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Page 78

| ering breath when he ignored her and instead began working with the bullocks. With Lightning barking at the bullocks and Ashton giving them slaps on their rumps, the animals finally decided to cooperate. |

| "Want us to remove the flour before tryin' to take the bulls across?" Michael asked, eyeing the tarpaulins that were wrapped around the bundles of flour. |

| Ashton jumped up on the seat and began flicking the whips against the bullocks' backs. "No, don't bother," he shouted. "Now that we have the bulls cooperating, we'd best get them on into the water." |

| Sasha held her breath as Ashton led the bulls into the river. They bellowed and fussed but braved the water well enough and were soon at the other side. |

| But another obstacle stood in the way. The animals became bogged in the mud on the far bank. Sasha could hear Ashton's curses fill the air. She stiffened and watched him work with the young bulls, scarcely noticing that all the horses and the rest of the equipment had also made it to the opposite shore. |

| All except her and Lightning. |

| Not wanting to cause Ashton any more trouble by reminding him that she had been left behind, she eyed the water speculatively. Everyone else had gotten across without a mishap. Surely she could also. She was a skilled swimmer. And the current seemed to have subsided somewhat. |

| "It truly isn't that far across," she whispered, yet she could not deny the chills that were encompassing her at the thought of diving into the river. She glanced down at Lightning and back at the river. "She's too little to swim across." |

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