4. Beck
four
Beck
By the time we get to Alder Lake, I’ve learned two things. The Blackpine crew has done this before. And nobody needs to be told what to do.
Three vehicles pull into a dirt turnout above the lake, and everyone starts moving before the engines are off.
Reid grabs one end of the biggest cooler.
Trevor gets the other. Dani and Cassidy collect towels and bags.
Tessa points Nolan toward a second cooler before he can make it to the trail empty-handed.
I reach into the back of Ivy’s truck and grab the drinks.
The trail drops through the trees before opening onto a stretch of rocky shoreline. Alder Lake spreads out beyond it, blue-green water surrounded by pine-covered slopes.
Everyone walks toward a shaded spot beneath the trees.
I follow Reid. “You always set up here?”
“Pretty much.”
Tessa drops her bag beside a fallen log. “Closest good spot to the rope swing.”
Nolan stops. “There's a rope swing?”
Reid points farther down the shoreline. A thick rope hangs from the branch of a pine growing above a steep bank.
Nolan grins.
We unload the coolers and spread towels across the ground.
I’m digging through one of the bags for sunscreen when Nolan pulls something out. He holds up the Bigfoot caller. “What’s this?”
Ivy looks over. Her finger points at me. “Entirely his. He paid actual money for it.”
Nolan tosses it to me.
“No regrets.” I catch it and inspect the instructions.
Reid looks over my shoulder. “Are you going to use that?”
I open the package. “Why would I buy it if I wasn't going to use it?”
“For the same reason you buy most stupid things.”
I raise the caller to my mouth. The noise that comes out bears no resemblance to any animal I've encountered in the woods.
Everyone goes quiet. A bird takes off from a nearby tree.
Cassidy stares at me. “What was that supposed to be?”
“Sasquatch.”
“That sounded like a sick goose.”
“I think I need to work on my technique.”
Ivy is shaking her head. “Or you could never do it again.”
Nolan looks between us. “Do it again.”
I already have the caller halfway back to my mouth.
“See, Nolan gets it.” I blow again. The sound that comes out is somehow worse than the first attempt — higher, longer, with a warble at the end that makes Cassidy flinch.
Another bird takes off. This time from farther away, like word has gotten around.
Someone gets music playing, and I set the Bigfoot caller beside my towel.
The rope swing starts ten minutes later. Apparently there are rules. I use that term loosely.
“Eight-point-two,” Dani announces after Trevor hits the water and surfaces.
“Eight-point-two?” Trevor questions.
“Bad entry.”
Cassidy takes the rope next and launches herself well past where Trevor landed.
“Nine!” Dani calls.
Trevor throws both arms out. “How is that a nine?”
“Distance,” Tessa says.
Reid stands beside me with his arms folded. “It’s a sophisticated system.”
“I can tell.”
Ivy grabs the rope. She’s wearing a dark green swimsuit, her hair pulled back off her face. I've seen Ivy in shorts and tank tops plenty of times over the years. I've always known she's attractive. A swimsuit doesn't challenge that assessment.
But what catches my attention more is the way she steps up to the edge without hesitation. She backs up, takes a few running steps, and swings out over the water. Her release is clean. She drops feetfirst into the lake.
Ivy surfaces, pushing wet hair out of her face.
“Nine-point-five!” Dani yells.
Reid scoffs. “Inflated.”
“You're just worried about your score.”
“I haven't gone yet.”
“Exactly.”
He goes next. His jump is good. He gets plenty of distance and hits the water cleanly.
“Nine-point-six,” Dani announces.
Ivy boos from the water.
Reid bows from the lake.
Then he looks at me. “Your turn.”
I take the rope.
I jump out of airplanes for a living. A rope hanging over a lake shouldn't require much consideration. I back up.
“Don't embarrass yourself,” Reid calls.
“Helpful.”
I run, plant my foot near the edge, and swing. The lake opens beneath me. I let go near the top of the arc and drop into the water. Cold closes over my head. The water is snowmelt-fed and unimpressed by the calendar. It's June. Nobody told the lake. When I surface, the arguing has already started.
“Nine-point-seven,” Cassidy says.
“Absolutely not,” Reid says.
“Nine-four,” Ivy calls.
I point at Reid. “His was a nine-six.”
