Cowgirl Strong

by Jenny Hammerle

“Alternates? We’ve never done that before.” Rachael worried, what about Amber?

  Mrs. Harte came out to wave goodbye to the girls. “Have fun!” She called from the doorway.

  Inside the SUV, Maysie turned and handed Rachael the blindfold.

  ”So, you obviously know it’s us. You don’t have to put this on yet- just when the other girls get in.” Maysie paused and looked like she might cry. “Sorry about earlier today. That was so unfair of me to do to y’all. I’m just so frustrated by the whole Tristan thing, and for what? It doesn’t bother him at all. He’s perfectly fine waiting to date me.”

  “Let me break it down for her.” Shannah interjected. “She feels like if Tristan isn’t willing to battle her parents over the dating thing, then he doesn’t really care about her all that much.”

  “Or he’s a total gentleman and mature. He’s showing he respects you and your parents.” Rachael offered.

  “That’s what I said.” Shannah pointed out.

  “Either way I have to wait to date him.” She started the vehicle. “And I’m really sorry. Truly sorry.”

  “Shannah kick your butt? Did she land a roundhouse kick to your head and straighten you out?” Rachael teased.

  “No, but the thought did cross her mind I’m sure of it.”

  “No, like I said, glad to see her getting tough.” Shannah raised her eyebrows. “It’s cool.”

  “What was cool is how Travis left it between us girls. He didn’t rat me out or anything. I’d have lost my car for a month!”

  “Yeah. Well while I thought it was okay once- don’t do it again.” Shannah warned.

  Rachael sat and considered the list of girls who made the squad today.

  Elena, Sidney, Olivia, and herself. She wondered once more…what about Amber?

  “What about Amber?” She whispered.

  “She’s an alternate. Her score wasn’t as good as everyone else’s. That’s just how it turned out.” Maysie admitted.

  “Who were the judges?”

  “Other squad members, plus Shannah and me. We had the final say, but the numbers don’t lie.” Maysie obviously regretted the outcome of the audition scores.

  Rachael considered the members of the squad who’d been there assisting in the tryout. There was Jen, Lisa, Marcey, Tina, Jody, Savannah, Caitlin, Selena, Gina, and Alex. She thought back to the slumber party and the girls who’d been there, and their moms.

  “I don’t mean to sound rude, but are you sure it was judged fairly? I mean with a couple of the girls having moms who obviously dislike Amber?”

  “We already considered the same thing. We’d hate to think they would let their mothers’ feelings about a girl affect how they judged a dance tryout.” Maysie fretted.

  “That’d suck.” Shannah commented. “But there’s no way to be sure.”

  “Amber really needs this.” Rachael said quietly.

  “We know, but what can we do?” Maysie lamented.

  “Did you call Mr. Greene?”

  “He said the scores stand the way they are. Four slots, but he added two alternates, which is new. They’ll practice with us and learn all the routines, cover when a girl misses. That sort of thing.”

  “So an alternate has to learn most every position?”

  “Pretty much. It’ll be a challenging position for Amber and Riley, she’s a new freshman.”

  “Do they get to come tonight?” Rachael asked.

  “Absolutely.” Maysie answered. “Put on your blindfold, this is Fred’s house. Oops, I mean…Elena’s house.”

  Rachael situated her blindfold over her eyes and waited. They were back in less than thirty seconds. Rachael could hear Fred cheering for Elena. He kept talking and sounded somewhere close by.

  “We got it from here. Thanks Fred.” Shannah’s less than pleased voice could be heard just outside the SUV.

  Elena climbed in next to Rachael. Seconds later the SUV was on the move once more. Absolute silence surrounded them. They drove a short distance and picked up someone who was giggling profusely. Rachael decided the nervous giggler could be none other than Riley. She was always happy.

  They continued their journey and picked up the three other girls. Olivia and Sidney were first. The distance between their houses was so close, they must’ve lived in the same neighborhood. The last stop was Amber’s house. Rachael could hear her mother walking her to the car. She helped her sit down and kissed her cheek hugging her.

