ditches you, tell her I’m available,” taunted Pete.

‘I’d rather die,’ thought Toby.

Luna lay on the floor, crying.  “How could he?” she asked the empty room over and over again.  “How could he do this to me?  I love him, and he knew that.  He…”

“Luna!” came a voice at the door, interrupting her misery.

Luna lifted her tear-soaked head.  “Go away!” she sobbed.  “I know it’s you, Toby.”

“Luna, please, let me explain…” Toby called, unsure how he could do so without breaking his promise to Terra.

Luna got up and came to the door.  “This had better be good.”

Toby licked a tear away from her eye, making her flinch away.  “Toby, don’t do that,” she told him in a voice that was halfway between a plea and a threat.

“Luna, I know you think I’ve been double-crossing you, and it’s not true.”

“Then what were you doing up there with that… that…” she trailed off, not even able to finish her sentence.

Toby sighed.  “Terra,” he answered.  “Her name is Terra.  Listen, I can’t tell you everything, but I promise I would never do anything like that.  She just has something she has to do, and she asked me to help her do it.  That’s all.”

Luna was starting to calm down a bit, although Toby wasn’t sure if that meant she believed him or was just giving in to despair.  “What kind of ‘something?’” she asked.

He groaned.  “I, uh… can’t tell you that.”

She sighed.  “I wish I could believe you, but I just don’t think I can.”

Toby was desperate.  “Please, Luna.  I love you more than anything, you know that.”

“Then why won’t you tell me what’s going on?”

Toby paused to think for a moment.  “Alright,” he conceded.  “Just give me one day to get Terra’s permission to tell you.”

“Why do you have to ask her?”

“She made me promise not to tell because she’s embarrassed about her job.  I can’t explain everything right now, but I promise.  If I don’t explain everything by sunset tomorrow, you can… you can… you can do anything you want to me.  You can even kill me if you want.”

Luna lifted her head.  “Toby, even if you’re lying I don’t want to do anything to you.  I just want you not to do this to me.”

“I’m not, honest.  I just need a little time.”

She nodded.  “Alright,” she conceded.  “One day.”

Toby sighed with relief.  “Good.  I’ll see you tomorrow.”  As he turned and left he added, “If not sooner.”

Suddenly remembering something, Luna stuck her head out the pet flap.  “Toby!” she called.

Toby turned.  “Yes?”

Luna opened her mouth to ask about the dog in the alley, then changed her mind.  “Don’t let me down,” she said instead.

Toby nodded.  “I won’t.  I promise.”

Luna withdrew her head and lay down once more by the fire.  ‘He said he wouldn’t let me down,’ she thought.  ‘And he never has.  He’ll come through.’  But another part of her mind asked, ‘If he was being honest, why didn’t he say anything about the other dog?’  Another thought kept nagging at the back of her mind.  She was sure she’d heard of this “Terra,” before.  Toby had mentioned her once or twice, she was certain.  Now that she thought of it, she felt as if she had even seen Terra somewhere before today, or at least a relative of hers.  But when?  Where?  Luna kept wondering, guessing that this might hold the answer to the mystery.  ‘If only I could remember…’

At that moment, Connie came into the room and noticed that Luna’s food and water were still full even though she had filled them hours ago.  “Luna,” she asked, “Aren’t you hungry?”

Luna just groaned.  With the way she felt right now, food was the last thing she wanted.  All she wanted was for things to go back to the way they had been, and all she knew was that by the look of things, they never would.

That night at supper, Connie told her parents about Luna’s lack of hunger.  “She didn’t touch her food today.”

Her mother shrugged.  “It’s probably nothing to worry about,” she said.

“But what if she’s sick?” asked Connie.

“She could be,” agreed her father, “but chances are she’s just not hungry.  If she hasn’t eaten by tomorrow, I’ll take her to the vet.”

“But what if she’s really sick?” insisted Connie.  “We should take her there right now!”

‘I’m not sick,’ thought Luna.  ‘I’m just dying.’

“Maybe she just has a stomach bug and it’s nothing to worry about,” suggested Eugene.

“Like I said, I’ll ask the vet about it if she hasn’t perked up by tomorrow afternoon,” repeated their father.

Connie nodded.  “Okay,” she replied.

Later that evening, when Luna showed no interest in playing fetch or even in getting a tummy rub, Connie got her leash and said, “I’m going to take Luna for a walk.”

