The sand beneath her butt was cold. This alone was enough to make Shadow grumpy. The fact that she actually had to get into the cold lake water just made the whole situation worse.

Scooter stood on the beach of the swimming area wearing a white sweatshirt, red nylon shorts and Teva sandals. A black plastic whistle hung around her neck and her blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail. "Good morning, everyone." She addressed the staff members that were huddled near her.

"This morning's swim check is a pretty easy process. I'll call you up in groups of five, and you just need to swim from the shore to the cross dock and back to shore."

Shadow estimated the distance from the two points of reference to be about twenty-five yards apart. Twenty-five yards there, twenty-five yards back to shore. I should probably drown about half way to the dock.

Scooter continued in her encouraging voice. "No need to worry about drowning. The deepest water you will be swimming in is nine feet. And there are three lifeguards watching you. If you start to get into trouble, we'll help you out."

The brunette was miserable. Not only can I not get out of this damned swim test, now I don't even have the option of drowning to escape it. Her head snapped up as she heard the Scooter call her name. Shit, of course I'm in the first group.

As Scooter waited for the first group of swimmers to line up, she removed her sweatshirt. Her navy blue bathing suit contrasted nicely with her tanned skin.

She eyed the first five swimmers, four of which were anxious to get into the lake and swim despite the water's temperature. Uh oh. A red flag went up in her mind. Shadow looks pretty anxious.

She walked over to Pax who was guarding on the cross-dock. Aware of how sounds traveled on water, she softened her voice so only Pax could hear her. "I don't know what's going on with Shadow, but keep a close eye on her, ok?" Pax simply nodded her head in acknowledgement.

As Scooter walked back to the beach area, Shadow subtly waved her over. "Um, look, can't I just fail this test instead of having to take it?" Shadow's blue eyes pleaded with the waterfront director.

Scooter touched the taller woman's arm. "Are you feeling sick or something?"

Shadow's head dropped and she ground her toe into the sand beneath her. "No." She licked her lips. "I can't swim." There, it's out. Now she can laugh her ass off at me in front of the whole staff.

Scooter gave Shadow's arm a gentle squeeze. "You can skip the test right now, but we need to talk when everyone else is finished testing. And I need you to stay and be trained on the rescue techniques part."

Shadow let out the breath that she didn't realize she had been holding. "Sure, thanks."

"No problem, but don't think you're getting out of swimming lessons this summer." The blond turned away and focused on the four remaining swimmers. "Alright, time to swim."

The rest of the swim checks went smoothly. Shadow enjoyed herself as she watched the lifeguards in action. Each guard had her own style of guarding. Pax stood in one place, her eyes constantly scanning the water. The thick nylon cord of the red rescue tube looped around her torso. She held the tube itself horizontally in front of her at waist level.

Scooter, on the other hand, paced the docks. She held her tube in similar fashion to Pax, but her body was constantly in motion. Occasionally, she would stop and make a comment to Pax, but then she was off patrolling the docks.

She watched the swimmers with a critical eye, knowing that if she over-rated a swimmer's ability, whether they were staff or camper, it could be fatal.

Once the campers arrived, it would be difficult enough to guard twenty-five swimmers at a time. The fact that you could not see the bottom of the lake, which was quite deep outside of the U-shaped docks, only added to the risk that someone could quickly get into trouble while swimming.

Most of the staff were proficient swimmers. Scooter placed blue marks by their names. A couple of the staff were more tentative as the yellow mark by their names indicated. A lone red mark was placed next to Shadow's name and the word non-swimmer was written in ink.

Scooter loved a good challenge and teaching an adult to swim was always an exciting opportunity for her. Gonna have to get her to trust me for this. Fine example I am though- trustworthy, but not trusting. Well, she doesn't have to know about my hang-ups. She just needs to let me work with her.

After the staff had all completed their swim checks, two lifeguards grabbed the nylon ropes that would separate the shallow, "red" area from the "yellow" area, which was the deeper area within the u-shaped swim docks. The "blue" area was outside of the docks, and was sectioned off by heavy nylon ropes that went from the swim docks to the free floating dock. A diving board was connected to the end of the left side of the swim dock so that the blue swimmers could dive into the deepest part of the swimming area.

