Chapter 11. Bobcaygeon

Jane

I must have been really tired as I didn't wake up until almost 9 o'clock the following morning. Bucky was spooned behind me. What a feeling it was to wake up with his arm around my waist. Even though it was a strange house, with strange sounds, waking up to him holding me felt normal and right. It was a little scary how quickly we were becoming a couple but that's just because we both had wanted the luxury of time to really get to know each other and the situation just wasn't allowing it. As I rolled over to face him a soft smile appeared on his face.

"Good morning," he murmured, his deep gravelly voice making my insides feel giddy. He opened his eyes, those intense orbs of ocean blue, gazing at me before placing a kiss on my forehead. "You slept well?"

"Really good," I replied. "I didn't even notice you coming back to bed. How long did you stay up?"

"About half an hour," he answered. Then he breathed deeply and smiled again, that smile when a man has something he wants to experience with you. "You interested?"

Running one hand down into his sweatpants I grasped his ass and pulled him towards me. Quietly he raised himself up and pulled his T-shirt off. While I tried to shift positions to get my nightgown off he just smiled and reached for my panties, pulling them down. His sure hands grasped my hips as he pulled me onto my back. Caging me in with his hands on either side of me he lowered himself to kiss me. When he looked at me again he smirked.

"You need to go to the bathroom, don't you?"

I nodded apologetically and he shifted, allowing me to slide out. It only took me a moment but when I returned, he lifted the covers, showing him in all his naked glory. Peeling off the nightgown I climbed in beside him and we proceeded to wake up in the best way possible. If this was to be our morning routine for the next two months, we were going to get to know each other very, very well.

Afterwards, we lay together, watching the sun beams move across the room from where they peeked in through gaps in the window blinds. The house was still quiet, as neither of us heard the other Jane getting up and going through her morning routine.

"You paint, huh?" he asked suddenly.

"I took it up when John and I began having issues," I replied. "I went to see a marriage counsellor who was of the opinion we didn't have enough separation between work and home. She thought a hobby would give us some breathing space." I shook my head, replaying her reasoning in my mind. "Boy, did she get it wrong. I have the supplies at home as I didn't get to unpacking them yet. Had plans to paint those flowers we planted once they started blooming."

"I journal," he said, quietly. "Had some PTSD when I got back from Afghanistan. I saw some things that affected me. Sam and I were friends there and he did it, said it helped him process the memories if he wrote them down. I still do it. When I get to the end of a book I burn it in a fireplace, kind of a symbolic offering to St. Michael, the Archangel. He's the patron saint of warriors, and law enforcement."

"Does it help?" I asked.

"Yeah, even though I'm not religious, it helps. It's kind of like giving permission to myself to let it go, not to carry that baggage. It didn't save my marriage but it allowed me and Connie to stay friends. That was important when we were raising Rose."

"Does she have any siblings? I mean, from Connie's second marriage?"

"Yeah, she has a younger brother and sister," he replied. "They're great kids. Dan is a good man. He's been open to having me in Rose's life right from the beginning. They met while I was still over there and had a brief affair. Then Connie and I tried to make it work when I returned but it was obvious we were just going through the motions. He came to see me with a case of beer, apologized for the affair, then asked me to let her go so that he could marry her. Took guts and I respected that. Still cried like a baby when I got the papers saying it was officially over. I loved her."

He was quiet then and I said nothing. My hand was on his chest and he placed his hand on mine, squeezing it. We didn't need words at that moment. After a few minutes he shifted so he was on his side and gazed at me. It was funny because when I was still dating, before I met John, I was always self-conscious when a boyfriend did that, thinking they were looking for flaws, wondering if I had a pimple that they could point out. With Bucky I didn't feel that way at all. I liked how he looked at me. Maybe it was his way to commit my features to memory.

"I'm going to have a shower and make you some breakfast," he said. "You relax and take your time."

