Chapter 19
A week later, Buck stood on the lakeshore, and contemplated the complete and utter failure of his plan.
Despite his best efforts, Ignatius showed no signs of surrender.
After seven solid days of Buck’s carefully crafted camp curriculum, he still hadn’t gone running to Zeph, demanding to call his uncle.
He hadn’t insisted to be transferred to another pack.
He’d even stopped asking when the real lessons would start.
In fact, if Buck hadn’t known better, he’d have said the kid even seemed to be starting to enjoy himself.
Oh, he bitched and moaned about everything from the cookouts to the canoes, until Buck harbored fond daydreams of grabbing his tongue and using it to demonstrate a range of useful knots.
And he still kept a pointed distance from his fellow campers, treating the other kids with the resigned disdain of a cat surrounded by panting puppies.
But sometimes Ignatius’s mask seemed to slip a little. A few times—out in the woods watching deer, or up to his elbows in clay during art session—Buck had even caught an expression almost like a smile on the kid’s face.
Only when he thought he was unobserved, though. Even now, as Ignatius caught sight of Buck watching him splash about at the edge of the lake, the boy’s expression instantly shifted to a scowl.
“I’m not having fun,” Ignatius informed him.
Buck took a sip of his coffee. “Join the club, kid.”
This was not entirely true. Camp, Buck had to privately admit, did have its good points. And several of those good points were on spectacular display at that very moment.
“Buck!” Honey surfaced from the lake, water streaming from every curve. “Come on, the water’s perfect! You can’t just stand there and watch.”
Buck followed the slow progress of one particularly enticing droplet down the side of Honey’s neck. “Believe me, I can.”
Honey gave her bikini top an unselfconscious tug that went straight to his groin. “Maybe if you joined in, it would set a good example for certain other people.”
“Woman, if I joined in, it would not set a good example for anyone.” He kept half an eye on the kids, making sure no one was trying to drown each other. “Innocent young eyes are not ready for the sight of me in swim shorts.”
She made a face at him. “Ragvald is swimming with his campers.”
“I am trying very hard to pretend I can’t see that.”
This was almost as hard as trying not to stare at Honey, though for very different reasons.
Apparently, in Ragvald’s mysterious homeland, a leather thong was considered perfectly adequate swimwear.
The resulting sight, Buck feared, was going to haunt him for some time. The man was astonishingly hairy.
“Honey, Honey!” Estelle squealed as Ragvald scooped her up. “Watch me, Honey, watch! Honey, are you watching? Honey!”
Honey obligingly turned, treating Buck to a much more delightful rear view. “I’m watching!”
“Now, Ragvald!” Estelle commanded, and the big man swung her round, launching her like a frisbee. Screaming in delight, she flew through the air, disappearing under the surface of the lake with an almighty splash.
A second later, Estelle resurfaced, beaming ear-to-ear. “Did you see, Honey? Did you see how far I went?”
“I saw,” Honey said, laughing. “Don’t keep Ragvald all to yourself, though. Let someone else have a turn, okay?”
“Hey, Ragvald!” Flora tugged at his arm. “Throw Honey next!”
“Ah…” Ragvald hesitated, casting a sidelong glance in Buck’s direction. “I think perhaps not.”
“Enough horseplay, kids,” Moira called. She was patrolling along the shoreline, keeping a close eye on the swimmers. “Remember the rules. No ducking, no dunking, no diving. Ragvald knows how to throw someone safely. I don’t want to see anyone trying to copy him.”
“Aww.” Archie reluctantly let go of another kid’s ankle. “ I wanted to yeet someone.”
“I’ve got an idea,” Honey said, her mouth curling in a smile that instantly had Buck’s senses on high alert. “How about a different game, kids?”
“YEAH!” they all cheered.
“I already dislike this game,” said Buck.
“Oh, hush.” Honey took firm hold of his wrist. “You won’t have to go in the water, I promise.”
She dragged him over to the dock. The long wooden pier ran out into the lake, where the water was deep enough to be well over even Ragvald’s head.
Honey parked him right at the end. “You stand right here. We’re going to have a competition, and you’re going to be the judge.”
Buck eyed the murky depths warily. “This competition had better not be ‘Who can push Buck into the lake.’”
Honey rolled her eyes. “I said you wouldn’t have to go in the lake. All you have to do is stand right here on this exact spot. But you have to promise you won’t move, okay? It won’t be a fair competition if you do.”
“Why do I have a sudden feeling of impending doom?” Buck muttered. At Honey’s exasperated glare, he relented. “Fine. I promise.”
Honey gave him a sweet, innocent smile. Buck regretted all his life decisions.