Rope in hand, they jumped into the water and attached the rope across the red/yellow swim area. They secured it with halyards to the hooks on the two long docks, then exited the water and called all of the staff to sit together on the beach.

Pax grabbed the rescue equipment from the dock and brought it down to the beach. Scooter picked up the white flotation ring and held it by her side. "When you're down here with your campers, part of your job as staff is to act as watchers. This isn't time for you to sunbathe, read, or catch up on your paperwork. You have to be actively helping us lifeguards to keep track of the children."

She looked around the group to make sure she had everyone's attention before continuing. "Most of your campers, especially the younger ones, will not be proficient swimmers. Many of them have only gone swimming in pools; so being in a lake is a new experience for them. It can be intimidating to not be able to see the bottom and it only takes them a short amount of time to figure out that there are fish swimming in the lake, too."

Shadow narrowed her eyes at that last comment. Oh, hell no. No way am I going to step foot in that piranha -infested bottomless pit.

Scooter missed the look on Shadow's face as she continued in her soft voice. "Did I mention the fish bite?"

A nervous laugh went up from most of the staff. Shadow did not laugh, there was nothing amusing about this to her.

"They don't bite hard though, but it will feel like a pinch, usually on your legs or bums. The good news is the fish also eat the horseflies. I'll take a fish kiss over a horsefly bite anyday."

"Okay, I know you love to hear about the food chain of local animals, but the focus for the rest of this morning is learning how to do non-entry rescues and how to be a good watcher."

She displayed the twenty inch diameter white ring in her hand to the staff. "As a non-entry rescuer, your goal is to assist the swimmer without entering the water yourself. This throw ring is one tool you can use." She unraveled the long rope that was attached to the ring. "By hanging on to the end of the rope, you can toss the ring to the swimmer and help tow her in. This is best used when you can't reach the swimmer with either your hand or the reach pole."

She handed the ring to Pax, who wrapped up the rope and set the ring aside. Scooter then took the reach pole in her hands. The heavy gauge aluminum pole was ten feet long. A hollow center made it fairly lightweight. At one end of the pole was a steel loop that resembled the frame of a squash racket.

"This reach pole is used by extending the loop to the swimmer while you hang onto the pole with both hands. Once the swimmer grabs the loop, you pull her towards you until she is close enough to pull out by hand. The important thing in any rescue is that you avoid becoming a victim, too. If you can't rescue the swimmer by either of these methods, do not try to enter the water and save her yourself. You will always have a certified lifeguard with your group, whether you are swimming or boating. Leave the in-water rescues to us. Okay, let's practice. We need five volunteers to pretend to be victims. The rest of y'all come onto the docks."

Shadow considered the equipment. Ok, I can do rescues. The whole goal is to not have to swim or get in the water, so I should excel at this!

Scooter was pleased to see that Shadow enthusiastically participated in the activity. She's good at this. Admiring the barn director's muscular physique, she considered that working at the barn and with the horses was physical work. No wonder she's in such good shape.

Shadow's arm and back muscles rippled as she pulled another mock victim to safety. The warm sun on her body relaxed her as the gentle breeze ruffled her jet black hair. Unconsciously she smiled, her vibrant blue eyes matching the color of the water in the lake. Hey, this is pretty fun. And nobody's drowned yet. I could get used to being down here on the waterfront. She looked over at the waterfront director who was focused on another staff member that was struggling to properly use the throw ring.

The sunlight brought out the light blond hues in the waterfront director's hair. And the hours spent in the sun had darkened her skin to a warm golden brown. Her confident green eyes sparkled, too as she worked with and taught each of the staff members about their water-related duties. There was no question who was in charge when it came to the waterfront and her confidence in her abilities was apparent to Shadow.

Scooter looked up and caught Shadow glancing at her. Quirking her head slightly to one side, she smiled at the barn manager then refocused her attention on the other staff members.

Yeah, I could get real used to being down here.

The tired, hungry and slightly sunburned staff trudged up to the dining hall as the bell rang announcing that lunch was ready. Shadow stood in the informal buffet line and chatted with a couple of the new staff members that were standing behind her.

