Shine Not Burn(42)

“One set of papers wasn’t enough, you needed both?”

I squirmed uncomfortably on the couch. Here came the part where I felt like Andie the super-slut. “Just in case … you know…”

“No, I don’t,” he said very calmly. “That’s why I asked.”

My face flamed red. “If we didn’t consummate the marriage, well, we can just annul it. But if we did, then, a divorce is just quicker.”

He just stared at me, his own face going red too. Only his high color probably wasn’t the result of being embarrassed, judging by the way he kept tensing his jaw while glaring at me.

“I’m not going to sign,” he finally said, before turning to leave.

“What do you mean, you’re not going to sign?” I wasn’t sure I was completely understanding or even hearing properly. Maybe all that sun exposure had given me a stroke.

“I don’t believe in divorce,” he said. He walked out of the room and the house without another word, slamming the front door so hard behind him it made the curtains shake and some glass things tink together in a china cabinet.

I stood to run after him, but quickly fell sideways onto the couch when my feet got tangled in themselves and threatened to take me down onto the coffee table. My hip hit the cushions, sending a whoosh of air up into my face. I blinked a few times getting my wits back before sitting up.

“What. The. Hell.” I said out into the room. I was at a complete loss as to what I should do now. Run after him? Nope, legs were not cooperating. Yell at him? Nope, he was already too far away to hear anything. Wait for him to come back? Not sure that I had any other choice.

I leaned back into the cushions and stared out into nothingness, my mind swirling around with the implications arising from this unexpected circumstance. Never in my wildest of imaginings had I pictured him saying no to signing the papers. The worst thing I’d come up with was another woman in the mix, and while it had been uncomfortable to think about, it wasn’t as awful as this. At least a jealous girlfriend or even a second wife would have provided some kind of motivation for him to execute the papers.

Dammit! What am I supposed to do now? I looked around the room, my mind zooming all over and not making much sense. But then my eye landed on a group of photographs and my brain zeroed in on one of the faces I saw there. I slid off the couch and crawled on hands and knees over to the table that showed off the family’s loved ones in frames, not trusting my feet to get me there without tipping over.

I reached up and took down the one I’d seen from across the room. I smiled when I saw the faces there and the postures held by the people in the photo that told me this was something I could use to my advantage. “Bam. I gotcha now, cowboy.”

I put the framed photo back and crawled back to the couch, deciding that in order to have my ducks in a row and the energy that I’d require for the upcoming fight, I’d need all my strength back. A nap was in order, and the couch was just too comfortable to pass up. I eased my aching feet up to hang just over the edge and laid down on my side. Grabbing the silly troll doll and tucking my pressed-together hands under my cheek, I told myself it would just be a cat nap. The troll’s hair tickled my chin, but I left the doll there. My only friend in a great big state full of dust, snakes, and angry cowboys. Just long enough to get the dizziness to pass and to put together my plan of attack. All of my court cases had been won with a combination of planning and skill. I could do this, no problem. I’d be out of Baker City with signed documents in less than twenty-four hours. I just had to be at the top of my game the next time I saw Mack, so I could convince him that denying me what I wanted was futile. I would get him to sign those papers if it was the last thing I did.

At some point I sensed someone coming in and putting something heavy on me that I snuggled under happily. And then I was finally awakened by the sounds of dishes and glasses hitting one another and silverware scraping on plates. Distant voices told me that a large number of people were very close by. I set the troll doll down on the coffee table and went to investigate.





Chapter Twenty-One





I GOT UP SLOWLY, MAKING sure not to put too much weight on my bum foot, and snuck out into the hallway where I found a bathroom. Stepping inside, I emptied my bladder and did the best I could to fix my hair. It was pretty much a hopeless case. I had no brush to smooth out the lumps and bumps, and when I took my elastic out to try and tighten the ponytail I’d put in earlier, it broke.

“Dammit.” I stared at it, wondering if I could knot it back together and try again.

“Hello?” came a voice from the other side of the door. It was the woman who’d given me the Gatorade. “Andie? Can I get you anything?”

“Uh, no, thank you. I’ll be right out.” I rubbed a wet finger over my teeth, trying to get rid of the sour sleep taste in my mouth, and washed my hands. Before walking out the door, I took one last look at myself; I was a sunburned, tangle-haired mess. Why Mack wasn’t rushing to sign the papers was some kind of weird mystery. If I were him, I’d be doing everything I could to get my sorry-looking butt out of here.

I walked out of the bathroom to find the older woman waiting patiently in the hallway.

“There you are. Did you sleep okay?” she asked.

“Um, yes. Sorry about that.” My face went redder with embarrassment. “I only meant to take a little catnap to get rid of that dizzy feeling, but I must have really dozed off.”