Cowgirl Coed (Redneck Debutante Series Book 4)

by Jenny Hammerle

  “Can you give me until one o’clock?”

  Rachael picked up a lovely gray suede throw pillow from where it laid on his dresser and tossed it at him. She stormed out, leaving him where he lay.

  Of course, she wasn’t really angry. She was glad he’d been having fun and making new friends. Bo and Luke Duke both waved as she marched past. The blond was tanned from his shirtsleeves down, boasting one of the worst farmer’s tans she’d ever seen, while the brunette was a deep tan allover. It was very difficult not to notice, even as she skipped past, both of them in underwear.

  Don’t these boys have any clothes?

  And their feet- they were filthy.

  Rachael stopped halfway across the parking lot. Travis had been half-dressed as well…and there weren’t any dirty clothes strewn across the floor or the bathroom either.

  What had they been doing all night?

  Rachael decided to leave this one mystery unsolved and crawled across her front seat to the driver’s side and fired up the Stang. She decided to play nice and grab Travis a cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich. He may have tried to kill her when she’d gotten drunk on moonshine, but she’d show him how he should’ve behaved. She stopped for gas and got him a sports drink, while she fueled up her car. She made the rounds and even considered getting breakfast for the Dukes, but alas they were on their own. Her budget didn’t include food for friends and she certainly wasn’t Meals on Wheels. After an hour, she’d made her round and was back using the key to enter once more. She was glad to see the other two were gone and she wouldn’t have to feel guilty for not buying them breakfast. Down the hall she heard Travis in the shower. She heard him drop a bar of soap, followed by him rinsing for what seemed like an eternity. She decided after fifteen minutes to go in and check on him. He was laying on the floor of the shower asleep.

  “Holy crap, now I’ve seen it all.” Her initial anger turned to concern, “Travis, are you okay?” She stepped in and cut the water off. “Yep, I’m alive and well.” He gently touched her ankle.

  She stepped back out and got him a towel. “How much did y’all drink last night?”

  “A lot, a whole lot, but I’m fine.”

  “Travis, people can die from too much to drink.”

  “Yep, that’s the reason we ubered home. I cut us all off.”

  “And where’s your clothes?”

  “That’s hard to say.”

  “What do you mean that’s hard to say?”

  “I can tell you, but I might have to shoot you.” He joked.

  “Travis Baxter, where are your clothes?”

  “Fraternity Rush is a bit different. I’m not allowed to say. All I can tell you is they could be somewhere in the woods about five miles from here. We may have been dumped out, after getting totally wasted, and had to walk back to civilization. Then, at which point we found a road- we may have walked until we got a signal on my phone. Wherein, we may have arranged for an Uber. You should’ve seen that woman’s face when she pulled up. Three guys in underwear. And, baby, thanks for making me wear underwear or that could’ve been really uncomfortable- and drafty.”

  “Travis, I think that’s called hazing and it’s clearly not allowed.”

  “No one forced us. It’s just all part of the fun.”

  “Were there any naked girls along for this fun little outing?”

  “No girls. We partied at the frat house, and then, we were dropped out. It was like naked and afraid, but we weren’t scared. I was wishing I’d had a rifle because I saw this monster buck.”

  Travis was now on his feet, dried off, and walking bare butt across the room to drag on a pair of jeans. Rachael disappeared in his closet to grab him a t-shirt and returned handing it to him.

  “So, is it done now?”

  “Yep, it’s done. We’re pledges and it’s finished for now.”

  “So, that’s where you disappeared to this last five days and nights?”

  “That’s it.” Travis walked to the bathroom and brushed his teeth. He grabbed a ball cap from his nightstand.

  “Well, I’m glad. I wouldn’t want to have to go kick these guys’ butts. No more dropping my man off in the woods and leaving him for dead.”

  “I like that- your man.” He walked over to hug her. “Think I could get a kiss?”

  “Not on your life. Sober up,” she pushed past him and out to the kitchen. “I got you breakfast and coffee, and Gatorade.”

