Broken Trails

“Six oh four PM,” the checker said. “You staying?”

“Yeah, I’m taking my twenty-four here.”

“Okay.” The checker called a volunteer over. “She’s taking a twenty-four. Put her in the back forty.”

Lainey grinned. “The back forty?”

The checker winked. “It’s the rear of the parking area. Less excitement there, give the dogs a chance to rest without all the interruption of comings and goings.”

She nodded. “Oh, good. Thanks.” Lainey let the volunteer guide her team to her final resting spot for the night. It was further away from the checkpoint building, which held the diesel powered boiler for hot water, but Lainey was willing to make the trek if it meant getting decent sleep. She thanked her guide and barely got down to the business of getting her dogs comfortable when a pair of veterinarians arrived for the mandatory exams.

“Helen!”

The Fuller matriarch gave Lainey a hug. “Welcome to McGrath.”

Lainey produced her dog notes, and Helen passed them to her companion. “I’ll stay out of this one, since the dogs belong to our kennel.” She turned her full attention on Lainey. “Well? Have you officially caught the Iditarod bug or still slogging through for the magazine?”

“At this point, I would love to do this every year.”

“Completely smitten, I see.” Helen laughed, her arm over Lainey’s shoulders. “You’re missing a dog. I know you dropped one, but not why.”

Lainey sobered and explained Tecumseh’s injury.

“You did the right thing. He would rather have stayed with the team, but something like that can have all sorts of complications.”

The other vet finished his inspection and handed Lainey’s note back to her. “All is good. You’re going a great job with dog care, though one has abrasions on her paws.”

Lainey rolled her eyes. “Heldig. I’ve been meaning to super glue her booties on.”

He grinned. “You know about it, then. Good. If it gets much worse, she’ll have to be dropped, but I think she’s got some miles to go before that point.”

“Thanks.”

Helen gave her another hug. “You take care of these guys. When you’re done, head over to the checkpoint. Don will take you to a place you can get some decent rest and a shower.”

Lainey raised her eyebrows, but agreed. As they left, she glanced around the teams parked near her, presumably all on their mandatory twenty-four hour layover. Only one musher was with his dogs; all the others were resting on their own. Where were they all?

Roman pulled up nearby, disrupting her thoughts. She grinned impudently at him. He shook his head in amusement before turning to the vets waiting for his paperwork.

In high spirits, Lainey went through the line, distributing straw and releasing harnesses. She fed her dogs with the chow from their cooler, gave them a second watering from hers, and made certain they were comfortably ensconced in their nests. Once that was finished, she got her child’s sled out and trekked to the checkpoint.

It took two trips to gather her food drops and more hot water. The water was a blessing; all she needed to do was toss the ingredients into the cooler and close it. By the time she returned for another feeding, the chow would be ready to go. When getting her drops, she also located her new sled. It was the same as the one she had now, though without the wear and tear of the trail. She left it in place, not needing it until she was ready to leave.

Finally the chores were complete. With nothing further to drive her on, her energy faltered. She stared at her sled for a full minute before finally gathering some fresh socks and underwear. Helen mentioned a shower, so she also retrieved another t-shirt and sweater. It occurred to her that she had not been properly clean in days, and a whole set of itches and discomfort settled on her. Lips curled in distaste at her grunginess, Lainey also gathered her sleeping bag. She had no idea where Howry was going to take her, so she had best be prepared.

Back at the checkpoint, she found Howry waiting beside a snow machine.

“Hey, stranger, how goes it?”

“Great.” Lainey yawned, her jaw creaking with the effort.

Howry laughed. “Come on, let’s get you into a shower and bed.”

Lainey climbed onto the back of the vehicle, clutching her belongings. “Where are we going, anyway?”

“A friend of the Fullers. The villagers open their doors to mushers every year, giving them someplace other than their sleds to catch some shut eye.” He started the machine and pulled away from the checkpoint.

She looked over her shoulder at her dogs, a pang of dread arcing through her chest. Maybe she should stay with them? Before she could make the decision, Howry drove away and her team was lost from view.

A few moments later, they pulled into the yard of a modest home. Dogs barked a welcome, a small kennel of six animals. There were a couple of trucks and two more snow machines parked there, too.

Howry shut off the engine. “Come on.” He escorted Lainey up the steps to the front door.

The warmth of the interior did exactly what she expected, her nose suddenly clogging as if she had a head cold. Her cheeks and forehead burned with the heat, and her eyes felt hot and dry. A crowd in the living room came forward to welcome her. It was a colorful mess of people, and Lainey’s dazed mind plodded along at a lethargic rate as she was invited further inside. She barely caught the names of the three who lived here, hardly noted Thom and Rye grinning, or Strauss pushing a plate of food at her.

Lainey’s automatic pilot was fully on. She was divested of her outer clothes, and sat on the couch with a TV tray of caribou venison and pasta for dinner. Her responses to their comments and questions were somnambulate and somewhere deep inside she was embarrassed over her inability to concentrate and at least be polite. When it appeared she was going to topple into her plate, she was packed up and marched off to a dark bedroom, deposited inside, and the door closed behind her.

She wavered in the center of the room, squinting as her eyes adjusted. A clock near the bed indicated it was not even eight at night. She blinked. Someone else was in the room. She could hear them breathing. Lainey shuffled forward, peering at the bed. Her expression relaxed as she saw a familiar mop of tawny hair. Scotch.

Shucking her clothes, Lainey retained her underwear and bra. She felt immensely better without the extra apparel, and climbed gently into the bed. Scotch sensed her presence but did not wake, rolling over to drape her arm over Lainey’s waist.

She sighed, and fully relaxed for the first time in days. As much as she wanted to enjoy this intimate experience, her mind shut down and sleep overtook her.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

IN LAINEY’S DREAMS, Scotch massaged her breasts with firm strokes, her lips and teeth creating a fiery path from Lainey’s collar bone to her jaw line. Their legs entwined, Lainey’s belly twisting in arousal as they moved against one another, a constant shifting as they enjoyed the sheer beauty of skin upon skin. She groaned at a particularly vicious bite at the juncture of her throat, and clutched the woman in her arms. Her hands roamed along a muscular back to a tight ass, and she squeezed.

The gasp in her ear drifted into a moan as she squirmed, her thigh coming into contact with Scotch’s panty clad clit. Despite her enjoyment, she frowned to herself. For a dream, this certainly felt realistic, especially when her dream Scotch rolled onto her to grind their hips together. The weight was delicious, and Lainey’s hands went to those nicely rounded hips and butt, caressing what she had only seen from a distance.

Scotch continued a languid rocking, her warm breath coming in pants as she returned to tasting Lainey’s ear. Groggily, Lainey thought it amazing that she could feel hot dampness against her thigh where Scotch rubbed. God, when was the last time she had had a dream this detailed? She arched when Scotch pinched her nipple through her bra.