Chapter 1

      Bridget Moore hesitated over the last of her boxes, letting her fingertips hover less than an inch from the taped-up flaps. Might it be better to leave the offensive cardboard container sealed up tight and pushed into the back of her closet where she could forget about it all over again?

      That was the thing about moving.

      You packed up your life into a series of boxes and prayed they would fit in well where you were going next. Sometimes once-precious belongings needed to be tossed, donated, or passed on to a friend, and sometimes the things you most wished to part with clung to the edges of your life like pesky, persistent burrs.

      Bridget’s hands shook as she brought them closer to the box, then let them fall to her side. She moved to the window that overlooked the courtyard and stared down at the yellow-green grass. Spring breakup had ended, and now Alaska’s warm season was on its way in. The world around her became greener with each day. If the apartment brochure could be trusted, soon the space would fill out with a cascade of beautiful blooms in almost every color of the rainbow.

      She watched as a man jogged through the space with two energetic huskies in tow. They picked up speed and soon zoomed out of view, but not soon enough. Her own dogs had noticed their neighbors and were now barking in an off-key chorus. Rosco and Baby, the rottie and pit bull mix she’d rescued from the shelter a few months back, both had deep, menacing barks. Meanwhile, Teddy, her Pomeranian, had a high, grating bark that sounded at random intervals throughout the