“Kids!” Honey turned to address the gaggle of dripping campers that had gathered to see what was going on. “Let’s see who can get Buck wettest!”
It actually wasn’t so bad. They were just kids, after all; most of them scrawny little things, all feet and elbows. Even tucking themselves up into cannonballs, they couldn’t make much of a splash. After a few rounds, he was still dry from the knees up.
“Two out of ten.” Buck took a calm, unhurried sip of coffee as water sprayed across his boots. “Keep this up, kids, and I may start to enjoy myself.”
Flora hauled herself back onto the dock, shaking droplets out of her curly hair. “Honey, it’s no good! None of us are big enough!”
Honey had been whispering to Ragvald as the kids took it in turns to jump into the water. From the gleam in her eye, Buck could tell he wasn’t home and dry (literally) yet.
“Keep trying, kids,” she called to them. “I’m sure you can get Buck wetter than that.”
“You jump in, Ragvald,” one of the kids from the other pack urged. “You could get Buck real wet.”
Ragvald shook his shaggy head. “This is your battle, younglings. You must find a way to overcome this foe on your own.”
“Maybe we should give them a little more motivation, Ragvald,” Honey said, in oh-so-casual tones that did not fool Buck in the slightest. “How about we make this a friendly competition? Your pack against mine?”
“A most excellent proposal, shield-sister!” Ragvald declared, as though reading off an invisible script. “Let us give each pack three attempts. The group that emerges victorious shall win much honor!”
From the expressions on most of the kids’ faces, this was not much of an incentive.
“And ice cream,” Honey added.
That got a cheer. The kids divided into their respective packs with renewed enthusiasm.
“What are you up to?” Buck muttered to Honey out of the corner of her mouth.
“Team building,” she murmured back. She lifted her voice. “The winning team gets double dessert tonight! But remember, each pack only gets three tries. Think carefully about your strategy!”
Now Buck understood.
“You,” he told Honey, “are an evil, evil woman.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She patted his arm, smirking. “Finish your coffee.”
With a sigh, Buck drained his mug, and prepared to get wet.
At least the kids didn’t immediately hit on the obvious solution of jumping in together (realizing that they had to work as a team being, of course, the entire point of the exercise).
Both groups started by sending out their biggest champion—Rufus, for their own pack, and a sturdy girl for the opposing group.
Both kids managed a creditable splash, soaking his jeans up to the thigh.
“Draw,” Buck said, as both kids rejoined their packs. “Is that the best you can do?”
“Come on, kids,” Honey urged their campers. “Use your heads! I want to see Buck get soaked!”
“Think as warriors!” Ragvald encouraged his own pack. “Do not charge blindly at the foe, hoping that mere size will be enough. He may be a mighty opponent, but he is only one man. You are a war band! Together, you can seize the victory!”
The kids fell back into whispering huddles. Despite Ragvald’s heavy-handed hinting, it seemed they still hadn’t realized the right strategy. Beth, looking dubious, tried a belly flop, but only succeeded in splashing Buck’s ankles.
The other team had more success. A boy ran out with a determined expression, jumping high off the end of the dock. At the top of his leap, he spread out his arms and legs—and shifted into a polar bear.
“HEY!” Estelle yelled as water rained down on them all. “That’s cheating!”
“The counselors didn’t say we couldn’t shift,” one of the other pack said smugly.
“Well, it’s not fair!” Bristling with righteous indignation, Estelle turned to Honey. “Tell them it’s not fair, Honey!”
From Honey’s hesitation, she hadn’t anticipated this particular derailment to her cunning plan.
“No, it’s cool,” Archie announced before Honey could deliver a verdict. He grabbed Estelle’s wrist. “We’re fine with shifting. But give us a sec, okay?”
“ Archie! ” Estelle protested as he dragged her back to the rest of the pack. “Are you crazy?”
“Shh!” Archie hissed, throwing a warning glance at the other team. “Keep your voice down. We want to be allowed to shift. That’s how we’re gonna win.”
“But grizzlies are a lot smaller than polar bears,” Flora objected. “Even if you shift, you’ll never be able to beat that guy.”
“Yeah, but I know everyone in that pack, and he’s their biggest shifter.” Archie looked round at the others in triumph. “They don’t know that we’ve got someone even bigger.”
“Oh no.” Beth backed away. “I’m not jumping into the lake in my shift form. Do you know how long it takes feathers to dry?”
“Rufus says he won’t do it either,” Finley said as Rufus shook his head. “And Flora’s wombat isn’t big enough.”
Estelle eyed Finley speculatively. “ You’d be big enough.”