The man had a lot of names and apparently just as many women waiting in the wings to use them.Before I started to freeze to death, a beautiful, petite brunette came out and sat on the table near me.She told me that she’d been fucking Baffle for years.While Roxy thought she had a claim on him, that wasn’t true.The woman said she wished she could lay claim to Baffle, but he wasn’t the settling down type.Her message was clear.My marriage to him didn’t mean he was any more settled or that he would give her up.Stupidly, I remembered that I’d only asked for specifics about Roxy and not any other women who may have been waiting for my man to return home.
Message received loud and clear.All of my husband’s fuck buddies were coming out of the woodwork to make sure I skedaddled away from the clubhouse.Apparently, they all needed one less woman in the seemingly endless line of competition vying for his heart or maybe just his property patch.I would have scoffed at that idea of them winning anything with him as the prize, but my legs and arms had gone numb around the time the woman headed back inside.She was too cold to stay and taunt me.I was too cold to care.
“Nell?”The way my name was called out made it sound like a question.Like the person wanted to know if it was really me lying there on the bench.I didn’t bother to answer.There really wasn’t an answer worth giving anyway.Yes, that was my name.No, I didn’t want to talk to anyone else.I was pretty much done with people.They all sucked.
“Nell!”Rick used a more urgent tone that time.I refused to respond.
Fuck him.Fuck this place.Fuck these people.
“Come on, we need to get her warm,” another man said.
Rick scooped me up from the bench and carried me back toward the clubhouse.I didn’t want to go there.I tried to tell him “No,” but my teeth chattered so hard, nothing would come out right.My refusal ended up sounding more like a groan that was simply ignored.
“I got the door.”That voice belonged to the man who had come to my rescue earlier.The one man who apparently wasn’t affiliated with my husband’s club.He was the uncle of the bride.If what he said was true, I might actually like Sammy - as Rick had suggested when we were in Vegas.That didn’t mean I planned to stick around to get to know her, or anyone else, though.My life was already in shambles and I sure as hell wasn’t going to linger somewhere I wasn’t wanted.Instead, I tuned out whatever else was going on around me as another full-body convulsion-like shiver rocked through my muscles.
“I need some fucking coffee, hot tea, cocoa, or something along those lines.Also any extra blankets,” Rick demanded.I wasn’t sure who he was talking to, because my brain was too busy trying to work out how far the man carried me and how that was possible.Eventually, we ended up in a bedroom that looked sort of like a more lived-in hotel suite.
“What were you thinking?”Rick whispered into my ear as he set me down on a bed, pulled my boots off, and wrapped a blanket around my body so that the only thing sticking out was my head.Then, to my complete shock, he got up and grabbed something off a desk and brought it back over only to stuff it on my head.I pushed a hand free and reached up to feel it.
“Leave it.It’s just my beanie.We need to get you warm.”My husband continued to fuss over me until Brady showed up at the door and held up a steaming mug.
“Figured hot chocolate was the best option.”I tried to smile my thanks to the man who only nodded and handed the mug off to Rick.“If you don’t mind, I’m going to park my ass out here in the hallway until I’m sure she’s doing alright.I’ll make sure no one bothers you two.”
Rick was about to help me sip from the mug and paused to look back at Brady.“Appreciate ya sticking around.We’re going to have a conversation oncemy wifeis settled and warm again.”
Brady chuckled and threw his hands up in a sign of surrender as he nodded toward me.“That shit could have happened to my niece.Just making sure another woman gets the same respect Sammy received here.From what I’ve seen, up until now, your Kings have fallen down on the job with this one.”He backed out of the room and closed the door before either of us could say anything.Then again, he was right, so what was there to say?
“Son of a bitch,” Rick huffed.“He’s not wrong.I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for whatever the hell sent you running, sweetheart.I thought I was doing the right thing by nipping any further drama in the bud so it wouldn’t touch you.Fucking backfired on my ass.”
Rick lifted the mug up to my mouth and I carefully leaned forward and took a sip as his bottomless, nearly black eyes tracked my every movement.His poutier lower lip seemed to highlight the cupid’s bow of his upper lip as his worry for me bled through in the way his eyes took in everything.
When I still didn’t say anything, he tried to apologize again.“I really am sorry, Nell.”
“What are you sorry for?”His dark eyes trailed over my face, looking for some hidden meaning to my question.When he didn’t answer, I followed up.“Are you sorry for marrying me?Bringing me here?That you forgot I existed while you chased after your ex?Is she even your ex or is she something on-going?You know what?It doesn’t really matter.Can you please grab my stuff out of your saddlebags?I’ll find a ride to my studio and stay there until I can get a new place.”
“We are married, Nell.You’re my wife.”
“It really doesn’t feel like it.Look, I get it, you were doing me a favor and the ruse has already grown old.I promise, I can take care of myself.”
“Nell,” Rick sighed.“I’m sorry for the drama.When Roxy went after you earlier, that’s all I could think of while my best friend was saying his vows.I wanted it fixed before you ended up hurt.”
“Your ex attacked me.Some other woman told me to pack up and leave and that was after you left me alone in a strange place with a bunch of people who I didn’t know and were somewhat hostile toward me.You did that so you could chase after your ex because dealing with her was more important than making sure I was okay or comfortable with being left in the middle of all that chaos.”
“She’s not my ex, Nell!”
“Your ‘friend’ then.”I put the word in air quotes for him as I rolled my eyes.“Your priority was clear.My place here was cemented pretty hard.I don’t belong.We can get a quick annulment and be done with this charade.I doubt Johnny even cares about me anymore.He probably already married my former roommate and got what he wanted - the docile wife who will look the other way when he fucks and rapes her friends.”
“Men like him don’t stop hunting until they get what they want, Nell.And men like me take their wedding vows seriously.”
My stomach lurched to think that Johnny might be waiting for me to show up in Flagstaff again.Maybe I would never be safe again.My only saving grace was that I didn’t think Elena knew where my studio was and Johnny seemed too stupid to find it.The location was always something I guarded from everyone, except clients who had to come pick up larger pieces, because I didn’t want to be bothered when I was working.It was kind of weird to look back and realize that my best friend wasn’t someone I trusted with that information because I didn’t think she’d respect my space and work times.That should have been a huge red flag for me.Instead, I made excuses.It was hard to be an artist because people with normal jobs didn’t understand the weird hours that came with working when you were inspired.
Rick sat quietly next to me, as if he understood my need to process everything.Maybe he was waiting for me to calm down.I had thrown a bunch of shit at him like I was a long-suffering, jealous wife.Still, I couldn’t help the way my heart ached to know there might be some woman waiting in the same building for one little hint of weakness to swoop in and steal my new husband.
“…men like me take their wedding vows seriously.”
That line continued to bounce back to the forefront of my thoughts.I wanted to believe him, to have faith that he was being honest.Rick was done giving me time to think, though.
“Since you were quick to point out where I fucked up, how about you tell me what exactly went down while I was dealing with Roxy and her father.I need to know so whoever approached you can also be dealt with.Before we get into that, there’s something more pressing.I want to know why you would hurt yourself like that.”
