"Are you alright? Let me help you," Mr. Miller called out, his voice laced with concern. Before I could respond, he leaped into the water without hesitation, the cold splash rising around him as he moved toward me.
I pushed back my wet hair and forced a breath. "I'm fine. I just slipped," I muttered, wiping the icy droplets from my face. The truth was, the fall had left more than just the sting of cold against my skin—it had unsettled me in a way I couldn't quite explain.
"Yeah, I saw," he admitted, watching me closely. "And it was my fault for startling you. I should have known you wouldn't hear me, not with how lost in thought you were. You didn't even react to the sound of my horse."
His words hung in the air, heavy with unspoken meaning. Had I really been that distracted? Had my own
