Salvaged: A Love Story

by Stefne Miller

  Frustrated by his presence, I asked the obvious question. “What are you doing here?”

  “Surprise, I’m working here now—or volunteering.”

  I’m certain that my jaw dropped. “Pardon?” Surely I hadn’t heard him correctly. God wouldn’t play such a cruel practical joke on a poor soul like myself. Would he?

  I looked at Gramps hoping that he would clarify the situation, but he just smiled.

  “Well,” Cooper said, “I took the liberty of calling your dad in Ithaca to let him know that I would be coming back to Cornell in the fall and I’m studying vet med. We got to talking, and he gave me all kinds of great information, just like you said he would.”

  “You called my dad? In New York?”

  “Yeah, our dads know each other, so I figured why not?” He gave a shrug and waited for me to respond, but seeing as how I couldn’t speak due to a case of complete shock, he continued talking without missing a beat. “While we were on the phone, he mentioned your Gramps here. Your dad said he’d give Doc a call and talk to him about letting me intern this summer.”

  “You talked to my dad? I haven’t even talked to my dad,” I whispered.

  “Isn’t it mind-blowing?”

  “You’ll be working here all summer?”

  “Tuesdays and Thursdays.” An obnoxious, large grin spread across his face. “So, Attie, we’ll be seeing a lot of each other this summer. Isn’t that great?”

  “Wonderful,” I lied and faked a little enthusiasm.

  “I’m totally stoked about it.” He was practically giddy. “This is going to be awesome!”

  “Yes, it certainly will be,” I lied again.

  “Yeah, Princess,” Gramps finally spoke, “I figured with your counselin’ sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays takin’ up part of the mornin’s that those might be the best days for Cooper to help out ‘round here.”

  Was I mistaken or had my grandfather told a complete stranger that I was in counseling?

  “So you don’t need me on Tuesdays and Thursdays then?”

  “Yeah, I still need you, Atticus. We’ll just have an extra set of hands to help us out. Cooper’ll be here more to watch and learn than anything.”

  “Oh great.” I headed over to Baby’s cage. Peeking in, I saw her sitting in the corner.

  “Hey, Baby.”

  She immediately responded to my voice and limped toward me. I took her out and put her in the sling. “How’d she do this weekend, Gramps?”

  “She missed you, but she did get a little better. She’s a wee bit more lively.”

  “Are you doing better, Baby?” I asked while kissing her on the head. “That’s my girl.”

  “Is that your dog?” Cooper asked.

  “Sort of, I guess. I’ve kind of taken her in.”

  He smiled at me again. “She’s very cute. I can see that she likes you.”

  “Atticus, could you answer that phone?”

  “Sure, Gramps.”

  I made my way to the reception desk relieved that I was escaping to the front and away from Cooper.

  After answering the phone and setting an appointment for someone, I frantically searched in my purse for my phone.

  I typed in Tammy’s number and a message: “OMG! UR gunA di! Cooper Truman is at my wrk 2day.”

  I waited for her to reply, and within seconds my phone vibrated: “W@d?”

  My fingers frantically typed: “He’s wurkn hre now. Tues/Thur. UGH.”

  The phone vibrated again: “Gt ot! Lnch 2day? Gtta get scoop!”

  Of course: “Yes! 11:45?”

  She replied immediately: “Pik u ^”

  I rolled the chair over so that I could peek down the hall at Gramps and Cooper. Under the white coat he wore a baby blue shirt, which made his blue eyes sparkle, his tan appear darker, and his teeth whiter. Surely he had to bleach his teeth every night; nobody got teeth that white naturally.

  His jeans were stonewashed just the right amount, and his shoes were the latest in fashion—well, I assumed so; I really had no idea what the latest fashion was.

  As Cooper watched Gramps work on the pooch, I thought back to the conversation we had at the pool party. He was tired of horses, so I guess he found dogs a change of pace.

  My vibrating phone startled me and caused Cooper to look in my direction. He caught me watching them and smiled up at me.

