie winked conspiratorially. "Where should I put this precious cargo?"
"Um, the kitchen sounds good."
"So I can expect food?"
RJ beamed a mischievous beam. He gets that from his dad. The Forrester men are plotting.
"Maybe I'm just having you put that stuff in there to get you out of the way." Very canny, my nephew.
"Could be. Guess we'll see who's got who figured out, huh?"
"Guess so."
Katie left her nephew and his father to their machinations to leave the bags he'd brought in on the kitchen counter. The second-long peek she'd granted herself had revealed an assemblage of baking ingredients. They're going to try to bake. My kitchen may not survive the night. She hid the largest of her knifes in the back of the pantry, beside the honey. Boys, knives, fire. I have to limit the damage where I can.
She returned to the foyer to find her nephew messing with his phone. Still no Ridge.
"I should go help your dad."
RJ jumped in front of the door. "You can't! Dad said that birthday girls have to sit. It's in the rules."
"Oh, the rules. I'd hate to break one of those." Katie folded a leg under her and made herself comfortable on the couch. Those rules of his…and those lips. She'd thought of that almost-kiss often this month. Hope's imprecation, Brooke's warning, and Ridge's vows to her warred in her thoughts. If this isn't revenge, what could it be? Wary of the dangerous turn her thoughts had taken, Katie decided to distract herself.
"So, what'd you do for your mom for Mother's Day?"
"Me and Dad made her pancakes with strawberries for breakfast."
"You're gonna make me jealous. I love pancakes and strawberries, especially with chocolate sauce."
"Mom liked 'em, too. She started crying."
Out of both eyes? Katie immediately berated herself. It's not Brooke's fault that melodramatic is her default setting. That's Brooke.
"I bet those were happy tears."
"That's what she said." RJ shrugged. "But Dad didn't seem that happy."
"Your dad can pretty hard to read. I bet he was happy on the inside."
Ridge graced them with his presence at last, kneeing the cracked door open to enter, arms laden, a tied pastry box in one hand and another couple of shopping bags weighing down the other.
"She stayed here the whole time, Dad. Just like you said."
"Way to go, kid. Tell her the next rule."
"Birthday girls wear the crown." RJ rummaged around in one of the bags hanging off his father's arm to produce of pink and silver foil tiara. It's not diamonds and platinum, but I think it will do.
"Is that for me?"
"Yup. Need help putting it on?"
"I think I've got it." Katie carefully slid the comb end pieces into her hair to anchor the crown to her head. "How do I look?" Katie posed dramatically.
"Like a queen."
"And me without my scepter."
"Sit down and put your feet up. This is your night, we're gonna take care of you."
"Should I order pizza?"
"I ordered for us."
"Did you?" She raised a sardonic brow. Katie liked to be wooed; she also liked to be consulted about things.
"Maybe I should have run that by you first."
"Might have been nice."
"Next time." How many next times is he expecting? Katie tried to maintain a stern mien. His smug grin said she was failing spectacularly.
"You get one pass. Don't screw it up."
"Yes, ma'am."
A sound from the baby monitor alerted Katie that Will had risen from his afternoon nap. She left the Forrester men to sort themselves out and went to retrieve her son from the nursery.
She picked him up from his crib and carried him to the changing table to clean him up.
"We have visitors. Ridge and RJ are here and it looks we're going to have some yummy, yummy cake tonight."
Will shook one of his toys, quietly gleeful.
"We're gonna have a good time for Mommy's birthday. It's going to be the best birthday ever." She blew a raspberry on his belly and laughed herself when he squealed.
"That's my baby. Let's go have some fun. "
Will noticed her crown on the journey downstairs and tried to yank it from her head.
"Not the crown, Will. That's attached to Mommy's hair. Ouch!"
"And here I thought he was all Logan." Ridge and RJ were watching the goings-on with equal amusement.
Katie glared at Ridge but kept trying to detach her son from the tiara these very troublemakers had given her. She managed to distract Will by shaking his toy in the other direction, then quickly setting him on the floor.
"Now that the entertainment portion of the evening is done, the best part begins." Ridge stroked her arm. It was bolts of lightning all over again.
"Don't worry about the kitchen. I'll clean up the mess." He lowered his voice a little. "I asked Pam to bake us a spare in case we set your stove on fire."
"Can we skip the four-alarm fire and eat that?"
Ridge affected a hangdog air.
"Am I supposed to give you permission to wreck my kitchen because I think you're cute?"
"You think I'm cute?"
Katie refused to get into just what she thought of him.
