27. Galen

Chapter 27

Galen

T here used to be an old flatboat tied up to the dock at the pond on his dad's farm. It'd been old when Galen had paddled around in that pond and, just when Galen had gone off to college, it had finally fallen apart, never to be replaced.

Now, as Galen and his team ported the four canoes to the lake, his excitement was high because the idea of having a paddle on a body of water on a bright sunny summer's day would be a little like time traveling into the past.

They had plenty of help porting, as well, because as his team carried the first canoe past the mess tent and along the path to the floating dock, they drew the attention of every man in the valley. Which only made sense because the canoes were sleek and trim, brand new and brightly colored.

Once all the canoes were tied to the end of the floating dock, Toby and Owen ran back for the paddles and life vests. Then Gabe gave a little speech about safety and though he seemed like he was trying to be serious, it was easy to see he was excited, too.

"We have the rest of the day off," Gabe said, spreading his hands wide. "Go get your suits," he said, and as everybody ran off, he yelled, "And don't forget to bring sunscreen and towels!"

It had the feel of summer camp. Even though Galen had never been, he knew about it, had read the stories. Seen the film.

His tent was pretty close to the lake, so it didn't take him long to pull on the bright red swim shorts, grab his sunscreen and a towel, throw on flip-flops, which he'd found in the box and never thought he'd get to use, and race back to the lake.

Everybody was at the dock when he arrived and, from the shouts, it seemed like fights were about to break out over the canoes. There were only four canoes. Each could hold two men. There were currently thirteen men in the valley, which meant five men would have to wait for their turn.

Naturally, all the team leads and stepped back to wait. That is, except for Marston, who was dragged by Kell to the red canoe, like a kid at a carnival who simply couldn't wait to get sick on the wildest ride right after eating lunch. Which meant the rest of the canoes were filled with parolees, none of whom were wearing life vests, and most of whom had no idea how to use a paddle.

In the midst of all this, the noise, and the laughter, water being splashed—on purpose—Galen took off his flip-flops, dropped his towel and sunscreen, ran as fast as he could along the dock, and dove into the depths of the cool, cool water.

A bright blue silence cut him off from the cacophony of everything in his life. His father dying. The bills. The stupid tires on his truck that really wouldn't last another winter.

Yet the cool silence was unable to keep away thoughts of Bede because something about Bede drew him and wouldn't let go. He wasn't sure he wanted it to.

Breaking the surface of the water for air, gasping, Galen caught a glimpse of Bede diving into the water, his body cutting the surface close to where Galen was, treading water.

When Bede came up for air, sunlight sparkled on his dark hair, shaggy like a dog's, and on his tan face, and on the droplets on his shoulders. As he tread water, he came a little closer, his blue eyes on Galen, as if he was testing the limits of how close he could get with a potential audience watching.

Close. Galen was letting Bede tread pretty close, and he didn't know whether or not he was worried about that.

Apparently, there weren't any rules against hooking up, but Galen wasn't a hookup kind of guy. But what kind of future would he have with a—yeah, an ex-con? Even a nice one, as Bede was turning out to be, wouldn't want to come back to the farm with Galen, or help him figure out what to do with it. And there was no way in hell Galen was trekking down to Denver to set up a new life there.

And yet—he was irresistibly drawn to that white-toothed smile, that strong, handsome face, the water sliding down Bede's temples. His strong shoulders keeping him afloat.

Then there was the way Bede had helped him with those bills, teaching him a new way to interact with the faceless bill collectors on the other end of the phone. He'd been appreciative of Galen's help with the fake job application, as well. The two of them had not just kissed, they'd shared a lot of laughter, and they'd connected in an amazingly deep way.

All of that was more than Galen was ready to resist, even though he knew he should.

"Good, huh?" Galen asked, shaking a bit of water out of his eyes. "How's that shoulder?"

"It's fine," said Bede, smiling. "Man, I missed the water."

"No swimming pools in prison, then," said Galen, thinking it was strange that this hadn't occurred to him before. But then, he was distracted by the way Bede's lips moved with lake water dripping across his mouth as he spoke.

Bede laughed out loud, his arms creating half arcs in the surface of the water, in a mesmerizing, steady cadence.

"Some ex-cons, you know, they miss the craziest things."

"Like what?" Galen felt something beneath the water and realized it was Bede's feet.

He didn't move away, letting their limbs mingle like human seaweed. Or in this case, lake weed, even though he knew the lake was very deep, and all the plantgrowth would be found along the shoreline.

