Chapter 2. Building

Bucky woke up early and laid in bed thinking about dinner with Julia. They had talked of many things, going off on tangents often but the conversation had been anything but boring. She had an interesting childhood starting with the realization she was different at a young age when she sat and watched a snail crawl from the grass onto a fence wondering what kept the snail attached to the vertical surface of the fence. Then she saw Jurassic Park at the age of 4 and began a love affair with dinosaurs that grew to the love of many sciences. When he told her of his own fascination with science from childhood they had found common ground talking about the scientific discoveries that he had lived through. Since his escape from HYDRA she had been the second one to speak to him in depth about anything scientific, the first being Shuri in Wakanda. She also admitted that she found new friendships difficult because she couldn't always recognize social cues on people's faces.

"But you recognized you had offended me," noted Bucky. "You baked me cookies."

"I didn't until you actually told me," she replied, "which I appreciate because you were honest. I know what to look for now if I offend you again."

"Fair enough," he said. "I tend to speak my mind now probably because I spent so many years without a voice. If I offend you will you be as honest?"

"I'll try," she promised.

They sat out on the deck until it turned dark, enjoying the cool night air before Julia declared she was getting cold and called it a night. He watched her go down the stairs in the dark then cross over to her parent's property before she turned and waved good night to him from her deck. It reminded him of time spent with Sam and Sarah on their front porch, talking about whatever came up in their minds. It felt comfortable and non-threatening.

Still in bed he put his hand under his head and began to think of what he would work on today. That handrail concerned him the most but first he would check out the building codes on his phone. Wanted to make sure he did it right. He had noticed there wasn't much firewood cut so he could do that for a bit and stack it for the indoor fireplace as outside burning wasn't allowed. It was already too late to go fishing but maybe he could fit in a swim first, if the water wasn't too cold. He put his swim shorts on and went downstairs with a towel. Opening the deck door Bucky felt the cool air coming in. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea but something in him said to do it anyways so he walked down to the deck and kneeled down to splash some water on. It was cold but it would stimulate him and set the day so he dived in from the edge of the dock. Coming up he yelled into the morning air then laughed as his body immediately got used to the temperature differential. He saw a rock in the distance and began swimming to it, enjoying the feel of the water as it slid past his skin. When he reached the rock he stopped, treaded water for a bit and took a look at the lake from this section. He heard the sound of a small boat engine and he turned to see a man coming back from fishing. Noticing Bucky in the water the man stopped his engine and looked at him with surprise.

"You okay?" he asked. "This isn't the best lake for swimming. You could get hypothermia."

"Nah, I'm good," replied Bucky. "I slept in too late to get out fishing so I thought a swim would wake me up instead. Where's the best spot for fishing?"

The man pointed back to where he had come for morning fishing then to the opposite side for evening fishing. For daytime he said to fish right in the middle over the deep water. Bucky thanked him then began swimming back, leaving the man with a puzzled look on his face. He soon arrived at the dock and Bucky pulled himself up onto it, drying himself off in the morning light. He was certainly awake now. He stepped back into the house and began the coffee while he went up, quickly showered and dressed in jeans, a T-shirt and his boots. Coffee was ready so he poured himself a cup and made an omelette for breakfast using the rest of the bacon and cheese. He sat out on the deck to eat, watching the lake come to life as people began boating or kayaking. Using his phone he looked up the building codes on deck handrails and realized he would have to rebuild the entire thing.

"Good morning," said a woman's voice and Bucky looked up from his phone to see Julia at the base of the stairs.

"Hi," he replied. "Come on up. Coffee?"

"Sure, I can help myself," she said, slipping in and coming out a few minutes later with a cup. "Was that you yelling this morning?"

"Yeah, sorry," he replied. "I went for a swim and it was cold at first. Once I got going it wasn't so bad. Have you eaten?"

Julia nodded. "I just wanted to thank you for dinner and the conversation last night," she said as she looked out over the lake. "It's been a while since I enjoyed myself like that. You're an interesting man."

"Thanks," smiled Bucky. "I enjoyed it, too. I'm just looking up the building codes so I can fix that handrail properly but it looks like I might have to rebuild it completely, although the steps themselves seem sturdy enough. I might have to go to the lumber yard for some 4 x 4s and some bolts to anchor them. You could come if you fancy a drive."

