Redemption (The Salvation Society) - Laura Lee Page 0,1
her husband whenever and whichever way he sees fit. Lord knows I’ve heard him say it enough times over the years.
I gingerly return to the bed, careful not to tug at the IV in my hand as I lower myself to the lumpy mattress. As I lie here listening to the buzz of the emergency room, I can’t help but think about who I was before moving to New York. A cheerleader with a perennially sunny disposition. The prom queen who stood proudly beside her adoring king. A young woman with her whole life ahead of her, a smile so bright, it could light up the darkest of nights. Someone who dreamed big, laughed freely, loved wholeheartedly, and believed in happily ever afters.
That was who Sebastian Winters married. That was who he destroyed. That girl, Presley James, died many years ago.
Chapter One
Presley
– Age 5
“Presley Anne, come on over here. I want you to meet someone.”
I drop my dolly and run at the sound of my daddy’s voice. When I make it across the dirt to our big red barn, I find him inside with a man and a boy ‘bout as old as me.
“Hi, Daddy!”
He motions me over and tucks me under his arm. “Presley, this is Mr. Armstrong. He’s going to be our new foreman. He and his son are moving into Papa’s old house. Say hello, honey.”
Mr. Armstrong is big like my daddy, ‘cept his hair is darker. My daddy has lots of white on his head. Mama says it’s from years of trying to run the horse ranch with just him and a couple’a other grown-ups. She says Daddy is stubborn as an old mule when it comes to askin’ for help. Mama made him hire a whole buncha new people after he hurt his back real bad.
“Hi, Mr. Armstrong.”
Mr. Armstrong goes low to the ground like Mama does sometimes when she’s talkin’ to me. “Well, hello there, Presley. Aren’t you a pretty little thing?”
“Thank you, sir.”
He laughs and scoots the boy closer. “Presley, this here is my son, Beckett. According to your daddy, you’re both starting kindergarten in the fall.”
I give the boy a big smile. Mama says my smile is infected, but that don’t make no sense to me. I had an owie get infected once, and it was really gross. Grown-ups are weird sometimes.
“Hi, Beckett. You wanna go see our fishin’ pond?”
Beckett looks up to his daddy. “Can I, Daddy?”
His daddy pats him on the shoulder. “Sure, son. You two go ahead. I’ll find you when I’m done with Mr. James here.”
I pull on Beckett’s hand and lead him out of the barn. “The fishin’ pond is my second favoritest place on the whole ranch! You can go fishin’ and swimmin’, but Mama says I’m not allowed to go in the water by myself ‘til I’m older.”
“What’s your first most favoritest place on the ranch?” Beckett asks.
“Oh, that’s easy. The horses are my most favoritest things in the whole wide world. One of ‘em just had a baby. Daddy let me name her after my favorite flower! He says when she’s a little bit older, she can be all mine, and I can ride her anytime I want! Do you like horses, Beckett?”
“I dunno.” Beckett’s shoulders lift. “My dad was a cattle rancher ‘til we moved here. They had some horses on the last ranch we lived on, but only the grown-ups were allowed to ride ‘em.”
“Where’d ya live before? I’ve been in Georgia my whole life.”
“Brownsville,” he says. “That’s in Texas.”
When we reach the pond, I run down the fishin’ dock and pull my shoes off. I like stickin’ my toes in the water. It’s funny when the fish tickle my feet. “How come you moved to Hope?”
Beckett takes off his socks and boots and hangs his legs over the edge like me. “Mr. Wakefield sold the ranch we were livin’ on. He moved away and took my mommy with him. Dad says it’s time to make new memories, just us boys, so we came here. He said livin’ in a town called Hope was a sign from God that everything was gonna be okay.”
“How come she left if she’s your mama?”
He runs his finger along the wooden edge of the dock. “My dad says sometimes people aren’t fit for bein’ mommies and daddies, so he’s just gonna have to love me enough for both of ‘em.”
I kick my feet and giggle when water gets on my face. “Are you sad you don’t