and Dad loved each other, even before Dad saved the town” Saba said, continuing her reassuring tone. “they couldn’t be together at that point, but look at them now.” Saba gave Kodi a friendly nudge on the shoulder. “If Dad could love Mom through all those obstacles, then you liking Emily is definitely possible.” Kodi smiled at his sister. Saba was always good at giving advice, even if she sometimes made people feel embarrassed in the process. Kodi then decided that Saba was right. “Okay, sis, I’ll take your advice” said Kodi “I’m gonna go see Emily right now.” Kodi then got up and left as Saba looked at her brother and smiled.

     When Kodi reached the cabin that the visiting team was staying in, he noticed that Emily wasn’t in there. “Where could she be?” Kodi thought to himself. Suddenly a voice behind him shouted “boo!” Kodi jumped around, fearing that it was one of Emily’ teammates. He turned around to see that the voice, thankfully, belonged to Emily. “Uh, hi” Kodi said in embarrassment. Emily laughed happily as Kodi tried to regain his composure. “Sorry, I didn’t want to scare you,” said Emily “but it was too hard to resist.” Kodi managed to regain his composure as he looked to see Emily smiling at him. “Wow, she’s beautiful” Kodi thought. Her blue eyes; her white and black fur; the sincere, gentle expression on her face; her kind and smooth voice; even the way her tail moved back and forth in a slow yet calming manner: everything about her was beautiful to Kodi. “I also want to apologize about what happened today,” said Emily “The dog on our team you talked to…Hunter…he isn’t really a good example of humility.” Kodi smiled at Emily’s sincerity. “It’s fine,” he said to Emily “at least you were nice to me.” Emily smiled back at Kodi. “Thank my parents for that” said Emily. Kodi then realized what his original purpose was of coming to see Emily. “I just wanted to stop by to see if you wanted to, um, hang out for a, uh, a bit” Kodi said nervously “She’s gonna turn me down, I know she is” Kodi thought to himself. “That would be nice” Emily said happily. “Well, that’s okay, maybe some…wait what?” Kodi said in disbelief. “The race isn’t for several days,” said Emily “and besides, you seem really nice.” Kodi blushed at Emily’s compliment. “Well, follow me” said Kodi as he tried to hide is nervousness.

     Kodi lead Emily to the beach where his Dad lived. Kodi came to Nome’s coastline often, whether it was to hang out with his friends and relatives, to see Duke’s bush-plane fly, or just to watch the view. He felt that Emily might enjoy the scenery, and the look on her face confirmed his feelings. “Wow, this is a beautiful view” Emily said in wonder. “I come here a lot. I used to play with my dad all the time here when I was a puppy” Kodi said to Emily. “Your father…he’s the one who saved Nome, right?” Emily asked. Kodi was surprised that Emily knew this. “Yeah, but how do you know that?” Kodi asked. “I heard about it before my team left to come here,” Emily responded “is he gonna be in the race tomorrow?” Kodi shook his head. “No, he doesn’t really race anymore” Kodi replied.

     Emily then looked to the boat where Kodi’s father lived. “What’s in there?” Emily asked. “My dad, for one thing” Kodi said in a humorous tone. “Your dad lives in that boat?” Emily asked “but isn’t he a hero or something?” “Well, he’s welcome anywhere in town” Kodi said to Emily “, he just prefers to stay in there.” Emily was curious to see the hero of Nome in person. “Is he there right now?” she asked. Kodi shook his head calmly. “He’s actually staying at my mom’s place right now” he answered. “How come?” Emily asked. “My mom’s pregnant,” said Kodi “my dad wants to take care of her, make sure she’s comfortable, you know.” “Aw, that’s so sweet” said Emily. “, yeah we...my siblings and I…we really look up to him,” Kodi continued “which is why I want to set a good example for the second litter.” “If it helps, I think you’ll be a great older brother” said Emily. Kodi smiled at Emily, but was slightly confused by what she said. “You’ve only known me for a few hours,” he said to Emily “how can you be sure?” “You have this sincerity, this nobility to the way you speak, the way you move” Emily said to Kodi. Kodi then began to wonder of Emily had feelings for him as well; her compliments about him sounded a lot like his feelings about her. “That, and your sister Laura told me” Emily said as she laughed playfully. Kodi responded to Emily’s laughter with his own. “So you talked to my sister?” Kodi asked. “I wanted to apologize to you, but I saw your sister first,” Emily explained “so I apologized to her first. I was actually still trying to find you when you came by to find me.” “I appreciate that,” said Kodi “but you didn’t have to do that.” Emily blushed. “I felt that I should do so anyway” said Emily “and your sister was nice about it, too.” “Yeah, Laura’s nice” said Kodi “even if she is hard to calm down.” Emily laughed at Kodi’s thoughts about Laura. Emily then looked at the sun as it began to set.

