SADIE
Sadie slippedon a pair of comfy flats, grabbed a backpack, and headed out the door, armed with enough leftover fettuccine alfredo to keep Conner fed for the rest of the week. If she hadn’t already stuffed her face, the aroma might entice her to detour somewhere private so she could inhale a decent portion. Mom was an amazing cook. She’d miss that when she moved into her own place.
But her sisters were right: it was time.
She was twenty-six, going on twenty-seven in a matter of weeks.
Getting back on her feet was one thing. But a year later, living with her parents was now embarrassing. Add to it that she’dkillfor a night of sleep that wasn’t interrupted by Melly’s cries, and Sadie was ready to pack her bags the second she found a large-dog-friendly place to rent. Melly was the cutest little girl in all the land. Unless it was two thirty in the morning and she was cranky. Then she was the world’s cutest terrorist.
Plus, she could always pilfer leftovers.
Sadie opted to leave her car in her parents’ driveway and travel on foot instead. Summer in Sunset Ridge was made for walking.
After chaotic day number three at the vet clinic, she craved the fresh air and easy stroll to let her nerves calm the rest of the way. Today had tested her patience. Her sanity.
First it was the angry customer who unloaded on her on the phone when she informed him she couldn’t get his cat in for a routine checkup for two weeks. Then Marc’s cherished coffee maker dying a slow but expected death and leaving the entire office without much-needed fuel. But the clear winner was the golden retriever puppy who lost his breakfast and then the ability to control his bladder down the front of her shirt, followed by the snide comment from her brother that receptionists weren’t usually sohands on.
It had taken every ounce of willpowernotto walk out the door at ten thirty. At least she’d packed a change of clothes.
The day hadn’t gotten any better.
When Marc caught her offering Mom’s butterscotch chip cookies to Conner—never mind she’d offered to everyone else first—he chose that moment to assign her lobby cleanup. Which, after an early afternoon downpour, was painted in muddy streaks and smelled like a hundred wet dogs.
Thankfully, the air was now crisp and refreshing, the sun warming her skin. For once, the calming technique seemed to work. Or maybe it was Alaska. She may not be an outdoorsy girl, but she could appreciate the magical qualities of nature that surrounded her within the safety of the city limits. Hard to be too Zen in the middle of nowhere knowing a bear might appear out of thin air.
She was so caught up in breathing techniques that she nearly missed Ed.
Sadie let out a tiny scream in the middle of Fireweed Lane. The casserole dish rattled in her shaky grip. She hugged it against her chest.
“We meet again,” she said to the moose as she stood in the middle of the deserted road. As much as she needed to keep her distance from Conner because her feelings weredefinitelyout of control, she craved this quick meetup. One where Marc wasn’t breathing down her neck to make sure she behaved. She wasnotgoing to lose the excuse she had to see him.
Ed tilted his head as he stared back.
“Okay, maybequickis a lie. But it’s not my fault he didn’t tell me his dog was an Instagram celebrity.” Hence the backpack filled with recording equipment to help make a couple of videos for Boomer’s eager fans.
Ed snorted, and seemed to nod toward the casserole dish cradled in her arms.
“Oh, no. You arenotgetting Mom’s fettucine alfredo. You’ll have to trample me first.” When Ed took a step forward, Sadie squeaked again. “Kidding! Kidding, Ed! Geez.” She quickly scanned the neighborhood, wondering where everyone was. It was too beautiful a night to be inside. Unless they were secretly recording her for TikTok.Notthe way she wanted to be remembered should this all end badly.
Sadie’s heart raced as the two remained in a standoff.
She was only two blocks from Conner’s place. But unless she wanted to backtrack and take a very long detour, she was stuck waiting this out.
“Where is yourgirlfriend, Ed?” The moose seemed to perk at that. Well, maybe he did. Maybe she imagined it. After the agonizingly long day, she was probably hallucinating. “Should we expect to see moosettes any time soon? Or did your relationship end up in the toilet like mine?”
Ed snorted, as if he resented that comment. Or it might mean he was getting annoyed with the human taunting him from the middle of the residential street. Sadie hugged the casserole dish tighter. At least this time she was wearing semi-practical shoes if the need to run arose.
“I take it back, okay? I bet you have a wonderful . . . moose wife.”
Ed lifted his head and Sadie swore she caught a smile. She squinted her eyes shut hard and reopened them. She needed a good night’s sleep worse than she needed her next breath. She was seriously seeing things. Delusional things. Moose didn’t smile. They didn’t find a mate for life like penguins or wolves. They were loners outside of rutting season.
“Can Ipleasepass?”
When the moose trotted down the street, away from her, she stood dumbfounded. No way he’d understood her. That wasn’t possible. But her head hurt too much to worry about what was possible and not anymore.
She waited until Ed was several yards down Fireweed Lane before she dared to cross the street. She was only half a block further when she spotted Marc’s truck turning a corner and heading out of town. Her heart leapt into her throat, realizing her brother had likely been at Conner’s place. The brother that would kill her deader than dead if he thought she was trying to spend time with his best friend.
“Ed?” she whispered, automatically looking over her shoulder despite the fact that he was no longer visible. “I’m going crazy.”
