The Summer Place

CHAPTER THREE



“OKAY, MEN. HAVE ANY OF YOU ever been in a canoe before?” Rick surveyed the group.

Austin’s hand went up. “My grandpa’s got a fishing boat. I go with him a lot.”

Rick pointed to the boats lined up on the shore. “Is it a canoe?”

“Naw—”

“No, sir,” Rick corrected.

“No, sir,” Austin repeated. “It has a motor on the back.”

“Well, in a canoe, your arms and the paddle are the motor.”

He gave each of the boys a paddle and demonstrated how to hold it. They moved into waist-deep water and practiced rowing until he was satisfied they’d all gotten the hang of it. “Today, you men will be in the bow of the boat—that’s the front. The counselors will be in the back, which is the stern. The person in the back can guide the canoe by using the paddle like a rudder.” He showed them what he meant, then he had the boys stand and walk, practicing using their oars like rudders.

“You never stand up in a canoe,” he warned. “It’s easy to flip over, but if that happens just swim to the nearest bank. We’ll pull the canoe over to that spot and then start again. This cove isn’t very big. We’ll never be too far from the shore.”

“What if somebody’s not a good swimmer?”

That Daniel wasn’t a swimmer had been noted on his camp application. Rick read the fear in the boy’s eyes and made a mental note to find time to work with him individually on his swimming. “Good question, Daniel. Lots of people who aren’t swimmers enjoy canoeing. That’s why everybody needs to put on one of the life jackets over there.” He pointed to the orange life vests hanging on hooks on the side of the shed. “The life jacket will hold you up, so all you have to do is kick and move your arms to propel yourself through the water. And if anybody would rather not go out in the canoe, that’s perfectly acceptable, too. But if you want to give this a try, go get on a life jacket and then line up and we’ll divide you up into groups.”

All of the boys, including an anxious-looking Daniel, hurried to don the jackets and get in line.

Neil made quick work of grouping them so weight would be more or less evenly distributed among the boats. “Y’all can decide who’ll paddle first,” he explained, “and that person will be in front. But don’t worry. Everybody’ll get a chance to be in the front. And we have an hour, so you’ll each get a long turn and maybe more than one.”

“Willard, Ryan and Daniel will go with Mr. Charlie.” Rick pointed to the first canoe. “Evan, Jimbo and Austin will go with Mr. Neil in the second canoe. And Howie, Carlos, Reggie and Mitchell in number three with me.”

As the boys rushed to their places, Rick heard the hum of chatter behind him. The girls were coming to the beach area already. He’d hoped to get the boys onto the water before they showed up. He wanted their entire attention without any distractions—or any need to show off.

Summer Delaney in a swimsuit flashed in his mind, and he dared not turn around. Damn it. He shook his head, trying ineffectually to rid himself of the image.

“You don’t want me to paddle first, Mr. Rick?” A worried frown pinched Carlos’s face.

“No, no. You’re fine. I was just shooing away a pest. Okay, men.” Rick pointed to a large tree stump protruding from the water in the middle of the shallow cove. “We’re going to paddle out and around that stump and back to shore, switching front men after each trip. Whoever is in front needs to listen to your instructor. He’ll tell you which side of the canoe to paddle on, and he’ll be guiding, but turning can be tricky, so listen carefully. Remember, do not stand up in the canoe, and men sitting in the middle stay low.”

He looked at Charlie and nodded.

Charlie pushed the canoe off the bank, calling directions. “Stroke to the right, Ryan. Right. Right. Now left. Left again. You’re doing great.”

The first canoe cut smoothly through the water, and the boys in Neil’s canoe all turned eager eyes toward Rick, anxious for their chance.

He waited until Charlie’s group was almost to the stump and then gave Neil the signal.

Neil eased the canoe off the sandy bottom, and his group was under way...for about three yards. Until someone leaned over too far or moved the wrong way, and then they were sitting on the sandy bottom in waist-deep water.

Girls giggled in the background.

The boys all pointed to someone else to lay the blame on. “It doesn’t make any difference,” Neil told them. “We’re a team.” He pulled the canoe back to shore, and they reloaded. Their second attempt went off without a hitch.

“My dad told me he’s gonna get us a canoe,” Howie said, twisting around toward Rick from his position in the middle of the boat.

I’ll bet your dad makes lots of promises, Rick thought, but he said, “That’ll be fun. And when he does, you’ll know what to do. Now, turn around and stay still. Okay, let’s do it.”

Rick pushed them off, and the boat glided softly onto the water.

