“Don’t you have a zoo around here? A bird sanctuary or something? You can see cardinals anytime.”
“Oh, please,” Kate scoffed and peeled off her now properly wet overcoat. It landed with a splat on her lounging rock. “Why would I go to a zoo when there’s a perfectly good nest across the river?” When she sensed his hesitation, she sighed and extended her hand, her energy very much projecting a just shut up and have fun for once in your life vibe. “It’ll be fun.”
“That bridge isn’t up to code.”
“They’re big old logs. It’s probably been there for a hundred years. What more do you want?”
He pressed his back into the nearest tree. If wishes came true, the massive trunk would open up and swallow him whole. No such salvation came. He cursed this stupid forest; no wonder he hadn’t come in here for almost twenty years. All the trees were jerks.
“Nope. No way.” He shook his head, hoping his stern voice would be enough to indicate that he was putting his foot down about this one. He’d given her run of his house, his car, and his kitchen, but he really meant it this time when he said no. “It’s not safe. Kate—”
Pleas fell on deaf ears as the woman in question took a challenging step forward, slapping her heeled boot onto the bark of the makeshift bridge. Clark’s steady heartbeat picked up tempo and volume until it sounded like an overexcited drumline had taken a residency in his ears.
“You know you want to…”
Another step forward. Both of her feet were on the log now, only a foot or two above the iced-over water, but enough to worry him. Her smile curled upward. She thought she had the upper hand; she believed he would follow her straight out over the river, bending to her will. Clark’s fear kept him rooted to the spot even as his heart pounded against the cage of his chest, trying to escape and run straight for her. Across the river, the song of the cardinals—he assumed they were cardinals, at least—taunted him.
“I don’t—”
Another step. She spread her arms out for balance.
“You’re going to miss all the fun,” she promised in a singsong cadence.
“You’re going to be cold,” he countered.
Another step. The heel of her boot narrowly missed a gap in the wood and his heart narrowly missed two beats. Her steps were small, cautious, and though she no longer looked at him, he would be willing to bet his fortune that she was smirking.
“You sure you don’t want to join me?”
“Hey,” Clark warned, this time moving forward in step with her. He kept his hands out in front of him in a show of surrender. Approaching her as if she were a wounded animal, he mentally begged her not to move another muscle.
“Just a little bit closer…” She crooned.
Clark halted in place. So that was her game. Trickery. He was not going to cross those logs. Games and sneaking around wouldn’t work anymore than bribery or pleading would. Instead, he turned away from the river and headed for the path straight home.
He wasn’t actually going to go home, of course. He just needed her to think he was so she would be inclined to follow him. Two could play at her game.
“I’m not doing this. You won’t pressure me.”
His reverse psychology failed. A huff from behind him told him so.
“Fine! I’ll just go by my—”
A crack. A piercing scream. A rush of water. Three sounds wrapped up in one cymbal crash of noise. Clark spun on his heel.
“Kate! KATE!”
But Kate was gone. She’d fallen. Broken the ice sheet. And the river—still only a second ago—now rushed away from him. Taking Kate with it.
He didn’t think twice. He didn’t have to. His body acted for him. Without a moment’s hesitation, his powerful legs crossed the muddy ground and he dove head-first into the frigid water. It stung, a million frozen daggers cutting into his skin.
He crashed beneath the surface. His eyes opened, but the water was so black and cold he could neither see anything nor feel anything but pain. Slamming them closed again, he stretched his arm out before him. Once. Twice. His body shoved the water aside, searching for the one thing he needed to save. His lungs ached for air. His skin screamed from the cold. Currents pulled him, dragging him away, but he urged his muscles forward. He opened his eyes once, then twice, but besides the stinging this action caused him, he couldn’t see a thing. He was swimming blindly, praying with every motion that he’d somehow find her. He had to find her.
Finally, his hand touched something warm and solid. Or, he tried to. Her body revolted against him, thrashing and shoving wildly as she fought to struggle towards the air above them. Gripping her by the waist, he swam upward, fighting with strained muscles to struggle against the punishing current. Everything was cold. Everything was painful. But he couldn’t dwell. Thought vanished, leaving only the primal. It shoved him onward even when he wanted nothing more than to quit. Survive. Save her and survive. But with each passing second, her body grew more and more limp, and she fought less and less…until one cruel moment when she went still and slack in his arms.
“Ah!” He gasped when they finally hit the air. He drank it in, coughing and choking and spluttering. Kate returned to life, too, though not as violently as he. As he pushed their way crosscurrent to the river’s dirty bank, Clark watched Kate’s limp head barely suck in air. Her entire body shook with shivers, but at least she was breathing. Her eyes fluttered enough to tell him she was conscious. A small,
