Author's note: I am floored by all the attention this is getting. Thank you so much for following, favoriting, and reviewing after you read. And thank you for just reading. I love seeing the numbers grow. You are definitely welcome to share this story with your friends. And you can get exclusive sneak peaks and previews on Tumblr if you follow me (booksrockmyface). I sometimes post musings on writing there as well as share stuff.
This one is definitely longer, as someone hoped. My chapter word count varies depending on the subject of the chapters. Some will be long and others short. My goal is at least 1300 words a chapter and that increases if I write something that needs more descriptions (like love scenes).
Anyway, please let me know what you think and keep the love coming!
Happy reading!
Chapter Two
"Okay, Caleb, I need you to stay where I can see you today. Can you do that?" Katniss asked as she finished fixing her son's shoelace. "At least for the first little bit."
"Yes, Mama." Caleb said. He yawned. "I'm sleepy."
"I know, baby, but we have to be somewhere." She turned and slipped on her own shoes.
"Will camp be fun?" He followed her around the house as she gathered all her things and turned out the lights.
"It will be. I'll make sure of it." She picked up his backpack. "Your game and some coloring books and books to read and plenty of crayons and pencils. When you're not practicing, you'll have plenty of things to occupy your time." She helped him put on the straps and then picked up her own bags. "We're late. Let's get going."
They seemed to hit every red light and then an accident. They made it to the camp as the kids started arriving. She was glad for the staff meeting the day before and that Gale took over most of the time with them. He understood she couldn't always get Caleb on the move as easily as herself. It was a trait he'd inherited from his father.
She helped him out and was accosted by Finn. "Hi, Katniss!"
She smiled and ruffled his chestnut tresses. "Hey, Finn. Are you excited to be joining us this year?"
"Yes. Dad said I could help with swim lessons when my group is up for that round."
"Good. I'm sure Caleb will be helping in archery soon enough." She smoothed a hand over her son's hair. "Can you say hi to Finn, Caleb?"
"Hi, Finn." He said with a big grin.
"Hey, Caleb." Finn said back.
Finnick walked over with a blonde man and a girl with brown hair. "Katniss, this is my friend Peeta and his daughter Callie. I talked with you about them yesterday."
Callie and Finn did an elaborate greeting with high fives and snaps and handshakes.
"Good to see you." Finn said.
"You too." Callie chuckled.
"This is Katniss." Finn said. "She's really cool. And she can hit a bullseye without looking."
Katniss laughed. "I'm not that good. But Gale did attempt to blindfold me and let me shoot and I almost hit him. So we don't try that trick anymore."
Peeta held out his hand. "Well, it's nice to meet you. Cal is excited and I'm sure she'll have plenty to tell me this afternoon." He shook Finnick's hand after Katniss's. "Got to get back to the bakery. I have a wedding cake to put some final touches on."
"You work at a bakery?" Katniss asked.
"I own one." He said proudly.
She nodded. "I may have some work for you, then. If you're interested. We like to do a big bash at the end of the summer. The last place we went through the last few years was cheap, but you get what you pay for. Finnick has failed to mention he knew the owner of a bakery."
"Oh, sure." He fished in his pocket and produced his wallet. "Here's my card, so you don't have to leaf through all the intake forms."
She took it. "Thanks. I'll probably call in a couple weeks to get it set up. Finnick is taking care of drop-off and pick-up for you, right?"
"Right." He looked at his watch. "I really have to get back." He squeezed his daughter's shoulder. "See you this afternoon, sweetie."
Callie looked around and then threw her arms around her father's waist. "I love you, Dad."
He kissed the top of her head and stepped away. "Love you too, kiddo." He waved to everyone else and headed toward his car.
Katniss clapped Callie on the shoulder. "Ready to get going?"
The girl nodded. Together the little group headed into the main building where they held the archery lessons and competitions.
Caleb ran ahead and threw himself at Gale who stood just inside the door greeting everyone as they entered. "Uncle Gale!" He exclaimed.
"Caleb!" Gale chuckled and put Caleb up on his shoulders. He walked toward the gathered crowd of children. The youngest among them were nine and the oldest were seventeen. Some of their older kids had been training with Katniss and Gale since before they had formed the camp four years before.
A young woman with dark skin trotted over and smiled up at Caleb. "Hey, you, look how big you are!"
"Rue!" He threw himself into the girl's waiting arms and buried his face in her curly hair. "You're back!"
She laughed. "I'm surprised you remember me."
"It was only last summer. Of course I remember you. Mama didn't trust anyone else with me." He grinned.
She squeezed him and then sat him down. "Well, I'm back at the hiking and tracking courses. If your mom lets you, you can stick with me a bit again this year."
Katniss ruffled his hair. "I think we can arrange that."
"Hi, Katniss." Rue said. "Sorry I couldn't make it to the meeting yesterday. I got in pretty late."
"I'm sure Gale filled you in this morning." Katniss turned to her friend. "I am so sorry we were late. Caleb couldn't find his shoes and then I had a giant stain on the shirt I picked out for today that I didn't notice until after we ate breakfast and then we hit all the stoplights and an accident and then just got here."
