Free Steering the Stars by Autumn Doughton, Erica Cope Page A

myself together and took off after her. Honestly, it wasn’t her fault. I never should have relied on Dad to replace the lock on the gate when I asked him a few weeks ago. I should have just gone to the hardware store and bought a few screws and replaced it myself.
            That was the first thing I was going to do when I found the damn dog. Well, maybe the second. A hot shower was first.
             The rain had died down but I was still soaked by the time I turned back onto my street. My hair was plastered to my forehead and my eyelashes were heavy with raindrops. I blew out a gush of air, pushed my hair out of my eyes and continued scanning yards.
            I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and turned. She was standing on the sidewalk maybe ten feet away from me.
        “Aspen!” I held up her blue leather leash which she associated with our walks in hopes that she’d had enough of the game and would come.
             No such luck.
            She hopped to the right and then to the left as though encouraging me to play along. I darted forward, reaching for her collar but she was too fast.  
            “Need some help?” A familiar voice came from behind me.
            “Henry,” I said his name in greeting. “What are you doing here?”
            “I didn't see you after school. I was worried you tried to walk home in the rain and it looks like I was right.”
            “It’s not raining that hard anymore.”
            “Caroline, you’re dripping.”
            I looked down. At least I wasn’t wearing a white shirt. That’s when a realization hit. “Oh no, your sweatshirt! I’m sorry. I meant to give it back to you but...” I groaned.
            “It’ll dry,” he said, chuckling. “You look like you just went for a swim in Grand Lake.”
            “That’s because my dog—” I gestured over my shoulder.
            “I can see that.”
            “The lock on the gate is broken and I think the storm blew it open. She took off and now it's pretty much hopeless. At this rate, I could be chasing her all night.”
           “Let me try. That dog loves me.”
           “Aspen loves everyone—she just loves running more.”
           “She and I have that in common,” he said with a wry grin.
           Despite the situation, I laughed. It was true. Henry was one of the stars of the track team. Hannah told me there’d been an informal vote over the summer and it was almost a sure thing that he’d be named team captain before the season started in the spring.
           “Did she go that way?” he asked, pointing toward the direction Aspen took off in.
           “Yeah, I think so.”
           “Let’s go get her,” he said confidently.
           We poked around the neighborhood for another five minutes before Henry spotted her sitting on a porch under a swinging bench like nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
           “Aspen!” I called out in relief.
           This time, she bounded our way, jumping up on Henry so that her paws touched his shoulders. While he rubbed her head, I snapped the leash on her collar.
           “Told ya,” he said as she licked his face.
            I rolled my eyes and pulled on the leash. “C'mon…”
            “So, how was the first day?” Henry asked as we walked to my house.
           “Awful.”
           “It couldn’t have been that bad,” he said with a laugh.
           “Didn’t you see me at lunch with ketchup all over myself?” I complained. “And that was after I ate all alone.”
           “You’re always welcome at my table.”
           “Don't,” I said sharply.
           “Don't what?” he asked, baffled by my reaction.
           “Don't do the whole pity offer thing,” I told him. “It makes me feel pathetic.”