Daniela looked outside, then nodded. “Why not?” she said with a smile. “We could probably use some fresh air.” She hopped up to her feet, scooped up Sari and took her daughter to the closet, where she dressed Sari in a light jacket and boots. Hopefully she wouldn’t be too hot. A bit of rain came through the night, so Daniela wasn’t sure if anything was wet but decided it didn’t matter anyway.
Sari headed to the swing set on her own. With her coffee in hand, Daniela walked over and set the cup on the ground, while she helped Sari get in the baby seat, and then gently swung her back and forth.
Shambhala had followed them outside and lay on the grass. Daniela worried about keeping the dog, as she hadn’t had much experience with dogs herself. And she worried about not keeping the dog, as attached as the dog and her daughter had become.
Shambhala seemed to be devoted to Sari and hadn’t shown any sign of aggression, but it was hard to know how much was influenced by Weston’s presence, since he was an experienced handler. Or maybe there hadn’t yet been the right situation where things could end up ugly.
Of course she didn’t want that to happen. Enough had been ugly in her world that she didn’t want any more. When she turned around to check on Weston, he still sat at the dining room table on the phone, his fingers clicking away on the laptop even as he spoke to someone.
She wasn’t even sure what he did for a living. Though she wasn’t sure he knew either, since he had said something about finding a job. That brought her back around to how she would feel if she left Alaska. It wasn’t the easiest of states to live in, especially since the winters were harsh and long. She had grown accustomed to it. But was it more of a safety net because it was comfortable? Winters would certainly be a lot easier if she moved anywhere farther south, and it wasn’t like she was limited to California. Even if she went to Colorado and stayed away from the mountain ski areas, it wouldn’t be too bad for her and Sari.
She didn’t know what to do.
As she gently pushed Sari back and forth, her phone rang. She pulled it from her pocket to see her sister was calling. “Hey,” she said. “What’s up?”
“I don’t know,” Davida said. “I just keep getting a weird feeling about you. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Daniela said with a laugh. “You and your feelings.”
“Hey, you know you learn to trust certain things,” her sister said.
“I hear you. Anyway, we’re all good here.”
“And what about him?” her sister asked.
“He’s doing fine too,” she said in a neutral tone, not wanting to go down that path.
“I would invite you and Sari over for a meal this weekend, but I’m not sure I want to invite him too. When is he leaving?”
“Not sure yet,” Daniela said cheerfully, quite happy to have a reason to sidestep the dinner, which was sure to be an inquisition. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll do dinner after he’s gone.”
“Perfect,” her sister said with a sigh of relief. “But when is that?”
“Don’t know. I’ll keep you posted.” And, with that, she hung up. She had no doubt that her sister’s invitation for a meal was heartfelt but knew she was fishing for information. And Daniela really wasn’t up for that.
“Are you okay?”
She smiled over at Weston. “Just my sister.”
“I gather she’s not happy I’m here?”
She shrugged. “Doesn’t matter if she is or not,” she said lightly. “This is what I chose to do.”
He smiled at her. A warm and caring smile that made her heart go soft. Dangerous signs, but, like a moth to a flame, she felt helpless to do anything but react to this man. She didn’t know why she felt it was so necessary to bring him into Sari’s life. But she had, and now that he was here, she wanted him in her life as well.
“I’m going out for a few hours,” he said.
“Now?” she asked in confusion.
He caught her glance, nodded and said, “It’s connected to Grant.”
“Can I go with you?”
He stopped, looked at her in surprise and then shook his head. “No, I’ll go talk to some people who knew Grant and his brother. I’m trying to figure out if either had any mannerisms that would help us identify who’s who.”
She looked at Sari and realized it was probably better that her daughter didn’t go. “Okay,” she said. “Will you be here for dinner?”
“Steaks, remember?”
She chuckled. “Only if you buy them,” she said. “That’s out of my price range, even with the money you gave me.”
“No problem,” he promised.
She watched as he headed to his rental truck. Sari came to her side as Shambhala walked next to Weston, then hopped into the truck with him. Daniela realized he must have given a command to the dog that she hadn’t noticed.
“Doggy,” Sari cried out, her hand pointed in the direction of Shambhala.
“Don’t worry. Doggy and Daddy will come home later,” Daniela said absentmindedly. At that, Sari went silent. Daniela looked down at her and realized what she had said. “Yes, baby, that’s your daddy.” She wasn’t sure if she should have said anything in case the DNA came back the wrong way, but still it seemed wrong not to say something. Sari looked up at her, then looked back at the truck as it disappeared down the road. She didn’t say anything for a time, and it was obvious she was processing. “It’s okay, sweetheart. They’ll be back.”
She looked down at Sari, who still
