of story.

“I don’t know,” Char said, someone as famous as he is must have girls crawling all over him. If you’ve held on to him, you’re lucky.”

“I was…” Jenna said aloud.

Then she stopped to think about it.

Did she really know for sure that this was the first time?

Jenna sighed.

Tears started rolling out of her eyes.

“Are you okay?”

The voice caught her off guard, and she stood up and turned around.

There was a brown dog standing behind her, a German Shepard.

His hair was cut long, and he had kind brown eyes.

Jenna sniffled, and nodded her head.

The dog walked towards her.

“You’re crying an awful lot for someone that’s okay.. what’s the matter?”

“Oh,” Jenna said, sniffling again, “it’s... it’s just some family problems.”

“Oh, those,” the dog said, “I know what that’s like… you know it helps to…”

Jenna cut him off.

“I really don’t want to talk about it.”

The dog nodded, and sat down beside her.

“I don’t recognize you.” She said, “are you new?”

The dog sighed.

“Yeah.”

It was silent for a while, and the dog knew that unless he said something, the conversation was going to die.

“I know how it is. I had the most beautiful mate in the entire world, and we loved one another.”

He looked at Jenna, as if to prove it.

“Well, one day, I came home from my walk, and this sled team had rolled into town, and Diz, well, she had talked to the leader, and I guess… well I guess I didn’t rate as high as I thought I did.”

The dog sighed.

“When they left, so did she.”

“I’m sorry,” Jenna said.

“Yeah,” the dog said, “but sometimes these things happen in life, you just… you just have to roll with the punches, move on. Hell, if she doesn’t need me, then I sure don’t need her.”

Jenna sighed.

“My… my problem involved a sled team too. I.. I don’t know, I…”

She stopped.

“Well, my mate, Balto…”

The dog unintentionally cut her off.

“Balto?”

He whistled.

“He messed up, somehow, I didn’t think he would.”

“You know him?” Jenna asked.

“By reputation only.” The dog said.

Jenna nodded.

Well, my mate Balto recently got adopted by this nice guy that flies in supplies to isolated communities, like Isaloosa, and…. and I don’t know… maybe it was because we’ve been separated so much here lately…”

She shook her head.

“Anyway, my family went to Applegate to… well just to go I guess. It was nice to get away, and I took the kids with me, and we all had a nice time together.”

Jenna laughed.

“I guess my son is the only one that would say he didn’t enjoy it, because… well, he met this girl…”

The dog laughed.

“That age already huh?”

Jenna laughed too.

“Yeah, I… I guess he is… well, I mean, they actually were only together for a week, but… well the way he acted, you would think that they’d known each other forever.”

The dog smiled.

“Yeah, the young ones tend to act like that.”

Jenna nodded.

She sighed.

“Then… well, then we came home, and Balto told me that…. that he’d met this girl and… and well… he… he…”

Jenna started crying again, and looked down at the ground.

The dog put a paw on her shoulder.

“It’s alright,” he said.

“No,” Jenna said, “it’ll… it’ll never be alright… not ever again.”

She sniffled, and raised her head, smiling a little.

“I’m sorry,” she said, “I’ve… I’ve been talking to you for so long, and.. and I don’t even know your name.”

“It’s Duke.” He said, smiling, “and you are?”

“Jenna,” she said.

He nodded.

Jenna stood up.

“Well,” she said, “I appreciate you taking the time to talk with me, I… well it helped a little.”

She sighed.

“I’ve got to get home, the kids are there alone, and well…”

She smiled.

“… there’s no telling what they’re doing.”

Duke nodded, and Jenna started to walk away.

Duke ran up to her.

“Jenna… do… do you mind if I walk you home?”

“Well…” Jenna said, a little surprised. “I think…”

Duke looked around.

“I mean… I know that you’ll probably be safe, but…. Well something inside me doesn’t like the fact that a female as pretty as you should have to walk home by herself.”

She smiled.

“I don’t suppose it’d hurt anything.”

“Great,” Duke said, “I don’t know the way, so I’ll follow you.”

Jenna smiled.

