Chapter 2 #2
“Or those who are sassy and question orders,” Master Derek had said as he picked up his wife and tossed her into the pool. Which, of course, necessitated his tossing Wren and then Tula right into the pool’s deep end as well.
Turned out that fifteen minutes felt more like fifteen hours when having to constantly move arms and legs to keep from sinking beneath the weight of the shoes, jeans, and t-shirts that they’d been required to wear over their bathing suits.
After they’d rested from passing the treading water test, Sadie had stood dripping from head to toe in front of Nanny J and humbly asked permission to shed her clothing to take the remainder of the proficiency test. Once it was granted and given with a smile despite the large wet spot Sadie’s hug left behind on Aunt Jayne’s clothing, they stripped down to their swimsuits to swim twenty-five laps without stopping and then floated on their backs to recover.
Tula had yet to meet Master David, but she’d learned he was no citified pushover.
Nope, if mystery man only took campers who passed tests that practically prepared them to compete in an Ironman triathlon, she had to admit he had already earned her respect.
What had started out as asking permission to go to camp had become somewhat of an honor at seeing Master Derek’s signature beside Uncle Moses’ at the bottom of the last form on Aunt Jayne’s clipboard.
Maybe she could persuade her friends to join her in swimming the English channel, Tula thought as she exerted a bit more effort to fight the current that had carried her much further downstream than she’d expected.
Spying the pile of clothing, she climbed out and flipped her head forward so her hair hung like a curtain in front of her.
Wrapping it in her hands, she wrung out as much water as possible before braiding it swiftly.
Without a tie, it would come undone but for now, it was secure enough.
Tossing it over her shoulder, she then used her fingers to sluice water off her skin.
She reached for her clothes but something about the pile had her hesitating.
She’d have sworn she’d just dropped her clothes but the stack looked…
neater? A snicker had her head whipping around to see Sky Dancer.
“Did you get bored standing watch and decide to fold laundry?”
The horse huffed as if that was a silly question, and Tula smiled. “I stand corrected, Cinderella. It was singing birds and chubby mice that loved playing with fabric.”
She pulled on her clothes and dropped to sit in order to put on her boots. Suddenly, she froze a second time. Where there should be three shoes, there were now only two. The climbing shoe that should have been at the bottom of the pile was missing.
“Seriously, Sky?” This time when she stood, Tula immediately walked to where the horse was grazing.
“Does Uncle Moses know about your shoe fetish?” When an inspection of Sky’s hooves didn’t produce the shoe, Tula searched the surrounding area, but still didn’t see it.
Still, that shoe hadn’t gotten up and walked away by itself.
Moving back to where her clothes had been, she scanned the ground, and slowly expanded her search area.
Tula squatted down to examine an indentation in the soft dirt at the edge of the riverbank.
Someone had stood in this very spot and that someone had definitely not been a horse.
Considering that one imprint was smooth and flat while the one beside it had left the impressions of five toes, it was clear that someone had been wearing the climbing shoe’s mate on one foot while the other had been bare.
Speaking of bare, whoever that owner had been had most likely gotten an eyeful of Tula in all of her naked glory while she’d floated like she was the only soul on earth.
She could feel heat that had nothing to do with the sun rushing through her.
As that heat turned into a blaze of pink across her face, she wondered what it meant that instead of feeling embarrassed, she felt rather …
well, rather glorious if she were honest. After all, if God hadn’t meant for man and woman to go au naturel when dipping into any of his abundant rivers and lakes, he would have provided them with fig leaves that didn’t lose their structural integrity when wet, right?
Well, Miss Glorious, there is the fact that your Adam didn’t hang around to meet you now, isn’t there? Does that mean he’s not interested in you playing the role of Eve?
She glanced down at the imprint that someone with actual feet had left behind. What if his agenda wasn’t to fold laundry but to go through them before choosing an item to place reverently into some box he’d hide beneath a rickety floorboard as a talisman from the latest victim on his list?