"Get out of my sight, Forrester, and take Junior with you." She grinned over RJ's offended exclamation.
"We gotta take Will along. A man's not a man till he learns how to bake."
Kate fanned her face in mild apprehension, nodding. "Whatever you want, just don't traumatize my kid."
Ridge settled Will on his hip. "You say trauma, I say childhood memories."
How does anybody in this family make the distinction?
The trio trooped toward the kitchen like men on a mission.
Katie needed a diversion. She sorted through the mail to kill a couple of minutes before she insisted on taking over in the kitchen lest her cake come out chockfull of sugar and chocolate chips. Lest it doesn't!
There were a couple of bills. A letter from her attorney, which she made a note to read after she'd put Will to bed and had copious glasses of wine. There was a funding leaflet for a local animal shelter. Katie was a lifelong sucker for puppy dog eyes. My taste in men in a nutshell.
Katie was contemplating her recent change of fortune in that regard when she heard a knock at her front door. She'd spoken to each of her sisters already—both had other plans but took the time to wish her well on her special day. Brooke had even seemed sincere. Caroline had texted, as had Liam. She couldn't think of anybody besides the men currently decimating her stores of flour and eggs that might go to the trouble.
She opened the door and had to take a step back to hide her shock.
"I didn't expect to see you today."
Bill rocked on his heels, glancing, amused, at her tiara.
"It's your birthday. I figured I should make an appearance since I missed Mother's Day."
"Okay. Thanks."
She didn't step aside to invite him in. Somehow, she didn't think the house could withstand Ridge Forrester and Bill Spencer under its roof simultaneously.
"How was Mother's Day? Did you do anything nice?"
"Yeah. Caroline and Donna took me out for lunch. I had dinner with a friend."
His brows rose. "A man…friend?"
Katie crossed her arms, defensive and unsure why she ought to be.
"Yes, a man friend." Are we twelve? "Bill, what's this about?" Their divorce had become final in the latter days of February. Katie had mourned on that day, to be sure, though not more than she'd sighed in relief.
"Nothing." Bill settled his hands in his trouser pockets. "I've been hearing things. You know how it is. This whole town's a bunch of gossips. They love a hint of scandal."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"I've been hearing you and Forrester might be mixing it up. I wanted to hear it from you."
"My relationship with Ridge isn't something I feel comfortable discussing with you."
"So long as you have my son, you don't have much of a choice."
Katie braced herself against the doorframe. Don't get mad. You're the reasonable one. "Voice your concerns. I'll try to answer them."
"I don't like Forrester and I don't like him around Will."
"It's a good thing you don't have primary physical custody of Will, then, since he adores Ridge."
"Katie," he countered in a warning tone.
"Don't Katie me, Bill. I don't need your permission to spend time with a man who has been a part of my life for decades. Ridge isn't going anywhere."
"That's what he's told Brooke, how many times now? Brooke's got me to catch her when he fails. Who've you got?"
"Nobody. You made sure of that."
"You're still pissed." He had the nerve to sound surprised.
"I was angry until very recently. You blew up the family we built, that you claimed to care about—not once but twice! Then, you had the unmitigated gall to come crawling back to me. You used me, and then you tried to use me again to curry favor with my sister."
"It wasn't like that!"
"So you didn't go running to Brooke the minute your plan to magnanimously put our family back together after all those months failed to come together?"
Bill cleared his throat and refused to look at her.
"No need to be shy, tell me what's on your mind. You and Brooke didn't hesitate to tell me I was keeping you from starting your life together; don't hold back now that you want to tell me how it ended."
"It's not over yet. I'll get her back."
"Last I heard, Brooke was launching her umpteenth campaign to 'win' Ridge's heart. Between repeated, failed attempts at seduction and ear-shattering declarations of destiny, I'm just not sure when she's going to be free to watch you plead your case."
"I didn't come here to fight with you. I have perfectly valid reservations about you letting that certified loser flounce around our son."
Katie hummed. "I'm not going to touch that one. Why are you really here?"
"Forrester is bad news. Brooke hasn't figured that out, but I thought you were smart enough to know better."
It just keeps getting better. "My god, Bill. You expected me to take you back after you tricked me into giving you everything you wanted. I know you thought of me as a princess, but I didn't realize you thought I was an idiot."
"You're one of the smartest women I've ever met. Don't give me reason to doubt that by hooking up with the fancy dressmaker."
"Spending time with a man who cherishes me doesn't strike me as a stupid thing to do."
"He's cherished every woman he's ever loved. Ask Brooke. What about Taylor? What about Bridget?"
