already.”

Terry clicked her tongue.  “Pete, I know it’s hard for you to handle even after all these years.  Whether you want to believe me or not, I still miss him every time I think about him.  But he’s not here anymore, which is something we both need to deal with.  And I’ve told you lots of times that if there’s any way I can help – and no, I’m not leaving Rex,” she added before he could open his mouth.  “But if there’s anything I can do to help, just tell me what it is.”

Under ordinary circumstances, Pete would have ended the conversation there with some nasty quip about, “Then get yourself and your fairy tales out of my life.”  This time, however, something different came out.  “Okay then,” he replied.  “Tell me how to get a girl who actually wants me.”

Terry blinked.  Why should he ask her that? Granted, she knew how to be won over, but she didn’t really know how to win someone over.  Never in her life had she taken an aggressive or pursuing role in a relationship.  This was the sort of question for a dad, or…  ‘What am I thinking?’ she wondered.  ‘He’ll never listen to an idea like that.’

He already doesn’t listen, answered a voice inside.  You’ve got nothing to lose.

 Taking a deep breath, she decided to risk it.  “I’m afraid I can’t help you much directly on that,” she admitted, “But I can give you a little advice.  One: be sensitive.  It’s not just about you, it’s about her too.”

Pete snorted.  ‘Same old lecture,’ he thought.  “And what’s the other shoe?  I know you’re just waiting to drop it.”

Terry took a deep breath.  “Talk to an expert,” she replied.  “Ask Toby.”

This was too much for Pete.  “Oh, please!” he snapped.  “You want me to go to him for tips on dealing with girls?  That mixed breed has only dated one!”

“Who is now the mother of his pups,” she pointed out, “Meaning it’s pretty obvious he knows something about…”

“Stuff it,” he spat, turning away.  “I’ve had enough of you trying to make me accept that mutt runt, so get it straight: he may be your pup, but he ain’t my brother.”  And with that he walked away.

Terry sighed and watched with her ears back and her tail down as her son left.  A silent tear formed in the corner of her eye, slid down her face to her jaw, and hung there for a moment before falling into snow that absorbed it with neither splash nor sound.

You did the right thing, the voice consoled.

‘Yes,’ she thought in reply.  ‘Yes I did.  So why do I feel so bad?’

Pete walked back to his house, as disgusted as if he’d ever been.  She actually wanted him, a dog above even other purebreds, to ask for help from some two-bit mixed breed?

“It’s not breed that matters.  Being a well-bred pedigree doesn’t mean half as much as having your heart in your work.”

 He snorted, all but spitting on the voice of his father’s memory.  “Heart in my work,” he grumbled.  “What’ve I been doing all these years if I wasn’t ‘putting my heart in it?’”

“Now you’re talking to yourself.”

Pete jerked his head up, looked around, and his eyes narrowed.  Toby was staring at him, his expression a mix of distrust and mild curiosity.  Faced with his half-brother, Pete felt a strong wave of contempt well up within him.  ‘Why did I save him?’ he wondered.  “Get lost, mutt,” he spat.  “What are you doing here anyway?”

Toby’s head jerked back.  No matter how much he came to expect it, Pete’s attitude never ceased to put him off.  “If you must know,” he replied stiffly, “I was on my way to visit Luna and the kids.  Sorry to bother you.”  And he turned and trotted off, his demeanor as charming as an indignant skunk.

“Hey, runt,” Pete called.

Toby turned, his mouth set in a firm line and his eyebrows arched with irritation.  “That’s not my name.”

Pete scowled, although for once it was more at himself than at Toby.  ‘I hate my mouth,’ he thought.  But why should he care what the mutt’s name was?  He was a runt, after all.  Why he was even talking to him he couldn’t imagine, but unbidden it came out, “Look, Toby, I need some help.”

The blusky snorted.  “Well good luck with that.”

“Rrrgh,” growled Pete.  Much as he hated to ask for help, he had never been a dog to take no for an answer.  “Look, I’ve got a problem and Mom told me to talk to you about it, OK?”

Toby’s expression changed from disdain to a mix of worry and indignation.  ‘What does he take me for?’ he wondered.  “I think the cold has frozen your brain,” he snapped.  And so saying, he ran the remainder of the way to Luna’s house with Pete in pursuit.

“Ah, come on,” Pete persisted.  “I’m your half-brother, aren’t I?”

