Page 66 of Barbed Wire Hearts

There are still at least hundreds of cattle waiting to cross. I assumed I would cross once they were all on the other side, but Dakota’s face leaves no room for argument.

“Okay,” I answer, not wanting to prove I don’t know what I’m doing. I direct Hermioneigh down river to where Levi sits on the side-by-side waiting to take the dogs across. I know his side-by-side is fit with snorkel gear so it can drive across, but part of me worries about him just the same.

Hermioneigh prances nervously at the river edge so I pat her neck. “It’s okay, girl,” I coo. “We’ll be in and out before you know it.”

“Slow and easy,” Levi instructs. “Give the cattle plenty of room.”

I nod and take a deep breath. “Got it.”

“Kate,” he says, and I look over at him. “Be careful.”

“I will be,” I reassure him and then gently start to guide Hermioneigh into the river.

We move slowly, her legs taking small sure steps. “That’a girl,” I murmur, guiding her in. “That’s it.”

I give the cattle a wide berth, putting about ten feet between where they cross and where we do, making sure to follow all the instructions I’ve been given. Levi watches on the side. The water comes up around Hermioneigh’s legs and then up mine, until it’s rushing around my hips and only Hermioneigh’s head is sticking out. Thankfully, we aren’t going much further today once we’re across the river. I’ll chafe like a motherfucker otherwise.

I try not to think about the things that must be in the water as it rushes by us. I can feel the pull to the right downriver, but Hermioneigh takes slow sure steps, her hooves moving along the rocks on the river bed.

“Good girl,” I tell her. “We’ve got this. Halfway there now.”

And that’s where our good luck ends.

“Fuck!” Dakota shouts. “Log! Split the cows! Get out of the water!”

My eyes widen. What the fuck does that mean? Where do I go?

“Kate! Get out of the water!” Levi shouts. “Get out now!”

I move the reins, ready to usher us out of the water, but I never get the chance. Whatever splitting the cows means, the herd I’d given so much space too suddenly swells toward me. They moo in distress, trying to put distance between themselves and whatever’s coming. They split just in time for me to see it. It’s not just a log tumbling along the water.

It’s a whole ass tree trunk.

Hermioneigh rears up at the sight of it as it approaches us too fast to do much of anything.

“Go!” I cry, shaking the reins, but the moment she stands on her hind legs, I start to slide. The leather of my saddle is wet. I’m wet. There’s not much grip. I try my best to hold onto the reins, but my grip isn’t nearly as good as it should be. I slide off right into the river.

I scream just before my head goes under and I feel the full pull of the Green River. Water goes up my nose, but I try my best not to inhale water. I kick my legs, my boots heavy on my feet. It’s just deep enough that I can’t stand with my head above water, and even if I could, the strength of the river itself would sweep me off my feet.

The surface breaks for a split second and I drag in a great gulp of air and scream, hoping someone can see me.

“Kate!” I hear just before I go back under.

Beneath the water, it’s a different world. You’d think it would be silent, but the river is rushing so fast, all I hear is the roar of that in my ears. I struggle to get back above surface, knowing no one can save me if they can’t see me. My lungs start to ache, and I know I’m dangerously close to passing out if I don’t get above the water now. I kick and my boot connects against something large. I don’t know what it is, but it propels me up and above the surface where I can drag in a large breath. Only to lose it when I slam against a large log along the side.

I cry out at the pain, but latch onto the tree trunk barely hanging on the bank in the river. It’s caught a lot of different debris, all clinging to the log and making it shake with the force of the current. I loop my elbow around it and hang on for dear life, the water pulling at my clothes and threatening to sweep me away. I don’t know how far I’ve gone, but it must have been pretty far because it takes Levi a minute more to appear up on the bank on his side-by-side, his expression more panicked than I’ve ever seen him. I’m at the end of the log, out at the furthest point in the water, and I know it won’t be easy to get to me.

“Hang on, Kate!” he growls as he jumps from his side-by-side and rushes to the river bank, his eyes tracing the details, searching for a way to come out to me. “I’m gonna come get you.”

“Be careful,” I croak, my voice raw from when I swallowed some of the river water. “The log’s unsteady.”

Sure enough, when Levi tries to take a step onto the log, it wobbles in the water, so he backs off. He’s too heavy.

“Can you make your way to me along the log?” he asks, his eyes searching for a solution.

I shake my head, my wet hair plastered against my scalp. “The water’s too strong. It’ll rip me away if I let go.”

He hesitates, his eyes on me. For a second, it feels like he’s not gonna help me, like he can’t see a way to save me. I don’t want to die. Fuck, I don’t want to die.

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