I’ve barely processed all this information, but I don’t care. The girl of my dreams is right here, in my arms, telling me we’re having a baby.

And that changes everything.

“There’s more,” she tells me.

I just want to hold her again, lie in bed with her, and hear her tell me she’s staying.

“There’s a lot we need to discuss,” she clarifies.

I nod in agreement.

Locking my fingers with hers, I lead her over to the bed and sit.

“Do you know when the baby is due?” I ask.

“End of July.”

It’s mid-February, so that means we still had time to figure everything out, which, if I had it my way, that’d be moving her ass here to be with me permanently.

“Do you know the gender?”

“Not yet. It’s too early.”

“Okay. Well—” I think of how to proceed, but River is quick to interrupt.

“I had this whole speech planned out, but everything I’ve been trying to plan has basically backfired, so I’m just going to come out and say it. I found out I was pregnant when I was eight weeks, so right before New Year’s. I didn’t drink that night, by the way. I was Natalie’s personal assistant in making sure she didn’t vomit in her sleep and choke to death. Since then, I’ve had a doctor appointment and ultrasound. I heard the heartbeat and even got an ultrasound picture.”

“Really?” My eyes widen. “Can I see?”

She smiles, proudly. “Of course.”

Retrieving her purse, she digs out an envelope where she’s stashed the pictures. She hands them over to me, and my heart beats wildly.

“I’ve never seen an ultrasound photo before, but I already know it’s the most perfect blob I’ve ever seen. She already looks so much like you.” I grin, studying the pictures.

She bursts out laughing, her head falling back between her shoulders as she releases a sweet, throaty sound. “It’s the sac, you fool. It’s too soon to see details. However…” She points her finger down at the photo. “You can see the tiny arm and leg buds.”

“Wow.” I sigh. “I can’t believe it.”

“Are you panicking?”

“No, the opposite actually. I always imagined I would if a girl told me she was pregnant, but with you—not one bit.”

She sucks in her bottom lip, gazing up at me with her stunning emerald eyes. “Honestly, it took me a couple weeks to really grasp that I was pregnant. I was shocked, to say the least, since I was on the pill and we used condoms. However, I’d been taking an antibiotic for my sinus infection, and apparently, it canceled out my birth control.”

“It can do that?” I gasp.

“Oh yeah, and I feel really stupid because I should’ve thought of that, but then we were using condoms, almost every time, but there’s still a small chance they’re not effective.”

“Jesus.”

“Yeah, I know.” She sighs, and I can tell her mind is racing. “So that brings me to why I’m here, aside from telling you the news of course. Once I found out, I contemplated on what my next step should be. I thought about just raising the baby on my own and being a single mom because I thought dropping this huge bomb on you would be too crazy for you to handle. Not that you can’t handle it, just that people don’t typically expect to start a life with someone they were just randomly hooking up with on vacation…”

My eyes burn into her as she continues to nervously ramble on, and as much as I want to tell her to stop—that this isn’t too much for me to handle—I allow her to continue. “Anyway, once I finally came to terms with it, I decided I’m definitely keeping the baby. I wanted to come and inform you out of respect, but basically, tell you I don’t expect anything from you. We live completely different lives, so you can be as involved or not as you want, no pressure.”

What? Was she seriously thinking I’d walk away from her? From our baby?

“What?” I blurt out. Was being delusional a symptom of pregnancy? It had to be if she thought I’d let her get away again.

“Well, it’s just I live in Wisconsin, and you live here, and like you said, you never want to leave Texas, so the only thing I can think of is to—”

“Move here,” I blurt out, interrupting her words.

She blinks, looking up at me. “What?” Her voice is soft, almost a whisper.

“Move here, River,” I plead. “I want you. I never stopped. Let me take care of you. Let me provide for our baby.”

Her breath hitches, and I can tell she wasn’t expecting that kind of a reaction from me. “I have a life back home, and what if—”

“We can have a life here. Why not?”

