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we can go up to the fence and do some petting. Most are quite gentle. Chloe

enjoys that too.”

“She’s probably far more fearless than I am.”

“They might lick you.”

“Is that a good or a bad thing?”

Taylor just laughed, but it was cut short by a high-pitched yelp followed

by a piercing scream from just behind them.

They whirled around at the same time. “Oh my god!” Taylor cried.

Peppy ran around the edges of the dugout, barking ferociously and

anxiously. Before Christina had time to process what she was doing, her

legs were carrying her towards the dugout. Towards where Chloe had just

been standing. That scream was Chloe’s. She hadn’t processed a splash, but

she could see the ripples on the water’s surface and the disturbance on the

steep, grassy banks where she’d fallen down.

Chloe surfaced, screaming in terror as Christina’s foot cleared the bank.

She hurtled down the surface so violently that she nearly fell over headfirst

from the momentum, but she used it instead to propel herself off the side of

the dugout. She dove in right beside where she’d just seen Chloe’s head.

She hit the stagnant water and felt it close around her head in a murky,

muddy cloud. She opened her eyes and thrust her hands in front of her face,

sweeping her arm in a huge arc. She couldn’t see Chloe, but on the second

swing, her arm connected with something solid. She kicked forward and her

arms closed around Chloe’s shoulders. Christina’s lungs were on fire, and

with a few powerful kicks, she reac

hed the surface.

They broke through an instant later. Chloe screamed and Christina

gasped for air. The little girl clung to her instead of thrashing around in

panic, and Christina was able to reach the edge of the water in a few hard

kicks. Taylor was there, her tear-streaked face totally ashen. She was careful

to stay away from the crumbling edge but reached out for her daughter.