Broken Trails (38 page)

"Not really. Bare ground is a bitch, but my runners are in better condition than I thought they'd be. I'm not so sure about Roman Spencer, though."

Scotch frowned at her. "Why?"

"Well, he was right behind me, but after we got out of the timber and onto the bald patches, I lost him." She looked at the door as it opened, but it was one of the veterinarians. "I took a pretty extensive stop to go over the sled. By all rights, he should have passed me and been here by now."

"Maybe he cracked his sled?" Howry suggested.

"Or his dogs balked," another musher said from further down the table. "I've had a team quit on me when the wind got too bad."

"It's possible." Scotch nursed her coffee. "How are the dogs?"

"Good." Lainey was surprised to realize her bowl was empty. She had not expected to be that hungry. "I might leave Heldig here, though. She's been tiptoeing through the snow too much and it's messing with her paws."

Scotch nodded. "Yeah, that sounds like Heldig. Has Bonaparte been giving you any trouble?"

"Nope. Not a lick."

A slight grin crossed Scotch's face. "Well, there's still time."

Lainey pursed her lips and raised her chin. "You know, just because he's given you trouble on the trail doesn't mean he'll do the same for me."

"Ah, yes. I remember how well he performed for you last month."

She frowned at the reminder. Bonaparte had decided it was time for a snack break during a training run. At the time, he had simply sat down between one step and the next, allowing the team to drag him a few feet before Lainey could halt them. She had been horrified at the sight of his limp body plowing through the snow, positive he had been killed in some freak accident. Closer examination showed him to be hale, healthy and alive, but he refused to run another step. Nothing Lainey did could force him to budge and she finally resorted to loading him into the sled to be towed home. Only upon her arrival, fearfully handing him over to Helen for an exam, did she discover that it was a regular trick of his when His Majesty decided he had run enough for one day.

Scotch grinned at her and Lainey smacked her on the leg with a scowl. If anything, Scotch's grin widened and she checked her watch. "It's about time for me to get ready."

As Scotch rose, Lainey did as well. "I'll walk with you. It's too warm in here." She pulled her boots back on and donned her parka while Scotch did the same. Soon they were back outdoors, and she sighed in relief. Who would have imagined she would be more comfortable in five degrees than a warm community center?

"This'll probably be the last time I see you before Nome," Scotch said as they crunched over snow.

"I know. I guess I'll just have to run a little faster to shorten the distance."

Scotch chuckled. "Yeah. You do that."

"There was something I wanted to ask you about the dogs." At Scotch's nod, Lainey said, "Roman said he was feeding his team three quarters of a pound of fat now and suggested I do the same. Is that something I should do?"

"Yeah, you can do that without harming them. As cold as it is this year, it might be beneficial over all. They'll burn it off keeping warm."

"Okay. I just wanted to double check before changing their diet."

"You didn't pack any extra in your food drops, did you?"

Lainey shook her head. "Nope. I hadn't planned on it. I took your list and cut down the amount you take for yourself, so I don't even have that."

"Well, the next checkpoint is Galena. They have a cafe there. If it's open when you arrive, you might be able to buy something from them. A few checkpoints after that is Unalakleet with a couple of stores."

"Yeah, I'll check into them when I get there." Lainey looked over the parking area as they got to Scotch's team. A few mushers were curled on their sleds or with their dogs. It looked like two more had arrived while she was inside, and they were in the final stages of settling their dogs. Neither of them were Roman. What had happened to him?

Scotch brought her back to the here and now by pulling her into an embrace. "Remember, it'll be easy running for the next few legs until you reach the coast. After that, be careful."

"Only if you'll be careful, too," Lainey said, snuggling close. "I have big plans for you in Nome."

"And I have plans for you," Scotch agreed. Her voice was rough from the weather, but the huskiness in her tone struck a chord in Lainey's heart.

With reluctance, Lainey released Scotch and stepped back. "Happy trails."

"Same to you."