“I’d be lying if I said the thought hadn’t crossed my mind, knowing that’d be the most logical and smart choice, but how? We’re basically strangers. How are we going to raise a baby together?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say we’re strangers exactly.” I grin, and she flashes me a mock smile. “Okay, listen.” I take her hand and hold it gently in mine. “I’ve thought of nothing except you for the past three months. I’ve been angry, sad, furious, heartbroken…and I had just talked myself into moving on and getting over you. I couldn’t continue to live with the fact that things ended the way they did.” She visibly cringes, and I feel bad for bringing it up at a time like this. “However, that same day you walked back into my life and told me I’m going to be a father. If that’s not fate, River, then I don’t know what is.”

Her lips part but no words come out. She closes her eyes, and I know she’s trying not to cry.

“River…” I whisper, tilting her chin up so she’ll look at me. “We can do this together. Let me do this with you.”

Her chest moves as she inhales a deep breath, and I know she’s already been considering it. “I don’t want to be a relationship out of convenience, Alex. I wish I could say I have enough confidence to just let us be together, but it’ll always be in the back of my mind. Then what if we try, and it doesn’t work out? How are we going to raise a baby together then? And how would this even work, given our history? Do we date? Do we start over? Do we pretend we didn’t spend any time apart and continue where we left off? What if—”

“River!” I press my finger to her lips, needing her to stop rambling because it’s all nonsense. Her insecurities are nothing she needs to worry about, and I honestly can’t even believe she’d have them.

“I. Want. You.” I pluck her bottom lip with the pad of my thumb. “I wasn’t lying when I said I haven’t thought of anyone except you, which you should know, never happens to me. Trust me when I say I’ve been driving my brothers and Dylan insane talking about you nonstop.” I chuckle, and she flashes me a small smile. “So, to answer your questions, what if everything works out? What if I show you and prove that we can make this work, however you want to do it, but I’m not letting you go this time. Do you hear me? I stupidly left last time without telling you my honest feelings, but I’m not going anywhere now. We’re having a baby.”

She leaps off the bed and wraps her arms around my neck, sniffling in my hair as I hold her tight to my body. I feel the tiny bump of her belly press against me and smile.

“River,” I whisper into her hair before pushing her back, so I can see her face. “Stay. Please.”

She wipes her fingers under her eyes and clears her throat before sitting back down. I don’t rush her, but I can see she’s thinking hard, probably contemplating every outcome, the way she always does. Her eyes meet mine, and my heart pounds so hard that I feel as if it may beat right out of my chest. Putting everything out there and asking her to stay is a big and risky move on my part. I know that, but as long as we’re together, I have no doubt we can make this work. As our breaths mix with silence, it feels as if all time is standing still as I wait for her answer. But that’s what I do. I wait patiently.

“Okay,” she finally says above a whisper, her eyes bright and glowing. “I will.”

“Okay.” The permanent smile on my face doesn’t falter. She’s just made me so fucking happy.

“But I’ll need to go back and pack up my apartment. I’ll have to let my job know and put in my notice.” I smile wider when she tells me that. “This isn’t going to be easy, Alex. Everything about this is a huge adjustment and moving will just add to it. In fact, now that I’m saying it aloud, it actually sounds really crazy. Like we should both probably be evaluated for jumping into this.” She half-laughs to herself.

“River, baby. I don’t need easy. Hell, I want crazy and everything that it entails. As long as it’s with you.”

She smiles, adjusting her top. “Okay. Well, prepare yourself.”

I grin, ready to do whatever it takes. “I can fly back to Milwaukee with you and help pack or move if you want. Maybe over a weekend?”

“Nah, it’s fine. I can hire movers for all of that. I just need to grab the essentials before they pack it into the truck.”

I lean in and cup her cheeks, needing to taste her lips, but right before I can, she presses a hand to chest and stops me. I blink, trying to read her face.

“What? Is this where you tell me you want to see other people?” I tease.

“Shut up!” She laughs, smiling. “I think we need to set some ground rules first.”

My brows raise. “More rules? Didn’t those rules get us into our current situation?”

She narrows her eyes at me, hiding a smirk. “I just don’t think we should jump right back into bed together.” Before I can comment, she hurries and continues. “And yes, I know that’s how we got into our current situation, but nevertheless, if we want a chance at having a real relationship, we need to give it a fresh start.”

