16
THE SADIE HAWKINS DANCE HAD FINALLY ARRIVED. Rachael’s mother had surprised her with the perfect dress. It was strapless and pale pink, made of heavy satin and form-fitting. Rachael and her mother had gone shopping after school on Friday afternoon. Hours of trying on numerous dresses had led them to this dress. Rachael stared at herself in the mirror.
She was much curvier than she had ever been before—not fat, just curvy. She’d always thought she wanted to be this curvy, but now that she had the curves, she wasn’t sure what to do with them.
In a dress like this one she was bustier than she wanted to be. She’d tried on dozens, and this was the least revealing up top. Her mother had helped her select it and had explained to her that, because she was getting older now, this was her new, improved body and she needed to get used to it.
Travis rang the doorbell. “Wow. What a dress!”
She smiled. “I know. When I looked in the mirror, I was shocked myself. I look eighteen.”
“No joke. Do you think you might need a shawl or something? Maybe a sweater or a jacket? Possibly a poncho?” Travis laughed.
“No. I wouldn’t want to cover up a dress this pretty. Besides, it’s not even cold outside, is it?”
“It wasn’t the dress I was worried about.”
Rachael swatted Travis in the stomach. He pretended to have had the wind knocked out of him.
“Mom wants some pictures before we leave.”
“Okay. I brought you a corsage.”
It was purple roses and ivy. Two of her favorites.
Rachael and Travis posed for pictures. Rachael immediately texted a few of the pictures to her father and downloaded all of the others to Facebook.
When they walked outside, Travis stopped beside his truck. “I was joking about the jacket and all, Rachael. You look absolutely amazing tonight.” He gave her a kiss, and they were off.
Everyone was at the dance. They shared a table with Alex and Fred, Shannah and Gabe, and Maysie, who had come with some guy Chuck she was friends with. Travis was quite the dancer once you got him out on the floor. He whirled and twirled Rachael all around the dance floor. She was glad to see that he didn’t have two left feet. Dancing was truly one of her favorite things to do, whether in the barn or on a football field. She loved it.
The DJ finally decided to slow things down a bit. Travis pulled Rachael in close. She could smell his cologne and boy, did it smell nice. He was wearing a black tux with a pale pink shirt and black tie. He’d done that all on his own. She didn’t even have to tell him what color dress she would be wearing. He’d probably called her mother or Michael to find out. He did so many things with her and for her, on his own, that showed the amount of thought and effort he put into their relationship.
“I like the shirt. I never thought I’d see you in pale pink.” She looked up at him.
“Yes. This may be the only time. Pink isn’t one of my favorite colors. Not that it doesn’t look nice on you. It looks exceptionally nice on you.”
“It’s just not a typical color you’d choose.”
“No, it isn’t. Rachael, there’s something I need to talk to you about.”
Rachael didn’t like his serious tone. It wasn’t often he got this serious. “You know you can talk to me about anything,” she murmured.
“Things are getting more and more difficult for me.”
“Are you breaking up with me?” She heard her voice crack.
“No! Of course not,” he said emphatically, pulling back far enough so she could see the earnestness in his eyes.
“Okay.” Rachael swallowed hard, not knowing what would come next.
“When I meant difficult, I meant guy-girl difficult.” He paused. “Not break-up difficult.”
Rachael looked at him, still not understanding.
“I’m just asking for your help is all.” Whatever it was, Rachael had never seen Travis this uncomfortable around her or this lost for words.
“Of course. I’m always willing to help you, Travis.”
When the song ended, Travis led her off of the dance floor to a quiet corner where they could talk. He sat down. She could tell something really bothered him.
He took both of her hands in his. “Rachael, it’s just that tonight, seeing you all dressed up like this, got me thinking a lot of crazy things.”
Is Travis Baxter actually blushing?
Rachael decided that now was not the time to ask questions. She kept her mouth shut and let him talk.
