Free Then Came Love by Mona Ingram Page A

Kathy and Dave were. It didn’t matter now; Logan was out there and he was in trouble. He had his arms through the holes of a life vest but it wasn’t done up; the snaps in front were flopping loosely. To make matters worse, he was struggling with the paddle and Rocky had his front feet up on the thwart, barking at him.
    Amanda ripped off her apron and ran out the side door. Closer to the dock she stopped running and glanced around wildly, looking for a boat. They were all out on the lake, taking advantage of the morning rise.
    “Logan” she called, striving to sound casual. “I think maybe you should come back.” She was at the end of the dock now and he’d drifted another ten feet. She was kicking off her shoes as he stood up, waved at her and lost his balance, dumping himself and Rocky into the lake.
    “No!” Within seconds she’d stripped off her T-shirt and her jeans, mindless of the fact that she wore a lacy bra and panties set. She dove in and set out for the canoe with a strong, steady crawl. The life jacket popped to the surface and Logan followed it, took a gasp of air and then disappeared below the surface again. The canoe had somehow remained upright.
    She concentrated on the spot where she’d last seen him. It seemed like forever until she got there and as she arrived he popped up again, arms flailing in the water as he looked around.
    “Hi there,” she said, grabbing him by the shirt. “Let’s just stay here for a sec and tread water.”
    He clung to her fiercely and coughed up some water, but was otherwise unhurt. “Where’s Rocky?” he asked. The paddle floated by and Amanda grabbed it.
    Her words came out in short bursts as she swam toward the canoe. “Last time I saw him he was headed for the shore.” They reached the canoe and she held on, catching her breath.
    “I’m going to hold the side of the canoe steady while you get in. Sit on the bottom, in the middle. Okay?”
    Logan nodded his understanding and clambered over the side while she fought to keep it level.
    “Okay, here we go.” She grabbed onto the line at the bow of the canoe, rolled over onto her back and started kicking. She didn’t intend to lose sight of Logan again. Her feet finally touched bottom just as Jackson came roaring up in a small outboard. Several campers were standing on the dock applauding, and one stepped forward to tie up the canoe.
    Jackson ran the outboard up on the sand, tilting the outboard motor just before it hit bottom. He leaped out and started unbuttoning his shirt.
    Amanda frowned at him and then looked down at herself. No wonder there were so many men on the dock willing to help her. “Thanks” she murmured as Jackson put his shirt around her shoulders.
    Jackson turned his attention to Logan. “What happened, buddy?”
    It was difficult to tell who was shivering harder, the youngster or the dog. “Wanted to go fishing” he said defiantly. “You went fishing last night.”
    “Yes I did but that doesn’t mean you can take the canoe out alone. I promised to take you fishing and I will, but we’ll be using one of the outboards.” His tone was firm but kind.
    Dave came running from the workshop, still holding a wrench. “Logan!” He scooped up the wet child and held him against his chest. “Don’t you ever do that again” he murmured into the boy’s ear. “We’ll talk about this later. He raised his head and spotted Amanda. “Thank you for saving my boy.”
    “From what I could see, he got in the canoe and the breeze pushed it out into the lake.” She played down her part. “It wasn’t too far, but it was over his head.”
    Dave nodded, but he was having a hard time concentrating on her words. “Maybe you’d better get dressed,” he said finally. He leaned closer. “I don’t want any of the older campers to have a heart attack.” He put Logan on the ground. “As for you, young man, it’s about time we got you some swimming lessons. Come on, let’s get you into some dry