Redneck Debutante

by Jenny Hammerle

  Shannah sighed. “Yes. I can’t help it. I like the bad boys. He’s all tatted up and stuff. Totally hot.”

  “I don’t remember him from yesterday,” Rachael stated flatly.

  “He’ll love that.” Travis laughed.

  “It’ll be good for him. Take him down a notch or two,” said Maysie.

  They pulled up to a boat ramp. It was still dark.

  “We’ll drop in here.” Travis jumped out.

  When everyone got out of the truck, Rachael saw that Maysie was seriously tall, like her brother. Maybe five-foot-ten. She had an amazing figure, curvy but strong. Her legs had very defined muscles. Rachael wondered what sport she played.

  Shannah was much shorter and had gorgeous brunette hair that reached to her waist. She was very leanly muscled, like a runner or something. Upon closer inspection Rachael could see Shannah was seriously fit. Her arms had biceps and triceps. Her legs were chiseled.

  I bet she has firm abs too. Gymnast maybe? She’d have to ask her later.

  “Jump in, girls,” Travis called. Then he expertly backed the airboat into the water, dropped it, and pulled away to park his truck. He came back and climbed in.

  “Where are the others?” Rachael asked.

  “We gotta go meet them,” Maysie answered.

  Next they were off racing down the Peace River toward wherever their destination was. Rachael was just glad to be back on the water. It would make her feel more at home. She was glad she’d decided to come after all.

  They drove a long ways down the river until they got to somewhere—Rachael really had no idea where—right before dawn. Travis slowed the airboat to a crawl. As they approached, Rachael could make out several other boats ahead of them. There were airboats, bass boats, ski boats, john boats…. Rachael couldn’t believe the number of boats. Probably fifteen in all.

  As they got closer and pulled up beside them, Rachael could see the boats had teens on them ranging from about age fourteen to nineteen…maybe even twenty years old. So this must be where the swimming and skiing comes into play. Rachael was a good skier, but she knew skiing behind an airboat was not an option. She was relieved to see the ski boats.

  Rachael was thankful for the opportunity to meet so many people, but it was also intimidating to meet this many new people all at once. Each of the fifteen or so boats had between three to five people on them. Would that mean there were like sixty or more people here? Did Travis really know all these people? In the next moment Rachael had her answer.

  “Hey, Travis.” The voices sounded like a chorus in the morning mist as the welcome echoed across the crowd of teens. It was as if the king himself had arrived. Let the party begin. The grand Panjandrum was here.

  Hmmm. If he is this popular, it can only mean three things—he’s either super nice, very wealthy, or an absolute butthead. Rachael was intrigued to see which of the three it could be.

  “Let’s head out,” Travis announced.

  And then, as if a royal proclamation had been issued, everyone started their engines and headed south. A short distance ahead there was an island in the middle of the river. Everyone seemed to head directly for it and dock along its beaches or just offshore. Next, each boat unloaded. Some of the girls carried towels and small coolers ashore.

  Travis very gingerly assisted each girl as she stepped out of his airboat and into the shallow water. Once everyone was onshore on the small island, a very hot guy with dark brown, almost black hair walked over. He had tattoos on both forearms and one on his chest. The forearm ones were ornate, almost Celtic in design. The one on his chest pictured a wave with a surfboard.

  This has to be Ty, the player.

  Before anyone else could speak, he stuck his hand out in Rachael’s general direction. “Good mornin’, Rachael. I saw you briefly yesterday but didn’t have an opportunity to introduce myself. I’m Ty.”

  “Nice to meet you, Ty.” Rachael shook Ty’s outstretched hand.

  “Hey, Travis.” Ty nodded in Travis’s general direction. Then to Maysie and Shannah, he said, “Ladies, good mornin’.”

  “You skiing today? I see you brought your ski boat.” Travis gestured toward Ty’s very expensive ski boat.

  “Yep. And I came over to see if our new friend had any interest in learning to ski.” Ty looked at Rachael.

  “I already know how. Thanks anyway. Skiing is one of my favorite hobbies, but today I thought I’d focus on mastering the sport of fishing.”

  “Maybe this afternoon, then?” Ty asked.

  Rachael could tell he wasn’t used to being shot down. “Maybe.”

