I looked at him, confused. “Why?”
“Why? Why! I was worried!”
I shook my head in confusion. “I’m fine.”
“You haven’t been answering your phone. Timberlynn stopped by last night and said you wouldn’t answer the door. She wasn’t sure if you were at your mother’s or not. I was about to ask Michael if he had a key to your house.”
Suddenly, bile filled my throat and I asked in a panicked voice, “You didn’t tell my family, did you? About the baby?”
He frowned. “No. Timberlynn told me they don’t know yet.” His frown turned to a look of displeasure. “What game are you playing, Merit?”
I was positive my mouth dropped open. Ugh, this man was enough to make me want to scream.
“Game?” I laughed and shook my head. “I’m not playing any games, Dirk. It didn’t feel right to tell anyone else before I told you. Well, Timberlynn knows because she was with me and Lincoln stumbled upon it.” With a sigh, I added, “Now that you see I’m fine, you can show yourself out the way you came in.”
Something moved over his face as he stared at me. Then he shook his head and looked me over again. “Have you eaten?”
Frowning, I asked, “What?”
“Food, Merit! Have you had any damn food?” he shouted.
I brought my hands to my hips and glared at him. “Stop yelling at me, dammit! And not that it’s any of your concern, but I ate.”
“When?”
I had to stop and think. What time was it anyway? It dawned on me that it was dark out. Good Lord, had I slept the entire afternoon away? I’d never get to sleep tonight.
Glancing around, I looked back at him as I answered. “This morning, I ate breakfast. What time is it?”
His brows pulled in tight. “What do you mean, what time is it?”
“Exactly that, Dirk. After I left you earlier today, I came home and went to bed. I told you I was tired. I only missed dinner, so please don’t suddenly feel like you have to worry about me.”
A look of surprise passed over his face. “You left the barn yesterday afternoon, Merit.”
“Yesterday?” I asked, now even more confused.
“It’s three in the morning on Saturday. The only reason I came over this late was because I haven’t been able to get a hold of you. You scared the shit out of me.”
I gasped and took a few steps back. I had been sleeping for over twelve hours.
“You didn’t eat lunch yesterday or dinner?”
My mind whirled. I must have been so exhausted to sleep for that long. Or too afraid to face reality.
Glancing around the room frantically, I tried to make sense of how in the world I could sleep for so long. “Um…I wasn’t hungry. I just wanted to sleep.”
He cursed, grabbed my hand, and headed toward my kitchen with me in tow.
“What…what are you doing?”
“Feeding you.”
“Feeding me?” I asked as I yanked my hand free from his grip, then crossed my arms over my chest in defiance. “I don’t need you to feed me, thank you very much. I’m capable of taking care of myself.”
A muscle in his jaw twitched, and he flexed his hands open and closed at his sides. “Obviously you do. Do you have any idea how bad it is to skip meals? You’re pregnant.”
I curled my lip at him. “Really? I had forgotten that. Thank you so much for the reminder.”
“You need to take care of yourself and my child.”
I widened my eyes and glared at him. “Your child. Your child? She happens to be mine as well, in case you’d forgotten.”
The corner of his mouth twitched. “She? No, it’s a boy, darlin’.”
Now I really was mad. “Get out of my house, Dirk. I can manage to eat without your help.”
“Really? Because skipping two meals and falling asleep so hard you don’t even hear your phone ring or people banging at your door doesn’t really sound like you’re taking care of yourself very well, Merit.”
I rolled my eyes and pushed past him. I wouldn’t admit it to him, but suddenly I was starving. And I knew he was right. It was a foolish thing to do, going without eating like that. But I needed to sleep, plain and simple.
After I turned on the kitchen lights, I got to work taking out everything I needed for a sandwich and a salad.
“How about I make you breakfast, instead?” Dirk asked as he grabbed everything I had taken out and put it back into the refrigerator.
The nerve of him! Damn insufferable man. I brought my hands to my hips. “You do not get to come into my home and decide what I’m going to eat!”
He pulled out eggs and bacon. Then milk.
I frowned. What in the world was the milk for?
“Milk?” I asked.
He looked back at me and winked. My stupid stomach flipped at the gesture. “I’m making you my famous pancakes you used to love so much.”