Spring Forcast

She could hear the dogs yapping as sled crested a low ridge, fat flakes of snow fell in swirls blurring visibility. The wind cutting through the back of her parka felt like sharp knives. Not enough time to head for the treeline and hide. He was following her snowshoe tracks. The baby strapped at her breast whimpered, awakened by her quickening heartbeat and the smell of fear.

"Aho Mady. You need a ride to town?" His voice smooth and thick, like the oil in big metal pipeline she was following.

"My milk is drying up, I need to get some formula for the baby."

Her heart raced and she could feel cold beads of sweat run down her arm pits.

"You should have let me know Mady, I would have saved you the trip." Taking off a heavy leather mitten, his callused hand swiped at the wet ice that hung in trailing crystals from his mustache and beard. "Mady, it's dangerous to leave the cabin this time of year. Grizzles are coming out of hibernation, you should know that? Why didn't you take a rifle?"

"I wanted to travel fast and be back before nightfall. I was going to ask someone in town to give me a ride back to the cabin." Her lower jaw quivering as she spoke. Trying to keep her voice under control, she smiled not looking into the mans eyes. The dogs now snapping at each other and barking loudly, they jerked in their harness causing the sled to lunge several feet forward.

"Hold!" he yelled loudly.

The underlying quality of emotion in his voice sent uncontrollable shivers through the young woman. The baby's crying muffled inside the heavy down parka increased as she knelt to remove her snowshoes and climb carefully into the dog sled.

The snow had stop by the time the sled team reached the outskirts of the village. Someone was cussing, pulling on a snowmobile's starter cord for the umpteenth time. Idling smoothly, a small single engine plane sat on short newly plowed airstrip. Two uniform men with rifles began walking toward the quonset hut where the dog sled had just stopped. Patting the woman's shoulder roughly, the man leaned forward and ask, "Did you know the mail plane was coming in today?"

Mady shaking her head no, smiled in relief.