What is the importance of the riverbank that sits at the edge of the Simmons-Pierce property in the novel, Leigh Howard and the Ghosts of Simmons-Pierce Manor?

The riverbank is where Bodie saved Myra from drowning in the river when she was a child, and where he later punished Leigh for going and intruding on his space. At the end of the novel, however, Bodie invites Leigh to swim with him in the river, showing the strength of their newfound bond.