Strong Enough (Meet Me in Montana 4)

I stared at her in stunned silence.

“Now, I happen to have noticed that Dirk hasn’t been himself the last two weeks, which tells me his mind is on something rather heavy. Or on someone,” Kaylee mused as she gave me a smirk.

“He’s been out of town a few days, Kaylee,” Lincoln stated. “Maybe he’s worried about taking more time off from the smaller rodeos and keeping his ranking up.”

Kaylee glanced at Lincoln. “Yes, that is true, but he came to dinner last night, and when he and I were out walking, he seemed off.”

“Out walking?” I asked, trying not to let that little bit of jealousy sneak in.

“Yes,” was all she said, wearing a somewhat odd expression on her face. Almost as if she was attempting to gauge my immediate reaction to her statement.

I could tell Kaylee was madly in love with Ty, and for goodness sake, she was pregnant. So why did the thought of her with Dirk make me clench my jaw so tightly together? I nodded and forced a smile. “Are you two pretty close, then?”

Kaylee popped a French fry into her mouth. “He’s my male version of Lincoln. No offense, Timberlynn. But you’re my cousin, so that trumps them all.”

Timberlynn lifted her drink. “Thank you for clearing that up for me.”

Kaylee clinked her water against Timberlynn’s beer.

A part of me was angry with myself for being jealous of Kaylee and Dirk’s friendship. He used to be my best friend, and it seemed I had been replaced by a beautiful blonde. Again. Even with the knowledge that Kaylee was happily married, I couldn’t help but wonder if Dirk’s feelings toward her were truly platonic, or if maybe he felt something deep down inside for her. It felt like Kaci all over again.

“Well? Your silence has us all curious now,” Lincoln said as she wiggled her brows.

“Dirk is not the type of guy I’m looking to settle down with,” I stated, avoiding the question in a roundabout way.

Kaylee lifted a brow. “Settle down with? Hell, I was only looking for some juicy tidbits, like if y’all had sex in the backseat of his truck or something.”

Of course I had picked that moment to swallow a bite of my chicken salad sandwich. I started to choke, and Timberlynn jumped up and slapped me on the back as a wide grin spread over Kaylee’s face. Obviously it was Timberlynn who jumped to my rescue, seeing as she used to be a nurse but now owned her own business as a horse trainer who took in rescued horses.

“I’m good…I’m alright,” I managed to say between hacking up a lung and waving off Timberlynn’s help.

I glanced over to see Kaylee still smiling like the Cheshire cat. “Why are you smiling at me like that?” I managed to get out after my coughing fit ended.

“I think you did have a bit of fun with Dirk,” Kaylee said. “And that’s why he’s so messed up right now, and you seem to be off in another world, as well.”

That caught my attention. “Messed up?” I asked with a fake laugh.

“I’ve got to agree with Kaylee; he has been acting off since he came home from his last ride. Even Brock said Dirk’s head is somewhere else,” Lincoln stated.

Kaylee nodded. “A guy like Dirk isn’t going to handle it well when he realizes that he’s found the one. Of course it will mess with his mind.”

“Oh Lord,” Timberlynn said as she glared at her cousin. “You need to stay out of this, Kaylee.”

Lincoln gave Kaylee a sharp look. “I’m going to side with Timberlynn on this one.”

My gaze bounced between all three women. “What do you mean, the one?”

Kaylee perked up, as if she had been waiting for this moment all through lunch. “It’s so very clear Dirk has a thing for you. Anytime your name is mentioned, or he sees you, he acts like he’s lost the ability to think clearly.”

I stared at her—then lost it laughing. It was insane to think Dirk had those feelings for me. Yes, we had been the best of friends a long time ago. And yes, maybe at one point in my life, I had opened up my heart to the hope that Dirk might see us as more than friends. But he’d made it clear where his feelings for me stood a long time ago.

“Dirk? Dirk Littlewood?” I laughed again and then shook my head as I sighed. “The man has probably slept with at least five women since we slept together two weeks ago.”

All three women gasped, and I instantly wanted to sew my mouth shut.

Kaylee sat up straighter, her mouth damn near on the table. “Oh my God! Oh. My. Gawd! Holy shit! You totally slept with him! Y’all really slept together?” She turned to Lincoln and Timberlynn. “I really didn’t think that method of prying would work! But it did! Need to add that to my gossip arsenal.”