Page 88 of Wild and Wrangled

“Well, you and Cam is the obvious topic of conversation,” she said. “But after this morning, I wanted to talk to you about Riley. You showed up for her today.”

“She asked me to come.” I shrugged.

“And you nearly blew everyone’s eardrums with how loud you were cheering for her.”

“I think that was your fiancé,” I said.

“It was both of you,” Teddy said. “Anyway, I wanted to see how you were feeling about it all. If you’re with Cam, you’ve gotta love them both,” she said.

“I do,” I said without thinking.

I thought about Riley a lot. Just like her mom, she was so easy for me to love.

She was funny and smart and tenacious. I found myself wondering about her more often these days—curious about what she was learning in school or how her day was or if she felt off-kilter in her saddle that wasn’t quite sized right.

I thought about the life that Cam had built for Riley—not the life that she’d built with the help of Gus and his family, but the parts of Riley’s life that Cam had built on her own. When Riley was at Gus’s, she had a seemingly never-ending group of people who wanted to see her and jumped at the chance to take care of her. When she was with Cam, it was just the two of them. Both of those dynamics were special, but I wondered if Cam ever felt pressure to be…more. I would, if it was me.

Even though it was impossible for Cam to be more than she already was.

“Good,” Teddy said. “Because it’s a special thing—to be part of this little unit Cam and Gus have created. Riley has no shortage of people who love her, but it’s different being the other half of one of her parents. It can be a lot, but it’s worth it.”

“Of course it is,” I said and then paused for a second. “Do you ever…worry about it? About how you fit into Riley’s life? I want to be there for her—I want to be part of it all, but I don’t want to overstep or anything.”

“All the time,” Teddy said. “But we have the easy way out. We get to take our cues from Cam and Gus. It’s their partnership that makes Riley’s life so special.”

I nodded. “Any advice?”

Teddy thought about that for a second. “Don’t put pressure on yourself to ‘fit’ into their lives. The Ryders—and I’m including Cam in that family tree—are experts at making room for people exactly as they are.”

“You’re very wise, Theodora,” I said after I let her words sink in.

“I know, Terrance.” She grinned.

I rubbed my hand down my face. “I can’t believe my mom blew my secret.”

“That’s why she’s my favorite Tucker,” Teddy said. A car horn honked, and she opened my driver’s-side door. “That’s my cue. I’ll see you later.”

“Thank you, Teddy. You’re a good friend.”

“I know,” she said, and then she was gone. I sat in my truck a little longer, thinking about Cam and Riley and families and futures and love—all of it.

I’d never fallen out of love with Cam—not in all the time we were apart. Cam taught me what it was like to love and be loved. I took that with me around the world. I built upon it and every type of love I’d felt was compared to it, and nothing had ever come close—it was always her. It was always going to be her.

When I got out of my truck, I saw the soft, warm glow that was coming from Cam’s kitchen.

I started walking toward it—like a moth to a flame. I paused when I saw Cam through her kitchen window. She had papers spread all over the kitchen counter and the cap of a highlighter in her mouth. Her laptop and iPad were set up near her, too. Working. Always working. Always worrying.

I walked a few more steps to her back door and tapped on it with my knuckles. She had music playing, so I couldn’t hear it when she got up from the table, but a few seconds later, her back door cracked open.

“Hey,” she said. “Everything okay?”

I nodded. “It is now. Can I come in?”

Her eyes widened for a second. “Um,” she said. “Yeah, but I feel like I should warn you that I’m not wearing any pants.”

I barked out a laugh. “Wasn’t Gus just in here?”

“Whipped them off as soon as he left,” she said.

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