Page 31 of Sheltering Instinct

Mojo’s gaze never left Levi.

In other circumstances, like with Casper, Levi might be worried that the dog would try for another bite while Levi wasn’t protected by the suit.

In Mojo’s case? No. That was a solid, disciplined K9, exactly what Levi would expect from Enrico’s work.

When Enrico looked down, Mojo swung his head, looking expectantly for his next command. Enrico gave him a scrub and high-pitched praise. Then he said, “Go on, Mojo, meet my friend, Levi.”

Mojo’s gaze followed Enrico’s finger over to Levi. Then, with a grin and lolling tongue, Mojo jogged over to tickle Levi with a wet snout, sniffing his ear and neck.

When Mojo rounded to the front, he caught Levi’s gaze, then swiped a friendly tongue over Levi’s cheek and mouth.

“What do you think, Levi?” Enrico ambled over. “Good bite?”

Mojo curled himself around until he tucked into the nest Levi made with his crossed legs and put his head down on Levi’s knee.

“Looks like you made yourself a friend,” Reaper called as he and Goose made their way over.

Catching Enrico’s eye, Levi said, “Man, that was some beautiful badassery.”

Levi’s heart was full. If Reaper and Goose weren’t around, he thought he might even shed a tear. Damned if Iris wasn’t right. He knew.He just knew.Mojo washisdog.

Again, there was the memory of how he’d experienced a connection like this one other time in his life.

Why had her ghost suddenly reappeared?

All week, she’d been there, brushing through his mind.

Levi tried to quiet that part of his brain that whispered,Tess.He hoped it would stop.

Chapter Ten

Tess

Metz Winery, Namibia

When Tess and Gwen showed up earlier than expected at the winery, Gwen’s mom greeted them, but her father was still up at the K9 training field with their friend, Enrico, and three of the winery guests from Northern Virginia.

The women stowed their bags in their respective rooms and changed into hiking boots. Gwen wanted to take Tess up to the observation platform so she could see the lay of the land.

Waiting for Gwen to show up, Tess had been daydreaming while watching Betty munch the dried leaves from the tree. “Your snack can’t have anything nutritious about it,” Tess told Betty. “The Metzes must be filling your belly. You look healthy.”

“I’m all set,” Gwen called as she approached.

“What other kinds of animals are here on your parent’s property?” Tess tipped her head toward Betty. “I can’t imagine how amazing it must be to have a giraffe hanging out in the courtyard.”

“Besides Betty?” Gwen let her gaze slide across the horizon. “Let’s see. My parents have free-range animals to produce the meat they serve in the restaurant. Zebra, wildebeest, and kudu—they’re the ones with curly horns and oryx. Oryx is my favorite, maybe kudu. Then, there are the transient wild animals. Dad says they have baboons from time to time. Don’t approach them. They’ve got a nasty bite full of bacteria. Are you up on your rabies shots?”

“Kind of. I need my three-year booster in another couple of months. Better than nothing, I guess. Why? What’s going to bite me up there?”

“It’s Namibia. Anything. Wild mountain zebras and the Chacma baboons come to mind. They like the hills.”

“Wow. Well, I’m not planning on petting any of them. Live and let live, right?”

“Dad’s seen black rhinos when he’s up there. Sometimes, they come down to the vineyard, especially when they’re searching for water. That can cause problems. Of course, as with much of sub-equatorial Africa, we have an impressive catalog of reptiles, spiders, and other creepy crawlies.”

“Yeah, you reminded me of that at Big Daddy. But hey, it’s the end of winter here. They’re all in brumation snoozing, right?”

“Meh. Hibernation, like for northern mammals, and brumation for reptiles in Namibia aren’t equivalent. Imagine it more as a snooze than a deep sleep. But I wouldn’t worry about it. In all the years my parents have lived here, they’ve never seen any. Most animals don’t want to be seen. They’d rather be left alone.”

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