From the corner of my eye, I catch a glimpse of someone at the narrow part of the river that runs between my place and the cabin next door. When I take my foot off the gas, I realize it’s the same feisty little blonde who was petting Frankie. She’s walking in the ankle-deep water, picking up small stones, and trying to skip them across the surface. It’s pretty obvious she hasn’t had any practice, but she’s not giving up.
At first, I don’t even realize I’ve come to a complete stop just to watch her. I’m apparently as mesmerized by her as she is with trying to skip stones across the water. She’s searching for another small rock and absently places her foot on a rock that’s barely covered by the flowing water. Before I can jump out of the truck to warn her, her feet fly out from underneath her and she lands on her ass.
Her reaction stuns me in more ways than one. She’s sitting in the shallow water, the entire back side of her body is soaking wet, and she’s laughing like a lunatic. She slaps the water with her palms, splashing herself even more. Her howls of delight echo across the landscape and make me smile along with her. She’s completely drenched and obviously out of her element, but I’ve never seen a more beautiful woman in my life.
My arms are propped up on the hood of my truck while I watch her play in the water for several minutes. When she finally stands up, her wet shirt is plastered to her body and my mouth goes completely dry. My sudden desire for river water has nothing to do with being thirsty. No longer able to stand it, I start to make my way down to the water’s edge. She’s still smiling when she looks up and sees me coming, then her face falls flat when she realizes who I am.
“Let me guess,” she snarls. “This is your river and no one else is allowed in the water.”
“Well, technically…” I begin to reply.
“Oh, save it. Are you really such a prick that you’re going to say something when there’s obviously no fence here?”
I honestly didn’t walk down here to fight, but damn if she doesn’t want to pick one.
“I don’t need a fence to prove what’s my property and what’s not, sweetheart.”
“I’m not your sweetheart,” she counters angrily. She’s even more beautiful with the fire shooting from her eyes. “You’re an arrogant and rude asshole.”
“Whoa. Angry much? My guess would be that’s exactly why you’ve come here all alone,” I spit back. “Can’t hold on to a man?”
The pain that flashes across her face and morphs her features is all too familiar. I’ve seen it many times in my own mirror. I instantly regret the words and open my mouth to take them back. I’ll eat crow all damn day to remove the pain I just caused her, to repair that wound I just reopened.
But a familiar voice from behind me interrupts before I can say another word.
“Ace Sharp!” Rose reprimands me sternly. “What is wrong with you? How could you talk to a lady like that?”
“Daddy,” a small voice chimes in. “Waynie’s my fwiend. Don’t be mean to her.”
“Layne, I’m so glad you’re here. I’d like to apologize for Ace’s behavior. I know his family, and I know he was raised better than this. Though, if I didn’t already know better, you certainly couldn’t convince me of that after what I just witnessed,” Rose continues berating me.
“Daddy?” Layne’s eyes dart between River’s and mine. River has walked up beside me and wrapped her little arms around my leg.
“How did you two meet?” I ask, ignoring her question for now.
“Actually,” Rose emphasizes, and I immediately know I’m about to be in more trouble. “She saved River’s life today.”
“What?” I yell and instinctively wrap my arm around my little girl.
“She saved me from that twuck, Daddy,” River answers and looks up at me, her head still leaned against my leg. “It almost wan over me at the gwocery store.”
“That’s right,” Rose chimes in. “River ran from me in the parking lot and didn’t see the truck backing out of the parking spot. Layne ran straight into the path of danger, risked her own life, and snatched River up just in time. She held River in her arms and jumped into the bed of the truck to keep it from running over both of them. I gave Joey a good tongue-lashing for not paying attention then made him load Layne’s groceries into her car.”
My hands reach down and draw River up to my chest. My arms wrap around her tiny body, and I hold her as close to me as I can without crushing her. My mind pictures the scene and I shudder involuntarily at the thought of what could’ve happened if Layne hadn’t been there at that exact moment. A swell of emotions rises from my chest and forms a huge knot in my throat. River and I walk the few steps the rest of the way down to where Layne stands.
“I’ll never be able to thank you for saving my little girl’s life.” My eyes hold hers as I attempt to convey my thoughts. “If you hadn’t been there—well, I can’t even think about that. I’m just so very thankful that you were there, and that you risked your life to save hers.
“I’m also honestly very sorry for what I just said. And not just because of what you did for River, but because it was mean and wrong of me to say it in the first place. If you can accept my apology, River and I would appreciate it. Seems the two of you have already become friends.”