“Remember the poncho comment?” He grimaced. “I was only half kidding. I’m not some jealous freak who doesn’t want other guys checking you out. It’s not that.” He sighed. “The problem—but it isn’t really a problem—is that I find you very attractive.”
“And that’s bad?” Rachael asked.
“No, not bad per se, just new.” He chuckled. “I found you attractive before…I’m not going to lie here…but recently you’ve been changing a bit, and now these changes are new for me too.”
“This was honestly the least revealing dress I could find, Travis.” Rachael felt defensive.
“No. I love the dress! Love the dress! Maybe too much. The problem here is with me, not you. I’m not sure how to fix it. I’m asking for your help.”
Rachael had no idea what to say or where to go from here. She was flattered, on one hand, that he found her “irresistible.” On the other, this did present a concern that she didn’t know how to handle. She had to come up with something. A break-up wasn’t an option, but maybe if they dialed it all back a bit.
“Okay,” she offered. “I think a possible solution would be more time together around other people.”
“Like more double dates?”
“Exactly. Maybe more time around your family or mine—not too much alone time.”
“Great idea. Are you about to cut off kissing too?” He grinned.
“Not yet, Travis Baxter, but if I have to, I will,” she threatened.
“Okay, I’ve been warned. Thank you for understanding.”
“Not a problem. Thank you for coming to me about it. No secrets between us, right?” She stood, still holding his hand. “I’m cold, Travis. Could I wear your jacket?”
“You really don’t have to wear it.”
“No. Really, I do. I’m cold.” She shivered.
He put his jacket over her shoulders, and they walked back to their table.
Rachael had also noticed at the dance that Clay was nowhere around. Since the break-up and Amber leaving their school, sightings of Clay had been few and far between. Rachael had asked Travis about it, and all he would say was that Clay had taken their break-up very hard.
Maysie, on the other hand, seemed completely unaffected by her break-up with Adam. When Rachael asked her what brought about the break-up, she merely said they were better off as friends. He was here tonight and had come with a group of jocks who were mostly seniors and were single themselves. Adam and Maysie had even shared a slow dance, where they were both laughing and joking like old times.
So they are still good friends. Maysie is a bright girl.
Her youthful exuberance coupled with her high-energy level sometimes gave the false impression that she was childish or immature. Exactly the opposite proved to be the case. She had a good head on her shoulders. Of all of Rachael’s friends, Maysie was truly the most well-rounded girl she knew.
Shannah and Gabe were bickering as usual. Rachael and Maysie sat watching them on the dance floor while Travis and a bunch of the other guys talked in a corner. Shannah and Gabe had a real on-again, off-again relationship. Fighting today, kissing tomorrow. They were both so passionately sure of their own viewpoints on life, which differed greatly, that they constantly found themselves at odds with each other. It made for an interesting dynamic.
“You think they are going to last?” Maysie raised her eyebrows in the direction of Shannah and Gabe.
“Who knows? How could anybody know? They are so…” Rachael se
arched her mind for the right word to describe their relationship. “Feisty.”
“Feisty. I like that. They are feisty. I think that was the problem with Adam and me. We were not ‘feisty’ enough. We were just sort of ‘blah.’ ”
“I wouldn’t say that, but there has to be a balance. Some feistiness mixed with some of what you would call ‘blah.’ It can’t be feisty all the time. That would be bad.”
“You and Travis have unlocked the secret there,” Maysie complimented Rachael.
“I don’t know about that.” Rachael winked.
“No, really. There seems to be a good balance in just about every aspect of your relationship.”
Rachael could tell by the “just about every aspect of your relationship” comment that Maysie knew about their recent situation.
“So he told you.”
“Yes. Don’t be mad at him. He was scared to talk to you about it.”
Rachael frowned. “I don’t know why he would be. I’ve never been a prude about being open with him about that.”
“Of course not. But he thought it reflected a character weakness on his part.”
