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she’d think Dr. Perry could at least afford a decent chair.
    The nurse, Mrs. Webster, according to her nameplate, read over the questionnaire Karen had completed earlier. “It says here you haven’t been feeling well.”
    â€œYes,” Karen responded crisply. “I think it might be the smog.”
    â€œThe smog.” Mrs. Webster made a notation on the chart.
    â€œYou see, I’m from Alaska. I’ve never been exposed to smog before. My lungs don’t like it.”
    â€œI don’t imagine they do.”
    â€œI believe it’s affecting my general health. I just feel crummy.” Although she felt fine at the moment, Karen found herself battling back tears. “And I—I seem to have developed the ability to weep at nothing.”
    Mrs. Webster’s eyes searched out hers. “Oh?”
    Karen fumbled in her purse for a tissue and blew her nose. “I tear up at the most ludicrous things. I can’t tell you how embarrassing it is.”
    â€œYou miss Alaska?”
    â€œYes…no. I don’t want to go back…I mean I do, I really do, but I can’t. You see, I accepted this promotion, and Paragon, the company I work for, moved me here.” She stopped and blew her nose a second time. “Sorry.”
    â€œLet’s go back to the part about not feeling well. Do you have any other symptoms the doctor should know about?”
    She shrugged. “Not really.”
    Mrs. Webster walked over to the drawer and took out some medical instruments. “I’m sure Dr. Perry’s going to want a blood sample.”
    â€œFine.” She held out her arm for the nurse. “I feel sluggish. That’s one of my symptoms,” she clarified. “I wake up in the morning and I don’t want to get out of bed.”
    â€œI’ll mention that to the doctor.”
    â€œDo you think it might be the smog?” she asked hopefully, watching the older woman.
    â€œI don’t know. I’ll let the doctor decide. But we’ve recently seen several people with low-grade flu symptoms.”
    That was reassuring. Maybe all she had was a simple case of the flu.
    Ten minutes later, after the nurse had taken some blood andKaren had changed out of her clothes and into a flimsy paper gown, she met Dr. Perry. He was much younger than she’d expected. Early thirties, if that.
    â€œHello, Karen,” he said. His voice was kindly.
    â€œHi.” She felt more than a little ridiculous in her blue paper outfit.
    While she tucked the gown more securely under her thighs, Dr. Perry read her chart. “I understand you haven’t been feeling like your usual self lately.”
    â€œNo. As I told your nurse, I think it must be the smog.”
    â€œTired. Sluggish. Weepy.”
    â€œYes, all those things.”
    He glanced up from the chart and held her gaze.
    â€œMrs. Webster said there’s a low-grade flu going around,” she suggested.
    â€œYes,” Dr. Perry agreed, “but this sounds like something else. Tell me, Karen, is there any possibility you could be pregnant?”

Chapter 3
    June 1996
    Matt stood in the main room of the lodge and handed Lanni the glossy brochure he’d produced. He studied her closely, eager for his sister’s response. Since Lanni was a writer, he’d gone to her for advice about the text and even the design. Now the brochure was ready to mail out.
    â€œMatt, this is really great!”
    â€œYeah, it looks good, but does it make you want to spend several thousand dollars to fly to northern Alaska?”
    â€œSure,” she said.
    Matt remained unconvinced. “What about the section on dogsledding?”
    â€œI think it’s a good idea.” But her enthusiasm sounded forced, and when she hesitated, Matt wondered if she was going to be honest or just tell him what she thought he wanted to hear.
    â€œDo you really believe people want to learn how to run a dog team?”