Bass boats passing the cove out in Kentucky Lake caused waves that rocked the canoe gently, but his group instinctively shifted their weight in unison and kept the canoe level. The first and second groups made it around the stump without too much zigzagging.

Charlie and Neil called the orders. The smiles of conquest on the boys’ faces as they rounded the stump and headed back toward the shore were priceless.

Carlos was a bit unsure of left and right and had a little trouble keeping a steady rhythm. Rick watched closely, trying to match it so there wouldn’t be so much unnecessary drag, but they ended up too far to the right.

“Right, Carlos, right, right, right,” Rick called as he shifted his own paddle in the water. The canoe started its arc around the stump.

A flash of red diverted Rick’s attention. Summer Delaney stood on the wooden platform that held the slide at the deep end of the beach area. Even the modest cut of the swimsuit couldn’t hide the perfect proportions of her petite body. A long, golden braid glistened in the sunlight, looking like a gold arrow pointing directly to the perky, rounded rear below it.

As if his gaze drew her around, she turned toward him, lifting a hand to her brow to shade against the sun. His eyes drifted up her shapely legs, past her flat stomach and tiny waistline, to the small but full breasts molded and sculpted by the spandex in the garment.

“Mr. Rick?”

The panic in Carlos’s tone snapped Rick’s attention back to the canoe. Damn! They were headed directly for the stump. “Left, Carlos, left.” Carlos paddled fast to the right.

Quickly, Rick shifted his paddle flat to the water in an attempt to slow them down. The technique worked, but not fast enough. The canoe slammed broadside into the stump. A grinding sound against the floor followed by a complete stop told him they were lodged on a submerged limb.

“Okay, men. Sorry. This is my fault. I wasn’t paying close enough attention.” Rick gave his own ass a mental kick. “Carlos, you paddle. Howie, Reggie and Mitchell—you push against the trunk. Gently.”

Using his paddle as a lever beneath the canoe, Rick made contact with the limb and pushed down. Slowly, they started inching away. He could feel the eyes of the entire camp on him...Summer Delaney’s more keenly than the others.

They were almost free, when Howie shot up out of his seat and pushed hard against the tree trunk. At the same time, a bass boat’s wave caught the canoe from the other side, pushing against Howie’s thrust and tipping the canoe precariously. Before the boy could regain his balance, he’d toppled into the water and the shift in the weight flipped the canoe.

Rick gulped in a deep breath as he hit the water. He was only under for a split second, and when he broke the surface, he immediately took a head count. Four small heads bobbed around the canoe, stunned and silent.

But that lasted only for a split second also, before Carlos yelled, “Yeah, man! Whoo-hoo!” and the other three boys joined him in his excitement. They swam toward the shore with wild strokes and spraying kicks while Rick grabbed the overturned canoe and sidestroked behind them.

As they waded onto the shore, applause and catcalls floated across the cove. The boys traded high fives all around and slapped one another on the back, giddy and silly from the attention they’d garnered.

Rick gave in to the excitement of the moment and laughed with them. “Howie, I know you were trying to help, but remember next time that you can’t stand up in a canoe. Anyway, I’m proud of you guys and the way you didn’t panic. You followed my directions and swam directly to the nearest shore. Great job.”

He glanced back toward the opposite shore where Summer still stood on the platform, watching.

He wasn’t definite because of the distance, but he thought he could see a delighted smirk on her face.

* * *

“SO MR. RICK’S IRON FIST doesn’t keep the boys under control, even when they’re within arm’s reach,” Summer muttered under her breath. Her lifeguard training had her ready to dive in, but the boys all appeared to be good swimmers. And Rick—naked back muscles bulging as he paddled the canoe—drew way too much of her attention. The stirring in her body bothered her more than a little.

One unhappy child could spell disaster for the camp, so she’d made it her job to keep a close eye on Rick and stop trouble before it happened. But she had to remind herself that the eye she kept on him couldn’t get distracted by his appearance.

Rick Warren, with his military ways, was trouble for Camp Sunny Daze with a capital T.

On the opposite shore, the boys climbed back into the canoe, and Rick pushed them off. Satisfied all was well, she turned her attention back to the girls in the roped-off swimming area.

Anne, Becca and the twins, Braelyn and Kaelyn, were excellent swimmers, venturing out into the deeper water near the ropes with Tara watching from close by. Shannon, Lucy, Amanda, Elise and Greta were a little closer to shore and had a game of hot potato going with a small beach ball.

Mary Margaret sat on the sand alone, glumly tossing pebbles into the water.

