Page 6

Ava

M y head is still swimming with the ways today went incredibly wrong. How the hell am I supposed to start my career if I’m being forced to move for the next six months? Walking into the apartment I share with Erin, I find her sitting on our plush grey couch.

“How did it go?” she asks, turning off the TV and angling herself toward me.

“Oh, about as bad as it could have.” I drop my purse on the small end table and let out a groan.

“Uh-oh, tell me more.” She pats the seat next to her, and I slowly drag myself over.

My feet trudge against the floor as the realization of what is happening sinks in. “I’m still married, and you’re going to need a roommate because I’m being forced to move for the next six months.”

Her eyes widen as she kicks the plush blanket off her legs and shoots to a standing position. “You’re joking? Where are you moving to?”

I sit down, hoping she will join me because I do not have the energy for this. “Oh no, I am quite serious. Windy Peaks.” I’m just grateful he lives in the same state. It does make finding a job out there a little easier. Hopefully, I’ll find a hospital willing to take a chance on a new grad.

She shakes her head as if this isn’t quite computing. “How is that even possible? ”

“We have to prove effort of reconciliation, because technically, we’ve been married for a couple months.

I’m pretty sure the judge is making an example out of us.

” She took zero pity on us being young and dumb.

Then again, we aren’t that young. I’m twenty-eight and Maverick is…

Actually, I don’t know how old he is. I don’t know anything about him at all except that he’s a damn good bull rider with a pretty face.

She slaps her hands down next to her. “Well, that’s the dumbest shit I’ve ever heard. Is there any way out of it?”

My hand flies up dismissively. “I don’t know. Maverick’s team is looking into it. I feel like it’s pretty doubtful. The judge didn’t seem to be too impressed with the way we got into our situation.” Which makes two of us; I know better. I never do anything reckless or stupid.

I bury my face in my hands. Just when I thought life was finally going to get a touch less stressful, this happened.

“I’m so sorry. I really shouldn’t have let you leave with him.” She rubs my back, trying to keep me from dropping off the edge.

A deep sigh rattles through me as I sit back up.

“It’s okay, no one could have predicted I'd pull a Carrie Underwood card and get married to a man I’d known for all of seven minutes.

” However, after looking at him today, I can see why drunk me thought that was a good idea.

I’m still mad as hell, but there is no denying he is one good looking man.

His face is sharp in all the right places, and even though I want to throttle him right now, he has kind, warm eyes that draw you in.

Makes me wonder what’s under the Pro Bull Rider facade.

“Yeah, when I told you to quit being a grandma, this isn’t quite what I meant. Show off,” Erin jokes. Picking up the pillow to my left, I whack her with it until her laughter fills the air and the dread in my chest lessens a little.

Well, at least someone can find some humor in this .

“Yeah, I’m literally never going out with you again. You can get Cami or Jos married off next time.” Hopefully, they marry someone who takes getting an annulment as fast as possible seriously.

“Let’s look at the bright side. You get to be a hot bull rider's wife for the next six months. You should take advantage of it. Did you know he won like, six million dollars recently?”

Shaking my head, I reply, “No, I did not know. But I don’t want his money.

Or any of the benefits of being his wife.

I just want to start my career, and I don’t know, maybe relax a little.

” I feel like I've been spinning my wheels for years between school, work, and trying to keep the bills paid.

At some point, life has to get a little bit easier, right?

Erin shrugs, “Well, I think that maybe you should consider using that time to relax. When do you have to move by?”

“I need to be there in two weeks. Our time won’t start until I step into his apartment.” Complete and utter dread fills my system. I don’t want to do this.

“Well then, I think we need to dive headfirst into researching the man you married. No way in hell am I going to let my best friend go live with a man without doing a basic Google search.”

“It sounds like you already got a head start on that,” I say as she hops off the couch and walks over to our little desk nook in the corner.

She unplugs the laptop from its charger and saunters back over to me.

It’s four in the afternoon, and she’s still wearing her pink striped PJ shorts and button-up top.

“I may have briefly looked into his name. But now is not the time for brief research. Now is the time for an FBI-style deep dive. We need to know his family by name. His exes. His high school. The whole thing.” Sometimes, I forget Erin is borderline crazy.

But having a crazy lady in your corner is never a bad thing .

“With how deeply you research your Tinder matches, I bet you have really developed the skill.” She has a knack for finding every little detail out about a person with only a first and last name to go off.

She looks over at me, beaming with pride.

“And you thought Tinder was pointless. I mean, maybe it is, because you did meet someone the old-fashioned way.” She winks at me and I roll my eyes at her innuendo.

Meeting someone at a bar should not count as the old-fashioned way, maybe the dumb fashioned way or the too drunk for my own good fashioned way.

Erin opens up her computer and after it powers on, she rubs her hands together in glee before she gets to typing. Her fingers fly across the keyboard as she goes full investigator mode on my freshly acquired husband.

“Alright, obviously, he’s a badass rodeo star. Never married. No kids, so you won't be playing stepmom. Let’s keep digging.” She clicks on another news article with an interview about him.

Erin's face falls as she reads on. “Oh, how sad. It looks like his dad died in a rodeo accident. He was a bull rider, too.”

My eyebrows knit together; the pain of losing a parent isn’t something that I would wish on my worst enemy. “Oh my God, that’s awful.” My hand goes to the ache in my chest. “I can’t believe he continued to ride after that.” I lean into the glow of the computer screen, reading the article myself.

Maverick Ryder, rising star in the circuit.

If his name sounds familiar, it is because his dad, Bruce Ryder, was the best during his time.

He paved the way for the next generation, generating higher payouts and filling arenas.

Many wonder how Maverick will compare to his senior. They are big boots to fill.’

Yikes. Talk about pressure .

More articles pop up, some of them are brutal. Stating he only got his boot in the door because of his dad’s tragic accident and the legacy he left behind. Who knew rodeo could be so soap-opera-y?

“Well, the good news is it doesn’t look like you have any past girlfriends to contend with.

There’s no public pictures of him with any girls on social media.

” I find that almost hard to believe because even if he is absolutely on my shit list right now, he’s not exactly terrible to look at. In fact, quite the opposite.

“I’m not trying to contend with anyone. I’m doing my six months and then coming right back.” The idea sparks a thought in my head, and I snap my fingers. “Speaking of, what do you want to do about the rent situation?”

She waves her dainty hand at me. “Don’t worry about it. If I get in a pickle, I’ll temporarily sublease it out. You’ve got plenty on your plate right now. I’ll have your room ready for you when you come back.”

Six months has never seemed that long, but I have a feeling I am about to change my tune about that.