He kissed me tenderly then got up, walking to the bathroom. I have to say the view of him walking away was just as nice as him walking towards me. His shoulders and back were well developed, tapering down to that trim waist. It was obvious he worked out and kept active. John was a bigger man, but he didn't seem as well built, almost as if all it would take would be a month of binge watching tv and eating fast food for him to get sloppy looking. Just five minutes later Bucky came out, dressed in jeans and a Henley shirt. He kissed me again before leaving the room and I laid back for a moment, before forcing myself to get up, shower and get dressed.

As we were eating Jane Foster got up, coming down in a T-shirt and leggings. Smiling at the already made coffee she poured herself a cup. Bucky got up and put some oven mitts on, opened the oven and pulled out a plate of food for her. Her smile got bigger.

"You didn't have to do that," she said. "Thank you, you're very kind."

"We slept in your house," he shrugged. "It was the least I could do." He continued eating. "So, what's the plan?"

"I know the way there, but you don't so I'm going to borrow your phone and pull up the route I use then we'll drive in tandem, alternating between leading and following," she said. "As far as any observers go, I'm taking my usual trip to visit my dad. When we get there, I'll let you park first then follow you. Dad likely has already bought you groceries and stocked your fridge. I'll stay overnight so we'll go over official procedures of who to contact, etc. in case of problems." She glanced meaningfully at Bucky so she must have said something to him last night while he had a snack. "Then I'll drive back tomorrow, and you'll be on your own with my dad less than a hundred feet away from your place. There's a couple of grocery stores, a Home Hardware, Shopper's Drug Mart, LCBO, cannabis outlet, Timmy's, fast food outlets, restaurants, and a bunch of boutique stores. Most will be open although likely on reduced hours once Labour Day weekend is done." She looked at Bucky's slightly troubled face. "LCBO is the liquor store, Timmy's is a coffee chain, Tim Horton's but everyone calls it Timmy's. Personally, I like McDonald's coffee better. Jane can explain it all. Most of it will be familiar to her."

She and I smiled at each other. It was going to be interesting to see how he reacted to small town Canada, not that I had much experience with it either, coming from a city of a million. But New York had always been bigger, bustling and full of sounds and life. He might find the quiet of small town life a little unsettling at first.

After stripping the bed Jane said she would wash the following day, not wanting to leave the bedding wet in the washer overnight. We repacked our bags and she handed the car keys to Bucky. Then using his phone, she brought up the route she was going to take so he could plug it in to the car's map system. Opening the garage up we deposited our bags in the trunk and backed out, waiting for her. Minutes later we were on the road to Bobcaygeon. The route she chose actually went east and north of the town before doubling back slightly but it had less turns and more straightforward driving. The traffic was good, and we got to Bobcaygeon in 45 minutes. We had to drive through the town, but it gave us an idea of where everything was. After we passed through it we drove for a few more minutes then found the place on the shores of Pigeon Lake, 3.5 km south of Bobcaygeon. It was more of a small house than a cottage, but it looked cosy and as we parked, we noticed an older man with grey hair come out. Jane parked behind us and stepped out of her car with a big smile, receiving a warm hug from the big man that enveloped her. Bucky and I got out of our car, and he extended his hand to the man, who shook it and studied him with a little frown.

"We've met before," he said, in a slightly accented voice. "Let me think. The Art of Disguise, at the American North East Police Conference two years ago. You were there."

"Yes, sir," said Bucky. "I've had the pleasure of hearing you speak. Your experiences have helped me in my own undercover work."

"Hmmm," he voiced, nodding. "Well, I don't want to know your real name or where you're from although it's obvious from your accent." He looked at me, almost as if he was assessing me. "Rachel, is it? Welcome to my livelihood. I own this house and the small cabin on the property line, where I live since I like an unobstructed view of the water. The house is fully insulated and winter proof so you'll be warm enough when it begins to cool down."

"I'm from out west so I'm no stranger to colder temperatures," I replied. "This is my first time in Ontario cottage country. So far, it seems a very beautiful place."

"It is," he said. "You were lucky I had a cancellation for the next two weeks, then I took the house off the vacation rental sites to do some maintenance on it for a couple of months. If you don't mind I'll still do the work but do it around you. You can help, Paul, if you want. I'm guessing you'll need something to do while you're here."