"Sure," smiled Julia. "I could direct you to the one the locals use instead of the overpriced one for the summer people. If you want help I can swing a hammer with the best of them. I have nothing else planned."

Bucky accepted her offer and once he was finished his coffee he went to the garage to see if there were 4 x 4s there. There weren't any, nor were there any bolts to fasten them. He would also need 2 x 2s for the spindles and 2 x 6s for the guard rails themselves. He went back out to the stairs with the tape measure and while he measured Julia wrote it down. While she ran back to her place to lock it up and get her purse he locked up his house and waited in the truck for her.

"How far are we going?" asked Bucky when Julia got in.

"Up to the north end of the lake," she replied. "About 30 minutes drive."

Bucky plugged in his iPhone and started playing some Motown. Julia looked at him with a raised eyebrow which made him laugh.

"I'm still stuck in the 1940s music wise but my friend Sam introduced me to Motown and I like it," he explained. "I find a lot of current stuff to be noise although I do like Tony Bennett, Michael Bublé, Diana Krall and singers like them. If you want something modern I'll let you pick for the trip back."

"No, I'm good," said Julia. "I like this. I'm just surprised, I guess. Sam is Sam Wilson, Captain America?"

Bucky nodded. "The first time I met him was when I was the Winter Soldier, trying to kill him and two others," he said, as he tapped his fingers to Smokey Robinson singing Tracks of My Tears. "That was the day things changed for me. He was with the first Captain America, Steve Rogers, who I knew from childhood. He recognized me, called me by name and it started something in me. They still wiped my memories but Steve didn't give up. He was determined to save me and Sam helped him. We had some trouble connecting as friends but eventually we did and he's my closest friend now."

"You had to develop trust between you before you could be friends," stated Julia. "Are we friends yet?"

Bucky looked at her, puzzled. "I think so," he replied. "We had some pretty in-depth conversations last night. I would hope that meant we were friends."

"Good," she smiled. "I feel like we're friends, too. I just didn't want it to be one-sided. Most friendships are hard for me, because of the social cues. I thought I had it figured out when Mason and I got married but I realize now that everything he showed me was false. If I had been more normal I should have seen it."

Bucky pulled over to the side of the road and put the truck into park. Then he turned to her with a serious look on his face.

"Don't do that to yourself," he said intensely. "You're not at fault for that relationship. He knew your limitations when he became involved with you and again when he married you then he exploited them in some sick game that he took pleasure in. That's the only reason a guy like him would commit to you while having a girlfriend on the side. His testimony that he deliberately left clues for you that he was cheating? Those were his calling cards like a criminal. He was taunting you and to me, that means he had no respect for you from the start. I hate guys like that, especially when they do it to someone they're supposed to care about."

Without noticing Bucky had taken Julia's hand while he was talking. She was looking at it and at him while he spoke. When he finished she nodded her head and withdrew her hand slowly from his.

"Still, I didn't recognize it," she said quietly. "Yes, he was an asshole but I still loved him and that blinded me to his deficiencies. I'm not sure I could ever trust myself to love another man. Not when I know how it felt when I realized it was over. Can we stop talking about it?"

Bucky looked away, aware he may have overstepped his boundaries. "I'm sorry," he replied. "I said too much."

He put the truck into gear and started driving again. They didn't talk again until they were almost at the hardware store and she told him which turn to take. Once they got out Julia grabbed the flat cart and they walked to the lumber department. Bucky pulled out the pieces he needed then they headed to the bolts section and he picked up enough to fasten the 4x4s securely to the deck and steps.

"Do you need anything?" he asked.

Julia shook her head and they went to the cashier, paid for the lumber and loaded it in the truck. When they got back in the truck neither said anything until they reached the house and unloaded the lumber, carrying it to the back. They went into the garage and Bucky picked up the electric saw, drill and tool belt. He directed Julia to take the electric nail gun, nails and a couple of hammers. Together they took apart the handrail on the steps, tossing the old wood to the side.

"I'll knock the nails out of them later then cut them up to use in the fireplace," he said.

He measured the distance from the bottom of the deck to just below where the guard rail would go, then measured where he would cut out the notches matching it to the other 4x4s on the deck. He marked the wood then measured once more to be sure and cut the piece, then cut out the notches, sliding it in so it fit snuggly against the deck. He marked places for the bolts and with Julia holding it in place drilled the holes then fastened the bolts. The second one took no time and then he began marking and cutting the pieces that would form the bottom of the handrail at the bottom step, again cutting out the notches, and leaving the top of the posts angled for the guardrail portion, then drilling the holes and bolting them into place.

