Michelle pulled onto the 417 and headed west for Ottawa. Her father’s birthday was tomorrow and her extended family was getting together at her brother’s newly acquired camp on Lac à la Perdrix. As she fell in line with the weekend traffic heading into town, she ruminated about the inevitable conversation she was going to have with her brother. He’d been relentless about her moving north—pressing her to make a decision. She’d have a brand-new house with no mortgage, be close to her nieces and nephews, spend weekends at the lake, share holidays with family and friends, and do things with Dad.
He’d also sent her a gazillion shots of the log cabin chalet on the shores of the lake buried deep in the southern end of Laurentides National Forest. He said there were all sorts of trails she and th
