Page 43 of Swift and Saddled

“Everything,” he said. “Everything changed the day Emmy came home, but I think, without really knowing it, both of us just started giving each other pieces of ourselves, and then we realized we wanted to keep them. Forever.”

Gus was looking at Brooks thoughtfully. When it first came out that Brooks and Emmy were together, Gus didn’ttake it well. I don’t think it was really because he didn’t want them to be together, but because two of the people he loved the most felt like they had to lie and hide their relationship from him.

But the reason didn’t change the fact that Gus didn’t handle it well. Brooks walked away with a black eye and Gus walked away with a whole lot of guilt that I don’t think he was over quite yet.

“I think the turning point was when I took her to my secret place,” Brooks said. “Maybe you could do something like that?”

“Wait,” Gus interrupted. “You have a secret place? What secret place?”

“Well, if I told you about it, it wouldn’t be a secret, would it!” Brooks countered.

“But Emmy knows about it.” Gus sounded genuinely offended.

“Yeah, so?”

“So why don’t I know about it?”

“Because it’s a secret, Gus.”

“But I’m your best friend.” My brother folded his arms over his chest.Jesus Christ, these two.

“And Emmy is the love of my life!” Brooks exclaimed, shooting Gus an exasperated look.

That point was hard for Gus to argue with, but he muttered, “I still think I should know about the secret place,” under his breath.

“Okay, I hate to break up the lovers’ quarrel,” Dusty interjected, “but we’re talking about Wes here.” He nodded at me,and Brooks and Gus suddenly seemed to remember that I was there.

“Yeah, we’re talking about me here,” I said.

“Do you want my advice?” Dusty asked. Dusty was a good guy—noncommittal, but a good guy—so I nodded.

“At the end of the day, if she doesn’t like you, she doesn’t like you, and you should respect that.” I was ninety-nine percent sure she did like me, but I understood what he was saying. “But if she does like you,” he continued, “try doing things that let her know you’ve been thinking about her—that she’s been on your mind. Keep it simple.”

I constantly thought about her. The way she smelled—like a fucking sugar cookie. The way she bit the inside of her lip when she was thinking, or the way she always sat cross-legged whether she was on the floor or on a chair or the couch. It didn’t matter.

Ada wasn’t just “on my mind,” she wasinit—in every nook and cranny.

Chapter 17

Ada

After Dusty left, girls’ night went off without a hitch. We ate, we drank, we were merry. And we got all of the curtains done. I promised Emmy that we would add some roses to them this week. Teddy gave me a full history of Taylor Swift’s discography, explained to me the relationship betweenTwilightand My Chemical Romance, and offered to take me shopping at the boutique she worked at. Cam, who probably kicks ass at trivia, told us all about Wyoming’s weirdest laws—don’t even think about taking a photo of a rabbit between January and April.

And I had a nice time.

Usually I feel out of place in situations like that, and by the time the night was over, I would’ve convinced myself that everyone there hated me and that all of us would be better off if they never saw me again.

But I didn’t feel that way about that night. I felt good.

The best part about the night? I was back at the Big House by nine-thirty.

Cam drove me back, since she had to pick up Rileyanyway. I learned that she and Gus were never actually together, but they’d decided to co-parent Riley. “I’m lucky that my daughter’s dad is also my friend,” she’d said. “And he’s really great at both.”

The dynamics of this group of people were so interesting to me. Maybe it was the wine, but I didn’t think before I asked, “Are they all as…good as they seem? The Ryders?”

Cam let out a little laugh that told me she understood what I was saying. “Yeah, honestly, they are,” she said. “They have their flaws—except Amos,” she joked. “Gus is entirely too stubborn and rigid, Wes is too accommodating and has a bad case of middle-child syndrome, and Emmy bottles everything up and has issues with control, but at the end of the day, all three of them would put everything on the line for each other and the people they love, and I feel lucky that my daughter and I are a part of that.”

“What do you mean,” I asked, “about Wes?”

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