raised her head and a smile was on her face. Whimpers were coming from the basket. Steele approached with caution and as he neared the basket he took a few sniffs. Tucked up by Karlee’s belly were five puppies. Steele gasped as he looked over each of them.

"Karlee…they’re so…" Steele searched for a word. "Adorable." He finished. Karlee chuckled and nuzzled Steele.

"Never thought this day would come." Karlee whispered and Steele gave her a wide eye look. "What?" She asked.

"You’re the most beautiful girl in town and think you would have never been a mother?" Steele whispered hastily. Karlee chuckled and nuzzled her pups. When she raised her head, Steele gave her cheek a kiss. She smiled and returned his kiss with her own kiss. "Now what should we call them?" Steele asked quietly.

Karlee looked over the malamute/husky crosses. "You want to wait until their personalities show?" She asked her mate. The malamute smiled.

"Sure…we’ll wait."

***

Steele was dozing next to Karlee under the window. The warmth of the sun was coming through the window and soaking into them. "Daddy!" Steele’s eyes flew open. His son, Nickel was standing in front of him. Nickel looked exactly like him but had a silver tip on his tail. "Can we play?" The puppy asked. Steele chuckled and slowly rose to his feet. He looked from the sleeping Karlee to the dozing pups in the basket.

"Are you the only one awake besides me?" Steele asked his son. Nickel bobbed his head while his wagging tail nearly shook his whole body.

Nickel raised his head in a proud way and replied, "If I want to be a sled dog, sled dogs have to get up early."

Steele chuckled again before a female voice spoke, "You can’t be a sled dog unless you’re super fast like me." Steele looked again at the basket to see his very competitive daughter, Sapphire. Sapphire yawned before hopping out of the basket to join her already awake family. Nickel growled at his sister. Steele had to admit Sapphire was the fastest of them all and had probably inherited her mother’s speed.

"I can train you know." Nickel said in his defense. "And I bet I can beat you when I’m finished!" Sapphire laughed aloud at his last sentence.

Steele sat watching his two offspring. "How about we see who can be quiet the longest." Steele, Nickel, and Sapphire looked to see Karlee stretching then yawned before joining them. "You two can’t go one day without bickering with each other about speed can you?" Brother and sister looked at each other and Karlee chuckled.

"Sorry to wake you dear." Steele said before licking her cheek. Karlee just smiled.

"That’s okay besides the pups want to meet our friends." Karlee said to Steele.

"YEA!" Sapphire and Nickel cheered at the same time. Some grunts and yawns came from the basket. One pup that looked exactly like Karlee except for the bright blue eyes scrambled out. "Memphis!" Nickel barked happily. Memphis barked back before tackling his brother. Karlee chuckled and leaned against her love.

"AHH!" Sapphire screamed in surprise as with her back to the basket, she was tackled by Saber, the gray/white pup with black ears. Saber laughed and Sapphire giggled as she pawed her brother’s snout.

"Good morning Tanya." Karlee said to the last pup to hop out of the basket. Tanya smiled.

"Good morning mother and father." Steele bent his head down so Tanya could nuzzle him. Tanya was exactly like her mother, eyes and all. Tanya barked twice before she joined the puppy roughhouse.

Karlee nuzzled Steele warmly before giving his cheek a kiss. "We’re the lucky ones." Steele whispered to Karlee and she smiled.

***
 

"Oh they’re so cute!" Sandy said as she gazed at each one. She smiled as Karlee’s pups were playing around close by their mother. Sandy and Jasmine were excited as their names were called off.

"I do agree quite as much. I’ll be so happy to even baby-sit!" Jasmine said even when her tail was pounced upon by Nickel.

"Hey! What’s going on here? A party?" Everyone looked to see Austin and Zip approaching. All the pups looked at Austin and when they saw Zip they started barking. "Hey they must like you." Austin joked and everyone joined in laughing.

"He’s like a large puppy! GET HIM!" Saber barked. Saber was the most playful besides Tanya and loved to make trouble. Zip froze as they charged at him.

"Run Zip run!" Sandy joked. Zip turned but was over taken by the puppies.

"AHH! Help me!" Zip barely finished before he broke out laughing. The pups swarmed him.

"They must really like him." Austin said as he watched with wide eyes. Another round of laughter went up.

