Chapter 5

Austin woke up kicking himself for the douche move he’d made the night before. It was Tina and Mav’s big night, and he’d let his little head be in control when they came to pick her up. After seeing them look at each other for pictures, he’d backed off.

Besides, Austin had his own first date to tend to. He found Nora puzzling. She’d all but forced him to ask her to the dance, made him go with her mom to play dress-up, and, when they got to the dance, essentially ignored him. Nora instead spent most of the night dancing with her girlfriends. He guessed she wanted him there to ward off Luke but didn’t want to be seen with Austin.

He and Travis ended up hanging out together, which turned out to be good because they bonded. Austin wasn’t sure whether they were friends, but they’d at least made the first step toward that.

They’d sat back and observed the awkward moves of some of the younger guys. Austin had secretly been a bit envious that the others were there with dates who wanted to be with them. Then there was the fun of watching Mav and Tina. Several boys had gotten the courage to ask her to dance, but she turned them all away. Finally, she leaned over and said something to Mav, who scowled but took her out on the dance floor.

He danced just as badly as advertised, but Tina didn’t seem to mind. She even bailed him out and began to move her arms in a herky-jerky way to mimic Maverick. He and Travis had a good belly laugh when a few guys joined in with the goofy dance moves.

His dad burst into his room, interrupting his reminiscing.

“Austin, I need your help.”

Torn between making the typical teen move—complaining his dad hadn’t respected his privacy—and trying to figure out what he wanted, Austin chose what was behind door number two.

“What do you need?”

“Beverly quit without notice. I guess she’s getting married and moving today,” Clay said.

Beverly led the trail rides. Austin never really liked the woman because she didn’t care for the horses the way he would expect someone in her position to do. Earlier in the week, Beverly led her group through a patch of mud that splattered all over the horses’ coats. When done, she’d put the muddy horses in their stalls without even hosing off the gunk. The mud had dried by the time Austin got home from school, making it harder to clean up.

His dad wasn’t pleased and started the process to find Beverly’s replacement, but he’d held off because Zeb had hired her, and she was Kelly’s personal friend.

“That’s too bad,” Austin said, with his sarcasm meter turned all the way up.

His dad ignored that and asked, “Can you lead the rides today?”

“Will I get paid?” Austin pushed back.

Clay thought about it for a moment. Austin asked because, to this point, his labor had been free.

“We’re in a bind, so I think Zeb would be okay with you earning what Beverly would’ve made.”

Austin asked what that was and almost choked. She must be seriously good friends with the Houstons to make that kind of money for riding a horse and babysitting newbies to ensure they didn’t fall off. The trail ride was an add-on that the people had to pay for on top of their food and lodging, and Beverly’s pay amounted to over half the take. There were four trips on the weekend schedule. By the end of it, Austin would make enough to cover all the free labor he’d provided and then some.

“Count me in!”

Clay left so Austin could get dressed. Once he was fit for public consumption, Austin walked out into the living room, where he found his dad talking to Travis. Clay turned to Austin.

“Zeb asked if you and Travis could make a quick trip to the north lake and catch more fish. He wants to do a fish fry on Sunday for lunch. Zeb will pull the cats you guys caught earlier out of the freezer and have them thawed by then. He figures they’ll need another five to ten fish,” Clay said.

“Instead, how about we jug fish in the main lake? We could drop them in the water before I go out and pull them when I return from the first ride,” Austin suggested.

“That sounds good,” Clay said. “I saw they have everything we need in the fishing hut. I’ll get the boat keys from Zeb.”

‘Jug fishing’ meant tying a heavy line to a big ‘bobber.’ Up north, they’d used half-gallon plastic milk jugs where they tied the fishing line to the handle. Instead of jugs, the boat’s stowage held what looked like pool noodles cut down and PVC pipe glued inside. The pipe had a hole drilled in it that the string attached to. Despite their different construction, they were still called ‘jugs.’

The line would hang down in the water and drag across the bottom, or close to it, as the current or wind pushed the jug. The jug’s movement pulled the bait to where it would eventually find a hungry fish. When a catfish took the bait, they would pull on it and be hooked when the line became taut. When a jug went under or began to move, you had a catfish. You’d then take the boat and pick them up.

“I talked to the girl tutoring me and invited her to the fish fry. Is it okay if she and her family join us? She was Maverick’s date to the dance,” Austin said.

He figured the invitation would make up for his poor behavior.

“That sounds fine. I would like to meet the girl who’s helping you,” Clay said.

Austin planned to tell Mav so he could call and invite Tina.

Most of the day’s riders had arrived the previous night. Some were beginning to wake up as Austin walked to the barn to clean the stalls.

“Young man!” a feminine voice called out.

Austin was in Red’s stall, where his horse had waited until he finished cleaning to leave him a little present. He scooped it up and dumped it in the pushcart, which was full.

He came up short when he saw the woman waiting for him. She was the local TV anchor and better looking in person without being all dolled up for television. His only issue was she wore what city folks considered cowboy garb.

“Ma’am?”

“Where can I get coffee?”

“The pole barn with tables is where we serve food. There should be coffee and juice already set out. You’ll also find an assortment of baked goods. The cook will bring some sort of breakfast out soon if you want something more substantial. Last week, she made a breakfast casserole and biscuits and gravy.”

“Sounds like I should go easy on the baked goods.”

“I find I can do both,” Austin said.

“If I do, it goes straight to my hips.”

“You’re on vacation, so you’re allowed,” Austin said with a smile.

“You might be right. The priority, though, is coffee. It’s my daughter’s birthday, and she brought some friends. They had me up until two in the morning with their giggling.”

“How old is your daughter?”

“She just turned sixteen.”

“Between you and me, we’re not fully booked this weekend. Talk to my dad—I mean, the manager, Clay. Tell him I said you could use one of the cabins so you can get some sleep,” Austin said.

“Where can I find him?”

“He’ll be getting the boat ready. We’re going jug fishing for catfish. The plan is to have them for tomorrow’s lunch.”