Page 80 of Lost and Lassoed

“Tonight is the first night that our upstairs is open.” Another cheer. I looked over at Emmy, who had her hands clasped under her chin. I felt the pride rolling off her as she looked up at Brooks. “And it’s finally time for Sue’s inaugural ride.” The loudest cheers yet.

“I’m not much of a talker, but Sue’s first rider deserves a little bit of an intro, and I think you’ll agree. She is incomparable, she is fearless, and well, she’s loud as fuck. It’s Teddy Andersen, everyone!”

The cheer that erupted from the bar probably causedseismic activity throughout Meadowlark. One of the people onstage shifted a spotlight, and I followed its beam. It landed right on Teddy, who was at the back of the bar, alight with the attention that was on her.

She flashed her signature Teddy smile, and my heart thundered in my ears.

The band started playing as she made her way toward the bull pen. I didn’t think I’d ever heard the Devil’s Boot band play anything but country, but right now they were playing “Strutter,” by Kiss.

Which was the perfect song, because Teddy was strutting toward the pen, the light hitting the silver of her outfit and sending glittering orbs throughout the bar.

It had never been more obvious that she was the daughter of a rock star, even if she couldn’t sing for shit.

Everyone was zeroed in on her—including me. She waved and twirled and blew kisses, giving everyone a show, and goddamn, I could’ve watched her all night.

Between the vibration of the bass and kick drum and the cheers from the crowd, there was so much Teddy. A few months ago, I would’ve said it was too much, but now it didn’t feel like enough.

She made it to the bull pen at the start of the second chorus. Brooks helped her step in, and then she mounted.

The way she slung her leg over the bull and then did this little hop to get situated made me want her riding other things. My things. Mouth, cock, hand, whatever. I didn’t care.

“Ready, Ted?” Brooks asked into the mic, and Teddy gave him a “Hell yeah.” It wasn’t audible above the crowd noise, but I read her lips. I looked over at my little sister, who was cheering louder than anyone else for her best friend.

Teddy lifted her right hand and held on to the bull with her left. The guitar solo in “Strutter” had just started when Brooks said, “One hand, for eight seconds, in three…two…one!”

Sue started to move, around and up and down. There was a countdown on the bull pen.

Teddy looked a little shaky on the first buck, but she recovered. She got hit with two hard bucks immediately after that but stayed on. I never thought I’d be so invested in a mechanical bull ride, but I didn’t think I was even breathing.

Teddy got thrown to the side and everybody in the room hollered some version of “Hang on,” and she did. With two seconds left, Teddy let out a “Yeehaw,” and everyone else did too. Sue gave her one final buck, and I thought Teddy might go down, but she didn’t.

When Sue came to a halt, Teddy was still firmly mounted.

The crowd clapped and whistled and cheered. And Teddy, who wasn’t one to let a moment go to waste, stood on Sue’s back with her arms stretched out to each side, which caused the cheers to get louder and louder. She put her hand to her ear in an “I can’t hear you” gesture, and the crowd took that to heart, giving it their all.

I was grinning. My face actually hurt, which I don’t think had ever happened to me before.

When Teddy jumped down from the bull, I started making my way over to the pen. I wasn’t the only one; there was a line of men waiting to shoot their shot with the woman who had just ridden the hell out of that bull.

Sucked for them that she was mine, didn’t it?

The band had moved on to another song, and the crowd had started to go back to their own thing. Teddy was talking to one of her many admirers when I made it to her.

When she saw me, she lit up even more. It’s a miracle her smile didn’t blind me.

I put my hand on the shoulder of the man who was talking to her and said, “Out of my way,” and then I grabbed her by the chaps and hauled her mouth to mine. I kissed her like we were the only two people in the bar. She kissed me back with equal fervor, and I couldn’t have cared less that everyone was watching.

I wanted them to. I wanted them to know that Theodora Andersen was mine.

When I pulled back from our kiss, her blue eyes were dazed and dopey. “Come home with me,” I said.

“Yes, please,” she said. “Now.” Shit, that worked for me. I grabbed her hand and started pulling her toward the door.

I saw that my siblings’ and my friends’ mouths were wide open, except for Ada’s. She slapped Wes on the arm, and I couldn’t tell for sure, but I think I heard her say, “You owe me fifty dollars.”

I didn’t look at anyone else on the way out. I was a man on a mission. And that mission—to put it in the most respectful way possible—was to get into Teddy Andersen’s pants.

It didn’t matter that it was summer in Meadowlark, it was always cool when the sun went down. So when Teddy and I pushed through the door of the Devil’s Boot, I got a blast of cool breeze.

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