Page 28 of Reviving Her Highland Spirit

“Hence the swimming part. And don’t worry, I’m not about tae strip naked.”

Maggie pulled her linen shirt over her head, leaving herself in just a thin vest, tucked into her riding breeches. She wasn’t happy about getting her breeches wet, but the leather would dry, and she simply had to swim. It had been too long.

She stepped into the water, wincing at the cold on her bare feet. The stones were smooth and hard, shifting when she put her weight on them. Maggie walked forward, feeling the water rise up her ankles, to her knees, and higher up until she was waist deep. She shivered, feeling her clothes grow heavy with water. Not too heavy, though. She took a few more steps forward, until the rocky pool floor disappeared from under her feet, and she was relying on her kicking legs and her own buoyancy to keep herself afloat. She glanced back over her shoulder, and saw Callum still standing there on the shore.

He didn’t look happy. He was pale, and his hands were clenched by his sides.

“It’s not too cold. Come on in,” Maggie said persuasively. “I swear, I won’t splash ye.”

“It’s dangerous,” he repeated, eyeing the waterfall at the other end. “Look at that. What if ye get sucked underneath?”

“Callum, I’ve swam here since I was a child. It’s safe, I promise. Come in.”

“No.”

“Ye will enjoy it.”

“I will not.”

Maggie paused, taking in Callum’s taut, terrified expression. Then it hit her.

“Ye can’t swim, can ye?”

Callum flushed, swallowing hard and looking away. “No. I never learned. We lived deep in a forest, no pools there.”

She nodded. “That’s alright. Come, I’ll teach ye.”

“No, thanks.”

“It’s easy. Watch,” Maggie broke into a smooth, effortless front crawl, ducking herself under altogether, and pulling herself smoothly through the water. She had no idea that they called this a pool, but coming up out of it always felt like being born again.

When she resurfaced, Callum was looking at her with a mixture of worry and admiration.

“Very nice,” he said, “But my answer is still no.”

Maggie bit her lip. “Ye are helping me get over my fear of riding. Why can’t I return the favor? Let me teach ye how to float, at least. It’ll serve ye well if ye ever fall in the water.”

Callum bit his lip, and for a moment, he was clearly at war with himself. Then he sighed, and his shoulders sagged.

“Alright, fine. But I’m not stripping down tae my skin.”

“No need, just take off ye heavy clothes and boots.”

Callum muttered to himself, stripping out of his cloak, jacket, and boots. Maggie came forward until the water was only hip-deep, and held out her hand.

Just like he’d held his out to hers, the first time she got back on Stardust.

Callum stepped tentatively into the water, clutching onto Maggie’s hand like it was a lifeline. It was odd to see such a tall, strong man looking nervous about something as simple as a forest pool.

“It’s cold,” he murmured, taking another few hesitant steps forward. “How deep is it?”

“It gets very deep further in, but we’ll not go that deep. You’ll always have the pool floor under your feet, I promise ye,” Maggie reassured, and he flashed an uncertain smile.

“I don’t want tae put my head under.”

“And so ye won’t. Don’t worry, the whole purpose of swimming and floating is tae keep ye head above the water.”

Callum managed a small smile at that. He stumbled in a little deeper, eyes widening as the water rose up to his waist.