Strong Enough (Meet Me in Montana 4)

“And you’ll let me pay for half?”

She nodded.

“Good, I was hoping you would.”

Her smile faded, and she moved and reached for something on the floor. She slipped her tank over her body, and then sat up and looked at me. I rose into a seated position and leaned against the headboard.

“I want you to know right up front that I’ll support your career one-hundred percent,” Merit said. “I won’t lie to you and say it doesn’t scare the crap out of me, and I’m worried about how often you’ll be gone and how dangerous it is. I’m positive we can make things work, with you spending enough time with the baby, but I can’t promise you that I won’t worry. I need to be honest about that.”

I nodded.

She went on. “I’ll probably have to hire someone to watch the baby, though, because it’s important for me to keep working for the farm. Especially with my father not being in the picture right now.”

I took her hand in mine and squeezed. After the whole incident that had left Merit in the hospital, Roger had checked himself back into rehab and was also seeing a counselor, along with Lori. It looked like Roger was going to attempt to fight for his family, and that was a good thing to see. After Merit and Michael had confronted their father during his last appearance, it was clear they all had a lot to work out.

“We probably need to tell our moms and Michael about peanut,” she said as she looked down at her stomach.

With a smile, I felt my own gaze drop to her stomach and then back up to her.

“How about tonight? We can all go out to dinner.”

Her face lit up. “That’s a great idea. I’m so afraid I’m going to slip and say something.”

“Just so you know,” I said as I kissed along her knuckles, “Michael knows. He heard me telling the EMTs.”

“He does?” she asked with a surprised look on her face. “He hasn’t said anything to me.”

I shrugged. “He’s probably waiting for you to tell him first.”

Merit nodded. “Okay, then for sure tonight we tell our mothers.”

“What about getting married?” I asked.

She looked down at our intertwined hands. When she remained silent, I decided it was time for me to tell her what I’d been thinking.

“I think it’s my turn to tell you about my thoughts for our future.”

Her head snapped back up and our eyes met. “Of course.”

“Well, I think the idea of you hiring a nanny for our baby is good. You’ll be busy with the farm, and I’ll be busy with the ranch.”

Her brows pulled in slightly, but to her credit, she didn’t say anything.

“I’ve already talked to my mom and told her we needed to hire a foreman who would be on the ranch twenty-four-seven, since I figured I’d be living here. That way, if something happens, he’s right there and can be quick to respond.”

She nodded.

“I wouldn’t mind getting some bulls and partnering with Ty on raising them for the PBR—if that’s something you’re interested in, of course. I never thought being a stock contractor was something I’d want to do, but in all honesty, I’m really looking forward to this joint venture with Ty. Since I’ll be retiring from bull riding for good, I think it’s still a good way to be a part of the community. That and guest commentating. I already said I’d do that a few times a year. So I’ll still be traveling some, but not often. And I figured you and the baby could come with me on those few trips. I don’t think I could fully walk away like Brock did. In time I will, but I can’t go cold turkey.”

Merit sat and blinked rapidly at me as I talked. Every now and then, she closed her eyes and gave her a head a quick shake.

“That’s only if you don’t have any other plans for this place. You’ve got the space, and we could keep Milo and any other horses you wanted to get in a completely different pasture if you’re worried. I know how much you love to ride, so I think adding onto the barn will also need to be at the top of our to-do list. I’d also love to pick up where dad left off, with a little bit of mutton busting at the ranch.”

She brought her hands up to her cheeks and laughed. “Wait. Wait. Dirk, I don’t expect you to retire from bull riding. Please, please don’t think I want—”

I pulled her closer until she straddled me. I cupped her face in my hands and said, “Hush, Bugs.”

“But—”

“Wait. Let me talk, okay?”

She bit down on her lip, then whispered, “Okay.”

“Bull riding has always been a way for me to escape. Always. When I found myself falling for you, I threw myself into bull riding even harder in high school. Do you remember that?”