“Do you want to start your swimming lessons today, Mary Margaret?” Summer waded toward her.

The child shook her head.

“Do you want to get the sand out of your swimsuit?”

Mary Margaret shrugged, which Summer took as a yes since it wasn’t a definite no.

She went over to the hooks and picked out one of the smaller life jackets. When she turned back around, Rick and his crew had just beached their canoe and were switching places. Rick flashed a sheepish grin, which immediately made her start to feel all melty inside. She hurried back to Mary Margaret.

“Here, put this on, and you can go in the water with me.”

The child stood obediently, and Summer dropped down in the sand to get her buckled in.

Taking the child’s hand, she slowly led the way into the water, aware that the little hand inside hers trembled.

“I don’t want you to be afraid of the water, but I do want you to respect it.” She’d taught lots of children how to swim over the years.

They waded to where the water was knee-deep, and she sat down, letting the water ripple around her chest. Mary Margaret stooped, taking short gulps of air each time a wave passed.

Summer let her get used to the water and then she asked, “Are you good?” Mary Margaret nodded. “Okay then, give me your hands, and we’ll go out a little farther.”

Little by little, Summer coaxed the child deeper until she could float if she bent her knees.

A look of astonishment passed over Mary Margaret’s face when she realized the life jacket would hold her up. “Wow!” she said, which brought a laugh from Summer.

It wasn’t long before Mary Margaret instinctively started to dog-paddle, reveling in her newlyfound ability. When Shannon yelled at her to come join their game, and Mary Margaret did, Summer watched with pride.

The bell sounded, warning lunch was a half hour away. It was time to head back for quick showers.

For the first time, the boys and girls mingled as they headed up the path, most of the conversations centering on the overturned canoe.

“Summer,” Rick called, “could I speak to you a minute?”

She waited as he hurried to catch up, relieved he’d put his shirt back on.

“I noticed you were working individually with Mary Margaret.”

“She’s a nonswimmer, but not for long. She already shows promise.” Summer kept her answer short, anxious for the conversation and the close proximity to be over.

“Well, I used to work as a lifeguard, so I taught a lot of swimming lessons, and it’s not a good idea to allow her to wear a life jacket in the beach area. You don’t want her to get a false sense of security with her ability.”

He was trying to tell her how to teach swimming lessons? Summer was incredulous. “I worked as a lifeguard, too, for several years, and I’ve taught lots of kids to swim. You have to get them over their initial fear of the water before you can make any headway.”

Rick’s face tightened. “And if they get used to the life jacket keeping them afloat, they won’t trust themselves without it. Those damn water wings they put on kids are the absolute worst things ever invented. The kid gets used to them holding him up, and he jumps in the pool the first time without them only to sink immediately to the bottom.”

Heat crept into Summer’s face. “I always start out the little ones with water wings. It gets them comfortable with the texture of the water. Water in their face. Water in their eyes and ears. Once they get used to all that, then we ditch the wings, and they find out what they can do on their own. I’ve never had any problem teaching like that.”

They reached the clearing where the path separated, leading to opposite sides of the camp.

Summer stopped and faced him, fists on hips and chin jutted toward him in a stance Rick had already grown accustomed to when she was challenged. He was reminded of Charlie’s pronouncement that morning. Wild child. Willful and used to getting her way, too, Rick concluded.

“Also, I just wanted to mention that I noticed your canoe instruction lacked finesse.” Summer arched one golden eyebrow defiantly. “So I’ll tell you what. You use your techniques with the boys. I’ll use mine with the girls.”

Rick could see this was a sticking point with her. He hadn’t meant to start an argument, merely to offer some advice, but he’d obviously rankled her. Choose your battles carefully, man. “Okay. I suppose that’s fair.”

Her hands dropped to her sides, though they stayed doubled up into fists. He got the distinct feeling she’d love to punch him right there and then.

“And I really didn’t intend to make you mad.”

“I’m not mad.” She swung around and stomped toward her cabin.

Once she got out of earshot, he allowed himself a disgruntled sigh. He was the assistant director and he wouldn’t let her have her way next time...even if she was cute when she was angry.

Damn woman would probably want to dust everybody with magic fairy powder next.

* * *

TEACHING THE GIRLS TO CANOE turned out to be easy and uneventful. Tara’s group paddled back into the beach three times, and Summer’s group got turned around backward, but none of the groups turned over or hit the stump. Summer couldn’t have been more proud of them...or relieved, since Rick was on the beach the entire time.

The one disappointment was Mary Margaret, who was too afraid to get into the canoe, even with a life jacket on.