“Mmm, I can see how he’d feel that way. Admitting he has a weakness and all.”
“Exactly. At first he was just going to pray that you wouldn’t wear tank tops or anything form-fitting around him for a while. He also asked me not to suggest swimming, beach, or anything else that would require a swimsuit.”
Rachael loved how open and honest Maysie was with her. She wouldn’t betray her by letting on that she knew about the intimate details of her brother-sister conversation with Travis. “That bad, huh?” Rachael smiled.
“Yes. That bad. And I’ve got to say, as your friend, where did those come from?” Maysie tipped her head. “One day we were both praying for boobs, and the next day you got a double blessing!”
“I know. I’ve invested a lot of my hard-earned money in sports bras. Sometimes I wear two. I don’t know what else to do. They are there, and I hate them.”
“You hate them?” Maysie started to giggle. “I wish I had them! That’s the way God made you. Quit being so hard on yourself.”
At that moment Shannah sat down with them. “What are we talking about here? Y’all looked so intense and serious.”
“Rachael’s newfound voluptuousness,” Maysie volunteered.
“Yep. I noticed.”
Rachael put her hand on her forehead in an exasperated pose. “It doesn’t even run in our family.”
“Don’t be bothered by it, girl.” Shannah smiled in a way that let Rachael know that the next thing to come out of her mouth was going to be good. “Remember the whole stuffing of the bras thing that girls did back in middle school? I think Maysie and I should try it one day when we are all together. We’ll wear some balloons around for a day, just at home of course, so we can see how it feels to be in your shoes. I know we think it is all great and stuff, but I totally get it. It’s not.”
“I liked it better when I was built like a thirteen-year-old boy,” Rachael joked, but she was also serious.
“Okay, so I’m still built like a thirteen-year-old boy, and it’s no fun either!” Shannah proclaimed. “Maysie has the perfect body.”
“You’re right, Shannah. She does. Not too curvy, not board straight either, and tall. Really tall.”
“I can’t agree with you two on this.” Maysie interceded on her own behalf. “I’m too tall. I’m taller than most of the guys at school. Either they haven’t hit their growth spurts yet, or I’m destined to be a giant. I’ll probably marry some dude who is about four and a half feet tall. I may even have to carry him around—on my back!”
Everyone burst out laughing at the image.
“Oh, no, here comes trouble,” Shannah said sarcastically.
Melinda made her way over to the three of them. Rachael thought back to her conversation with Tristan and the whole forgiveness thing. He’d very specifically warned against hanging out with Melinda. But he also felt she’d taken the right steps to clearing Rachael’s name, and that deserved Rachael’s forgiveness.
“I’ll handle this,” Rachael declared. She knew right then and there that her reception of Melinda would dictate how everyone else received her as well. She was determined to set things right.
“Hey, Shannah, Maysie, Rachael. What’s up?”
“Hi, Melinda. Why don’t you pull up a chair and sit with us?” Rachael asked in a welcoming tone.
Shannah and Maysie stared at her like she’d grown two heads.
“I’d love to, but Justin and I are heading out. I thought I should come over and say hi.”
“I’m glad you did.” Rachael smiled warmly at her. “Tristan told me what you did, and I thought it was really cool. Thanks.”
“No, I should be thanking you—for being a true friend. I’m sorry about the Ty and Misty thing. I haven’t hung around those girls since. I’m working hard at fixing things in my life.”
“Good to hear,” Shannah said.
“Yep. Well, I’ve gotta run. See y’all around.”
Rachael, Maysie, and Shannah watched as she walked away.
“Wow. Was that Melinda?” Maysie squealed. “Total shocker.”
“Da-na-na-na, you’ve just entered the twilight zone…,” Shannah added.
“Come on, guys. Give her some credit. Walking over here couldn’t have been easy.” Rachael said in Melinda’s defense.
