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We’ve been leaning on each other ever since.
Alr crying
But Emmy and Brooks were made for each other, and I loved them both.
He was just so…grumpy. Men who are that good-looking should not be allowed to be such assholes. It was false advertising.
“Hey, pornstache. Nice of you to join us.”
“Fuck off, Theodora,”
Even though I was loath to admit it, Teddy was a knockout.
Teddy wore this dark green dress that just…Never mind. The point is that I know Teddy is pretty. Beautiful, even. But beautiful like a lion or an elk or any other large and dangerous animal. Beautiful to look at, but you didn’t want to get too close because it’d rip your throat out or trample you or spear you to death with its giant horns. So yeah. Teddy was beautiful or whatever.
But now it felt like this jacket was just another piece of my life that was going to get left behind, another part of me that was going to get left behind.
Growing up, I was always ahead of everyone else. I made my own path, and I forged ahead fearlessly. I was the leader in my life.
Oh teddy, you and i are going to get along just fine.
I loved to be loved. There was only one Teddy Andersen. Here, I was ahead of the game. So how did I get so behind?
And for the first time since I’d known him, Luke Brooks didn’t hit back. That’s when I knew I’d fucked up.
And you bet your ass the corners of the bedding were tucked and crisp. The thought of Gus having to make this bed for me and not being constitutionally capable of half-assing it made me smile.
“This is my ranch, Theodora.” “No, this is your dad’s ranch, August.”
“You know, no one under fifty is going to get that joke.” “You’re under fifty,” I said. “Yeah, but I’m me.” “And thank god for that,”
“Good,” Riley said. “I knocked a girl over.” “Your mom would be proud.”
“Like…” I hesitated. “Does it bother you that everyone else is falling in love or getting married or having babies or planning on having babies and you and I are the same people we’ve always been?” “What’s wrong with the people we’ve always been?” Dusty asked. “Nothing. It’s just…I thought I would be settled by now. Not like married or with babies, but I thought…I would have a better idea of where I was going.”
“If we’re both not settled by the time we’re forty, do you wanna get married?” Dusty laughed loud enough that we got several looks from other diner patrons.
“Teddy isn’t irresponsible,” I responded. Fuck, someone better write this day down in the Meadowlark history books, because I’d never said that before. I’d never believed it before. But then Teddy started being Riley’s nanny or whatever, and I believed it now.
HES SO INTO HER IT HURTS
Fuck, no. This woman was not about to lecture my six-year-old on what foods she should and shouldn’t have.
My little lunatic.
actually thought i wasnt gonna like him as much but here we fucking are.
He was stammering. I liked it.
yes i giggled and so would you???
Gus looked around at me again. He’d paused on the T-shirt he was folding, and his voice was sincere when he said, “I hope you find what you’re looking for, Teddy.” “I hope you do too.” And I really did.
hey guys you know it would be great if you guys ended up together huh? yall are like the only two single mfs left in medowlark???
I wondered whether I could taste the sun on her skin. Jesus, Gus. Do you think you’re a poet? Check yourself.
“You’re not supposed to say ‘fucking,’ Dad,” Riley said, and I had to bite back another smile. I shot Riley the sternest look I could muster, and I watched the lightbulb go on in her head. “Oh,” she said. “I’m not supposed to say that either.”
I wasn’t like Ada—I couldn’t DIY the shit out of literally everything—but I could art the shit out of anything.
ADA MY LOVR COME BACK TO MEEEEE
“She’s curious and fearless like Wes,” I replied. “She has a bit of a reckless streak like Brooks. She’s analytical and has the memory of an elephant like Cam. She’s stubborn like you.” I shot a pointed look at Gus. “She’s kind like your dad, and she’s brave like Emmy.”
im going to crawl into a ball and start crying this is so fuckinh cute
“Tell me, Teddy…baby. Can I touch you like this?”
I SWEAR MY PANTS WERE JUST ON
“You’re insane, Teddy baby,”
PLEASEEEE
Sometimes I was so focused on what I thought Rebel Blue Ranch could be that I forgot that everything it was was because of Amos Ryder.
well fuck me.
“I love it when you talk dirty, Ada Hart.”
No matter how old I got, I would never be too old for this. After a few minutes, my dad went back to sleep. His breathing got slow and even. I stayed awake. I watched his chest rise and fall, and I listened to his heartbeat—the kick drum that I couldn’t live without.
Amos Ryder was steady as a river, as grounded as a deep-rooted tree, and as calm as a pond on a sunny day. But he did have the nose scrunch thing—his tell that his emotions were overwhelming him. I saw it when Riley was born, when Emmy raced her last race in Meadowlark, when Wes showed us Baby Blue for the first time, when Brooks graduated from high school, when Cam got into law school, and whenever it was time for one of our horses to move on from this life.
HE LOVES SO LOVELY
“Luke went and picked her up. They’re going fishing.” That brought a smile to my face. Riley would love that.
“You can cry, Teddy,” he said. And so I cried. And cried. And August Ryder held me the whole time.
i am also crying so!
“Roll with the punches, Teddy Andersen. And punch back if you need to,”
Riley slipped her hand into Teddy’s, and they walked hand in hand up to Teddy’s front door, and I thought I might collapse. I wanted to see that sight over and over again for the rest of my life.
“Can girls be drummers?” Before I could say anything, Teddy said, “Hell fucking yeah, girls can be drummers!” And a grin broke out on my face.
“Just so we’re abundantly clear—you are”—she gagged a little bit—“sleeping with my brother?” “I thought Luke Brooks would’ve fucked that gag reflex right out of you by now,” I quipped. “Not the time, Ted,” Emmy said, holding up her palm.
I MISS BROOKS SO BAD BRO
Fuck. Fuck. Teddy Andersen was a knockout.
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.
I wanted them to know that Theodora Andersen was mine.
I knew then that I’d never be able to tell this woman no ever again.
“Don’t you dare open that door on your own, Theodora.”
I’ll tell you what: I’d never seen a cowboy’s pants come off faster.
I might love you,
Also, his name was Graham? I’d been calling him Greg this whole time.
It’s okay to want her. It’s okay to want. You have so much love to give, Gus. I see it in the way that you love our daughter and in the way you care for your family—me included—and I just want you to have someone who can love you back the same way.”
“You have to believe in me,” I said, rolling my eyes to keep all the things I was feeling at bay. “You’re my dad.” “And a damn proud one.” “You’re getting soft in your old age,” I said.
because both of you love and live the same way—with your entire heart.
“Luke is my fiancé, my partner, my everything. But you’re my soulmate, Teddy Andersen, and I’m the luckiest girl in the world because of it.”
CRYING THEYRE THE PERFECT BEST FRIENDS
