Iris Johansen - Dark Summer

"Why don't you want her?" Sarah narrowed her eyes on his face. "What are you up to?"

"We may have some negotiating to do. Devon doesn't have to be involved." He added, "And you may start cursing me when I do a little explaining. Devon would get too much satisfaction from that."

"You may be right," Devon said.

Sarah nodded. "Okay, the dogs are right off the verandah. They have the run of the grounds." She led them around the house. "There they are."

Three dogs were tearing around the grounds, their tails pluming behind them. "Addie is the red golden." She slanted a glance at Marrok. "You can see she's well taken care of."

"I never doubted it."

Devon stiffened. "Dear God, that's not a dog running right behind her. It's a wolf."

Sarah nodded. "Maggie. But she gets along very well with the dogs."

The third dog was catching up to Addie and nipped at her tail, then turned and joyously streaked away.

"And what dog is that?" Devon asked.

"Monty." Sarah's gaze was fastened on the dog. "That's my Monty. Isn't he beautiful?"

"Monty?" She remembered Monty. The golden had been loving and a great rescue dog but even when she had seen him years ago he had been declining. "He looks… wonderful."

"Yes," Sarah said. "I put him out to pasture expecting to lose him at any time. But then he seemed to rally and slowly he began to get his energy back. I think it had something to do with Addie."

"You do?" Marrok said warily.

"Having a younger dog to play with seemed to give him a reason to keep on. He should have died a long time ago, but I'm not asking questions. I'm just accepting and hoping desperately for another day, another week. He's always been strong, and now he seems as strong as ever." She turned to Marrok, and said fiercely, "And I won't give Addie up. I won't take a chance on having Monty go into a depression or decline. At his age, every moment is precious."

"Yes, it is," Marrok said. "Go join in the fun, Ned."

The black Lab streaked away and the next moment was in the middle of the pack.

"Devon, we'll be back shortly." Marrok gestured to the verandah. "Let's talk, Sarah."

IT WAS MORE THAN AN HOURbefore Devon saw Sarah Logan coming down the steps to the path leading to the grounds. Marrok was not with her.

"Did you send Marrok packing?" Devon asked. "I think I would."

Sarah dropped down on the grass beside Devon and crossed her legs. "I told him to let me talk to you. He has a habit of trying to handle everything himself." Her lips tightened. "Why the hell didn't he tell me about this damn shi'i'go before? Oh no, he let me worry that any minute Monty could take a turn for the worse, and I'd lose him. Secretive bastard."

"He was wrong," Devon said.

"You bet he was. Do you know one of the rules about me taking Addie was that I had to take her to one of the hospitals in the area to visit patients once a week? That was fine; I usually took my own dogs occasionally anyway. Except for Maggie. Wolves weren't welcome." She drew a deep breath. "I could murder him. He could have told me why."

"I agree. But he has Addie and the other dogs to worry about. I suppose he's gotten in the habit of not confiding."

"You're defending him." Sarah was studying her. "I'm surprised, considering all he's put you through."

"I guess I am." Her gaze went to the dogs lying on the grass, panting after their wild play. "Look at them. I love watching dogs. Even when they grow old, you can still see glimpses of youth in them."

"Summer."

Devon nodded. "Summer." She didn't look away from the dogs. "You don't have to take us in. It could put you in danger. I'll understand if you told Marrok that it was impossible."

"I didn't tell him it was impossible," she said. "I told him I'd welcome you and your friends into my home. No dog-killing son of a bitch is going to get Addie." She smiled fiercely. "Or anyone connected with her."

"But I'm not connected with her."

"I think you are." She shook her head. "I can almost see the bond between you and Ned. And the way you're looking at those dogs…"

"That's no proof. You're obviously just as much a dog lover as I am."

"Yes," Sarah said. "But occasionally one dog comes along that takes your heart and won't let go. Monty's always been that dog for me." She paused. "And no matter what Marrok did or does, I'll still be grateful to him for the rest of my life. He didn't have to let me have Addie. But I think he could see how I was hurting for Monty on that last trip. I remember him sitting by the fire with Ned while we were talking one night at that last disaster site in Indonesia. He reached over to pet Monty. He was smiling, and his hands were so gentle…" She cleared her throat. "That was the only time I saw that side of him. He's definitely a rough diamond. But two weeks after we got back to the States, he came and brought Addie. He asked me to take care of her for a little while. He said she was a bit lively, but she had a good heart." She shook her head in wonder. "And I thought I was doing him a favor."

"You were. You became Addie's guardian."

"And he gave me back my Monty." Her eyes were glittering with tears. "That kind of outweighs everything else, doesn't it?"

Devon nodded. "You believe in this panacea?"

"I have to believe in it." Her gaze went back to Monty. "I'm living with it."

"What about Maggie? Is she showing any signs?"

"You saw her. The same strength, the same energy." She paused. "I asked Marrok if maybe this shi'i'go is transferable. If whatever those dogs are emitting is that powerful, couldn't they not only heal but become carriers?"

"What did he say?"

"He said he didn't know enough about it. He'd been too busy just keeping the dogs alive. But I'd like to think that Monty and Maggie could be dogs of summer."

"And what was the response of the patients at the hospital where you took Addie?"

"Most of them became much better. I didn't connect the healing to Addie. And two patients still died. So evidently it's not perfect." Sarah added, "But what is perfect? My old friend, Monty, is still alive and happy. That's good enough for me."

"It wouldn't be good enough for the people who are after the dogs."

"I know. I'm going to talk to John this evening and discuss a way to protect them legally. He's been involved with politics lately and has contacts in the White House. It would have to be handled very discreetly because if word got out, there would factions fighting all over the place."

"It could be too late. Marrok said that Danner was closing in."

"Then that's Marrok's fight. I'll do what I can. He won't have to worry about Addie. I'm doubling the security on the grounds. Marrok said his Bridget was having trouble avoiding them now. By tonight, she'll be stumbling over a guard whenever she turns around. It will take an army to get through the security. Besides, it's handy to have a husband like John, who's so powerful. Anyone who gets in his way has big trouble." She added briskly, "And I'll tell Marrok to send for your two friends. We'll keep you safe."

"Thank you. I appreciate all the trouble you're going through."

"No problem. It all goes with the territory. I believe what Marrok is doing is right, and I've never been able to stop myself from diving in if I believed in a cause. That's why I became a search and rescue worker." She smiled. "And that's probably why you became a vet."

"Yes." The memory of that last trip on the helicopter out of Santa Marina came back to her when she and Hilda Golding were talking about why they kept going to disaster sites.

It was all about life.

And wasn't that what Sarah was talking about now? The panacea was life and worth any amount of risk or sacrifice to keep it safe.