  “Great. I’ll hold you to it.”

  Rachael needed a quick save. She didn’t want to spend the afternoon alone with Ty the player.

  Surprisingly, it was Travis who came to her rescue. “That’s a fantastic idea. The four of us will all go.”

  “Great” was Ty’s only response, even though the flicker in his eyes conveyed he thought it was less than great.

  After Ty walked away, Rachael eyed Travis and muttered a barely audible “thanks.”

  “Don’t mention it.”

  Then another group of guys came running over. One was a medium-height, very athletically built boy with clean-cut good looks and blond, spiked hair. Gauging from the change in Maysie’s body language, Rachael could only assume this must be Jason, the running back/junior Travis didn’t want Maysie to date.

  There were three other guys in this group with Jason. Two identified themselves as Clay and Gabe. Rachael hadn’t heard anything about the two of them yet, but Gabe was certainly a hottie with curly brown hair. When he approached their group, he made eye contact with Shannah and smiled widely. “What’s up, Shannah?”

  “Not much.” Shannah averted her eyes.

  Rachael surmised that since Gabe didn’t greet anyone else, he was interested in Shannah. She would bet money on it!

  The other guy, Clay, was big and stout. He had to be over two hundred pounds, but he wasn’t fat. Fit and muscular, rather. He was cute in a boy-next-door sort of way. He was also very tall—maybe six feet, four inches or more. He had to be a football player. Was Rachael meeting the whole team here or what? Jason was the running back. Clay looked like a lineman. What was Gabe? Rachael was sure she’d find out in time.

  The last guy to be introduced was Adam. Ah, the “too nice” guy. Rachael would reserve judgment of that for herself. So far her only opinion of Adam was that he was quiet and good looking. The quiet type…sometimes that was difficult. Other times it was intriguing!

  While Rachael had been lost in her own thoughts, everyone else was involved in some sort of conversation. She had missed the entire thing and only became aware of them all staring at her when Travis prompted, “Sound good to you, Rachael?”

  “Oh, sure,” Rachael answered.

  “Good. Let’s head out.” Travis grinned at Rachael.

  The five guys walked ahead, while the girls followed behind.

  “What did I just agree to?” Rachael whispered to Maysie and Shannah.

  “I could tell you’d totally zoned out back there. Are you okay?” Maysie asked.

  “Yep. Just a little overwhelmed. Trying to remember everything about everyone I’m meeting.”

  “Don’t worry. We’re experts on the guys around here.” Maysie grinned.

  Shannah chimed in. “You agreed to split into two groups. Jason and Gabe both brought their fishing boats, so since you said you wanted to go fishing and there are three of us and five guys, we’ll need two boats. Maysie’s going with Jason, Adam, and Clay. You and I will ride with Gabe and Travis.”

  “Oh, good. Poor Maysie. All alone with those three guys? Will you be okay?”

  “Okay?” Maysie asked. “Definitely. I know them all really well, and I want to spend time with Jason.”

  “Besides,” Shannah added, “no one messes with Maysie. First of all, her brother Travis would kick their behinds if anyone messed with her. Second of all, Maysie is like Redneck
Royalty in these parts.” Shannah cracked up.

  “Shut up, you goofball.” Maysie jabbed her.

  “Redneck Royalty?” Rachael asked.

  “Yep. She was born and raised here, so she’s an insider. Her family has lots of money. Therefore she’s accepted in about any circle. Her father employs a lot of these guys during the summer on his ranch and some of their fathers work for him too. People depend on the Baxter family around here for a lot more than just friendship.”

  They walked up to the boats. Maysie jumped onto the fishing boat with Jason, Adam, and Clay. Clarification: Maysie didn’t have to jump into the boat because Adam lifted her into the boat.

  Gabe and Travis walked up to Gabe’s fishing boat. Gabe helped Shannah step in. Travis gently took Rachael’s hand and assisted her into the boat. Then Gabe slowly backed the boat out.

  The two boats continued down the river and stopped at what Rachael assumed must be a prime fishing spot. Rachael and Shannah chatted the whole time about all sorts of things, from tennis to cotillion to life on the Island.

