Page 69 of Spurred On

“I want to plan a surprise wedding. She would want it to be small and simple anyway. But she deserves her day. And I want her to have it.”

“From Maverick the bull rider to Maverick the romantic. Are you sure she would be okay with not planning it?” Mabel questions.

“Honestly, yes. I’ve thought about it a lot. She’s had to plan every detail of her life, so I’d like to do this for her. And it won’t be extravagant, but I want it to be her perfect day, hence why I need you ladies.” I gesture my hands out to the two of them.

“Well, obviously, you have a terrible sense of style. If I’m being honest, so does Ava. It’s probably best if you leave this in my hands,” Aspen retorts. Jesus. I’m already regretting this.

“You’re kind of an asshole, Aspen. Anyone ever tell you that?” I cock my head, expecting Mabel to give me the same look she gave Aspen. Except she’s nodding her head in agreement. The motion causes a little chuckle to rise out of me.

“Everyday. But you all love me anyway.” And we do. She is the little sister I never had. This whole family is the family I never had.

“Okay, well, I need you to get a hold of Erin. I want all of Ava’s friends to be here. And I think Erin would be the best place to find out what Ava’s dream wedding would look like. Do you think you could do that for me?”

“Yes.” She nods her head, wiping her hands on her apron before pulling out her phone and wildly typing.

“And Mabel. Can you make the food? I don’t think there will be a lot of people. Twenty at the most, but likely more around fifteen?”

“Of course, anything for you, my boy.” She reminds me every now and then how lucky I am to have her, not with words but with the ways she shows up for me. My mom may not have chosen to stay around, but Mabel decided to love me like I was her own and I think the fact that she chose that makes it even more special and real.

“Alright, well, I’m going to go tell the boys.”

“Wait, you told us before them?” Aspen’s eyes grow wide. “Wow, I’ve never felt more special in my entire life.” She holds one hand to her chest while gripping her mom’s upper arm. The smile on her face is downright glee-filled.

“We need to work on how low you’re setting that bar.” I hop off the stool. I pick up my hat off my head as a sound off and run to find my two dipshit best friends.

Walking around to the barn, I hear a commotion. And where there is commotion, there is Weston. And where there is Weston, there is Rhett cleaning up his mess.

I swing open the door and head over to where we store the hay.

“You guys in here?” I holler out.

“Yeah, in the back. Counting bales,” Weston’s voice yells out.

I come around the corner and stop in front of them, slipping my hands into my front pockets. “You need help?”

“No, if Rhett could keep track, we would be done by now.” Weston puts his hands on his hips and cocks his head at Rhett.

“If you could fucking count, we’d be done.” Rhett points back at him. While none of us are blood brothers, you’d never be able to tell by the way we all bicker.

“Well, sorry to interrupt, but I need to talk to you guys real quick.”

They both stop what they are doing and look at me. “You good?” Weston asks.

“Yeah. I’m better than good. You’re looking at a married man.” I stand tall and proud because being Ava’s husband is the best title I’ve ever had.

“Did the judge deny the divorce?” Rhett prods. A mixture of shock and confusion is on his face.

“Nope, Ava and I decided that we want to stay married. She makes me the happiest man alive and I’ve learned my lesson on taking that kind of shit for granted.”

Rhett smiles and does something we’ve never done—pulls me in for a hug. He taps my back twice and holds onto my shoulders. “Glad to see you’re finally using that head of yours.” He smacks the side of it. “You’d be a moron to let that go.”

“I know. Also, I am throwing her a surprise wedding. So, I’m going to need a best man and a groomsman.” They both cross their arms as their expressions get serious. “There’s no way I can pick between you two, so I am going to let you two figure that out.”

They stare each other down like they are sworn enemies.

“How do you want to do this?” Rhett asks.

“Arm wrestle?”

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