“He had a better entry,” Ivy says.
“I went farther.”
“Distance isn't everything.”
“That wasn't what Tessa said after Cassidy.”
She smiles. “Scoring criteria evolve.”
I swim toward shore. “This rating system is corrupt.”
“Now you understand.”
Nolan is waiting when I climb out. “My turn.”
Tessa looks at him. “Have you ever used a rope swing?”
“How hard can it be?”
That answer concerns everyone. By the time Nolan takes the rope, he's received enough advice from the group to make things worse.
“Release at the top.”
“No, before the top.”
“Get more speed.”
“Don't get too much speed.”
“Keep your legs straight.”
“Why would he keep his legs straight?”
Nolan looks back. “Does anyone actually know what they're talking about?”
“No,” I say.
He runs. Swings out. And keeps going.
Nobody reacts at first.
Then Nolan reaches the end of the arc. Still holding the rope. He starts swinging back toward us.
“LET GO!” half the crew yells.
“I'M TRYING!”
Tessa cups her hands around her mouth. “THAT'S NOT SOMETHING YOU HAVE TO TRY!”
Nolan swings past the bank again. Still holding on. I'm laughing too hard to offer useful advice.
On the next outward swing, he finally releases and drops into the lake with a splash.
Nolan comes up sputtering, arms slapping at the surface like the water personally wronged him.
“Three!” Trevor calls.
“IT'S FREEZING,” Nolan says.
“It's snowmelt,” Tessa says, like this is common knowledge, which for most of us, it is.
“Nobody mentioned that.” Nolan swims for shore fast, still muttering, half about the score and half about the temperature.
The next couple hours pass. We swim. Snack. Get back in the water. At some point Tessa splashes Reid. Reid retaliates. That should have been the end of it. Instead, the whole lake turns into a war.
Ivy ducks behind me just before Tessa sends a wall of water in our direction.
It hits me square in the chest. I turn. “Really?”
Ivy peeks around my shoulder. “You're bigger.”
“So?”
“Better coverage.”
She ducks away before I can splash her. I go after Reid instead.
Eventually hunger gets everybody out of the water. We settle along the shoreline with sandwiches and whatever snacks survived Nolan.
Cassidy tosses me a bag of chips. “So where are you from, Beck?”
“All over.”
She waits.
I take a chip. “Military family. We moved a lot.”
“What do you consider home?”
“Usually wherever I'm working.” There's nothing complicated about the answer. That's been true most of my life.
Reid points toward me with his sandwich. “That's because he owns four things.”
“I own more than four things.”
“Name five.”
“I bought a Bigfoot caller this morning.”
Tessa looks at me. “So where do you go after fire season?”
“Ski patrol.”
Nolan stops eating. “Seriously?”
“Usually.”
“So you jump out of airplanes all summer and ski all winter?”
“Pretty much.”
He looks down at his sandwich. “I chose my career poorly.”
“You spent fifteen minutes swinging back and forth over a lake because you forgot to let go of a rope,” Tessa says.
Nolan points at her. “I thought we were moving past that.”
“We are not.”
Dani looks between Reid and me. “How long have you two known each other?”
“Six years,” I say.
Reid nods. “Longest six years of his life.”
“See what I put up with?”
“You love me.”
“I tolerate you.”
“Same thing.”
Reid steals a handful of my chips.
I should've seen that coming.
It turns out rope swings aren't the crew's only competitive tradition.
Someone finds pool noodles. I don't ask why they brought pool noodles to a mountain lake. I learn soon enough.
“Chicken fight,” Tessa announces.
Ivy is already moving toward Reid.
“No,” Dani says.
Both Sawyers stop.
“What?” Reid asks.
“You two aren't partners.”
“Why not?”
“Because you always win.”
Ivy folds her arms. “That's not a valid reason.”
“It’s reason enough.”
Reid points at me. “Then I'll take Beck.”
“Nope,” Trevor says. “Teams are co-ed.”
The negotiations become more complicated than some fire assignments.
Eventually we end up with Reid and Dani, Nolan and Tessa, Trevor and Cassidy—
And Ivy and me.
Tessa looks at Nolan. “Your only job is to keep me upright.”
“You should have more confidence in your partner.”
