Page 72 of Lost and Lassoed

“We made Hank a card!” Riley said happily. “My dad helped me write on it.” Riley looked at me. “What did we write, Dad?”

“Get well soon,” I stated.

“Hank is going to love it,” Teddy said, smiling down at my daughter. The way she stroked Riley’s curly hair made my knees go wobbly. Riley slipped her hand into Teddy’s, and they walked hand in hand up to Teddy’s front door, and I thought I might collapse.

I wanted to see that sight over and over again for the rest of my life.

Teddy looked back at me. “Are you coming?” she asked with a smile. I nodded and followed her and Riley inside.

The house hadn’t changed much since the last time I’d been here. You walked right into the living room, which had mismatched pieces of furniture and an old oak coffee table that made the room feel warm and homey. You could see through the doorway that led to the kitchen, where Hank was leaning against the counter with a smoothie in one hand and his cane in the other.

“Gus! Riley!” he said with a blinding smile. “It’s good to see you.” He set down the smoothie and started toward the living room, and I put a hand on Riley’s shoulder to keep her from charging him. God bless her, but my kid would knock him over from sheer excitement alone.

Once Hank got close enough, I reached out and shook his hand. “Sir,” I said, “how are you feeling?”

“Good, good,” he said. “Sit down, please.” I led Riley over to the couch as Teddy helped her dad get settled in his chair.

When he was situated, Teddy said, “Riley made something for you, Dad,” and my daughter bounced with anticipation next to me, and Hank gave her a warm smile.

“Did she now?” he asked, and Riley nodded eagerly. I gave her leg a tap to let her know it was okay to go to him now. She popped up with no hesitation, made her way to his chair, and handed over her creation. Teddy came over to the couch and sat down next to me—not close enough, but that was probably a good thing.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Hank said as he took the card gently from Riley. “This is quite the card,” he said. “I love it.”

“You have to open it,” Riley told him. “There’s drawings inside.”

Hank opened the card dutifully and smiled when he saw what Riley had drawn. “My heart is very happy right now,” hesaid, pointing at the heart with a smiley face. “Is this you?” he asked, pointing at one of Riley’s stick figures.

“Yep,” she said. “And that’s my dad and that’s Teddy,” she said, pointing at the two other stick figures. I watched Hank’s eyes zero in on the card, but he didn’t say anything.

“Riley,” he said, “you’re an artist.” My kid, who I’d never known to be bashful or shy, was suddenly red as a tomato.

“Thank you,” she said. “So your heart’s better?”

“Much better,” Hank said with a smile.

I turned to Teddy. “Is your washer still being an asshole?” I asked her.

She looked confused for a second before she said, “Oh, yeah, it’s super busted,” with a wave of her hand.

“I, um…” I didn’t know why I was feeling nervous all of a sudden. “I brought my tools. I can take a look at it. If youwant.”

Something flashed from Teddy’s eyes before she said, “That would be really great, thank you.”

“You got it,” I said. I lifted my hand to push her ponytail back over her shoulder, desperate to see her collarbone for some fucking reason, but I stopped myself when I realized that it wasn’t just the two of us. Teddy looked at my hand paused in midair between us, then back at me. I pulled it back quickly and looked forward.

“Dad!” Riley exclaimed, jolting Teddy and me out of our trance. “Hank is going to show me how to play the drums!”

My kid and a drum set? Honestly, that sounded like a bad idea for anyone with ears, but her wide smile had me convinced it was the best idea ever. Hank went to get out of his chair, and Teddy immediately went to help him.

I wondered if she ever got tired.

Once Hank was upright, Riley grabbed the hand that wasn’t holding on to his cane and started walking with him—slower than I’d ever seen her walk. “C’mon, Teddy!” she called back. They were headed toward the kitchen, probably to go out the side door that led to the garage, which is where Hank had a music store’s worth of instruments, if memory served.

“I’ll be right there, Sunshine,” she said. “Your dad’s going to fix something for me, so let me show him where the laundry room is, and I’ll be right there.”

I knew where the laundry room was—right behind the kitchen—but I didn’t say that.

Teddy and I followed Riley and Hank until they went out the side door, and we kept walking toward the back of the kitchen. There was a pocket door right next to the fridge that led to a small laundry room.

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