Chapter 20
Hannah leaned against the deck railing at the house. Jessie was running wildly around the yard in the dark. Night was coming earlier every day now with the long summer days fading fast. Time seemed to race in Alaska as summer wound to a close; endless days rapidly became shorter. One sensed the quickening of winter, as fall was a blink here, not a true season. Snow would fall as early as October, nights coming early and slow summer sunsets a distant memory. Hannah thought back to Jessie’s reaction when she’d arrived at Luke’s house with his brothers. Jessie had leaped in the air and circled her excitedly. She’d tried to kneel down to greet her, only to have Jessie almost knock her over in excitement. His parents hadn’t returned from dinner yet, so she hadn’t met them.
She felt
