Tried and True (Wild at Heart Book #1) by Mary Connealy Page B

root and tore out of her hand. It was gone instantly, vanished downstream. There was no way to get it back without letting go of Shannon. No way to break free this last root without the knife.
    A silent scream slashed Kylie as surely as a knife. Her clumsiness had just condemned her sister to death.
    The root was still too thick. Yanking on it frantically, Kylie knew there was no give. The knife was gone. Her air was gone. Above her, Shannon quit moving. A splash told her the sheep was swimming away. Shannon had lost her grip on the animal.
    Kylie surfaced to see Shannon’s head underwater and pulled her up. She was unconscious, limp. She couldn’t even think of letting go, getting to shore, and coming back with another knife. Shannon would drown.
    A sharp cry drew Kylie’s attention to the shore in time to see Bailey cutting into the water with a shallow dive.
    Bailey was here! Bailey would save them both. Tears burned Kylie’s eyes, even as she clung to Shannon and both of them clung to life. Within seconds, far faster than Kylie, Bailey reached them.
    “Shannon’s ankle. It’s tangled in a root. I was cutting it, but I dropped Shannon’s knife.”
    Bailey drew her knife from the scabbard she always wore, clamped it in her teeth like a pirate, and vanished underwater.
    Before Kylie could even give a thought to Bailey going to work, Shannon snapped free. Because she was holding her, Kylie and Shannon were both swept downstream.
    Kylie, with her poor swimming skills, fought to keep Shannon’s head above water and used one hand to flail away, trying to get to the shore. The banks got dangerously high before long and would be impossible to climb, so their getting to shore fast was vital.
    Then Bailey was there again. She flipped Shannon onher back and grabbed her under her chin in a way that left Shannon floating on top of the water. “Swim for shore fast, the banks get steep. I’ll bring Shannon.”
    In other words, Leave. You’re useless. I ’ll handle everything, just like always .
    Kylie was too exhausted to block the pain of Bailey’s dismissal. She took the barb straight to her heart, let Shannon go, and struck out for the shore. Bailey got to shore, even dragging Shannon, before Kylie did. Finally, about twenty yards downstream of where Bailey reached shore, Kylie managed to wash up into shallow water. Getting to her hands and knees, she crawled across the small but sharp river rocks. They tore at her knees, but she had no strength to stand.
    Looking back, she saw Bailey kneeling over Shannon, who lay facedown. Bailey pressed on her back rhythmically.
    The sight of Shannon, unconscious, possibly dead, gave Kylie the strength to get up and run, in stumbling steps, to drop at Shannon’s side. Kylie opened her mouth, ready to ask for orders. Bailey would assign her something to do, and Kylie could feel like she was helping. Before Kylie could speak, Shannon gagged, and water erupted from her mouth and spewed onto the rocks. Because she was facing Bailey, the big sister also got a bellyful of water and vomit on her pants.
    Bailey did everything well. She even took this bit of unpleasantness without reacting as she continued to press on Shannon’s back. Another gush of water came out, and Shannon drew in a ragged breath, then vomited again but only a bit. The breathing became a cough. Each breath sounded painful, but moments passed as Shannon’s heavingsettled down. Taking steady breaths again, her eyes flickered open.
    “Bailey, you came.”
    Another arrow to the heart. Every syllable Shannon spoke said clearly that Bailey’s arriving had been her wish. Her big sister was the one she wanted to see in a time of trouble, not her foolhardy little sister.
    Kylie didn’t take it as hard as Bailey telling her to leave. She’d found the walls that guarded her heart.
    They stayed by Shannon’s side for a while. Finally, with feeble movements that told how completely spent Shannon was, she pushed herself to her