"What do you study at university?" one of the Australian staff, nick-named Blinky asked her.

"Equine Management with a minor in recreation. My Aunt Juli owns a ranch in Washington State where they work with inner-city kids and horses. I plan to go work there, running the stables."

"Ah, right. That's cool. How long has your aunt owned her ranch?"

"Ever since I can remember. I used to spend most of my summers with her. That's where I first learned to ride horses. Now, a lot of the horses she has are rescue horses. They have either been abused or abandoned by their previous owners. We have a vet that my aunt has contracted with to help the sick ones, but it's the hired hands that work with the horses on a daily basis."

"So why did you come here this summer instead of there?"

"Figured camp was a good chance for me to see if is something I will enjoy, or if I need to change majors." Shadow laughed, knowing that she was only half joking. This was a perfect chance to see if she did like working with children. So when Pony suggested that she work at the summer camp, Shadow let herself be talked into the idea.

The lunch meal was typical camp fare-sandwiches, carrot sticks, potato salad, fresh fruit, water and lemonade. Homemade peanut butter cookies rounded out the meal. Since there were no campers in camp, the staff members could also drink soda pop if they wanted to.

Scooter balanced her plate and cup of water on her clipboard with one hand as she grabbed a cold Dr. Pepper from the cooler. She found space at one of the tables and sat down.

Pax sat next to her and pulled out her staff-training schedule. "So, what all do you need me to do to get ready for tomorrow's tippy challenge?"

Scooter pulled her clipboard out from beneath her plate and referred to her schedule, which was covered with hand written notes.

"We need to pull out two canoes from the boathouse and inspect the rescue equipment. Other than that, you just need to be prepared to teach the dry dock part of the training and help guard the canoes."

"Ok, we can grab the boats after lunch, check out the equipment and then I'll go over my training materials after our 'two'."

The "two" referred to the scheduled two-hour break that each staff person was given every day. During staff training, the assigned break would be at the same time for everybody, but once the campers arrived, the breaks would be staggered.

These two hours a day were the most valued time that a staff member had. It was the time they could just relax and not worry about their jobs or the campers. Many spent their time hanging out in the staff room. They could listen to the radio, write letters, eat junk food, play games or just sit and do nothing.

"Sounds good, I need to get with Copper to plan the overnight trip, so I'll do that while you're going over dry dock stuff. I'm running to Sun-up Marina to grab some snacks during our break, you want me to bring you anything?"

"No thanks, Scoot, but I appreciate the offer."

Shadow had sat at the table next to the two waterfront staff. Overhearing their conversation, she couldn't help but ask, "Mind if I tag along on your trip, Scooter?"

"Um, no, that's fine." Again with the monosyllables. I really have to stop doing that.

"Great! I'll meet you at three o'clock at your jeep, then."

"Anyone else want to go?" Scooter inquired of the other staff members. There were no takers. "Ok, Shadow, it's you and me then. I'll see you at three."

Shadow cleaned up from her lunch, put her plates on the counter, and headed back up to the barn area to tend to the horses.

At three o'clock, she promptly arrived at Scooter's Jeep that was sitting in the parking lot. She heard a group of staff heading up Singing Pines hill. Scooter appeared as she walked over the crest of the hill, her bathing suit and shorts replaced by jeans and a clean white T-shirt.

"It's unlocked." Scooter indicated as she slid into the driver's seat. "Buckle up. It's a short drive, but I don't want to take any chances."
Shadow buckled her seatbelt and soon they were heading down the camp road, through the gate and on the narrow public road that passed the small vacation cabins dotting the roadway. As they approached the Y intersection, Scooter downshifted and turned right, heading down to the marina and the small store.

"I'm gonna make a quick phone call home while you grab your stuff." Shadow pointed to the pay phone that was across the parking lot from the store.

"Okay, no hurry. I'll wait on the picnic tables if you're not done when I come out."

Scooter entered the small store that provided basic essentials to the local residents, and convenience foods and supplies to the boaters who docked at the marina.

"Hi, Oscar." Scooter greeted the tall, burly man who was running the store.