  “Everything okay back there?” I asked so it wouldn’t look like I was checking him out.

  “It’s great,” he said proudly.

  “Wonderful,” I lied again and then rolled back to the desk to get my phone: “Anne n Tess cmng 2 lnch 2, K? Wnt scoop!”

  “Hey, Attie.”

  Cooper’s voice startled me, and I dropped my phone onto the desk. Looking up, I saw his smiling face peeking around the corner.

  “Yeah, Coop?”

  “Want to go to lunch today?”

  I held up my phone. “I just accepted an invite from friends. Sorry.” I tried to act apologetic.

  “Gosh, you’re one busy girl.” He sounded disappointed. “Got plans on Thursday?”

  “Uh, I don’t think so.”

  “Great! We can go Thursday then.”

  “Great,” I lied again in my fake enthusiastic voice as he walked away.

  My phone vibrated. I looked down and saw that it was a text from Riley: “Gr8 nws. Dad z U cUd brng Baby hom w U.”

  How sweet was that? I responded: “Orsum! Tnx, Riley!!”

  I never asked him to talk to his dad about Baby. He must have decided to do it on his own.

  My phone vibrated again: “Got Top Gun & Rainman from Netflix. We on 2nite?”

  Tom Cruis-a-pa-looza, huh? I responded: “Gr8.”

  I thought about telling Riley about Cooper being at the clinic but then thought better and figured I would save it for that night.

  Vibration caught my attention again: “Pik u ^ @ 4:45. Bye. R”

  At least there were two things to look forward to today: lunch with the girls and movies on the couch with Riley. No stuffy, highbrow, brown-nosing, vet wannabe was going to ruin my day.

  “Excuse me, Attie?”

  “Yeah, Coop?”

  “Have you ever ridden a stallion?” he asked, grinning from ear to ear.

  “Uh … ”

  “I thought maybe you could come over sometime and we could go riding. We’ve got extra saddles; I could teach you how to ride English.”

  “Oh, horseback riding? Uh, that sounds great.” I shook my head. “No, I’ve never ridden a stallion … of any kind.”

  “Great! When do you think you can make it?”

  “Oh, I don’t know.”

  “Saturday?”

  “Sure.” What was the point in saying no? The boy was going to needle me to death until I said yes.

  “It’s a date!” He headed back toward the exam room.

  “Uh, it’s not a date,” I mumbled after him. “It’s technically more of a lesson.”

  He didn’t hear a word.

  The day continued on as I checked in patients, answered phones, and cleaned out cages all while “pretty boy Truman” stood back and watched Gramps work. I felt like Cinderella getting stuck doing all the grunt work while the chosen daughters lounged around. Tuesdays and Thursdays would be horrible. Cooper Truman had a dazzle about him, and Gramps was buying everything that Cooper tried to sell him. It was disgusting.

  Lunchtime finally came, and Tammy and the girls waltzed into the clinic.

  “Hey, Attie! Ready to go to lunch?” Tammy asked.

  “Hi, girls.”

  “Hello, ladies!” Cooper greeted as he came to join us in the rece
ption area.

  I rolled my eyes at his fake friendliness. At least, I think it was fake.

  “Fancy seeing you here. Are you the friends who stole my lunch date?” he asked.

  “Oh, had you already made plans with Attie?” Anne asked.

  “No, just hoping to,” Cooper replied.

  “How sweet,” Tess said.

  “We’re going on Thursday instead,” he announced.

  “Oh great! Good for you,” Tammy said in mock interest. “I betcha can’t wait, Attie.”

  “Yes, and she’s coming over on Saturday to go for a ride.”

  “A ride? Really?” Tammy looked at me with a cocked eyebrow and sly grin.

  “Horses. We’re going to ride horses,” I clarified. “Cooper wants to go riding.”

  “I’m sure he does,” Tammy replied. “You two are becoming fast friends, aren’t ya?”

  “Yes. Isn’t it great?” Either the boy was deaf or he was a complete moron because Cooper didn’t catch on to Tammy’s palpable sarcasm. “Well, you ladies have a great time and bring Attie back safely.”

