a puzzled look. “Why didn't you ask her to meet the rest of us?”

He shrugged. “I invited her, but she said her paw was hurting her and she didn't feel up to playing today.”

“Oh, that's too bad,” she said, drooping slightly. “But it's nice to know Angel is making friends with other dogs.”

“Well, maybe,” he said. “I don't know.”

She frowned. “Toby, you can't try to hold onto her, you know that.”

“No, it's not that,” he explained. “There was just something off about Lily, something in her scent. She smelled deceptive.”

Luna considered this. She knew better than anyone that Toby's nose was not a thing to be taken lightly. “What do you make of it?”

“I don't know,” he admitted. “I'm not even positive I smelled it, or that it was coming from her if I did. The wind was at my tail when I was talking to her, and it threw off the scent.”

“But should we take a chance?” she asked anxiously. “She could be up to no good.”

“Yes, or it could just be a misunderstanding. Besides, I really don't want to keep Angel from making friends when it could just be a mistake on my part and nothing more.” After a pause to think it over, he said, “Why don't we invite her to spend some time with the whole family next time we see her? Maybe we can figure something out that way.”

She nodded. “Alright. If you say so.”

Meanwhile, in another part of town, the dogs Angel had been talking to were having a discussion of their own.

“Why did you bail out?” demanded Max, his ears laid back and his face scrunched in disgust as though he couldn't believe the girl dog's stupidity.

“Uh, because her parents were there?” said Lily. “And her dad wasn't about to let her come with me.”

“She's right,” Sammy pointed out. “You oughta know better than anyone that you never mess with a dad.”

Max scowled. “How do I put up with you dolts?!” he practically yelled. “Think – and try not to strain yourselves – how much easier this could all be if we convince her folks they can trust us.”

“Easy for you to say,” said Lily. “I think Toby was getting a little too suspicious of me.”

“Of course,” Max grumbled. “You think that because you know you can't be trusted, but he doesn't. These domestic types are always too trusting for their own good. Yeah, they've got a few safety rules, but once you get past that, they're easy pickings. Besides, if you think they're going to figure you out, the last thing you do is act guilty. You might as well paint it on your stinkin' forehead.”

“Yeah, but what now?” asked Buck. “Where do we go from here?”

“I'll tell ya,” Max replied. “We stay clear of them for a couple of days while Lily's paw 'heals,' and then she's gonna take them up on their little invite. Once she gets them to trust her, the rest is easy. Got it?”

Everyone nodded. The plan was a good one, and besides, they knew better than to question Max.

Over the days Max had spoken of, Angel grew bored. Toby tended to congregate with the boys, and Star would sit around with Luna, doing just about whatever she did. Angel didn't like doing either of those, and chasing the deer hide ball that Connie liked to throw only held her interest so long. On family outings, which occurred at least once a day, she constantly kept an eye out for her friends and was always disappointed when they didn't show. Beyond that, there was nothing to do but take naps and eat, and the various foods given them, which generally came dried or salted, did not suit her tastes. The more she ate, the more she wished for the tender, juicy, spicy sausages she had eaten in the back at the butcher's.

Her lack of energy was not lost on Toby, and he did his best to get her interested in some kind of activity whenever he wasn't busy with the boys. He asked Luna's input, and she tried too. But there is nothing that spoils one's interest in good, clean fun quite like harmful, corrupted fun, even if the only known harm in it is a minor bit of disorderliness. So their efforts to appeal to her were by and large unsuccessful, and before two days had passed they too were looking for Lily.

It was five days before they, or rather Luna, finally saw her again. This time they were on Main Street, Luna and the pups on leashes in Connie's hand. Luna, though she usually roamed free, was used to leashes. The pups, on the other hand, ran helter-skelter, tugging at their leather bonds, tangling them up, and generally behaving as pups do while Luna tried to make them stop. She was wishing Toby was there, but he was busy with Charlie at the moment and couldn't help.

Lily and Max were watching from a hiding place as the family walked by. “Okay,” Max whispered, “This'll be easy. You only have to worry about the mom. Just go up to them, play nice, maybe help that dame keep them in line gently, and everything'll go smooth as ice. Comprende?”

Lily nodded. “Got it,” she said. And she trotted out into the street. “Hey, Angel!”

The pup's head whipped toward the sound. “Lily!” she barked, taking a bound or two in that direction before the leash pulled her up short. Star, along with Caspar and Melchior, quickly grew as enthusiastic as she, if not more so. After all, they had never met this dog before.

Luna watched alertly as the stranger drew near. She guessed this was the same Lily of whom Toby had spoken, and had no intention of being over-trusting with anyone Toby's nose had brought under suspicion. “You must be the Lily I've heard so much about,” she said. “I'm Luna.”

“Hi,” Lily greeted, tail wagging as she fell into step with the family. “I don't think Angel mentioned you.”

“I'm Luna,” she introduced herself. “And, she may not have mentioned me to you, but she's certainly been anxious to see you.”

She'd been hoping that by saying this she would manage to unearth a clue in Lily's expression, but it was to no avail. Lily just smiled. “Yeah, sorry I haven't been able to drop by. My paw was killing me.”

Luna nodded. “Mm-hm, so I heard. Are you feeling better?”

“Yeah, lots.” Lily paused to extend the “healed” leg backwards as if to make a show of how good it felt, then had to increase her pace slightly to catch up. “So, what about the others? I don't think I've met all these guys before.”

More barking broke out from the pups, all of them doing their utmost to talk all at once. Luna, raising her voice, called out, “One at a time, one at a time.”

They quieted down then, and Caspar was the first to speak again. “My name is Caspar,” he greeted.

“I'm Melchior,” added the second boy. “But most people just call me Mel.”

“Balthasar,” added the third on Melchior, “But just call me Zar.”

Lily's face twisted just a little. “Weird names,” she said.

“We were named on Christmas,” explained Star. “That's how I got my name, Star.”

“Huh, finally a normal name,” Lily murmured. Then in response to some rather displeased looks, she added, “No offense.” Looking to the oldest pup, Arrow, she asked, “What about you, kid?”

“Name's Arrow,” she replied. As a pre-emptive counter to the usual question about her appearance, she added, “I'm adopted.”

“Ah,” Lily nodded. “Gotcha.” She studied Arrow for a moment longer than the pup was really comfortable with, then broke off her stare.

“Toby and I adopted Arrow a few months before we had our own pups,” Luna explained.

Lily nodded again, smiling. “Well, I guess it was lucky for Angel you adopted a girl,” she said cheerfully. “It's not much fun being the only girl in the family.”

“The only...?” Luna was taken aback by this remark.

“But I'm a girl too,” Star protested.

Lily seemed surprised, and a bit rattled. 'Crud,' she thought, mentally fumbling to salvage the matter before her house of cards collapsed entirely. “You are? Oh, uh, sorry. I guess I got confused; I mean, you look so much like your dad did when I met him that...”

Luna headed her off. “Yes, Star takes after Toby quite a bit.” It sounded like she wanted to say more, but apparently she decided against it, helped some by Lily's nervous laugh.

“Sorry about that. So, uh, where are you guys – and girls – headed?”

Luna shrugged, finalizing her decision to let the matter alone. “We're just out for a walk. Connie – that's my girl,” she added, jerking her head back slightly to indicate the subject of her comment, “Wants to get the puppies leash trained before they're old enough to leave.”

Lily nodded. “Uh-huh.” Then she looked to the pups. “You looking forward to that?”

“I am!” said Melchior and Balthasar at once.

“Me too,” added Caspar. “I'm going to have lots of adventures when I grow up!”

Star disagreed. “I don't know,” she said in a distracted manner.