it,” Jenna said with a laugh, “The jackrabbits and mice get in so often, I have to get up twice a night just to make sure I still have anything left.”

“A pretty girl like you needs her sleep,” Balto replied, raising his brow, “Why don’t you put up a fence? That’s what I did.”

“I haven’t the time, and neither does my dad or Flint.”

Balto rested his chin on his hand for a moment.

“Well, I’ll think of something,” he said, nodding to Jenna, “Have a good day, Miss Jenna.”

He made it out the door, but less then three steps later there was a great crack and the floor collapsed beneath him. Jenna heard the noise and came running, only to find Balto standing quite surprised with only his upper body above the floorboards.

“I’m so sorry. Here, let me help you up,” Jenna said, crouching down beside the hole, “I’ve been pestering Flint to fix these floorboards for weeks.”

Balto smiled and climbed out. The two stood and examined the hole.

“I can fix that,” Balto said matter-of-factly.

Jenna turned to him in surprise.

“I had to build my own house.”

“Oh… Well, if you want to…”

“I tell you what; I’ll fix up this porch for you and use the leftover wood for a garden fence in exchange for a bowl or two of that stew.”

Jenna smiled and suppressed a laugh as they shook hands.

“Alright, Mr. McLain, we have a deal.”

Unbeknownst to them, someone was watching nearby. He turned away and headed toward the edge of town; as he turned, the fading light twinkled on the star on his chest.

Early the next morning, as Jenna began restocking the shelves for the coming day, Balto arrived with his horse and a cart full of lumber. He started working as the sun rose and he was done before the first customer arrived less than three hours later. Granted, he did not only replace the faulty boards, but replaced the whole porch, posts and all. Balto left his horse and cart tied to one of the new posts and began moving the old porch floorboards around behind the store, where Jenna’s small garden waited. Two hours later, a fine fence guarded her precious vegetables from the varmints that had plagued them for so long. During a lull in the flow of customers, Jenna came out to inspect the results of Balto’s handiwork.

The old porch floorboards had creaked with every step, but as she tested them by marching back and forth, not a sound was heard other than her footfalls. Balto had just finished her garden fence when she came through the back door. She smiled at his work and invited him in for lunch. Her brother Flint passed them on his way out and nodded to Balto.

“Going out again?” Jenna called.

“Amos is starting a poker game, and I’m in it.”

“Amos Thane? Flint, sometimes I worry about the folks you make friends with.”

Flint shouted something back and they both laughed.

As they sat down at Jenna’s small round table, Balto glanced around at the cozy kitchen and living room fit snugly behind the store.

“Looks like you’ve got a mighty fine place here, Miss Jenna,” he commented, taking his first spoonful of her stew.

“We get by easily enough,” she replied, “I’d really like to see your home sometime.”

“Oh, you don’t want to see my place,” he said sheepishly, “I’m not a very good housekeeper.”

Both were silent for a short while as they ate. Finally, Jenna spoke again.

“Why are you always alone, Balto?” she said softly.

“No one wants a half-breed for a friend,” he replied, “Not me, anyways.”

“Well, I do,” she said, “And I’d love to get to know you better, Balto.”

Balto looked up in surprise, and his tan-brown cheeks reddened slightly.

“You’re the first to say so, Miss Jenna. Thank you.”

“You’re quite welcome, Balto. And you can call me Jenna; you don’t have to address me as Miss.”

“Alright Mi…Jenna, is there anything else I can do around here?”

Jenna smiled. She intended to get to know this orphaned young man as well as she possibly could.

“Well, the door doesn’t hang straight out front…”

Balto smiled back.

“I can fix that.”

The days passed quickly, and Balto always dropped by to help out at the Daniels’ store. He straightened the doors and repaired their rusty hinges, stocked shelves, hauled lumber for the coming winter, and even repainted the sign out front, but refused any form of pay. He simply enjoyed Jenna’s company, and she enjoyed his. And so passed more than a month for Balto and Jenna.

Then, late one night after the store had closed, Balto finally relented and agreed to show Jenna his home. As the moon peeked through the clouds, he led her to a small wooden house near the edge of town. Though the outside had seen better days, the inside was surprisingly well-kept. The small stove provided plenty of warmth for the chilly desert nights, the table was set for one, and the bed was made. Jenna glanced around and smiled.

“You keep a very tidy house, Balto,” she commented, “I think my father would like you.”

