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Authors: On Thin Ice
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churned and branches broken as the moose had made its way. "Think our friend's gone?"
"Probably. I didn't hit him. But I scared him enough to deter him a bit. Why? Want to break?"
"Let's go a few miles on before we do. My new friend might be lurking behind the trees waiting to jump out again."
They continued on for several miles before deciding they were clear.
Derek was actually quite pleased to take a break. And God only knew, Lily must be just as exhausted.
The last several years had been hard on her. Little sleep and a lot of stress. The years nursing Sean, followed by the funeral, had taken their toll on her, although he'd never heard her complain. After Sean's death, Lily had put everything she had into her dogs. There must be at least a hundred of them by now.
Training the dogs and then staying up all night for weeks on end helping the cows give birth, then training herself for the race day and night would exhaust anyone. But she'd rather be boiled in oil than admit it.
He at least had the advantage of his T-FLAC training and could subsist for weeks on very little sleep.
But he saw the lines of strain on her face, and knowing Lily, she'd push herself until she dropped. A break of even an hour would do her good. And since there seemed to be a silent truce, he'd take what he could get when he could get it.
Of course, telling Lily he was stopping for her own good would probably get him shot.
"Are you pleased about your father remarrying?" Lily asked, keeping it casual as she checked the dogs'
booties and gave scratches behind ears as she moved down the line. Talking about the upcoming wedding was safe. It kept her blood pressure down, and it was a finite kind of conversation. His father's wedding was going to be held at the ranch a couple of weeks after they returned from the race. She'd met his father a couple of times when he'd visited Derek at the ranch. She'd also met his sister, Marnie, and her family. There was a twin brother out there somewhere, and another couple of brothers. If they were anything like Derek, Lily shuddered to think of the trail of broken hearts they'd left in their wake.
She promised herself she wouldn't bring up anything inflammatory. Not now anyway.
She kept a professional eye out for injuries as she went down the line. The dogs were barely breathing hard, and rarin' to go with excitement, yet they needed to pace themselves. So did she. They'd barely started and there were a thousand grueling miles to go.
"I am. Yes," Derek said, answering the wedding question as he added a few dry branches to the small fire he'd started. "Sunny is good for him. He was alone a long time before he met her."
Lily automatically checked Derek's dogs too before joining him at the fire. "Kodi's favoring his right foot.
We'll keep an eye on it, although he's done that since he was a puppy to get extra attention, so I'm not too worried." She drew off her gloves and rubbed her hands as she stood over the flames. She noticed with appreciation that Derek had set a pot on the fire filled with coffee. Her taste buds salivated.
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"Your mom died when you were pretty young, right?" She knew they had that much in common.
"Yeah, but my grandmother was there. Here." He handed her a steaming mug. "Be careful, it's hot."
"I'm feeding the dogs first—"
"Drink your coffee. I've got it."
Lily scowled. "We're not supposed to help each other."
Derek poured out food into bowls and started taking them down the line. The dogs, still harnessed and standing, dug into the high-fat, high-protein snack. They didn't care who handed it out as long as it was there. "Stupid rule since we're both in the same place. Hungry?"
"No."
"You'd better remember to eat on this trip. Since you took care of the moose for me, I'd feel obligated to backtrack to check if you've fainted from starvation somewhere along the trail. Think of it as tit for tat,
"Probably. I didn't hit him. But I scared him enough to deter him a bit. Why? Want to break?"
"Let's go a few miles on before we do. My new friend might be lurking behind the trees waiting to jump out again."
They continued on for several miles before deciding they were clear.
Derek was actually quite pleased to take a break. And God only knew, Lily must be just as exhausted.
The last several years had been hard on her. Little sleep and a lot of stress. The years nursing Sean, followed by the funeral, had taken their toll on her, although he'd never heard her complain. After Sean's death, Lily had put everything she had into her dogs. There must be at least a hundred of them by now.
Training the dogs and then staying up all night for weeks on end helping the cows give birth, then training herself for the race day and night would exhaust anyone. But she'd rather be boiled in oil than admit it.
He at least had the advantage of his T-FLAC training and could subsist for weeks on very little sleep.
But he saw the lines of strain on her face, and knowing Lily, she'd push herself until she dropped. A break of even an hour would do her good. And since there seemed to be a silent truce, he'd take what he could get when he could get it.
Of course, telling Lily he was stopping for her own good would probably get him shot.
"Are you pleased about your father remarrying?" Lily asked, keeping it casual as she checked the dogs'
booties and gave scratches behind ears as she moved down the line. Talking about the upcoming wedding was safe. It kept her blood pressure down, and it was a finite kind of conversation. His father's wedding was going to be held at the ranch a couple of weeks after they returned from the race. She'd met his father a couple of times when he'd visited Derek at the ranch. She'd also met his sister, Marnie, and her family. There was a twin brother out there somewhere, and another couple of brothers. If they were anything like Derek, Lily shuddered to think of the trail of broken hearts they'd left in their wake.
She promised herself she wouldn't bring up anything inflammatory. Not now anyway.
She kept a professional eye out for injuries as she went down the line. The dogs were barely breathing hard, and rarin' to go with excitement, yet they needed to pace themselves. So did she. They'd barely started and there were a thousand grueling miles to go.
"I am. Yes," Derek said, answering the wedding question as he added a few dry branches to the small fire he'd started. "Sunny is good for him. He was alone a long time before he met her."
Lily automatically checked Derek's dogs too before joining him at the fire. "Kodi's favoring his right foot.
We'll keep an eye on it, although he's done that since he was a puppy to get extra attention, so I'm not too worried." She drew off her gloves and rubbed her hands as she stood over the flames. She noticed with appreciation that Derek had set a pot on the fire filled with coffee. Her taste buds salivated.
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
"Your mom died when you were pretty young, right?" She knew they had that much in common.
"Yeah, but my grandmother was there. Here." He handed her a steaming mug. "Be careful, it's hot."
"I'm feeding the dogs first—"
"Drink your coffee. I've got it."
Lily scowled. "We're not supposed to help each other."
Derek poured out food into bowls and started taking them down the line. The dogs, still harnessed and standing, dug into the high-fat, high-protein snack. They didn't care who handed it out as long as it was there. "Stupid rule since we're both in the same place. Hungry?"
"No."
"You'd better remember to eat on this trip. Since you took care of the moose for me, I'd feel obligated to backtrack to check if you've fainted from starvation somewhere along the trail. Think of it as tit for tat,
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