Chapter 9
K reston
Kreston positioned his sled dog team at the starting line in front of the Polar Creek Hotel and the Community Center across the street. For the fiftieth time, he checked to make sure Sadie was warm and comfortable as she hunkered down inside the sled. He tucked her under the fox fur throw Jessie had made for him last Christmas.
“If you don’t stop fussing over me, I’ll tell Ten Second Tess to reorganize your clothes closet,” Sadie said dryly.
He peered at her snow-speckled designer sunglasses he’d advised her to wear. No one likes flakes stinging their eyeballs. “Better not, or I’ll tell Tess to unpack your humongous moving-truck-suitcases. Your undies would wind up in Jessie’s freezer.”
“Well, your tighty-whities would wind up in the ice maker,” quipped Sadie.
“Ha, underwear on the rocks!” Chuckling, Kreston moved to his sled dogs and checked each one to make sure they were still wearing their dog booties. Jessie had made their booties red and green for the holiday races. Denali, of course, wore dark blue and gold booties as a nod to the colors of Alaska’s state flag.
“Remember to hang on. My dogs are fast.” He gave her a wink and a smile .
“This first race is just for fun since the dogs are pulling extra weight,” Lucky explained as he helped Aloha settle into Jessie’s sled. “In the official races, people don’t ride in the sleds. Too much weight.”
“Aloha! Welcome to the dog races!” announced Aloha from inside Jessie’s sled. “Why do you think dogs have so many legs? Seems excessive.”
Kreston hadn’t thought about it like that.
Ten Second Tess appeared and tapped Sadie on the head. When she glanced up, Tess plunked a gargantuan white rabbit’s foot onto Sadie’s mitten. “Here’s a snow hare’s foot for good luck. What’s your name?” Without waiting for an answer, she dashed off again.
“Snow hare?” Sadie gave Kreston a quizzical look.
“An Alaskan rabbit. Yeah, they’re big, like everything else in Alaska.” He strode off to check the dogs, making sure they weren’t tangled in the gangline.
Sadie called out to him. “It takes Aloha and Tess to complete a thought, doesn’t it? Good thing they hang out together.”
Kreston chuckled as he walked back to the sled. “Aloha remembers, just not in the right order,” explained Kreston. “It’s like her brain bounces inside a Bingo ball machine and out pops a random memory, like a B-3 or O-64. Tess makes her feel better with her worse recall ability.”
The starting line buzzed with excitement. Main Street had been transformed into a racing venue with residents on both sides of the street. Kreston had gotten up early to plow the race course with the wide plow on the front of his truck. The course began at the hotel, turned left to go around the town square’s massive spruce tree, then looped through what Ten Second Tess always referred to as “the place where we put mail when it’s lonely.”
“The mailbox drop, Tess,” Kreston had forever corrected her. He made one last check of Denali’s harness, and his lead dog leaped into the air with so much excitement, all Sadie could see from her vantage point was a bouncing husky. The rest of Kreston’s dogs yipped and barked, eager to run.
Once again, he checked on Sadie, wishing he could tamp down his anxiety and the pre-race flutters in his stomach.
“Truly, I’m fine,” Sadie assured him as he stepped back to fiddle with his sled.
“He’s always been this way,” Lucky stood nearby and stage-whispered to Sadie, “Should’ve seen him back when he alphabetized his stock portfolios by how much anxiety they caused him.”
“Put a lid on it, Lucky buddy. Too much information—” Kreston shook a gloved finger at his friend.
Sadie’s shoulders shook with laughter, and his insides loosened.
Tucker appeared, a sketch pad in his hand. “Interesting thing about self-control,” he mused, pencil flying across paper. “It’s like trying to hold on to ice. The tighter you grip, the more it melts away.”
“Point taken, Tuck, thanks.” It always amazed Kreston how perceptive Tucker was. He took a deep breath, trying to relax. This would be the first time he’d raced since the accident.
