We glided across the snowy woodland. I looked to my left. Through the trees, I could see the teams racing across the ice.
"Hike! Hike!" I exclaimed, loudly. Diamond started to gambol, taking bound like steps. We emerged from the trees, skimming across the snowy ground along the edge of the lake. We were heading back to the village. This time instead of going along the mountain side, we were travelling around the mountain. I followed one of the teams that was lagging behind and continued on the marked path.
It didn't take to long for Diamond and I to get around the mountain. Once on the other side, we could see the town. There were people lining the streets, cheering us all on. Diamond was tiring but she was still fast enough. We reached the town and began to race throughout the streets. We overtook the team in front of us, but the other teams had already finished or were almost done. We kept going, running a little slower now. As we turned the corner, the finish line was in sight. Four of teams had already finished. The sled ahead of me wasn't too far away from Diamond.
"Hike! Hike!" I shouted. Diamond began to sprint as fast as she possibly could. She hared it past the other sled overtaking them by about a metre. We past the finish line and stopped as we came to the other teams. I looked over the dogs and mushers, counting four teams. That meant that I came fifth.
I stopped off of the sled's runners and went over to see Diamond.
"Hey, Adam!" I heard someone call. I turned around to be greeted by Roxy. She leaned forward and kissed me on the lips. I froze for a moment before smiling as she stepped back.
"You did well," She smiled at me.
"I didn't win, though," I sighed.
"It's not always about the winning-" My mum approached me with my dad "Sometimes it's about proving people wrong. Anyway, you learn more from losing," She smiled. I could feel myself grinning.
"Well, I didn't do much. Diamond did all the hard work," I told them.
"You both worked hard," Roxy corrected.
"We all worked hard," I reminded her.
"And, I was wrong. You are responsible enough to go out there and race. I was just being over protective," Lani sighed.
"Family is supposed to be like that, like a wolf pack," I smiled "I wouldn't want it any other way..."
And, for some strange reason, I know that I'll always feel that way. Maybe it's our love for sled dogs, our isolation in the freezing land or perhaps just that family bond but I know that we'll be sticking together for a while. I know we will.
Everything is perfect up here in Grayling, Alaska.
The End~
YOU ARE READING
Hearts and Diamonds
Teen Fiction{The third and final book in the Ace of Hearts series}~ Set nearly fifteen years from Two Hearts, Lani and Ryder are married and now have a son of their own. His name is Adam Eldon, and just like his mother he has a love of all things wolf and dog...