I crease my brows, twisting my lips up. “A fresh start as in what? You want me to court you?”

She bites her tongue and shakes her head. “Just because I’m pregnant doesn’t mean I don’t want a genuine relationship. What we had in Key West was a vacation fling based on sex. If this is going to work, we need to start over.”

“You expect me to just start over as if everything we shared never happened?” I ask, perplexed.

“Well no, I mean, the feelings and our connection can’t be altered. But I want us to really get to know each other, and we can’t do that while our hormones are hyperactive on sex. We need to set some boundaries.”

“Boundaries, okay. Like what?”

“Sex is off the table.”

“Yeah, I got that.” I roll my eyes, smirking. “What else?”

“We take things slow. Go out and talk. I’d love to meet your family and learn about the ranch and just get to know you as you.”

I can’t even be mad about her no-sex rule because honestly, that sounds like fucking heaven. I’ve never wanted a girl to stick around longer than a night, and knowing that River wants this to work as much as I do makes every grueling day we were apart worth it.

“Okay.” I smile. “I think I can work with that.” I press my lips to her cheek and groan as I inhale her fresh, clean scent.

This might be harder than I anticipated.

I suck in a deep breath and let it out slowly through my nose. River watches me, and I turn my head to meet her eyes that seem to see straight through me.

“What are your plans tomorrow?” I ask, my nerves getting the best of me.

She laughs. “I’m having breakfast between six and nine. Other than that, my day is free.”

“Great. We’re having lunch with my parents.”

After I kiss River good night and tuck her into bed, I walk downstairs. As my foot hits the bottom step, I see John is getting ready to leave for the night. Christopher was actually on time to relieve him from staying too late, for once. We walk out together, and I’m in a weird state of mind. Noticing, he pats me hard on the back.

“Want to talk about it?” he asks as we stand on the front porch. His breath comes out as smoke because the temperature is dropping again. I’ve chatted with John about River over the past few months. He knows our history and how infatuated I’ve been with her ever since. There’s no telling what he’s thinking, especially with her showing up on a whim and staying at the B&B. “I’m so fucking happy she’s here,” I tell him. As we watch the late fog roll in over the ground, I try to find the right words to explain what’s going on.

“I didn’t piece together it was her, or I would’ve given you a warning when I saw the booking. But I’m happy if you’re happy. I just can’t help but wonder why she’s here exactly.” John is as smart as a whip, and I know I won’t be able to end this conversation without telling him the truth.

“River came to tell me she’s having a baby. My baby. So, I guess you’re gonna be an uncle to another little one.” I glance over at him and watch his eyes widen.

“I’m. Well. Damn, I’m shocked,” he finally spits out. “Out of us all, I swore Jackson would be the one to knock up someone.” It comes out as a laugh.

“Yeah, I did too, honestly.” I chuckle. “But you know, I’m actually over the moon about it. Maybe it’s not the traditional way, but I think everything is going to work out just fine.”

He pulls me into a brotherly hug. “I’m happy for you. I’m going to spoil the shit out of that little one.”

Our laughs echo across the pasture.

“So now what?” John tucks his hands into his pockets and starts walking toward his truck as I follow him.

“She’s moving here. We’re gonna raise us a Bishop, together. Here. The best place in the entire world for a kid to grow up, honestly.” As the words leave my tongue, pure happiness covers me. Never in my life would I have expected this, but River makes me want to go from zero to fifty in a heartbeat. I’m just happy I’ll be holding her hand on our next adventure.

“Better tell Mama,” he warns. “I’ll pretend like I don’t know.”

“Good.” I give him one last smile before I walk to my truck, but once I’m inside, I sit there and stare up at the room where River is sleeping. Yesterday, she was a thousand miles away, and today, she’s within arm’s reach. Dreams do come true and good things happen to good people. With anyone else, it would have been a curse, but for me, having a baby with River is nothing short of a blessing.

I sleep like shit. Tossing and turning knowing my woman who’s carrying my baby is at the B&B drives me fucking crazy. I want nothing more than to drive over there, crawl into bed with her, and never let her go. Ever.

But we’re taking it slow.

