Page 71 of Lost and Lassoed

Cam didn’t take her eyes off me as she said, “Well, I’m sure Hank will love it. Maybe your dad can help you write something on there.”

Riley turned her face up to mine. “Can you?”

“Of course, Sunshine. We can take it to him today,” I said. “Go get your shoes on.” Riley was off my lap in an instant.

“Is there something you want to tell me?” Cam said once Riley was out of earshot.

I rubbed the back of my neck. “Not particularly,” I said. “It’s nothing.” Even though it wasn’t. It felt more like everything.

“I know you, Gus,” Cam said. “And if you’ve let your guard down enough that Riley was able to sneak a peek at you and a woman holding hands, when I can’t even remember the last time I saw you give a woman the time of day, I’m going to bet something’s going on.”

Still not looking Cam in the eye, I lied again. “It’s nothing.”

“Liar,” Cam said. “Remind me never to call you as a witness.”

“Okay,” I said, annoyed. “It’s…it’s something, I think. Or itcould be. I don’t really know,” I breathed. “I think I want it tobe.”

“Does anyone else know?” Cam asked, and I shook my head. “Well, shit.”

“Yeah,” I said. “I’ve got myself into a bit of a pickle, haven’t I?”

“Good thing you love pickles,” Cam said. I did love pickles—one of my top five favorite foods. “But in all seriousness, if you want it to be something, you need to say something sooner rather than later. And, Gus”—I finally looked back up at her—“if this is what you want, I’m really happy for you.”

After we hung up, I texted Teddy. I don’t even want to talk about how long it took me to draft the message, and it would’ve taken me even longer if my kid hadn’t been asking me every three seconds when we were going to leave.

Gus:Hey. Are you home? Riley wants to bring something over for Hank.

Gus:But it’s fine if you don’t want company.

Gus:Totally fine.

Gus:But Riley would love to see you.

Nice, Gus—use your kid. But Teddy responded a few minutes later.

Theodora:We’re home. Hank would love that.

Gus:What about you?

Theodora:Just come over, August.

I smiled at my phone like an idiot as I read her message over and over again.Just come over, August.

Don’t mind if I do.

“All right, Riley,” I said, standing up from the couch and looking at my daughter, who was practically vibrating with excitement. “Let’s rock and roll.” Before we went outside, I remembered that Teddy had said something a while ago about her and Hank’s washing machine being on the fritz, so I grabbed my toolbox out of the hall closet, and we were on our way.

As we drove to Teddy’s, I rolled the windows of my truck down and turned up the music. When I heard Riley start singing along to Linda Ronstadt, I smiled. I loved every season in Wyoming, but my favorite was the early to midsummer. It was like the mountains woke up to bask in the sunlight, and the result was lush green forests and running streams and blooming wildflowers.

And there was something about a summer day, mydaughter’s voice coming from the backseat, and the Wyoming skyline in front of me. All that was missing was a loud redhead beside me.

We made it to Teddy’s faster than I thought—maybe I was speeding a little. Teddy was out mowing the lawn—just finishing, it looked like—when we got there, and I immediately wished I’d gotten here sooner, so I could’ve done it for her.

She was wearing a pair of denim shorts—a pair I’d come to know and love for the way they made her ass look—and a light blue tank top. It was short, so I could see a strip of her tan skin between where her top ended and her shorts started.

I wanted to put my hands on that strip of skin, pull her in, and kiss the hell out of her. Instead, when Riley and I got out of the truck, I gave her my best casual “Hey.”

She pulled white earbuds out of her ears and returned my “Hey” as Riley wrapped her arms around Teddy’s legs. Teddy looked down at my daughter, which gave me a chance to really take her in. I dragged my gaze down her body and tried not to make it too obvious that I wished I was the drop of sweat that was making its way down her chest and disappearing inside her top.

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