“Thank you,” he replied, glancing off to his bedside table, “Now where’d I put that thing this time?”

“Is something wrong?”

“My knife’s missing.”

“You made your own knife?”

“No, my father made it for me. He even carved my name into the handle.”

“That’s a nice touch. I’m sure it’ll turn up.”

“I guess you’re right; it’s really not something that would be stolen.”

Jenna noticed a small book on the table and picked it up.

“That’s my journal,” Balto said, “I try to write in it every day. It helps me get things off my chest so I can forget about them if I need to.” Jenna flipped to the most recent page and found a sketch of herself. She turned to Balto in surprise, and his cheeks turned bright red. “Although some things I’d prefer to remember for a long time.”

Jenna smiled and looked around again, and Balto glanced outside.

“It’s getting dark; would you like me to walk you home?”

“Certainly.”

The two left Balto’s house together, gazing at the stars and naming constellations. When they arrived at the Daniels’ home, Jenna knocked on the door and turned to Balto.

“Thanks for all your help around here.”

“Always a pleasure, Jenna,” he replied.

Jenna stepped toward him and eyed him for a moment. She then leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. As she pulled away, Balto touched the spot where her lipstick left an imprint and a smile spread across his face. Jenna smiled bashfully as her own cheeks turned a shade of pink. Just then, Jenna’s father opened the door and with a nod to Balto led Jenna inside.

Balto walked back towards his home still smiling from Jenna’s kiss, happier than he’d been in months.

Chapter Two

One day soon after their first kiss Balto came in later than usual. He was carrying his shotgun and a shoulder bag with him.

“I’m going out for a few days,” he said simply, “I’ll be back soon.”

“This is sudden,” Jenna replied, “Where are you going?”

“To visit some of the places I used to go when I was but a wanderer.”

“Oh…” she said, trying to hide her disappointment, “Well, be safe, and come back soon.”

“I will, Jenna,” he replied.

With that parting remark, Balto turned and left.

From that point on, time seemed to crawl by for Jenna, and with each passing minute she realized more and more that she missed Balto. By the sixth day, she wished he would come back, and by the fifteenth day she was miserable almost beyond consolation. The pages of her journal were soon stained with lonely tears. She only managed to remain cheerful for her family’s sake.

Then, seventeen days after Balto’s departure, her father was found dead in his workshop. A rattle snake was curled up on his desk. The cause of death was listed as a snake bite. Jenna sank deeper into depression and came close to closing the store for good, but she knew it was her only source of income, and thus had to keep it open.

A few days after her father’s death, Jenna was just locking up when a tall husky wearing a bandana over his muzzle burst through the front door and caught her completely off guard. Before she had time to scream, he clamped a white paw over her muzzle and rested his pistol against the side of her head.

“Hello there,” he said slowly. Jenna took notice of a slight strain in his voice; the stranger was trying to hide his own voice by assuming another. “Such a pity a lovely young lady like you has to work so hard just to stay alive,” he continued, “And with such a bad taste for mates, too. You should find someone better like, say, me.” Jenna growled at him, but said nothing. “Well, I’ll take that as a yes. I hope you don’t mind traveling, Miss Jenna, because by the time we stop, you won’t even know what country we’re in.”

“I hope you like jail, pal, ‘cause that’s where you’re headed,” said a voice from the door.

Both the stranger and Jenna turned in surprise.

There stood Balto, with his pistol aimed at the stranger’s head.

But the stranger just laughed.

“Do you think this wise, boy?” he said, suddenly turning Jenna so that she was between him and Balto, “If you shoot, I shoot, and pretty Miss Jenna dies with me. You don’t want that now, do you?”

Balto bared his teeth, but slowly lowered his pistol. He would not risk Jenna’s life. The stranger nodded approvingly.

“Now drop it, and kick it toward me,” he ordered.

Balto complied in disgust. The stranger laughed again, but this time with a cold harshness that matched his black eyes as he turned his pistol on Balto.

“Goodbye,” he snickered.

But suddenly, as he was about to pull the trigger, Jenna wrenched her muzzle free of his grasp and bit down hard on his gun arm, just below the wrist. The stranger screamed and the gun clattered to the floor. As Jenna broke away from the stranger, Balto dove forward and snatched his pistol. He raised it and fired three fast shots at the masked husky, who by some miracle was not hit and leapt through