It was an easy twenty above zero and getting warmer, the perfect day for mushing, and as they lit out cross-country, onto the familiar path up the river, over the ridge that crossed it, and into the bush, she felt herself at one with the movement of the sled, her eyes on the land.

A wide expanse, deepened by the frozen river, cut a swath into the forest. They mushed through a thick grove of pine, then out onto a field that in the summer was covered with pink dwarf fireweed and yellow poppies, wild lavender. The dogs yipped as they ran, excited now to stretch their legs.

They crossed over a ridge, then along a valley, and in the distance, she made out the ranch, some two miles to the northwest, sitting in a pocket of land that unfurled over hill and valley like a white, pristine carpet. On a hill overlooking the lake, rimmed with a handful of cabins, was the beautiful lodge built by two generations of Kingston men and women. It was a sort of kingdom, to her mind, a place of refuge and safety. Sure, Dodge didn’t have a mother, but his grandmother had lived at the opposite end of the lake, and they never seemed to lack for anything. No running to the lake for water, no heating their house with wood. More, there was a peace here, despite their losses. She envied it.

She should have said yes to Dodge, all those years ago, when he asked her to be part of this.

Granite must have understood their destination because he made a beeline for the lodge, Merlin following his lead. The sun was up now, the peaks to the north and west clear and white against a brilliant blue sky. The unblemished snow glistened, adding a sparkle to the day and the quiet of her ride. The power of the dogs carrying her swept through Echo.

This was where she belonged. She knew it as she knew her dogs, the pattern of her hand, the song of the mountains.

“He couldn’t leave. I couldn’t stay. But we still love each other.”

Oh, Dodge. What was she going to do?

“Easy, dogs,” she said as they drew near, and she stepped on the brake to slow them down. The dogs ran her right into the driveway, and she noticed that the door to the Quonset barn was open, the chopper missing.

They stopped at her command, and she tied up the sled. The dogs stood panting, still hyper after their sprint.

The front door opened, and Barry Kingston came out onto the massive porch. “Echo? Is that you?”

She waved.

“I’ll bring some water for the dogs.”

She met him at the arctic entry and carried the bucket of water to the team. The dogs gathered around, slurping it up. Then she headed inside.