Page 85 of Wild and Wrangled

But I wanted a drink. I wanted to be surrounded by people. I liked people watching. It made me feel less alone, and today, I felt alone.

Today was the first day that I existed in a world without Renny Tucker, which was enough to make me want to lie on the floor and not get up. It wasn’t like Renny and I talked all the time—especially since things between Dusty and me ended. But I liked knowing that the Tucker family was still here. Some piece of Dusty was still here.

I’d only been back here a few months. After four years at college, a gap year spent abroad, and the internship my father secured for me before I took the LSAT, everything about this place felt the same.

It was comforting, actually.

And while I looked around the Devil’s Boot, my mind did the same thing it had done for the last seven years: wandered back to Dusty. I didn’t normally let it stay there for very long, but tonight, I did.

Because even though we hadn’t actually spoken in years, my chest ached for him tonight. I wished I could call him. I wished I could offer him something—comfort, someone to talk to, anything.

I pulled out my phone and scrolled through it until I found Dusty’s contact. I felt my heartbeat in my ears as my thumb hovered over it. A text wouldn’t hurt, right? It was normal for me to send my condolences. After all, I loved his dad, too. I tapped the message icon and typed out a few lines before I deleted them. I did this at least ten times until I settled on something simple—surface level but still kind.

Cam:Hey. It’s Cam. I’m sorry about your dad. Thinking of you.

My thumb hovered over the send arrow. I took a deep breath, but before I could bring it down and commit, someone bumped into me, and my phone fell to the middle of the bar.

“Oh, shit,” a man’s voice said. “I’m so sorry. It’s crazy in here tonight.”

When I looked up, I was met with striking green eyes and a frown. Gus Ryder. He looked flustered, keyed up, kind of, and he was breathing heavily like he had run from somewhere.

“It’s okay,” I said, reaching across the bar for my phone. When I picked it up and saw the message was still unsent on the screen, I felt my courage from a few seconds ago evaporate. “You probably just saved me from doing something stupid.”

I saw Gus glance down at my phone. Could he read the name on the screen?

“I wish I could stop myself from doing stupid things,” he said with a humorless laugh.

“Rough night?” I asked, interested. I didn’t know Gus very well, though I had been friendly with Wes in school. But I knew he didn’t tend to get his feathers ruffled.

He dragged a large hand down his face. “Weird night,” he said. “You’re Cam Ashwood, right?”

I nodded.

“Gus Ryder.” He held his hand out for me to shake. I took it.

“I know,” I said. “So, what stupid thing did you do tonight?” Gus let out a long sigh, and I laughed a little. “That bad, huh?”

“That bad.” He nodded.

“Do you, um, want to talk about it?” I asked. I didn’t know why—I barely knew this guy. He just looked like he needed a friend, and Gus’s best friend, Luke Brooks, seemed to be occupied. I could see him by the jukebox. He had his arms around two older men, and all of them were singing along to “Family Tradition” by Hank Williams Jr. very loudly and very poorly.

“Maybe after I get you a refill?” Gus looked at my almost empty vodka soda. One of the corners of his mouth tilted up just a little, and it occurred to me that most people would probably find him handsome. I guess I did, too. I just had a thing for blonds.

“Sure,” I said, maintaining eye contact with him. Were we…flirting? Gus waved down the bartender and asked for a beer and turned to me.

“Vodka soda,” I said.

“On my tab,” Gus said. “And kick Brooks off of it while you’re at it.” The bartender gave Gus a nod.

After that, Gus and I fell into easy conversation. From what I knew about him, Gus wasn’t really a talker, but our conversation was easy. He talked about Rebel Blue. I talked about prepping for the LSAT and going to law school. Both of us laughed when one of the bar patrons did the worm in the middle of the floor without a shirt.

And, a couple hours later, when Gus asked me if I wanted to head somewhere else, I said yes without thinking twice about it.

—

The next morning, my phone buzzed, and when I saw the name on the screen, my heart took off like a rocket. Dusty Tucker. It was a response to the text I typed out last night. I didn’t know when I had sent it. Maybe in Gus’s truck? Maybe later?

Dusty:Thank you. It means a lot.

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