Page 47 of Lost and Lassoed

“Tell me, Teddy…baby. Can I touch you like this?”

“Yes,” I sighed. I wanted him to. I really,reallywanted him to. He kissed the spot right underneath my ear, and I felt like I was going to combust.

I pushed on his chest and he moved back immediately. “We can’t do this, August,” I said. “I can’t do this.”Not again.

Chapter 22

Seven Years Ago

Gus

Itipped the shot back and felt the burn of bourbon down my throat. After a long fucking week, this was just what I needed. Wyoming was facing the worst drought of the last century, and it was stressing me the hell out. I was worried about our animals. I was worried about our land. I was worried about everything.

But with every shot, with every sip of beer, my worries grew smaller and smaller.

That’s what happened when you walked into this piece of shit bar—your concerns went away, but you had to be careful or they might get replaced with regrets in the light of day.

Brooks and I slammed our shot glasses down on the table at the same time. A pretty blonde was hanging on his arm and whispering in his ear, but he wasn’t paying attention to her. His eyes kept shifting to the bar, where his dad, Jimmy, was sitting with a full glass of amber liquid. Those two had never had a relationship, but you wouldn’t know it bothered Brooks until you saw the way his eyes found Jimmy every time we came to the bar.

Jimmy sat in his corner, mainlining Scotch and ignoring his kid like he’d done for Brooks’s whole life.

The blonde didn’t seem to notice that she wasn’t holding Brooks’s attention, because she was rubbing his arm like a feral animal. He’d go home with her eventually, though. My best friend was a good fucking guy, but he had a reputation as a womanizer.

Someone had lined up the jukebox with nineties country classics, and you would’ve thought Alan Jackson was here in the flesh, the way the bar was reacting to “Chattahoochee” right then.

It was loud in here, but I could still hear her. Teddy Andersen’s earsplitting voice was nearby, and it was not happy. I looked around, trying to spot my sister’s best friend. Emmy had stayed in Denver after she and Teddy graduated from college last year. Teddy came back to Meadowlark and continued to wreak havoc on our little town. Teddy drove me fucking insane, but the anger in her voice had me wanting to make sure she was okay—for Emmy’s sake if nothing else.

I spotted her copper ponytail within a few seconds. She was right by the bar and—Jesus Christ—squaring up with a man twice her size. I took another swig of my beer before setting it on the tall table and walking toward her.

“You good?” Brooks asked over the music. The blonde’s arms were around his neck now.

“I’ll be right back,” I said.

I made my way over to Teddy, who—much to my annoyance—was looking hot as hell tonight. She had on these tight jeans that looked like they were painted on—same with her black tank top. It was the middle of summer, and her skin was bronzed and freckled.

Her personality helped cancel her appeal, though. She was a troublemaker. I’d gotten my little sister out of too many scrapes to count, all thanks to Teddy Andersen—including the night that Teddy and Emmy’s tears couldn’t stop the sheriff from arrestingthem for trespassing after they got caught on someone else’s property with a bottle of schnapps because they wanted to “talk to the sheepies.” Emmy called me instead of our dad, so I had the treat of picking her up from the Meadowlark County Jail. Teddy, too—who thought the whole thing was hilarious.

She was brash, and fucking loud, which she was doing a great job of demonstrating as she got up in the man’s face. I didn’t recognize him, so he must’ve been from out of town.

Once I saw her puff her chest out and start pointing at him, I moved faster through the crowd gathering around Teddy and the guy.

“Get this crazy bitch out of my face!” the man yelled.

“You owe that girl an apology,” Teddy spat.

“Fuck off,” the man said.

Teddy pushed on his chest. Fuck. “You can’t just go around playing grab-ass with random girls, you weirdo. What the hell is wrong with you?”

She pushed him again, and this time, he looked like he might push her back. Shit. I came up behind her just in time and wrapped one of my arms around her waist, picking her up and swinging her around.

Teddy started kicking immediately. “Let me go!”

“Control your fucking woman,” the man said. This guy was a prick, I’d give Teddy that, and he deserved to get kicked out of the bar, but she didn’t need to do it.

She was still thrashing in my arms. “Asshole,” she screamed. I didn’t know if she was talking to me or to him. “Let me go, August!”

I whistled for Joe, the bartender, who saw me and immediately started making his way over from the far side of the bar. I motioned to the guy, who was looking at me and Teddy with a hell of a lot ofmalice. Once Joe clocked him, I knew that guy wouldn’t be in here much longer, but I still wanted to get Teddy away from him. If I let her go, she might jump on him and start clawing his eyes out.

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