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“Why did I let you talk me into this!” Alice’s voice trailed off as the dogs flew over the hill.
“Whoo!” Marge hollered just before they disappeared.
“I’m glad I rode with you,” Doris said from her seat at my feet. “I don’t want to go that fast.”
“Me neither,” I agreed as our dogs ran along at a leisurely pace. “There’s a reason I chose to drive and not ride.”
“After what happened in Scotland, I’m never drivinganythingagain.”
“Oh, stop worrying about that. It was an accident. Could have happened to anyone.”
Doris shook her head, the pom-pom on her little pink hat shaking with the movement. “No. It wouldn’t have. It always happens to me. It only proves I shouldn’t be allowed to drive anything. Ever.”
“Whoa!” I called to the dogs, remembering the terms they had taught us in our hour-long training before letting us loose with our own team.
When they didn’t listen to my voice—as they had warned us during the training that the excited dogs may refuse to listen— I carefully stepped off the skis and onto the brake in the center. As it pushed down into the snow, the resistance finally pulled the dogs to a stop. I grabbed the anchor and dropped it into the snow.
“Okay. That’s it. You’ve been apologizing and apologizing for it. It was an accident. And you know what, I trust you, Doris. In fact, I trust you so much that I’m going to switch spots with you.”
She spun around, looking up at me with wide eyes. “Switch spots? With me? Oh no! I couldn’t!”
I stepped off the sledge, careful not to let go of the handle as they’d warned us to always have at least one hand on it, and I used my free hand to gesture her to get up. “Yes. You can.”
She grabbed onto the wooden handles on either side of her seat pulling herself down hard. “No. I can’t. I won’t. I’ll hurt you. I can’t be trusted.”
“Doris!” I laughed, reaching down and taking her hand. “I trust you. Now I know you want to try driving the dogs. Get up and get on.”
“I did kind of want to try.”
“So, try.”
She bit her lip then finally climbed to her feet. “Are you sure?”
“You listened to the same training lecture as us. You know what to do. Go ahead.”
With worry filling her eyes, she stepped behind the sledge and gripped the handles.
“Remember. Feet on the skis unless you need to stop. Then carefully step onto the brake in the center. And don’t fall off.” I smiled at her then climbed onto the seat in front of her feet and said a silent prayer I hadn’t made a big mistake.
“I’m nervous,” she said.
“You’ve got this. Just remember, step on the brake to stop, step on the skis to go. Gee is right. Haw is left. Hike is go or go faster. Whoa is stop, though they aren’t listening to that, so you need to use the brake to slow them. You can do this. Let’s go.”
After a moment, she let out a deep breath then yelled, “Hike!” The dogs took off at a nice medium run, and she squealed with delight as we slipped along behind them. “I’m doing it! I’m doing it!”
“You’re doing it!” I called back, my grin so wide the cold air hurt my teeth.
The dogs seemed thrilled to be out burning off energy on a run, and I loved how happy they were. I’d heard rumors about sled dogs sometimes not being treated well, but that wasn’t the case with our happy pack of pulling pups. They lived like pampered kings and queens at the resort with their own rooms in the lodge, and every day they leaped and barked ready to get out for a much-needed adventure.
Doris and I glided across the open area, then she yelled, “Gee!” to turn the pack right onto the trail that looped around the property. The dogs listened to her instantly and took the turn while Doris and I leaned our weight to help steer the sledge and prevent us from tipping. With Doris and I cheering them on as they towed us into the woods, we wound down the narrow, groomed trail, our dogs barking and yipping their excitement as we flew along behind them.
“See! I told you that you could do it!” I called back to Doris.
“What?” Doris called back, and I realized the wind was muffling my words.
“Never mind!” I shouted again.
She answered once more with, “What?” and I chuckled then settled back in to enjoy the ride.