  “See you had nothing to worry about. This is just what you needed.” She whispered in her ear where only Rachael seated next to her would hear. “A fresh start. God always provides.” She gently closed the door.

  They rode a long ways. Olivia sneezed and Sidney coughed- purposefully. Riley started to giggle.

  “Silence.” Shannah commanded.

  Everyone laughed.

  They turned into a driveway, which was bumpier than normal. Their destination had to be Shannah’s house at the back of the orange grove. The sand road would be filled with potholes where the large trucks constantly loaded out fruit from early December to late March. Today, however, it seemed exceptionally unsmooth- and rough.

  They drove and drove- and drove. Then drove some more. Rachael was beginning to wonder if they’d ever make it there. When they finally stopped, they commanded them to remove their blinds.

  In the fading sunlight, Rachael saw they were in the woods. A nice cabin with a wrap-around porch greeted them.

  “Welcome, ladies, to the Dance Retreat.”

  “Wow!” Riley said. “Are we alone out here- in the middle of nowhere?”

  “My mom is here with us.” Maysie smiled. “Don’t be a chicken. Let’s go.”

  Rachael looked around and saw a wide river flowing quietly a hundred yards behind the cabin. The cabin itself was large, made of logs, with cypress furniture on the porch. It was refined and rustic at the same time.

  “Pretty river.” Sidney commented.

  “The Myakka. It’s high right now, there’s been a lot of rain.”

  “Can we swim in it?”

  “Canoe. You could swim, but there are plenty of gators out here.” Shannah answered.

  The girls grabbed their sleeping bags and went inside to get set up. Mrs. Baxter was in the kitchen where she finished the final preparations for what smelled like a spaghetti dinner complete with salad and cheesy garlic toast. The kitchen was decorated with pigs- pig trivets, pig cookie jars…even pig plates dotted the table.

  There was a large family room and living room where mounted bucks, hogs, and other wild life adorned the walls. The lamps and chandeliers were made from antlers. Upstairs there were three bedrooms, all decorated in various game motifs. There was a turkey room, a white tail buck room, and finally- a duck room.

  “Gobbler, White Tail, and Mallard. This is the ultimate hunters’ retreat.” Shannah surmised.

  “Is this the Baxter’s?” Rachael asked.

  “No. It’s Tristan’s.”

  “Wow.”

  “Score.” Shannah rubbed her hand along the buckskin throw adorning the foot of the bed.

  “I guess if you’re into hunting.” Rachael was a little overwhelmed by all the woodland creatures.

  “You better be into hunting if you’re going to stay with Travis.” Shannah cocked her head to the side.

  Rachael wandered back downstairs to the living room where the other girls rolled out their sleeping bags and claimed floor space. She set hers out and sat down on it.

  Maysie kicked off the evening’s events by talking about the practices which would begin the following week. Shannah was still upstairs looking around.

  “Could someone go fetch her?” Maysie asked.

  “I’ll go.” Rachael disappeared back upstairs.

  She found Shannah laying across the mallard bedspread. She patted it next to her.

  “What are you doing? They’re waiting on us.”

  “Girl, I can’t help but think about the whole Amber thing. It’s like she n
eeds this, more than we need it, she like really needs it. Freakin’ scores.” Shannah griped.

  “And I’m not entirely sure the other girls weren’t biased.”

  “So what do we do?” Shannah complained.

  “Announce me as the alternate.” Rachael offered.

  “No. That’s not cool. You need it, too.” She stared up at the ceiling. “I remember your trouble with Melinda last year.”

  “How about we call it the swing position?”

  “Sounds weird.”

  “No, hear me out. We had this in my productions in West Palm. These girls were the most advanced dancers. They had to learn everyone’s part because on a moment’s notice they were required to step in and perform any part.” Rachael explained.

  “That’s alright, I guess. I think we could sell that.”

  “So, it’s not that you didn’t make it. It’s that you were chosen to do this. I wanna be that girl. The swing dancer. At our studio it was a huge thing to be chosen.”

  “What happens when a girl isn’t out sick that week?”

  “Well, if a girl misses even one practice- she forfeits her spot that week.”