  “You’re my angel, come and save me tonight…” Travis sang.

  “Be careful, Travis. I’m feeling grouchy.” Rachael had to admit she thought it was funny, but she had to make it clear she didn’t want to walk in to this every Sunday morning for the next year.

  “How about something a little more current, I’m taking requests.” He took a huge bite of his breakfast sandwich.

  “Eat up, daylights a wastin’.” Rachael quoted Mr. Baxter’s famous line.

  “Okay Dad,” Travis grabbed his coffee cup. “Let’s go.”

  Suddenly, he seemed just fine. He grabbed his keys and wallet off of the bar heading for the door. His walk was normal. His speech was normal. He opened the door and held it for her.

  “You certainly made an immediate recovery.”

  “I had three beers, not twenty.” He laughed, pinching her backside.

  “Travis, I could kill you!” She smacked his chest. “You scared the crap out of me! What was that scene on the shower floor?”

  “I was trying to get you to offer to come in there and wash my back. I didn’t realize you were so big on tough love. I’ll remember that in the future.”

  Rachael squared her shoulders and marched over to her car. “What are you doing?”

  “Driving my own vehicle, thank you very much.”

  “Not today, girl. This is my night of the week. Remember?”

  Rachael thought back to Travis’s one day a week plan. And realization dawned on her. She stubbornly came over to the driver’s side of the truck and let him open the door for her.

  “You’ve had a week of space.” He stood back waiting for her to climb in. “I’m a man of my word.”

  “So, I have the week, Monday through Saturday to spend how I want.”

  “Socials, parties, tailgating, etc. Then, on Sunday and Monday you are all mine.”

  “Somehow I missed that.”

  “You thought I’d been avoiding you for the last week?”

  “I couldn’t figure it out. I was actually worried.”

  “Well, I wasn’t happy about your living arrangements. I’d hate to have to beat the shit out of old Colten, because he is just that stupid. I had visions of him wanting to hang out with you and crap like that. But no, I wasn’t ticked at you. Quit blowing up my phone girl! It makes not hanging out with you tough.”

  Rachael placed her hand on his thigh.

  “Don’t get fresh with me.” He moved her hand to his upper thigh.

  “What has gotten into you lately, Travis?”

  “You’re the one who started this.” He warned.

  “I guess I did. You may need to drop me off at home tonight after all.”

  They drove into the shell parking lot behind her building and Travis frowned. Colten’s Silverado was parked there. It was newer than Travis’s Dodge and had been recently detailed. And while those might seem like minor things to a city boy, to a country boy it was certainly a shot across the bow. Rachael knew Travis recognized the tag, because while it took her a moment to place it- guys knew things like license plates and trucks. She saw his jaw tighten and teeth clench when he parked and nonchalantly continued his assessment of the midnight blue diesel, its chrome rims, and excessive chrome trim.

  “It’s a good looking truck, for a city boy,” Travis opened the door and climbed down, lifting Rachael out to join him.

  They strode across the parking lot towards the backdoor of the building, which was propped open as usual. If Travis had thoughts about that or anything else he kept them to himself. Upst
airs Rachael had done the hard work. She’d repacked her two large suitcases, neatly folded her bedding and tucked the sheets inside a pillowcase, along with her mattress pad. Her laundry basket held her towels, washcloths, and comforters. Finally, a small box she’d found out by the dumpster contained her shoes.

  “You sure don’t have much,” he eyed her stuff skeptically, as if to imply why she’d need his help with this little.

  “You haven’t seen my storage unit,” she grinned sheepishly.

  “You’ve been here less than a month and you have a storage unit?”

  “I had visions of grandeur about this dormitory situation. I packed some dishes, lots of nice dresses, shoes galore- my entire walk-in closet back home.”

  “But you don’t even have a kitchen.”

  “Who knew?” She shrugged her shoulders. “So, long story short we have to go by and get some clothes from my storage unit.”

  “Why don’t you just store the dishes at my place? It’s not like I don’t have the space for them.”

  “Well, there’s also some artwork.”