  “Oh, we’ll do our best,” Tammy said in a fake sappy voice as she rolled her eyes.

  Cooper was oblivious that he was the butt of our joke.

  “Would you like me to take Baby from you, Attie? I’ll watch after her while you’re gone.”

  “Uh, sure.” I handed her over to Cooper assuming he would take her back to her cage, but he reached over and removed the sling from my shoulder and put in on himself.

  “I’ll be the surrogate,” he said proudly.

  “Great,” I lied for the umpteenth time in half a day. “Let’s get out of here!” I begged.

  As soon as we got out of earshot, the girls broke out laughing in hysterics.

  “What in all that’s good and holy was that?” Anne asked.

  “He’s kind of stalkerish, isn’t he?” Tess added.

  “Oh my gosh, you guys, good grief, it’s worse than you can ever imagine!” I couldn’t even believe it myself.

  “So what, is he working there now or something?” Tammy asked.

  “Yes, twice a week!”

  “He sure knows how to weasel himself in, doesn’t he?” Anne replied.

  “What does Riley think about that?” Tess asked softly.

  “Riley doesn’t know yet.”

  Tammy climbed into the car. “He’s gonna blow a gasket.”

  “Oh no he won’t,” I said.

  “Oh yes he will! You didn’t see him at that party when you went into the house with Cooper. Riley was flipping out.”

  “Get out!” Anne screamed.

  “I swear, Anne! I thought the boy was gonna come unhinged,” Tammy said, laughing.

  I shook my head at her. “Oh, Tammy, you’re exaggerating.”

  “If I’m lyin’ I’m dyin’! I swear, girls, it was pathetic!” Tammy couldn’t contain her amusement. “I’ve gotta be a witness when Riley finds out about Cooper.”

  “Well, he’s picking me up at 4:45.”

  Tammy pounded on the steering wheel in excitement. “I’m so there!”

  “Me too!” Anne and Tess agreed.

  “Want to hear the worst part?” I asked.

  The girls couldn’t contain their curiosity. “Yes!”

  “Coop peeked around the corner and asked me if I’d ever ridden a stallion. My mind totally went to the gutter; I about died!”

  Anne and Tammy started laughing, but Tess sat shaking her head. “I don’t get it.”

  “That’s why we love you, Tess,” I said, giving her a playful pat on the back.

  “Are you gonna tell me the joke? I don’t get it,” she repeated.

  “Ask Chase. He’ll get a jolt out of it,” Tammy suggested.

  “Riley’s just freaking out because of the whole Melody thing,” Anne said.

  “What Melody thing?” I asked.

  “Melody and Cooper dated for a while when she was a sophomore and he was a senior. He took her to Winter Formal, remember?”

  “Shut up!” It was the loudest I’d ever heard Tess speak.

  “Oh yeah,” Anne continued, “Melody was crazy about him, and they were together all the time. Then rumor has it that Melody found him in his car after school one day with … none other than Tiffany Franks.”

  “Get out!”

  “I can’t believe you guys didn’t know this!” Anne was excited to share such juicy gossip. “Anyway, Riley found out and knocked the soup out of him.”

  “He did not!” I shouted.

  “He did! He punched him in the face after a basketball game. Tammy, you don’t remember this? That was when Riley got suspended from school for that week.”

  “I didn’t know that was why.”

  “Yep.” Anne nodded with a big smile on her face.

  “Oh man, that’s good stuff,” Tammy said with a smirk. “You couldn’t pay me enough money to miss the fireworks that’ll be going off at 4:45.”

  “You’ll be disappointed, Tammy. Riley’s not going to care a bit,” I assured. “He’ll be fine with it.”

  chapter 20

  From behind the reception desk I looked over at the girls as they sat in the orange chairs in the waiting area. Tammy’s elbows were on her knees and her chin on her fists, and Anne sat Indian style in her chair next to Tess, whose eyes were about to pop out of her head. They had invited Jen along to enjoy the show, and she sat curled up in a ball on a chair with her knees pulled up to her chest. If they’d had popcorn, they would’ve looked like they were watching a horror movie.