  “I guess that works, kinda brutal though.”

  “Maysie will love it, her new toughness. She’ll be the enforcer.”

  “I still don’t know.” Shannah rolled onto her side contemplating the situation.

  “Announce me as the swing.” Rachael knew this was the right thing. “I’ll own this thing. I think it’s cool.”

  “You sure?” Shannah asked.

  “Yep. Besides I need the challenge of learning all those roles.”

  “You’re a real friend.” Shannah smiled up at the ceiling.

  “What are you looking at?” Rachael stared at the ceiling fan spinning around and around. There was something dangling from the chain.

  “That gobbler beard. Think it’s a six or a seven?”

  “OMG. Are you kidding? I didn’t even realize that’s what it was.” Rachael jumped up. Maysie’s yell from downstairs brought her upright once more. “We need to get down there.”

  The two bounded down the stairs and made their way to the living room.

  “We’ve been waiting.” Maysie teased.

  “We were working on something.”

  “Okay. Share.” Maysie stepped back opening the floor to them.

  Shannah took the lead.

  “This year we’ve decided to introduce two new positions on the dance team. The dance swing. This member of the team will be required to learn every part in each routine. She will be required to learn the blocking and marking for each song. Her role will be to fill in for anyone who is absent, even once during a rehearsal week. First I will announce the swing positions. Drum roll please.”

  The girls patted their hands on the wood floor in front of them.

  “In swing positions we have: Rachael Harte and myself.”

  Rachael’s head swung around. Her mouth hanging open.

  “Due to the strenuous nature of the swing role, I’ve opted to take one myself.”

  Maysie looked utterly and completely baffled.

  “In the regular dance roles we have Riley, Amber, Olivia, Sidney, and Elena.”

  Everyone clapped and the party began. There was an enormous dancer piñata filled with chocolates and lollipops. Afterwards, the girls ate dinner and played a round of Dancing with the Stars where Michael, Travis, Mr. Baxter, Fred, and Tristan posed as the stars. Then a team consisting of three girls each had five minutes to teach them a routine. Mrs. Baxter, Aunt Margaret, and Mrs. Harte served as the judges.

  The worse performance of the night was performed by Mr. Baxter who found himself forced to dance a hip hop routine. He was a full count behind in every move and while the effort was there, he lacked any real skill. Fred wowed the audience with his tango with Sidney and Alex. The years of polish and dance technique was impressive. Michael was cute and youthful in his ballroom routine with Elena and Olivia. While he’d never taken a single lesson, he held his own and the judges gave him all sevens. Tristan was the big shocker with his sock hop. With Amber and Riley as his guides, and Maysie scrutinizing his every move from the sideline, he didn’t miss a step.

  The last team to go were Travis and Rachael who danced the waltz. Rachael had only danced with Travis once in the past two years, but knew he could waltz better than any cotillion partner she’d ever had. When they finished the judges gave them all tens.

  After the dance competition, the older dancers shared insights with the newest members. Rachael excused herself to walk Travis outside. Maysie and Tristan followed behind them, leaving Shannah inside to oversee the final event of the evening.

  Outside Maysie came over and hugged Rachael, not letting go.

  “You’re the best friend ever.” She paused. “I can’t believe what you did for Amber.”

  “She would’ve done the same for me. She needed it.” Rachael felt uncomfortable taking all the credit. “The real surprise was Shannah. We hadn’t planned that part.”

  Shannah appeared out on the porch in the moonlight. “If y’all are gonna come over here and hug on me, I’m going back inside.” She announced.

  They both ran up to her and bear hugged her.

  “Ok.” She pulled away. “Give me some air. I’m not the touchy feely type.” She fled into the safety of the house.

  Rachael walked Travis to his truck. “This is role reversal, me walking you out.”

  “I know. All the pressure’s on you to kiss me goodnight.”

  “No pressure. There’ll be no kisses tonight.” Rachael looked over to where Maysie walked Tristan to his truck. She hugged him goodbye, he climbed in, and she shut the door.

