Salvaged: A Love Story

  As I entered the holding room, Gramps was busying himself by putting away supplies.

  “Gramps, are you sure it’s okay? You don’t mind?”

  “Go, Atticus. Don’t you worry about me.”

  “All right then.” I carefully placed Baby back in her cage and told her that I would be back soon.

  Walking back out into the reception area, Tammy hopped up out of her chair. “Let’s get moving.”

  “Thanks for inviting me, girls. I appreciate it.”

  Tess gave me a small hug. “We couldn’t stand the thought of you having to work all day. It is summer, you know.”

  “It’s not that bad. I get a car out of the deal.”

  Tammy nodded. “Cool. Does he need any more help around here? I could use a car too.”

  We hadn’t been sitting at our table for thirty seconds before the interrogation began.

  Tammy started them off. “Okay, chick, spill the beans.”

  Anne leaned toward me with wide, excited eyes. “We want to know all the details.”

  I tried to act like I didn’t know what they were asking me. “What are we talking about here, girls?”

  “Do I have ‘DUMB’ written on my forehead?” Tammy asked. “Spill it, sister.”

  “What’s the point? You don’t believe me anyway. I’m being honest when I say that there’s nothing going on between Riley and me. Nothing interesting anyway.”

  Tammy threw her arms up in disgust. “Oh, come on!”

  “I don’t believe it,” Tess said. “He looks at you like he wants to lay one on you.”

  Tammy made a clawing motion with her hand. “Reeoow.”

  “Good grief, guys. Aren’t you exaggerating a bit?”

  “No!” they replied simultaneously.

  Anne pointed at herself. “I’ve known Riley for years, and I’ve never seen him act this way over anyone before.”

  “He’s in love.” Tess’s voice was wishful.

  “Dang straight,” Tammy agreed. “Bom-chicka-wah-wah.”

  I rolled my eyes as I felt my face begin to warm. “You guys are embarrassing.”

  Tammy laughed. “Embarrassing my friends is what I live for.”

  I looked over at Jennifer in hopes that she would be a voice of reason amongst the craziness. “Are they always like this?”

  “Yes. But who can blame them? We are talking about Riley Bennett, the most popular boy in school.”

  “Oh good grief, not you too?”

  Jennifer gave me a sympathetic grin. “Sorry. I used to have a huge crush on him, but he never gave me the time of day.”

  “Sorry.” It felt weird to know my new friend once had a crush on the boy who now had a crush on me. I felt guilty about it actually.

  Jennifer continued. “Matt says Riley talks about you all the time. ‘Attie this and Attie that.’ There’s no doubt about it, Riley’s hooked.”

  “Honestly, Attie, you don’t like him at all?” Tess’s disappointment was obvious.

  “I didn’t say that exactly.”

  “I knew it.” Anne squealed.

  “You do like him!” Tess now sounded delighted.

  Anne moved her plate out of the way, placed her elbows on the table, and leaned toward me. “Does he like you?”

  I sat back and started chewing on my thumbnail. “You’d have to ask him.”

  “Oh, I plan on it.”

  I sat straight up. “Don’t you dare, Tammy. I would die.”

  “Okay, already, I wouldn’t want you to die over it.”

  “Look, girls, as soon as there’s more to know, if there’s more to know, you’ll be the first I tell. Can we change the topic now?”

  They obliged and spent the next hour filling me in on must-know scoop about the school and the people who inhabited it.

  I wasn’t quite finished with my meal when Anne announced that she, Tess, and Jennifer needed to take off.

  “You go,” Tammy said. “I’ll stay with Attie.”

  Within moments they were off, Tammy and I were alone, and I was afraid, very afraid. Her radar was like nobody I’d ever known, and she could smell a rat in my Riley confession.

  “Okay, Attie, it’s just us. Tell me what in the heck’s going on with you two.”