  Then Travis interrupted them. “Girls, haven’t y’all been fishing before? You are supposed to be quiet. We’ll never catch anything at this rate, if you keep jibber-jabbering like that.”

  “Of course we’ve been fishing, but I personally don’t care if I catch any fish today,” Shannah said sarcastically. “What about you, Rachael?”

  “Well, I’d like to catch a fish, and while I have fished before, I’d never claim to be any good at it. So my hopes of actually catching one are slim.”

  Gabe jumped into the conversation. “What would you rather be doing, Shannah, if I may ask?”

  “Swimming,” Shannah answered.

  “Good. Let’s jump in.” Gabe stood and took off his shirt.

  Shannah did the same. She wore a purple triangle top bikini with white polka dots. She did have rock-hard abs! Rachael was jealous. She wanted abs like that too. She’d have to ask Shannah later what kind of workouts she did or what sports she played. In less than a minute Gabe and Shannah had leaped into the water and were treading water a short distance from the boat.

  “Well, that leaves us,” Travis said.

  “And the fish,” Rachael added. “And I promise not to talk anymore.”

  Travis laughed. “I don’t think you can help it. It seems to be a part of a girl’s nature. It’s in you, and it’s got to come out.”

  “I guess. I’ve never been all that talkative, really.”

  “Hmm,” Travis thought out loud.

  “Hmm what?”

  “I was wondering, would you like to play tennis one day next week?”

  Is he asking me out on a date or only asking me to get some exercise? Rachael wasn’t sure, but he did know she had a boyfriend. So she figured he was just asking her to play tennis. “I’d love to. You play tennis?” she asked, surprised. Travis was a cowboy. He didn’t seem like the tennis playing type.

  “I’m full of surprises, Rachael.”

  “Where do you play out here?”

  “At the house.”

  “You have a tennis court at your house?”

  “Yes. Two actually. We all play. Maybe we can play doubles. You and I against Maysie and Adam.”

  “Don’t you mean Jason?” Rachael felt she had to defend her new friend’s love interests.

  “No. I mean Adam.”

  “What’s wrong with Jason?”

  “Nothing’s wrong with him per se. He’s one of my closest friends, so let’s just say I know a lot about him.” Travis cut his eyes at Rachael.

  “Like?”

  “Like…I’m not going to tell you.”

  “Humph.” After that, Rachael decided not to say another word.

  After about ten minutes of silence, Gabe and Shannah swam back to the boat.

  Shannah climbed in with Travis’s assistance, followed by Gabe. “We figured we better swim back. There’s a huge gator sunning himself over on the bank not too far from where we were swimming,” she stated nonchalantly.

  “A gator?” Rachael screamed.

  “Don’t worry. He can’t eat you while you’re in the boat,” Travis said. “Now,” his eyes twinkled, “if I toss you overboard, that would be a different story altogether.”

  “Dude, don’t joke with her like that. She might think you’re serious and Shannah here would have to kick your butt,” Gabe joked.

  “Then I’ll shut my mouth. My money is on Shannah. I think she could take us all on. All one hundred pounds of her,” Travis jested.

  “That’s always a possibility,” Shannah teased.

  “What—are you a kick boxer or something?” Rachael asked.

  “No. Taekwondo.”

  “That explains why you’re so fit. I was going to ask earlier but never got the chance. How long have you been doing Taekwondo?” Rachael asked.

  “Five years now. I love it. It’s fun.”

  “I’d love to see it sometime,” Rachael said.

  “Me too,” Gabe added.

  Yeah, I’ll bet you would. Gabe made no attempt to conceal his interest in Shannah. It was cute!

  “What belt are you?” Rachael continued.

  “A Second-degree Black Belt. I currently spar in state-held competitions. My opponents are all girls and are supposed to be around the same weight, height, and rank as I am, but some are really big and tall and tough, if you know what I mean.”

  Both Travis and Gabe laughed.

  Rachael studied Shannah. The girl was really funny. Rachael decided that her curt responses and moodiness earlier were just part of her cut-up personality. Rachael liked her more and more.

  “If you want to drop by tomorrow, I can show you some things.” Shannah said it more to Rachael, but Gabe promptly said, “That’d be great.”

  Travis and Rachael exchanged knowing glances. It was obvious how much Gabe liked Shannah. No secret there!