“I must say, you’re handling your pre-race jitters pretty well.” Jessie checked the gangline that kept her dogs attached to each other and the sled.
Kreston figured he was an excellent actor if Jessie thought he had everything under control. He’d relax more once his dog team was on the move.
“Remember when Tucker made us sign liability waivers in triplicate?” teased Jessie.
“Still have mine framed in the bathroom,” chirped Lucky with a grin. “Kreston’s is in his outhouse.”
Kreston’s face heated. “All right, you guys, enough teasing. I need to focus.”
Sadie twisted to look up at him. “They tease because they care. And because you’re wound up tighter than a snowman’s butt.”
He hadn’t realized his nervousness was that obvious. Maybe Sadie was more tuned into him than he thought.
“Don’t know why I’m so hyped about this race,” he grumbled. “Not like I’ve ever mushed before.”
Sadie turned around. “I don’t know squat about mushing, but I think these dogs know what they’re doing. So go with the flow.”
“Good thing the dogs know. Not sure about the human, though,” jibed Lucky as he hovered near his wooden platform.
“Don’t you have a plane to crash somewhere?” muttered Kreston.
“If this doggone storm would blow over.” Lucky’s voice changed to a note of encouragement. “Trust your dog team like they trust you. Show this town you’re more than a mayor, a mailman, a bush pilot, and a hotelier.”
Lucky glanced at Sadie inside the sled. “Did I leave anything out? ”
To Kreston’s surprise, she added, “The world’s best problem solver.”
“See, this lass is in your corner.” Lucky elbowed Kreston, his Irish lilt kicking in. “Give ‘em hell, laddie.”
Sadie yelled her last-minute advice. “And don’t sprain your brain overthinking it.”
“Copy that,” said Kreston, appreciating their encouragement.
The starting line filled with five teams, lined up one after the other. Kreston would be first off the line on account of him being the mayor and the one with the most mushing experience. Jessie’s team was next as the second-most experienced musher; next was Hardware Bob with his mismatched huskies, then the Hendersons, and bringing up the rear were the two Marthas. Tall Martha mushed, while Mini-Martha rode in the sled basket.
“Each musher is timed, and the shortest time wins.” Kreston aimed his explanation at Sadie.
“Gotcha,” said Sadie. “Hey Lucky, why aren’t you racing?” she hollered.
Lucky sauntered over. “I don’t keep dogs. Don’t have time for it when I’m mostly in the air. Besides, I enjoy helping Kreston take care of his.” He turned and rested a hand on Kreston’s shoulder. “You’ve got this, buddy. New team, new lead dog, new inspiration.” He pointed his thumb at Sadie.
Kreston waved his buddy back to his platform. “Better get over to your post and start the race. You’re officiating, remember? Got your starting flag?”
Lucky lifted an Alaska state flag. “Eight stars of gold on deck. And a field of blue ready for action!” He hollered through his bullhorn. “Mushers to the start line!”
Jessie yelled back, seemingly exasperated. “Jeez, Ohara, we’re at the flipping start line already!”
As Lucky headed over to the portable wooden platform next to the spectators on the side of the street, Ten Second Tess ran up and stole the flag, waving it like a wild woman.
“Go, doggies, go!” she yelled for all she was worth.
Denali lurched forward, catching Kreston off guard, nearly yanking him off his sled runners. He yelled at Lucky as he sailed by. “Start the watch!”
Kreston’s team flew forward, and he kicked the ground to give them momentum. His team sped by the frost-covered buildings, Christmas decorations, and the townspeople cheering from their porches.
“Woo Hoo!” yelled Sadie, twirling her mittened hand in the air. “This is amaze-balls!”
Kreston smiled at her enthusiasm. He figured she’d like this. Everyone did. When he had time in the summer, he gave Polar Creek’s kids rides on his sled with wheels along the road to Grayling Lake.
“Lean left when Denali turns!” Kreston yelled to Sadie. Then he commanded his lead dog. “Haw! Haw! Turn left, Denali!”