Lainey dawdled for a bit, watching Scotch wake her dogs and prepare them for the trail. A yawn big enough to drop the Grand Canyon into reminded her she needed to sleep, and she regretfully shuffled away to her team. On her way there, she saw that Roman had finally arrived. He looked none the worse for wear, but he had his sled on its side and closely examined the runners. It looked like the bare gravel had done quite a number on them.

She yawned again as she reached her team. The dogs were all nestled in straw, bright green and yellow blankets draped over their motionless forms. Lainey walked down the line to check them and returned to her sled, satisfied. As she pulled out her sleeping bag, she looked up to wave at Scotch leaving the parking area.

Lainey doubted she would see Scotch again until she arrived in Nome, and she sighed. Best to not think about it. With any luck, she could get a good five hours sleep this morning. She climbed into her sleeping bag and got comfortable. In no time, she was fast asleep.

Regardless of the extra hour of rest, Lainey's eye still felt grainy when she left the checkpoint. Daylight was dawning but she kept her head lamp on for the time being. This was supposed to be another easy stretch. She regretted having to take it during the heat of the day, but it was either leave now or give Roman a chance to jump too far ahead. He was already getting his team ready to leave, only staying six hours despite the extra time he had taken to get here.

The trail followed the road out of town, but at the bottom of a hill took a right turn. From there, it dropped onto the Yukon river, a mile wide expanse of snow and ice. With all that room to maneuver, the trail breakers had made the way a straight shot as far as she could see.

She yawned. Her dogs trotted happily along, tails wagging. She was down to fourteen now, a decent showing for as many miles as they had traveled. Heldig remained at Ruby as a dropped dog, her paws too abraded to continue without causing further damage. She had barked and pulled on her chain as they left the checkpoint, wanting to stay with them. Because she had no other injuries, Lainey felt bad about leaving her.

Lainey drank a juice pack, her mood worsening in direct contrast to the rising sun.

She was tired, cranky, still stiff and sore from her tumble a couple of days earlier. Her rib ached from cold, exertion, and sleeping in contorted positions on her sled. She felt grimy and knew she stank something fierce, regardless of the shower she had been able to catch in McGrath. Ugh.

Who was she fooling, anyway? Sure, she was already past the halfway mark, but she still had over four hundred miles to go before reaching the finish line. What was the point? All this for a stupid magazine article? Strauss had not paid her nearly enough for this abuse.

Maybe she should scratch at Galena. Just pull in and end her race there. There had already been other mushers who had scratched; she would not be the one in the ignominious position of the first to bail out of the race. Lots of rookies never made it to the finish line. Hell, lots of mushers tried every year and never made it to Nome. What made her so special? She had plenty of material for her article, and hundreds of photographs. Would it really be so bad to pull the plug now?

The miles cranked slowly by, and Lainey removed her head lamp in favor of her sunglasses. Overhead cloud cover obscured the direct light of the sun, but it was still bright out. Her team trundled along with little direction, but she took care to keep an eye for trail markers. It was best not to get too complacent and end up in Fairbanks by mistake.

God, the trail just kept going and going. She still had a good four hundred miles of it, too. She imagined flying into Nome and being at the finish line to see Scotch's arrival. Lainey smiled to herself, knowing that after a decent nap and shower, she would have Scotch all to herself. Finally! While the resulting lascivious daydreams were fun, her mind insisted on following its depressing line.

What would happen when it was over? The Iditarod finished for another year, the Cognizance article filed and published . . . What then? Another job, another article, more travel, that was what. Lainey had to go where the money was. That was the joy and the curse of free lance work. Strauss would possibly have an idea for an article, or Lainey could check in on a number of other magazines to find something interesting to pick up or pitch. Off she would go to grab photos of exotic wildlife far from here.

Lainey had no illusions that Scotch would join her. The dogs were Scotch's life. Alaska was Scotch's life.

Where did that leave their relationship then?

Grumbling to herself, Lainey stopped the dogs to snack them. They all had healthy positive attitudes, and she did not know if she should snarl at them or let them jolly her out of her rapidly plummeting mood. Chibee wriggled and licked her face as she checked him, his breath foul with the frozen white fish he just finished gulping down. Unable to help herself, Lainey laughed, and her grinned at her, pleased.

