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Zach walked around the dog sleds, eyeing them with open trepidation as Colette and Derek stood off to the side chatting, and completely oblivious to Zach’s inner turmoil. His hands began to break out in a sweat within his gloves as he took in the graceful wooden lines of the sleds. It was easy to see where he would stand, easy to see the places where the lead that held the dogs would hook too. But what wasn’t easy to see was exactly how the monstrosity of wood and metal wasn’t considered a death trap.
“Are you doing okay?” Colette’s voice came from beside him, and Zach gave a little jump of surprise.
He turned to face her, her brown eyes lighting with amusement as they roved over him.
“You look sick to your stomach,” she said, raising a brow at him.
“Iamsick to my stomach,” Zach mumbled, turning back to face the dog sled and continue his onslaught of weary glaring.
“Are you afraid?” Colette asked, walking around the sled so that she was in front of him.
He could tell that she was trying to keep the smile off her face, but her lips still tilted up despite her efforts.
“Of course I am!” Zach’s eyebrows shot up as he looked at her. “Have you seen this thing? This is a death trap on… well, not wheels… legs, I guess.”
She laughed at him, shaking her head slightly.
“It’s perfectly safe.” Derek’s voice came from behind them, and Zach threw a glance over his shoulder.
Colette’s cousin was walking toward them, a slew of dogs barking and yapping at his heels as they made their way across the snow-covered ground. Derek called out a command, and the dogs trotted forward, each one taking a specific spot at their designated sleds. Even through Zach’s worry, he could admit that it was incredibly impressive.
“I’m sure you believe that it is,” he grumbled again, watching Derek as he bent to begin hooking the dogs up to their leads.
“I’ve done it loads of times,” Colette interjected. “I promise, I wouldn’t have invited you out if it was dangerous.”
He turned his gaze back to her, meeting her soft brown eyes. The excitement dancing within them lit her from the inside out, and it threatened to steal Zach’s breath away.For her,he reminded himself. He was doing this for her. And for her, he could be brave. For Colette, he could climb on this sled of death and face whatever was about to come.
Zach blew out a breath before giving her a quick, tentative smile.
“All right,” he said. “I trust you.”
Colette beamed at him, and that single beautiful smile made every bit of worry that he had felt worth it.
“All right.” Derek’s voice rang out, stealing both Colette and Zach’s attention. “Everything is all set. I’ll be here.” He pointed to the sled he was closest to, which happened to be the smaller of the two. “And you both will be there.” He pointed to the other sled. “Colette can handle the dogs when needed, but for the most part they’re trained to follow me, so it likely won’t be necessary.”
Colette walked in front of Zach, putting her feet on the large, jutting pieces of wood at the back of the sled.
“I’ll be here, and you’ll be right behind me,” she explained, grabbing onto the large handles at the top of the sled. “There’s more than enough room for both of us. And I’ll hold lower on the handles, and you’ll hold higher.”
Another quick bolt of fear rushed through him, but he quickly stamped it down and reminded himself who he was doing this for. He settled himself behind Colette, her blonde hair stirring with his breath, and he caught a whiff of her. Apples, cinnamon, and vanilla. She always smelled like that, so cozy and so sweet, and he wanted to lean into her. Lucky for him, he had the perfect excuse.
Zach placed his arms on either side of her, exactly where she indicated, and Derek shot another glance at them over his shoulder. He grinned at his cousin, and Colette lifted a mitten covered hand to give him a thumbs up. Zach could only imagine the smile painting across her face, but he didn’t have long to think about it. A moment later, Derek turned to face forward and cried out a commanding “mush”!
The dogs affixed to his sled started pulling forward, slowly at first. The ropes that affixed them to the sled straining as they fought to get momentum, and then suddenly they were off. The dogs attached to his and Colette’s sled did the same.
Zach could feel the strain of the wood beneath him as it tugged over the snow, before suddenly breaking free and gliding across it. Colette let out an excited “whoop” as the air whipped at both of their faces, tendrils of her long hair flowing backward and dancing around him. She leaned back, pressing her head to his chest as his stomach rolled with fear that was slowly turning into excitement.
The sun glinted off the snow as they flew by it, casting the world in a cacophony of colors and dancing rainbows. The trees passed by them in a haze, and then they were racing out into the open space of the valley, the one that led to the mountain, and it was all Zach could do to keep his mouth from opening in awe.
The sun was gleaming off of it, casting it in an orange and pink glow, and as they got closer, the colors of it shifted from pink to orange to blue.
“Isn’t it amazing?” Colette called, her voice rising over the sound of the wind in his ears.
“It is!” Zach called back with a grin. “You were right.”
“Say that again. I didn’t quite hear you!” she said teasingly, and he barked out a laugh.
They followed after Derek, making their way up a well-defined path through the trees that scattered across the mountain. They climbed for a bit, until the trail started wrapping around the mountain. Through the trees, he could glimpse the valley they had just cut across, and then the town below. He had to admit, he was starting to understand why Colette loved this so much.
