Free Creed's Honor by Linda Lael Miller

“So you mentioned,” she teased.
    On the way to the parking garage, Sasha chattered on about the upcoming move to Paris, and how she’d be attending a real school over there, with other kids and different teachers for different classes and everything, because her mom and dad had been able to find one that could provide “the necessary academic challenges.” Homeschooling was okay, she stressed to Tricia, but it would be fun to ride buses and have a school song and all that stuff.
    Tricia listened in delight, though a part of her was already missing Sasha and Diana and Paul, which was silly, when they hadn’t actually moved yet.
    When they reached the Pathfinder, Valentino was standing with his nose pressed to the window on the rear hatch, steaming up the glass. “You have a dog! ” Sasha crowed, obviously thrilled by the discovery. “You actually got another dog!”
    “Not exactly,” Tricia said, but Sasha didn’t hear her. She was totally focused on Valentino.
    Tricia unlocked the doors and lifted the hatch, fielding Valentino with one hand, so he wouldn’t jump out of the vehicle and hurt himself, and hefting up Sasha’s surprisingly heavy bag with the other.
    Sasha tried to scramble into the back with Valentino, and Tricia stopped her. It was only then that she realized she didn’t have a booster seat for the child to ridein. Feeling incredibly guilty, she helped Sasha onto the backseat and waited while she buckled up.
    “In Washington,” Sasha informed her cheerfully, “I have to use a booster seat. It’s against the law not to.”
    It’s against the law here, too, Tricia thought ruefully, rummaging up a smile. “We’ll stop and buy one first thing,” she said.
    “What’s the dog’s name?” Sasha asked, straining to pat his head, when Tricia was behind the wheel, belted in, and ready to head out.
    “Valentino,” Tricia answered, wondering if she ought to explain that she was just keeping him until she could find him a good home and deciding against the idea in the next instant. Sasha wouldn’t understand.
    When the time came, Tricia thought sadly, neither would Valentino.
    “Doesn’t he need to get out of the car before we go?” Sasha inquired, ever practical. She got that from her dad; Diana was smart, but impulsive.
    “We’ll hit the first rest stop,” Tricia promised.
    “What if he can’t wait?” Sasha fretted.
    “He’s a good boy,” Tricia said, driving slowly along the aisle leading to the nearest exit. “He’ll wait.”
    “Not if he can’t, ” Sasha said.
    “Sash,” Tricia said gently. “He’ll be okay.”
    “He doesn’t look anything like Rusty,” the little girl observed, after a short silence, while Tricia was stopped at the pay window, handing over her ticket and the price of parking.
    The remark gave Tricia a bittersweet feeling, a combination of affection for the child and grief for Rusty. “No,” she said softly, as they pulled away. “He’s not Rusty.”
    “That’s okay,” Sasha said earnestly, evidently addressing Valentino. “Rusty was a really nice dog, but you’re nice, too.”
    Tricia smiled, though her eyes stung a little.
    They stopped at the first shopping center they passed and took Valentino on a little tour of the grassy dividers in the parking lot before settling him in the Pathfinder again and dashing into a chain store, hand in hand, to buy a proper booster seat.
    Though Tricia was at a loss, Sasha knew the layout of the store from visiting the branch nearest her home in Seattle, and she went straight to the section with car seats. Once the purchase was made and they were back at the car again, they wrestled the bulky seat out of its box, laughing the whole time, and it was Sasha who showed Tricia how the various straps and buckles worked.
    She had a booster seat just like it, she said.
    A store employee, rounding up red plastic shopping carts, took charge of the empty box, and they were good to go.
    “Now we’re legal,” Sasha