"Thank you, Mr. Selvig," replied Bucky. "I'm a little handy. Whatever you need. I can chop wood for you if you're getting some in."

"I'll keep that in mind. Call me Erik."

With that he led the way into the house, showing us a nicely furnished place with a small living room, dining area and modern kitchen. There were three bedrooms, one large one with a king sized bed, one with a queen, and a small one with a double bed squeezed into it. Outside was a ground level deck, a narrow strip of grass with a fire pit in it, which led to a stone reinforced wall on the lake. We shared a lake deck with his cabin, a narrow structure that took up half the view of the lake. I didn't mind. It seemed quiet and I envisioned a few nights of sitting out under the stars with Bucky. We went back in and he showed us that he had bought us groceries for a few days.

"I added it to the bill for Thor," he chuckled. "He knows the prices out here but he'll come through. He always comes through, doesn't he Jane?"

She beamed at her father and Bucky smiled, obviously thinking they had a similar relationship to what he had with Rose. Jane had brought a portfolio case in with her and opened it, pulling out a set of documents. Giving one to me and Bucky she kept the other in front of her and her father.

"Basically, this breaks down what your responsibilities are in keeping under the radar, and what to do if something happens. Kawartha Lakes Police Service polices the area of all the nearby lakes. They're headquartered in Lindsay, which is a short distance from here. If anyone makes an attempt on you, either here or when you're out and about, you call 911, tell them you are a resident under program D.28, and that an attempt has been made to abduct you or hurt you, whatever has happened. That's a direct reference to the Witness Protection Program run in Ontario. Sergeant Cory Mills of that police service would be notified as well as a response unit. Like my dad he's aware of you under your assumed names, Rachel Matheson and Paul Ellis. He'll stop by a few times to introduce himself. Dad knows him so if you don't think he's who he says he is call my dad out to verify his identity."

"What if we just see someone, say Rachel's ex-husband?" asked Bucky.

"If he has seen you call 911, report a breach of a protection order under program D.28," said Jane. "If he hasn't seen you, take cover, call Cory and me directly. Cory will send a no lights / no siren response unit. Do not come back to the house in case he has accomplices with him. We want to keep him out in the open, where there are security cameras to verify his presence."

"One of my maintenance projects is to install security cameras here," said Erik. "I've got them, just waiting on an electrician for the wiring. He's supposed to be here in the next day or so."

Jane looked at Bucky and he nodded then she turned to me. "If shots are fired and it all goes south Paul is to take you in the car and get the hell out of here. No notice, don't pack, just go. Paul has an email address that he can share with you. You go to a public library, set up a gmail account and send a message with the subject "freelance." It will go to Thor and it's basically just you saying you got away successfully. You don't have to tell him where you are until he gets back to you to set up a meet where he can get you both to a secure location."

"Are you expecting this to happen?" I asked, suddenly concerned.

Jane took a deep breath and let it out. "I'm always planning for the worst and hoping for the best. Paul, being a cop himself, can verify that we over plan just for such an event. His primary job is to get you out of here to safety, even if there's an officer down situation." She looked at Bucky. "That's not negotiable. We all accept the risks when we wear the badge. You know that. Keeping your witness safe is your primary responsibility."

Bucky said nothing, just took my hand and squeezed it.

"It applies to me, too," said Erik, calmly. "I might be retired but I'm still a police officer at heart. You keep Rachel safe, let me worry about myself."

Erik told us about treating the house like it was our own place. Because we were going to be there for two months he expected us to keep it clean and to let him know if anything broke down. Although he was willing to socialize with us there were times he liked the solitude.

"If my outside light is on in the evening, you're welcome to knock and join me," he said. "If the light is off I want my privacy." He grinned at his daughter. "That's usually when I have a lady friend over." She gave him that smile again. "During the day I'm usually puttering about, yard work, fixing things, or repainting. I try to keep busy."

"Dad has wifi here but just use it to do normal browsing or searching for information," cautioned Jane. "Do not use your social media, or contact your family or friends. I do believe you have health insurance, the traveller's kind. It should have been in the packet the FBI gave you."