  “You brought pictures?”

  “Posters. A Painting. A family portrait.” Rachael admitted.

  Travis picked up everything, put the shoe box in his arms and started out the door. Just then, Colten popped his head in. Travis nearly dropped everything in his arms.

  “Moving out already.” Colten greeted.

  “Yep,” Rachael ran interference. “There’s an opening for us in the sorority house. Lucia’s going, too.”

  “Cool, see you around.”

  Travis watched him walk away. He glared after him, and then, proceeded down the hall, slamming the door open as he passed through it. It hit the cement wall outside with a loud bang and then clambered shut once more. Rachael glanced around, grabbing her clock radio and picture of Travis. She knew she’d already emptied everything out. She had double checked the drawers this morning. Lucia’s stuff was still everywhere, but she didn’t want to touch any of it. She’d offered her help, but she’d declined saying a friend was coming by later Monday afternoon to assist her. Lucia didn’t have a car of her own and sometimes Rachael pitied her. She jogged to and from practice, walked to every class, and across campus to the weight room.

  Outside Travis stood by his truck.

  “So, where’s this storage unit?”

  “Over near the research park.” Rachael squinted up at him, feeling a need to justify Colten’s pop-by visit. “You know, he’s never stopped by and hung out or anything before. I think he’s friends with Lucia.”

  “I didn’t ask. I figured as much.”

  Rachael decided to not mention that Lucia had told her that he’d stopped by once. Only once before- to her knowledge. And never since, that was until today.

  How did he manage it? To show up at the worst possible times?

  Travis really didn’t seem that bothered by it, but she knew he didn’t like him. Immediately she was relieved that moving day was here. This all-girl house would be great. She just knew it. She could adapt to the rules- it was probably a lot like living at home with her parents.

  At her storage unit, Travis stood in awe of all of the stuff she had crammed in there. His hands were on his hips and he shook his head. He walked through the collection of stuff, as he called it, lifting lids to small packing crates and scanning their contents.

  “Scrapbooking?”

  “I thought I might have some downtime and could finish our album.”

  “I didn’t know we had an album.” He opened a large box marked ornaments, obviously expecting something else. “Ornaments? Is there a tree?”

  “Yep, over there.” Rachael pointed to the enormous rectangular box in the corner.

  “Okay, little keeper of stuff, do you want me to store all this stuff? I have a garage and my truck doesn’t fit in it. It’ll save you a hundred bucks a month.”

  Rachael threw her arms around him. “Thank you, baby.”

  “Don’t mention it.” He paused at a box of Christmas lights, “Were you actually going to try and put those up?”

  “Oh, I am putting those up. At your place.”

  “Good to know.”

  Travis never complained, as he loaded box after box, of what Rachael now realized was nothing short of over the top. She had no idea what to expect and had just pushed as much stuff into both her car and her father’s compact truck. By the time she was done she’d nearly cleaned out the garage at home. Her mother had offered her the boxes of ornaments, Christmas Spruce tree, and lights for her and Travis awhile back. She guessed now that she could’ve left them there until after the wedding.

  Travis and Rachael rode in silence a little ways down the road.

  “I don’t hate the guy, really I don’t. I just don’t like him either. Is it wrong of me not to want him around?”

  “I wouldn’t want Misty and the nearly two dozen other girls you’ve dated around either.”

  “Point taken.” He reached over and held her hand. “What are our plans for tonight?”

  “Let’s get me set up in my new place and then, I’d like to see a movie. Maybe grab some popcorn and nachos- even a slushy.”

  He cut his eyes at her, grinning. Between her moodiness this morning and her snackiness this afternoon, it was no secret. Rachael stared straight ahead. While she could joke with him about anything, her cranky disposition once each month was off-limits. She usually did her best to avoid him, but his new once-a-week Rachael schedule made that hard.

  The house was unusually busy. Lots of girls moving stuff in. Parents everywhere, along with brothers and boyfriends. It seemed everyone waited to return the day before school started back. There was a sign on the door separating the bedrooms from the front of the house that clearly read, Firewall Door. Keep Closed. No Guys Beyond This Point.