  Now normally I wouldn’t tell a person I hardly knew my deepest, most intimate secrets, but there was something about her that made me feel I could trust her.

  “Oh, Tammy, it would take forever for me to fill you in.”

  “I’ve got all day. Spill it.”

  So I did. I told her everything. About the accident, recovery in the hospital, moving to Oklahoma, the nightmares, Riley sleeping next to me, and his confession. All of it right out there for her to know.

  She sat silently listening to the whole story and waited until I was completely finished before saying a word. “If I were you, I’d jump his bones.”

  “Tammy!”

  “I’m just sayin’.”

  The Truman Ranch had always been one of my favorite places to visit. They were extremely wealthy and their home was amazing. It was by far the largest house I’d ever seen. My favorite part of the property was the stables. The family owned dozens of beautiful stallions, and the facilities were incredible.

  A strange voice echoed through the metal building. “Hey, Doc Reed.”

  “Well hello, Cooper.” Gramps walked over to the blonde boy who called his name. “You ‘bout to head back to school?”

  The boy looked over at me. “Yes, sir, as soon as break is over.”

  “Good. Are you enjoying your summer?”

  “Yes, sir, very much.” His eyes stayed on me. Although I couldn’t put my finger on why, I felt weird. Maybe it was the way he was looking at me. I imagined that it was the same way I looked at homemade rice crispy treats every time my mother had made them for me—full of longing. The gaze is completely acceptable when one is looking at dessert but not so much so when a guy is looking at a girl he just met. He was giving me the creeps.

  “Who is this you have with you, Doc?”

  “Oh yeah, sorry. This is my granddaughter, Atticus.”

  I reached out to shake his hand. “It’s Attie.”

  “Well hello, Attie. I’m Cooper. It’s very nice to meet you.”

  “You too.” We shook hands, and as I pulled my hand back, I wiped it on my jeans. Where was antibacterial gel when a girl needed it? “Uh, your horses are beautiful.”

  I started walking toward a horse in an attempt to break his stare.

  “Yes, they are.” He followed me. “They’re my dad’s passion. I think he loves the horses more than his children.”

  I looked for Gramps in hopes that he would rescue me, but he was busy examining one of the horse’s hooves. “Oh, I doubt that. They are amazing though.”

  “So are you here visiting your grandpa for the summer?”

  “My Gramps,” I corrected. “Well, actually my family is moving back here.”

  He gave me a big smile. “Oh, great.”

  I was fidgeting. “Yes … great.”

  “Are you in high school or college?”

  “I’ll be a senior in high school. And you?”

  “I’ll be in my second year at Cornell.”

  “Oh. How nice for you,” I mumbled under my breath. He was full of himself, and I’d had quite enough of his pompous, overly friendly attitude. I silently prayed for him to go away.

  “Atticus, could you come over here and help me please?” Gramps finally came through and rescued me.

  “Nice to meet you, Cooper. Maybe I’ll see you around.”

  “Are you not coming to my pool party on Friday
? I think most everyone else is.”

  “Oh, is it your party? I’ve heard about it.”

  He grinned. “You should come. I’ll make sure to look for you.”

  “Great.” I tried to sound enthusiastic.

  “Hope to see you around, Attie.”

  “Uh-huh.” I quickly walked away from Cooper and joined Gramps. “What can I help you with?”

  “Nuthin’, you just looked like you needed a little rescue.”

  “I did. Thanks for saving me.”

  “That’s what I’m here for, Atticus.”

  After examining the horses, we headed back to the clinic to shut down for the day and found Riley’s car parked in the clinic parking lot.

  “Wonder what Riley’s doing here?”

  “Did he not tell you that he’d be picking you up?”

  “No.”

  “Well, we’ve got a plan, the Bennetts and I. We’re coordinating your transportation so we can get you where you need to be. Until you get your license anyway.”

  I watched as Riley got out of his car and was making his way toward us.

  “I’m sorry that I’m such a moron and I’ve become a burden to everyone around me.”