Toby spared him one last look, his eyebrows bent downward like a drawn bow under the burden of a lifetime of distrust for the husky.  Ordinarily he probably would have been delighted at the chance to help Pete.  But the nasty names, together with the hold-up to seeing Luna and the pups, had ill effected his disposition.  “So?” he asked.  “Cain and Abel were full brothers.  Look what happened to them.”  And so saying, he slid through the pet flap and let it close behind him with a decisive thump.

“Who was that outside?” asked Luna.

Toby scowled.  “Pete,” he replied.

Luna’s ears twitched.  “Pete?” she echoed.

Arrow’s ears pricked up.  “Uncle Pete?” she inquired.  She had taken an interest in Pete’s doings since the events a few days past, which you will know about if you have read A Time For Miracles, and had expressed hopes that maybe he would turn nice.  “Did he come to say sorry?”

Toby shook his head as he lay down facing Luna and the puppies.  “Nah, he was up to one of his goofy schemes again.  Had some nutty story about Mom telling him to ask me for help.”

Luna gave him a look.  “And you told him no.”

Toby shrugged.  “Well, duh.  He’s gotta be up to something if he comes to me with a story like that.”

Arrow tilted her head.  “But Dad, you always say to help other people.  Like Charlie, or that wolf cub, or me, or…”

“This is different,” Toby interrupted, secretly irritated that Arrow had proven such an apt student when it came to kindness.  “Pete doesn’t have a decent bone in his body, or an outgoing hair in his hide.  He could be under six feet of ice in a frozen river and he’d be too stuck-up to ask for help.  Besides,” he threw in as an afterthought, “He was the reason Loki needed my help in the first place.”

“But…”

Luna cleared her throat.  “Arrow, why don’t you let me talk to Toby alone for a minute?”

“Sure Mom,” Arrow nodded, and trundled off to some other part of the house.

Toby gave Luna a look.  “OK, what’s on your mind?”

Luna frowned, apparently deep in thought.  “I don’t know,” she replied.  “Call me crazy, but I don’t think Pete’s got the brains to come up with anything like that story.  Or if he did, it would have crossed his mind that you’d go to Terry and ask her.”  Toby briefly felt guilty for not thinking of that himself.  “Is he still out there?”

Toby trotted over to the window.  “Yep, still on the porch,” he replied.  “Huh, like he thinks I’m going to buy his story.”  He looked back at his mate to find her apparently deep in thought.  “What?”

“Well,” she replied, “What if it’s not just a story?  I wouldn’t be too surprised if your Mom did send him to you for advice.”

He snorted.  “Oh, come on, she’s not a lunatic.”

Luna shook her head and nudged one of the puppies closer to her stomach.  “After she had you, that’s debatable.  But I wouldn’t put it past her to do anything she thought might make you two stop fighting.”

Toby hated to admit it, but she had a point.  “Well, even if it’s true, why help him?” he asked.  “After all the trouble he’s made for us, it’s about time he had to handle the real world.”

The look on Luna’s face instantly made him feel guilty.  “Is that what you really think?” she challenged.

He shrugged.  “Well, yeah,” he admitted.

Luna shook her head.  “Well if that’s the case, maybe I should have picked a different dog.  Because you’re not talking like the Toby I know.”

“Luna!” he burst out.  “You’re not saying I should help him, are you?”

She clicked her tongue.  “Well, think it over for yourself,” she replied.  “He did save your life, so in a way you owe him.  And if nothing else, now’s as good a time as any to return the favor and get the debt off your back.”

Toby stared at her.  “You sound different than usual.”

“Maybe I’ve learned a few things about the way your mom probably thinks,” she replied, not meeting his gaze.  Instead, she stared down into the basket at the pups.  Sensing Toby following her gaze, she asked him, “What would you do if they could see you and hear you?  What would you do if Pete were one of them?”

Toby hadn’t thought of this.  He was determined to be a good father, the best in Nome or the world.  But for all he knew, maybe one of the pups might not come out so well.  If one of them took the wrong road and then came back, would he accept them?  He was unable to speak as Luna went on, turning her head in the direction of Arrow’s departure.  “What about Arrow?” she asked.  “Do you want her to grow up thinking that you should only be kind if the other dog is first?  Because if that’s what you want, we might as well have left her out on the street.”

Toby reluctantly stepped out.  “Alright, now what do you want?”

Inwardly, Pete was fuming.  Why did he need help from some mixed-breed, especially this one?  Consoling himself with the thought of rubbing it in