By this time, Eva’s brood had noticed the new arrival and launched themselves at him full speed. Amid shrieks of joy and Wheezy’s whining excitement, Spencer allowed himself to be embraced from every side. The boys clung to his legs like they were preparing to climb a tree, all three talking at once.

“What have you done to these poor kids?” Spencer asked with a quirk of his brow. “They’re never this happy to see me.”

“Uncle Spencer, we’re training to be show dogs,” Julio informed him.

“Dogs!” chimed in Max.

Xavier, who was the quietest of the three and therefore Ruby’s favorite, merely nodded his solemn agreement.

“Want to see?” Julio asked. “Ruby’s been making us practice all day. We can’t have a treat until Wheezy does five things in a row, but he’s not very good yet. He can only do three. Well, two and a half. Ruby promised us ice cream.”

“Ice cream!” echoed Max.

Xavier’s stomach growled its agreement.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Ruby said as Spencer’s brow went even higher. “I have a low-calorie frozen yogurt cup for Wheezy. He won’t know the difference.”

She’d had time to stand up and brush herself off by now, but it wasn’t doing her any favors. Five hours of babysitting might not sound like a lot to someone who’d never met Eva and Maury’s children, but Ruby felt as though she’d been run over by a car, hosed off with napalm, and hung up to dry. Spencer, however, looked as impeccably cool as always.

“Low-calorie frozen yogurt sounds delicious,” he said.

“And the boys are getting sugar-free Popsicles laced with sedatives.”

He chuckled. “I’m going to assume you’re kidding about that one. Can I see?”

She was still so rattled by Spencer’s sudden appearance that it took her a moment to realize what he was asking. Her initial thought, that he wanted to see and approve Wheezy’s snack, was quashed only when the golden retriever gave an expectant whine.

“Can I do it?” Julio asked. Without waiting for an answer, he took the phone from Ruby’s hand and pressed a button on the screen.

“Sit,” Spencer’s voice said through the speaker. Wheezy seemed a little alarmed to find Spencer’s voice coming from a source that wasn’t his face, but these past few hours hadn’t been spent in vain. He obligingly set his butt onto the grass.

So did the children.

“Speak,” Spencer’s recorded voice said. As this was another favorite command of all three boys, a loud cacophony of human and canine barks filled the air.

“That’s good,” Ruby said, hoping to forestall the next step. “Let’s put that away and—”