Ruined by You (9 page)

“I think Huck is a good kisser,” Sarah said, after a while.
 

I smiled, and looked at her. The goofy grin had returned, and it was obvious she had come to some sort of resolution of her own.

“He’s a nice guy,” I agreed.

Her chin managed to rise, if only a bit. She was radiant.

“Yeah, he is,” she said.

The next morning, Sarah’s alarm went off earlier than I’d have liked. I had grown up going to church every Sunday, but I was out of practice. The whole family was as pious as they come, and part of me felt bad that Mom and I had been going less and less. I wasn’t sure what had changed, but soon after everything had happened, Mom had decided that her faith was better placed elsewhere.

I didn’t really put much thought into it, either way. The way I saw it, not going to church on Sunday mornings just meant that I could sleep in a little bit later. And I enjoyed my sleep.

In Texas, however, that was not an option. Sunday Mass wasn’t something that you scheduled or planned. It was just what you did. Especially in a small town like Green Falls. You were expected to be there, and people noticed if you weren’t.

Sarah showered, and got dressed, first, and I took the opportunity to nap for a few more minutes before heading out into the kitchen to find something to eat. The sweet scents of something cooking hung in the air, and I knew I wasn’t the first person up and moving around. Mom was sitting in the tiny breakfast nook, again, a plate of half-eaten eggs in front of her. She looked lost in thought, focused on something outside the window. A part of me wondered what she was thinking about, and another part of me felt bad for disturbing her.

“Good morning, dear,” she said, when I walked into the kitchen.

“Morning,” I grumbled.

I grabbed a banana from the fruit basket sitting on the island extension, and sat down next to her. I peeled it, slowly, and took a small bite.

“How’d the interview go?” she asked.

“It was fine,” I said.

“Do you know if you got the job?” she asked.

I shrugged my shoulders, but nodded. “Scottie offered it to me. I told him I wanted to think about it.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, confused. “What is there to think about?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “It’s just not the kind of thing I was looking for.”

“What does he want you to do?” she asked.

I took another bite, and chewed, slowly. “He needs help organizing the Battle of the Bands,” I said.

The confused look on her face deepened as her brow pinched together. “What, exactly, is the Battle of the Bands?” she asked.

Just then, I heard footsteps off to my left. I glanced up, and saw Sarah coming into the kitchen, her hair wrapped in a towel.

“It’s only the most exciting thing all summer,” Sarah said, answering Mom’s question.

Her enthusiasm perplexed my mother even more.

“It’s just a silly competition for the local bands,” I said, trying to clarify. “Scottie wants me to help with some of the planning and organizing.”

Mom’s eyes narrowed. “So you’re spending “the summer at a bar with musicians?” she said. “I don’t know if I’m comfortable with that.”

I caught myself before I rolled my eyes at her. There was no sense in making the situation worse.

“I’m not going to be running around with musicians and hanging out at bars,” I said, quickly. I shrugged my shoulders. “I’ll probably just be doing errands or something.”

That wasn’t entirely true. In fact, it wasn’t even a little true. But I’m a big girl, and I can take care of myself. I don’t need to share every little detail with my mother to get her approval. It would only make matters worse, in the end.

Mom glanced back down at her plate. She thought about it for a long time.

“You wouldn’t rather work at a restaurant or something?” she said. “It would be good experience, and then you’d be able to get a part time job while you’re in school.”

“No, Mom,” I said. “This is a great opportunity. I don’t want to be like every other high schooler who gets a boring hostess job at Chilis for the summer.”

She looked at me, confused. “I thought you said you weren’t sure if you were going to take the job?” she said. “You’re talking like you’ve already made up your mind.”

I blew out a breath, a little too harshly, and focused my attention on the banana.

“Well, the more I think about it, the more I think I want to do it,” I said. “Besides, restaurant jobs aren’t going anywhere. I can find one when I get to school.”

I didn’t want to tell her about how much money I stood to make if everything worked out. I knew she would have been pleased that I might not have to take a part time job during the school year - but I didn’t think she’d like the fact that I was going to be driving all around trying to sign a band to headline the show. It was safer to just keep her in the dark about some of the details.

