AllFreeNovel
Share Us
They rounded the far side of the house, out of view of Faith and her clients, and headed toward the tree line to pick up the trail that would take them to the creek. Grace kicked Otis into a trot—about the fastest he would go. A canter would be smoother, but the horse had lost his youthful desire to run all out. Jiggling up and down on his back, Grace concentrated on simply hanging on.
Her progress to the creek seemed to take forever. On the very last day of July, the forest was so thick with leaves, she couldn’t see more than fifty feet in front of her. After what felt like an endless ride, she finally came upon the dock. The creek was no more than ten feet across and six feet deep. A fishing pole lay on the dilapidated dock, but Olivia’s blond head was nowhere to be seen.
“Olivia!” Grace shouted her niece’s name in panic, even as she slipped off Otis’s back and threw his reins over the nearest branch. “Where are you?”
Running onto the rickety structure, she swept the muddy water with a frantic gaze. All at once, a head breached the surface. It was Olivia, swept downstream by the current, gasping for breath as she tried to stay afloat. “Olivia, I’m coming!”
Without a second’s hesitation, Grace kicked off her sandals and launched herself off the pier. Having had an antipathy for water most of her life, she wasn’t the strongest of swimmers. But she wasn’t about to stand idle while her niece drowned. Plunging into the water, she came up for air, then struck out, arms flailing, kicking frantically, and was pleased to see she was getting closer.
Random thoughts flickered through her mind. Faith’s heart would break if her daughter died on the heels of Jerry’s death. It was one thing for Grace’s faith in God to be shattered; she couldn’t stand to watch that happen to her twin. Why was Olivia in the water, anyway? Had she fallen in? Who in their right mind would ever want to swim in brackish water like this, with catfish and terrapins skulking about?
“Grab my hand.”
Olivia, to her credit, didn’t look afraid. She was doing a better job than her aunt at keeping her head above water. But she groped for Grace’s hand all the same.
Once Grace felt the girl’s slender body near hers, she grew calmer. They were going to be fine. “Come on. Let’s go back.”
“I need to get the bobber.” Olivia pointed toward the shore across from the pier. “It got stuck in the reeds.”
So that was the reason. “We can buy another bobber. It’s not safe to swim here. Come on, honey. I’m not as good a swimmer as you are.”
With a sharp glance at her aunt, Olivia nodded and stroked hard for the pier. It was tough going, swimming against the tide. Grace ignored the weariness in her limbs and kept paddling. At least Olivia didn’t seem at the point of exhaustion. When they reached the ladder on the side of the dock, Grace grabbed hold and pulled Olivia before her to climb up first. As she sucked in deep breaths to recover, she felt footfalls making the dock shudder. Craning her neck, she spotted a pale-faced Grayson and a flushed Simon looking down at them. They’d obviously run here.
Grace climbed the slimy ladder, ignoring the hand that Grayson held out to her. “I got it.”
Feeling as boneless as a jellyfish, she looked down at her streaming wet clothing, now more tan than white and yellow. Her feet and legs were caked in mud. She leveled a stern eye at her nephew.
“Now do you see why it’s important to watch your sister? The tide was sweeping her away, Grayson. She could have drowned out there.”
As Grayson nodded, clearly repentant, Olivia and Simon sized each other up.
“I can swim pretty good,” Olivia told him. “My mommy took me to the Rec for lessons.”
“My daddy taught me to swim in the river next to his houseboat.”
“What’s a houseboat?” Olivia resembled a mermaid who’d found her legs.
Grace interrupted. “We can talk later, guys. I think there’s a minnow in my bra.”
The children all laughed as she fished a hand under her shirt and freed the tiny, squirming fish.
Olivia protested as she tossed it back into the stream. “I could have used that for bait!”
Bending down to look her in the eyes, blue like her father’s, Grace said, “You areneverto go fishing alone. Isn’t that a rule around here?”
Olivia’s mouth firmed. She shot an accusing look at her brother but said nothing.
Grace straightened. “She asked you to go fishing, and you ignored her, didn’t you?”
Grayson averted his hazel eyes. “Please don’t tell mom about this.”
“I’m not going to. You are. And if you don’t want to get in huge trouble for it, you could start by accepting responsibility. Now, Olivia and I are going to ride back on Otis. I’m afraid you two have to walk.”
Simon brightened. “Let’s run again,” he said to Grayson.
“Bring the fishing pole with you,” Grace instructed her nephew. “Olivia owes you a new bobber. That one,” she gestured toward the opposite shore, “is for the turtles to play with.”
With her mood improving, Grace grabbed her niece’s hand and led her toward Otis, who was snacking on crepe myrtle leaves, safe to eat. Events could have unfolded so differently, she reflected as she hoisted Olivia atop the horse. Her niece was unharmed, and Grayson had learned a valuable lesson, which was good since his aunt was taking off to Venezuela later that week.
