Nine
“Be honest,” Evie said, taking the cup of coffee Skye offered. “You’re glad to be back.”
Skye led her friend out onto the deck of her rented cabin and peered at the stand of aspen behind it. Patches of pale gold already mottled the once-emerald canopy of the grove. As her gaze wandered up the slopes of the mountains, she noticed splashes of vibrant yellow amongst the black-green of the pines. She turned back to Evie and took a sip of her coffee to delay answering. It was perhaps a little late in the day for coffee, as it was now after one, but the cool air warranted a hot beverage.
Was she glad to be back in Northstar? Absolutely. She’d arrived back yesterday, Friday, and breathed a sigh of relief and contentment when she’d mounted the stairs to this very deck. She had missed the w
