She kept coughing up water, even as Catriona pulled her onto the bank and sat her down. Black hair was plastered to her face, her blue eyes wide with pain and horror.
“That’s it,” Catriona murmured, patting her back gently. “Get it all out.”
The little girl did just that, coughing until her eyes watered. Nina whimpered nearby. Catriona tried not to show her worry, gently pushing the hair away from the girl’s face as she calmed.
“How do you feel?” Catriona asked after the coughing had finally calmed down.
The little girl simply looked up at her, eyes wide and expressionless. Had she not just pulled her out of the water, Catriona would not have guessed that she’d been seconds away from drowning. Though, perhaps the fact that she was soaked from head to toe might have been a giveaway.
“When did you arrive?” Catriona asked her. “I did not see you when I arrived. If I did, I would have made sure to keep an eye on you. Are you alone?”
The girl didn’t even blink. “You ask a lot of questions.”
A startled laugh flew from Catriona’s lips. “They’re rather important questions,” she assured her. “Had I been a second too late, something bad might have happened.”
“Something bad like what?” The girl tilted her head slightly to the side. “Would I have died?”
Something about the dispassionate manner in which she spoke unnerved Catriona. “Now who is asking the questions?” she responded with a nervous chuckle. “Now, tell me. Did you come here alone?”
The girl nodded.
“It isn’t safe for you to be by yourself here,” she told her. “As you can see, something bad could have happened, and there would not have been anyone around to help you.”
“Nothing bad would have happened.”
“And why do you think that?”
“Because I only fell in the water because of your dog.” She pointed to Nina, who hovered behind Catriona. “I was playing with the dog, and then I fell in the water.”
Catriona opened her mouth to respond… and then realized that she couldn’t argue with that, so she simply nodded, “I suppose that is true. And if she is the reason you fell, then I suppose she should apologize.”
Her tiny dark brows dipped together. “She?”
“Yes. She is a girl.”
“But how can a dog apologize?”
“Like this.” Catriona twisted to face her cocker spaniel. “Say you are sorry.”
Nina, ever the obedient dog who always seemed to understand Catriona, let out a small bark then lowered herself down onto all fours, looking as contrite as a dog could be.
“See?” Catriona smiled warmly, enjoying the awe that had taken over this little girl’s previously impassive features. “She is quite smart, you know.”
“What else can she do?” the little girl whispered.
“Well, let’s see. She knows a number of commands. If I tell her to sit, she will. If I tell her to roll over, she will. She will even fetch someone if I ask her to bring them to me.”
Her eyes grew wider. “Can she? How?”
“As I said, she’s rather smart. But perhaps the next thing I should teach her is how to pull little girls out of deep waters.”
The girl looked at Catriona as if she could not tell whether or not she was joking. Even when Catriona laughed, no smile broke free.
But the awe on the girl’s face remained as she slowly got to her feet and made her way closer to Nina. Tentatively, she reached out to pat Nina’s head before asking, “What’s her name?”
“Hm, I do not know if I should say.”
“Why not?”
