Page 9 of Lumberjack Bride

I raise my hands in surrender and take a step back. “Okay, okay. I’ll leave.” I look at the box again. “But you call me if you need me. I’ll come right back.”

“I will. Thank you.”

“I love you,” I say.

Her smile widens. “I love you, too.”

I kiss my palm to blow her a kiss. “Goodnight, Hazel.”

She catches the phantom smooch. “Goodnight, Leo.”

* * *

I drive backto the house, feeling a tug of loneliness deep in my gut as I pull into the driveway. It gets worse the second I see Pearl sitting on the porch. She stands up on all fours and wags her golden tail so hard it smacks against the banister as soon as the truck comes into view.

I hop out and close the door behind me. She keeps that hopeful glint in her eyes until I reach the front door and she realizes that Hazel isn’t with me.

“Pearl,” I say. “Come on.”

She lets out a whine.

I smile and take a knee. “I know, buddy. I miss her, too.” I scratch behind her ears. “But it’s just two more nights, and then, she’ll be back for the rest of our lives. All right? We can do two more nights, right?”

Pearl looks back at me with a mixture of annoyance and doubt.

“Trust me,” I say, tapping my chest. “Hazel is coming back.”