As he neared the kitchen with both his father and Wheezy in tow, the first thing he noted was that Julio and Xavier had managed to locate his mother and the canister of freshly baked cookies that always sat waiting for them. The second thing he noted was that his mother did look exhausted. She was as short as his father was tall, her hair a carefully toned auburn he remembered from his youth. She’d always worn her years well, but something about the dark circles under her eyes and heavy frown lines seemed new.

The reason for this became apparent the moment he crossed the threshold. Her eyes flicked over his shoulder, and when no one appeared behind him, her expression changed from one of expectancy to deep disappointment.

“He didn’t come with you?”

All the warm feelings that had flooded Spencer on the porch zipped into a tight ball at the base of his stomach. It felt like lead, but he forced his tone to stay light. “You mean, the three small children and total stranger I brought with me aren’t enough?” He leaned in and brushed a kiss on her cheek, careful not to jostle the puppy in his arms. He’d fed enough undersized border collies in his day to have the process perfected. “Caleb sends his love and promises to visit as soon as his schedule opens up.”

“That’s what you said the last time you visited.”

He knew it was. It was the same thing he said every time he’d stopped by—not just in the past three months but in the nine-month span preceding it. Caleb wasn’t one for paying his parental dues.

“Dad says you guys lucked out and got a litter of nine this time,” he said as he indicated the bundle in his arms. “That should bring in a pretty penny.”

Since the border collies his parents bred were the only thing his mom loved as much as Caleb, Spencer hoped the distraction would work.

It didn’t.

“The last time I called him, he mentioned that you were keeping him busy with some new training client you referred to him. To earn his keep, he said.” Her frown deepened, but that didn’t stop her from plopping several more cookies in front of the boys. She also reached into a second canister and pulled out a hand-baked dog treat, which she dropped into Wheezy’s waiting jaws. It was a good thing Ruby wasn’t here to see it, because Spencer knew for a fact that the treats were made with duck fat. “If he’s having money trouble, can’t you let him stay with you for free? You know how much he depends on you.”

“He is staying with me for free,” Spencer said, but he didn’t know why he bothered.