  Riley arrived at the truck with a large grin on his face, and I felt my spirits lift.

  “Oh, you’re not a burden to any of us, Atticus. Anyone would be happy to have you keep ‘em company during a car ride. Isn’t that right, Riley?”

  “Yes, sir,” he said with a wink.

  “That kid you met today sure looked like he’d enjoy keeping you company. He’d probly drive you anywhere you wanted to go.”

  “What kid?” Riley asked as he leaned onto the car window and grinned at my Gramps.

  “That Truman boy. He took a likin’ to Atticus.”

  “Oh really?” Riley asked, looking over at me with a frown.

  “No, not really,” I corrected.

  “Oh yeah, he did,” Gramps responded. “Who could blame him though, right, Riley?”

  “Not me, Dr. Reed.” Riley opened the truck door so that I could get out. “I couldn’t blame him at all.”

  He opened his mouth to say something more, but I pointed my finger in his face. “Shut it, Riley. Not another word out of you about this subject.”

  “Yes, ma’am. I’ll be nice.”

  I walked toward his car. “Thank you so much.”

  He ran past me to the passenger side door and opened it. “You’re welcome very much.”

  Riley shut the door behind me, trotted around the front of the car, and got in the driver’s side. A grin filled his face. “Good day?”

  “Yes.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  “Well, this morning when I got to the clinic, there was this adorable little puppy named Baby. Somebody’d thrown her in the trash … ”

  I told him the full day with details but left out the conversation that I shared with the girls and then Tammy individually.

  “So what about Cooper Truman?” he asked.

  “You know him?”

  “Oh yeah. Should I be worried?”

  “No,” I said with a roll of my eyes. “He was a pompous jerk.”

  A cheesy tooth-filled grin filled his face. “Good.”

  “How about you, Riley, how was your day?”

  “Good.”

  “Did you do anything?”

  “No, not really.” He shrugged. “Just hung around the house.”

  “You need to get out more.”

  His dimples appeared as he laughed. “Yes, I do. I definitely need to get out more.”

  We arrived at home, and as I went to open my car door, Riley snapped at me. “Don’t you dare.”

  “What? Oh, good grief, Riley, I can open my own car door.”

  “I know you can open your door. I just don’t want you to. I wanna do it.” He jumped out, ran around, and opened the door for me. “How can I compete with Mr. Darcy if you won’t even let me open your door?”

  I patted his smiling face and walked toward the house. “Well, Mr. Darcy doesn’t actually exist, so odds are in your favor.”

  “Sweet.”

  Riley’s parents stood in the foyer as we made our way inside. “Why don’t you go wash up for dinner?” Mrs. Bennett suggested.

  “Okay. I’ll do that and then be right back down.”

  I started up the stairs but only took a few steps before realizing that the Bennetts were following me.

  “Everything okay?” I asked, turning to face them.

  They all nodded with large grins plastered on their faces.

  “All righty then.”

  I turned back around and continued my assent with their footsteps continuing to follow mine up the stairs. Making it to Melody’s room door, I turned to them again. “Okay … well here I am. I’m going in now.”

  Mrs. Bennett was grinning and bobbing her head. “All right!”

  They didn’t budge.

  “What’s going on? You guys are freaking me out!”

  “Just open the dang door, Charlie.”

  “Fine.” I obeyed, and as soon as the door opened, cheerful yellow walls greeted me.

  I gasped. “What in the world? What did you do?”

  It was no longer Melody’s room; it had completely changed. The walls were now a cheery pale yellow, and the wood trim had been painted white. All of Melody’s old furniture was painted white as well, and a brand new daybed with new bedding sat in front of the window.

  Mrs. Bennett jumped up and down. “It’s ‘shabby chic’, Attie. Do you like it? Do you like it?”

  “Do I like it? I love it!”

