Chapter 102: River Crossing

They rode east toward the foothills. As they went along, Poppy thought about what Hunter had said. There had to be a solution that would work for everyone. She just needed to find it.

After a quarter of an hour, they came to a river. She heard it before she saw it, clear water rushing over weather-smoothed rocks. It didn’t seem to be deep, but the current was swift. She looked at Hunter questioningly.

“Where we’re going is on the other side of the river.”

Her eyes widened. “You mean we have to ride across?”

He nodded. “It’s shallow enough. The water’s moving fast, but you just keep going and don’t stop.”

Beneath her, Duffy sighed. “I don’t know, Hunter.”

He gave her a reassuring smile. “You’ve got this. Besides, Duffy’s an old pro.”

Unconvinced, Poppy pursed her lips.

Hunter laughed. “I promise it’ll be fine. I’m taking you to see the summer pasture in the mountains. We’ll be taking the whole herd across this river in a few weeks.”

“Yeah, well…”