"Hey, half-pint, how are ya? Back at camp again?"

"Yup, so you better stock your store up real good. Wouldn't want you to run out of anything."

"Aw, I know better that that. I'll make sure to keep a couple extra of your favorite candy bars stashed away for you."

"Good man!" She smiled warmly at the older man who had befriended her throughout the past many summers.

Her arms were loaded with soda, candy and an ice-cream cone when she approached the counter.

"Kid, I don't know where you put it all." He rang each item up and put them in a plastic grocery bag.

"Trust me, Oscar, I work it all off." She handed him the ten-dollar bill, took her change and her groceries and headed out the door.

Shadow was still talking on the phone, so Scooter found a shady spot on one of the deserted picnic tables. She pulled a magazine out of her grocery bag and turned her attention to the latest celebrity gossip as she nibbled on her ice cream.

The soft buzz of motorboats created a relaxing background noise for Scooter and she stretched her legs out on the bench of the picnic table. Hearing footsteps behind her, she turned, expecting to see Shadow. Instead, two young men walked towards her.

"Hey, babe, how 'bout you lick my ice cream cone?" The tall, blond and drunk man in his early twenty's walked closer.

His friend laughed as the man grabbed his crotch and made a lewd gesture at Scooter. Both of the men sat down on the picnic table trapping the lifeguard in her seat. "Come on, sweet thing, come down to my boat and let me show you what a real man can do for you."

Sheer panic came over Scooter as she realized that no one else was around and Shadow was nowhere in sight.

The man pulled his pocketknife out of his jeans pocket, and brushed his hand over his crotch. He opened the knife, and placed weapon on his leg, the blade facing Scooter. "Now don't make any noises or struggle and we can both have a real good time."

He never heard her coming. "Apologize to the lady."

He jumped to his feet and spun around. "Hey, Bobby, lookie here. One girl for me, one for you."

"I said apologize and get out of here."

"Who's gonna stop me, you?" He smiled patronizingly at Shadow.

"Yes, if you don't apologize and leave."

His laughter was cut short as he found himself doubled over, with an injured hand and a painfully throbbing groin. His friend had backed away from the table, unwilling to offer him any assistance.

"Bitch," he spat out.

Shadow picked up the knife he had dropped when she kicked his hand. She closed the blade and put it in her pocket. Her blue eyes flashed with anger.

"I'm just getting started. now get out of here before I get really mad."

The men backed away, one moving much more slowly that the other.

He turned around before entering his boat. "This isn't finished, bitch. You better hope I never see you again." He blew a kiss to Scooter. "And babe, you better hope I do see you again."

His friend pulled him into the boat and they raced out of the marina exceeding the posted speed limit and creating a definite wake in the "no-wake zone."

"You okay?" She knelt next to the blond. Shit, I've seen that look before. Like an abused horse that Aunt Juli has rescued. Kid gloves here, Shadow, or you'll scare her even more.

Shadow slowly put her hand on Scooter's shoulder. The touch seemed to bring Scooter's focus back to the present.

"Where did you learn to do that?" Scooter was still in shock at the quick turn of events. "I mean, where did you come from? IáIá."

"Shhhh, It's ok. They're gone now. And I'm going to go into the store and call the police. I got their boat description and I have his knife. Let's go inside.

Within ten minutes of placing the call, the Police boat pulled into the harbor. Shadow and Scooter each gave their reports to the officers, who promised to find the drunken boaters.

Shadow gently took the keys from Scooter's hand. "I'll drive back, you still seem pretty shook up."

"Ok."

"They won't hurt you, Scooter." Before she realized it, the words were out of her mouth. "I'll protect you."

Where were you three years ago? You can't protect me, no one can.

The blond looked her in the eyes and sadly said, "Don't make promises you can't keep." She looked away as tears started streaming down her cheeks.

Shadow's integrity would never allow her to do any such thing, and at the implication that her words were just false promises, she doubled her resolve to keep the blond safe.

"Look at me, Scooter. I promise to keep you safe."

Looking at the intense blue eyes, Scooter knew that the woman was capable of keeping such a promise and she almost allowed herself to believe the words.

"Ok, thanks." At least you care.

TBC