The Captain had them set up in the old campground. It was closed due to the drought and accompanying extreme fire risk that had plagued Northern California for the last few months.
It was smaller than Bode remembered, but still just as beautiful. Each spot was private; surrounded by tall cedars and firs.
The walk to the lake wasn't far, but Bode resisted. It was one of his first days back and he didn't want to do anything to piss off his captain. Hopefully if he worked hard today Cap would let him check out the lake before they headed back to camp.
It was hot, dusty work. Shockingly warm and dry for October. Freddy and Bode fell into their old rhythm, moving quickly as they cleared and cut their line.
Their easy banter was disturbed by the squeal of dirt bike engines in the distance. They could see the trail of dust rising up from the trees... then it turned to smoke.
Cap hopped quickly on the radio. "Vegetation fire by Emerald Lake, 15 miles south east of Edgewater".
It didn't take long for the Cal Fire crew to arrive to help, but the inmate crew was already hard at work when they get got there. Gabriella was amongst them. It was the first time that Bode had seen her since the day she'd come by the camp weeks ago.
She gave him a quick smile and got right to work. Bode felt his heart squeeze in his chest. He hadn't realized until that moment how much he had missed her.
Working together, both crews quickly got the brush fire under control. When it was officially out, Cap called the Con Crew together to give them a quick congratulations for a job well done.
"So, your crew mate Bode has been pretty excited to see the little lake that is about 200 yards South of us. I know you guys don't have suits or anything... but if you want to take a quick dip in the lake you've got 30 mins," Manny said with a smile and tapped his watch.
It was so hot and dusty out that most of the crew decided to, at least, check out the lake. As soon as he arrived at the lakeshore, Bode immediately stripped down to his boxer briefs and started running for the water. Freddy couldn't help but laugh at the childlike excitement of his friend and reluctantly decided to join him.
Bode ran in up to his waist then did a swallow dive into the water. The water was much colder than it had been in his dream, but it was just as refreshing. He came up to the surface just as Freddy was inching his way into the cold water. "You're crazy man. This shit is freezing," Freddy exclaimed.
"Come on. Just dunk your head. It'll only take a couple of minutes for your body to adjust to it!" Bode teased encouragingly.
Gabriella and Jake were on their way back to their rig when they heard laughter and yelling from the forest. They wandered over towards it. They got to a small cliff and looked down on the lake below. They were about 50 yards further down the lake from the crew and didn't have easy access to the beach from where they were.
Gabriella saw Bode in the water. He had just surfaced and was standing in waist-deep water joking with one of his crew mates. He raked his hand through his wet hair and laughed heartily at his friend who was struggling to decide if he should actually get into the water. Bode's wet body gleamed in the water. The light blonde hair on his chest was breathtakingly masculine. Gabriella was mesmerized watching the water run down his shoulders, his muscular chest and abdomen. She could still see his scars, but the dark bruises had faded. Damn, he was so beautiful.
"Gaby? Did you hear what I said," Jake asked with a hint of annoyance in his tone.
"I'm sorry, I was distracted by how much fun they are having down there," Gabriella lied. "Can you say that again, Jake?" she asked sweetly.
"I just said we should get back to the bus. I'm sure the rest of the team is waiting on us. Unlike those guys, we have real jobs to do," Jake said with an edge in his voice. Gabriella looked up at him and it was clear that her appreciation of Bode's body hadn't gone unnoticed.
"Yep. For sure. Let's go," she said taking a last look down at the beach.