Duke walked Jenna up to the door of her house.

She turned to him and smiled.

“Well, this is it.”

“Yeah?” He said.

Duke looked around the house.

“This is pretty nice.”

“Yeah,” Jenna said, “I suppose it is.”

A thought came to her.

“Hey Duke, where are you staying, did your owner come with you?”

Duke sighed.

“No, I… uh… well, I had to leave him, it was… well, I don’t want to get into it, but let’s just say that was it was just safer for both of us.”

“Are you in trouble?” Jenna asked.

“No,” Duke said, “not per say….”

Jenna wasn’t really satisfied with this answer, but she sensed that he didn’t want to talk about it, and so dropped the subject.

“So, where are you staying?”

Duke smiled, sensing a bit of concern in her voice.

“I found a shed down the street, actually right up the road, and it’s not occupied now, so…”

“Well…” Jenna started, “I… I don’t’ like the idea of you staying in an abandoned shed, you were so nice, and… and I didn’t even know you.”

He smiled.

“Why don’t you stay here?” Jenna asked.

“Sure.” He said, “if that’s okay with you.”

“Well… yeah,” Jenna said, “come on in, and I’ll introduce you to the family….”

She paused, and Duke thought she was going to start crying again.

“… or what’s left of it anyway.”

The two of them stepped into the house.

Chapter 8

Balto was walking down the street, when he was pushed roughly into the alleyway behind Jenna’s home.

He fell into the snow, and rolled over, coming to his feet to see…..

…. Flash.

He stood up.

“Flash?”

Flash glared at him.

Balto looked back at him, and shrunk back a bit.

Flash’s eyes might as well have been on fire.

He walked towards Balto.

“You got a lot of nerve coming back here.

Balto took a step back.

Flash suddenly ran at him, and hit him.

Balto didn’t even see his paw as it came at him, and slapped him in the side of the head.

Balto flew sideways, and slammed into the brick wall.

He scrambled to his feet, and looked behind him.

Flash growled, and leapt at Balto.

Flash knocked Balto over backwards, and landed on top of him.

Flash growled and snapped at him.

Balto crossed his front legs, holding Flash off of him.

Flash snapped at him again and again, his jaws slapping shut just inches from Balto’s face.

Balto finally threw Flash off of him, and he hit the wall.

Balto rolled over, and began to run.

Flash ran after him and jumped, landing on his back.

Balto’s front legs slid out from under him, and he went down on his face.

He and Flash slid into a pile of rusted pipes, and one of them cracked Balto in the head, as they clattered to the ground.

Flash snarled, and tore into his shoulder.

Balto howled, and tried to get away.

“Dad! What are you doing?!”

Jenna’s voice caught Balto by surprise.

Flash was pulled off of Balto, and he stood up.

Balto turned, tucking his now injured leg up next to his side.

Jenna stood in front of Flash, who looked like at any minute, he might just deicide to tear into her to get to Balto.

Jenna didn’t look much happier.

“Dad, what are you doing?!” She yelled again.

“Taking care of a problem.” Flash said

“Dad!” Jenna said, “this is not the way to take care of it!”

Balto hung his head, and felt blood from a cut above his eye run into it, it stung.

“He’s right.”

“What?” Jenna asked sharply.

“It’s… it’s what I deserve.” He said.

“No,” Jenna said, “You’ve got what you deserve.”

She looked at the ground, and sighed.

“I don’t know how I feel about you now, but…”

She looked up at him.

“I… I don’t want to see you hurt, certainly not by my family.”

Max walked up then, and Jenna turned to her.

Max half smiled at her, and Jenna collapsed into tears, as Flash walked up to Balto.

He looked back to his daughter, who had her head buried in her mother’s shoulder.

He looked back to Balto, the fire smoldering.

“I don’t want to ever see you here again.” Flash said, “you ever, ever come back to my daughter again, and I’ll find you….”

He paused and looked back at Jenna again.

“.. I’ll find you… and that will be the last time anyone sees you. Get me?”

Balto nodded.

“Can I talk to her, one time Flash?”

Flash growled at him.

“You better