Lauren tried again to look at her watch and her eyes met with a mound of mitten instead. Shane had to be in court right now and she wished more than ever she could be at his side, lending him her support as he faced off against the horrible witch of an ex-wife.
“Yup. That’s a mitten, Lauren,” Scarlett said, waving at Lauren as she hooked in another dog. “Now focus, please. We’re just a couple starts away from our own.”
“I was just thinking about Shane and—”
“Nope, none of that, girl. It’s race time! You need to have your mind on your puppies and your puppies on your mind.” Scarlett did her best to throw up mittened gang signs, and it was the most adorably awkward thing ever.
Lauren laughed as she shook out her arms and legs to wake herself back up. “You’re right, You’re right. And I’m certainly lucky to have you here to keep me focused.”
“That’s right, you are.” Scarlett laughed, patting her friend on the shoulder as she went back for another dog.
A man with a clipboard approached. “Okay, let’s see here, we’ve got Lauren… Dalton. Is that any relation to Eddie Dalton?” the official said, marking his sheet.
Lauren nodded. “Yes. My father… He passed recently.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” The official’s eyes twinkled as he reached forward to shake her hand. “But you know, I used to watch him race, every chance I got. It’s the reason I still volunteer at these events. I’m sure he’s looking down on you right now and cheering for his little girl. And he won’t be the only one.”
Lauren could feel tears at the corners of her eyes. “Thank you, Mr… Um?”
“Benjamin. Ben Benjamin,” he said with a friendly nod. “Yup, you won’t be forgetting that one anytime soon, I’d wager.”
As he looked down at the stopwatch hanging over his thick jacket, his eyes widened and he straightened his posture. “Oh, look at that, we’ve only got two minutes until your start, so I need to go over some stuff with you. We’ve blocked off the turns you shouldn’t take and we’ve got observers at those points, just a formality. There’s a flag up about a mile from the finish. We’re encouraging mushers not to pass after the flag, but if you have to pass, you have to pass.”
Lauren nodded numbly as the facts poured over her, and she wondered yet again if she was truly cut out for this. Scarlett patted her back and told her the team was set. She looked down the line, catching the attention of Fred and Stella by the sled, the larger dogs already tensing against their harnesses.
“Ready, Fred, Stella? Hank, Wendy, Kelly, Norm, Bob, Maude, Richard, Emily? How about you two, Jack and Carol?” she called out. The dogs yipped in response and pulled tight in their harnesses, ready to leap forward at a moment’s notice.
Scarlett pulled up the snow hook and placed it on the basket before heading up to the front of the line and holding the necklines of the lead dogs. Lauren untied the tether and put her full weight on the foot brake.
Mr. Benjamin had made his way to his post and waved to her, giving her a thumbs up. She responded with a thumbs up of her own.
A sharp blast from an airhorn sounded, and Scarlett released the team in response.
Lauren hopped up off the foot brake and began running, pushing the sled like a bobsledder. “Hike! Hike! Hike!” she called out, urging the team forward.
As one, they rushed forward like a bullet from a gun, and for one terrifying moment, Lauren thought she was about to trip and fall off the sled again. But that’s not what happened. The sled picked up speed until it was out-pacing her, and she pulled against the handlebar, leaping confidently up onto the footboards.
They were moving faster than normal without Shane in the basket, but when she looked down to where he normally sat, there was a little stuffed husky staring back up at her. She laughed aloud, wishing she could call him then and there to say her thanks. Now, with the addition of her little passenger, it was as if Shane was there with her, shouting corrections and giving her advice as they went.
The sun glistened and refracted off the snow, giving the illusion of thousands of little rainbows. She looked out beyond the dogs and saw everything Alaska had to offer. There on the horizon of that beautiful landscape, she saw all the things that mattered most—her future as a musher, her future with Shane and Rosie. She even saw the smiling face of her father in the pale blue skies above her.
This was where she was meant to be. After years of not knowing her place in the world, the future now loomed clear as the whitest snow. Like the world had opened up and said, “Welcome home, Lauren.”