"Thanks, boy. Nothing like a doggie kiss to wake me up to reality."

Whatever she decided between here and Nome, she would survive. Scotch would survive. They were both tough and confident, able to handle anything the world sent against them. If they were destined to be together, fine. If not, at least it had been a wonderful and entertaining year.

She finished checking the dogs and climbed onto her sled. "Let's go!"

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

LAINEY ARRIVED AT the Galena checkpoint at nine fifty-seven on Saturday morning. She had been on the trail for a full eight days. Running on automatic, she parked the team, fed and watered them, and settled them for their nap. She completed the entire process in less than an hour. Earlier in the race she would have been impressed with her increased efficiency. Her mind was numb from lack of sleep and boredom, however, alternating between morose thoughts about Scotch and the waking dreams of the sleep deprived. Fortunately, the team had not been too affected by her temperament. They frisked a bit before settling into their straw beds for some much needed sleep.

Once they were cared for, Lainey got her child sled out and found her food drops. She lugged them back to the sled, but did not bother to open and sort through them. There was something a bit more important she had to take care of, and the sooner she did, the sooner she could join the dogs in slumber.

As in Ruby, the Galena checkpoint was the village community center. Lainey stepped inside with an armload of gear. She was in luck and located room to hang the things to dry. Once that was done she cornered one of the volunteers, a thin native woman.

"Hey, is the cafe open yet?"

The volunteer smiled. "It should be. But there's lots of food here to choose from. And our moose stew is the best in the Yukon."

Lainey tried to inhale through stuffed sinuses, but could not smell a thing. A buffet sat along one wall, laden with food - even a full roast turkey that had been picked nearly clean by now. "I don't doubt that," she said, grinning. "But I'm looking to buy cooking oil or butter for my dogs. At least enough to get me to Unalakleet." She chuckled to herself. Man, that sounded odd. Never in her wildest imaginations had she thought she would ever ask for lard for dogs.

Despite the strange request the woman, who introduced herself as Suzy, did not bat an eye. Instead, she scooped up her parka and put it on. "I'll take you. I've got a snow machine right outside."

Lainey blinked. "Oh, You don't have to do..."

"Don't be silly! You've been on the trail for days and need your rest as much as your dogs do. The sooner we get this done, the sooner you get food and sleep."

Lainey was hustled out the door and onto a snow machine. Moments later, tired amusement on her face, she was ushered into a tiny cafe. Four booths lined the wall to the left, and a breakfast counter stood to the right. A double swinging door led back to the kitchen, and she saw a cook through the serving window behind the counter, leaning on one hip and reading a book. The air smelled of bacon and eggs and coffee.

"Wait here." Suzy waved her to a stool at the counter, and disappeared, presumably into the kitchen.

Bemused, Lainey sat and glanced around at the other occupants. A young couple sat at one of the booths, both nodding greeting to her which she returned. Lounging at the counter a few seats down, a grizzled old man returned her stare.

"Musher?" he asked before she became embarrassed at her rudeness.

"Yeah."

He sucked his teeth and looked her over. "Rookie, huh?"

Lainey grinned. "Is it obvious?" she asked, looking down at herself for a sign. Maybe it was hanging above her head, blinking in garish neon.

The man chuckled. "Sometimes. I seen them all come every year, ever since the first one through here. Haven't seen you before. I'd remember."

She laughed. "Yeah, this is my first Iditarod."

"Suzy said you needed cooking oil or something?"

Lainey turned to the waitress, another native woman, that had appeared from the back with Suzy at her side. "Yes. It's been colder than I expected, and I wondered if you had any oil or butter to spare that I could buy. I need to increase the dogs' fat intake." She felt a wave of absurdity as the words came out of her mouth. The thought of walking into a restaurant in Queens and asking the same thing almost caused a snort, but she fought it down.

The waitress took it in stride, which made the entire situation even more absurd in Lainey's eyes. "I think we could help. I could give you two pounds of butter and a gallon of cooking oil."