The Girl in the River - Billy Beasley

Clint Hurley and his faithful Australian Cattle Dog, Josie, save a runaway girl from drowning, on a snowy Christmas Day. Now he is faced with a choice. Should he turn her over to the authorities or “rescue” her from far more than the river?

I continue moving and Josie is down the bank racing toward the river. My heart is pounding at the uncertainty of this. I negotiate the bank cautiously. She is at the water’s edge and barking continuously. The last flicker of sun is enough for me to see that the yellow kayak, moving our way, contains a small child. The kayak will be past us in just a moment as the steady current is moving it along at a firm pace. A runaway child, in a kayak on the river, on a snowy Christmas Day. This is like a scene from a movie but there is no Matt Damon to rescue her. There is only an old man and a young dog. As I am contemplating what to do the situation turns brusquely grave. She leans too far to one side and the kayak capsizes. She is struggling to stay above water as the kayak is carried away with the current.