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“That’s right.”

He cocked his head the other way.

“We’re going for a walk.”

He dropped his bowl.

Apparently, in the short time he’d been with Phillip,walkhad become his second favorite pastime.Right after food and just before playing with the kids.

I eyed him as I secured his leash.“How would you feel being around the kids all day long?”

His tongue lolled.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.”I shoved my feet into my shoes, grabbed a hat and sunglasses, then headed into the brilliant noonday sunshine.

Although Wally was trimmed, he had enough fur to cover his skin so he wouldn’t burn.And despite the hot temperatures, the asphalt wasn’t too horrendous, so he was able to walk a few feet down the driveway.We hit the sidewalk at a nice pace.Instead of the park, though, I headed us toward the boardwalk.

Half-an-hour later, I sat on a bench facing the brilliant-blue ocean with the sparkling sunlight nearly dazzling my sunglasses-covered eyes.I munched on an order of poutine with the cheese curds just the perfect consistency.

Wally, wonderful dog, sat in the shade beneath the bench, munching on an organic dog cookie.A reward for the walk down and the walk we’d do on the way back.“You’re a good man, Charlie Brown.”

Woof.

I arched an eyebrow.That hadn’t been a Wallywoof.Funny how, after such a short period of time, I knew that.

Movement caught my attention.

A certain French bulldog was barreling toward us.

“Widget!”Colin growled.“Damn dog.”

After ensuring I had a good grip on Wally’s leash, I gently encouraged him out from his little spot.He’d finished his cookie, so I didn’t need to worry about territorialism.He strained on his leash to get closer to the snuffling creature headed our way.

Said creature stopped abruptly, and they started sniffing each other in the time-honored tradition of all dogs.

“May I…” Colin gestured to the bench next to me.

“Absolutely.”I shoveled in the last forkful of poutine before putting the container in the recycling bin and the wood fork into the composting bin.

Colin dropped and let out a long sigh.

“You okay?”

“What?Oh yeah, I’m fine.Have been for a while.”He petted his stomach.“Liver’s working great.I just didn’t plan to walk quite this far today.”He pointed to Widget, who now was sniffing Wally’s butt.“She just wanted to keep going.”

“And you don’t know how to sayno?”I laughed.

“Yep.”He used his T-shirt to mop his brow.

I caught sight of the incision scar.

Another sigh escaped his lips.“And James is texting me from San Clemente, asking me all these questions.”

“Oh?He and Phillip having a problem?”I tried to keep my voice casual.

Colin’s gaze shot to me sharply.“No, nothing like that.He found a fantastic play set on sale and he wanted to know if I’d mind if he bought it.Of course I don’t mind.We’ve even got a spot for it in the backyard.Even if…” His breath caught.“Even if we don’t get to foster younger kids, James has enough nieces and nephews to wear the thing out.The twins are just six months old.Oh, and the other twins are just two months.”

I raised my hand.“Two sets of twins?”I squinted, despite my sunglasses.“How does that work?”