"What about Steffy? Quinn? Donna? Should I call them and ask how chivalrous you were when you were seducing them?'
"If things had never gone down the way they did, you'd be as against Ridge and Brooke getting back together as I am."
"You got one thing right: I am against the two of them trying again. They don't work. They haven't worked yet and that means something. Having said that, I think they have the right to figure that out for themselves. They're capable of coming to that conclusion on their own."
"Maybe they're not."
"Then, they're not."
"He's stringing you along."
"I'm not the one pining after someone who doesn't give me the time of day. That would be you."
"She'll come back to me. I know she loves me."
"Does the strength of your convictions keep you warm at night? I know Brooke isn't around to do the job, though maybe if you whistled…"
Bill leaned in close over the threshold. "This bitterness isn't a good look for you."
Katie leaned in till she could see the deep dark brown of his eyes. "I'm done being bitter. I've got too much to celebrate. It was nice of you to visit, Bill. I assume you don't want to see our son at the moment."
"Not today. Just wanted to make my feelings known."
"You've certainly done that. Congratulations. Enjoy sleeping alone."
Katie shut the door in his face.
He couldn't just let me be happy. He's incapable of taking the high road.
Despite the effort she made to shake off her anger, it hung over her like a dark cloud.
She yanked off her tiara. Happy birthday to me.
Katie swore at herself. She should have slammed the door in his face when he showed up. Trying to take the high road did her little good when she felt this…small at the end.
She stalked around the house for a short while, picking up toys, and needlessly straightening throw pillows till she ran out of readymade mess to clean. Frustrated, she tossed herself into a chair at the kitchen table where Ridge was reading the back of a cake mix box.
"Do I wanna know what's put you in a mood?"
"I don't know. What's brash, condescending, thinks swords are a fashion statement and just stopped by to wish me happy birthday?"
Ridge put down the box. "Run that by me again."
"The first letter in his name is a dollar sign."
"Bill wished you a happy birthday." Ridge was disbelieving enough for two.
"My happiness isn't on the list of things he concerns himself with anymore. He makes that clearer all the time."
"He's the poorest rich man I know. What's life without love like yours?"
"He's got love. He's waiting for Brooke to see him again so they can continue their epic romance for the ages."
Ridge's sole reply was a nonplused grunt of acknowledgement. He wasn't any more reasonable on the topic of Bill Spencer than Bill was when discussing him. God save me from men and their egos.
Ridge got down on the tile floor where Will was seated amid an explosion of crayons and construction paper Katie definitely hadn't bought him to try his hand at hand-colored origami. Her baby was in seventh heaven.
"You finally figure out that toddlers and flour don't mix?"
"I plead the Fifth."
"Uh huh."
RJ climbed down from the stool he'd been balancing on.
"The cupcakes are ready to go in, Dad."
Katie, who was well aware of the rules by this juncture, knew better than to venture into the culinary fray.
Ridge got up from his impromptu lecture on the fine art of making origami paper dolls for Will to put the baking pans into the oven.
"The instructions say they should be ready in twenty. We'll check in thirty 'cause they're always wrong." Katie envisioned twenty years of Ridge thinking he knew better than the printed instructions. She got up to inspect the fire extinguisher she'd purchased after finding out she was pregnant.
She turned around to find RJ covered in smears of batter. Don't think I can't see you've gotten into the frosting, kid. She handed him a washcloth which he used to scrub guiltily at the corner of his mouth, missing the remainder of the mess wholesale.
"Aunt Katie, can you teach me that soccer trick you used on Dad? I wanna try it out at a game next season."
"I don't know. You might need me to watch Will while you bake." By which she meant, 'safeguard her kitchen from the next Forrester creation initiative.'
Ridge interjected, all too knowingly, "Go ahead. Will and I can handle the crayons, and I'll keep an eye out for the 'cakes. I'll make a menswear designer out of this kid yet."
Katie smiled at them. "In that case, I'd be happy to teach you how to kick your dad's butt on the soccer green."
"Something tells me that trick will be the bane of my existence the next time he and I play one-on-one."
"Us winners have to stick together."
"You lose one match and you're branded a loser in perpetuity."
"Sad but true."
"It's okay, Dad. You're good at other stuff."
"Sure, I am. Get going, you two. Don't you know fashion is being born?" Ridge shooed them away.
"I know when I'm beaten. RJ, get your ball. We can kick it around in the back."
"Awesome." RJ bolted from the kitchen to retrieve his bag from the car.
"Don't slip him any icing. I'll know if you do."
