Page 79 of Lost and Lassoed

Wes cleared his throat behind me, and I heard him mutter, “What the fuck.” When I turned around, Brooks was sliding my beer across the bar. He looked at me questioningly for a second before he shifted his gaze to Teddy.

“Tequila soda?” he called, and Teddy must’ve nodded, because he started making it. One of the horsemen raised his hand and said, “Teddy’s on my tab.”

The possessive part of me wanted to tell that man exactly where he could shove his tab, but the flirty smile Teddy was giving him, along with a polite “Thank you,” stopped me.

Teddy Andersen was coming home with me tonight. I was going to make sure of it. So who cared if someone else picked up her drinks?

Teddy shone in this dingy bar. She said hi to everyone as they moved out of her way, making them feel special that they got to bask in her light for however long they were talking to her.

If I wanted this thing with Teddy to go anywhere, I’d have to remember that she was built to shine and glow and shimmer, and I couldn’t take that piece of her only for myself. She didn’t shine just for me. I got a different part of her—the part that was comfortable enough to turn down the brightness when we were alone, the part that wanted me to see past what everyone else was blinded by.

There were parts of Teddy that would always belong to the world around her, but that didn’t matter because there were also parts of her that were all mine.

Mine.That word rang through me like a victory bell. Shit, I wanted that.

Teddy took her drink from Brooks and gave my arm a squeeze before she turned and walked away.

“Hey,” I called after her.

Teddy looked back at me, and my heart stopped dead in my chest. “Those chaps are really working for you,” I said.

“Yeah?” She smiled.

I nodded. “They’re working for me, too.”

I watched Teddy fight a smile, and I felt like I was floating. She shook her head, rolled her eyes at me, and kept walking to do her rounds.

I let her go, knowing that’s what she wanted. I turned back to Ada, Wes, and Dusty, who were all looking at me like I’d just grown a second head. Brooks was looking at me with concern.

I shrugged. “What?”

“So I guess the babysitting thing really worked, then?” Wes said with a tentative laugh.

As I shrugged again, Emmy appeared next to me.

She pushed up on the bar and leaned across it to kiss Brooks. A few people cheered when they saw it.

“You’re hot as hell, sugar,” Brooks said to her when her feet were back on the ground. Gross.

“Back at you,” she said. Again, gross. And then she turned to the rest of us. “Hey,” she said. Then she turned to me. “Where’s Teddy?”

“Around,” I said. Everyone had gone back to their own conversations and Brooks had moved down the bar, so it felt safe to talk to Emmy. “Are you two okay?”

“We’ll be fine,” she said.

“Emmy, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—” But Emmy held her hand up.

“August, I love you, but my and Teddy’s friendship is bigger than you. I hurt my best friend. I’m dealing with it,” Emmy said. “This is between her and me, okay?”

I nodded. “Okay.”

After that, the night picked up. The Devil’s Boot got even more full and even more loud. It seemed like the whole town was here.

I stayed where I was, but lots of people came up to say hi to me or Wes, and especially Emmy. I’d heard Emmy referred to as Meadowlark’s sweetheart before, and I thought it was fitting. Especially now, when people seemed to think of her and Brooks’s engagement as Meadowlark’s royal wedding. Every now and then I’d scan the room for Teddy, but it seemed she was constantly swept up in the crowd.

After a while, Brooks disappeared from behind the bar and reappeared onstage. The lead singer of his house band handed him the microphone.

“Hey, y’all,” he said. “Welcome to the Devil’s Boot!” The place erupted in a cheer.

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