Kamila decided to heed Lizzy’s warning. She was plucking Darcy into her arms just as Xena ran by at a speed that made Kamila wonder if there was a little greyhound in her beagle mix. At least five other dogs were chasing Xena, including Dane’s Byte, followed by their owners, while a crowd of onlooking dogs erupted into a cacophony of barking. Lizzy was watching the chaos with concern, while Darcy was, of course, doing her best to jump out of Kamila’s arms to join in the fun. Kamila handed Darcy to Asha. Maricel clearly needed help. “Xena! Heel!” Kamila yelled, running after the dogs.

Maricel finally caught Xena by the collar and held firmly while a poodle and two golden retrievers attempted to climb over Maricel to get at their beagle pied piper. Overbalanced, Maricel tumbled to the ground, barely hanging on to Xena while one of the golden retrievers started licking her face. Behind the golden, Dane’s Byte looked ready to…well, bite Maricel.

This all happened so fast, and by the time Kamila reached Maricel, Dane was pulling a growling Byte away. Kamila grabbed Xena by the collar and waved off the poodle trying to jump on top of her.

“I got you, Xena. Heel. Heel…” Kamila said, repeating the commands they used in the shelter. Not that she expected Xena to listen. She’d never met a dog so resistant to training.

“Here. Let me,” Maricel said, brushing off the handful of dogs still jumping at her with glee. She scooted in front of Xena with both hands on the dog’s collar and started talking softly. Somehow, even with her jeans covered in white gravel and her hair barely contained in its low ponytail, Maricel was still stunning. Small, with soft curves, long jet-black wavy hair, and smooth tawny-brown skin. She did have room for improvement, though. Her jeans were at least two sizes too big. Kamila made a mental note to take her friend shopping, and soon.

In record time, Xena put her head down in a submissive stance. Maricel clipped a leash on her. “Kamila, oh my god, thank you.”

“No problem. You okay?”

Maricel nodded as she tried to smooth her hair with one hand. “That didn’t work.”

Kamila laughed as she put her free arm around Maricel and guided her and the demon hound out of the enclosure. Asha was waiting on the other side of the gate. Kamila could see Dane pulling his angry husky out of the park.

“I should just take Xena back to the shelter,” Maricel said, still looking a little shaken.

Asha nodded. “Go ahead. I’ll bring the others back.”

Kamila smiled at her friend. “I need to talk to you, but I’ll call you later.”

Maricel nodded and headed across the park to the shelter.