She glances toward the rope swing. “I'm taking recent performance into consideration.”
“That was one time.”
“It was today.”
Nolan walks into the water muttering.
I follow Reid deeper.
It's not until Ivy comes up beside me that I fully consider what we've agreed to. She's going to sit on my shoulders. In a swimsuit. All right. I can handle that. I crouch in the water.
Ivy puts one hand on my shoulder. “You ready?”
“Yep.”
She climbs on. Her other hand lands on the top of my head for balance, then her legs settle on either side of my neck.
I straighten slowly, gripping her calves to keep her steady.
She's lighter than I expected. And strong.
Her legs are solid beneath my hands. Not the kind that comes from spending an hour lifting weights at the gym and going home.
Years of hiking steep trails, hauling equipment, and working Montana summers have left evidence.
“You good?” I ask.
“Perfect.”
Reid is watching us. “This was a terrible team assignment.”
Ivy points her pool noodle at him. “Scared?”
“Of you? Never.”
“You should be.”
Someone yells go. Dani swings first. I move sideways. Water surges up my back. Still cold. I've stopped expecting otherwise. Ivy ducks, then smacks Dani across the shoulder.
“Left,” Ivy says.
I move left, wading against the drag of the current. Ivy swings. Dani nearly goes over. Reid catches her, blinking water out of his eyes, one arm locked around Dani's legs so he can't do anything about it but shake his head like a dog.
“Okay,” Ivy says. “Now we're winning.”
“What changed?”
“She hit me.”
“You're just like your brother.”
Her knees tighten slightly against me. “Take that back.”
I laugh and move before Reid can get close enough for Dani to strike again.
“Duck,” Ivy calls.
I drop. A pool noodle whistles over her head, and the motion sends a wave up my neck, straight up my spine. My whole body feels the cold.
“Right.”
I move right. She lands a hit. Trevor and Cassidy go out first when Nolan manages to keep Tessa stable long enough for her to knock Cassidy sideways into the water.
Nolan throws both fists up. “Yes!”
Tessa wobbles.
His hands shoot back to her legs. “Sorry.”
“Celebrate later.”
They last another minute before Reid and Dani take them out. Which leaves us.
Ivy leans forward slightly. “We can beat them.”
“You sound very sure.”
“I usually win.”
“With Reid.”
We close the distance. Dani swings. Ivy blocks. I shift left. Then Reid changes direction unexpectedly, plowing a wave straight into his own face. He sputters, blinded for a second, both hands full of Dani's legs.
Ivy tilts. Her legs clamp around my shoulders. I catch her calves and plant my feet against the pull of the water. For half a second, all I'm aware of is the pressure of her legs and my hands holding her steady.
Then Ivy straightens. “I’m good.”
Back to the game. Dani comes in again. Ivy swings hard enough to knock the noodle out of her hand. Dani reaches for it. Bad decision. Her weight shifts. Reid tries to compensate. Too late. She hits the water.
Ivy throws both arms in the air. “Yes!”
I tighten my grip on her legs before her celebration takes both of us down.
Reid stares at the crew. “Who decided giving Ivy another smokejumper was fair?”
Tessa shrugs.
Everyone starts arguing at once about whether the teams were fair. I barely register it. Ivy is still on my shoulders, hands raised in victory.
Then she seems to remember where she is. “Oh.”
I crouch. Her hands settle onto my shoulders, and she slides down behind me, one hand briefly brushing my back before her feet find the lake bottom. Then she's gone, joining Tessa and Dani in an argument over whether Dani's lost noodle should've ended the round before she hit the water.
I head toward Reid.
He splashes me. “Cheater.”
“Sore loser.”
“You inherited my teammate.”
“Sounds like a personal problem.”
By late afternoon, we're packing everything back into the vehicles. Nolan is hungry again. Nobody understands how. I carry one end of a cooler up the trail while Reid takes the other. Behind us, the others gather towels and bags.
Reid looks toward the lake. “Not a bad place to get stuck for a few weeks.”
“No.” It really isn't. I glance back. Ivy and Tessa are shaking sand from a blanket while Dani tries to fit three towels into an already full bag.
Tonight I'll be sleeping down the hall from Ivy. Tomorrow too. Maybe for the rest of the summer.
That's new.