"You've done this before," said Julia. "Where did you learn this?"

"From Sam," replied Bucky. "We rebuilt his entire porch, wrapped it around the house. He lives near New Orleans when he's not on mission and the humidity gets to the wood quickly. It's a never ending job to keep up with the repairs. This should last for some time because it's much drier here."

He went into the garage and came out with four 2x4s cutting them on an angle and nailing them into the 4x4s. After that he cut the 2x2s, notching the bottoms to match those on the deck handrails. While Julia held them in place he used the nail gun to attach them to the upper and bottom 2x4s. All that was left was to cut the 2x6s to fit and nail them in place on the top. Again with Julia's help it took no time at all. Bucky looked at her as he tested the sturdiness of the new guardrails.

"I was expecting that to take all day and it's not even 1 pm," he said. "I think that means I owe you lunch."

"Actually, I already made some chicken noodle soup in the slow cooker," she said. "I can make some biscuits too and a salad. It won't take long. You can take me out for dinner instead."

She had a smile on her face that made Bucky smile as well. "Alright then, I'll join you shortly," he said. "I'm going to see if there is stain in the garage. If there is I can stain the guardrail this afternoon."

She turned around and went over to her place, pulling her gloves off and putting them in her back pocket. Bucky watched her until she went inside then shook his head, smiling, and went to the garage for the stain. He noticed the sander there and decided he would have to sand first so he brought that out along with the stain and a couple of brushes. With a marker he marked the boards on the deck surface that needed replacing figuring he had time. Then he washed his hands, made sure the garage was closed and the front door locked, went over to Julia's and stepped onto her back deck. He knocked and stepped into the house. Immediately he was greeted by Jasper who rubbed against his legs. He bent over and scratched the cat behind his ears which Jasper loved as he raised himself on his hind legs to push into Bucky as he scratched.

"He's such a big suck," said Julia who was just pulling the bowls out of the cupboard for the soup. "You watch. Once you stand up he'll really turn up the charm."

Bucky stood up and looked down at the cat who reached up and stretched against his leg, while making the most piteous cries for attention. Chuckling Bucky reached down once more and scratched the cat behind the ears before stopping a few seconds later.

"He's big," commented Bucky.

"He's fat," retorted Julia. "He's a Maine Coon but he's overweight as well, courtesy of my parents who looked after him while I was married. Mason was allergic to him."

Julia pulled the biscuits out of the oven and quickly transferred them to a plate. Then she dished out the soup and put the bowls on the table. Bucky took the biscuits and the butter while she brought the salad and salad bowls.

"You seem to bake a lot," said Bucky.

"I like it," she said. "I prefer the taste of home baked to store bought."

"So, where am I taking you to dinner?" he asked as he tried his soup. "You know what's good here."

She blushed. "That kind of slipped out," she said. "We can just go for burgers somewhere. There's a place in South Tahoe that's good. They have over 120 whiskeys, a live band. I hung out there a lot after I turned 21 but lots of people go there."

"Sounds like my kind of place," said Bucky. "Do you dance?"

"Not very well," she admitted. "It's the touching thing. A lot of people on the spectrum are like that. That's why I pulled my hand out of yours when you took it this morning. Officially I'm a high functioning neurodivergent person with Asperger's Syndrome."

Bucky nodded, understanding now. "So dancing is out?"

"No, not necessarily," she said. "It's all to do with my comfort level, I guess. I'm still warming up to you. Once I get a couple of drinks in me I'll lose some of my inhibitions." Bucky raised an eyebrow and Julia laughed. "Not like that. You'll see. The band plays everything. So I'll probably go out and do some of the line dances on my own. I'm okay dancing with people who have known me for a long time. When the band plays a slow dance I'll probably be okay to dance with you."

Bucky continued to eat his soup while Julia talked on about the various places all around the lake that they could go to. Again she would go off on a tangent, asking his opinion on one thing or another. He had never met anyone like her before but she had an energy that agreed with him and he found he did enjoy her company.

"You know what?" he said, interrupting her. "I think we should go do something. It's too hot to stain this afternoon and I have to sand first anyways. I can save that for another day. What do you normally do when you're here?"