"Coffee," said Bede. "I missed coffee."

Galen nodded. He already knew about that one.

"I missed really good beer," said Bede, now. "Like a Pilsner. Ice cold. Haven't had any in over five years."

"And?" Galen knew that the tavern they were going to on Saturday night had very good local beer, and he smiled as he anticipated watching Bede enjoy one.

"Water," said Bede. "Lots of water."

Bede's eyes scanned the horizon of green pine trees, the gray slash of what could be seen of Guipago Ridge above that, and then finally he looked straight up, where a bit of cloud was stretching across the sun. Then he looked at Galen again.

"Showers in prison are ten minutes at most. The water pressure sucks, isn't all that hot, and showering with a bunch of crooks who don't have any manners or restraint is about as gross as it gets."

"So you must love the showers here."

Galen felt the bleakness of that idea come at him fast.

"I'm not actually supposed to be here, but then you probably know that," said Bede, suddenly. He looked over his shoulder as if to check how close anyone was to them. "I wasn't going to apply for the program. It's not for the likes of me, you see. But Kell?—"

Bede lifted his head, his eyes seeking, and Galen turned to look at what he was seeing. Kell and Marston were in the red canoe, the prow of the sleek boat slicing through the water as they made their way to the center of the lake.

"Kell talked the parole board into it. Seriously. And he hammered at me all the time to apply, so I applied." Bede's fingers broke through the surface of the water, silently. "This is all such a break for me. One I don't deserve, and I fully realize that. But it's making me think about my life in ways I never thought was possible when Winston was alive?—"

"Winston," said Galen, wanting to encourage Bede to continue. "I read in your file he was one of your men. He was the one who got shot."

"Never mind," said Bede, his attention coming back to Galen. "The point is, we don't deserve this. None of us do. But we're here. It's pretty cool. And I, for one, am grateful."

With that, Bede slipped up through the water to float on his back. Hands spread wide to keep his balance, his eyes closed, water slipping down his cheeks like tears, while the sun blazed overhead. His legs came up to the surface, muscled, damp, his red swim shorts sticking to his upper thighs, the slight hair on his chest streaming down like arrows.

The tattoos were now fully on display, blocky patterns on his upper arms, both of them, and a sleek curved shape that arced across his neck.

With his body dipping below the surface of the water and rising above it moment to moment, Galen felt drawn to touch those tattoos, and he wanted to pull Bede aside to ask him what else he missed in prison. Maybe he should also ask Toby and Owen what they missed, and maybe do something about it.

Taking a deep breath, Galen dove back under the water, then let out the air from his lungs, but slowly.

He opened his eyes in the lake water, saw the darkness below and the bubbles from his lungs rising lazily to the surface. Saw the thrash of canoe paddles, and over-eager arms and legs that didn't quite know how to coordinate themselves.

When he broke the surface of the water again, Bede was on the dock, wrangling for his turn at the green canoe. Royce was at his side, making large, expressive gestures, and Galen realized Beck had joined them, wearing worn, camo-patterned swim shorts.

Eventually, Bede stood back and let Royce and Jonah take over the green canoe, with Beck slithering into the middle. The canoes were two-man canoes, and probably weren't meant for three, but as long as Beck kept still, they would be okay—which he did not, and the three of them were toppled into the water with shouts of laughter.

From the dock, Bede was laughing so hard that he was doubled over, and as Galen swam close, he felt that laughter, that sense of joy and amusement settle over him, buoying him up.

"I'll take a turn with you," he said as he climbed the ladder at the end of the dock.

"Sure," said Bede.

He grabbed the line of the empty blue canoe, which came floating toward them, seeing as how the occupants, Toby and Owen, had decided that rocking back and forth was the best fun, and they'd ended up tumbled into the water.

"I can paddle, I guess, but don't know how to steer."

"I can steer," said Galen, settling himself on the back seat in the canoe. He picked up the paddle and twirled it in his hands as he watched Bede gingerly get into the canoe and sit on the front bench seat. "Don't you worry your pretty head about that."

He smiled as Bede looked over his shoulder, that wide grin in place. Then Bede took up the paddle, and together, Galen doing his best to match Bede's strokes, they eased out into the lake, a large blue and gold circle of the sun on the water all around them.

