“How would anyone ever know? You’re such a diplomat.”
She turned with Boudica and headed to the starting line.
“Well, it’s good one of us is,” he mumbled.
Once all the karts and dogs were lined up, they stood waiting for the foghorn to signal the start of the race. Clarke wiped his palms on his jeans.
Am I actually sweating over the Pawsome Sledding Shenanigans?
He caught a glimpse of Ceci. She had her hands clenched, and she couldn’t keep her feet still.Adrenaline, he thought, smiling. Then the foghorn sounded, and the dogs took off.
At first it looked like one massive swarm of dogs, but then Holly and Boudica got out slightly ahead of the pack. Unfortunately, so did the Lab and Jack Russell.
While both teams increased their lead over the rest of the pack, the Lab began to pull ahead as they neared the final stretch. They were coming up to the final turn. After that, there was just a short straightaway to the finish line.
His heart sank. They were going to lose. The Lab and Jack Russell were not only increasing their lead, they weren’t leaving any room to pass on the inside.
Clarke blinked and, in that flash of an instant, he almost missed it.
That slight but fierce whippet slid into what hardly looked like even a sliver of space. The kart hit the other kart so hard the Jack Russell nearly flew out of it and the kart went spinning, sliding to the outside, taking the Lab and Jack Russell with it. Clarke could almost swear he saw Boudica, who was growling, throw his weight at them. From there, Holly and Boudica sped down the straightaway and across the finish line.
And the crowd went wild. It was a cliché, but it was true. They did go wild. Everyone was clamoring for photos of Holly and Boudica.
Before Clarke knew it, Ceci had leapt into his arms and was hugging him.
“We did it! We did it!” she cried.
She’s so light. I could carry her all day and night and never grow weary.
Yet at the same time, he could feel her warm weight as it pressed into him, feel the beating of her heart against his own.
When she jumped down, he watched her try to catch her breath. Her eyes were sparkling, flashing that brilliant blue, which looked like the sky when the sun came out to dazzle. But beyond that, he caught a glimmer of that stormy gray. He felt his fingers tingle as his gaze drifted to her neck, thinking how small and fragile it was and how he could hold on to it easily with just one hand.
Someone tapped him on the shoulder. “Hey, guys, get up there and receive your trophy!”
Ceci took off and Clarke followed her. But when they got to the place where they awarded the trophy, the burly man was there complaining to the officials.
“Look at their kart! Holes in it so the dog in the kart can run! That’s against the rules. Two dogs running. That’s cheating!”
The official turned to them. “Is this true?”
Clarke was about to step forward, but as usual Ceci beat him to it.
“We did not cheat!” she cried.
“Is it true that there are holes in the kart for the passenger dog to stick his legs through?”
“Well, yes,” Ceci admitted with a tone that had dropped considerably, both in decibel and in confidence.
“Then I’m afraid he’s right. That does constitute cheating. In which case—”
Clarke didn’t let him finish. “Just a moment. The rules state that only one dog can run. Am I correct?”
The official nodded.
“Well, in that case, we didn’t cheat. Boudica didn’t run. Only Holly ran.”
“He did too run,” the burly man cried. “Look at the two holes in the kart.”
