The next morning, Remy, Kyle and Regina put on their bathing suits and went out the back door.

They ran down the lawn to the dock.

Kyle was first to jump in. When he popped to the surface, he waved back. "Come on," he called. "It's great!"

Regina jumped in, followed by Remy. Regina laughed when she emerged. But Remy cried out "It's cold!"

Kyle laughed. "You'll get used to it."

The current, however, wasn't very strong. So they didn't worry about swimming too far out.

As the three were splashing and paddling around in the water, Martin wheeled down to the dock.

"Alright, listen up." he called out. "I have to go into town to run some errands and pick some stuff up to have with dinner. And I need someone to come along with me."

The kids groaned.

"It's only for a little while," said Martin. "Just an hour or two. When we're done, you can go right back to swimming."

After a pause, Regina climbed out of the lake. "I'll go with you Daddy," she said.

"Alright," smiled Martin. "Dry off and get ready. We won't be long."

He turned to Remy and Kyle, still in the water. "And you two be careful. Call me if anything should happen. And don't swim out too far."

When Regina was dressed, she and her father climbed into the truck and drove off.

Kyle turned to Remy. "Hey," he said with a big smile. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking? We're alone."

Remy smiled. "Way ahead of you."

They slipped off their bathing suits and hung them on the dock.

"Alright," said Kyle. "Now we can have some fun."

Remy playfully splashed Kyle. Kyle splashed him back. He tried to swim off and Remy chased after him.

He grabbed Kyle by the tail and pulled him towards him. Kyle tried to escape, but Remy held on tightly.

Kyle burst into laughter as Remy tickled his sides and belly. Soon he was kicking hard, trying to get free. When Remy reached his bellybutton, Kyle could no longer take it.

"Alright! Alright!" he cried. "You win! Let me go!" Kyle was on the verge of hysteria. Remy released him.

When they swam back to the dock, Kyle threw an arm around his friend. "I'm really glad you decided to come up with us," he smiled. "It's been awesome having you around."

Remy smiled back. "You too," he said, hugging him.

He paused. "Though, it would be nice if Bradley joined us."

Kyle sighed. "Yeah, well, we only had room for one more. But there will be other times."

Remy nodded in agreement. He looked up at the sky. There were huge storm clouds approaching.

"I think we should get out," he said.

"Agreed."

They put their suits back on, climbed out of the lake and ran back to the cabin.


Martin and Regina returned shortly after the storm hit. Soon all four of them sat down to dinner.

The storm raged on through the night with heavy rain.

On Sunday morning, the storm passed. Everyone was ready for the trip home.

Soon Remy, Kyle and his family were back on the road, heading south and homeward bound.