And I’m going to try to hold back the reins as best I can, but fuck, I’ve missed her so much; it’s going to take all the willpower I can muster to be the proper gentleman.

If I continue to lie in bed staring at the ceiling as memories and fears rush through my head, I’ll drive myself to drink. And we all know that drinking at four in the morning is a terrible idea. So instead of continuing the insanity, I get up before the roosters crow and get dressed. Considering it’s in the mid-twenties this morning, I dress in thick layers. Just as I’m pouring coffee into my thermos, Jackson stumbles in.

“What the holy fuck?” I glare at him. “Where the hell have you been all night?”

His face is full of smeared red lipstick, and his hair is disheveled. What confuses me the most is the hay stuck to his clothes.

“Don’t worry about it, little bro,” he slurs. Jackson’s a hard worker, so I rarely have to get on him for that, but hell if he isn’t a hot mess most of the time.

“Please tell me you weren’t fucking in the barn again? Romping in the hay like an animal. You do realize it’s cold as hell outside right now?” I arch a brow, wondering if he has a death wish or if he’s just crazy.

He laughs, plops on the couch, kicks off his boots, and closes his eyes. “Why do you think I came home? Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to catch a few z’s before I have to be at work in two hours.”

“You did it to yourself. Hope she was worth it,” I add, knowing his schedule is full of horseback riding today.

“Totally worth it,” he says, rolling over onto his side, dismissing me with his middle finger.

After I place the lid on my coffee, I grab my cowboy hat and walk out shaking my head, trying to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. River is moving to Texas. She’s having my baby and going to be living here. Holy shit. I have a lot of things to figure out in just a few weeks.

Cranking the truck, I let it warm up before I drive across the property to go check in with Dad. The man never sleeps, and I’m sure he’s up drinking coffee already.

As soon as my parents' house comes into view, my nerves get the best of me. Today, I’m going to have to drop the bomb on them about River and the baby. Dad won’t say much—I can read him like a map—but Mama will be a different story. Thinking about her reaction makes my stomach twist because it will either be really good or really bad.

I turn off the engine of the truck, and as I walk to the porch, I look up at the sky and can still see stars. The Milky Way is almost as bright as the moonlight, and I smile thinking about all the stars I wished upon over the past three months. Somehow, I roped the moon and got my girl.

Pulling my keys out of my pocket, I insert the right one into the door and swing it open. Just as I suspected, Dad is already up drinking his morning coffee. As soon as he sees me, he checks his watch, confused to see me at this early hour.

“Mornin’, Dad.”

He looks up at me. “You’re up early today.”

“Yes, sir. Couldn’t sleep, so thought I’d get started a little earlier than usual if that’s okay.”

Sipping his coffee, he nods. “It’s never too early to work.”

Somehow, I knew he’d say that. I grab the keys to the work truck off the hook by the door and give Dad a quick wave. Before I completely walk away, I turn around.

“Dad, can we do lunch today, around twelve?”

Tilting his head, he narrows his eyes at me. I know it’s a little out of my norm, but this needs to be talked about today, and I won’t be able to relax until they both know what’s happening.

“Everything okay?” he asks, curiosity in his tone.

“Life is grand, Dad.”

“Sure. Twelve it is. I’ll tell your mother to prepare somethin’ good considering hell has frozen over outside.” I smile, knowing that this weather is definitely something Southerners aren’t accustomed to.

After I walk out, I’m able to breathe just a little easier, but I’m still a nervous wreck. Mama’s always wanted grandkids, though. Luckily, my sister, Courtney, broke the ice with her pregnancy announcement not too long ago; however, my situation is a little less traditional. Nevertheless, Mama will have to get used to it because what’s done is done. I’ll need to think and plan what I’m going to tell them exactly; fortunately, I have a few hours to think about it.

To keep my mind busy, I get started with the day. I’d usually wait for Dylan, but I can’t today. The busier I stay, the better.

After the animals are fed and before I head back to the barn to meet Dylan, I call the B&B and leave a message for River at the front desk. I’m sure John will guarantee the message is delivered when he arrives.

And I can only hope the next eight hours pass by quickly.