There was a long, heavy silence between us.
 

“You’re right,” she said, resigned.

I peeled back more of the banana and took another bite. I could feel my pulse racing, but I was happy that I’d won a small victory.

Then, she leaned forward, and put her hand on my knee. I looked up at her, startled. Something in the way she looked at me scared me.

“I trust you,” she said, intently. “I raised you to be a smart girl, and I trust your decisions. Just, don’t lose sight of what’s important.”

I lowered the banana to the table, my appetite gone. I felt miserable for how I’d just treated her. I knew she had my best interests in mind--I was just tired of having her second guess all of my decisions. I needed to be free to make up my own mind. I was an adult, after all, and I needed to start living my life in my own way.

“I love you,” she said, softly.

“I love you, too,” I said.

She smiled at me with those intent eyes.

“Now go get ready for church. Grandma will string us both up if we’re late.”

* * * * *

The rest of Sunday went off without a hitch. Church was no more awkward than I had expected, and afterward everyone retired back to the house for a relaxing day. Sarah spent most of the day texting, or on the phone with, Huck, but in the afternoon I was able to convince her to get in the pool with me.

We did everything but talk about Scottie and the Battle of the Bands. The whole issue was beginning to weigh on my mind - and I was getting sick of it. I had made my decision. At least, I thought I had. I needed a summer job, and that was all there was to it.
 

Monday morning rolled around, and I was excited to sleep in later than we did on Sunday. I wanted to get to the Saloon early, but, like Scottie had said, early at a bar was different than by any other standard.

My cheeks and shoulders were sun-kissed from the time in the pool. I prayed they would turn to a golden brown, instead of making me look like a lobster like usual. But, knowing me, I wasn’t going to be so lucky. How would Haden feel about helping out the lobster-girl? Maybe he would take even more pity on me.

Sarah and I dressed in silence, and nibbled at some food for breakfast. I was surprised to discover that both Mom and Grandma had already left for the morning. They hadn’t said anything to either of us, and I wondered where they’d gone.

“We’re going to have to figure out a car situation for you,” Sarah said, on the way into Green Falls. She laughed. “I don’t think I’ll be able to chauffeur you all summer.”

I cringed. “I hadn’t really thought about it,” I said. “I’ll talk to my mom - I’m sure she’ll let me use her car when I need to.”

Sarah bounced her shoulders nonchalantly. “No biggie. I’m sure we can use one of my parents’ cars. It’s not like they’re here to use them right now, anyway.”

We pulled into the parking lot of the Saloon, and I was surprised to see that it was even emptier than it had been on Saturday. Two cars rested near the front door. I recognized one of them as Haden’s BMW.

“Wait here?” I asked. “I shouldn’t be long.”

Sarah nodded, but was already distracted by her phone. She was probably texting Huck, already, to see if he was up. A pang of longing ran through me when I realized I didn’t have anyone I could do that with.

I pushed through the front door and squinted into the darkness of the dimly lit bar. The echo of voices reached me, and I saw Haden and Scottie sitting at the bar. Haden was wearing a narrow, brown shirt with black lettering that swirled around the front, and he had his hair tucked back under a maroon beanie. It was a different look for him, but it was still hot. Visions of him danced in my head for a second, until a tense feeling settled over me.

“Am I interrupting something?” I asked.

Scottie’s face was grim, but he smiled and held out a hand. “Of course not. Please, come, have a seat,” he said. His endearing smile warmed the room, and I sat on the stool next to Haden.

I felt his eyes on me the entire time, and I tried my hardest to not stare back at him. I liked the feeling of his eyes on me--I liked knowing I had his attention.

“I’m glad you showed up,” Scottie said, still smiling. “After our conversation on Saturday, I wasn’t sure you were going to.”

“I thought about it, and talked it over, just like I said I would,” I said. I glanced at Haden, and an embarrassed smile spread across his face. “Anyway, here I am.”

Scottie considered me from behind the bar.

“So you’re ready to do this?” he asked, his voice serious.

