By
USA Today Bestselling Author
Dale Mayer

Weston was at an impasse in his life, after hearing about his unknown daughter, who’d already been adopted by another family. Only the father had since passed away… So … accepting the mission to track down the missing, blind-in-one-eye, limping war dog named Shambhala—in Alaska—was exactly where he needed to be to sort out this other issue in his life. Finding the dog turned out to be easier than Weston had expected, but sorting out how and why this dog’s owner’s had been murdered was something else again.

Now a widower, Danielle knew her daughter also needed a father, so she’d contacted Weston, not sure if he even knew of the baby’s existence. When he said he was on the way, she was concerned at what she’d started and that emotion then turned to terror when Sari’s birth mother showed up at Danielle’s doorstep, looking for her daughter again.

Things turn ugly when Weston’s war dog investigation impacts his daughter’s life and her new mother. He must do something, or everything he’s finally found will be lost.

Weston is a bit restless and the work he’s been doing is okay but he kind of wants more of a challenge. He’s heard about the guys doing some sort of job with dogs and then they don’t come back. He wants in. it just so happens Badger has a dog in Alaska to be checked on. Shambhalla really needs a nice, calm, and loving home. She is blind in one eye and missing a leg.

There’s another reason Weston wants to go home to Alaska, it’s something he’s been putting off for a while.
Apparently he has a daughter, the result of a one night stand. He found out about her from the woman after the child had been adopted. Daniela Rogers the adoptive mother has contacted him. Her husband died and she would like Weston to be part of his daughter’s life if he could see his way clear to that relationship.

Weston didn’t tell Daniela he was coming, yet she was at the airport to pick him up. She also knows he’s here to find a dog, how she knows about that proves to be interesting. Her motivation for picking him up at the airport was simple, to make sure he meets his daughter Sari.

While that meeting was interesting, the real fun was once he finds Shambhala. His daughter has a thing for dogs and it’s cute as can be.

This is a favorite scene with Sari and Shambhala.

“So is this a good thing or a bad thing?” Daniela asked with a laugh, as she joined Weston farther away from the dog.

“It looks like her focus is on Sari,” he said quietly. “I don’t know what would happen if somebody came up and disturbed them.”

“And I don’t want to find out.”

He smiled. “How long do you want to leave Sari out here?”

“I hate to take her away,” she admitted. “She doesn’t have a lot of playmates around her. Plus I think she just adopted Shambhala.”

“That may be,” he said, “but that doesn’t necessarily mean tit’s the right decision to keep the dog. If we even were to get that cleared.”

Daniela walked toward her daughter. “Come on, Sari. Do you want to play in the sandbox?”

Sari turned to look at her and asked, “Doggy come?”

Daniela hesitated.

Weston asked, “Where’s the sandbox?”

“At the park around the corner. It’s got a pretty decent-size sandbox.”

“Why don’t we all go,” he said. “It will give me a chance to see what Shambhala’s training is like.”

“That’s a good idea.” Daniela smiled down at Sari.

“Yes. We’ll take Shambhala to the park.”

Sari squeezed Shambhala and scrambled to her feet, toddling unsteadily toward her mother.

“Doggy, come,” she ordered in a strict tone, directed at the dog. It was so funny to see her voice change as she tried to be an adult, as she tried to mimic Weston’s command.

Weston walked closer to Sari, crouched and said, “When you want the doggy to do something, you look at her in her good eye, reach out with your arm and make this motion, and then you give her the order to come.”

Sari stared at him with her huge eyes, looked back at Shambhala and moved her hand the way she was supposed to and said, “Doggy, come.”

Shambhala looked at Weston and looked at the little girl. then, with her tongue lolling to the side, she hopped to her feet and went over to Sari. As she arrived she gave Sari another lick on the face.

Sari laughed, hanging on to the dog for support, as they walked back toward the stairs. Daniela watched closely completely flabbergasted that the dog would follow the little girl’s commands, but Shambhala seemed to realize she was needed for steadiness. As they went up the steps, she took them at the exact same pace as Sari.

“She’s so good with Sari,” she said in wonder.

“I see that. So let’s take this chance to put Shambhala through her paces, see what else she might know.” With the leash once again attached to her collar, Shambhala hesitated at the door. But when she saw everybody else was getting boots on and walking out the door along with her, she seemed to be totally okay.

“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/em>,” 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 then 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?”
Dale Mayer. Weston (Kindle Locations 1155-1191). Valley Publishing Ltd..

The homesteaders Grant and Ginger, who adopted Shambhala died in a landslide. Now Weston wants to make sure there’s no connection to the dog that would come back at Daniela and Sari. Even as he starts investigating a bit more, Daniela gets an email with a threatening tone from Angel, Sari’s birth mother. Weston isn’t going to let Angel hurt Sari, but he still has to sort out his own feelings.

So much to love in this book not the least of which is Shambhala and Sari and their attachment to Weston. There is intrigue and suspense and a bit of action as Daniela and Weston’s relationship begins to simmer until it’s full blown sizzle.

I really can’t wait to read the next book in this series!

5 Contented Purrs for Dale!

Dale Mayer

Dale Mayer is a USA Today bestselling author best known for her Psychic Visions and Family Blood Ties series. Her contemporary romances are raw and full of passion and emotion (Second Chances, SKIN), her thrillers will keep you guessing (By Death series), and her romantic comedies will keep you giggling (It’s a Dog’s Life and Charmin Marvin Romantic Comedy series).

She honors the stories that come to her – and some of them are crazy and break all the rules and cross multiple genres!

To go with her fiction, she also writes nonfiction in many different fields with books available on resume writing, companion gardening and the US mortgage system. She has recently published her Career Essentials Series. All her books are available in print and ebook format.