Page 4 of Lost and Lassoed

Even in the dark, I had to fight the urge to find that copper-colored ponytail and yank it.

“No,” I snapped, “I don’t have my phone. You call them.”

“Well, Gussy,” she said—I prickled at the nickname, and at her tone of sickly-sweet annoyance—“I don’t have my phone either. It’s upstairs.”

Goddammit.

I ran a hand down my face and let out an annoyed grunt. Of all the places I wanted to be, locked in a closet with Teddy wasn’t anywhere on the list. But I knew there were a lot of people who’d like to trade places with me.

Even though I was loath to admit it, Teddy was a knockout. I’d never noticed when we were growing up. Teddy was eight years younger than me, and I wasn’t a fucking creep. But then, when Emmy and Teddy graduated from college, Teddy wore this dark green dress that just…Never mind. The point is that I know Teddy is pretty. Beautiful, even. But beautiful like a lion or an elk or any other large and dangerous animal. Beautiful to look at, but you didn’t want to get too close because it’d rip your throat out or trample you or spear you to death with its giant horns.

So yeah. Teddy was beautiful or whatever.

But I wasn’t looking to get eaten alive.

I started banging on the door and hollering for Emmy and Brooks.

Teddy let out a sigh. “Emmy will come looking for me as soon as she realizes I’ve been gone for more than a few minutes. Chill out.”

“How do you know that?” I demanded.

“Because I know Emmy. She’s not going to leave me in this horror movie basement.” She was probably right, but I didn’t care. I ignored her and kept banging on the door. “For god’s sake, August, take a breath.”

“Don’t tell me what to do,” I spat. This woman’s mere existence got under my skin like nothing else. Why couldn’t Emmy have a friend that wasn’t irritation incarnate? A nice, normal friend that didn’t make me want to bash my head against the wall?

Or a friend that wasn’t always at the scene of the crime when Emmy did something she shouldn’t have.

“Don’t tell me what to do,” Teddy mimicked me, and I let out a growl. “Are you afraid of the dark, Gussy?”

“No, but if I remember correctly, you are,” I shot back. I’d known Teddy her whole life—literally—her dad had started working for mine when she was barely three months old. I remember the day Hank Andersen rolled up to Rebel Blue Ranch in his gold El Camino with Teddy in tow. I was seven or eight then, and Teddy was a hell of a lot less infuriating—probably because she couldn’t talk yet.

Teddy smacked my arm. “I am not!” Why couldn’t this woman keep her hands to herself?

“Then why were you running through the basement like a spooked horse?”

“Because I was avoiding you, obviously.”

“That worked out really well, didn’t it?” I asked. She was so close to me. When she talked, I could feel her breath. It reminded me of how it felt against my neck.Fuck. Get it together, Ryder.

“Well, it would’ve, if you weren’t the type of creep that hides in closets. What were you even doing in here?” I couldn’t tell her that I was hiding from her. That would give her too much satisfaction.

“Can you stop talking?” I said. “You’re giving me a headache.” I did have a headache, but for once, it wasn’t because of Teddy. I hadn’t been getting a lot of sleep this week, and it was catching up with me.

I could tell Teddy was about to volley something back at me, but just then there was a loud creaking somewhere else in the basement. Teddy gasped. Her hand found mine as she jumped closer to me. “What was that?”

Again with the touching.Christ.

“Now who needs to chill out?” I asked, and yanked my hand away from hers. I didn’t like the way holding it made me feel. “It’s an old building. There are noises everywhere.” Teddy stayed quiet—not convinced. “Anyway, I thought you weren’t afraid of the dark.”

“I’m not,” she said. She must’ve straightened up, because I felt her chest brush against mine.Fuck.“I’m afraid of what’s lurking in the dark. There’s a difference.”

“What do you think is ‘lurking’ ”—I used air quotes even though she couldn’t see me—“in the basement of the Devil’s Boot?”

“Demons,” Teddy said. “And I don’t think it’s the hot ones.” What the hell was this woman on about?

“You’re insane,” I said. I moved to run a hand through my hair, but it brushed against Teddy’s waist instead. I felt her go still, and I snatched my hand away immediately.

“And you’re an asshole,” she said, but not with her normal authority. Her voice sounded…breathy, almost?

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