Becca picked her words carefully, not wanting to start a fight. “I understand. I don’t want her to be miserable, either. Amy tells me that most kids cry the first day and then they get used to it, though. It’s a big change for them. If it helps, I’d be happy to go for a few days and stay at her side so she knows there’s nothing to fear.”

He squeezed her tight. “You’d do that for me?”

“No, I’d do that for Libby.” She looked up at him, beaming. “She’s my daughter, too, now.”

“Damn, I love you, woman,” he growled. “Why is it you have the answer for everything?”

“Because the answer for everything is easy.” As long as they loved each other, nothing else seemed to matter all that much.

EPILOGUE

Three Years Later

Slow down,” Becca called after Libby as her daughter raced ahead, the dog bounding at her side. The narrow trail wound through the trees, and in the distance, tall mountains loomed. Even though it was August, the weather was cool and the mountains in the distance had snowy caps. Everywhere around them there were green trees and rolling hills and the air felt clean and fresh. Becca took in a deep breath, smiling to herself. So this was Alaska.

“Listen to your mother,” Hank called, heading down the path after Libby. He was laden with their gear, arms full of sleeping bags and clothing, a cooler, and fishing rods. He turned to give her an exasperated look. “She listens real well, doesn’t she?”

“She’s seven. I don’t think her eardrums will fully develop until she’s twenty-one or so,” Becca teased.

“Da!” cried the little boy at Becca’s side. “Da!”

“Someone’s listening,” she told Hank with amusement, and beamed down at her toddling son at her side. She was walking the slowest out of all of them, because Henry Junior was just now testing his little legs at the age of fourteen months, and it was darling to watch those chubby little legs move.

“You watch your mama,” Hank told his son as he moved past with the bags. “I’ll be back in a moment. Gotta make sure Libby remembers the way.” He headed off after his daughter, disappearing into the trees after her.

“Da!” Henry said again, pointing after his father.

“That’s right,” Becca told him, proud. “That’s your daddy.” She wanted to reach over and smooth the cowlicks of dark hair crowning the baby’s head, but it was more important to let him stretch his legs after so long in the car. All of them had felt the long car ride, but no one had wanted to leave the dog Alaska behind for weeks while they visited the cabin. Alaska was a long-legged, overeager goofball of a dog who tended to chew things she shouldn’t and get into everything, but she was also fiercely devoted to Libby and it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have another set of eyes on the rambunctious seven-year-old out in the woods. The older Libby got, the more trouble she got into, but it was just a phase, Becca hoped. She’d outgrow it at some point. And if not, well, they’d just have to learn to walk faster to keep up with her.