  Gramps was hiding out in his office.

  “Truman?” Riley’s voice sounded disgusted. “What are you doing here?”

  “Hello,” Cooper said coldly as he kept his distance. “Didn’t Attie tell you I was working here?” His eyebrows were lowered and he glared back across the room.

  Riley and the girls looked at me and waited for me to respond. “I hadn’t had a chance yet. I was going to tell you tonight.”

  Riley’s face turned crimson and his jaw grew tight. He and the girls looked back at Cooper. “What do you mean you’re working here now?”

  “I’m doing an internship of sorts.”

  Riley and the girls looked back at me. “Really?”

  “I didn’t know until I showed up this morning. I had no idea.”

  Riley and the girls looked back at Cooper again. “For how long?” Riley’s teeth were now clinched. “How long is this internship thing?”

  “All summer.” Cooper folded his arms across his chest.

  “All summer?” Riley practically screamed. “How did you hear about this internship?”

  “Attie’s dad told me,” Cooper replied as he rolled back and forth on the heels of his feet.

  Riley and the girls looked back at me again. I shook my head. “I didn’t know that Cooper called him.”

  They looked back at Cooper.

  “You talked to Attie’s dad? On the phone?” Riley’s arms were also across his chest, but his hands were tightly gripping his upper arms.

  “Yes, I picked up the phone and called him, no big deal.”

  Riley took a deep breath. “Do you even know him, Truman?”

  “Our dads know each other. Plus, Attie told me that he would be more than happy to give me information about Cornell.”

  Riley and the girls turned their gaze back to me. “Did she now?”

  “I briefly mentioned it at the pool party.”

  Riley held my gaze for a long moment. I couldn’t tell what was going through his mind, but his eyes tightened in the corners, which sent a shiver down my spine.

  The
girls’ eyes shifted back and forth between Riley and me as he glared at me.“Well, I guess I better go,” Cooper announced, looking at me.

  I noticed Riley turning his glare back to Cooper as he spoke.

  “Attie, let me know what time you want to come over on Saturday. I’ll have the cook make us some food.”

  Riley’s head snapped back my direction, and I could see the girls recoil as if someone just got punched.

  I shut my eyes and instantly started biting my thumbnail as I managed to squeak out an “All right” in Cooper’s direction.

  “See you Thursday, Attie,” Cooper said as he walked out the door.

  We all sat in silence as the girls watched Riley glare at me.

  Cooper stuck his head back in the door. “Attie, go ahead and decide where you want to go to lunch on Thursday, my treat.”

  Riley jerked his arm in Cooper’s direction as if he was about to strike him. Cooper quickly turned and walked away.

  “You’re going to lunch with him on Thursday?” He could barely speak. “And to his freakin’ house on Saturday?”

  “What was I supposed to say, Riley? He asked me.”

  “You could have said no! That would’ve covered it!”

  The girls sat completely still and stared at us.

  “I’ve got to work with the guy. I can’t be a jerk.”

  “Well, you don’t have to act like a jerk, but holy moly, you don’t have to agree to go out with the guy twice in one freakin’ week!” His voice became louder the more he spoke.

  “Don’t you get mad at me, Riley Bennett!” I shouted back. “I was being nice.”

  As he glared back at me, his right eye twitched. I’d never seen him angry.

  “Look, he asked me if I’d ever ridden a stallion—”

  “Did he now?” he practically screamed.

  “He wants to go riding, that’s all.”

  Riley’s veins about popped out of his neck. “I’m sure he does!”

  “That’s what I said,” Tammy said.

  “I still don’t get it,” Tess said softly.

  My own anger was rising. “You two stop it right now! I’m going to lunch with a coworker, and then I’m getting a riding lesson—an English-style horseback riding lesson.” I spoke slowly and clearly so there was no confusion. “It’s no big deal.”