  I walked into the room and directly to the wall where the bed previously sat. Several charcoal sketches hung on the wall framed in whitewashed frames with moss green linen borders. They covered almost the entire wall. It was breathtaking. The largest, in the middle, was a drawing of the Christmas card picture that we had taken last year. I looked at the others: Gramps and Me-Maw leaning up against the side of his truck; my parents’ wedding portrait; Melody, Riley, and I at about six years old sitting on the porch eating popsicles; Mr. and Mrs. Bennett and my parents gathered together at a table; Riley in his costume from last night; and a rolled up sleeping bag. The last frame that I laid my eyes on held a sketch of my mother and me. She looked happy and beautiful.

  “This is the most amazing and kind thing anyone has ever done for me.”

  Mrs. Bennett came up and stood behind me. “We wanted you to have a place of your own while you were here.”

  Turning around, I threw myself into Mrs. Bennett’s arms. “Thank you so much.” I was sobbing. What else was new?

  “You’re very welcome, Attiline.” Pops walked over and gave me a kiss on the top of my head. “Do you like where we put the bed? Riley said you liked to sit under the window.”

  I glanced over at Riley. He was leaning against the doorframe with a large grin on his face.

  “I love where you put the bed. I love all of it.”

  Mrs. Bennett released me and clapped. “Oh goody!”

  I turned back to the pictures. “Who drew these? They’re so beautiful.”

  “Oh, that was Riley. It doesn’t take him any time at all.”

  “Riley? You drew these?”

  I spun around and saw him walking toward me. “Yeah.”

  “I didn’t know you were an artist.”

  He reached out and pulled me to his chest. “Hmm, I wonder what else you don’t know about me.”

  I squeezed his neck as he hugged me. “Thank you so much. I love them.”

  “I’m glad that you like them. You’re
welcome.”

  Pops loudly cleared his throat, and Riley released me from his grip and shoved his hands in his pockets.

  “Well, we’ll leave you to look around,” Pops announced.

  “Dinner in thirty minutes,” Mrs. Bennett added.

  I felt my body droop when I discovered that Riley was following his parents out of my room. “You aren’t staying, Riley?”

  “Hold your horses, I’ll be right back.”

  “Good.” Sitting on the bed and taking in the view of my room, I realized that not all of the frames housed pictures. “What’s with the empty frames?” I yelled.

  “I’ve got a plan for two of them, but it’s a secret.” He walked back into the room with a wrapped gift in his hands. “The others are for pictures from the future. Like maybe one of us.”

  “Sounds great to me. Future romance or not, you’re my best friend.” I eyed the gift. “Even more so if that’s a present for me.”

  He smirked as he handed it to me. “It sure is.”

  “Oooh, I love gifts!”

  “Figured as much.”

  I tore open the wrapping paper, causing shreds of paper to fly into the air. Riley tried to catch them as they fell back to the earth, but most of it landed scattered on the bed. “You got me a cordless phone? I love it!”

  “Correction, I got us a cordless phone.”

  “Same difference.” I quickly hugged him. “Oh, Riley, thanks.”

  “I figured I had to do something to get you out of my room every once in awhile.”

  I opened the box and removed the phone.

  “So did you mean what you said about me being your best friend?” he asked.

  “Yes, you are my best friend.” I set the box down and looked at him. His eyes were full of admiration. “I don’t know what I would do without you, Riley. I believe God sent you to me.”

  “I do too. No doubt.” He hesitated. “But have you ever thought about the fact that God could have brought you to me too?”

  “Pardon? What do you mean?”

  “Well, you act like you’re the only one who needed someone. Maybe I needed someone too.”

  “You? But you’ve got it all together.”

  “Well, that’s not true.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “I was struggling. Not to the same extent that you are, but I was having a hard time. My faith was shaken pretty badly, and I didn’t have anyone who believed what I did, or to the same degree anyway. I didn’t have anyone to support me living out what I believe God’s called me to. A higher standard for myself, I guess.”