Chapter 8

"Why can't you loan her a t-shirt?" Jake asked Kit a bit later after they had eaten dinner. The two of them were down by the stream and cleaning the pans, plates and eating utensils.

"Maybe because I'm three times her size?" Kit responded.

Jake rubbed the back of his neck. Then he nodded.

"Okay, that makes sense," Jake said.

"Good man," Kit clapped his little brother on the back. "We'll go swimming tomorrow."

He explained to Jake what they had decided to do about Sam swimming with them. Jake nodded, thinking it would work.

"So have you two, ah, skinny dipped together?" Kit looked at him, raising his eyebrow at his little brother.

"No!" Jake yelped. "We've always worn clothes."

"Just checking, little man," Kit grinned at him.

The two of them finished up and started back towards the fire. Sam was brushing out her snarled hair, about to put it back into a ponytail.

"You should braid that," Adam told her.

Sam looked up at him through lowered lids.

"You don't know how, huh?" Adam asked.

Sam shook her head.

"Turn around, Sammy," Adam twirled his finger.

Sam turned her back to him.

"How do you know how to braid a girl's hair?" Quinn asked Adam.

Adam just grinned, dividing Sam's hair into three plaits. He started braiding her hair into one braid down her back.

Jake and Kit walked up to see Adam sitting right behind Sam and braiding her hair for her. The two of them exchanged glances, both sure they'd never seen Adam braiding hair before.

"There you go, Sammy," Adam twisted the tie around the end.

"Thanks Adam," she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him.

Adam kissed the top of her head.

"Adam's kissing your girlfriend, Jakey," Quinn teased, looking at his little brother.

Jake gave him a dirty look, but didn't say anything. He put the clean things away before unrolling his sleeping bag near the fire.

"Cards?" Kit asked as he too unrolled his sleeping bag and sat down.

Sam yawned.

"Do you know how to play?" Jake asked. Sam shook her head.

"It's okay," Sam assured him. "I'll just watch."

"Maybe we should have brought some dolls," Quinn joked.

Sam lifted her head to look at him. "I don't play with dolls."

Jake snorted.

"You don't?" Nate asked, surprised. "I thought all girls played with dolls."

"I don't," Sam shook her head.

"Sam plays football," Bryan grinned at the young girl.

Sam glanced at him.

"I'm the hiker," she grinned back at him.

"And a very good, uh, hiker at that," Kit laughed.

"A very good hiker that should only get better," Adam laughed with his brother, exchanging a look with Kit.

Jake saw it and wondered at it. Somehow he didn't think the two of them were talking about football.

Kit looked up and saw Jake looking at him. He winked at his little brother, knowing Jake had no clue what he and Adam were talking about. Kit was sure he would in a few years, but right now Jake was totally clueless about girls.

As far as Kit knew, Jake and Sam had never even kissed. Not even to just see what it would be like. Kit hid a grin. At ten, Jake's age, he had kissed several girls. He knew the rest of his brothers had all kissed girls by Jake's age.

Maybe Kit needed to talk to Jake about the facts of life. He vowed to do so soon.