He looked at the swirling, muddy water. Back at her. "You sure?" It seemed like a big risk. But she was right. Time was short, and they'd been forced to slow because of the torrential rain.
She was sure, and he followed her down the muddy bank.
"You know how to swim, right?" she asked over her shoulder.
He nodded.
"If the water gets deep enough, slip off the side of your horse's saddle—don't let go— and just float along."
She made it sound easy, but this didn't look easy.
And then she was urging her horse forward, toward the water. He did the same, not wanting distance between them in case either of them needed help.
"It's not so deep," she called over her shoulder. A moment later, she called, "Never mind!"
He had only a brief moment to watch her glide off of her gelding's back, floating as best she could fully clothed and with boots on.
He felt the moment the stallion's feet left solid ground. The horse sank beneath his weight, kicking all four legs.
He clung to the saddle with both hands but forced himself to kick with his legs and throw his body into the water. It was a chore to relax enough to float. He kicked, his boots heavy and water-logged.
They reached the other side without incident, Breanna sliding easily back into the saddle while he struggled for it, getting hit in the face with a rogue wave and taking on a mouthful of water.
Finally, the stallion finally dragged him into shallower water, where he could get a foothold.
He came up onto the bank coughing and spluttering, his hands on his knees. The stallion walked a few yards further from the water and stopped. Good thing, since Adam had lost the reins somewhere along the way.
Breanna hopped off her gelding as Adam flopped onto his back on the bank, finally drawing a clear breath.
"All good?" She stood behind his head and bent over him so that she appeared upside-down in his vision.
"I don't ever want to do that again."
She laughed. Her face was shining. Obviously the ordeal had energized her.
"I thought you said you'd encountered danger searching for your stories," she teased.
"I've never sought it out like that. We could've died."
"We didn't." She squatted down and smacked a kiss on his lips, nose bumping his chin, then was up again, bouncing on her toes.
She gave a wild war whoop, and the sound was enough to push him to climb to his feet.
He gave a wordless shout of his own and then went to her, grabbing her waist and twirling her in a dance no one on his acquaintance would recognize.
He didn't care.
She was shining up at him, her eyes alight and almost vibrating with joy. This time with her,this moment,was enough.
And then she was pulling away with a laugh. "Come on. We've got more riding to do."
A part of him couldn't wait for the race to be over. The misery of long hours in the saddle, chafing on days like today.
But another part, the bigger part, didn't want it to ever end.
Because when the race ended, so would his time with Breanna.
Breanna hadn't thoughtthrough the swim through that creek-river. She hadn't realized how close it would be for Adam.
