“I’ve got her.” Seb took her hand, and they went to make a fuss over the lead dogs.

“I’m using the bigger sled for Christy and Seb so it can be a family trip,” Robyn said, “but I thought it would be fun for you to give it a try. Although Zac already knows what he’s doing, of course.”

Christy caught Alix’s eye and gave her a wicked smile.

“A celestial display,” she murmured. “You are basically going to see stars with that man.”

Alix bared her teeth. It was the closest approximation to a smile that she could produce, given the misery she was feeling.

There was more than one way to see stars, she thought. A bonk on the head could achieve the same effect.

She could be honest with Christy, but that would mean talking about it, and she couldn’t bear to talk about it.

Robyn finished the preparation while around them the dogs barked for attention, excited and impatient. “Don’t worry about the noise. They rarely bark when they’re running. All right! Let’s do this. Holly, you need to sit with your daddy, and do not leap out while we’re moving.”

“I want to steer them.” Holly, fearless as ever, refused to sit still in the sled until Seb scooped her up and tucked her inside the waterproof sled cover that added an extra layer of protection.

“Don’t let her steer. We’ll end up in Russia,” Christy said as she climbed in with them, looking at her daughter with a mixture of exasperation and amusement. “Are you holding on to her, Seb?”

“I’m holding on to her.”

Zac approached Alix and gave a brief smile. “It’s a relief not to have responsibility for her on this particular trip, don’t you think?” He was unusually formal, as if they’d recently met, and she assumed he was finding the whole thing awkward, too.

“Definitely one for Christy and Seb.”

Not wanting to prolong the agony for either of them, she was grateful that Robyn chose that moment to give her a swift lesson.

Robyn demonstrated, and Alix learned to apply her weight to the brake runners and then shift it to allow the sled to move.

“You control the dogs with verbal commands. Although, if I’m honest, they tend to just go the moment you release the brake.”

Great.

Alix adjusted her gloves. “Verbal commands. Got it. Do they understand help, help? Because I have a feeling I’m going to be using that one a lot.”

Zac laughed. “Shall I go first? We can switch on the way back.”

“No, thanks. I can do this.” And hopefully focusing on not killing them would take her mind off her other feelings.

“Whatever you do, don’t step off the brakes until you’re ready to go because if you do, they’ll leave you behind. It’s happened to most of us at one time or another.” Robyn gave her a few more last-minute instructions and then lifted the snow anchor. The dogs sped forward along the snowy trail, pulling hard as the sled shot through the snow.