"We could go kayaking," she suggested. "We have a couple in our shed and can set off from the boat dock."

"Let's do that," he said. "We can work up our appetite for burgers at that place in South Tahoe."

She flashed him a brilliant smile, obviously pleased that he had agreed so easily with her. It didn't take long for him to change into his swim shorts and a T-shirt. He wore sandals. She wore her bathing suit under shorts and a T-shirt with flip flops on her feet. Both had their sunglasses on. Together they pulled the kayaks out and got them into the water. Bucky had done it around Sam's place but never on a big lake like this one. Julia said they would be fine if they stayed close to the shore. They set off together and were soon stroking smoothly and cleanly into the clear water following the shoreline. As they passed people on the shore some knew Julia and waved to her. They kayaked for about an hour and then she led him into a shallow bay, grounding the kayak on the beach. Stepping out she pulled her T-shirt and shorts off and waded into the water.

"It gets warm here," she explained. "I'm surprised we're alone as it's a popular swimming spot."

Bucky looked around and pulled his shirt off, then waded in, surprised at how warm it was compared to earlier in the morning. He laid back in the shallow water and lifted his face to the sun.

"The water doesn't bother your arm?" asked Julia from her space.

"No," said Bucky. "It's waterproof. How long have your parents had a place here?"

"It was my grandparents place first," replied Julia. "They lived here full time as my grandpa was a park ranger. When he died he left it to my dad and uncles. My dad bought them out about 20 years ago and plans to retire here. He'll likely leave it to all of us kids to share. I have another sister and two brothers. They're supposed to be coming on the weekend."

After another twenty minutes they both had enough and got back into their kayaks for the trip back. Bucky pulled both kayaks out of the water and stored them back into the shed. Julia locked the shed and looked up at him, squinting her eyes in the sun.

"Be ready to go at 6:30?" she asked. "It will take about half an hour to get there. It's a casual place so jeans are fine."

Bucky nodded and went off to shower and change. At 6:30 he locked up the house and met Julia out front. She was also in jeans but wore a blouse instead of a T-shirt. This time Bucky drove south and when he pulled into the parking lot it was already quite busy. Fortunately there was a table left and they were shown to it. Julia ordered a Buttery Pecan adult shake while Bucky ordered a beer. They studied the menu and each ordered a burger and fries. A few people came over to talk to Julia and she introduced Bucky to them. If they recognized him they didn't say anything but they did notice the hand. After taking a drink of her adult shake, made with bourbon and butterscotch schnapps, Julia looked Bucky in the eye.

"Why do you choose to be alone?" she asked bluntly.

"Several reasons," he said, looking right back at her. "Some people still have a hard time with my past. The arm bothers others. I'm actually quite introverted and it takes me a while to warm up to people. Usually, it's because it's easier."

"Do you enjoy being with me?"

"I do," he replied. "You're smart, easy to talk to, and you say what you mean. There's no games with you. You're real."

Julia smiled warmly at him. "Thank you, that's probably the nicest thing any guy has ever said about me."

Their burgers arrived and they both demolished them quickly. The band started to play and they watched as people got up to dance. A country line dance came up and Julia drank some more of her adult shake then joined the crowd. Bucky watched her with admiration as she danced. When it was over she stood at the table and took another drink as she danced on the spot to the next song. Bucky had finished his beer and was sipping scotch, watching her. One of her guy friends came up and asked Bucky if it was okay if he took her out on the floor. Bucky nodded and watched the pair. She was animated as she talked and danced with him, obviously knowing him for a long time. A slow song came up next and he returned her to Bucky, smiling at Julia as he returned to his friends.

"You willing to dance with the oldest guy here?" asked Bucky. "I'm old school. I'm going to lead."

"Sure," she smiled.

Bucky led her out to the floor and gently pulled her into position. He swayed at first getting her used to his hand and foot motions. Then he really started leading her and people started watching them.

"Wow, you really can dance!" she exclaimed. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. You were alive in World War II."

"You're having a good time," stated Bucky. "I'm enjoying watching you."

"I am having a good time," she replied. "You're good company."

She smiled and they stayed for another hour, dancing, not always with each other. When it was time to leave, Bucky made sure she got into the house safely before he returned to his. He turned on the lights for her and made sure she locked the door after they hugged good night. They both slept well.