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anyway—on the market, give away most of her belongings, and ask Merissa to make the trek north with her to see for herself that this was a sound plan.
    So here she was not four months after first coming across that brochure, and already she had danced, been kissed, and almost picked up in a bar by a sexy stranger.
    Not bad for her first day in town.
    Jessie heard the electronic lock on the door trip and glanced at the clock as she put a steadying hand on Toby when he lifted his head. She smiled, undecided if Merissa was tiptoeing into the room really late or really very early.
    “I’m awake,” Jessie said.
    Her friend fell back on the other bed with a loud groan. “In what civilized world does anyone go to work at five A.M. ?” Merissa muttered. “The only living things crazy enough to be up at this hour are owls, a family of raccoons, and one suicidal moose the size of a Clydesdale trotting down the center of Main Street.” There was enough light coming through the window for Jessie to see Merissa’s smile. “Duncan said it’s the tail end of moose rutting season, and that the old boy was too busy chasing a lady-love to be concerned about the rules of the road.” She snorted. “I told him he should know, since he seemed to be of the same mind.”
    “You didn’t!” Jessie sputtered on a laugh.
    “Hey, the guy is a machine . I swear to God that I got maybe twenty minutes of sleep all night.” Merissa rolled onto her stomach, propping a pillow under her chin. “Not that I’m complaining. Paula was right: MacKeages are not harmless.” She closed her eyes on a sigh. “I think Duncan just ruined me for other men.”
    “Yeah, I know what you mean,” Jessie said, remembering Ian’s kiss.
    Merissa’s eyes snapped open and her head popped up. “Ohmigod, I am such a scumbag. I didn’t even ask how you made out after I left. Was Ian very disappointed that Duncan scored and he didn’t?”
    Jessie arched a brow. “What makes you so certain that Ian didn’t score?”
    “Jessie, you didn’t!”
    “No,” she said with a laugh. “But I did get thoroughly kissed.”
    Only instead of smiling like Jessie expected, Merissa sat up, suddenly wide awake and utterly serious. “Oh, Jessie, what are you doing?” she whispered. “You just got here; you can’t kiss the first guy you meet.”
    “You did.”
    “Only because I’m out of here in six days, so it doesn’t matter what Duncan thinks of me. But you’re moving here , Jess, and you’ll probably run into Ian all the time. What are you going to do if he asks you out on a real date?”
    “Maybe I’ll say yes.”
    “And by date number three,” Merissa growled, “when he decides good-night kisses just aren’t working for him anymore? Then what are you going to do?”
    Jessie threw back the covers, got out of bed, and headed to her suitcase. “I don’t know what I’m going to do,” she muttered, yanking out her bathrobe and putting it on. “I only know that I have to do something , or I might as well have let that guy finish hacking me to pieces four years ago.” She grabbed her slippers and waved them in the air. “Even totally humiliating myself has to be better than doing nothing .”
    “Oh, Jess!” Merissa cried, rushing to her. “I’m an idiot. Please don’t be mad.”
    Jessie took a calming breath, giving Merissa a sheepish smile. “I’m not mad. I’m just frustrated, because . . . well, because this is the entire extent of my reincarnation plan,” she said, gesturing at the room. She nodded when Merissa’s eyes widened. “I was so focused on just getting to Pine Creek that I never actually worked out what to do once I got here.” She walked over and sat on the bed to put on her slippers. “And I sure as hell didn’t think ahead to dating, much less when—or rather, if —I ever reached the getting naked part.”
    Merissa plopped down on the bed beside her. “If the guy can’t get past a few measly scars, then I say you