Rick was giving Daniel some individual swimming lessons while the other boys swam supervised but on their own, and he offered to include Mary Margaret.

Summer agreed to the plan but kept a watchful eye from the canoe.

The hour was a complete bust as Rick couldn’t get Mary Margaret into the water without a life jacket and obviously wouldn’t let her in with one. Daniel, on the other hand, seemed pleased with the dogpaddle Mr. Rick taught him as a first stroke.

After dinner, Rick led both groups on a short nature hike that scored an owl sighting—a first for all the kids. But even their enthusiasm couldn’t mask the exhaustion in their eyes.

It had been a very busy first day.

“Nature hike at six-thirty tomorrow morning, so lights out in one hour,” he announced, and no one protested, except Lucy, who whined about everything.

“If the girls can be ready for bed in a half hour, we’ll have a special treat.” Summer had been planning this surprise since she talked her parents into the job.

“Summer and Tara, don’t forget the staff meeting after we get the kids down.” Rick’s reminder caused Summer’s teeth to clench. What else had she done today that he would find fault with at the staff meeting?

But she wouldn’t let Rick Warren ruin her surprise for the girls. Thank heavens for instant heat hair appliances! She rushed to her cabin and turned on the jumbo wave iron, hastily applied some makeup and made as many waves in her hair as time would allow. Slipping into her fairy princess gown and wings and grabbing her magic wand, she entered the girls’ bunkhouse twenty minutes before lights out.

The place erupted into a giant squeal when the girls spotted her, and soon she was surrounded by ten sets of eyes shimmering with excitement. Lucy gushed instead of whining. Even Mary Margaret smiled.

“I need y’all to sit on the floor in a big circle.” Summer used her fairy princess voice, and the girls scrambled to get seated. “Now then,” she started, like she always started her appearances. “What do you think it is that makes a fairy princess so special?” She looked around the room.

“You’re pretty,” Elise answered.

“Why, thank you, Elise.” The fairy princess smiled and gave an elegant nod. “That’s kind of you, and kindness is a big part of being a fairy princess, more important even than being pretty. Everybody’s pretty in some way, you know. Some people have pretty eyes or pretty hair. Other people have pretty hearts. And the pretty heart is definitely required to be a true fairy princess.” She glanced around. “So what else do you need to be a real fairy princess?”

“A dress!”

“A crown!”

“Wings!”

“A magic wand!”

Answers flooded the room, and Summer waited until they all were finished. “The dress. The crown. The wings. Those are things that can indicate a fairy princess. But did you know that there are a lot of fairy princesses out there who don’t show themselves with dresses, or crowns or wings? They’re in hiding. Secret fairy princesses. And they’re all around us. But the one thing every one of them has—” with a dramatic sweep, she pulled the amber-tipped wand from the hidden pocket of her dress “—is a magic wand.”

Little eyes widened and mouths opened in awe. “A true fairy princess has a magic wand. Not all are sticks with star tips. A wand might be a piano...a paintbrush or a computer...ballet slippers or a spoon. Every fairy princess gets to choose the wand that wields her magic. So tonight, while you’re asleep, I want you to open your heart to your dreams. Allow your dreams to see all the way inside to your pretty heart.” She stood and motioned for everyone to do the same.

The girls rose quietly, and Summer glided around the circle, tapping each one on the head gently. “You are now a fairy-princess-in-training, and that makes you special. You need to listen to what your pretty heart tells you because it’s going to share a secret with you, maybe tonight. The secret of the special magic only you can give to the world.”

When she got back to the starting point, she swept the group with a broad smile. “The next time I visit, we’ll talk more about your special magic wand and how you would use it. Now give everybody here a big good-night hug, and it’s off to bed.”

The girls scurried like ants, bumping into one another as they giggled and hugged and jumped into bed. Summer and Tara tucked everyone in.

“Remember,” Summer reminded them, “when it’s time for the adults to go to bed, Ms. Tara will come back to sleep in that room over there.” She motioned to the private room at the back of the dorm. “She’ll be here inside with you all night, and Mr. Kenny will be on guard all night outside.”

Summer motioned for Tara to turn out the lights as the two of them slipped out the door. Before closing it, Summer used her fairy princess voice once more. “Good night, everyone.”

“Good night, fairy princess!” the little voices sounded in sweet unison, making Tara and Summer laugh as she closed the door.

“An empowerment program for little girls. Great idea.” Tara sounded genuinely impressed.

“Thanks.” Summer was glad to have Tara as an ally...someone else on her side should the need arise for a hostile takeover.