Ridge started. "How?"
"Moms know."
On that mysterious note, Katie hightailed to the backyard to wait for RJ.
…
When a hand came down on her shoulder a half-hour later, Katie about jumped out of her skin and into her pool.
It was Ridge.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."
She waved off his apology, aware that she'd been a thousand miles away for a start.
"I was saying I just put Will down for another nap. Who knew paper dolls could be so tiring for the little guy?"
"He loves excitement, but he hasn't got the stamina for much of it yet."
"You okay?"
"I am. I'm fine. I've got a million things to think about and I guess I chose this moment to dwell on it."
"If I'm distracting you, I can leave you to it." He looked to the green grass where RJ was working feverishly to replicate her little heel trick.
"Don't go." Katie ran her hand down his arm, pulling him to sit on the edge of the pool next to her. "I want you here. I always want you."
His lips twitched.
Damn it. "Here! I want you here with me. You and RJ with me and Will." Katie thought it best she stopped talking. "Ignore all that."
"I don't think so. You like having me around. So what? There's nothing incriminating about basking in companionship."
Anything can be explained away with enough denial.
"Tell that to Brooke and her band of emissaries, which has expanded to include my ex-husband."
"You know how I feel about Spencer."
"I think everyone on the west coast is aware of your thoughts on him."
"He was never good enough for you."
"I thought he could be. I wanted him and he wanted me. I thought that could be enough."
"It should have been enough."
Katie snorted.
"You can't tell me anything I don't already think about myself. I know I'm not a saint. I've made a lot of mistakes. I've made a fool out of myself and out of other people who didn't deserve that kind of betrayal. That makes me an expert at knowing a fool when I see one. That's Bill Spencer."
"He is something else. There's not a word for it yet."
"Doesn't matter what you call him. He's wrong." Ridge squeezed her shoulder. "I've finally had the chance to see you for who you are, and I like what I see. Like a work of art hidden in plain sight, you've only grown more remarkable with time. I'm not giving you up. Spencer and I will just have to learn to coexist."
"This would be so much easier if I were different." I could have everything I want without regretting it. I could have you. "Can you imagine?"
"I can't. If you were anybody else, you wouldn't be yourself. The people who love you don't love this hypothetical person you wish you were, no matter how great you've imagined her to be."
"You can't know that."
"I can. Katie, you're not some kind of mistake. We love you, just you."
"But when did that happen?"
"Does it matter?"
"It might not. I thought I had all the answers to where my life is going and I'm coming to the realization that I haven't got a clue. I'm a year older and not a moment wiser."
"There are worse ways to go about life than not having a plan. No expectations means no disappointments. Every day becomes a chance to be surprised."
"My family seems convinced that one more surprise will kill me."
"Maybe they don't know you as well as they think they do. They'll learn. I did."
She looked at him to see what he thought versus what he said. She couldn't spot the lie.
Ridge stood and offered her his hand.
"Let's go in. Food's here."
She stood up and waved RJ over from the corner of the yard he'd claimed for his own.
"You couldn't have said that before?"
"I like spending time with you. Sue me."
…
After dinner had been devoured and the cupcakes frosted and left to set, Katie queued up a movie for the four of them to watch. RJ insisted on having the armchair, and an entire bowl of popcorn, to himself whereas Will was content to be cuddled in Katie's lap, nursing his sippy cup. Ridge and she shared a bowl.
"I have no idea what we're watching, but it's supposed to be family friendly."
Ridge raised a handful of popcorn in a toast. "Here's to new experiences."
RJ shhhed them both and they settled down as the opening scenes began.
Partway through the movie Ridge took out a yellow legal pad and started scribbling away. Katie noticed by the fervent scratching of pen on paper.
"Not your kind of movie?"
"Hmm? Oh, no, it is. I've seen it. It's one of RJ's favorites."
"Do you want to switch to something you haven't seen yet? I don't want you get bored."
"I couldn't get bored with you, Katie. You keep me interested just sitting next to me."
"Hence the urgent shopping list writing."
She tried to take a peek at what was so urgent only for him to tilt his notepad away from her prying eyes.
"Not making a shopping list." He smirked like he had a secret. "I've been inspired."
Katie hummed, contemplative. Ridge tended to be struck by inspiration at the oddest moments of late.
"If it doesn't detract from your artistic fervor, what are your and RJ's plans for the summer?'
"We were thinking about taking a trip to Paris to see Thomas and Steffy, and maybe doing some backpacking elsewhere to celebrate his birthday."
"Big plans for a little guy."