Her mother, who was busy sewing, nodded.  “Alright,” she agreed.  “But don’t stay out too long.  It's almost dark.”

“I won’t,” promised Connie.  She went out the door and headed straight for the vet’s office.  “I’m gonna find out what’s wrong with you, girl,” she said firmly.

Luna groaned.  ‘A vet can’t help me,’ she thought.  She felt her stomach lurch as they walked past Toby’s house.  ‘Toby…’ she thought with an ache in her chest.  How she wanted this all to be over.

Connie marched straight up to the vet’s office and tried the doorknob.  It was locked.  “Oh, no,” she complained, stomping her foot.  “The office is closed.”

“Can I help you?” asked a voice from overhead.  Connie looked up to see the vet sticking his head out a window on the second floor.

“Oh, I’m so glad you’re here!” she called up to him.  “Please, Luna’s really sick.  I don’t know what’s wrong with her, but Dad won’t take her to see you until tomorrow.”

The vet shrugged.  “I’d like to help you,” he replied, “but the office is closed.  I’m sure she’ll be fine until then.  Do your parents even know you’re here?”

“No,” answered Connie.

The vet shook his head.  “Sorry then, but you’ll have to come back tomorrow.”

“Please?” begged Connie.  But the man had already closed the window.

Connie, not one to be easily discouraged, bent down and scooped up some snow.  Rolling it into a ball, she threw it up at the window.  There was a thump as the icy sphere hit the glass, and the vet came back and opened it.

“Stop that!” he called down.

“Just take a look at Luna, please?” begged Connie.  “Just a quick check-up?”

“Well, all right,” the vet agreed.  “I’ll be down in a few minutes.”  He closed the window and appeared a few minutes later in his white jacket.  “Now, let’s see what’s going on with your dog.”

“She won’t eat,” Connie explained as the vet lifted Luna onto the table.  “And she’s been really sad all day.  I even tried to give her some spaghetti from supper, but she wouldn’t touch it.”

“Spaghetti?” asked the vet in confusion as he listened to Luna’s heartbeat.

“It’s her favorite,” explained Connie.

Luna’s stomach knotted itself just at the mention of spaghetti.  It had been her favorite food ever since Toby had given her some on their first date, but now just the thought of it made her feel sick.

The vet felt Luna’s nose, rubbed her side to feel for her ribs, and shrugged.  “Has she been acting like this a lot lately?”

Connie shook her head.  “No,” she answered.  “Not until today.”

The vet thought for a minute and shook his head.  “Let me check her record,” he said, going to his file cabinet.  He ruffled through the folders, pulled out Luna’s, and began to scan through it.  “Well, she doesn’t have much of a history,” he noted.  “All I have on her are some basic shots and one case of broken bones and an injured back when she was a puppy.”

Connie suddenly thought of something.  “Could she be expecting puppies?” she asked brightly.  “My mom got kinda tired before she had my brother.”

Luna groaned.  ‘That’s all I need,’ she thought.  ‘Puppies at a time like this.’  She had wanted puppies for a long time, but if she was losing Toby like it seemed, she couldn’t bear the thought of having children on top of everything else.

“Well…” the vet began slowly.

And then he said something that shook Luna to her very core.

While all this was going on, Toby decided to go to Terra’s and tell her everything right away.  As he walked through the streets of Nome, dogs growled at him or cast him dirty looks.  Old friends turned up their noses.  Most of the sled team looked the other way when he passed, while Kodi, Dusty, and Norik just shook their heads in disapproval.  One dog, whom he recognized as Luna’s brother, even gnashed his teeth at him and had to be pulled back by his master.  The gossips in Nome had obviously outdone themselves this time.

As was typical of Toby’s luck, Terra wasn’t at her house or the granary.  He tried to sniff her out, but the smells of all the dogs and people that had passed though the area covered up the scent.  He tried asking around, but that proved useless as well.  The few dogs who would still talk to him (most of whom were total strangers) could not provide him with any help whatsoever.  Finally with the sun going down, he trudged home with his head and tail drooping in defeat.

Poor Toby found it all but impossible to sleep that night.  All he could think about was Luna.  They’d had their rough times, but this nightmare was a first.  He vividly recalled Luna’s tear-soaked face when she had come to the door.  He’d never seen Luna cry before.  Never.  Not even when he had broken her back legs by accident as a puppy.  And now he had personally seen her crying her eyes