Bucky confirmed that it was. "We were originally told to say we were staying at Rachel's family cottage," he said. "Are we keeping that cover? Your chief and superior officers thought it was a bit weak. Rachel suggested that she buy some art supplies to paint the fall colours. I thought a good cover for me was that I had regressed a bit and was experiencing some PTSD because of my military experience, wanting the quiet environment to recharge. It was suggested I engage a therapist while I was here to keep up the façade."

Jane looked at her father who was considering what Bucky just said. "I don't mind you saying I'm your uncle. The PTSD angle is good as there are people who come here for the quiet environment. Home Hardware carries painting supplies, plus there are a few local artists that reside here. I know once the leaves change they go out and showcase the colours in their work. You would be welcomed."

With that it seemed we had covered everything but we had Jane's phone number if anything else came up. She and her dad went over to his place, leaving Bucky and me on our own. It was after lunch and we both were feeling a little hungry so we had a look at what food Erik had bought for us. Not all of it was to our taste but Bucky thought he would be able to use everything.

"You're planning on doing the cooking?" I asked.

"I'm pretty good at it," he said.

"But there's no IKEA or Costco here," I replied with a straight face.

"What?" he laughed as he placed his hands on my waist. "I left training with the FBI for a place with no IKEA Swedish meatballs or Costco hot dogs?" He looked at me with a soft smile. "I'll make do, I guess. There are fringe benefits with this assignment."

"I'm just an assignment?"

"You're more. You're so much more."

I received that incredible kiss again and that soft gaze after. He really was making it easy to fall in love with him. Bucky took some frozen ground beef out of the freezer to thaw out for supper. For lunch he suggested some canned tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches as it would be easy to make. We made it together and it was good, bringing back memories of childhood for both of us. After that we both unpacked, staking out our sections of closet, dresser drawers, and bathroom counter space. Erik had written down the wifi password and we set up our phones with it, confirming that our music services still worked. Next, we checked out the channel listings on the TV. It wasn't bad, about 40 channels in total, including a couple of movie channels and the two main Canadian sports channels, Sportsnet and TSN. There were board games, a few books, and some jigsaw puzzles.

"There's also a king-sized bed," said Bucky, pulling me close again. "I'm sure we'll get a lot of use out of that."

"Part of those fringe benefits you were mentioning before?" I asked.

We kissed again. "Let's go have a look at the lake," said Bucky. "I wonder if it's a good fishing lake." I gave him some side eye. "I can fish. I've gone lake fishing before. Sam, Steve, and I usually go out a couple of times over the summer for a boy's weekend. Guess I'm missing the next one, but I have you so I'm good."

"So, what does a boy's weekend involve?" I was curious.

"We take a few cases of beer, a couple of bottles of whiskey, usually scotch, and some really smelly cigars. The first night we have a fire in the fire pit, smoking, drinking and telling stories. Then we set our alarms for 6 am as everyone knows the fish bite better at sunrise. At 8:30 or so we actually get out of bed, make bacon and eggs for breakfast, making sure to put some whiskey in our coffee. We get out on the lake about 10 or 10:30, complain about the fish not biting, drink a few beer, give up about 1:00, then barbecue hamburgers on the grill, drink more beer, make steaks for supper." I was trying not to laugh. "Just steaks, because we bring really big rib eyes from Costco, and you don't need vegetables or anything else when they're that big. We end the evening sitting around the fire pit, smoking, drinking, and talking about women."

"Sounds like fun," I said, grinning. "You must come home smelling pretty ... strong?"

Bucky laughed out loud. "We smell disgusting, of wood smoke, beer, whiskey, plus for breakfast on the drive home we usually stop and buy some really greasy breakfast sandwiches from the closest fast food place. About an hour after that we have to make a pit stop because the air inside the car is pretty rancid. They're the best of times, being with good friends."

"I envy you," I said softly. "Since I moved to New York I only have Natasha and Peggy for friends. We did go to a spa that first week you were gone, got some pedicures and facial treatments. Your weekends sound a lot more fun."

