Gingerbread Man

wind picked up, tossing the little boat more and more ruthlessly in its grip as Vince rowed. He figured if he were heading east, or west or south, he'd be all right They'd hit shore, if he could just keep going straight. But if he were heading north, they could row all night without reaching land.
    Frankly, he didn't think the little boat would hold up that long.
    The winds came harder, the waves jumping and rolling the little boat right up onto its side and back down again. They were both getting wet, and it wasn't even raining yet
    "We have to get to shore," Holly yelled. "Any shore."
    "I'd do that if I knew where the hell any shore was," he shouted back.
    She squinted in the distance, looking first one way and then another. "There," she yelled, pointing. "There's a light."
    "Our light?"
    She shook her head. "Looks like a window in someone's house. Just go that way, Vince."
    He went that way, rowing for all he was worth against the waves, and the wind. But they got considerably worse, until the nose of the boat was literally bounding up and down in the water. And on one downward beat they hit something hard. One side of the boat tipped up, the other down, and the next thing he knew the little boat flipped. There was a shockingly cold impact, and then his entire world consisted of icy, cold lake water, surrounding him, filling him, pulling him down.
    He'd have howled at the cold if he hadn't been underwater. As it was he swallowed a gallon of the stuff before he managed to struggle to the surface again. He blinked and swiped his eyes, looking around him in shock, for Holly...
    But Holly was nowhere in sight.
    * * *
    SHE COULDN'T BREATHE. She was choking. Freezing. Ice entombed her and smothered her. She couldn't find air. Only ice.
    A mouth sealed itself over hers, warm, wet, and life giving. Warm breath pushed into her lungs, then soughed away when the mouth rose. But it came back even before her panic set in. It came back, and it filled her, again and again, until the water rose up in her chest, and she began to choke.
    Hands at her back, rolling her onto her side as she gagged and spewed water like a fountain. Hands, holding her shoulders until the spasms she thought would tear her apart finally passed. Hands, easing her down again, until her back rested against something solid. They touched her cheeks, those hands. They pushed her hair aside.
    "Come on, Red, look at me. Come on."
    She opened her eyes, found herself staring up at Vince O'Mally's face. His eyes were pained, worried. His hair, plastered to his head. She couldn't seem to stop shivering.
    "How badly are you hurt?"
    Blinking her vision clear, she looked past him, at the grim silhouettes of trees standing like demons in the darkness. Tall and hunching, watching them. Water lapped nearby, and she turned her head to the left, saw the lake, thought it was shaped wrong. And then she remembered and came upright. "The boat—"
    "We must have hit a rock. Capsized. It's gone, Holly. Anywhere we go from here will have to be on foot. Are you hurt?"
    She drew her gaze back to his face. "We were in the water. How did I—?"
    Rolling his eyes in impatience, Vince rocked back on his heels. "If I give you the full account will you focus for me, here?" His hands drew away from her shoulders as he began ticking off items on his fingers. "We were in the rowboat. The wind and waves threw us into a rock or something, and we flipped over. We both went into the drink. You were out cold, so I had to haul your ass in. Now will you please tell me if you're hurt?"
    She looked down at her body. "What happened to my life jacket?"
    "For the love of—I had to take it off you, okay? I couldn't very well do CPR through a life jacket"
    "Oh, my God," she whispered, her eyes welling as they locked with his. "CPR. Oh my God."
    His hands clasped her shoulders again, firmly. "Holly, it wasn't necessary, but I couldn't have known that in advance. A little mouth-to-mouth and you were back. Now, come on, focus. I need to know if you're hurt."
    Silently she took mental stock. "My head hurts. It hurts pretty bad. Other than that, I'm too cold to tell."
    "Yeah, I know the feeling. Can you get up?"
    She nodded, and he rose, taking her by her upper arms and helping her get to her feet She tested herself, putting weight on one leg, then the other, moving her arms, flexing her fingers: She was shivering with cold, but everything else seemed to be working. Vince was eyeing her oddly, then, without