The pleasant interlude on the water lasted all afternoon, and though there were clouds forming along the ridge, there was no threat of rain or lightning, so they could wear themselves out. Finally, Gabe announced that it was dinnertime, and they all swam or paddled back to the dock.

Galen took charge of dragging the canoes up to the bank and turning them upside down so they could dry. Beck and Bede stayed to help him, and quite soon Galen made his way to his tent. There he grabbed his shower things, eager to wash the lake water away, get dressed in dry clothes, and have a good hot meal.

He took a good long shower, using way more liquid soap than was probably necessary. When finally he rinsed off, every single bone in his body felt like it was melting.

Sure he could work twelve-hour days, but messing around and goofing off for an afternoon? Was exhausting. Fun, but exhausting.

As he was putting on his socks and tying up his boots, he realized he'd been slumped over on the bench, just sitting there for a good long while, and that he needed to get a move on. Hustling, he gathered his things and opened the curtain, swishing it back just as Bede was stepping in.

"Sorry—" Bede stopped, putting his hand to the frame of the shower to keep his balance, to keep from running over Galen. "I didn't hear anyone inside. Thought it was empty."

"It's empty now," said Galen, thinking Bede would move back so Galen could slip out and leave Bede to his shower.

But Bede didn't move and Galen didn't move, and it took Galen a full second to realize that Bede was still in his swim shorts, the bare skin of his shoulders and chest sun-warmed, with little drops of water silvering his hair. That his arm was raised, shower things tucked under his other arm, and that he simply wasn't moving.

"What do you need, Bede?" asked Galen, his voice coming out a croak.

Then Bede kissed him, one hand cupping his cheek, moving to curl his fingers around the back of Galen's neck.

Bede's lips were warm, a soft caress, rather than the hard aggression that Galen, quite simply, had been imagining pretty much from day one. This kiss was followed by a second, equally gentle, then Bede sighed and caressed Galen's cheek with his own.

Bede's skin was warm, and his breath was warm, his fingertips cool where they tangled in Galen's hair. He should get it cut so Bede wouldn't have to worry about it?—

—he should pull away. Falling for kisses on a darkened path in the woods was one thing. This was another.

He should stop this. But he didn't.

The moment lingered, the two of them standing in the partly curtained doorway of the last shower stall in the row. The other four showers were occupied, the water flowing at full bore, steam billowing up to the ceiling.

Hot water and privacy in a shower. That's what Bede had been missing.

Galen should let him get at it. But he wasn't going to.

A bit urgently, he rose on his toes, lay his palm on Bede's cheek, and breathed into the next kiss, claiming it.

"Hey," he said, looking into Bede's eyes.

Unspoken was the idea that even though pretty much everybody in the valley was hooking up, according to Beck, he for, one, did not enjoy an audience, which they currently would have just as soon as the water was turned off in one of the other stalls.

As to where this might lead, he simply had no idea.

"Yeah," said Bede, low, breathy, urgent, his jawline trembling beneath Galen's touch. "Yeah?"

Galen's own fears were pushed behind by desire that raced through him. He had no idea what came next, but he wouldn't mind more of this sweet connection, the low shine in Bede's eyes.

He wanted to answer the question that lingered on Bede's mouth. A mouth that Galen now knew the taste of. Just as he knew the contours of Bede's face, the tenderness of his touch. The length of his bare legs. The array of tattoos on his skin.

"Yes?" he said, his voice rising, nerves echoing through the word.

He wasn't afraid, not exactly. But he'd always lived by a personal sense of right and wrong.

Thoughts clamored in his head. That, since he was a team lead, sleeping with one of his parolee was not a very bright idea.

Bede had said that the valley was a chance he never thought he'd get. A chance to start something new. Take his life in a new direction.

Maybe that direction was one that Galen also wanted to follow. He wouldn't know unless he tried, but he needed a minute, or maybe a lifetime, or maybe just a heartbeat.

Maybe it was in those dark blue eyes to make fun of Galen's reticence. Or maybe that sparkle, diamond-bright, was pleasure at Galen's agreement.

Either way, the soft smile that went with it emboldened Galen to lay a last kiss on that mouth, and then he hustled away, just as the shower in one of the stalls turned off and a soft humming ensued, along with the low hush-hush sounds of a damp body being toweled off.

Maybe he was crazy. Or maybe he was fearless.

All he knew was that this was the most alive he'd felt since his dad had passed away. Even his daydreams about Zeke Molloy hadn't come close to this. To this reality that felt better than any daydream.