"Then I'll ask Erik about renting a boat and going out early one morning," he replied, giving me that look again. "There are times we do get out there early and sometimes it's magical. The lake is calm and glassy, a mist is present on the shore that looks like a soft blanket with occasional tendrils reaching out over the water. Sometimes you'll hear the sound of an eagle up high in the air. If you're lucky you'll see one come down to the water and snatch a fish in its claws. The sound of the loons reminds you that you're out in the middle of nowhere and we'll just look at each other without speaking but knowing we're living a good life."

"You're a poet," I whispered. "I can see it through your words."

"You're a vision," he replied softly. "I'm glad I'm here with you."

Our lips met and the magic he described was there in that kiss. It was if all my senses were focussed just on him; the smell of his aftershave, the slight stubble on his face tickling my skin, the warmth of his muscular body as he enclosed me in his protective arms. In those moments the only world that mattered was the one we were creating between us. It was intense, addictive, and the only place I wanted to be. A cough interrupted us and we both stopped, looking to the source of the sound.

"Sorry," said Erik, standing just inside the door, holding a long case, with a knowing smile on his face. "I forgot to show you one more thing. I knocked but you didn't answer. Didn't know you were that involved. I'll have to tell my daughter she could have given me the heads up before I barged in here."

"No harm done," replied Bucky, giving back the same smile.

Erik nodded. "You do have your police firearms certificate with you, right? You didn't let them keep it." Bucky nodded. "I have two guns, a shotgun and a rifle. Just standard hunting firearms. If you need a weapon ..."

"Just in case," confirmed Bucky. He changed his focus to the case Erik was carrying and the older man nodded. Bucky turned to me and caressed my face. "Let me deal with this then we'll get back to what we were doing."

I nodded and decided to go outside. They waited while I put my jacket on but I knew as soon as I left they would have a talk that only two cops trying to protect a witness could have. I walked towards the lake and stepped out onto the dock erected outside Erik's cottage. Looking out over the calm waters I could hear the sounds of motorboats in the distance. Some people were out, laughing, the music from their boat radio reaching to where I stood. The sound of a sliding glass door behind me drew my attention and I turned, seeing Jane coming out. She smiled grimly at me.

"I wasn't sure it was a good idea, but Dad said Paul should know about them."

"Just in case," I repeated Bucky's words.

"Yeah," said Jane. "I hope he didn't interrupt anything."

"Just an intense kissing moment," I replied. "Erik knows what we mean to each other now. Are you and Thor that involved?"

"It's complicated," she said. "We're both into our jobs and neither of us want to give them up. When he's here it's intense. When I'm there, it's just as intense. So, we've had this dance going on between us for close to three years. Someone's going to have to give in at some point for it to go on." She shrugged. "Not sure which one of us is willing to take that step."

"It's a nice view," said Bucky's voice, coming from behind us. He and Erik were walking together towards the dock and joined us. "Erik will hook us up with a boat rental so we can go fishing or just for a joy ride around the lake. Apparently he knows where the best warm water swimming spots are as well. You did bring a bathing suit, didn't you?"

"Actually, I did. I can just guess how warm those spots really are."

"You're a Canadian, you can handle it," smiled Erik. "Him, we'll see."

Bucky chuckled and put his arm around me, kissing me on the side of my head. Together the four of us stood there for a while, taking in the blue sky and waters, watching the occasional motorboat pass by in the distance. Then Erik turned to go back into his cabin, followed by his daughter. Bucky and I returned to the house, where he very pointedly locked the door. It was a while before we emerged from the bedroom to make dinner together. By the time we finished eating it was dark outside. After loading the dishes in the dishwasher we put our jackets on and stepped outside. As the stars came out I could hear Bucky draw his breath in. Then he circled me with his arms and held me close. His voice whispered in my ear, with an edge of awe in it.

"It was in Bobcaygeon, I saw the constellations. Reveal themselves, one star at a time. Now, that's poetry."

We stayed out there for a long time, enthralled with the majesty of the star filled skies surrounding us.

Lyrics to Bobcaygeon, song written by Gordon Downie, Johnny Fay, Robert Baker, Joseph Paul Langlois, Robert Gordon Sinclair.