They said she darted out the door when housekeeping went into my room for turndown service. I thought I put the do-not-disturb sign on the door.” Clementine rushed out of the convention center, toward the Northern Lights Inn. From a few blocks away, it looked so cozy. A ribbon of smoke curled from its chimney and the windows, rimmed with snow, glowed with a friendly, gold warmth. The quaint scene did little to quell her worry. Somewhere inside that building, her tiny dog was lost. “We’ll find her.” Ben gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and she glanced over at him. He looked so strong, so certain. Her frantic heartbeat slowly returned to normal. “She was upset that I left her behind.” Clementine shook her head. “I promised her a doggy bag. I totally forgot.” “I promised Kodiak the same thing. I’ve got the leftover caribou all wrapped up in my camera bag.” Ben ran his thumb in soothing circles over the back of her hand. “He can share.” “Thank you.” She tried to tell herself that everything was going to be fine.