  Travis looked like a puppy thrown out of his dog house. “Not fair.” He protested.

  Rachael turned and waved over her shoulder. “Bye Travis.”

  Maysie met her on the porch. They waved to the guys as they drove out of the long road and their taillights faded into the night.

  “I’ve kissed him, you know.” Maysie stated matter-of-factly.

  Rachael didn’t know what to say. “Really?”

  “Yep. We didn’t mean to, but it just sort of happened on my birthday.”

  “That’s good.” Or was it?

  “We talked about it- and it won’t happen again. It hasn’t since, but he’s the one. Some things you just know.”

  Rachael thought about it and the double standard. There were just some things that were between girls and this was one of those instances. In her gut she knew they’d be married someday. Tristan and Maysie were just one of those things that were meant to be.

  “Let’s go inside.” Rachael opened the door, the sound of laughter greeting them as they entered.

  Fred and Alex passed them on the way out. Fred looked tense and Alex looked annoyed. Rachael closed the door behind them.

  Mr. Baxter sat with Mrs. Baxter at the table eating some dessert, while some of the other girls packed up the rest of the food and put it away in Tupperware containers. Rachael heard Michael in the living room talking to Riley and Olivia, the two freshman to make the squad.

  Rachael heard him offering to take Riley four wheeling…four wheeling?

  Rachael listened earnestly for her response. When she said she’d love to, Rachael was shocked.

  “Four wheeling?” She walked into the kitchen to help Mrs. Baxter, who’d gotten up from the table to assist in the cleanup.

  “He’s growing up.” She smiled at Rachael.

  “I guess so. But four wheeling? I hadn’t pegged Riley for the off-roading type.”

  “You’d be amazed what I’ve seen girls show an interest in for a guy they liked.” Her own mother nudged her with her elbow. “I can remember showing an earnest interest in race cars. I really had no idea about them, but I went out and bought every book. I studied night after night. Before too long, I was an expert on race cars. Really and truly. Your father faked an interest in wine. Now he loves the stuf
f. It’s all good.”

  Did Mom just say that?

  Rachael said goodnight to her mother and aunt, then returned to the living room. She lay down among the rowdy crew and slept horribly.

  Around two o’clock Shannah rolled over and muttered, “This wood floor just don’t have no give. My butt feels like a plank.”

  “Mine too.” Rachael whispered. She looked over to Maysie’s bed roll. It was empty. Rachael sat up. She scanned the room in the darkness. “Where is she?” Rachael asked.

  “Where do you think she is?” Shannah hushed her.

  “We have to go get her.” Rachael spat.

  “She’s a big girl.” Shannah whispered.

  “You’re either going with me or you’re not, but I’m going to get her.” Rachael demanded.

  She climbed out of bed and tiptoed across the room to the front door. She slipped on her sneakers and waited for Shannah to join her.

  She clomped out onto the front porch.

  “I’m here. Geez.” Shannah grumped.

  “Where are they?”

  “His house is back up at the entrance.” Shannah explained.

  “I was blindfolded, remember?”

  “Oh, yeah. Follow me.”

  Shannah crept off of the porch and down the driveway toward the ranch road weaving its way through the front of the property.

  “How far?”

  “Three quarters of a mile.”

  “That’s a long ways in the dark.”

  “Yep, Magellan. It is.” Shannah chided.

  “We have to go. What is she thinking?” Rachael questioned.

  “She’s in love with the boy. So she’s not thinking.” Shannah suggested.

  They walked down the narrow road, sticking to the rutted path beat out by trucks and jeeps. The moonlight lit their way. A few raccoons and hogs crossed their path and while Rachael squealed in fear, Shannah merely managed to roll her eyes at her.

  “Haven’t you ever been fire hunting?” When Rachael uttered ‘no’ she answered “That’s a shame. Those critters are good eatin’.”

  Rachael couldn’t be sure if she was playing with her or not. For now, Shannah was her guide into the darkness, down a long road leading to nothing but more darkness.

  Just when Rachael thought she might give up, a screech owl hooted from the woods nearby. Rachael nearly jumped onto Shannah’s back.