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Kirby laughed into my hair. “What are you talking about? We said we might visit each other.”

When we thought we’d be living half an hour apart. “I’m serious.” I pulled back and stared at her in wonder. “What happened?”

Pearl was here, but no one else got out of the car. I remembered how willingly her parents had opened their door to strangers.

“Shit happened,” she said.

Up close, the year we’d spent apart showed. Her purple hair had mostly grown out. She had dirt on her face and a healing cut near her eyebrow. Dried blood spattered the front of her hoodie.

My stomach dropped. “Are you hurt?”

“It’s not mine.”

I raised my brows and waited.

“Most of it. Long story.”

I took a closer look at the battered car sitting diagonally across the entrance. The front corner had been crushed, and the bumper hung slightly askew. Several strips of silver tape appeared to be the only thing keeping it from falling off.

“What did you do to your car? Is that duct tape holding it together?”

Kirby followed my line of sight. “Oh, that. Yeah, turns out I’m an even worse driver than you.”

I laughed as another tear slipped down my cheek. “I missed you so much.”

I’d left a note in Sadie’s mailbox because I couldn’t stand the thought of her turning up one day and finding us gone. I’d never really expected her to use it.

She wiped her eyes with the heels of her hands. “I missed you too.”

I pulled her close again, the hug softer and warmer this time around. She gripped my shirt at the back and let out a breath that sounded like a year’s worth of pressure releasing.

When something rubbed against my ankle, I eased back from her and checked the ground. Pearl sat beside my foot, tail wagging just the teensiest bit at the end.

“Pearly girl.”

Her ears perked at the sound of her name.

I dropped into a crouch and stroked her head. “She seems different now,” I said, looking up at Kirby. “Not so timid, maybe.”

Her eyes turned sad. “She’s my shadow and fierce protector. I couldn’t have got through this without her.”

I smiled at the affection in her voice, wishing there hadn’t been a need for the support.

As I straightened, Norm nudged Pearl so hard that she almost toppled over, then ran off and checked over his shoulder to make sure she came with him. Pearl didn’t need a formal invitation. She sprang to her feet again and tore after him, her tiny bark travelling down the driveway.

“He’s the official welcome wagon around here,” I said, watching them.

Kirby sighed. “All it takes is a look, and she forgets about our training. Over a boy, too.”

When Luke rounded the corner, Kirby took an involuntary step backward, and a breath hitched in her throat. “No way. I didn’t want to ask, you know. Just in case…”

The tightness in my chest eased. “He’s still here.”

The moment he clocked who was at the gate, his face lit up, and he broke into an easy jog. “Kirby.”

When he reached us, Kirby didn’t have a smartass comment ready. She didn’t say anything at all. She just let out a rough sound and threw her arms around him.

There was no hesitation in him anymore, no shock at the physical contact. His arms encircled her, and he closed his eyes, hugging her back.