“Did you see that? I’m not sure she would be happy to leave without you,” he murmured.
“I don’t think it’s without me,” Daniela said. “It’s without Sari.”
“True enough.”
As they wandered down the lane toward the park, Sari was busy stomping in recent puddles and then picking up rocks, trying to hand them to Shambhala, who would sniff them and keep walking. Weston kept an eye on Shambhala, who appeared to be keeping an eye on Sari. “For whatever reason,” he said, “she’s in protective mode over Sari.”
“I won’t argue against it,” Daniela said. “I just don’t know how to turn it on and off.”
“There may be no Off button in this case because I don’t think she’s doing this by command. I think she’s doing this because she wants to.”
“Meaning that she cares about Sari?”
“She definitely cares about Sari. A strong bond exists already between them.”
At that, Daniela shook her head. “I don’t know that I’m ready for the commitment to keep a dog, any dog really,” she said. “And I can’t even imagine trying to feed her.”
“Not a discussion for today, that’s for sure.”
“Well, if it doesn’t fit in today,” she challenged, “when does it? Because, as far as I know, you’re leaving tomorrow.” She watched him carefully as he hesitated, then looked at her and smiled.
“How would you feel about a houseguest for a week or two?”
Weston watched a pretty smile bloom across her face. Then he gave a nod. “Only if you’re okay with it. I do want to sort out the Grant, Gregory and Ginger thing, and I do need to make sure Shambhala has a foster home, stays with me or stays with you.”
She hesitated at that and looked down.
He grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently. “No pressure, Daniela. Really.”
She gave a light laugh. “So good to hear that, because you know something, Weston? As much as I’m okay with keeping Shambhala, I’m not flush with money.”
“I get that. It sounds like we need to deal with Angel too.”
“Yes, we do,” she said sadly.
“Do you think she just wants to have regular visits with Sari?”
“I don’t know. Am I a bad person for not even wanting her to have that? She would be a horrible influence with her lifestyle.”
“I think the hardest thing for a child is a parent who flips in and out on a whim,” he said. “Are you looking at me for the same problem?”
She just shrugged, not saying anything. But it was affirmation enough that it was already a problem.
“When did you last see Angel?”
She looked at him in surprise. “Not since she handed Sari over.”
He stared at her. “Seriously?”
“Yes,” she said. “That’s why I don’t understand why she wants anything to do with her now. Sari won’t know her.”
“What changed in Angel’s life that she suddenly cares?” he murmured.
“I don’t know. And because of my number one fear, I don’t want her anywhere close to me or Sari.”
“Did you have to pay a certain amount of money to get Sari?”
“We covered all the legal costs,” she said, “but we didn’t give her a lump sum. That would feel like paying for or buying my daughter. Angel wanted money for a flight to Vegas, and we paid that. We were happy to get rid of her, if I’m being honest.”
“So she just wanted to drop off her daughter and leave?”
“I think so,” she said. “We didn’t really get into the discussion. She made the offer, and I jumped at it. Then we moved on.”
“Now Angel’s wanting something different?” He watched as Daniela slowly nodded.
“The trouble is,” she confessed, “I don’t want to change the conditions. I don’t want this situation to change at all. I just want her to stay away from Sari.”
“Is that because you’re afraid to lose Sari physically, or because you’re afraid Sari will form a bond with her biological mother that may be stronger than her bond with you?” When she sucked in her breath, he knew he’d hit a bull’s-eye. He reached out and squeezed her hand again. “It’s obvious Sari really loves you.”
“I know that,” she said. “I didn’t think I was such a small person that I would be afraid of sharing that love. But I think at the moment that’s an issue for me.”
When they reached the park, Sari headed toward the large sandbox. Shambhala stayed at her side, tugging at her leash to make sure they were keeping up. She would correct her behavior when he gave the motion, but her choice was always to stay close to Sari.
He gave her enough lead to see how she would react.
Sari got ahead of them, and Shambhala tried to catch up. But she never needed to be in front. She wasn’t trying to be alpha; she was just keeping an eye on the little girl.
As they got to the sandbox, Sari made her way to the center, tripped, and landed on her back in the middle of a soft sand pile. She looked up at her mother, her face scrunched up as if she would cry, but then Shambhala bumped her gently with her head on her shoulder. Immediately the storm clouds cleared, and sunshine came through as Sari reached up and threw her arms around Shambhala’s head.
Daniela murmured, “It’s incredible just how good Shambhala is with her.”
“I know,” he said. “It’s pretty intriguing.”
When Sari was settled and busily digging in the sand, Weston brought Shambhala closer to him. Turning to look at Daniela, he said, “I’ll just walk around the park a little with the dog. I want to go over some commands to see how she does.”
Daniela nodded, and he headed a little distance away from them.
Shambhala let him know she was disturbed at leaving the little girl. She kept
