Page 1 of Bull Rush

PROLOGUE

Hazel

“Ma’am,I’m sorry, but we can’t process this request without your husband’s signature.”

“Oh. I think there’s some confusion. I’m engaged, but I’m not married.” I smile at the woman as she slides the paper back to me.

“I don’t think there’s any confusion. It lists his name here. I can bring it up.” She types into her computer, and then she frowns and frowns some more. “Yeah, unfortunately, this might be more complicated than I thought, as it’s showing your husband is currently serving the rest of his sentence on parole for a felony. The loan won’t get approved if he’s on it. We’ll need to address that before we can process your application.”

“A felony?” I laugh nervously. “I assure you my husband—my future husband—doesn’t have any felonies. He’s never done anything wrong in his life. I’m not sure he even has a parking ticket on his record.”

“Well, ma’am, it’s not my place to get involved in any kind of domestic disputes, but I assure you that our records don’t lie. You may want to have a talk with your husband when you get home.”

I’m not sure what I hate more, being in this stale bank office where happiness goes to die, filing a mountain of paperwork just to be told I have to refile it on a clerical error, or having to find a polite way to insist that she’s making multiple mistakes without using a tone that belies my underlying irritation and sounds like I’m one morema’amaway from asking for a manager. I flash a bright grin, trying my best to look like I’m just asking questions to help me figure out my error.

“Could you tell me when that information was filed into your system? Or how I might correct it? Because I’m not married. Curtis and I are still very much in the midst of wedding planning.”

“Curtis? No, ma’am. I have the name listed here as Ramsey Stockton.”

My blood runs cold, and I nearly choke on my own breath.Ramsey.

“That’s a mistake. We’ve been divorced for years.”

“You’re Hazel Stockton, though, correct?”

I nod. This is how I know I’m far outside my hometown of Purgatory Falls, parked in an office chair in a high-rise in the city instead. Because no one at home says the name Stockton like it’s Jones or Smith.

“Yes, but only because I’ve been slow to change my name. I hate paperwork, and so I decided I’d wait until I got remarried. But I’m definitely not married to Ramsey anymore. We divorced years ago.” I try to look the part of the confident, reassuring client who definitely should get her loan approved today. Whoneedsto get her loan approved today.

“Hmm. Not according to the records that were pulled.”

“There must be a mistake.”

“You’ll want to phone the downtown office then. It’s rare that they make errors like this.”

“All right. But I assure you this is one. When can I speak to someone down there?”

“Let me see…” She pauses and stares at her computer screen for a few moments and then looks back up at me, a customer service smile plastered on her face. “That person is on vacation right now, but they’ll be back next week. They’re available on Wednesdays from one to two p.m. at the downtown office in Pueblo, and on Thursdays from nine to ten a.m. at the downtown office in Denver.”

“That’s it?”

“Those are the only times they have public office hours, yes. But you can also schedule an appointment online. It looks like…” She scrolls through the list. “They have an appointment available in about seven weeks.”

I have to choke back the audible sound of disgust.

“Seven weeks? Okay. Well, then I’ll go during their office hours, I guess.”

“Okay. Well, if that’s the case, then once the error is cleared up, we’ll be able to finish processing the paperwork for the refinance of the inn.”

“Do you know how long it usually takes for it to show on your end once they clear it?”

“It just depends on the office processing times, ma’am. Sometimes they’re very quick, and sometimes they’re not.” A saccharine smile breaks out across her face, and I have to squeeze the pen I’ve been bouncing on my knee to keep the smile on mine. “But once they’ve cleared it up, it should only take a few days for our database to be updated, and then we can get you scheduled to come back in.”

“Is it still going to be a week’s waiting time to get anappointment here?” I ask nervously. We need the money, badly. I don’t have time to wait, but I guess thanks to this paperwork error, I don’t have much of a choice.

“Yes. That’s likely so. It might clear up a little by then, but I can’t make any promises. Unfortunately, we’re very busy.”

Apparently, everything around here is unfortunate, including me, if I’m truly still married to Ramsey Stockton on paper. Except… I wouldn’t have the inn or the ranch without it—withouthim. It was his family’s ranch and their inn that he’d inherited. Then he left them with me when he took off for bigger things and brighter lights. My stomach rolls as I think of him. I need this to be a clerical error because I’m not prepared for what it means if it’s not.

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