muffled, as if it was coming from inside a deep well. âIâd like to think youâre right, but I just donât know. What I do know is that I have to pay her back what I owe her, and the sooner the better.â
Rebecca could see Macâs legs sticking out of the rear cockpit of the huge yellow Stearman. She could also see Sam standing near the top of the stepladder on the planeâs off side, but neither man had noticed her. âIâd like to start all over again without that big debt hanging over my head,â came Macâs voice. âAnd who knows, maybe that wonât help. Maybe nothing will change her opinion of me. I seem to be in competition with a dead man and Iâm losing. Do you have any idea what that does to a manâs ego?â
Rebecca felt her face flush. She reached back, opened the door again and slammed it hard behind her.
âSam? You in here?â
âOver here, Rebecca,â came Samâs slow, mellow voice.
âEllinâs made a batch of her cinnamon rolls and sheâs just taking them out of the oven.â Rebecca walked toward the old plane. She saw Macâs legs writhe about wildly as he wriggled, twisted and levered his body out of the cockpit.
Rebecca waited until heâd extricated himself and was sitting on the back of the pilotâs seat. âWhat are you doing in here?â she asked. âI should think youâd be out running your dogs. If you plan on entering the Quest, youâll need to put at least another thousand miles on them. Better hop to it! Oh, and by the way, that was an interesting technique you employed yesterday coming down the Mazey Creek trail.â
âYou liked that, did you?â Mac said.
âThat was without a doubt the most spectacular crash Iâve ever witnessed,â Rebecca said. âAnd the most miraculous recovery, I might add.â
âComing from you, I take that as high praise.â
Rebecca nodded. Mac was dressed in dark-green wool army pants and a thick red-and-black-plaid flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled back. His arms and hands looked strong and powerful, and she had no doubt that they were. For him to have held on to that sled yesterday had required Herculean strength. She noticed his fancy Rolex watch was missing. âLook, Mac, donât take this the wrong way, but you donât have enough experience to run the Yukon Quest.â
âMaybe you think I donât, but the dogs, you have to admit, do,â Mac said, narrowing his eyes on her.
âThe judges on the race committee donât base their decision on the dogs. They want to be sure the musher is qualified to run a long-distance race, and you have to prove yourself by finishing some shorter races, like the Fireplug and the Percy DeWolf. They wonât let you run the Quest.â
Macâs grin was irritatingly arrogant. âTheyâve waived that requirement,â he said with a casual gesture of the pliers he held in one hand. âSam told them Iâd been trapping up on the Flat with my brotherâs team of dogs and they figured that was qualification enough. Iâm good to go.â
âGood to go?â Rebecca stared at him incredulously. âYou canât be serious! You have absolutely no idea what youâre getting yourself into!â
âIgnorance is bliss,â he said.
âBaloney! Ignorance can kill you out there!â she snapped. âSam, I canât believe you fronted his entry fee knowing how inexperienced he is!â
âWell,â Sam said, dusting off his coveralls and avoiding her eyes, âIâd better get inside. Ellinâs cinnamon rolls donât like to be kept waitingâ¦â
âTrapping up on Flat!â Rebecca scoffed when the door had closed behind Sam.
Mac eyed her defiantly. âI lived there for four months with the dogs.â
âYou trapped one fox and you let it go!â
âWould it have
Bodie Thoene, Brock Thoene
Yrsa Sigurðardóttir, Katherine Manners, Hodder, Stoughton