I opened up the text and read it.
Brock: Timberlynn just showed up and told me and Tanner that her father called. Merit was in an accident? Is everything okay with her and the baby?
Instead of bothering with texting, I hit Call instead.
“Hey, is everything okay?” Brock asked without even saying hello, his voice filled with worry. “Timberlynn is fit to be tied, and Tanner had to keep her from rushing to the hospital.”
“Merit is fine. Her good-for-nothing father pushed her, and she fell down some steps and hit her head on a rock. She got a pretty good cut, and it knocked her out for a bit. She’s awake, and they did a CT scan. All’s okay with both her and the baby. I’m waiting for her to come back to her room.”
“Thank God. Let me tell Timberlynn.”
Brock covered the phone and proceeded to inform Timberlynn—and I was guessing Tanner, as well—that Merit and the baby were okay.
“You okay, Dirk? You sound…tired,” Brock asked.
“I don’t know, Brock.”
“Dirk,” he said in a warning voice. If I knew him, he was thinking I was on the verge of running. Something I used to be damn good at.
“I’m not leaving or running or anything like that. I have all these emotions rushing through me. I can’t make heads or tails out of anything. I have never been so scared as I was watching her fall down those steps. I wanted to kill her father. Hell, I still do. My head is spinning, and I want to make some decisions right this second, but I know I need to settle down. Especially before they bring her back to the room.”
“Decisions? What sort of decisions?”
I rubbed at the tension in my neck and glanced back at the door, making sure it was shut. “I think I’m done with bull riding. For good.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
MERIT
My head hurt so badly, I could hardly open my eyes as I felt the nurse push me into an elevator.
“Miss Eden, how are you feeling?” she asked, looking down at me.
“Like I drank about six bottles of tequila.”
She smiled. “That bad, huh?”
I nodded, but quickly stopped when a shooting pain hit my temple. “Ouch,” I mumbled as I lifted my hand and felt the bandage again. I was going to kill my father for doing this to me.
The moment they told me they had to do a CT scan, I nearly shouted that I was pregnant. They already knew, thankfully, since Dirk rode with me in the ambulance and had informed them.
“If it helps any, there’s a rather handsome cowboy waiting in your hospital room for you.”
“That helps a lot,” I said with a smile.
“He’s been worried. It took three nurses and two doctors to convince him to wait in the room for you and that you’d be okay. You woke up right after they took you out of the ambulance, so as far as he knew, you were still unconscious.”
“Oh no. I’m sure he’s worried sick about the baby.”
She gave me a wink. “I’m sure he is, but it’s obvious how much that man loves you by how worried he is about you. Do you know he actually told one of the doctors he’d break his legs if he didn’t let him go with you to get the CT scan?”
I groaned. “Oh geez.”
She giggled. “It was cute. Although, Dr. Richards didn’t think so.”
I closed my eyes as I replied, “I would think not.”
“Anyway, let’s get you back up to your room. I’m sure Dr. Richards has already gone and spoken to your cowboy.”
I swallowed and gave a slight nod. “You said Dirk was in a room? Will I have to stay overnight?”
“The doctor thinks it’s best to at least keep you overnight, just to be on the safe side.”
It was probably wrong to admit to the nurse that I wanted out so I could track down my father and murder him—that is, if Michael hadn’t already done it.
The elevator doors opened, and I felt my heart rate pick up slightly, knowing I would be seeing Dirk soon. I couldn’t ignore the anxiety I felt. I knew Dirk—or, at least, the old Dirk. The one who hated to confront anything that made him uncomfortable or unsure. He had admitted to it, and I was worried he would freak, even if he did care about me.
“Here you go,” the nurse said as she pushed the door open.
My breath caught in my throat at the sight of Dirk standing in the room. His cowboy hat was off and his hair looked a mess. Those dark green eyes caught my gaze, and when he smiled, I momentarily forgot where I was. The sudden urge to rush to him and have him hold me was overwhelming. I already felt a thousand times better knowing he was here.