Page 7 of Spurred On

My phone rings as I get out of the shower. I quickly wrap myself in a towel, and the steam from the shower encases me. Looking down at my phone, I see it’s my new husband, wanting to figure out how to do the divorce.

My wet hands fumble the phone, but I manage to answer before it goes to voicemail. “Hello?”

“Is this Ava? It's Mav.” His voice no longer has the freshly woken timber but is still deep and slightly raspy.

Oh, thank God. “Yes. This is she.”

“Hey, listen, I have to catch a flight to Dallas.” My jaw nearly hits the floor when I register what he is saying. Is he joking? Surely, he means after we get this figured out. I can’t stay his wife.

“No, we need to get together and figure out how to get this thing annulled. I’m fairly certain we both need to be there.” My feet nervously drag me back and forth across the tiled floor.

“I’ll come to you as soon as I can. I’m sorry, but he’s literally putting me in a car right now. I have to go. It’s not like waiting a couple weeks to get this thing annulled will be a big deal. I’ll text you when I get a chance.”

I angrily press end on the call. How in the world can he not understand how big of a deal this is? We’re legally married, and he’s just going to circle back when he has time? And just like that, my super fun girl’s weekend is now the opposite of fun. I guess I learned the hard way that what happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay there.

Chapter 5

Maverick

Well shit. I’m a man who can admit when he’s wrong, and I was wrong. Apparently, waiting three weeks was too long. I guess I didn’t factor in the time it would take to get the paperwork filed and actually get a court date, so now it’s been more like six weeks. Too bad throwing away the ring didn’t throw away this marriage; if it did, we wouldn’t be here right now.

The judge peers at us over her cat eyeglasses. If the look in her eye, judgment, is any indication, this is going to be a rough morning. “With the pictures supplied to us by the Media, we cannot rule out that you two didn’t knowingly enter into this marriage. Vegas or not. Especially with the delay you had in filing. Job or not, one could argue that you two had second thoughts, and that’s why you waited to file. I’m denying the annulment until you two can prove you’ve given it a fair shot. We can revisit the issue in six months.”

Ava’s eyes widen at the news. “But your honor, there’s nothing to reconcile. I don’t even know him.” Her voice comes out more pleading than anything else.

I don’t miss the glare she shoots me when she looks my way. Can’t blame the girl, but in my defense, it takes two to tango. And get married.

The judge folds her arms over her chest, resting them against her bench. “Be that as it may, there is evidence blocking the proceeding today. Let’s move on to the terms of this arrangement.”

Shit, maybe I should have brought a lawyer to this shindig, but I kind of assumed it would be easier than this.

“Miss Davis, do you feel safe with Mr. Ryder?”

“Yes, your honor,” Ava mumbles. She tucks a strand of her long blonde hair behind her ear, and I catch a glimpse of the red on her cheeks.

Even mad as hell, the girl is gorgeous. I have to force myself to tear my eyes from her.

The judge looks at us both as she says, “Perfect. I am ordering you to live together until you are deemed divorced. We’ll do check-ins to make sure you both are safe. Do either of you have a dwelling where you can reside?”

Ava’s jaw drops open before she tries and fails to recover. She looks nervously at me before responding, “I do not, your honor. I am currently living with a friend. I just graduated from nursing school. I have to live here, in Wyoming, though, if at all possible.”

Pursing her lips, as if annoyed, the judge moves on to me. “What about you, Mr. Ryder? Do you have a home in which you could live?” She is very much not impressed with our situation.

“Uh, yeah. It’s not really meant for two people. But it is in Windy Peaks, Wyoming.”

Lucky for Ava, I’ve lived in Wyoming my whole life. It’s going to be a tight fit and not one I want to make. My little cabin is my solitude away from the hustle and bustle of traveling. And sharing that space will take all that away.

Clearly not giving a shit that neither of us are happy about this whole ordeal, she goes on. “Well, I am sure you two can make it work.” She looks down at the papers gathered in her hand before looking back at us. If you two can keep to the terms of this agreement, I'll grant the divorce. Mr. Ryder, I’ve taken into account your finances, and those will be kept separate for the duration of this trial of marriage.”

“I don’t care about his money. I really just need this to go away.” Her voice cracks, almost like she’s on the edge of tears, making me feel like the world's biggest jackass. She tried to make me handle this earlier, and I brushed it off, putting us both in a bind.

“I understand, Miss Davis. However, the annulment should have been filed earlier. My decision stands.” She picks up her papers and lines them together as she taps them against the stand. “I’ll give you both two weeks to get your affairs in order, and you’ll have six months together after that. I am setting the next court date for August 18th.”

Damn it, right at the end of Cowboy Christmas. My biggest money-making season. My manager is going to love this. He’s really going to love the fact that I have a whole ass wife I've failed to tell him about. That’ll be a media nightmare. A one-night stand turned into a marriage isn’t exactly his idea of a “squeaky-clean” image. How the hell did I manage to make a shitty situation a hundred times worse?

Stepping out of the courtroom together, Ava and I walk in front of the courthouse in her hometown. I pull my coat tighter around my body to keep the chill of the wintery Wyoming wind off me. I’m glad I happened to have this particular day off. It’s been one of the busiestyears yet. It’s like the closer I get to retirement, the more Doug wants to push me. Competing in both the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and Professional Bull Riders has my schedule packed to the brim most months.

We walk down the steps in silence before I clear my throat and say, “Listen, I’m going to get my lawyers to look into this. Maybe we can find a way out.”

---