Chapter 23
The lake was divided into a few sections. Not with actual lines or anything, just with a set of floaties on a long rope to section off the part that was for swimming. This left the right side of the swimming area for fishing and the left side – which was near the beach that the bonfire was held – for other water activities, such as canoeing and wading. The boys were chatting, excitedly, as they walked to the canoe area. They were dressed in t-shirts and shorts and for the most part were wearing flip[ flops and other kinds of easy to remove sandals. Everyone had a towel draped over their shoulders in an unconscious imitation of how Bucky was holding his own as he walked beside Peter down the trail that led to the bonfire and the little shed that was manned by one of the lifeguards.
“Hey, guys,” he said, smiling at them as they broke ranks and ran over – too excited to wait. “Ready to canoe?”
“Yeah.”
The man came out of the shed but left the door open.
“We’re waiting for the girls.”
“The girls?” Ned echoed. “What girls?”
“What girls?” Greg asked at the same time.
“The ones from Arizona,” he told them, grinning at the scowls.
A big difference from the high school campers, since they would automatically start checking to make sure their muscles were on display.
“We have to canoe with the girls?” Brian asked.
“Not in the same canoes,” the lifeguard assured them all. “They’ll have their own canoes and there are plenty for everyone. And a lot of water. How many of you know how to swim?”
All of the boys raised their hands, making the lifeguard nod. He’d looked through the paperwork for the campers and it was one of the questions asked, and there were several campers, of course, but he would have known if any of them were actively afraid of the water and needed special considerations.
There weren’t any for these two cabins, so that was a plus, really.
Before he could ask anything else there was a motion from the path and a sudden wave of chattering little girls. Arizona’s cabin was the youngest of the girls at Wood Leaf and were going to naturally be paired up with them whenever anything was happening that put the boys with the girls. To keep things even in any kind of competition.
“Hello, ladies,” he said, giving them a smile.
A few of the girls looked at the boys as cheerfully as the boys were looking at them, but the others grinned and there were assorted greetings. Even a few to the other boys (although it was mostly the counselors).
“Alright, kids,” the lifeguard told them as the girls came to stand next to their counterparts. “We have all morning to have a lot of fun. How many of you can swim?”
Yes, he’d asked the boys, but it was definitely a question for everyone, and all the girls raised their hands, too – except for one of their counselors. Peter was shocked, since he thought all adults knew how to swim, but the lifeguard didn’t act like he was surprised. Instead he nodded.
“Everyone go inside and get a life jacket and a paddle.”
He stepped aside to avoid the mad rush of kids running into the little shack and grabbing whatever colored life vest that was most appealing to them. It didn’t matter to him since they were all in perfect condition and designed specifically for their sizes. A minute later the kids were lined in front of him, most already wearing their vests – and some of the boys (and a couple of girls) had resorted to ‘sword’ fighting with their oars.
“How many of you have canoed?” he asked. “Or used a rowboat?”
Now there were only a couple of hands that went into the air. He smiled. This was going to be great. He walked with the group over to the line of canoes that were on their sides like dominoes, waiting to be used, and pulled the first one out a little. They were sturdy but lightweight. Perfect for younger users. Especially since it was pretty much a given that each and every one of them would end up in the water at some point or another.
Once he had their attention, he gave the kids a lesson how to use their canoes while the craft was on dry land. He explained what to do if it tipped over and reminded them that they had life jackets on and wouldn’t sink – and he gave the camper with the prosthetic leg a pointed look when he said it. Brian had simply smiled. He didn’t plan on wearing his fake foot while canoeing so he wasn’t too worried. He got around pretty well hopping on one leg when he needed to do so.
“Any questions?” the lifeguard asked when his lesson was done.
The kids were eager to try what they’d been shown so he wasn’t surprised that no one had any questions to ask.
“Okay, then. You can go by yourself, or team up with someone if you want,” he said – and once more moved to the side to avoid the rush of kids to their canoes.
Ned grabbed Peter by the shoulder of his life jacket and they grabbed a blue canoe and dragged it down to the water. Only the counselors being present kept the rush to the water from being chaotic and saved all of the campers from being dumped into the water, immediately. Barnes went into the shed and caught an adult-sized life vest and an oar and then walked over to Brian, who had already dropped his prosthetic leg and was using his oar to keep himself balanced – although Bucky could see that he was completely at ease on one leg. Probably from plenty of practice.
“Want to partner with me?” he asked the boy.
“Are you any good?”
The assassin turned counselor shrugged with a smile.
“We’ll have to see.”
OOOOOOOOOOOO
“You shouldn’t be spying on him…”
Tony rolled his eyes.
“It isn’t spying, Pep,” he told her, looking away from his display. “I just want to check up on him and make sure he’s safe.”
She settled into the chair beside him, resting her chin on his shoulder and looking at the display, too. It was a very clear picture of the lake at the camp. At the moment, the lake was teeming with activity. There were campers swimming; jumping off the dock into the water, splashing around and pushing each other in, but that wasn’t what Tony had JARVIS focusing on. The other side of the lake had several canoes out in the water. Brightly colored and going in all directions with the people in them splashing each other and having impromptu races. A couple were upside down, their occupants having been tipped into the water and floating as they up righted their crafts. There wasn’t any sound to the video but it was clear that none of those in the water were panicking. They were simply having a good time.
“Linking in with a satellite just to spy on your son is a little extreme, don’t you think? They’re supposed to be writing letter to home, this evening. You could wait and read what he has to say…”
“And I will,” he assured her. “But I just wanted to check on him… and on Ned, he added, deciding then it wouldn’t seem quite so much like he was stalking his son.
She allowed her gaze to land on Peter, who was in his canoe with Ned (big surprise there). The two boys were smiling and laughing and were clearly getting the hang of making the canoe go where they wanted since they were heading pretty far out into the lake.
“Should they be going so far?” she asked, feeling just a little nervous. Yes, they had life jackets, and yes, they could both swim just fine, but still… “Someone should tell them-“
Even as she was saying it, Ned and Peter both turned their heads back the way they’d come, toward shore. Pepper and Tony looked that way, too, and saw Barnes was waving at the boys, silently (to them) gesturing for them to head back toward him.
“Barnes looks like he’s in danger of having a good time,” Stark said with a smirk.
The Winter Soldier was shirtless, wearing a life jacket, and sharing a canoe with one of the campers. They were both soaking wet – probably had gone into the water at least once or twice – and were both smiling. It was the most relaxed Tony and Pepper had seen him.
She smiled and pressed a kiss against his ear.
“You have a meeting in fifteen minutes. Don’t be late.”
“Awww…”
Pepper shook her head.
“Spy on them, later.”
“But they aren’t always outside…”
Meaning the satellites only worked to see what they were doing when they were outside.
“Too bad.”
“I should-“
“Maybe James will write you a letter, tonight,” she told him, patting his cheek, lightly, as she stood up. “Then you’ll know everything that’s going on.”
He scowled.
“Cute.”
“Fifteen minutes,” she said, again, amused, heading for the door. “If you’re late I’m taking away your satellite access for the rest of the day.”
He huffed at that, but then rolled his eyes.
“Fine.”