"Yeah and they started teething." Karlee said. Just at the right time, Zip yelped for Sapphire bit down hard on his ear.

"It’s been nice knowing you Zip." Jasmine said. Austin chuckled as Sandy laughed.

Karlee chuckled then rose to her feet. "Come on. Give Zip a break." All the pups got off of the Elkhound except for Nickel. The little pup was shaking his head vigorously as he had a hold of Zip’s tail. Karlee picked him up by the scruff.

"OWW!" Zip yelped as Nickel still held on. Finally, he let go.

"He’s the tail attacker." Jasmine said. Karlee just chuckled.

"Come on. Dad’s waiting over by Uncle Brian’s place." Karlee said.

"Uncle Brian!" All the pups yelled as they followed their mother. "See you guys later." Karlee called over her shoulder as she led her little puppy brigade.

Jasmine chuckled. "Oh I just love puppies!" She said as the group of friends watched them leave.

***

Brian was snoozing in his bed. William was reading the paper, as it was his day off. With Karlee up front, pups in the middle and Steele in the back, they made their way upstairs to the third floor. Two of the pups had to be carried part of the way. When they reached the door that Karlee once lived behind, Karlee scratched at the door. William looked up and wondered who it was or what is was. He stood and walked to the door.

When he opened it, five puppies dashed in yipping and yapping excitedly. Steele and Karlee tried to smile innocent. "Oh Karlee!" William wrapped his arms around Karlee’s neck and hugged the husky. Steele strode in before William closed the door.

"Uncle Brian!" Tanya barked excited. Brian startled awake and was soon covered by the puppies. He broke out laughing as they crawled all over him. Steele sat and watched his offspring. He chuckled, as Brian was getting no where with the pups. Karlee was being stroked all over by her joyful owner.

"Oh why me?" Brian chuckled and Steele grinned. William got up to fix some coffee for himself.

"You should have seen them on Zip. They thought he was a large puppy!" Karlee said and the two males laughed aloud.

"So what’s their names?" Brian asked and Nickel stepped forward.

"I’m Nickel." The black/white pup said sure of himself. Brian smiled. Karlee spoke up. "The two females are Sapphire and Tanya. That male is Memphis." Karlee looked around.

"Where’s Saber?" She asked. Steele looked around and saw the pup about to get barbecued by a wire from a lamp. Steele moved over to the pup and picked him up by his scruff. Saber yapped as he was lifted in the air. Steele sat him down by his sister, Tanya. "Here he is." Steele said.

Brian chuckled. "He’s going to be trouble." Brian poked Saber’s white belly. Saber giggled before nipping Brian’s brown paw. "Ouch." Brian withdrew his paw and Saber barked happily. Steele and Karlee laughed.

***

"I’m so scared!" Karlee said as she sat next to the crate with Steele at her side. Steele comforted her with a fond nuzzle. The parents were sad to see them go.

"Honey they will go to good homes. You’ll see." Steele as he looked at Karlee. The puppies were in the crate playing around with each other.

Karlee sighed. "I guess you’re right." She smiled weakly before giving Steele’s cheek a kiss.

The first pup to go was Nickel. His owner use to be a well-known breeder down south but then he moved up north. Nickel barked goodbye to his siblings. Steele and Karlee smiled as they watched Nickel be carried away.

"Look mommy! Free puppies!" A little girl ran up to the crate. The four pups were pushing against each other trying to be the second to go. The mother stood next to her child as she watched them. "Remember Sarah this puppy will be your responsibility." Sarah nodded as she pondered which one she should take home. Tanya had won the heart of Sarah. Tanya pranced around the crate just as nimble as a deer. Sarah giggled and picked up Tanya and looked at her eyes. "Mommy she looks just like her mother." Sarah looked toward Karlee. Karlee gave a doggy grin and Sarah’s mother chuckled. "Alright this is the one." Sarah said as she held Tanya close. Tanya licked her new owner’s cheek. Sarah giggled as she headed home.

Memphis was soon taken by the saw mill owner. Because of his large size he could be used to haul lumber. "Only Sapphire and Saber left." Steele said but he had spoken too soon. The mail team musher was walking by when Sapphire barked. She had caught his attention and he walked over. The musher knelt down. "Hello sweetie." He spoke softly as Sapphire barked again. "Well…" Sapphire