  Travis thumped the sign with his middle finger as he passed by it and coughed aloud. “Pay attention to that, Little Miss.”

  “Whatever, Dad.”

  Rachael carried her small box of shoes and set it in the closet.

  “Do you want the dresses that were in the storage unit?”

  “Yes, please.”

  Rachael made up her bed, set her clock, put out her picture of Travis on horseback, and put away her folded clothes. Travis reappeared with her hang-up clothing.

  “Only fifty more items to go,” he trudged back outside.

  “Thank you, wonderful, loving fiancé.”

  He reappeared once more with an armload of stuff. His face was terse.

  “What gives? It’s not that much stuff.”

  “He’s like a piece of shit on your shoe. You keep scraping and you can’t get rid of him.”

  Colten appeared carrying a dresser with Lucia. Travis nodded at him and waited on Rachael.

  “Hey Lucia, I’m glad you thought of bringing that dresser.”

  “Yep, no more cramming our stuff into one dresser. It was Colten’s suggestion.”

  “Cool, thanks.”

  Rachael noted that the dresser was not new. It had marks on it and the etched letters and a heart didn’t escape her notice. Colten loves Rachael had been carved into the pine dresser one rainy day at his house when they were fourteen. She immediately recognized it and remembered. She followed Travis outside and to his awaiting truck.

  “No need to say a word. I hate this,” Travis muttered the last part under his breath. “I may kick his ass just yet.”

  “Travis, it’s just a dresser… and he and Lucia have obviously become friends. So what?”

  “He knows what he’s doing, Rachael. Befriending your roommate. Popping by. I may call him stupid, but he’s really not an idiot at all. He’s working every angle and he’s going to be on the receiving end of something soon if he’s not careful.”

  “It’s one school year. One year.”

  “It may prove to be the longest year of my life.”

  “Just because of Colten?”

  “Nope, just because of ever
ything, you know what I mean. Let’s go.” Travis fired up his Dodge and sped out of the parking lot. “I may have to secretly move you in after all.”

  Chapter Seven

  Rachael’s class schedule decidedly sucked. There was no other word to describe it. Sure she could sleep in, and then, head out to the pool with Brandi, her big sister and new bestie. They’d lay out until three o’clock, and about the time Travis and all of the other normal students were finished for the day, they’d head to class. They didn’t have any of the same classes though. As an upper classman Brandi was doubling up, taking as many classes as possible. She wanted to finish her Bachelor’s Degree this summer and start on her Masters.

  Rachael, on the other hand, was struggling to stay awake through her night classes. By the time she made the trek across campus to Greek Row, it was dark out and the campus looked nearly abandoned. Usually she made it to the house and found everyone either studying or already in their rooms for the night. She’d make herself a bowl of cereal or some other breakfast food, readymade pancakes or waffles, some microwavable bacon, or oatmeal. Then, she’d turn in.

  Tonight, however, was different. Her chapter had a social planned with another sorority, along with two fraternities. They were going to some dinner show that involved a medieval joust, knights, and horses. Rachael didn’t feel up to going, but she’d promised Lucia and Brandi. The bus was leaving at nine o’clock and she had to go to class dressed and all gussied up. When she arrived back at the house the pre-party had been underway for quite some time. Girls drank from Solo cups, rather than straight from cans or beer bottles. It was a strictly enforced policy.

  The list of rules included everything from no drinking in any Greek lettered shirt- which all the girls simply referred to as the No Drinking in Letters rule. Then, there was the no drinking from any container clearly marked as alcohol rule. Rachael had spent the first few months as a sorority girl trying to figure out the reasons behind these rules. Firstly, she figured it was to give the false appearance that none of the girls ever drank. Secondly, she figured it was to give the false appearance that what they were drinking could be juice, cool aid, punch, or even just soda. To Rachael, all of these rules, were just plain silly. She liked the girls; she loved the comradery. She hated the faux rules.