"No big deal. The crew knows what's up. And I already have Prim separating the kids into their groups. Annie is here to help with that."
"Fantastic. So just a few more minutes for the drop-offs and paperwork and we'll get this show on the road." Katniss leaned down in front of her son. "Okay, where do you want to go?"
"If I stay with you, will I be able to shoot a few arrows?"
"Maybe in between sessions. But first day is learning about the parts of the bow and the arrow."
He thought for a moment and then said, "I'll stay with you today, Mama. You're always nervous the first day."
She chuckled and kissed his forehead and then walked to the table where her sister was leafing through papers. "Did you guys remember to put that Callie girl with Finn?"
"Yes, we did." Annie said from down the table. "We almost have this all settled."
"Okay, I'm going to work on introductions." She walked back to where her friends were gathered. "Hey, everyone, can I get your attention?"
The kids started quieting down.
"Hi, I'm Katniss. This guy to my right is Gale. We run the archery lessons in here. The dude on my left is Finnick. He handles swimming lessons and supervises the pool." She walked behind Gale and down the line. "The rest of these people are counselors. You will get to know the ones who are assigned to your group. The others will be around to help if you get turned around or have questions or anything." She rattled off a series of names, knowing most of them wouldn't be remembered right away. She stopped behind her son. "And this little guy is Caleb. He's my son. He'll be hanging around various places. He's a good kid. In three years, he'll be kicking your butts in the archery competitions."
There was a smattering of laughter.
"Anyway, we will break you into groups soon and rotate. Three groups at archery, three in tracking, and two at the pool. Who you are grouped with will never change, but the groupings will rotate. A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H. A, B, C will start in here, D, E, F in tracking, and G and H at the pool. Tomorrow it will start A, D, G in here, B, E, H tracking, and F and G at the pool. The next day you'll rotate where you start again. Each set of groups rotate every hour in the morning until everyone has been in each station. We break for lunch and then we have a choice of the pool or hiking or crafts for the rest of the afternoon. We have a limit to the number in the pool, so be mindful of that. I do have a few advanced students who will work on archery in the afternoon and you are also welcome to come in here and watch the practice as long as you have cleared it with your counselor and stay out of our way." She smiled. "I know that's a lot of information, but all the people here will answer any questions you may have." She turned to Prim and Annie. "My sister Prim will announce the groups and we will post them on a wall in case you forget tomorrow where you have been assigned."
She gave Prim the floor to call out names. The counselors of each group moved around the room to gather their kids. Katniss took a bottle of water from Caleb. He looked up at her and smiled. She tapped his nose and took a sip.
Katniss spent the morning on autopilot. She could recite the parts of the bow and arrow in her sleep. Caleb even spoke up in the last group. He'd heard this the last couple of years.
At lunch, Caleb climbed up beside Katniss and promptly spilled his glass of water. His mother sighed and sopped up the water. "Good thing you're swimming next."
"I am?" He asked as he took a bite.
"Yep." She smiled. "Finnick and Annie are going to keep an eye on you. Unless you want to watch my advanced archers."
"I want to swim."
"Then you will swim." She ruffled his hair. "Be careful. And when I come to get you out, you don't fight or I won't let you swim for the rest of the week."
"Yes, ma'am."
After they ate, Katniss sent Caleb off with Annie and returned to the main building. The first of her advanced students arrived and she immersed herself in correcting stances and holds and drilling until a timer went off. She sent the first group away and welcomed the next few students and started the process over again.
She was glad for the end of the day. She and Caleb went home and she put a couple frozen dinners in the oven. She turned on the TV and sat her son in front of it so she could shower off the muck of the day. They ate in front of the TV in silence like they usually did.
Then Caleb got in the bath and got in bed. He watched Katniss a moment as she turned on his nightlight and off the overhead light and then said, "Will you ever get married again?"
She slid into the bed beside him. She combed her fingers through his hair. "You're the most important guy in my life, Caleb."
"But will you ever get married?"
She chuckled. "I don't know. It all depends."
"On what?" He asked.
"On…finding a guy that I like. Finding a guy that likes me. Finding a guy that likes you." She kissed his forehead. "That last one is the most important. Because you're my guy, Caleb. It's just us."
He yawned. "I want you happy, Mama."
She chuckled. "I am happy, baby. Being your mother makes me very happy. Now, get to sleep. We have a lot to do tomorrow."
Caleb nodded and rolled over. He was asleep just a few minutes later.
Katniss kissed him once more and then went to her own room. And as she got ready for bed, she realized she was lonely. She hadn't been lying when she told her son she was happy, but lonely still happened when you were happy. She had never had a man just hold her at night. Not that she liked it most of the time, she liked her space. But the thought of having the option was what she wanted.
She got in her big, empty bed and wrapped her body around the pillow. Sleep took a long time, like it usually did. And the nightmares came, like they usually did. She woke up gasping and prayed her son didn't hear. She rolled over and tried to go back to sleep, but it didn't happen for hours and she eventually gave up. She settled on the couch to watch an infomercial. That's where sleep finally found her.