Emberwood Walnuts, you can f*** off out of my banana bread

He much more easily accepted these terms, which made Smash's stomach flip-flop and then tie in a knot. She flashed him a quick, appeasing smile and realized there was no use in standing around any longer. She needed to get out there and find someplace to stay in the meantime. Much as she would have liked to spend some more time with Luke, Smash needed to hit the road.

"Well, I'll see you in a few weeks then," she concluded a bit too airily, reaching out to plant a kiss on Luke's ghostly cheek. "Maybe by then, Harlyn will have convinced her man to get that pack started and you'll be settling into your new digs. I look forward to hearing all about it." The she-wolf bit her lower lip, then leaned in for a final kiss to the tip of Luke's namesake blue nose. "See you later, Mr. Bluenose."

She then turned and hurried due north, toward the coast. She intended to turn southwest and follow the water in that direction until she left the Teekon Wilds. She didn't want to tempt fate (or herself) by staying too close to her former home. But really, she just wanted to get far enough away that Luke wouldn't come after her several weeks from now, as Smash had no absolutely no intention of keeping their third date.