“Sure, why not just go ahead and assure you’ll not sleep a wink for the rest of your life!” she scolded herself.
If that’s the case, you’re safe as he didn’t take anything which means…
“He’s just a neat freak. Thanks, Sherlock,” Tula snarked.
That might have been far more believable except for the fact Mr. Laundry had been rather sloppy by leaving footprints behind.
She was about to use the toe of her boot to scuff out the imprint her voyeur had left behind as if doing so could erase the episode from her mind but realized in order to erase all the evidence, she’d need to shuffle along the bank, following the tracks.
She could see that somewhere along the line, he’d stopped to put his other shoe on as the toe imprints became as smooth and flat as those left by the shoed foot.
With her eyes scanning the ground, it took her a good ten minutes to follow the bandit’s trail to where the tracks disappeared at the edge of the base of a hill which jutted out over the river.
Scanning the curve the river took around the bend just a few yards further upstream, Tula could see the water’s darkened color and smooth surface which formed quite a good swimming hole.
And that hill could be a diving platform.
Lifting her eyes, she plotted a course in her head before beginning to climb.
While it would have been far easier if she had a pair of climbing shoes instead of the far less flexible leather boots currently on her feet, it wasn’t all that hard.
Especially when she discovered what had become a pretty decent staircase in the layer of rocks formed by others who’d traversed this same path.
Once at the top of the hill, she walked to the edge and looked down.
The river appeared a lot further away than she’d originally thought but wasn’t high enough to dissuade jumping.
Looking above her, she grinned. If she needed additional proof this was a frequently visited swimming spot, the evidence hung from a thick branch.
A rope attached to the branch led back to the tree where it had been wrapped around the trunk before its end was tucked into a knobby protrusion to secure it in position.
Considering the stillness and color of the water, the footsteps leading to this hill, the staircase countless feet had worn into the rocks and the rope, Tula had all the proof she needed that it was a safe place to enjoy another gorgeous spot in these mountains.
Her fingers itched to undo the rope and swing out over the water before letting go.
But that would mean the rope would be left hanging over the river as she’d not be able to grab it on its backswing and attach it back in place for the next person to enjoy.
If Mr. Laundry had swum here, he’d not used the rope swing.
This was a place clearly meant to be enjoyed with friends.
Tula was about to begin her descent down the hill when she heard a rustling that directed her attention to the edge of the trees.
“I spy a horse’s face.” Tula smiled as she went to join Sky Dancer.
Seeing a red object disappear into Sky’s mouth, Tula looked down.
“Ahhh, so it wasn’t a shoe you wanted, it’s strawberries.
” Squatting, Tula gathered several of the berries that grew wild in the forest. Popping one into her mouth, she rolled her eyes in pleasure.
Eating another, she held the remainder out on her hand.
While Sky plucked each one from her palm, Tula said, “Still, no matter the temptation, it’s never a good idea to return to the scene of the crime, okay? ”
A huff let Tula know how concerned the horse was with the rudiments of detective work. “Fine, but don’t blame me when they put you in horsie prison.”
Laughing, she grabbed Sky Dancer’s mane and swung up onto her back.
Tula dug her heels in and gave a slight tug in the direction she wished to go.
It didn’t take her long to reunite with her uncle and aunt who were riding toward her.
Uncle Moses took in her wet hair and her slightly damp t-shirt and then looked to her aunt who did, indeed, look very refreshed.
Tula didn’t need either of them to speak to know they were well aware of what she’d found to keep her entertained while they “napped”.
Tula knew they’d most likely done a bit of skinny-dipping themselves, but not wanting to worry them with the knowledge that she hadn’t been alone in her swim, she decided not to say anything at all. She pulled her hands free of Sky’s mane and signed, “Last one home mucks out the stalls!”
Without bothering to wait to see if either of the two had a response, she leaned low and with a snap of her heels, horse and rider became one as they raced across the valley’s floor like the wind.