Page 68 of Lost and Lassoed

We stayed in the shower for a while—until the water changed from hot to lukewarm. At that point, Gus turned it off, and we stepped out together. He draped a towel over my shoulders, wrapped another one around his waist, and led me out of the bathroom.

He opened his dresser and pulled out a big T-shirt, whichhe pulled over my head, and then he slipped a pair of boxers on.

Then he kissed me. Quickly, softly. He grabbed my hand and pulled me to his bed, where we both collapsed.

When I curled into his side, I felt his lips in my hair. “You can cry, Teddy,” he said.

And so I cried. And cried.

And August Ryder held me the whole time.

Chapter 30

Teddy

My dad got to come home last Saturday. The doctors prescribed some new medications and told him he had to watch what he was eating—no red meat, no fried food, no cheese. It was safe to say that Hank was not thrilled.

I had set up a command zone in the living room. The small table next to my dad’s La-Z-Boy held his medication sorted by day, time, and frequency. It also held a giant water bottle and a basket of doctor-approved snacks.

He was sitting in his chair now—he had dozed off, and I had scrolled through TV channels until I finally settled on someCriminal Mindsreruns. I swiped the book I was reading off the coffee table and flipped it open—more hot demons.

It was cooler outside today, so I opened one of the living room windows. The mountain breeze combined with the sound of Hank’s wind chimes on the front porch made me feel so content.

Yeah, my life was quiet, but it was also mine.

Whenever I thought about what I wanted my life to looklike, Meadowlark was always the backdrop. But I still needed to figure out what I was going to do next here.

I had a little over a month left at Gus’s. Honestly, Emmy was right. It had been a really great summer.

But it was going to end. Like everything else in my life lately.

Thinking about it made me sad—for a lot of reasons (one big grumpy one that I wasn’t ready to think about yet), but also because I was going to have to start from square one again. I’d been inadvertently using my time with Gus and Riley as an escape—as a way to avoid thinking about the things I was supposed to be thinking about.

My dad’s snoring brought me out of my head, and I realized I’d been reading the same paragraph for god knows how long. Hank’s snore was also robust enough to wake himself up.

I looked over at him—his shocked expression made me laugh. “Well, shit,” he muttered.

“I thought a freight train had crashed into our living room.”

“Smartass,” my dad grumbled. He was looking more like himself today. There was color in his cheeks, and seeing him in his chair was so much better than seeing him in a hospital bed.

“How are you feeling?” I asked.

“Incredible,” he said. “A healed man. Ready for some chicken-fried steak.”

I arched a brow at him. “Nice try.”

“It was worth a shot.” He shrugged. “What about you? You look deep in thought over there.”

“I was,” I said honestly.

“Care to share with the class?” Hank asked.

Before I could answer, there was a knock at the door.Saved by the bell.I wasn’t really in the mood to unpack everything with my dad—at least not yet. I wanted to keep all of this in my head a little longer. I had a lot of stuff to sort through up there.

I put my book back on the coffee table and walked to the front door. Through the small window I could see Aggie and Dusty.

Even if I didn’t know them, I’d know Aggie and Dusty were mother and son. Dusty got his blond waves, and enviable cheekbones, from his mom. Aggie’s wavy hair was all silver now, and still beautiful. It fell all the way to the middle of her back. She was wearing the same thing she always wore—Carhartt coveralls, with an excess of turquoise and silver earrings, bracelets, and necklaces that somehow all looked perfect together. She didn’t wear rings, though. Aggie was a carpenter; she kept pretty things off her hands.

---