I nodded once. “I can’t make any promises, but I’ll do my best.”

“That’s all we can ever do,” he said, a smile spreading across his face. “This is great news. So, you’re ready to get to work?” His voice was rushed, business-like.

He reached behind the bar and pulled out a pad of paper. He began scribbling something on it.

“You mean, like right now?” I asked. I cringed when he nodded his head. He continued writing. What in the world was there to do
right now
?

“I’ve set up a meeting with an old friend of mine in San Antonio. She used to manage a few people back in the day, and she said she’d be more than willing to help out.”

“A meeting… today?” I asked, alarmed.

Scottie stopped writing long enough to glance at his watch, then he nodded.

“In two hours,” he said, curtly. He finished his note and tore it off. I sat, stunned, while I read it. It was an address, and phone number for someone named Lisa Goldstein. The address was for somewhere in San Antonio - an hour’s drive, at least.

“I don’t know if I can make this,” I said. I looked at the address again. “I don’t even have a ride there.”

“You don’t have a car?” Scottie asked, suddenly wary.

I shook my head. “Sarah’s been driving me around. I can’t ask her to take me all the way to San Antonio.”

“I’ll drive,” Haden announced.

Scottie and I both looked at him. His mouth cocked sideways with his usual grin.

“I can’t ask you to do that,” I said.

He waved his hand, dismissively. “I told you I would help,” he said. “I’d be happy to take you.”

“Good. It’s settled, then,” Scottie said. He looked between the two of us for a second. “Talk to Lisa. She’ll put you in touch with some people, and you can go from there. Now get going so you’re not late, I have work to get to.”

Haden looked at me, his eyes settling on my cheeks for a second. I was certain that I looked like a lobster. He’d surely noticed, and was probably fighting back his laughter. When was I going to learn about sunblock? But, he just tilted his head toward the door.

“Ready for this?” he asked.

I looked at the piece of paper, again, and nodded.

“As ready as I’ll ever be, I suppose,” I said.

He held his hand out, helping me down off the stool. As our hands touched, that same jolt shot through me. It was so powerful that, as my feet hit the floor, I didn’t want to let go of him. I wanted to hold his hand and walk out, together. Again, he didn’t seem to notice.

“You’re sure about this?” I asked, uncertain.

“Of course. It’s not that far of a drive,” he said.

I shook my head. “That’s not what I mean. Are you sure we can pull this off?”

He tilted his head to the side and scrunched his mouth as he considered it. I realized that I was longing for his approval. I desperately wanted him to reassure me, and say that everything was going to be all right. I’d never needed affirmation from a guy before, but I found myself wanting it from him.

What’s wrong with you?

“Can we pull this off?” he mused, repeating the question. “I don’t know. But we’re sure going to have a lot of fun trying.” He grinned at me, and heat ran through my chest. He was right, it was going to be a lot of fun. “We’d better get going, though. I don’t think it would be smart to show up late to our first meeting.”

I nodded at him, and we rushed out the door, together.

Sarah’s eyes widened when she saw us both emerge from the bar, in a rush. She was on the phone, probably with Huck, and she clicked it off as soon as she saw the frantic look in my face.

“We’re heading into the city,” I said, quickly, as I walked to the Beamer.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

The lock released, with a beep, and I opened the door.

“Scottie set up a meeting for us in two hours. We’re in a bit of a hurry,” I said as I lowered myself into the car.

“OK,” she said, hesitantly. “Well, call me if you need anything.”

I nodded at her, and waved goodbye. I felt bad that I was rushing out on her like that, but I knew she would understand. It wasn’t like I was being given much choice in the matter.

Haden pulled out onto the street, and before long we hit the interstate and were cruising toward San Antonio. The BMW rode smoother than the old beater my mom had, but I couldn’t seem to get relaxed. A million things were swirling through my head. How in the world was I going to pull this whole thing off? At least Scottie had given me a place to start, but I was a long way from actually signing anyone.

I glanced at Haden, and was filled with gratitude. Here was someone that I barely knew, who was going well out of his way to help me.