His sister let out a peal of laughter, and Luke paused. He didn’t get to hear that laugh often enough. He hovered in the shadow of the terrace awning, watching Penelope as she and Jay struggled to get the herd of corgis under control. They were both holding several leashes in each hand and had become tangled around each other. The more they tried to unsnarl the mess, the worse it seemed to get.

“Can someone please explain what is happening here?” he demanded.

They jumped in surprise. Jay toppled backward, landing on his backside. Still attached to the tangle of leashes, Penelope was yanked down with him and ended up on his lap. She glanced at Luke, a strange look of panic crossing her face as she struggled to stand.

Perhaps clumsiness ran in their family. Despite himself, Luke chuckled. “Need some help?” He reached for his sister, hauling her to her feet.

“Thanks,” she breathed. The corgis cavorted in a circle, leashes wrapping around her legs as if she were a maypole—or their pagan dog goddess.

“Does this have anything to do with the talent show?” he wondered. “Some kind of canine circus act, maybe?”

“You heard about that, then?” Penelope asked.

“The circus act?”

“No.” She scowled. “The talent show.”

“I’m fine down here, thanks for asking,” Jay declared caustically, still on his butt, his feet and hands hopelessly lost in a tangle of leashes.

“Ugh, take these.” Penelope shoved the leashes she was holding at Luke and then dropped to her knees to help untangle Jay. “Maybe this was a bad idea.”

“I’m still trying to figure out what ‘this’ is,” Luke admitted, juggling more leashes as his sister handed them to him.

“This,” she waved at the carousing dogs, “was my idea.” She held out the last leash to Luke before clasping hands with Jay and helping him up. Pen nodded at a sign painted on a sandwich board near the entrance to the terrace.

“Cuddle with a corgi,” Luke read. He blinked. According to the sign, the event was scheduled to begin at four—about twenty minutes from now. “You added another event?”

“There was a lull in the schedule, and I thought this might be fun,” Penelope said, the barest hint of challenge in her voice.

Not wanting to start a fight with his sister, Luke took a moment to gather his thoughts. He glanced down. She was still holding hands with Jay. They broke apart suddenly, as if sensing where his gaze had landed. He bit his lip, considering.