Free Always Ready by Susan Page Davis

the transmission into gear, his phone rang. He shoved the gearshift back into park and answered it. “Yeah? Okay.” His dark eyes flitted to meet her gaze and he frowned. “Yeah, I’ll be there as quick as I can.” He clicked the phone off.
    “Emergency?” Caddie asked.
    “Afraid so. A charter boat needs help off Raspberry Island. I’m supposed to report to our sister ship, the Shatney . Half her crew’s on leave, so any of the Milroy ’s men who can get there fast will go out on the Shatney . I’m sorry.”
    Caddie lifted her right hand and raised her brows. “You can’t help it.”
    “They’ve sent out a smaller boat already, but they may need us. I’ll drop you at your apartment. It’s almost on my way.” Aven’s shoulders drooped as he backed out of the parking space.
    “We can go to the old fort some other day,” she said.
    “I’ll take you up on that. Tomorrow, if we’re back in time.”
    “Sure. Or the next day. Whatever works.”
    “I’ll call you as soon as we’re in, if it’s not too late.”
    When he pulled up before her housing unit, Caddie reached for the door latch. “Don’t get out. I can fend for myself.”
    “You sure? Your arm. . .”
    On impulse, she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “I’m sure. I’ll be praying for you and the people on the charter boat.”
    “Thanks.”
    His reaction was a little slow, but the last thing she saw as she slid down from the truck cab was his smile.

Six
    Aven arrived back at his apartment early the next morning. Too early to call Caddie, he reflected after consulting his watch. Robyn and Mom were probably up, fixing the dogs’ rations, but he wouldn’t hazard a guess as to whether Caddie would be awake at 0530 when she didn’t have to report for duty. And if she was sleeping, he didn’t want to wake her. She needed rest to help that arm heal.
    After a quick snack, he called his sister instead.
    Robyn answered and assured him that the family was getting along all right. “Grandpa’s losing steam physically, but you knew that.”
    “Is his arthritis worse?”
    “No, about the same as when you were here last. But he isn’t able to do much of anything outside now. Mom’s taken over all the chores he used to do and is taking care of him. I’ve had to pretty much run the business by myself the last few weeks.”
    “I’m sorry.” Aven leaned on the card table he used as a kitchen table. He ought to be home, helping Mom and Robyn.
    “It’s not your fault. And, hey, I hitched my team up in the new harness yesterday. It was the first chance I’d had. I wanted to make sure it fit them right, and we did a ten-mile training run.”
    “Everything go okay?”
    “They did great. I have a super team this year, Ave. I hope I can afford to take them in at least one race this winter.”
    “Too bad you can’t run in ours.”
    “You know I can’t run them in the Fire and Ice. We’re the hosts. Duh! Besides, I’ll be too busy. But I sure would like to do a short race, say in December. Or right after ours.”
    “Maybe you can. Wait and see how things go.”
    “I haven’t given up on it.”
    “Are you and Mom going to be able to handle all the race preparations if Grandpa can’t help you?” he asked. “That’s a big job.”
    “It’ll be tough, but I think it’s worth it. We usually do a little better than break even, and it’s our best advertisement. People come for the race and look over our kennels. I show my team off a little. Word of mouth is crucial in this business.”
    Aven wished he could take Caddie home to meet his family. It would be terrific if they could both get leave the week of the Fire and Ice and spend it in Wasilla, helping set up for the race.
    “Hey, Rob, what would you think of me bringing a girl home sometime?”
    “What?” Her shriek nearly pierced his eardrum. He held the phone away from his ear and cringed. “Did you say girl, as in female, young woman, dare I add love interest?”
    She