Chapter 6: Keeping up with the Thunderclouds

Old Man Jack's Fish Camp
30 Minutes Later

Rachel and Timmy Thundercloud arrived at the camp, their 2016 Ford F-650 tow truck barreling into the long driveway. The truck was black with white lettering that bared the name: DOUBLE THUNDERCLOUD AUTO BODY & TOWING on both the driver's side and passenger doors, with a pair of decorative novelty thunderclouds surrounding the name.

Both Thundercloud twins exited the truck after stopping just outside the cabin, with Timmy having been behind the wheel and his sister, Rachel, having ridden shotgun.

Rachel was a strikingly attractive dark-haired, brown-eyed 18-year-old of medium height whose dark hair usually flowed down her back. Today, however, it was tied into a braided ponytail.

Timothy Junior, meanwhile, was an athletically built 18-year-old who stood at a rather statuesque 6'3. His brown eyes matched his sister's, and he also sported a short dark-haired buzzcut. Both twins were dressed in gray coveralls and beige steel-toed work boots.

Sergeant Thundercloud smiled as his children walked up to him and the Harpers. "Hey kiddoes," he warmly greeted.

While Timmy immediately made a beeline for the Harpers' damaged Traverse, Rachel chuckled and smiled at them.

"Hi Daddy," Rachel replied before looking at Dawn and Ricky. "Hi there," she continued, "I'm Rachel Thundercloud. Don't mind my twin brother, Timmy, he just has major tunnel vision when we're at work. He means no disrespect." She then looked at her brother. "Do you, Timmy?" she playfully shouted at him.

A suddenly startled Timmy shot a look back at his sister. "Uh," he mumbled, "No, not at all. Sorry." He then waved to Dawn and Ricky. "Hey guys," he said.

Dawn, now dressed in a Get Sporty T-shirt with jeans and her Adidas running shoes, all but immediately found herself smitten with the very tall, well-built, and good-looking Timmy as she flirtatiously waved back. "Hi," she said, "I'm Dawn."

Timmy nodded and smiled in retort. "Hey," he replied somewhat nervously, "Nice to meet you."

Sensing the unforeseen tension between his sister and the young Miccosukee mechanic, Ricky decided to interject. "...And I'm Ricky," he said, "It's a pleasure to meet you both."

All the while, he found himself attracted to Rachel as the two shared smiles and intrigued looks while Rachel began helping her brother give the Harpers' Traverse the customary once over.

"This dent on the hood actually doesn't look that bad," Timmy said, "But this windshield's going to have to be replaced, I'm afraid. This palm tree limb did quite the number on it."

Dawn frowned as she visually examined the damaged windshield for herself. "Do you guys offer those kinds of services at your shop?" she asked.

"Yeah," Rachel said, "We do some collision repair type stuff. Like my brother said, the damage here isn't too substantial. Had it been more severe, we would've had to tow it all the way out to our buddy's shop in Orlando. He's specifically known for completely restoring and repairing cars after major accidents."

Ricky nodded. "So how long do you think your repair process will take?" he inquired.

"Well," Timmy began explaining, "Our shop's right in Sabal. We'll tow it out to our yard tonight. Rachel and I will get to it first thing in the morning. Luckily, we don't have too many other vehicles ahead of yours right now."

Sergeant Thundercloud was then struck with an idea. "How about this?" he said to the Harpers, "I have the day off tomorrow. Why don't you guys join us at our place in the morning for breakfast? I can pick you up, and you can hang out with us before the twins go to work."

Liking the idea, Rachel cut in. "You can meet our grandpa," she said, "I'm sure he'd take a liking to both of you. Plus, he makes some epic pancakes."

Ricky and Dawn traded looks before their gazes returned to the Thunderclouds. "That sounds awesome," Dawn replied as she and Ricky started back toward the cabin, "I guess we'll see you guys in the morning."

The Harper siblings walked back toward the cabin's front door as they waved to the Thunderclouds. "Thank all you guys so much for your help," Ricky said.

"No problem," Sergeant Thundercloud replied as he and the twins waved back at them, "You kids get some sleep, okay? It's getting late. I'll pick you guys up at eight a.m."

Thundercloud Residence
Sabal, Florida
The Next Morning
8:15 AM

The Thunderclouds' family residence was a one-story ranch house that sat on the edge of the Sabal, Florida town line. Timothy Thundercloud lived in this modest home with his father, veteran local mechanic Amos Thundercloud and the twins, Timmy and Rachel. Amos had moved in with his son and grandchildren not long after the passing of Timothy's wife and the twins' mother, Lydia, in 2012.

Dawn and Ricky both exited Sergeant Thundercloud's personal vehicle, a blue 2019 Ford F-150 pickup truck, and took in the home and its bucolic surroundings.

