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Page 86

| swimming toward the barrel, a cold sweat of fear covering her as she so vividly recalled the suction of the current and the dangerous threat of the debris that could suddenly come from out of nowhere. |

| When Ashton reached the barrel and grabbed Lightning into his arms, Sasha drew an audible breath of relief. She waited anxiously and went to her knees to pull the soaked pup into her arms as Ashton came to shore and set Lightning to the ground. |

| "Lightning," Sasha murmured, stroking the pup's wet fur. She brought the pup's nose up so that their eyes met. "I'm sorry, Lightning. I'll never forget about you again." |

| Sasha's gaze moved upward. She smiled at Ashton. "Twice in one day you are a hero," she said, her voice trembling. "Thank you, Ashton. Thank you for both me and Lightning." |

| Ashton ran the back of his arm across his wet brow. "If I had listened to you in the first place, none of this would've happened," he said hoarsely. His eyes sought hers in a quiet apology. "You were right when you tried to encourage me to wait another day, or at least until the river was at a more decent depth." |

| He cleared his throat nervously and placed his fists on his hips, looking around at the disarray of his men and the equipment. Everything that was of any worth was either gone or soaked. Because of his haste to put more distance between himself and Melbourne and the likes of Stanford Sidwell and Superintendent Silas Howland, he had made too hasty a decision today. |

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