  After two more hours of Shannah and Rachael talking nonstop, very loudly, and scaring off all of the fish, Travis graciously announced, “Well, it’s getting hotter and the fish aren’t biting, so let’s head back and have some lunch on the island.”

  “Sounds good to me,” the other three responded in unison.

  5

  WHEN THEY ARRIVED AT THE ISLAND, their boat was one of the first two back. Another boat was there as well. Rachael didn’t remember this boat from earlier in the day, but there had been so many she was sure she could have missed one. Yet this boat was a lot flashier than the others and was painted pink with a teal stripe. The Cowgirl Way was scripted on the side in cursive.

  “Fantastic,” Rachael heard Travis mutter under his breath and saw him exchange a glance with Gabe.

  “Yep, there she is. The she-devil herself,” Gabe said glumly.

  Both guys laughed.

  “Who’s that?” Rachael asked.

  “Misty. Travis’s girlfriend and her bunch.” Shannah rolled her eyes.

  “Ex-girlfriend,” Travis corrected.

  “Travis, you know you and Misty won’t stay broken up. You guys are like fire and ice. You’re awful together, but you can’t stay away from each other. What is this? The sixth time you’ve broken up?” Shannah chided.

  Travis just cut his eyes in Shannah’s general direction as if to say, “Shut up!”

  “I think it’s the seventh, actually,” Gabe corrected with a grin.

  “All right you two. Enough.” Travis spoke with a smile. He never seemed to get really bothered by much of anything.

  As they got out of the boat and walked onto the beach, Maysie and the other three guys joined them. They headed in the general direction of Misty and her friends.

  OMG! And Rachael thought West Palm had pretty girls. Misty had long brunette hair and blue eyes. She was gorgeous. She wasn’t afraid to flaunt her fantastic figure, either, wearing a pink string bikini triangle top with a matching thong bottom. Her body was about a size four while her breasts were probably a 34D. There was no question what Travis
found attractive in Misty and no doubt why he’d keep going back to her. What sixteen-year-old guy wouldn’t?

  “Hi, Travis. Fancy meeting you here,” Misty said. “So who is your new friend?” She gestured in Rachael’s general direction.

  “Misty, this is Rachael. Rachael, this is Misty,” Travis said curtly. “I didn’t know you and Melinda and Honey were coming here today.” He sounded annoyed.

  “Well, I stopped by your house and your mama said you were out here, so I thought you’d like some company. I didn’t know you already had found some,” Misty said in a too-sweet voice. “It’s been less than a week after all, Travis.”

  “Oh, we’re just friends,” Rachael interrupted. “I have a boyfriend back home.”

  “Good,” Misty said coolly. Then she smiled prettily at Travis. “Would you like to go boating with us later?”

  “No. Thank you.” Travis whirled and said, “Come on, guys. Let’s go and make some lunch.”

  Maysie, Shannah, and Rachael lagged behind a bit.

  Rachael exhaled. “Misty didn’t seem too fond of me.”

  “Don’t let her get to you. She’s just jealous. She thinks you’ve caught Travis’s eye, is all,” Maysie commented.

  “Well, I haven’t. And those friends of hers…they all had really nice bodies too. Are you guys friends with them?” Rachael asked.

  “No. Not anymore,” Maysie amended. “At one time I was really close with Melinda and Honey. You gotta watch your back with Melinda. Honey is sweet, while Misty can’t be trusted at all.”

  Shannah smirked. “I think your brother is upset, Maysie.”

  “Yeah, I know. He really cared for her, but after two years he’s finally seen her for who and what she is. He wants nothing to do with her now.”

  Rachael frowned. “Who and what is she?”

  “She lives over in Sarasota County,” Maysie explained. “Her parents own a large ranch. She’s a spoiled prima donna who cares about no one but herself.”

  “If she lives in Sarasota County, which county do we live in? I thought we lived in Fruitville, in Sarasota County?” Rachael was truly confused.

  Both girls laughed.

  Shannah answered first. “Fruitville. I hate to disappoint you, but you live about ten miles from Fruitville Road, which is in Sarasota County. You live in Manatee County, just past the Sarasota-Manatee County line.”