"RJ knows Paris like his own backyard. The rest is exploratory. It's like you and Will: I want RJ to get as much out life as he can at this age. He won't have this kind of free time once he's all grown up. You only turn ten once."
"It's a good idea. But Will and I will definitely miss you."
"You don't have to miss us. You could come with us."
"Come with you to Paris." Katie looked down at Will to hide her surprise. "That's an awfully big trip for Will at this age."
"Get him vaccinated and make sure he doesn't put any of the local garbage in his mouth. Why should he have to wait till he can spell it to see the Eiffel Tower?"
"You can't be serious."
"Why wouldn't I be? I've been forthright this far, haven't I?"
"I can't seem to say no to you."
Ridge tore out a page from his notebook and folded it up to put in his pocket.
"How about this? Think about for a couple of weeks. I'll get you an itinerary and you check it against your obligations for the summer. If you can make it work, you'll think about it. If not, no harm done. What do you say?"
"I say I'll consider it."
"That's all I wanted to hear."
Ridge carried on drawing on a new page. Meanwhile, Will fussed more the sleepier he became. Katie checked her watch and was saddened to see the time. It's getting late.
Katie elbowed Ridge and pointed to RJ who'd nodded off in his armchair. Ridge rescued RJ's bowl of caramel popcorn before it could decorate the floor and covered his son with his coat.
"Baking took a lot out of him."
"You two didn't have to do all this for me."
"He loves you. He's been having so much fun with you and Will, he wanted to thank you for including him. That was all him."
"Wonder where he gets that from?"
"It's a puzzle."
She wanted to blame the light for the darkness in Ridge's eyes when he looked at her, but she knew better. This was the look from January and February, and so on. This wasn't a revelation; this was acceptance.
Katie returned her attention to the screen where the main characters, a boy and a girl, were being reunited with their loving parents after defeating their enemies. They'd faced world domination, but they were laughing at the end.
"I see all these people finding happiness and I wonder if I ever will."
"You will." Ridge brushed RJ's hair out of his face. "You're cared for and loved by many people; in all likelihood, more than you've noticed."
"I notice a lot more than you give me credit for."
Ridge swallowed hard and started to avoid her eyes.
"I should get RJ back to Brooke's."
"Will's probably going to be fussy all day tomorrow. I should get him to bed."
Ridge roused his son. "The car's unlocked. I'll be out in a little bit."
RJ grumbled in response, fairly sleep walking toward the front steps, dwarfed in Ridge's oversized jacket.
Katie propped Will up on the couch, where he continued to snore, and stood to see them out.
Ridge scrubbed a hand across the nape of his neck.
"I want you to know that, uh, you've been everything since I came home."
Kate could make an itemized of what his friendship had meant to her—the words alone wouldn't say enough.
"I couldn't begin to explain what you've been to me."
He took her hand and squeezed it tight.
"This is the beginning of another chapter of your life—if you want it."
"I thought New Year's Eve was the beginning."
"In case I wasn't entirely clear, I want you think of this as another start—for us."
No ringing phone interrupted this kiss.
This wasn't lines of lightning but lava, hot and irrepressible, skin against skin. His hands roved across her hips and back whilst hers tangled in his inky hair. That kiss that felt so long passed was nothing compared to this.
Once his hand—that talented, teasing hand—found its way under her sweater she had to rein herself in lest her libido get the best of her, and she the very best of him.
What the hell, you only live once. She gave up and dragged his mouth to hers again.
He groaned. She whimpered.
Will hiccupped in his sleep and they broke apart.
I have to think.
They stood panting, brow to brow. "That's yours, if you want it."
"Are you asking? You can't possibly think I'd say no."
"You know what they say about assuming."
"Shut up and kiss me again."
Ridge swayed forward, only to bypass her lips to kiss her cheek. He was teasing her.
Her skin didn't care, it came alive under his touch just the same.
"I gotta get RJ home."
Katie tried to regain her composure. She stuck her hands in her back pockets and followed him to the door.
"Drive safely."
Ridge lingered.
"Lock the door behind us."
"I will. Scout's honor." She sucked her lip. She could still taste him. His eyes followed the motion. His fingers grasped at nothing at his sides.
"Did you read a book about that?"
Rolling her eyes, she pushed him firmly in the direction of the door. "Go away before I forget why I have to let you leave."
Growling, Ridge spun them around and pressed her against the door for one last farewell kiss.
She'd give her friend—friend? No, something stronger, more. Whatever Ridge Forrester was to her now, she'd give him this. The man really knew how make an exit.