“True,” Shannah agreed. “You have to respect how straightforward she was. I have a newfound respect for her. Now don’t get me wrong. I don’t think we need to be BFFs or anything.”
“For sure,” Maysie said.
“Don’t worry. I already learned my lesson there.”
As the final slow dance played, Rachael glanced around the dance floor. Shannah and Gabe were there—not bickering any more. Maysie was dancing with yet another guy—this one was a senior. Even in heels he was at least two inches taller than she was. Just then Rachael got a mental image of Maysie carrying around a pint-sized husband on her back and laughed out loud.
“What’s so funny?” Travis pulled his head up to ask.
“Just girl talk. Your sister is so funny.”
17
RACHAEL AND SHANNAH WENT SHOPPING A FEW DAYS LATER. It was March already, and there were no oversized sweatshirts to be found anywhere.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Rachael,” Shannah chided. “Any of these shirts will do.” She picked up the one on the rack in front of her. It was a V-neck that on Shannah or Maysie would be fine, but on Rachael it would cross the line into “revealing.”
“Okay. Maybe not,” Shannah said after examining it for a moment.
“T-shirts. Let’s concentrate on T-shirts,” Rachael advised. In the T-shirt section they found some really cute shirts. Rachael selected about six in a bunch of different colors. Then Shannah suggested some polos. Polos weren’t usually Rachael’s style, but at least they offered some variety. By the time they headed to the check-out register Rachael was armed with a handful of T-shirts, some polos, and a couple of really cute blouses with relatively high necklines.
Dad would love this. It looks like Cool Dad’s Fashions may have found a market after all.
The girls headed for home in Shannah’s new Jeep. Even Shannah had wheels now. Rachael felt like the only sixteen-year-old alive without wheels. But by now she’d saved around eight hundred dollars and knew that should be about enough to buy a used jalopy. She didn’t care what it looked like as long as it ran well and could safely make it from point A to point B in one piece.
Shannah dropped Rachael off, and she raced inside. She decided to play catch-up on email today and was shocked to see she had an email from Brittany.
Brittany! What could she possibly have to say to me? I’m sorry that the entire time you were dating I was scoping out your boyfriend?
Okay, so it would read “ex-boyfriend.”
Rachael sat there for five minutes contemplating whether or not she sh
ould even open the email. The subject line merely said: Sorry.
How sorry could she really be?
Maybe I shouldn’t be like that. I’ve known Brittany since preschool. That’s a long time to throw away a friendship over a guy. A guy I don’t even like any more. A guy who is a jerk, a loser, a dog, a user.
Maybe I have some issues still left to resolve where Colten is concerned.
Rachael went out to the kitchen for a snack. She fixed herself some cheese and crackers. Then she decided to clean the kitchen—her least favorite chore. Next she ran the vacuum and dusted the living room.
What am I doing?
Rachael knew exactly what she was doing. It was the cleaning frenzy mode she automatically went into every time something was on her mind. Whether it was the barn or the house, it was always the same. She was avoiding the email. She stomped back down the hall and to her computer. She sat there staring at it. The dreaded email.
How bad could it be? This must be her year for forgiving others and all that. First Melinda at the dance. Now this sudden email from Brittany after a year of virtually no contact. Hadn’t others gone out of their way to offer Rachael that same forgiveness? She knew that was the case and she knew what she had to do.
She opened the email.
Dear Rachael,
I know it’s been a long time since we last spoke and I wanted to start by apologizing for the long list of things I have done wrong. Things I’m not proud of. It started last year after you moved away. It all started innocently enough with me talking to Colten on the phone, trying to cheer him up. Then, over time, I started to develop feelings for him beyond friendship.
I kept telling myself I didn’t like him that way. Not really. Then the day of your Debutante Ball I pleaded with him to attend. He still wouldn’t go. That night, after the two of you broke up, I went over to talk with him. One thing led to another and the next thing I knew we were dating.
Cowgirl Down (Redneck Debutante) Page 19