Ricky was dressed in a light blue mesh tank top with matching shorts and a pair of black Converse sneakers, while Dawn was clad in her high school soccer team letterman jacket with a white spaghetti strap tank top underneath, blue jeans, and a pair of black leather-strapped sandals. Thundercloud was dressed in a gray Miami Dolphins t-shirt with gray shorts and a pair of Reebok running shoes

"Nice place you have here, Sergeant" Ricky said.

"Oh," Thundercloud replied, "Call me 'Tim', please. And thank you. We like being sort of tucked away like this." He chuckled. "Then again, we are in the Everglades after all. Pretty much everything out here is tucked away, right?"

Dawn grinned in retort. "Do you guys get a lot of gator problems around here?" she asked.

Thundercloud shook his head. "Not in town, necessarily" he explained, "That's more out by the water near Alligator Alley and the other swampy areas. The most we get out this way are a few overeager raccoons."

The sergeant escorted his guests inside his home and into the kitchen, where he found his father and the twins all seated around the rectangular table, which to them looked to be almost too big for the smallish room. The twins waved hello to their new friends, while Amos Thundercloud stood up from the table to greet them more formally.

"Dawn and Ricky Harper," Thundercloud said, "I'd like to introduce you to my father, Amos. He runs the auto body shop with Timmy and Rachel."

Amos was a tall, hazel-eyed Miccosukee man in his early 70's. His long hair was so gray that it looked almost white in color, and it was tied back in a braided ponytail. "It's so nice to meet you kids," he said as he shook both their hands, "Timothy and the twins speak highly of you."

Ricky chuckled. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well, sir" he said. Impressed by the young man's manners, Amos shot a look at his son before politely stepping past them to get the pancakes he had prepared off the griddle that sat on the kitchen counter nearby.

Meanwhile, Dawn and Ricky seated themselves on the right side of the table across from where the Thundercloud twins sat. Timmy Thundercloud gave a discreet smile to Dawn, a gesture that the smitten Dawn met with a charming wink.

Amos then took his cue to break the silent tension. "You kids are from Colorado," he said, "Is that right?"

Dawn nodded. "Yes sir," she cordially replied, "We're from Denver."

"Oh," Timmy said, "That's awesome. Dad, Rachel, and I are big Broncos fans."

Ricky grinned before looking at Amos. "And what about you, Mister Thundercloud?" he asked him.

"Call me 'Amos', please" he clarified, "And I'm actually more of a Patriots man myself."

"Me too," Ricky replied.

Dawn scoffed in retort before playfully slapping Ricky's shoulder. "Give me a break!" she exclaimed, "You haven't watched football a day in your life! The closest you've ever come is when you caught that football from Nicky at dad's store and you fell backwards into that big display of soccer balls."

The room erupted in haughty laughter from everyone. Once they all caught their breath a minute or so later, Amos set a pair of warm pancakes down on everyone's plate. "So, your dad owns a store?" Rachel asked.

Dawn swallowed her first bite before replying. "Yeah," she replied, "It's a sporting goods place called Get Sporty. Ricky and I both work there with our parents and our two brothers."

"There's four of you, then" Rachel inferred.

"Yep," Ricky replied, "Dawn and I are actually two-fourths of a fraternal set of quadruplets."

"Oh wow," Timmy said, "That's neat. As you can tell, Rachel and I can relate."

Dawn giggled just as Rachel and Timmy's cell phones chimed simultaneously. "Oh shoot," Rachel said as she checked her phone, "That means it's time for us to head to work."

Timmy quickly got up and picked up both his and Rachel's plates to return to the sink. "Sorry we couldn't hang out longer, guys" he repentantly said to the Harpers.

"No biggie," Ricky said, "We get it. We'll catch you later."

"It was nice to meet you both," Rachel said to them before waving to their father and grandfather. "Bye Dad," she continued, "Bye Grandpa. Are you coming in later?"

Amos nodded. "I'll be in after lunch, sweetie" he replied, "See you kids then."

The Thundercloud twins then hurriedly left the house.

"You kids can take your time if you like," Amos kindheartedly said to the Harpers, "I apologize for the twins. They always feel like they have to bowl and jam."

Dawn held her hands up. "No worries, Amos" she said, "I'm that way on the days we have to work, too." She took another bite of her pancakes. "Mmmm," she said, "These pancakes are fantastic!"

Amos smiled. "Well, thank you, dear" he said, "I do the best I can."

Timothy Thundercloud smiled and put an arm around his father. "Oh Dad," he said, "No need to be so modest. You make the best pancakes on the entire reservation!"

Ricky and Dawn both giggled, their mouths still partially muffled by the delicious breakfast. "Do you guys need help cleaning up?"

Amos traded looks with his son before looking back at Dawn and Ricky. "Sure!" he said.

Dawn and Ricky finished their meal and got up to help the father and son clean up the table.