I pulled up in front of my house, in the middle of quintessential suburbia. Tidy, well-maintained homes with white picket fences and jewel-green lawns were separated by neat shrubs and towering apple trees, all arranged over a gently sloping hillside with views of the Cascade foothills.

When I opened the door, Charlie went crazy, barking and baying with excitement. He pushed his nose against my knees, and I dropped to the floor, wrapping my arms around him for a doggy cuddle. He snuffled happily against my neck.

Once he’d calmed down, I went upstairs for a quick shower, then made myself a sandwich. Charlie’s nails clicked against the hardwood as he followed me around, tail wagging happily. After I’d finished eating, I clipped his leash to his collar.

“Come on, Charlie.”

We walked through the neighborhood at a fast pace toward the woods, where I wouldn’t be bothered by people I didn’t want to speak to. The rain had stopped, a chill mist replacing it. My breath coated the air in white and my fingertips quickly cooled as I stumbled, weak and numb, through the underbrush. The wind beat heavily against the naked trees.

Suddenly my skin prickled, the hairs on the back of my neck rising. A twig snapped nearby, and I jumped. I peered into the murk. The dreary mist glazed the ground, obscuring my ankles in a ghostly swirl. My teeth began to chatter. I came to a complete stop and turned around in a circle. A shadow danced nearby, but it was nothing; the movement of the wind twisting through the trees.

My imagination was going wild, my heart slamming erratically in my chest. I mentally shook myself. No one was there. I had to get control of myself. Nobody but Gabe knew what I’d been thinking.

I hurried Charlie back the way we came, icy-cold fingernails raking the back of my neck as I ran.

As I approached my house, my neighbor Jennifer was just getting into her car. Jennifer was a pert blond with twin girls just two years older than Josh. She ran a dog grooming shop in town.

She waved and crossed the grass that separated our houses, meeting me at the front door. She wrapped her arms around me, smelling of lavender and the faint musky scent of dogs. I stood stiff as a board in her soft arms. If I fell apart now, I might never be able to put myself back together.

“I’m so sorry, Emma. I heard about Josh.”

“Wow, that was fast.” I barely even tried to hide my irritation.

“Well, you know Brad’s sister-in-law works in the ER. She told Brad and he told me.”

“Ahh.”

“So how are you guys doing? Do you need anything?” Jennifer asked, her brown eyes pools of liquid sympathy.