Teacher's Christmas Cowboy (Trinity Falls Sweet Romance - Icicle Christmas #5)

At its deepest, the water here was no more than waist-high, but that was deep enough to catch a fish or two, even if most of them had to be thrown back. And the creek was always stocked a few times during trout season, which usually led to some good dinners if they were lucky.

A huge rock jutted out of the bank and into the water. For a moment, looking at the scene, Jared was a child again, kicking off his shoes and darting off onto the big, sun-warmed rock and dangling his feet over the edge with a pole in his hands and his grandfather’s gentle voice in his ears, telling him a funny story or asking him an interesting question.

“Look at that rock,” Sylvester said, darting toward it. “It’s humongous.”

“Be careful,” Jared warned him, following quickly behind.

But before he could react, Sylvester tripped slightly on an indentation in the granite and the keychain slipped out of his hand.

Jared watched in horror as the little football twinkled in the air for a moment before falling toward the dark water.

“Don’t—” Jared began.

But it was too late, Sylvester had lunged after it. Everything after that seemed to happen in slow motion.

“No,” Sylvester cried, leaning out suddenly, as if to snatch it from the air.

But he was too late, the football sank just out of his reach, breaking the surface of the water, and sending out ripples all the way to the shore.

And Sylvester had leaned out too far.

Jared was already flying to him, trying to grab onto him, his heart in his mouth. But his hand closed around nothing a half-second too late. And the boy fell into the near-freezing water, splashing frigid drops all around.

Jared jumped in without a thought, his legs feeling like they were freezing solid as he snatched Sylvester from the knee-deep water.

“M-my.. m-m-my,” Sylvester murmured, struggling, and shivering as Jared pulled him up into his arms.

“Hug me tight,” Jared told him, holding him with one arm as he stripped his coat off and wrapped it around the boy.

“I-I-I..” Sylvester gasped. A wheezing sound came from his chest as he trailed off.

Fear filled Jared’s heart and he almost couldn’t take a breath himself.

“Where’s your inhaler?” he forced himself to ask calmly as he searched the boy’s freezing, wet pockets.

“A-a-at…” Sylvester managed, shaking his head from side to side.

“At home?” Jared asked. “Not in your coat pocket?”

Sylvester nodded, sucking in breath. His stomach was clenching.

“Hold on,” Jared told him.

Cradling the boy tightly, he climbed up the bank and ran for the path, moving as fast as he could without risking a tumble down the bank and back into the creek.

He could feel Sylvester struggling for breath in his arms, and fear tugged at the edges of his mind, threatening to overwhelm him. But he pushed it back. This was no time for panic.

Please let him be okay, he prayed. Please let me make it to his mother in time.

“Stay calm, Sly,” he murmured to him. “You’re going to be just fine.”

It hit him as he ran that there was no way Cora had sent the boy after him. She would never, ever forget to be sure he had that inhaler with him when he left the house. Jared couldn’t imagine how furious she would be with him for taking him to the fishing hole, but that was the least of his worries at the moment.

I just have to get to her, he prayed. Please let him make it to his mother and his inhaler.

In just a few minutes, the house was in front of them.

“We made it,” he murmured. “I just have to get you inside.”