Page 29 of Reviving Her Highland Spirit

“No deeper,” he said, not meeting her gaze.

“Fine,” Maggie said, smiling. “Ye are already making less fuss than when I first tried tae get on Stardust.”

“I don’t think these two things are the same.”

“Aren’t they? I’m not afraid of swimming, and you’re not afraid of horse-riding. We are helping each other. It balances itself out.”

“Well, when ye say it like that…” Callum released her hand, nervously raking his fingers through the water. “It’s warmer than I thought it would be.”

“Aye, it is. There’s fish in here, too.”

“Fish? I don’t think I want something slimy rubbing against my leg.”

Maggie chuckled. “I can’t promise that, but I think the fish will avoid us.”

“Now what?”

“Now, ye sit down.”

Callum swallowed. “Sit down?”

“Or crouch, or whatever. Ye know how deep the water is here, ye can keep your feet on the bottom. Watch,” Maggie ducked down so that only her head was above the water, arms moving under the surface. “It’s good tae feel the water on ye skin. Ye will know how it feels tae be fully submerged, without having to go out of your depth.”

Callum drew in a breath. “That makes sense.”

He ducked down slowly, sliding down in the water until only his head was poking out, too. He was breathing quickly and shallowly, eyes wide with fear. He met Maggie’s gaze, and some of the fear started to fade away.

“Ye are doing well, Callum,” she said softly. “So well. Did ye know, our bodies naturally float? When we get into water, the water tries to make us float? Nature is keeping us above, where we can breathe. All we need tae do is relax and know how tae work along with it. Water’s not hard and rough, like riding a horse or running. It’s soft. It cradles ye, keeps ye safe. Holds ye, almost. Especially a smooth, still pool like this.”

“Very poetic,” Callum said, grinning. He was quickly relaxing, and already letting himself bob up and down with the smooth, gentle ripple of the water.

Maggie raised an eyebrow. “Ready tae float?”

12

The simple answer was no - Callum was not ready to float.

On the one hand, Maggie was right. Crouching here in the water like this, he could almost believe that it was cradling him, as soft and careful as any mother.

On the other hand, he could see and hear all of that water thundering into the pool at the other end, as heavy and unforgiving as a rock.

That was the contradiction of water, wasn’t it? Fatally solid if you fell from a height, but if you just stepped into it and kept walking, it would close softly over your head and steal away your breath.

Callum shivered, sending ripples through the water.

“Can we not just stay here?” he asked.

Maggie chuckled. “Nope. Watch me.”

He obliged. Maggie let herself drift backwards, almost imperceptibly, until she was lying on her back on top of the water, as relaxed and steady as if she were laying on a soft feather bed.

Callum swallowed hard. When Maggie did it, it looked so easy. He just knew that the same soft, careful water would let him sink. The water would get in his eyes, up in his nose, down his mouth and throat, choking him…

With a splash, Maggie righted herself, crouching in front of him again.

“Now, ye,” she said.

Callum gave a short laugh. “No.”