Chapter 26
They found out when they went down to the lake to fish for breakfast that the water wasn't cold. It was actually quite warm.
"Must be a hot spring," Bryan said. Adam nodded.
"The boys will be happy," Nate snorted. That got all five of the Elys laughing. Poor Sam was confused again.
"I do have a surprise for you though, Sammy," Adam told her.
"What's that?" Sam asked.
"If I told you now, it wouldn't be a surprise now would it?" Adam grinned.
Sam stuck her tongue out at him. Adam laughed.
"Some day, Sammy," Adam teased.
"Some day what?" Sam wondered.
"Some day you're going to do that to someone and they'll…," Bryan began.
"Stop it," Jake cut him off.
Sam looked between the two brothers. Then her eyes got large as she figured it out. She remembered Jake telling her that Kit had kissed a girl with his tongue.
"No," Sam shuddered. "That's icky."
Adam, Nate, Quinn and Bryan snorted.
"You say that now," Quinn teased.
Jake gave Quinn a look, but Quinn just grinned.
"So you've never done it?" Bryan asked with his own grin.
"No!" Sam yelped. "Gross! I'll never do that."
"Sucks for Jakey," Quinn murmured under his breath, but Jake heard him.
He gave Quinn another look, but Quinn just grinned that annoying grin at him.
After they ate, Adam revealed his surprise to Sam. It was a long rope. She looked at it in confusion.
"You're going to teach me to rope?" Sam asked.
"It's not that kind of rope," Jake snorted.
"Oh," Sam stuck out her tongue at him, then remembered what his brothers had teased her about and quickly sucked it back into her mouth.
Four out of the five Ely brothers snorted.
"Jake's going to climb that tree there and tie the rope on that branch," Adam pointed.
"Oh am I?" Jake responded.
"You're the lightest one," Adam shrugged. "The branch prolly wouldn't hold the rest of us."
Jake looked up at the tree and saw the size of the branch and how high up it was.
"Why?" Sam asked.
"Then we can swing on it into the lake," Bryan told her.
Sam pictured it in her mind. "You're insane."
That got all of the Ely brothers laughing.
"Like we've never heard that before," Nate chuckled.
Adam handed Jake the rope and he started climbing the tree. Sam watched from the ground, holding her breath as he went higher and higher. Finally, he moved an inch at a time on his belly across the branch that Adam had indicated. Jake started tying the knots in the rope securely on the branch.
"Go get your bathing suit on, Sammy," Adam said.
Sam nodded, then ran up to camp to change.
"Um, how are we going to swing on the rope with little Sammy around?" Bryan asked.
"We'll have to wear our underwear," Nate shrugged.
"You think wet underwear is going to hide anything?" Quinn laughed.
"I'm thinking more of wet rope burns," Nate laughed with his brother.
Bryan groaned as Adam chuckled.
"Tie it tight, Jakey," Adam shouted up to his little brother.
"Duh," Jake shouted back.