“You know that’s never going to happen,” Reggie pointed out. “You’re coming with me. You saw I’d already started packing your suitcase.”

Belle whined low in her throat, apparently not reassured by the reminder.

Reggie stacked a second bag of dog food on top of the first, then added three cases of canned food. She returned to the house to double-check everything was locked up and the furnace turned down to sixty.

One suitcase was already by the door. She went through the second one on the sofa, double-checking that there were plenty of sweaters, coats and flannel onesies for Belle. She added a few of her dog’s favorite toys and several bags of Greenies treats. Belle licked her lips when she saw the familiar bags.

“Yeah, not until we get to Wishing Tree,” Reggie said. “Okay, I think that’s everything.”

She closed the suitcase before pulling Belle’s pink collar out of her jeans back pocket. “All right, pretty girl. Let’s get this on you.”

Belle sat patiently while Reggie fastened it into place. Once that was done, Reggie carried out the suitcases before returning for her coat, her handbag and her dog. She got Belle settled in the back, confirmed the car reindeer antlers were secured, then got in behind the wheel and started the engine.

“We’ll stop for burgers on the way,” she told Belle. “At that place you like.”

Belle wagged her tail as she looked out the window. Belle was very much a girl who enjoyed a burger.

Reggie drove north out of Seattle. She would take Highway 2 most of the way, before turning off for the smaller highway to Wishing Tree. The town was about twenty miles south of the Canadian border, and about a hundred fifty miles east of Seattle. She’d already checked the state’s department of transportation website and knew she would have a relatively easy drive with bare and dry roads the whole way.

Thinking about the lack of snow was a nice distraction, but eventually she found herself admitting that she was both happy to be going home and a little apprehensive.

Maybe a year was enough time for everyone to forget what had happened to her, she thought. At least Jake wasn’t living in Wishing Tree anymore. Paisley, her best friend and source for all the local news, had let her know that Jake had been promoted to manager of one of his family’s properties in Colorado after his stint as assistant manager of the resort just outside of Wishing Tree. The promotion had happened right after the first of the year. Although Paisley was often the go-to person for any interesting gossip, in this case, she had insider knowledge. Not only was she firmly on Team Reggie when it came to the breakup, she was also the events manager at the resort.