     “Well, I need to get back before Hunter gets angry” Laura said in a disappointed tone. Kodi became worried about Emily having to deal with that dog all by herself. “I can come with you, if you want” Kodi offered. “If anything, Hunter would be even more upset,” said Emily “but I appreciate it.” “Hey, you want to hang out some more tomorrow?” Kodi asked as Emily left. “Sure thing,” said Emily “sounds like a plan!” Kodi smiled. “Night Emily” said Kodi. “Night Kodi” said Emily.

Chapter 6: Around Nome

     The next day Kodi gave Emily a tour around Nome. Kodi pointed out the doctor’s office where Balto had delivered the medicine several years before. “That’s where my dad delivered the medicine” Kodi replied proudly. “That’s so cool” Emily replied. Kodi then looked over to the post office. “That’s where we deliver the mail,” Kodi began “we sled dogs have the winter months, but Duke has the summer.” “Duke?” Emily asked. “He’s a pilot of an airplane,” Kodi replied “we had a competition with him several months back, but we’re on good terms now. Duke decided that the winter months were too risky to fly, and our owners understood that they couldn’t do much during the summer without snow around.” “Why can’t Duke fly during the winter?” Emily asked. “He crashed because his airplane’s engine froze,” said Kodi “my dad went out to save him.” “That’s very noble of your father,” Emily replied “but you didn’ follow him?” Kodi frowned slightly. “I was upset at Duke for trying to steal our jobs, and I didn’t follow my dad at first,” Kodi said in a guilty tone “but I decided that my dad was right; we had to save Duke. So I went out with my team to find my dad.” Kodi shook his head. “I’m still a bit ashamed at myself for not following my dad in the first place.” Emily smiled. “But you followed him in the end,” she replied “besides, we all make decisions like that at some point.” “But my dad and Duke almost died,” said Kodi “I still wonder what would have happened if I didn’t go.” Emily then came to a realization. “Is that why you’re so worried about being an older brother,” Emily asked “because of what happened with Duke?” “Now that I think of it, that’s exactly it” said Kodi. “Kodi, you made a mistake” Emily began “but you managed to fix it. Besides, I’m sure your dad was proud of you in the long run.” Kodi nodded. “He was, and still is,” said Kodi “but I still feel like I made a fool of myself.” Emily smiled. “Don’t get yourself down, Kodi,” said Emily “you disagree with your decision and made amends. In the end, that’s what matters.” Kodi smiled. “You sure have a way of making people feel better about themselves” Kodi replied happily. “That’s nice of you to say” Emily replied in a charming tone.

     The two dogs then stopped outside of Jenna’s home. “This is where my mom lives…and right now, my dad, too,” said Kodi “You wanna take a look inside?” “I don’t want to disturb your parents” Emily replied. “It’s okay, we’ll only stay for a few minutes” Kodi said reassuringly. “If you say so” Emily replied. The two dogs then walked into the living room of the house, where Jenna and Balto were resting. “Mom, Dad?” said Kodi. “Kodiak, what are you doing