His lead dog obeyed, gracefully turning in a wide left arc to go around the town square and the tall, full spruce decked out in Christmas lights. Halfway there. The course would bring them in a full circle back to the starting line .
Kreston finally relaxed, reminding himself of why he loved running dogs.
“Look at that!” Sadie pointed.
The official tree lighting ceremony was tonight, but Kreston had told Lucky to plug it in for the race. It was a beautiful, magical beacon shining through the falling snow.
As he shouted commands to his team, Kreston grinned, expertly steering his dogs back to the start-finish line in front of the Polar Creek Hotel. As he sped across the finish, Lucky lifted the stopwatch and clicked it.
Sadie shouted, “Yay, for Mayor Collins and Denali-And-The-Six!”
Ten Second Tess waved the oversized flag. “Okay! Get ready to start the race!” No one corrected her. They were too busy congratulating Kreston.
Jessie’s team flew across the finish line, and everyone cheered again.
“Whoa!” she called out to her team.
Behind her, the rest of the teams arrived, and Lucky timed each one. Tucker recorded the times on his ever-present sketch pad. When everyone finished, Lucky and Tucker hunkered over the sketch pad in an animated discussion. Then Lucky lifted the big blue first-place ribbon he’d ordered online.
“Kreston takes it! He has the fastest time.” Lucky grabbed the flag from Ten Second Tess and held it high. “Congratulations to Denali-And-The-Six!”
Sadie laughed. “I see my moniker caught on for your sled dog team.” She extended her mittened hand for Kreston to help her out of the sled.
When he took it and tugged her to her feet, she stumbled into him with her hands on his chest. He was tempted to plant a kiss on her right then and there. Instead, he restrained himself. “The mark of a good publicist is creatively naming the contenders,” he said, his breath coming out in fast frosty puffs.
Her face blanked, snowflakes catching auburn lashes and red lips needing to be kissed. For a moment, he forgot where he was until she backed up, chortling. “I’m good at what I do.”
“You got that right,” he breathed.
Tucker presented him with the blue ribbon and a plastic gold trophy of a golden retriever—the online store was fresh out of huskies—but Kreston didn’t care. This win had bolstered his confidence, and he let out a happy, relieved sigh.
“You can add this to your resume.” Sadie gave him a direct look. “Although something tells me your resume is more extensive than you’ve let on.” She laughed, which altered his carefully ordered world.
“Time for the ice fishing tournament!” Lucky announced through his bullhorn to everyone milling about on the street. “Head on out to Grayling Lake, folks. Time to get your fish on!”
As the crowd dispersed and Sadie helped Kreston unharness the dogs and loaded them into their dog boxes on his pickup, Lucky swaggered over and sidled up to Sadie.
“A factoid you should know about our boy, Kreston, here,” he said out the side of his mouth. “He’s a control freak when it comes to his ice fishing holes. It has to be exactly to his specifications, meaning big enough for Alaska’s largest grayling or Dolly Varden.”
“Is that so?” said Sadie .
Kreston bumped Lucky’s shoulder. “If you don’t think big, you won’t catch big.”
“Same goes for humans, too.” Lucky glanced at each of them and smiled.
Kreston broke the awkward moment. At least it was awkward for him, although he couldn’t speak for Sadie.
“So, Sadie...have you ever gone ice fishing?” He waited. Sure enough, her stunned expression said everything. “Don’t they do ice fishing down there in Seattle?”
She placed her mittened hands on her hips. “Of course there’s ice fishing. We have lakes a few hours from town where people fish for perch and kokanee.”
Kreston snorted. “Kokanee? Well, we have real salmon up here. But wait’ll you taste an Arctic char.”
She gave him a wide-eyed stare. “I presume that’s a fish?”
He furrowed his brow, tapping his chin. “More like a lake monster. You know, like Nessie or one of those massive sturgeons?”
Her eyes popped off her face. “You have those here?”
“You’ll see.” He would enjoy every single minute of this.