Page 10 of Lost and Lassoed

“Yeah,” I said, and hung up the phone. I slid my phone back into my vest, grabbed Scout’s reins, and kicked at his middle. “Let’s go, boy. I gotta get home to my baby girl.”

Chapter 5

Teddy

“Hey, Cloma,” I said with a smile. “What brings you in so late?” I was working on inventory—making sure all the sales from this week were updated and that what was in the store matched what we had in our records.

I’d been working at Cloma’s boutique on Main Street since I came back to Meadowlark after college. It was technically called Lace and Lavender, but I couldn’t get behind that, so I just called it the boutique. Plus, it was the only one in Meadowlark, so it couldn’t be confused with anything else.

I started out as a regular sales associate, but pretty soon Cloma recognized that my fashion merchandising degree could be of use to her. Now I was the buyer for the boutique, and I had also built out our website and e-commerce presence from the ground up.

E-commerce made up over sixty percent of our revenue. We sold unique, high-quality Western wear, and we shipped it all over the world. I spent about half of my working hours at the boutique and the other half at home, which was nice; I liked to keep an eye on my dad.

Plus, Cloma let me produce my own designs and sell them locally. There were two racks of Teddy Andersen originals at the front of the store, and they sold well—the best sellers in the boutique this week, according to the inventory I’d just checked. I was proud of the work I did here.

And Cloma was great. She was in her midfifties. She wasn’t from Meadowlark, but she’d been here for over ten years. Herlong hair was dyed a deep purple. Her eyeliner was always smudged perfectly, and she was always wearing a Stevie Nicksesque shawl.

She rarely came by so late in the day, but I was happy to see her, and I greeted her with a hug.

She hugged me back.

“I’m glad I caught you,” she said as she pulled back from the hug. She gave me a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Do you have a second to chat before you go?”

“Sure,” I said, feeling uneasy. Something about Cloma felt…off. She walked toward the counter, and I followed. I noticed that she was carrying a good-sized brown paper bag. She sat on one of the tall stools behind the counter, and I took the other one. “Is everything okay?” I asked.

“Everything is great,” she said, but her tone wasn’t convincing. “I have something exciting to tell you.” For some reason, I doubted that. This conversation was weird. I’d never had a weird conversation with Cloma.

“Okay…”

“I’ve sold Lace and Lavender. I signed the contract yesterday.”

I was…confused. She’d sold the boutique? “Like, the building?” I asked dumbly.

The smile Cloma gave me was knowing. “No, honey. I soldthe boutique. The name.” I blinked a couple of times—at a loss for words (rare, I know). “A brand bought it—the rights to the name,” she said. “I trademarked the name Lavender and Lace a long time ago—which turned out to be a damn good decision. A few years ago, a brand reached out and was interested in buying me out of the name. I said no. This time when they called, I said yes. I could either rebrand or let this place go.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Why did they buy it?” I mean, sure, but that’s not what I was asking.

“No, why did you say yes this time?” My voice was softer than I wanted it to be. I didn’t know how to process what was happening.

Something flashed across Cloma’s face. Sadness, maybe? “I’ve been selling clothes my whole life,” she said. “That’s all I’ve ever done—all I’ve ever wanted to do—but you know as well as I do that it’s not always lucrative.” That was true. The profit margin on clothing was…not great. “But I’m getting older, and it’s time for me to move on. This sale gives me a chance to do that and to be comfortable while doing so.”

“What does this mean?”For meis the part of the sentence I don’t say.

Cloma sighed. “It means that the boutique is closing.” Fuck. I stopped looking at her. I looked at the wall behind her instead. The silver of a belt buckle caught my eye. I focused there.

Don’t cry, Teddy.

“Why can’t we just rebrand?” I asked. My voice was unrecognizable, even to me. “I could do it,” I said. “I could do the whole thing. I know I could.” But Cloma shook her head.

“It’s not worth the cost, Teddy,” she said. “Not just in money, but in time and energy. Sometimes things just run their course, and you have to let them go. That doesn’t mean that it wasn’t worthwhile and wonderful, it just means that maybe we should try something new.” Cloma sighed. “It’s time for a change. For both of us.”

“But I’ll be out of a job.” My voice broke on the last word, and I hated the way it sounded. My emotions were all over the place lately, and my hold on them was getting less and less stable.

“I’m so sorry, Teddy,” Cloma said. It sounded like she meant it, but that didn’t make me feel better.

“When?” I asked.

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